How will you age?

"Dally" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

WillBrink said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

John Hanson said:

Being defeated in war can have that sort of effect. A defeatist
attitude can and is passed on from generation to generation. Just
look at the "cycle of poverty".

Hmmm, interesting take there John. Never thought of it like that. Perhaps
it's imprinted on the collective unconscious of the south?

But then why would French colonists have higher literacy rates than
Spanish colonists?

LOL, ever wonder what Cinco de Mayo is celebrating?

To test Hanson's theory, I think we need to look at the antebellum south.
Was the 'southern dullard' phenomenon so widespread before the civil war?
Maybe not. Most accounts I've read consider Robert E. Lee to be a superior
general. Only one man, of course -

My "Giant Subterranean Meteor of Sloth and Ignorance" theory does have some
merit as well. Consider that 65 million years ago an enormous (10 km)
asteroid struck the Gulf of Mexico. Now look at the "Dumb Belt" of the US -
an arc sweeping from Brownsville, TX through Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama
and Florida. (the keys are generally wealthy gay transplants and don't seem
to exhibit the same slack-jawed dullness). The power of the GSMSI radiates
as far north as St. Louis and southern Indiana and up the coast as far as
Virginia Beach. And, back to our original post - the retirees who venture
into this Arc of Ignorance for their Golden Years seem to develop cerebral
atrophy and are indistinguishable from the natives within 2-3 years.

"Dally" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

WillBrink said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

John Hanson said:

Being defeated in war can have that sort of effect. A defeatist
attitude can and is passed on from generation to generation. Just
look at the "cycle of poverty".

Hmmm, interesting take there John. Never thought of it like that.
Perhaps it's imprinted on the collective unconscious of the south?

But then why would French colonists have higher literacy rates than
Spanish colonists?

Closer to mainstream Europe?

Ranieri' nah said:

Interesting. I've always had a suspicion that there is some great,
subterranean prehistoric meteorite located in southeast MS that radiates
some type of brain-cell-killing / vitality sapping energy throughout the
region.

hahaha

that made me laugh!

thanks!

"Dally" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

WillBrink said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ranieri' nah said:

Again, like Alpharetta, they've lured some northern brains down there

with

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

cheap real estate and sunshine. But the native populace, I'm sure you'll
agree, is somewhat deficient.

Probably true, but ever try NH or ME? Some of the locals are as stupid
as rocks up there. Western MA is like another state altogether some
times. Stupid ass people exist everywhere, but they do seem to
concentrate is some areas.

How can you say that about Western MA? We've got Amherst, Williams,
Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Hampshire Colleges, plus UMass and a bunch of
lesser name colleges. There's also a [censored] of good private prep
schools (Deerfield, Northfield Mt. Hermon). The place is teeming with
academic intellectuals. You can't throw a stick without hitting someone
with a master's degree. (I once worked as a clerk at a Waldenbooks in a
mall where everyone had their master's degree but me... and I eventually
got mine.)

A piece of paper doesn't necessarily make one smart. I've met a lot of
people with MS's and PhD's that are dumber than a bag of TBR's. Those areas
with a lot of prestigious colleges have mostly transplants. I doubt the
majority of graduates from those schools came from that area.

What abt Missouri in all this?

Smart or stupid?

Dally said:

How can you say that about Western MA? We've got Amherst, Williams,
Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Hampshire Colleges, plus UMass and a bunch of
lesser name colleges.

Do you really think there aren't any stupid people in college?

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What abt Missouri in all this?

Smart or stupid?

South of St. Louis - we're talking box o' rocks.

In article <[email hidden]>, Dally <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

WillBrink said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ranieri' nah said:

Again, like Alpharetta, they've lured some northern brains down there with
cheap real estate and sunshine. But the native populace, I'm sure you'll
agree, is somewhat deficient.

Probably true, but ever try NH or ME? Some of the locals are as stupid
as rocks up there. Western MA is like another state altogether some
times. Stupid ass people exist everywhere, but they do seem to
concentrate is some areas.

