Trains in Ohio: Inconvenient, Slow, and Made of Bacon

February 1, 2010

Oink Oink!!!

Welcome to one of the biggest pork-spending boondoggle also known as the “3 C Corridor”  it will connect Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland.

This all sounds like a good idea in theory, except that every single person who does not live on the island of Manhattan actually owns a car and has no use for a train. Last time I check we just spent 10 billion on American car companies to keep them producing cars, maybe we should buy some of them? Amtrak estimates that it will take $17 million a year annually to subsidize a train that no one is going to ride.

Furthermore this plan is not going to be free. Even though it is also federal dollars they still have to come from somewhere. The cost is going to be around $400 Million dollars. Yes dollars, not yen, or rubles good ole American Greenbacks, all 400 million of them.

The third reason this is a terrible idea is that the trains are going to go 79 MPH*. Yes that sounds quite fast, maybe a little faster then you would drive in your car. This is the best reason I have heard so far for building a train, oh there is one little note. Factoring in all the stopping this train will be doing it will average about 39 MPH. So yes this train will have the same average speed as a Vespa! So a drive to Cincinnati from Columbus takes 1.5 hours, yet you can jump on a train for $20 and get relatively close to where you want to be in 3 hours.

No, our trains wont go fast, or look this cool.

So needless to say the idoits who run my state got their barrels of pork. For the price of $400 million we will get a train that:

1. Won’t get ridden

2. Wastes $400 Million

3. Goes about as fast as a senior citizen in the slow lane.

Moral of the story: I think buying 2 Million Ohioans IPhones would have more utility and a greater economic benefit then this train.

1 Comment | Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by fubar1383

What Does a Realtor Really Do?

March 3, 2009

Honestly, what do they do?

 

            For years buyers and sellers have relied heavily on realtors to move real estate.  No one tried the infamous FSBO it was usually viewed as the Hail Mary pass of selling a property. Realtors provided advice, guidance, and were just a good sounding board for nervous and inexperienced buyers.  In return for all this legwork, handholding, and research realtors took a hefty sum of 6% of the purchase price. Often this was split with the Sellers realtor as well.

 

            My personal favorite thing about real estate agents is the silly photo that every single one of them has. They are so similar they all must use the same photographer. I don’t know how they all look alike! The picture looks like the cross between their senior picture and a glamour shot.

 

            Well then this small little invention came along: The Internet.  I don’t know if you have heard of it, it involves signing onto this thing called AOL, and then getting  a busy signal about 43 times then on the 44th time you can go to chat rooms, and send funny emails.  

 

            So I am buying my house without a realtor. I found it on my own, I researched it on my own, and I made the offer on my own. I will be closing soon.

 

            One of two things is going to happen: 1 I will buy this house without a realtor, save a bucket of money, and consider myself a genesis, OR Screw up the closing royally and consider myself a huge dumbass.

 

Time will tell.

3 Comments | Real Estate, Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by fubar1383