Sigh.

[dianec42]

This is interesting. When I use Google Local to look up the "Acapulco" Mexican restaurant in Torrance, it gives me a location and an address. When I look it up by just using the address, it gives me a slightly DIFFERENT location.

For some reason this does not fill me with confidence for tomorrow's adventure.

(*flips a mental coin to decide whether to beg someone else for a ride or just plan on showing up late*)

Comments

[whc.livejournal.com]

In LA, the Thomas guide is probably still your best map.

[dianec42.livejournal.com]

Uh huh. Does it have the Acapulco Mexican restaurant on it? Sigh.

I can drive anywhere just fine. It's when I get to a parking lot that there's always trouble. And this shares a parking lot with one of the more ferociously disorganized malls in the area... hmm, maybe the mall has a website...

[asimovberlioz.livejournal.com]

You could try phoning the restaurant. Isn't "asking for directions" notoriously something that (supposedly) women do that men won't?

[dianec42.livejournal.com]

Haven't we already had this discussion? I have a boy brain. Cannot ask for directions...

I'll brave the car park. And carry my cell phone in case I get lost. Or else beg a ride from some local bundle-of-stress...

[asimovberlioz.livejournal.com]

Hmph, "car park"! You can take the (American) girl out of Britain....

[http://users.livejournal.com/merle_/]

I've seen that. It has only cached certain locations based on what the mapping engine deemed feasible. Sometimes it is just that it moved, or that there are multiple locations. But often it is because the Google map engine is using keywords in some strange way.

There is a restaurant near where I worked called "Pho 84". But searching on "pho near Oakland, CA" it doesn't know about it.

I always cross-reference addresses using Yahoo. Lame as it is, citysearch is often good (but if it has moved they will have the old address).

[dianec42.livejournal.com]

I assume the restaurant has some sort of Navteq POI (point of interest) registered. But then, I work on satnav maps for a living, so I know too much about the details to ever trust such things again. (-:

(sort of like eating sausage or respecting the law, it's best not to look to closely at either one being made... software is just the same!)

[http://users.livejournal.com/merle_/]

More likely there's just some web page out there that contains "Acapulco", "Mexican restaurant", "Torrance", and "3530 W Carson St" (assuming that is what it gave you). And so Google says "ah! that's where it is". I think it is more keyword related and less restaurants actively registering their position on a map.

It (google maps) is a good idea, but try searching on "restaurants near (wherever you live or work)", and notice how many things are missing... or wrong...