Mapping your LinkedIn Network

Neat way to understand your porfessional "spheres of connection".
From LinkedIn Labs  - InMaps - Visualize your LinkedIn network.

Mapping Android Usage - Activations by Continent

Interesting given all the recent press around "Apple-nation" - never count "the 'Droid" out.
Still no GSM for Apple iPhone on Verizon (aarrgghh).
Credits to FlowingData for bringing this to my attention.

Mapping Units of Measure -Size is relative in the Universe

Size is "relative" in the universe.



From the NASA APOD Project:
Star Size Comparisons



Credit & Copyright: morn1415 (YouTube)


Explanation: How big is our Sun compared to other stars? In a dramatic and popular video featured on YouTube, the relative sizes of planets and stars are shown from smallest to largest. The above video starts with Earth's Moon and progresses through increasingly larger planets in our Solar System. Next, the Sun is shown along as compared to many of the brighter stars in our neighborhood of the Milky Way Galaxy. Finally, some of the largest stars known spin into view. Note that the true sizes of most stars outside of the Sun and Betelgeuse are not known by direct observation, but rather inferred by measurements of their perceived brightness, temperature, and distance. Although an inspiring learning tool that is mostly accurate, APOD readers are encouraged to complete the learning experience -- and possibly help make future versions more accurate -- by pointing out slight inaccuracies in the video.

Mapping the International Space Station (ISS): A timeline visualization of construction

This is a nice timeline visualization from USA Today on the "evolution of construction" for the International Space Station (ISS) - beginning in 1998 thru 2010.

USA Today ISS timeline

The Alteryx Grand Prix - a video at Las Vegas Speedway

Astronomical Calculations of Eclipses & Celestial Events ... with Legos

OK. I just made fortresses and spaceships as a kid with legos .... brilliant example of human ingenuity, both 2,000+ years ago and today. 



Some quick excerpts from the Scientific American interview:
" How long did it take to make the device and video?



Andy built the device from scratch in about 30 days. Preproduction took forever—most of the spring and summer. We filmed in Portland for a week in September, then I went back to New York and directed the animators' stop-motion work via daily phone calls and email/video updates for about a month and a half. Postproduction took a few weeks all told. But from very beginning to very end, it took us all of 2010.






So this Lego-built mechanism really works to predict the next solar eclipse?


Absolutely. It predicts solar and lunar eclipses to the exact year, date, and time of day accurate to within two hours, out to about a century or two in the future. Beyond that, mechanical effects like flexion and friction cause drift in the calculations done by the gears, but it is still accurate to the day, if not the exact time. "


Full article  - click here
 
References:
For more, check out Pavlus' behind-the-scenes blog.



Find additional details on the antikythera in Tony Freeth's Scientific American article "Decoding an Ancient Computer," which also appears in "The Best American Science Writing 2010".

Lessons in Historical Geography - mapping border changes over time

For those interested in the changing national boundaries of Europe for the last ten thousand years or so - but only have 5 minutes to review, here's a You Tube for that!



Credits to Historical Atlas and there Centennia software for putting this together.

Scaling energy consumption - a video to "turn it off"

Turn it Off from Nigel Upchurch on Vimeo.


Nice example of scaling the mundane for global impact.

Coach JoePa earns 400 wins

Congrats to JoePa and Penn State.

Mapping Taxi Rates - How much for a cab in Athens, Greece?

My wife is flying to Athens, Greece for work. During the layover she wanted to get some sightseeing in.  This Taxi Cost Calculator site was useful.

I like the map options, and the right-click for "to and from" routing.  I would love to see a better search for "sites of interest".