Professor Elam

Accounting & Investing Info for San Antonio A & M

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  • Professor Elam

    Winning, Coach Herman Style

    Friday Dec 16 2016

     

    "This program is going to be really hard," Herman said. "Winning is hard."

     

    The new UT Football coach approaches football apparently like Patton approached war.

    Please read the entire link before reading further.

    Now view the Patton speech from the award winning 1970 movie.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYhHIe_UELM

    Hm, notice any similarities.  No matter what goal you are pursuing and yes I am thinking of the CPA test here,

    winning is hard. I spoke with one of our recent grads who actually did pretty well on the FAR exam, studying on her own she made a 73, two points short of passing.

    This is precisely what Herman, and Patton are talking about. It's that last five yards, the tough five questions out of  100 that separate the quick from the dead.

     

    Here is another Herman excerpt.

    The Herman era at Houston truly began with 4:30 a.m. winter workouts. Herman locked the locker room until his players earned it. He banned them from wearing UH apparel until they earned it. The workouts felt like pure grunt work, designed to weed out which players weren't mentally tough enough to play for the new coaching staff. You did up-downs until you did them perfectly, and then until you did 30 perfectly.

    Players were constantly reminded that their program is based on meritocracy. Everything is earned. In Herman's world, you're either a champion or a loser. Champions get cool stuff. Losers get nothing. You better learn to hate losing.

    "I'll be honest with you, it totally brainwashed me," former Houston fullback Luke Stice said. "Winning is contagious. It makes you sick to your stomach to see things being done the wrong way."

    The champions in a morning of offseason drills got chicken and waffles and an omelet bar for breakfast. Safety Trevon Stewart said his group ended up with the losers' breakfast one day: intentionally burnt biscuits and watered-down eggs.

  • Professor Elam

    Andy Kessler on How to Create Jobs

    Friday Dec 16 2016

    Former Hedge Fund Manager Andy Kessler has some suggestions on job creation.

    He notes that the GI Bill sent millions of vets to college after WW II.  In a similar vein, he suggests vouchers for on line education for the unemployed.

    He notes that Udemy and Coursera both offer online classes in robotics and other in demand fields.  He also suggests letting private companies like Amazon create on line courses for what they demand. Complete the course and then apply for the job.

    My newspaper column this week which I will post, notes that just a few decades ago, a college degree was not required to become a CPA or an architect. It has only been the last few decades that compulsory college has been lobbied into the employment sector. But there is really no evidence that the degree results in a better professional.

    Now Kessler is suggesting the same thing. If the person can show specific content mastery, that should be the gateway to being hired for a job.

  • Professor Elam

    Why Singapore Math Works

    Friday Dec 16, 2016

    hSingapore schools lead the world in successful math learning.

    So why not copy or benchmark that success?

    Good question.  Read six reasons it works. And Try to solve the Cheryl Birthday Quiz.

  • Professor Elam

    Why They Do It

    Thursday Dec 15, 2016

    I have been reading Why They Do It, an account of white collar crime. The Amazon Amazon link is here.

    The WSJ book review is here.

    The book is divided into three sections. The first reviews the history of white collar crime prosecution. Decades ago there was little to none. That changed with Rudi Guilliani.

    The second section reviews theories on why they do it.  The author cites many of the same ethicists reviewed in our Mintz Morris textbook. The final section consists of actual interviews with famous criminals ending with Bernie Madoff.

    This would make a fine addition to our class.

    Here is a link to the author's website.

    Here is Screen Shot 2016-12-15 at 6.18.45 AM

  • Professor Elam

    PA Congressman Heads to Jail

    Tuesday Dec 13, 2016

    PA Congressman Chaka Fattah heads to ten years in jail.

    As the article states, how can the Judge be astonished at this kind of behavior.  The Congressman refused to resign in the face of a guilty verdict and had stolen thousands of dollars for personal use.

  • Professor Elam

    Snow BB, Another Tx Monthly Pick

    Weekend Dec 11 2016

    We reported on Franklin's BBQ in Austin in  a recent post. The other current favorite of Tx Monthly is Snow's BBQ in Lexington , Tx.

    I was unfamiliar with this small town of  1,000. It is east of Round Rock. I see they do a mail order business. Apparently that is successful but it is hard for me to imagine that

    bbq delivered by Fed Ex would have that off the grill taste. Screen Shot 2016-12-11 at 7.03.57 AM

    Apparently this is a one day a week affait. The ad indicates open Sat Morn at 8 00 AM till sold out.

    If the product is good enough that twill work!

    Has anyone tried Snow's?

     

  • Professor Elam

    Jay Leno Pilots a Navy LCAC

    Thursday Dec 8 2016

    Jay Leno takes us for a ride on a Navy LCAC Hovercraft.

  • Professor Elam

    24 Hours at Franklin Bar Be Que

    Tuesday Dec 6 2016

    Bon Appetit magazine sent Andrews for a 24 hour shift at Franklin Bar Be Que.

    Texas Monthly magazine has proclaimed Franklin's to be the best in the universe. It is located at 900 East 11th in Austin, Tx.

    The video shows people waiting from  4 00 AM sitting outside for the open at  11 00 AM.

    Decades ago The Salt Lick in Driftwood, Tx

    had that sort of reputation.  Back then The Salt Lick was a shoe string operation with a screened in area where patrons ate. Today it is all grown up, and frankly no better than any other bar be que joint in my opinion.   I would say the same for Cooper's.  A few years back TM had christened Cooper's as the best. Located in Llano, Tx, the word spread, the chain grew and formality

    was the norm.   Somehow the original formula was just not the same anymore.

    We study quality control and benchmarking in managerial accounting. Franklin started in his back yard. Today people line up for lunch until he literally sells out. As you will see, the last person in line has the duty of telling the late to arrive, sorry, done for the day.

    I don't know how long the reputation will last. As you can see in the video this is very hard work.

    Frankly I think the brisquet at Bill Miller's is as good as any but the rib s are a disappointment. I was hoping they would discuss more on the actual preparation, type of wood, temperature, etc but not to the case.   Perhaps those are trade secrets.

    But if you have a formula to cause eople to wait hours in line for a meal, you have a winning fgormula.

  • Professor Elam

    ACCT 3303 Final now Visible

    Monday Dec 5 2016 8 13 AM CST

    I do not normally use this site for class announcements but I was not able to access BB just now.

    The final is now correctly displayed on MH Connect, if anyone was up at 6 00 AM to take it I apologize

    I checked all the classes and this was the only one, and a student gave me a heads up, thanks

     

     

  • Professor Elam

    TSLA Chart is Breaking Down, SEC questions Acounting

    Monday Dec 5 2016

    Another firm we have questioned is Tesla TSLA.

    It has under performed the S & P since the election.

    Screen Shot 2016-12-05 at 5.40.42 AM

    Price is breaking below all the moving averages. Musk has promised a huge increase in production as early as  2018. 1100 % increase seems unlikely.