telophase: (Default)
telophase ([personal profile] telophase) wrote2004-04-05 08:26 pm

Living in the future

The Albertsons I shop at just got set up with handheld scanners for shopping. You scan your store card at a kiosk and get assigned a scanner. You scan the barcode on everything as you buy it, and it keeps a running total. At the end of the trip, you return the scanner to a small kiosk and your total comes up on one of the U-Scan screens, so you then pay with your debit card or whatever, and you leave. You canb ag as you go or go through a cashier at the end and have them bag.

I'm picking up a little bit of money next week by going to a focus group on grocery stores. I'm going to tell them that the reason I'm shopping at Albertsons instead of the nearby Kroger is that I get to play with the scanner. :D

I can look up books, reserve them, go the the library, pick them up from the Hold shelf and check them out at a machine without talking to a single live person. I went to the movies today and bought a ticket from the machine in the lobby without talking to anyone. Now I can do that at the grocery store, too. My antisocial little self is just loving living in the future.

Speaking of movies, I saw Hellboy, which I enjoyed. But I'm thoroughly enjoying seeing Hellboy and The Passion of the Christ on the same marquee. (Although at heart they really both have the same message, if you think hard about it.)

[identity profile] tprjones.livejournal.com 2004-04-05 07:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, wow! That sounds like it's almost worth a trip back to CS just to see that.

It's definately something I'll have to go do when I'm there next year for AggieCon. Don't let them take it away before then, please.

[identity profile] telophase.livejournal.com 2004-04-05 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not actually in CS. :) I'm in Dallas right now -- just finished grad school at UNT. I have no idea if or when the Albertsons in CS is gonna get these things.

[identity profile] tprjones.livejournal.com 2004-04-05 09:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, whoops! I must not have been paying attention.

Well, I guess that's a good excuse to go to Akon, then. :)

[identity profile] telophase.livejournal.com 2004-04-05 10:02 pm (UTC)(link)
WHAT?? You mean you're not coming to A-Kon to hobnob with me, Mike, and Toby? We're even some of the people you can pick to banquet with if you buy banquet tickets!!

Actually, we expect that we're the people whose table you sit at if you sign up too late to sit at any of the *other* tables. We've been debating the possibilities inherent in pretending to be fans and fanboying/girling the people who end up sitting at our table: "I've been a fan of your work for so long!! When's your next project due out?" "Er ... I don't .. know ...what?" "Oh, don't be so modest! You're an artistic genius!" "Help!"

Banquet

[identity profile] ebony14.livejournal.com 2004-04-06 06:57 am (UTC)(link)
Sounds like fun. Be sure to interject, "on page 12, in panel 3, I liked how you demonstrated the angst inherent in the cliques of teen society" and other such overanalytical statements. It'll drive 'em bugfuck.

Of course, the ones that parse the commentary and manage to play along should immediately be befriended and offered alcohol.

scanners

[identity profile] puppleball.livejournal.com 2004-04-06 09:07 am (UTC)(link)
Those scanners rule.

Re: Banquet

[identity profile] telophase.livejournal.com 2004-04-07 10:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Heh. :) Of course, the banquet is on *Sunday* -- a brunch -- so too much alcohol consumption is contraindicated. Mind you, there's a good chance that the people at our table will therefore still be drunk from Saturday night, which means we can have EVEN MORE fun screwing with their minds.

Thought you might find this of interest....

[identity profile] mundeemo.livejournal.com 2004-04-09 09:20 am (UTC)(link)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3611453.stm

Mew,
Mundee

Re: Thought you might find this of interest....

[identity profile] telophase.livejournal.com 2004-04-09 01:12 pm (UTC)(link)
That is interesting. :D Thanks!