So I have been thinking alot about the principles behind student loans lately and have come to the conclusion that it is one of the biggest scams out there. The reason for this is that as a 17 or 18 year old you have little to no concept of the reality of college costs or debt. All you want at that age is to go to the coolest school you visited or the one that has your major or your friends. Little else matters, least of all the idea of having to pay back that decision in 5 or 6 years when you are making more money than you ever have before. As college tuition raises, whether or not this is legit, the harsh reality is that most students who want to pursue a college degree will be forced to take out large amounts of debt to pay for it. Many kids live fairly comfortable for 4-5 years in college and then graduate with a degree that limits their opportunities and options. Say for example you are a marketing major at a Public University, and had little to no help from your family. You are likely 30k in debt at this point and forced to take the first available sales job offered you. It is likely terrible with a salary of somewhere around 30k. All of a sudden your take home pay of 2000 a month is cut to 1600 after you pay 400 bucks a month in loan payments. Add in rent, car, insurance, and all the other pricey things that new grads face and you have very little left over for 401k or savings. However, none of this is all that terrible considering that a 22-23 year old grad doesnt deserve to have a new car or a house, but for whatever reason (probably having to do with the fact that they were able to go to whatever school they wanted no matter the cost) they feel as though they are entitled to those things. So they take out credit cards to buy new clothes and cover daily expenses, nights on the town, and dinners out. The next thing you know these kids are in way over their heads, their jobs are going nowhere or they are being laid off in downtimes. It is a never ending cycle.
Parents today have done little to prepare for college tuitions, and do their children little good by letting them go to whatever school accepts them with the promise of a great degree (which society has made to be necessary). After all who doesn't want their children at a good school? Parents like to brag on their kids accomplishments the way a 20 something likes to brag on his new car. Whether its right or not it gives kids the idea that they can live a life of luxury that they have grown accustomed to straight out of college. There are no pensions, little social security and an increase in debt. I think the decisions of today will likely force most of this generation to work until they die. Its a sad truth but its a harsh reality. All we can do is take care of ourselves and hope that the government doesn't take it all away from us before we get to retirement.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
B-town and www.Ticketstumbler.com
So I am sitting here in Boston at my friends apartment and thinking about how much I don't want to go back to work on Monday let alone everyday for the next 40 years of my life. Work should be fun, interesting and something you would do in your spare time. I don't know about you, but I don't want to do taxes in my spare time (so don't ask me.) Part of the reason I am here is to visit a friend who moved here a couple of months ago to start an internet startup company called www.Ticketstumbler.com which is a secondary sports ticket finder. Basically its like kayak.com or sidestep only for the sports ticket world. They basically search all of the ticket sites (think stubhub, ticketcity etc) and pool them all into one nice summary of all your available options. They make money from the ticket sites themselves for any sale that is made through their site. Basically the ticket companies are willing to share the wealth for the increase in ticket traffic. If you ask me the idea is absolutely genius and inspiring. It makes me realize that the founders of these internet startups really are just regular people who took a chance. This gives me hope that I too can find an idea, find the right people and bring it profitability. It is a big chore, but one well worth it to do what it is that you love to do and want to do everyday. So while I am going to go see Fenway park, please check out www.ticketstumbler.com and any tickets you might buy on stubhub will contribute to a good cause (that being my friends wellbeing). Also, tell anyone and everyone to use it word of mouth is the best form of advertising.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Hydrogen Fuel
Honda released the Honda Clarity in certain parts of California
recently, and for whatever reason it seems to be widely ignored.
Everything I have read about the car seems to say that hydrogen fueled
cars are too expensive and hard to produce and the infrastructure isnt
there.
recently, and for whatever reason it seems to be widely ignored.
Everything I have read about the car seems to say that hydrogen fueled
cars are too expensive and hard to produce and the infrastructure isnt
there.
Do these same people think that cars were always cheap to make and
that the US was covered with gas stations? Of course it wasnt, the
point is that this is far and way the best alternative to gasoline,
and if anything the potential to add hydrogen fueling stations exists
with the current gas station infrastructure.
I believe hybrids are merely a bandaid for our problems and if we want
to avoid even higher gas prices we need to make hydrogen fuel cells be
the wave of the future no matter what it costs. I just wish more
people would realize this and take the necessary steps to make it
happen.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Good News!
