30 Kasım 2012 Cuma

Go Karting on Google Maps

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A few famous motor racing tracks are featured in Google Maps Street View. Using Street View you can virtually drive a lap of the Laguna Raceway, the Thunderhill Raceway, the Infineon Raceway, Silverstone and Monza.

Now you can also take a spin around the indoor go-kart track in Ayslebury, UK.


If racing driving isn't your cup of tea then why not imagine being a matador instead by visiting the Plaza de Toros in Valencia.

Many other Sports Stadia around the world now include Street View imagery. Google Earth Hacks has a good collection of many of the stadia now featured on Google Maps Street View in their Sports Stadiums section. 

Twitter Ticker-Tape Parade on Google Maps

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TwitterMap is an interesting Google Map of geo-located Tweets. The map displays the profile pictures of each Twitter user and animates the posted Twitter message, scrolling marquee fashion, above the Twitter user's name.

The map is an interesting way to view in real-time what people are saying around a particular location. The same developer has also created a Google Map that displays recently posted Flickr photos around locations.

FlickrMap displays thumbnail images of Flickr photos on top of Google Maps. Users can click on an individual thumbnail picture to view the photograph in a larger window. Using both maps in conjunction is a good way to view real-time media around a specific location and could prove particularly interesting during specific events and breaking news stories.

The Man Responsible for Google's Non-Island

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The Culprit

Last week you might have heard about the non-discovery of an island called Sandy that appears on Google Maps. There has been a lot of fun had at the expense of Google Maps for showing an island in the Coral Sea that doesn't actually exist but today I can reveal the true villain of this mapping error:

Captain J W Robinson, captain of the brig Velocity in 1876
The Back Story
Last week scientists from the University of Sydney revealed that they had sailed to where Google Maps shows a Pacific island called Sandy and had found no island and just a whole lot of sea. 

Today the Auckland Museum revealed that a trawl through their huge collection of historical maps turned up a 1908 map which shows the island. According to the map the island was discovered by the Velocity in 1876.



The Velocity

Searching on the National Library of Australia website I discovered that the Velocity was a whaling brig. Amazingly the library actually has photos of the ship. This one was taken at dry dock in 1870, six years before she 'discovered' Sandy.



Even more amazingly the library has a photograph of William John Maguire (see the top of this post), described as a 'sailor on the brig Velocity'. The photo is dated to 1870, so it is quite possible that Mr Maguire was actually on board Velocity in 1876 when it 'discovered' Sandy. However Mr Maguire is not the villain of our mapping error, that award must go to the captain of the Velocity, who in 1876 was one J W Robinson.

Here is a newspaper report from The (Hobart) Mercury, dated 11th March 1876, which names the Velocity's captain:

"THE whaling brig Velocity returned from an unsuccessful voyage yesterday. She brings 3 tuns of sperm oil. Captain Robinson reports that he sailed from this port on the 12th March 1875, and proceeded to Cato's Bank. After cruising there for some time without success he proceeded to the Middle Ground. Had seen only three whales during the voyage, one of which, a small one, yielded the quantity which constitutes the Velocity's take".

Sandy Island was not the only island 'discovered' by Captain Robinson. Captain Robinson also 'discovered' Heard Island. This island also features on Google Maps and actually seems to exist and is clearly visible in Google Maps satellite view.

The (Hobart) Mercury reported in 1929 that Captain Robinson, "in exploring, discovered that there was an island previously uncharted here, and named it Heard Island." Unfortunately however this seems to be another unfortunate 'discovery' for J W Robinson. According to Wikipedia Heard Island was actually discovered by an American sealer, Captain John Heard, who sighted the island on 25 November 1853 and had the island named after him.

The History of Velocity

Whilst researching Velocity I have managed to put together a brief history of the ship. The ship was originally built at Haldon, Devonshire, UK in 1827. In its early life it seems to have plied its trade carrying cargo back and forth between Britain and the Americas.

In 1830, when returning from the Americas with a valuable cargo, the ship was boarded and captured by a Portuguese ship. The Portuguese captain who took over the ship was one Maurico Jose-Alves. Another British captain approached the Velocity only to be met by a hostile reception. He reported that Maurico,

"made use of the most abusive and insulting language and ... the officer then threw a square kettle, which struck me with great force on the head."

