Behind the bakery, the actionway is squeezed down into a strangely narrow corridor, with the customer service counter on the back wall right next to the Starbucks. (I'm referring to the "front" of the store as the side with all the windows on it, where I entered; however, the checkouts and other front end things are along the "back" wall of the store, because that's where the parking garage entrance is... it's confusing.) The projecting parts of the decor make it look even narrower than it is! It's fun to see the old CRT TV still hanging on as a surveillance monitor... in a high-tech place like San Francisco, those probably looked at least somewhat outdated when the store first opened! (Though I believe flat-screens were still a bit of a luxury item in those days, probably not what Safeway really wanted to spend their money on!)
This is strange for a number of reasons! It is strange to see a bakery so close to the customer service desk and then there is the narrow corridor! It is amazing how much the presence of a CRT TV (though probably it should be called a monitor since it's probably made especially for security purposes and lacks a tuner) makes something look dated! LCD monitors would have existed in 2004, but they would have been very expensive for anything as big as that TV/monitor. Even more surprising than that monitor would be if that security camera is original! If so, it is probably just standard definition, but maybe it is an early high definition camera. Even if so, I'm sure modern cameras have much better quality!
ReplyDeleteYou know, judging by the absolutely terrible image quality (which you'll see in a couple upcoming photos), maybe that is the original camera! Then again, a (probably low-end) CRT that's been running more or less continuously for nearly 20 years probably wouldn't look all that great regardless of what you're displaying on it!
DeleteOdd indeed!
ReplyDelete