It's official!

It's not often we get any kind of official confirmation of our correctness. Yet, that is just what I received yesterday. Ok, we got it often enough while in school. Tests and praise from the teacher and all that. But what about when we went out into the cold cruel world to fend for ourselves and seek our fortunes (which, today, may seem like a sack of rotting potatoes)? Bosses rarely acknowledged our brilliant analyses or ideas and, often, would take credit for them when they did.

Ah, but now I have been acknowledged to be right! A true rarity for me these days...I am a husband, after all... and I have proof!

Note the text:

"Hi Douglas,

Your Google Maps problem report has been reviewed, and you were right! We'll update the map soon and email you when you can see the change."

Lemme `splain in detail...

A few days ago, upon orders from my mistress (She Who Must Be Obeyed, aka "Faye"), I went to Google maps to get directions from our house to a doctor's office in Davenport, Florida. As requested (he wrote euphemistically), I printed them out and noticed that the name of our street was incorrect.

You see, back in 2004 or 2005, the county changed the name of several streets in our neighborhood, one of which was ours. Apparently, they do this every few years. I am sure they do this purely for entertainment purposes because there seems to be no other rational purpose. But I digress...

So I sent in a correction in the form they provide via the link at the bottom of the directions.

Imagine my surprise when I received confirmation that Google actually paid attention to these things. So many things are lost in the ether. They said they were investigating my report. Now, in the past, this kind of statement has made me nervous... but, this time, it was not the police or my boss informing me of an investigation so I relaxed... And yesterday I learned they had agreed with me and will correct the error.

You think this is a minor triumph? Perhaps in the grand scheme of things, it is. But I have had deliveries fail to arrive because GPS units have the old street names and the drivers get lost and confused. Still, if the driver is sharp... and has a cell phone AND the order has my phone number on it... I can usually talk them through it and have the item arrive only a few hours late on the day the delivery was scheduled.

This is much better than my former house on the outskirts of West Palm Beach where the streets were often interrupted by drainage canals which were not shown on most maps. Between that little problem and the house numbering system which allowed such things as 15288 being on the same block as 15304 and next door to each other caused much merriment and teeth gnashing by those trying to find their way around. I always provided clear and concise directions for deliveries in those days... not that it helped a whole lot.

All that is past... And sometime, perhaps in the near future (be still, my beating heart), Google Maps will actually have the correct street names for my little neighborhood.

And won't that be grand?