Big Plans

Having encountered this phenomenon before, it's not altogether surprising, even if it's still disappointing.

They could charge $50 for this and still have a line out the door.

James Taranto talks about guns and the media.

The NYC Chick-fil-A store was in the works for quite some time.

This program raises some interesting questions about how we should think about prison in America.

Responses:

1. This is the best idea I've heard in a while. Once we have a dining room table, we have to do this at least once a month. I would say Friday night and Sunday night are the big possibilities, though every Friday night might be tricky with our work schedules. Also, we could mix up the menu! I have so many ideas...

2. That's mind-blowing. I am glad that there are nice, good people out there.

3. See my comment below, but fair enough. The penultimate paragraph is the one that I'm concerned about: "'There's a huge weight bias against people with obesity,' she said. 'They're judged as lazy and self-indulgent. That's really not the case. If our research is correct, you need to eat even less and exercise even more' just to be same weight as your parents were at your age." Fair enough, but I don't think the judgment and bias are causing diabetes and hypertension.

4. These decisions are difficult, but ultimately the company had to decide whether she was adding value commensurate with her compensation. If not, then it's hard to retain her. I don't know the circumstances of her weak performance, but if the woman (and/or her former colleagues) cared about her as a person, then they should have taken a collection or offered to help her personally. To me, it's an abuse of power to use your power within a company (certain one that you do not own) to provide charity for other people. The mother was doing the best she could, but she was unable to do her job satisfactorily. All that said, her colleagues were wrong for being busybodies - sure, they weren't receiving the same accommodations, but that is beside the point. I'm sure that if they began to struggle with their job performance because of problems at home, they would have appreciated personal consideration from the company, but they shouldn't receive it just because someone else does. It would be as if everyone started requesting paternity/maternity leave each year, regardless of whether they had kids.

5. It seems like a very good system, primarily because it includes everything without allowing things to slip through the cracks with time. I recently listened to a podcast where the guest advocated a related (though not quite similar) method. I'm trying something similar with my Reminders app, but the nice thing about the journal is that you have a record of your productivity. Maybe I'll try it for 2016.

R2R:

4. I think the real issue I have with rating people is that those ratings reduce you to a number and follow you around indefinitely. It's certainly appropriate to want to steer clear of a person who does something inappropriate on a date (or in life generally), but I think it's also appropriate to expect that person to have a chance to reform. Separately, I think businesses sometimes struggle with the same issue, which is why I could propose weighted rankings for Yelp, etc., where more recent rankings are more important than more distant ones. Finally, I also worry that people are defaulting to telling "the world" (via the internet) when something goes wrong rather than telling the offender. How many ladies tell the guy what he did wrong (or vice versa)? How many people complain to the restaurant manager before turning to Yelp?

5. No response to the fifth article?

R2R2R:

1. I think my response is more that this is likely to give people who aren't losing weight but should coverage, not unlike being "big-boned," having a "glandular problem," etc. Obviously I hope the research continues and leads to a better understanding of our bodies and the obesity problem, but 1) I question the motives whenever a scientific development is reported by the media and 2) I question attempts by people to suggest that being unhealthily overweight is okay.

R2R2R2R:

1. Exactly. Recycling isn't per se better, and it is important for us to think critically about our usage decisions. To be sure, I still sometimes use reusable bags (especially when I'm buying a lot of things). Environmentalism for many people (and science for many others) is a religion, with believers and non-believers.

B