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Face-Scanning Vending Machine Denies Children Access To Pudding

Posted by timothy on from the you-are-an-unfit-mother dept.

smitty777 writes "What do you do when you spend over a billion dollars on products targeted specifically for adults? Simple, just put a device on your pudding dispensing vending machines that scans faces, and denies the delicious food to the kiddies. The Minority Report-like device will apparently judge the age of the individual based on the space between their eyes and ears. If the criteria is not met, the vending machine will shut down and ask the individual to step away from the machine. There are some vending machine combos that this makes sense for, but seriously — pudding?"

175 of 215 comments (clear)

  1. You still can't have your pudding... by sethstorm · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...even if you've had your meat.

    (apologies to Pink Floyd)

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
    1. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by azalin · · Score: 4, Funny

      unless it's black...

    2. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by jamesh · · Score: 4, Funny

      Even better would be if the machine screamed "Stand still laddie" while it was trying to do the facial recognition :)

    3. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by INT_QRK · · Score: 1, Troll

      But more seriously, am I the only one sick and f r e a k i n g tired of erstwhile do-gooders running around trying to enforce their superior judgements on everybody else? Even if I may agree with some of their good ideas, I don't want them to be coercively enforced on everyone unless there is a legitimate criminal, or real public safety aspect to them (and by real public safety I mean leading to imminent danger, not "may contribute to poor eating habits in some people"). Sheesh! This kind of crap makes my blood boil.

    4. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by a_nonamiss · · Score: 3, Insightful

      According to TFA, it's not really about enforcing some sort of moral code. They developed this machine so that it only dispenses free marketing samples to their target demographic. I mean, from a really wide angle, I can sort of understand what they were thinking, but really? It all sounds like something that someone would shout out in a brainstorming meeting and everyone would get in a good chuckle and move on. Why not just pay someone minimum wage to dispense samples? It's a marketing gimmick, and it's a really stupid use of technology. I could also see it backfiring because it can't be 100% accurate. How insulted would you be if you stepped up to this machine and it identified you as a child? "NO PUDDING FOR YOU!" What if you had some sort of condition that caused your facial proportions to be childlike? What if there was a random software error? I can't believe they spent time, effort and money actually developing this.

      --
      -Arthur
      Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules
    5. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by tepples · · Score: 1

      Why would anyone eat blood?

    6. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by kdemetter · · Score: 1

      I had the same thought immediately when reading the title.

      --
      Slipping shoelaces ?
    7. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by kdemetter · · Score: 1

      Seriously : an article on banning PUDDING for children , on Christmas ? That's just evil.
      But i don't worry too much : children are very creative , and if they are told they can't have something, they will find a way around it.

      --
      Slipping shoelaces ?
    8. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Because it goes well with eggs, sausage, bacon, and hash browns?

      I'm geussing you are unfamiliar with the traditional English breakfast.

    9. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by mysidia · · Score: 1

      "Awww" "Shaddup kid, and go get me some pudding from that machine over there, then maybe we'll talk about your allowance"

    10. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by BrokenHalo · · Score: 1

      Back to the point: why would a vending machine need facial recognition at all if it is not selling some sort of controlled substance or product?

    11. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by Kharny · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Because it is yummy?

      --
      Make a man a fire and he will be warm for a day, set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life
    12. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by michelcolman · · Score: 1

      Exactly. If I were to be refused a product from a vending machine because the software thinks I'm not an adult... at the very least there would be some banging of buttons during the second try, maybe some kicking, perhaps even a broken camera. And I'm not even a violent person. That's simply the kind of thing that makes my blood boil, some machine making the wrong decision against the wishes of a human being, didn't anyone write a law about that?

    13. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by RobertLTux · · Score: 1

      well i would say that it is DOOMED from the get go

      Girls: Even if you were a DR House level Grump im sure 98% of girls could get any Man still breathing to do the buy

      Boys: If as a geekling you can social engineer somebody to do the buy for you then turn in your Geek Learners Permit NOW

      --
      Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
    14. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by orkysoft · · Score: 5, Funny

      That is pretty childish behaviour.

      --

      I suffer from attention surplus disorder.
    15. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      The first time I read of such vending machines, a cigarette vending machine in Japan was the center of attention. I'm to lazy to do a serious google search, but here's a link about Japan and smart vending machines. I think the machine in TFA is a bit of misapplication of technology, but the tech sounds kinda cool.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    16. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      I used to believe, like you, that I'm not a violent person. But, as I age, and as I look around at the placid sheep running the world, I've come to believe that I really am a violent person.

      Come on, 'fess up. You're a danger to society, and to yourself. You should come with me, to get medicated and lobotomized. Maybe we can get some of that good old fashioned shock treatment too!

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    17. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      so it discriminates against those with Dwarfism and the various so-called pygmy peoples? wonderful

    18. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Why would people eat animal's eggs or milk or flesh? I can't see how someone can think eating one part of the animal is acceptable by eating the blood is awful.

    19. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I really dislike that line, mostly because it only ever seems to be used to justify treating someone like a child.

      Example:
      Person A treats Person B like a child. Person B feels disrespected and demands to be treated like an adult. Person A calls Person B's demands "childish behavior" and uses it as validation for their own behavior.

    20. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by tonymus · · Score: 1

      I was always of the mind set that Pink Floyd should apologize to US for The Wall...

    21. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by chthon · · Score: 1

      I seem to remember a short science-fiction story about the opening of an amusement park, which had a mechanism so that dogs could not get in, but people were allowed. The subject of the story is a man who is not allowed by the mechanism, effectively being shut out like a dog.

    22. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      Damn, I thought I was the only one getting stabbed whenever my girlfriend got her monthlies...

      It's so nice to know I'm not alone...

    23. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      Boys: If as a geekling you can social engineer somebody to do the buy for you then turn in your Geek Learners Permit NOW

      Agreed with the premise, but not sure how it dooms the tech.

      I mean, sure, Social Engineering is the bailiwick of suits and marketroids, the primeval natural enemies of the geek, but I'm missing the connection point in your logic...

    24. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by desdinova+216 · · Score: 1

      My guess is this was done as "proof of concept"

    25. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by mollymoo · · Score: 1

      People are handing out free samples of stuff all the time. We're not discussing them or the product they're giving away. We are discussing the machines dispensing Temptations by Jell-O.

