I was asked if I would be writing anything to go with the flow of the season and frankly I wasn't going to write anything. I just wanted to take a break and resume sometime in January. Clearly not. Here I am punching up the keyboard. Not that I am snowed in by the nasty weather that has hit the east coast, I was in a position where my thought processes have been taken attracted to the idea of what Santa has to go through to get gifts distributed to little ones all over the world.
It got me thinking, how did he do it back in the day? It doesn't seem right today that we find it next to impossible to get around without the help of some third party gadget or service out there. Back in Kenya it is quite interesting how even though our homes have addresses that identify where one would humbly dwell it is practically impossible for a stranger to the neighborhood to make their way to your home.
The problem is really not the actual house in which one lives its the instructions in getting there. The thing is lots of roads are not labeled properly and even where they are labeled, the locals just don't bother to take note of those details. It is quite normal to find instructions that go a little something like this...
“Follow the road for about 200 meters, round the bend you will see a huge tree on the left below which there is a shoe shiner doing his thing. Make a left and keep going on the dusty road until you reach the blue kiosk. Make a right and keep going until you find a building under construction follow that road until the end. Once you get there ask for bwana Steve's home and you will be shown the house”
You see what am talking about? You see the problem here? Okay maybe you say Santa will be able to follow these directions pretty well but I beg to differ. He is busy Ho-Ho-Ho-ing in some ungodly hours of the night. Who is he going to ask for the location of bwana Steve's home?
Anyway seeing I am an IT guy, you bet I have an alternative. Not a shiny alternative but its great and covers a lot of areas on earth and growing.
Just thinking about Santa using these Map Direction services give me a pounding headache. I love the response on Cloud Made's maps as far as finding ones way around Nairobi. Unfortunately it comes with one shortcoming that gets to be a pain. To get directions for two points one has to actually know where they are. Which means take up your mouse, right click on the point you'd like to start off and mark it. Go to the end point and do the same thing.
Okay, that doesn't fly with me 'cause honestly when you are on the road and you plot in an address, in most cases you don't have a clue where the address is in the first place so why do they expect guys to go in and mark a place which you have no idea where it is. I am still trying to figure that one out. Aside from that I have to say the map is pretty accurate in that it correctly determines the road and even keeps you on the right side of the road. I mean left side.
Speaking of accuracy I think Google maps in Kenya needs a lot of work. I tried to confirm its understanding of Kenya addresses and it got it all wrong. I had typed in a location and it started me off about 4 Km away from where I expected it to be.
So with this I still think Santa has got his work cut out for him back home in Kenya, or does he? Maybe. Just maybe he has some device we guys back on earth are yet to invent. Some GPS locator that works without the “Keep to the right lane or turn right ahead... and my favorite, recalculating...”. So honestly, Santa doesn't need a “toll” or find alternative. He rides on a sledge towed by a bunch of reindeer that run into layers where turbulence rules supreme. The air; for those who don't understand.
So that leaves just air traffic to avoid. Speaking of which, it would make more sense if Santa now gets some guidance courtesy of air traffic controllers. Whichever way you look at it; Santa will be coming down the chimney this season so hang in there all kids and Merry Christmas to you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment