LA Times: Mapping the road to the White House, Google-style

Los Angeles Times in their Business Section (07/01/2008) writes about Google's Election 08 Gallery in a article titled "Mapping the road to the White House Google-Style". The article displays a snapshot from my John McCain's Journey of Life Google Maps Mashup. Additionally the article states that

Maps can add a whole new layer of understanding to the race and the people running it. A pair of maps tracks each candidate's life across the planet, allowing you to see, for example, the location where McCain was held as a prisoner during the Vietnam War (pictured above) and the private prep school in Honolulu that Obama attended.

This is quite an honor for me. (Thanks to Keir Clarke at Google Maps Mania Blog for alerting me on the LA Times article).

Barack OBama Events in your State or Zip Code Mapped!

Are you Barack OBama supporter/fan? Then check out this Google Maps Mashup of "Upcoming Barack OBama Events" in your Zip Code or State. The data source for this Google Maps Mashup is "barackobama.com".

What? Free Strawberry Daquiri at OBama event in Michigan!!

North Korea destroys water cooling tower at Yongbyon Nuclear facility

CNN is reporting that North Korea has destroyed a water cooling tower at Yongbyon Nuclear facility (Google Maps View shown below).

The massive implosion, which came at about 5pm local time Friday at the Yongbyon facility, was intended to be a powerful public symbol of a move to end nuclear activities by the Communist nation once branded a member of an "axis of evil" by U.S. President George W. Bush.

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Who in the world is Googling - "Eight Legged Freaks"?

Auckland, New Zealand and Phoenix, AZ top the list of cities searching for "Eight Legged Freaks" on Google. Check out my latest Google Maps Mashup which shows the top 10 cities for a given keyword search on Google. You can filter the search by country and by date (from last 30 days to January 2004)



And now who in the world is thinking about sex. Delhi, India and Chennai, India lead the list.

Google's desire to see the world Mapped!

And with that in mind Google's Engineers from Bangalore, India have come with a unbelievable tool - "GOOGLE MAP MAKER". What this tool does is

allows you and your peers to add, edit and moderate most features you see on maps including roads, lakes, parks, points of interest, businesses, cities and localities. You will be able to trace many of these features using satellite images; as you trace, maps are immediately updated.

As of now, you can build maps in the countries of Cyprus, Iceland, Pakistan, Vietnam and the Caribbean nations of: Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago

The power and utility of Google's Map Maker can be seen with this before and after images from cyclone ravaged Myanmar. Google had no data for Myanmar prior to the deadly cyclone hitting the area. With the help Map Maker now it has all the data. (via)

CRUNCHBASE now with GOOGLE MAPS

CrunchBase (developed and maintained by TechCrunch) is the free directory of technology companies, people, and investors that anyone can edit.

CrunchBase has created a Google Maps Mashup of Company and financial organization headquarters. From TechCrunch

Say you’re checking out Yelp and want to see just where the company is located and what other startups are nearby. You can click on the [map] link next to Yelp’s address and its headquarters will show up among its 50 closest neighbors, including Kongregate the building over and Slide just a few blocks away.

Furthermore, you can now browse by City, State, Zip Code, or Country. Or choose an arbitrary location and map all of the results within a certain range (e.g., all the startups within 10 miles of Sydney, the 165 companies in Manhattan, or the VCs on Sand Hill Road).

maps.google.com

This is Great!!. Just noticed a huge spike in traffic from maps.google.com and the reason is that they not only have a link to "Elections '08 Gallery" which has 2 of my maps (OBama and McCain "Journey of Life"), it also has under the "Browse Popular Maps", my "New 7 Wonders of the World Google Maps Mashup". Here's a image from maps.google.com.

Jump in Worldwide Blogger Arrests

University of Washington annual report states that there have been 64 Blogger Arrests worldwide since 2003. Majority of these arrests took place in the Middle East and Asia with some in North America and Western Europe. Majority of the arrests were due to (Using Blog to organize or cover Social protest (15), Violating Cultural Norms (14), Posting comments about Public Policy (12).

Here's a Google Maps view of where the arrests have taken place with details on number of arrests and reasons for arrests.

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Tim Russert - "one of the premier journalists of our time"

Tim Russert - Host and Moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press" passed away at a young age of 58. Tim passed away on June 13, 2008 just couple of days before "Father's Day".