How can you say that about Western MA? We've got Amherst, Williams,
Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Hampshire Colleges, plus UMass and a bunch of
lesser name colleges. There's also a [censored] of good private prep
schools (Deerfield, Northfield Mt. Hermon). The place is teeming with
academic intellectuals.

All transplants more or less. The locals however are as redneck as any
other. I condsider 495 the cut off.

Quoted message said:

You can't throw a stick without hitting someone
with a master's degree. (I once worked as a clerk at a Waldenbooks in a
mall where everyone had their master's degree but me... and I eventually
got mine.)

As I %, I am sure you are right if compared to the south.

Quoted message said:

Dally

--
Will Brink @ http://www.brinkzone.com/

Ranieri' nah said:

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What abt Missouri in all this?

Smart or stupid?

South of St. Louis - we're talking box o' rocks.

Phew!

I'm safe. <g>

I'm two hrs north of STL.

"Dally" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ranieri said:

The reason is that a lifetime of inactivity has left them fit for
only 1 type of leisure activity:
Golf.

TV and internet seemed to be bigger attractions, actually.

Quoted message said:

And FL is a mecca for golf.

and condo associations

Where they have gated communities. Yes, I saw that. The condo
association seems like the ultimate coccoon for those who hate change
or are startled by diversity.

Quoted message said:

and early-bird dinners.

We were going to an event from 6 to 7:30 in the complex. It did not
involve dinner. My in-laws thought we ought to eat first.

Leaving for dinner at 4:30.

I suggested we eat at 7:30, instead. The idea startled them.

I suggested a snack at 3 pm. My MIL explained that she was brought up
not to eat between meals. I suggested small meals throughout the day
might be beneficial. She glared at me and said her system was working
for her.

For those who are not very active, small meals throughout the day are,
IMHO, a sure way to put on fat. The idea of small meals throughout the
day comes from bodybuilders and others who are very active and are
interesting in getting bigger. Lifting a lot of heavy weights means,
one hopes, the bigger comes in terms of more muscle, but for those who
don't do much, lots of small meals plus a few larger ones usually means
too many calories and the bigger just becomes fatter.

Just my opinion.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com

Quoted message said:

I backed right down. If she thinks its working for her then I'm not
going to point out the obesity, heart disease and various other
ailments she's suffering from.

She also told me that honey nut cheerios are good for her heart
because they fight cholesterol.

Quoted message said:

Personally I'd take Santa Fe if i can scrape together enough dough.

I need water. The Florida heat and humidity was tough to take unless
we were on the water. But being on a boat makes the whole thing work
beautifully.

Dally

Dally said:

WillBrink said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ranieri' nah said:

Again, like Alpharetta, they've lured some northern brains down
there with cheap real estate and sunshine. But the native populace,
I'm sure you'll agree, is somewhat deficient.

Probably true, but ever try NH or ME? Some of the locals are as
stupid as rocks up there. Western MA is like another state
altogether some times. Stupid ass people exist everywhere, but they
do seem to concentrate is some areas.

How can you say that about Western MA? We've got Amherst, Williams,
Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Hampshire Colleges, plus UMass and a bunch
of lesser name colleges. There's also a [censored] of good private
prep schools (Deerfield, Northfield Mt. Hermon). The place is
teeming with academic intellectuals. You can't throw a stick
without hitting someone with a master's degree. (I once worked as a
clerk at a Waldenbooks in a mall where everyone had their master's
degree but me... and I eventually got mine.)

Nothing personal Dally, but spending the time and effort to get a
Master's degree so you can work as a cashier is pretty much my
definition of stupid. I mean, seriously, anyone with access to a
decent library can "educate" themselves for far less than what a
Master's Degree costs. The reason to get a formal degree is so that
you can demonstrate to potential employers that you have met a minimum
set of requirements.

If working at a book store is truly what you want to do for a living
why spend the time and effort on a degree that you won't be able to
afford to pay for as a cashier? Heck, for what it costs to get an MBA
from even a no-name University you probably could open your own
bookstore. Economically that sort of educational investment simply
doesn't make sense.

