On 19 Jan 2023 18:38:17 GMT, Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net>
wrote:

>On Wed, 18 Jan 2023 10:05:50 -0800, Tobiah wrote:
>> On 1/17/23 20:53, John wrote:
>>> It's getting more frequent now as I age, where it's about once every
>>> ten times I can't for the life of me remember where I parked my car.
>>
>> I used to have the habit of texting myself my parking lot section when
>> leaving my car at the airport, "You're in 2B". I then would not need
>> to check my texts when I returned to the lot, as the act of texting
>> the section ID burned it into my memory sufficiently.
>
>I like this idea. And you would be 'comfortable' in its use to
>make it damn useful when/if you ever rent or borrow a vehicle --
>a vehicle which you may not easily recognize. :-)

That idea wouldn't work for me. If I could remember to check and see
that I was in 2B (or not 2B), I'd remember 2B without texting it.

On Thu, 19 Jan 2023 11:32:26 -0800, David Oseas
<doseas{nospam}@usa.net> wrote:

>On 1/18/2023 1:27 PM, Alan wrote:
>
>> Or you get an iPhone...
>> ...and when you drive somewhere, it figures out you've been driving...
>> ...and then marks where your car is automatically.
>
>Or you buy a Tesla.

An expensive solution to a simple problem.

>The app will tell you where you've parked it & the
>app will run on any phone, so you're not stuck in Apple jail.

On 1/18/2023 3:04 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> On 2023-01-18 23:32, sms wrote:
>
> ...
>
>> Of course you can pay more and get a data connection so you can have a
>> Wi-Fi hotspot but it's a lot more than 3€ for a usable amount of data.
>> $10/month for 2GB of data is about the best you can do.
>
> I got 10 gigs of data for those 3 euros when I bought the device. May be
> more now, dunno. Oh, yes, the app says I get 20 gigs. :-))

Data in the U.S. is very expensive per GB in small quantities. My 4
person plan with 100GB of high-speed data (unlimited low speed once
high-speed is used up) is $98 with tax. That's less than $1 per GB. But
for a plan with only 1GB of data, on a reliable network, it's $8.25, and
only if you pay for a year at a time. 2GB, paid monthly, is $10.

If someone only needs the car locator function a few times a month, then
the AT&T/Freedom Pop free plan (10 voice minutes, 10 SMS, and 25 MB),
paired with an old Android phone, would work fine to use with an SMS
Locator App, which needs no data at all but each query uses up 2 SMS.

You can also buy a very low-end Android phone, complete with a year of
service on Verizon's network (1500 minutes, 1500 texts and 1500MB of
data for 365 days) for $29.99 ($39.99-$10 off)
<https://www.hsn.com/products/tcl-a3-tracfone-bundle-with-1500-mintextdata/20689899>
which would work great for a "poor man's LoJack." Actually it's better
than a real LoJack.

Someone in another group was asking about tracking a shipment of
household goods in a moving van, using an AirTag. But AirTags require
someone passing by with an iPhone in order to provide a location, and
inside a moving van that's unlikely. There was an article about someone
who mailed an AirTag across the world and tracked it. When the package
was outside on a pallet, or inside a warehouse, or in a postal vehicle,
he could see it as long as someone with an iPhone was close by.

In article <tqcbi8$1eoh$1@gioia.aioe.org>, sms
<scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

> Someone in another group was asking about tracking a shipment of
> household goods in a moving van, using an AirTag. But AirTags require
> someone passing by with an iPhone in order to provide a location, and
> inside a moving van that's unlikely.

not only is it likely, but many people have done exactly that and it
works quite well. one person even put an airtag inside a metal zero
halliburton case, then put inside his car, and it was trackable.

you clearly have never used an airtag. you are lying and deliberately
spreading disinformation about what airtags can and cannot do.

> There was an article about someone
> who mailed an AirTag across the world and tracked it.

there have been several such articles, and in every case, it worked
well, contradicting your claim above that it doesn't work.

