Computer Assisted Ordering

Computer Assisted Ordering (CAO) is used by retailers that carry large quantities of products to help keep track of the number of goods in stock. It is used with a barcode scanner that has items in a super market stored in its database. It is useful because it automatically generates and sends item orders to a wholesale vendor. What that means is, the program can notice when the store running out of a product and automatically send that information to the manufacturer or other vendor that holds large abundance of every product. It makes for a lot of saved time and labor hours to employees. I was interested in the inner workings of CAO, so I asked expert, Ashley Livingston, for some insights.

Ashley is a veteran Kroger employee who has been using the system for years. To scan the items she uses what they call a “RF Gun” which is a hand-held, battery-operated scanner. When an item is scanned, it comes up on the screen of the RF Gun and lists the information of that particular product. The screen shows the product name, balance of product on hand, minimum number of product that must be kept on the shelf, number of products per bulk box, number of the product the shelf can hold, and the status report of the product. When asked the difficulty of use of the CAO program, Ashley responded, “It is really not too difficult it only took a few weeks to learn.”

With such ease of use, it is no wonder that the majority of supermarkets use it. It saves the company time and money, which can obviously boost profits. Also, with everything being electronic, there is no room for human error. Therefore, a company is never low on product that is in demand by its customers.

You know what really grinds my gears?

I have decided to do a "You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?" section for blog followers, one in particular (Spamma).

18 Wheeler drivers. These guys are freakin crazy... I was on my way back from knoxville today for reasons i wont say and these assholes think they are Gods gift to the damn road. What they do is get right in front of you to pass another big rig which is going even slower. Then they just kind of linger there going 10 miles under the speed limit while a line of cars builds up behind them. Hey, I have got somewhere to go buddy is what I tell them, but are they listening... nope. There are up there on their high horse all meth-ed out with no teeth and they look down on you like they are mad your passing them. HEY your going like fifteen miles an hour on the high way big shot why don't you turn your ugly face away from my car.

Thats what really grinds my gears.

As technologies advance, more and more problems seem to come about. Critics say some of the newest advances in science are causing people to play God, invade people’s privacy, or even own parts of human bodies. There has always been great controversy over new scientific discoveries. People do not want to change traditions or beliefs that that have been part of a culture for generations. DNA databases are one of these new scientific breakthroughs. A DNA database is a government database of DNA profiles of citizens. These databases are used by law enforcement officials to solve crimes. Many people are for continued use of the DNA catalogs to solve sexual assault and rape crimes. However, there are also some cons to their use. Once complete, the databases will be used to profile numerous innocent people. Once a gene is located that can be traced to committing crimes, it will not be long before the government is playing big brother. People for the DNA databases are comforted by the safety it guarantees while people opposed to them are concerned with their right to privacy.

A pro to the DNA database is the number of crimes it helps solve. In the United Kingdom, where they have a database in place, DNA testing has been credited with solving up to 60 percent of major old crimes. It is also being praised because it can free the innocent and wrongly convicted.

People against using the DNA database are worried about the abuse of it, and the possible constitutional violation. Many are worried that unauthorized persons will be able to access the database if it does not have proper safeguards. It is believed that genetic discrimination will occur. Life insurance companies could access the database and raise premiums based on a person’s susceptibility to certain diseases.

http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/law/lwsch/journals/bciclr/24_2/05_TXT.htm

WEBSITE

I found this website and thought it was interesting. It is a transcript of a radio show from Australia with reporters and the UK detective superintendent. In the show they talk about how Australia is implementing a DNA database as well. It seems that this database idea is really catching on around the world. The United States will probably be the last large country to begin to use because of our privacy laws. However, I think that we will end up using it because of the efficiency with which it solves crimes. I doubt I will use this source in my final paper but is helpful in pointing out the real controversy over the matter.

A clockwork orange?

I'm not sure if anyone has seen the movie "A Clockwork Orange" or not but it is by far one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen. It was released in 1971 and is set in england. It is about a delinquent 14 year old who goes around raping and beating people. He finally gets caught and sent to jail where he pretends to be reformed. Because of his good behavior, the government preforms tests on him. The testes are teaching him to be sick whenever he sees violence or sexual crimes committed. In the end the kid ends up killing himself because people subject him to violence to the point where he cannot stand it anymore. It was an extremely tough movie to follow and i think the producers were tripping acid when they made it. If you want to watch a movie that will keep you interested i suggest "A Clockwork Orange".

Anthropology.

