HanKFranK
User
Reged:
Posts: 1841
Loc: Graniteville, SC
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if you haven't taken a look yet, go to www.earth.google.com
takes a modest sized download and you can use the limited service for free.
google has added a new dimension to the web search engine, this one geographic. as i've had it explained, the digital imagery is being streamed via a new torrent-type format that helps it load lightning fast. i'm still working on how to use the features.. spent a lot of time just wowed by how much imagery could be accessed. found old houses i've lived in, found the pyramids at giza, found a little german town i used to live in, the coliseum in rome, ground zero in nyc... they've even got 3-d models of the buildings in nyc so you can view the skyline. if they start rendering the terrain on elevation models and get the meter-resolution type hi-res for more of the country.. well, i'll never stop looking at it.
this is a hell of a technological breakthrough.
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Clark
Meteorologist
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Posts: 1710
Loc:
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Try checking the terrain check box and go over to the Grand Canyon, then turn the elevation angle down almost to level with the ground. The way the terrain features look is pretty cool. Even the slight rises here in Tallahassee are noticeable, with the Capitol Bldg. on the highest hill in downtown -- as it actually is here.
They've got the buildings for about 30 cities in total; Denver is another, as is Atlanta. It's got a few mileage checking features in it -- I use that myself to mark the distance between two points on a hill and then hover over both of them to see the difference in terrain, as I like to bike up a lot of hills here in town. There are a few that are up over 10%...one in particular that's 13% or so for 1/4 mile -- that's steep. There's a lot more to it...try going to Washington DC and go into the feature box at the lower left and have it show rail/transit lines -- your own free map of the metro system. The restaurant listing is huge in this, better than I've seen with even the for-pay programs. It's even got some high-res photos of places in other nations...Bermuda looks nice, as does Sydney.
All in all, well worth the time and download. I've been using it for a couple of months now on my laptop...easily can kill two hours with that thing.
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Current Tropical Model Output Plots
(or view them on the main page for any active Atlantic storms!)
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Big Red Machine
Storm Tracker
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Posts: 223
Loc: Polk City, FL
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Truly is one of the most amazing pieces of technology ever. I've loved messing with it. (and the add ons are great too).
Also easy to calculate bird's eye distance w.
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dem05
User
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Posts: 368
Loc: Port Charlotte, FL
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How do they do this for free? Amazing!
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Hootowl
Weather Hobbyist
Reged:
Posts: 77
Loc: New Port Richey, Fl
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Ohhhhhhhh I love it! This will be fun. Just had a few minutes to mess with it - but I think I could spend hours!
Thank you so much. 
Have you ever played with Terraserver? Not as neat as google - but it's fun to "see" places you have been.
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/
Dotty
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Jax Chris
Weather Watcher
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Posts: 28
Loc: Jacksonville Beach, FL
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In a similar vein, try pointing your browser to http://moon.google.com/. For proof of a certain theory, try zooming in all the way...
Jax Chris
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native
Weather Guru
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Posts: 148
Loc: SE Florida
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Unbelievable! I literally went right into my backyard! Amazing, absolutely amazing. I know what I'm doing with my down time! Thanks!
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Ed in Va
Weather Master
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Posts: 489
Loc:
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I could only get a fuzzy pic...what am I doing wrong?
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Survived Carol and Edna '54 in Maine. Guess this kind of dates me!
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Ed in Va
Weather Master
Reged:
Posts: 489
Loc:
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Did another search, which was much better.
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Survived Carol and Edna '54 in Maine. Guess this kind of dates me!
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Random Chaos
Weather Analyst
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Posts: 1024
Loc: Maryland
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Yeah, it's fun. Been using it since the day it came out.
Now on another note, have you tried Google Moon?
http://moon.google.com
Make sure you zoom all the way in! I realize JAX said the above, but now comes an even better twist!
If you're interested in off-planet employment (and a great joke), click on "More about Google Moon" and then "Lunar Hosting and Research Center" in the text. Make sure you read everything there! 
Edited by Random Chaos (Wed Aug 24 2005 01:08 AM)
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bobbutts
Weather Hobbyist
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Posts: 71
Loc: New Hampshire
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I wrote a little program last night that grabs the latest vortex data message and plots the point in google earth. It's a netlink so it should update within 10 minutes or so anytime http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/MIAREPNT2.shtml changes. Data before today is incomplete, but it *should* pickup all the messages from here on out.
http://bobbutts.mine.nu/vortex/netlink.kml
Also anyone who doesn't have it should check out this:
http://www.paulseabury.com/tropModels.kmz
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