Platial News and Neogeography

Breaking World Record Cycling Around the Globe for Parkinsons Research

James Bowthorpe's inspired ride around the world.

Current position

Police Giving Away Free GPS Units

Techdirt writes about several court cases where the concerns of privacy over police using GPS to track suspects are brushed aside with claims that this kind of tracking is legal and justified because it is no different than physical surveillance.

I'd like to point out that it is very different, in the GPS situation, if lucky enough to be tracked, you get a really cool high tech GPS unit for free!
(if you can find it).

Platial's New Myspace Application

Just in time for summer, we've published the Shark Attack Map as a Myspace Application. Now it's even easier to get the map on your Myspace page. We'll be rolling out more of your favorite maps as Myspace apps in the coming days. If you have a map or know of a map that you think would make a great app for Myspace, email me (tracy --at-- platial) and I'll set it up for you.

Citizen Voting Power Map

From the New York Times:

This map shows each state re-sized in proportion to the relative influence of the individual voters who live there. The numbers indicate the total delegates to the Electoral College from each state, and how many eligible voters a single delegate from each state represents.

UNESCOs Aquafir Map

New Scientist reports:

What the UNESCO map reveals is just how many aquifers cross international borders. So far, the organisation has identified 273 trans-boundary aquifers: 68 in the Americas, 38 in Africa, 155 in Eastern and Western Europe and 12 in Asia.

Each trans-boundary aquifer holds the potential for international conflict – if two countries share an aquifer, pumping in one country will affect its neighbour's water supply.

You can download a pdf of the map from the link above.

Election Hackability Map

Sure it's oversimplified, and sure it doesn't take varying procedures into account, but this map of state by state voting technology does bring me around to the question, when will we just do this open source?

Thank you SEOmoz and Jones Soda!

Frappr! won an award, SEOmoz Web 2.0 awards chose Frappr as the #1 mapping application. This happened a while ago but I didn't blog it ... until, a case of Bubble Gum Blue Jones Soda branded by Frappr! arrived by post.

Thanks so much for the stellar prize.

Come help map Portland

In Portland? Love Mapping? Please join us tomorrow at 2pm...

Join Platial in hosting a map party for OpenStreetMap

About OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap is a voluntary not-for-profit organisation that anyone, anywhere can join. The goal of OSM is to provide free map data that can be used by anyone. All of our maps are freely available on the internet at www.openstreetmap.org. Why would anyone want to do that? Aren't there are lots of free maps out there? Most of the maps that you come across on the internet or in your home are protected by very stringent copyright laws. These rules stop the maps from being used in unique and unexpected ways, stifling people's creativity and imagination.

A mapping party is where a group of openstreetmappers and novices descend on an area to map it exhaustively, usually over a weekend. It's a very social event where people can meet up and talk (usually at a pub) in between mapping sessions. A mapping session consists of dividing up an area between participants and mapping it, be that by car, cycle or walking.

Tomorrows Mapping Party starts at Platial

635 NE Going Street @ 7th at 2pm.
There will be a little food and drink.
There will be GPS units to lend out-although feel free to bring your own
Platial will have a few iPhones to lend out for trying our new iPhone app (now in the store)

We'll have you back at OSCON by 6pm.

RSVP appreciated.

Portland Bans Cars

Sunday, June 22nd!

Well, just on a 6 mile loop of random side streets, and just for a half day, but the sentiment is encouraging.

The model comes from a weekly event in Bogota, Colombia called Ciclovia, which seems highly integrated into people's routines and expectations. The (apparently one-time?) Portland version carries the not-quite-so-catchy monicker of "Sunday Parkways". There is more info about events and the map on the City's Dept. of Transportation website. Hopefully this is just a test run for something permanent.

Portland gets a lot of press for being bike friendly, and it seems to be part of our overall marketing plan (a healthy, green and active city), but taking steps towards real changes in the way our streets are used on a regular basis would really put our money where our mouth is.

Another encouraging piece of news is that Portland is hosting this year's Towards Car Free Cities Conference (June 16-20). The Sunday Parkways event is seen as a wrap up the conference with actual implementation.

So, hope to see you all there!

Garbage Island

Garbage Island is a Texas sized "island" of trash floating in the super remote North Pacific Gyre.

Gnarly.

Check out more videos and info here.