Good news for my readers....all 3 or so of you, if you still exist. I have discovered that Pazanchium can now go mobile. What does that mean for you, it means that whenever I am bored or have a thought now I can post from my phone. The postings will likely be shorter, since I end up getting really sick of typing on such a small keyboard, but they will hopefully be more frequent and remind me how I can ramble online and someone somewhere actually might read it.
Before I go, there is something I want to put in writing before anything can happen for people to think it was not my original idea. That is the fact that the Cleveland Browns will not win more than 8 games this season. My actual prediction is 6-10 and I will go into more detail about this in my annual NFL rankings post sometime in August. I just want everyone to know that no matter what injuries occur in training camp or later that I have 100% faith in the Browns not living up to expectations this coming season. A few reasons why are first that last year they played the easiest schedule by far last year. Somewhere in the .431 opponent winning percentage area. When you factor in that they also played the 16-0 Patriots that winning percentage looks even worse. They played nearly every team picking in the top 10 last year and still didnt make the playoffs. The NFL has seen past this type of season and forces teams that were good in previous years to play much harder schedules. This season there schedule looks to be brutal and I think they suffer from that a great deal. Another problem I see the Browns running into is their total and utter lack of a secondary. Their best DB (and only one I could name) was Leigh Bodden, who appeared to have what it takes to be successful in this league, was sent to Detroit in the Shaun Rogers deal. Now in the pass happy NFL this appears to be a recipe for a disaster, yes their D-line is better, and yes the Giants won a Super bowl with minimal stars in their secondary, but I don't see Shaun Rogers or Corey Williams playing as well as they have in the past now that they are household names and are in a much different situation. Shaun Rogers has bust written all over him. Anytime you give a streaky player with weight issues and a nonchalant attitude 25 million dollars guaranteed you are setting yourself up for failure. Another less obvious point is the lack of draft picks this year. If you look at playoff teams in the past they all appear to have one or two rookies step up and provide that energy boost from somewhere unexpected. This was the case in 2005 when the Bengals went 11-5 and was the case with the Giants last year with Kevin Boss and others. The Browns not only mortgaged their future on this year, but will not be expecting anything from their 2 or 3 late round picks (if they even make the team). Then there is the QB issues. Derek Anderson is in a tough spot, he over achieved last season and now is one bad outing away from a benching despite being resigned. He showed he was vulnerable late last season and with the moves the Browns have made has high expectations and a high paid QB behind in him Brady Quinn. A slow start would mean Quinn would be forced to start for a team that has everything riding on this year. That is an awful lot of pressure for two guys who no one knows if they are for real to have on their shoulders. With everything riding on high expectations in a tough division I do not see the Browns stepping up to the plate. If there is any way to bet on the failures of the Cleveland Browns believe me I will have a great amount of money on it. Then when it all plays out how I see it i can tell the ESPN analysts and Cleveland fans (the same ones who thought the 37-46 Indians would win the World Series this year) that I am right. From a guy who watched the 2006 Bengals fall apart the year after a blow to Carson Palmers knee ended our season prematurely I feel bad for Browns fans who will be disappointed with anything less than a Super Bowl win.
