Yes, it is a cult . . . I encourage everyone to check out the web page that Jill so kindly linked below for the Park Slope Food Coop. I vote "yes, it is a cult." I also vote "yes, you should join." If it is a cult, at least its members seem to be well-fed. I particularly enjoyed reading the description of how their work policies changed over time. It seems that, shockingly, even hippies can be lazy and not show up to unload the frozen food truck. I also enjoyed reading how the "worker/owners" tried to operate without rules and discipline, seeing such things as the suspect product of hierarchical institutions (i.e., those with a divide between management and labor). Previously, there were no rules:

"The committee/squad system came into being late in 1974 after the Coop had folded for its second and last time. The previous member-work systems had resulted in very high absenteeism. The Coop also relied too heavily on a few members who were willing to do large amounts of extra work on an unpaid basis. The previous systems had no rules to deal with absenteeism because at that time it was not perceived that absenteeism was going to be a problem. Plus, Coops like ours were not big on rules in the early 1970's. However, experience taught us that without certain rules, the Coop's existence was jeopardized." Click here and then hit the link for Part IV to read more.

The story has a happy ending (or rather, the coop has not had an ending but is happily continuing), as it seems like the Park Slope Food Coop has figured out how to lower food costs while maintaining some type of community atmosphere among the worker/owners. While the coop looks good, I'll say that it's no Wal-Mart. But then again the coop probably exploits fewer people. So, Josh and Jill, I say you should join. Just don't miss a shift, because then you'll have to work double-time to make it up.

UpToDate . . . Congrats on the job, Doug. Shannon apparently uses your company's product all the time. Well, not all the time (though she works most of the time). I checked out the website myself. Enjoyed viewing articles in the patient center on a range of topics, including such crowd-pleasers as transsphenoidal microadenomectomy. Yes, Doug, seems to be a very useful site.