2010 › May

The perfect souvenir for volcano stranded passengers – a jar of ash

by Scott Carmichael on

Some people get their friends an “I’m with stupid” t-shirt, others may bring back a horrible sombrero – but if you’ve been impacted by the European aviation disruption caused by the Icelandic Eyjafjallajökull volcano, how about five and a half ounces of pure Icelandic volcanic ash?

Think of this little jar as a reminder of how terrible your trip back home was, or how long you had to sleep on the airport floor. Or if you missed an important meeting, present a jar of it to your boss as “evidence”.

Sadly, the Icelandic merchants behind this souvenir charge a whopping $38 for filling a cheap glass jar with ash, plus an additional $36 for shipping.

There is an upside though – all proceeds from the sale of this ash souvenir will benefit ICESAR – the Icelandic Search and Rescue organization in charge of safety in regions impacted by the volcano.

For this Icelandic souvenir (or to see the assortment of other Icelandic products), click here to visit Nammi.is.

Walt Disney World to build new value resort

by Leigh Caldwell on

Walt Disney World says construction will begin this summer on its first new hotel in seven years.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will largely consist of “family suites” that sleep up to six people.

There’s no word on how Disney’s family suites will be configured, but other resorts that offer family suites typically have a larger room that includes a partially walled off space outfitted for children, with bunk beds and a separate television.

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will be built on a site that was once planned as a second phase of Disney’s Pop Century Resort, called “The Legendary Years.”

Walt Disney World has two partially built structures on the property. Construction on them was halted when Disney abandoned plans for Pop Century’s second phase several years ago.

The new resort will celebrate animation with themed sections from its movies, including “The Lion King” and “Cars,” according to the Sentinel’s report.

The hotel will be considered a “value” resort, Disney’s term for its lower priced properties, where rooms currently start at $82 per night. It is expected to open in 2012.

Global Action Atlas connects people with causes the world over

by Kraig Becker on

The stated mission for National Geographic is “to inspire people to care about the planet” which is greatly exemplified in a new project that looks to connect people with causes from around the world.

This new project is called the Global Action Atlas, and while it is still listed as being in beta, it is very easy to see the potential to do great things. The site is essentially a database of local cause-related projects from around the planet, with information on how concerned global citizens can get involved on some level, ranging from simply donating funds to volunteering to help in person. Likewise, by being listed in the Atlas, those causes have the ability to reach out to a wider audience that might never have known it existed, garnering support from new sources.

Some of the causes that are currently featured on the Action Atlas front page include rallying support to protect wetlands from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, working to make Washington DC schools to be more energy efficient, and saving elephants in Mali. Geographically, the opportunities to get involved stretch across North and South America, Africa, Asia, and into Oceania, with projects that are diverse and rewarding on a variety of levels.

At the heart of the Global Action Atlas is the Action Map, powered by Bing. The Action Map shows all of the projects in the database graphically laid out by location around the globe. With multiple zoom levels, you can zoom in on specific areas of the planet to more closely examine local projects in that region, and a handy search function lets you find projects based on keywords or location. Add in the ability to filter the projects by category, such as “conservation”, “exploration”, or “energy”, and you have a powerful tool for finding important causes to participate in.

Looking at the Action Map, I personally couldn’t help but be impressed with all of the great projects that are underway all over the world. There really are some amazing things being done to improve the lives of people or to protect the environment, and the Global Action Atlas allows us to get involved with those efforts no matter where we live.

Photo of the Day (5.11.10)

by Stephen Greenwood on
If someone asked you to pick out Ushuaia on a map, would you know where to look? That’s the location of today’s Photo of the Day, taken by Flickr user pancha!.

Ushuaia (hear the pronunciation here) is the capital of Argentine province Tierra del Fuego and regarded as the southernmost city in the world. Tourists flock to Ushuaia for skiiing, wildlife, Antarctica-bound cruises, and apparently the beautiful sunsets. Light is key in any great photo, and this is certainly a great example of capturing a photo at just the right moment.

If you’ve been to a remote destination and snapped a great photo of it – share it with us! Drop it in our Gadling Flickr Pool and it could be tomorrow’s Photo of the Day!

Google maps adds bicycle navigation feature on Android phones

by Scott Carmichael on

Google Maps with navigation is one of the more powerful selling points of the Android platform. The navigation features within Google Maps are absolutely fantastic – but best of all, they are free.

This afternoon, Google issued a market update that adds bicycle directions to its app. This means you can now get driving, walking, public transit and cycling directions from within Google maps.

To get the new features, just allow Google Maps to download its update and pick your transportation method in the navigation screen. Of course, you may want to invest in a bike mount for your phone. At the moment, bike directions are only available within US based maps, but knowing Google, this may make its way abroad pretty soon.

Other new features include the ability to share your location through email, messaging or Twitter (in addition to Google Latitude) and a new quick-launch navigation icon for your program launcher.