2009-06-28 50 -1

Sun 28 Jun 2009 in Southampton: 50.9102060, -1.3062207 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

50.910206, -1.306221 - Right in the middle of Hedge End recreation ground! Plenty of space to play, pubs and cafes and shops nearby. A perfect geohash!

Participants

• Sermoa
• Macronencer
• Laura (a drag-along friend who didn't have a clue what was going on but turned up anyway!)

Details

XKCD hash location

1.9 mile walk from Hedge End train station

2.4 mile walk from Botley train station

Bluestar 3 bus goes from Southampton to Hedge End £5.30 return or from Bitterne £4.00 return.

Close to the M27.

Expedition

Sermoa's journey

I left home at 13:50, went to get the train from Winchester to Hedge End at 14:08, walked the 1.9 miles to the recreation ground, stopping to take photos, and going the wrong way only twice. I got to the recreation ground at about 15:40, poked my real-life google pin in the ground and then proceeded to feel rather embarrassed as everyone was there with children in the paddling pool, and i had no children! I was very relieved when Mike showed up!

We played music together, solved the Rubik's cube, juggled, took photos, and talked about our interests and our life experiences. It was so nice to get to know Mike, somebody i wouldn't have otherwise met, and we found we share some similar interests. We attracted a little attention from some nearby people, and we explained a little about xkcd and geohashing!

My friend Laura turned up at around 17:00, not even knowing why we were there or what geohashing was all about! I'd just said i'd be in Hedge End recreation ground and wasn't even expecting Laura to come! We all had a good time chatting and enjoying the weather together. In my opinion it was a most excellent geohashing adventure!

Macronencer's journey

I was hoping to cycle to this geohash (my very first one!) but I thought the weather looked a bit iffy, so being a lazy git I drove there! Aimee was hard to miss, with her wonderful Google map pin - well done for making that so quickly.

It was probably an unusual type of meet-up, being in a pleasant public place and there being just the two of us (until Laura arrived), but it was terrific fun, and I enjoyed meeting Aimee and seeing her play the xaphoon, an instrument I'd not seen before. She can juggle, which is something I seem doomed to fail at, though I think I had the edge on the Rubik's cube. I'm only a beginner on the flute (I usually play keyboards) but managed to pick out a simple harmony while we played the xkcd song. Believe it or not, I had not heard it before!

I suppose doing the public place thing has a lot of advantages, including the "public outreach" aspect, as in "Hey everyone, look, the Internet is here!" However, next time I'm hoping for a slightly more adventurous journey - this was literally less than 2 miles from where I live. Looking forward to it regardless, though!

Gallery

• 

  Geohash set up with a little geeky shrine!

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  Celebrating the geohash!

• 

  Showing the location of the geohash.

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  Confirming the location of the geohash.

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  Aimee playing xaphoon at the geohash.

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  Mike playing flute at the geohash.

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  Rubik's cube solving.

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  More Rubik's cube solving.

• 

  Juggling!

• 

  For the circus geohash achievement.

• 

  Laura, my drag-along friend!

• 

  The hashdog!

• 

  Blue dot on iPhone showing location (ignore the numbers!)

Videos to follow shortly, i hope! :)

Achievements

Macronencer earned the Land geohash achievement by reaching the (50, -1) geohash on 2009-06-28.

Sermoa earned the Public transport geohash achievement by reaching the (50, -1) geohash on 2009-06-28 via South West Trains.

Sermoa earned the No Batteries Geohash Achievement by reaching the (50, -1) geohash on 2009-06-28.

Sermoa earned the Drag-along achievement by dragging Laura to the (50, -1) geohash on 2009-06-28.

Sermoa earned the Meet-up achievement by meeting Macronencer at the (50, -1) geohash on 2009-06-28.

Sermoa earned the Circus Geohash Achievement by juggling at the (50, -1) geohash on 2009-06-28.

Sermoa earned the Musician Achievement by playing xaphoon at the (50, -1) geohash on 2009-06-28.

Macronencer earned the Musician Achievement by playing flute at the (50, -1) geohash on 2009-06-28.

Sermoa earned the Rubik's Achievement by solving a Rubik's cube at the (50, -1) geohash on 2009-06-28.

Macronencer earned the Rubik's Achievement by solving a Rubik's cube at the (50, -1) geohash on 2009-06-28.

Sermoa earned the Hashdog Ribbon by playing ball with a dog at the (50, -1) geohash on 2009-06-28.

Macronencer earned the Two to the N achievement

by attempting to reach 2⁰ hashpoints on 2009-06-28 50 -1 and is promoted to Level 0 (Expeditions).

Macronencer earned the Two to the N achievement

by reaching 2⁰ hashpoints on 2009-06-28 50 -1 and is promoted to Level 0 (Coordinates reached).

How the location is calculated

It's a combination of the date, the Dow Jones stock market data, an encryption algorithm, and a translation to geographic coordinates. We use 50, -1 to find the closest Geohash location to us, and look it up on a Google map to see where it falls. Quite often it's in the English Channel, or a field in the middle of nowhere. When it falls in a convenient place, such as Hedge End recreation ground, it's quite fun to go there to see if anyone else has come to the same place for the same reason!