It's Science Night

Last week marked an exciting time for Maps.com, as it was the culmination of the critically acclaimed Monte Vista Elementary School Science Night.

For many K-6 graders in Santa Barbara, Science Night is one of the most anticipated days of the year; Monte Vista Elementary School hosts dozens of local scientists from a wide variety of disciplines who enthusiastically share their profession with young minds of tomorrow. The evening gives students the opportunity to touch a human brain, hold a python, experience static electricity, and as of 2012, learn about MAPS!!!

As a past student of Monte Vista who vividly remembers the thrills of Science Night, I was ecstatic to see things come full circle and return 15 years later as a cartographer. Teamed up with my partner in crime, Maps 101Customer Account Specialist, Terry (also a proud Monte Vista graduate!), we prepared a presentation that we hoped would engage students and get them interested in maps.

Global Appeal

Despite the fact that the cartography exhibit was placed right next to the reptile exhibit – tough competition to say the least – it is safe to say that the kiddos were enthralled to learn about maps. Crowded around the big maps we brought with us, Monte Vista students were quickly able to spot their school’s location on a map, identify ways that the Santa Barbara area has changed in the past century using our Santa Barbara Antique Wall Map, find their California mission on our Maps 101 missions map, and discover the uses of imagery in mapmaking. You would be shocked to learn how many first, second, and third grade students have used Google Maps before!!

No, THIS is longitude, Mr.

Seeing that I once had a cartographer visit my classroom in fifth grade, we at Maps.com understand the value of introducing the science of cartography to our society’s next generation of geographers. After a very fun evening complete with prize giveaways and contests, it is without doubt that the future looks bright for the cartographers of tomorrow!

Related articles

• Cartography Can Be Fun (travelbetweenthepages.com)
• The best American wall map: David Imus’ “The Essential Geography of the United States of America” – Slate Magazine (slate.com)

The UN and the U.S. are very concerned about predictions made by the Famine Early Warning System Network that warn of a major humanitarian crisis in those areas, particularly Southern Kordofan. By March, they feel that a large number of people, as many as a quarter of a million or more, will will reach what they call emergency status, which is one class short of famine and constitutes a very serious food emergency. The Sudanese government has resisted efforts by the administration and the UN to assist in relief efforts. Part of their arguments against receiving aid is that they ‘learned a lesson’ in Darfur, meaning that if they let the UN in, it will result in a peace-keeping mission and result in human rights charges against the Sudanese administration and further loss of territory. They further argue that they are concerned that food aid will reach supporters of the SPLM in the North and that the situation really isn’t that serious.

To complicate matters, there is also conflict between Sudan and South Sudan about the sharing of oil revenues. Most of the oil in the two countries originates in the South, while the refining and distribution facilities are in the North. The North has imposed increased tariffs on Southern oil and has blocked ships carrying it from leaving port. In response, the South has threatened to shut down all oil production and move to build pipelines to Kenya. Needless to say that with this much at stake for both countries, this is a very dangerous game.

Acute Food Insecurity in Sudan, especially Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, where conflict has broken out.

In the South, hostilities between regions and ethnic groups that was temporarily mollified by the independence movement are now beginning to show up again. Recently clashes between the Lou Nuer and Murle ethnic groups in Jonglei have resulted in the death of several individuals (perhaps several hundred) and widespread displacement of civilians. Fortunately, UNMIS was able to inervene and prevent a major conflict in one incident in Pibor, but there is still the threat or reprisal attacks. South Sudan is still a fragile state and we can only hope that all the ethnic, political and economic conflicts can be resolved as soon as possible.

Pibor, South Sudan. Site of serious clashes in recent weeks

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Source: U.S. State Department

London Underground Map

To answer that age-old question – “has anybody ever done a London Tube map with anagrams of all the station names? Well YES, and here it is.

Enjoy.

