Fortress america hits homeFollow

Well, tonight I decided to go out to dinner. There is a fiarly new Boston's Pizza in the area, which I have been wanting to try out. No one was around to go with me, so i ended up going solo, but the place was supposed to have good pizza, so i said "what the hell" and went anyways.

So I get there, they show me to my seat. the crowd seems like your average vancouver restaraunt crowd, a mix of families, couples, groups out on the town, and a scattering of loners such as myself. There are a few 32" CRT tv's scattered around the place, a few neon signs and posters on the wall, but nothing especially out of the ordinary, or anything in the high end price range to worry about.

which brings me to the disco ball.

It wasn't a true disco ball of course, but instead one of those obiquitous security camera balls, you know the ones, the black plastic dome with the pan tilt zoom camera on the inside watching your every move. What was unique about this one was it was plunked down right in the middle of the dineing room.

After spotting it, i was a little bit unsettled. I mean, why the hell does someone want to watch me eat? A quick survey of the 60 x 80' room showed 5 more of the round ones hanging down, and another 14 in-wall mounted devices (6 pinhole cams, and 8 of those ones designed to look like electrical sockets. Who puts an electrical socket 18 feet up on a wall anyways? honestly, what were they thinking?". I mean seriously, you usually see fewer cameras in a bank these days.

None of these cameras were aimed or located over the tills, and at least one exit was mostly obscured by a wall partition, so I can't see that them being woried about theft was the primary motivation. So what gives? I for one wont be going back. the pizza was good, but the cameras were just too creepy. Am I being oversensitive aobut this? or has the american lawsuit culture finially pushed it to this point?

I would mention that many of these places use faux cameras as "eat-and-run" deterrents, but it seems, from your description, that these cameras were fairly well-hidden to most but the trained eye.

The inordinate number of cameras would freak me out as well. Get your pizza to go.

Imagine you calling one day for a takeout, to have them say: "Mr. xxx? Pepperoni with extra cheese comin right up." before you even say anything...

Seems to me were on camera just about anywhere we go now days. I wouldn't be overly concerned since the likelyhood of people wanting to touch themselves to you eating is pretty small.

Just wait till we have the eye recognition like in minority report, then things will suck. Your wife will be able to find out you are at the strip club with the guys and not out playing softball like you said.

Market research. Somebody is studying eating habits.

That kinda thing would make me feel uncomfortable..

Thats one of the reasons why I like a cheap ***, American diner.. "What'll ya have mac.."

No cameras, decent food. if your lucky, a waitress with a lot of cleavage...... If your really lucky.. she'll drop a fork and have to pick it up, right in front of you.. ...Good times...

BS. Much like now, they'll disguise it. Heck, last time I bought liquor and used a credit card to pay, I had to look up the purchase because I couldn't figure out what in the heck Froogal MacDugal was....

There's a bar around here called 'The Office.' Honey, I'll be staying late at The Office tonight. Don't wait supper.


I can see it now, the eye recognition cameras will be placed in front of false backgrounds to indicate you're out shopping for her birthday present or doing charity work.