lookin

Far be it from me to get between you and your opinions of Apple, but I did hear yesterday that Apple agreed in January to support independent environmental reviews of at least two of its Chinese suppliers. These reviews will begin in March and are in addition to Apple's own supplier reviews. When the reporter asked a customer leaving an Apple store how she felt about paying $25 more for an Apple product if it would lead to better working conditions in China, she said she'd be glad to. According to this article, Adidas, Nike, and Patagonia also conduct such independent reviews. It seems to me that customers of these high-end brands would have less difficulty paying a premium if it resulted in better labor practices in China. It's not clear, to me anyway, how such price premiums would affect companies like Wal-Mart who are after every possible penny of savings. It could certainly cause a change in their business model. Parenthetically, I recall that Wal-Mart once prided itself on selling only products made in the USA, but that was quite some time ago.

Interesting. Thanks. Looks like they used a process called micropropagation.

Nothing beats those old dance music remixes! . . .

Wait till you win $500. . . . . ,. . . . . . .

You'll get nothing but agreement from this quarter. Since I read this book a few years ago, it's been clear that corporate America dances to this tune without a pause. Add the multimillion dollar bonuses riding on hitting or beating Wall Street expectations, and you've got managers of huge companies that will do anything to make the quarterly earnings-per-share number. If the Hershey bean-counters (not the cocoa ones either) project higher costs this quarter, there's tremendous pressure from the top to make the product cheaper. No matter that the Hershey brand tarnishes and loses value over the long-term. That's the next guy's problem.

And don't forget to pick up a genuine Kenner FartGuard™ for those vigorous after-dinner rides ! !

Peter Paul used to be really good. So did Reese's. What they call 'kitchen-friendly' ingredients. Very good flavors. There's a generation - or two - who missed out and their standards for flavor will be what's on the shelf today. Wonder what kind of chazerai their kids will be eating.

Geez, around here you snooze and you lose. Guess I'll just grab a couple handfuls of pita and be on my way.

I feel your pain, TY, and that of others caught in the nefarious spiral of downsizing to cover up a price increase. The next chapter is usually a new "King Size" that gets us back to where we used to be at twice the price. Even more distasteful, so to speak, is the hidden downsizing that some ice cream makers, including Häagen Dazs engage in. They put extra air into their product a few years ago, when Dreyer's took them over and, since ice cream is measured in fluid ounces, they didn't need to change the label, even though the weight decreased. Still that's better, in my opinion, than the path taken by many manufacturers of cheapening the ingredients while leaving the price and size the same. At least Häagen Dazs hasn't (yet) started putting in guar gum, or other kinds of stabilizers, to cover the removal of real cream or eggs from the formula. Try reading an ice cream label these days and see how many of the ingredients would be something you'd find in your kitchen. Most of the major candy manufacturers do the same thing. Try reading the ingredient list for some of your favorite candy bars. Yuck! Since Hershey's took over Reese's and Peter Paul (Mounds, Almond Joy), you won't even find the ingredients listed on their website. Apparently, they keep changing them, probably depending on what artificial ingredients they can get a deal on that day. The wrapper has to be accurate though. Since I started looking at what's actually in some of my old favorites, I quit buying them. Consumer tip: If you're looking for some good candy at a good price, check out my new fave at Costco - Dark Chocolate Almond Cherry Clusters. Real ingredients, great-tasting chocolate, and about 30¢ an ounce. Trader Joe's has some good candies too, but check out the ingredient list first. Soybean oil, lecithin, and artificial flavor do not add up to good chocolate.

What a thoroughly heartwarming thread! I'm so glad that it's all put to bed. Thanks to Aces and OZ and to TY, And to MsGuy and ol' Hi, And to Lucky, who's back from the dead!

Glad you're out, and welcome back! If we'd known where you were, we could have sent a little something.

