Thursday, May 19, 2011

Present Shock

In Europe, McDonald's will be replacing cashiers with touchscreens. (McDonald's is refurbishing in general.  SNL mocked it, saying McDonald's is not a destination, it's a place where you end up.) The company says it's part of a movement to make its restaurants more convenient and convivial.  "Convivial"? Do they know what that word means, or did they just say it for alliterative purposes?

Anyway, touchscreen checkouts aren't the future, they're the present.  Major grocery chains out here--and I'm assuming elsewhere--allow you to buy your items via computer.  So how much longer before the local Mickey D's follows suit? But it's scary to contemplate the day when "hamburger flipper" jobs are gone.  They may not pay well, or be very fulfilling, but they're stepping stones for young Americans into the labor force.

My first regular job (which only lasted a few weeks before I got something better) was working at a fast food place.  I learned the joys of mopping, washing windows and rejuvenating the frier.  I wish I got to flip burgers.

7 Comments:

Blogger QueensGuy said...

Well, they'll still need the burger flippers, just not the burger order-takers. The latter seems to be dominated by young women, in my experience, with the young men back behind the grill. I assume they've got lots of metrics for whether order sizes will decrease or increase, and will decide on that basis whether to stick with humans.

1:49 AM, May 19, 2011  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Apropos of not much, this is pretty funny from Cannes:

The festival "provides artists from around the world with an exceptional forum to present their works and defend freedom of expression and creation," the statement said. The board "profoundly regrets that this forum has been used by Lars von Trier to express comments that are unacceptable, intolerable, and contrary to the ideals of humanity and generosity that preside over the very existence of the festival."

Go ahead and ban the guy, but maybe leave off that part about expression.

5:02 AM, May 19, 2011  
Blogger LAGuy said...

I thought about writing something on Lars' statements. They were dumb jokes that followed a long pattern of mindless, smart-alecky statements. He's a very talented filmmaker but I've never thought he had anything intelligent to say about politics anyway. It actually does seem to have finished his chances to win the Palem d'Or (which he's won before) for his well-received film.

Meanwhile, they can't get enough of Mel Gibson.

10:10 AM, May 19, 2011  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Peter Fonda has just called Obama a traitor at Cannes. So has Cannes become a place where celebrities come to talk about politics?

10:21 AM, May 19, 2011  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"So has Cannes become a place where celebrities come to talk about politics?"

Yes there and everywhere else on the planet. Typical actor confusion that assuming because there's an audience, there is something worth listening to say. Did somebody get the Octomom's opinion?

12:29 PM, May 19, 2011  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Did the prudes finally take over?

Von Trier comments were weird but not really offensive. He must have lacked the fake sense of solemnity that most use when discussing Hitler.

Speaking of Hitler, Ahnold is castigated for giving a little love to a homely maid and paying for it and then paying for it again when he foolishly admits it 14 years later. This is what passes for betrayal? One fantastically rich powerful person sleeps with someone other than another rich powerful person? Rule for life- never ever admit anything.

12:38 PM, May 19, 2011  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I assume Arnold admitted it because he knew the press got a hold of it and it was coming out anyway. At least with we don't have to go through rounds of denial like with John Edwards.

1:43 PM, May 19, 2011  

Post a Comment

<< Home

web page hit counter