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You are here: Home / Open Threads / I Has Questions, and I Hope You Has Answers

I Has Questions, and I Hope You Has Answers

by John Cole|  June 27, 201312:29 am| 52 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Science & Technology

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The clouds are out so I could not see the stars, and Walt and I were talking and I vaguely remember an iPad commercial that had an app that if you held it up the to sky, it would tell you what constellations you should (or are) seeing.

Walt wanted to know if any of you had heard of a tree identification app. Walt seemed to remember an app where you could take a picture of a leaf and it would tell you the tree.

Then again, these could be bourbon induced fever dreams.

*** UPDATE ***

Holy hell, Star Walk is cool. I know, welcome to 2009 or whatever, but this is just awesome. Plus, I settled some arguments and I was right about the stars we were seeing.

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Reader Interactions

52Comments

  1. 1.

    ? Martin

    June 27, 2013 at 12:30 am

    Star Walk.

  2. 2.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    June 27, 2013 at 12:30 am

    Star Walk.

  3. 3.

    ? Martin

    June 27, 2013 at 12:31 am

    Leafsnap

  4. 4.

    ? Martin

    June 27, 2013 at 12:31 am

    Man, you don’t fucking pay me enough…

  5. 5.

    MikeJ

    June 27, 2013 at 12:32 am

    Sap Sucker. You pour sap into the usb port and it will identify the tree.

  6. 6.

    piratedan

    June 27, 2013 at 12:33 am

    slide 1: The Larch

  7. 7.

    Funkula

    June 27, 2013 at 12:34 am

    Due to the last line, I’m imagining this conversation taking place between two guys who are drunk off their asses, and it’s HILARIOUS.

  8. 8.

    Suzanne

    June 27, 2013 at 12:34 am

    OH MY GOD that Leafsnap is awesome. I already adore Star Walk.

  9. 9.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    June 27, 2013 at 12:36 am

    @? Martin: have you managed to get that to accurately identify anything? I tried a version of it on leaves I already knew, and it couldn’t identify them.

  10. 10.

    ? Martin

    June 27, 2013 at 12:37 am

    @The prophet Nostradumbass: Yeah, actually we have. It can be pretty hit or miss though depending on species.

    I should add – it couldn’t recognize anything indigenous to the southwest. Only things that are pretty broadly national. IIRC, it really only has east coast, or possibly northeast trees in the system. So it can pick up my apple tree but not the melaleuca.

  11. 11.

    Punchy

    June 27, 2013 at 12:41 am

    Whats the app where you take a picture of a hottie and it tells you if they’re fake or real?

  12. 12.

    Redshift

    June 27, 2013 at 12:41 am

    Stellarium, also.

  13. 13.

    RandomMonster

    June 27, 2013 at 12:42 am

    Pocket universe. The tree thing is new to me…

  14. 14.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    June 27, 2013 at 12:42 am

    @? Martin: that may explain my problem with it, as I am in California.

  15. 15.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    June 27, 2013 at 12:44 am

    For Android users, there is a (free) app that will do at least some of what Star Walk does, called Google Sky Map. It will at least show you the positions of objects in the sky.

  16. 16.

    Wag

    June 27, 2013 at 12:45 am

    I use Star Rover on my iPhone

  17. 17.

    Ted & Hellen

    June 27, 2013 at 12:46 am

    You and Walt are cute together. :D

  18. 18.

    Chris

    June 27, 2013 at 12:50 am

    BarkSmart.

  19. 19.

    amk

    June 27, 2013 at 12:51 am

    @Punchy: Your brain.

  20. 20.

    ? Martin

    June 27, 2013 at 12:51 am

    @The prophet Nostradumbass: As am I. Not many apple trees here in the OC.Thankfully it’s a self-pollinator so it’s a good producer. But the app picked it up quite nicely along with the oak near my house. Should work pretty well where John lives. (and it is just the northeast for now)

  21. 21.

    Citizen_X

    June 27, 2013 at 12:51 am

    Hells yeah, Star Walk. Pure awesomesauce.

  22. 22.

    Suffern ACE is a Basset Hound

    June 27, 2013 at 12:55 am

    I use Night Sky.

  23. 23.

    Lolis

    June 27, 2013 at 12:58 am

    @MikeJ:

    That made me laugh.

  24. 24.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    June 27, 2013 at 1:08 am

    @? Martin: from your link above, I found that the version I had used before was an iPhone version. Maybe the ipad one will work better.

  25. 25.

    Suzanne

    June 27, 2013 at 1:14 am

    One of my cats seems to be ill. She’s lost weight and is a bit shaky, and is not as obnoxious as she usually is. We are painting the house and she drank some of the paint water a few days ago, but seemed to be okay afterward, but now I’m getting concerned. Vet tomorrow.

  26. 26.

    eemom

    June 27, 2013 at 1:15 am

    if any of you had heard of a tree identification app. Walt seemed to remember an app where you could take a picture of a leaf and it would tell you the tree.

    omfg.

    Cole, the time has come for you to STOP showing off the fact that no matter what random shit pops into your head at no matter what hour of the day or night, you can post it here, and an army of ready willing and able sycophants will lap it right up.

    Srsly. Have you at long last sir, no sense of decency?

