Google is going to conduct an experiment in Sydney on Australia Day, which it says if successful, it will do in other cities around the world during big national holidays. They are hiring a plane with special permission to criss-cross the city at very low altitude to “add a few more zoom levels” to Google Maps and Google Earth. They’re asking people to hold up funny signs, lie on the ground in formation, and generally make dicks of themselves. I can already imagine the rude words spelled out in human letters created by the university students and schoolboys…
Sounds fun, but I’ll be in Bowral. I doubt that the plane will get that far south.
Whaddya mean university students and schoolboys? I’ve got some plans of my own! Just jokes. I don’t think I’ll be doing that, exactly, but I will definitely be celebrating it in true Aussie style - a bbq and cricket on the beach with some ice cold beer. 
Just as a heads up for Sydney Dopers, if you go to whereis.com.au (the map/street directory site) and look up a Sydney address, wait until the map is generated, then you will see a new tab on that page marked something like “photo (beta)”. It’s a beta version of an aerial photo facility similar to Google’s, and the resolution is much, much better than Google’s (people are more than specks, you can see individual sleepers in the railway lines, etc). As far as I know, it’s only Sydney covered at the moment. Try it on your house - you’ll be amazed how much sharper it is than Google.
Yes, it’s a very sharp image. It’s not terribly up to date though. The photo of my place must be at least six months old.
The photo of my place has a tree that the landlord cut down more than 18 months ago in it… You can, however, just about see each individual dead branch 
I’ve estimated some of Google’s to be up to two years old, based on certain things like seeing vacant land where there is now a large housing estate, etc.
Still, I’m not complaining about either whereis.com.au or Google. It still amazes me that we can browse this stuff in our living rooms.
And here is the Google page about this.
It gives you a map and a pointer you can slide around to get estimates of overflight times in various areas. It’s only covering the CBD, the northern part of the Eastern suburbs (down as far as about Bronte or Clovelly) and the southern part of the North Shore. I guess they don’t want us Western Suburbs types sporting our AC/DC t-shirts and mullets… 
Is any one going to the Triple J Hottest 100 party in Hyde Park? It starts at 10 IIRC
I’m too lazy to mention it to Triple J seeing how I’m in Brisbane, but it would be pretty interesting to have them spell out something or make the triple J drums or well, something.
And high resolution pictures with people knowing about in advance? What was Google thinking?
I’m working on Friday, so no photo opportunities for me.