Recently I mentioned that Google Maps changed the script for embedding Street View images within blogs. Unfortunately it rendered the previous format as useless blank spots on the page. However I’ve uncovered an unexpected silver lining as I’ve reviewed and edited each file. I can now find Street View images that did not exist when I created some of those original articles.
So the storytelling and content development are on hold for the moment. Still, I thought I could take this opportunity to share a couple of updated images I’ve discovered. It might also be a chance for newer readers to acquaint themselves with “older” articles that appeared on Twelve Mile Circle many moons ago.
The Final Segment of Paved Highway in the U.S.
Back in September 2009 I featured the final stretch of pavement in the vast nationwide U.S. highway system. It appeared in “Rambling Along the Taylor-Rose Segment“. That final stretch — unpaved until 1967 — fell between the towns of Taylor and Rose in central Nebraska. I noted at the time that,
“Google brought me all the way into Taylor but left me hanging at the northern end of town. The segment of Highway 183 that I want to see was so tantalizingly close. The highway shield and arrow sat right there on a post, almost within touching distance, but the stretch of highway I want to explore simply taunted me from afar.”
It taunted no longer. The newly-available imagery confirms what I speculated all along. It looks suspiciously like all of the terrain found south of town. Yup, very similar indeed… tick, tick, tick. Yup.
Moving right along.
The Center of the Universe
I identified the “Center of the Universe” as a manhole cover in Wallace, Idaho in March 2009. Street View stopped me about two blocks short of my goal back then. Imagery exists today and I’ve updated the article accordingly. Without further ado, I present the Center of the Universe:
Improvements
The new script adds some additional interactive functionality to the images.
- The upper-left corner includes a pivoting viewpoint dial like Google Earth.
- The upper-right corner adds what looks like a Maltese Cross that zooms an image to full-screen.
- The bottom right corner provides a small box with double arrowheads that opens a small portion of the underlying map.
These are all good things that will improve the usefulness of embedded Street View images. I continue to believe that Google should find a way to support backward compatibility. However, I do like the results once I’ve updated each script.
A Little Bit of a Tangent
If I had more time to write today I probably would have featured some attention on Noorvik, Alaska (map). That’s the first location the U.S. Census Bureau counted in the 2010 Decennial Census. It will be old news by the time I finish updating the site (if it isn’t already). Also, it got a lot of national press so I guess it’s no longer obscure enough for Twelve Mile Circle. I’ll have to let that opportunity go. Nonetheless, here’s an aerial photo:
I’ve gone through a good chunk of the pages and I’ve updated dozens of Street View images with the new script. But I can only do it for about an hour at a time before my eyes glaze over. Then I need to stop. Either way, I hope to get back into production later this week. It’s a lot more fun to research and write than it is to repair, but I’m making steady progress.
I have some good stuff lined up!
Totally Unrelated Random Item
Connecticut Magazine profiled loyal 12MC reader/commenter “Steve” of CTMQ this month. Check it out!
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