Glad that is now in writing
Before I go, there is something I want to put in writing before anything can happen for people to think it was not my original idea. That is the fact that the Cleveland Browns will not win more than 8 games this season. My actual prediction is 6-10 and I will go into more detail about this in my annual NFL rankings post sometime in August. I just want everyone to know that no matter what injuries occur in training camp or later that I have 100% faith in the Browns not living up to expectations this coming season. A few reasons why are first that last year they played the easiest schedule by far last year. Somewhere in the .431 opponent winning percentage area. When you factor in that they also played the 16-0 Patriots that winning percentage looks even worse. They played nearly every team picking in the top 10 last year and still didnt make the playoffs. The NFL has seen past this type of season and forces teams that were good in previous years to play much harder schedules. This season there schedule looks to be brutal and I think they suffer from that a great deal. Another problem I see the Browns running into is their total and utter lack of a secondary. Their best DB (and only one I could name) was Leigh Bodden, who appeared to have what it takes to be successful in this league, was sent to Detroit in the Shaun Rogers deal. Now in the pass happy NFL this appears to be a recipe for a disaster, yes their D-line is better, and yes the Giants won a Super bowl with minimal stars in their secondary, but I don't see Shaun Rogers or Corey Williams playing as well as they have in the past now that they are household names and are in a much different situation. Shaun Rogers has bust written all over him. Anytime you give a streaky player with weight issues and a nonchalant attitude 25 million dollars guaranteed you are setting yourself up for failure. Another less obvious point is the lack of draft picks this year. If you look at playoff teams in the past they all appear to have one or two rookies step up and provide that energy boost from somewhere unexpected. This was the case in 2005 when the Bengals went 11-5 and was the case with the Giants last year with Kevin Boss and others. The Browns not only mortgaged their future on this year, but will not be expecting anything from their 2 or 3 late round picks (if they even make the team). Then there is the QB issues. Derek Anderson is in a tough spot, he over achieved last season and now is one bad outing away from a benching despite being resigned. He showed he was vulnerable late last season and with the moves the Browns have made has high expectations and a high paid QB behind in him Brady Quinn. A slow start would mean Quinn would be forced to start for a team that has everything riding on this year. That is an awful lot of pressure for two guys who no one knows if they are for real to have on their shoulders. With everything riding on high expectations in a tough division I do not see the Browns stepping up to the plate. If there is any way to bet on the failures of the Cleveland Browns believe me I will have a great amount of money on it. Then when it all plays out how I see it i can tell the ESPN analysts and Cleveland fans (the same ones who thought the 37-46 Indians would win the World Series this year) that I am right. From a guy who watched the 2006 Bengals fall apart the year after a blow to Carson Palmers knee ended our season prematurely I feel bad for Browns fans who will be disappointed with anything less than a Super Bowl win.
Glad that is now in writing
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Transportation Methods in the US
Before I get into my purpose of this post let me just say that Blogspot is total garbage if it will not allow me to make a custom hyperlink and will require me to leave these completely tacky ones on here. I may be leaving to move to Wordpress if this issue is not figured out immediately.
http://www.physorg.com/news65373596.html
This article talks about an issue that has come to mind lately about the inadequateness of the United States and more specifically its government. The basic premise is that the United States has rather primitive forms of travel as compared to other nations such as Europe and Japan. While Europe and Japan have found the joys of high speed trains, the United States continues on as if they do not exist. I understand that currently the infrastructure to pull off such task of improving our transportation system is not in place, but wasn't this the case at one time with regards to air travel, and car travel?
Lets look at the pros before we go any further. The government is currently on a huge kick to improve our air and cut down on pollution with various perks such as tax incentives for hybrid cars, and forcing dealers to have higher MPG ratings on their cars. While these are all good ideas they are mere short term fixes that still create pollution, and yet they continue to overlook the high speed electric train as a way to make a serious statement in regards to our environment?
The article says that the main reason that train travel has no real future is that the government does not want to do it. Now if I remember correctly the cross-country trains in the 1800's were one of the major reasons that America moved ahead of so many other countries at that time, yet the government refuses to be involved with such a project.
From my own personal point of view the idea of being able to hop on a train for half the price and double the time of air travel seems like a pretty good idea especially considering the hoops we jump through in order to actually board a plane these days (thank you Taliban). I would be much more likely to spend 100 dollars to go to Chicago on a 2 hour train ride than I would be to pay 200 dollars to make the same trip via air. Its not that I do not think time is money, because we all know this is true, but the advantage of the 100 dollars in my pocket would greatly outweigh the extra hour of travel time. With the imminent merger of Delta and Northwest airline ticket prices are likely to increase causing greater need for alternative methods of transportation. The problem with air travel is that it is not as convienent or cost effective for most people to use outside of the business world. It would cost entirely too much to fly a family of 4 to some destination, rent a car for a week, and fly home. That is why car travel is so huge in our country. Cars are great don't get me wrong, and they are nicer than trains in the grand scheme of things, but couldn't we improve our environment more if we used them more strictly for local trips and errands?
