Shoals

An occasional blog about mapping, history, art, and technology

How I use Twitter in 2019

Posted on November 11, 2019

I’ve been on a long ride with this microblogging-whatever-the-hell-it-is platform, and I’ve noticed a few patterns in my usage evolving over the years. So here, at the end of the decade, is: [Read More]
A full-throated defense of using Zipcodes for spatial analysis

Psych. It's actually a meek defense.

Posted on August 28, 2019

We, the data-folk of Faraday, agree wholeheartedly with our colleagues at Carto on this sensitive issue: In the USA, ZIP codes(™) are the worst-case scenario base unit for measuring geospatial relationships. Because: [Read More]
Following a phone case

A good old-fashioned ridealong through the global supply chain.

Posted on November 19, 2018

The order is placed [Read More]
All the Takes You’re About to See on the NYC-Snapchat Map Vandalism

That’s right folks, it happened - an OpenStreetMap vandal made it to prime time

Posted on August 30, 2018

That’s right folks, it happened - an OpenStreetMap vandal made it to prime time: [Read More]
A true map

The quest for the base unit of Democracy

Posted on July 28, 2018

Many an earnest cartographer/journalist/opinion-holder is currently debating — with varying degrees of condescension — the utility of the @nytimes’ latest map piece: [Read More]
New Belgium, 1650

When historical maps read like alternate histories

Posted on July 10, 2018

I found an old map of my corner of the world, in Dutch. Made by Nicolaes Visscher I in 1650, this version is held by the Library of Congress. [Read More]
Imagination vs. the Moat

Some thoughts on Justin O'Beirne's meticulous reverse-engineering of Google's geodata infrastructure

Posted on December 20, 2017

I did some doomsaying last night, and it needs following-up, wrapped around the idea of “imagination”. [Read More]
Bonten Poad

Generating fake Vermont placenames with a neural network

Posted on July 20, 2017

“Yup, take the Pendoil bridge just past Sad Cahue Village, and you’ll be up ta’ Ponkey before ya know it!” [Read More]