GPS

Day 44: Garmin GPS

Have we sheep thoughtlessly surrendered our personal freedom in exchange for the latest shiny object? eProbation - whereby people wear an ankle tether that tracks their location and raises an alarm if they leave home - is available to alleviate jail overcrowding and reduce costs in some jurisdictions. What with the incursion of GPS devices, some say we are voluntarily slipping those e-tethers into our pockets every day.

The Man always knows where I am.

But that assumes that the Man is actually interested in me, and smart enough and organized enough to track me down. As far as I know, the only interested man is Rich, and he doesn't need to be that smart and organized. He can just give me a call.

A co-worker pointed out that the location of any kid who plays Angry Birds can be pinpointed. So if you've just been through a contentious custody battle, perhaps checkers is the way to go.

I've had the thought that it is both harder and easier to commit crimes these days. There is now such a wide variety. The choices are dazzling. Some of the possible crimes would be quite interesting to design and implement. On the other hand, what with location services and all, it's a lot harder to disappear forever with your spoils.

My Garmin GPS is now for sale on Craig's List for $50. Yes, that's right, just $50, $15 less than the other 205Ws on Craig's List. The Garmin actually works a lot better than the iPhone for giving directions, but I never use it any more. The iPhone is always in my pocket.