BBC Reporters from around the World Mashed up

BBC's DOT.LIFE blog is reporting that one of BBC's own - Stuart Pinfold has developed a Google Maps Mashup of BBC Reporters from around the World. So if you want to know which BBC Reporter is covering New Delhi, India or Washington D.C or any other capital cities from around the world then check out Stuart Pinfold's Google Maps Mashup.

10 Fascinating Googlers

Fortune has come out with a list of 10 fascinating Googlers. Quoting Fortune:

meet the people who help make the Googleplex such a colorful place to work.

I have created a Google Maps View/Mashup of these folks (why? don't know). The map zooms in on Googleplex, Mountain View, California. I then place these fascinating Googlers, randomly on some folks walking around the campus.

No Address required on Google Maps

Google LatLong Blog is reporting that

Now you can type in any location where you want to go -- whether it's a specific street address, a business name like Fuzzy Buddy's Dog Daycare, or even something more general like "florist" -- and we'll help you get directions. We'll even automatically try to find the closest results for you.

Say for example Couple of Googlers are working late into the night coding away at Googleplex in Mountain View, California. After couple of hours they are craving for Deep Dish Pizza. Now they don't have to look up the address of the pizza location to get the directions. All they have to do is type in "1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy to deep dish pizza" in the Search Maps Box. Here's what the results look like: (you are provided with options from which you can choose to get directions)

50th Anniversary of Lego Brick

Today is the 50th Anniversary of Lego Brick. Visitors to Google.com today (01/28/2008) would be greeted by this Google Logo:
I googled, trying to find out if there are any Lego Sightings out there on Google Maps. I found this image of a "Giant Dead Lego Cowboy" which is off the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia (BTW it’s just an inflatable waterplay feature) (via GoogleSightSeeing)

BMW flies off the runway and kills 5 of its occupants

Associated Press is reporting that

Five young men were speeding down a runway when their BMW car ran off an embankment and was airborne for 200 feet before smashing into a tree early morning today. All five men were pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators did not know whether the BMW was alone or was racing another car on the air strip at the exclusive "fly-in" community of Jumbolair Aviation Estates, where pilot-actor John Travolta has a home, officials said.

Google Maps Satellite View of Airstrip at Jumbolair Aviation Estates

Fire at Monte Carlo Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, NV

Fire breaks out at the top floors of Monte Carlo Hotel and Resorts located at 3770 Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV. CNN is reporting:

The blaze was reported about 11 a.m.

Black smoke and flames poured from the fire, which roared through the building's exterior stucco and foam until firefighters were able to get on the roof and knock down the flames.

Most of the damage was to the top floor of the building. Falling debris ignited parts of an exterior ledge four floors below.

According to last reports:

The fire was contained in the west wing and almost contained in the south wing, according to the fire department.

Google Maps Street View of Monte Carlo

"Vision" Maps Mania comes to maps.google.com

Once upon a time there was twittervision and then there was flickrvision and then there was wikipediavision and then there was ukpropertyvision (spanish version) and then there was betisvision and now get ready for:

Google Maps Vision bought to you by those amazing folks at maps.google.com - a real-time view into a sampling of the user edits taking place across the globe. (via)

Congratulations to India on its 59th Republic Day

Indian celebrates its 59th Republic Day on January 26th. On January 26th, 1950 the Constitution of India came into force, and India declared itself as a "Republic".

Every year a grand parade is held in the capital, New Delhi, from the Raisina Hill near the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's Palace), along the Rajpath, past India Gate and on to the historic Red Fort. The different regiments of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force march past in all their finery and official decorations. The President of India who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces, takes the salute. The parade also includes vibrant displays and floats and traditionally ends with a fly past by Indian Air Force jets. (via wikipedia)

Google Maps Satellite View of Rajpath, New Delhi

Google does it again - #1 Company to Work for in 2008

Google, for the 2nd year in a row has been ranked "The Top Company to Work for". Fortune is out with its list of 100 Best Companies to Work for in 2008. Check out the Google Maps View of which other companies joined Google in the "The Top 100".
Fortune's 100 Best Companies to work for in 2008

25 Top-Paying Companies

Heath Ledger Dead at 28

Heath Ledger who was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as a gay cowboy in the 2005 film "Brokeback Mountain," was found dead yesterday in a Manhattan apartment located at 421 Broome Street in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. Police are reportedly investigating if the Australian actor died of an overdose of prescription pills. (more at CNN).

