Wintergreen Photography Workshop in Google Earth
I just pulled the data out of my Garmin GPSmap 60CSx from my dog sledding trip. I just love being able to go into the wilderness and just drop my GPS somewhere with a little visibility and get a perfect track log. I fired up GPS Babel and got the data into KML format and you can now see it in Google Earth, check out Wintergreen 2009 Photography Workshop in Google Earth.
If you don’t have Google Earth installed, you can see it in Google Maps using your browser too.
Google Forcing Software Update Install
I just upgraded to the new Google Earth 5.0 beta and was really surprised when I first launched it to get this dialog.
The problem with this are the options. So, I get to either install Google Software Update, or Quit Google Earth. Where is the button saying “Decline” and allow me to just happily run my software and update it myself. Smells a lot like Microsoft. The last paragraph of the text is the worst (highlighting is my addition).
To continue using Google Earth, you must accept the new Google privacy policies and allow Google Software Update to run in the background on your computer.
I may have to remove Google Earth and bid this thing farewell. Google, you must accept that people have the right to choose what software they allow to run on their computer. It’s my computer, not yours. Get back! I didn’t read the new privacy policies, almost scared to look in there. What else does this Google Software Update do while running in the background?
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms looks like an interesting opportunity to take a vacation and learn about organic farming.
North Shore Photography Workshops ← Photographer offering workshops to improve your shooting, using the North Shore as your subject.
My home office is ready for the hardwood floor installation tomorrow!
Winterdance
When I left for my dog sledding trip I decided that I would get into the spirit of things with a book for the trip. Wintergreen had listed Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen as a suggested read, so I picked up a copy before I left town. The book was the perfect length of read for a few days in the woods with the dogs.
Winterdance is a really enjoyable read. The book is divided into two major sections as Paulsen prepares and trains for the Iditarod and the more than 1,100 miles of the race (Wikipedia has an excellent Iditarod reference to learn more). The book has several stories that make you laugh out loud when Paulsen discovers the power of the dogs. It was fun to read while on a dog sledding trip as I could truly understand the insanity of putting yourself on a bicycle behind a team of dogs. What was he thinking!
The second half of the book gives insight into this amazing race that I never really knew. It made me really want to learn more and definitely gave a deeper appreciation for the challenges of it. I’m making a note on my calendar now to remind when the 2009 Iditarod is (Sat. March 7th, 2009 if you don’t want to look yourself).
Reading this book and having the howl of the sled dogs fresh in my mind was really great. I’m a bit surprised it hasn’t been made into a movie. It would be a perfect movie plot with all the required ingredients. If you’re heading up into the snow, or better, on a dog sledding trip – I don’t think you could beat this book. Even without the snow, it’s a good read.
All things considered, a pretty great forecast for dogsledding!
A cloudy day is natures giant soft-box. — Layne Kennedy