• news @ nature.com: “Enthusiast uses Google to reveal Roman ruins” (via Kottke)

Using satellite images from Google Maps and Google Earth, an Italian computer programmer has stumbled upon the remains of an ancient villa. Luca Mori was studying maps of the region around his town of Sorbolo, near Parma, when he noticed a prominent, oval, shaded form more than 500 metres long. It was the meander of an ancient river, visible because former watercourses absorb different amounts of moisture from the air than their surroundings do.

His eye was caught by unusual ‘rectangular shadows’ nearby. Curious, he analysed the image further, and concluded that the lines must represent a buried structure of human origin. Eventually, he traced out what looked like the inner courtyards of a villa.

Google Maps just keeps weaving its way into my heart.

• Where your hole to China will really go (via Lifehacker)

According to this, I would end up just south of Australia. And very wet.

Of course, I think this application is giving me far too much credit. My hole would in no way be at all straight. Nor safe. And it would be rather dreary. I would probably disregard a large number of zoning regulations.

In fact, it would most likely be a shoddy affair in all aspects.

Don’t know why, but there is a problem with our internet connectivity here at work today. Some sites are working just fine. But others have been inaccessible all day.

I. Can’t. Get. On. Google!

Or Bloglines. Or Flickr.

I’m crawling out of my skin.

• gVisit.com – Track visitors to your website using Google Maps

I just love Google Maps. GVisit is an application that will show you a map of the world flagged with the locations of your most recent visitors.

Looking at the map of my recent visitors, a few of the recent visitors to this site have come from:

• Brisbane, Australia
• Bangkok, Thailand
• Aix-en-Provence, France

(Hi, Everybody!)

The free version of the site will show you the most recent 20 visitors, while the paid version will show 100.

Another sweet use of the Google Maps API.

• Kokogiak: Google Maps Transparencies

I’m a real sucker for maps. I have very fond memories from when I was younger of lying on the living room floor with my Dad’s huge 1970 National Geographic Atlas, pouring over it for hours.

In fact, it’s next to me right now… and now it’s in my lap… and now I have it open.

Oh, look — there’s Burma, and East Germany, and Rhodesia…

Aaaaaaand there’s the big one:

Suddenly feeling old…