      They have 1) got us talking about it and 2) reinforced the notion that this is a product for adults. I can absolutely believe they spent time, effort and money developing this machine; it's a brilliant machine because it sells the product without you even needing to be near the machine. I'm not even in the same fucking country and I now know about this product - all because of that machine.

      --
      Chernobyl 'not a wildlife haven' - BBC News
    26. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by jamesh · · Score: 1

      Back to the point: why would a vending machine need facial recognition at all if it is not selling some sort of controlled substance or product?

      It's a technology test. The worst thing that could go wrong here is that someone get's their pudding without first having eaten their meat. Would you rather they tested with cigarettes or alcohol?

    27. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by orkysoft · · Score: 1

      Except here it's done by a machine! Progress!

      --

      I suffer from attention surplus disorder.
    28. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by arth1 · · Score: 1

      This "90% is good enough" profiling is happening more and more often, because people put up with it. They don't care about the 10% as long as they aren't in it. And when they are, well, the other 90% won't care.
      This is why we have "one size fits all" that doesn't fit 10% of the population, automated voice systems that the 10% with too deep or high pitched voices can't use, and capacitive phones that "most" people can use because most people don't have psoriasis or other skin problems, and don't give a flying fuck about those who do, as long as they can get their devices cheaper.

      So yes, this too will have both false positives and false negatives. And 90% of people won't give a shit because it works for them and their children.

      With this development, the only rational thing to do is to kill off any baby who looks like he might not fit into the 90% categories. Discard it like a tomato that won't fit the plastic mold it is to be sold in.

      This, my friend, is what the free market brings you.

    29. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by mrmeval · · Score: 1

      Because it's tasty and nutritious?

      http://nourishingideas.blogspot.com/2009/11/pigs-blood.html

      My mother lived in a very rural area, she was a teenager during the depression. They'd give away the blood of slaughtered pigs to a black family who would make blood pudding and forcemeats and sell them to other black families. I've had it and unless it's done well it's very grainy. Forcemeats are better.

      That link now has me musing on BBQ sauce with the blood of the animal I'm cooking in it. :-D

      Unless you have a fusion reactor and can create or reorganize matter you have to kill or cause others to kill so you may live. Cherish your food, it died that you may live.

      --
      I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
    30. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by cthulhu11 · · Score: 1

      Because somehow liquid meat is seen as different from muscle tissue. Can't believe I once thought that myself.

    31. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 1

      A good sign you can't win the argument is when you can only come back with a "you're retarded". Thanks for admitting I'm right.

    32. Re:You still can't have your pudding... by seantide · · Score: 1

      This, my friend, is what socialism brings you.

      Fixed it for you.

      The free market does allow this, but whether it brings it or not depends on the market. Socialism on the other hand does this "in everyone's best interests", regardless of the market telling them hell no.

  2. Alcoholic puddings? by smi.james.th · · Score: 1

    Perhaps it's a pudding with some sort of heinous liquor in it?

    I mean, we must think of the children...

    --
    One thing I know, and that is that I am ignorant...
    1. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by smi.james.th · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Ok, now that I've read TFA, there's no booze in the pudding. This is what it says:

      "It's probably a good measure to prevent unmonitored children from taking more than their fair share of pudding cups"

      FWIW, I know quite a few adults, probably myself included, who can be worse than children when it comes to taking more than their fair share...

      --
      One thing I know, and that is that I am ignorant...
    2. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by duguk · · Score: 5, Informative

      More likely thinking of the adults having to deal with the sugar frenzy, not to mention the throwing up. And I wonder whether allergies and liability also plays a part.

      Sugar-hyperactivity is a MYTH. Surprising, I know; but before you react, have a think about it for a while. The same is said to apply to E-numbers. Although some people are allergic to it, hyperactivity is very unusual.

      Also, I don't understand the logic of this company, they destroyed Cadbury's in the UK after closing one of their large factories here. Now they want to restrict who can buy their products. If children are out alone, surely they can buy this product elsewhere? I can't imagine any shopkeep refusing a sale because it's a chocolate cake that was "designed for adults".

    3. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by pipingguy · · Score: 1

      Commie logic.

    4. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Now they want to restrict who can buy their products.

      ... taste their product for free. Everyone is welcome to buy it, but it is reasonable for a company to try and focus your food sampling investment to your target demographic to maximise effect.

    5. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by Tom · · Score: 2

      Anyone who thinks that food does not affect your body and mind is clearly delusional. But likewise is everyone who thinks in monocausalities and simple, 2-step causality chains.

      Hyperactivity is real, though exaggerated like most things in the thiiink ooof theee chiiiiiiiiiiiiiildren area. And changes in diet do have effects, though I'm not sure anyone knows for sure just what the causes are and what changes are required and which ones don't really do anything.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    6. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by Night64 · · Score: 1

      As Randall Munroe would have said,"citation needed".

      --
      Grey's Law: Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice.
    7. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by pla · · Score: 1

      Sugar-hyperactivity is a MYTH.

      Sorry, but all the studies and assertions in the world don't explain away a real, easily-reproduced phenomenon. Give kids a pile of sugary snacks, and half an hour later they turn into hyperactive demons; then a few hours later, they crash and turn into miserable, whiny little brats.

      When you set out to disprove something trivially-true, you may learn a variety of interesting subtleties, but you can't actually talk something into nonexistence.

    8. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by mysidia · · Score: 1

      The studies really don't say much... first of all, it's the child's activity level by their parents' measure that matters; that the child is not becoming "clinically hyperactive"; does not mean sugar has not had an effect on the situation.

      If their kid is often at a low activity level (possibly abnormally low), it will be perceived as normal. If their kid is excited or at a higher level of activity after seeing sugary foods, then this can be labelled as sugar-high.

      It's not necessarily an argument that the sugar actually chemically causes hyperactivity; the mere act of seeing or tasting pleasant food can cause increased activity, and the taste of pleasant food has the possibility of pronounced emotional effect, resulting from fulfillment and happiness.

      It's not a myth... the studies are just flawwed. They don't anticipate that some children want and sugary food more than others, therefore have a different level of excitement when seeing sugary foods, that they might get to have.

