Whenever I drive by the empty shell that was once a Hills department store, I have this powerful urge to pull into the deserted parking lot and peak through the large store windows. I have a strange fascination with this place, which I visited frequently when the store was active many years ago. I often wonder what it would be like to walk through the store if all of the shelves, displays, and products had been left intact when it shut down. I confess part of this fascination is the idea of seeing vintage Star Wars figures on the pegs just as they were back when I was a kid.

On a whim I went searching on the web for pictures of something like this, and I came across this website created by a guy who enjoys snooping around abandoned buildings. He has some really cool, creepy photos of abandoned building interiors, with accompanying summaries of his exploits. Have a look!

www.illicitohio.com

From Reuters today:

While the French get 30 days of paid leave and most other Europeans receive at least 20, the country with the world’s biggest economy does not guarantee workers a single day, researchers said on Wednesday.

This is one of my favorite topics, due to pride in my country’s work ethic, and because it is a real life illustration of laissez-faire economics vs. quasi-socialist systems. Invariably these articles compare the US to European countries who force their employers to provide paid time off. It’s generally not mentioned that these countrys’ economic growth and employment rates suck.

According to economist John Schmitt (a part of the think tank who conducted this research?), “It’s a national embarrassment that 28 million Americans don’t get any paid vacation or paid holidays.”

Hey John, ever wonder why the US has the biggest economy in the world? Since when is getting paid to sit on your ass a right?

This guy obviously hasn’t upgraded to a Mac yet. The overhaul of Man@Machine continues with an updated verson of Pissed.

*Mediaworkshop.com does not condone, support, advocate or endorse violence against machines.