Another positive that would arise from this when you look at the eastern seaboard, almost all of the major cities are booming with business, money, and people looking to get out and do things. If there were near limitless possibilities of where to go via train wouldn't more people hop on one from NYC to Philly for a weekend with friends/family? My thought is yes, but the way it is currently they must fly (expensive), drive (time consuming and limited city parking) or walk (impossible) so they would rather just not go. Trains would take the best of all these things and put them together.
With all the advantages and reasons to have trains in the US it will likely not happen in our lifetime because the government does not want it to. The government spends too much money on totally ridiculous things, and is more careless with our money than we even know. Government workers are worthless and it is no fault of theirs. They are paid to do what they do and human nature is that if they only have to work 40 hours a week to get their raise, and working 50 won't help them, why should they sacrifice time with family and friends? For this reason many private firms are paid to go in and do what government employees do not do because they are able to do the job better and faster. In my job I work hard and fast because I am forced to. We have limited budgets, and high expectations because that is how you make people excel, by giving them goals they can reach with time and effort, and giving them strong incentives to reach those goals.
So what does all this mean? Well I think that in order for the United States to take a step forward in regards to transportation the government needs to recognize its inefficiencies and take steps to solve this. My proposal is that the government enters into a joint venture with private firms to create a network of high speed trains and mass transit. If private firms were paid by the government to build the infrastructure it would end up costing far less, and being completed much faster. Once the system is in place the government could allow companies to run the trains as they would any other business, essentially giving away the system to willing and qualified companies. By paying for the implementation of the system the US government would be putting its stamp of approval on the process, and by allowing the companies to treat the system as if it were a regular business they would strive to keep costs down, be efficient and produce a profit. They could allow only a certain percentage of the market share to be owned by one single company so as to avoid any issues stemming from a monopoly, and this way firms could work with each other to increase the number of overall rails as a way to continure increasing their assets while maintaining a proper portion of the market share.
Do I think any of this will happen anytime soon? Absolutely not, but it is defintely something to think about and I think would do alot to ensure that the United States is one of the smartest and most advanced countries in the world. It is mind boggling to me that no one seems to have thought about this, or made any strides toward fixing it. They all seem to caught up in their campaigns, endorsing candidates, and avoiding ever actually answering a question. Such is the world we live in...and to think WE have one of the best governmental systems in the world. Think how good things could be...
http://www.physorg.com/news65373596.html
This article talks about an issue that has come to mind lately about the inadequateness of the United States and more specifically its government. The basic premise is that the United States has rather primitive forms of travel as compared to other nations such as Europe and Japan. While Europe and Japan have found the joys of high speed trains, the United States continues on as if they do not exist. I understand that currently the infrastructure to pull off such task of improving our transportation system is not in place, but wasn't this the case at one time with regards to air travel, and car travel?
Lets look at the pros before we go any further. The government is currently on a huge kick to improve our air and cut down on pollution with various perks such as tax incentives for hybrid cars, and forcing dealers to have higher MPG ratings on their cars. While these are all good ideas they are mere short term fixes that still create pollution, and yet they continue to overlook the high speed electric train as a way to make a serious statement in regards to our environment?
The article says that the main reason that train travel has no real future is that the government does not want to do it. Now if I remember correctly the cross-country trains in the 1800's were one of the major reasons that America moved ahead of so many other countries at that time, yet the government refuses to be involved with such a project.
From my own personal point of view the idea of being able to hop on a train for half the price and double the time of air travel seems like a pretty good idea especially considering the hoops we jump through in order to actually board a plane these days (thank you Taliban). I would be much more likely to spend 100 dollars to go to Chicago on a 2 hour train ride than I would be to pay 200 dollars to make the same trip via air. Its not that I do not think time is money, because we all know this is true, but the advantage of the 100 dollars in my pocket would greatly outweigh the extra hour of travel time. With the imminent merger of Delta and Northwest airline ticket prices are likely to increase causing greater need for alternative methods of transportation. The problem with air travel is that it is not as convienent or cost effective for most people to use outside of the business world. It would cost entirely too much to fly a family of 4 to some destination, rent a car for a week, and fly home. That is why car travel is so huge in our country. Cars are great don't get me wrong, and they are nicer than trains in the grand scheme of things, but couldn't we improve our environment more if we used them more strictly for local trips and errands?
