Here comes the fear again

Back when I lived in the south end (and was a Southie), I used to go to the KCLS a lot. It was great and so hassle free. I am really kind of a sucker for any kind of self check-out system, truth be told. You could waltz in, grab your hot hot fiction action, scan your barcode, scan your book, and waltz back out again in less than five minutes flat.

Even after I moved up north (and became a Northie?) I still went to the KCLS for a while, because my work/commute took me down there several days a week. That eventually ceased when I transferred northwards, and I haven't been to the library in a couple months.

However, as mentioned yesterday, I did discover a SPL branch a block away and armed with my new mission, I traveled there this morning and got myself a fabulous shiny new library card.

I collected the books I wanted, put a hold on 8 more (which probably won't be back before the end of the month, sadly), and went up to check out. The set up looked strikingly similar to the one they have at the KCLS:



I scanned my card and then . . . there was no step two. The pad I'd set my books on had auto-detected the RFIDs within them and checked them out to me.

I actually freaked out at this.

You have to understand a couple things here:

• Although the power of the RFID might obvious to these people, when reading things like that, I always assumed they had very troublesome lives, because:

• The only experience I've had with RF tags is with the really crappy ones retail stores use to keep you from stealing (regardless of the fact that employee theft is 3x more prevalent than outside theft). Seriously. They suck. The ones we used to use at Giant Bookstore A only worked half the time.

• I inherited (slightly more than) a healthy does of paranoia from my dad.

So the real life revelation that RFIDs work and work well shocked me on a couple of levels and I'm finding myself having to re-work things through in my head about just how aware and worried about the possible level of future freaky tracking by private and government sectors I ought to be.

It's obvious that we can't go mincing through life freaking out about every little thing, but we can't be cavalierly oblivious to what's going on either. I mean, I'm not super crazy paranoid, but still.

Good start to a weekend, self. Go ahead and have a relaxing one.

. . .

Also, I fell down the stairs this morning. That really really sucked.

. . .

And no, I have not decided if it is ironic or fitting that I freaked out about this tracking thing while checking out a bunch of Philip K. Dick books.