29 July 2005

"What wins on the web are creative, fun inspired, approaches." - steveharmon@gmail.com
"When I'm not in my right mind, my left mind gets pretty crowded." - Stephen Wright
"Just think what you know to think, say what you know to say, and do what you know to do. Everyday, lots and lots." - TU

28 July 2005

"How to Read an Early Modern Map: Between the Particular and the General, the Material and the Abstract, Words and Mathematics" - Jess Edwards : http://www.shu.ac.uk/emls/09-1/edwamaps.html

Interesting map/related historical resources : http://www.she-philosopher.com/gallery.html#i_MapsMisc

A new international e-journal on sciences and technologies affined to history of cartography and maps : http://www.maplibrary.gr/e_Perimetron.htm

Famous Curves Index : http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Curves/Curves.html

A breakthrough U.S. patent for "ethical artificialintelligence" has recently been issued : http://peacejournalism.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=3979

"As visual orientation returns to prominence within society through film, television, and cyberspace, the status of women increases, soon to return to the equilibrium of the earliest human cultures." - Leonard Shlain (The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image)
"Show the way the future was." - Fred Pohl
"It's like once you're truly prepared to carry on for as long as it takes, you'll quickly find, as all movers and shakers have before you, that it doesn't take long at all. Surrender to the path, and go." - The Universe

27 July 2005

Google Sitemap (For Idiots) : http://www.searchenginejournal.com/index.php?p=1938 (Sitemap generator is only compatible if your server uses ‘Python 2.2’ ).

Interesting visualization projects; Toogle http://www.c6.org/toogle/index.php?phrase=profile and http://c6.org/toogle/index.php?phrase=maze and Woogle http://www.gujian.net/woogle/show.php?search=eWVsbG93IGJyaWNrIHJvYWQ%3D&wap=1&show=

Key Factors To Achieve High Google Ranking : http://www.masternewmedia.org/Google_ranking/Google_SEO/SEO_factors_affecting_Google_ranking_20050726.htm
eMapStore.com - Online Map Sales : http://www.emapstore.com/info.html

"Never retract, never explain, never apologize; get the thing done and let them howl." - Nellie McClung, Canadian suffragist

26 July 2005

Compare Maps : http://vw.indiana.edu/places&spaces/contrast/ An initial theme of this exhibit is to compare and contrast first maps of our entire planet with the first maps of all of science as we know it. Come see with your own eyes the extent to which maps can be employed to help make sense of the flood of information we are confronted with and how domain maps can be used to locate complex and beautiful information.

Interesting TerraServer history: http://www.gizafaces.com/page23.html involving Giza Plateau : http://www.terraserver.com/imagery/image_ermapper.asp?ulx=317634.59&uly=3319565.21&lrx=321634.59&lry=3315565.21&image=93&provider_id=150&t=pan
Access to new ReConnections program : http://www.kcsm.org/Reconnections/Reconnections.htm

"It's time to start living the lives we've imagined. " - Henry James
"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." - ?

25 July 2005

“the purpose of visualization is insight” ; Application of geographic metaphors, cartographic principles, and GIS techniques in the visualization of non-geographic information; strongly interdisciplinary, aimed especially at increased cross-fertilization between geography and information science; worked on new approaches to create map-like visualizations
Diagram source http://iv.slis.indiana.edu/ref/iv04contest/index.html

Why Do Current Graphical User Interfaces Not Work Naturally & How They Can Be Fixed? : http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/v6i26_myers.html

Using Ajax for Creating Web Applications : http://www.uie.com/events/uiconf/articles/ajax/

StarMap: http://www.daytodaydata.com/onearthasinheaven/starmap.html#

A big advantage with MSN Virtual Earth is that it is entirely web-based, so you don't have to download and install client software, as you must with Google Earth. MSN is opening up the Virtual Earth service to developers, providing tools and code to allow you to create your own Virtual Earth web pages. More information can be found at the Via Virtual Earth web site. : http://nl.internet.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=1,1rur,1,a80q,bwdw,li07,h2fv

22 July 2005

http://www.1-900-870-6235.com/Navigation/MastersMarathonMap.htm# rollovers and pop-ups working on first 8 patrins.

