Um... Can we say FUD?

For those not from "round these parts," the parable post below is about the grocery strike here in STL.

The moral: No one expects the owners and investors of a company to share their profits equally with all the workers. They are the ones who shoulder the risk and are therefore entitled to the rewards.

But what if they don't want to shoulder the risks? What if every problem that cuts into the bottom line was passed on to the workers, while every good thing that boosts profits was held tight? Is that fair?

That's why we have unions. Unions are a necessary corrective in the business world that allows the powerless to have a say in their own futures. The newspapers here are filled with vitriolic nonsense from white collar workers complaining about the ""lazy and greedy"" workers at the supermarkets who are brazen enough to inconvenience them for something so petty as the health of the striker's children.

One recent letter was from a retired man who said he took the scab job ("temporary worker" in the vernacular) so that he could participate in union busting. He's retired and on medicare and he's incensed at these workers who's insistence on being able to afford healthcare is costing him a couple pennies in markup each week. Another letter writer said he was encouraging his friends and family to cross the picket line to "teach these lazy people a lesson."

Can we expect a standard higher than selfishness in our civil discourse anymore?

Max's belly button fell off today.

Things get busy when a baby arrives apparently. We're doing ok. Chili is starting to take trips outside the house. Last night was his first adventure to a restaurant. He slept thru all the noise and ruckus. We then went to Walmart (hiss.) Shopping is a much more complicated affair than it was before. He started fussing so we ran around trying to find a toy that might amuse him. I think changing his diaper would of done the trick a bit quicker. He was only consoled by being held. All the passersby cooed and awed with abandon at this tiny creature.

He also had some blood drawn yesterday to check on his jaundice. Amy was duly horrified by the process. Those maternal gut checks come quick.

Farmer Bob hires five workers to harvest his wheat. He speaks with the workers and agrees on paying five dollars a day for their work.

On day one, the workers harvest the wheat and Farmer Bob sells the wheat for $100. He takes $25 out of the profit and pays the workers.

On day two, the weather is great and workers manage to pull in a greater amount of wheat. Farmer Bob sells it for $125 and gives the workers $5 a piece for a profit of $100. Everyone is happy! Farmer Bob is thrilled that the hard working workers are increasing his profit, the workers are happy to have a job.

On day three, a storm breaks out, work is slow and the workers only bring in $75 worth of wheat. Farmer Bob is incensed! ""Listen here! This is unacceptable. The weather is ravaging my business! Today ""we"" only made HALF of what we made yesterday!"" He tells the workers that tomorrow they can come back to work for $4 a day instead of $5.

""Hey!"" the workers cry, ""That's not fair, we didn't cause the storm! I have a family to feed!""

""Go buy your own farm then!"" Farmer Bob growls. The workers hang their head and agree that they have no choice.

The next day, the sun shines and the workers bring in $125 worth of wheat. Farmer Bob smiles. He passes out $4 to each worker and congratulates them on a job well done. ""That's a record profit, workers!"" He tells them with pride, counting out $105 dollar bills.

""Well, can we have our old wage back?"" the workers ask.

""I don't think I can do that, workers."" Farmer Bob answers. ""You see, there's a new farm opening up the road that's going to be cutting into the price of wheat around here. This is the best I can do.""

The next the workers work hard and bring in as much wheat as the day before. It sells for $110.

""This isn't good!"" Yells Farmer Bob. ""I told you this would happen, our profits are falling!"" The workers know what's coming next. ""What if a storm breaks out? How will I survive on twenty or thirty dollars a day?"" He wipes a solitary tear from his cheek. ""Tomorrow, my Workers, the wage is $3 a day and no more lunch breaks! Oh, and Frank... you're fired.""

And so on, and so on, and so on....

Well, that's depressing.

(I hate the yankees)

It's a cold blustery day in St. Louis. A good day for hot apple cider and a muffin. Or coffee at least. At the moment i have neither. The paradox being that it's much too cold and blustery to walk down the street to get some coffee or cider. bah.

Max is doing well. He peed all over me as i was changing him last night. I just take way too long to do that. It gives him more time to aim.

Well, not really. He is eating heartier meals now though. So that means he sleeps for more than an hour at a time, which is good for Mom. New pictures, of course. Enjoy!

So in the excitement of Max's entry into the world, i somehow missed the death of Neil Postman.

Requisat in pace.

the dog came back today. amy's grandfather has dropped her off. i just spoke with her on the phone (i'm at work) and apparently Ferris isn't all that happy about this recent development.

I'm pretty sure max won't like the dog at first, if only because she spent the last few months stomping on him as she crawled over amy like furniture.

Amy said that when ferris arrived she came up and sniffed suspiciously at the new bundle. now she's sulking and looking increasingly alarmed when max makes noise. luckily, for Max, he's a lot bigger than the dog already.

Programmer or Serial Killer? and more on judging books by their covers.

The little glowing chili has a couple new pics up today. I still haven't gotten around to formatting the page nicely. Someday... someday...

I thought today was friday all day today. And i worked a short week. bah.

did you play this yet?

oy them cubs. speaking of cubs, there are new pictures up. We have this glowing light thing to clear up his jaundice. he glows like ET.

Max doesn't cry much. He only really hollers if you're changing his clothes. He has quite an aversion to nudity apparently. He's learning to eat, or getting a lot of practice at least. It's my first day back at work. I'm trying to fix up all the emergencies and projects that erupted while I was gone yesterday. It's not too bad. I need to get a video card that accepts input for my computer at home so i'll be able to post some snips of Max's daily life here.

Look who's here!

At 8lbs and 15.6ozs he's a big bruiser. He was born at 10:07pm on Saturday, 11 October 2003. He has big fat cheeks and hates cameras. Everytime we took a picture he'd flail about like he was trying to deck somebody. He seems to have figured out that ""feeding"" thing already and will throw a fit if you uncover or touch his feet.