Saw this sign at the AAMCO in Kennewick today while running errands with Cari. Such a total #fail!
Much has been made in the search industry recently about Google’s decision to ditch Tele Atlas and use its own map data for Google Maps. But did you know that Google’s map data is at least 10 years old in some places? Have a look at this Seattle map:
The Kingdome? This Kingdome?
That was March 26, 2000. So the map data is almost a decade old. Yikes. Apologies to anyone looking for Qwest Field. Check back in 10 years.
(photo by Seattle Municipal Archives via Creative Commons)
Interesting article on USA Today about the “cash for clunkers” program. What did people use the program for? To upgrade their pickup trucks and SUVs. FAIL.
AP reports that for 8,200 deals — the most common — buyers traded in their old Ford 150 pickups for new Ford 150 pickups. Fuel economy for the new trucks is just 1 to 3 mpg better than the clunkers — less than 20 mpg.
Right on Ford’s bumper were big old Chevy and Dodge pickups that were traded in for big new Silverados and Rams.
Overall, more than 95,000 new vehicles — about one in seven — got less than 20 mpg. On top of that, taxpayers subsidized scores of deals — totaling $562,500 — for new cars and trucks that got worse mileage than the trade-ins.
Seriously, why on earth do we trust the government to create and run programs like this? The same government that used to pay $6,000 for a screwdriver? Have you been to the DMV lately? And you want the government to solve our problems?
Sigh…….
Got an email today from Google telling me that I have to link my AdSense account with my Google Affiliate Network account. Okay, no big deal. The email tells me to get more information at the Google Help Center. So, I click the link and end up here:
Thanks for nothing, G.
(click for larger image)
I’m no globe-trotting jet-setter, but I have stayed in plenty of hotel rooms in the past couple years. And I’ve never stayed in a room with as bad a bathroom as the Hyatt Hotel in Santa Clara, California.
How bad was the bathroom? Let me count the ways:
1. Sink
It’s bad enough that the sink sits up high, on top of the counter; everyone knows sinks should be below counter level. But look — the darn thing is sideways! Who’s the genius that decided we’ve been doing it wrong, all these decades of having the faucet to the rear of the sink?
2. Hot/Cold Faucet
Everyone knows that hot water is to the left and cold is to the right. That’s how it works when the faucet is behind the sink. So, in this sideways arrangement, you’d assume that pulling the faucet closer to you (i.e., to the left) would be for hot water. And you’d assume wrong. Not only is the sink sideways, but the faucet is also backwards; pulling the faucet closer (i.e., to what should be the left) is for cold water. Stupid.
3. Towel Rack
How do you explain putting the towel rack below the sink, where the water will splash all over the dry towels as you wash your hands and face? It’s a terrible spot for a towel rack, and it also means you have to lean a bit to get your face above the sink — you can’t get right up close to the counter.
4. Vertical Toilet Paper
Again, who needs years of familiarity with having a horizontal roll of toilet paper? Not the Hyatt. No, they have the TP sitting vertical, so all your learned muscle movements related to pulling and tearing the bum wipe are completely useless. Total fail.
5. Toilet Paper Placement
It’s not just the vertical stance, but also the terrible placement. You don’t really get a sense of the depth in this photo, but that roll of TP is way back against the wall, completely out of reach to anyone not named Plasticman. To get there, you have to turn your body, rotate your neck like Sybil, and contort your arm into a position that it wasn’t meant to form. I strained muscles I didn’t even know I had just reaching for some TP.
Why not put the TP near where the towel rack is (and hang it horizontally), then move the towel rack to the wall above the toilet … like at every other hotel on earth? And mix in a normal sink while you’re at it, Hyatt.
On the bright side, the water pressure in the shower was pretty good.