Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
Call me a luddite if you want, but I don’t like it.
In 2006 we reported that McDonald’s was testing a system in which drive-thru orders were being taken by employees at a remote location, usually in another state altogether. Nearly 2 years later, the system has proven successful in some areas and is being used in over half of the McDonald’s in Hawaii, according to KITV. Apparently, the system enhances the speed and accuracy of orders and most customers don’t even realize the difference.
The article says,
McDonald’s began trying the idea four years ago in Illinois and Missouri. Out-sourcing drive-through order workers began in Hawaii two years ago. Recently it has expanded.
KITV went to one drive-through Wednesday and found the company is still working out the kinks. At the Keeaumoku Street McDonald’s, the people taking drive-through orders were in another time zone. “I am currently talking to you from El Paso, Texas, sir,” the drive-through operator said.
KITV asked the Texas call-takers if they are having a difficult time understanding people from Hawaii. “We’ve been out here for about seven months, so it kind of takes me a while just to understand,” the worker said.
The long-distance call-takers send back the orders to the restaurant via the Internet. There the restaurant employees take the cash and hand over the food.
We suppose that fast food is meant to be fast, so if the system works then why not? Who hasn’t been to a drive-thru that could have benefited from a little more speed and accuracy?
This is not new by any means. The article above is from a year ago, and some of the others on the same topic are from 2006.
It arouses my suspicions mightily to see these little hiccups pertaining to dialect, explored as an afterthought. Just something I can’t prove: The fast food customer with a camera and microphone shoved in his face, doesn’t care a whit about understanding the cashier or having the cashier understand him.
But if you could somehow acquire his opinion in the privacy of a voting booth, things would be turned around right-quick.
I do not, do not, do not like to have an endless-loop conversation about whether my side order is fried rice or chow mein because there’s only phony communication goin’ on. I do not like pretending to communicate with people. I don’t like going through the motions when both sides are just muttering syllables and have lost any hope of exchanging a real idea. I do not like it, Sam I Am.
I am Ashton…
Not a racist thing, either. Race is not the issue. I simply do not tolerate arguing with people to give them my money, or playing lucky-lotto when I place orders for food.
The lack of specificity about things that are supposed to be specific — in all walks of life, not just fast food — really wears on a fella after awhile. I drive up to a fast-food restaurant and I’m talking to some guy in Tallahassee? How does that make the order accurate? What’s that do to the age-old problem of “where are the napkins” and “where’s the sweet-n-sour sauce”?
But what the hell do I know. If I was born 75 years earlier I’d be that grouchy old man who insists he can’t see the difference with color TV.
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Nothing wrong with being a Luddite, son. As Merle Kessler famously said on being accused of curmudgeonry, “Somebody’s gotta notice these things, Dammit!” And of course the irreplaceable W.F. Buckley wished only to “Stand athwart History yelling Stop!”
Actually, it does my heart good to see another generation with a strong distaste for crap. Tell you what, though, you want to lose that “grouchy old man” meme, which is just part of the “younger is always better” propaganda that’s really only been around since the ’60s.
I’m older than Gerard (and Buck, too, I ‘spect), and I learned programming at 40, network engineering at 50, and new music all my life, and I’m definitely not an old man. And as far as grouchy goes, refer to the Old Jews telling Jokes post a few days ago, and ask yourself how many people you meet under the age of 60 with a sense of humor.
Keep afflicting the comfortable in your inimitable fashion, and don’t let the bastards grind you down. Free advice, and worth what you paid for it.
- rob | 02/12/2009 @ 17:39…and worth what you paid for it.
Ha! I dunno about that, it might be worth a bit more. Not a Barack-Stimulus-package more, mind you…but a bit more.
…you want to lose that “grouchy old man” meme, which is just part of the “younger is always better” propaganda that’s really only been around since the ’60s.
It works like this: You’re opinionated and older than me, you’re a curmudgeon. You’re opinionated and younger than me, you’re a whippersnapper. If you’re the same age as me, you’re an idiot or you’re a savant, depending, of course, on whether your opinion is the same as mine. Sort of a variant of Thing I Know #305.
- mkfreeberg | 02/12/2009 @ 19:30