Another positive that would arise from this when you look at the eastern seaboard, almost all of the major cities are booming with business, money, and people looking to get out and do things. If there were near limitless possibilities of where to go via train wouldn't more people hop on one from NYC to Philly for a weekend with friends/family? My thought is yes, but the way it is currently they must fly (expensive), drive (time consuming and limited city parking) or walk (impossible) so they would rather just not go. Trains would take the best of all these things and put them together.
With all the advantages and reasons to have trains in the US it will likely not happen in our lifetime because the government does not want it to. The government spends too much money on totally ridiculous things, and is more careless with our money than we even know. Government workers are worthless and it is no fault of theirs. They are paid to do what they do and human nature is that if they only have to work 40 hours a week to get their raise, and working 50 won't help them, why should they sacrifice time with family and friends? For this reason many private firms are paid to go in and do what government employees do not do because they are able to do the job better and faster. In my job I work hard and fast because I am forced to. We have limited budgets, and high expectations because that is how you make people excel, by giving them goals they can reach with time and effort, and giving them strong incentives to reach those goals.
So what does all this mean? Well I think that in order for the United States to take a step forward in regards to transportation the government needs to recognize its inefficiencies and take steps to solve this. My proposal is that the government enters into a joint venture with private firms to create a network of high speed trains and mass transit. If private firms were paid by the government to build the infrastructure it would end up costing far less, and being completed much faster. Once the system is in place the government could allow companies to run the trains as they would any other business, essentially giving away the system to willing and qualified companies. By paying for the implementation of the system the US government would be putting its stamp of approval on the process, and by allowing the companies to treat the system as if it were a regular business they would strive to keep costs down, be efficient and produce a profit. They could allow only a certain percentage of the market share to be owned by one single company so as to avoid any issues stemming from a monopoly, and this way firms could work with each other to increase the number of overall rails as a way to continure increasing their assets while maintaining a proper portion of the market share.
Do I think any of this will happen anytime soon? Absolutely not, but it is defintely something to think about and I think would do alot to ensure that the United States is one of the smartest and most advanced countries in the world. It is mind boggling to me that no one seems to have thought about this, or made any strides toward fixing it. They all seem to caught up in their campaigns, endorsing candidates, and avoiding ever actually answering a question. Such is the world we live in...and to think WE have one of the best governmental systems in the world. Think how good things could be...
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
DC
First I would like to apologize to my readers for not having written in awhile...all 6 of you
With that said I hope that I will begin writing much more, but frankly when you work 60 hours a week and want to fall asleep every second you aren't at work, writing for fun kinda loses its appeal. Now onto the good stuff...
This last weekend I decided to take my Saturday night and Sunday and take a whirlwind trip to Washington DC to visit some friends from Dayton for a birthday party. Now let me just say if you are ever totally bored of the same people and the same thing, this is a great idea, especially since I was gone for a mere 25 hours. I flew out of CBUS at 530 on Saturday after work, and arrived in DC, hoped on the subway for a little 20 minute jaunt, walked a couple blocks and boom! free beer, and long lost friends!! How awesome is that! I hadn't seen some of these people since I transferred from UD 4 years ago and it seriously was like nothing had changed whatsoever. Even some of the people that I didn't know I definitely recognized and after about 3 beers it was no big deal to rehash my freshman year of awesomeness. Now I think I should say that while I do not regret leaving UD when I see my student loan payment stemming from just a year and a half there, but I definitely think I would have had a blast there just the same way I did at OSU. Of the people I met at Dayton I think they were much cooler than some of the people I met and no longer talk to here in the bus, but regardless I don't regret any of the moves I have made or where I ended up...
Some thoughts that crossed my mind over the weekend:
1. Living in the Midwest definitely has its advantages, but also disadvantages as well. Basically while things and cost of living in Ohio is cheap, I do not have the advantage of being exposed to the markets and their trends and all that goes on in the epicenter of the business world. Now while no one I met from the NYC has a job any better than mine, being a financial analyst for a hedgefund would be more of a learning experience of the markets than is my job doing taxes...because if this I have decided that I must read everything I can to learn as much as possible so as not to give away my advantage of being in Ohio which is that I can put more money away and get rich because I am not dropping 1500 on rent a month.
