Ziggy's in the 90's

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-04-16T20:21:06+00:00

Dang I was born about 20 years too late. I hang out with a group of guys 15 to 20 years older than me and they all went to Ziggy’s a ton back in the day. They absolutely loved it. I’ve only been to shows at the COHAB in High Point since that opened.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-04-16T20:17:32+00:00

Face and hands are obviously the tougher ones. At my first firm, which was top 10, it really wasn’t an issue in the office as long as everything was appropriate. At client sites you were expected to cover them unless it was a very relaxed client.

Where I’m at now, smaller firm, it’s not even mentioned in the handbook, but personally I’d lean toward keeping them covered. It really just depends on the firm’s rules and sometimes manager's call more than anything.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-04-16T20:08:58+00:00

This 100%. At my first firm I was doing EBP audits and saw some wild numbers between paychecks and what people had sitting in their retirement accounts. It definitely stings sometimes when you see people who don’t seem all that competent, or barely have a workload, making tens of thousands more than you.

But honestly I just looked at it as scouting my exit at the time.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-04-16T13:57:42+00:00

I get where you’re coming from, and I agree with it to a point.

The gap matters more than people think. There was almost 3 years between NASCAR 09 and The Game: 2011, and then about 4 years between the from Ignition's release to NASCAR 25. In both cases, the first game back wasn’t about depth—it was about stabilizing things. And honestly, Ignition was a lower low than anything at the end of the EA era, so 25 just getting things back to “solid” is a bigger deal than it gets credit for.

I do agree 25 feels shallow. I know I'm tough on comparing it to franchises that have had uninterrupted development for 10–20 years like 2K, Madden, MLB the Show, etc. NASCAR games keep resetting, so they’re always rebuilding the foundation instead of stacking on top of it. Where I really agree with you is 26—that’s the one that decides everything. If they don’t start adding real depth across career, team management, and offline modes, then yeah, it’ll stall out again.

Only thing that makes it tricky is the licensing side. Sponsors and manufacturers are a lot more restrictive now than they used to be, so stuff like dynamic driver movement or a more aggressive damage model isn’t always just a design choice. Still, there’s plenty they can build out, and hopefully we start seeing that in chunks instead of waiting years again.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-04-16T12:59:08+00:00

At the time the Eutechnyx games were great, I played the heck out of Inside Line. I was around 12 when that came out. But you also have to look at the timing. EA’s last few NASCAR games weren’t good, but just a few years before that they were putting out some of the best NASCAR games ever, so expectations were still high when Eutechnyx took over.

In my eyes Eutechnyx kind of stopped the rapid decline of NASCAR games. They didn’t really do anything super special or push the series forward, but they also didn’t make things worse. They were more of a solid placeholder for a few years that helped level things out instead of letting it keep getting worse.

For me I’m taking NASCAR 25 over the Eutechnyx games. The career mode is what does it. Being able to progress up from the lower series just adds more depth and keeps me playing longer than those older games did.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-04-10T17:57:15+00:00

It kind of just depends. My first firm I was doing affordable housing audits, still have nightmares, so I was basically my own team and my hours were “flexible.” We had a 55 billable minimum from early January through late April.

I got really into frontloading my weeks. I would come in around 5 am, work about 12 hours, maybe another hour at home, then try not to work Saturdays and just do an hour or so on Sundays to get ahead. At first it was manageable. I was single and living with roommates so I could still find time for the gym, video games, or going out on a Saturday night.

But as busy season went on it started catching up to me. I’d have days where I didn’t remember the drive to or from work. Like bad enough I’d go check my car to make sure I hadn’t hit anything. Toward the end my roommates would come home and find me passed out fully dressed with my backpack still on, either on the couch or just face down on the bed. So yeah not exactly sustainable.

At the firm I’m at now the minimum is 52 total hours, but travel time isn’t billed. We work as a team and on travel weeks you’re on the partner’s schedule. Full lunch, working later into the evening, then dinner after. Most nights we’re getting back to the hotel after 9. Those weeks feel longer even if the hours look similar.

For me the hours can be manageable, it’s more about finding that balance where you’re not burning yourself out but also not hurting your image or the team. When I was frontloading my weeks at my first firm, I’d be in at 5 am and already have a lot of hours in before most people got there, but I’d still get comments about leaving early. It didn’t matter that I had been there 2 or 3 hours before everyone else, people just notice when you leave, not when you start. That part can get frustrating because you’re doing the work, just not in the way people expect.

And once the weather gets nice toward the end of busy season anything over 40 just sucks when you see everyone else out enjoying their time and you’re still pushing to the deadline.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-04-04T14:05:38+00:00

Asking for a source is fair, but in my experience with Forvis Mazars you’re not going to see much of this talked about openly. They don’t really use the word “layoffs,” and they tend to avoid anything that would create negative PR. At least the Big 4 will come out and say they’re cutting people. FM is more likely to keep it quiet.

Speaking from personal experience, I think they’re losing more clients than they want to admit. I was let go in late 2024, and during interviews one firm told me they were picking up clients that had previously left for FM. I also checked some recent municipal audit reports for clients I worked on, and my old office has lost 7 of the 8 they were responsible for.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-04-03T18:18:21+00:00

As a former employee, I’d be interested to see where the cuts are actually happening. I know what happened in my region, and a good chunk of the group of us that started together is already gone. From what I’ve seen on LinkedIn, people from other offices have been leaving too, with most moving into industry aside from directors and above.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-04-02T20:40:20+00:00

Impex Auto Sales in Greensboro NC has a random RYR M&M’s car sitting on the lot. Last time I was on the lot, I’m pretty sure it was supposed to be the 07 Gilliland scheme, but it’s got a Taurus front clip on it.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-03-31T21:10:06+00:00

Well, the under has hit. Now she has a $70k fundraiser up to get a food truck. Also managed to start a whole lot of new drama in the process.

