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Hey! I can see my
house from here!

According to an absolutely amazing new computer program that allows you to take a digital visual tour from outer space right down to your own house, the Waikapoki Fish Pond is located on a hill just above my back yard.

Since ponds rarely are found perched on the sides of lava hills, I was fairly certain the Waikapoki Fish Pond wasn't lurking above my property. But the misplaced fish pond is one of the few glitches I discovered in a new service by the Internet search engine Google, that allows you to zoom in on just about any point on the globe down to incredibly detailed images just a few feet wide.

Here's how it works: You go to earth.google.com and download the program. Once installed, you are presented with a view of Earth from space. You can back away until Earth is the size of a dime or use your mouse to gradually close in. Then, type in a street address or the name of a town, and you are taken on a mind-blowing trip downward.

In my case, I typed the name of my Kaneohe street, and soon I was zooming across the Pacific Ocean. The Hawaiian islands came into view, I closed in on the islands and Oahu loomed ahead; each second, the image became clearer. Then I zoomed in on Oahu, then the Windward side, Kaneohe, my neighborhood and finally on my street. Moving the mouse, I traveled up my street, increased the telescopic effect and bam! there was my house and my pickup truck in the driveway. If the resolution had been just a tad better, I might have seen my dog Boomer on the deck.

Incredible! Then I moved around the neighborhood, closing in on Coconut Island. I could even see shadows of the dolphins in the dolphin pens off the island.

Some landmarks are noted in text, but the text isn't always in the right location.

I typed in "Honolulu Star-Bulletin" only to be taken to a spot in about 40 feet of water in Honolulu Harbor. But by moving the mouse, I toured the shoreline, then zoomed in on Waterfront Plaza where I assume the Star-Bulletin still is located.

The images are so clear I could practically see surfers on waves off Waikiki. And I could count planes and helicopters parked at the Kaneohe Marine Base, which seems a bit unnerving in these times of terror attacks.

I hate to flack for Google. God knows its stock is high enough. But you CAN see your house from here. It's the most spectacular thing on the Internet in years. You might even find Waldo or Osama bin Laden. Or at least their pickup trucks.