organization

Pearl River Mart permanently closes their brick and mortar

Posted on by elemonated

I had discussed the possible closing of Pearl River Mart before under the guise of a fragrance review but at the time it seemed to have been a problem readily remedied by a venue hop, of which the company has had experience with, or just something else that would optimistically dismiss the possibility of the brick and mortar store just closing.

However, this move would prove not to be as easy or as viable as their previous jump, and it seems that there were no viable options for my optimistic heart to hold onto. News has come out that the huge, historic, ethnic icon is going to leave the scene permanently, though I’m not sure when. This was announced in December of 2015, and while I don’t think the store has closed down yet, I count the news as another one of 2015’s losses. A loss that implies a rapid dissipation, as the things that make up the NYC landscape will continue to disappear.

Read More

Business

We have standards

Link | Posted on by elemonated

We have standards

I’m always looking for new things to help my day along, especially because most methods seem to stop helping me after they lose their novelty. This is kind of cute, though it seems to still require a lot of will power. It’s more an organizational tool than a motivational one for sure. I’m going to try it next week; my standards are above. Give it a whirl 😀

Random

Net Neutrality in the Library

Link | Posted on by elemonated

Net Neutrality in the Library

“One of the big questions that gets left unasked in the debate between Silicon Valley and the big ISPs is the bigger issue about how this affects the public interest and public institutions. This has not been addressed in the debate on net neutrality through the years: What are the costs to public libraries, to state colleges, to K-12 schools, to local governments and other not-for-profit organizations that provide significant public services?”

I’ve always had computer and internet connection (perks of having parents who do computers for a living) but the number or my peers and kids both older and younger than me over the years using the computers in the library and at school to succeed in my fairly wealthy school district would probably be surprising if I weren’t so used to it. Not everyone has a computer; not everyone can afford one. As the article mentions, letting corporations essentially privatize internet service means it’s that much more difficult for public institutions to serve their public on a passable level.

Now, one large argument against what’s covered in the article is “Well obviously they’re going to exclude public orgs..”

Okay. And so what happens when the public catches on that it’s easier to go on the internet at their school or their library? Overcrowding. These places will have to either suffer or have to find the money somehow to expand their servers. Eventually everyone, unless they pay a premium, will have to get used to subpar service or else not use one of the greatest informational pools ever created. Not to mention that there are a ton of different ways to break or get around proxy servers and staff can’t catch all of them right now as it is.