Where Am I?

By Bill Korbel

It's not true that men never ask for directions. I know I have a few times.  Yes, most of us may be hesitant to stop and ask how to get someplace, but that's not because we hate to admit we don't know where we are or where we are going. Not at all.  It's because we hate to stop at all for any reason short of taking a potty break.  Now, thanks to GPS navigation this is no longer even a question. 

I have used GPS as the main navigation system in airplanes for nearly 10 years but only recently have I started using that technology in a car and I never cease to be amazed at how well it works.  The accuracy is phenomenal.  Of course it does have some quirks.  The voice in my device has trouble pronouncing some street and highway names.  It completely mumbles it's way through Sagtikos Parkway, and for some reason it thinks Sunrise Highway is Powmia highway.  I know some sections are called POW-MIA highway but it should be pronounced P. O. W. M. I. A.,  not powmia.  I also get a kick out of ignoring a turn and making the GPS come up with a new route.  It may be my imagination, but I swear the voice giving directions starts to get a bit testy every time it says "recalculating".  I fully expect that one day it will simply say: " You idiot!.  I told you to turn on Camp Avenue but no, you had to turn on Park.  So now you figure out how to get out of this mess.  I give up".

Of course it only gets better.  I just bought a new cell phone and guess what.  It has a built in navigation system.  It's slower and not quite as clever picking routes, but the female voice is very pleasant and never seems to mind when I make a wrong turn.  Maybe it just likes me better.

Bill Korbel