      Of course there are plenty of children who are not excited at the thought of eating sugary foods, therefore, there could be no reaction. This might even be 90% of the population that is not excited by the thought of eating sugary foods, therefore, the study could have a result that is fundamentally flawwed, for the 10% of the population that sugar highs apply to.

      Studies usually say very little about minority populations that cannot easily be selected, and about portions of the population that are statistical anomaly.

    9. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by cellocgw · · Score: 2

      Sugar-hyperactivity is a MYTH.

      Sorry, but all the studies and assertions in the world don't explain away a real, easily-reproduced phenomenon. Give kids a pile of sugary snacks, and half an hour later they turn into hyperactive demons; then a few hours later, they crash and turn into miserable, whiny little brats.

      [citation needed] -- and that really should be an end to it. Ya wanna clue? Kids party hard and then invariably collapse into Need-A-Nap syndrome. Sugar's got nil to do with it.

      --
      https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
    10. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by pla · · Score: 1

      [citation needed]

      Not really, no. This ain't Wikipedia, and they don't allow "original research" anyway.


      Ya wanna clue?

      You have eyes and access to a kid or three? Hell, you don't even need kids - You can produce the same effect in your own body. Suck down a pound of sugar and then see how well you do at a quiet, still activity like reading a good book.


      Kids party hard and then invariably collapse into Need-A-Nap syndrome. Sugar's got nil to do with it.

      And yet, if you don't feed them a boatload of sugar, their mood remains relatively stable and they don't crash hard. Huh. Weird.

      Look, sorry I don't want to play along with your little hating-sugar-got-too-popular-so-I'll-do-the-opposite campaign, but as I already said, you can't just explain away reality.

    11. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by kyrio · · Score: 2

      Wowie you are a retard. Test it on myself? No problem. No change after eating a bunch of sugar. Have you seen that 60% of the population that's obese? According to you, they wouldn't be obese. They wouldn't have been able to sit down after drinking their 2L bottle of Coke and would have burned off their excess calories. Children act crazy all of the time. They don't need sugar to do so. Sugar never affected my mood when I was a child and it doesn't now.

      Maybe you need to hang out with some children to see how they normally act, without sugar. Well, maybe not, it might not be a good idea to have you near children at all.

    12. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by kyrio · · Score: 1

      Yeah, that makes sense. Oh wait, it doesn't.

    13. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by Tom · · Score: 1

      You may need citation. I don't need citation on things I've seen with my own eyes. That doesn't mean you should believe what I or anyone else on the Internet says. But it means I don't have to provide sources for my own experiences.

      Life does not happen by reference. You can write 50 pages on Wikipedia about love or sex, I'd rather spend the evening experiencing it.

      Does that mean you are wrong? Absolutely not. But neither am I.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    14. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by xepel · · Score: 3, Informative

      Read the article. They aren't restricting who can buy their products. They are only restricting who can get *free samples.* No shopkeep or store will refuse to sell these pudding cakes to children, but the company can certainly refuse to give *free samples* to children (who are not their target market).

    15. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by The+Archon+V2.0 · · Score: 1

      Sugar-hyperactivity is a MYTH.

      It's deliciously self-perpetuating. Kid finds a magic compound that will make their parents go easy on them ("It's just the sugar.") if they roughhouse immediately after eating a lot of it. So of course they roughhouse more after they eat it!

    16. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by duguk · · Score: 1

      You may need citation. I don't need citation on things I've seen with my own eyes. That doesn't mean you should believe what I or anyone else on the Internet says. But it means I don't have to provide sources for my own experiences.

      Life does not happen by reference. You can write 50 pages on Wikipedia about love or sex, I'd rather spend the evening experiencing it.

      Does that mean you are wrong? Absolutely not. But neither am I.

      I can answer this; but you've answered the question yourself.

      Hyperactivity is NOT the same as food having an effect on you.

      Hyperactivity is real. Food is real. But correlation is not causation.

    17. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by duguk · · Score: 1

      Wowie you are a retard. Test it on myself? No problem. No change after eating a bunch of sugar. Have you seen that 60% of the population that's obese? According to you, they wouldn't be obese. They wouldn't have been able to sit down after drinking their 2L bottle of Coke and would have burned off their excess calories. Children act crazy all of the time. They don't need sugar to do so. Sugar never affected my mood when I was a child and it doesn't now. Maybe you need to hang out with some children to see how they normally act, without sugar. Well, maybe not, it might not be a good idea to have you near children at all.

      Just a point. The effects of sugar don't cause hyperactivity. Energy does not cause hyperactivity. Hyperactivity is a very specific thing and isn't the same as having lots of energy.

      Children often are annoying when they have lots of energy. Sugar is energy. Most of the "hyperactive" effects that are presumed to have been seen are due to the parents. There's no scientific evidence for sugar causing anything like hyperactivity.

    18. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by duguk · · Score: 1

      The studies really don't say much... first of all, it's the child's activity level by their parents' measure that matters; that the child is not becoming "clinically hyperactive"; does not mean sugar has not had an effect on the situation.

      Of course not, but sugar is energy. Children with lots of energy are annoying. Annoying children are called hyperactive.

      It's simple Correlation!=Causation. It doesn't mean that sugar causes hyperactivity.

    19. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by bsa3 · · Score: 1

      Tom Lehrer, you have a phone call on line three.

    20. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      You likely have no idea how bad children can be.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    21. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by migla · · Score: 1

      I heard controlled experiments could not find sugar high to be an explanation.

      I do know that I have thought about sugar high when the kid has been acting crazy after noted sugar ingestion, but I think I attribute it to that because the hype makes me think of it in times of craziness after sugar ingestion. Similar craziness at other times is just craziness and goes unreflected upon.

      I've heard they have done double penetration testies or whatever it's called and parents thinking the kids were fed sugar were more likely to report unrulyness.

      I'm sure this hyped up thing should have been thoroughly investigated by now regarding the immediate effects of sugar.

      That said, I don't think sugar is good for you and it can even be kind of a rutine, if not an addiction. (and if you can get addicted to gambling and sex, why not sugar?)

      One should not eat too much sugar.

      For people who eat too much sugar a low carb diet might do the trick even if it would just actually really be about calories in/out.

      Don't eat too few carbs, though. I heard that's bad for you as well.

      --
      Some of my favourite people are from th US; Vonnegut, Chomsky, Bill Hicks.
    22. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by migla · · Score: 1

      Sorry, your point was that it was obvious even if some experiment said something else.

