Links for 16 November 2008

Here are the web links I’ve found for 16 November 2008, posted automatically and not.

Links for 02 July 2008

Stilgherrian’s web links I’ve found for 02 July 2008, created automatically from internets.

Where Americans live

I’m a sucker for beautiful maps, so I simply must share this population density map of the US which I stumbled across today.

Population density map of the US

It’s part of a Time cover story from last year, An In-Depth View of America by the Numbers, which also includes What We Believe (31% of Americans believe in an “authoritarian God”, for example, while it seems only 6% don’t believe in God), Denomination Nation (exploring which kind of Christians live where) and Who We Are (which, being American, starts off by talking about race).

Polling booth maps clever, but whose map?

The NSW Electoral Commission has great interactive maps so you can find your local polling booth for 24 March. But they’re based on Google Maps. So as Richard Chirgwin points out, the mapping data is licensed in a very roundabout way.

Map of polling booths in Marrickville

The NSW Government street data is licensed to PSMA (the public sector mapping agency), which is then licensed to MapData Sciences, which is then licensed to Google Maps which is then licensed back to… the NSW Electoral Commission.

“We are surrounded by cretins,” Richard says. I tend to agree.

Though the defence is obviously that Google Maps provides a nice, convenient interface for programmers to use.