The Monopoly

This definition of the OpenRestaurant system is a community organized and run, free food restaurant. It is based on the ideals for feeding the hungry, and community spirit. Anyone with the spirit of an entrepreneur may attempt to create one in your neighborhood, as long as the population of willing, caring, and able bodied people is large enough. This may require a local population of several thousand people.

STARTUP
The first step to making this system a reality is by promoting it. This type of business is a hybrid of non-profit, public service, and food industry. There is usually no personal risk required on the part of the person trying to get it started. In many places, advertisement for free offers, community projects, or surveys, in local papers and online are free. Also, in many cases, there are free local or regional financial services for this kind of business. Finally, you must go to as many local meetings set up by community action groups, or convened by the mayor or other government officials for people to speak at. If you have some extra money, or if you can find someone to do advertising, it would help a lot.

As with all privately managed public services, you should not take any risks when purchasing equipment and location for your business. Make sure to carefully calculate all start-up expenses before making any commitments, and try to put up your financial bar graph in as many places as you can. Again, this can usually be done for free for this kind of business. If not, try to sell the idea to some merchants around town to this end. Wait for up to a year to start getting funding, and never dip into the account for any reason other than procuring the required equipment. Meanwhile, find convenient business locations available, and try to take into account where your largest demographic of interest is located, if possible. Additionally, if you have the means and interest to do so, start researching government incentive programs that may be available. Many governments not only approve of this kind of service, they also provide tax breaks, loans, and even grants.

TECHNOLOGY
Much of the technology described here is optional, but it can be used to maximize efficiency, and minimize accidents and risks. There are also some conflicting systems described below that may be switched between depending on the situation.

The first technology to be mentioned is the volunteer service scheduling counter, or "the OpenEmployment System". This may be seen readily before anyone comes in through the main doors, looking out into the parking lot. This strategic placement is meant to encourage people to participate in this system at the time when they are most likely to be motivated. The volunteer scheduling system needs to be very flexible and convenient because the people using it are willing to volunteer their time to this worthy cause. If it is not convenient enough, the restaurant may fail. Scheduling options should include one-time volunteering offers, weekly scheduling, and monthly scheduling. It should allow the volunteer to work for as little as one hour. When sufficient employment is achieved, everyone who was scheduled within the valid time-line must be notified. When operational hours begin, the OPEN sign should automatically light up. In the case of regular employment, a schedule should be made available on small cards, and online, and circulated to supporters.

The second technology is the donations booth. This booth is to be situated beside a waiting lounge around the corner from the door. People on their way out should be most likely to see this booth. This strategic placement is meant to encourage people to participate in the system at the time when they are most likely to be motivated. Any amount should be accepted by the donation booth, however, people should be expected to offer more in order to become a member. Alternatively, everyone who offers to volunteer should be given membership. Membership may expire within one year. It would be best not to raise the membership limit too high, perhaps around $5 for USA, which is not much. This is to encourage anyone to participate.

One alternative to the (above) managed employment model is the impromptu food preparation model. This system may be used for a number of events, from chef training courses, to catered community group meetings, to full featured parties. In order to access the kitchen at any time, you must be a member. You must enter your personalized access code, and then you may begin.

The last and most important technology is in the kitchen. It is probably also the most expensive. This technology is a user friendly automated system that allows anyone to prepare a recipe. This includes many cameras aimed at preparation surfaces, and a large interactive touch-screen walk-through system. The cameras are used for adding new recipes into the cooking guide system. It is self guided, which means you do not have to enter statistics or steps. This is based on a standard model of food preparation, with an automated voice available to say most generic preparation instructions, and a microphone for special terms. The kitchen consists of a line-workers waiting area with a long counter across one wall, and a long warming area across the other wall. An opening leads to the large spacious  preparation area with all of the cooking equipment.

• Food is stocked by an external delivery system, not by the front entrance. The system registers the product into its inventory via the bar-code. Different types of products, such as produce, are entered in slightly different ways to keep track of it all. A human being may not enter the building through any of these methods, and both doors may not be opened at once. A special color coded security system keeps track of this.

• To begin, simply press a big red button. A recording and an on-screen guide will notify you that you may press the button again in order to get a different language. Next, the on-screen guide shows you several options for how to proceed. You may select from several types of categories, or you may search for your desired recipe alphabetically.

