[AccessD] Google maps

[Paul Wolstenholme]

It is comforting to see John report that he understands his market.  I wish
you well with your venture.

It is also nice to see Jim reporting real-world US experience and
acknowledging that my 2nd hand report "may still hold some truth" (although
he could have added "when applied to the USA").
I can cite a few factors that could be affecting typical driver competence
in our two countries:
1) The shortage of heavy vehicle drivers in New Zealand became a newsworthy
topic in recent years when buses were being cancelled far too frequently
(covid affected many areas within our job market).  We do, of course, have
legal standards that drivers must meet but we have clearly been scraping
the bottom of the barrel when it comes to competent driver recruitment.
Few humans see it as a career with a future.
2) My contact was probably exposing himself to seasonal and temporary
situations that would have difficulty attracting the better drivers.
3) We do not have anything equivalent to interstate trucking.  Our country
is smaller and routes are easier to memorise/memorize.

Paul Wolstenholme


On Mon, 29 Apr 2024 at 23:48, Jim Dettman via AccessD <
accessd at databaseadvisors.com> wrote:

>
> Based on experience in the trucking industry (albeit dated), I would say
> that the education of truckers did lean towards the less side.
>
> Certainly not illiterate, but for the most part, they certainly were not
> college grads either.  Most had barely managed to get a GED.
>
> I was on the fore front of satellite communications with trucks using
> Qualcomm units, and I had developed an integrated application with Access
> that would send/receive messages between HQ and the trucks, keep track of
> positioning and duty hours (for logging), and provide load information to
> the drivers.   For instructions on using the unit and software,  I had
> developed a two-page document describing how it operated.  It was a very
> concise "cheat sheet" and I thought I had done a good job with it.   After
> showing it to various people,  I was told that if I could not get it down
> to one page, forget it, as it would never be read.  Whether that was due to
> education or lack of attention, I don't know for sure.    But the system
> never went anywhere, especially when the truckers found out how closely
> they were being tracked.
>
> Times have changed since then certainly.   Everyone is on electronic
> logging now, and I would guess the education level of the average trucker
> has gone up as well for all the reasons spelled out.  Trucking has gotten
> to be a lot more complicated.
>
> But even so, Paul's conversation may still hold some truth as it is
> another country, not the US, so the same types of rules may or may not
> apply.
>
> Jim.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: AccessD On Behalf Of Bill Benson
> Sent: Monday, April 29, 2024 4:37 AM
> To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving <
> accessd at databaseadvisors.com>
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] Google maps
>
> Per ChatGPT (proves nothing):
>
>
> The claim that truck drivers are functionally illiterate is a stereotype
> and not supported by broad data. Regarding educational requirements, the
> majority of truck driving positions require at least a high school diploma
> or a GED. This is often necessary not only for employment criteria but also
> for obtaining a Commercial Driver's License (CDL), which is required to
> operate a truck. The specific educational requirements can vary by employer
> and the type of driving involved. Some companies might hire drivers without
> a high school diploma or GED, but these opportunities are likely less
> common due to liability, safety standards, and regulations. In the trucking
> industry, having a GED or high school diploma is generally important for
> career advancement and securing stable positions. Therefore, while it's
> possible to find truck driving jobs without a GED, such opportunities are
> limited and becoming increasingly rare as industry standards and
> regulations evolve.
>
> On Sun, Apr 28, 2024 at 6:20 PM Paul Wolstenholme <
> Paul.W at industrialcontrol.co.nz> wrote:
>
> > John,
> >
> > I had an interesting conversation a few weeks ago with a man who asserts
> > that the vast majority of truck drivers are functionally illiterate.  He
> > said few are capable of using a GPS or capable of finding an unfamiliar
> > remote farm paddock that is being harvested overnight.  He asserted
> > navigation instructions are passed on by describing the landmarks
> en-route
> > rather than the destination address.  This person gave up on using what
> his
> > degrees trained him to do, preferring to travel and go hiking.  He's
> > discovered how to live cheaply as he travels widely throughout New
> Zealand,
> > North America and other places using the income from the house he rents
> out
> > and from trucking work he takes on from time to time (which he finds
