According to Google Street View, the Waikiki Shell is in the middle lane of King street as it passes by the municipal building. Other than that, it is eerily accurate.

Somehow it is unnerving to see your neighbor washing his car on Google Street View even though you can see him washing his car in real life. Having his grainy image frozen in time makes him seem vulnerable. Is it a good thing to have our neighborhoods accessible down to such specific detail for any crook or weirdo to analyze from the privacy of their home computer?

The Google Street View car was spotted taking pictures around O'ahu in June and, last week, the uploaded images were made available online. It was announced in that typical perky Google tone: "With our imagery of O'ahu and Maui, you can now take a virtual vacation to white sandy beaches, revisit special places from your honeymoon, or plan your next getaway."

You can also see guys hanging around the IHS Homeless shelter in Iwilei, a white minivan parked in the mayor's parking space and patients crossing the street between Queen's hospital and the Physicians' Office Building. Not that any of that is necessarily dangerous, but information is only as benign as a person's intentions.

The images available on Google Street View are supposed to be only what is in public, what can be seen by anybody driving by on the street. The images are not real time, and are in fact delayed by months, so it's not like your crazy ex can look at your house online and know if you're home. Faces and license plates are supposed to be blurred, though if you know a person, you will recognize their posture, their clothing and their general appearance regardless of any facial fuzziness. "Eh, try look! That's Bobby coming out of Club No-Tell-Nobody!"

The Google homepage reassures that you can request to opt out of the street view. To report a concern, you have to first locate the objectionable image online (kind of like waiting until the cow is out before asking if someone could please close the barn door) and then click on "report a problem." However, after testing it out for almost an hour, I found the whole process hopeless. Once again, Google has brought us a fun toy, but this one begs the question: Do we need it?