hobolinks :: October :: 2006

If you’ve wondered how Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo! online maps compare but haven’t had time to try them all, you can play with all three at once here. They’re synced up so each map shows the same area.

(Via ProgrammableWeb)

A nice quickie: National Geographic presents sculptures of bizarre extinct creatures. No recent extinctions, of course.

Extinct in the wild for 30 years, it looks like this bird just might survive in captivity. I wonder how many species are “zoo-only” at this point?

libremap.org is now in business with free hi-res topo map downloads for many US states. Cheers to all who made this happen!

Linked from an expedition 360 update is Vancouver to Vancouver, another human-powered around-the-world expedition. I wonder how many amazing adventures are underway in relative obscurity?

I took a minute at the new Google Co-op to create a search engine for the outdoor sites I frequent. I’m sure, like me, you’ll all use it responsibly for serious outdoor topics like ‘pee’ and stuff.

The last recorded successful US Midwest nesting was in Iowa in 1894. From a low point of 15 individuals, this is considered a milestone in the effort to preserve the species. It seems like the hope is that if human predation is controlled the species will survive on its own.

I guess it’s one way to garner attention for a few endangered species. There’s a schnazzy promo site. So will money actually save a species, or just keep it around long enough to entertain us over the holidays?

(Via Another Chance To See)

Northwestern University researchers conclude that the Kouprey, subject of a (probably) failed campaign to save the Cambodian mammal from extinction, may not have been a real species after all. Does that mean it’s not extinct, even though there are none left? Eyiyi.

The 700 hobos project has surpassed its goal of collecting voluntary illustrations for all 700 notable hobo names.

(Via J-Walk Blog)

The libre map project has started liberating topos, although they’re only available at the moment via the internet archive, these are full-resolution TIFF images. Colorado is among the states available.

I have one of these green ball-lock carabiners.

Expedition 360 adventurer Jason Lewis arrives at a destination he’s contemplated over more than a decade of trekking: a Tibetan monastery. He describes his reaction and the temptation to end his journey there.

This made me smile when I saw it posted on yourclimbing.com:

The Fragrance

This morning when I awoke,
My pipes were frozen.
So I went climbing
And returned home late at night.
I didn’t shower
And my hair began to grow.
By July my pipes were thawed,
But not before I smelled
The fragrance of myself.

More on Maurice’s site.

A simple interface for drawing a route and finding the length.

(Via Programmable Web)

The first mammal species discovery in Europe since 2001. Fossils indicate the mouse has been on the island a few thousand years more than humans, one of a very few mammals predating us there.

Mass extinctions in rodents correlate with 1.2-million-year orbital and axis variations. We’re at the beginning of a cycle, so it’s one cause we can rule out for current extinctions.

This mountain exploration project is funded by the BP Conservation Program. Is it greenwashing? I don’t know, but they say the remote territory will yield several more discoveries before they’re done.

(Via Stellar Magazine)

The GIS Jobs Clearinghouse now has, appropriately, a Google Maps Mashup of job locations. There’s one in my town…

(Via Progammable Web)

You need software able to decompress them (I have 7-zip), but there appear to be a wealth of free quad images at the Forest Service Geodata Clearinghouse.

(Via The Map Room)