While you may still be playing around with the latest feature on GE 4.2, there’s a hidden feature that you may not yet know about. It hasn’t been publicized by Google yet, but it’s way cool.
By pressing CTRL+Alt+A in GE 4.2 you’ll be able to load and run a flight simulator around the world.
It takes some getting used to – seriously. I found the easiest way for me was to use my mouse, but they also offer keyboard shortcuts for all your typical commands.
It’s a very cool new way to see the world.
Marco has more info on his blog.
Category: techno
So you want to merge all those waypoints/geocaches?
If you’re like me – you hate typing in all those coordinates for geocaches into your handheld GPS unit. It’s such a bother, which is why we decided to purchase the Magellan Explorist 500. Simply hook up your unit to your computer with the USB cable, run the conversion software and presto, all your geocaches are stored to your unit.
But the next problem I came across was the fact that Geocaching.com only gives you 20 caches per page on their website.
So if you search for caches within 25 miles of zip code 75165, there are 320 caches, but only 20 per page. And unless you’re a premium member, that means you’re going to have to download page of 20 caches individually and then upload the files to your GPS unit one by one.
You can download Easy GPS Companion, which does a fair job of combining the files into one .loc file. But occasionally it makes an error and your files get corrupted. Continue reading So you want to merge all those waypoints/geocaches?
Geocaching Wednesday
Well, Wednesday used to be date night for Laurie and I, but with the new semester starting, we’ve moved it to Friday night now.
And so Monday and Wednesday night’s I’m pretty much on my own from 6:30 to 9:30.
I went out and bought a kickstand and water cage for my bike after dinner and installed them both fairly easily.
Afterwards I found a new geocaching trick I’ll share in the next post.
I grabbed some new coordinates and headed out for an evening hunt and ride.
As far as workouts go – it was good.
As far as geocaching goes – I’d give it an C.
My first cache was located at the Oncor (TXU) facility down the road from us. I rode by the first time to scope it out and then pulled into the parking lot to check my coordinates. Luckily I had my bike and water container with me because shortly after stopping a security guard came around the corner to find out what was going on.
I just played everything off and said I was taking a break from my bike ride and checking my route distance on my GPS unit. So much for that cache.
The next cache was located at SAGU. I made a trip around the dorm it was located by and students kept coming in and out and in and out. I figured I’d better wait till next time when the campus is less busy – would have had a lot more luck three weeks ago before class started.
My third and final cache was at a nearby alternative school. Being almost 9 p.m. it was getting dark and as I rode around the campus I figured my chances of finding the cache in the dark were probably a lot less than being stopped by a local police officer or school security.
So I wrapped my hunt up and headed back home.
Now it’s time to get a shower and head to bed.
Wait! I almost forgot – our latest cache is now published, so search, hunt and find. Enjoy!
More ways to listen to OrangeNoiseRadio and Live365
If you don’t like being tied to your computer all the time to listen to OrangeNoiseRadio, there are a number of products out now that will enable you to listen to True Music :: OrangeNoiseRadio from anywhere in your home. You can look at each of the items below or at the Casa de Blundell.com store on the right hand side of the page.
Tonight
a. My Life is gone to class – starting Micro-Biology tonight
b. After dinner I’ve had the house to myself and The Dog
c. Uploaded the encounter podcasts
d. Repaired and returned our geocache to it’s original location – what once was lost is now found
e. Hid another geocache in the Waxahachie area (it’s not posted yet but you can look for it at: N 32°23.228 W 096°51.176)
f. Took The Dog to play in the park
g. Came home and updated the geocache website while The Dog fell sound asleep under our bed
Journalist blogging
Teaching Journalism has an interesting comparison on journalists who blog.
They compare:
- Bridget Gutierrez, who writes the blog Get Schooled for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Gutierrez covers K-12 education for the newspaper. Previously, she covered K-12 education for the San Antonio (Texas) Express-News
- Jamie Gumbrecht, who writes the blog It’s All About for the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader. Gumbrecht covers entertainment, media, performing arts, online trends and youth for the newspaper.
It’s a good write-up for journalists and bloggers. I’ve always been a fan of using blogging to extend the newsroom, extend thoughts from the story and to live-blog events that may not translate as well into print. Some of the most fun I had while writing for the paper and blogging was live-blogging city council workshops and budget hearings. There’s a lot of information that gets passed along that can’t always fit into a news story — it also makes for a fun read on the blog. If the money was there it would be fun to start doing that again on my own… hmmmm.