My list of the ways Google is like my hometown of Chicago comes down to one item: They both have parking problems that are rooted in history and long overdue for a solution. And in both cases, conspiracy-minded observers see a plot to keep the revenue stream open.
Chicago hasn’t revised its parking regulations since 1957, when there were 5.6 residents per automobile. It’s a town of three-flat brownstones and two-car garages, so you do the math. Why hasn’t anyone fixed it? I’m sure the $1.5 billion in parking tickets in 2005 had nothing to do with the lack of a solution.
In Google’s case, the parking is being done by domain-name speculators. These guys buy a domain name
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