Leeds, UK
(by Geoff)
Roz has asked me to explain to you about the Google Earth Button (this is a picture, the real one is up on the right). It was something that puzzled me in August, when I first started helping with the website, and it continued to do so until a few days ago. I was checking the new website layout and clicked on this little button on the right. Nothing happened! I tried again, still nothing. So I moved on and later asked Roz about it. She told me I needed to get Google Earth.
Now Google Earth is quite amazing. I put in “Woodside, CA” where Roz was at that time and it zoomed in to an area which looks to have lots of houses in a wooded area. I put in my home address and it zoomed in so close, I could see that my car was not parked outside when the photograph was taken. And when Roz set off on a mini-road trip in September I “followed” her route and “flew” to Guerneville.
Take a look and you will see a picture of the earth with the positions of Roz’s blogs marked on it. You can zoom in and see exactly where she was when she wrote the blog, so you can see her exact route across the Atlantic. If you click on a position you can read the blog, or you can click on a blog in the “Places” window and it will point to her position, and you can zoom in and see as much detail as you want (well almost). For example, the picture below shows Days 16 to 22 on the Atlantic, you will see she made almost no progress, being blown North for several days and then having to spend another day to get back to where she started. I have drawn a line to show you her route.
If you haven’t already got Google Earth, then I thoroughly recommend you do, although you need a reasonably fast computer and a good graphics card. You can click here to see a picture of Roz’s Atlantic route, or click the Google Earth button to get the full view. You could also try “flying to Guerneville” as I did. But be warned – it is all rather addictive!