Sometime after this date the Velocity sailed to Australia. The Australasian Chronicle has a report dated the 24th November 1841 that says the Velocity 'has arrived from England'. This may have been its first arrival in Australia.

As well as operating as a whaling brig the ship had a less illustrious career as a 'blackbirder'. Blackbirding was the recruitment of people through trickery and kidnappings to work as labourers. The Blackbird website says that "blackbirding in Australia began with the first acknowledged Blackbirder Captain William Boyd in 1847 when his schooner Velocity landed sixty-five men from the New Hebrides."

It appears that the Velocity was bringing cheap (forced) labour from the Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Rotuma, Gilbert and Ellice Islands to Australia. It is in this general vicinity of the Pacific that in 1870 that the Velocity 'discovered' and mapped Sandy Island. 

The ship was eventually boughtat auction on the 28 August 1885, to be broken up. It was sunk at her moorings in the River Derwent, Tasmania.

Erik's Birthday (a Little Late)

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Erik's birthday was a few weeks ago already. Krispy Kreme doesn't give away a free dozen on your birthday anymore - just one.  We got our dozen for Erik at Grama's.
Erik just wanted a few guys over again. They played Wii games and we did the birthday cookie again as the boys just don't seem to care much for cake. Anyhow, low-key birthday for our low-key guy. Hard to believe he's only a year away from being able to get a driver's license.

'Popcorn' Flower

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Another type of 'popcorn' flower.  This one is much more along the line of the fiddleneck with the curved stem and flowers all in a row.Side view 
Here's this 'popcorn' flower out of focus and another interesting tiny flower next to it called a stickle leaf. The flower is blurry, but the stickle leaves are easier to see.

Here's the other 'popcorn' flower.  Note the long leaves and long stems and open structure as opposed to the smaller bunch in the one above.

29 Kasım 2012 Perşembe

What's Happening on Google Maps

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Google Maps applications that display upcoming events and concerts have been coming thick and fast this month. Two weeks ago Google Maps Mania reviewed HUGE city, a map that displays nearby Facebook events, and Concert Mapper, a Google Maps based application to find and book tickets for concerts, theatre or sporting events.

Now a new Google Map has been released that can help you find out what is happening nearby, using listings from Facebook events, Eventbrite, Meetup and Upcoming. Mapify.us uses categorised map markers to show from which listing service each event comes (using the initial letter of each service). The markers are also color-coded to show whether the listed event is happening today, tomorrow or this week.

Explore the UK's Wildest Terrain

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Honda are promoting their CR-V compact SUV car in the UK using Google Maps Street View. In order to encourage potential customers that they could really use a SUV Honda has put together a wonderful collection of Street Views of the UK's wildest terrain.

Do More New allows users to enter a postcode and then shows a beautiful Street View of somewhere nearby that they can visit. Users can choose from a number of terrains, including mountains, snow, forest and urban.

Overlaid on top of the displayed Street View are the current weather conditions and the option to view places to stay overnight.

Hat-tip: Street View Funny

Arriving in Côte d'Azur

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In Never say never again, Bond travels to the south of France in pursuit of Largo and his yacht. He arrives with British Caledonian airways to the tones of Sophie Della's ''Une chanson d'amour'' and the camera pans over Monaco and port Hercule to show Bond's arrival to the Riviera (followed by the stupid and badly written 'Felix Leiter scene' at the airport). In the next scene we see Bond's plane land at the airport in Nice Côte d'Azur. That makes this view contradictory since Bond's plane would not fly over Monaco coming from London. But perhaps director Kershner wanted to picture a classic, beautiful view over the Riviera and Monte Carlo is a convenient site and definitively well recognizable. Monaco has changed a little since 1983 but almost all the buildings on the 'front row' are still recognizable. The biggest change of course being the expanded pier, a construction that took place in 2001 in order to accommodate lager cruise ships. 
Not much more needs to be said about this fabulous location. Monte Carlo is definitively one of the most beautiful Bond locations in the world and a personal favorite of mine...

Sophie Della's song of love is the perfect soundtrack for flying into Nice. It is truly a remarkable approach when you're flying alongside the coast and finally lands, with this music in your ipod.

Happy landings! 

