Mama Take This Badge Off of Me

I can't use it anymore.

They've installed a new electronic locking system in my building to replace our old magnetic swipe ID cards. You already know about these things because I know for a fact we're the last company on Earth to get them: you are issued a card or a fob that you physically press against or wave at a reader and the reader beeps. The light turns green. The door knob clicks and suddenly it lets you turn it.

They installed this system on Saturday. I've been using it for exactly one full business day and already I'm wondering why we still have any metal locks and keys in the building. Part of me wants to consolidate every lock we have into this new system so I just have this one fob to carry around and it will let me into everything. No more searching for the right key in the dark. No more wondering if I picked the right key when it just so happens that the lock is sticking and won't let me turn the cylinder unless I put pressure on the handle in just the right way. No more double swiping with the mag card because the first one "didn't take".

But the luxury of being able to badge the reader in the elevator without having to remove my keyring from my pants pocket comes at a steep price: I'm a sheep. I walked up to an open door and I still badged it before I entered.

Baaa.