Annie's Corner

 As anyone besides me noticed that the human beings are getting kind of scarce lately?  

 You call a business and end up talking to machines and have to push several buttons of choices, or wait awhile to actually get a human voice. (if you manage to get one)  Telemarketers are using machines to dial for them which is why nine out of ten of their calls I say "hello" a few times then hang up as I guess the sales person is on another line. You can even make payments over the phone with a machine taking the information.

 Even when calling information, you talk to a machine and tell the city and state you want before you get a human telling you the number.

 Job hunting is all done anonymously today as well. Look for jobs on-line and e-mail your resume in, or mail it to a post office box from ads and it goes to who knows at the other end. 

 Call friends and leave a message on their answering machine so they can call back and leave a message on my machine. Phone tag!

 Sometimes I have noticed another machine will leave a message on my answering machine and that can be quite comical at times, I mean when the other machine tells my machine to press 1 and it doesn't, what's up with that? Often I will only have dial tone on my machine, does that mean the other machine thinks it is better then mine and hung up?

 Local government offices all have you wading through recordings, listening for the extension you want so you press the right number for the person you want and you better pay attention. I received a rather irate person one day as I pressed the wrong number and got the wrong office. Am I bad?

 Calling the pharmacy for refills and use the touch tone phone to do it all, one does not even have to open their mouth. No human voice at either end of the line in this case and if you have a question, guess you're out of luck as I don't ever remember being giving the option to talk to the pharmacist. 

 Have you ever noticed when you are in need of assistance in a store, it can be very difficult to find another human being? I have actually started wondering if the store has closed and locked me in a few times. Other times I am just shopping, with no specific idea what I want and I have "can I help you?" coming at me from all points in the store.  Is this part of Murphy's Law?

 Some of the smaller markets still have baggers, even some that will help you to your vehicle with your groceries; but seems the bigger the market, the harder it is to get help if you need it. Smaller purchases get put in plastic bags by the cashier, but the larger ones are up to you the consumer to bag. Oh well, at least you make sure your gallon of milk is on put on your bread. 

 Even the toll roads collect your tolls through a machine, no longer a person in the toll booth to grimace at you. What do you do if you don't have the correct change at some of these?  

 Have you seen the remote control vacuum cleaners, run around pretty much by themselves, don't need the human legs to run them around and guide them, just to turn them on and off. With all this, one has to wonder if we will end up like in the movie, "I, Robot?" In that film machines were doing everything for us, but then again they tried to take over so is this the way we want to go, it's something to think about.