Tuesday

I did make it TO today.  Now I just need to get THROUGH today.

Actually, filing day tends to be somwhat anticlimactic as the clock is winding down to zero, and you eventually just have to go with what you've got.  The clients that I'm usually working on on filing day have returns that have so many moving parts that absolute, total and complete accuracy becomes a relative term.  As in horseshoes and hand grenades, "close" can be an acceptable result.

Bummer with the Cards last night.  Not that I was up for the end of the game.  Wainwright wasn't at his best, but regardless, you don't win many games by scoring zero runs.

I know that some of my readers go elsewhere when I bring up NASCAR, but bear with me a minute.  Here's an example that happens to come from NASCAR, but is applicable to most any field of endeavor.  Michael Waltrip Racing announced this week that they are laying off at least 15% of their work force next year as a result of losing sponsorship for one of their teams. 

NAPA Auto Parts had been with Micheal Waltrip even before he started his own team several years ago.  He had been a commercial spokesman in TV and print ads.  They followed him when he set up his own race shop.  Waltrip Racing has had three fully sponsored cars in races most of the last few years, and have been able to run near the front, with several wins.  Now they'll be down to two cars for 2014. 

When the Waltrip teams tried to conspire to get their third teammate into the Chase a few weeks back (as discussed here on the blog), radio-traffic made their efforts front-page news (at least on the sports pages).  Gordon and Newman were brought into the Chase and Waltrip Racing received some big fines and sanctions as part of NASCAR's damage-control.  Subsequently, NAPA surveyed the lay o' the land and decided it was time to move to another team.  (Yes, they could have been moving anyway, but this incident gave them complete cover.)

Waltrip has tried to find another sponsor fo the third car to no avail.  Hence, the announced lay-offs yesterday.  They might get some one-race sponsorships for selected races (Michael Waltrip, who doesn't drive full time any more, can personally still get around competively with anybody at the restrictor-plate tracks at Daytona and Talladiga), but some folks are literally out of a job because other people in their organization tried to trick the system. 

Among other things, this is another lesson of the new reality of ,"You're NEVER below radar!"  And that actions have consequences.  Maybe the members of Congress will get this message.

Moving on...

Bob Costas' latest sermonizing on national TV on the offensiveness of the Redskins' name is an example of a TV personality thinking his opinion matters to his listeners.  Of course, I didn't her the soliloquy, and I would have hit "Mute" if I had happened to be watching the game, but really, Bob?  You're not the national conscious.  You used to be able to call a good baseball game.  Go back there!

OK.  Glad to get that off my chest.

Have a Good Tuesday!

BCOT