While putting gas into my thirsty little creature at Shell, I encountered an apparition most foul:

There are now TVs showing the "Fuelcast Edition" of NBC, embedded in every pump. As soon as you swipe your card, the volume turns way up and then this thing shouts ads at you while you are pumping your gas. Not programming. Just ads.

Even though I have plenty to keep me occupied during the filling process ("is the Subaru merely low on oil? Or is it dangerously low?") and didn't at any point look at the TV, the loudly and poorly acted advertising copy was still quite rage-inducing.

I never liked Shell anyway, so I look forward to gleefully boycotting them forever. Banned for life!

(And lest you accuse, I did not make up the word "fuelcast", they say it themselves.)