Maps #34: Geocoding and Geocaching

1. The geocache I decided to look for is called "Thanks a Million" which I think is closest to where I live. It appears to be in the George Bush Park. Here are the coordiantes: N 29° 44.550 W 095° 43.494

2. Here is the url for the geocache: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=5d485d63-9fdb-4b3c-8674-9e64ebeb5bf0

3. I think going on a search for a geocache would be lots of fun but I don't want to do it in the summer heat. Perhaps I could try to find this geocache when it is cooler this fall. Two summers ago my husband took my 14 year old cousin out on their bikes to look for a geocache. It was really too hot for them to go out into the woods on a treasure hunt. They came back very hot, tired & sweaty. Some of the other dangers besides the heat might be insects, snakes, and wild animals.

Maps #33: Relocating with Online Maps

Activity #1: I looked for an apartment that my daughter could possibly move into. I know she would like the Rice Village area and she eventually would like to have a dog. I was able to limit my search on Apartments.com to that area, one bedroom, a/c, washer & dryer, internet connection, and small dogs within a certain price range. I found a couple that looked good and I was able to save them to my favorites. I prefer the regular map to the satellite or hybrid. I'm just used to them and can visualize my route better. Next step: pack her bags!

Activity#2: Since we are moving after we retire, we already have a new location in mind. I tried Discover Our Town.com first but the list of cities didn't include Marble Falls. The closest I could get was Austin. So I tried WalkScore.com. When I put in our street address it didn't work, but when I just entered "Marble Falls" it came up with a really nice map with cute little icons indicating restaurants, schools, shopping, pharmacies, and the library. On the left hand side is a column that lists the businesses and how far they are from the center of town. If it had been able to locate our house, I guess the distances would have been from our house. Anyway, I was able to get an idea of the local businesses in the neighborhood where we'll be moving.

Map #32 Current Events

My girlfriend who lives in Detroit and I are always trying to find a place to meet. In Activity #1 I used Messoman - Meet in the Middle to find the midpoint between Detroit and Austin. Much to my surprise and delight, it is just north of the Arkansas/Illionis border, close to Carbondale, Illinois, where my cousins live. So I must get busy and plan a trip. I tried to insert the map here, but I couldn't do it.


Activity #2 I looked at the Global Incident Map and found that there is an Anthrax threat in Austin. To learn more you have to log in. I tried to create an account and found out it would cost $99. So that was the extent of my learning about the antrhax threat. Here is the map of all the global threats:


http://globalincidentmap.com/map.php