Tom Brokaw of NBC describes Tim Russert as "one of the premier journalists of our Time". Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) noted that Russert

"was a loyal and loving son," as well as "a devoted husband and father. He was one of the smartest, toughest television news journalists of all time" and an astute student of American politics."

"I can say from experience that joining Tim on 'Meet the Press' was one of the greatest tests any public official could face, Regardless of party affiliation, he demanded that you be straight with him -- and with the American people who were watching."

I have attempted to map out Tim Russert's journey on Google Maps. My information source was wikipedia. Do let me know if any corrections/additions are needed.

Improved Browsability in Google Maps

Google LatLong Blog is reporting that "Richer Data automatically appears in the left panel on Google Maps". What this means is that now you can see a picture (of what you are searching) or read snippet from a review, and you are just one click away from voicing your own opinion by clicking the "Write a Review" link.

Here is an example I tried out. For example I am visiting Mountain View, California and I am craving for "Chicken Curry". So I head over to Google Maps and type in "Chicken Curry near Mountain View, California". Snippet from a review has been circled. Just above that you have "Write a Review" link.

Trip Planning made easy with Google Maps

Just in time for your Summer Vacation...

Check out this video put together by folks at Google which shows you how easy it is to create Travel Maps using Google Maps. It shows you how to create placemarks of your travel destination, take a scenic route to your travel destination, check out the area around your travel destination, add photos to your map, find hotels near your desired location and finally share the map you have created with friends. (via Google LatLong Blog)

John McCain's Journey from his Birth Place to possibly the White House

(Update: The mashups in this post covered at Google Maps Mania today. Thanks to Keir Clarke and Mike Pegg)
Couple of months back I had traced Barack Obama's journey on Google Maps from his birth place (Honolulu, Hawaii) to possibly the White House.

Now I have done a similar Google Maps Mashup of John McCain's Journey from his birth place (Coco Solo Naval Air Station, Panama Canal Zone) to possibly the White House. Here it is in a IFRAME
(also: Barack Obama , John McCain


(BTW: if you want to check out my journey of life - click here)

Google Maps Directions from Detroit, MI to Sydney Australia (includes 7906 miles of Kayaking across Pacific Ocean)

Imagine Kayaking 7906 miles across the pacific ocean. This is part of Google's driving directions from Detroit, MI to Sydney, Australia. The way the GAS prices are skyrocketing, kayaking might not be such a bad idea :-)

Google Mapping Top High Schools (2008) in United States

Newsweek has published a list of Top High Schools (1300+) in United States. Topping the list is "Basis Charter" from Tucson, Arizona. Alaska, Hawaii and North Dakota did not have any schools listed.

Check out Newsweek's entire list of Top 1300+ schools in United States on Google Maps at mibazaar.

New 7 Wonders of the World (facebook version)

I was looking into porting my mashups to facebook. So the 1st Google Maps Mashup I attempted to port was the popular "New 7 Wonders of the World". After couple of attempts was able to port it over. Here's the link. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Haunted Locations around the World

GhostLogs.com is a website which tracks haunted locations from around the world on Google Maps. So next time you notice that strange look object floating around in the middle of the night, head over to GhostLogs.com and let the world know. (via Mashable)
Related: World's Creepiest Places

Find your favorite Beer or Bar in New York City

You are in New York City and you are craving for "Stone Arrogant Bastard" Beer. How would you know which bar serves up "Stone Arrogant..."?. No problems! there's "BeerMenus.Com" to help you out.

BeerMenus.Com is a Google Maps Mashup of Bars plus your favorite Beers. From the "About Us" Page of BeerMenus.Com

We created a way to browse and search beer menus in New York City so you never have to wonder which bars serve your favorite beers. We also keep a list of the best upcoming craft beer events. We spend our days tracking down beer menus and our nights researching the best bars.

Traveling 48 States by road in 106 hours

3 Friends from Utah started out on a journey from Vermont and ended up 106 hours later at 4 Corners (Place where UTAH, ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO AND COLORADO meet).

What's so great about this journey is that they touched all of the lower 48 states on this trip. Take a look at the map below as to how they did it. I tried to recreate this in Google Maps by plotting directions from Brattleboro, Vermont to Four Corners. Using the click and drag feature I tried to modify the route on Google Maps. Unfortunately I could only get to Idaho and then maps.google.com would not let me modify the route any further. If anyone is successful in routing on Google Maps (Vermont to 4 corners and touching all 48 states) let me know.

