Google LatLong: Where in the world is ...

The Google LatLong blog sometimes has fun little exercises for finding interesting places in the world. In the latest version of Google LatLong: Where in the world is ... I think I was able to come up with the first ten but not the bonus question.

In order:
1) Los Angeles
2) Las Vegas
3) San Francisco (Coit Tower)
4) San Sebastian
5) Pittsburgh
6) Ottowa
7) Helsinki
8) Auckland
9) Cincinnati
10) Girona (Near barcelona)

Anybody have any idea on number 11?

Spring Cleaning!

Hey you crazy kids. I have a bunch of draft posts that I've been 'meaning to get around to' for awhile. Since it's now spring I'm going to clean up:

• Hearst Castle Virtual Tour: Go to Cambria! Eat at Robin's or the Sea Chest or one of a billion wonderful places! Say hi to my mom!



• Mini Models of Cities: Oh my cuteness. When are they doing version 2.0 with Legos?



• Google Maps Street Traffic: Not just for freeways anymore



• Milky Way Transit Authority: Next map: the entire universe



• Metrolink is on Google Transit: Why the MTA can't just take the plunge is beyond me. Also, Steve Hymon got laid off. He and I actually emailed back and forth a few times last year. He was really nice. That sucks.



• Interactive map of Downtown LA by Cartifact: Seriously, can I work for you guys?

March Madness!

March means several things: my birthday, the coming of Spring, Persian New Year, and not insignificantly the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The great thing about the tournament is that 65 of the 300 some-odd teams are eligible to vie for the National Championship. The field of 65 consists of well known schools with rich basketball tradition (UCLA!) but also a host of schools which most people have never heard of.

Well, the good people at the Google LatLong Blog have done us the service of mapping out not only all the schools but also the sites where games are being played. Pretty cool.


View Larger Map

Oh yeah, Go Bruins!

Interesting Expo Line Phase II Article

View Larger Map

For anyone interested in transportation in LA (or Southern California), I highly recommend the Los Angeles Transportation Blog. It has daily links to all kinds of interesting stories. For instance, today I read a piece by Frank Gruber about the Exposition Light Rail Line phase II development. Phase I is currently under construction, slated to go between downtown LA and downtown Culver City. Phase II is still under review, with many potential routes being discussed. Basically it's supposed to go from downtown Culver City to the south side of Santa Monica (3rd Street/Santa Monica Place ish).

Frank's article deals with the question of whether the end line should go down Olympic or Colorado Blvd. The community is nearly unanimous for Colorado but there are practical implications to consider as well. Frank also spends a great deal of time talking about potential sites for a maintenance yard and some of the other players involved (cities of LA and Santa Monica, Santa Monica College, and Verizon to name a few). Of course, I also had to make a map to orient myself.

Los Angeles has a New Downtown!

Los Angeles has a bit of an identity crises. As development and demographics change neighborhood boundaries change too. There is not central authority, indeed this lack of authority helps keep LA vibrant. Not being a city resident per se, imagine my chagrin at this post in curbed LA about Google Maps recognizing a New Downtown!

I really liked Militant Angeleno's post (although discussions/arguments pop up on a LOT of other blogs which I don't have time to link to). What is also kind of interesting is that the LA Times is also trying to tackle the subject.

But even cooler, imo, is this map of LA from Ork Posters (which is also hanging, er, leaning, in AKOY's apartment).