Where To Get Bombed In London

Bomb Sight is the perfect tool for the time traveler to London during the Blitz. Bombs are given their times and locations. It is remarkable how evenly distributed are the bomb sites across London. Looking at the above map of the bombs that fell on Westminster you could imagine in retrospect that the famous bunkers that were built, Churchill War Rooms, were probably not needed. For me the scariest thing is how the government bunkers of WWII presaged the "government continuity plans" in the nuclear age.

The Roman Equivalent of Afghanistan = Scotland

According to the movie Centurion, it was another "asshole of the world". Take a look a some the screen shots. It all very grim isn't it.

Multiserver Map Server - ACME Mapserver 2.0

Lately I have been using ACME Mapper 2.0. It is a combination of 8 different servers. Half of the options come come directly from Google. The other options are varied and  and interesting.

There is an option that provides topographic in varying resolutions.Below you can see Mono Lake as it looks on three different scaled maps. This map server zooms in on one map and then changes to a different map as zoom in and out. The setback for this map server is that there is not complete coverage everywhere in the world.

Here are images grabbed from topographic server at ACME Mapper 2.0 of  Mono Lake in three different resolutions using three different maps.

DOQ is also available but it is limited to the US. It looks interesting from a technical point, the curve of the earth is adjusted to create flat images.

There is a feature to tie into weather data. It is part of a system called NEXRAD, it is another American funded system however there is some limited coverage into Canada. Here are two images of a storm system in Lake Ontario taken about 40 minutes apart.

1:02 AM 6/19/2012

1:32 AM 6/19/2012

Mapnik is an open source mapping program, as such it can be uneven. Take a look at this region in Silicon Valley near the intersection of the Union Pacific and the Bay Shore Freeway. This area has the buildings outlines and driveways marked. Nearby neighbourhoods are not so extensively mapped.

Mapnik also allows for mapping of pedestrian pathways. Look at this image of downtown Toronto where the sidewalks, pavement in a park and underground passageways are all marked.

American Dialect Maps

The fictional character Henry Higgins is an expect of of different British dialects and combination thereof. Here is series of American dialect maps derived a survey of internet users in 2002 put together by some linguists then at Harvard. Although it is a billed as a survey of "North American English" only the locations of American participants are mapped. The survey has asks participants questions of pronouncement and usage. The map above is one map for the question "What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?".

Personally, I heard/read of liquid sun(shine) as a metaphor for nuclear fire.

National Stereotypes Displayed on Maps

We all have to deplore national stereotypes these days or be branded as bestial racists. However there are some truth behind such crude caricatures. The above image is from a map Asia Accord to the USA. The designer at Mapping Stereotypes has also made enough maps to fill a calendar highlighting the prejudices of the Swiss, Russia and Poland among others.

I got this link from a thread in AH.com, Maps Of Stereotypes. Naturally some more biased maps were created my favorite of which is Beedok's Canadian view of Europe which lists the Ukraine as Old Saskatchewan and Russia as Hockey Enemies.

Trivia Question #1

UPDATE 11/2/2010
answers

What are the only 4 countries in the world with more than 2 timezones? And for bonus points can you name which of these four:

• Is in a different hemisphere? - Australia, in the Southern Hemisphere
  
• Has a different official language? - Russia, Russian
• Was not attacked in WWII? - Canada
  
• Was not a monarchy in August 1914? - USA
  

Remember there is a different answer for each question.

Geography Trivia #3

What is city is home to the greatest number of Saskatchewanians.

(Scroll down and highlight to see


Calgary

Source:
Globe & Mail Tuesday, Nov. 02, 2010,
Saskatchewan goes fishing in Calgary’s labour pool

"...Calgary, which is brimming with Saskatchewan émigrés – as many as 250,000, according to some estimates. If that number is even remotely accurate, greater Calgary would rival Regina (population 200,000) and Saskatoon (250,000) as a home for Saskatchewanians."

You Really Can See Russia From Alaska

This is picture from the top of Little Diomede, Alaska, looking across to Big Diomede, Siberia. They really are that close. The real quote of Sarah Palin: "They're our next-door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska"? This quote was exaggerated by Tina Fey into "I can see Russia from my house". You can look from the Alaskan Island to the coast of mainland Siberia and from the Siberian island to the coast of mainland Alaska.

You can think dumb Sarah Palin for many reasons but not for this one.

I got to use a new measuring tool on Google Maps.

Map of the Inbred

(from consang.net a consanguinity/endogamy resource site.)

One of stereotypes about Appalachia is that it is filled violent retarded rednecks. In reality Appalachia is not a hotbed for cousin marriage despite folklore. On the other hand in the Arab/Muslim world, isn't it sad when cousins marry, has in reality all the negative stereotypes associated with Appalachia. The region, the Arab/Muslim world, filled with inbred, retarded, angry, violent racists, see Rage Boy.

Nuke your Neighbourhood

Ground Zero is a Google map mashup created to map blast patterns from a number of popular nuclear bomb on an address of your choice.

I know we are supposed to be appalled by the prospect of nuclear weapons. When Little Boy and Fatman were used at the end of WWII there were not the radical innovations is inhumanity that we view them today. WWII saw the devlopment of mass bombing fleets and 1000 boomber raids. Dresden,Warsaw and Tokyo were burned with what we would consider today to be low tech unguided munitions. Atomic bombs gave hope of saving aircrews. That was then. Now a raft of guided missiles is cheaper and simpler to use than stategetic weapons. A small number of city killers will still be needed but tactical nukes don't give enough freedom of action.

Don't Go There

Dan Neil an critic from the LA times has suggested in a recent piece that true ecotourists don't travel at all. They don't travel to the ends of earth in energy intensive ways to see fragile environments. However lightly you step you can still leave a footprint. In the past it was progress to move from safaris to photo safaris. Now Dan Neil suggests that they is a quantum problem with visiting unspoiled places, once you go there you you spoil it.

Here is a discussion about this anti-travel screed/philosophy.
Here is the original article.

Geographic Instructions

Yes, England boy. England, a big damn foggy island nor noreast of Usher.

Captain Pellew

The World is Huge and Rude

Rude place names of the world.

ha ha.

Topographical Map Server

Canada now has put its entire topographic map database online. The map server, Toprama, does two things better than Google maps. You can get the contour elevation and spot elevation. And the best feature is that you can distances that don't depend on driving directions. Not that driving directions are not useful but if want to find out the width of a bay you want the distance from two points not the drivable distance betweeen them.

The limitation is that the source for the Top maps can be out of date. Google depends on satellite information that is relatively un processed. The map above has the elevation in feet. I was looking at Toronto and the Greenwood Racetrack was still showing.