London, UK

The 2012 Olympics in London are underway and once again, I'm as excited as ever about cheering on my favorite athletes. I watched the opening ceremonies at home with my family and was really impressed and amused to see the likes of Kenneth Branagh, J.K. Rowling, Daniel Craig, and pretty much the rest of my apparently very Brit-influenced life, preforming for the world. Well done, London!

In the olympic spirit, I went ahead and observed the aerial history of the Olympic Stadium as it came into being. It's a pretty magnificent transformation in such a relatively short period of time and looks really nifty from above!

The animation below shows the years: 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012.

Also, check out the 3D Buildings view:

Before you go, I'd like it to be known that my favorite athletes are Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings and I expect them to win their third olympic gold in beach volleyball!  USA! USA!

You can find it yourself on Google Earth using these coords:     51°32'23.85"N     000°01'07.93"W

More info: London 2012

Check back in two weeks to see where I became a geologist!

Happisburgh, UK

Happisburgh is a small town in Norfolk County, England.  It is currently facing some pretty severe coastal erosion.  The tides have been cutting into the cliffs and slowly moving them inland towards houses and other structures.  According to the British Geological Survey, Happisburgh never used to be a coastal town, because at one point there was a whole parish between it and the sea.  The town is unfortunately sitting on layers of glacial till that do not hold up well against pounding waves.

December 30, 1999

July 1, 2009

You can find it yourself on Google Earth using these coords:       52°49'23.11"N       01°32'20.53"E

More info: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/landslides/happisburgh.html

Check back next week to see the largest (supposedly) text in the world.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, FOLKS!