Pratibha Patil - India's 1st Woman President

Pratibha Patil was sworn in on July 25th, 2007 as India's first woman President succeeding Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Pratibha Patil now moves into Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi - Official residence of President of India.

Here's a Google Maps View of Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

News Helicopters Collide in Phoenix, Arizona killing 4

Couple of News Helicopters covering a Police Chase in Phoenix, AZ collided in mid-air and then crashing into the ground at Steele Indian Park located in Phoneix, AZ. Quoting CNN

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor told The Associated Press that the agency is reviewing air traffic control tapes to see if the helicopters' pilots were communicating before the crash.

"Typically air traffic controllers clear helicopters into an area where they can cover a chase like this," Gregor told AP. "Once they are in the area, the pilots themselves are responsible for keeping themselves separated from other aircraft."

Google Maps view of the crash site.

Burj Dubai becomes the world's tallest building

Burj Dubai becomes the world's tallest building (on July 21st, 2007) at 512.1 metres (1,680.1 feet) overtaking Tapei 101.

Google Maps View of Burj Dubai.

Blast at Mojave Air and Space port kills 2

CNN is reporting that a blast at Mojave Air and Space Port killed 2 people. This occurred during a test of a new rocket motor for SpaceShipTwo -- a spaceship being built for Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's space tourism company. (more at CNN)

Google Maps View of Mojave Air and Space Port

Singing Competitions from India - Mapped!

There are couple of Singing Completions taking place on Indian Television. Both are extremely popular with world wide following.

SA RE GA MA PA Challenge 2007 - The auditions for this show was held all over the world. The show narrowed down to 14 finalists (1 from Houston, TX, 3 from Pakistan, 10 from India). Here's a Google Maps View of the Contestants (includes YouTube video clips).

Indian Idol 3 - The format here is the same as American IDOL. Check out the Google Maps View of Indian IDOL 3 Contestants.

Note: In both of these Google Maps Mashups, a Information Window opens up for a random marker on initial page load. Click on the participant image at the top of the page for information window to open up for that particular participant.

On this day in 2005 - Mumbai, India is paralyzed with 37.2 inches of rain

Mumbai, India recieved 37.2 inches of rain in a 24 hour period on July 26th, 2005. This was followed by another 22.6 inches of rain the next day. Most places don't even get this much rain in a year. Human tragedy as a result - (233 from drowning, 120 from landslide, 24 from stampede, 126 from suffocation in cars after water levels rose rapidly preventing escape, 12 from electrocution) (more at wikpedia)
Google Maps view of Mumbai the city I grew up in.


Video of Mumbai Flood releif 2005

On this day - Air France Concorde Flight 4590 crashes near Paris, France

On July 25th, 2000 an Air France Concorde flight en-route to New York from Paris, France crashed outside Paris killing all passengers on board and 4 on the ground. (more at wikipedia)

Google Maps View of the crash site.

Geodesic Polylines on Google Maps

What is Geodesic? Quoting Google Maps API Blog

A geodesic line is the shortest route between two points on the surface of the earth, and often resembles the path that airplanes take to get you to your destination in the most efficient manner.

Google Maps API has been updated so you can now create Geodesic Polyline. I decided to give it a try by adding the optional parameter {geodesic:true} as follows:
new GPolyline(points,"#ff0000", 3, 1,{geodesic:true});

Example: (My aboutme page)


Example: Andrew Speaker's Risky Trip

Corporate Logos seen on Google Maps

Here are couple of Corporate Logos visible on Google Maps

Coca Cola Logo on a mountainside in Chile (via Google Earth Blog)


Toyota Sales office in Torrance California:


Ford Logo, Dearborn, MI (via Google Earth Blog)

Visitors trapped for hours inside St. Louis Arch

CNN is reporting that because of an apparent power outage, approx. 200 people were trapped in St. Louis Arch for hours. Power went out at about 8.45 pm on July 21st, 2007. Power was finally restored after 2 hours. (more at CNN)

Google Maps Satellite view of St. Louis Arch:

Google Earth now has NASA Layer

Google LatLong Blog reports the addition of NASA Layer in Google Earth. The NASA Layer has 3 components 1)Astronaut Photography of Earth 2)Satellite Imagery 3)Earth City Lights.