• Each recipe has an icon next to it stating whether the ingredients are in stock or not. Each recipe page has a rotating sample image of what the dish looks like prepared, a list of ingredients required with little icons stating whether each ingredient is in stock or not, a skill level meter, and an estimated time required to make this recipe.

• Before cooking, the automated system registers all of the cooking materials to be used, and guides the user in proper food handling methods, with optional on-screen tutorials. It even tells you what pans and oven to use for each specific food, and programs the oven properly. All you have to do is put the right foods into the oven. When the food is finished cooking, an icon appears on an overhead display screen in the line-workers waiting area, accompanied by a tone and the name of the food in the appropriate language.

• Once someone has taken the food out of the oven, or finished preparing it, it may be served or left in the warmer/cooler bar at the line-workers area. Everything that is prepared is put into special containers with bar-codes. These bar-codes are scanned between the kitchen and the line, and between the line and the dining area. Another optional step would be the buffet bar. Scanners are placed at convenient places and heights to accommodate everyone.

FOOD MANAGEMENT & DINING
There are several possible ways to manage the purchase of food and the care of the dining area. Each possible method has its benefits and drawbacks. There are also many ways to determine which method works best in your situation. Conduct surveys periodically, and choose wisely, or the restaurant could fail.

The first, and simplest method to keep everything in stock is to simply create a model that orders all possible ingredients for all recipes. When an ingredient runs out, or is about to run out based on usage estimates, it is simply re-ordered. This may not be appropriate for fresh produce or for ingredients that can go bad rather quickly, or for seasonal and holiday foods.

Another approach, which may be equally simple as the above method, is the appropriation of ingredients from a local source upon demand. This is possible if local stores have quick response grocery delivery systems available in your area. In this case, members would simply be able to decide what they want to make in a few minutes, order it, and prepare the food when it arrives. One benefit to this method is that it would make it easier to manage produce items and items with a short shelf life. A drawback to this might be that people order expensive or unneeded things and drain the company account irresponsibly.

Finally, the system may be set up to order specific ingredients based on a weekly schedule. Workers may then be told to prepare specifically planned dishes at the specified times. This is the most common restaurant model, especially for buffet restaurants. The benefit of this model is that people will know what to expect when they come in to eat. One drawback to this model is that it may be especially difficult to prepare special orders. It may also limit the capacity to entertain special events in the community.

The two most important aspects of a restaurant dining area are cleanliness and freshness. The premises, including the floors, tables, food, trash cans, and restrooms, must all be clean and fresh. A janitorial staff may be needed for nightly cleaning and maintenance of everything in the building. This includes throwing out expired items, and making sure all of the mechanisms work. This idea applies to every aspect of a restaurant, and especially in this special case,when paying is completely optional.

The merit system is arguably older than humanity itself. Observed in many types of animals, this system has its roots in the very advanced nature of social interaction itself. Merit is a precursor to complete obedience, and therefore it must be handled carefully, so as not to create a system of willing slaves.

Before discussing merit, one must consider how this fantastic system could possibly come about. Primarily, it is a more just system than the current "wealth=merit" system, since there are innumerable ways to make money without using our better qualities. As people realize this, they will slowly come around to it, since there is more social security in the merit system than there is with money. In case you haven't realized it yet, the merit system replaces the money system. As large organized groups of people learn how to take more and more money for themselves, they will master the art, and their greed will destroy them. Since there is no amount of money that can satiate true greed, there is also no limit to the lengths that a truly greedy person will go to. This will eventually lead to wealthy people finding the merit system, and implementing it.

Since basic goods and services for living are free, all that extra money goes straight to the top when it is no longer needed. Farming will soon become a zero labor industry, and goods required for farming will either be produced on site, or they will become free for trade. With everyone eating for free, a diet stabilization system must be implemented in order to keep everyone healthy. The public health will truly become a public matter, with all unhealthy people being organized into various treatment facilities.

Once eating is free, time becomes free. You no longer have to work to keep your stomach full. Everyone in the world may now pursue their ultimate dreams and goals in earnest. Now, you might ask, what is stopping everyone from just sitting back and relaxing? The answer to that is simple. Even though you have to work for a living, you are bombarded by all kinds of ways to be lazy and unhealthy, and that is why you are so lazy and unhealthy. Once the system no longer has money to motivate you to work, it will clean up its act, and no longer tempt you with such things. You will be healthy, full of energy, and interested in fulfilling your dreams, and that is what the system will be trying to sell you.

