I'm Coming: Now They Know for Sure

The clever people who dream up smartphone apps have come up with a great one for the iPhone: I'm Coming. This app does one thing and does it well: It alerts friends, family, colleagues by email when you're reached a particular place so that they know you'll be arriving soon.

For instance, you could set I'm Coming to send an email to you spouse when you reach the Beltway during your drive back from New York City. Or you could set your kid's iPhone to let you know when the bus that's returning from the field trip is close to DC.  Brilliant.

And more brilliant apps are taking advantage of smartphones' built-in GPS. Sleep Blaster is another. Sleep blaster is an alarm clock app that wakes you up when you're reached a particular destination. No longer do you have to ask the person sitting next to you on the train, "Could you wake me when we get to Philly?"

Nicaragua Invades Costa Rica: Blames Google

That's right. It wasn't much reported, but technically there was a war in Central America last week, when Nicaragua sent troops into neighboring Costa Rica. TechDirt reported that the Nicaraguan commander who literally planted the Nicaraguan flag in Costa Rican soil after removing the Costa Rican flag, blamed an error in Google Maps. 'Tis true. This really happened.

Personally, I have sympathy for the Nicaraguan commander. My previous GPS got upset every time I drove on Rock Creek Parkway ("please make the next legal U-turn," she repeated and repeated) and the GPS I had before that refused to acknowledge the existence of Chain Bridge.

Meanwhile, the dark side of GPS and map data becoming more public came to the forefront when around the same time that Costa Rica was invaded, Israel pointed out that Google Earth data could help terrorists locate targets. Israel's domestic security chief said, “Intelligence once enjoyed only by countries and world powers can now be obtained through Internet systems like Google Earth, Internet cameras that are deployed all over the world and linked to the Web, or applications for iPhone devices that allow for quality intelligence to be received in real-time.”

Maybe the only safe place to be is on Chain Bridge Road.

DC's Dumbest Robber Award Goes To...

Photo by Jimmy Joe

There are all sorts of stupid things that crooks do that get them caught. Stupid crooks are legion; there are even websites devoted to chronically their goofs. If you think you've heard it all, you're wrong: Last week a armed robber was arrested: He was on probation and wearing a GPS ankle bracelet at the time. Here's the police report :

On November 1, 2010, we responded to armed robberies at Holly, Tulip, Maple and Carroll Avenues, in broad daylight at 12:30 p.m. 

On November 3, 2010, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) made an arrest for robbery in the District of Columbia and contacted us. Our detective responded to the 4th District MPD where our investigation identified one of the two suspects from our robbery.

Our State’s Attorney’s Office was contacted and authorized two arrest warrants for armed robbery for Kevin Shird (20), of Washington, D.C. He is currently incarcerated in the D.C. Jail.

We have filed detainers for two counts of armed robbery. It should be noted that our suspect is on probation and was wearing a GPS ankle bracelet at the time of his arrest. The second suspect is still outstanding and our investigation continues.