tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808670041290466552.post6058747597860237700..comments2023-09-18T02:56:01.703-07:00Comments on Walter Kirn's Permanent Morning: Self-Service Assisted Suicide (The Costco Syndrome)Walter Kirn or "Walt"http://www.blogger.com/profile/09791836439071305007noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808670041290466552.post-46168941904025942662011-04-24T10:08:37.590-07:002011-04-24T10:08:37.590-07:00Mr. Kirn, welcome to the blogs. I enjoyed Jason Re...Mr. Kirn, welcome to the blogs. I enjoyed Jason Reitman’s film, Up in the Air, which filmed in St. Louis. The St. Louis debut sold out before I could buy tickets. I created the Wikipedia article for that film and updated the article on your book. I hope to read your book (especially if it is the original edition with the cover showing people flying about, crashing and burning), so I can do justice to the article on your book.<br /><br />I categorically refuse to do the self check-out. In addition to the Costco installations, local grocery stores such as Shop ‘N Save, Schnucks and Dierbergs have installed these. I enjoy talking with the cashiers while checking out. I make a point of showing up at stores when they are typically less busy so I can do this without causing problems to other customers. I resisted direct deposit, since I also like to talk with the cashiers at the credit union when depositing my check.<br /><br />Social media such as blogs, Facebook and twitter are a poor substitute for direct face-to-face human interaction. I believe this is a major theme in your books, especially Up in the Air.Dan Dassowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08317232358519343757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808670041290466552.post-73934156409894175982011-03-01T14:07:19.605-08:002011-03-01T14:07:19.605-08:00Oh, come on. No one aspires to be a super helpful...Oh, come on. No one aspires to be a super helpful smiling checkout robot at Costco. Dude isn't thinking his job will go away; he is thinking he will be promoted to real checker!Rant of the Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03458057620708591825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808670041290466552.post-3721490951982649692011-02-26T11:28:08.901-08:002011-02-26T11:28:08.901-08:00My local supermarket chain (Stop & Shop) has h...My local supermarket chain (Stop & Shop) has had self checkouts for at least three or four years. Unless you've got a very small number of items the self checkouts <i>never</i> work right and employee assistance is required.<br /><br />PeterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808670041290466552.post-136552973078136812011-02-26T05:42:10.207-08:002011-02-26T05:42:10.207-08:00Reading is one activity that reliably gives me ple...Reading is one activity that reliably gives me pleasure (not even sex and eating are as reliable.) So I value bookstores. Yet I shop at Amazon mostly. A lot. In America big box bookstores and "onlines" maimed the indies. Now Borders is going down which leaves The One: B&N. I have helped this brittle ecosystem evolve. What happens if B&N goes down?acheekymonkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07547208774835282729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808670041290466552.post-70815651998145837032011-02-25T07:14:05.741-08:002011-02-25T07:14:05.741-08:00Just yesterday, I ordered a bunch of books on Amaz...Just yesterday, I ordered a bunch of books on Amazon, and it occurred to me they've probably put a ton of other retailers out of business, since their prices seem to be the lowest around (and now they sell electronics, clothes, furniture, and everything else you could ever need). But of course, I keep shopping there, because why would I want to pay more for the same item?<br /><br />I've noticed the "worker Stockholm Syndrome" in many places as well. Maybe those cashier helpers don't even think about the fact that their jobs are temporary? These days, a short-term job might be the best anyone can do, horrible as that is to say. I know a lot of people who have temp/contract office jobs (some of whom have worked at those places for years), with no benefits, no job security, and they have to go in every day and act cheerful and happy to be there. I guess it's not quite the same (since they're not helping to put themselves out of a job), but I've never understood how some people could be that enthusiastic about a job where they're being treated like a visitor but have the responsibilities of an employee. Maybe some people are just naturally better actors than others. I've had to interview for some awful jobs, and I always have trouble feigning enthusiasm as the interviewer describes the job. I was once offered a (temp, naturally) job that consisted solely of going to meetings all day long. It involved "bank integration," i.e. helping one bank take over another. Once the project was complete, I'm sure my job would have become redundant. I turned it down because it sounded unbearable, and I justified that to myself by saying that it wouldn't have led to any sort of normal career path, since bank integration is a very specific niche (though sure to be around for the next several years, at least).