Traveling at home...

I love Google Earth.

This is one of the coolest applications on the web. I can sit in my chair and go anywhere I want. I can spend as much or as little time as I want. I don't have to worry about taxis or bus fare. I can even put little push pins on places I really like, so I can go back anytime.

A couple of days ago, I discovered Street View on Google maps. This is even cooler. I'd heard of Street View a long time ago, and there were something like 3 or 5 beta locations. I never could find one though, and I forgot about it. Then last week I was looking at something and zoomed in a little too close. wow. I've been exploring ever since.

I went to the Keys and wandered up and down Duval Street in Key West. I went out to LA and went sightseeing - Mann's Chinese Theater was pretty cool. I went to Bourbon Street in the French Quarter (looks about the same as it always did). One day I'll take my family and see these places for real, but for now...

Then I went and explored my own neighborhood. I see that my wife was not home when they took the pictures on our street. My neighbor had his windows open. The guy down the street hadn't mowed his yard in a while. I can't imagine what would be all that interesting about my neighborhood, but there it is in all its glory.

We still can't teleport like they did on Star Trek and we don't have the Jetsons' conveniences. But the technology on the web is amazing and it's growing all the time. I still can't zoom in as close as I want with Google Earth. Google Maps Street View only works for looking at stuff from the street. I can't use it to stand at the edge of the ocean or to hang out on the banks of a river. And there are places that aren't included - I couldn't find any place in Hawaii that would let me get down to street level. I'll keep checking though.