June 2008
- Map Exaggeration
- Examples of exaggeration in maps. The problem is that the maps’ pixels are larger than the points they depict: space junk appears larger, entire neighbourhoods seem to be under foreclosure and — in the above case, a map of…
- Working Cartographers
- From the Times’s career section, an article featuring two people working in the cartography field: Jon Ford, a survey geologist with the British Geological Survey, and Edward Mainwaring, a cartographer with the Ordnance Survey….
- Map Collecting in India
- This is interesting: an article about map collecting in India. Sanjay Jain of RS Books and Prints, South Extension, that is famous for its collection of antique maps, says, “The love for maps is connected to the sense of discovery….
- Brubaker Pleads Guilty
- A follow-up to this story: James Brubaker has pleaded guilty in federal court; he had been charged with stealing rare books — or pages torn from them — and selling them on eBay. Though he was largely busted for thefts…
- A Roundup of Interesting Map Links
- A few quick map and map-related gems to share with you: Claire showcases another collection of map tattoos. Indiana Jones and the Fonts on the Maps: Mark Simonson notes that the maps used in the Indiana Jones movies are anachronistic….
- GIS Books
- La Cartoteca points to two GIS manuals from the Pragmatic Programmers: Scott Davis’s GIS for Web Developers: Adding “Where” to your Web Applications, which came out last October; and the forthcoming (an online beta is available) Desktop GIS: Mapping the…
- Spertus Institute Closes Controversial Show
- Imaginary Coordinates, a controversial exhibition that juxtaposed contemporary Israeli and Palestinian art with antique maps of the region, has been closed prematurely by the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, which had been putting on the show as part of Chicago’s…
- GPS Isn’t Making Us Dumb
- The problem with the ABC News article entitled “Will GPS Make Us Dumb?” is that it makes a false juxtaposition: map-reading skills with navigation devices’ turn-by-turn directions: “One effect of an increased dependence on GPS will be that peoples’ ability…
- Blog Milestones
- MetaCarta has a blog. “As you can tell by its name, this is a corporate sponsored blog. That said, the goal of the blog is to open up discussion on a wide-range of geography-related issues — not to be…
- Another Ping
- Oh, hi. No, I’m still here. My contract — I’m now in the 12th month of a 10-week contract — finally wraps up this week, and the last few weeks have been crazy. Hence, not as much time or energy…
- GPS on the iPhone
- The new 3G iPhone’s GPS is only one of several location-finding methods. From Apple’s page: iPhone 3G uses signals from GPS satellites, Wi-Fi hot spots, and cellular towers to get the most accurate location fast. If GPS is available, iPhone…
- ‘The Death of the Paper Map’
- On the occasion of the CSAA’s announcement that it’s getting out of the business of publishing paper maps, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Caille Millner has this to say: I am saddened, but not surprised, about the death of the paper…
- Aerial Photography in 1936
- The wonderful blog Modern Mechanix reprints another contemporary article about early aerial photography: “He Made Sky Mapping a Big Business” was first published in the May 1936 issue of the eponymous magazine. Previously: “Flying Cameras Map America for War”: Aerial…
- Map Collection Survives Delft University Fire
- On May 13, a fire destroyed the faculty building at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands; the fire was feared to have destroyed the faculty library’s holdings, including a significant map room, which was on the main floor….
- Charting the Peaceful Sea
- New Zealanders take note: Charting the Peaceful Sea: Maps of the Pacific, 1642-1846 is an exhibition taking place at the Dunedin Public Library until August 30. Twenty-one maps by more than eleven different explorers are on exhibit, which takes viewers…
- Maps of Non-Fantasy Fictional Worlds
- Try to find a fantasy novel without a map; but what about what we science-fiction and fantasy enthusiasts call “mainstream” fiction? “My undergrad thesis argued that world-building wasn’t just for fantasy and sci-fi writers — every tale has a setting,…
- 1914 Telephone Exchange Map
- Modern Mechanix reproduces a 1914 AT&T advertisement showing a map of telephone exchanges in the United States. The accompanying text pumps AT&T’s agreement to connect all telephone subscribers “regardless of who owns the exchanges” and notes that the incipient…
- More Google News: Banned in Minnesota; New Developer Blog
- Two more recent Google-related items: North Oaks, a rather xenophobic town in Minnesota — the streets are privately owned — has asked Google to remove it from Street View; Google has complied with the town’s request. Google’s gotten into trouble…
