GoogleMaps Blockouts (blurs) "Normanstone Park" -- what's so secret?

Darren Dirt · August 16, 2006, 08:17:53 AM

There's a circular area in Washington, D.C. blurred out in Google Maps... some place called "Normanstone Park" (no Wikipedia entry for it).

google.com/search?q="Normanstone+Park"

Apparently there's also a rectangular strip in Alaska (see this discussion pg2)

...So what's so secret? :-\

Seriously, what's so secret?

Mr. Analog · August 16, 2006, 09:59:49 AM

That's the location of the United States Naval Observatory isn't it? Isn't that where the Vice President lives?

Photo

Jinkies, another mystery solved.

Darren Dirt · August 16, 2006, 10:57:22 AM

In the forum link (the 2-pager) someone mentioned that.

But still whether or not the Vice Prez or the Pope lives there, why is it now (suddenly?) blurred? In the past photos have been taken (as you showed above), and maps are free available (as you can see by one of the links at the Naval Observatory website I included above -- "Seriously, what's so secret?").

Just saying it's weird isn't it -- you can see in detail the location of the White House and the Pentagon in relation to the roads and sidewalks nearby... But the "park" is all blurred... weird.

Mr. Analog · August 16, 2006, 02:11:55 PM

Ok, here's the plan. You and Scooby check out the unpaved trails, Velma you can research any new NASA projects at the USNO and Daphne you can come with me...

Adams · August 17, 2006, 01:34:17 PM

Zonkies... scoob. We are alone in a dark forest. Hows about we take a snack along incase we get hungry.

Darren Dirt · August 25, 2006, 04:53:15 PM

Yahoo
Maps = no blur!

Mr. Analog · August 25, 2006, 05:17:38 PM

Quote from: Darren Dirt on August 25, 2006, 04:53:15 PM
Yahoo
Maps = no blur!

Duh they moved the "Mother Luvin' Baby Food & Contrail Mind-control Fibre" plant to Skokie Illinois. Where armies of snake-men defend the borders by using blur guns given to the FBI from the future-aliens!

IT'S SO OBVIOUS!

Thorin · August 25, 2006, 05:53:19 PM

Umm... Is it jus tme, or does Yahoo! Maps LOCAL beta look an awful lot like GoogleMaps? Did they sign a deal, or something?

Darren Dirt · August 25, 2006, 06:02:52 PM

Yahoo Maps (beta) is better than Google.

Cuz when I was looking up Hawrelak Park on Google maps, it was still showing winter satellite footage.

It's AUGUST! I don't want to be reminded of the 7 months of snow coming up...

Mr. Analog · August 25, 2006, 07:47:25 PM

Quote from: Thorin on August 25, 2006, 05:53:19 PM
Umm... Is it jus tme, or does Yahoo! Maps LOCAL beta look an awful lot like GoogleMaps? Did they sign a deal, or something?

No-no, it's totally different, see Google maps scale goes from zoomed out to zoomed in bottom to top, Yahoo is totally the other way.

Lazybones · August 25, 2006, 11:01:32 PM

Quote from: Darren Dirt on August 25, 2006, 06:02:52 PM
Yahoo Maps (beta) is better than Google.

Cuz when I was looking up Hawrelak Park on Google maps, it was still showing winter satellite footage.

It's AUGUST! I don't want to be reminded of the 7 months of snow coming up...

True, they seem to have a full summer snapshot of Edmonton.

Thorin · August 26, 2006, 06:48:59 PM

Quote from: Lazybones on August 25, 2006, 11:01:32 PM
Quote from: Darren Dirt on August 25, 2006, 06:02:52 PM
Yahoo Maps (beta) is better than Google.

Cuz when I was looking up Hawrelak Park on Google maps, it was still showing winter satellite footage.

It's AUGUST! I don't want to be reminded of the 7 months of snow coming up...

True, they seem to have a full summer snapshot of Edmonton.

Couldn't that just be that Yahoo Local Maps Beta has *older* data?

What I really meant is that the technology and user input technique appear exactly the same.