      I'll offer an anecdote. I fed the little three year old plenty of sugar. It did turn into a stupid jerk. But it often does. Perhaps most nights.

      We only feed the little bastard sugar one night of the week and the obnoxious behavior doesn't seem to be worse on those nights.

      Even if it would be a bit worse upon closer inspection after quantifying the sugar and unrulyness, it might just be the effect of getting worked up about candy day - a cultural hangup in the cosmology of this three year old.

      I think we could fool it with artificial sweeteners.

      --
      Some of my favourite people are from th US; Vonnegut, Chomsky, Bill Hicks.
    23. Re:Alcoholic puddings? by migla · · Score: 1

      oh... suboptimal communication. Should be evident from the context, but I meant to say that the three year old turns into a stupid jerk perhaps most nights with or without sugar.

      --
      Some of my favourite people are from th US; Vonnegut, Chomsky, Bill Hicks.
  3. Re:Look young? by Noughmad · · Score: 1

    Maybe it's a good thing, it might stop all those botox-filled face-lifted women.

    --
    PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
  4. Sorry Cartman. by lewko · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now they just need vending machines that can detect little fat kids.

    --
    Do you or your partner snore? - Visit www.snoring.com.au
  5. Pudding Nazi... by walter-t · · Score: 2

    - No pudding for you! Come back one year. Next!

  6. As if adults are any better. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I can get that they made a pudding that, supposedly, is designed for adult tastes, and they'd like to get it so their target audience is who gets it, but I don't think this really deals with the real problem of an automated free samples machine.

    And that problem is, whether an adult or child, you'll get people that keep coming for more and more samples if they can. Even just one guy/lady doing that can ruin this by taking all of the puddings. And without some old lady handing out the free samples, even the slight shame from going back for more free samples won't come into play. I'm sorry old lady! But you microwave a damned good hot pocket.

    Also, given reverse psychology and all that, denying kids something because it's "for adults" makes it more likely that kids will go out and buy ASAP. So this is marketing on MULTIPLE levels. DEVIOUS.

    1. Re:As if adults are any better. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      That's easy to solve. Facial recognition. Just store all faces to which a pudding has been dispensed for an hour or so, and refuse to give to anyone on that list.

      In theory someone could just bring a book of faces to hold in front of the camera, but who would go to that much trouble for pudding?

    2. Re:As if adults are any better. by type40 · · Score: 1

      Also, given reverse psychology and all that, denying kids something because it's "for adults" makes it more likely that kids will go out and buy ASAP. So this is marketing on MULTIPLE levels. DEVIOUS.

      See, that was my first thought.

      corp drone 1: How can we convince adults to buy this pudding?
      corp drone 2: Easy, get their 5 to 9 year-olds bother them unceasingly about it till they cave.
      corp drone 1: Yeah, but that would require a marketing campaign aimed at the kids. We want the parents to buy it for them selves in addition to the pudding cups they buy the kids.
      corp drone 2: Just sell it to the kids the way we sell cigarettes and malt liquor to teens, tell them they can't have any because they're not old enough.
      corp drone 1: Right! Crap my soul must be growing back because I should have seen that one staring me in the face.
      corp drone 2: I keep telling you, every other month get that shit cut out. It grows fast and costs you money.
         

      --
      "You can see I know very little about pimp policy." George McGovern.
    3. Re:As if adults are any better. by michelcolman · · Score: 1

      I would. Just to beat the system :-)

  7. Smaller sized adults? by theNetImp · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So what about a person who has a growth problem and doesn't grow any bigger than the size of a 10yr old. This is a law suit waiting to happen.

    1. Re:Smaller sized adults? by Hentes · · Score: 4, Informative

      Even midgets have normal sized heads.

    2. Re:Smaller sized adults? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Smaller-sized adults should be banned anyway. They are encouraging paedophilia.

    3. Re:Smaller sized adults? by metacell · · Score: 1

      And if they take pictures of themselves having sex, it's child pornography. Unless you can prove it was really an adult on the film.

    4. Re:Smaller sized adults? by Merls+the+Sneaky · · Score: 2

      Not in Australia it considered CP if the participant "appears to be under eighteen."

    5. Re:Smaller sized adults? by metacell · · Score: 1

      Here in Sweden, it's the same, but you can get away if you can prove the model was 18 or older. The law is basically written to shift the burden of proof over on the accused.

    6. Re:Smaller sized adults? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 2

      Australia, the US and UK all go one better than that: They consider it to be CP if any of the subjects appears to be under eighteen even if there are no actual subjects, merely artistic depictions. Australia jailed one person for Rule 34 art of Lisa Simpson*, and the US jailed one person for possession of hentai comics.

      *He had prior convictions for actual child porn, so the jury was eager to throw the book at him..

    7. Re:Smaller sized adults? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      They have had these machines in Japan for a few years and some adults couldn't use them. Kids quickly discovered that holding up a photo of an adult works well though.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    8. Re:Smaller sized adults? by wisnoskij · · Score: 1

      I might be wrong but I don't think that most countries make it against the law for vending machines to contain bugs that prevent a sale.

      --
      Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
    9. Re:Smaller sized adults? by theNetImp · · Score: 1

      not all of them.

    10. Re:Smaller sized adults? by theNetImp · · Score: 2

      In the US this would fall under handicap discrimination laws. They don't need a specific law. Everything must be accessible to people with disabilities.

    11. Re:Smaller sized adults? by sourcerror · · Score: 1

      That's the most common type of midgets, but there are many other types as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primordial_dwarfism

    12. Re:Smaller sized adults? by wisnoskij · · Score: 1

      But disabled people can get it in general, sure some of them will be turned away by a bug in the device, or because it is working perfectly and they are children.

      --
      Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
    13. Re:Smaller sized adults? by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      If that bug can be seen as discrimination, then yes, there's a law against that in most countries. And since our country now has "anti-age discrimination" laws (which were actually aimed at not discriminating against older people), I could even see this being used here by some shyster. You have a product that is arguably not harmful to children being refused to be sold to children.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    14. Re:Smaller sized adults? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      There've been lawsuits over more trivial things in the past. How long have you been living in this world of "entitlement" and still think that there won't be anyone making a stink over something as petty as pudding? Especially with the big bucks that can me milked out of anti-discrimination lawsuits.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  8. Easy hack. by blackicye · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The Japanese Cigarette vending machines with facial recognition were pulled, when they discovered that holding up a scale photo or magazine picture would pass the age check.

