I defied my GPS navigation thing yesterday, and it recalculated the route, and then I decided to follow the recalculated route for the fun of it (I was driving home from the office) and it took me way the hell into the sticks, over a mountain, down winding little roads I hadn’t driven on since they put in the freeway. It was pretty neat. And just as fast as the freeway.
Today, though, the suction cup that holds it to the windshield came loose and when I caught it I apparently reprogrammed it to voice-activated British female robot voice. Took me a while to fix it when I got home.
Tomorrow I’m testing it by driving to France for a cello lesson. Alpha told me to bring her something nice. When I asked her to be more specific, she said, “something *really* nice.”
I am in love with my Garmin. We had a flight from Frankfurt and weere in the middle of nowhere, in a tiny village, of course there was an accident on the highway. Garming took us through every single village, beautifully scenic roads and we still made it on time. It saved my ass many times – nearest gas station, restaurant etc. but what I love most is the “home” button.. Knowing that I will be home in xx:xx mins is a really nice feeling :))
John Cleese took me to Chelmsford County Court THE LONG WAY the other day. His jokes get rather tedious when you’re heading towards the wrong part of London when you’re due in court in twenty minutes. The suction cup is a permanent issue. And watch out for the battery dying without warning. You drive for 30 miles towards your cello lesson, because nobody has told you to direct yourself away from Belgium.
it got me to provence yesterday, and only tried to send me thru a single pedestrian zone. got a little testy when i went around. i made a single wrong turn, whereupon it patiently instructed me to turn around as soon as it was safe to do so; and then repeated its instructions very slooowly, as if it were speaking to someone very thick.
the drawback is, so far, that i rely on it blindly and so never know where i am. when i called my hosts to let them know i would be late due to roadwork they asked me where i was, and all i knew was that i had gone through a rindabite 200 meters ago, second exit, and that i had a right turn scheduled in 800 meters.
i love my gps although i do love to defy it. it always makes me feel safe, which i know is pretty silly, but i feel it anyway.
and when i tell it i want to avoid highways and interstates, etc, it takes me through towns and on back roads and i always, always see interesting things i’d never otherwise know about.