Google creates Donations Page to help those affected by Cyclone Nargis

A Google Checkout Donations page has been created to help those affected by Cyclone Nargis. The Donations page allows visitors to donate via credit card to either UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) or Direct Relief International, a global non-government organization providing medical assistance to disaster-stricken areas.

The donations page also shows a Google Maps View of affected areas(via)

Cyclone Nargis was a strong tropical cyclone that made landfall in Myanmar on May 2, 2008, causing catastrophic destruction and at least 63,335 fatalities with a further 37,019 people still missing, and estimates on the final total of fatalities ranging up to 100,000. (source: wikipedia)

Women CEOs of Fortune 500 Companies - 2008

According to Fortune there are just 12 Women CEOs in Fortune 500 Companies which is just 2.4%!! Where do these women work and how much do they get paid? Check the answers out in this Google Maps Mashup I have put together.

Unusual/Funny Names of Places in United States

MSN City Guides had a post out there on "Unusual City/Town Names" in United States which led me to create a Google Maps Mashup of the places mentioned in the MSN post. I have also added more names I found on the web like Chicken, Alaska. How about "Unalaska, Alaska". Let me know if you know of any other funny names and I will add those.

The World's Worst Tourist Traps

What defines a tourist trap? According to MSN Travel

For some, it’s the tacky T-shirt shops or overpriced museums; for others, it’s the crowds or the chain restaurants.

Here's a Google Maps View of some of "MSN Travel's" least favorite travel experiences.

(Related: America's One Trick Towns)

Google Maps Mashup of Fortune 500 Headquarters

Wal-Mart Stores top the Fortune 500 List for 2008 with a revenue of ($ millions) 378,799.0 and a profit of ($ millions) 12,731.0.

Here's a look at Wal-Mart and the rest of Fortune 500 companies on Google Maps (created by folks at Fortune).

There are 33 companies in Michigan (state I live in) which made it to Fortune 1000 list. General Motors leads the list in Michigan. Here's a Google Maps View of Michigan's Fortune 1000 list.

Indian Premier League (Cricket) Teams - Mapped!

The Indian Premier League is a Twenty20 cricket competition created by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The first season of the Indian Premier League commenced on 18 April 2008. Currently there are 8 teams taking part. Mumbai Indians leads the list in terms of valuation ($111.9 million). The combined total valuation of the 8 teams is $723.59 million. Cricket players from around the world are taking part.

Here's a Google Maps Mashup of the Indian Premier League Teams with some basic information (Home Stadium, Team Owners, Team Worth ($$), Latest News (via Google News RSS Feeds), Video (YouTube)).

Traffic Prediction added to Google Maps

Its Monday around 8 AM and Employee Joe who lives in Troy, MI is heading to his work place in downtown Detroit, MI. He always drives down I-75 South to Detroit, MI. But last Monday, he ran into heavy traffic on I-75 (portion parallel to Big Beaver Road). So he was late for that important meeting. His Boss gave him a piece of advice - "Listen, Joe! in future before hitting the freeway, check out the Current and Future Traffic pattern/congestion on Google Maps".

Here's how the Boss explains it. He logs on to the computer and brings up Google Maps and zooms into Troy, MI. Next he clicks on Traffic Button which brings up a box in the upper right hand corner of Google Maps. He selects the option - "Traffic at Day and Time" and selects Monday 8.15 AM. And the result.... Google Maps Predicts that traffic at around 8.15 AM on a Monday would crawl at 0-25 MPH. Joe reacts..."Wow! That is neat!!" (Info on this Google Maps feature found at Google LatLong Blog)

Broadcast your World with SEERO

Seero is a geobroadcasting platform that combines live and on-demand video with real-time GPS tracking. Users can embed maps into their blogs as and their Seero content in Google Maps and Google Earth. Seero automatically generates the KML feed so that a user's new content will appear in their embedded map as they update it on Seero. For an example of this check out user Craig's KML feed.

He's also embedded this feed into his own blog, you can view the link here (check the video box on the side panel to display the Seero video content).

Viewers can load Seero's global KML feed in Google Earth and see the GPS positioning of each broadcaster along with their live video feed. For full information on KML feeds and a link to Seero's Google Earth live global feed click here.

Placespotting.com - A Google Maps Game

Placespotting is a cool Google Maps Mashup which is about finding places on a Google map.

