It is a hot Saturday in Connecticut. We are supposed to reach a high of 97°f (36°c). For some reason that is not at all clear to me, most of the customers will be outside on the patio. David and I will be inside, at the bar with Cheryl. While we sip some cool drinks, we will try to work in Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt:
“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘clear.’ Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!”
If we were having a beer, you would be shaking your head.
“Good afternoon, David. Doing some shopping while you were waiting for me?”
“Huh? Oh, this catalog? No, I brought this for you. But first, I have a question.”
“About tools? You don’t use tools. Why do you even have this catalog?”
“They sell garden tools, too. I signed up for it years ago.”
“So, what page is the garden stuff you want to ask about on?”
“No, it’s not about the content, it’s about the catalog itself.”
“Well, before you guys start shopping, can I interest you in something to drink?”
“Yes indeed, Cheryl. I’m not sure what questions David has for me, but I sense a powerful thirst coming on.”
“What about you, David? John Howell dropped of some bourbon this morning – special delivery.”
“Special delivery? Then I’ll have a glass.”
“And cherries, and all the other stuff…I know.”
“It’s really a simple question, Dan. Here, look at this page. That’s a neat little item I might like to buy.”
“So, buy it.”
“How much is it? There’s no price.”
“Wow, you’re right. I guess you have to scan the QR code.”
“Scan the what?”
“The QR code – that weird looking barcode near the bottom of the ad.”
“And what to I scan it with?”
“Your phone. At least I think you can scan it with your phone. I know I can scan it with my iPhone, I’m not sure about Androids, but there must be an app.”
“No app needed here, boys. I’ll keep pouring and running a tab in the background. Here’s your beer Dan, lime wedge ‘shoved in’ as you say, and here’s your John Howell’s Bourbon, snifter of seltzer, glass of ice and two cherries, David.”
“Thanks Cheryl. Cheers, Dan. Now, tell me, why do they put this stupid sci-fi gibberish in my catalog instead of the price?”
“Because they want to know what you’re looking at.”
“I’m looking at their catalog. I signed up to receive them. I’ve been buying from this company for years. What more do they need to know about me?”
“Everything.”
“I’m glad I have this bourbon. Even though I know I’m going to regret this, please explain what you mean by ‘everything.’ But please don’t explain everything you know.”
“Good idea adding that caveat, David. You boys want anything to eat?”
“Not right now, Cheryl. Maybe if David doesn’t get too spun up, we’ll split a pizza later.”
“I’m already spun up, Dan.”
“I know. The point is, by forcing you to scan for the price, they know what items you looked at, in addition to the ones you ordered.”
“Why not just assume that I looked at the entire catalog? I mean, that’s what people do with catalogs they ask for…isn’t it?”
“Maybe those of us who remember when stores sent one out four times a year.”
“I still miss getting the Sears catalog, Dan. My brother and I would ‘shop’ there, to give our mom ideas.”
“Me too, Cheryl. Now you’d be giving Facebook and Google ideas.”
“I don’t get it, Dan. I ask them to send me a catalog so I can figure out what to order. That way, I spend as little time as possible on their website – which is a piece of crap, in my opinion.”
“I do get it, David. But when you’re browsing around on their website, they know what you look at. That helps them to target ads to you when you’re browsing other websites – perhaps even reading the blogs you follow.”
“You don’t have any ads on your blog.”
“That’s because I pay WordPress for an ‘ad-free’ experience for my readers.”
“That and he has eight-gazillion photos and ran out of room on the free plan. Sorry, Dan. You want that pizza now?”
“Touché, Cheryl. I think a large pepperoni pizza would be nice.”
“So how does this little doohickey work?”
“A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode. It includes a lot of information. It can link you to the product page, to a video and to the price – which can be changed whenever the company wants to change it.”
“So, this is a thing, now? We’re going to see more of these?”
“Here, maybe this will clear things up for you, David. It’s from an ad by the people that sell and support the technology.”
“That’s disturbing. Cheryl, can I have another glass of bourbon.”
“Already poured, David. I’ve been tracking your behavior long enough to know that was coming.”
No Facilities 
Add your thoughts or join the discussion. One relevant link is OK, more require moderation.