www.picturesofplaces.com
Ugh. It is winter. Not sure about you, but I am not a huge fan of cold weather. It’s times like these that we’d all like to be on a beach somewhere warm and beautiful. While a vacation might not be in the cards, some daydreaming might be in order (with a little visual stimulation). This website has pictures of places. Pretty much every place it seems! On the homepage you’ll find major geographical listings such as continents, countries or specific popular places from which you can drill down to a specific place. For example, how about a beach in Rio? We start on the homepage, click directly on Brazil and then on the next page at the top is a link for Rio de Janeiro. Then there is a list of photo galleries and descriptions of their contents, such as Ipanema and Copacabana Beach. Click the link and the photos are there! The site links to third party photos so there is a diverse collection of images taken by everyone from professionals to folks on vacation. So kick back and enjoy the (virtual) beach!
http://maps.google.com
I’ve seen many websites, so it isn’t often that a website just knocks my socks off. This is exactly what happened when I checked out the new Google Maps. Think Mapquest on steroids! Like other map services you can type in an address and get a map of that location, and then get directions from that location. That’s about where the similarities end. Nearly all of the above features are better on Google Maps including much clearer directions. Now this is where the cool stuff happens. Not only can you view a map that you can zoom in and out of in real time, but you can change to a satellite view that is also zoomable!!! Then you can do a hybrid view of the satellite image and the map! You can also drag the maps around with your cursor instead of using clunky arrows. Another feature is the ability to search for something specific. For example, I wanted to find all the pizza places in my zip code, so in the Google search field I typed “Pizza 10025.” What pops up are a dozen local pizza joints on a map with little flags for each location with detailed information on the restaurant once clicked on. You really must check this out, I can’t recommend it highly enough!!
| www.highwaywatch.com
Highway Watch is a new government program to enlist truck drivers and transportation workers to assist with homeland security. Since most TIA members have at least one delivery truck or several service trucks, this program is important to know about. As the roadway sector’s new national safety and security program it utilizes the skills, experiences, and “road smarts” of America’s transportation workers to help protect the nation’s critical infrastructure and the transportation of goods, services, and people.
Participants in the program are transportation infrastructure workers, commercial and public truck and bus drivers, and other highway sector professionals; they are specially trained to recognize potential safety and security threats and avoid becoming a target of terrorists. The Highway Watch effort seeks to prevent terrorists from using large vehicles or hazardous cargoes as weapons. Training in this program provides participants with the observational tools and the opportunity to exercise their expert understanding of the transportation environment to report safety and security concerns rapidly and accurately to the authorities. In addition to matters of homeland security – stranded vehicles or accidents, unsafe road conditions, and other safety related situations are reported, eliciting the appropriate emergency responders.
Highway Watch is administered by the American trucking Association (ATA under a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Truck drivers and transportation workers are welcome to join Highway Watch and this website provides information and registration. |
