Contando Estrelas: Chernobyl 25 Years Later
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine. Google Maps' satellite view gives us a great insight into the devastation of this once thriving area.
Italian website Contando Estrelas has written an informative article on the destruction of the area around the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, which it has illustrated with satellite views from Google Maps.
The article shows images of the power plant itself, the now ghost town of Pripyat (including a Ferris wheel that had been constructed for the May 1st celebrations), abandoned ships in a port to the north of Chernobyl and a graveyard of trucks, tanks, helicopters and other vehicles used after the explosion of 1986 (all of which had to be abandoned because of their exposure to high radiation levels).
The article is in Spanish.
Generate a Panorama
'Generate a Panorama' lets you click on a Google Map and see a representation of the view from that location.
For example, below is the generated view from the summit of Mont Blanc looking due west. As you can see all the peaks in your view are marked on the created panorama.
To generate your own view you just need to click on the map. You can drag a polyline to choose the direction you wish to view and you can also adjust the span of the view.
Also See
Hey What's That - The original and first Google Maps based panorama generator.
Mere Sverige
Mere Sverige (More Sweden) is a tourism promotion site for Sweden aimed at the Danish market. The site is therefore in Danish. More Sweden uses Google Maps to provide Danish visitors to Sweden with all the accommodation and sightseeing information that they will need.
The map includes some very nice features. In particular the numbered marker clustering solution is well thought out. Numbered markers show the number of points of information at a location. If you mouse-over the marker a small information window opens with preview thumbnails of the individual locations. If you click on the marker the map zooms in so that you can view the individual markers.
Markers on the map are divided into the categories of 'experiences, 'accommodation' and 'transport' and each of these categories is further subdivided. For example 'accommodation' contains sub-categories of hotels, B&B's etc.
Checkin Mania: Check-in Deals
Check-in Deals lets you find all the local businesses offering deals through Foursquare. All you have to do is type in your location and you can view all your nearby deals on a Google Map.
As well as being displayed on the map all the deals are listed in the map sidebar. You can filter the displayed deals by 'Newbie Special', 'Check-in Special', 'Mayor Special' etc. If you click on the sidebar listing the location of the selected venue is displayed on the map
The Royal Zombie Wedding
There is a Royal Wedding taking place this Friday in London.
As you can imagine the burning question on everyone's lips is:
Can the wedding survive a zombie attack?
Thanks to the makers of Class 3 Outbreak, the Google Maps zombie game, we can now simulate the effects of a zombie attack on Westminster Abbey during the royal wedding and discover the answer to this important question.
After extensive testing of the simulator I can attest that things don't bode well for William and Kate. By my reckoning the happy couple will enjoy about five minutes of married life before joining the leagues of the walking dead.
On a more happy note a zombie attack won't make much difference to the royal family. It has been rumoured that the Queen's husband Prince Philip has been zombified for the last twenty years with very little noticeable effect on his ability to perform his royal duties.
As a reward for their work on the The Royal Zombie Wedding game creatorsBinary Space have been awarded a permanent room in the Tower of London by the UK government.
