A week ago, I decided to go to the magical world of Disneyland, but realized that magic is pretty expensive these days, and as a self proclaimed expert ticket purchaser (not including scalping, but I will perfect this art as time goes on, believe me), I decided to make a purchase through craigslist. My skill was rewarded with park hoppers for me and two other friends, each at $55/ticket. All I had to do was take the three 8-day park hopper tickets, use it for that day, and return it to him so he could resell it.
Now, regular park hoppers go for something like $93, so I'm sitting there thinking wow, golly gee willikers, I definitely got the better end of this deal! I thought about it some more, and realized that the guy I purchased it from was trying to run this as professionally as he could, so I tried to crunch some numbers, and see how much he could make, because you wouldn't try as hard as he did for no reason.
Each 8-day park hopper is $204, meaning that for every 8 sales he makes per disneyland ticket, he collects $440, with a profit of $236.
Now he's not going to sell only one ticket at a time, as demonstrated by me purchasing 3 tickets. Assume he sells 600 days worth a year, total, which when you think about it, is a very modest number. Come winter time, I'm willing to bet he goes through at least 300, 200 for the summer, and at least 100 for the other months (which include spring break, halloween, long weekends, etc.)
This modest number yields: $17,700. That's $17,700 untaxed, untraceable, straight cash. He was working with another guy, so split that in half, $8850 a year, and all you have to do is in the morning before work, distribute tickets right next to disneyland, and after work, collect them. It's risk free for him, because he holds an ID until you return them.
Earning $50,000 a year? Make that $58,850. That's a 17.7% raise. If it was me, I would do the job alone, and get a 35% raise. Try asking your boss for that, see what he says. I did. You know what he said? Sell disneyland tickets.
Now if you put in a little more work (let's say you're single, and just trying to make some money to pay off loans or who knows what), and you sell 1,000 tickets, which I truly believe is possible, you'll make $29,500. That's a lot of money for a side job.
Tell me that isn't a deal. I have to say, I am quite impressed.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Sports Engineering. Wait, Sports Engineering?
My friends, I have a dilemma, and I think the best way to solve it is to talk it out in a blog/informative fashion.
On a side note, I think I'm finally forgetting about John McCain, because reading that first line of what I wrote, it sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite put a finger on what it was . . . .
To sound lame and typical, there comes a time in every persons life when they realize that they have to make a career choice and pick a direction to take their life in. For some, it's easy; they grew up messing with cars, always loved drawing cartoons, averaged 35 points and 15 assists as a 3rd grader in a 12-years-old bball league.
For others, picking is harder. Some have no idea what they want to do with their life. In that quest, they all end up hearing some version of 'Do what makes you happy. You want a job where you don't wake up in the morning, dreading going to work'. Sound advice. Among the best you can get. If you like cars and you are majoring in business, get a job in the auto industry that deals with business in some fashion. If you are majoring in bio, and are fascinated by plants, do your research in that area.
What happens when you have found the perfect position for yourself, but the opportunities are slim, and the money is bordering on not worth the effort? Do you give up on the dream (a Clippers fan who used to dream of a championship)? Do you act like a Laker fan from the 07-08 season (push hard, get your hopes up, and get flat out crushed at the end)? Or do you succeed and take the smaller pay check in search of more championships/happiness?
I am going to use an, ahem, arbitrary example. Say you were a mechanical engineer who loved sports, and one day, following the mantra 'do what you love' decided to pursue sports engineering. Early research indicated that to get into the field, you'd need to be a mechanical engineer (check) who loves sports (check) and had some knowledge of biomechanics (check) and materials (check). 4-4 in 10 minutes of playing time? That's a PER of 74 according to John Hollinger, meaning you should be better than LeBron and Kobe combined.
When playing the remaining 38 minutes, you realize that getting into the field would require tons of work, mainly exploiting contacts, making calls, going to the companies across the nation to meet them face to face. Looking at it, it doesn't seem too bad, and if you really want the job, you will do what it takes to land it. You also find out, however, that sports engineers make significantly less money than their fellow M.E. majors pursuing other careers.