Here is where the merit system comes in. Lets verify that we understand the basics. There is no money, eating is free, and the system helps you stay healthy. There are certain things that you will still want, and they will be restricted from you, just like in the days of money. There are also certain things that the system agrees is good, like working at a job, and it wants to reward you for it, but there is no money. The answer to this is the merit system. With merit, you may earn points, and get restricted things that you want. Don't be fooled though, merit is different from money.

In a money system, you must earn x amount of money, which enables you to buy goods totaling x amount of money. In a merit system, you earn x amount of merit, but you keep your merit. Also, if you work at a job, you don't steadily earn more and more merit, as you would earn money. Merit is earned by purity of character and good old fashioned workplace efficiency. Goofing off is no longer tolerated, it is punished with a bad character score, and factored in to your overall efficiency rating, which affects your merit score. Additionally, low efficiency is not punished, it is simply considered to be your ability level. If there is anything  that the merit system helps solve, it is using statistical analysis to determine what you are best at, and slowly helps you to reach your peak.

Of course, greed will still exist, and although it is considered a bad trait, it has some motivating factors that can prove useful, but instead of being greedy for money, people will be constantly trying to find the most efficient way to do their job, and the best character traits to use to get enough merit points for that big screen TV. Also, most of the side effects of greed will be eliminated, and here's why. In a money system, things still have value after you get them, but in a merit system, things have no value after you get them. Since merit points don't transfer to goods and services, those goods and services have no value, and therefore, there is less motivation to steal them. Sure, it will look cool in your house, but once you have it, you can't do anything dishonest with it. Also, the person you took it from won't be sad about it, since they will report their TV stolen, and get a new one. Meanwhile, you will be in big trouble, because that modern TV plugs into the internet and tells everyone who you are.

An additional side effect of the merit system is that its very existence in your life will motivate you to educate yourself and improve yourself, and there will be nothing in your way to stop you. Education will be free, and since efficiency equates to merit, teachers will be constantly researching the best methods to teach, and the best teachers will have enough merit to get the best teaching aids, and they will share them with the other teachers at the schools. Also, practices that improve their merit score will be shared, and improve the merit scores of everyone else there, and eventually the world.

Who is in charge of giving out merit? Simply speaking, the same people who had money in the old system, everyone. You will have limits and quotas on how much merit you may give out, and there will be many ways to determine when merit is given without any reason. For instance, parents can give merit points to their children, which will allow them to get x amount of candy at any candy store, or that bicycle, or that R/C race car set, or that young scientist set, or that backyard astronomy set, etc. Parents will be given a standard quota of merit to give out, and someone may come around to determine whether they are abusing their authority.

There are also multiple merit calculation segments in your merit score that are easily looked up on the internet. Each segment has the amount earned, and the possible maximum, which is based on the subject. A part time job will not have as much maximum merit as a full time job, and so on. A child may have a segment for parental merit, school merit, extra curricular merit, job merit, and more. An adult may earn job merit, community merit, relationship merit, and more. There is also locked merit. When you get something, some of your merit is locked for a period of time. This prevents you from getting a ton of things all at once, and creating some clandestine money scheme to undermine the merit system. Some things may lock some of your merit for as long as you have them, for instance, a space ship captain may have so much merit, he can simply get a new ship every year. To prevent this, the space ship will have to lock his merit until it is destroyed or becomes useless.

It is also possible to pool merit points. Managers of large corporations may pool their merit points in order to get some special equipment for the efficiency and luxury of the workplace. This brings up the nature of merit pooling. It must be completely voluntary and non-contractual. Large corporations must never be allowed to take tons of merit points from every employee by force, in order to rule the world, or some such unthinkable action. The pooling of merit points has the impact of allowing insignificant people to voluntarily do greater things than were ever dreamed possible. For instance, merit point pooling could be used to create a space station, or it could be used to overthrow the current leaders.

PS:

Who decides how much everything costs? Economists and politicians, of course. The merit system isn't a completely alien concept, it is simply an evolution of the money system.

MEDICAL

• There are many doctors who love medical science, but hate working around sick people. There are also many people who love working with and helping people, but can't remember all that scientific information. The solution is telecommunication. Simply allow the person who is interested in medical science to view the situation from the 'people person's headset. When the medical scientist sees something wrong, or has a question, the people person can ask it in a nice way, and make the patient feel comfortable. This not only allows incompetent doctors to work at the job they love, it gives millions of people jobs. It also adds personal security to a private situation by having someone watch what is going on, this reduces malpractice and abuse.

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• more coming soon