Trader Joe's shopping list

McCann's Irish Oatmeal
4 Organic Braeburn Apples
Eggs Dozen large Brown
Red Onions
Clif Bar Black Cherry Almond (12)
Broccoli
Organic Pasta & White Chedder
Dried Cranberries with Orange
Peanut Butter Creamy Unsalted
Brown Rice Medley
Unsalted Butter
Basmatic Rice Medley
Organic Cut & Peeled Carrots
Organic Raw Sugar
Mandarin Orange Sauce
Thai Red Curry Cooking Sauce

$48.76

Thanks Joe

killer oatmeal

I recently rediscovered the value of oatmeal in the morning. I grew up with Quaker Instant Classic Oatmeal so my taste for the oats were a bit saggy. Recently, a friend made me some for breakfast so this recipe is based on her ideas.

1/2 cup oatmeal
1 tblsp sugar [if desired]
1 tblsp Nut* butter
a handful of dried fruit**
1 cup boiling water

* Nut: your desired choice of Peanut, Almond, Cashew, etc.
** Dried Fruit: I prefer Cranberries because it has higher Vitamin C content which helps in the absorption of Iron (from the oatmeal). I have also used blueberries and cherries with great success.

Trader Joe's shopping list

Pure Olive Oil I Litre
TJ's ORG Pasta & White Chedder
Oatmeal Organic Oats & Flax
6 Bananas
Brown Jasmine Rice
Harvest Grains Blend
Dried Cranberries
Creamy Peanut Butter
Brocolli
Garlic
Soymilk

Total $29.29

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) malfeasance

The Chicago CTA is going bankrupt and screaming about closing routes unless it gets "emergency" state funding?

Let's do some math:
[possible solutions at the bottom]

Income:
my assumptions:
6 hrs / day [Rush hour: 7am - 10am and 3pm - 6pm.]
60 min / 1 hr
1 bus / 10 min
5 buses [In my neighborhood, 5 bus lines 151, 156, 134, 143 & 77.]
40 passengers / bus.
$2 / passenger



6 x 60 / 10 x 5 x 40 x 2 = $14400 / day for 5 buses during rush hour only.

Expense:

Buses:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/695338,CST-NWS-ctaweb13.article

[says 150 buses cost $13.2 million on a 12 month lease.]

my assumptions:

$13,200,000 / year
12 months = 1 year
150 buses / lease
1 month = 30 days
5 buses
$13,200,000 / 12 / 150 / 30 x 5 = $1,222.22 / day for 5 buses.


Gas:

my assumptions:
10 miles / gallon per bus.
10 miles / trip [from my neigbhorhood to loop round trip]
$4 / gallon fuel.
5 buses
6 hrs / day
6 trips / hr

6 x 6 x 5 = 180 trips / day
180 x 10 = 1800 miles / day
1800 / 10 = 180 gallons / day
180 x $4 = $720 / day on fuel for 5 buses.



Drivers:
http://www.careeroverview.com/bus-driver-careers.html

[says In 2002, intercity bus drivers earned a median hourly wage of $14.22.]

So let's inflate that for 5 years.

From Tom's Inflation Calculator http://www.halfhill.com/inflation.html

We get $16.55.

my assumptions:
5 buses
1 driver / bus
6 hrs / day
$16.55 / hr

5 x 6 x $16.55 = $496.5 / day


Totals:

my assumptions:
$14400 income / day from passenger sales during rush periods
$1,222.22 expense / day for a lease for 5 buses
$720 expense / day on fuel for 5 buses
$496.5 expense / day on wages for 5 drivers

$14400 - $1222.22 - $720 - $496.50 = $11,961.28 profit!!!


So what would you do with $11,961.28 in one day?

Possible leaks in the CTA:
1. Top CTA employers making too much money
2. Unions
3. City of Chicago Taxes / Corruption*

* Corruption means taking without giving.

my solution:
1. Fire all employees.
2. Hire back drivers, train operators, maintenance under the following conditions:

a. No Unions

b. No Pension

c. Vacation FULLY PAID:
1st Year: no vacation.
2nd Year: 1 week
3rd Year: 2 weeks
4th Year: 3 weeks
5th Year: 4 weeks
6th Year: 5 weeks
7th Year: 6 weeks (max)

d. Wages:
1st Year: Drivers & CTA Operators: $20 / hr. Maintenence: $30 / hr.
2nd Year: Drivers & CTA Operators: $30 / hr. Maintenence: $50 / hr.
3rd Year: Drivers & CTA Operators: $40 / hr. Maintenence: $70 / hr.
4th Year: Drivers & CTA Operators: $50 / hr. Maintenence: $90 / hr.
5th Year: Drivers & CTA Operators: $60 / hr. Maintenence: $100 / hr.

e. Health / Dental / Vision Full Benefits for you and spouse + 2 kids while employed.

f. Percentage of Interest generated from profit:
1st Year: 5%
2nd Year: 10%
3rd Year: 20%
4th Year: 30%
5th Year: 35%

other options:
split the CTA into small private companies, each company owns 1 route of either bus or train.

ride your bike.