So the career choice has been narrowed down to the money issue. Do you take the admirable road and choose less money, getting respect from those who did not travel your path and work in a job that isn't all to their liking? Or do you make more money, and know, regardless of how happy you are at your current job, you could have been much happier. . . . .
To be continued, as I come to further conclusions about this, ahem, strictly hypothetical situation. Advice about this nonexistent problem is welcome.
By the way, question of the day: What is Gilbert Arenas up to?
On a side note, I think I'm finally forgetting about John McCain, because reading that first line of what I wrote, it sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite put a finger on what it was . . . .
To sound lame and typical, there comes a time in every persons life when they realize that they have to make a career choice and pick a direction to take their life in. For some, it's easy; they grew up messing with cars, always loved drawing cartoons, averaged 35 points and 15 assists as a 3rd grader in a 12-years-old bball league.
For others, picking is harder. Some have no idea what they want to do with their life. In that quest, they all end up hearing some version of 'Do what makes you happy. You want a job where you don't wake up in the morning, dreading going to work'. Sound advice. Among the best you can get. If you like cars and you are majoring in business, get a job in the auto industry that deals with business in some fashion. If you are majoring in bio, and are fascinated by plants, do your research in that area.
What happens when you have found the perfect position for yourself, but the opportunities are slim, and the money is bordering on not worth the effort? Do you give up on the dream (a Clippers fan who used to dream of a championship)? Do you act like a Laker fan from the 07-08 season (push hard, get your hopes up, and get flat out crushed at the end)? Or do you succeed and take the smaller pay check in search of more championships/happiness?
I am going to use an, ahem, arbitrary example. Say you were a mechanical engineer who loved sports, and one day, following the mantra 'do what you love' decided to pursue sports engineering. Early research indicated that to get into the field, you'd need to be a mechanical engineer (check) who loves sports (check) and had some knowledge of biomechanics (check) and materials (check). 4-4 in 10 minutes of playing time? That's a PER of 74 according to John Hollinger, meaning you should be better than LeBron and Kobe combined.
When playing the remaining 38 minutes, you realize that getting into the field would require tons of work, mainly exploiting contacts, making calls, going to the companies across the nation to meet them face to face. Looking at it, it doesn't seem too bad, and if you really want the job, you will do what it takes to land it. You also find out, however, that sports engineers make significantly less money than their fellow M.E. majors pursuing other careers.
So the career choice has been narrowed down to the money issue. Do you take the admirable road and choose less money, getting respect from those who did not travel your path and work in a job that isn't all to their liking? Or do you make more money, and know, regardless of how happy you are at your current job, you could have been much happier. . . . .
To be continued, as I come to further conclusions about this, ahem, strictly hypothetical situation. Advice about this nonexistent problem is welcome.
By the way, question of the day: What is Gilbert Arenas up to?
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Going Underground
It's that time of year again, where you start putting in the 13-15 hour days with your nose stuck in a book, so I'm going out of commission until at least the 20th, whereupon I will once again, enrich your lives as I did in the days of yore.
BUT, as a last stand (until the 20th), I will leave you with some things to think about until that time
BUT, as a last stand (until the 20th), I will leave you with some things to think about until that time
- A recent post talked about the daily newspaper being one of the primary reasons he woke up every morning. There was just something about the palpable effects of a physical newspaper that he enjoyed; just like most sports fans, the thing he would do first is flip to the sports page to read up on who knows what is happening in the crazy world of athletics. Nowadays, however, he finds himself flipping to the sports section not just for that, but just to avoid the front page articles on the crumbling economy, different attacks, and general state of chaos. Sports is like a fantasy world where there are no worries. I sometimes find myself doing that, but I never noticed it until now . . .
- Regardless of any excuses you can come up with, Obama has been spotted using a zune at a gym.
- How many of you have heard of India going to war (legitimately)? They're close to something like that happening if Pakistan does not cooperate in turning over wanted terrorists tied in with the Mumbai bombings.
- Elton Brand has been officially replaced by Zach Randolph. I'm sold.
- If anyone has news of Detox coming out this winter, please inform me
- If you are in limbo about making a big purchase now is the time to do so, as cars/houses/etc. are reaching record lows in pricing.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
That's Shaaady
Big Game, November 22, 2008
3rd and 7 or so, Stanford has the ball. A Stanford receiver runs a post pattern, Tavita Pritchard throws a low ball for him, and he scoops it just before it hits the ground, and adds some yards after the catch to make it 4th and 1.