Here are some of the stunning images I found on Google Earth (with NASA Layer selected - which can be found under Featured Content)

Astronaut Photography Layer:
Spring thaw, Straights of Mackinac, Michigan (The top image was taken on March 22nd when the Mackinac Straights were still frozen and the bottom image on April 9th, 2005 when they began to thaw)


Satellite Imagery Layer:
Gangotri Glacier Retreat, India (Maybe Al Gore is right on Global Warming)


Earth City Lights Layer:
A look at the Urbanization Patterns - Upper Midwest, USA and Ontario, Canada (Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Toronto)

Apollo 11 lands on Moon - July 20th 1969

On July 20th 1969 Apollo 11 landed on the Moon making Neil Armstrong and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin the first humans to land on the Moon. (more at wikipedia)

Here's Google Maps view of Moon with landing sites of Apollo 11 and other Apollo missions marked.

Google Maps Street View of Manhattan Transformer Explosion location

Here's a Google Maps Street View of Manhattan Transformer Explosion Location. (news at CNN)

This view is from Grand Central Station looking towards Lexington Avenue and 41st Street.

Brazilian Airliner crash in Sao Paulo kills 200

BBC is reporting that upto 200 people have been killed after a passenger plane, a TAM Airlines Airbus A320 crashed and burst into flames at Congonhas International Airport, as it landed in wet weather, shot over a busy road and hit a fuel depot. (more at BBC)

Google Maps View of Congonhas International Airport.

100 Great American Towns - Mapped

Here's a Google Maps View of 100 Great American Towns as mentioned in CNN Money. This Google Maps View also has the latest news for each of the 100 Towns via Google News RSS Feeds.

Yes!! the town I live in "Plymouth Township, Michigan" makes it to the top 50!!.

Apollo 11 launches on July 16th, 1969

Apollo 11 the 1st manned mission to moon was launched on this day in 1969 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida (Launch Pad LC 39A). (Google Maps View of the Launch Location).

More at Wikipedia.

Here's video of the launch:

New York City Blackout on this day in 1977

New York City Blackout of 1977 lasted for almost 25 hours. It started at 8.37PM on July 13 and it was not until 10.39PM on July 14th that the entire New York City had the power restored. The Blackout was caused by couple of lightening strikes (more at wikipedia)

New 7 Wonders of the World - Mapped

Here's a Google Maps View (along with video from YouTube) of the new 7 wonders of the world which was announced in Lisbon, Portugal on July 7, 2007.

Illegal Fishing Caught - Thanks to Google Earth

Some fishermen in Spain's Canary Islands are illegally bottom-trawling beaches for fish. How was this discovered? It was seen on Google Earth and reported. (more at OGLE EARTH).

Here's a Google Maps view of the Illegal Act!!

Mapping Google Voice Search via 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411)

You are on the road and you need to find a Pizza Place, how do you go about doing it. Here's what I tried.

1. From my mobile I placed a free call to Google Voice Search (1-800-466-411).
2. It asked me city and state to search in. It recognized my Indian Accent "Plymouth, Michigan".
3. Next it asked me the category and I replied "Pizza".
4. Google Voice Search then started reading off from 1 thru (I think 10) names of Pizza Places in Plymouth, MI.
5. I selected #2 which was Domino's Pizza.
6. Next Google Voice Search asks whether I would like to be connected to Domino's Pizza or have Google Voice Search send me a Text Message with a map link.
7. I replied "Text Message".
8. Within a fraction of a second I get a text message on my mobile with this link: http://m.google.com/u/AuXsUc
9. When you click on it here is what you get (shown on the right). Neat!!
(via SearchEngineLand)

Google Mapping your Gas Cost

Want to know how much money you would spend on gas for that Summer Road Trip you are planning? Then check out this cool Mashup which will not only calculates the Gas Cost (based on current Gasoline prices) but also provides you with driving directions. (via GoogleMapsMania)

Here's an example which shows the approximate commute cost from Detroit,MI to Ann Arbor, MI.