Jason

Jason Earl said:

Dally <[email hidden]> writes:
(I once worked as a

Quoted message said:

clerk at a Waldenbooks in a mall where everyone had their master's
degree but me... and I eventually got mine.)

Nothing personal Dally, but spending the time and effort to get a
Master's degree so you can work as a cashier is pretty much my
definition of stupid. I mean, seriously, anyone with access to a
decent library can "educate" themselves for far less than what a
Master's Degree costs. The reason to get a formal degree is so that
you can demonstrate to potential employers that you have met a minimum
set of requirements.

If working at a book store is truly what you want to do for a living
why spend the time and effort on a degree that you won't be able to
afford to pay for as a cashier? Heck, for what it costs to get an MBA
from even a no-name University you probably could open your own
bookstore. Economically that sort of educational investment simply
doesn't make sense.

It was a part-time job for everyone (except possibly the manager, who
was past retirement age for most places.)

Moonlighting was a normal fact of life for people struggling to get
their careers off the ground.

Moonlighting at a place where everyone is literate and you get a
discount on books was a bonus. I also had a part-time job in the same
time frame working as a cashier at a grocery store. Same hourly wage,
but the work environment sucked big time. The main difference was
literacy. Everyone who walks into a bookstore can read. You can't say
the same thing for the people who walk into a supermarket.

Speaking of which, that was a noticeable difference in the south: the
incomprehensible stupidness of the grocery store workers. I was in a
Winn Dixie and asked if they had sourdough bread (as I didn't see any on
the shelf at the bakery, but isn't it a normal thing to carry in a
bakery?) The question really stymied the clerk, who went and got the
deli clerk, and together the two of them tried to solve this intractable
puzzle. The product handed over to me was NOT sourdough bread... which
I didn't discover until I got it home and opened it up.

Dally

Dally said:

Jason Earl said:

Dally <[email hidden]> writes:
(I once worked as a

Quoted message said:

clerk at a Waldenbooks in a mall where everyone had their master's
degree but me... and I eventually got mine.)

Nothing personal Dally, but spending the time and effort to get a
Master's degree so you can work as a cashier is pretty much my
definition of stupid. I mean, seriously, anyone with access to a
decent library can "educate" themselves for far less than what a
Master's Degree costs. The reason to get a formal degree is so that
you can demonstrate to potential employers that you have met a minimum
set of requirements.
If working at a book store is truly what you want to do for a living
why spend the time and effort on a degree that you won't be able to
afford to pay for as a cashier? Heck, for what it costs to get an MBA
from even a no-name University you probably could open your own
bookstore. Economically that sort of educational investment simply
doesn't make sense.

It was a part-time job for everyone (except possibly the manager,
who was past retirement age for most places.)

Moonlighting was a normal fact of life for people struggling to get
their careers off the ground.

It still seems like someone with a Master's Degree should be able to
get a better part time job than working at a mall bookstore.

Quoted message said:

Moonlighting at a place where everyone is literate and you get a
discount on books was a bonus. I also had a part-time job in the
same time frame working as a cashier at a grocery store. Same
hourly wage, but the work environment sucked big time. The main
difference was literacy. Everyone who walks into a bookstore can
read. You can't say the same thing for the people who walk into a
supermarket.

That makes sense. I can totally understand wanting to work at a
bookstore. Bookstores are awesome. I just don't understand why
someone with a Master's Degree would settle for working at one. Maybe
jobs are simply harder to find back East.

Quoted message said:

Speaking of which, that was a noticeable difference in the south:
the incomprehensible stupidness of the grocery store workers. I was
in a Winn Dixie and asked if they had sourdough bread (as I didn't
see any on the shelf at the bakery, but isn't it a normal thing to
carry in a bakery?) The question really stymied the clerk, who went
and got the deli clerk, and together the two of them tried to solve
this intractable puzzle. The product handed over to me was NOT
sourdough bread... which I didn't discover until I got it home and
opened it up.

