See here for
essential background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2024/01/new-banknotes.html.
I returned to the same branch of Tesco today to see how things were. I do not regularly use this grocer, but I have been unable to resist the temptation to go there after my delightful experience detailed above. This time there was no queue and the cheerful Spanish gentleman was not on the cash till, but instead a young blonde lady was serving on there. As I approached the till I had a moment of alarm; there was a sign hanging over the entrance saying CARD ONLY- NO CASH. I pointed this out to her and asked her about it, and she told me it had been hung up over the wrong checkout. I asked her if this Tesco's had plans to go cashless and she said no. I said: "Good, otherwise I would never shop here again." I then proceeded to have a cashie conversation with her which she completely understood. "The government want to monitor our purchases" she said. I wished her all the best and left the store. Readers of Frank Herbert's Dune novels and especially their film adaptations by David Lynch and Denis Villeneuve, may wonder why despite the setting being in the distant future in which humanity has conquered space, there seems to be no complex electronics in use. There are simple applications like medical X-rays, but nothing greater. This is because a long time before the period of the books, humans developed artificial general intelligence. This led to computer controlled machines trying to take over and reduce the humans to a slave race. Humans fought back and eventually regained control of the galaxy. This was called the "Butlerian Jihad". In a way, we in the real world are facing our own Butlerian Jihad. However, I don't think it is machines themselves that we need to fear, it is the bad people using them as tools of surveillance and manipulation.
See here for more background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-happy-shopper.html.
I returned to the same branch of Tesco today to see how things were. I do not regularly use this grocer, but I have been unable to resist the temptation to go there after my delightful experience detailed above. This time there was no queue and the cheerful Spanish gentleman was not on the cash till, but instead a young blonde lady was serving on there. As I approached the till I had a moment of alarm; there was a sign hanging over the entrance saying CARD ONLY- NO CASH. I pointed this out to her and asked her about it, and she told me it had been hung up over the wrong checkout. I asked her if this Tesco's had plans to go cashless and she said no. I said: "Good, otherwise I would never shop here again." I then proceeded to have a cashie conversation with her which she completely understood. "The government want to monitor our purchases" she said. I wished her all the best and left the store. Readers of Frank Herbert's Dune novels and especially their film adaptations by David Lynch and Denis Villeneuve, may wonder why despite the setting being in the distant future in which humanity has conquered space, there seems to be no complex electronics in use. There are simple applications like medical X-rays, but nothing greater. This is because a long time before the period of the books, humans developed artificial general intelligence. This led to computer controlled machines trying to take over and reduce the humans to a slave race. Humans fought back and eventually regained control of the galaxy. This was called the "Butlerian Jihad". In a way, we in the real world are facing our own Butlerian Jihad. However, I don't think it is machines themselves that we need to fear, it is the bad people using them as tools of surveillance and manipulation.
See here for more background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-happy-shopper.html.
2 comments:
Tesco Clubcard monitors your purchases and just like any other of the numerous store cards. That data is then available and in many cases sold on to 'consumer research bodies' and potentially available to government agencies.
Just pointing out the blindingly obvious fallacy of thinking using cash in a supermarket isn't going to avoid any monitoring of your purchasing and is especially more prevalent given the large price discrepancies in the local Tesco's branches between card prices and non-card prices forcing people into signing up to afford the basics or be more astute and use local independent retailers that accept cash such as greengrocers or butchers would be my advice if you want to be a true 'cashy' for whatever reason.
I don't use a clubcard. I know very well that the govt is trying to "encourage" people to permit themselves to be monitored in exchange for cheaper shopping, seeing as the cost of food is rising so much this is getting easier. I explain in the article that I do not usually shop at Tesco and then explain my reasons for doing so now.
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