Laura and I were up in silicon valley staying at a nice hotel. We came down to breakfast and ordered the love of my childhood existence…. cooked oatmeal with fruit, brown sugar and other good stuff! Laura looked at me after her first bite and said, ‘this is good!’ At first, Laura thought that something had changed in her that suddenly and inexplicably changed her attitude towards oatmeal from dread to anticipation? It was the quality oatmeal, it’s preparation and it’s presentation.
Anyway, when we returned I pulled out my favorite Oatmeal and threw it into a rice cooker… and it turned out perfectly! A note of caution, if you use a rice cooker, take the lid off and keep an eye on it until you find a routine that works for you.
By the way, after 37 years of marriage, it’s nice that we can still surprise each other.
We may never know what goes on behind Cal Poly’s very secretive ‘green door.’
I was saddened to learn that our Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggervetoed a California Billthat would close the secrecy loop hole that our public educational institutions have in hiding many of the things they do. Although business in places like the Cal Poly foundation are done , not in Arnold’s smoke filled rooms, but with folks sucking down mineral water and munching crispy creams… it’s all done without the public’s knowledge. The cat has been left in charge of the canary.
In addition, the Cal Poly foundation— being private — does not have to abide by many of those archaic fairness rules that public institutions must follow. The foundation has a virtual monopoly in campus food service and virtually every other economic activity on the Cal Poly campus. Don’t try to have a charitable tamale fundraiser on campus… they won’t allow the ‘competition.’ By the way, there are no ‘bargains’ on campus… the foundations pricing policies are greedy from a pricey used textbook at the book store ( which they buy back for virtually nothing) to buying a cup of coffee anywhere on campus. They even operate a store in town, so much for not competing with the private sector.
BTW, having been involved in retail pricing and marketing on college campuses, let’s just say that the foundation has a sweet deal with no competition! And in my humble opinion, somebody is making a lot of money…. a lot of money on the backs of students and employees.
So… how is this money being made and where is that money going? Well, thanks to Arnold, we may never know.
Roger Freberg
By the way, for some reason Google likes Cal Poly and this post will not be found there… however, it will be searchable on Twitter,Yahoo and Bing
