tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post4487316037801357252..comments2024-03-28T16:08:29.578-04:00Comments on Sardonicky: All Irene, All the TimeKaren Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-14268949579976231072011-08-27T17:46:27.230-04:002011-08-27T17:46:27.230-04:00Just thought I would comment about something that ...Just thought I would comment about something that has been on my mind. I have just read Nocera's column about Steve Jobs. Yep, he seems super creative and has a good sense of what the public wants to buy before even they know they want to buy it. I also give him credit for producing a quality product. <br /><br />But there is a lot to not like about the guy. He sounds like a dictator who doesn't hesitate to berate those working under him. I am concerned that his success will "inspire" other managers and bosses to emulate his nasty style. Basically, if you see yourself as brilliant - which pretty much encompasses all the people who make money these days - you can treat others around you with contempt. I also am really disgusted that with all his money, he doesn't give to charity. I would bet that most of us reading this blog give as much as we possibly can to help our fellow man - yet Jobs with all his wealth seems to feel no shame or no obligation to spare a few bucks (that he doesn't need) to leave the world a little nicer.<br /><br />Last, despite the higher cost of an Apple product, Jobs makes no apologies for off-shoring factory work to China. With all its profit, couldn't Apple do a little something for the economy here at home? It never ceases to amaze me how people who count on selling a product to the Middle Class population in the U.S., feel no obligation to support their customers by creating jobs. <br /><br />I also read that article in the NY Times about Dollar Stores. What struck me most were that the lion's share of the comments came down on two sides: Those who shunned them because of the cheap quality products (They preferred to buy high quality) and those who saw themselves as practical and frugal and shopped at dollar stores because they didn't mind the cheap quality stuff that when it broke was cheap to replace.<br /><br />What saddened me was that hardly anyone brought up the fact that in order to make a cheap plastic products finite resources are used (plastic is a petroleum product), pollution controls must be completely lacking, the people working in the factory making the products must be paid starvation wages with no benefits or protections whatsoever and then more fossil fuels must be used to transport the cheap one dollar product back to the U.S. for sale. How much of that product that will end up in a landfill? How much of that dollar product was used to pay the person making it? Why aren’t people concerned about the hidden environmental costs that we all pay eventually?<br /><br />You know what else I found really sad? The fact that dollar stores are taking business away from WalMart. That is how shockingly depleted our “lower Middle Class” is. They can’t even afford to shop at WalMart anymore. It is all such a race to the bottom.Valerienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-35204773897380882242011-08-27T17:15:33.535-04:002011-08-27T17:15:33.535-04:00Yes, Karen, we are all concerned for your safety a...Yes, Karen, we are all concerned for your safety and that of your family. I, also, hope your home doesn't get too battered. It is like worrying about a relative!<br /><br />Too bad Wall Street doesn't get destroyed and the insurance companies find a loophole to get out of paying. Yep! I am dreaming! Too bad the hurricane doesn't knock off a few of those private jets<br /><br />Oh, and by the way, these strange weather conditions have nothing to do with global warming! (ha!) For once, nature has cooperated and is retaliating on the country that has committed the most egregious harm. What goes around comes around.<br /><br />I realise that it isn't fair to decent people like you, Karen, who shop locally and have a small carbon footprint but for years I have seen poor African countries get the bad repercussions of global warming while the polluting countries get a free ride.Valerienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-18827617910774210612011-08-27T12:57:52.143-04:002011-08-27T12:57:52.143-04:00@Tom,
Nice pic of you at your site!
@John,
Thanks ...@Tom,<br />Nice pic of you at your site!<br />@John,<br />Thanks for the tips. They don't allow generators at my complex, but my son works at the power company and he can bring me plenty of dry ice if we need it. It's more dangerous up here when we lose power in winter. No heat. And with summer almost over the days and nights are already getting cooler and can live without the AC.Karen Garcianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-55316840293815098352011-08-27T11:50:20.908-04:002011-08-27T11:50:20.908-04:00Notes from a hurricane hotbed:
Not that you can d...Notes from a hurricane hotbed:<br /><br />Not that you can do these things now, but a generator costing only a couple of hundred dollars can keep an air conditioner or space heater going along with your refirgerator and some lights in the event of future hurricanes or - at least in your case - ice storms. <br /><br />Keep plenty of canned goods and bottled water on hand, and a camp stove using propane isn't a bad idea if you want hot food (don't use it indoors, of course). <br /><br />If you have shutters on your windows, close them. <br /><br />Above all, stay indoors, especially in a place like New York, where tree branches and overhead power lines could easily fall on you.<br /><br />Stay safe. And please let us all know, as soon as you can, that you've weathered this storm in good health.John in Lafayettenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-46191028222129088782011-08-27T11:33:05.420-04:002011-08-27T11:33:05.420-04:00Waiting for Irene:
http://tomdegan.blogspot.com/2...Waiting for Irene:<br /><br />http://tomdegan.blogspot.com/2011/08/waiting-for-irene.html <br /><br />Be safe, everyone!Tom Deganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17911175264811957550noreply@blogger.com