The website is nearing completion, at least in terms of design. I still need to turn it into a web page obviously but the design is always the hardest part.
I’ve also got an interesting bit of work to do this weekend. Or, more exactly, a full schedule. Friday morning I’d like to take some pictures, probably of myself. Friday night Lauren and I are going to a dance. Saturday is our wedding shower. Sunday we’re going to a church service all about marriage and then out to the beach. Sunday evening, mistakenly, I agreed to take some jewelry photography for Sean and one of his friends. I’m not sure that I’ll be back from the beach on time. I’d like to use Sunday to relax with Lauren a little but I’m concerned that Bergen Hall closes early on Sunday so pushing back my photo shoot might not be an option. I’m waiting for Sean or his friend to email or call to make sure we’re on for Sunday. I hope we can work out a better time because I’d really like to do both.
That’s about it. I’m watching Seinfeld and considering eating the Butter Pecan Ben & Jerry’s I have in the fridge. I’ve got a headache too, in case you cared.
PS: For you’re random link to enraging story of the moment… enjoy. This has “bad fucking idea” written all over it. Unless of course I’m allowed to purchase a huge RFID interference device and carry it with me wherever I go. Remember those scenes in Minority Report when he goes to the mall and the ads talk to him… yeah, that’s bullshit. In a different article I read that one of the potential uses for this would be “smart” ads which would show you advertisements (on your shopping cart) of potential items you might also like given what you already have in your cart. “Since you have chips, want to try our salsa?” sort of thing. Fuck that. The day I see a plasma screen on a shopping cart is the day I bring a baseball bat to the grocery store with me. I refuse to be advertised to while I’m walking around a store. That’s ridiculous. Hell, I think billboards and tv commercials are ridiculous, but that’s a completely different rant. What do you guys think? I can’t be alone in thinking that RFIDs are a really bad idea can I?
Other links: RFIDs, the big picture.
We already have ads on shopping carts, so what’s wrong with making them actually targetted to what we’re buying? Personally, if I have to look at ads, I’d much rather have them be relevant to me, rather than completely random. Like if I went to Penny Arcade and saw ads for cars, that doesn’t make any sense. But ads for import sites and games, that’s somewhat useful.
Also, the inventory control and checkout benefits are great. These could easily be the key to a system where you can just push a shopping cart up to a register and have everything tally up without all the tedious barcode scanning.
Hey Matt,
it’s Liz, from high school. i don’t know how i wandered onto this page, but it’s interesting that i did. i can’t believe how long it’s been since i’ve heard anything about you. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT! when’s the wedding? and congratulations on graduation too! and everything else. i hope life is treating you very, very well. you deserve it.
Wow, that’s a blast from the past. Hi Liz, how’s it going? Life is treating me very well, and I hope the same for you. The wedding is November 1st and it’s in TX. What have you been up to? I usually get the latest New England updates whenever I see Nick but I haven’t seen him in a while. Hope everything is going well. Drop me an email and let me know whats going on with everybody up there. I haven’t been “in the loop” for quite some time.
@Chip –
“Personally, if I have to look at ads, I’d much rather have them be relevant to me”
But that’s the point. That you shouldn’t be forced to see ads. We have to “opt-in” when we watch TV by making a conscience decision to turn it on. We’re saying “yes, I’m watching TV and I don’t mind seeing ads because it keeps my favorite shows on the air.” Super-markets aren’t like that. They don’t typically generate a large percentage of their revenue from shopping cart ads. Adding, essentially, commercials to a shopping cart does nothing but generate extra income for corporations that don’t need it and is a bit over the top. I don’t NEED to know what kind of salsa goes best with my Chips, I can figure that out on my own. The only way I would find it acceptable is if it had an off-switch on it or I could disable it in someway.
Here’s a quote from a Cnet story. I think it’s rather relevant:
“If you care about privacy, now’s your chance to let the industry know how you feel. (And, no, I’m not calling for new laws or regulations.) Tell them that RFID tags are perfectly acceptable inside stores to track pallets and crates, but that if retailers wish to use them on consumer goods, they should follow four voluntary guidelines.
First, consumers should be notified–a notice on a checkout receipt would work–when RFID tags are present in what they’re buying. Second, RFID tags should be disabled by default at the checkout counter. Third, RFID tags should be placed on the product’s packaging instead of on the product when possible. Fourth, RFID tags should be readily visible and easily removable.
Given RFID’s potential for tracking your every move, is that too much to ask?”
I think that sums it up perfectly. Inside a packing crate is fine, inside a warehouse is fine, I’m sure they’d help for tasks that are inventory related. There’s just no need for them on things I take home. Nothing in my home would benefit from an RF tag. They need to be obvious and removable, like those ink-tags on department store clothing. And disabling all those tags would certainly slow the check out process if anything, and that pretty much defeats the purpose of them in the first place.