Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Fun With Google Earth

Here are a couple of tidbits that you may already know about, but were new to me.

First, it appears that the Dark Overlord of the Entire Universe, aka Dick Cheney, has managed to get the area around the official residence of the Vice President blurred out. Clicking this link should open Google Earth and take you to the location in question. If that doesn't work, just open Google Earth yourself and search for "us naval observatory." Set your altitude to about 3300 feet to start, and then zoom in. Compare the resolution with the surrounding area, or, say, by viewing the results of a search on "white house."

Second, forget about the face on Mars. We have a way better one here on earth. Here is the direct link. If it doesn't work, just copy and paste the following string (which represents the lat-lon coordinates) into Google Earth: 50 0'44 N 110 6'60 W

Again, set your altitude to about 3300 feet to start, if that doesn't happen automatically. (My version of Google Earth tends to an altitude of 3281 feet, which as every schoolboy and girl knows, is 1000 meters. Proof of the World Government Conspiracy, without a doubt.)

Amazing, in opposite ways.

Please let me know how clicking the links worked. Thanks.

Don't have Google Earth? Get it here.

Hat tip to the The Daily Show and The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe for the tidbits.

1 comment:

Alastair said...

Yep, the US Naval Observatory looks blurred out to me too. But did you notice: there's a link to the wikipedia article on the USNO which includes ... an aerial photo! With much more detail visible than from Google Earth!

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