Angry old man

I had a moment the other day where I realized I was getting old. And not just having a creaking back or something, I was actually decrying a new technology, in a "get the hell off my lawn with your crazy electronic scooters!" way.

Those new automated supermarket self-checkout machines that let you buy food and bag it yourself? I don't like them. Even though I own a zillion gadgets and love that technology makes our lives easier, for some reason I actually like the interactions with my local grocery store's staff as they check and bag my stuff and would hate to see those jobs go. I even go to a local supermarket chain that costs slightly more but has a 1950's service-is-king quality about it (they have better food choices too).

Then I thought about similar systems I do like. At the airport, I really like the self-check in vs. waiting in line for 45 minutes to get my ticket in 30 seconds from a human. I realized it was probably since my interactions with airline personel are usually slow and unpleasant that I prefer a machine.

But the folks at my supermarket are nice and always helpful to the point that I wish they weren't replaced by computers.

Damn kids, and your new-fangled checkout machines.