Google Maps
This a free map service provided by Google. They are gradually adding cities from around the world.
A new feature is the Personalised Map Service. You can log in and create maps with your favourite landmarks or places or friends’ houses, etc. Or you can create interesting map projects like Maps of all cities that have hosted the Olympic Games. Then when you click on the city you can ask for directions to another location of from another location.
There are map projects shared on how to see Japan in 28 days, monster sightings of the world, etc. Five AA could create one that shows all the station’s advertisers so that listeners could easily find out how to get to businesses they hear on the radio.
The views are a map view (just like a street directory), a satellite view (just like a photo from space), or a hybrid view where the map is superimposed over the satellite image.
There is one quirk with the service though – when you type in instructions to go from one place to another, it is a challenge dealing with bodies of water.
For example, from Adelaide to Kingscote, it directs you down to Cape Jervis and then onto the ferry.
But if you type in New York to London. The directions go something like this: Here’s an example of the directions:
1. Head southeast on Chambers St toward Broadway 0.2 mi 1 min
6. Turn right onto the
ramp 0.4 mi 1 min
7. Merge onto FDR Dr N 7.7 mi 12 mins
11. Take exit 47 to merge onto Bruckner Expy/I-278 E toward New Haven 1.9 mi 2 mins.
23. Turn right at Long Wharf 0.1 mi
24. Swim across the Atlantic Ocean 3,462 mi 29 days 0 hours
(An alternative site that I like is whereis.com.au)
How to Pick Your Nose Inconspicuously
A recent poll alleges that a majority of us admit to picking our noses in public. Although not socially accepted, nose picking can, at times, be necessary. When something in your nose needs help finding its way out, you can be ready to respond by following one of these basic stealth techniques for public nasal manicuring.
The Thumb-Finger Method (Super Advanced)
Position the index finger of the opposite-side hand alongside the exterior of the obstructed channel.
Nonchalantly slip the thumb as deep as necessary into the nostril.
Using the thumbnail, delicately clamp onto the dried mucous mass.
The Advanced Hand-Guard Method (A novice method)
Slightly cup the left hand and position it so that your forefinger is below your right eye and your thumb is below your left eye. The palm will be hiding the nostrils from onlookers who will be convinced that you are rubbing your cheeks as one does when trying to ease the symptoms of a headache, or of weariness, (simutaneously closing one’s eyes makes the tactic even more effective).
In a natural, confident motion bring the right hand up and under the left hand. Use the right index finger to probe, acquire and extract the residual material. After returning the right hand to a secure location execute a flicking maneuver to eject the material.
The Fake Cough
Fake a cough slightly while bringing your hand up to your mouth (as if to cover the cough).
Raise your index finger up to the nostril that’s bothering you.
Tips
– If you think your activity has been detected, immediately suspend mining operations and begin to scratch your nose. This will usually convince even the nosiest (no pun intended) observer that you were merely dealing with an itch, which is not forbidden.
– Always carry a small item in your pocket that you can drop at just the necessary picking moment.
Warnings
– Never perform a visual examination on whatever it is you have extracted from your nose! This is most amateurish and is one of the most common ways of getting caught.
– Post-operative protocol requires immediate and thorough hand-washing.
The Art of Watermelon Carving
While to most of us watermelons may be just a delicious fruit, to one creative man they serve a higher, more aesthetic purpose. Welcome to the fruit carving website of Takashi Itoh, a talented Japanese artist who makes impressive sculptures out of, you guessed it, watermelons.
Browse through the site’s gallery of watermelon sculptures and you will find elaborate sculptures Mr. Itoh has done of flowers, landscapes, festivals, ships and more intricate subjects. Many of the sculptures were done in honor of celebrations such as weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries, while others have a more personal tone reflective of the artist.
With the craze of Dancing with the Stars, just look at the waltzing couple on the first page of the site – breathtakingly beautiful
They take between 20 and 90 minutes using a small scalpel
Bush Yoga
President George W. Bush has been called many things during the six years he has occupied the Oval Office, but yoga master surely isn’t one of them. This quirky website features an action-figure version of Dubya that demonstrates traditional Yoga asanas, despite being dressed in his memorable “Mission Accomplished” flight suit.
There’s also a bunch of clips of George W in full flight with his wonderful gift of the gaffe.
But also, check out the cleverly re-edited State Of The Union address in which you hear George W state:
“Every year, by law and by custom, we meet here to threaten the world”
As a new program to defend America, “every child in America will be given three nuclear missiles”.
And the big ending “Trusting in the restraint and sanity of the United States is not a strategy – and it is not an option.”
How your cursor works
Remember the screensaver from a year back that had the little kitten inside your computer. Well here’s another quirky one.
The mystery is finally resolved. How does the small arrow on your computer monitor work when we move the mouse?
Haven’t you ever wondered how it works?
Now, through the miracle of high technology, we can see how it is done. With the aid of a screen magnifying lens, the mechanism becomes apparent.
Click on the link below and you will find out. The image may take a minute or two to download and when it appears, slowly move your mouse over the light gray circle and you will see how the magic works.