August 22, 2017
Total Eclipse Of My Heart
The total eclipse was without a doubt one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. I feel a conflict of emotions when describing just how awesome the experience was to folks who watched from outside the zone of totality. One one hand: I want them to know how cool it was to experience it in person. On the other hand: I don't want to make them feel sad for being so close to seeing a total eclipse and just barely missing out on the experience. It truly was a surreal, and magical and extraordinary experience that no photo or second hand account can explain.
I tagged along with some friends down to Eastover SC, and fortunately they were able to acquire some official eclipse viewing glasses. We also used a colander and a piece of cardboard with a pinhole to create a visualization of the eclipse.
Unless you're a professional photographer you just can't take a decent photo of the moon or sun, and especially when they are combined in a glorious ring of fire in the night sky. Leave that to the pros. I did take this kinda neat panoramic photo of the area where we were standing under the eclipse.
The Washington Post has a really great interactive map experience that allows you to use your scroll wheel to follow the path of the eclipse across the country. As as web designer/developer, and a map enthusiast, I have to say this takes the cake as one of the coolest web experiences I've ever had!
Labels: astronomy, maps, science, space
March 20, 2016
The Meaning of Maps
As I'm mentioned before, maps are something I truly love. I have spent hours looking over a maps, letting my imagination vicariously explore the worlds they depict. I would explore the large hard-cover Rand McNally world atlas I received as a child, and the map inserts that came periodically with issues of the National Geographic, and visitor maps I collected on the way out of a theme parks (to keep in mint condition).
I think maps are one of the most important innovations in human history. And like many creative mediums, maps can offer a lot of unique story telling qualities. The little details in a map are what can give it character. Maps can aid the creative process, giving depth and form for stories to unfold. J.R.R. Tolkien made maps of Middle Earth as he dreamed up the hobbit's adventures. I recently purchased a book of many of his illustrations, including detailed maps he used to create the Middle Earth landscape.
Some of my favorite projects have involved making maps, like this map of Purcell Park, or this map of Uptown Charlotte, or this map of the block where I used to live. When I was younger I would often spend time creating detailed maps of places I'd been, or imaginary worlds.
So I thought I'd put together a list of map-related websites that are really interesting...
The Map Shop
The first link I have to include is Charlotte's very own Map Shop. The Map Shop is a Charlotte-based map store that I first discovered many years ago, before I'd ever considered living in Charlotte. It's business is mostly online, and it' website is you might say, fairly antique, but it has a really impressive selection of maps available for purchase. If you're lucky enough to live in Charlotte, and are a map-enthusiast, you owe yourself a trip to the Map Shop. It's practically a museum of maps. If you're planning a trip abroad, you should check out their selection of foreign maps and travel guides.
Midtown Manhattan
Of my collection of maps, the one that has meant the most to me, has been the map of Midtown Manhattan that I received when I was very young. The isometric map contains unbelievable detail, right down to the phone booths and subway entrances. It went out of print in the mid 80s, but I recently found an online archive where you can download a very high rez copy. This was a very happy discovery after years of searching for other copies of this georgious map.
Online Westeros
Fans of Game of Thrones, a sprawling epic story set in fictional Westeros, rivals Middle Earth in complexity. It can be difficult to keep up with the multiple storylines, but thankfully fans have created a map that helps to keep up with the different story arcs.
8-Bit NYC (and other cities)
If you enjoy retro video games then you'll probably enjoy exploring the 8-bit version of New York City found here. It functions just like Googlge Maps, allowing you to zoom in with added detail. Other major cities have been added.
8-bit NYC - http://8bitcity.com/map#
GPS Art Map
My friend Robert recently emailed me a link to a GPS Artist's creations. By riding his bike around cities with a GPS tracker, he creates lines that produce an image. It's an unusual but very cool hobby that must take a lot of dedication.
E-Boy (the German pixel artists)
There is a map-like quality to the isometric creations of the German pixel artist trio known as eBoy. Their art recreates actual cities with retro video-game-inspired isometric illustrations, that are actually the result of hundreds of individually crafted images. Several large brands have called upon these unique artists. I ordered the NYC poster years ago.
Theme Parks
I've always had a special place in my heart for theme park maps. When I was younger I would examine the maps of theme parks for hours. I had quite a collection. It was a way for me to relive the experience of being there. This site contains lots of retro themepark maps, including several of my favorite park, Bush Garden's Williamsburg.
Ghibli Land
Here is a unique theme park map for a park that does not even exist. It's a map of an imagined park based on the works of Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki. Check out the artist's Facebook page for more info, or read more about the map at Slashfilm.
Chicago if Frank Lloyd Wright had designed it
Imagine if Frank Lloyd Wright had created a map of Chicago. That's exactly what inspired Max Roberts when he created his map of Chicago. Robert's work includes many cities around the world, using various techniques.
Labels: maps
March 14, 2016
The Biggest Apple
The ultra high definition photo (at 360Gigapixels.com/nyc-skyline-photo-panorama/) of New York City should blow your mind!
The 360 degree panoramic shot from the top of the empire state building is of such high resolution you can see virtually every square inch of the city that never sleeps.
