lookin

Holy cow! Now it's 87!

No, wait a minute, it's 86.

Whoops! Make that 85.

Yeah, I'm at 84 now.

Don't let a wrestling match turn into a game of 'stinkfinger'! ∼ Acme Singlets with genuine Tear-Guard™ lining ∼

Perhaps He's just teasing her.

Well, one of them anyway.

Le môt juste!

I've learned not to look in the mirror.

I understand the procedures are far more advanced these days.

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.