Property of a lady - Sotheby's auctions

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When agent 009 turns up dead in East Germany with a fake Fabergé egg i his hand, Bond is called in to track down the murderer. The real egg is being auctioned at Sotheby's that afternoon and Bond is keeping an eye out for the seller at the auction, trying to find some leads. After a bidding race against Kamal Kahn, Bond bumps up the price to £500.000 and forces Kamal to buy. The action, and brilliant music by John Barry continues outside of Sotheby's. The auction house is suitably located at New Bond street, no. 34-35. 
Since this is England, you can rest assured that not much has been changed since the film was shot here almost 30 years ago. The main thing different of course being that the entrance has moved to the center of the building, with two big windows on either side. 'The Bond street kiosk' where 007 picks up a magazine has also disappeared. Most likely that was put up for the film, but a magazine shop with the same name can be found at the Bond Street underground station just a few minutes away.

Being a fashionable shopping street ever since the 18th century, Bond street is evidently one of the most expensive strips of real estate in the world. 



"-425', new bidder!               --Have you gone mad?-Let's see how badly he wants it..."Bond gives a signal to Smithers who tails Kamal to Heathrow in a London taxi. In the background the Polo Ralph Lauren shop is visible. You can still find the shop in the same building today, surrounded by other luxury shops along the street. Kamal is driven to Heathrow in a Mercedes Benz 600 Pullman, the car of choice for a true villain. Even though Kamal rides in the Pullman version, the Mercedes Benz 600 has been used by Blofeld in both Diamonds are forever and On Her Majesty's secret service.
Just below Sotheby's, to the left on Bond street, you can find Conduit street. This was the location where the famous Bond tailors Anthony Sinclair and Cyril Caslte, who made the suits for Sean Connery and Sir Roger respectively, had their shops. When walking down on Bond street, you should turn left in to Burlington gardens and take a walk down Burlington Arcade where you can find the vintage Rolex store at 'The Vintage Watch Company'. They have an unparalleled collection of vintage Rolex watches if you want to do some window shopping for a 1962 James Bond Rolex Submariner. 
"-You could have been stuck with it!-I doubt it, he had to buy..."-Bond and Fanning-

James Bond's 50th anniversary - S:t Cyrils monestary

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"S:t Cyrils. Where we used to hide from the Germans..." Today we celebrate "Global James Bond day" - October 5 2012 marks 50 years since Dr No premiered on the big screen in 1962!

Celebrating the Golden Jubilee, we look at one of the most beautiful Bond locations in the world, namely the monasteries of Metéora, just above the town of Kalambaka in the Greek mainland.In For your eyes only, Bond turn to his friend Columbo in order to find Kristatos who has disappeared with the A.T.A.C. transmitter. Columbo takes Bond to the Greek mainland and an ''abandoned'' monastery called S:t Cyrils, where Columbo and Kristatos used to hide out while fighting the Germans during the war. Kristatos is awaiting General Gogol, head of the KGB, in order to sell the British transmitter to the Russians. Bond has to rely on a few of Columbo's men and Melina's crossbow to infiltrate Kristatos' lair and get it back before it is too late.While Bond has to climb up the right side of the cliff, which is away from the buildings, Columbo and his crew waits for Bond to send down a basket with an electronic winch. In reality there is a small cable car that connects the monastery with the adjacent cliff and steps cut into the rock on the left hand side.

"Only Kristatos would make an abandoned monastery his personal retreat."
                                              -Columbo-
The small shed with the basket and the electronic winch (later recreated in Pinewood Studios) 