    1. Re:Easy hack. by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 2

      I could image that this would be quite amusing for bored kids . . . holding up: Halloween masks, a painted basketball, pumpkins, cabbage, iPads . . . etc.

      Hell, it would be even amusing for me . . .

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    2. Re:Easy hack. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      With a Kinect-style imaging device it could detect the 2D nature of the photo. Then you'd have to use a mannequin head.

    3. Re:Easy hack. by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      it's so easy to fool them, that it's stupid that anyone thought they could get away by using those machines.
      same goes for face scan log-in.
      at the minimum you need a 3d facial scan for the age check too, even then it would be pretty crappy(you'd just need a mask for the trick). though I'd have passed that test at maybe 14, so it would have been pretty sweet.. think of all that pudding.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    4. Re:Easy hack. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      In this case, the penalty for breach is low enough that it isn't worth the expense of high security. The worst that can happen would be someone stealing a few sample-sized puddings.

    5. Re:Easy hack. by nojayuk · · Score: 1

      The oyaji (old guy) on a 5000 yen note would work on the cigarette machine face-recognition systems as well. They've switched to an ID card for cigarette vending machines; theory says only folks over 20 years old can get a card but that's as subject to abuse as you might expect.

      One neat thing is that the cigarette vending machines switch themselves off at about 11:00 at night, same for the beer and spirits vending machines.

    6. Re:Easy hack. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Cigarette vending machines here require an ATM card, with the idea that you won't get one 'til you're at least 16 (which is the legal age for smoking over here). It works well enough, actually. Well enough that the thinkofthechildren crowd shuts up at least.

      And that's what counts.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  9. let's see now by shentino · · Score: 1

    1. Put in a smart vending machine that can veto a purchase
    2. Accept a bribe from Pepsi to "accidentally" deny Coke purchases on occasion
    3. Profit!

  10. My evil plan by Fuzzums · · Score: 5, Funny

    Put a scale in front of it.
    Anyone over 100 Kilo will not be served :)

    --
    Privacy is terrorism.
    1. Re:My evil plan by MagusSlurpy · · Score: 1

      You need a height to weight ratio to make this a better idea. A four-foot-ten woman (1.4 meters) at 180 pounds (80 kilos) definitely needs to be cut off, too.

      --
      My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
    2. Re:My evil plan by ooshna · · Score: 3, Funny

      Hey my mother was a champion shot-putter thank you very much.

    3. Re:My evil plan by JustOK · · Score: 5, Funny

      so was my dad. He put away over 20 shots a day for years.

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
    4. Re:My evil plan by pipingguy · · Score: 1

      Putting a relative scale on drafting "deliverables" was one of the greatest inventions ever in this computer age.

      Trust me.

      Paul, old fart draftsman

    5. Re:My evil plan by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Well, you'll see fatties make pullups on the edge of the vending machine... at least they get some exercise in exchange for their pudding.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    6. Re:My evil plan by Fuzzums · · Score: 1

      Mission accomplished :)

      --
      Privacy is terrorism.
  11. Down with smart machines. by shentino · · Score: 1

    While good in theory, in practice they are about as open to abuse as diebold's voting machines.

    I simply do not trust that a machine with hidden logic will remain untainted, either from the touch of a hacker OR a corrupt programmer.

    Now counting to see how long it takes for one of these machines to be abused like DRM.

    1. Re:Down with smart machines. by metacell · · Score: 2

      But unlike Diebold's voting machines, the worst thing that can happen from abuse is that the wrong people get free pudding...

    2. Re:Down with smart machines. by Noughmad · · Score: 1

      Which is pretty much the same as with voting machines, except the voting machines will deny the pudding to 99% of the people.

      --
      PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
    3. Re:Down with smart machines. by DarwinSurvivor · · Score: 2

      HAHA, I just pictured a granola bar wrapping itself back up when you try to pass the second half to a friend!

    4. Re:Down with smart machines. by metacell · · Score: 1

      I agree, I was just thinking about abuse from the side of the users.

    5. Re:Down with smart machines. by Geminii · · Score: 1

      Dr Quinzel for you on line 1...

  12. RTFA - It's about only selling to their demo. by Seumas · · Score: 2, Interesting

    As the article actually states, the reason they're using this technology isn't because of some pudding shortage or the contents of the pudding. It's just that Jell-O is marketing the pudding to adults and they only want to sell it to their demographic. I'm sure this will go over well in the future, when companies decide that they only want white people to buy their products or that they don't want their vending machines selling anything to gingers.

    1. Re:RTFA - It's about only selling to their demo. by will_die · · Score: 1

      They are not selling they are giving the product away.

    2. Re:RTFA - It's about only selling to their demo. by fafaforza · · Score: 1

      Where do you get "white people" from? Jeez. Maybe the taste of the pudding is not liked by kids (like coffee or beer) and they don't want to forever alienate their potential customers at an early age. Inculcating future customers at a very early age is a well known way that companies build brand loyalty. Do you want to do that by teaching kids right off the bat to dislike Jell-O products?

    3. Re:RTFA - It's about only selling to their demo. by Seumas · · Score: 1

      Correct. I probably should have mentioned that, too. :)

    4. Re:RTFA - It's about only selling to their demo. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      The difference in this context is the next ... erh ... friendly person "helping" kids to some pudding.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    5. Re:RTFA - It's about only selling to their demo. by Seumas · · Score: 2

      I kind of agree with you, but not entirely.

      That they're essentially giving away samples means that this could be perceived as a way to simply conserve the product they have in the machine. No point giving the product away to four year old kids who keep running to the machine for freebies, when you're trying to sell to their parents who have the buying power. Otherwise, you're just wasting product.

      On the other hand, what's to stop an adult from hitting up the machine ten times? I would think a more effective and maybe fair solution would be not to let the same person get a free sample more than a certain number of hours apart. The problem with that is then the storage of everyone's photograph on the system for however long the grace period is. That would make it even worse.

      I think the uncomfortable part of it is the idea that it's to "only give the product to their own demographic". Free or not, that seems almost sketchy. Maybe not so bad right now, but what if you really *do* want to market your product to age and/or race or even gender? Something about that feels off, to me.

