Can I see it from here?

July 15, 2008 11:03 AM

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)

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 [e-mail]. 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