"Smile!" for the camera

A few weeks ago I wrote about the free pop my new group has. Management seems to think that over caffeinated (or sugared) employees work harder. From what I can tell, they don't. I'll save my hypothesis why for another day.

It seems like others in the building are a bit jealous of our free pop. There has been an increase in theft. Not of personal items, like the world globe I got for five years of service, but of pop.

I kind of expected this as the cooler does not have a lock. And being I have a brother who worked nights here and told me about the massive convergence by night staff to anything free, I figured it would not take long before the free pop cooler was found.

To combat the crime, we've taken a pretty innovative approach. It was not my idea, but being we're all one happy group I'd like to take partial credit for supporting the idea. There sitting on top of the cooler is a camera. The sign right below it says "Smile for the camera!".

We can't quantify if the camera has prevented any thievery. Why you may ask? Because it's not plugged into anything. The cable which hangs off the back of the fridge dangles freely.

Now I've heard some folks say this is a stupid idea as the camera is not plugged in. I disagree. I think it's pure genius. If I had another camera, I'd plug that one in from an adjacent point and record how many people were discouraged from stealing a pop by the innocuous camera.