On 1/18/23 12:42 AM, Freethinker wrote:
> On 18.01.23 09:38, sms wrote:
>>> It's getting more frequent now as I age, where it's about once every ten
>>> times I can't for the life of me remember where I parked my car.
>>>
>>> Is there an app which I can tap when I park my car, and then when I exit a
>>> store, I can use that app to point to the bearing & distance to the car?
>>
>> <https://www.insider.com/use-this-google-maps-trick-to-find-your-exact-parking-location-2017-8>
>
> Very few people have location turned on all the time and even fewer would
> want Google to know where they parked their car and for how long they did.
> https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/12/10/business/location-data-privacy-apps.html
>
> Better to get an app which doesn't use the Internet so it can't report back
> to the app developer and which serves your purposes alone totally offline.

I have no data plan. Having a GPS-only function is essential. Is there
one that does this? I haven't read the entire thread yet...

> Almost every offline navigation app will save your current position and
> route back to that position, with the type of route set to pedestrian.
>
> Some apps will give you the bearing and distance that you asked for, all
> without the Internet so that they can't report back where you parked.
>
> In OSMAnd for example, you press the blue compass to show your location and
> then you long press on that resulting blue location dot to create a yellow
> circle which defaults to the name "My Position" and which adds a bottom
> panel with "Add", "Marker", "Share" & "Actions" any one of which can be
> used to save the current location for use with future routing back to it.
> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand>
> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand.plus>

OSMAnd is, unfortunately, REALLY battery-hungry. I last used it a few
years ago, and I really liked the fact that it saved a track, but the
battery thing -- along with the change-the-UI-with-every-update thing --
made me quit.

--
Cheers, Bev
"Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level.
It's cheaper." -- Quentin Crisp 1908 - 1999

On 1/18/23 9:05 AM, AJL wrote:
> On 1/17/2023 11:38 PM, sms wrote:
>
>> <https://www.insider.com/use-this-google-maps-trick-to-find-your-exact-parking-location-2017-8>

Mine looked nothing like that. Updating my apps (111 of them!) so
perhaps that will make the difference.

> I'm surprised how far my key fob will transmit. So I hit the lock button
> twice and listen for the honk. Course it gets less useful as my hearing
> declines...

We tried this in the parking lot of the L.A. County Fair a while back.
Took quite a while, with occasional lamppost-climbs. Beeped within
50-100 feet.. Better to actually REMEMBER where you parked :-(

--
Cheers, Bev
Children, your performance was miserable. Your parents will
all receive phone calls instructing them to love you less.

On 1/18/23 3:33 PM, Andy Burnelli wrote:
> Carlos E.R. wrote:
>
>>> Of course you can pay more and get a data connection so you can have a
>>> Wi-Fi hotspot but it's a lot more than 3� for a usable amount of data.
>>> $10/month for 2GB of data is about the best you can do.
>>
>> I got 10 gigs of data for those 3 euros when I bought the device. May be
>> more now, dunno. Oh, yes, the app says I get 20 gigs. :-))
>
> I have 200MB for life on my iPads, which is maybe enough for this purpose.

If that's through Freedompop, "life" is a lot shorter than you think :-(

--
Cheers, Bev
Children, your performance was miserable. Your parents will
all receive phone calls instructing them to love you less.

On 1/19/2023 2:05 PM, The Real Bev wrote:
> On 1/18/23 9:05 AM, AJL wrote:

>> I'm surprised how far my key fob will transmit. So I hit the lock
>> button twice and listen for the honk. Course it gets less useful
>> as my hearing declines...

> We tried this in the parking lot of the L.A. County Fair a while
> back. Took quite a while, with occasional lamppost-climbs. Beeped
> within 50-100 feet..

My key fob does a bit better than that but I still have to be within the
general area. If that fails I have an app (came with the car) that will
locate it for me. The app will also remote start and pre-cool the car.
When it's 105F+ outside (and 140F inside the locked car) I start it 5
minutes before leaving the store. Cool store to cool car. Ain't life
wonderful...

