High Security

So, I was at Wal Mart yesterday, after having (finally) seen the new Harry Potter movie. Just stopped by to pick up a few things before heading home. You know how they now have self-checkout counters,so that you can totally avoid any contact with a live employee? Well I was going through one of those lines, and as I was paying with my credit card, it became apparent that the little stylus pen used to work the pin-pad was not working.

Now, of course, you can use your finger to punch the buttons on the little screen, and it still works. But this becomes problematic when you have to actually sign for your purchases. I'm not sure why I didn't think of trying to use my fingernail to do this. Though, I can't for the life of me understand why my finger would still be able to push buttons and yet the stylus pen would be completely ineffective.

So there I was, at the checkout counter, abandoned by all who work there, frantically scribbling with the little pen, hoping that I could get it to make some sort of mark.

And then, Hallelujah! A single straight line, about a quarter of an inch long, appeared.

Now, of course, I can't imagine any place that would ever accept that for an "official" signature designating that you agree to pay all of the money their store saw fit to charge you for their goods. But, having run out of obvious options, I used used my finger to hit the "accept" button. And it worked. It didn't even question it. How's that for credit card security?