Perhaps they just don't sell much sour dough bread down south. My own
experience from living in various parts of the world leads me to
believe that people are basically the same wherever you go. What
changes is the culture, and everyone always assumes that their own
culture is superior. So a northerner walks into a supermarket down
south asks for something that southerners don't eat and then is
surprised when the cashier gets the order wrong. You assume that only
an idiot doesn't know what sour dough bread is, and my Peruvian
friends assume that only an idiot doesn't know what papa a la
Hauncayeno is. We all look at the world with glasses tinted according
to our own culture and prejudices, and everyone that doesn't fit our
preconceived notions is judged as inferior.

The funny bit about that story is that you paid good money for the
wrong item. From an economic standpoint it's pretty hard to point a
finger at the "dumb" southerner that just sold you something that you
didn't want.

Jason

"Jason Earl" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dally said:

Jason Earl said:

Dally <[email hidden]> writes:
(I once worked as a
>clerk at a Waldenbooks in a mall where everyone had their master's
>degree but me... and I eventually got mine.)
Nothing personal Dally, but spending the time and effort to get a
Master's degree so you can work as a cashier is pretty much my
definition of stupid. I mean, seriously, anyone with access to a
decent library can "educate" themselves for far less than what a
Master's Degree costs. The reason to get a formal degree is so that
you can demonstrate to potential employers that you have met a minimum
set of requirements.
If working at a book store is truly what you want to do for a living
why spend the time and effort on a degree that you won't be able to
afford to pay for as a cashier? Heck, for what it costs to get an MBA
from even a no-name University you probably could open your own
bookstore. Economically that sort of educational investment simply
doesn't make sense.

It was a part-time job for everyone (except possibly the manager,
who was past retirement age for most places.)

Moonlighting was a normal fact of life for people struggling to get
their careers off the ground.

It still seems like someone with a Master's Degree should be able to
get a better part time job than working at a mall bookstore.

Quoted message said:

Moonlighting at a place where everyone is literate and you get a
discount on books was a bonus. I also had a part-time job in the
same time frame working as a cashier at a grocery store. Same
hourly wage, but the work environment sucked big time. The main
difference was literacy. Everyone who walks into a bookstore can
read. You can't say the same thing for the people who walk into a
supermarket.

That makes sense. I can totally understand wanting to work at a
bookstore. Bookstores are awesome. I just don't understand why
someone with a Master's Degree would settle for working at one. Maybe
jobs are simply harder to find back East.

Quoted message said:

Speaking of which, that was a noticeable difference in the south:
the incomprehensible stupidness of the grocery store workers. I was
in a Winn Dixie and asked if they had sourdough bread (as I didn't
see any on the shelf at the bakery, but isn't it a normal thing to
carry in a bakery?) The question really stymied the clerk, who went
and got the deli clerk, and together the two of them tried to solve
this intractable puzzle. The product handed over to me was NOT
sourdough bread... which I didn't discover until I got it home and
opened it up.

Perhaps they just don't sell much sour dough bread down south. My own
experience from living in various parts of the world leads me to
believe that people are basically the same wherever you go. What
changes is the culture, and everyone always assumes that their own
culture is superior. So a northerner walks into a supermarket down
south asks for something that southerners don't eat and then is
surprised when the cashier gets the order wrong. You assume that only
an idiot doesn't know what sour dough bread is, and my Peruvian
friends assume that only an idiot doesn't know what papa a la
Hauncayeno is. We all look at the world with glasses tinted according
to our own culture and prejudices, and everyone that doesn't fit our
preconceived notions is judged as inferior.

The funny bit about that story is that you paid good money for the
wrong item. From an economic standpoint it's pretty hard to point a
finger at the "dumb" southerner that just sold you something that you
didn't want.