Optical Illustions : http://www.joe-ks.com/illusions.htm

The Beginner’s Mind : http://www.douglasjohnston.net/weblog/archives/2005/06/27/beginners-mind/ It heeds no resistance, and is aware only of the natural flow of things.

Steven Wright Quotes : http://www.joe-ks.com/archives_dec2004/Wright_Quotes.htm
"The road to success is always under construction."
"Forget about world peace. Visualize using your turn signal."
"I’m lost in thought and need a map." - http://www.joe-ks.com/bumper_stickers.htm

21 July 2005

Photomuse.org : http://204.2.106.254/COLLECTION/index.html one of the largest freely accessible databases of masterwork photography anywhere on the Web.

19 July 2005

Image and Meaning 2 : Would like to participate in next installment of http://web.mit.edu/i-m/image4big.htm "discovering new visual expressions forscience and technology: a participatory forum".
This one had ; "2D, 3D, 4D, 'n' D: How Far Can We Go?: Dominique Brodbeck, Ben Fry, Ralph Kahn and David Laidlaw (moderator)", as well as exercises related to how to represent scale? temporality? multi-dimensions? abstractions?.

Escherization : http://www.cgl.uwaterloo.ca/~csk/projects/escherization/ ingenious tesselations in the plane. Some were simple and geometric, used as prototypes for more complex endeavors. But in most the tiles were recognizable animal forms such as birds, fish and reptiles. The definitive reference on Escher's divisions of the plane is Doris Schattschneider's Visions of Symmetry ( second edition). View some of Escher's work online at World of Escher (examples from Escher's notebook: E25, E70, and E72).

Non-print reference material, on the subject of historical maps & cartography : http://www.andropov.com/mapref/

"Although much of the early experimentation with the new interfaces has been done by hobbyists, the new wave of consumer-oriented mapping services is shaking up the relatively staid market for what are known as geographic information systems, or G.I.S., which for more than a decade have been tailored largely for business customers." - http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/18/technology/18maps.html?pagewanted=2
Moreover, although companies like Microsoft and MapQuest have pioneered programming interfaces for maps in the past, access has largely been offered on a transaction basis. (For example, if a company developed a map application based on Microsoft's MapPoint mapping data, it would pay Microsoft for each map lookup request it generated). ..Google's decision to court the experimenters and hobbyists is significant, according to a number of Internet veterans, because this is the community that has traditionally been the source of much of the Net's innovation.

"The difference between successful people and the 'one day gonna be' successful is that successful individuals do what other people don't feel like doing. It's that simple." -
"... depending upon others to live "unselfishly" is still depending upon others." - TU
"... and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." - John Donne, English poet

18 July 2005

Developed this before / after map comparision to illustrate differences -->

Hand-drawn information visualizations of the weekly news highlights : http://www.weekinreview.org/archive.html They also did a 2004 Review drawing : http://www.weekinreview.org/images/yir/yir-tile_high.jpg

Traditionally a venue for corporate advertising, what could billboards ( "urban screens") accomplish if commercial agendas weren't at the helm? : http://culturebase.org/home/struppek/Homepage/urbanscreens.html

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it, and like any great relationship it just gets better and better as the years rollon. So keep looking. Don't settle." - Steve Jobs

15 July 2005

http://www.mappingworlds.nl/ "Raising International Awareness Through Innovative Cartography". "Innovative use of maps is central in our approach. We recognize maps as a powerful communication tool. We initiate maps to illuminate the issues important to the world community. Primarily, we develop maps in which the size of a country is rendered by an indicator, rather than by its geography ('cartogram'). Our maps offer a different perspective on the contemporary world."
Map (?cartogram?) showing how the world would look if countries were sized in proportion to various development indicators. :
Really just geo-plotted icons listed in chronological order (not really a TimeLine of any kind). "For information about a particular item, click on its name or its icon on the map" : http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/results.asp?engineer=18 (not Flash)
"The #1 Rule of Wayfinding is; If you don't have to go, you don't have to go." - RW
"Truest iconoclast, follows no trends and answers no commercial call." -

