A few good links: The craziest street views on Google Maps

During these tough times, a few of my recently downsized friends have optimistically referred to their layoffs as extra vacation time. Karen Duncan, 53, had the same idea. She lost her job as an electrician in December and seized the opportunity to take her dream trip. "I've wanted to go to Thailand for a long time, but the flight is so long I don't want to go for a short time," says the New Jersey native. "It's not in our American culture to take really long vacations." Next week, she'll embark on a much-anticipated four-week tour of the country, with the help of a timely offer from Intrepid Travel. For bookings made through the end of June, the Australia-based outfitter is offering anyone who's been let go since last September a 15 percent discount on more than 400 of its tour packages. With the cheekily titled "Laid Off Take Off" deal, a 23-day Thai tour with lodging, 13 meals, and all local transportation starts at $1,533 per person (including a local payment of $437 but not including airfare). That comes out to about $67 per night. Duncan also looks forward to being thrifty while she's abroad. "It's about 35 Thai Baht to the dollar now," she says. "You can get a good dinner there for $5." For something a little closer to home, this discount would make a 14-day tour of the Western U.S. with plenty of guided hikes a manageable $1,485 per person, or about about $115 a night. Not as nice as a new job, but a good way to escape for a bit. Good news for solo travelers: Intrepid does not charge an additional single supplement to solo travelers. Instead, single travelers will be paired with roommates of the same sex. THE FINE PRINT Most trips require a local payment, and the 15 percent discount does not apply to that. Excludes some packages. Travel must depart by Dec. 31, 2009. You need to send in an e-mail or letter from your former employer to receive the discount. Use promo code 2653. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL U.S. and Canada Real Deals

I'm obsessed with Fred Flare, an online boutique that sells unusual clothes, home items, jewelry, gadgets, and oddball items—including Bacon-strip band-aids, Sparkling Toothy Earrings, and an Eiffel Tower cheese grater. The company doesn't have a "travel" tab on its site right now, but lots of its weird products are also useful for travelers, including the cute Tetran Headphone Winder ($14), an easy-to-pack 2 inches tall, and Rain Parade Mini Umbrellas ($32). Want a conversation-starter for plane or train rides? Animal ear-buds ($15) will do the trick. Bored with your digital camera? This Pop Art Color Camera—on sale right now for $15—takes four pictures in one second with 35mm film. When you get them developed, all four shots print on one page in four different colors. Oh, and for you people with lots of gadgets, there's the Electro Man Outlet Hub ($24), which can plug in four devices. I take the Retro Block iPod Speaker ($25) on road trips, when I don't have an iPod hookup in the car; you could also blast it in your hotel room (no need to plug in—the speaker is powered by the iPod.) Fred Flare has been around for about 10 years and is run by two guys in New York City. They sell a collection of their own designs and other things they love. A bricks-and-mortar store opened last fall in Brooklyn, and is just as cheerful as the online store. MORE Read a review of the store on nytimes.com

The City of Brotherly Love has a cool happening this weekend: the Quest for Freedom Live and Learn Weekend. Friday evening, Temple University will host author James Oakes, the 2008 Lincoln prize winner and author of The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Lincoln and the Triumph of Anti-Slavery Politics. The discussion will center around Lincoln, who's been experiencing renewed popularity recently. (President Obama will celebrate the 16th president's birthday next week.) Saturday, there will be special tours of the National Constitution Center's America I AM: The African American Imprint. This 15,000-square-foot new exhibit has more than 200 artifacts from 400 years of history—you can see Malcolm X's diary, the robe Muhammad Ali wore to 1974's Rumble in the Jungle, and a first edition of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Visitors can also leave video "imprints" of their own stories, thus making the exhibition an oral history. In celebration of Black History Month, Philly's official visitor site has highlighted a ton of events and activities going on all February. The speech is Friday at 6 p.m.; admission is free. The National Constitution Center is open 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.Saturday; admission is $17.50 and includes the America I AM exhibit, which runs through May 3, 2009 before beginning a four-year tour. If you attend the speech Friday evening, you can get half-price tickets to the center for Saturday; see all the details here.

New York City has ramped up this year's Winter Jam festival by erecting a nine-story ski jump in the park to host the Red Bull Snowscrapers pro snowboarding competition on February 5, followed by a day of winter sports and music in the park on February 7. The action is free to watch at East River Park, at F.D.R. Drive and Houston Street. On Thursday, 16 top pro snowboarders, including Olympic gold medalist Shaun White, will compete on the 90-foot-tall ramp, a.k.a. the Snowscraper—the largest structure ever built in a city park for a special event, according to the city's Parks & Recreation Department. The 80-foot-long hip (the down slope that snowboarders land on after their aerial tricks) is essentially a double-sided pyramid that runs perpendicular to the ramp, so the riders must angle themselves to land on the right or left side, making for some interesting maneuvering. Adding to the entertainment will be a spectator village featuring musical performances by headliner Anthrax, along with bands Black Gold and Valient Thorr, with sponsor tents set up with samples for the crowd. The gates open at 3 p.m. and the competition is scheduled to start at 5:45 p.m., with the finals taking place two hours later. Anthrax will cap off the night with a performance at 8:55 p.m. The sports action continues in the park on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., where people of all ages can tube down a 70-foot-long snow flume, snowshoe and cross country ski through a snow field (weather permitting), and scale an ice-climbing wall—with all equipment provided for free. Those who'd prefer to just watch the action can head over to the Future of Snowboarding Invitational to witness up-and-coming Olympic hopefuls tackle the ramp, take in a performance by the Skyriders professional trampoline acrobats, or cheer on participants in a snow-sculpture-making contest. The Pride of New York Warming Hut & Winter Market will provide a break from the cold with free samples from New York State farmers and producers, and various vendors will have tents set up for free demos of the latest gear. Local bands Apollo Run and Dujeous and singer Jenda White will perform throughout the day. If you can't make it to NYC, but still want to see the pro competition, you can watch the Red Bull Snowscrapers event online at go211.com Thursday starting at 6 p.m. (ET). In the New York area, MSG Plus will air the jam session at 6 p.m. and the finals at 10 p.m. Or watch a delayed broadcast of the event on February 15 at 5 p.m. (ET) on NBC. Here's a video preview of the snowboarding: MORE How rock bands find free places to crash—and how you can, too