Jason, she worked as a cashier for a while. She had a masters degree. Get
over it

Dally said:

DZ said:

It is in fact in elderly that "pulse-feeding" (allocation of most of
daily protein to a single meal) was shown to have beneficial effect on
nitrogen balance, thus preventing muscle loss when combined with
exercise. This was chewed on in those "optimal timing of protein
intake for athletes" papers.

Again, interesting. Of course, ANYTHING when combined with exercise
would be a good thing.

.... "including frequent meals", she implied in her well mastered
passive-aggressive style of arguing :-)

Let me put that Beagle desktop search to a good use. There we go:

Mosoni L, Mirand PP 2003. Type and timing of protein feeding to
optimize anabolism. PMID: 12690263.

"it was shown that nitrogen balance and fat free mass gain were
significantly higher in elderly women fed three meals per day, with
lunch providing 80% of daily protein intake (pulse pattern) than in
women fed four protein-containing meals (spread pattern) per day ...
it is likely that the higher 24-h whole- body protein synthesis rates
observed in the pulse pattern fed old women were related to a higher
stimulation of protein synthesis rates during the postprandial state."

"David" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Jason Earl" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dally said:

Jason Earl wrote:
> Dally <[email hidden]> writes:
>(I once worked as a
>>clerk at a Waldenbooks in a mall where everyone had their master's
>>degree but me... and I eventually got mine.)
> Nothing personal Dally, but spending the time and effort to get a
> Master's degree so you can work as a cashier is pretty much my
> definition of stupid. I mean, seriously, anyone with access to a
> decent library can "educate" themselves for far less than what a
> Master's Degree costs. The reason to get a formal degree is so that
> you can demonstrate to potential employers that you have met a minimum
> set of requirements.
> If working at a book store is truly what you want to do for a living
> why spend the time and effort on a degree that you won't be able to
> afford to pay for as a cashier? Heck, for what it costs to get an MBA
> from even a no-name University you probably could open your own
> bookstore. Economically that sort of educational investment simply
> doesn't make sense.

It was a part-time job for everyone (except possibly the manager,
who was past retirement age for most places.)

Moonlighting was a normal fact of life for people struggling to get
their careers off the ground.

It still seems like someone with a Master's Degree should be able to
get a better part time job than working at a mall bookstore.

Quoted message said:

Moonlighting at a place where everyone is literate and you get a
discount on books was a bonus. I also had a part-time job in the
same time frame working as a cashier at a grocery store. Same
hourly wage, but the work environment sucked big time. The main
difference was literacy. Everyone who walks into a bookstore can
read. You can't say the same thing for the people who walk into a
supermarket.

That makes sense. I can totally understand wanting to work at a
bookstore. Bookstores are awesome. I just don't understand why
someone with a Master's Degree would settle for working at one. Maybe
jobs are simply harder to find back East.

Quoted message said:

Speaking of which, that was a noticeable difference in the south:
the incomprehensible stupidness of the grocery store workers. I was
in a Winn Dixie and asked if they had sourdough bread (as I didn't
see any on the shelf at the bakery, but isn't it a normal thing to
carry in a bakery?) The question really stymied the clerk, who went
and got the deli clerk, and together the two of them tried to solve
this intractable puzzle. The product handed over to me was NOT
sourdough bread... which I didn't discover until I got it home and
opened it up.

Perhaps they just don't sell much sour dough bread down south. My own
experience from living in various parts of the world leads me to
believe that people are basically the same wherever you go. What
changes is the culture, and everyone always assumes that their own
culture is superior. So a northerner walks into a supermarket down
south asks for something that southerners don't eat and then is
surprised when the cashier gets the order wrong. You assume that only
an idiot doesn't know what sour dough bread is, and my Peruvian
friends assume that only an idiot doesn't know what papa a la
Hauncayeno is. We all look at the world with glasses tinted according
to our own culture and prejudices, and everyone that doesn't fit our
preconceived notions is judged as inferior.

The funny bit about that story is that you paid good money for the
wrong item. From an economic standpoint it's pretty hard to point a
finger at the "dumb" southerner that just sold you something that you
didn't want.

