Melacak Perjalanan Live Sinterklaas Memakai Layanan NORAD dan Google Earth

Di masa liburan begini, ternyata para teknologis rajin juga bekerja, namun sebagian bekerja untuk "guyonan" dan menghibur orang lain. Cerita klasik turun temurun tentang Santa Claus atau di Indonesia/Belanda dipanggil Sinterklaas adalah sudah jelas cerita untuk anak kecil, bukan cerita yang benar-benar terjadi. Namun budaya barat ini ternyata terus dilestarikan dan para orang tua tetap saja berusaha memelihara keadaan agar anak-anak kecil tetap percaya bahwa Santa Claus itu benar-benar ada. Dalam dongeng ini, Sinterklaas selalu membagi hadiah keliling dunia setiap malam Natal, terbang bersama rusa-rusa penghela keretanya yang penuh kotak hadiah. Di era Internet dan teknologi peta digital begini, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) dan Google Earth mempersembahkan "kebohongan" digital inidalam bentuk tercanggih. Kita dapat mengikuti perjalanan Santa keliling dunia dan memperkirakan kapan dia akan mampir ke kota anda dan mengantar hadiah Natal anda. Berikut screenshot yang saya ambil persis malam Natal waktu Amerika. Ho.. ho.. ho...



Langsung klik disini saat malam Natal http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html

Berikut catatan "kegilaan" NORAD yang ternyata telah melakukan hal ini sejak tahun 1955. (Dikutip dari AFP)

NORAD's Santa tracking tradition dates back to 1955, when a Colorado newspaper advertisement printed a phone number to connect children with the cheerful Christmas icon that mistakenly directed them to NORAD's hotline.

To avoid disappointing the little ones, NORAD's director of operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, ordered his staff to check the radar to see where Santa might be and update the children on his location.

The bi-national US and Canadian agency's official position is that jolly old Saint Nick is real.

"Based on historical data and more than 50 years of NORAD tracking information, we believe that Santa Claus is alive and well in the hearts of children throughout the world," it said on its website.

NORAD pulls out all the stops to locate Saint Nick, stopping at no less than four high-tech systems: radar, satellites, "Santa Cams" and, yes, fighter jets.
There is reason to do so, with NORAD noting Santa's sleigh can travel "faster than starlight."

According to NORAD information, Santa "probably stands about 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 meters) tall and weighs approximately 260 pounds (118 kilograms)" before cookies," it said.

"Based on fighter-aircraft photos, we know he has a generous girth (belly), rosy cheeks from sleigh riding in cold weather and a flowing white beard."
By 1600 GMT, Santa had already gobbled down over 32,500 cookies. When he took off from the North Pole, he was carrying no less than 60,000 tons (54,431 tonnes) of gifts, also according to NORAD.

NORAD's F-16, F-15 and CF-18 fighter jets have intercepted Santa "many, many times," tipping their wings in a mid-flight greeting.