Oh good, we’re apparently on the way toward another privacy intrusion–data tracking shopping carts.

The next generation of shopping carts are designed to not only be ergonomically engineered, whatever that may mean, but also provide an interactive shopping experience by offering audible, personalized shopping suggestions while in the store and pushing the cart. These high-tech “item carriers” are equipped with internal computers, GPS systems, and some yet to be described digital devices stealthy built into the design.

These rolling computers can perform some data gathering functions that give retailers insight into the shopping habits of their customers such as:

1) tracking the actual speed/elapsed time in the store of an individual shopper

2) constantly calculating the duration of time it takes for a shopper to make a selection

3) tracking a shopper’s actual route in the store

4) evaluating the specific order in which a shopper places items in the cart

5) giving the shopper an option for swiping his or her store loyalty card on the cart’s handle scanner to receive instant, in-store, customized discounts–along with recording shopping data used for creating a personal profile

In effect, these high-tech shopping carts are going to:

1) allow store designers and layout personnel to place customer preferred inventory at the easiest to access locations based on constantly gathered, analyzed and acted upon consumer shopping data

2) provide retailers with an adjunct source of revenue–selling customers’ shopping information to other retailers and whomever might be willing to pay for it

3) target specific advertisements using timely shopping profiles and constantly tweaked shopping cart data

Of course, privacy issues should be addressed prior to these carts arriving in the stores, but there’s no guarantee about this aspect of the new technology. The data-devouring carts could be perceived as a convenience by shopper and retailers, or just the opposite could occur if the scenario prompts concern regarding the use of customers’ data. Either way, the personal privacy issue must be addressed and effectively handled. Otherwise, these high-tech data grabbers may not be around too long. Then again, the current generation of some cell phones has already begun to track every move of the owner/user.

Initially, I could have some fun with one of these data tracking carts. I’d load it with a bunch of items that are basically contradictory. For example, I would place 150 rolls of toilet paper in the cart along with a case of peanut butter and a 10 lb block of cheddar cheese. And then I’d add a few bags of prunes and some over the counter constipation medication found in the pharmacy section. That way the onboard computer wouldn’t know for sure if I had diarrhea or was already backed up.

Finally, there’s a potential technological marvel that I can use for fun without being concerned about whether or not it freezes up. And in my case, odds are it will…

Just when you thojght things couldn’t get much worse somebody managed to reset the typical way people compute their age (for retirement).

According to an article in Moneynews, 80 is now the new age 65 when discussing retirement for the masses. Thanks to the feds, the magical age of 65 has become essentially irrelevant due to escalating healthcare costs, plummeting home values coupled with huge mortgage obligations, outstanding credit card obligations and various other outstanding personal debts. The cost of retiring these days is simply not doable for a growing number of people, far more than at any time in decades. The survey in Moneynews indicated that 1/4 of workers earning $25 -99,ooo annually are no longer comfortable retiring at age 65; they’re new target retirement age is 80, if ever. And many of them are planning for a semi-retirement; they’ll have to work part time after leaving their longterm careers.

In many instances, these middle income folks have already sucked much of their savings dry and must continue working in order to pay their existing debts. About 3/4 of the middle incomers responded that $350,000 was the absolute minumum amount/goal necessary for savings in order to have peace of mind should a catastrophic financial event occurred in their lives. At present, this same group of respondents said they had about $25,000 because of various demands (i.e. increased property tax rates, higher gas price, increased insurance premium payments).

With Social Secutity and many other retirements failing to offer a cost of living increase for the recent past, the debt load for individuals continues to increase. In fact, those in their 20s and 30s don’t expect Social Security to even be an option for them by the time they reach retirement age, whatever that may be in the future, it at all.

But in all of this personal financial chaos there’s a glimmer of sustainment that we can cling to; the feds haven’t hit the brakes when it comes to rampant, out of control spending, while continuing to insist that each of us, the ones footing their tab, should tighten our belts, suck it up, and get on board with the historic squandering of money. Over the past week we topped the $15 trillion dollar mark for the national debt. That’s more than every adminstration in history has racked up in total, and this one has done it in less than one term. In fact, they’ve managed to add $1.5 trillion to the national debt each year for the past two years with no sign of slowing down. And the Super Committee just announced that it failed to reach an agreement on spending cuts, so the finger pointing will continue and the astronomical array of zeroes will continue to be added to our national financial burden. Yet we have the gall to attempt to tell the world how to do things, all things, even though we’re on the brink of a complete financial meltdown. And we wonder why so many countries consider us to be arrogant….

But there is some potentially positive news; now that the aging thing has been reset I no longer have to wonder if I’ll make it to age 65. Next year I’ll have skipped over a decade and a half and will be 80–oh good! At this rate I’ll be a centurion in about five or so years….

Thanks to gifts from kids and grandkids, a growing number of folks age 50+ are now texting and tweeting.

This created a need for a UYTC (Upper Youth Texting Code).

If you qualify for Senior/Upper Youth discounts at various retail stores this code list is for you.

ATD: At The Doctor’s
BRBBRB: Be Right Back, Bathroom Break
BTW: Bring The Wheelchair/Walker
BYOT: Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM: Covered By Medicare
CUATSC: See You At The Senior Center
CUHMN: Can You Hear Me Now?
DWI: Driving While Incontinent
FACGU: Fallen and Can’t Get Up
FWIW: Forgot Where I Was
FMM: Found My Medication
GGASE: Gotta Go, Attention Span Expired
GGVKI: Gotta Go, Viagra Kicking In
LMDO: Laughed My Dentures Out
LOL: Living On Lipitor
WFO: Wheel of Fortune’s On
MBAB: My Bad! Ate Beans
ROFL-CGU: Rolling On The Floor Laughing-Can’t Get Up
TTYL: Talk To You Louder
WAITT: Who Am I Talking To?
WMC: Where’s my Clapper?
WTP: Where’s The Prunes?
WWNO: Walker Wheels Need Oil
GGPKI: Gotta Go, Prunes Kicking In