I'm fascinated a wealth of topics and ideas—as those around me suffering through a winding, geeky conversation can attest—two of which happen to be ancient civilizations and the incredible ability of the Internet to tell me where I've been when I've failed to take decent notes.
Take this place, for example.
This is the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina in the old Roman Forum. Now, the trick with this is, I knew generally where we were (right down the block from the Colosseum in the old city) in Rome. I could even tell you who was standing next to me (Kristen and Sheena). That's about it. I could walk you there, if we stood in that area, sure. However, I hadn't the faintest idea what this building was nor had I the foresight to take even the slightest interest in documenting the location ("heck, I took a picture, right?"). I didn't even remember that this was in the Roman Forum, for that matter.
So, I start on Google maps, zoom in to the Colosseum easily enough, and then "walk" my way down the street to the corner where this building is, recognize it on the map itself, find a few surrounding quickly identifiable landmarks, do another search for Roman Forum landmark maps, and *boom* goes the dynamite.
This isn't the first time nor do I expect it to be the last where I find myself on a semi-wild goose chase down the halls of the Internet for proper nouns. It's actually challenging and fun, especially in European cities. I take better notes, now, but at least I know when I'm unable to get the details, the friendly, nerdy Web has my back.
Larger version here: A Long Memory
Want more information? Check the reference below for links to both the worst sportscast in history (from whence the phrase, "boom goes the dynamite" originates) and the Wiki article on this cool temple.
Monday, July 5, 2010 
An evening heading out of the Gulf of Patras in Greece, on to the Ionian Sea and over to Brindisi, Italy. Really, not a bad view, eh?