      Worse, I can see a future very soon now when we have an accessible database (probably at a fee) where you just connect your system to some API that has a photo of almost every person in the country. Now, every time you use a vending machine (free samples or a regular paying one), it snaps your photo, identifies you in their database, gets your contact information from that, and starts spamming you by email and snail mail. Maybe even phone calls. Knows where you are and who you are and the products you are buying (not that they don't already have and know this in general).

      Blech.

    6. Re:RTFA - It's about only selling to their demo. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Do you want to do that by teaching kids right off the bat to dislike Jell-O products?

      If I got to choose... yeah!

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    7. Re:RTFA - It's about only selling to their demo. by Megane · · Score: 1

      Woooosh! Someone with his humor threshold set too low didn't read to the end, and hit the THAT'S RACIST button too early. Because gingers are such an oppressed class.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    8. Re:RTFA - It's about only selling to their demo. by fafaforza · · Score: 1

      Well, I still don't get the 'whoosh,' and I did see the ginger part before I posted. The GP is drawing some sort of a slippery slope argument, using race as one of the criteria, where, to me, this is strictly a business move, nothing about denying people access. Would Jell-O really care that a kid tries their pudding? Probably not, with a few instances. But they don't want a large number of kids eating it simply because the vending machine says 'pudding,' so they put in a weak control to weed out 95% of undesired customers.

  13. Not to mention free advertising on Slashdot by pecosdave · · Score: 4, Insightful

    and every other technology outlet that covers the technology machine and every outlet concerned about health or childrens rights that covers this machine. Seriously could you imagine the amount of buzz/free advertising that would be generated by targeting only Men for example, and the number of women who would buy the product just to say "screw you I'll eat it anyways"?

    Jello may have just invented the advertising by exclusion business model.

    --
    The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
    1. Re:Not to mention free advertising on Slashdot by Merls+the+Sneaky · · Score: 2

      Eric cartman already done this with cartmanland.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartmanland

    2. Re:Not to mention free advertising on Slashdot by Bogtha · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Seriously could you imagine the amount of buzz/free advertising that would be generated by targeting only Men for example, and the number of women who would buy the product just to say "screw you I'll eat it anyways"?

      Yorkie (chocolate bars) did this in the UK. The slogan was "It's not for girls". Then they did a special pink version that was for girls. Last time I checked, women didn't need any more incentive to eat chocolate though.

      --
      Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
    3. Re:Not to mention free advertising on Slashdot by Patch86 · · Score: 1

      Been done many times I'm sure, but it makes me think specifically of...
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcjlzSod0CE

  14. They should... by Stumbles · · Score: 1

    But first they need to link any machine that dispenses meat type products to machines dispensing pudding. After all; you can have any pudding if you don't eat your meat.

    --
    My karma is not a Chameleon.
  15. Santa by pipingguy · · Score: 1

    I just send all my wishes to:
    Claus, Santa
    North Pole
    Postal Code: H0H0H0
    It's worked so far, he actually replies!

  16. BFR. (Body Form Recognition) by nospam007 · · Score: 2

    "judge the age of the individual based on the space between their eyes and ears." ...and the space between the 2 sides of their waist.

    "Step away, fatso, no pudding for you!

  17. I clicked the link...but not what I expected by fl!ptop · · Score: 2

    There are some vending machine combos that this makes sense for, but seriously - pudding?"

    I was not expecting to see whiskey, but this instead.

    --
    When you recognize love in another and realize how precious it is, everything else seems so insignificant.
    1. Re:I clicked the link...but not what I expected by root_42 · · Score: 1

      Why? Are you for teen pregnancies?

      --
      [--- PGP key and more on http://www.root42.de ---]
    2. Re:I clicked the link...but not what I expected by FairAndHateful · · Score: 1

      There are some vending machine combos that this makes sense for, but seriously - pudding?"

      Got any of that beer that has candy floating in it? You know, Skittlebrau?

    3. Re:I clicked the link...but not what I expected by Spodi · · Score: 1

      The Christian parent's dream: Denial of condoms to the young means they will do the "responsible" thing and not have sex.

      Reality? Well... ever have sex with and without a condom? They'll probably never use one again!

  18. Re:Look young? by azalin · · Score: 1

    Are you sure this specific demographic would eat pudding? Think of all the carbs, lactose and unsaturated fats (at least if it's real pudding).

  19. We've seen this before... by Bogtha · · Score: 1

    First they came for the pudding, and I didn't speak out because I was on a diet...

    --
    Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
  20. Distance between the eyes does not change much by pfafrich · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A while back I did some work looking at how people faces change with age for a medicinal application. One quite surprising thing is how little the distance between the eyes actually change, quite young children will have the the same distance as adults. On the other hand noses keep growing throughout life.

    --
    There are four sorts of people in the world: fools, lunatics, idiots and morons. - Umberto Eco, Foucaut's pendulum.
    1. Re:Distance between the eyes does not change much by Geminii · · Score: 1

      [+1 Lord Voldemort liked this]

  21. Can you blame them? by jasonq · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's a gateway dessert.

    1. Re:Can you blame them? by 10101001+10101001 · · Score: 1

      It's a gateway dessert.

      Exactly. It'll lead to dancing [sugar plums in their heads]!

      --
      Eurohacker European paranoia, gun rights, and h
  22. What they should do... by AliasMarlowe · · Score: 2

    If the machine is going to meter pudding based on the metrics of the would-be buyer, then it should base its decision on the relative size of belly or bum to height (or some similar fat/slender axis), not on the size of the head.

    Of course, it would be better if the machine did not attempt to make any such decisions, as there are probably enough cases where the decision would be wrong (small adult, etc.). Lawsuits ahoy!

    --
    Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
    1. Re:What they should do... by jamesh · · Score: 1

      If the machine is going to meter pudding based on the metrics of the would-be buyer, then it should base its decision on the relative size of belly or bum to height (or some similar fat/slender axis), not on the size of the head.

      Of course, it would be better if the machine did not attempt to make any such decisions, as there are probably enough cases where the decision would be wrong (small adult, etc.). Lawsuits ahoy!

      I don't think that's what they had in mind. It's just a technology test for facial recognition in vending machines and the account that the face is linked to has a pudding/no-pudding flag set. There's more to facial recognition than just head size.

