Sunday was much like most Sundays and therefore included a trip to the Home Despot. The Despot is what I would imagine my big box retailer would look like if I just decided to open one tomorrow - all sorts of random crap strewn about in no particular order and stacked to the ceiling. Most of the time, I feel like I have a better chance of finding the Ark of the Covenant in that mess than replacement bulbs for my kitchen (today's assignment). But the focus of today's rant did not become apparent until I made it to the checkout line. Now, last time I was there, I got behind a check-payer, which is a rant for another day. But today, I went to war with the automated checkout. My basic thesis is this: the technology is not ready, so why the hell did they roll these things out? You can scan and stack your stuff to the right, but it only "senses" that you put the stuff there half the time. And then that attendent - who was too dumb to even get the Express Lane gig - takes out his or her frustration on you because they think they finally found someone dumber than themselves. These folks tell you to repeatedly lift up and set down the item until the screen clears. Of course, this is the supermarket equivalent of the IT guy telling you to restart your computer. But much like the IT guy, these guys will be fully replaced by machines or outsourced to Mumbai soon, so I guess I should be charitable.
