When I am at the self checkout and I notice an employee watching me closely I can never tell if they are trying to decide if I need help or if I am stealing something.

I was watching a show last week , Europe beginning to go cashless , phone app banking ,
The mention of charges with that , some purchases carry ,, and what happens when electric goes poof,
They were talking that with all the Technology ,if the power fails , it send us back to barter and trade , Like banks or fuel companies would do that ? uh huh ,right
Like Alternative fuels , lots of things function , getting more difficult to prove , and nothing is a totality like what the systems have us all locked into

Good morning. Frosty morning with sunshine, only to the mid-30s today. Christmas baking begins today.
Our local grocery store tried self-checkout lanes for a short time. For whatever reason, they went away. Maybe customer complaints or union issues - who knows. The same grocery store (several locations) had computer issues a month ago - shut down the cash registers. I think it was ransomware. Anyway, some of the stores actually had to close until fixed. Also read this past week about lawsuits in NYC against cashless stores - discriminating against the poor who basically didn't have credit cards or bank cards. Hmm - if so much of recent job growth is in retail, won't going person-less be a detriment?

OK, reminds me of one I have probably already told. I was in northern WI at a festival. Lots of storms clouds appeared. Festival shut down. I stopped at McDonalds on my way home. Drive through. They informed me they could not take my order. I asked if their power was out. No, we have lots of food but the registers are not working and no one here knows how to make change.

Being snide or facetious Ain't electricity and machines wonderful ,


Truthfully yeah nice ,, but don't bet your life (or in Gene's case your lunch) on that ,

Over Yonder, IL
33°/49°/27° Some clouds this morning then generally sunny skies for the afternoon. Winds light and variable.

Up Yonder, ME
35°/36°/22° Cloudy, scattered snow showers and flurries becoming a steady accumulating snow later. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 80%. About one inch of snow expected.

I presume the self-checkout stores have someone available for people unable to do it themselves. Of course they'll get to wait until help arrives. I don't know where that leaves the people that always pay in cash or with vouchers, as Cindy mentioned.

A Christmas tradition.

http://www.bbc.com/travel/stor...

Mac - kinda like the steel mills around here. Employment is only 25% of what it once was, mainly due to automation, not necessarily imports. I'm sure Pittsburgh feels the. Too many secondary businesses built around steel that are no longer needed hurts too.

Yes. Technology is great but there's no Plan B for those who lose their jobs.

37°/44°/24°
Sunny, with a high near 44. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the afternoon.

Cindy,
Laughing! At least he's not too old to talk to me and I'll see him whenever we pick the other kids up. I don't think he's done staying just yet tho.

Rj.
Seriously? I don't have a Home Dept, but do have a Lowe's.

Pepper,
I hate self check-out! There always has to be a human there to help anyway!!!
We took the kids to McDonald's, ick, but what do you say to a 7 year old, ,ol! Yu can order off a pess button menu. There was a kid there to help and we let him do all of it.

Gene,
You know you live in the Midwest when you know the Walmart greeter, lol! And she is a chatterbox! The kind that leaves you no opening to say, I need to get started on groceries. We also talk to a couple of stockers every week and we don't know them personally, but we talk like we're old friends. If no one is in the dept. I go look for them! We go to the same cashier. Don't know her either, but got to know her and the other two that take her place. I guess I'm lucky to have a different Walmart. Maybe too because they are around my age or older, but t few younger ones are respectful and helpful.
Wow, so true about not making change tho.
Oh my gosh, lol! A defecator!

Ginny,
Laughing! I've seen some pretty capable elderly!
I know, no snow in my area either for Christmas, again...

Jim,
I'll never make it in the electronic world! Locked up systems are what I fear!

A bit of humor from my life.

Knee Socks

Thick white ones pulled up to our knees and that's how we liked them!

But MOM liked them turned down three times. Imagine four skinny little legs with huge sock cuffs! So, off to school we went.

At the end of our block, we would stop and look back to see if Mom could see us out any of the windows. Nope. Up the socks came!

On the way home, we stopped again and folded them down. I'll never know now if Mom figured it out, but I'll bet she did. We both won and I think that's why I never told her what we did.

39 degrees
Sally ,, The Geek look ,

Well the picture of Mr Tribbles I posted a few days ago will the last new one ,
I wasn't going to tell , but he got hit at the end of the drive just after , He was Granny's cat really , Only beginning to develop properly , He was a little slow , but something chased or he chased something and he got hit ,

In memoriam
Mr Tribbles
Sept.18 2014
Dec 17 2018

Tribbles looking Mingles sleeping age 4 months

So sad.

Jim,
I am so so sorry about Mr. Tribbles. I hate it when they get hit. He sure wasn't very old. Hugs to you and Granny.

...and everything else.... I know this is too simple to actually work. If clean clothes are the priority and not saving on energy. Hook the water hoses up to the washer backwards and select cold wash, cold rinse.

Jim - awww. Sorry to hear about Mr. Tribbles.
Sally - kneesocks - sounding like rolling up skirts before we got to wear pants to school.

Gene I think ours is that way ,,


I kind of take it like Mingles


Most cats only about 3 to 5 Tribbles was afraid of cars , so something happened , Camo was around a long while
Mingles and Tribbles were both 3 in September Mingles is a larger smarter cat ,
But yes ,, that is sad

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Japanese girls in school uniforms. Can it get any better?
Historical note. I believe the uniforms were based on the Prussian Navy.

As said ,,Geek

Sorry for the kitty Jim.