> Better to actually REMEMBER where you parked :-(

Yup. And of course our memory gets better with age...right?

In article <tqcf0p$1njps$2@dont-email.me>, The Real Bev
<bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:

> > I have 200MB for life on my iPads, which is maybe enough for this purpose.
>
> If that's through Freedompop, "life" is a lot shorter than you think :-(

it's directly through t-mobile and officially expires in 2099.

In article <tqcduh$1neu3$1@dont-email.me>, The Real Bev
<bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> I have no data plan.

still?

> Having a GPS-only function is essential.

no wifi either?

>
> OSMAnd is, unfortunately, REALLY battery-hungry.

anything that uses the gps is battery hungry.

David Oseas wrote:

>> *Find my parked car* by Aurum App, Contains ads & In-app purchases
>> Free, has ads, requires GSF, 4.6 star, 32.7K reviews, 1M+ Downloads
>> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.carfind>
>
> I think it is the same app: it has the same icon as the one I have
> installed, but mine is labelled "Car Find". If I click on App Info, it
> does go to the "Find my parked car" app in Google Play Store.
>
> Disclaimer: I really don't use the app any more -- I don't think I've
> fired it up any time in the past 5 years -- on the few occasions I've
> recently needed the functionality, I've used Google Maps.

Thanks for that confirmation that it's the same app you had suggested.

Immediately I tested it out, but as per this thread, it unilaterally removed
my privacy settings (just like all the other dedicated car finder apps did).
*Do you know if there is a way to permanently disable precise location?*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/ggawmi_4tAc>

For most people who probably don't even care if "precise location" and
"Wi-Fi scanning" is turned on, these vehicle finder apps are probably ok.

But, for privacy-aware people like I am, it's terrible the apps do this:
Google Location Accuracy = assisted_gps_enabled
Wi-Fi scanning = wifi_scan_always_enabled
Bluetooth scanning = ble_scan_always_enabled

While this is OK for an app to want to set that needs GPS location:
android.permission.ACCESS_COURSE_LOCATION

It's terrible the car parking apps set these permissions for themselves:
android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
android.permission.ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION

The good news is we can manage these permissions using adb from the PC
according to research results when I googled for how to solve this problem.
a. Connect the phone to the PC by USB or to the LAN via Wi-Fi
adb devices
b. To revoke permission for any given app:
adb shell pm revoke <sample.package.id> android.permission.<PERMISSION_NAME>
c. To add permission for any given app:
adb shell pm grant <sample.package.id> android.permission.<PERMISSION_NAME>

For example, to revoke fine location for this app:
C:\> adb shell pm revoke ggawmi_4tAc android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION

To re-enable fine location for this app:
C:\> adb shell pm grant ggawmi_4tAc android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION

What I will try to do when I have a chance is this sequence below:
1. I will run the app, which will unilaterally turn on fine location
2. I will use adb to turn of fine location permission for the app
3. I will try to run the app

I suspect the app won't run without the fine permission (even though
the app doesn't need fine location), but I don't know whether or not
the app will even work when I pull that rug out from underneath it.

However...
If it does not notice I unset the permission, then I can use the app!

On 2023-01-20 09:01:15 +0000, Ken Blake said:

>>> Or you get an iPhone...
>>> ...and when you drive somewhere, it figures out you've been driving...
>>> ...and then marks where your car is automatically.
>>
>>Or you buy a Tesla.
>
> An expensive solution to a simple problem.

Are you really that stupid that you don't get why he brought up the Tesla?

The Real Bev wrote:

>> Better to get an app which doesn't use the Internet so it can't report back
>> to the app developer and which serves your purposes alone totally offline.
>
> I have no data plan. Having a GPS-only function is essential.

Hi The Real Bev,

I don't disagree with you that any app that is fundamentally a GPS app,
should be able to point you toward your car WITHOUT needing the Internet.