13 July 2005

CartoTalk - A public forum for cartography and design : http://www.cartotalk.com/

Cartisan AGS is a cartographic firm specializing in producing custom maps (blend creative, artistic themes with an efficient design, using the latest techniques and software to create legible, artistic and accurate maps). : http://www.cartisan.com/portfolio/

Is there a business here, or is this just cool? : http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB111955274074067858-4RQeZ6QSv1Isa_X7XhwomJ_U0j0_20060710,00.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top (check out Walt Mossberg's review from last week), Google Earth (earth.google.com) is a program that lets you fly across the globe, zooming in and out of satellite photos.

"The more you cast your net into the water, the better your chances of catching a fish." -
" Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get." -
Google Maps Transparencies : http://www.kokogiak.com/gmaps-transparencies.html Click and drag anywhere, just like normal Google Maps, and see how the Map View matches the Satellite View (can control the level of transparency).
Complete collection of icons from all major operating systems interfaces (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Gnome,
"Most people don't pay attention to the calm voice of reason unless it's juxtaposed by screaming idiots on either side of the fence." - ?

12 July 2005

International conference on Computer Graphics, Imaging and Visualization (CGIV05) : http://www.graphicslink.demon.co.uk/IV05/ from http://www.infovis.net/printRec.php?rec=eventos&lang=2#IV05

Journeys of the Mind; Sometimes scientists' speculations led to actual voyages, but more often they prompted a result or outcome achieved through observation and experimentation. : http://www.sil.si.edu/Exhibitions/Voyages/all-items.htm The Smithsonian's collection is particularly strong in the theoretical journeys of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and astronomy.

"With most sites, when Web users click on words or a picture, the site's software calls out to a server to pull data, perform a computation, or show an image. With sites developed using Ajax, the browser loads an engine that draws the user interface and performs the requests for information in the background." While Ajax may be excessively ad hoc for traditional application programmers, it could easily be embraced by Web designers who are already immersed in their own mixed-up world of markup languages, style sheets, and scripting languages. : http://www.informationweek.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=165600304 Since its technologies center on the way software pulls data from a server and executes code, it affects more than the user-interface layer. "It suggests a whole different model for software development," Butterfield says. Add to the list of cons the fact that sophisticated users can view the underlying JavaScript code in a browser and have a guess at how an application was built.

"...in this increasingly complex, messy, and option-filled world, we must acknowledge that our customers hold the reins. Attempts to control their experience will lead to abandonment for the less onerous alternative. What we can do is provide the best tools and content that they can fit into their lives, and their ways." - Peter Merholz, Adaptive Path, http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000501.php

What are people searching for? (see the press release covering the study)
Most people (88%) said they were researching specific topics?specifically, information about hobbies.
Getting directions/maps - 75%
Looking for news - 64%
Women (61%) were more likely to search for health and medical information than men (35%).
Shopping - 51% (most people (80%) are comparing prices, rather than looking for a local retailer)
Looking for entertainment web sites - 47% (the majority (61%) are looking for show times or reviews, rather than download sources)
Surprisingly few people researching specific topics are looking for job or career information (28%).

"Less is more in Web search interfaces for older adults" / More is more for youth?

"Sometimes when things take longer than you thought they would, it's just a gentle reminder from your greater self that you have more time than you thought, and that there's a journey to enjoy." - The Universe (just because it's taking longer than you thought it would, doesn't mean stuff isn't happening).

11 July 2005

"The only sure way to avoid making mistakes is to have no new ideas." - Albert Einstein, (1879-1955) Physicist & Nobel Laureate

08 July 2005

Google Maps Mashed With Census Data ; Use the map like your normally would; the red dots will refresh as you move the map around and zoom. : http://www.gcensus.com/index.php

Voronoi treemaps for the visualization of software metrics : pdf available at http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1056018.1056041 uses engaging 'chickenwire' grid.

