Reminds me of the scene in Demolition Man, where Denis Leary's character has a speech about how he wants the freedom to choose what he wants even if the choices are bad for him. He doesn't want any part of the "perfect society" where every single thing is controlled and perfect and safe.

In my experience, I work for a large trucking company where we have software that gives us recommendations of what truck to put on what load. We track the "usage" of the system recommendations in efforts to improve it. What I have seen in 10 years of using this now is that in a perfect environment where we have lots of trucks and loads and some flexibility, we can achieve 60-70% usage. There are enough choices that the software works fairly well but there are still some that we have to figure out because the software can't account for all the variables, drivers hours, drivers free choice (some want certain lanes / areas), weather and so on. In an environment where we are overbooked and have extra freight which with freight rates going crazy we are right now, the system doesn't work as well. Currently we are in a 30-40% usage range because the system just can't handle all of the variables and prioritization that we have to use.

Have certainly experienced the frustration the author speak of. Impersonal systems programmed to act personal, interactions that don't work with no explanation and so on. What's even more frustrating is that in their infinite drive for optimization, no one seems to care about the human impact.

Nicely written, WDonway. Heh heh, yes, one has to pay close attention to the Amtrak website to make sure you don't miss something. I've had it "freeze up" causing me to log out and start over - no reason given. Sometimes calling them is easier (the people I've connected with are always very nice).

Another frustrating situation is when you are forced to choose from a list of topics and your problem is not on the list. Just pick something, I guess, and go from there.

Here's a situation I was involved in a few years back. I wanted to upgrade my Internet service to a faster speed from an offer by my ISP, who I am no longer with. To do so, I had to upgrade the interface hardware by taking the old box to an outlet near where I lived and get a new box or pay to have them come and install the swap. It wasn't far so I drove over to exchange boxes. The installation was easy: attach the cable, attach my Ethernet line to my Wi-Fi, and plug it in - no problem. All the indicator lights showed connection and proper functionality. However, I could not get online. After re-doing everything and getting the same indicator lights it still didn't work, so I called customer support. The support person had me go through all the steps again and it still didn't work. She could see the box on her end and it was functioning properly. When she checked my account to make sure I paid my bill (I had) she said, "I see the problem. You have to log into your account and check the "Accept terms" box for the new hardware." We paused. I said slowly, "If I can't get on the Internet, how do I sign into my account to check the box?". Silence. Finally she said, "You can authorize me to check the box for you. Would you like to do that?". Hey, she's already in my account so let's give it a whirl. She checked the box and all was well in the universe.

A little off topic, but here's another example of computer invasion. I went to Lowes to buy a few items and went to pay cash at the checkout. To complete the simple transaction the first computer hoop to jump through was the cashier asked if I had a Lowes account and if, yes, what's my phone number. That got the cash register ready to do what it is supposed to do - scan the stuff. I hand him the cash. Before change is "authorized" and a receipt printed I had to step left on the counter (customer behind me had to back up a bit) and bend down to a little box with a screen into which I was expected to enter my phone number (again?) or press the "no" icon and press "enter". For cash? Good grief, Charlie Brown!