Thursday, May 24, 2007

When was the last time a Staples employee took a vow of silence?

I think that the next time I buy replacement carthages...er, I mean cartridges for our printer, I'm gonna buy them from monks. Seriously. Real monks from Our Lady of Spring Bank Cistercian Abbey in Sparta, Wisconsin, in between quiet times of reflection and prayer, also happen to sell ink and toner cartridges, ribbons, data storage and even coffee.

Check it out here: LaserMonks

6 Talked Back:

At May 28, 2007 at 4:03:00 PM CDT, Blogger Jim said...

I used the dumba$$ kid at Walgreens, bad mistake

 

At May 30, 2007 at 12:38:00 AM CDT, Blogger Samuel John Klein said...

It's true...it does sound rather strange until you think about it a bit.

Monastic orders have a long history of raising money by producing mercantile goods. If you've ever heard of that fine liqueur, Benedictine...it was named for the Benedictine monks who produce it. There's also Chartreuse, another herbal liqueur, which was produced by Carthusian monks (who also gave us this beautiful, smart breed of grey kitty also called Chartreuse (I had a mutt kitty that was partially that breed. Amazing cat))

Locally here in Oregon we have those monks out of Lafayette, which produce wine and baked goods.

I'm betting you've known some of this, but what caused me to prattle on so is that it reminded me of the personal history of an aquaintance I quite respect. He was a monk at one time, years ago; styled himself Brother Peter, of what order I know not. But after the death of his wife he spent a few years as a monk at a very small (say, less than ten members) monastery somewhere in the South, Georgia I think it was. They had a couple of enterprise-level computer systems (this was back in the late '70s, I think), and they made thier living selling data processing services.

I always thought that was interesting, and indicated to me that there's more than one way to server for the greater good.

Though I must say, providing access to computer accessories is quite an inspiration. And I don't think I need to indicate how cool a name like "LaserMonks" is.

 

At May 30, 2007 at 7:27:00 AM CDT, Blogger stan said...

I did know about Benedictine, and I've tried it before—my friends over at Apotheke serve it.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't there an abbey somewhere north of Mt. Angel? I wonder if they have any monk products. I mean, I wonder if the monks there produce anything. ("Monk products" sounds like something either made for monks...or from monks. Eww.)

 

At May 30, 2007 at 10:59:00 PM CDT, Blogger Jana Swartwood said...

Ok, that is just freakin' awesome! Yay for the monks!

 

At June 7, 2007 at 9:07:00 AM CDT, Blogger Samuel John Klein said...

Stan:

To my knowledge they produce no consumer goods at Mount Angel, though they do have an annual Bach Festival, and their library (which I understand is open to the public) has few peers.

They do have a Seminary there, so I guess you'd say they thier monk products are..well, monks. Or priests maybe. But those are hard to come by on the open market, so they say.

 

At June 8, 2007 at 11:49:00 AM CDT, Blogger Katie said...

This just makes me happy.

 

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Tuesday, May 08, 2007

From the "No Duh" department

This is actually printed on a two-pack of basic Colgate toothbrushes. I figure that they had to put it on there because they got too many phone calls from confused customers who didn't know how to count to the difficult number of two. (Here's a hint, count your nostrils. You know, the things that your fingers are knuckle-deep in.)


(I do realize that the glare from the overhead light obscures the wider picture, but I did take a second closeup photo)

4 Talked Back:

At May 9, 2007 at 3:44:00 PM CDT, Blogger Jim said...

it may not be for people who do not know how to count but people who don't know what a toothbrush is, after all it could just say 'dual pak' or package of two

 

At May 14, 2007 at 12:03:00 PM CDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

yeah once again! this is retarted! because it say 2 tooth brushed and any one who can read know that BS!

 

At May 14, 2007 at 9:49:00 PM CDT, Blogger stan said...

If you have to read that there are two toothbrushes to know that there are two toothbrushes, rather than just see them through the CLEAR PLASTIC COVER, then you have some serious observation problems. That was my point, Mr. or Mrs. Nonymous.

 

At May 30, 2007 at 12:26:00 AM CDT, Blogger Samuel John Klein said...

I see three ponies there too.

Thank goodness someone is looking out for us.

 

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Wednesday, May 02, 2007

I'm surprised it didn't come with croutons

Yesterday for lunch, Nicole and I tried out a new sub shop over in Webb City called, ingeniously, Sub Shop. I ordered a 12-inch sandwich with three meats and cheese, and while they did warn me that they put a lot of lettuce on their subs, I was still unprepared for what I received:

6 Talked Back:

At May 6, 2007 at 12:11:00 AM CDT, Blogger Jana Swartwood said...

Woah.... I really think the lettuce to sub ratio is an essential and yet oft-overlooked factor in the sandwich creation process. If the lettuce is falling off the bread, then there is too much lettuce, in my personal opinion.

 

At May 6, 2007 at 8:34:00 AM CDT, Blogger stan said...

I totally agree, Jana. Most of the time, I don't even like shredded lettuce for this reason.

In this case, most of the lettuce never makes it onto the bread!

 

At May 7, 2007 at 2:22:00 PM CDT, Blogger Jim said...

thank goodness you didn't order the salad

 

At May 14, 2007 at 12:07:00 PM CDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

wtf? this is really gay ass blog!~ take it off all u imatures discust me!?!?! ewe

 

At May 14, 2007 at 4:15:00 PM CDT, Blogger Scott said...

Hey anonymous, if you don't like the blog, then don't read it, and by the way, learn how to spell, it's disgust, not discust.

 

At May 14, 2007 at 9:53:00 PM CDT, Blogger stan said...

Anonymous: I think the wheels fell off your spellcheck there at the end. You might want to get it looked at.

Also, for your information, I am glad that you noticed that I have a "gay ass" blog. I've really been trying to appeal to happy donkeys lately, and it appears that my hard work has paid off. I haven't really tried to market to ewes, though...thanks for the idea!

 

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