American Memory maps are “zoomable” and can be examined in detail using Lizard Tech’s MrSID technology (making it possible to view and work with these maps "offline.") : http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/maps/introduction.html

Visual Learning/communication Blog : http://graphicfacilitation.blogs.com/pages/

Principles of Visual Displays of Information:
Always enforce data comparisons: “Compared with what?”
Show causality: “How could this have happened?”
Show multi-variables: “How much change? How long? How many factors?"
Completely integrate words, data and images: “What can you do to bring more clarity to the issues?”
Content is king: “How can a designer do no harm to the content's substance, quality, integrity, and purpose?”
Information is stacked in space(and time)
Use small multiples: “How can we see the sun rotated? Record it's sunspots over time!”

An aerial view of the Sacramento River that is woven into a carpet for the floor of a pedestrian bridge : (from http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/ )
http://here2day.netwiz.net/seyedsite/publicart/flyingcarpet/flyingcarpetframe.html

07 July 2005

"It’s not clear yet whether PPCall (in all its potential forms) will substitute for pay-per-click adoption or whether many local businesses will adopt and use both (service providers may opt for calls, while local product sellers pursue clicks)." - http://www.searchengineguide.com/sterling/004942.html

"Drawing is a much-unappreciated art form, primarily because the works are so rarely exhibited in the museums that own them. They only make a brief public appearance on those occasions when they fit into a larger show. Otherwise, hidden away folder filed in boxes in dark rooms due to their fragility and sensitivity to light they are poured over only by scholars and connoisseursfor the many insights they afford into the mind and working methods of their creators as well as for their sheer intensity and beauty." - http://www.artcyclopedia.com/feature.html

“Problems with visual design can turn users off so quickly that they never discover all the smart choices you made with navigation or interaction design.”—Jesse James Garrett, 2002
“The fusion of art and technology that we call interface design.”—Steven Johnson, 1997
“A picture is worth a thousand words. An interface is worth a thousand pictures.”—Ben Shneiderman, 2003
“[Leonardo Da Vinci] combined art and science and aesthetics and engineering, that kind of unity is needed once again.”—Ben Shneiderman, 2002
"A great man is formed not only by the gifts of nature, but also by the sight of beautiful drawings." - Count de Caylus
"Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic diseases of the 20th century, and more than anywhere else this disease is reflected in the press." - Alexander Solzhenitzyn
Einstein once termed the distinction between past, present and future "a stubborn illusion".

06 July 2005

Cognitive Maps, Cognitive Collages, and Spatial Mental Models (1993) http://www.spatial.maine.edu/~cosit03/tversky-COSIT93.pdf

Taking the view that maps " are another way that we can tell stories"....
How to Read an Early Modern Map: Between the Particular and the General, the Material and the Abstract, Words and Mathematics : http://www.shu.ac.uk/emls/09-1/edwamaps.html

A History of Communications : http://www.nathan.com/projects/current/comtimeline.html

VR Photography (or Immersive Photography); a panoramic image displayed in a viewer which you can control with your mouse to look around from a single view point. : http://panoramas.dk/

JavaScript Tutorials : http://www.pixel2life.com/tutorials/JavaScript/All/ and weblog : http://javascript.weblogsinc.com/

extisp.icio.us images displays a random Yahoo images search result for each of a user's tag words : http://kevan.org/extispicious

A little hack that uses Google's superb mapping application to help record distances traveled during a running workout : http://sueandpaul.com/gmapPedometer/

ka-Map ( http://ka-map.maptools.org/ ) open source "Google map" style application : http://www.onlamp.com/pub/wlg/7106

Interesting InfoGraphics blog : http://www.nixlog.com/infographics/

Until font downloading technology is perfected, Web designers must normally restrict themselves to fonts that are available on most users’ computer systems. : http://www.angelfire.com/al4/rcollins/style/fonts.html

Blog of NetArt projects : http://www.stunned.org/weblog/archives/cat_netart.html

Visimo strategy : http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/business/s_348463.html

First image on the Web : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_image_on_the_Web

"You gotta have a dream, 'cause if you don't have a dream, how ya gonna have a dream come true?" - Daniel Johnston