So the assignment we have to turn in for anthropology class requires us to answer each of the nine questions with 200 words or more. I do not think Hicks has thought about how difficult it is to write 200 words on anything, given the limited information we were supplied with. The questions that are from the film have no way of being answered in 200 words. The film talks about the question for maybe a minute in a half and does not even answer all of it. I don;t think she is very strict about the word count thought because my last paper didn't have enough words to answer all the questions and I still got a good grade on it. Let's see if i can slide another one by.

More DNA database

http://www.genewatch.org/sub-537968

This is a link to a website about the laws regarding DNA data basing in the United kingdom. It is basically a timeline showing the major events concerning the use of DNA in crime solving. It shows the progression of laws, and how the police have been receiving more and more power. I think it will be useful in my paper as a reference to the laws of taking DNA samples and how they have changed over the years. It is also interesting because you can notice how the science behind the taking of DNA samples had improved over the years. As scientists discovered new ways to take and use samples, legislation had to come up with more restrictions.

Probably one of the funniest pictures ever, had to show somebody haha

Exam jitters

Our first chemistry test was scheduled for friday the 9th. I had studied fairly sufficiently, and I was ready to get it over with. The whole class was sitting and waiting for Dr. Freilich to come in to give us the test. We waited and waited. Thirty minutes later, one of the other chemistry professors came in to tell us that Dr. Freilich had decided to leave town for the weekend. The TA he asked did not show up, and everyone was excited that we did not have to take the exam. Now that monday rolled around, everyone was freaking out again. The exam turned out to be fairly easy actually. A lot of worrying for nothing it seemed.

DNA database

So I was searching around on the internet and found a gold mine of information on my evaluation topic. I have chosen to write about the DNA database and found a full report on it. It is located at http://www.genewatch.org/uploads/f03c6d66a9b354535738483c1c3d49e4/NationalDNADatabase.pdf. It is loaded down with content but I will be able to draw a lot of information from here. Unfortunately you need more than one source because it can't really reflect the ideas of only one paper. However, in the pdf file it gives the sources that were used to write that paper. Maybe if I use the sources cited in the pdf I will only have to use that one site. I am planning on showing both sides of the DNA database argument and why people are either for or against it. The people for it like it because of the feeling of safety. The people against it are concerned with their right to privacy.

Evaluation essay

After looking over the three topics for the evaluation essay, I have decided to write about the DNA database. I feel like that is the most controversial of the three, and might greater affect our culture in the long run. Even though I Would like to share my opinion on the database, I will not be able to because of the nature of an analytical essay. I was debating wether or not to write about the designer babies also. I was interested in it because it could lead to discrimination once and if it became mainstream. However, I did not think it would be legal to alter a baby's characteristics for long. I think it will be legal only to check for diseases. The DNA database it extremely controversial because everyone is worried about their right to privacy. Also, I would be very worried about the profiling of innocent people. It is going to be interesting to research this subject more thoroughly.

Chemistry

This Friday is our first chemistry exam. I am a bit nervous about it because I really do not like chemistry and haven't really caught on to all of what we are studying right now. I plan to look over the Chemistry all week to better understand what is going on in the class. I am also going to attend a the chemistry help center at least on time this week. The thing I am most worried about is finishing the test during a class period. We have covered so much material that I do not know how much or exactly what will be asked on the test. The lab this week will not help me finish the right amount of studying that I really want to do. I wish the work load would calm down a little bit so I can catch up on everything. We had better not have homework over fall break or I will kill someone.

Streetcar

The play "A Streetcar Named Desire" was written by Tennessee Williams. I had read this play last year so I knew already what was to happen. Either way, it is an interesting play and I am glad I had a chance to see it actually acted out. The story goes that Stanley and Stella are married, and Stella comes from a wealthy background while Stanley does not. They live in New Orleans. Stella's, sister, Blanche comes into town who we find out later has shaky moral values. Stanley is suspicious of Blanche when his good friend begins a romance with her. Stanley finds out Blanche was getting a little freaky with a seventeen year old student back in her hometown and they kicked her out of town basically. Stella is pregnant and has a child and Blanche begins to go crazy. They have Blanche committed to a mental hospital, and the play ends. That was a short, sweet, and to the point rundown of the plot.

So, I went to my first outside event this past week on tuesday. It was Mike McCarthy speaking about his new film and his views on pop culture. He is an interesting man. He began by saying that the golden age of American pop culture died with the death of Elvis. This may be true or it may not, I do not really know because I'm not really into pop culture myself. The underlying message behind what he was saying was good however. He told his life story about coming from a small town in Mississippi and not knowing he was adopted until much later in life. He dropped out of first grade, but came back to graduate highschool. He has really been in the underground film industry and is not making very much money at it. He says he loves what he does though so it does not matter how much money he makes. I thought that was the message he was trying to get across besides promoting his films.