2. DC is expensive...there is a 10% sales tax on everything (due to a lack of state income tax) but not only that everything is just higher priced. Now in addition to this there is a great public transportation system, and more authentic awesome food that the whole state of OH has in just one DC block. Our idea here of mexican food is chipotle, there they have millions of authentic mexican food that is all better than chipotle. Of that I am most jealous.
3. The eastern seaboard is all so close and accessible that DC, Philly, and NYC are all a short drive, or bus ride away, which would make it awesome to travel to for a fun weekend with friends or just to have a new place to go.
4. Sleeping on a couch with 2 other guys is not comfortable or a good way to relax during busy season, regardless I would do it over 100 times if I could.
5. Jumbo slice tastes no good in the morning
6. Good friends will always be your friend no matter how long or how far you go between visits.
7. Old school parties are still a blast
8. Sangria and coke might be the sweetest drink ever, but is actually not too bad
9. I can still take shots of tequila like a champ...lime or no lime...
10. The Derby will be more fun this year than in the past...and that is definitely an amazing thing.
11. There is lots of stuff out there on the internet I never knew was there, and I wish I still didn't
12. If you drink enough, where you sleep doesn't matter
13. I need to travel more...
With that said I hope that I will begin writing much more, but frankly when you work 60 hours a week and want to fall asleep every second you aren't at work, writing for fun kinda loses its appeal. Now onto the good stuff...
This last weekend I decided to take my Saturday night and Sunday and take a whirlwind trip to Washington DC to visit some friends from Dayton for a birthday party. Now let me just say if you are ever totally bored of the same people and the same thing, this is a great idea, especially since I was gone for a mere 25 hours. I flew out of CBUS at 530 on Saturday after work, and arrived in DC, hoped on the subway for a little 20 minute jaunt, walked a couple blocks and boom! free beer, and long lost friends!! How awesome is that! I hadn't seen some of these people since I transferred from UD 4 years ago and it seriously was like nothing had changed whatsoever. Even some of the people that I didn't know I definitely recognized and after about 3 beers it was no big deal to rehash my freshman year of awesomeness. Now I think I should say that while I do not regret leaving UD when I see my student loan payment stemming from just a year and a half there, but I definitely think I would have had a blast there just the same way I did at OSU. Of the people I met at Dayton I think they were much cooler than some of the people I met and no longer talk to here in the bus, but regardless I don't regret any of the moves I have made or where I ended up...
Some thoughts that crossed my mind over the weekend:
1. Living in the Midwest definitely has its advantages, but also disadvantages as well. Basically while things and cost of living in Ohio is cheap, I do not have the advantage of being exposed to the markets and their trends and all that goes on in the epicenter of the business world. Now while no one I met from the NYC has a job any better than mine, being a financial analyst for a hedgefund would be more of a learning experience of the markets than is my job doing taxes...because if this I have decided that I must read everything I can to learn as much as possible so as not to give away my advantage of being in Ohio which is that I can put more money away and get rich because I am not dropping 1500 on rent a month.
2. DC is expensive...there is a 10% sales tax on everything (due to a lack of state income tax) but not only that everything is just higher priced. Now in addition to this there is a great public transportation system, and more authentic awesome food that the whole state of OH has in just one DC block. Our idea here of mexican food is chipotle, there they have millions of authentic mexican food that is all better than chipotle. Of that I am most jealous.
3. The eastern seaboard is all so close and accessible that DC, Philly, and NYC are all a short drive, or bus ride away, which would make it awesome to travel to for a fun weekend with friends or just to have a new place to go.
4. Sleeping on a couch with 2 other guys is not comfortable or a good way to relax during busy season, regardless I would do it over 100 times if I could.
5. Jumbo slice tastes no good in the morning
6. Good friends will always be your friend no matter how long or how far you go between visits.
7. Old school parties are still a blast
8. Sangria and coke might be the sweetest drink ever, but is actually not too bad
9. I can still take shots of tequila like a champ...lime or no lime...
10. The Derby will be more fun this year than in the past...and that is definitely an amazing thing.
11. There is lots of stuff out there on the internet I never knew was there, and I wish I still didn't
12. If you drink enough, where you sleep doesn't matter
13. I need to travel more...
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