Kathie Shaidle’s mother passed away this Sunday. Send her your thoughts and prayers.
Monthly Archives: October 2002
It’s The Number One Employer In Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Oklahoma and West Virginia
Twelve years of explosive growth in Pennsylvania have made Wal-Mart Stores Inc., with 114 discount outlets, the largest private employer in the state.
…”I don’t go on a crusade about saving the mom-and-pop stores,” said Floyd Warner, president of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry in Harrisburg. “They weren’t always open. Their prices were higher. They have to learn how to survive.”
…Wal-Mart’s growth in the 1990s came as Scott Paper, USX Corp., Bell Atlantic, Westinghouse, Bethlehem Steel Corp., Conrail, and other traditional Pennsylvania companies laid off thousands of workers and severely curtailed their operations. They were replaced by smaller manufacturers, food processors, service companies and technology firms.
Read the rest in this eye opening Philadelphia Inquirer article. Ah the wonders of the “new economy”.
The hard questions not answered… Did Wal-Mart displace other jobs? If so, were they low paying or high paying? If not, did Wal-Mart simply fill a gap?
A Few People Have Asked Me
How can I believe in God with everything that’s been going on these days? From the world going crazy (I think it always was – it’s just come home) to what’s happening personally, it can be hard. But I don’t think you can have a healthy faith without doubt. Doubt makes you think. Doubt strengthens faith. Sounds crazy, but that’s what I believe. For example, I’m reading Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit. Good book.
For an eloquent answer, and what spurred me to write this, read Mean Dean at blogs4God.
Speaking of faith and doubt, let me again refer you to frontline: faith and doubt at ground zero. It will get you thinking.
How To Build A Silent PC
Gotta get back to this article. My PC is so loud I can’t think sometimes.
Some good news
They removed a grapefruit sized, non-malignant, ovarian cyst from my Mom yesterday and it looks like she’s going to be aok. Better then ever probably since the source of so much pain has been located and taken care of. My mom is one tough lady. She facing this with honesty, laughter and smiles.
I wasn’t planning on sharing this with you, but since the news is looking great, I want to share our happiness.
Teaching Java the Extreme Way
When he described his approach in an earlier article, I was hesitant to give it much thought, but in this second article in his series, Daniel Steinberg’s ideas look like a fun way to learn.
In a similar news tidbit, Version 1.2.2 of the BlueJ Java IDE designed for teaching has been released.
Not related, but fun to read, Sam Ruby posts Type Safety, in a Loosely Coupled World.
In Philadelphia, a strange return of the 1970s – and Ed Rendell Will Not Win – Because You Won’t Vote
“History” here usually refers to Ben Franklin and the Liberty Bell, but in recent weeks, two artifacts of the 1970s have resurfaced. Ira Einhorn, the iconoclast who was on the run for 16 years, is finally on trial for the murder of his ’70s girlfriend. Across town, the strident antigovernment group MOVE has thrown up new barricades in a fresh dispute with the criminal justice system. The combination has sent Philadelphians into a wistful, sometimes painful, spate of memory in a place often struggling to break free of its past.
Read the rest in the CSMonitor.
Stu Bykofsky echos my thoughts – Ed is in trouble because the polls are too good. Sounds crazy – but that’s Philly for ya – Please vote!
The Daily News hails the new Phila.gov website.
Happy B-Day!
Site updates
New links under More Philly. New links in Feeling, Thinking, Believing. Emacs Notes and CVS Notes give you a good idea how my personal development environment is set up. Java Notes now tries to guide you thru Java’s acronym maze so that you can download what you need.