Right, I expect to posting here quite a bit, so I'll just make one thread, if you please.
===
The first topic of the day: small-scale monopolies. No, we're not talking oil, computers, or electricity: we're talking school lunch. Simply because of its location and pricing, the school cafeteria holds a monopoly on the market of school lunches. Few students can leave campus, limiting their options to just one. Most institutions prohibit outside food or beverage from entering the premises. And the few places around are consistently packed with students waiting for a meal.
And it doesn't help that the USDA provides several ways for a lunchroom to HOLD that monopoly. For example, in a high school, a vending machine selling food must not be within 100 feet of the serving areas. Of course, there are loopholes (drink machines are not affected), but the fact remains that the school system is keeping a stranglehold on local businesses by forcing the children of America to eat high-priced, poorly-cooked, set meals in an abhorrently packed dining area.
Take my school lunchroom, for example. On Wednesday, a Nescafé vending machine was installed, serving coffee, hot water, cocoa, and so on. It took some time to warm up to serve, so students were not able to use it until the class change. But when it was online, it was popular indeed. There were masses lined up to get their cup of joe. And then, during the first lunch of the day, Food Services stepped in. The machine was to be removed. IMMEDIATELY. It didn't matter how, it was leaving. When someone wanted an excuse, they claimed it was too close to the lunchroom and competing with school cafeteria food. The machine was shut down following the second lunch and marked with an "out of order" sign. It's still that way as of the end of school today. (Granted, we were off on a snow day yesterday, but...)
Now, I ask you this. What does school food service serve? That's right, stuff that is quick and cheap to make, but is moderately healthy for you (somehow). There's no coffee, no soda, none of it. You'll find only milk, or - for an added price - water, sports drinks, or instant tea. Pretty much nothing containing any caffeine at all - and when school starts as early as it does in the morning, some students are unable to function properly in classes without a cup of hot black coffee. This the school will not sell. So, in a way, they are setting the rest of the school up for a massive failure in that students are unable to pay attention because they can't stay awake.
And what a loss that would be to us all.
===
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A Series of Amusing, Thought-Provoking Antecdotes by Neo
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A Series of Amusing, Thought-Provoking Antecdotes by Neo
by Alex » Fri Dec 09, 2005 11:34 pm
I am the one known as NeoDude in a past life.
---
When you lose your imagination, you lose a part of yourself you can never get back. Never give up, and never accept the mundane. And never stop yourself from dreaming...
---
When you lose your imagination, you lose a part of yourself you can never get back. Never give up, and never accept the mundane. And never stop yourself from dreaming...
by kindpastor » Sat Dec 10, 2005 3:25 pm
Reesane wrote:Yes... I know... People will do anything for mony...
The issue here is not greed--schoold districts to not rake in dough from selling school lunches--the issue here is a restiction of capitalism and what could be a privately run business being forcibly operated by the state a'la "workers council" Russia.
2: LF-ism -OR- The OBoy Scare
by Alex » Tue Dec 13, 2005 1:16 am
....Before I start this, I want to say - as before - that I am still very much of the opinion that OBoy was wrong to do all the horrible crap he did. And yet.... something's just not right here.
Any good history student - or conspiracy theorist - can tell you most anything about the phenomenon known as McCarthyism, also known as the Red Scare. As the former case, I will explain a bit before I get to the rest of this.
The Red Scare grew from the powers that be in the communist countries in the East. Russia was the country of note in this case. The other name - McCarthyism - is taken from one Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who brought on the idea that Communists lived and worked in the United States, and not only were responsible for our day-to-day problems, but could very well cause an incident within the country to destroy it. McCarthy also released his blacklist - or, more accurately, a red list - of people believed to be Communists working in America. These people were shunned by their communities, fired from their jobs, and barred from their life. The problem was, most - if not all - of the people on the list were innocent. Not that anyone cared, of course; they were more than happy to remove the threat - and then add more people to the list at will. People accused of being Reds were removed from society whether or not the claims were true. The scandal went on for several years until, finally, McCarthy went too far and added people to the list in VERY high places. His scam was exposed, and a tense order returned to the homeland.
Now, for our problem: Lyoko Freak-ism is used here to describe the general set of feelings towards OBoy starting with the Expiration Date thread and ending in his series of disheartening messages on his blog(s) that looked more like suicide notes that anything else. It describes the community's contempt for him, and the general consensus that he is evil and should not be liked by anyone anymore. It's true that I was one of the leaders of the OBoy Scare - but, as I see more and more of the big picture and try to understand what OBoy is feeling, I realize that we were wrong. Dead wrong. We were never in a position to do that (save Erynn, who, as the one named, was well within her rights to chew him out as much as she wanted), and (I believe) we are out of line. Don't you see? It's senseless to continue beating the mass of bloody pulp any further! If he'd going to do something - anything! - let him do it with his last shred of grace! We need not tarnish him or his ideals any further!
