Mixed Blessing of Self-Service Kiosks

They offer such an attractive prospect, being able to check your purchases and pay for them without the need for a cashier. This promise of convenience and expediancy often turns out to be an illusion to me. A mirage that peels away into the reality that most times these self-service kiosks are more tedious & infuriating then dealing with a human cashier.

There are occasions and scenarios where the self-service kiosks are fantastic. At the airport, I have had great fortune in dealing with the e-ticket kiosks. The lines for these kiosks are usually much shorter and the kiosks are usually much faster then the ticket clerks. Those kiosks are usually my one highlight of my air travel experiences, sadly.

Those occasional happy experiences aside, the majority of my self-service computer cashier experiences have been infuriating. When they started putting them in my local grocery store I was initially quite excited. "Very cool", I thought, "Finally some 21st century tech in my grocery store." So I waited in line that first time very understanding to the people figuring out this new way of paying for their groceries. "Hey, it's new. Folks'll get used to it and this is going to rock. Much more convenient then the express line."

WELL, it's been more than a year now...and people still take forever! C'mon people, honestly, if you don't know how to identify and weigh your produce at the self-service kiosk don't use it. If you can't figure out where to sign for your credit payment, DON'T USE IT. And please parents keep Junior out of the process so you don't need the store assistant to come by and erase double or triple scanned items.

And then I've had my own wrestling matches with these kiosks. For example the wonderful times the weight sensor under the conveyor belt can't "feel" me putting an item on the belt and sends it backwards asking me to rescan..over and over again. There is also the jerky customer that comes after me who proceeds to scan and send down his watermelon and soda cases, while I haven't finished bagging my eggs and bread, I guess he couldn't spare the additional 20 seconds it would've taken me to finish packing my bags.

The last time I was at the store I did notice that the allure of the self-service kiosks has greatly reduced the express checkout line. So that's where I went, back to the ol' 15 items or Less express line with a human-being checking the groceries. The express line was now a great experience, a short line and a fast checkout process...so maybe modern tech has given me some benefit after all.

Call for Help is Back on G4

One show I used to enjoy very, very briefly, since it took Comcast FOREVER to get TechTV on our channel list in Gaithersburg, was Call for Help with Leo Laporte. Well it looks like G4 is going to pick up the current broadcast of the show that Leo does out of Toronto. Starting next week on the 29th and every Monday after that. Very cool. I enjoy Leo's podcasts and I'm glad to see he'll be back on TV here in the US.

Modern-day snake oil salesman

The gullibitly of the masses never ceases to amaze me. Currently at the top of The New Times Bestseller list for Hardcover Advice, How-To, and Miscellaneous is Kevin Trudeau's book, Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About" Now some of you who don't stay up late, late at night might not recognize the name & face of Kevin Trudeau. This is the guy who was hawking his mega-memory or coral calcium products on TV, with informercials that were set-up to look like late night talk shows with Letterman or Larry King style sets. His coral calcium products were such a total fraud that last year the FTC actually banned the man from doing Informericials anymore. The details of that action can be found here. I mean this guy was claiming coral calcium was a cure or treatment for cancer. The guy was trying to con cancer patients, that's pretty low.

Now he's back again, his new book is supposedly full of the natural cures and remedies that the government, pharmaceutical, & medical industry don't want you to know about. I guess because "they" have it in their best interest to keep the general public as sick as possible. Mr. Trudeau, who has no medical background by the way, is here to save the day. This self-described consumer advocate is here to give you the truth for the right price, and by the way check out his pay website for the real skinny. Judging from the numerous 1 star ratings and angry reviews from people who bought the book on Amazon.com, Kevin has another "great" product on this hands.

Despite his documented background of selling fraudulent products, this book has consistently been a hot seller this summer. Come on people and open your eyes! I understand wanting some sort of hope for new solutions to your problems or alternative cures, but this guy has demonstrated he's not looking out for you. He's doing what he can to shake out at least $30 from your pocket. Thirty dollars that could be used for something much more beneficial for your situation I'm sure.

I hate seeing people taking advantage of, that's what this man is really doing with this book. He's preying on peoples desires for answers, cures and hope. It's just underhanded and I wish people could see him & and his products for what they are BEFORE they go for their wallets.

I'm not providing any links to Mr. Trudeau's books or his website. I'm not going to feed his machine by spreading those links around. If you want to find him just use a search engine. If you do want to buy the book, find it used so at least you aren't putting anymore money in his pockets and you'll have saved yourself a few bucks.

My Rockin' Saturday with Glitch

I had an interesting Saturday night, not my ordinarily quiet evening with the wife. No this time I was soaking up the nightlife of Baltimore, beautiful Charm City. I accompanied my brother and some of his friends to a concert at Fletcher's. There were four hard/heavy rock bands playing that night, one of them being my sister's band Glitch. This was a pretty big venue for her band and I wanted to check them out & support them.