Kristatos' is in fact hiding in 'The Monastery of the Holy Trinity', built in 1475. It is given the name "S:t Cyrils" in the film and lies on the very top of the cliffs, still inhabited by monks today. The monasteries are today a tourist attraction and there is a nice mountain road that takes you all the way from Kalambaka and around the different sites. The high cliffs standing alone in the landscape, combined with the surrounding mountains creates a stunning scenery and it is a good idea to park the car and walk around. The monasteries are sometimes open to the public and 'The Holy Trinity' is also possible to visit. You should check the opening days in advance if you only have one day on location. 
The filming of the scenes in Metéora were filled with problems since the monks did not like the presence of the film team and the commotion. Apparently they didn't know that Sir Roger was the saint... They tried to sabotage the filming by putting up big pieces of plastic and bed sheets on the roofs. The people down in Kalambaka understood the value of the filming taking place on location and at one point they were prepared to drive away the monks to help the film team, fortunately it never came to that! The film crew used the adjacent cliff and created a replica of the monastery where the exterior scenes were filmed. The rest of the monastery was recreated in Pinewood studios by production designer Peter Lamont and his crew.
The cliff to the right was used for the exterior shots. The big rock in the middle can be seen in the film.
*Metéora consists of six monasteries, all built on natural sandstone rock pillars and it is one of the largest and most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Greece, all built between the 14th and mid 16th century.* Wikipedia
The pictures do not do this magnificent location justice. It needs to be seen in real life, before you can fully understand the greatness of the landscape. It is definitively worth a visit and can easily be combined with a week or two in Corfu. From the town of Kalambaka you have a nice view of the surrounding mountains and it is a good idea to spend some time here and have a nice dinner or lunch. Driving to the west coast, and the Corfu ferry terminal, takes about two hours and you can either go via the new highway or drive through the amazing mountain roads (which takes approx. an extra hour).
View over "S:t Cyrils" from a restaurant in Kalambaka


"-We should have brought more of my people.                         -James is counting on surprise. -But we are only five men.                         -And one woman..."         Happy 50th Anniversary to James Bond and congratulations to Sir Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Sir Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig for 50 magnificent years! ...and 50 more to come!

Long may they live.

28 Kasım 2012 Çarşamba

Arriving in Côte d'Azur

To contact us Click HERE







In Never say never again, Bond travels to the south of France in pursuit of Largo and his yacht. He arrives with British Caledonian airways to the tones of Sophie Della's ''Une chanson d'amour'' and the camera pans over Monaco and port Hercule to show Bond's arrival to the Riviera (followed by the stupid and badly written 'Felix Leiter scene' at the airport). In the next scene we see Bond's plane land at the airport in Nice Côte d'Azur. That makes this view contradictory since Bond's plane would not fly over Monaco coming from London. But perhaps director Kershner wanted to picture a classic, beautiful view over the Riviera and Monte Carlo is a convenient site and definitively well recognizable. Monaco has changed a little since 1983 but almost all the buildings on the 'front row' are still recognizable. The biggest change of course being the expanded pier, a construction that took place in 2001 in order to accommodate lager cruise ships. 
Not much more needs to be said about this fabulous location. Monte Carlo is definitively one of the most beautiful Bond locations in the world and a personal favorite of mine...

Sophie Della's song of love is the perfect soundtrack for flying into Nice. It is truly a remarkable approach when you're flying alongside the coast and finally lands, with this music in your ipod.

Happy landings! 

Property of a lady - Sotheby's auctions

To contact us Click HERE

When agent 009 turns up dead in East Germany with a fake Fabergé egg i his hand, Bond is called in to track down the murderer. The real egg is being auctioned at Sotheby's that afternoon and Bond is keeping an eye out for the seller at the auction, trying to find some leads. After a bidding race against Kamal Kahn, Bond bumps up the price to £500.000 and forces Kamal to buy. The action, and brilliant music by John Barry continues outside of Sotheby's. The auction house is suitably located at New Bond street, no. 34-35. 
Since this is England, you can rest assured that not much has been changed since the film was shot here almost 30 years ago. The main thing different of course being that the entrance has moved to the center of the building, with two big windows on either side. 'The Bond street kiosk' where 007 picks up a magazine has also disappeared. Most likely that was put up for the film, but a magazine shop with the same name can be found at the Bond Street underground station just a few minutes away.

Being a fashionable shopping street ever since the 18th century, Bond street is evidently one of the most expensive strips of real estate in the world. 



