But then the owner told me that tomorrow at 8am I'd be driving to ohio to install some wireless routers for a client.

Driving to ohio.

Driving. to. ohio.

"What's so bad about that?" you ask. After all, I've driven to south carolina right?

Thing about me is that while I'm a fairly capable driver, I can't navigate. Note that I did not say that I can't navigate well: I can't navigate at all. Even with directions. Even with a map. Even with mapquest directions (especially with mapquest directions). I will get lost going to places that people believe that I should know how to go. Whoever you are reading this, if you found yourself in the middle of a completely unfamiliar city and were told to find your way somewhere, you would probably get there faster and get lost fewer times than I would in my home town.

Whatever bone is in people's heads that lets them instinctually find their way from point A to a previously unknown point B is absent from me.

How exactly do people learn this shit, and how did I miss that particular boat? Is it just that I think wrong? What sort of advice could possibly help me find my way from an unfamiliar place to another unfamiliar place by way of a car? Is there a directions database out there better than mapquest?

Maradon! fucked around with this message on 07-11-2007 at 09:49 PM.

I always found them to be pretty clear, along with going over what the route looks like from overhead always helped me kind of get a picture in my mind of what I was going to be driving through.

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x--Delphi AegisO-('-'Q) :
What exactly is it of mapquest directions that confuse you?

I always found them to be pretty clear, along with going over what the route looks like from overhead always helped me kind of get a picture in my mind of what I was going to be driving through.

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The route they give you sucks, a lot. They add a billion fucking unnecessary turns and back roads. The mapquest route to my new job has me take one exit and follow backroads for like fifteen turns, but if you just stay on the parkway for ONE MORE EXIT you can get right off onto the road that the company is on.

As far as translating overhead maps to real life driving, I can't do that in any capacity.

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This insanity brought to you by Maradon!:
The route they give you sucks, a lot. They add a billion fucking unnecessary turns and back roads. The mapquest route to my new job has me take one exit and follow backroads for like fifteen turns, but if you just stay on the parkway for ONE MORE EXIT you can get right off onto the road that the company is on.

As far as translating overhead maps to real life driving, I can't do that in any capacity.

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Maybe you can try checking "Shortest route" or some other options in mapquest. A lot of the time, mapquest has you taking lesser travelled roads in order to avoid higher traffic areas, instead of direct routes. /shrug

Unless you're not worried enough to bother putting actual effort in avoiding your traveling woes and you figured an easy solution might pop up in this thread.

But down here things are all mapped out in nice little squares and run along cardinal directions. In some places they use sequential numbers instead of impossible-to-remember names. All I have to do is keep track of which of four directions I'm traveling in and it's damn near impossible to get lost.

None of this means shit to you, of course, because it sounds like you drive with your vagina.

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Arttemis thought this was the Ricky Martin Fan Club Forum and wrote:
I am exactly the same way. I keep thinking that I should splurge for one of those GPS units that talk to you and tell you which way to go.

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They really aren't better than Mapquest or Google as they all use the same source information for the most part. The only benefit to GPS is easier rerouting of your path.

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Peanut butter ass Shaq Talonus booooze lime pole over bench lick:
They really aren't better than Mapquest or Google as they all use the same source information for the most part. The only benefit to GPS is easier rerouting of your path.

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and they also tell you exactly where you are at any given moment. that makes all the difference really.

Maradon! fucked around with this message on 07-11-2007 at 10:14 PM.

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Maradon!.
Yeah, I'm actually doing that right now and have been for about an hour.

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Maradon! had this to say about John Romero:
I wish there was a "fewest turns" option in mapquest/google maps

and they also tell you exactly where you are at any given moment. that makes all the difference really.

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Many of them are actually pretty inaccurate about pinpointing your location unfortunately. It isn't something you should rely on unless you're really lost.

When driving in new areas, this doesn't help as much, but keeping a constant picture of where you are in your mind will still keep you from getting lost.

Big cities are even easier because you can orient yourself by watching the skyline, so long as you know a little bit where you are and where you're going.

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Verily, the chocolate bunny rabbits doth run and play while Talonus gently hums:
They really aren't better than Mapquest or Google as they all use the same source information for the most part. The only benefit to GPS is easier rerouting of your path.

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There's the fact that they talk you through the route in real time. . . ?

Seriously, Maradon, these things are dirt cheap these days. Buy a talking GPS; some of the newer ones even have real-time traffic monitoring and can route you around accidents and traffic jams.

Tarquinn fucked around with this message on 07-12-2007 at 02:25 AM.

It seems to be like all the others, I just tend to use this one the most.

I also had a car with GPS nav. built in. They work great, although the voice can get naggy.

OrangeBrand fucked around with this message on 07-12-2007 at 04:09 AM.

But anyway.. I'd get a GPS device to help you out with the map situation. My better half has Earthmate GPS by DeLorme that has Street Atlas 2007 (and 2008 apaprently) as part of his spy toys and he says it's an extremely nice toy. He likes the fact that he can have it plugged into his laptop.

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Bloodsage thought this was the Ricky Martin Fan Club Forum and wrote:
There's the fact that they talk you through the route in real time. . . ?

Seriously, Maradon, these things are dirt cheap these days. Buy a talking GPS; some of the newer ones even have real-time traffic monitoring and can route you around accidents and traffic jams.

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I guess a couple bad experiences in the past kinda burned me on these back when they weren't using the up-to-date maps. Issues with the GPS saying to go one way when the road didn't actually exist or the thing giving bad directions.

Plot a route, write down the road names and which way you turn on each of them on that bit of paper.

Take it with you when you drive there. Ye'cann'missit!

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Channeling the spirit of Sherlock Holmes, Pvednes absently fondled Watson and proclaimed:
Get a map, a sheet of paper, and a pen.

Plot a route, write down the road names and which way you turn on each of them on that bit of paper.

Take it with you when you drive there. Ye'cann'missit!

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Another good technique is to note the major landmark before where you need to turn, to take some of the pressure off.

East buttfuck?

Yay Ohio.

There are not even any grocery stores

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Oh Karnaj. Oh Karnaj! Oh Karnaj!!;
Like, for fun?

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Cedar Point rocks ok

and fudge

and 50s themed restaurants

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That damn dirty Stalwart Steve rudely interrupted me to say;
There are rides and scantily clad women

and fudge

and 50s themed restaurants

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what more can you ask for?

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Sam Watkins stopped masturbating to porn to say;
what more can you ask for?

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also there are rumors of a certain asian person coming with us.

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Aw, geez, I have Stalwart Steve all over myself!
George Takei?

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No, he's going to be on Howard Stern next week.