All it should need is GPS, and, a compass bearing and distance to your car.
Luckily two free apps were suggested in this thread that do just that.

This free app points to your car's location & tells you the distance to it.
*GPS Waypoint Finder* by keuwlsoft
free, ad free, gsf free, 3.9 star, 1.35K reviews, 100K+ Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keuwl.gpswaypoints>
That app does not need the Internet and doesn't even ask for the Internet.

In addition, it was suggested you can text anyone your car's location.
GPS to SMS - location sharing by Tralchonok Labs
free, ad free, gsf free, 3.6 star, 787 reviews, 100K+ Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.perm.trubnikov.gps2sms>

That needs a cellular signal, but it uses SMS (not MMS) so there's no need
to use data (the suggestion is you can text yourself the location text).

> Is there one that does this?

Three apps were suggested but in my tests, all needed the Internet.

*Parked Car* by Myroslav Kolodii
Free, ad free, requires GSF, 4.4 star, 179 reviews, 10K+Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.unagit.parkedcar>

*Car Location* by DigitalBox Studios
Free, ad free, requires GSF, not rated, not reviewed, 500+Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.carparking.location>

*Find my parked car* by Aurum App
Free, has ads, requires GSF, 4.6 star, 32.7K reviews, 1M+ Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.carfind>

> I haven't read the entire thread yet...

If you read the thread, you'll find I found a nasty privacy flaw in all
three of those find-my-car apps, and that flaw is also in OSMAnd~ too!

> OSMAnd is, unfortunately, REALLY battery-hungry. I last used it a few
> years ago, and I really liked the fact that it saved a track, but the
> battery thing -- along with the change-the-UI-with-every-update thing --
> made me quit.

The good thing about OSMAnd~ is that it is an offline map so it can route
you toward your car along known pedestrian paths without the Internet.

Even if the free ad free OSMAnd~ is battery hungry, you only need it to set
your car's location when you park the car, and then you can turn it off
unless you need it later to find the location of that parked car.

I agree the GUI is not intuitive for some of the simplest of things,
but luckily OSMAnd~ has a special "Actions" button for parked cars.

OSMAnd~ even has a parking meter timer in that Actions button, so it's not
a bad replacement for Google Maps which needs the Internet (I can't test if
the Google Maps parking feature works on downloaded maps ever since Google
removed that capability for people who don't have a Google Account).

Since most people have a Google Account on their phone, _they_ can test for
the team if offline Google Maps still do the find-my-car feature or not.
--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information
which, in this case, is to answer The Real Bev's questions about apps.

On 2023-01-19 20:59, Ken Blake wrote:
> On 19 Jan 2023 18:38:17 GMT, Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net> wrote:
>> On Wed, 18 Jan 2023 10:05:50 -0800, Tobiah wrote:
>>> On 1/17/23 20:53, John wrote:
>>>> It's getting more frequent now as I age, where it's about once every
>>>> ten times I can't for the life of me remember where I parked my car.
>>>
>>> I used to have the habit of texting myself my parking lot section when
>>> leaving my car at the airport, "You're in 2B". I then would not need
>>> to check my texts when I returned to the lot, as the act of texting
>>> the section ID burned it into my memory sufficiently.
>>
>> I like this idea. And you would be 'comfortable' in its use to
>> make it damn useful when/if you ever rent or borrow a vehicle --
>> a vehicle which you may not easily recognize. :-)
>
>
> That idea wouldn't work for me. If I could remember to check and see
> that I was in 2B (or not 2B), I'd remember 2B without texting it.