Now, to those among us who, like me, believed that OBk was a crappy site... well, if we had just taken the time to use it as OBoy had intended, everything would go great, and his site would prosper much as LF did! You all know darn well that LF never started with a ton of activity, it spread to others through word of mouth! That's all OBk had, and we took it away! And to make matters worse, we broke OBoy's spirit... which seemed pretty dang broken as it was, for reference. We've been taking the guy apart bit by bit, without concern for putting him back together.
If OBoy reads this... I am sorry for all the crap I said... I truly am. But... I still don't think you are to be forgiven for the sins you have commited. You were one of us... and none of us would ever do anything like what you've done. We don't tarnish another's reputation (outside of this incident). We don't tell our host, whom we appreciate very much indeed, that her ways are wrong. And... most importantly... we are a community that thrives on our friendship and trust. We would never break that trust knowingly. But you took it in your hands as if nothing and snapped it into shards.
For this... you will never be trusted here ever again.
Any good history student - or conspiracy theorist - can tell you most anything about the phenomenon known as McCarthyism, also known as the Red Scare. As the former case, I will explain a bit before I get to the rest of this.
The Red Scare grew from the powers that be in the communist countries in the East. Russia was the country of note in this case. The other name - McCarthyism - is taken from one Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who brought on the idea that Communists lived and worked in the United States, and not only were responsible for our day-to-day problems, but could very well cause an incident within the country to destroy it. McCarthy also released his blacklist - or, more accurately, a red list - of people believed to be Communists working in America. These people were shunned by their communities, fired from their jobs, and barred from their life. The problem was, most - if not all - of the people on the list were innocent. Not that anyone cared, of course; they were more than happy to remove the threat - and then add more people to the list at will. People accused of being Reds were removed from society whether or not the claims were true. The scandal went on for several years until, finally, McCarthy went too far and added people to the list in VERY high places. His scam was exposed, and a tense order returned to the homeland.
Now, for our problem: Lyoko Freak-ism is used here to describe the general set of feelings towards OBoy starting with the Expiration Date thread and ending in his series of disheartening messages on his blog(s) that looked more like suicide notes that anything else. It describes the community's contempt for him, and the general consensus that he is evil and should not be liked by anyone anymore. It's true that I was one of the leaders of the OBoy Scare - but, as I see more and more of the big picture and try to understand what OBoy is feeling, I realize that we were wrong. Dead wrong. We were never in a position to do that (save Erynn, who, as the one named, was well within her rights to chew him out as much as she wanted), and (I believe) we are out of line. Don't you see? It's senseless to continue beating the mass of bloody pulp any further! If he'd going to do something - anything! - let him do it with his last shred of grace! We need not tarnish him or his ideals any further!
Now, to those among us who, like me, believed that OBk was a crappy site... well, if we had just taken the time to use it as OBoy had intended, everything would go great, and his site would prosper much as LF did! You all know darn well that LF never started with a ton of activity, it spread to others through word of mouth! That's all OBk had, and we took it away! And to make matters worse, we broke OBoy's spirit... which seemed pretty dang broken as it was, for reference. We've been taking the guy apart bit by bit, without concern for putting him back together.
If OBoy reads this... I am sorry for all the crap I said... I truly am. But... I still don't think you are to be forgiven for the sins you have commited. You were one of us... and none of us would ever do anything like what you've done. We don't tarnish another's reputation (outside of this incident). We don't tell our host, whom we appreciate very much indeed, that her ways are wrong. And... most importantly... we are a community that thrives on our friendship and trust. We would never break that trust knowingly. But you took it in your hands as if nothing and snapped it into shards.
For this... you will never be trusted here ever again.
I am the one known as NeoDude in a past life.
---
When you lose your imagination, you lose a part of yourself you can never get back. Never give up, and never accept the mundane. And never stop yourself from dreaming...
---
When you lose your imagination, you lose a part of yourself you can never get back. Never give up, and never accept the mundane. And never stop yourself from dreaming...
3: Selective Illiteracy -OR- READ IT!!
by Alex » Thu Dec 15, 2005 10:50 pm
Just a brief programming suggestions: READ TEH FICS!!! It's not like my fanfics are toxic... but I've gotten not a single review and just 17 hits since I put up chapter 15 two weeks ago... and I don't know that anyone reads my fanfic thread anymore. So, I beg of you: READ IT!!! IT'S GOOD, DANGIT!!!
Thank you for your cooperation. This message will now smile at you.
Thank you for your cooperation. This message will now smile at you.
I am the one known as NeoDude in a past life.
---
When you lose your imagination, you lose a part of yourself you can never get back. Never give up, and never accept the mundane. And never stop yourself from dreaming...
---
When you lose your imagination, you lose a part of yourself you can never get back. Never give up, and never accept the mundane. And never stop yourself from dreaming...
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