Recalculating!

By Mark W. Danielson

If you’ve ever snickered at the insurance commercial with the GPS causing an accident, then you can appreciate this article.  Today’s use of the Global Proximity System has become as common as a cold.  Thanks to our military’s toned-down version, cell phones can track kids, direct us to restaurants and entertainment facilities, and most of all, guide us in unfamiliar territory.  But unlike airplane or ship navigation systems that define courses by pre-programmed latitude/longitude waypoints, our portable GPS units rely on typed-in addresses or data-base locations.  If you selected your intended destination ahead of time, your GPS will likely be a valuable asset.  However, serious problems can develop if your navigation system never reset itself from a previous location or you are attempting to change your destination while steering your vehicle.  Any police officer will tell you that sending a text, talking on the phone, or fiddling with the GPS while driving can be as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.  This is why GPS lawyers added the requirement that you agree to only programing your GPS while your car is parked.  No doubt some will still blame their GPS for their ensuing accident and win. 

We have all heard the funny pronunciations from computer-generated voices when text is translated to voice, but when my wife and I were driving in unfamiliar territory and our GPS told us to turn left on “Wha wha”, all we could do was laugh and try to determine what “Bitchin’ Betty” intended.  Once we realized she was telling us to turn left on “Wolf Road” we were fine.  Soon after, when we were told to turn left on “Shelby” when the actual street was named “Shell Bay”.  A cautious turn kept us on the correct track.  Learning to understand your GPS’ voice is probably no different than understanding your children or your dog.  Personally, I find it easier to keep my head outside and listen to the voice commands rather than physically looking at the moving map.  At least I stand less of a chance of causing an accident that way.

GPS has its limitations, thus it’s always best to have basic orientation on where you should be traveling.  Doing so will avoid the “recalculating” commands.  For example, if you’re supposed to be heading south and find the setting sun in your eyes, you should know that something’s probably askew.  Nowadays, many cars are equipped with electronic compasses, so use them to your benefit.  And if you are in a big city such as Manhattan, know which way the streets and avenues run.  (Yes, Virginia, there was a master plan when they built this city.)  As a general rule, avenues commonly run north and south while streets travel east and west.  East/West Interstates run are even numbered.  North/South Interstates normally end with a “5”.  Big cities like LA have all kinds of designations so be prepared.  Most of all, remember that cruise control is NOT an autopilot, so keep your head outside and drive safe.  I truly enjoy meeting new people, but not as a result of a car wreck.    

Love and the Mystery Writer

By Beth Terrell

I'm writing this post from Brewster Massachusetts, very near Cape Cod. I'm here for a writer's weekend workshop. I'll write about the workshop next week, since it doesn't actually start until tomorrow. I bring it up now because, if it weren't for this workshop, I wouldn't have spent the last two days driving from Nashville, Tennessee to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and I wouldn't have gotten a first-hand demonstration of true love in action.

Preparing for a trip like this involves a number of tasks. Do laundry; pack suitcase; make sure manuscript copies are in notebooks and loaded up; read the manuscripts of the other authors; pack a bag to take to the dog trainers' (where they'll be staying while Mike and I are gone); get Mom to take care of the house, cat, and birds; give the animals lots of attention before dropping the dogs off at "Aunt Peg's."

My husband, Mike, is also getting ready for a trip. He and a group of his friends are going to a gaming convention in Gettysburg, stopping at a number of battlefields and museums on the way. But in the midst of preparing for his trip, he took the time to print out maps detailing every step of my route. Not only did he print them, he took them to Kinko's and bound them. He made sure we had AAA memberships and that I had a brochure with all the services listed. He bought me an adapter for my lighter so I can plug in multiple devices at one time. And then he gave me an mp3 player loaded with songs he knew I'd like. When I thanked him, he said, "I'm just trying to make your trip more pleasant."

When I got into the car, one of the first things I did was plug in my GPS ("Daniel"). Mike gave Daniel to me several years ago for our anniversary, and programmed "him" with the British male voice because he thought I'd like that best. He makes sure Daniel's maps are up-to-date so that when I travel, I don't have to worry about getting lost and having to ask for directions.

You'd better believe that, when I got behind the wheel of my little black Honda Accord and plugged in my mp3 player and put the coordinates for the workshop location into Daniel's memory, I was feeling protected, taken care of, and very, very loved.

It's the same way I feel when he drops me off at the front door of a restaurant because it's raining and he doesn't want me to get wet. I don't generally mind getting wet, but it still touches my heart when he does it.

I know the care and feeding of a mystery writer can be challenging sometimes. We spend our "mad" money on writers' workshops and conferences, we need a boatload of reassurance that we do indeed have talent, and--as Ben pointed out after his trip to Croatia--we think of murder at the strangest times.

So I'd like to thank my husband, Mike, for all the many little things he does to show support and love for this mystery writer.

May you all be lucky enough to have someone who'll do the same for you.