Thanks to the coronavirus, international travel is pretty much out of the question. This, however, doesn't mean that you can't take a taste of a huge number of cultures from around the world, without ever leaving your home.

Radio Garden is a web service with a visual interface that allows you to tune into a vast variety of radio stations from around the world: Spin the globe, zoom in on the region you're interested in listening in on and choose a radio station. You're in business. During a recent trip to Morocco, I got into the kingdom's music scene, in a big way. Thanks to Radio Garden, I'm able to tune in and discover new sounds, anytime I please. If you're trapped inside and hungry for something to do, give it a try. It'll kill at least a few hours of your time Read the rest

I don't know what the best words ever written in the English language are, but I'm willing to put "Top of Launch Pad 39A, Address is Approximate" up there on the short list.

Among the images you can now explore online with the click of your mouse are the space shuttle launch pad, Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Firing Room #4. Gaze down from the top of the enormous launch pad, peer up at the towering ceiling of the Vehicle Assembly Building (taller than the Statue of Liberty) and get up close to one of the space shuttle’s main engines, which is powerful enough to generate 400,000 lbs of thrust. And even though they recently entered retirement, you can still get an up-close, immersive experience with two of the Space Shuttle Orbiters—the Atlantis and Endeavour.

I'm not sure when this went live, but it's seriously phenomenal. And it's part of a larger series of special Street View galleries with geeky appeal. There are sets for Antarctica (see Shackleton's shack!), historic Italy (wander around the Colosseum!), and UNESCO World Heritage Sites (includes Pompeii!). In general, discovering this could be a major time-suck for me, if I'm not careful.

See the NASA collection

Check out the other Street View Galleries Read the rest