  23. WTF? by frisket · · Score: 1

    WTF is a pudding dispensing vending machine FFS?

    1. Re:WTF? by Stewie241 · · Score: 1

      It's a vending machine that dispenses pudding.

    2. Re:WTF? by Geminii · · Score: 1

      Harley Quinn with the keys to Arkham.

  24. It does increase the glucose concentration by tepples · · Score: 1

    Quoting Dr. Burks from the linked page, with my emphasis: "There haven't been any good scientific studies that show that there is an adverse effect on a child or adult's behavior chronically with the ingestion of foods." I'd guess some might worry about the acute effects of a rise in blood glucose causing a child to want to become more active. Have any studies looked at the correlation between blood glucose and a child's urge to play, and if so, could you link to the a report?

    1. Re:It does increase the glucose concentration by mysidia · · Score: 1

      How about simple emotional excitement caused by the taste of food?
      Possibly, with the child having not eaten recently, therefore being hungry possibly resulting in an abnormally depressed / low-energy state.

      If parents view their child's normal behavior as "hyperactive"; then the rapidity of the return to a normal state after eating, could be perceived as hyperactivity; in other words, many parents might be deciding their child is hyperactive, when it's just a change of their child's activity level that they are seeing --- the parent perceiving the abnormally low level of activity as "normal" for their child, just a miscalculation.

  25. Serious artistic value by tepples · · Score: 1

    the US jailed one person for possession of hentai comics.

    Are you talking about the cases listed here? If so, the relevant statute incorporates the Miller test, meaning any cartoon CP with serious artistic value is excluded from the ban. In the case of Steven Kutzner, for example, the use of copyrighted characters created by Matt Groening might have been an aggravating factor in determining lack of serious artistic value.

    1. Re:Serious artistic value by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      A little following the Wiki links turns up a variety of related cases, even if just looking in the US. The Miller test is still in place, but it is a rather fuzzy standard at best. Because of the vagueness it invites any judge or jury to just vote on their emotional reaction alone. Not everyone agrees on the meaning of 'artistic value.' I've been to the Tate Modern, and I wouldn't call a lot of the pieces there art.

    2. Re:Serious artistic value by Merls+the+Sneaky · · Score: 1

      The definition of artistic value is an emotional response in the viewer isn't it? Either way "artistic value" has such a vague definition that it could mean anything.

    3. Re:Serious artistic value by PRMan · · Score: 1

      Sounds like yet another high court/low court law...

      --
      Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
  26. Because you can't untell a lie by tepples · · Score: 4, Funny

    On the other hand noses keep growing throughout life.

    Because you can't untell a lie.

  27. Meat and milk don't have blood by tepples · · Score: 1

    Well, why do you eat muscle tissue and drink cow milk?

    Because they don't have blood in them. Meat (animal muscle) has had its blood drained out of it, and milk doesn't have blood in it for the same reason that sweat doesn't.

    1. Re:Meat and milk don't have blood by michelcolman · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Ever seen a steak before it's cooked? Plenty of blood in there, I would say.

    2. Re:Meat and milk don't have blood by kyrio · · Score: 1

      You won't eat blood but you'll drink the pus and [unhealthy] bacteria in the milk? You'd rather have osteoporosis over eating some blood?

    3. Re:Meat and milk don't have blood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Ever seen a steak before it's cooked? Plenty of blood in there, I would say.

      That's not blood, it's myoglobin in water.

    4. Re:Meat and milk don't have blood by seantide · · Score: 1

      Where do you get the idea meat doesn't have blood in it? Some meat has quite a bit of blood in it. The steak I cooked for Christmas dinner last nite for example, I like it rare so the plate ran with blood. Yummy.

  28. How much longer until... by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

    Carl's Jr. will start using these.

  29. ED-209 Pudding Protector by Guppy · · Score: 2

    ED-209: "Citizen! Please step away from the pudding!"

    *BRRRRRT-SplatterGibSploosh*"

    ED-209: "Thank you for your cooperation."

  30. How much anyone want to bet by Stan92057 · · Score: 2

    How much anyone want to bet its really for catching criminals AND to save the scans of our faces for further intrusive advertising somewhere down the road. Lets boycott the makers of Jello. Do they scan our faces as we walk by also?

    --
    Jack of all trades,master of none
  31. This is a brilliant idea by goombah99 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I suspect this is a test of the system. Put somerhing in their that kids want that is not true contraband like cigarettes. Kids will figure out how to defeat the security by, say wearing masks or holding up newsweek magazine covers. Maker of machine then improves software. The war continues till kids can't defeat it. Now you can load it with cigarettes and alcohol.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:This is a brilliant idea by billcopc · · Score: 1

      Except it's already been used elsewhere in Europe to sell the aforementioned smokes and booze, and was indeed defeated by simple photos and newspapers.

      I propose an alternative solution where the machine actively scans for circumvention efforts, shoots offenders with a sedative, and stores them for later processing via wood chipper. Merry fuckin' christmas everyone!

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
  32. Abnormally low "normal" activity by tepples · · Score: 1

    the parent perceiving the abnormally low level of activity as "normal" for their child

    You make a good point. But in that case, it's not the parent as much as society in general that perceives abnormally low activity, such as sitting at a desk for six hours without becoming destructive, as "normal".

  33. Re:Look young? by michelcolman · · Score: 1

    Real pudding from a vending machine? Surely you're joking. It will have as little as possible of anything commonly considered to be bad for you (fat, energy,...) or expensive (real eggs, milk,...) and lots of the cheap replacement stuff that's actually bad for you.

  34. Re:Diseases transmitted through blood by Runaway1956 · · Score: 2

    So - tell me, what do you eat that CANNOT spread diseases? And, you might be interested to know that my devout Catholic grandparents, along with their sizeable clan of relatives, ate that blood pudding at almost every holiday.

    I guess my mother's ethnic background rubbed off on me, because I only remember tasting blood pudding a couple of times. Seems that she brainwashed me into turning my nose up at it by the time I reached school age.

    --
    "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
  35. Re:Diseases transmitted through blood by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 2

    If you want to follow the bible there is a load of things you shouldn't eat including things like seafood and pork. Of course that made sense ages ago when there was no refrigeration and the ability to cook things wasn't as good. Most meats *still* have some blood in them anyway. It's not like they can drain 100% of the blood.

