Dear Facebook Marketplace...Just Let Me Find What I'm Looking For

 I came across a local yard sale on Facebook Marketplace last weekend. I showed my wife some of the photos posted with the listing, and I made note of the address.

A few hours later I was asked about that particular post, so I thought I'd check Marketplace to pull up the post and provide the information. Problem...

There's no way I could find it.

Darn algorithm. 

You'd think it would be easy to find. I first checked the posts that were listed for the day. It wasn't there. I then tried several searches...nope. I even put in the exact headline of the post as best I could remember and I got nada. Even if I didn't remember the post headline exactly, it should pull up the post. It is so frustrating, mostly because I had forgotten the address (that's on me...). You'd think they would want me to find what I'm looking for. I guess not.

Maybe it's not the algorithm's fault. Maybe it's something else. All I know is that if I don't "Save" it, it'll be gone forever. Today, I did another internet search for yard sales in Tremonton. It pulled up a sale we went to last month. Another question--why is that even on there? I'm guessing the person who posted it did not take it down, and I don't believe if I showed up this Saturday, it would be a "fun" Saturday for the people who listed the sale in the first place.

I don't think I'm asking for much...a simple search engine that will allow me to find something I saw only hours earlier on a particular phone app.

Then again, maybe that is asking too much.

When GPS Lets You Down...

 Good thing I had a whole afternoon with no particular place to be, because if I did, I would have been late, or not shown up at all.

I blame GPS.

Of course, I could blame other factors...it's just easier to blame "Big GPS" for my troubles.

Last week we needed help with our garden. We were excited to set up a drip line system for our newly-built garden. I knew where the nursery was so I headed out, but on my way I wanted to stop by the city's municipal complex. We were told we could buy planting soil the city created for its residents.

I looked up the address, enlisted the help of SIRI, then started out. I drove to where SIRI said the facility was located...

Nope.

So, I enlisted a higher authority...my wife...to send me the address thinking I must have not have entered the correct address. She sent me a "valid" address, so I once again entered the address for SIRI, I put the car into gear and headed out, confident of my eventual success.

If you're unaware of Northern Utah, there are huge tracks of land where few venture and fewer live. I thought having a facility that provided the service we were looking for would be advantageous for the community--there's lots of space to store things.

I followed SIRI's directions and there was...nothing. Well, not nothing, but no facility. I snapped a picture and sent it to my wife.

I know this little story can't hold a candle to Michael Scott's fictional tell in The Office, but it's a lesson that technology can't fix all things.

...But I still love technology.