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Well... Here's some fun. My original post showed the harvested domain did a 302 Found redirection to 66.96.215.226. That rinky-dink NET-66-96-215-215-1 block hasn't changed since 2001-06-29. Taking the address of the owner and dropping it into Mapquest, and .. voila! Just down the road from Clearwater. (Doesn't prove anything. Florida is loaded with spammers and scammers of all types.)

I'm not aware of any mapping sites where you can type in "675 S Sixth, 95112" and get a proper result. Mapquest, for example, requires you to separate the address from the zipcode. In addition, Mapquest gives back two results, just like Google.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searchtype=ad dress&country=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=home&addr ess=675+S+Sixth&city=&state=&zipcode=+95112

Yep, there's a scale. Seems credibly accurale.

With all this and Google Earth too, I still wonder why my brother uses MapQuest. I guess some people like legacy systems.*

*I notice they both use "@media print" so they only print what matters, not all the ad and search-box crap. Sweeeet.

Here's a tracking map of Hurricane Dennis, courtesy of the good folks over at Weather Underground.

Looks fairly safe (since Cape Canaveral is off the east coast of Florida), but I'm sure the boys over at NASA don't want to take any chances...

Why not?

I want to see Los Angeles maps of the action in James Ellroy's novels, and a national map of the worst, funniest tourist traps across the U.S.

It's not like the article author didn't ask for it!

I don't care how well-documented the API happens to be, or whether it's a hack, it's an app, or it's a map. This is not Fark, you are not Admiral Ackbar, and we are not going here!

You're probably right -- my estimating is a bit off, because in my mind I was thinking 20 minutes from my home, which is in Conrad Weiser's district, but closer to KU.

Anyway -- Mapquest says 36 minutes, which would be a little shorter if you took backroads to get on 222 instead of going through Sinking Spring/Wyomissing.

Finally you can take Park Rd before you get into the traffic jam right there before 222 intersects with 73, hop back onto 222 at/after 73 (I suggest Schaffer Rd) -- saving yourself yet another 5 minutes or more.

Give it a try!

1. Go to http://www.mapquest.com./
2. Type in Greenwich, CT.
3. See a map of the town!

- or -

Stop by any gas station in the area and ask for a map.

Rest assured terrorists won't ever think to do this. Why? Well, we all know without any help from GIS data, they just drool on themselves all day long. Only GIS data makes them smarter than the average snail.

Here's where you're failing with respect to Google Scholar: Your crufty old interface(s).

Really. Just as Google Maps has superceded Mapquest, pretty much entirely due to their superior interface, Google Scholar is going to make WoS irrelevant as a literature search tool. All they have to do is implement a slick citation navigation system(tree-based or some such, for which the technology already exists, check out the TouchGraph applet) and it's done.

Currently each different database is better for a different use, but that wont last, so don't kid yourself. Modernize your interface or become irrelevant.

The reason Google is distorted is because the satellite image matches with the road maps. The satellite isn't nearly as far north as it would need to be to properly take the images it has. It is closer to the horizon so it gives a distorted looking image. Google most likely distorts the maps on purpose.

If you drive far enough up Yonge St, you can always see Aurora. :) If you pick your location carefully, you can get a sky that's fairly dark without going all the way to Algonquin park.

Because he made a link ;) Learn well young padawan, slashdot mods are easily willed by shiny links all over the damn place.

I have needed legal advice and have gone through two court cases (one in big civil court and one in small claims civil court). I retained a lawyer for $300.00, took the people to court, and wound up owing my lawyer $14,000.00 since the big claim guy was a sole proprietorship and had no money. Therefore, I am PAINFULLY aware of just what could occur. Which is why I suggest sending the letter.

But the sending of a letter is only the beginning. There is a lot of work you have to do such as finding out whether or not the company even is a corporation or sole proprietorship. If it is a corporation, then it is likely that they will have insurance (since $500,000.00 insurance can be had for less than $500.00 a year in some places).

One of the great things though is that you don't have to actually sue the company. Instead - go see the FBI. GASP! THE FBI????! Yeppers. The company is selling your software without your permission across state lines. That makes it a federal offense.

Or you can contact the local police where the company resides. You can do this in two ways: 1)Use the long distance operator (1-800-555-1212), 2)Look them up via MapQuest.

