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I had to build a web scraper to buy groceries

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Re: I had to build a web scraper to buy groceries

#131

Post by cogman10 »

halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #123
mderazon wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you trust the employee who restocked the shelves with all the groceries or filled the stands with fruits?

The point is you’re eliminating a completely unnecessary vector for getting infected. The risk of getting infected from within the grocery is assumed in both scenarios.

I think the flip is more the reason to do delivery/curbside. Symptoms aren't always present so you going into the store could be exposing many people to infection.

Delivery isolates. Yes your driver and handler could be infected, but so could you.

Re: I had to build a web scraper to buy groceries

#132

Post by boomboomsubban »

40four wrote: post #115

Why is grocery delivery considered a ‘safer’ option than going to the store yourself. I actually prefer to do it myself. I’d rather be the one to lay hands on all my own products. Why would you trust an unknown group of people to take all the proper precautions? Who picked the item by hand? Who is this bringing it to your door? Are you sure they washed hands? Did they accidentally sneeze on anything? Is the vehicle s…

>Why would you trust an unknown group of people to take all the proper precautions? Who picked the item by hand? Who is this bringing it to your door? Are you sure they washed hands? Did they accidentally sneeze on anything? Is the vehicle sanitary?

All of these risks are already present from the stockers and checkout at the grocery store, which is why you should wash/cook everything they touch. Even if most of your items are contaminated, you can still keep yourself safe.

>I can keep as much distance from people as I want.

They can also get as close to you as they want, and one unlucky interaction can make you sick. Limiting your contact to one driver who will do what you say is safer.

Re: I had to build a web scraper to buy groceries

#133

Post by 40four »

rendall wrote: post #125
40four wrote: post #115

Why is grocery delivery considered a ‘safer’ option than going to the store yourself. I actually prefer to do it myself. I’d rather be the one to lay hands on all my own products. Why would you trust an unknown group of people to take all the proper precautions? Who picked the item by hand? Who is this bringing it to your door? Are you sure they washed hands? Did they accidentally sneeze on anything? Is the vehicle s…

All good points, but these cautions apply before you encounter and touch your purchases as well. In either case, you're cleaning and disinfecting your potentially contaminated purchases inside your home, whether or not someone touched them before or after you purchased them. I don't think you're eliminating a vector by going out yourself. Not significantly, if at all.

Indeed, someone had to touch it to stock the shelves. I guess if you wipe everything down before you put it away it is a moot point.

Maybe for me it’s just a good reason to escape the prison of my house :)

Re: I had to build a web scraper to buy groceries

#134

Post by jedieaston »

Zarel wrote: post #57
somebodynew wrote: post #3

It seems like a lot of demand issues highlighted by the pandemic could be solved by queues. Instead of saying "there are no slots available", put the user in the queue. Process the queue in order. The improvement in wait time and demand accuracy would be a win for both consumers and the business.

It seems to me that that they already have a 4-day-long queue, and the error message is in fact a "the queue is full" error. Why not a longer queue? I don't know, but I'd guess people forget about their order and buy redundant things, causing support and customer satisfaction problems, if the queue is longer than 4 days.

Probably because if I'm going to wait four days anyway, I'll probably just say "Gee, guess I'll just drive down there and get it".

Re: I had to build a web scraper to buy groceries

#135

Post by e12e »

40four wrote: post #115

Why is grocery delivery considered a ‘safer’ option than going to the store yourself. I actually prefer to do it myself. I’d rather be the one to lay hands on all my own products. Why would you trust an unknown group of people to take all the proper precautions? Who picked the item by hand? Who is this bringing it to your door? Are you sure they washed hands? Did they accidentally sneeze on anything? Is the vehicle s…

> Why is grocery delivery considered a ‘safer’ option than going to the store yourself.

If we both go to the store, you can infect me and the people working in the store. If the store delivers to you, it is easier to make sure you (the customer) do not infect anyone (they can leave the goods outside, no need for close interaction).

As others mentioned, a lot of people will interact with the goods before you - but it is much more feasible for a store to train and equip a handful of people to take precautions, than to expect the public at large to do so - just a simple thing like not being able to change in a proper wardrobe before entering the store, means customers are a lot more "dangerous" than staff.

