Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for February 12, 2019

I guess it’ll be table for one.

If computers were really intelligent and trying to take over the world, they wouldn’t be obvious about it. They’d use things like autocorrect and bad GPS to subtly control us to do what they want. That’s why we should LOVE OUR COMPUTER FRIENDS

The P.P.S. is working Rat. listen to it!

So, Rat is just another ‘smart’ phone zombie.

My GPS has a sense of humor and loves taking me on the scenic route. One time I was getting off the freeway and it had me turn right. It took me down a block to make a left into a residential street, then drive in a circle back out of the residential street and turn right. Back up a block to turn right onto the street that was just opposite the off ramp. And no, there was no island. All I had really needed to do is go straight off the off ramp. I guess that would have been too easy.

Right there

Rat was concerned that with no cell service, they might have to talk to each other at dinner.

Rat’s battery never died on him?

Oh well, I guess he won’t get his ratatouille!

My GPS told me to take a right. The right turn was a wooded area. I could see my destination thru the trees though so I drove to the next intersection and took the road that headed back on the other side of the wooded area. This was early on when they weren’t as specific as they are now.

Sadly to many people act like Rat when it comes to phone use …… Croc Power !

Why does GPS direct people to drive down boat ramps?

GPS = Global Positioning Satellites. Phones use the GPS signals to determine location and when indoors, where the signal is weaker, use cell towers to determine location. When we drove out in the country to the farm where the breeder of our dog was, we got “no service”, but the map app still worked and continued to show us where we were and where to turn.

So Rat has “Location” on. That means that if he goes to https://www.google.com/maps/timeline?pb he’ll find out the Google keeps a record of every place he’s ever been. Which is more than a little scary.

Mankind is losing the will to think for themselves. Dependency will doom us…..

It was funny to see the reactions of some neighbors of mine when I told them I was driving from Southern Kentucky to San Francisco WITHOUT having a GPS, or even using any maps more then absolutely necessary. AND, I didn’t have any kind of nav system in my car, either! They couldn’t conceive of actually reading road signs, or actually knowing where I was going WITHOUT all kinds of electronic aids. Of course, I DID spend 35 years as an over-the -road truck driver, so I actually KNEW the route.

I’ve had a couple people try to find our Country Place using GPS. It tells them to turn North off Seventh onto State Line Road. That will dump them into the parking lot of a seedy biker bar.

My Dad had an internal GPS. Never saw a back road he didn’t like, and never got lost.

Just wondering,if Rat had phoned ahead,and had them put a square of cheese at the restaurant door,his internal gps would have found the restaurant…no? Lol

“Landru, guide us!”

Where was his phone in panel 1? Does rat have a pocket? Hmmm.

I give it one star.

DIE, Rat, DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

This is too accurate of how society is today.

I could definitely see this happening. In fact, I witnessed something similar when a teenager dropped his phone, which broke, and had dropped to the floor in the fetal position and began crying.

As I am driving deliveries for the las 15 or so years , I find I am being used to guide kid drivers on the phone who are trying to find one of our customers whose place is on the wrong side of the highway on every GPS . I have never even tried to use one , after some of the horror stories I have heard . I have this thing called a sense of direction , that I guess I was born with . In 1970 at 18 years old , I decided to go see some friends in Oregon , from Erie , Pa, , I had been there once before , by plane , & not particularly fond of flying , got 3 maps – eastern U.S. / western U.S. & one of the whole country , along with a triptik from AAA ( followed the main highways – ( for emergencies only ) . I saw most of the country by back roads & even went back to PA. by way of the Q.E.W. in Canada , Between going west or east in case of doubt , & sometimes relying on strangers I met along the way , I had an adventure I will never forget . Ah , yes , the country was a much nicer place back then .

Is that device your servant or your master?

Wow, rat has turned into a useless snowflake.

It must have been made by the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation!

I use a GPS app that uses OSM maps (Google it) and I update them all the time. I also have a Bluetooth GPS that gets claimed accuracy as low as ~ +/- 3’ (1 meter). It does – I’ve checked it. Human error every once in awhile but I have realy good maps too. Unlike the BMW driver who followed his GPS – off a pier. Or the woman in Belgium who drove over 900 miles by GPS to see her friend in Brussels – that’s a little over 90 miles away. Trust but verify.

Last week I was trapped for three hours on a stalled escalator!

I know way too many people who depend solely on their GPS to get them places. Me? Give me a map and I’m good to go. While travelling in a group, I’ve gotten our GPSers out of a mess a few times.

The most disturbing part of the pathfinder software is it’s failure to optimize. It will give you a route, but if you examine it, a tiny tweak will improve it greatly.I don’t want to make 17 turns – you know – go 1.2 miles, turn left, go .7 miles, turn right. A route with no turns that is 2 miles longer is good!

Recalculating, sigh…

Rat, you are such a techno-baby! I’m surprised. Pig is The Man today!

Well, Lewis and Clark he’s not.

Some people may actually do this