Knowing me, knowing view

The nerds over at Google want their fingers in as many hot internet pies as they can, don't they? Not content with being the search engine of choice for Tom, Dick and Harry, having entire comedy routines written about them and suchlike, they're now trying to photograph EVERYTHING in the bloody world!

If you haven't taken a butcher's at Google Streetview yet then you should. It's a mind-blowing tool that turns a flat map into a man's-eye view of the world we walk about in. Not everywhere in England is covered yet, but London's pretty much all done. After the initial weird-out moment you have when you look directly at your own front door on a computer screen, in the knowledge that any other bugger can too, you get real nosey. Yeah you, I can see you looking up your local Sainsbury's postcode to see if you can spot that check-out girl who takes a little bit too long giving you back your Nectar card is visible in the window. You perve.

Down to what this means for the more sane among us. That's right.. You can search for hours looking for shops with hilarious names!

Yep, it dawned on me this very morning. While I've been craning my neck as I drive down Tolworth Broadway (yes, it's really called that), I could just be popping the co-ordinates into Google and let my Mac do the driving for me! I can even stop in the middle of the road without writing it off!

So fly, my pretties. Go forth and find me those treats on the streets! Today I saw a rental van filling up at my local garage with the slogan "The Hire Standard" emblazened across it. I couldn't get a photo because the gruff-looking chap at the pump didn't look like he read many pun orientated blogs. So when Googling the phrase I came up with a company under the same name. With a postcode. In London. On Streetview. Thar she blows:



This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.