IF YOU WANT high comedy, try buying something at my local drugstore.
As you wait in line with your razor blades and Softsoap, some other poor soul will swipe their credit card through the reader on the counter—and nothing will happen, because it’s one of those new chip cards designed for better security. Then, a (slightly exasperated) cashier will tell this poor soul to push the card into a slot at the front of the reader. The poor soul will do this—and nothing will happen again, because the new chip tech is horribly slow.
Just when it looks like the reader is about to die—strange pixelations appearing on the screen—a legible message will finally appear, asking the poor soul to approve the transaction—and nothing will happen yet again, because the new chip tech is even slower than anyone remembers. Then the reader will start honking like an air-raid siren, as if something has gone horribly wrong. But eventually, the poor soul realizes the siren is trying to tell her it’s time to remove the card.
Dispatches From The Front 