Category Archives: Google Earth Friday

Google Earth Friday is my pick of the most interesting places on the planet, posted [strangely enough] on a Friday

GEF #20: British Grand Prix

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This week, although its a… week… late, is the British Grand Prix, held at the Silverstone Race Circuit in Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England.

 

Held at the prestigious race track for the best part of 23 years, the track has seen many redesigns over the years leading for a more challenging race track and a better race experience for all.

 

Although the winner last weekend wasn’t a Brit, it was still a great race to watch nevertheless. Lets just hope one of the two can do it next time.

 

Would you look at that, its a Wikipedia Quote:

Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages  of Silverstone and Whittlebury. Nearly half of the circuit is across the Northamptonshire boundary in Buckinghamshire. […] It is best known as the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted in 1948 and which has been held on the circuit every year since 1987.

[Wikipedia]

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GEF #19: Wimbledon

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Well I seemed to have disappeared last Friday, and I do apologise for my lack of a place for last week, HOWEVER! I am back.

 

This week it is the green and luscious; All England Lawn and Tennis Club in Wimbledon, South London.

 

I write this post on the day our only hope of a British winner goes out of the Championships. Every game we seem to invent, we inevitably loose at. Don’t even get me started on the football…

 

Wikiquote for strawberry and cream goodness:

The Championships at Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis  tournament in the world and is generally considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, and the only one still played on the game’s original surface, grass, which gave the game of lawn tennis its name.

[Wikipedia]

GEF #18: E3

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Sorry this is a bit late, I was rather tired last night and angry at the terrible game England played in the world cup, but i digress.

 

This week was E3, a large gathering of game developers and companies trying to flog their latest 3D gaming whathaveyous, held in the Los Angeles Convention Centre strangely enough in Los Angeles, California.

 

 

Looking forward to Little Big Planet 2 mostly, Nintendo’s 3DS seems gimmicky like the Wii but going on how well the original DS sold, it could be equally as popular or just wait a year for Nintendo’s next revision of their handheld. As for Playstation Move, why not? Seems like good fun, widely supported and glows! Microsoft, go back to what you do best, making engaging hardcore game platforms, not some movement based controller that dilutes the reputation that you’ve built up and makes the experience more casual. Xbox was made for hardcore gamers and yes, I do dislike Xbox, as I am a Playstation man myself, but Microsoft have lost the plot.

 

End Rant, Wikipedia quote go!

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, commonly known as E3, is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). It is used by many video game developers to show off their upcoming games and game-related hardware.

[Wikipedia]

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GEF #17: Gulf of Mexico oil spill

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Well it cant be all laughs and giggles on here, have some depressing real world news.

 

Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill_-_May_24,_2010On the 20th of April 2010, a oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded killing 11 of its workers and started gushing out millions of gallons of oil into the sea. 51 days on (at the time of writing) the leak is still spewing out its oily payload into the ocean, causing unknown environmental and economic damage.

 

The gusher, estimated to be flowing at 12,000 to 100,000 barrels (500,000 to 4,200,000 US gallons; 1,900,000 to 16,000,000 litres) per day, originates from a deepwater wellhead  5,000 feet (1,500 m) below the ocean surface.

[Wikipedia]

Lets see how this one goes.

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GEF #16: 2010 London Marathon

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This Friday, the spotlight is on London for the Virgin 2010 London Marathon. [I thought it was the Flora London Marathon… Must have run out of money]

 

This year is set for a scorcher… by UK standards, at a balmy 22 °C, lets hope that none of the runners get heatstroke now (!)

Now follows the all knowing Wikipedia, with its weekly quote:

The London Marathon is a road  marathon that has been held each year in London since 1981, usually in April. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money, as the Virgin London Marathon. Previously the event was sponsored by Flora (from 1996 to 2009) . The 2010 London Marathon will be held on Sunday 25 April.

[Wikipedia]

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GEF #15: Icelandic Volcano

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This week its the troublesome volcano found in the rather memorably named Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland.

As most of you should know, this volcano’s ash has steadily been creeping over the whole of North Europe spreading its ashy goodness across it, closing airports and causing travel chaos for a wide number of people.

Airport authorities and other people in the know seem to think everything will be back to normal by Sunday/Monday but due to this being a volcano and the meddlesome nature of the winds above the UK and Northern Europe, it may be even longer, not that school kids are complaining mind you…

 

A delicious Wikiquote for you:

The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were a series of major volcanic  events that occurred at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. Seismic activity started at the end of 2009, and led to a volcanic eruption on 20 March 2010. A later eruption from 14 April 2010 led to widespread disruption of air travel in Europe from 15 April, affecting the travel plans of millions of passengers.

[Wikipedia]

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GEF #14: General Election 2010

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This week is the place that all the parties are tying to get their hands on; 10 Downing Street

Everyone knows this is the official residence of the Prime Minster of the United Kingdom and has been for many years. Don’t forget to vote for the most sutible person for the job, more on this later when I have a bit more time. Keep 6th May in your diaries!

 

And of course one cannot forget this weeks mandatory Wikiquote:

10 Downing Street (Colloquially known in the United Kingdom as “Number 10”) is the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury and hence Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The headquarters of Her Majesty’s Government, it is situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London.

[Wikipedia]

Sorry about the lack of a post last week, with my exams coming up updating the site is going to be difficult, however, I’ll make some time later.

GEF #13: Australian Grand Prix

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This week the chosen place is the Australian F1 circuit, commonly known as Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit.

 

Don’t forget tomorrow is the qualifying session for the Grand Prix lets see if Hamilton can make it into pole position again. He sure made it into pole position in the papers with his antics yesterday. Lets hope Button wins some races soon.

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GEF #12 : The Large Hadron Collider

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Sorry for being late this week, I had an early night for a change.

 

This week its the giant, world-ending, Large Hadron Collider.

The LHC is currently the largest and most powerful particle accelerator on this planet. This has many scientist-type people wondering if this large ring o’ magnets will in fact, put pay to the universe. In my opinion, I don’t think anything bad will come from it, only good science… we hope.

 

In fact the LHC has, today, just smashed the energy record it had just set in December 2009. [Linky]

Oh and of course, we cannot forget the obligatory and ever knowing, Wikipedia quote:

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator, intended to collide  opposing particle beams of either protons … or lead nuclei…  It is expected that it will address the most fundamental questions of physics, hopefully allowing progress in understanding the deepest laws of nature. The LHC lies in a tunnel 27 kilometres (17 mi) in circumference, as much as 175 metres (574 ft) beneath the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, Switzerland.

[Wikipedia]

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GEF #11 – Hadrian’s Wall

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This week it is the magnificent structure we all know, Hadrian’s Wall.

“But why this wall?” you may ask yourself, well bemused reader, this Saturday [13th March] they will be lighting beacons all along the wall from one side of the UK to the other. A sight that has not been seen since the olden times.

And of course an obligatory Wikipedia quote follows this brief sentence;

Hadrian’s Wall (Latin: Vallum Aelium) is a stone and timber fortification  built by the Roman Empire across the width of what is now northern England. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall in what is now Scotland. Hadrian’s Wall is the better known of the two because its physical remains are more evident today.

[Wikipedia]

For more information about lighting up the Wall visit Illuminating Hadrian’s Wall.

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