An Open Letter about GPS-based Cities

Where is 60-60? 50-50?  40-40?

Latitude 60 00'00"N and Longitude 60°00'00"E ?

Sent:  Tue 3/24/2009 1:17 PM

To: The Confluence Project leaders - Alex, Gordon , Gilles, Terje, and Vladimir
Cc: 'Dmitry Volgin'; 'Vasiliy Nikiforov'
Subject: Congratulations on work well done...

Dear people of The Confluence Project:

You are all just doing a sensational job.  Congratulations. Having people discover this world through the GPS is just brilliant.

We'll be doing a series of television episodes just based on key GPS coordinates.  As an introduction to this thinking, please visit this page on our website:  http://www.zhai360.cn/page1640.html. 

Now the reason for this note, I believe it would be fun to show off some of your work within these episodes.

I am starting with 60/60.  On my 60th birthday, my wife and I went around the globe intentionally seeking out a few sites along the 60th parallel.  It is not easy.

To help facilitate these realities, I am working on a production just around the 60/60 of  Grigor'yevka, Sverdlovskaya.   There additional pages associated with this concept:
http://www.zhai360.cn/page2039.html
http://www.zhai360.cn/page2040.html

As a people we impute whole numbers with special meaning.  We all give numbers-by-tens unique respect.  Numbers have value and meaning.  So, it is natural that you are mapping the world of whole number coordinates or confluences.  It certainly seems that particular quadrants such as 60/60 have a heighten value.  Just think,  this area could become a center of study about the deepest  meanings of that number as well as the meaning and value of life.  

Why not create a tourist destination at 60/60 and name the town accordingly? Everything in this new town, 60/60,  could be driven by year-round education and tourism by everyone in the world who is turning 60 on a given day.  Invite them to come and I bet 10% of them might.  Given the world's population is about 7 Billion people with an odd-shaped bell curve heavy on the left, I would still imagine that there are about 50 million 60 year-old people living.  If 600,000 each year came to 60/60, it would be a major tourist destination and would change the entire economy of the area.

What would it be like to stand in the 60/60 center spot as everyone around sings "Happy Birthday to you"?  Let's bring in the composers and choral groups and let's have the widest possible variety of birthday songs.  These could become transformative places on earth.

It'll be interesting to see.  Maybe someone will read this letter as a call to action.  I wonder if the land is for sale? 

It'll be interesting to see if towns emerge  that bring these numbers alive.  Thanks.

Warmly,

-Bruce Camber