Google Maps Street View of Heath Ledger's Apartment located at 421 Broome Street, NY.

January 21st - The Most Depressing Day of the Year?

So are you depressed today? I am depressed today because the outside temperature right now in the Detroit Metro area is (8 F and it feels like -3 F). It's not going to be fun looking at the heat bill this month.

The most Popular News Story at TIME.COM today is "The Most Depressing Day of the Year". This news story led me to create a Google Maps Mashup of "Ranking Mental Health in America". My source for this Mashup is "Mental Health America". Utah seems to be most depressed and South Dakota the happiest.

Back to the TIME Story:
Quote from the Time News Story:

There's a lot to feel down about this month: the subprime mortgage crisis, stormy, unpredictable weather, rising gas prices, presidential primary free-for-alls. So, it would be easy to believe the theory set forth by Dr. Cliff Arnall, a researcher from Cardiff University, that the third Monday of the month (Jan. 21, this year) — a day he calls Blue Monday — will be our most depressing day of the year. Arnall bases his yearly prediction on a formula he developed, which factors in the weather, consumer debt from holiday spending and failed New Year's resolutions and arrives at that conclusion that we'll hit rock bottom on Monday the 21st.

It should also be pointed out that many in the academic community don't agree with Arnall's theory.

Nebraska Twins get perfect ACT Scores

CNN is reporting that Twin Brothers Brian and Ross DeVol who are seniors at Bellevue East High School, Bellevue, Nebraska (Google Maps View) - both scored 36 on ACT. Ross DeVol scored 36 on his 3rd try.

CNN further adds

The brothers are both good in physics and are considering the University of Nebraska or Creighton University in Omaha as their college choices, but they haven't yet decided.

Ross DeVol said he wants to become a doctor or a psychiatrist. Brian DeVol has said he wants to become an actuary.

Congratulations to Brian and Ross.

Related:
Average ACT Test Scores in United States
Top High Schools in United States
100 Best Values in Public Colleges in United States

British Airways Flight BA 038 crash lands at Heathrow

British Airways Flight BA038 a Boeing 777 from Beijing, China to London,UK crash lands at Heathrow Airport (01/17/2008).

This Google Maps view of Heathrow Airport shows the touch down location and the location where the aircraft finally stopped.

Quoting BBC:

All 136 passengers and 16 crew escaped from the British Airways flight BA038 from Beijing. Eighteen people have been taken to hospital with minor injuries.

An airport worker told the BBC the Boeing 777 pilot, named later as Peter Burkill, 43, said he had lost all power and had to glide the plane in to land.

Key Locations of Popular TV Shows Mapped!

Google LatLong Blog has published a list of Google Fan Maps of popular TV Shows. These Maps show Key Locations from the Popular TV Shows. The List includes:

• Lost Fan Map: It includes all the places mentioned on the show Lost, such as where Sawyer grew up, the flight path of Oceanic 815, and the locations of the Hanso Foundation offices
• Amazing Race 12: Great map of the current season
• Sopranos: Locations that appear on the show
• American Idol Geography: Hometowns of past winners
• American Idol Season 7 Auditions: Locations of the auditions for the new season
• The Faces of Grey's Anatomy: Hometowns of the cast
• One Tree Hill Locations: Notable places in the Cape Fear region that have appeared on the show
  
• Veronica Mars filming locations: Parts of Southern California where Veronica Mars was taped

Locate Me feature comes to IPhone

Yesterday, I upgraded my IPhone to version 1.1.3. And with the upgrade a cool new feature was added to my IPhone. "Locate Me" has now been added to IPhone. It uses information from nearby wifi base stations and cell phone towers to pinpoint your location on Google Maps.

