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trip

Flying a simulated Apache helicopter

ORLANDO, Fla.--I'm sitting at the controls of an F-35 Lightning II and my missiles are locked in on a couple of nearby enemy fighters.

I fire twice, and off shoot a couple of missiles, screaming toward their target. Victory is mine. As long as I don't lose control of my own fighter and go plummeting into the ground.

I grip the controls and struggle back toward the aircraft carrier I launched from. The voice in my left ear becomes a little alarmed as I approach the landing strip and just about as I'm about to cartwheel … Read more

News.com Daily Podcast: How cities are taking on climate change

Cities' green action plans; Yahoo loses a couple of prominent employees; and Republican and Democrats cast a vote for Microsoft.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

City governments' response to climate change ranges from cutting-edge distributed energy to adding more bike lanes and trees. Climate change experts from four cities--London, Toronto, Chicago, and New York--spoke at the Mass Impact Symposium Monday in Cambridge, Mass., and CNET News.com intern Holly Jackson had the chance to chat with reporter Martin LaMonica about what they said.

Plus, Yahoo loses a couple of high-level employees--and it's getting set to announce a dealRead more

Touring Disney World the unconventional way

EPCOT CENTER, Fla.--Ah, lawyers.

I was sitting inside a small dome, antsy to get going on the special Segway tour of this famous theme park that I had arranged. But before they would let me or any of the others on the tour head out and ride around on our gyroscopic human transporters, we had to sit through more than half an hour of tedious, but entirely practical, training.

As our instructors told us how to get on and how to get off, how to speed up and how to slow down and so many other crucial things, I … Read more

Behind the curtain at Disney World's Cirque show

ORLANDO, Fla.--If you've seen the Cirque du Soleil Las Vegas shows Ka, Love or O, you've probably been led to expect that every one of the company's performances is full of wonderful technical achievements.

The truth is that it doesn't take that much technology to make a great Cirque show, as the folks who put together La Nouba, the Cirque's show here, explained to me Tuesday.

When it launched in late 1998, La Nouba was just the third permanent Cirque show, after Mystere and O. But it was the first to get its own … Read more

Gorillas, meerkats and Mickey get Road Trip 2008 going

ANIMAL KINGDOM, Fla.--And so it begins.

For the third year in a row, I've set out for a lengthy journey through one of the United States' major geographic regions. It's time for Road Trip 2008, several thousand miles of traveling the American South.

Last year it was the Southwest, and in 2006 it was the Pacific Northwest.

And since I've started this trip in Orlando, there's only one way to really begin: total immersion in Disney World.

That's why at about 9 p.m. Sunday--after checking into my hotel and getting situated, I jumped … Read more

Disney World preparation 2.0

SAN FRANCISCO--It's hard for me to believe, but in only three days, I'll be hopping on a plane and heading east for the beginning of Road Trip 2008, my journey through the American South to write about and photograph many of the region's most interesting destinations.

One of the very first stops will be Disney World, in Orlando, Fla., and over the last few days, I've noticed that there are at least a couple of new applications that can help people like me get ready for the total immersion experience that is a visit to Florida'… Read more

Looking for Orlando, Disney World tips for Road Trip 2008

Next Tuesday, I officially begin Road Trip 2008, my reporting journey through the U.S. South.

As I've written here, I'll be doing stories and photo packages from some of the most interesting destinations and attractions in the region, many of which I've already planned. But I am also very keen on seeing what you might suggest for various locations along the way.

My first stop when the trip begins on June 10 will be Orlando, Fla. As you can imagine, that means I'll be stopping in on Disney World.

But I've never been there … Read more

NASA to put Buzz Lightyear on International Space Station

Talk about cross-promotion.

One of the closest things to Disney World's Orlando, Fla., home, is NASA's Kennedy Space Center. This is relevant because on Friday, it was announced that among the objects expected to be blasted into the sky with the planned Saturday launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery is a figurine of Toy Story space ranger Buzz Lightyear.

Disney World, of course, is where the new Toy Story Mania ride has just opened.

The idea behind putting Buzz Lightyear aboard the Space Shuttle has to do with the "Toys in Space" initiative NASA and Disney … Read more

Road Trip 2008: 5,000 miles through the Deep South

SAN FRANCISCO--Over the 8,260 miles I've driven on Road Trip 2006 and Road Trip 2007, I've visited, written about, and photographed some of the most interesting destinations in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

I've also gotten to road-test some really cool gadgets and drive the spiffy and comfortable Infiniti QX56 over some long and very hot distances.

Now I'm getting ready to depart on Road Trip 2008. This year, rather than leaving from my home base in San Francisco, I'll be flying east and starting a grand tour of the … Read more

Unseen Nike missiles once protected S.F., other U.S. cities

MARIN HEADLANDS, Calif.--It is sometimes amazing to discover what is right in your backyard.

I grew up in San Francisco, yet it was only recently that I discovered that just a few miles north of the City by the Bay, the United States' only fully restored Nike missile site is nestled into these gorgeous green hills, in plain view of the Pacific Ocean and one of my all-time favorite beaches.

As I was planning my departure to the U.S. South on Road Trip 2008, this year's version of Road Trip 2007, the 25-day journey I took last … Read more