As Seen From Above #28: Name That Flattop Edition
Name that Flattop.
Need help? Go here and zoom in on the bow for its number.
And no, there is no such thing as CVN-89.
September 3, 2006
March 8, 2006
As Seen From Above, #27
Site of one of the great naval battles of the Revolutionary war. The American commander was an Army officer of some renown, but his defeat here is not what he is remembered for, and he is also not much remembered for his heroic participation in a great military victory, either.
Just north of the site was a major naval battle in the War of 1812. An American victory, under an admiral whom virtually no one remembers today.
I'm told there's good freshwater fishing near there, too.
UPDATE: We have a winner. Captain Ned in the comments recognizes Valcour Island, on Lake Champlain, as the site of a naval loss for Benedict Arnold in the Revolution -- though Arnold's well-fought delay turned out to be a strategic victory for the Americans. Arnold was also the hero of Saratoga, as well, but he is remembered by history as being a synonym for "traitor" when he decided to switch sides. The War of 1812 saw an American victory by Commodore Thomas MacDonough over the British.
February 17, 2006
As Seen From Above, #26
(Image courtesy of Google Earth)
As featured in The Spy Novel.
January 12, 2006
Google Earth
For "As Seen From Above", I've been using Google Maps. But I downloaded Google Earth and it is an awesome, awesome application. A whole different look at reality.
Let's find the carriers! Here's a couple more . . .
(The USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63, in Yokosuka Japan)
(The USS Lincoln, CVN-72, In Everett, Washington)
(The USS Nimitz, CVN-68, in San Diego)
The USS Truman, CVN-75, is a little further upriver in Norfolk. Google Earth identifies the two in the picture below, side by side, in my previous post, as being the Washington (northern one) and the Eisenhower (southern one), though there is some dispute over that.
January 3, 2006
As Seen From Above, #25
Yes, you heard me correctly. Drive south over the bridge and you'll be in Canada.
(Image courtesy of Google)
December 29, 2005
As Seen From Above, #24
I'm told that if you want to hear good French in North America, you have to visit either this town or the bigger one on the other island.
The CIA doesn't spend a lot of time on them, but does describe their flag . . .
a yellow sailing ship facing the hoist side rides on a dark blue background with yellow wavy lines under the ship; on the hoist side, a vertical band is divided into three parts: the top part (called ikkurina) is red with a green diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross dividing the rectangle into four sections; the middle part has a white background with an ermine pattern; the third part has a red background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one above the other; these three heraldic arms represent settlement by colonists from the Basque Country (top), Brittany, and Normandy; the flag of France is used for official occasions
Which artists render thus:
December 22, 2005
As Seen From Above, #23
They need to get those endzones painted. A good color scheme would be scarlet and grey at one end, blue and gold at the other.
(Image courtesy of Google maps)
December 21, 2005
As Seen From Above, #22
In the news recently. Sort of.
And did you know that 19th century ships carried jello molds shaped like them? The things you learn from movies.
December 13, 2005
As Seen From Above, #20
Looks like they still paint red crosses on hospital ships.
UPDATE: No, I'm not trying to make a cryptic point here. I just remember always reading about hospital ships having red crosses, and as I zoomed in from space on this harbor, there one is.
December 1, 2005
As Seen From Above, #19
And Rodney Dangerfield thought that golf courses and cemeteries were the biggest waste of prime real estate.
(Image courtesy of Google Maps)
November 28, 2005
As Seen From Above, #18
(Image courtesy of Google Maps)
Some pretty impressive fountains out front, as I remember from the movie.
November 22, 2005
As Seen From Above, #17
Hmm. . . what have we here?
(Image courtesy of Google Maps)
A place that figured rather prominently in my youth.
November 21, 2005
As Seen From Above, #16
(Image, as always, courtesy of Google Maps)
Real estate prices run the whole gamut here still.
But control of the railroads is not so important these days.
But that may change. As the song says, "Maybe everything that dies someday comes back."
November 10, 2005
As Seen From Above, #15
Hmm. . . wonder which baseball park this is?
Clues on previous ones that have stumped a few folks:
#4 -- Big diamonds & memorabilia.
#6 -- Setting for a recent Drew Barrymore vehicle.
#9 -- "Sloowly I turned . . . step by step"
#11 -- By far the hardest. A university in Tennessee is named after the patron. This is his summer place.
#12 -- Casts the longest shadow in the U.S., as a matter of fact. And it ain't in New York.
#13 -- The view of it from the beach is prettier, and much more famous.
November 2, 2005
As Seen From Above, #14
Easy if you've been there.
(Image courtesy of Google)
October 25, 2005
As Seen From Above -- The Test So Far
Thought I'd give you a test, to see what you've learned so far.
I've also added #13 at the end. Here we go.
#1.
#2.
#3.
#4. (Specifically, the old, long, horizontal building left of center in the picture)
#5.
#6.
#7.
#8.
#9.
#10.
#11.
#12. (Specifically, the building in the lower right casting the big shadow)
#13.
This is a new one. Bonus points!
October 24, 2005
As Seen From Above, #12
The building in the lower right casts a hell of a shadow.
(Image courtesy of maps.google.com)
October 21, 2005
As Seen From Above, #11
OK, a tough one for you.
(Image courtesy of Maps.google.com)
There isn't much going on in the world today. I continue to be impressed by the deafening silence coming out of the major media over Iraq -- things must be going remarkably well. When they turn to hurricane coverage and domestic "firestorms" of their own manufacture, then I guess we know we're winning.
Perhaps Karl Rove will be indicted, they pray. Give us a cudgel, they cry. Any cudgel will do. Rove, Libby, Harriet Miers, FEMA. The budget. Anything. Please please please please please.
October 19, 2005
As Seen From Above, #10
Number Ten in our recurring series.
Fans of William Gibson will recognize it right away.
October 10, 2005
As Seen From Above, #9
Easy one for Monday morning.
(Image courtesy of Google)
October 6, 2005
As Seen From Above, #8
Could be tricky . . . all depends on what you're looking at.
October 3, 2005
As Seen From Above, #7
An easy one.
Hey, it's Monday. I'd phone the whole day in if I could.
September 30, 2005
As Seen From Above, #6
Significant for this weekend.
Down one with three to play, for all the marbles. Well, 1/8th of the marbles, I suppose. But still.
September 26, 2005
As Seen From Above, #5
An easy one, if you've been there recently.
September 23, 2005
As Seen From Above, #4
This one might be a little more difficult. We're looking for the building just left of center. The donut shaped building might give it away, but it's the old building that we're looking for. We've blown the picture up a little to help.
If you're really stuck, the answer is here.
Images courtesy of Google Maps.
September 21, 2005
As Seen From Above, #3
This one might be marginally more difficult.
(Image courtesy of Google Maps)
As Seen From Above, #2
Another famous place.
(Image courtesy of Google Maps)
September 20, 2005
As Seen From Above, #1
Famous place, as seen from above. First in a series.
This is an easy one.
(Image courtesy of Google Maps)