It has already been seven days since the "October Surprise" hit the Buffalo area and crippled the city (and surroundings). A lot of People still have not returned to work/ school, and many people around the area are still without power (over 100,000). The sounds of generators and chain-saws still are the 2 main things you hear when you are outside. I know I wrote about this storm on Monday, but I wanted to give a short update for people not in the area. In the winter, I am not shocked when I see snow piles/drifts at the side of the road over 5-feet high, but it does shock me when those pile are tree limbs and leaves! When you drive down the streets, you see these piles, and you see a lot of houses with piles of garbage at the road...those are the houses that had water damage from flooding in the basements. Buffalo has always been known as the city of good neighbors, and this storm proved it again. It is amazing to see so many people are willing to help out someone -- whether it is to help clean up a yard, let someone use a generator, or even to give someone a warm meal. Unless something huge happens, I will probably not post about this again. I only hope that everyone is with power by Sunday, and that the area can move on again after this weekend!

Google map image: Buffalo - October Surprise

When I woke up this morning, I decided I wanted to do something on aDayBlog that i have never done before. I wanted to find an elephant on a map and show it! It was no easy task, but I finally found one. It is very difficult to see it on the map image, but that is because Google would not let me zoom in far enough...I should try it on Microsoft's mapping site (because the bird's-eye-view would get me close enough). This elephant is found in the National Zoo in Washington D.C. To make sure that the little spec that I was looking at was an Elephant, I pulled up a park map found on the National Zoo's website, and made sure that the area I am looking at is for the elephants at the zoo. Can you see it? Look south of the left corner of the building. The elephant is in the bottom corner of his holding area. To be more exact, the lighter white area that he is standing in is a man-made watering hole...so when the map image was made, that elephant was having the time of his life playing in the water! It has been a really long time since I have been at the National Zoo, but I enjoyed myself the last time I was there, and recommend that you stop by if you are in the Washington D.C. area. Even though these elephants are pretty cool, my favorite part of the Zoo was the Panda Bear Exhibit.

Google map image: National Zoo

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to head to a park or someplace relaxing just to browse the web? There has been a few cities that have done this, but only Mountain View, CA gets to say that Google is footing the bill for the service! Last year, Google made an announcement that they will be setting up access points all throughout the city for people to use for free. If anyone would like to use it, all they have to do is select GoogleWiFi from their wireless card, and then sign in using their Google account. Google accounts are free, so all anyone has to do is sign up for it if they do not have one yet (same account used for gmail and other products.) Everyone has their own ideas as to why Google is doing this, but I feel it is just a small way of giving back to the community that has been very good to them. Other ideas that I have heard (and go against the "don't be evil" motto) is that Google is doing this to be able to watch what people go to and from where, and that they will start putting ads up with every site you visit that are related to that site's content. In the future, I can see Google creating 2 accounts...1 for free with ads, and 1 for a monthly fee that is ad-free and faster. I will be keeping a close eye on Mountain View, CA to see how this free service does!

Google map image: Mountain View, CA

If I am ever in the Los Angeles, I would really like to drive out and visit Beverly Hills. I am not sure of all of the tourist attractions available there, but I think I would really enjoy driving around and just taking in the atmosphere. There are so many streets and areas in Beverly Hills that I have heard about growing up that I think it would be fun just to drive down and actually see them with my own eyes. One street that I would definitely have to visit is Rodeo Drive. This is where a lot of celebrities are spotted every day shopping. I don't know if I could get into the craze of celebrity spotting, but I would like to see the stores in the area and see where they go...hey, if I bump into a celebrity or two, that would be fun! I think that the one thing that would excite me the most about visiting Beverly Hills is saying "I'm in Beverly Hills, 90210"!

Google map image: Bevery Hills - Rodeo Drive

Where will I be this weekend? I am taking a trip down to Erie, PA for a wedding. I will be spending the whole weekend there and having a much needed break from work! I am excited to be meeting new people, and see a few friends that I have not seen in awhile. Well, I better go get packing!

Google map image: Erie, PA

Happy Flag Day everyone! Did you use to have a flag day ceremony every year when you were in elementary school? My elementary school used to have all the kids decorate little flag things that we could wear, and then all of the classes would meet out by the flagpole and sing little USA-based songs that the music teach taught us. The last song of the ceremony was always "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood.

While doing some research about Flag Day, I found out that every year, Troy, New York has a large Flag Day Parade and Festival. It is said to be the largest one in the United States. About 100,000 people come to take part in the festivities. For a city that has a population under 50,000, that is a big number for them to support each year! The parade is held on 4th street, and the rest of the festivities are in Riverfront Park. It is too late (for most of us) to go to Troy this year for the Flag Day party, but remember this for next year and the years to come. I hope you have a great Flag Day!

Google map image: Troy, New York

Article written by: Eric Willis

A few of my very good friends worked at Cedar Point during the summers. Cedar Point is a huge amusement part in Sandusky, Ohio which I will highly recommend. I went there once on a road trip with Nicole and Milosz. It's quite a trip from Rochester, NY but well worth it. At one point, Cedar Point had the largest or fastest roller coaster although I am not sure if that's still true. It wasn't very expensive to get in (for what you get to do) and it was a lot of fun. Great place to go on a road trip if you're into amusement parts!

Google map image: Cedar Point

I have said in the past that my favorite map images are when you can look at an aircraft in-flight. Usually, I can only find airplanes that have just taken off, but today is the best image yet! It is a picture of a helicopter hovering over a small body of water near Denver, Colorado. It is hard to see the actual helicopter (because of viewing it from above), but the shadow that is casting onto the water is perfect! Also, it is pretty neat to see the ripple effect in the water because of the winds created by the helicopter. This image is located in the Buckley Air Force Base.

Google map image: In-Flight Helicopter

To live in an amusement park is a dream of every kid...but a reality for Michael Jackson! Up until a couple year ago, Jackson was living in his 2800 acres park called Neverland Ranch. The name of the park came from the book "Peter Pan". It was the Island in the book where the kids lived and never grew up. Inside the ranch is his home, a zoo, and the amusement park. The amusement park contained a ferris wheel, a merry-go-round, and bumper cars. The entire ranch needed about 50 employees to keep everything up and running nicely. After his most recent court case, Michael Jackson laid off almost all of the employees, closed the amusement park, and moved out of the country. A spokesperson for Jackson stated that he is now looking to build a new park/home near Berlin, Germany.

Google map image: Neverland Ranch

If you are in New York City this week, you might want to stop by the Lincoln Centre to see what David Blaine is up to. Most people have heard by now that at the beginning of next week he will try to hold he breath under water for almost 9 minutes, but most people have not heard his publicity stunt he is doing up to the big event. He is going to live in a large ball filled with water for the week! Everything he needs will be given to him through a tube. He will have a tube for his oxygen intake and a tube for his food (that they will give him in a liquid form). I wonder what he will do when he has to go to the bathroom! His publicity stunt has caught my attention, and if I was anywhere near Lincoln Centre, I would definitely stop by and see this with my own eyes. If you can't see him living in the "human fish bowl", you can watch him live (on TV) trying to break the world record next Monday.

Google map image: Lincoln Centre