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I stumbled across Google Latitude last night. And Vickie and I have been playing with it today.

It's an app for GPS capable smart phones. Download it to your phone and then your friends (which you must invite to join you) can watch your progress in almost real time on the Google Latitude webpage. You log in with your Google Account (which you can activate even without a Google email address).

My Google Latitude "friends" right now are Vickie and my brother, Mike. Mike doesn't have a gmail account, so I invited him and he accepted, using his yahoo account. Vickie used her Google account.

Anyway, Vickie went shopping this morning and I could watch her progress as she drove around her town. I called her and asked if she was at such-and-such shopping center, and she said, yes - right next door!

Next test, I took my iPad (3G on) and walked to the end of my driveway. My brother was watching my little icon move on his Google Latitude page. Very cool.

Then, I turned off both my iPad's wifi and 3G connections. The iPad still showed my movement, but it didn't make it to the internet because it had no way to get there. But for me, it was acting like a large-screen GPS.

You can "check-in" whenever you want (I'm still not clear how that works), and there is a history that people can view of those places you've checked in.

I still need to poke around it more, but Mike is excited (as excited as most men ever get, unless YOU-KNOW-WHAT is involved...) to be able to follow me in almost real time!

That's all I know for now.

Oh, and I forgot to mention - Vickie is a Doofus. But I think most of you knew that.

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Yes, if any of you were wondering if I fear Mitch is going to STALK me, I am!

She may follow you around but now you will see her coming. And just think, Mitch, your brother will be able to see how far you made it before the bear took you out.

BirdbyBird wrote:She may follow you around but now you will see her coming. And just think, Mitch, your brother will be able to see how far you made it before the bear took you out.

Ain't no stinkin' bahlr takin' me out...I'll stake The Little Beast out in the woods, safely zipped up in her.............

BRAND NEW PET STROLLER (she's a lazy little thing...)



My brother thinks I will be laughed out of Alaska.
But I know he's wrong.
And we've (me and The Beast) have had our first short, yet successful, leisurely stroll in her new wheels this afternoon...

The thing is well made. However, I think a bahr would be able to rip it open with one, quick swipe of its paw.
She better behave from now on...

Maybe you two can take turns pushing each other around in it! You can teach her how to push it with her front paws while you take a nap inside.

With the new GPS thingy, your brother can find your remains after the bear has you for dinner (or in your case, a snack! )

A friend of mine uses it for his kids - so while he's on the road, they can find him. It's a pretty neat thing. I probably should use it with at least one trustworthy person because of all the boondocking I do - but ... hey... I like to hide out

Mitch,

This seems like a good idea for a solo rv'er. I have enabled it just now on my phone for a test. I'm currently in my rv at the campground just outside the Okefenokee Refuge but by 8am I should be kayaking through the swamp and into the Chesser prairie. Seems like a good test.

vickie

Hey Mitch, as a ham, you can also use APRS and be tracked. I have APRSdroid on my phone, as does DBF. I have used it a couple times when soloing, and he uses it when he travels for work.

mitch5252 wrote:

BirdbyBird wrote:She may follow you around but now you will see her coming. And just think, Mitch, your brother will be able to see how far you made it before the bear took you out.

Ain't no stinkin' bahlr takin' me out...I'll stake The Little Beast out in the woods, safely zipped up in her.............

BRAND NEW PET STROLLER (she's a lazy little thing...)



My brother thinks I will be laughed out of Alaska.
But I know he's wrong.
And we've (me and The Beast) have had our first short, yet successful, leisurely stroll in her new wheels this afternoon...

The thing is well made. However, I think a bahr would be able to rip it open with one, quick swipe of its paw.
She better behave from now on...

Ummm your brother may be right. I'm laughing out loud thinking about the look on Herschel and Remi's face when they see this!

I'm glad no one can track my movements around town, they would think I am going in circles. Which I usually am.

Martha

It sounds like a neat thing for family to keep track of us wandering north....you will have to show me how to download it when we meet up.....

BirdbyBird wrote:It sounds like a neat thing for family to keep track of us wandering north....you will have to show me how to download it when we meet up.....

It came on my phone - you might already have it.

One thing I don't get - I haven't left the property and I'm showing up all over SW KY.
Like right now, it shows I'm in Sedalia KY, which is a bit over the border into KY.
Weird.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that I use my iPad and I turn the 3G off and on all the time...
Again, go figure. I have a lot of that going on.