Yesterday, Facebook served me an ad for a trip through Ireland and Scotland.
A 10 day cruise! Visits to Dublin! Glasgow! Edinburgh! The Isle of Skye!
Wait.
What the frell is going on with that map?!?
Let’s get this out of the way. It’s pure AI slop. Done.
Dublin is in about the right place. Then things go wildly astray.
The Isle of Skye is an island off the west coast of Scotland. So, why is the label on the east coast?
Inverness is marked on the map, but there’s no label.
Why is the label for Glasgow about where Newcastle Upon Tyne is?
And Edinburgh! There’s a mark for it on the map… but then the label is down by Leeds in England.
Now, this is a cruise. Boats need water. And the route this cruise takes… Well, it crosses a lot of land. Sailing through the Highlands! Sailing through the English midlands! Sailing through Northern Ireland!
This map is insane. It knows less about the British Isles than Nook Logan knows about baserunning.
I did not click through the ad, so I don’t know any real details about the advertised trip. I’ve looked up other, similar cruises online, and some of the trips spend time crossing land. If I had five thousand dollars I’d give it a thought. Something that took a swing through Iona would be cool, too, though that might have to be a separate trip.
If I win the lottery, and Europeans don’t hate Americans for Donald Trump’s rampant douchenozzery, maybe it’ll happen. Or, maybe I’ll get a new job that will pay me enough so I can afford to take foreign vacations. What Diamond paid was criminal.
One can dream.
But, if I can or do, there had better be a sane map. No cruise ship will ever dock in Leeds!