i added a ‘visitor map’ link (bottom right side of the page). click it, and you’ll see a map of where visitors to this site came from. click on any pushpin to see the city and time of visit. pretty neat, eh? took like 2 seconds to add it.
the web 2.0 is starting - where sites provide open services for other sites to build on top of. google maps (and most google services) are great about providing open APIs that others can hook into. housingmaps is a great marriage of craigslist real estate ads with google maps. or how about the looreview, which has toilet reviews by location…but only in buffalo, NY for now =(. what genius! i wrote a while back about flickrgraph, which is also cool as shit.
Update: Top 10 Google Maps implementations
tomorrow we’ll be whitewater rafting the class iii-iv Hudson River Gorge for oli’s bachelor party weekend. should be fun!
oli is one of my best friends that i’ve known since about the 2nd grade. he’s getting married in 2 wks in malta, 2 days before performing a show there (thingstocome.com). i so woulda been there, except they planned it pretty recently and of course, i’ll be on my way to BM.
so i was totally psyched about volunteering to be a black rock ranger this year. went to the all day training in brooklyn and everything. but they ask for a minimum of four 8-hour shifts…which at first i was willing to do, but now i’m not so sure. technically, since it’s all volunteer, i don’t *have* to do all those shifts. that’s actually just the requirement to get a discount ticket for next year. but i’d feel bad about starting and not fulfilling it…i mean, they even give you a special ranger shirt and hat.
i’m hesitant because now that i think about it, 4 shifts is like half of my waking time there. and we got a big group (11) this year, and i want to spend quality time with all of them. and most importantly, i don’t intend to be *sober* (a rangering requirement) for that much of my waking time there.
anyways, i’ll sorta leave it up to them. after training we were supposed to be added to the ‘ranger all-com’ email list so sign up for shifts. i haven’t heard anything from them, and the big show is just a few weeks away. if i don’t hear from them, i may just let it go…
burning man 2005: the gold spike is in
From the building brc blog, 8/3/05:
Today was a momentous occasion, folks. This morning, the first stake was pounded into the playa. This is the Golden Spike (represented, in this case, by a normal stake painted yellow), and it marks the absolute center of the city. From that point, all the streets can be mapped, signs posted, lampposts raised, and structures built.
the man burns in 29 days.
so Bush continues to be a dickhead. if you haven’t read, he installed John Bolton as US ambassador to the UN while Congress was on recess, bypassing their approval (until at least 1/07). Bolton’s another right-wing conservative ass that i’m sure will continue to alienate the US from the rest of the world. he’s Cheney’s protege, a long-time critic of the UN, and supporter of US unilateralism and the war in Iraq. perfect.
and how about that boy scout jamboree from hell? it was held in VA during a severe weather alert. first, a volunteer has a heart attack and drops dead. then, 4 Scout leaders were electrocuted and burned - right in front of the Scouts - when a tent pole touched a power line. then 300 Scouts got sick and passed out from heat exhaustion waiting to hear Pres Bush speak, and he ends up cancelling on them (he also cancelled his 2nd appearance). and separately in the same week, a lightning strike kills a troop leader and leaves a Scout brain dead.
