Catching Up

Let us update everyone on the week.  Wednesday was PQ; we didn't win.  Thursday was spent baking at Mom's for the Polish Festival, which was Friday/Saturday/Sunday.  The PF was ok; one busy day and two so-so...I don't know; I think our prices are a little high, especially in the bakery, where we really screw the customers, and you all know how I feel about that.  Monday I did as little as possible, aside from resting and letting my feet soak and wondering why the hell I volunteered for three days in the kitchen.  I watched "All That Jazz" to knock another off the Film Registry (awful); today I ate dinner to "Mighty Like A Moose," a silent short from 1926 which was actually very droll.  I need to find "Allures," a short that is not exactly easily viewed (for free), which is a concern...

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2691972/google-to-put-guards-on-payroll-amid-concerns-about-inequality.html

We discussed this at work, and agreed it was a big PR stunt.  On the one hand, I think jobs such as guard and cook should have a union, given their danger and chance of injury (three days at the Polish Festival kitchen may or may not be influencing this).  On the other...I think we all know that after a while, the union and its benefits become cost-prohibitive... I mean, I would think that in the near future the robot vacuum cleaners could become widespread in a lot of places (such as Silicon Valley) and you'd need fewer janitors.  The camera-based security networks have eliminated the need for some guards.  Most places do NOT have company lunchrooms due to the overhead.  If you think about it, the Sheetz model is what the fast food industry could have; you order by computer, you pay with the gas line, and the kitchen crew makes it.  I am not saying McDonald's can run precisely in such a manner -- they'd need more kitchen crew -- but more kiosks and some automation in the serving lines would do the trick as nicely.

Am reading Paine's The Sea and Civilization; very interesting, but it is a big book full of small print and much info, so the going is slow.  Not that this is a bad thing, but I think it will be a week or two before I really finish, and we all know how much I love progress, illusionary or not.