project geocaching

http://project-gc.com/

geotrib.es

A site that uses the geocaching.com API to show statistics for your travelbugs and geocoins and displays them on a map: http://geotrib.es/

Revolutions Podcast

Just found that Mike Duncan who created the excellend The History of Rome podcast started a new project this year. http://www.revolutionspodcast.com/. Might be worth the listen.

How to teach me history: Second Punic War (218-201 BC)

I didn't know a lot about history. My basic knowledge about history is funded more by comics than history lessons in school. Finally I found the way it could have been brought to me to make it more interesting.

Penny Arcade - Extra credits is a a weekly webcast that explains about game development from a non-technical viewpoint. In animated form they publish funny animations with strong narrative.

Game developer Creative Assembly who created Total War - Rome II, funded the team to publish a number of episodes about the punic wars. The series especially focusses on the second punic war (218 to 201 BC). It is better known for the war that Hannibal faught with the Romans.
Besides it's history and happened for real, it's an amazing story
http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/extra-history-the-punic-wars-begin
http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/extra-history-the-second-punic-war-begins
http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/extra-history-the-second-punic-war-rages-on
http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/extra-history-the-conclusion-of-the-second-punic-war

Also, you might want to check out the excellent podcast series by Mike DUncan, 'the history of Rome'
The next episodes also focus on the same period in time as the penny-arcade episodes:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/historyofrome/22__Prelude_to_the_Second_Punic_War.mp3
http://traffic.libsyn.com/historyofrome/23a-_The_War_with_Hannibal.mp3
http://traffic.libsyn.com/historyofrome/23b-_The_War_With_Hannibal.mp3
http://traffic.libsyn.com/historyofrome/23c-_The_War_With_Hannibal.mp3
http://traffic.libsyn.com/historyofrome/23d-_The_War_With_Hannibal.mp3
http://traffic.libsyn.com/historyofrome/23e-_The_War_With_Hannibal.mp3

WW2 movie night - 400 min.

This weekend I went to a friend to have a WW2 movie night. He is fascinated with the war and suggested we watch the excellent 3-film miniseries. We did and I was highly impressed. Next we watched a Russian movie about the german siege on a Brest fortress. Impressive too. Felt like Saving Private Ryan but from a Russion point of view. Conclusion: like Edwin Starr already sung: War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing.

Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter(2013)  270 min
also known as Generation War (2013)
Berlin, 1941. Five friends eager to become heroes in an adventure that will change the face of Europe - and that will forever change them as well
imdb rating: 7,9
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1883092/

Brestskaya krepost(2010) 138 min.
A war drama set during the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, in which Russian troops held on to a border stronghold for nine days.
imdb rating: 7,3
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343703/

(Over) 2 million active geocaches.

As of februari of 2013, the 2 millionth active geocache was placed. Check out the video below to see an impressive animation of the caches that were placed over time and see it spread like a virus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfU3blexL7o

Geocaching seems to have started right after the American government ordered an end to "Selective Availability" on GPS on May 2nd, 2000. This would make GPS readers for civilians much more accurate. The switch was flipped at midnight on May 1, 2000 and technology adept Dave Ulmer was
watching his GPS device to see it become more accurate the next second.

Dave started thinking of something to celebrate this important event and thought it would be fun if he would hide some 'stash' for others to find. He filled a bucket with gifts wrapped in plastic and an instruction what to do with it and hid it the next day in the woods outside Portland, Oregon.

Next, he posted this message to a usenet newsgroup:

Newsgroup: sci.geo.satellite-nav
 From: Dave
 Date: 2000/05/03
 Subject: GPS Stash Hunt... Stash #1 is there!

Well, I did it, created the first stash hunt stash and here are
 the coordinates:

N 45 17.460
 W122 24.800

Lots of goodies for the finders. Look for a black plastic bucket
 buried most of the way in the ground. Take some stuff, leave
 some stuff! Record it all in the log book. Have Fun!

Stash contians: Delorme Topo USA software, videos, books, food,
 money, and a slingshot!

The stash was found within a day and the initiative was followed by more hidden stashes. As said, we have 2 million active caches worldwide.

You can listen to Dave's story on podcacher show 409: http://www.podcacher.com/2013/02/show-409-0-dave-ulmer-reminisces/
For original footage of the bucket he hid, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMHZcgM11GU
The first month of geocaching in day-to-day posts: http://www.guysnamedkim.com/geocache/geocache_history.html