Re: I had to build a web scraper to buy groceries

#136

Post by ant6n »

YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #107

>> everybody stays at home and especially avoids crowded indoor places like supermarkets. I know I shouldn't do that, my doctor has advised me against it, but I have a headache today and this made it worse and I can't help myself so: this is an oxymoron. If everybody is staying at home, then supermarkets cannot be crowded. If supermarkets are crowded, then everybody is not staying at home. Both things can't be happen…

Nobody drives in New York - too much traffic!

Re: I had to build a web scraper to buy groceries

#137

Post by 40four »

boomboomsubban wrote: post #132
40four wrote: post #115

Why is grocery delivery considered a ‘safer’ option than going to the store yourself. I actually prefer to do it myself. I’d rather be the one to lay hands on all my own products. Why would you trust an unknown group of people to take all the proper precautions? Who picked the item by hand? Who is this bringing it to your door? Are you sure they washed hands? Did they accidentally sneeze on anything? Is the vehicle s…

>Why would you trust an unknown group of people to take all the proper precautions? Who picked the item by hand? Who is this bringing it to your door? Are you sure they washed hands? Did they accidentally sneeze on anything? Is the vehicle sanitary? All of these risks are already present from the stockers and checkout at the grocery store, which is why you should wash/cook everything they touch. Even if most of your…

Fair enough. Sanitizing every item once at your house works too. Maybe I just have an aversion to a bunch of unknown people touching all my stuff, pandemic or not.

Either way it’s a good reason to get me out of the house, which a hard to come by now days :) It’s good for my mental health. I can’t let myself just sit around being afraid of the world. This thing isn’t voodoo magic. I’m confident I can safely handle myself in public.

Re: I had to build a web scraper to buy groceries

#138

Post by noelsusman »

40four wrote: post #115

Why is grocery delivery considered a ‘safer’ option than going to the store yourself. I actually prefer to do it myself. I’d rather be the one to lay hands on all my own products. Why would you trust an unknown group of people to take all the proper precautions? Who picked the item by hand? Who is this bringing it to your door? Are you sure they washed hands? Did they accidentally sneeze on anything? Is the vehicle s…

The primary mode of transmission is through droplets from coughing and sneezing. Minimizing the amount of time you spend around other people is by far the most effective way to avoid getting the virus. If you put away the delivered items, wash your hands, and then don't return to the kitchen for a few hours, then it doesn't matter if the delivery person infected your items. The virus can't last all that long outside the human body.

However, from a public health perspective you should only use delivery services if you're in an at-risk group. Otherwise you're just transferring your risk onto another person and also doubling the number of people who could be infected by this trip to the store (assuming you live alone).

Re: I had to build a web scraper to buy groceries

#139

Post by sp0rk »

jniedrauer wrote: post #126
40four wrote: post #115

Why is grocery delivery considered a ‘safer’ option than going to the store yourself. I actually prefer to do it myself. I’d rather be the one to lay hands on all my own products. Why would you trust an unknown group of people to take all the proper precautions? Who picked the item by hand? Who is this bringing it to your door? Are you sure they washed hands? Did they accidentally sneeze on anything? Is the vehicle s…

> I’d rather be the one to lay hands on all my own products. Someone had to stock the shelves that morning. I've been keeping my groceries in the bag, sticking the entire thing in the refrigerator, and then not touching it for at least 24 hours. The only thing delivery/curbside pickup changes is reducing the time spent breathing in close proximity to other people.

> I've been keeping my groceries in the bag, sticking the entire thing in the refrigerator, and then not touching it for at least 24 hours.

Unfortunately, this won't do anything to kill/remove the virus, and may potentially make it last longer. You should be washing your items with soap or spraying them with isopropyl alcohol.

Re: I had to build a web scraper to buy groceries

#140

Post by bluntfang »

40four wrote: post #115

Why is grocery delivery considered a ‘safer’ option than going to the store yourself. I actually prefer to do it myself. I’d rather be the one to lay hands on all my own products. Why would you trust an unknown group of people to take all the proper precautions? Who picked the item by hand? Who is this bringing it to your door? Are you sure they washed hands? Did they accidentally sneeze on anything? Is the vehicle s…

>I’d rather be the one to lay hands on all my own products.

I've seen this, and similar, opinions about grocery stores that just illustrates how detached the public is from modern food supply chains.

Do you have any idea how many hands touch your food before it gets on your plate? From the fields (where works probably urinate while on the job) to the shelves, it passes through probably 10s if not 100s of hands.

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