The Namib Desert, Southwest Africa - From Space

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Wiki page..

Google Maps location..

More pics, and likely image source HERE..

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Source / Via

Approximate location of the camera that took this image is probably from a helicopter or plane very near, and above, this location, looking south. You can see the Christ the Redeemer statue in the very center, but way in the background. Beautiful!!

Bunda Cliffs, Nullarbor Coast, Southern Australia

"The End of the World"


Source / Via (NSFW)

Wikipedia page..

Google Maps location..

More images..

PGA Tour's WGC-Accenture Tourney Snowed-out

...in southern Arizona


Images Source

That's right. A few miles north of Tucson, AZ got a bunch of snow, and the PGA tourney there had to be postponed. Talk about a first!

Please click HERE to go see more pictures from PGA Tour's Facebook page..

Legends Golf, South Africa - The Extreme 19th Hole

I've posted another video of this hole before, but this one is much, much better. Yeah, it's a must see!


Source

The Legends Course website / 19th Wikipedia / Google Maps

The 19th is off to the left a little bit..

Monte Fitz Roy, near El Chalten, Argentina

Via / Image Source: sesamepoodle18                                                     Click to enlarge!

Monte Fitz Roy taken at a distance from El Chalten, Argentina, or thereabouts, en route to Laguna de los Tres.

Only in Australia

Actually not.. I expect this from anyone in the Southern United States.. and many other places..


Source / Via - (NSFW)

The best part is how he's yelling at it: "C-mon .. C'Mon!"!

Don't Stop Believing Google Maps

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Manchac Swamp, Tangipahoa Parish, LA

CTE!!                                                                                                                                                   Via

More images..

And here's a cool little video I found:

Beachy Head, East Sussex, England

CTE!                                                                                                                                                       Via

Yes, there should totally be a golf course there!

Here's the Google Maps Link..

The Snake We Found at the Beach Yesterday Morning

Cute little guy we found at the edge of the Port Aransas tide was about 14-15 inches long, but thicker than most snakes which are that long - probably adult male index finger width. Anyone have any idea what type of snake this is? We looked around a bit, but couldn't pinpoint it. He was very much alive, and very much unhappy. He probably wasn't very healthy either, because he didn't run from us.

Somerset West, Cape Town, South Africa

CTE!!

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Here's a good article about the area..

Southern China

CTE!                                                                                                                                                     Via

More here..

Tijuana, Mexico & Southern California, USA Border

Click to enlarge..                                                                                                                           Via

OK so I've seen this picture many times, but the difference this time is I took it upon myself, as I do sometimes, to find its exact location. Without further ado, here it is.

Obviously the image above is taken from atop a hill, or perhaps a helicopter or airplane, so I found it impossible to put little Google Maps street guy in the exact location where this image was taken. However, notice the light blue building with the double roof on the right side of the road in Tijuana. That's the same blue building in the link.

Also if you turn around 180º (or click here), you can see a little dirt hill on the US side in the distance, from where the picture may actually have been taken.

The Texas Open Courses

By Art Stricklin at Links Magazine with my own additional comments.



The Valero Texas Open is the third oldest stop on the PGA Tour behind only the Western and Canadian Opens, and it's the oldest stop to have been played in the same city every year. All 82 tournaments, going back to 1922, have been played in San Antonio.

Winners of the Texas Open could open their own wing at the World Golf Hall of Fame, starting with Walter Hagen, who captured the 1923 Texas Open with a total purse of $5,000, bigger than the U.S. Open at the time. Arnold Palmer had a three-peat–on three different courses no less–in the early '60s. In 1940, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan staged one of their two PGA Tour playoffs with Nelson coming out the winnner, just like he did at the Masters two years later. Native son Ben Crenshaw won in his first-ever start as a member of the tour in 1973, and Tommy Armour III set the tour's scoring record of 254 (26 under) during the 2003 tournament.

Golf's legendary past, present and future have all come together for a Texas-sized golfing good time on some legendary Lone Star layouts at the Texas Open. Let's take a tour of the courses in chronological order:

Brackenridge
HOST YEARS (21): 1922–26, 1929–40, 1950–55, 1957–59
PAR: 71
YARDAGE: 6,263
ARCHITECT: A.W. Tillinghast, John Colligan (2008 restoration)
FACT: First public course in Texas, first public course with grass greens.
A very short course that I've played a half-dozen times, but not since the epic redesign in 2008. Several holes were completely changed, including a re-routing of holes 15-17. As most older courses in this area, elevation change is non-existant, but the premium is placed on accuracy, as tight, tree-lined fairways are what gives Brackenridge its teeth.


Willow Springs
HOST YEARS (10): 1927–28, 1941–49
PAR: 72
YARDAGE: 6,930
ARCHITECTS: Emil Loeffler, John Bredemus,
Vern Schmidt (renovation)
FACT: Longest hole in San Antonio is the 663-yard 2nd.
One of my favorite courses in the area! I've loved every one of my 25+ visits, and am always reminded why I want to go back again. The famous 2nd hole is almost 700 yards long, and seems as if it just keeps curving to the right. Most holes here are relatively wide-open, so it's as good a course as any for those who struggle keeping their driver straight. It's the site of my career-longest drive of 345 yards. Hole #12, par-5, 544.. lotta wind that day! Certainly have played Willow Springs more than any other course in San Antonio.


Fort Sam Houston (La Loma)
HOST YEARS (4): 1950–51, 1956, 1960
PAR: 72
YARDAGE: 6,566
ARCHITECT: A.W. Tillinghast
FACT: Last active-duty military base to host a PGA Tour event.
The company I used to work for had one of our yearly tournaments there one year, and I wasn't really impressed. Sure there are worse courses for your money, as it did have quite a bit of character, but just not the quality conditioning nor design. That was late '90's, though, so by now, it may be better.


