by Steven D. Johnson
Racine, Wisconsin
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Back On Course
GPS navigation systems are really neat, but not always to be trusted...particularly when construction is involved. I got interminably lost in the big city a few weeks ago trying to find a restaurant. The female voice guided me twice through the same six-mile maze of highways, twice bringing me to same closed, under construction highway ramp.
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Figure 8 - Sometimes it is best just to stick to the path
we know... and this is the best table saw blade made
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For me, product reviews are a little like navigation systems. Good some of the time, sometimes way off course. Based on a glowing review I tried a new thin kerf table saw blade that worked pretty well for a couple of weeks, then let me down. It chattered, it burned, it splintered edges. I tried adding stabilizers, checked all the alignments (blade to table, blade to fence, etc., etc.) and nothing helped. I switched back to my standby Forrest Woodworker II thin kerf blade and got immediately back on track.
Recently I read about search engine technology "progress" and how our prior search history creates a "bubble" into which our future searches are directed and encased. For example, based on net surfing history, a search on the term "Egypt" might lead one person to archeology sites, another to tourism sites, and yet another to political and news sites...personally tailored searches. Is it a stretch to imagine that GPS systems might lead us past certain billboards or businesses in the future, based solely on our lifestyle preferences? Or that magazine reviews might lead us to products that advertise heavily in their pages? I'm just saying…
Sometimes the sun, the stars, or your gut instinct is all the navigation assistance you need.
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