That’s because it opens to 6′ x 9′ and weighs 120kg – over 260lbs (34lbs heavier than the author of this post at time of writing) and according to publicity materials at its world premier at Frankfurt in 2010 “Never has the envelope been pushed this far”. Quite literally if you are planning to get it shipped via priority mail.

The project was inspired by the Klencke Atlas, which we wrote about back in May 2010 when it was included in a collection of unusual maps on display at the British Library. It was presented to King Charles II in 1660 and nothing like it has been produced since.

Platinum includes the work of more than 100 international cartographers as well as stunning photography and is hand bound. According to Millenium House it is set to become “a prized reference and a focal point of the world’s major libraries and repositories.”  Of course with health and safety laws being what they are in most public buildings, it will need a dedicated member of staff to turn the pages, and only after a risk assessment has been completed. I have already placed a loan request at my local library but I’m not sure how long I will have to wait.

Average sized man stands by giant atlas.

I considered ordering a copy even after I saw the US $100,000 price tag, but when I saw the price of appropriately sized coffee tables in Ikea I realized this was completely out of my comfort zone.

However, if you are looking to splash the cash on the map geek in your life, you can join the waiting list here – make sure you have your Amex Triple Gold Card to hand for faster service.

Think you can get all the information you need from the internet? Think again. Where else will you find curated, researched, accurate information all in one place. It sure as heck won’t be Wikipedia. And as was pointed out in an interview with World Alamanac editor Sarah Janssen on WITF’s Radio Smart Talk on Monday morning, Americans are fascinated by lists. The best this, the top that. And pushing 1000 pages, the World Almanac is chock full of lists.

The editor’s most surprising fact in the Almanac this year? Sales of mobile devices in the U.S. topped 80 million units this year. Not surprising you say? Consider that means that there was approximately one mobile device sold for every 4 persons in the country. Woof. That’s a lot of devices.

If you fear that Santa won’t be able to fit The Almanac into your stocking, Sarah points out that “you can just make that stocking a little bigger this year!”

Buy The Almanac wherever books are sold or at WorldAlmanac.com

If total superiority in NFL Football wasnt enough, the state of Wisconsin has taken the agressive step of declaring itself ‘The Mitten State’ for a new winter campaign. This is based on Wisconsin’s borders resembling a left-handed mitten when plotted on a map.

This caused uproar in neighboring Michigan which has long regarded itself as the primary Mitten state seeing as its outline as resembles a pair of mittens, one pointing vertically up and one meeting it at fingertips horizontally. Or any other way you wish to interpret it.

After calling an emergency ‘Super Committee’ together here at Maps.com to review and agree official policy, we wondered if Michigan didn’t appear to be more like a Sasquatch looking up at a basking shark with an open mouth, whilst Wisconsin more closely resembled a hastily stuffed purse. However, when passing both maps through our geocoding analyzer using the ‘best fit’ algorithm (developed by our in-house programmers for use in such boundary disputes) we decided that there was no dispute after all.

Despite the outrage expressed by some parties in Michigan, the data clearly shows that Wisconsin has a single mitten, for which it can be proud, and that Michigan ‘The state’ actually applauds the notion. (See algorithmic graphical outputs below).

If you can offer further analysis please do not hesitate to comment in the box provided, or at least take our poll.

Michigan: Polite applause

Wisconsin: First Class Mitten

Related articles

• Mittengate: Wisconsin, Michigan Do Battle Over Mittens (patspapers.com)
• Mitten State: Michigan Nickname Used In Wisconsin Tourism Campaign (huffingtonpost.com)
• Michigan to Wisconsin: Don’t steal our mitten (cbsnews.com)

I recently stayed in the Hilton Kuala Lumpur.

I happened to find one of your business cards under the bed in my room. In the drawer of the nightstand there was a Gideon’s Bible. The map in the back of that Bible appears to be out of date, in that it includes Persia and Babylon, but does not show the new South Sudan border. Can you please provide me with an updated map for the Bible, which I removed from the room, as is my entitlement according to the Gideons?

 My room number was #3853 to assist you in tracking.

