Can I see it from here?
July 15, 2008 11:03 AM   Subscribe

What's the name of that peak over there? Can my HDTV antenna see the broadcast tower? Can I see that fixed wireless base station? See viewsheds and labelled horizons from where you're at, with a list of what other people are looking at, and all done with someone else's computers.
posted by the Real Dan (21 comments total) 17 users marked this as a favorite
 
Very cool. However, is there an option to generate a panorama without having it stored for public consumption? I have a pretty decent view but don't want my home address necessarily stored on here.
posted by proj at 11:07 AM on July 15, 2008


Looks like the servers are starting to feel the load. "Requests are taking about 7 minutes."
posted by OverlappingElvis at 11:14 AM on July 15, 2008


Wow. Fantastic. Thanks!
posted by rtha at 11:21 AM on July 15, 2008


Proj, I think it just stores the title you give the view. But, if you prefer, you can just search for your address on Google Maps and then enter the long/lat into this app. Of course, if people see the view and like it, they can always find out what house is at that long/lat.
posted by yoink at 11:25 AM on July 15, 2008


Just put in an intersection or such, it's not like anyone knows that it is your address anyway.
posted by thylacine at 11:28 AM on July 15, 2008


Queue is full, which is too bad. This looks neat.
posted by DU at 11:33 AM on July 15, 2008


(The mountains surrounding Butt Mountain are Rich Knob, Job Knob and Cold Knob. Now come on.)
posted by DU at 11:35 AM on July 15, 2008 [2 favorites]


That's one of the most actually-useful FAQs I've read in a long time.
You can request a list of peaks by calling 360-215-5527. The telephone system (an Asterisk server) will ask for your latitude and longitude, and after a two minute calculation will read you the list of peaks. [snip] Email to q@heywt.com. You can send either your latitude and longitude or an address.
For how surprisingly often I've found decent cell coverage on a hike, this could be very fun to try out.
posted by Mr. Palomar at 11:46 AM on July 15, 2008 [2 favorites]


DU: You left out a lot of knobs: Bald Knob, Rocky Knob, Buckhorn Knob, Huff Knob, Walnut Knob, Elk Knob, & Keeney Knob. At least Butt Mountain isn't lonely.

Incidentally, a warning: getting the list of all panoramas pegs my CPU & browser for a minute.
posted by Pronoiac at 11:52 AM on July 15, 2008


"It was goodbye Cold Knob once I figured out how to conquer Butt Mountain. Next: to Huff Knob!"

(I wonder if they have a "how many knobs can you polish off in a week" hiking competition?)

Sorry.
posted by yoink at 12:05 PM on July 15, 2008 [1 favorite]


Well, that was nice while it lasted. Guess I'll go look at some porn.
posted by tinkertown at 12:37 PM on July 15, 2008


Ah, never mind, it started accepting new requests again. Guess I'll skip the Rue McClanahan XXX sites.
posted by tinkertown at 12:50 PM on July 15, 2008


I got through the queue, but as I suspected it is not a very useful tool, living in south central kansas and all.
posted by thylacine at 1:21 PM on July 15, 2008


I don't think I understand this.
posted by trip and a half at 1:45 PM on July 15, 2008


I have been wondering about this exact thing for many years now. I live in a small valley in the mountains of Southern California. It's very hard to do this where I live, since there are so many peaks in the area, and it's hard to tell which ones are obscured and which ones are not. Depth perception at distances of 5 to 15 miles are very tricky, so you can't be sure of what you are seeing. I have checked USGS topo maps, and I am good at reading them, but translating the peaks into 360 degree panoramas is harder than you think.

I suppose I could have gotten out a compass and drawn lines on a registered map, but I was only curious, not obsessed.

And, I am totally stuck at 11 minutes for my new panorama. Ugh.
posted by Xoebe at 1:59 PM on July 15, 2008


Check out the selection of peaks from Sunshine Peak CO 14er. Nothing but mountains! Love it.
posted by Rashomon at 2:09 PM on July 15, 2008


Heh - thylacine wasn't kidding. No peaks were listed. The view from Mount Sunflower, KS (vertical scale amplified for effect):

______________________----------------------------------------------__________
posted by Pronoiac at 2:22 PM on July 15, 2008


Winnipeg Manitoba (beta) - I think they can safely assume that is the final release version.
posted by Chuckles at 2:37 PM on July 15, 2008


Rashomon: Check out the selection of peaks from Sunshine Peak CO 14er. Nothing but mountains! Love it.

It reminds me of a video game. And Winnipeg is under a dome, right?
posted by Pronoiac at 8:23 PM on July 15, 2008


Any clones of that game? I could swear I've played it, but the name is all wrong.. Maybe a clone for Radioshack CoCo's? Vic20 would be unlikely, but just possibly a PC version...
posted by Chuckles at 9:17 PM on July 15, 2008


Heh, wikipedia says there was a CoCo3 version, but I still don't remember the name :P
posted by Chuckles at 9:22 PM on July 15, 2008


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