Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Map

How do I turn a large list of locations into small, close groups?

solo — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:13:07 -0800

Given a raw list of several hundred addresses, is there an way to divide them into smaller zones based on proximity? No, nothing to do with the DARPA challenge. It's a Santa thing. My problem is this. I have around 800 packages to deliver around the city in a day, and about 50 people to deliver them. I'm going to assign each person to a zone containing 10-20 addresses. Traditionally, this would mean plotting each address on a map, and just eyeballing it to find clusters. It's a lot of manual work, and I'm wondering if there's any way to automate it.

After I have the zones defined, I can just dump the group of addresses into a Travelling Salesman solver to produce maps and routes, but I'm wondering if there's also a tool somewhere that would find the clustered zones for me. It doesn't need to be optimal at all. If there's a way to import all the addresses into a map, then selectively export a group, that would be an improvement. It's really just all the manual typing and cutting and pasting of each location that is so time consuming.

I guess that if I at least had something that could automatically produce the distance between each node for me, I could figure out how to calculate the groupings. It just seems like the kind of problem that someone else has already solved, and I just need to find it. Thanks!

A million tiny pieces, on a USB drive.

tmcw — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:52:17 -0800

Transferring lots of files quickly to USB sticks? So, I'm trying to transfer map tilesets to USB drives ('sticks') - which means 1-12 gigs of data, but organized in files which are all less than 1MB. Transferring this with cp to a USB drive would probably take a week, so I've been trying to create images of the directory on my machine and then basically 'burning' the USB drive, with little success, since it appears that the Apple tools for this (hdiutil and asr) are either junk or too Apple-specific to deal with FAT32 - asr definitely can't.

So, how do people do this? I assume that they do, right? Ideas? Thanks

Maps of pipe networks

a womble is an active kind of sloth — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:19:21 -0800

Pipe-filter: Where can I find maps of pipe networks in US cities? I'm doing some research on exploring patterns that result from the physical infrastructure of US cities. I'm curious if anyone knows of any sources of data that show where water and waste-water pipes are located (preferably in shapefile format).The specific city does not matter.

I have explored ESRI's free data; Googling, geodata.gov, and other random sites which have not resulted in any information. I realize this is not common information, but thought it was worth asking the venerable hive-mind for suggestions.

Where can I get an NYC subway map & metrocard outside of NYC?

spockette — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:23:43 -0800

I'm working on an art project, and I need to get a copy of the official MTA NYC subway map (the one you get for free in the subway station), and an expired metrocard. I am in the UK. How can I get a hold of these things outside of New York?

Is there an application that will map all my friends?

yankeh — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:34:59 -0800

I'm looking for an online or freeware map application that allows me to chart where I know people across the globe. This would serve the same purpose as a paper map on the wall with pins in it but would have more flexibility (zoom-in, link to info about the place etc.) If, for example, I were planning a trip to Thailand, I could open the map app and see that I have a couple acquaintances there and where exactly they live. Even better if it will link up with my address book and/or facebook and do some of the data input work for me.

Creating a Map Based on Distances Between Cities

Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:03:51 -0800

Mapping question: I have a list of (imaginary) cities. I also know each city's as-the-crow-flies distance from every other city on the list. Based on this data alone, I would like to create a (hypothetical) map that shows all of these cities in their proper locations. I recognize that that the map's "rotation" would be arbitrary based on where & how you start plotting, but it seems that you should be able to plot out the relationships between cities properly. Is there software that can help me do this? To be a little more concrete, imagine that you have a mileage chart similar to this one. (That chart contains driving distances, but let's assume we have as-the-crow-flies distances instead.) If you pick an arbitrary starting point for one city, you can then plot out where every other city belongs, because you know how far each city is supposed to be from all the other cities.

I can envision at least one simple way to do this manually if you have just a handful of cities. But if you have a lot of cities, it becomes harder and harder. So I'd love to know if there is software that can calculate and draw such a map automatically. (Note: Using latitude/longitude is not an option - the scenario only involves knowing as-the-crow-flies distances between imaginary cities.) Thanks!

The undiscover'd Street View from whose bourn no Google Car returns...

Sova — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:30:19 -0800

Is it possible to create a Google Street View™, but with old photographs? Can old photographs of a city somehow be stitched together to create - more or less - a walkable street-level map? I understand that Google uses millions of images all taken close together in time but from a variety of angles to create an almost "seamless" view, and that nothing exactly like that would be possible. But if a large number of photographs from a wider time period (say 1895 to 1905) were plotted on an old city map for location/angle/height, would that manage to create something vaguely similar?