 Thank you.

(Name & Address withheld)

Under Secretary Wendy Sherman made the announcement today, saying that the U.S. wants “to communicate directly to the people of Iran. We want all Iranians, especially the very large population of young people inside Iran, to see that the United States has deep respect for the Iranian people and its civilization. We want to support a more direct and robust engagement between us and the people of Iran, as we have in other countries where we have physical embassies. The virtual embassy is a hub in Persian and English for information not only on U.S. policy towards Iran but also a place to get insight into American culture and society, find visa applications, learn about opportunities to study in the United States. Virtual Embassy Tehran is a launch pad for our interactive efforts, our blogs, our Persian Facebook and Twitter pages, and our YouTube channel.”

The relationship between the U.S. and Iran has been made more tense of late by the Iranian administrations continued attempts to develop nuclear material  and the recent crash of a CIA drone in Iranian territory. The Iranian government will likely attempt to block the site from networks within the country, as they have for many site they deem inappropriate or counter to their own message. At the time of the announcement, the site had been operating for several hours with no attacks or blockage. Should it happen, the U.S. will do whatever it can to reset access and is confident that they can keep it up and accessible.

This does not signal a change in the diplomatic relationship, or lack thereof, between the two countries, but a new tactic to reach directly to the Iranian people.

PROFILE

Geography
Area: 1.6 million sq. km. (636,295 sq. mi., slightly larger than Alaska).
Arable land: 9.78% of the country.
Cities: Capital–Tehran. Other cities–Isfahan, Tabriz, Mashhad, Shiraz, Yazd, Qom.
Terrain: Desert and mountains.
Climate: Semiarid; subtropical along the Caspian coast.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective–Iranian(s).
Population (July 2010 est.): 76,923,300 million.
Population growth rate (July 2010): 0. 1.253%%.
Ethnic groups: Persians 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%.
Religions: Shi’a Muslim 89%; Sunni Muslim 9%; Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha’i 2%.
Languages: Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic languages (besides Turkish) 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%.
Education: Literacy (total population age 15 and over who can read and write, 2003)–79% (male: 86%, female: 73%).
Health (2010 est.): Infant mortality rate– 43.45 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth (2010)–total population: 69.77yrs.

Government
Type: Islamic republic.
Constitution: Ratified in December 1979, revised 1989.
Branches: Executive–Supreme Leader (head of state), President (head of government), Council of Ministers, Assembly of Experts, Expediency Council, Council of Guardians.Legislative–290-member Majles (National Assembly, or Islamic Consultative Assembly).Judicial–Supreme Judiciary.
Suffrage: Universal suffrage; 18 years of age.

 Sources: Maps.com, Maps101,  U.S. State Department

Bangkok Resident waits out the flooding: CNN

With much of the world’s weather attention focused on the flooding and destruction in Thailand, many in the ‘map community’ are not only concerned for the health & safety of the friends, family, and the Thai people, but also the fate of the annual International Map Trade Association’s Asia/Pacific (IMTA AP) conference, set to take place in Bangkok November 10th & 11th.

Many IMTA members, particularly those traveling from North America, are having trepidations about travelling to a country that may be in need of relief more than conventioneers. Although the conference organizers have been assured that the primary hotel, international airport, and convention center are all dry and in working order, news reports from around the world and inside Thailand paint a more dire picture. Certainly a portion of the Thai and Bangkok economy is based on visitors, and the map community is very sensitive to this, perhaps even more so than most.

The flooding and displacement of people certainly isn’t a laughing matter, but this photos shows a unique use of map.  For travelling delegates we recommend lamination!

See more images from CNN coverage here.

Related articles

• Floods reach Bangkok, Thailand (telegraph.co.uk)
• Bangkok Braces for More Flood Impact (online.wsj.com)
• Bangkok braced for month of flooding as big evacuation gets under way (guardian.co.uk)
• Bangkok braced for month of flooding as big evacuation gets under way – The Guardian (news.google.com)