The detail is startling. You can see with decent clarity people standing in front of the Statue of Liberty, or the iconic Parachute Jump ride at Coney Island. Coney Island is at the very bottom of Brooklyn, touching the Atlantic Ocean. For some perspective, the Parachute Jump ride is over 15 miles from Midtown Manhattan! See the Google satellite image below to appreciate the distance.
Google satellite image detailing the distance from the top of the Empire State Building to locations shown in images above.
October 14, 2015
Charting Middle Earth
I just picked up a copy of The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien after reading about it in Wired, and I can honestly say, this is the kind of book that I couldn't love more. Many of these maps and illustrations were never published before. Included is the first comprehensive map of Middle Earth.
As a map enthusiast and LOTR fan, its very interesting to look through the hand drawn maps and illustrations Tolkien created as guides as he wrote the trilogy. You get a glimpse of what Tolkein was thinking when he plotted the course of Frodo and Sam, and Aragorn Legolas and Gimli.
When you consider that many of these maps, though beautiful, were drawn on graph paper, you can appreciate that their purpose was the guide the author as he imagined the world of LOTR. The drawings provide a unique insight into Tolkein's creative process.
October 2, 2011
My Old Block
I've finished the street, and now wrapped around to finish the block...It's going to keep growing and growing...
Click here for a larger/better quality version (721K)
Or click here for high-rez PDF (374K)
Or click here for high-rez PDF outline (351K)
Labels: Graphic/web design, maps
September 25, 2011
My Old Street
I've added a few neighboring houses to the isometric image of my old house I posted yesterday ... eventually I'll have recreated my whole neighborhood.
Labels: Graphic/web design, maps
September 24, 2011
My Old House
I can't believe it's been almost 6 years since I sold my house and moved to Charlotte! I loved my little house, and this is a tribute to it...an isometric rendering made with Inkscape and Gimp.Seems like only yesterday I was watching Firefly (now one of my all time favorite shows) and eating Thai food from this amazing restaurant around the corner...
Labels: Graphic/web design, maps
March 27, 2011
An idea for Google
Google, I think it would be cool if you added a time-traveling feature to Google Maps – a sort of virtual history lesson. You could put a button that says “history” or “time-traveler” or something to that affect. When you click on that button a bar pops up with a scroll bar and if you move it to the right, the boarders that define countries and territories change according to history.
Imagine scrolling back in and seeing the world just after and just before the Louisiana Purchase? Or seeing the layout of the the world before World War I? It would be really cool if you could add layers to it to depict the rise and fall of empires throughout history. Just think of how cool of a tool this would be for history teachers?
June 12, 2010
New York, from a Nintendo perspective
Yesterday I stumbled upon this very fascinating link which combines my fascinations with maps and video games (especially retro games from my younger days):http://8bitnyc.com/
Check it out and be sure to zoom in to specific areas. I'm sort of familiar with NYY, but I imagine for anyone fairly familiar with the city, seeing it this way would be an interesting trip.
Labels: maps, video games
August 16, 2009
City Planning
As I have mentioned before, I have had an interest in maps for a long time, so it would make sense that I also am interested in video games that involve maps. In this post I'm going to describe four free city planning games:
It was 8th grade when I was introduced to the original city planning video game – SimCity. This game is still a lot of fun. And since its considered 'abandoned software' so you can download and play it free. My friend Dave sent my this link some time ago and I've been playing this classic ever since. It uses a diametric top-down view of a city you create from scratch using only some land and some money to begin with. You have to create a harmony between the residential, business, and industrial zones as you design the layout of your city.(Above is a close-up of the city I created with SimCity - below is the entire city)
FarmTown – Another game I've spent some time playing is called FarmTown, which is a free Facebook application. Although this game is about managing a farm rather than a city, its shares a lot of similarities with it and SimCity's style of game play using an isometric view.There is also community/social element because the game allows users to connect with other FarmTown players and work on each other's farms. In fact, thats the best way to succeed, by collaborating with others. Another interesting aspect is the role of time. You have a certain window of time after crops are planted and are ready to harvest before they spoil in which you must harvest them. As your farm becomes larger it becomes a lot easier if you employ other players you meet in the market place to help you harvest your crops. To play FarmTown, you must have a Facebook account, then search for FarmTown in the Applications menu.
I was curious to see if their were any free/open-source games available similar to Sim City or its not-yet-free sequels like Sim City 2000. I found two of interest: LinCity, and Simutrans.LinCity - now called "LinCityNG" is an advanced version of LinCity, which was an open-source alternative to SimCity. The name LinCity is a play on the name SimCity and the operating system Linux. Clever eh? The graphics and some of the features such as the water infrastructure management aspect are improved and/or added with "NG" version. Overall the game plays very similar to SimCity with a nice looking user interface and an isometric view. Click here to read more about and download LinCityNG. Or click here to download the original version of LinCity.