I understand that only for the city centers of large cities would a large number of photographs exist, and there would be greater changes from one image to the next.

Where can I download a vector (.svg?) map of the 5 boroughs in NYC?

ejfox — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:14:36 -0800

Where could I download (for free or cheap) an .svg or other vector-based map including or specializing on the 5 boroughs of NYC? I don't need streets or lots of detail. Just a general outline. Thanks!

Where in North/Central London did I see a model of London?

metaBugs — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:48:19 -0800

Where in London, UK did I see a "model village"-style map of the city centre? In a building near Bloomsbury, it was pretty big (something like 2x3m) and at ground level just inside a private building's glass front wall. It was astonishingly detailed, with all the buildings in a few square miles of central London represented as scale models. I saw this fantastic map/model of central London late one night. Unfortunately I saw it while walking away after an evening at the pub, so my memories of the place are frustratingly vague. Here's what I can remember:

I was walking away from ULU (here; Gower Street, near Russel Square / Euston Square Tube) and heading (very) roughly southwest. I was following a friend and I don't know those roads well, so it's possible we took an indirect route. We saw it after walking for about 5 minutes.

The map was at floor level in the entrance/reception of an office building. It was placed to be looked down on from the reception or from the pavement through the reception's glass front wall.

The base was roughly 3x2 meters and flat. Part of the Thames was represented, presumably painted on.

The area covered was something like Westminster - Mile End (West-East) and King's Cross - Southwark (North - South). I remember thinking that it roughly covered the City (as opposed to the city).

All the buildings in that area were modeled, with the streets I could identify tallying with my mental map of the city. I think -- but can't swear -- that the vast majority of buildings were plain white boxes, with larger buildings and landmarks (bridges, Wetminster Palace, etc) represented in more detail and colour.

It wasn't a new feature: the friend I was walking with (who has since left the country and is uncontactable at the moment) was surprised that I hadn't seen it before. It can't be too famous though, as the other people I've asked have never heard of it.

Have you seen this model/map near Bloomsbury? Do you know of any businesses nearby (architects? cartographers?) that are likely to have such a display in their window?

Looking for High Res Pic of World Map

Atarah — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:57:00 -0800

Looking for a High Res. Political Map to Print on Canvas So I found this lovely Canvas World Map at IKEA. However, it's $200, and that's quite a bit over my budget.

I was considering creating my own version however. I have a friend who has access to a large HP plotter at work that can print high res. pictures on canvas.

However, I've been looking for quite a while on the internet, and I cannot find a nice, high resolution, political/geographical hybrid map, that looks similar to that shown at IKEA.

If possible, I'd like to find a map that is slightly brighter and more colorful than the IKEA one, but it shouldn't be really childish (putting it in an office). Also, it should be as detailed as most maps, but I don't need to have every city in the world plastered all over the map, with trade winds and currents, etc. Going for simple, but informative.

Something like this would be perfect, but I can't find a digital version similar to this anywhere!

Would any of you know where I could get a digital copy of a map that fits most of these requirements? Please let me know if I can provide anymore information. Thanks a lot!

What 3D software do I use for Architectural models suitable for 3D printing?

Yellowbeard — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 13:19:50 -0800

Hey all. Similar questions to this have been asked, but I think my formulation is unique. I am trying to model some stone walls for architectural models. I need the stone texture to show up in 3D so it will print on a 3D printer. I am not sure what the best 3D software to use for this application. I started out using Blender, but after many hours of use, while I can build some basic shapes, I can't get the textures right. I am beginning to think that learning Blender in order to make the simple shapes I want is like learning Linux in order to try and write a letter to grandma.

I also tried Rhinoceros, but have bumped up against the same basic problem. While I can figure out how to make basic shapes, I am having a real problem getting textures mapped on to them. It is important to note that the textures must be "real" 3D as opposed to mapped on jpegs. The texture of the stone must actually print in a stereolithography machine.

Anyway, I am not even sure what the right questions to ask are, much less which software is right or how to go about doing what I want to do. I am willing to do the work to learn the appropriate program(s), but, at this point, don't even have a clue as to which path to start down.

Hell, the right thing to do might be to just hire the work done. Then again, if I want to make changes later, I can't make them myself.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Btw, I am male, using Windows XP pro in a PC. I can be contacted via the e-mail address listed on my MeFi page.

