Monthly Archives: July 2005

Search Me III

Occasionally I post some of the more interesting search engine queries that bring
people here. Here’s July’s batch.

Mo Cuishla: I’m amazed that this still such a popular search. Perhaps the DVD was released recently. Anyhow, it means “my darling, my blood”.

do you walk to work or carry your lunch: Are these mutually exclusive on your planet?!

last ruling on Catholic Purgatory: I have no idea what ruling is intended or by whom. I do know we still believe in it.

presentation on the life cycle of a serial killer: Replace “serial killer” with “praying mantis” and you have a nature program on PBS.

toga party and catholic: I guess the new pope is wilder than his predecessor. 😉

free turn paper on beneficial side of stem cells: Downloading term papers is plagiarism and grounds for failing most courses or worse. Thinking “term papers” are “turn papers” means you deserve to fail.

I had sex with my gay brother-in-law: Say what now?! How in Heaven’s name did this search lead someone to my blog?

transgender who wants to be a woman and a leg amputee: Um…Eww.

regain virginity surgery: Huh? Somebody failed health class in high school.

transgender leg amputee personal dating: Who are these freaks?!

Catholic and Lutherans in Communion?!

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The pastor of my sister’s ELCA church said in a sermon that very recently an agreement
was reached between the RCC and ELCA allowing members of each to share each other’s
communion. I haven’t heard of any such thing. Have any of you? Have I missed the
biggest ecumenical news story of the year somehow? A Google search seems to confirm
my immediate suspicion that the pastor is grossly misinformed. Can anybody shed
more light on this?

System Administrator Appreciation Day

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“Friday, July 29th, 2005, is the 6th annual System Administrator Appreciation Day. On this special international day, give your System Administrator something that shows that you truly appreciate their hard work and dedication.”

“Let’s face it, System Administrators get no respect 364 days a year. This is the day that all fellow System Administrators across the globe, will be showered with expensive sports cars and large piles of cash in appreciation of their diligent work. But seriously, we are asking for a nice token gift and some public acknowledgement. It’s the least you could do. Consider all the daunting tasks and long hours (weekends too.) Let’s be honest, sometimes we don’t know our System Administrators as well as they know us. Remember this is one day to recognize your System Administrator for their workplace contributions and to promote professional excellence. Thank them for all the things they do for you and your business.”

Have you shown your appreciation
for your system administrator today?

Is Wal-Mart Really to Blame?

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I’d like to respond to some of Howard’s and Steve’s comments to my previous article, so I’ll take them in turn. Unfortunately, I’m so darn long-winded that it’s too big for a simple comment post, so its taken the form of an article:

Costco’s competition with Walmart

Howard speaks of how Costco effectively competes with Walmart effectively with unionized labor and higher wages. This may indeed be true. However, the fact is Costco does not directly compete with Walmart Stores. Rather, Costco is a more direct competitor of Sams Club, another Walmart brand. Walmart Stores are really the bread and butter of Walmart, and having said this, there is no other organization that competes effectively with Walmart on a worldwide scale, hence Walmart’s iconic status. This being the case, it might even be plausible to say that Sam’s Club could pay higher wages and unionize and still be competitive. One possible reason for avoiding this scenario is the collateral effect it would have on Walmart Stores.

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Walmart, Unions, and Un-Fair Labor Practices

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[The other day I was mildly annoyed by an email I got from Care2 asking me to sign a petition against Wal-Mart. Coincidentally, I recently had a conversation with a good buddy of mine about Wal-Mart, unions, and related topics. WhenI got the Care2 email, I forwarded it it to him and asked if he’d write an entry for my blog. He agreed. This fellow, who we’ll call Lightwave, earned an MBA in 2001 and an MS in MIS in 2002. – Funky]

I’ve heard a lot of talk lately of how awful labor practices at Walmart are unfair to works. I recently read about Walmart’s "ruthless" tactics where Walmart closed a store rather than negotiate with unionized workers. Indeed, there seems to be a lot of talk about how Walmart and other publicly traded organizations are treating non-unionized labor. I’d like to discuss this, but first, let’s get on the same page about some basics of publicly traded organizations.