I take a photo of the parking spot when it is numbered :-)

If parking on the street, the photo would have the GPS coordinates and
thus we can find it :-D

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On 2023-01-19 22:50, The Real Bev wrote:
> On 1/18/23 12:42 AM, Freethinker wrote:
>> On 18.01.23 09:38, sms wrote:

>> In OSMAnd for example, you press the blue compass to show your
>> location and then you long press on that resulting blue location
>> dot to create a yellow circle which defaults to the name "My
>> Position" and which adds a bottom panel with "Add", "Marker",
>> "Share" & "Actions" any one of which can be used to save the
>> current location for use with future routing back to it.
>>   <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand>
>>   <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand.plus>
>
> OSMAnd is, unfortunately, REALLY battery-hungry.  I last used it a few
> years ago, and I really liked the fact that it saved a track, but the
> battery thing -- along with the change-the-UI-with-every-update thing --
> made me quit.

I use OSMAnd, but it has so many options that it is difficult a month
later to remember what option activated some thing in the map that now I
want to remove but do not remember what activated it. And if the UI
changed, it becomes nearly impossible.

Any tool that records a track has to use the GPS a lot (some tools have
a config for the frequency), and this is memory hungry. And some phones
seem to be very bad at this: I remember draining almost all the battery
when recording a two hour walk with a previous phone, but the current
one barely notices.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On 1/19/23 11:59, Ken Blake wrote:
> On 19 Jan 2023 18:38:17 GMT, Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net>
> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 18 Jan 2023 10:05:50 -0800, Tobiah wrote:
>>> On 1/17/23 20:53, John wrote:
>>>> It's getting more frequent now as I age, where it's about once every
>>>> ten times I can't for the life of me remember where I parked my car.
>>>
>>> I used to have the habit of texting myself my parking lot section when
>>> leaving my car at the airport, "You're in 2B". I then would not need
>>> to check my texts when I returned to the lot, as the act of texting
>>> the section ID burned it into my memory sufficiently.
>>
>> I like this idea. And you would be 'comfortable' in its use to
>> make it damn useful when/if you ever rent or borrow a vehicle --
>> a vehicle which you may not easily recognize. :-)
>
>
> That idea wouldn't work for me. If I could remember to check and see
> that I was in 2B (or not 2B), I'd remember 2B without texting it.

That was my point. Skip the phone and do a trivial mental exercise
that takes less effort than pulling out the phone and loading an
app and pushing a button.

On 2023-01-20 10:17, Tobiah wrote:
> On 1/19/23 11:59, Ken Blake wrote:
>> On 19 Jan 2023 18:38:17 GMT, Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On Wed, 18 Jan 2023 10:05:50 -0800, Tobiah wrote:
>>>> On 1/17/23 20:53, John wrote:
>>>>> It's getting more frequent now as I age, where it's about once every
>>>>> ten times I can't for the life of me remember where I parked my car.
>>>>
>>>> I used to have the habit of texting myself my parking lot section when
>>>> leaving my car at the airport, "You're in 2B".  I then would not need
>>>> to check my texts when I returned to the lot, as the act of texting
>>>> the section ID burned it into my memory sufficiently.
>>>
>>> I like this idea.  And you would be 'comfortable' in its use to
>>> make it damn useful when/if you ever rent or borrow a vehicle --
>>> a vehicle which you may not easily recognize.  :-)
>>
>>
>> That idea wouldn't work for me. If I could remember to check and see
>> that I was in 2B (or not 2B), I'd remember 2B without texting it.
>
> That was my point.  Skip the phone and do a trivial mental exercise
> that takes less effort than pulling out the phone and loading an
> app and pushing a button.
>
>

Or get a phone that just takes care of it for you...

....like an iPhone does?

(If I were Arlen, I'd now make a duplicate of this post with a new
subject, but I'm not quite the narcissist he is).

On 1/19/23 3:44 PM, AJL wrote:
> On 1/19/2023 2:05 PM, The Real Bev wrote:
>> On 1/18/23 9:05 AM, AJL wrote:
>
>>> I'm surprised how far my key fob will transmit. So I hit the lock
>>> button twice and listen for the honk. Course it gets less useful
>>> as my hearing declines...
>
>> We tried this in the parking lot of the L.A. County Fair a while
>> back. Took quite a while, with occasional lamppost-climbs. Beeped
>> within 50-100 feet..
>
> My key fob does a bit better than that but I still have to be within the
> general area. If that fails I have an app (came with the car) that will
> locate it for me. The app will also remote start and pre-cool the car.
> When it's 105F+ outside (and 140F inside the locked car) I start it 5
> minutes before leaving the store. Cool store to cool car. Ain't life
> wonderful...
>
>> Better to actually REMEMBER where you parked :-(
>
> Yup. And of course our memory gets better with age...right?