Jason, she worked as a cashier for a while. She had a masters degree. Get
over it

Did they take her degree from her?

DZ said:

Dally said:

DZ said:

It is in fact in elderly that "pulse-feeding" (allocation of most of
daily protein to a single meal) was shown to have beneficial effect on
nitrogen balance, thus preventing muscle loss when combined with
exercise. This was chewed on in those "optimal timing of protein
intake for athletes" papers.

Again, interesting. Of course, ANYTHING when combined with exercise
would be a good thing.

... "including frequent meals", she implied in her well mastered
passive-aggressive style of arguing :-)

Let me put that Beagle desktop search to a good use. There we go:

Mosoni L, Mirand PP 2003. Type and timing of protein feeding to
optimize anabolism. PMID: 12690263.

"it was shown that nitrogen balance and fat free mass gain were
significantly higher in elderly women fed three meals per day, with
lunch providing 80% of daily protein intake (pulse pattern) than in
women fed four protein-containing meals (spread pattern) per day ...
it is likely that the higher 24-h whole- body protein synthesis rates
observed in the pulse pattern fed old women were related to a higher
stimulation of protein synthesis rates during the postprandial state."

I hadn't known about this (nor was this the stance from which my MIL was
arguing) but I cede you the point almost entirely... except for one
small matter: my MIL is obese with heart disease, a significant
dowager's hump, and an inability to walk any significant distance. The
three meals a day she's currently doing is NOT leading her towards health.

So doing something different seems indicated.

Now, having seen your points, I could advise pulse feeding (and may try
it myself in the near future as old age seems incipient) but the
situation we were in was that she wanted to eat dinner at 5 PM because
she was going to get too hungry otherwise. A snack mid-way seemed like
a plan. She refused it based on the fact that she never snacks and
isn't going to start now.

My sense is that it wasn't self-knowledge of how best to maintain her
body, it was more a matter of habits that don't budge to accomodate the
current situation.

Dally

Dally said:

Speaking of which, that was a noticeable difference in the south: the
incomprehensible stupidness of the grocery store workers. I was in a
Winn Dixie and asked if they had sourdough bread (as I didn't see any on
the shelf at the bakery, but isn't it a normal thing to carry in a
bakery?) The question really stymied the clerk, who went and got the
deli clerk, and together the two of them tried to solve this intractable
puzzle. The product handed over to me was NOT sourdough bread... which
I didn't discover until I got it home and opened it up.

I will say that people in south are a lot nicer

Everyplace I went in south one morning everyone said
"Good Morning!".....and really meant it

Jason Earl said:

Dally <[email hidden]> writes:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Moonlighting was a normal fact of life for people struggling to get
their careers off the ground.

It still seems like someone with a Master's Degree should be able to
get a better part time job than working at a mall bookstore.

I don't get what you mean. I had a decent career-path full-time job and
worked occasional nights and week-ends at the bookstore. A part-time
job that isn't too strenuous, doesn't have too much responsibility, is
easy to schedule shifts for, is clean and works with literate people is
a great part-time job to have. My husband worked there for ten years.
I only did a couple. (They fired me when we got married. Apparently
they only allow couples who live in shabby rentals and aren't married to
work in the same store. After you're married and buy a house you become
a theft risk to have both of you at the same store. I still laugh at
the stupidity of that policy.)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I just don't understand why

someone with a Master's Degree would settle for working at one. Maybe
jobs are simply harder to find back East.

Have you ever held two jobs? I know someone who moonlights at a gas
station evenings and week-ends. I know another person who moonlights at
a grocery store. The goal is to get a second job that pays you just for
showing up, i.e., is mindless and easy to quit.

I worked as a cashier at the grocery store while I was job-hunting for a
career track job. I distinctly recall that I stopped at the store on my
way back from a job interview (where I'd been offered the job) and quit
the supermarket with no notice. "Take me off the schedule for tomorrow.
I won't be coming back." The job was easy to pick up, easy to leave
behind, and served to keep body and soul together when I needed it.