The play is then shown on the big screen and it is EASILY seen that the ball in fact hits the ground before it is caught. It is so obvious, that coach Tedford sprints onto the middle of the field to make sure the play is reviewed before another one is snapped. The ref's review it, and decide not to reverse the call.
That's shaaady.
(in case you were wondering, it did not matter, we stopped them when they went for it on 4th and 1, and we destroyed them in the game)
3rd and 7 or so, Stanford has the ball. A Stanford receiver runs a post pattern, Tavita Pritchard throws a low ball for him, and he scoops it just before it hits the ground, and adds some yards after the catch to make it 4th and 1.
The play is then shown on the big screen and it is EASILY seen that the ball in fact hits the ground before it is caught. It is so obvious, that coach Tedford sprints onto the middle of the field to make sure the play is reviewed before another one is snapped. The ref's review it, and decide not to reverse the call.
That's shaaady.
(in case you were wondering, it did not matter, we stopped them when they went for it on 4th and 1, and we destroyed them in the game)
The zune is making moves again . . .
News on the Zune front (besides the addition of sudoku, checkers, and a game just like phoenix on the TI-83, but tricked out a little more): a writer on gizmodo is switching to a zune for the music subscription.
This is the start of a slow, but steady shift in the market, and you will see, as time goes by, Microsoft will grab some of the market back. Keep an eye out, and keep your mind open when you're buying your next player . . . You might just be impressed with the Zune if you take a test drive.
This is the start of a slow, but steady shift in the market, and you will see, as time goes by, Microsoft will grab some of the market back. Keep an eye out, and keep your mind open when you're buying your next player . . . You might just be impressed with the Zune if you take a test drive.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
That's Shaaady
I've decided to start a little thing called 'that's shaaady' where any time I see/hear about a shady call/move/etc., I'll post about it here. If this blog existed earlier, things that would have made the 'that's shady' hall of fame would include the Pau Gasol for nothing trade, the verbal abuse Materazzi heaped upon Zidane, and a lot of the McCain campaign in general.
Let's start it off with yesterday's Warrior's/Blazers contest, which I attended.
The Blazers, down by 2 with 5 seconds left are playing defense, trying to steal a side-line inbounds from the Warriors. The Warriors throw it to the backcourt, but overthrow the intended man, Anthony Morrow. Rudy Fernandez sprints to get it, but in an effort to keep the game from being tied, Morrow holds onto Rudy.
Foul is called.
But wait . . .the foul is called on Rudy, somehow, some way. Coach McMillan of the Blazers complains, gets t'd up, and that's your ball game, Warriors escape with a win.
That's Shaaaady.
Let's start it off with yesterday's Warrior's/Blazers contest, which I attended.
The Blazers, down by 2 with 5 seconds left are playing defense, trying to steal a side-line inbounds from the Warriors. The Warriors throw it to the backcourt, but overthrow the intended man, Anthony Morrow. Rudy Fernandez sprints to get it, but in an effort to keep the game from being tied, Morrow holds onto Rudy.
Foul is called.
But wait . . .the foul is called on Rudy, somehow, some way. Coach McMillan of the Blazers complains, gets t'd up, and that's your ball game, Warriors escape with a win.
That's Shaaaady.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
I'm Old. You're Old. We're All Old.
One of my friends constantly reminded me that as soon as I turned 20, it would be down hill from there. Yeah it was a joke, and I treated it that way until I realized that the day after I played basketball, my back started hurting, my muscles were sore, and walking wasn't as easy as it used to be.
I'm starting to get older, and it's slowly starting to hit me. Yeah, yeah, it's only 20, I'm about to hit my prime, and I'm not really old, but you know what, the definition of old for me is what I thought it was when I was a kid. Old was your parents taking your advice genuinely, living by yourself (plus a roommate) and making a majority of your own decisions. Old was learning how to make the right choice. Old is finding out that some of your friends are engaged, and realizing that you're going to hit that 9-5 within a couple of years. Old is watching your cousins become the age you remembered like it was yesterday, except that you're 9 years older than him.