Oak Hills CC
HOST YEARS (23): 1961–66, 1977–94
PAR: 70
YARDAGE: 7,183
ARCHITECT: A.W. Tillinghast
FACT: Originally founded as Alamo CC in 1922 but ceased operations during WWII and reopened as Oak Hills in 1946.
The only course on this list, other than the new venue, that I've never played. It's a private club, so I can't exactly expect to have played it, but I have been to a tourney with my father when it was hosted there (probably late 80's). The par-3 18th at Oak Hills is a truly incredible golf hole!


Pecan Valley
HOST YEARS (3): 1967, 1969–70
PAR: 71
YARDAGE: 7,183
ARCHITECT: Press Maxwell
FACT: Also hosted 1968 PGA Championship won by Julius Boros with Arnold Palmer second.
No doubt about it - Pecan Valley is one of the toughest golf courses in existence. I've played it about 10 times and have never scored anywhere near my handicap. Super-tight fairways, several creeks crossing fairways, subtly slippery and undulating greens, and one of the toughest par-4's I've never made par on (#2). Pecan Valley is simply a must-play if you go to San Antonio! It's no wonder at all that a PGA Championship was hosted here. They need to come back!


Woodlake
HOST YEARS (5): 1972–76
PAR: 72
YARDAGE: 7,143
ARCHITECT: Desmond Muirhead
FACT: Ben Crenshaw won his PGA Tour debut here in 1973.
Might just be my favorite course in San Antonio. Definitely top-4. When I wasn't at Willow Springs, I was here. It's always a really fun round of golf at Woodlake CC, simply because you're trying to putt some of the fastest, slick greens around. No wonder Crenshaw won here. The design is amazing, and the price is always just right too. As are most of these. I hadn't really touched on that yet, but along with Willow Springs, they won't break your bank, and you'll enjoy your round. Some of my best rounds have come here, but only because my putter was on that particular day.


La Cantera (Resort Course)
HOST YEARS (15): 1995–2009
PAR: 70
YARDAGE: 6,881
ARCHITECTS: Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf
FACT: Named best new course in America when it opened in 1994; last Morrish-Weiskopf collaboration.
If it weren't for the price, there is no other place within an hour of me that I'd go play. Without a doubt La Cantera is my dream course. I've been here countless times for the Texas Open (including 1996 when Tiger and I had a 2-second pro-spectator encounter). I've only played the resort course about 6-7 times, and proudly hold onto the memory of a 27-hole extravaganza with Rick in which I shot 40-42-40. The course has more character than any course I've ever been to. Serious elevation changes to the point where countless PGA pros have complained (they won, sigh), but some of the best greens I've ever putted. The definition of a subtle break.. very fast.. very true. Shame on the PGA tour for taking the Open elsewhere!


TPC San Antonio (Oaks Course)
HOST YEARS (2): 2010–2011
PAR: 72
YARDAGE: 7,435
ARCHITECTS: Greg Norman and Sergio Garcia
FACT: The second TPC course here will host a Champions Tour event this year.
No I haven't been there yet. The pictures and videos and reviews I've seen are incredible. We shall see if it's better than La Cantera.I guess I have my work cut out for me.

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USA Slave Population Distribution 1861

This map, showing “the distribution of the slave population of the southern states and the United States,” was created in September 1861 based on statistics from the eighth Census. Says the NOAA:

“President Lincoln frequently consulted this map in considering the relationship between emancipation and military strategy… Lincoln would look at the map and send his armies to free blacks in some of the highest density areas in order to destabilize Southern order. The Emancipation Proclamation became law on Jan. 1, 1863.”

Click here or the header image to get a closer look at the map..

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Mt. Roraima, Venezuela

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Mount Roraima (also known as Roraima Tepui or Cerro Roraima in Spanish, and Monte Roraima in Portuguese), is the highest of the Pakaraima chain of tepui plateau in South America.First described by the English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in 1596, its 31 km² summit area is defended by 400m (1,300 ft) tall cliffs on all sides. The mountain includes the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. (Source)

You can see more pictures of Mt. Roraima at this link.

Must Be Someone From The South

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Then again, here I am in south Texas - posting this picture. I'm not praying for it, but I'm hoping for a little bit. Those guys get so-o-o much, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we had an inch or two of their snow. C'mon!!

Visualizing Slavery

One of the most important maps of the Civil War was also one of the most visually striking: the United States Coast Survey’s map of the slaveholding states, which clearly illustrates the varying concentrations of slaves across the South. Abraham Lincoln loved the map and consulted it often; it even appears in a famous 1864 painting of the president and his cabinet.

The 1860 Census was the last time the federal government took a count of the South’s vast slave population. Several months later, the United States Coast Survey—arguably the most important scientific agency in the nation at the time—issued two maps of slavery that drew on the Census data, the first of Virginia and the second of Southern states as a whole. Though many Americans knew that dependence on slave labor varied throughout the South, these maps uniquely captured the complexity of the institution and struck a chord with a public hungry for information about the rebellion.

The map uses what was then a new technique in statistical cartography: Each county not only displays its slave population numerically, but is shaded (the darker the shading, the higher the number of slaves) to visualize the concentration of slavery across the region. The counties along the Mississippi River and in coastal South Carolina are almost black, while Kentucky and the Appalachians are nearly white.

Continue to the rest of the article, and be sure to click the image at the beginning to get to the interactive version of the map - with helpful descriptions around different regions of the south.

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Fall Foliage Peak Times

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None of this kinda stuff happens here in south Texas.