Ventured out yesterday after packing some survival gear ( water, cell phone, change of shirt ) for the hot weather. Had to wait in my driveway as a car came up the street. It had a 3' pole mounted vertically on its roof. Something mounted on top of the pole.
Letting my curiosity get the best of me, I stopped under some shade at the entrance end of our dead-end street and waited for him to return. Quickly jumping out in front of him as he approached (I figured I'd get answers better if he were 'off-guard'!), I asked him who he was and what he was doing on
my street! I had my suave grin on to further confuse my intentions...
Turns out he was working for Google. The pole held a GPS and a Camera. In the seat next to him was a laptop with the street he was driving. He said Google is doing a major upgrade and verification of their maps. I suggested that the railroad tracks he would soon see about a mile south showed up in their map about a 1,000 feet north of their actual location. He said that those were the kinds of things the device mounted on the car should correct.
Satisfied that I had saved our neighborhood from a virtual wireless attack, I completed my duties and returned home safely without further incident. Can you imagine driving every single street in any major city?!
Not only is it dangerous driving in some locations, traffic-wise but some neighborhoods are just plain dangerous to ones health, period!
Anyway, I'll be watching to see my face on one of those 'man-on-the-street' scenes. And now we know how Google gets its maps so accurate!