To use the long distance operator you will have to know the city, state, and zip. (So you will probably wind up using MapQuest anyway.) Call up the operator and ask for the District Attorney's office (or sheriff's office) for that area. Lodge a complaint against them or find out how to lodge a complaint. File the necessary paperwork. Have fun. :-)

Use small claims court. Most localities allow for up to $5,000.00 in small claims court. If the company has a 1-800 number (or 1-877) you can file against the company in your area and have the case heard where you are located. (BUT IT DOES HAVE TO HAVE A NATION WIDE PHONE NUMBER! Otherwise you have to go there.) Anyway, you should be able to file against the company and if they don't show up - you win. You can then place a lien against the company and no one will give them money until that lien is taken care of. :-) Cost of small claims court? Usually somewhere around $100.00 and about an hour of your time. How many times can you take them to court over this? Well! The NEW copyright laws seem to favor multiple zaps to a company. (Or to put that another way - for each occurance or infraction.)

Again, I would consult with a lawyer - but if you also do some research of your own you can probably handle things in small claims court and save yourself a lot of money.

Now, for the "What about China" et al? Simple. Contact your local Congressman/Senator and present them with a letter. Explain how your GPL'd code is being stolen by this company in country X and ask if they can contact the representative from that country. Be nice and polite to the Senator/Congressman and they will do what they can. No promises but every now and then miracles can happen. Just remember that this will put you squarely on the side of the MPAA, RIAA, and any other company who has had to do this to some small time person who either sold their products out right or who stole their code and used it in another program.

In fact, that is the question you are going to have to deal with. Because when you fight for your code you are doing the same thing those people we all love to hate are doing. :-/

1. Think of an address or intersection - e.g. your house, or a landmark you've visited.
2. Start here (a fully zoomed-out view of the US)
3. Try to get to a fully zoomed-in view of the location you thought of in as few clicks as possible, just using the zoom control and the map itself. I.e. don't go back and type the location into the search field ;)

I used the service with a Palm Tungsten T3 through a Nokia 6310i via Cingular.

Short version:
Works great. Wish I had it years ago.
The maps need to be larger to be useful on a 320x400 screen.
The layout of the page could be optimized a bit. The Google logo at the top pushes data too far down. Google should either shrink the logo or relocate it.

Long version:
I've been looking for a service like this for a long time. I tried Avantgo for a while but it was cumbersome, and of limited use if you needed to find info on the fly. MapQuest allows you to download maps and directions using Avantgo but it doesn't work as well as Google Local.

I've alread mentioned my main criticisms of Google Local. It gives a map but seems targeted at 160x160 screens. (understandably) A larger map option would be nice as the maps are a little small to be genuinely useful IMO. You can zoom in/out and scroll around via buttons. Not as smooth as the regular Google Maps but perfectly adequate for on the road. Driving directions are always available and work great. Once you've located what you are looking for you simply select driving directions and enter your From: address. Simple and logical and it works pretty much exactly as you expect it to.

Speed of the service is fine. I have a GPRS connection (not EDGE) which isn't speedy but download speeds were satisfactory. If you have a Treo or a Tungsten type device (like me) you should have no trouble finding regular uses for the service.

First in the industry?

As recently as 2 years ago, Mapquest had satellite images for most of the US. I could type in the addresses of all my friends from college and my parents' and get pictures of their homes. The resolution wasn't great, and different zoom features may have been from different satellite passes, but it was a very entertaining and educational service. (The highest resolution pass of my home showed nothing but cleared dirt but the third highest showed completed structures.)

Once I was trying to give someone directions to the Cheesecake Factory in Austin's Arboretum, the map services were not very informative, and the restaraunt is actually kind of hidden from most of the parking lot. The map services could get a car to the complex, but it's a decent sized place to direct a coworker. So I got the satellite image, printed it on the color laser printer and pointed out the building we'd meet at. Worked great.

It was, of course, licensed from a third party and I have no doubt the licence didn't pay for itself in Mapquests's grand plans.

On the other hand, Mapquest's satellite photos weren't very good at plotting some of the area around Saratoga Springs, NY, and northern Vermont was missing. Google's new service seems to have those fixed, from a quick look around.

I've had a Treo 600 for a year and half, and have built a library of PDA friendly sites. Most of the big sites offer an alternative view through either a mobile. prefix on the domain or a /pda suffix to the main site.
Here are my most used sites from my phone:
http://www.mapquest.com/pda/maps.adp
http://wap.espn.com/
http://wap.oa.yahoo.com/
http://mobile.wunderground.com/

Don't forget Poland :)

Very funny but no, as a matter of fact he didn't forget Poland, because you see, Poland is in Europe. In case you didn't notice, Poland is one of the most important forces in Europe fighting against software patents in the European Union. Poland is not only a very important state in EU but is also in the very center of Europe. You might take a look at the map sometimes. Good luck.

