Laughing with Di – November 2019

 Starting a cold-water laundry load, the green light on my Eco Monitor switched from “good” to “best”. I got kudos from a machine for saving energy. How proud I was.
Let’s have a laugh.
Kids get a lot of encouragement and reinforcement like, “good try”, “well done”, “you can do it”, “you got this”. It seems adults only get approval from mechanical devices nowadays.
After inserting a card in a payment apparatus, the robot inside displays the words, “approved, you may now remove your card.” Admit it. Funny, but true. You like seeing this. “It” has accepted, in front of everyone at the store, your trustworthiness to pay your bill. On a shopping site, the last comment is usually “you have successfully completed your order.” If you are anything like me, you have painstakingly sweated through all of their hoops in order to earn that praise.
Netflix is glad you return and tells you they have kept track of what you watch and how clever you are if you continue.
The little chick robots in your phone will remind you about appointments, when prescriptions are due; call your doctor if they are out of refill, ask if you will take a message and then say, “would you like me to repeat the call back number?” Seriously. Your car gives you messages all the time and your key fob even finds it for you. We obey the visual and audible commands given by all of these machines. Why? Because, we long to hear a polite voice with maybe a compliment or two that acknowledges our existence. At a self-serve register you hear, “Do you need a bag?” “Don’t forget your receipt.” The ATM confirms you are a responsible person and rewards you with money because they know you’re good for it!
Well, I think I will go get a pep talk from my microwave… “hello, Dianne, welcome back.”