For some reason we simply did not notice -- possibly talking about
something serious -- the large signs placed around to enable people to
find their cars. Not forgetting, just not KNOWING. Do you know how
many forest-green Expeditions there are in your average large parking
lot? MILLIONS!

--
Cheers, Bev
Hmph. I used to have snow tires. Never again. They melted in the
spring. I won't even start going on about my wood stove.
-- websurf1

On 1/19/23 5:30 PM, Andy Burnelli wrote:
> The Real Bev wrote:
>
>>> Better to get an app which doesn't use the Internet so it can't report back
>>> to the app developer and which serves your purposes alone totally offline.
>>
>> I have no data plan. Having a GPS-only function is essential.
>
> Hi The Real Bev,
>
> I don't disagree with you that any app that is fundamentally a GPS app,
> should be able to point you toward your car WITHOUT needing the Internet.
>
> All it should need is GPS, and, a compass bearing and distance to your car.
> Luckily two free apps were suggested in this thread that do just that.
>
> This free app points to your car's location & tells you the distance to it.
> *GPS Waypoint Finder* by keuwlsoft
> free, ad free, gsf free, 3.9 star, 1.35K reviews, 100K+ Downloads
> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keuwl.gpswaypoints>
> That app does not need the Internet and doesn't even ask for the Internet.

Downloading even as we speak, but the play store seems a bit balky. I
was hoping that there was one like this that would tap into a google
off-line map and show the actual locatiou, but an arrow and distance is
probably good enough.

> Since most people have a Google Account on their phone, _they_ can test for
> the team if offline Google Maps still do the find-my-car feature or not.

I hunted, with no success. Android 11, not sure which Maps version. I
have a lot of apps, and Maps hadn't updated yet. The appearance was not
at all similar to the instructions given in a previous post.

--
Cheers, Bev
Hmph. I used to have snow tires. Never again. They melted in the
spring. I won't even start going on about my wood stove.
-- websurf1

On 1/20/23 4:46 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>
> On 2023-01-19 22:50, The Real Bev wrote:
>> On 1/18/23 12:42 AM, Freethinker wrote:
>>> On 18.01.23 09:38, sms wrote:
>
>>> In OSMAnd for example, you press the blue compass to show your
>>> location and then you long press on that resulting blue location
>>> dot to create a yellow circle which defaults to the name "My
>>> Position" and which adds a bottom panel with "Add", "Marker",
>>> "Share" & "Actions" any one of which can be used to save the
>>> current location for use with future routing back to it.
>>>   <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand>
>>>   <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand.plus>
>>
>> OSMAnd is, unfortunately, REALLY battery-hungry.  I last used it a few
>> years ago, and I really liked the fact that it saved a track, but the
>> battery thing -- along with the change-the-UI-with-every-update thing --
>> made me quit.
>
> I use OSMAnd, but it has so many options that it is difficult a month
> later to remember what option activated some thing in the map that now I
> want to remove but do not remember what activated it. And if the UI
> changed, it becomes nearly impossible.
>
> Any tool that records a track has to use the GPS a lot (some tools have
> a config for the frequency), and this is memory hungry. And some phones
> seem to be very bad at this: I remember draining almost all the battery
> when recording a two hour walk with a previous phone, but the current
> one barely notices.

Curiously enough, Ski Tracks is really good about battery usage. It
will save a path in .gpx, kmz and kml formats and save it forever --
unless you screw up trying to save it -- the buttons needed to save a
track aren't sufficiently contrasty to be seen in bright sunlight. It
tries to convert everything to ski runs, which is entertaining if you're
not actually skiing, but you can feed the files into google earth. I
think it costs a buck, and I've used it for maybe 10 years.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.corecoders.skitracks

$1.50 now. Well worth the price.