The first band we had to suffer through before getting to see Glitch was a total joke. First off the lead vocalist (calling him a singer would be an insult to all singers, and even calling him a vocalist is kind) just sucked. The guitarists for the most part were a joke. These guys did every kind of cheesy cliche guitar playing stunt from playing behind their backs to synchronized head banging to the dropping their knees while playing deal. I can't remember laughing so hard. There weren't that many people there watching these guys so I tried to turn my head when I laughed so I didn't come off like an ass. Honestly I doubt these guys could've cared less, they were obviously having fun. One curious item about this band, they had one guitarist named Jonathan who always seemed to have a moment in their songs were he would take over the vocals. The dude just stood their straight as a board and unleashing a steady stream in a great yell that beat out anything their lead guy could belt out. We came to the conclusion that Jonathan needed to ditch these other four guys and go solo. They were obviously holding him back.



Now on to my sister's band, Glitch! Let me tell ya, Glitch ROCKED. Their performance was fantastic. They had the crowd (and I do mean crowd) moving and feeling the music. The place filled up when they started playing. I enjoyed them a great deal and I was just so proud. My little sister's performance was just flawless, I loved it. They are putting together an EP of original songs. The guy they have as their lead singer is pretty damn good, all the music is really tight. Honestly the only flaw right now I see is their name, there are just too many bands/musicians using the name Glitch. However that is easy enough to change. They will be playing at Flecthers again next month on Thursday September 8th. So on the off chance anyone is reading this from the DC/Baltimore Metro please check them out.



I've been to my fair share of concerts in my lifetime, but it's been about 6-7 years since I have been to a rock concert of any kind. As much as I enjoyed myself I really paid for that evening. It took two days for my ears to return to normal and the headache I had after that show was a record breaker. I felt like I'd been through the ringer. Driving through Baltimore in the evening when there is traffic from both a Raven's preseason game and Otakon 2005 was also a treat that I'd prefer not to repeat. But it was still a good evening. I got to see my sister play and really have great success at a major area venue and I got to meet some of brothers friends. I got to experience a bit of each of their little worlds.

Engadget-circa 1985

The Engadget blog has a great entry posted today, that I had to share. It's the blog as it would've looked 20 years ago as BBS. I remember connecting to these BBS's when I got my first modem in the early nineties. Very cool entry, well done. I hope they do more of them.

CSS Zen Garden

For all the web designers out there, be they hobbyiest, professional, or aspiring amateurs, here is a very cool website that shows off the power cascading stylesheets. This site isn't exactly new, but since it is fed by viewer contributions, there is always something new to see. A very cool site. Always makes me want to redesign my own.

BTK killer gets 10 life terms

10 life terms still doesn't feel like justice served. I don't think there could be any punishment that would be satisfying. Nothing smart-assed or snarky to say, just disgusted by what some humans are capable of doing. Such ghoulish acts being committed are just beyond me. I hope to God I never understand how these monsters, demons in human guise, can do such things.

Where is the Love, Sonic?

Thinking about flying cars yesterday had me thinking about how different businesses would change or benefit from the flying personal transportation trend. One fast food restaurant that came to mind was the Sonic Drive-In franchise. But my dreams quickly were consumed by the frustration I feel when I reality of the total absense of Sonic's in the DC Metro area hit me.

I'm not the world's healthiest eater, nor am I a fast food junkie. Honestly, I'm not that big on fast food fare. But I do enjoy the offerings at Sonic. I was introduced to their drive-thru junk food paradise while driving to Arkansas to spend the holidays with the in-laws. I fell in love with their wide variety of milk shakes, their tastey breakfast offerings, the Cherry-Limeade is something I haven't tasted anywhere else on this planet.

BUT we don't have them here in the DC area, the closest one is in Williamsburg, VA. Not exactly convenient, since that is approx. 120 miles away from my neighborhood. It wouldn't be so bad, if Sonic hadn't started this major national advertising blitz. Everyday on television now I see one of their "clever" little commericials, usually on one of the cable stations or national network broadcasts.

Personally I think the drive-in business model would work well in the DC area. Because of the horrible morning and evening commutes most of us are trapped into we are in our cars a good portion of the day. Maybe real estate is too tough to aquire, who knows. And who cares. I don't like to muck around with the details, all I want is a Sonic somewhere within a 50 mile radius from my house. I'd start a petition, but that's just a lot of effort for something that I probably don't really need.

Yeah! Flying Cars - Let's Make it Happen!

I love these challenges that NASA is putting out to the public with intentions of advancing technology by dangling prize money and publicity in the face of whoever can accomplish the specified goals. The X-Prize produced many innovative space shuttle designs (whether they all functioned well is another story, they were innovative) and this latest Personal Air Vehicle Challenge is sure to produce some cool flying car designs, I hope.