I can go on, but you get the picture. And according to that definition, I'm in that old picture.
I don't ask for birthday gifts from my parents anymore, and this year, I tried a different path; I asked my dad for some advice. What he told me made me realize that as you get older, you need to look at life differently.
The way you lived your life, how you made decisions, they were all based on a preset notion of what your overall goal was. Was the goal to have fun? Was it to gain some knowledge at school? These goals determine your lifestyle and choices, and these goals change as you get older. I can say that I knew of the concept and it made sense, but I never thought about it, and it never hit me until this year. It was some of the simplest and best advice I have ever received in my life, and it has the potential to shift my life in a huge way. Whether his advice holds true or not, only time will tell; I'm going to take it for a test drive in the following years, and I will pass it on if it holds up. Regardless of the outcome, however, that transcending idea of adapting to your age is going to carry on no matter what.
Maybe getting older isn't such a bad thing. If your goal was to have fun, you were happy succeeding in it. If your goal changes to do well in school, and you pull a 4.0, then you again will be happy. If your future goal is to live on the beach, and travel internationally on business, and you are working towards that goal, then you may be happy, even if you're old in that process.
I used to fear getting older, mostly because I didn't want to hit the stage where I couldn't compete with the young'uns on the basketball court. I didn't want to get to the world where every day was a work day without real summer/winter vacations and taking a road trip to watch a football game did not happen as often as it should. But, those were all bad because they went against my current mind set. Maybe when I get older, that won't be what I'm looking for in life, and missing out on that won't be as bad.
That being said, as the younger one of our year, I'm going to age a little slower than the others, so thank god for that.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S.O.T.D.
Outkast - So Fresh, So Clean
Youtube Clip
MJ loses to a CEO at one-on-one. Yes, at basketball, not at managing a company, or say, a basketball team.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm starting to get older, and it's slowly starting to hit me. Yeah, yeah, it's only 20, I'm about to hit my prime, and I'm not really old, but you know what, the definition of old for me is what I thought it was when I was a kid. Old was your parents taking your advice genuinely, living by yourself (plus a roommate) and making a majority of your own decisions. Old was learning how to make the right choice. Old is finding out that some of your friends are engaged, and realizing that you're going to hit that 9-5 within a couple of years. Old is watching your cousins become the age you remembered like it was yesterday, except that you're 9 years older than him.
I can go on, but you get the picture. And according to that definition, I'm in that old picture.
I don't ask for birthday gifts from my parents anymore, and this year, I tried a different path; I asked my dad for some advice. What he told me made me realize that as you get older, you need to look at life differently.
The way you lived your life, how you made decisions, they were all based on a preset notion of what your overall goal was. Was the goal to have fun? Was it to gain some knowledge at school? These goals determine your lifestyle and choices, and these goals change as you get older. I can say that I knew of the concept and it made sense, but I never thought about it, and it never hit me until this year. It was some of the simplest and best advice I have ever received in my life, and it has the potential to shift my life in a huge way. Whether his advice holds true or not, only time will tell; I'm going to take it for a test drive in the following years, and I will pass it on if it holds up. Regardless of the outcome, however, that transcending idea of adapting to your age is going to carry on no matter what.
Maybe getting older isn't such a bad thing. If your goal was to have fun, you were happy succeeding in it. If your goal changes to do well in school, and you pull a 4.0, then you again will be happy. If your future goal is to live on the beach, and travel internationally on business, and you are working towards that goal, then you may be happy, even if you're old in that process.
I used to fear getting older, mostly because I didn't want to hit the stage where I couldn't compete with the young'uns on the basketball court. I didn't want to get to the world where every day was a work day without real summer/winter vacations and taking a road trip to watch a football game did not happen as often as it should. But, those were all bad because they went against my current mind set. Maybe when I get older, that won't be what I'm looking for in life, and missing out on that won't be as bad.
That being said, as the younger one of our year, I'm going to age a little slower than the others, so thank god for that.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S.O.T.D.
Outkast - So Fresh, So Clean
Youtube Clip
MJ loses to a CEO at one-on-one. Yes, at basketball, not at managing a company, or say, a basketball team.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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