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St. Joseph takes lunchtime high tech
Drake Aymond reaches out to use a palm scanner that relays information to the cafeteria computer at St. Joseph Catholic School. The new system provides a secure way to keep track of lunch balances, decreases the amount of time in lunch lines and provides security for each student’s account. / Jim Hudelson/The Times
Students at St. Joseph Catholic School are moving through the lunch line faster than ever thanks to biometric hand scanners.
The school, which houses more than 500 prekindergarten through eighth-grade students, this week began using new palm scanners in its cafeteria as a means for students to purchase lunch. The scanner creates an image of the student’s palm and relays that information to a database where the student’s account information is stored.
With the scan of a palm, the scanner is able to show medical and allergy information, as well as keep a running account balance that can notify parents when it becomes low.
Previously, the school used lunch identification numbers for students, but Principal Susan Belanger said the new technology makes lunchtime seamless.
“This technology not only expedites Read more…
An Onslaught of Biometrics?
Yesterday, I was standing in a checkout line at the grocery store surrounded by the usual items — a wide selection of candies, celebrity magazines, and diet tips. Of course, one of the magazines was advertising a combination of two themes: a celebrity diet. I’ve always found these diets incredibly silly, not because the advice is necessarily bad, but because the whole matter of economic incentives is left out of the equation.
Celebrities don’t stay in shape thanks to special techniques or a superb personal trainer. Rather, the profit motive does most of the work. In order to continue making millions every year, celebrities must stay incredibly fit. If each of our readers were offered a million dollars per year to stay in shape, we’d all see the pounds falling off rapidly. The average person simply doesn’t have the same incentives as actors and actresses. Most Hollywood denizens don’t stay fit because of fabulous diets — they have a very powerful monetary incentive that keeps them on those diets. The rest of us can cheat; we don’t have a movie shoot coming up in a few months.
But isn’t health and a long life enough of an incentive? Yes and no. As a doctor friend of Read more…