Quoted message said:

Perhaps they just don't sell much sour dough bread down south.

That's possible. I hadn't thought of that. In that case, wouldn't "no,
we don't have that" be a reasonable answer?

Quoted message said:

The funny bit about that story is that you paid good money for the
wrong item. From an economic standpoint it's pretty hard to point a
finger at the "dumb" southerner that just sold you something that you
didn't want.

Yeah, I noticed that, too. When they handed it to me I was doubtful
about what they'd given me, but it was only $2 and they'd worked so long
and hard on delivering it that I didn't want to be an [censored] about it.
Sort of like being nice to Downs Syndrome kids.

Dally

"John" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"David" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Jason Earl" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dally <[email hidden]> writes:

> Jason Earl wrote:
>> Dally <[email hidden]> writes:
>>(I once worked as a
>>>clerk at a Waldenbooks in a mall where everyone had their master's
>>>degree but me... and I eventually got mine.)
>> Nothing personal Dally, but spending the time and effort to get a
>> Master's degree so you can work as a cashier is pretty much my
>> definition of stupid. I mean, seriously, anyone with access to a
>> decent library can "educate" themselves for far less than what a
>> Master's Degree costs. The reason to get a formal degree is so that
>> you can demonstrate to potential employers that you have met a
>> minimum
>> set of requirements.
>> If working at a book store is truly what you want to do for a living
>> why spend the time and effort on a degree that you won't be able to
>> afford to pay for as a cashier? Heck, for what it costs to get an
>> MBA
>> from even a no-name University you probably could open your own
>> bookstore. Economically that sort of educational investment simply
>> doesn't make sense.
>
> It was a part-time job for everyone (except possibly the manager,
> who was past retirement age for most places.)
>
> Moonlighting was a normal fact of life for people struggling to get
> their careers off the ground.

It still seems like someone with a Master's Degree should be able to
get a better part time job than working at a mall bookstore.

> Moonlighting at a place where everyone is literate and you get a
> discount on books was a bonus. I also had a part-time job in the
> same time frame working as a cashier at a grocery store. Same
> hourly wage, but the work environment sucked big time. The main
> difference was literacy. Everyone who walks into a bookstore can
> read. You can't say the same thing for the people who walk into a
> supermarket.

That makes sense. I can totally understand wanting to work at a
bookstore. Bookstores are awesome. I just don't understand why
someone with a Master's Degree would settle for working at one. Maybe
jobs are simply harder to find back East.

> Speaking of which, that was a noticeable difference in the south:
> the incomprehensible stupidness of the grocery store workers. I was
> in a Winn Dixie and asked if they had sourdough bread (as I didn't
> see any on the shelf at the bakery, but isn't it a normal thing to
> carry in a bakery?) The question really stymied the clerk, who went
> and got the deli clerk, and together the two of them tried to solve
> this intractable puzzle. The product handed over to me was NOT
> sourdough bread... which I didn't discover until I got it home and
> opened it up.

Perhaps they just don't sell much sour dough bread down south. My own
experience from living in various parts of the world leads me to
believe that people are basically the same wherever you go. What
changes is the culture, and everyone always assumes that their own
culture is superior. So a northerner walks into a supermarket down
south asks for something that southerners don't eat and then is
surprised when the cashier gets the order wrong. You assume that only
an idiot doesn't know what sour dough bread is, and my Peruvian
friends assume that only an idiot doesn't know what papa a la
Hauncayeno is. We all look at the world with glasses tinted according
to our own culture and prejudices, and everyone that doesn't fit our
preconceived notions is judged as inferior.

The funny bit about that story is that you paid good money for the
wrong item. From an economic standpoint it's pretty hard to point a
finger at the "dumb" southerner that just sold you something that you
didn't want.

Jason, she worked as a cashier for a while. She had a masters degree. Get
over it

Did they take her degree from her?

Can't figure out why a bookeeper would need a masters degree in any case