Eric's Blog

The other day David downloaded Google's latest marvel: Google Earth. An advanced version of Google Local, Earth is just awesome. It must be downloaded to work, unlike Local. Local is a two-dimensional map of the Earth that can be viewed as a display of streets and states, a terrain map, or a hybrid of the two. Earth is similar, but way cooler. You start zoomed out like you were standing on the moon, with the Earth in the distance and stars twinkling around you. From there you can zoom in if you want, or type in an address. If you type in an address, the camera zooms in in a 3D way, and brings you to a view of that spot from about 10000-1000 feet. Most places look fairly normal from that distance, not too fuzzy or pixilated. If you type in our address for instance, you can almost make out the divided highway next to our house. But when we tried my Dad's old house in Cincinnati, you could make out the tree in his yard, and see the driveway perfectly. The clearness of the picture usually depends on your distance from a major city. We could also see my Dad's old house near St. Louis perfectly. If you go to New York, Earth really starts getting cool. If you type in Empire State building, the camera will zoom out, then go to New York, then zoom in to the building. You can see it perfectly, along with most of the greater metropolitan area of New York. Then you can begin to play with some of Google Earth's more exciting features. When you check the "Buildings" option, everything turns gray, and then becomes three-dimensional. You can tilt and circle the Empire State Building or Trump Tower, and see every outline of the building's shape in a three-dimensional view. This works for all of New York. Now, this option won't do anything for Lakeland, but you can turn on the "Dining" feature almost anywhere. This will show nearly every restaurant in the country (or if you need, the world, though there aren't as many in other countries). This all makes for one cool experience. Unfortunately, there isn't yet a version for Mac (they say they're working on it), but you can still view Local online. Google offers three different versions of Earth, the free version, Plus, and Pro. Plus is $20, and allows you to synchronize with your GPS. Pro is $400, and depicts the entire Earth is high-def and 3D. You can get directions that display in 3D, and even scan blueprints into buildings. It ends up looking like an advance version of Sim City 4. I don't know how Google can afford to offer so many great features for free, but I hope they keep doing it.

Now Playing: Dogs by Pink Floyd

Posted by Rico at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday, we played host to a Christmas "social" at our house. Although the party was really for us "chillens" Mom and Dad certainly enjoyed chatting with the neighbors. I invited about 10 people (7 came) from school and the neighborhood. Mom prepared some great appetizers and decorated the house. We played some games, drank sparkling grape juice and root beer, went caroling, and sang karaoke. It was a big success and I think we may have one every year.

Now Playing: Fire On High by Electric Light Orchestra

Posted by Rico at 4:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

For the 2nd time in a row, the Lakeland High Dreadnaughts destroyed St. Thomas Aquinas for the State Championship.

'Naughts Silence Any Doubters
Lakeland used scare against Niceville as motivational tool for dominating victory in 5A final Friday.

MIAMI --On their way to another perfect season and a national football championship, Lakeland's Dreadnaughts had only one real scare.

They tasted vulnerability only once. They didn't like the way it tasted, and they used it as a motivating tool for Friday night's convincing 39-10 victory over Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas in the Class 5A state championship game.

Lakeland outscored its first 13 opponents by a combined 513-62, and rarely used its regulars late in the fourth quarter. But in the state semifinal up in Niceville, they found themselves backed up to their own 4-yard line in the closing seconds, clinging to a seven-point lead. Niceville had the football and the momentum, and Lakeland's defense appeared to be out of gas until linebacker Troy Johnson came up with a clock-killing and game-saving sack.

The 28-21 victory was good enough to move the Dreadnaughts into the championship game and maintain their No. 1 ranking. But it was not good enough to erase doubts over whether they could beat Aquinas again after the Raiders routed Bradenton Manatee, 45-17, in the other semifinal.

"Everybody thought we weren't as good because we gave up big plays against Niceville," said defensive tackle John Brown. "We had to go out and prove ourselves again."

Nobody is better at that than Lakeland, which got every opponent's best shot after going into the season as the top-ranked team in the USA Today national poll. County rivals Winter Haven and Lake Gibson stayed with the Dreadnaughts as long as anyone, with the exception of Niceville.

But Lakeland passed every test, most of them easily.

"It's hard to do," said coach Bill Castle, "and that's a tribute to our football team to go out there with a target on your back and get it done every week."

The scare at Niceville couldn't have come at a better time -- or at a worse time for Aquinas.

Jamar Taylor, who ran for 154 yards and three touchdowns against Aquinas, said there wasn't much talking on the bus ride to Dolphins Stadium, especially from the defensive players.

"We were upset because we know we have a better team than that," Taylor said. "We had to step our game up."

Lakeland's defense stepped up indeed, coming up with six takeaways against the nation's fourth-ranked team.

In fact, the Dreadnaughts made Aquinas look every bit as overmatched as their first 14 opponents, the notable exception being Niceville in the fourth quarter.

"I think that got us ready for this week," quarterback Billy Lowe said. "We were ready because of that."

Posted by Rico at 4:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)