The Mozilla web page editor. I don't actually write web pages using it, but I do like to hit Ctrl-E every now and then to show coworkers the underlying table structure of a page. It's just a handy visual tool. Especially when I'm doing webdev.

The sidebars. I don't know about you, but I love custom sidebars. I have one for MapQuest, one for IMDb and one for Lorem Ipsum.

Edit->Preferences. The only reason Options is under Tools in Firefox is because it's trying to mimic IE. :)

Mozilla Tools:

Translate Page

Cookie Manager

Image Manager

Popup Manager

Form Manager

Password Manager

Download Manager

The File dialog. I'm sure the new open/save file dialog is easier for easily confused users, but I like having all the file managing options ready when the dialog first opens.

I guess you could call Mozilla the programmer's web browser. Feature rich and not ashamed of it.

I'm sure that the people of Woden would think that it was cool that you named a planet after them (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&a ddress=&city=Woden&state=IA)

I already got an image of the internet! Here!

But it's already better than mapquest, which has really gone downhill since Microsoft bought them out.

A quick search for "Microsoft Buys Mapquest" brings up the #1 Hit: America Online Buys Mapquest.
And Mapquest has an About America Online section! I don't think MS owns them.

Microsoft has MapPoint which I've been using for years now because it's been better than Mapquest. I read the slashdot headline and thought "Huh, sounds like MapPoint". After reading the slashdot article the one thing I'll point out is that mappoint doesn't use Java! And it too is fast. Resizing / moving the map typically doesn't involve a page refresh. It's just good HTML.

May be Google should buy and integrate "HopStop". HopStop is used for New York area (is now offline for some reason).

Well, if you do not find the right icon to click under nr 1, it follows that you can not proceed with nr 2 and nr 3, doesn't it?
Try here and see if that helps, then go on with 2 & 3

Try living at Edwards Air Force Base for two years.

The nearest book store is a forty-minute drive away in Palmdale, CA.

You'd use it

This poster is clearly off his meds. Apart from the erratic, almost ingenious spelling, poster has taken a new leap in the tinfoil hat category, and fashioned one that will fit over the whole nation--or at least the FoxNews headquarters in New York.

If this paranoid theory might make sense today, I think we may remember at time (back when Kyoto was being drafted) when the whole world didn't actually hate the US. In fact, some people have suggested that Kyoto, and the failure of the US to sign the same, was the turining point in US-everyone relations. Now, it's possible that Kyoto was actually a worldwide conspiracy (at the highest levels) to make America look bad. An international set-up, if you will. But I think it's a lot more likely (as other have noted) that if the US faced tougher restrictions than other countries it was becuase the US was producing the most pollution.

The new regulations would increase the barriers to entry for the fossel fuel industries, which would drive down competition, which would allow them to reap more profits

I hate to break it to you, but the oil industry is a small cartel with complete control over a (very valuable) fixed resource. Any (rational) new producer that enters the market will continue the same pricing, because their supply is finite, and the demand (in the long run) is infinite. If you think that competition will ever happen in the oil industry, well, that's almost as crazy as thinking that anyone's ever heard of Brookland AR

As for this:
Ironically, countries like US today tend to be moving away from an industrial production based economey that uses heavy environmental resources to an information based service one that tends to be more efficient. Kyoto would do allot to help dying industrial rellics lock in high prices to live a little longer, but nothing to promote such a service based economy or the environment.

This point begs several questions. First, if the US' economy is so efficient, why is it also among the worst polluters? Second, when the whole world transitions to an "information based services economy," who will be maufacturing the computers, power-plants, and fancy deskchairs we will need to provide these services? Who will be growing all of the beans and chickens that we need to fill our burritos? Who, for god's sake, is going to build the video cameras that capture our porn? Industry is not going away, and if we want the world (as we know it) to survive, the rich countries of the world need to take steps to find a way to do it without destroying the environment. That will take work, and it will take money, but it is not impossible.

The fact of the matter is that the US didn't sign Kyoto because the administration is bent-over, cheeks spread wide, for big-business, and it doesn't want it any other way.

Typical ignorant American. I've been to Denmark, and it's in Maine.

Of course Americans have heard of Denmark. It's in Wisconsin!

mapquest here

[I just got this in my email]

Planetary Society Event:
Get Ready for a New Moon Landing!

