Here's something interesting for all you Google Earth aficionados, courtesy of hard-drinking student layabout Matthew Wilkes:

This is a bit random, but think this might be a first. I've found myself on a google earth satellite photo. How you might ask! Well, I'm a student in Bristol, UK, and was living here over the summer with one of my other housemate (the other 5 were living with their parents).

We were both working full time, but as it was summer we had hours of sunlight after work, so we wired up a stereo to the garden, and sat around, shirts off, sunbathing. The good life. For detail, we usually listened to Lemon Jelly, and drank either Gin and Tonic, or beer (usually Grolsch, but not always - the gin was always Plymouth standard strength, not the Naval strength stuff)

Hmmm. There are a few obvious questions here: just how long do you have to lie in a garden to guarantee an appearance on Google Earth?; just what evidence do we really have that this is not in fact Osama bin Laden and Mohammed "Laughing Boy" al-Zarqawi sharing a couple of G&Ts?; and what on God's green earth has happened to students? Plymouth Standard Strength and Grolsch? Now when I was a lad... ®

Related stories

Google space weapon obliterates 50m insect (5 January 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/05/giant_insect_obliterated/
Aussies cry foul on giant Colonel Sanders (24 November 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/24/more_giant_logos/
Giant iPod user rocks Google Earth (8 November 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/08/google_earth_simulacrum/
Dutch TV hounds Google Earth topless sunbather (21 September 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/21/google_sunbather/
Canadians enjoy winter sun on Google Earth (25 August 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/25/google_earth_two_seasons/
Chinese black helicopters circle Google Earth (19 July 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/19/huangyangtan_mystery/
French Google Earth rival crashes and burns (26 June 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/26/geoportail_shut/
Paradise found on Google Earth (23 June 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/23/paradise_found/
40-metre profanity spotted from space (10 February 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/10/giant-profanity/
Google shifts Greenwich Meridian (6 February 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/06/greenwich_meridian/
VW preps Google Earth-based in-car sat nav rig (6 February 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/02/06/google_earth_satellite_navigation/
Oz flying car launch site: exclusive pictures (25 January 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/25/flying_car_launch_site/
Flying car captured on Google Earth (23 January 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/23/flying_car/
Google Earth fingers CIA rendition flights? (19 January 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/19/google_earth_prestwick/
Readers crack Google Earth photo challenge (18 January 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/18/google_challenge_result/
Google Earth: the photo interpretation challenge (17 January 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/17/google-earth-investigation/
American casts long shadow on Google Earth (13 January 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/13/google_earth_shadow/
Google Earth menaced by WW2 bomber (9 January 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/09/google_lancaster/
Google to 'launch own PC' (3 January 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/03/google_pc_claim/
Google Earth: the black helicopters have landed (14 October 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/14/google_earth_competition_results/
Taiwan huffs and puffs at Google Earth (4 October 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/04/taiwan_google_earth/
Google Earth threatens democracy - again (20 September 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/20/google_earth_democracy_two/
Google Earth threatens democracy (13 September 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/13/google_earth_threatens_democracy/
Readers down South Korean black helicopters (2 September 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/02/letters_one/
South Korea throws strop at Google Earth (31 August 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/31/google_earth_korea/
Google tracks Hitler to San Diego (18 July 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/18/hitler_san_diego/
Google spots Jesus in Peruvian sand dune (15 July 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/15/google_spots_jesus/
Google conquers planet Earth (29 June 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/29/google_earth_lives/