> easily
> > because he is literate).
> >
> > This is, of course, a generalisation.  I've also been told that all
> > generalisations are false (which is itself a generalisation).
> >
> > Perhaps your intended market is the person in the office that the truck
> > drivers call for instructions?
> >
> > Paul Wolstenholme
> >
> >
> > On Mon, 29 Apr 2024 at 00:02, John Colby <jwcolby at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > For now I am trying to avoid getting into all the google api stuff.  If
> > you
> > > have looked at it there are at least a dozen pieces and parts,
> completely
> > > different APIs depending on what you want to do.  In addition one has
> to
> > > give a credit card which does allow up to $200 worth of free api usage
> > but
> > > it is really difficult to discover exactly what that $200 will allow
> > before
> > > I start getting charged.  I have no issue paying for what I use however
> > > this is not yet sanctioned and paid for by my company, and may never
> be.
> > >
> > > It appears that when I feed a string of valid addresses into google
> maps,
> > > Maps generates a bunch of lat/long data and (probably) that is what
> that
> > > additional data piece is.  In the end I will need that but not for a
> > > while.  My intention eventually is to generate the stop location in
> > Access,
> > > feed it to google maps to get a map, recover the lat / long data back
> so
> > > that I can feed that into a GPX file generator, then take that GPX file
> > and
> > > feed it into Garmin to upload into my Dezl 7xx GPS mapping.
> > >
> > > I own a device similar to this:
> > >
> > > Garmine Dezl
> > > <
> > >
> >
> https://www.bestbuy.com/site/reviews/garmin-dezl-760lmt-7-gps-with-built-in-bluetooth-black/7352055
> > > >
> > >
> > > The garmine is truck specific and knows how to route a map which keeps
> me
> > > on a truck friendly route, avoiding low obstacles such as low overhead
> > > train bridges and such, as well as  bridge weight limits.  Google maps
> > will
> > > take me places a truck cannot go.  However the Garmin is a royal PITA
> to
> > > enter a route directly into.  Damned near impossible.  It has a very
> > 1990s
> > > interface.  So I am looking to build a bridge between myself and
> that.  I
> > > have been using Google maps for years.  It is fine for cars but
> dangerous
> > > for trucks and RVs - heavy or tall vehicles.
> > >
> > > But one thing at a time.
> > >
> > > On Sat, Apr 27, 2024 at 8:37 PM Stuart McLachlan <
> stuart at lexacorp.com.pg
> > >
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Another clue to the !1s:
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> https://stackoverflow.com/questions/47017387/decoding-the-google-maps-embedded-parameters
> > > >
> > > > Only when changing the parameter
> > !1s0xd62377123a70817:0x85e89b65fcf7c648,
> > > > the map display will break, meaning this parameter decodes the
> location
> > > of
> > > > the
> > > > pinpoint.
> > > >
> > > > On 28 Apr 2024 at 10:19, Stuart McLachlan wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > This contains a lot of informatabout that those data items
> > > > > https://mstickles.wordpress.com/2015/06/12/gmaps-urls-options/
> > > > >
> > > > > On 28 Apr 2024 at 7:44, Stuart McLachlan wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > On 27 Apr 2024 at 11:58, John Colby wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > > So...
> > > > > > > 1) does anyone have a source to use to interpret that part of
> the
> > > > url?
> > > > > > > 2) does anyone know how to generate that entire thing, start to
> > > > fdinish,
> > > > > > > without dumping the address part into google maps and letting
> the
> > > > browser
> > > > > > > based app "interpret" it?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation ?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > The format seems failry  straightforward and the document should
> > > > explain the various data
> > > > > > identifiers. which appreas to be a leading  three character
> string
> > -
> > > > "!" followed by "0L"
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Each item starts with a header followed by the data
> > > > > > +USA/@33.7833331,-100.138283,5z/  'Map centre and zoom level?
> > > > > > data=
> > > > > > !3m1
> > > > > > !4b1
> > > > > > !4m85
> > > > > > !4m84
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Then it is apparently 6 pieces of data for each point on the
> route.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > !1m5 = same for every entry!
> > > > > > !1m1 = same for every entry!
> > > > > > !1s0x88646f7df48bd7b9:0xf3817765e325957a = GUIDs ?
> > > > > > !2m2 = same for every entry!
> > > > > > !1d-86.7413824   = Latitude
> > > > > > !2d36.0952999    = Longitude
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > --
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> > >
> > > --
> > > John W. Colby
> > > Colby Consulting
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