Comments on: I’m Fighting More Robots

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:41:48 +0000

In my midwestern corn-fed suburb of St. Louis, I deliberately *ask* the checkout machine for espanol. Mine is OK enough to get through the process sin problemas (and so far as that goes, I know the checkout machine well enough, and the icons are helpful enough, to go through the process in languages in which I’m clueless). The good part is to watch the store personnel and other customers jerk their heads around at the unaccustomed sounds as if some psycho just started in on a noisy fit of glossolalia. See, I’m a 6′2″, blond/blue white dude. They can’t initially tell *who* has the $*#&$% machine set to Spanish. Shortly, the store help runs over, concerned, to “help” me restart the process in Merkin. “Lo siento, pero no gracias,” I say. [blink] Then I smile at them and say, “It’s OK, I’ll just finish it out this way.” . . . now if only they had more languages so we could all hear the whole process in, say, Basque, or Gujarati. Encouragingly, the startled/alarmed reaction seems to be diminishing over time.

By: erik

erik — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:11:08 +0000

that was laugh out loud funny. well done.

By: Marcos

Marcos — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:28:32 +0000

That was exactly the joy and brevity that I needed on this cold Oakland morning.

Thank You

By: Dave Moncoeur

Dave Moncoeur — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:08:33 +0000

I solved the problem and subscribed to the most expensive phone, the blackberry, but a friend had told me it was actually cheaper than she expected in general, not that I want to sound like an advert. Boringly perfect, in comparison to the above.
My website is not particularly relevant musically, or maybe I don’t understand the request for a website. Put a message somewhere else saying it was “nice seeing you in Edinburgh” but this machine is not giving me the full hershsite, or maybe would look for a response to that. Wonder if there are differences in cell-phone efficiency in different parts of the world? Haven’t heard anybody talking about those surreal errors up there. Yours truly, Dave.

By: Lurker667

Lurker667 — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:25:40 +0000

“I will get back baby bad balls to you…love cretin” That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in a long time. Remember that we made them so they are prone to get drunk like we are. Wait, that’s I, not we.

By: Chris G

Chris G — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:43:46 +0000

I think the machines subject us to these cruelties because we created them without the ability to laugh!

By: Katie

Katie — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:02:39 +0000

My cell phone always seems to predict that my name is “Laughed” for whatever reason.
I think I’ll be brave and make the same promise to myself– to battle the “meat meat robots”, take them head on, instead of taking my usual socially anxious cop-out. I’m guilty of texting people instead of calling them (or even talking to them in person) far often than I should. I’m inspired!

By: Melanie

Melanie — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:56:44 +0000

Predictive text always insists my name is melamine. I’m not a hardwearing table top surface. Honest!

By: leslie

leslie — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:18:29 +0000

If FFW ever does an xmas album you can always title it ‘Merry Merry Meat Meat’.

By: Kristin Battles the Bots - braintoast dotcom

Kristin Battles the Bots - braintoast dotcom — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:30:50 +0000

[...] Kristin Battles the Bots [...]