No Privacy At All!

I was cleaning out my email last weekend, and I found an email dated September 3, 2009, from my cell phone number, that simply said: "Google street view jamaic pond". That might sound cryptic, but I immediately knew what it meant.

When I have the time, and the weather cooperates, I like to go for walks at lunch. I find that it breaks up the day for me, and gives me a bit of a recharge to get through the afternoon. I’m lucky that our office is close to many options for walking in and around Brookline. One of these options is to walk along Olmsted Park and Jamaica Pond in Boston, just on the other side of Rt. 9 from our office. The entire circuit takes just about an hour, and covers about 3 ½ miles, so when I’m not too busy at work and can take a full hour at lunchtime, this is the trip I’ll take.

And what that cryptic email reminded me was that on that day in September 2009, I was walking along Olmsted Park (which runs right next to Pond Ave in Boston) when I noticed a car driving by. It wasn’t just any vehicle, though. It was a car with a crazy contraption on the top and a small “Google” logo on the side. Could this have been the actual car that Google uses to take photos for their Street View option on Google Maps? I wasn’t sure, and doubted it, but that was why I texted myself to remind me to look it up. I remember going to look up that place on Google maps a few months after, but it was obviously NOT updated with the new video (if that even was what they were doing), as it was a winter view. So I forgot all about it…until last week when I rediscovered that email. So I decided to check on Google Street View for that part of the park I was walking to see if I was there. This is what I found:

Click photo for larger view

Wait, is that me? Walking down the path with the waving arms and purposeful stride? I decided to move up the street to see if I could get a closer look:

Click photo for larger view

Oh yes…that definitely looks like my powerful gait, as well as my normal summer walking attire, of jeans and my dress shirt tied around my waste. But wait! Google Street View has a zoom function!

Click photo for larger view...if you dare

Yes, there I am. If you wish to view me yourselves, just search for the intersection of Pond Ave and Willow Pond Road in Boston, MA, and then head North on Pond Ave. about 1 click. Or click here to see me live on the interwebs.

Let the photoshop fun begin!