  36. Re:Diseases transmitted through blood by Will.Woodhull · · Score: 1

    So two billion Christians are abstaining from half of the Holy Eucharist?

    Seems like the Church has changed since I went on to other things.

    --
    Will
  37. i have tried the temptations junk. by Truekaiser · · Score: 2

    DON'T buy it, if you want real chocolate pudding buy the kiddie marketed stuff. because it's just air fluffed normal pudding so you pay more for less.

  38. This is the Beta test by Provocateur · · Score: 1

    The vending machines will ultimately dispense medical marijuana.

    Don't worry; as added protection, they will be sold in child-proof containers, preventing kids and already-heavily-stoned adults from opening them...

    --
    WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
  39. It's a free market by Coop · · Score: 1

    That means that anyone's free not to sell to you, as long as they don't discriminate based on legally established criteria.

    --
    "If you're not passionate about your operating system, you're married to the wrong one."
  40. Yes, pudding. by EmagGeek · · Score: 1

    The Nanny State doesn't have bounds and will strive to control as much as possible, right down to how many squares you use to wipe your ass.

  41. Re:Diseases transmitted through blood by tepples · · Score: 1

    The wine is wine; it represents the blood of Jesus. "This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf" (Luke 22:20). I don't know where Catholics get their "transubstantiation" doctrine, as the previous verse makes it clear that it's a symbol: "Keep doing this in remembrance of me."

  42. Next, "oinker blocking" by Animats · · Score: 2

    It would be more useful to measure the BMI of the customer and block oinkers from buying.

  43. Difference between pork and blood by tepples · · Score: 1

    If you want to follow the bible there is a load of things you shouldn't eat including things like seafood and pork.

    Until Acts 10. There's a difference: the prohibition on blood is reiterated in the Greek Scriptures, but the Mosaic prohibition on pork is abolished.

    1. Re:Difference between pork and blood by guruevi · · Score: 1

      Acts 10 is only valid in case you are 'stumbling' someone by not adhering to the Mosaic law.

      Basically, some Jews converted in the second century (when that part of the Bible was actually written) and wanted to impose parts of the Mosaic law onto the Christians (that included Paul of course as evident elsewhere). Paul was trying to say that "we gotta keep these converts so if they rather you not do anything that offends them, don't do it".

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
  44. Re:Diseases transmitted through blood by tepples · · Score: 1

    Thanks. Now I have something to cite to the jay-dubs next time they knock.

  45. Carded for pudding by macraig · · Score: 1

    Teenagers desperate to get drunk have had workarounds for this problem for decades. Need a Jello fix but you're too young? Find the nearest homeless person and offer them five bucks to stand in front of the machine at the right moment, and voila!

  46. Re:Pudding by macraig · · Score: 1

    Are you a Pinko or something?

  47. They're for free samples by flimflammer · · Score: 1

    They just don't want kids who likely wont be spending money on them to get them. I think it's pretty retarded personally, but it's not like they're actually carding kids to buy pudding.

  48. Re:Diseases transmitted through blood by Will.Woodhull · · Score: 2

    Oh.

    Well, if it's all just a symbolic structure, then I guess the beliefs themselves don't really matter much, huh? You could swap in Earth Mama for God, and Shiva for Jesus, and the algebra would still work the same.

    This is probably a discussion better continued with your Pastor, Rabbi, or High Priestess (or similar personage, depending on your faith). You could print these posts out and bring them to Sunday School. That would probably generate an interesting discussion about the differences between beliefs and symbols.

    Continuing this on Slashdot would be foolishness.

    --
    Will
  49. Re:Diseases transmitted through blood by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

    So there's no such thing as ... " Good Gravy! "

    --
    Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
  50. Sued for mistakes? by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Until you are sued by Snooki, then the gig is over

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  51. Waah by Niscenus · · Score: 3, Funny

    Stop acting like a child. So you don't get the respect the wearers of big-boy pants do; why do you think that is? Have you considered that Person B had always been a whiney li'l twit what had it coming?

    No, you just walk in on an abstraction and assume you know what's going on, but I've know Persons A, B, C and E for three years and D and G for two. I just met Persons F and H last week and won't comment on them, but lemme tell you, A has always been a 'hole and B whines about crap like this all of the time. Person E used to go out with Person A, but didn't appreciate being talked down to and Person B seems unaware that sex is a thing that happens.

    I don't want to tell you about the frakked up deal between Persons D and G, but Person C told me that D and G used to think they were related, and now that they know they're not...well, it's still weird. I don't normally listen to Person C, but ever since I got a bleedin' ear-full from Person B about Person A, I'd rather keep all Person socializing to a minimum, but Person C just barges in from time to time when escaping this line of BS.

    --
    "Yeah...it was the numbers that were irrational, not the murderous cult of vegetarians...." -- Hippasus of Metapontum
  52. More than meats the eye... Free Pudding by BlueCoder · · Score: 1

    They forgot to stress that there Kiosks are about giving away free samples... Children would definitely abuse it and since their parents won't be buying them expensive pudding... nothing for them. They probably also keep a biometric record of your face so adults can't abuse it either.

  53. The Real Story Here by DrGamez · · Score: 1

    I can get pudding from a vending machine holy shit I love the future.

  54. PUDDING-209 by Rui+del-Negro · · Score: 1

    "Please become a legal adult. You have 20 second to comply."

    "You now have 15 seconds to comply."

    "You are in direct violation of Dessert Code 1.13, Section 9. You have 5 seconds to comply."

    "I am now authorized to use physical force."

    (machine-gun fire)

  55. Myoglobin != blood by tepples · · Score: 1

    Was that blood or just myoglobin, as AC pointed out?

    1. Re:Myoglobin != blood by seantide · · Score: 1

      Well that's a good point, myoglobin is what makes meat red, and beef simply has more of it than say chicken or fish.

      However, I rarely buy meat where all of the blood is totally gone, especially if its a fresh kill market from local sources, or of course game animals from a hunting trip.

      I suppose "no blood" is actually some legal formula which specifics the maximum allowed in reality and it is probably very low but not gone.

  56. What about fatties? by PeterWone · · Score: 1

    Shouldn't also deny pudding to fat people? How will the machine identify diabetics, compulsory tattoos?