Huygens Arrives at Titan, sponsored by The Planetary Society

Date: Thursday, January 13, 2005

Time: 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Description: Join The Planetary Society the night before Huygens' historic plunge into Titan's atmosphere for a look at that mission as well as a Voyager retrospective, a lively discussion of Saturn's place in the popular imagination, a Cassini overview and a live update from Huygens mission control in Germany.

Speakers:
* former JPL Director Ed Stone
* actor Robert Picardo, Star Trek Voyager [i.e. "The Doctor" from Voyager]
* Bill Nye the Science Guy
* Huygens engineer Shaun Standley
* Cassini Deputy Project Scientist Linda Spilker
* Planetary Society President Wes Huntress
* and more

Location: Pasadena Hilton, 150 S Los Robles, Pasadena, CA

Tickets: $10 for Students, $12 for Planetary Society Members and members of the Skeptics Society, and $15 General Admission. Tickets can be obtained at 626-793-5100, planetary.org/exploringtitan.html, or at the door.

Map of three 2004 hurricanes intersecting

Map of Homeland and Ft. Meade, Florida. Man, somebody sure has a sense of humor. Perhaps the NRO people wanted to make the NSA guys eyes bug out. I believe somebody snickered over this, even if I cannot prove it.

Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques

ENMOD gives a state nuclear power without all the lingering radiation. Note all the media comparisons of hurricane and tsunami power to equivalent Hiroshimas. If there's going to be a new world order it must be policed by force. Right? Uncooperative nations get tsunamied. Cooperative nations get favorable weather for growing crops. Do I believe it? I suspect it. It doesn't make it true.

See this?

Map 1
Map 2

Or "Can you hear..." sorry, could't resist.
On a more serious side, I used to own a Samsung cell, but have since replaced it with a Morotolla. I have spoken to several different salespeople for cell phones because I cannot get reception on the new motorola phone inside building with lots of metal...such as grocery stores (lots of steel fixtures, not to mention canned goods)or the local marine equipment store. With the Samsung phone I had little to no problems at these locations.
BUT
There's always a but. I am told that my crapy reception phone has better sound quality on the other end than the phone I could talk on anywhere!
At lest the Motorola does not reach Canada from Port Clinton, Ohio. Nasty roaming.

Map 1

Map 2

-10 F is so hot, where i come from temperatures can drop below -40F in january and february. Ground and lakes are frozen from november to april and we get lots of snow. That what i call a real winter.

How to help (using your list):

• Provide medical advice:
  Email medical advice to volkerdi@slackware.com
• Drive him to the hospital:
  Drive him to the hospital if you live in the Fargo, North Dakota area; free plane tickets would be nice if he needs to travel for treatment.
• Send money to pay for his treatment?
  Call his cell to make arrangements: (925) 535-9062
• Develop a miracle drug to cure him: Treatments already exist. What he needs is an infectious disease MD to diagnos him and start treatment.
• Contribute time or money to Slackware Linux:
  Donate your time or your money as you see fit.

*average usable power* is approx 170W/m^2

If he means by this average usable power per day including darkness, then hes not far off. (1000 W/m^2 X 6 hours of peak sun)/24 hours per day = 250W/m^2 per 24 hours. BUT this is misleading, watts are peak POWER measurements not ENERGY. The energy stays the same in either case: 1000 W/m^2 X 6 hours = 6000Wh OR 250W/m^2 X 24 hours = 6000Wh. See?

In reality, the solar flux density (same as power density) varies between 250 and 2500 kilowatt hours per meter squared per year (kWh/m^2/year).

These numbers are right on, similar to what I've been showing you (1000 W/m^2 x 6hour peak/day x 365 day =2190 Wh/m^2/day). Except 250 is way too low(even Barrow, AK 375 miles north of the arctic circle gets 912 Wh/m^2/year, and 1314 with a tracker). Here a selection numbers right from the 30 year average weather history statistics for flat plate solar panels taking into consideration incident of insolation (first number is a fixed panel at an angle equal to degrees latitude of the city, second number is a panel on a tracker - numbers in Wh/m^2/year):

Tucson = 2372 (3285)
San Francisco = 1971 (2591)
Kansas City = 1788 (2409)
Seattle = 1350 (1788)
Denver = 1825 (2701)
Columbus = 1533 (1971)
Boston = 1679 (2153)
Buffalo = 1496 (1934)
Anchorage = 1095 (1460)

To get the annual energy produced per m^2 multiply by the PV panel efficiency. For example, at 17% efficiency in Denver 310 kWh/m^2/year on a fixed panel, 459 kWh/m^2/year on a tracking panel. Multiply this by the number of square meters of roof in the US, and you get 6.99E12 kWh/year for Denver fixed panels, and 1E13 kWh/year for Denver tracker (not all places are the same as Denver, but they aren't all that different either - its an example ;). See? Here we get 200%-300% more power than needed, like I said.