<br /><br />I'm still unemployed. <br /><br />www.unemployedyetagain.comUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13560234574421168180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808670041290466552.post-70372160321834365942011-02-24T18:25:39.140-08:002011-02-24T18:25:39.140-08:00After my New Yorker piece on the 10th anniversary ...After my New Yorker piece on the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam Vets Memorial, I set-up a 501(c)3, the Vietnamese Memorial Association, dedicated to building memorials in Vietnam to the victims of wars there. I got a high-profile group of folks on the two boards, including James Fallows, Stanley Karnow, Marcus Raskin, Hodding Carter III, Lew Puller Jr, ex-hostage Terry Anderson and a guy who'd helped with the Vietnam Vets Memorial, John Wheeler, who asked a lot of questions, which I dutifully answered. When my board failed to pay me the salary they agreed to, I had to resign, and knew how Steve Jobs felt when he was forced out of Apple. Surprise surprise -- John Wheeler took over. The Vietnam Vets founder, Jan Scruggs, told me Wheeler tried to do the same thing with him on the VVM. EPILOGUE: Wheeler's body was found in garbage truck in late December 2010. I did not smile. But I wasn't sad.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01861160523238458525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808670041290466552.post-54029294153652798612011-02-24T18:12:47.101-08:002011-02-24T18:12:47.101-08:00I thought Up in the Air was a great book, and I en...I thought Up in the Air was a great book, and I enjoyed the movie too, thought it was a good adaptation, curious to know what you thought of the movie. It would interesting to hear your thoughts on the whole process of your books becoming movies.trileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06430221429400448628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808670041290466552.post-81554993214109573232011-02-24T16:12:59.742-08:002011-02-24T16:12:59.742-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.WordCouplinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11123747540423134581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808670041290466552.post-72404476224080242092011-02-24T13:50:08.504-08:002011-02-24T13:50:08.504-08:00No, it won't go away completely. But you don&#...No, it won't go away completely. But you don't have to lose all your limbs completely, either, to end up in pretty awful shape. And Main Street stores haven't gone away completely -- there's that. in fact, I saw one in Idaho the other day on an otherwise untenanted, abandoned block whose window sign read: "Lawswuit Center." underneath were listed all the bad pharma drugs with big class action suits attached. Cheerful.Walter Kirn or "Walt"https://www.blogger.com/profile/09791836439071305007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808670041290466552.post-34615255769576714302011-02-24T13:39:15.914-08:002011-02-24T13:39:15.914-08:00The human need won't go away completely. Somet...The human need won't go away completely. Sometimes the machines demand some official approval or the people screw up. The attendant services four checkouts if my local Albertson's is any indication. With better machines they may not need this sort of intervention.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15222366707246731960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808670041290466552.post-34828695852163751082011-02-24T13:26:46.783-08:002011-02-24T13:26:46.783-08:00Call me cynical, but voting in state and/or federa...Call me cynical, but voting in state and/or federal elections feels that way, too. I equate it to going back to the crazy girlfriend every 2-4-6 years, because she's changed this time, no, really, and all of that crazy shit I used to do? I'm over it, and this time We Will Work. Then you wake up the next morning with the taste of old wine and hope in your mouth, and she's already in the bathroom crying and texting her mom about how much of a dick you are because you forgot to blow out one of the candles last night and it WAS HER FAVORITE FUCKING ONE THAT SHE GOT FROM HER FATHER THE LAST TIME HIS WORTHLESS SKIPJACK ASS WAS IN TOWN ALTHOUGH HE WAS WHORING AROUND WITH SOME BIG-HAIR TRAMP AT THE PINE GROVE INN AND HOW COULD YOU BURN THAT FUCKING CANDLE DOWN TO A NUB? And you realize that it's gonna be a long 2-4-6 years.Jeremy D Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16014827537536982326noreply@blogger.com