  27. 27.

    piratedan

    June 27, 2013 at 1:19 am

    has anyone seen Kay and noted what the Ohio GOP is attempting to do when it comes to the “latest and greatest” on Abortion?…

    apologies in advance, it’s a HuffPo link

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2xfxQPYImc

  28. 28.

    Dead Ernest

    June 27, 2013 at 1:24 am

    @Lolis:
    @Mike – me too. Thank you.

    Think it might be sApp Sucker.

  29. 29.

    piratedan

    June 27, 2013 at 1:29 am

    @piratedan:

    mea culpa, had a Bullwinkle moment and used the wrong hat….

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/19/ohio-abortion-bill_n_3467328.html

  30. 30.

    FlipYrWhig

    June 27, 2013 at 1:29 am

    @Suzanne: hope everything turns out well for the beast…

  31. 31.

    FlipYrWhig

    June 27, 2013 at 1:30 am

    @MikeJ: Joke’s on you, iPads don’t have USB ports.

  32. 32.

    MattR

    June 27, 2013 at 1:31 am

    The google suggests the Virginia Tech Tree ID app. There is another method that is more accurate, but it requires access to Willie Nelson and his “method” turns your sample to ash.

  33. 33.

    Mnemosyne

    June 27, 2013 at 1:33 am

    So apparently I turned our new TV off incorrectly last night and it was still on this morning. No picture, because it further turns out that I turned off the cable box by mistake.

    I’ll say this for our old tube TV, at least you didn’t have to press three different buttons to turn the goddamned thing off.

  34. 34.

    Suzanne

    June 27, 2013 at 1:36 am

    @FlipYrWhig: We are currently feeding her lunch meat and keeping the dog away from her. I’m worried. Poor baby?

  35. 35.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    June 27, 2013 at 1:39 am

    @? Martin: Well, you’re running it on an iPad, so of course it’ll ID an Apple.

  36. 36.

    Yatsuno

    June 27, 2013 at 1:40 am

    @Suzanne: It might be a kidney or a liver issue since it took this long to show up. Poor kitteh.

  37. 37.

    Suzanne

    June 27, 2013 at 1:42 am

    @Yatsuno: Ugh. SHIT. I had a kitty that I had to put down because she was in kidney failure. I still miss the hell out of my Nico.

  38. 38.

    Jerzy Russian

    June 27, 2013 at 1:46 am

    I remember when I was a kid I had to use a book (by H. A. Rey) to figure out which stars were which.

  39. 39.

    FlipYrWhig

    June 27, 2013 at 1:52 am

    @Yatsuno: @Suzanne: We had one weight loss case that ended up being kidney problems, one that was thyroid. But you never know. Usually as long as they’re eating and drinking and peeing and pooping, nothing’s dire.

  40. 40.

    The Bobs

    June 27, 2013 at 1:55 am

    I’m shocked to find that Apple users need a program to identify stars in the night sky. Try taking your eyes off the screen for a while.

    The actual stars and sky are what is cool, the software is just software.

  41. 41.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    June 27, 2013 at 2:19 am

    @The Bobs: you are stupid. Everyone has to learn about the night sky from somewhere. Did you just absorb it out of the air?

  42. 42.

    LGRooney

    June 27, 2013 at 8:18 am

    SkyView is what my son and I use.

  43. 43.

    PurpleGirl

    June 27, 2013 at 8:39 am

    @Mnemosyne: You should be able to sync the TV and cable box so that you only need to turn on the cable box. Look at whatever guide you have for the cable box remote.

  44. 44.

    donnah

    June 27, 2013 at 8:41 am

    Sky Walk is one of the first apps I bought. It’s more than a constellation ID, it’s a collection of stunning photos and facts about space. I have always loved stargazing, and this makes it easier to identify and map the stars.

    It’s fun!

  45. 45.

    Honus

    June 27, 2013 at 8:45 am

    It won’t help you see stars, but this is fun, too

    http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/

  46. 46.

    ET

    June 27, 2013 at 8:59 am

    I have one called The Night Sky from iCandy Apps (I have a Droid).

  47. 47.

    Matt McIrvin

    June 27, 2013 at 9:34 am

    @Jerzy Russian: “The Stars: A New Way To See Them.” That’s a classic. Rey’s fancy constellation diagrams lean a bit too much on dim stars that most kids won’t be able to see unless they go out to the country, but they’re a great spur to the imagination.

  48. 48.

    terraformer

    June 27, 2013 at 9:41 am

    Skysafari is pretty good I think, and free.

  49. 49.

    mzrad

    June 27, 2013 at 10:44 am

    The tree ID app is called SnapLeaf but I haven’t found it to work well.

  50. 50.

    Geeno

    June 27, 2013 at 10:47 am

    @FlipYrWhig: My 17 year old tabby just developed thyroid problems this past year. Losing weight, dehydration, frequent intestinal blockages (due to the dehydration), but it took a few months before the problem finally showed up in his blood work.
    The medicine is doing wonders. He doesn’t mind it in his food and he’s putting some weight back on.

  51. 51.

    maya

    June 27, 2013 at 11:16 am

    @Punchy: Basoom Juice

  52. 52.

    David Brooks (not that one)

    June 27, 2013 at 5:26 pm

    I hope you also saw Saturn, fairly low in the south.

    Windows Phone has SkyMap, with some pretty cool features.

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