New Toy

I bought a GPS.

I've wanted one for quite some time now. I think my folks and Mrs. TANBI each tried to gift me one, but I was difficult about it. They were all either too big, or not right, or too expensive, or whatever. I have this purchasing process ritual that usually goes on for months when I identify something I want to add to my inventory. That's what happened here. Had I set out to buy a GPS I don't think I would have bought this one. It lists fairly expensive, and had I seen it in the store I would have thought it was too small a screen. But I found it on on of the shopping deal sites I watch occasionally and it had great reviews and was half price.

How can you look off half price?

So now I have a GPS, and I am fair well giddy about it. It is very small, read "cute as a button." One of the reviews I read said "smaller than a tennis ball" and I didn't believe it, but it is. I would have thought that would be a disadvantage, but the screen is easily readable even though the unit is small and as an upshot it doesn't obstruct much of the windshield. I've had it running navigation on my way to and from work for the past couple of days even though I've driven back and forth from work so many times that I could likely do it sleeping. I did discover I have likely been taking the wrong parkway exit on my way home for the whole time I have lived at this address. Who knew?

I find myself screwing around a little, like I know I have to take a right turn to go someplace but make the left just to see where the thing takes me in order to correct. Maybe I'll even learn my way around Pittsburgh a little bit. Which is saying a lot seeing as how this is where if you make three right turns you will likely come up no place near where you started, and likely is also the community in which the phrase "you can't get there from here" was born.

The voice of the unit is very polite. It even sounds excited when it says "destination!" Like it is glad to be there. Also, it doesn't gripe when you go off the route, just says "re-calculating." Mrs. TANBI thinks there would be a market for one that would say "Hey! Where are you going?" I tend to agree. You can hook the thing up to your computer to download information. I wonder if you can flash it a new personality. That would be too cool.