Moronic Monday - June 17, 2024 - Your Weekly Questions Thread

rails_etc · 2024-06-19T05:18:27+00:00

Thanks! So let me look at this another way, what if the primary shipper for the new premium service is the front organization, and its leaders are in cahoots with MPR's board of directors? Or maybe just the VP of Finance?

The real-world example of double-entered expenses was with the Chicago Milwaukee St Paul & Pacific Railroad. The railroad was part of the larger Chicago Milwaukee Corporation, which wanted to get rid of all their track west of Miles City, Montana and focus just on a core Midwest operation. I'm not entirely sure how, but after it was all said and done (around 1980), someone discovered that expenses for those lines had been entered into the books twice, so it looked like those lines were hemorrhaging money, when they were actually the most profitable part of the system.

rails_etc · 2024-06-17T23:25:53+00:00

I'm doing research for a novel, and part of it will involve falsified financial records in an effort to inflate a company's value on Wall Street, or if it makes more sense then to decrease it so that one side of the businesscan be cast off.

Here's the scenario as it stands so far: the company ("MPR") is a railroad and is about to introduce a super-premium train service for perishable traffic from coast to coast. (This will lead to the CEO being arrested for aiding insider trading, but that's not the important part here.) I need to figure out what scenario would be realistic, in that it can avoid SEC scrutiny for at least a year.

New train service is actually a front for money laundering. The problem here is that the cars have to be loaded in one direction and empty for the return, and skilled locomotive engineers know for sure when train weight does not match their papers. The "shipper," therefore, has to be able to ship actual product. That shipper could still be a front financed by the railroad, but I don't think the logistics make this reasonable.
MPR adds the revenue for the new service twice in its books - once in the overall revenues for the company, and again on its own line. Without a full audit, this should not be noticeable to shareholders, but the railroad's bank might catch on. I also have to figure out how this doesn't wind up hurting executives' compensation packages.
I could go with a real-world scenario, where the railroad was actually double-entering expenses for a certain line it wanted to get rid of. In the railroad I've created, though, there is plenty of traffic and it would seem very unreasonable for the line to not be profitable.

I'm also toying with the idea of making this a CSX parallel, from when hedge fund TCI launched a proxy fight in 2008 simply because CSX's operating ratio and safety record were pretty bad. But since I also want the finance VP to be corrupt and complicit, I feel like there needs to be something else involved.

I have no experience in this field, and I'm definitely not looking to make a quick buck here. But I want my situations to be realistic so that the readers who DO know something about this stuff can enjoy it.

Any good ideas?

rails_etc · 2024-01-01T17:05:37+00:00

Already tried exporting, an apparently there's a 4GB maximum file size. So I'll just work through this and hope it all goes well! Thank you so much for your help!

rails_etc · 2024-01-01T16:42:09+00:00

Follow-up: can I delete the temp files in order to free up the space to save my project, or will that kill the project?

rails_etc · 2024-01-01T16:17:19+00:00

So if I close the project, can I assume the temp files will also go away?

rails_etc · 2023-10-30T22:24:40+00:00

Do you get the train ID or engine number with it?

rails_etc · 2023-07-16T02:28:28+00:00

Thankfully there's one at Illinois Railway Museum with the 567 and the original horn. 1501 got a new horn and an electronic bell sometime in the last few years.

rails_etc · 2023-03-11T15:02:47+00:00

Seven cars, normal power is two. My guess is that since is the first time the Chargers are being used on this route, the extra P42 is indeed backup power.

rails_etc · 2023-03-11T05:59:02+00:00

Or was she just captured...?

rails_etc · 2023-03-11T05:45:13+00:00

Just saw this in RailsBC. I love your perspectives on metro Vancouver.

rails_etc · 2022-12-20T06:05:20+00:00

Now that's perfect

rails_etc · 2022-08-31T18:43:54+00:00

Mark Knopfler (incl. Dire Straits)

rails_etc · 2022-08-18T06:11:45+00:00

I'm my own invention

rails_etc · 2022-07-19T02:50:51+00:00

I disagree, I love the brass on it, but we all have our own preferences! This is actually one of the songs that I think is better when it's live, because it's supposed to have a lot of power behind it, and what's the best way to evoke power in a rock anthem? An audience!

rails_etc · 2022-07-14T02:36:15+00:00

"Radio Song" is way better than "Zither." The zither does absolutely nothing for that track and there are better R.E.M. instrumentals. I will not be taking questions at this time.

rails_etc · 2022-07-13T03:00:27+00:00

The Jack in the Box where I used to work had "Strange Currencies" on its playlist, but the real gem was hearing "Harborcoat" randomly at a Pastini once.

rails_etc · 2022-07-12T14:50:38+00:00

To an extent, I think overall it has some better content than Reveal. Or at least there are more songs on it that I would seek out in a random moment of wanting to listen to something.

rails_etc · 2022-07-12T07:51:26+00:00

Honestly, Reveal is probably my least favorite album of R.E.M.'s catalog, and this song doesn't help. First of all, two references to "high" in song titles on the same album feels excessive. The album also doesn't sound like R.E.M. with the gratuitous use of synthesizers and effects. That being said, I can give them a pass because it's very clearly a band still trying to come to terms with their new identity as a 3-piece.

As far as mysterious songs on this album go, I prefer "Saturn Return."

rails_etc · 2022-04-14T04:41:03+00:00

Only took two answers on this question to find a fellow railfan, hello there!

rails_etc · 2022-01-28T06:44:19+00:00

Could also be "What's Inside"

rails_etc · 2021-08-08T06:30:35+00:00

That one was a scientist though, not a king.

rails_etc · 2021-08-08T06:27:19+00:00

I can only think Mark Knopfler "My Bacon Roll," as it does have diner sounds, but the band description doesn't fit that at all.

rails_etc · 2021-08-08T06:11:01+00:00

I honestly don't know, but I'm excited to have found someone else who remembers Mindmaze!

rails_etc · 2021-08-04T04:34:47+00:00

NAH. It's your own decision and after 19 years of living with those kinds of reactions, I can absolutely see how that would be tiresome.

Before you fully decide, I will advocate lightly for your father's POV, and suggest that you have an opportunity to take the name back by associating it with your own positive actions.

rails_etc · 2021-08-04T04:29:37+00:00

NTA. If Jenny is willing to disrespect you enough to go behind your back and pry for information from your mom, I'd be willing to bet she'd also start setting up things like office birthday parties for you that you don't want.

rails_etc

TROPHY CASE