YB

Help me help my boss not get lost.

chiababe — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:50:48 -0800

My boss wants me to research GPS units for him to use since he'll be traveling a lot more in the near future. Any recommendations? I really don't know what I should be looking for in a good GPS unit. He wants to spend less than $200. It also needs to be fairly simple to use and update. He's an awesome boss, but not so good with tricky technology. Most of his travel will be within North and South Carolina. We're looking to purchase this within the week, so I won't be able to wait for new models that might be around the corner. I've read a few of the previous questions on this, but I'm wondering if there's anything new and exciting I should be looking at.

Looking for a 3D map of Israel

jcdill — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:57:15 -0800

Looking for a 3D map of Israel I'm looking for an illustration type of map, a view as if one were flying over the Mediterranean looking east at an elevation of about 10,000 feet. This illustration would show the relative elevation of major land areas in and around Israel. I'm trying to get a better understanding of how the geography of the region affects the politics. A traditional "flat map" doesn't show (for example) how the Golan Heights area looms over the land to the west and that hostile people and armies in that area endanger the safety of the people to the west (in Israel). I want to better understand the rest of the region's geography. Topographic maps aren't as useful (for me, for this purpose) as a 3D rendering.

DIY Streetview?

yellowbkpk — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:04:21 -0800

I'd like to make a DIY Google StreetView clone. I have a computer in my car. What kind of camera(s) should I get and what's a creative way to take pictures once every 1-2 seconds, downloading them to the in-car computer afterwards? I can deal with the software to geo-reference the images, but I can't find a image capture source that works:

>2MP webcams will let me take still shots of their video quick enough, but I haven't really come up with any quality images. I can control point and shoot digicams with gPhoto2, but it takes 5-20 seconds to take the picture and download for every frame.

Can the hive mind think of any creative ideas to solve this DIY conundrum?

Viewing very large images on a WM6 phone?

Jonathan Harford — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:59:49 -0800

How do I deal with a very large image (a map, actually) on my Windows Mobile 6 phone? I would love to be able to look at an NYC MTA map while underground (on the NYC MTA, naturally). But the picture viewer on my XV6900 complains about RAM (or is too slow to be useful) when I view my map JPG (or PNG, tried that too) at full resolution. Other imageviewers seem to have a similar problem. XnView has no memory or speed problems, but has a tendency to pixelate the map when viewed full-size.

Are there any (free/cheap) applications suitable for this task?

Please help me find some linguistics posters!

iamkimiam — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:37:07 -0800

Looking to purchase some awesome linguistics-related posters. I've searched for hours on the internet and I can't seem to find any family tree posters, IPA posters, or even anything remotely related to linguistics that is interesting and somewhat academic. It would be cake to find something like the "History of Programming Languages" poster, but for Indo-European languages or some other branch of the world tree. I'm tempted to just make a language tree poster myself, but that'd be a LOT of work.

Also, any ideas to spruce up a giant bulletin board and/or small linguistics 'lab' room are welcome.

How can I get a google map to display my current position automatically?

krautland — Sun, 10 May 2009 12:56:10 -0800

How can I get a google map to display my current position automatically? I have a google map on my webpage that displays the city I currently live in. I would like for this map to be automatically updated with my current position. How can I achieve this?

I was thinking about a cell phone updating my server with my most current coordinates. It's fine if this only happens every eight hours, it's great if it's always up to date (like flightaware.com trackings), it has to be automatic. I do not have an iphone, so a specific iphone app won't do it for me.

It doesn't have to be free - I'm willing to spend a few bucks to make this happen. What I don't know is just how much of a budget I need and what to ask my programmer for. I'm looking for a this is how I would solve this brief* kind of answer from you.

additional specifications:
- no flash
- must work in germany (I would love for it to work worldwide as I travel frequently)
- bonus if it could automatically archive my positions (so that you could click on a link and see a google map with all the places I've been to in the last 1,6,12 months)
- must work in all relevant browsers, even IE.

*I have someone in mind who I want to hire to code this for me but while I'm willing to pay him a nominal fee he's way busy with "really paying gigs." if you happen to feel that this is something you'd like to take on, feel free to let me know. (this is not the point of my post but just an addendum. I would have made a jobs post otherwise.)

Where in the world is.........

micklaw — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:47:52 -0800

Please pass on your favourite online mapping websites, with an emphasis on interactive applications. I really love maps. I spend a lot of time using a variety of (mainly educational) online maps such as the WWF Wildfinder, NationMaster, Reuters AlertNet, Globalis and the very excellent Geoscience Australia Sentinel Bushfire tool and so on. Maps of War is also an excellent resource in a similar vein, although not as interactive as those previously listed.

Anyway, the internet being what it is, I am sure there are many more fantastic resources online that I have not yet come across and I would love to tap the collective mind of Metafiler users to help me expand my mapping horizons.