--
Cheers, Bev
Hmph. I used to have snow tires. Never again. They melted in the
spring. I won't even start going on about my wood stove.
-- websurf1

On 1/20/2023 4:27 PM, The Real Bev wrote:
> On 1/19/23 3:44 PM, AJL wrote:
>> On 1/19/2023 2:05 PM, The Real Bev wrote:

>>> Better to actually REMEMBER where you parked :-(

>> Yup. And of course our memory gets better with age...right?

> For some reason we simply did not notice -- possibly talking about
> something serious -- the large signs placed around to enable people
> to find their cars. Not forgetting, just not KNOWING. Do you know
> how many forest-green Expeditions there are in your average large
> parking lot? MILLIONS!

Of course. It's the same conspiracy I suffer at the parking lots I
attend that hide my car behind several bigger cars (like Expeditions)...

On 1/20/23 4:22 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:

> I take a photo of the parking spot when it is numbered :-)
>
> If parking on the street, the photo would have the GPS coordinates and
> thus we can find it :-D

Bastard. I wish I'd thought of that!

--
Cheers, Bev
You need only three tools: WD-40, duct tape and a hammer. If it doesn't
move and it should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use duct tape.
If you can't fix it with a hammer you've got an electrical problem.

In comp.mobile.android, on Wed, 18 Jan 2023 05:53:41 +0100, John
<john@nospam.invalid> wrote:

>It's getting more frequent now as I age, where it's about once every ten
>times I can't for the life of me remember where I parked my car.
>
>Is there an app which I can tap when I park my car, and then when I exit a
>store, I can use that app to point to the bearing & distance to the car?

This only works for the last block but...

Next car, get a light-colored car.

When I had a dark-green car, every time I turned the corner walking to
where my car should be, I coudln't find it and I thought it was stolen,
even when it was there.

Later I got light-colored cars and I see them even when I'm not looking
for them.

Plus other drivers are less likely to hit me.

In comp.mobile.android, on Wed, 18 Jan 2023 10:42:32 +0200, Freethinker
<freethinker@mymail.com> wrote:

>On 18.01.23 09:38, sms wrote:
>>> It's getting more frequent now as I age, where it's about once every ten
>>> times I can't for the life of me remember where I parked my car.
>>>
>>> Is there an app which I can tap when I park my car, and then when I exit a
>>> store, I can use that app to point to the bearing & distance to the car?
>>
>> <https://www.insider.com/use-this-google-maps-trick-to-find-your-exact-parking-location-2017-8>
>
>Very few people have location turned on all the time and even fewer would
>want Google to know where they parked their car and for how long they did.
>https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/12/10/business/location-data-privacy-apps.html

You do give other suggestions, but ftr, I don't care if people know
where my car is parked or for how long. I looked at the URL above and
its concerns don't apply to me or anyone I know, or most other people, I
think.

My car is distinctive because of the model and bumper stickers. I
suppose if someone who knew me saw it, he might look for me and say
hello. But I don't see how anyone who has anything to do with me can
use google to find my car.

"Businesses say their interest is in the patterns, not the identities,
that the data reveals about consumers. They note that the information
apps collect is tied not to someone’s name or phone number but to a
unique ID. But those with access to the raw data — including employees
or clients — could still identify a person without consent." No one I
know has access to the raw data.

(I care that everyone knows I'm not home and that it's a good time to
break into the house, but anyone can tell that by looking where my car
is usually parked.)

On 1/21/2023 10:39 AM, micky wrote:

> When I had a dark-green car, every time I turned the corner walking to
> where my car should be, I coudln't find it and I thought it was stolen,
> even when it was there.

In one of my past lives you would be surprised at how many stolen car
reports turned out to be misparked cars...