Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2001 21:34:01 -0400 From: Four Weis <mweinopsamcom> Subject: Re: compass in a saab ?
Bob wrote: > "Four Weis" <mweinopsamcom> wrote in message > news:3B3BEFA3.3465864Bnopsamcom... > > Whatever floats his boat. It's his money and his decision. > > > > Personally I don't need a compass. I know where I live and I know the sun > rises > > in the east and sets in west. At night I know how to find the North Star > and I > > know enough, thanks to my interest in astronomy to tell directions by the > > various major constellations based on the date and time. My Saab has a > sun > > roof, so I can see the stars at night. > > > > Saab owners, at least in the past, were generally considered intelligent > and > > well educated. > > > > Mike Goldstein wrote: > > What do you do when it's noon or the sun or stars are hidden behind clouds? > I personally have a horrible sense of direction, although I too can track > with objects such as the sun. I have a compass in the car and will get a > GPS car tracking receiver as soon as I can afford one. Where I live, even > with maps, I constantly get lost. Home to work, sure. Home to 122 > Somewhere, BFE, I don't know. Even on a cloudy day you can still see shadows, however faint. As far was having a horrible sense of direction while you can see a shadow, that can be replaced by understanding how the planets move in relationship to themselves and the Sun. That would at least get you going in the right direction. But if the roads are circular and you don't where you are on that circle, even a compass is worthless. The example of this is the typical beltway. One side of the outer loop goes North and the opposite side goes South. The directions are reversed for the inner loop. So, if someone says go "North on 495", and you have a compass but no map, you are still lost. Far more useful directions would be "Get on the inner loop of 495 and take the exit ramp that says Baltimore". North and south and a compass are just useless information in this case. I keep a map in the car and I usually look up directions on the Internet if I am going someplace new. Since I don't have a real off road vehicle, I have to stick to the paved and for the most part labeled roads. I just don't see the real benefit of a compass in a road car, a Landrover in the desert would certainly benefit from one or two, but not a car on the highways.
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