Tag: Parking

They Know Where I Parked

I should be angry at Google because it’s a slippery slope getting more slippery every day. If it wasn’t so damn helpful.

I want to be angry. I really do. I want to be pissed at Google. I can’t be!

They know where I parked.

SNP_C11A49EE156AD55CFC1F05D484A7CFDAB9D8_6024129_en_v1When the card shows up in Google Now, you’ll see an indicator showing the approximate location of your car. To see other locations where you’ve recently parked, touch Previous locations. Your location data for parking location cards isn’t shared with anyone else.

My car has been lost more than once. This will help, especially since the function happens automatically.

And, of course, that’s why I should be angry.

Google is using ‘metadata’ to draw inferences. Parking consists of a series of moves they sense from your smart phone.

The system is not infallible.

Google uses your device’s sensors to know when you leave a moving vehicle, which means you may see parking location cards even if you didn’t park your car. For example, these cards could show up after you exit a bus or a friend’s car.

Data that’s poorly parsed will be the bane of the 21st century. When Google gets your parking spot wrong it’s no big deal. When the NSA uses similar technology to jump to the wrong conclusion it is.

I should be angry at Google because it’s a slippery slope getting more slippery every day. If it wasn’t so damn helpful.

The Invisible Parking Pass

You know where this is going, right?

I was a judge today at the New Haven Board of Education’s annual Science Fair. It was held at Yale Commons adjacent to Woolsey Hall on campus. That means parking was a mess! No problem, I was sent a parking pass to put in my window.

Please park anywhere in the vicinity of Yale Commons (next to Woolsey Hall) where legal parking is available. This parking pass allows you to park without paying the meter on May 11th in an open, legal parking spot. Your parking permit should be clearly visible through the front windshield on the side closest to the curb.

You know where this is going, right?

The $20 ticket was literally on the windshield directly over the parking pass! You can’t make this stuff up.

It will be fixed handled I am told.

The Good And The Bad

“There’s plenty of on-street parking,” her contact said.

The child has a job interview early next week. We’re excited as she is.

“There’s plenty of on-street parking,” her contact said.

Uh…. she doesn’t know how to parallel park. She has the weekend to learn!