The soup was recalled by the chef. Apparently, plumbing lines got mixed up in the kitchen... or maybe it was the sous chef? TY

Dude! However they got there, there's two good offers on the table: Every fiber of my being yells, Take the money and run! Things could always have been handled differently, but don't we all need a gimme from time to time? What counts for me is that OZ is reaching out, and that Lucky belongs inside the tent. Isn't that a framework for a rapprochement of some sort? I for one sure hope so. Whirled Peas!

As MER has always been a place of fun for me, it's not any kind of pleasure to participate in a kerfuffle. But it's also not a pleasure to see twenty posts stripped from a fellow poster who's been trying his best to help build participation and enthusiasm during a very difficult contest. And it's definitely not a pleasure to see it justified by a 'pre-existing rule' that nobody can actually point to. I already volunteered to contribute twenty of my own post-count for Lucky, and another twenty just for good measure, but it wasn't even acknowledged, let alone acted on. A week ago, before this all happened, MER was a model of fairness and transparency and a generally fun place to while away the odd hour or two. It wouldn't have occurred to me in a million years that we wouldn't have just laughed this off, added back the post-count, made up a new rule going forward, and got back to having fun. Yet here we are, still mired in the muck of mulishness. I won't totally rule out the hypothesis that the whole thing is an elaborate ruse to gin up site interest and bring in eyeballs, but right now it just feels weird.

Don't feel bad, Charlie, I missed the Thirty Post an Hour rule too. Imagine my embarrassment when I located it right in the middle of the Message Center Policy page nestled in between the sections on Cinco de Mayo Threads and Member Time-Outs. I'd suggest everyone read that last one very carefully, as there are some rather surprising terms and conditions.

No beef here, but please consider my post in the other thread. It wouldn't seem fair to cut someone's post count in the middle of a contest without prior warning. It takes some effort to post and it would be discouraging to lose a bunch after the fact. Of course, if the post count was maintained, or even goosed a little bit, please pardon the intrusion.

In the absence of any info to the contrary, I'm going to assume that twenty posts were lifted from this thread in the middle of the night. 'Merged' might be a better term, as I think I recognize the original content, but it has been consolidated into fewer posts. Perhaps this was an editorial, or even an artistic, decision but a question remains as to what happened to Lucky's post count when the deed was done? If it was reduced by twenty, in the midst of a contest rewarding post count, isn't that a headwind that could interfere with a happy and prosperous landing? Not that anyone gives a shit, but I'd hope to see Lucky's post count put back to its pre-raid level and maybe then some. I can even offer to donate twenty of my posts to the effort, plus another twenty for good measure. In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing my post count go back a few notches. I liked being a 'Prodigious Member'. Since I've become 'Olympian', I hardly ever hear from anyone.

Martha 'Dumptruck' Dunnstock Heathers, 1989

Didn't this thread used to be a lot longer? Three pages or so? I could swear there were over forty posts last time I looked.

Perhaps you could outsource.

I think Lucky has been occupied with his own forty post arc. And counting.

Nice website. Thanks!

It's not the lips. It's that little pouch just on the port side. I guess it could be makeup, or perhaps the lighting, but it seemed at first glance like he had a plug of Red Man in there. I had a hunch MsGuy would know for sure. Let's have another look, shall we?

Glad you're here, MsGuy! I was wondering if you think a bee stung Lucky's erstwhile eye candy, or do you think Master Sweet Lips below is packin' him a wad o' chaw?

Please don't let my numbers discourage you. You are in a whole different category. With your own thread, posting only what interests you, you've got a shot at some substantial riches here. With only 900 incremental posts needed, you'll have an easy $500 bucks from being One-of-the-Three. If you get a bit of hustle on between trips, you should also be able to snare $500 for being the First-to-2190. And then you'll still have seven tickets In-Oz's-Hat for a chance at yet another $500. For you, $1500 for 900 extra posts does not seem out of reach. Plus, you'll be doing something you love to do. If that's not incentive enough, imagine being the founder and sole proprietor of a thread that never falls off the first page of the world's fastest-growing escort website! Not till May anyway. In fact, why waste another minute? I'd say limber up the digits and make us proud!