I rely on Yahoo! Maps frequently and it's a very useful service, rarely if ever wrong. So I was really surprised today when I got a totally useless result. The address "Ord, San Francisco CA" yields driving directions to ORD, or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in Illinois, 2142.8 miles away. But if I add "St" to the address, transforming the obscure (to Yahoo!) "Ord, San Francisco CA" address to "Ord St, San Francisco CA" I get the directions I'm looking for. Ord Street is only 2.7 miles away, a distance that's more achievable today in all this rain. Seems like there's a mistake in the "Get Directions" logic since I'm obviously not looking for driving directions to O'Hare. If I were, I'd have entered "Ord, Chicago IL." In this situation, the "San Francisco CA" part of the entry should be more heavily weighted than the "Ord." Or a simple "St" should be appended if necessary.
Speaking of Yahoo! Maps, they have one of my favorite disclaimers on the web, "When using any driving directions or map, it's a good idea to do a reality check…" Do a reality check? The incongruity of a formal disclaimer to the slangish expression "reality check" just makes me giggle. Good thing I confirmed my reality consisted of a desire to travel less than three miles in my own city, not travel half-way across the country, via car, to an airport.
Thanks to all who've written with birthday wishes, I appreciate it. You'll be happy to know I was treated to a delicious sushi dinner and am now not nearly as morose about turning 30 as I was pre-hamachi nigiri.