Here's an example - The image on the left (before I clicked the "Locate Me" Eye Icon) is a cool Google Maps Satellite View of Northwest Jet approaching Detroit Metro Airport. Now I click the "Locate Me" Eye Icon in the lower left hand corner of IPHONE and I get a Google Maps Satellite View of my current location (Plymouth, MI - shown in the image on the right) which is almost close to accurate (Just off by couple houses).

For more IPhone 1.1.3 features check out Gear Live.

100 Best Values in Public Colleges - Mapped!

Kiplinger.com has come out with a list of 100 Best Values in Public Colleges. Click here for a Google Maps View of the 100 Best Values in Public Colleges. This Google Maps Mashup sorts the list by In State Rank, Out of State Rank, 4 year Graduation Rates, 6 year Graduation Rates, In State Cost, Out of State Cost.

For a look at the methodology used in coming with the rankings click here.

Google Maps closing in on Mapquest

Hitwise Blog is reporting that Google Maps is closing in on Mapquest. The Blog states

US visits to Maps websites is up 10% year on year and MapQuest is still the leader, receiving more than half of all US visits to Maps websites last week. However, Google Maps is gaining fast.

This was surprise to me as all along I was under the impression that Google Maps is the number 1 mapping site. What is there in Mapquest that people still like? I bet it is "habit" from pre Google Map Days.

Google Maps though will soon become the #1 map site as can be seen in the graph below:

(A year ago, MapQuest had more than five times (429%) more US visits than Google Maps. Last week, that gap was down to 126%. Google Maps is the #2 Maps website and attracted 22% of visits to Maps websites. Yahoo! Maps and MSN's Local Live stand 3rd and 4th.) (via)

Embarassing Night for Pundits and Pollsters

The Pundits and Pollsters had predicted a easy victory for Barack Obama in New Hampshire and almost written off Hillary Clinton. They were wrong "BIG TIME". Now Hillary Clinton is the "Comeback Kid", the name New Hampshire gave her husband 16 years ago. What happened? According to Dick Morris, Fox News Contributor

"She pretended to cry, the women felt sorry for her and they went for her". "She showed a capacity to take a punch that was extraordinary," Morris said. "I have never seen a comeback like this in my entire political life. … And I gotta say that this means, I think, that she’s going to win" the Democratic nomination.

Here's a Google Maps View of New Hampshire Primary Results by county (via).

Kenyan Election Violence - Google Maps Mashup

Violence erupted in Kenya after incumbent Mwai Kibaki was declared winner of the country's presidential elections that took place on December 27, 2007. Supporters of the opposition partywent on a rampage in several parts of the country which resulted in numerous deaths.

There are folks out there who are attempting to chronicle the violence through Google Maps Mashups. I have found couple of them. If you happen to come across more do let me know.

WhiteAfrican.com (via boingboing)
KenyanPeople.com
News Map (click on Kenya)

Barack Obama - Front Runner in the White House Race

Last Night was a huge night for Barack Obama. He beat out Hillary Clinton and John Edwards in the IOWA Caucuses. Barack Obama has now a real shot at this.

I checked out Wikipedia to trace Barack Obama's journey from his birth place (Honolulu, Hawaii) to possibly the White House. I translated my findings from Wikipedia into Google Maps Mashup which maps out Barack Obama's journey.

Related: 2008 US Presidential Candidates - Google Maps Mashup

Google Mapping Businesses that are open

Whatsopen.com has created a Google Maps Mashup of Businesses that are open. Its a Local Search + Hours of operation.

Let's say you are searching for coffee shops in a certain area, this mashup not only lists the coffee shop but also lets you know what coffee shops are currently open.

Here's a image showing my search of "Tandoori Chicken" near Mountain View, California. I searched at around 11.30 EST. Looks like all but one of the restaurants serving "Tandoori Chicken" have called it a day (indicated by red markers). This Mashup is still in Beta and currently works for California only. (via LifeHacker)

Happy New Year

Happy and Prosperous New Year to all. Mother Nature helped us welcome the New Year by dumping 8-10 inches of snow in the Metro Detroit Area.

Sure this looks pretty but its no fun shoveling the white stuff. I do have a snow blower but it does not like this much snow so I had to shovel. (Whatever happened to Global Warming!!)