RFID

Ever heard of it? It stands for Radio Frequency IDentification. If you never heard of it, fear not, you will. What it is is a method for tracking goods of all kinds, from entire shipments, right down to individual items. You know that UPC code, that bar code thingy on almost every item you buy that gets scanned. RFID goes one better, no scanner is needed, now each item will broadcast what it is to the world. RFID tags are miniscule microchips, which already have shrunk to half the size of a grain of sand. They listen for a radio query and respond by transmitting their unique ID code. Most RFID tags have no batteries: They use the power from the initial radio signal to transmit their response. The possibe applications are staggering. Mail/postal/parcel tracking, tracking shipments, individual tracking of most any item. How about going to the supermarket checkout, with a cart full of stuff, pointing a handheld radio dish and zap every non-perishable item is rung up. Even some casinos are looking into the technology as a way to not only deter counterfit chips but to track the entire flow of chips in, out, and around the casino, potentially any tagged item can be traced to it's exact location anywhere in the world. The potential for mischief, abuse and even criminal activity is also staggering. And that's the scary part, opponents are using invasion of privacy as their main argument. Myself agrees. No one but Myself should have to know that on Tuesday, March 21 2005 at 5:32 PM, at the Beretania St. Longs Drugs store, Myself purchased a can of Gillette Shaving Gel w/ aloe and vitaman E, on sale at for $2.59, where he proceeded to take it to 2**8 K****a St. where it then stayed for three months and 7 days before being transported to the Waimanalo Landfill where transmission was terminated two days later. Screw that shit. Now myself realizes this kind of info is a marketing wet dream to the 12th power, and they get all hard/moist just thinking about this, but there are somethings about Myself that he doesn't want to let anyone know about. Ain't technology grand?