"-425', new bidder!               --Have you gone mad?-Let's see how badly he wants it..."Bond gives a signal to Smithers who tails Kamal to Heathrow in a London taxi. In the background the Polo Ralph Lauren shop is visible. You can still find the shop in the same building today, surrounded by other luxury shops along the street. Kamal is driven to Heathrow in a Mercedes Benz 600 Pullman, the car of choice for a true villain. Even though Kamal rides in the Pullman version, the Mercedes Benz 600 has been used by Blofeld in both Diamonds are forever and On Her Majesty's secret service.
Just below Sotheby's, to the left on Bond street, you can find Conduit street. This was the location where the famous Bond tailors Anthony Sinclair and Cyril Caslte, who made the suits for Sean Connery and Sir Roger respectively, had their shops. When walking down on Bond street, you should turn left in to Burlington gardens and take a walk down Burlington Arcade where you can find the vintage Rolex store at 'The Vintage Watch Company'. They have an unparalleled collection of vintage Rolex watches if you want to do some window shopping for a 1962 James Bond Rolex Submariner. 
"-You could have been stuck with it!-I doubt it, he had to buy..."-Bond and Fanning-

James Bond's 50th anniversary - S:t Cyrils monestary

To contact us Click HERE
"S:t Cyrils. Where we used to hide from the Germans..." Today we celebrate "Global James Bond day" - October 5 2012 marks 50 years since Dr No premiered on the big screen in 1962!

Celebrating the Golden Jubilee, we look at one of the most beautiful Bond locations in the world, namely the monasteries of Metéora, just above the town of Kalambaka in the Greek mainland.In For your eyes only, Bond turn to his friend Columbo in order to find Kristatos who has disappeared with the A.T.A.C. transmitter. Columbo takes Bond to the Greek mainland and an ''abandoned'' monastery called S:t Cyrils, where Columbo and Kristatos used to hide out while fighting the Germans during the war. Kristatos is awaiting General Gogol, head of the KGB, in order to sell the British transmitter to the Russians. Bond has to rely on a few of Columbo's men and Melina's crossbow to infiltrate Kristatos' lair and get it back before it is too late.While Bond has to climb up the right side of the cliff, which is away from the buildings, Columbo and his crew waits for Bond to send down a basket with an electronic winch. In reality there is a small cable car that connects the monastery with the adjacent cliff and steps cut into the rock on the left hand side.

"Only Kristatos would make an abandoned monastery his personal retreat."
                                              -Columbo-
The small shed with the basket and the electronic winch (later recreated in Pinewood Studios) 

Kristatos' is in fact hiding in 'The Monastery of the Holy Trinity', built in 1475. It is given the name "S:t Cyrils" in the film and lies on the very top of the cliffs, still inhabited by monks today. The monasteries are today a tourist attraction and there is a nice mountain road that takes you all the way from Kalambaka and around the different sites. The high cliffs standing alone in the landscape, combined with the surrounding mountains creates a stunning scenery and it is a good idea to park the car and walk around. The monasteries are sometimes open to the public and 'The Holy Trinity' is also possible to visit. You should check the opening days in advance if you only have one day on location. 
The filming of the scenes in Metéora were filled with problems since the monks did not like the presence of the film team and the commotion. Apparently they didn't know that Sir Roger was the saint... They tried to sabotage the filming by putting up big pieces of plastic and bed sheets on the roofs. The people down in Kalambaka understood the value of the filming taking place on location and at one point they were prepared to drive away the monks to help the film team, fortunately it never came to that! The film crew used the adjacent cliff and created a replica of the monastery where the exterior scenes were filmed. The rest of the monastery was recreated in Pinewood studios by production designer Peter Lamont and his crew.
The cliff to the right was used for the exterior shots. The big rock in the middle can be seen in the film.
*Metéora consists of six monasteries, all built on natural sandstone rock pillars and it is one of the largest and most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Greece, all built between the 14th and mid 16th century.* Wikipedia
The pictures do not do this magnificent location justice. It needs to be seen in real life, before you can fully understand the greatness of the landscape. It is definitively worth a visit and can easily be combined with a week or two in Corfu. From the town of Kalambaka you have a nice view of the surrounding mountains and it is a good idea to spend some time here and have a nice dinner or lunch. Driving to the west coast, and the Corfu ferry terminal, takes about two hours and you can either go via the new highway or drive through the amazing mountain roads (which takes approx. an extra hour).
View over "S:t Cyrils" from a restaurant in Kalambaka


"-We should have brought more of my people.                         -James is counting on surprise. -But we are only five men.                         -And one woman..."         Happy 50th Anniversary to James Bond and congratulations to Sir Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Sir Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig for 50 magnificent years! ...and 50 more to come!

Long may they live.