Post your recommendations, particularly with an emphasis on non-US maps (global or other regions would be most useful) as these will be used in a non-US school.

Thanks in advance!

Subways! Maps! Intruiging namelessness!

soma lkzx — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:03:44 -0800

I've made the greatest site on the internet, now it needs a name! Cue cards feature: subways, minutes, maps Now that all of the math is out of the way, I've got a pretty neat site: you plug in an address in NYC, and it shows you a colored map (barometric pressure style) on top of google maps of how long it takes to get everywhere else in the city. Looks kinda like this. But it needs a name, and anything I can think of seems to be taken.

It needs to be halfway memorable, but I really don't have many standards beyond reusability - if I end up doing this for systems outside of NYC the name needs to come with it. Maps, colors, transit, subways, rail, and anything else related is fair game. I lean towards the more twee or singsong options (like, say, triptastic or triptrop), and the less misspellings/homophones/etc I have to buy the better.

Print custom maps and include or remove the roads I choose?

atm — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:03:54 -0800

Is there a website where I can create custom local maps that I can include or remove the roads I choose on a printout? Free preferably, of course. Thanks!

Or En Aye Ay? What does this song mean?

crazyray — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:40:01 -0800

You may very well recognize this song. It is from this movie. What does it mean? Does the first stanza and/or chorus spell something? Please help! One website lists the lyrics as this:

Oh Ry In Eye Ay - Oh Ry In Eye Ay
Oh Ry In Ah Key Ooh Lay
Ka Lay Ooh Lau Ee - Oh Ry In Eye Ay
Sal You Te Lee Ay Vee Show

Midnight sunshine silent thunder
Sky as black as day
Only a dream away

Chorus

Waking while you're still deep sleeping
Finding you're not here
Watching a dream appear

Tumbling through a thousand centuries
You don't know where you'll land
It's so dark in mythology
Treasures of history to be found
Near the legends of time
All the handiworks remain there
Only a dream away

Chorus

Greedy feeling wheeling dealing
Losing what you won
See the dream come undone

Stumble you may with the elementary
Lucky you got so far
All you owe is apologies
Measure the mystery and astound
Without taking up time
So the handiworks remain there
Only a dream away

Chorus

In out, hot cold, up down, young old
What a lot to do
Sharing a dream with you

Chorus

Cigarette Price Map?

zaphod — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:19:12 -0800

After the shock of paying almost $10 for a pack of American Spirit wore off I thought there must be a website like Gas Buddy or Boston Gas Prices for cigarette prices. My google foo has failed me on this one, anyone know if there's any such site(s)? Yes I know they're bad, and I should quit. And, yes I know I can drive to NH and buy cartons for less, but I don't want cartons as I just end up smoking more.

If you don't know any such site, do you know anywhere in Boston (Downtown, Back Bay, Kenmore) that isn't so friggin' expensive?

Machine, point me to food

klangklangston — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:45:20 -0800

Where's my food? How to make a web ap that tells me how to find vegetarian food easily? Ok, so, first off—I'm not tremendously programming savvy, so don't be afraid to talk down to me in simple terms (seriously, don't assume I know anything).

Here is what I want: I want to be able to go to a page (either on a computer or a phone) and see where the nearest vegetarian food is (vegetarian restaurant or just a place that has veggie food). I would like to make this open, so that I don't have to find every vegetarian dish everywhere (crowdsource).

I assume that what I need will be some sort of database that accepts submissions easily, and that will work with google maps; and some server space to run it from.

Given that—if I want to build something that does this, what do I need and what do I need to know? Is this something that can be built by a programming novice (I haven't done any programming since high school and that was still mostly basic. I have a moderate grasp of HTML, but little CSS)? How hard will this be? What should I know when I start to build it?

CartographyFilter: Help me find a strange map

ecmendenhall — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:07:16 -0800

Some months ago, I came across a map created by (I think) a sociologist, depicting one student's daily travel routines in (I think) Paris. It shows clearly that the subject's life clusters closely around home, work, and university. It is not from Strange Maps, and Google is not helping. Has anyone else seen this?

A Printable PEI

Jezztek — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 10:22:20 -0800

Help me find a higher resolution image of this map of Prince Edward Island Howdy, I'm working on a gift and with a few inside joke alterations this map of Prince Edward Island would be perfect. I'd like to print it out and have it look decent at say 14" wide, so I'll need to find a less jpegy version.

I think the image is public domain, and if I can't find this exact map then anything of PIE with this "ye olde" feel to it would work as well.

Where do I even begin looking?

Thanks much!