Burger KING +
Burger KING has taken the lead. It has done the hard work of finding what displeases customers and found that customers prefer humans over AI.
Customers don’t like kiosks. Customers don’t like apps. Customers don’t like slow service. Customers don’t like AI asking dumb questions, like “are you using our app?” (“Honestly, why should I use your app since I would still be in your stupid order pick up lane getting my food no faster than those who merely ordered at the microphone!”)
So, Burger KING is hiring an additional 60,000 workers this year. That’s about 9 additional workers per store.
McBurger should take a lesson. I stopped eating there about the time they transitioned to kiosks and apps. Kiosks make ordering confusing (they are almost impossible to understand unless you go through a training program first… but I just want a burger and fries). Kiosks do nothing to improve the experience, the speed of service, or the food. The only reason I miss McBurger is that they had the best fries, but I can endure Miss Pigtail fries and those come with a better experience and fewer minutes of wait time. Last time I tried to get breakfast at McBurger I was traveling far from home, there were five cars ahead of me, and I received my cold order in about 30 minutes. I could have been 17 minutes further down the road had I gone to Miss Pigtail or Burger KING.
Burger KING has read the tea leaves. They know that neither price, nor food quality are the issues. People want fast, comfortable, and accurate. “Like you, I’m never there to appreciate the shrubbery.”
BEING SINGLE MAY CAUSE CANCER
Actually I’m intelligent enough to know that marital status is NOT the cause of cancer. However, in a large study a comparison was made regarding incidences of cancer based upon marital status. For the study, people who had been married or were presently married were compared to those who had never been married.
The new study, published in the journal Cancer Research Communications, found that adults who have never been married have a higher risk of developing cancer than those who have. Strangely, this is not the first study which made the connection.
Those who have never been married were represented by about 20% of the test subjects, yet unmarried men in the study were found to have cancer 70% more often then those who were currently or had been married. For women, this one factor increased cancer rates by nearly 85%.
I can think of no one who likes to get cancer. Yet it is easy to reduce the risks. According to Lorna H McNeill, PhD, MPH who is chair in the Department of Health Disparities at the University of Texas (say that three times fast) … “Studies have shown unmarried people are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors that increase risk for cancer, such as smoking, alcohol use, and a poorer diet.” Maybe I should add “cats?” (Not sure if I’m joking about that, so I would enjoy reading a study which pits cancer rates among unmarrieds who own cats against those who don’t. I’d even contribute a couple dollars toward the study.)
Getting cancer is not the same as dying from it. A long study shares that Americans are less likely to die now than then. Overall, U.S. cancer mortality has declined by about 32% between 1991 and 2019. One reason: fewer cigarette sales now.
WHAT GOES AROUND …
Hackers have been stealing information and codes from US businesses, like banks and health care centers, for decades. Very little has been done about it. Only one of a few, ABC News reports on a 20 year old who hacked a national school account: “Young hacker behind major breach speaks out for 1st time, before reporting to prison.”
I’ve been quietly saying for several years that we need “kill teams” to wipe the earth of such. Maybe now that will happen. China isn’t afraid of using lethal force. Their data was hacked, with more data being stolen than from any other holder of data before. It included government secrets, and weapon designs, as well as personal information on over a billion Chinese citizens.
Laws haven’t stopped hackers. It takes years to procure a single conviction. Businesses that engage in hacking merely “go out of business” and start back up the same day as a new business. What is needed is an actual consequence. I think China may be willing to train a team that will deliver a consequence. Innocent people may be harmed, but in the process the hackers will learn that they can’t OBTAIN or USE the data as safely as they have in the past. The very first time a “kill team” approach is used by a world power, the stakes will be far greater than before. The thieves will ask for MORE money for data, the buyers will become MORE careful, and the potential victims whose information is in someone’s system will have MORE security. If you are a hacker, consider this a warning.
We have been paying a high price via insurance, security systems, detection, and prosecution. Our federal government alone is spending billions annually to maintain security (and should be spending more).
It seems counter to everything we’ve ever been taught in the USA (like “innocent until proven guilty”) except OUR system of justice is totally unlike the systems used in other countries. Russia is not afraid to shoot a supposed traitor in the head without a trial. Neither is China or Iran. (If you remember after Iranian soldiers fired on protesters, they sent soldiers to hospital ERs to kill any person who entered the hospital emergency ward with a gunshot wound. No trial. No lawyers. Just Executions.)
So what will China do about the hack? Your guess is as good as mine, but I don’t think they will have a legitimate trial for the hackers if they are found.
Copyright 2026 Donald Whelpley
[PLEASE NOTE that Don is always open to discussing the thoughts and opinions he shares here and welcomes comments as shared in the comment section. He doesn’t use other social media platforms and won’t see whatever you’d like to share with him if you post it elsewhere.
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