I'm not going to argue with anyone on the practicality of flying cars. On this topic I leave all reason at the door. We are living in the 21st century, we should have flying cars. End of story.

I want to ride to work like George frickin' Jetson everyday. Wheels and roads are old news man, waaaay to old school for my tastes. Just imagine how much the landscape would change if flying cars would be the main means of transportation...dare to dream.

Okay back to reality as I'm about step out the door for another dreamy driving experience in my Ford Escort.

NASA to inventors: get your flying car on (via Engadget)

Good Morning Starbucks

As I do most mornings, I took a swing into one of my local Starbucks coffeehouses. Gaithersburg, MD has some of the most Starbucks for a town of our population size, in the US. So finding a place to stop for coffee isn't too tough, if you like Starbucks. Personally its not my FAVORITE coffee, but it's not bad. Personally, I like Mayorga but they don't have a location convenient to my office/home. If you live in the MD/DC area you should check Mayorga out, great coffee that is roasted locally.

Back onto Starbucks, they are hosting a bookdrive in my area for DC/Prince Georges County libraries. The drive is specifically looking for new childrens books. I bought some books over the weekend and donated them today. I honestly don't think this place had gotten any donations or at least not that many, even though this drive has been running all month. They called the manager out to greet me when I arrived, they gave me my coffee on the house and vouchers for more free coffee. I was a little surprised, I didn't expect such a reaction.

Now a post wouldn't be complete without some cranky complaint. I HATE Starbucks coffee cup tops. Those thing are terrible, I never fail to end up wearing coffee when I have to use one of their paper cups/plastic toppers. It doesn't take much of a jolt or bump for me to spill that coffee. I know I'm not the only person to have this problem. Why can't they design a better top?? Dunkin Donuts has great toppers, I've never had a spill problem there. Other places have also been able to overcome this basic topper design flaw.

I'm sure the people reading this are thinking, "Damn man, get a life. This isn't that big a deal". Hey it's a big deal when I'm dressed for work and I have to deal with a coffee stain on my slacks all day when meeting with clients. I usually bring my own cup to avoid this challenge...but somedays..like today, I forgot. And sure enough as I type this posting I can still smell this morning's coffee from the two spill spots on my pants.

Used iBook Frenzy!

Ya know...I wish I had a fraction of this kind of response when I wanted to sell my old iBook. I'm guessing the next time this school system wants to unload their used iBooks they'll sell them to Small Dog or put them up for bid on eBay, anything is better then this craziness.

Panic ensues in rush for cheap laptops (CNN.com)

Nintendo Dropping Price on DS

Looks like Nintendo is going to put this price down to $129.99 effective Aug. 21st. That's pretty cool, hopefully it will inspire more folks to buy the little gizmo. It's a good deal for anyone considering a handheld game console. It has a decent game library to choose from when you take into the consideration all of the GBA games in addition to the growing selection of DS titles.

Personally I enjoy my DS a great deal. Meteos being one of my favorite DS games and playing Final Fantasy Tactics GBA while on the go is fun as well. With Nintendogs coming along next week the DS title line-up continues to strengthen. The touch screen offers some fun gameplay when used correctly by developers...and frustrating when game designers just cram touchscreen usage into a game where it isn't appropriate.

What I can't stand is the PSP versus DS debates and articles out there. I really don't see the two as competition. They are different consoles with different goals. I don't see why it has to be one or another, both can co-exist without any problem in my opinion. I've played on both and I enjoy them both. I can see the strengths and weaknesses in both, and both have some great exclusive game titles. When the PSP came out the amount of traded-in used DS's in my local Gamestops tripled. I thought that was crazy, since neither system has really come into its own yet.

If I hear someone else tell me that gas is still a bargain when inflation is taken into consideration, I'm going to go ape! I drive a little Ford Escort, it shouldn't take over 20 bucks to fill that tank. This weekend I was shopping at Tyson's Corner, on the way home I noticed the prices at the gas station by the mall jumped by about a nickel just over the 2 hours we spent in the mall

AAA: Gas prices leap to record

Hi everyone,

Welcome to yet another blog. My name is Marcus, as the title implies this blog will be a forum and outlet for my thoughts of the day. Current Events, Politics, Technology and Pop Culture sum up what keeps my brain churning. In addition to these topics, this blog will include retellings of situations that I've witnessed or gotten wrapped up into in my neverending struggle against the rest of humanity, specifically the humanity residing in the Washington DC Metro area.

If you have any thing you want to say or contribute, feel free. Though I might not agree with you I always welcome seeing other people opinions and I enjoy a good debate.

Thus ends the obligatory introduction posting.

Stay classy