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Ashley Robinson: city trip challenges patience and relationship with technology

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I wrote a column the other week about AI and how we are reliant on it.

Last weekend, I lived that dream.

I had my Thunder netball hat on and I had to go to Nissan Arena at Mt Gravatt for the state titles.

On the way, I had to make a quick detour to Manly to drop something off to one of Old Mate’s friends.

I have never been to Manly, so GPS was in play.

I must say, Manly is an awesome spot. If I had to live in the big smoke, that would be where I would live.

Anyhow, the GPS worked great. I got to both destinations intact and on time.

Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.

Unfortunately, getting home was different – a great example of my stupidity.

When I left, I decided I didn’t need the GPS as it was memory-based travel from way back when the Broncos used to play at the arena. I knew where I was going.

Do you trust GPS? Picture: Shutterstock.

After a few kilometres and a few sets of lights, though, I started to have doubts.

I pulled up within view of what I thought was the motorway and the road home.

Just to be sure, I whacked in my address, and it told me to do a U-turn.

Thirty minutes later, I found myself on the Pacific Highway heading south. Bizarre.

The first chance I got, I pulled up and checked my destination.

Street name – tick. House number – tick. Suburb – Currumbin.

Massive fail, and another reason I need to keep a set of glasses in the car.

So, I put the right address in, and you guessed it, the GPS took me back past the exact spot I had sat 30 minutes earlier.

This is what I learnt last weekend:

Never eat the karaage chicken at Nissan Arena unless you want indigestion for 24 hours.

When stressed, never pull up at a service station and buy two bags of snakes because it is cheaper than one.  You’ll end up eating the whole lot and add a sore jaw to the indigestion.

And thirdly – and most importantly – never let IT override common sense to the point of knowingly being led south when your tiny brain is telling you that something is astray.

I wonder if GPS has a common sense app?

It seems it is certainly not common in my world.

Ashley Robinson is Chairman of Sunshine Coast Falcons and Sunshine Coast Thunder Netball and a lifetime Sunshine Coast resident.

 

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