IANAL or anything even remotely resembling one, but it seems to me that this could be begging for legal trouble if an employee was fired for this. I could be very wrong, but depending on how you go about this it has elements of entrapment, etc. all over it.
EDIT: Also seems like a very minor issue. I'm tempted to think that you're trolling. Perhaps this person wasn't aware it was someone else's? Really, I think a memo reminding everyone that their own food is their own should be enough to clear this up.
I can vouch that this isn't a troll question. Having worked with him for a while, he's asking a good question about how best to keep his company family intact without making everyone feel like jerks about the whole thing.
"Person who takes lunch from the fridge" isn't a protected class as far as I know, and a lot of states are basically "at-will", which means you don't really need a reason to fire anybody at any time.
I've worked Unicorn in to my daily workflow. I can't say everyone (or even anyone) else uses my system, but Unicorn is my first stop of the day when I sit down at my desk. I look over all the unicorns from the previous day, distribute points as I see fit, and move on with my day. Rinse and repeat daily.
It takes all of ~2-3 minutes out of my day. I can see how this technique wouldn't scale well once employee numbers get too big, but it seems to work well at ~100 employees.
Posts like this pain me. None of the hearing among us will ever truly understand what this is like. Posts such as this one give us a glimpse in to what it must be like, but that's all. There's no way we can understand the difficulties experienced day in and day out for the deaf.
As a stutterer, I like to think that I understand a bit of what's it's like to not be able to communicate as well as some people. There's times when I have valuable input, but I won't say it out of fear of wasting people's time. Why would I spend a few minutes trying to say a few sentences when I can sit and wait and hope someone else could say the same thing in a few seconds?
It's not nearly the same, but I think it gives me an edge in understanding this kind of thing. Posts like this really make me more aware of what everyone can do to help the deaf and other people who struggle with things like this. Take a few minutes out of your day to help someone.
I'm also a stutterer. Everyday life is really a challenge when you are handicapped. And working life is even harder. Living in Germany, there is no way to do an interview via chat. They want to telephone with you and see you in person after the phone call. So it's almost impossible to get a job without help or connections. If you are lucky and got a job, you will always earn less than your workmates. The reasoning goes like this: 'Why would we want to pay this guy more money? He won't quit anyway. And if he quits, it's ok. He is handicapped, he should be happy to work for us." Unfortunately, they are right. But even buying a cup of coffee at starbucks is hard. Or buying a hamburger or a beer. You get the idea. And yes, i'm alone and unloved. Is it self-pity? I really don't know. But "normal" people can't imagine what it's like being deaf or being a stutterer etc. In the past, i always tried to be better in some other areas. Be a better programmer, work more, learn lots of things. But in the end, it's useless. The average normal guy will always get the job. Or the raise. Or the girl. Or have a nice chat with the starbucks clerk. My strategy for the future? None, I'm clueless.
There is no doubt in my mind that if I had followed the advice in this book, I'd be substantially better off then I am.
I read it when it first came out, and it's an amazing read. Short enough to could get through it in a day; funny enough to make you laugh; information density is great; and lots of supplemental material on his blog free of charge.
Check out http://iwillteachyoutoberich.com - he's got tons of material on there, and if you like his style, definitely buy the book.
This seems to me to be a great example of hour DDG can gain an edge on Google. I don't think you'll ever see Google offering something like this; they're too big. A smaller option like DDG has more room to grow, and can take advantage of the crowd like this in ways that Google can't.
After a cursory glance, it seems a lot like Code by Petzold[1], or at least a similar concept in less detail. I loved that book, and I know most others did as well. I'd love to take a look at it.
I'm sure this speaks to a fairly large segment of the potential audience.
For some people (I might even say most - especially newbies), it's much more thrilling to dive right in to a project. Even if the content was the same as a class with a more "classical" name, at least these names would put an idea of what can be done in to the students mind.
EDIT: Also seems like a very minor issue. I'm tempted to think that you're trolling. Perhaps this person wasn't aware it was someone else's? Really, I think a memo reminding everyone that their own food is their own should be enough to clear this up.