I'm sorry my friend but you sound like you have a SERIOUS agenda. (silicon with solar having a greater energy production per pound than nuclear fuel? Yeah right.

The quote (which is true, Lovins is very accurate with his numbers) is not meant to be more than it is: an interesting comparison between solar and the current and real state of nuclear power in the US (light water reactors are capable of using only a fraction of their fuel before they are spent). Of course breeders or other designs could produce 100-1000 times as much energy per pound, but they have their tradeoffs too (which is why we chose not to use them).

And of course, that doesn't even touch the fact that the major problem that we are facing is not going to be electricity shortage, but energy carrier shortage.

Exactly. Solar power is available everywhere (did you notice the deviation between the alaska and arizona is only 2-1?). Solar IS the ultamate distributed power source. If most of the power is generated locally, they carrier requirement of transmission is HUGELY reduced, and overall costs come way down.

Tell you what - would you agree to having the government both subsidize the development of solar technologies AND next generation nuclear ones, and see which one wins?

The problem is

And you're in luck if you go a bit south. Wahoo is the capital of Saunders County, Nebraska (and about 20 miles from where I grew up.) :) -- Paul

It is near an Indiana town called Michigan City...but not in the state of Michigan. Check it out. Here it is.

Didn't anyone read the article...even the submitter? Hello!

Here... this should get you started.... click on "Get driving directions..."... oh, and please send us some donuts!

Looks like they quietly got rid of it, which is a shame because it was really accurate.

According to the Washington Army National Guard website there is a base located at 24410 Military Road, Kent, WA 98032-4110. Here's a map to it on Mapquest.

Sunnycrest Elementary school is located at 24629 42nd Avenue S. Kent, WA 98032. Here's a map to it on Mapquest.

To illustrate my point on proximity here's the driving directions between the two addresses on Mapquest.

To further illustrate my point on proximity here's a link to the terraserver satellite image. The school is on the right (shaped sort of like an F), the base is on the left. There is a only a fence separating the two properties.

According to the Washington Army National Guard website there is a base located at 24410 Military Road, Kent, WA 98032-4110. Here's a map to it on Mapquest.

Sunnycrest Elementary school is located at 24629 42nd Avenue S. Kent, WA 98032. Here's a map to it on Mapquest.

To illustrate my point on proximity here's the driving directions between the two addresses on Mapquest.

To further illustrate my point on proximity here's a link to the terraserver satellite image. The school is on the right (shaped sort of like an F), the base is on the left. There is a only a fence separating the two properties.

According to the Washington Army National Guard website there is a base located at 24410 Military Road, Kent, WA 98032-4110. Here's a map to it on Mapquest.

Sunnycrest Elementary school is located at 24629 42nd Avenue S. Kent, WA 98032. Here's a map to it on Mapquest.

To illustrate my point on proximity here's the driving directions between the two addresses on Mapquest.

To further illustrate my point on proximity here's a link to the terraserver satellite image. The school is on the right (shaped sort of like an F), the base is on the left. There is a only a fence separating the two properties.

If there are Target stores in Canada I have not seen one and there are none listed on the web. Was it in Goose Bay or Happy Valley?

Bay Village (and the 440 Area Code) is way to the north, closer to Cleveland. It's actually on Lake Erie. I doubt that he commutes 2 hours to work in Colombus every day.

300 Below seems like a possible source. They're in Decatur, IL which is about 350 Miles from Columbus, OH. What's that? Six hours?

Trying to drive around Pittsburgh is interesting because the many rivers and valeys and abrupt hills make straight roads or grids improbable and expensive. The saying in the Burgh is "Sure, you can see it, but you can't get there from here." This means that printed maps aren't always the best way to get information as they tend to be confusing.

That's not a property of Pittsburgh, it's a property of American maps. I own a number of street maps of European cities, and some of American cities (but none of Pittsburgh). The only thing that makes the US maps even vaguely usable is the grid system, so you tend to not really need maps at all.

For an idea of the difference, compare the garbage produced by mapquest to the model of clarity produced by streetmap.co.uk.

Actually, there are two of them.

Neither one has Great Adventure, though...

USGS earthquake info for Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monument area (wide view)

USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory Mt St Helens seismic observations

Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network Mt St Helens home page (earthquake list)