hello computer

sent a text to my sister on the drive down to myrtle beach:

just programmed the onboard computer to chart a course to kingston plantation. keep fingers crossed. i don't trust it.

sounds like something dr. mccoy would tell capt. kirk.

after years of dismissing the charms of gps navigation, not only did i reflexively use it on our family's trip, i followed its prompts with hardly any questions. (the latter being the kind of mindless, uncritical use of technology i claim to abhor.)

mostly, i did it because i was curious to see what course the computer in dad's new car would choose and if i could actually program it.

i used the touch screen to pinpoint on the map where we wanted to go since i was unable to figure out how to enter an actual address. i'm an impatient computer caveman like that.

after hitting "go," it plotted a course not unlike ones our family has used for years. the main difference was the shortcuts bypassing towns like hamlet and bennettsville, s.c.

(we may have also cut across a few fields on private or county roads. i couldn't tell; it was long past dark. we were driving on blind faith then.)

anyway, we got where we needed to go with no doubling back from wrong turns, so we saved some time. hearing the prompt "proceed on this course" offered reassurance we were on the right track once we'd moved onto the smaller state routes.

it was nice to follow, but i still trust maps and map reading too much to consider any garmin or tomtom purchases anytime soon for our own vehicles.