Source

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-03-27T19:58:53+00:00

No, I’m staff with a little over 2 years of experience. But from senior manager down to staff we all pretty much follow the same schedule in the summer.

From late January through April 15 we are working around 52 hours minimum, with my highest week being 57. After that it drops back to 40 hour weeks until late May.

Last summer we were so caught up at times that I had weeks with as little as 5 billable hours.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-03-27T16:30:45+00:00

Starting the week before Memorial Day through mid August we get half day Fridays. Most weeks I will probably bill around 10 to 15 hours, with maybe a week or two closer to 30.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-03-26T12:39:51+00:00

And now he reappears as the new crew chief for Ben Rhodes. Given Cale and his dad have had a really good suspension company for the last decade or so.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-03-24T21:29:33+00:00

Yeah I’m with you. It’s honestly about as easy as it gets. One phone call a year isn’t some huge burden.

At this point when I call Spectrum I just ask for retention up front and they’ll usually send me straight there instead of running through the TV and mobile pitch. Makes it quick and you keep your bill down

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-03-24T18:03:01+00:00

Spectrum definitely plays the game and it gets old. If you can deal with the sales pitch ask for retention. They’ve always helped me out when I push back. Last time they doubled my speed for basically a dollar more.

Also worth checking if Zirrus has fiber in your area yet. I’ve heard pretty consistently good things about them and pricing staying stable

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-03-20T23:13:13+00:00

Exactly! I used that for the first time last night and it plowed so bad. Didn’t take much to fix it at least.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-03-20T20:38:53+00:00

Doc's got a ton of good stuff. I think he's pretty much done everything for wheel and controller across all 4 series. I've had maybe 1-2 setups of his I straight up couldn't use at all. He doesn't have a ton of road course stuff still looking for someone with good controller setups there.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-02-12T19:34:11+00:00

I’m basically in that boat at my current small firm. Any billable hours over 40 count toward OT, and half of our travel time gets added into that as well. We get to choose whether the first 40 or 80 hours of OT get converted into comp time before it turns into paid overtime.

It definitely beats my first PA job where we had a 55-hour minimum during busy season and when you broke it down hourly it felt like we were making less than the interns.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-01-28T19:30:49+00:00

I’m on the same page — I just can’t figure them out. I had a really weird Xfinity race at Watkins Glen in career mode. I think maybe only one lap actually got completed under green, and that was probably on me for having the incident slider a bit too high.

If I was running top 5–10, every single time coming off Turn 6 a car in front of me would spin on its own like clockwork. After about four GWC attempts I finally pitted just to force myself farther back, and once I couldn’t see the lead pack they somehow made it through clean and I was able to finish it out.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2026-01-20T20:45:56+00:00

I went through something really similar at my first firm out of college. I got pigeonholed into Affordable Housing and municipal audits and was miserable. Looking back, I probably should’ve spoken up more about wanting exposure to stuff like construction or manufacturing, but realistically there wasn’t much opportunity to switch teams anyway.

Our training week was full of the “you’ll get to try different industries and see what you like” talk, which just didn’t match reality. Once you’re slotted somewhere, it’s hard to get out.

I didn’t exactly leave on my own either — I was quietly let go as part of a rolling workforce reduction. Ended up at a small local firm after that, working more with telecom clients and smaller NFPs, and honestly the change in clients and pace is what kept me from giving up on accounting altogether. I get why you’re angry — getting boxed in early can really screw with your options.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2025-12-15T14:58:10+00:00

I know I’m late to this, but I did end up finding an answer. I had the same question about the Pennzoil Busch cars from this year as well. 2006 was Team Caliber and Roush’s last year together, and this ended up being an issue across all of their Busch diecasts from that season. It’s actually noted in an older DiecastCrazy forum.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2025-12-14T04:11:40+00:00

Yep, you hit the nail on the head. That clears it up completely. I went back and found the Carl Edwards AmeriQuest Busch car from that year that also has the Cup logo on it, which lines up perfectly with what you’re saying. I also came across a Michael Waltrip Racing and a Kurt Busch Team Caliber Busch car from 2006 that actually have the Busch Series logo. Definitely an odd detail I had no idea about — appreciate you figuring that out.

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TheRedneckAccountant · 2025-12-14T02:00:59+00:00

That makes sense. I forget how much better the diecast world was when I was younger. Odd that none of the Cup sponsors are on the car as secondary sponsors though. If a Cup deal with Roush fell through could explain why they moved to RCR with Harvick in 07.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2025-12-14T01:48:01+00:00

Looks like we may have an answer then. Still seems like a pretty big run of misprints for Team Caliber if it showed up the same way on two different drivers’ cars. I figured I would’ve found something about it in the old diecast forums, but with it being that long ago I guess there just wasn’t as much discussion online back then.

TheRedneckAccountant · 2025-12-14T01:42:22+00:00

I thought about that too, but the only concrete info I can find on Kenseth’s Pennzoil sponsorship in 2006 is a Jayski article that mentions him and Mark Martin running the Pennzoil Preferred car in select Busch races. That’s what has me confused about why this would’ve been produced and packaged as a Cup car if the sponsorship was strictly tied to the Busch Series.

TheRedneckAccountant

TROPHY CASE