You get a picture of a place somewhere on earth and have to find this place on a movable Google map. You can also create new "map-riddles" for your friends.

The game started in Switzerland and has already more than 5000 riddles stored and more than 500,000 people tried to solve a riddle.

Google's 2008 Beijing Olympics Torch Relay Map

The amazing folks from Google Maps Team have created a great Google Maps Mashup which maps out the 130 Day journey of Olympic Torch from Greece to Beijing, China. Check it out here. (via Google LatLong)

Then there is this little fellow (yours truly) who also created a similar mashup (back in May, 2007)

Martin Luther King - Timeline of Events

Martin Luther King was assassinated 40 years ago on April 4th, 1968. I have pieced together events in Martin Luther King's life on Google Maps. Source of my data was Wikipedia.

In the Google Maps Mashup I created, the location information for events pop up on Google Maps every 10 seconds. You can disable the "Auto Play" feature by clicking the "Disable/Pause" button.

Dallas-Fort Worth Leads in Population Growth and Detroit Metro Leads in Population Decline

Dallas-Fort Worth had the largest Population growth of any metro area between 2006 and 2007, increasing by 162,250, according to estimates of metro area population size and growth released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Detroit Metro leads in Population Decline with approx 27,314 folks leaving the area.

Here's a look at Population changes in 100 Largest Metro areas in United States on Google Maps. This Mashup sorts the list by 1. Most Populated 2. Largest Gain 3. Least/Negative Gain.

Metro Detroit Potholes - Mapped!

WWJ Newsradio 950, a Metro Detroit radio station has a "Pothole Patrol Map" on their website. They have mapped out Potholes in the Metro Detroit area on Google Maps.

So if you are driving around in the Metro Detroit Area and come across a "Tire Eater" Pothole, then do let the community know by visiting the Pothole Patrol Map page and adding the Pothole info. The potholes that are fixed are marked with a Green Marker and the ones which need fixing are shown with red markers (looks like none of the potholes are fixed!!).

Google Maps now open to "User Edits"

Google LatLong Blog is reporting that now you can edit Marker Locations, Business Details on Google Maps. You can also remove a place if it does not exist, or if it is a private location. This feature is available for US, Australia and New Zealand.

I decided to give it a try by checking out the accuracy of "Hard Rock Cafe" location in Downtown Detroit. As you can see in the image, Google Maps is showing Hard Rock Cafe in the middle of the Street and also it is bit more to the North. So I clicked on the "Edit" link in the information window and then clicked on "move the marker" link and moved the marker to the side entrance door of Hard Rock Cafe as shown in the image at the bottom of this post.

Note: The information window shows the "Last Edited By..." info. There is also a link which will revert the marker back to the original location.

New Jersey Rail and Light Rail trips on Google Transit

NJ TRANSIT Rail and Light Rail trips can now be planned using Google Transit Website. (via InformationWeek)

Example:
Here's how it works:
Visit www.google.com/transit and type in "Trenton, NJ" in the Start Address Box and "New York Penn Station" in the End Address box and click on the "Get Directions" Button. Google Transit will then return with upcoming train departure times from "Trenton, NJ" including travel time. You can also click on the "Options" tab to check on all the departure/arrival times for any particular date.

Here's a view from Google Transit (journey from trenton, nj to new york penn station)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

There is some confusion as to when the St. Patrick's Day falls this year. Was it on March 15th or is it today March 17th?. Quoting from CNN

For the first time since 1940, St. Patrick's Day will fall during Holy Week, the sacred seven days preceding Easter.

Because of the overlap, liturgical rules dictate that no Mass in honor of the saint can be celebrated on Monday, March 17, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

However in Ireland March 17 will remain an official Irish day off work and the Dublin parade will go on as scheduled.

So today being St. Patrick's Day (for some March 15th), I decided to take a look at towns and cities across United States named Shamrock or Dublin. There are 19 cities/towns which I found at the United States Government Census site. Here's a look at those towns/cities on Google Maps.

Unique View of Detroit

Bill McGraw a Detroit Free Press Columnist was given a "extreme assignment": Take a 2,700-mile road trip and never leave Detroit. So starting in May last year he drove through Detroit's 2,100+ streets. The idea here was to get a unique view of Detroit, a street-level survey of Detroit's 138 square miles. So with all the video, sound, music and photos which were recorded during the journey, the staff of Detroit Free Press created a Google Maps Mashup.

