Maps: Geocoding and Geocaching

I went thru the steps to get the coordinates to Hooks Airport and look it up on Google Maps. The coordinates are N30°3.69432, W095°32.98992. While I could get a street view. I couldn't get it to go to satellite. Well it finally went to a wide view satellite, but would never go close up. It kept saying it didn't have images at this level of zoom. I also tried the library, after about 10 minutes, it came up with a satellite view and I could zoom in.

Now for the geocache...
I chose one near the library, in the Huffman Community Cemetery. The coordinates are
N 30° 00.300 W 095° 04.817
The url is http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=69bb53a1-cd5d-4d99-9629-6c0468f7c273

This has turned into a very popular sport/hobby. It is a way to have fun outside, on your own or with a group of people. As with any outdoor/hiking sport, you need to take precautions about critters, heat, not going on private land without permission, etc. There are websites and books on the subject to help you be prepared.

Maps: Relocating with Online Maps

The different apartment websites don't seem to list all apartments in an area. I'm not sure what the requirement are to be listed, but the information is limited. Doing a search on Crosby doesn't find any, but there is one behind the library. Doing another for Fort Smith, AR, finds 1 or 2, yet there are many complexes there. So, I'm not real impressed with the apartment websites. Would be better to just look thru yellow pages.

Looking thru the home location sites: HAR is of course for Houston, though it does have access to surrounding counties, the Urban Living seems to be rather exclusive and also Houston, the Google Maps has a number of listings. I liked Google the best. It has listings across the US, with pictures and you can choose satellite image to see the surrounding area. I kept looking for rural sites and I could tell if there were trees, etc. Also, when you are logged in, it will keep sites for you.

The Walk Score was fun. You could see what is in an area and get an idea of how far things are. But again, it doesn't list everything. I was looking on a site for Granbury, TX that lists a lot of shopping stores, but when I input the address on Walk Score, it doesn't find and of the shopping listed. So it may give you an idea of things, it still has its limits.

So as with anything, it pays to look in more than one place for information.

Maps: Current Events

I'm having fun with the different maps. The Google Maps Mashups have a lot of fun stuff along with the more useful stuff. The Find a WiFi Cafes and Hotspots didn't have us listed, but I was able to add the library in easily. The Global Incident Map is interesting and besideds showing terrorists, it also shows Amber Alerts.

Several of the mashups would be useful. If someone was looking for a hostel in the world, Youth Hostels would be the answer. Or looking for a mailbox, post office or UPS drop off, the MailboxMap would supply the information.


For kids wanting state maps, with and without capitals, or rivers or several other options, National Atlas has a great page with printable maps.

The EarthNow Landsat Image Viewer is interesting, but I do enjoy the sites that let you get closer images.

How to Make Book Earrings - wikiHow

A real cute idea from iGoogle. Will try them sometime.

How to Make Book Earrings - wikiHow