Ethics & Morality

I can't believe I haven't written about this before, but here goes:
I usually consider myself someone with very well defined morals (and I do my best to live by them). But when my iPod reselling extravaganza was in full swing I realized that, in terms of the business world, I sometimes couldn't figure out what was right and and what was wrong (i.e. Is it right to sell something to someone at markup when they could get a better price at a public website?). I had always thought the idea of a course on ethics was ridiculous, but I now want to take one of these classes just so I can see where other people stand (and then draw my own conclusions).
And I've been questioning myself again as manager of the BFSC snack bar. From what I understand, my sole reason for employment is to turn around a foundering enterprise. But just how far can I go? It a classic question of ends, means, and justification. If I don't care about customer satisfaction and disregard the happiness of my employees I could probably generate a fortune. But how far can I push those limits and still like who I am? For now I'm going with, as in so many things, happy mediums.

Accepted

Have you ever watched the movie Accepted (imdb synopsis)? It's a surprisingly enjoyable watch. Anyway, while I was watching that I couldn't help but think, "Make up my own classes? That idea might actually have merit.". Then I realized that CMU has just that: student taught courses (in fact, I took one last Spring). While courses do need approval, I've heard the only real requirement is people willing to take your course. Please take a look at the Fall '08 StuCo course list to see what I mean: https://acis.as.cmu.edu/gale2/open/Schedule/SOCServlet?Formname=GET_CLASSES&SUBMIT=Retrieve+Schedule&SEMESTER=F08&DEPT=STU

Square #2

Another poetry square:

You me, I'll see.
I ask - but gasp;
Me choke (dumb bloke).
"Run hide!", mind cried.

This is a fun one for a number of reasons (disregarding the actual subject matter, of course). First off, I hope that you know exactly what I'm talking about despite the brevity of the work. Who hasn't felt this way at some point? (OK, don't answer that - it might make me feel bad.) The fact that it's all been boiled down to a handful of words amuses me. Secondly, the rhyming is actually done within each line, as opposed to my normal habit of rhyming of the lines themselves.

Data Mining!

An important part of IS is data mining - or taking raw data and getting information out of it. I always thought it sounded dull - but that was before I could data mine the sales at the Barclay Farm Snack Bar (which I manage). I use the sales data from the point-of-sale computer (which I designed, and wrote the software), and determine pricing, staffing, promotions, etc. I won't bore you all with too much information, but I can see things like how many times someone has purchased a small water ice with french fries (54 times).
I can also make pretty graphs (axis values have been stripped intentionally):

Squares

I have a certain set of poetry which I like to refer to as "squares". These poems have the same number of syllables per line as they have lines (typically four lines of four syllables). I enjoy them because it is a challenge to be coherent in such little space. They are also right to the point. And they are fun.
I realized that I have quite a few of these, so I thought I'd run a series of them. So here is number one (they'll actually be numbered as I publish them, not as I wrote them):

Amazed I am
That one like you
Took such as me-
Beast from the zoo.

This is one of my earliest squares, and I just enjoy the thought of the last line. It also reminds me of Beauty and the Beast, which I enjoyed doing a great deal.
Oh, and I decided this one should go out first because it is one of the more humorous, and I didn't feel like anything heavier right now.