Mike Pegg of GoogleMapsMania has this to say about this Google Maps Mashup

This is one of the best video/photo essays I've seen since it really gave me a vibe for the city when I used it.

Intel Science Talent Search 2008

Shivani Sud, 17 who attends Charles E. Jordan High School in Durham, North Carolina won the top prize in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search. The winner was announced last night in Washington DC. Shivani Sud won a $100,000 scholarship.

Shivani had submitted a bioinformatics and genomics project to Intel Science Talent Search that focused on identifying stage II colon cancer patients at high risk for recurrence and the best therapeutic agents for treating their tumors.

A versatile student, Shivani Sud is a Teen Court student attorney, a Durham Rescue Mission volunteer and performs classical and modern Indian dance.(via)

There were a total of 40 Finalists from schools across United States as shown in this Google Maps Mashup.

Presciption Drugs in United States Drinking Water

CNN was reporting yesterday that researchers have found prescription drugs in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas - from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit, Michigan, to Louisville, Kentucky.

Even though quantities found are far below the levels of medical dose, scientists are worried of long-term consequences to human health.

I have mapped out the metropolitan areas affected on Google Maps along with prescription drug info. (Note: Information window pop up after every 8 seconds. However you can click on "Disable/Pause" button if you need more time to read thru the text in the information window.

Here's a screen shot of Drugs found in drinking water around Columbus, OH.

Cost of IRAQ War - by State

Ever wondered what each state's contribution is towards IRAQ war and how that money could have been used if not spent on the war?

I bumped into a site called costofwar.com which answers those questions. I took the information from the site and mashed it up with Google Maps. California leads the States list in contribution. California to date has contributed $66.2 billion and on the other end of the scale is North Dakota which has contributed $630.5 million to date.

FORTUNE: Top 20 Most Admired Companies (2008)

While Google tops the list of Fortune's "Top 100 Companies" to work for, it is APPLE which is ranked as the "Top Most Admired" Company.

Click here for a look at the "Top 20 Most Admired" on Google Maps. (No need to click on markers as the Information Window pops up automatically)

Why is Apple #1?. According to Fortune

It is a tribute to its CEO that Apple, which ten years ago seemed headed for the slag heap, is No. 1 on this list. Steve Jobs has always had a knack for weaving magic out of silicon and software. But who knew he could build a $24 billion (in sales) company on the strength of a portable jukebox and a computer with a single-digit market share?

His pitch, as he leveraged the success of the iPod, was very simple: Apple products work, and if you buy more than one, they work better. The company (if not its stock) is on a tear, but even with the economy weakening, it will be interesting to see how economically sensitive this growth engine is

Near Plane Crash at Hamburg, Germany

A Lufthansa Airbus A320 while making a landing approach at Hamburg Airport, Germany got caught in a fierce crosswind and almost crashed. This video says it all. Fortunately the aircraft landed safely on a second try with all 130 passengers safe. (Incident Date: March 1st, 2008) (more at Reuters)


Google Maps View of Hamburg Airport, Germany.

American Idol Contestants - Season 7 (Top 16)

American Idol Season 7 is underway on Fox Television. Unfortunately there is no Sanjaya Malakar type contestant this season.

There are though some incredible talents like 17 year old David Archuleta from Murray, Utah. One of the songs he sang on the show was "Imagine" by John Lennon. That was a great performance. I have included the YouTube video of that song in this Google Maps Mashup of American Idol Contestants - Season 7 (2008).

Google Map of Earthquake in United Kingdom

United Kingdom was hit by the largest earthquake in almost a quarter century, early on Wednesday February 27th, 2008. The earthquake was centered about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of London, the British Geological Survey said.

The earthquake was felt across large parts of England. Check out Mapperz blog for locations in England where the Earthquake was felt (clicking on the markers opens up information window with info on magnitude)

Academy Awards for Tastiest Tap Water goes to...

Los Angeles, California and Clearbrook, British Columbia. Both top the list for the World's Tastiest Tap Water at the 18th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Awards.

The Top 5 places for the "Best Muncipal Water" are:

1st Prize

Los Angeles, CA	Clearbrook, British Columbia

2nd Prize

Desert Hot Springs, CA	Montrose, British Columbia

3rd, 4th and 5th Prize

Rutland, VT	Independence, MO	Montplier, OH