Subversive Supermarket Card Techniques 101
I enjoyed reading your article lamenting Albertsons' surrender to customer tracking. I would often drive an extra mile to shop at Albertsons, because they required no card, and I like their produce better. My Safeway card was registered years ago with an alias, using a street address that does not exist. I always buy groceries with cash when I use my card.I'm not so fearful of what the corporations will do with my buying habits as I am concerned they will fail to keep the information secure! I have absolutely NOTHING TO GAIN from some third party which might hack into the grocery's database and steal my data, I don't intend to help them collect those data.
Albertsons makes it so easy and quick to pick up an anonymous card that I get a new one each time I visit the store. Once I have a substantial stack of them, I'll just rotate their use. Plus, we can take this idea to the extreme! Everyone obtains one anonymous card and uses it once. Upon leaving the store, all shoppers deposit their anonymous cards in an open-top box posted by subversive customers at Albertsons' door. On following visits, shoppers need only borrow one of these cards from the box upon entering the store, and returning it upon exit! Nothing on the card indicates it is not transferable, and this ploy randomly transfers the cards among shoppers ad infinitum!
Jonathan Kent
DiGiovanna's Focus on Funny, Not the Film, Was Wrong
I'm a 16-year-old reader who wants to congratulate you for the excellent job you've done with the newspaper. The comics are funny; the editorials are great; and the movie reviews are excellent. I just want to point out something: The Passion of the Christ review by James DiGiovanna ("The Gore of the Christ," March 4). Now, I know all of you must be sick of getting mail related to the movie, but I want to say that the problem I had was that DiGiovanna used his space to go into the cynic side. Most of the time, the sarcasm and cynicism DiGiovanna and Bob Grimm write into their reviews is excellent, but DiGiovanna wasted the space trying to be funny rather than reviewing the movie. This is lamentable, since DiGiovanna is mostly a great reviewer.Other than that, good job with your 20th anniversary, and here's to 20 more years.
Jorge Luis Gamboa
In Defense of Likins
I'm sure that you'll receive responses to the many unfair statements pertaining to Dr. Likins' tenure at the UA (Guest Commentary, April 15). My response is directed to your comments about foreign students.For the record, I was hired in 1970 to establish/expand the foreign students and scholars for the UA. With the support of Presidents Harvill and Schaefer--through 1990--I was able to quadruple the number of international students, increase the number of countries from 50 to 150 and help create a better balance between graduate and undergraduate students.
I mention this not to be polishing my apple but to set the record straight about Dr. Likins and the great leadership that he showed when this community needed him the most--after the tragedy of Sept. 11. Dr. Likins AND Mrs. Likins spent days and hours with Muslim students to assure them that they cared about their safety and well being. The Likins took the lead in working with our Jewish community and churches--you can be sure that these folks were ready and willing to help our young Muslim folks during these difficult times.
Dr. Likins and Mrs. Likins are five stars with those of us who saw them in action. You may think that we may have too many buildings etc., and maybe we do, but Pete Likins is a credit to this university and the community.
And just so you'll know I'm not kissing up--I'll be retiring very soon from the UA.
Simon A. Horness
NOT in Defense of Likins
Thanks to Seth Frantzman for revealing the hollow promises and construction follies that have prevailed under UA President Likins' watch since arriving in 1997.Despite promises of "Focused Excellence," the only focus on campus the past several years has been on dubious, wasteful and unsightly construction and landscaping projects.
Over the same time, we've seen supercharged tuition hikes, reduced course offerings, a Nobel Prize winner in experimental economics flee to an eastern university for lack of resources, a triple-homicide at the Nursing College (that, ironically, resulted in Likins trotting out yet-another construction project to "bridge" the physical distance between main campus and the medical school complex) and viable neighborhoods and commercial areas gradually sliced away for campus expansion.
And the silliness is not over: Now, there will be an alumni "pavilion" project plopped smack-dab in the middle of campus that will take Lord-knows-how-long and will provide Lord-knows-what benefit; future construction slated for the sites of the former student health center and Flandrau Planetarium; and a recent lame attempt to disguise good policy for politicking by inviting the incumbent president to deliver the May commencement address in an election year.
Stuart Williams
Just for Kicks, Another Three Points Letter
In reference to "The Saga of Three Points" by Leo Banks (March 18): The fact that this is a free publication gives the reader the idea that maybe there isn't enough intellect in the articles to warrant charging a fee, or could it be that someone funds this magazine for the purpose of expressing his own one-sided, narrow-minded, short-sighted thumb-up-his ___ opinion of a neighborhood that I live in and he does not.Our community may not suit you, but as far as I can tell, any community with you in it would not suit me. It's none of your business or anyone else's that the residents of Three Points may or may not be high-income, low-income or middle-income; live in a custom home, a mobile home or a tent; own guns, horses, cattle, dogs, pigs or chickens; be self-employed, unemployed or employed.
The fact is that the residents of Three Points represent a diverse group of people just like all other communities do, and most of us are happy to live here.
The residents, businesses, ranches, farms and neighborhoods of our area take pride in our out-of-the-city way of life and do not appreciate being portrayed in a negative light. Yes, our community has its problems--but I know yours does, too. It's even possible that yours is not as safe as ours.
K. White
Opposing the 25-Vote BOT Rule
For your information, I am a long-time reader of the Weekly. However, I do not own a television, seldom listen to radio and cannot afford to dine out. Therefore, I don't have strong feelings for most of the categories in the annual readers poll. I do have opinions about some things in the poll, but not 25 of them. So thanks for letting me know that I'm not valued by your paper. I'll just keep my feelings to myself. And, since you don't want my voice heard, you don't need to know who I am.Good lord. The 25-category rule is in place to protect against ballot stuffing, and it will remain in place. However, if someone out there has a compelling reason that he/she/it can't fill out 25 of the 125 categories--that's one out of five--send the explanation along with the ballot, and we'll count it.
