Chores; Codes and Condoms

Yesterday it rained on and off, so today it is sultry and humid. Not at all unusual for the south in May.

I went forth at noon to do the customary lunch thingy at the Japanese restaurant. Crowded it was. I sat at the bar against the wall trying to read the latest "The New Yorker." My brain is blank as to what I read.

Back home, I gathered laundry for my trek to the laundry. (Odd that "laundry" can apply both to where you go and what you take there.) Nothing exciting to report.

WalMart amazes me. They have always been in the forefront in the use of technology. They were the first major business to require Universal Product Codes on all products. Which set the standard for the market.

Their newest push is in the use of Radio Frequency ID devices. These tiny chips contain information and can react with a number of different scanners. Thus allowing an item to be tracked literally for the life of the product.

A couple of weeks ago, I filled my cart with assorted goodies, checked myself out through the self-check lane, and headed for the door. Just as I went through the scanners, the alarm went off. I knew that I'd scanned every item, so this was a puzzle. The clerk glanced at the bags, picked one up and scanned it, and again the alarm went off.

She pulled out an item, a box of condoms actually. (This was one those moments from a tv comedy. I expected her to pick up the broadcast phone, and say, "I need a price check on a box of neon, glow-in-the-dark, novelty condoms.") She said that was the item causing the problem.

I know that when an item is scanned, two actions are taking place. One identifies the UPC and looks up the related price. The other deactivates the theft-prevention sticker. In most cases this may be the same label.

But since the box showed up on the receipt, I concluded there must be two databases. An item could be listed in one, but not the other.

The clerk took the item over to a notebook hanging on the wall and wrote a code. No doubt, so it could be entered into the database.

I always get a big kick when I'm able to figure this type of situation out. Makes my day.

PAX!