Simutrans – A few characteristics distinguish Simutrans from the others. The primary focus is on transportation, so you can only edit roads, trains, airports, seaports, and other various transportation and related infrastructure aspects of the world you are playing with. However, The territory you are responsible for is really massive. The Graphics are surprisingly great, right down to individual people walking on the street. It is a little more complicated to install because you need to install it in components - first the Simutrans program, and then you choose a "Pakset" ... The visualization of Simutrans depends on whatever graphics set (called 'pakset') you choose to use – there are many which allows for a lot of diversity in the look of the area you are developing. Click here to read more about Simutrans. And click here for a page that demonstrates several of the different "Paksets" available. Below is another scene from my farm in FarmTown. If you look closely you'll see an homage to another classic video game in the crops I've planted.
(Alas, the Princess is always in another castle!)
~LINKS~
Sim City Classic - http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/393/SimCity+Classic.html
LinCityNG - http://lincity-ng.berlios.de/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
LinCity (original) - http://lincity.sourceforge.net/
Simutrans - http://www.simutrans.com/
Labels: FarmTown, LinCity, maps, Mario, SimCity, Simutrans, video games
April 26, 2007
'Worldly' News
I was just thinking about how I really like maps. I have since childhood. Above my desk are various National Geographic maps of the world that I collected when I was a child. I used to sketch my own detailed maps of kingdoms, castles, amusement parks (complete with restaurants, bathrooms, and ticket windows). One of my favorite maps is a map of every individual building in midtown Manhattan from the Empire State building to Central Park, in amazing detail. The more character and individuality a map has, the better. Growing up I would pull out my collection of theme park maps and look at them for hours; it was almost as if I was there experiencing the excitement of the park in person. For some reason I never felt the urge to go into cartography. Still my interest in maps never really went away as I grew older.
Recently I purchased an enormous map (four feet high, by six feet across) of the world by National Geographic from a local Charlotte map business, named appropriately: The Map Show. They have an amazing assortment of maps, globes, and flags for pretty much every part of the Earth. If you're local to Charlotte and you can bear to listen to some pretty terrible elevator-music renditions of songs from The Phantom of The Opera, then you should check out this unique store; otherwise, you can buy their maps online at their website: mapshop.com
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In this day and age of ever advancing technology, one wonders if paper maps will be going the same direction as paper mail...becoming a thing of the past.
I'm sure by now, most people reading this have heard about or experienced Google Earth (originally named Earth Viewer, a product of KeyHole, Inc until it was acquired by Google). With the movement of a computer mouse you can do so much more with Google Earth than you ever could with a globe that spins on your desk, except hold it in your hand. And as far as user-friendliness goes, it's probably the best virtual globe out there.
One recent development with Google Earth that has really impressed me,is it's inclusion of information about the atrocities that are occurring in Darfur right now. I first heard about this partnership with The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on the BBC's The World program, you can read more about it here on BBC News. In a way, this puts a face to a name for the conflict that's happening in Darfur; it draws attention in a way that really demonstrates the power technology has for good. This kind of relevant social information is something that I'm sure educators would find very useful.
There is however another notable 3D earth simulator I tried recently, NASA's World Wind software. World Wind will likely amaze you with the gorgeous imagery of the earth. This is because World Wind takes advantage of NASA's Blue Marble satellite imagery. World Wind has other features such as real-time sun-lighting and weather patterns. And World Wind allows you to also look at Mars, The Moon, and more in vivid beautiful detail. If you thought Google Earth was nice, you really should check out NASA's World Wind.
There are other 3D Earth applications, such as Microsoft's Windows Live Maps, which allows you to download software so you can convert the 2D maps on the Windows Live website into a 3D variation. For more information, Wikipedia has a good list of various Virtual Globes.
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If your computer can't handle the demands of a powerful 3D virtual Earth, then there are a lot of two-dimensional map websites to check out, and lots of interesting 2D Map Mash-ups worth looking into as well.
I have probably spent hours looking at Google Maps, Google's page that combines all the features of a good map search, with the same composite satellite imagery that Google Earth uses.
Microsoft's Windows Live is very similar to Google Maps (and Earth) but it attempts to be more useful be including extra features. I'm slightly partial to Google Maps just because it's a little more streamlined and easy to use.
Cool 2D Map Mashups...
Wikimapia, a mashup that combines Google Maps with the Wiki concept of editing pages--Allowing you to label actual places. Another advantage of Wikimapia is that it allows you to very easily generate HTML to embed sections of it in your website--See example below...
The other cool map mashup I like is FlashEarth. Flash earth is a mashup of Google Maps, Windows Live, and other map services, combined on one flash page. Besides making it easy to switch between different map services, this site allows you to pivot the the direction the page is aligned with, which effectively eliminates one of the biggest discrepancies between the 2D and 3D versions of map searching software (ie. Google Maps vs. Google Earth). The other advantage I have noticed is that, oddly enough, Flash Earth loads much faster than the host map services its mashing together.
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So with all this digital technology, why would I buy an old fashioned paper map?? Well, just as an ipod, as innovative as it is, can't truly replicate the sound of a record and a good set of speakers, maps on a computer screen will likely never truly replicate the folded and worn map you hold in your hand. In both cases however, they very nicely supplement there more tangible counterparts.
Labels: Google Earth, maps, mashup, World Wind