Things never said by roadgeeks

[Henry]

"the US highway system is obsolete.  every route of importance should have an interstate shield."

That's what FritzOwl would say.

I'll bet I-180 in Cheyenne was the inspiration behind it!

[texaskdog]

"Who cares where the old road is, it's obsolete anyway"
"I don't need a map, my GPS will find it"
"DON'T TELL ME THE WAY I'll plug the address into my GPS"

[NE2]

"DON'T TELL ME THE WAY I'll plug the address into my GPS"

...and then figure out the way to go on my own. What's wrong with that (other than being stereotypically man)?

[texaskdog]

"DON'T TELL ME THE WAY I'll plug the address into my GPS"

...and then figure out the way to go on my own. What's wrong with that (other than being stereotypically man)?

No, people that say that are the people who don't want to think.  GPS will get you a full block from my apartment and no one ever finds it.

[NE2]

People who ask for directions are those who don't want to think.

[The Nature Boy]

To be fair, 99% of people are terrible at giving directions. I usually ask for an address.

[vtk]

To be fair, 99% of people are terrible at giving directions. I usually ask for an address.

This.  And I would prefer some kind of geographic coordinates (possibly shorthanded, for example what3words) versus a mailing address, but 99% of people don't understand the practical difference and can only supply the latter from memory.  Fortunately geocoding of mail addresses – a task that IMO should never have become so common – is now fairly reliable in most situations (but notably not most apartment complexes).

[NE2]

what3words

In before someone complains that they got poor.dark.garbage. Looks like most lots are big enough to have more than one wordset, so I guess you can choose not to use one that offends you.

I randomly got maids.attractions.videotaped. Ooh, kinky.

And holy crap, statues.with.festivals is the center of the Magic Kingdom.

Yeah, I don't see this catching on.

[slorydn1]

Prime real estate:

http://map.what3words.com/WHAT+THE+FUCK+-+Avenida+Mendoza,+Rosario,+Santa+Fe+Province,+Argentina

[NE2]

Prime real estate:

http://map.what3words.com/WHAT+THE+FUCK+-+Avenida+Mendoza,+Rosario,+Santa+Fe+Province,+Argentina

You're doing it wrong. "We couldn't find any results for what.the.fuck"

PS: they sell single-word addresses. Bunch of whores. The idea is decent, but it needs a simple algorithm to convert to lat/long (preferably one that sends many word combinations to the same coords).

[slorydn1]

Prime real estate:

http://map.what3words.com/WHAT+THE+FUCK+-+Avenida+Mendoza,+Rosario,+Santa+Fe+Province,+Argentina

You're doing it wrong. "We couldn't find any results for what.the.fuck"

PS: they sell single-word addresses. Bunch of whores. The idea is decent, but it needs a simple algorithm to convert to lat/long (preferably one that sends many word combinations to the same coords).

Huh? Weird. It worked or me, right near the corner of Av Mendoza and Bv Avellaneda in Rosario Argentina.

[NE2]

Huh? Weird. It worked or me, right near the corner of Av Mendoza and Bv Avellaneda in Rosario Argentina.

That's because the Goog has a place called "what the fuck" there. If you look at the bottom the actual words are chickens.prompt.cautious.

[roadman]

If you look at the bottom the actual words are chickens.prompt.cautious.

So, shouldn't the Goog place be named what.the.cluck. instead?

[vtk]

PS: they sell single-word addresses. Bunch of whores. The idea is decent, but it needs a simple algorithm to convert to lat/long (preferably one that sends many word combinations to the same coords).

Agreed.  I would be much more enthusiastic about this if they published their algorithm, rather than keeping the secret sauce under control behind their API.

[jeffandnicole]

I looked at my home lot this morning, and because they divide up each parcal into 3x3 foot squares or something like that, there were numerous 3 word combos for my property. Since they were mostly unrelated words that meant nothing to me, I can't tell you now what any combination of 3 words were that I found on my property (hell, I couldn't tell you after jumping in my car this morning).  Actually, I do remember one, but only because it's my mom's name.

[vtk]

Yeah, they're not particularly memorable.  But neither is "2780 Sunset Avenue, Springfield, OH 45505"

[jeffandnicole]

Yeah, they're not particularly memorable.  But neither is "2780 Sunset Avenue, Springfield, OH 45505"

But at the very least it tells me about where you're at: In Ohio.  Maybe I would recognize Springfield.  And then I can drill down to Sunset Ave.  At the very least I would would probably remember something about that address. 

But if you told me to go to too.insecticide.thousands, it would be absolutely meaningless.  Especially if you spoke it to me, how would I know if you meant too or two?  Would I remember thousand or thousands?  Would I remember to spell insectiside correctly?

[vtk]

Yeah, they're not particularly memorable.  But neither is "2780 Sunset Avenue, Springfield, OH 45505"

But at the very least it tells me about where you're at: In Ohio.  Maybe I would recognize Springfield.  And then I can drill down to Sunset Ave.  At the very least I would would probably remember something about that address. 

But if you told me to go to too.insecticide.thousands, it would be absolutely meaningless.  Especially if you spoke it to me, how would I know if you meant too or two?  Would I remember thousand or thousands?  Would I remember to spell insectiside correctly?

i think what3words attempts to account for homophones and misspellings, but generally you have a fair point.

[formulanone]

This.  And I would prefer some kind of geographic coordinates (possibly shorthanded, for example what3words)...

Well, there's my evening...even if it's kind of pointless. Some sort of alphabetical sequence or locally meaningful words might help, but it seems more like a random three-word generator.

[vtk]

I'm actually wanting to write up a proposal for a geolocation system that looks something like this: "USA Ohio Springfield B345-FG89".  Resolving that requires a lookup table of placenames (which is tolerant of small errors, so can be derived from publicly-available information) and a simple algorithm I'm willing to publish once finalized.

[yakra]

I dunno man... I find "44.662, -70.27" perfectly intuitive...

[kphoger]

° Then you'll turn right onto... hmmm, I don't know the name of the street...

° Oh crap, my GPS took me all the way to 1351 N. Birch instead of S. Birch. Now I have to drive... wait, how many blocks are in a mile?

° Alanland

[vtk]

I dunno man... I find "44.662, -70.27" perfectly intuitive...

Yes but you need several more digits to get someone to your front door.

[yakra]

'Scuse me; typo! I meant 43.662,-70.27.

[kphoger]

I dunno man... I find "44.662, -70.27" perfectly intuitive...

Yes but you need several more digits to get someone to your front door.

(pretending those coordinates actually take you to a town) Not if the extra digits are zeroes.