Vauxhall Viva/Lars Vegas

[hirez]

You can say what you like about the convenience of Google Maps/Streetmap/Favourite mapping tool here, but there's nothing like having the relevant OS Landranger to spread out and stare at. If only because of the contours and, hello, cyclist. And they've got the National Cycle Routes marked. They're on the Sustrans maps and the website, but not at a level of detail to be useful.

So basically I'd like the Google UI (and thus the bolt-on ecosystem that's growing up around the API) only with the OS mapping data, because the 3D view with proper lumps in would be a lot more use than photographs of shops, cats and some woman's whale-tail in downtown SF.

I mean, as a wide-eyed wide-trousered child I watched one too many NASA animations with James Burke jabbering excitedly over the top of the flyby, and I wanted whatever unimaginable tech it was so I could do that too.

(This is a condensed version of the Guardian's weekly whine about free GIS data.)

Anyway. Out for a run into Bristol to the map-shop and dear Lord I'm off the pace. Too much beer and not enough distance. Pitiful.

On the other hand, the place is full of strange things just lying about for people to ignore.





Someone's been hanging round jarkman's shed while the bed-building was in progress, I'll be bound. I'm also rather taken with the slight solarisation lent to the image by having to use Potatoshop's equalise filter.




It's likely just me, but the way someone just built the one room and left it there reminds me strongly of Milligan's 'The bed-sitting room'. There was also the legendary one-room motel up Shurdington way. The story goes that there was some random legal malarkey concerning the land, so some bright fellow built a motel room in the middle of it in the sixties and left it. It was still there in the nineties, like some slightly damp groovy time-capsule.




Cheating a bit because I took this one a couple of weeks ago. However, tow that sodding Peugeot out of the way, replace it with a Thames Trader flatbed + winch and it's instant early sixties. Daddio!

Comments

[mr-tom.livejournal.com]

Yes. I suppose that the up/down-side[1] of the East is that there are no contours for a reason.

On the other hand, the rather wonderful Bikely lets you plot a route on Google Maps and then see where it goes on Google Earth. Some fine individual has put Le Tour in there, so one can see just how big the Google Alps really are.

However, I am dreading the arrival of vocalised SatNav: "Turn left up that massive hill, now... Turn left... Left, you wuss... Oh, fine. Go the flat way, see if I care.


[1] Pun intended.

[samoth.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear you like Bikely, I've just been having a world of fun porting it to our servers, and working on the integration with www.bikeradar.com. World of fun that's been :)

[jarkman.livejournal.com]

Have you seen the relief data in the current Google Earth ? Get the viewpoint suitably low & angled, and the hills are very visible.

Nice girders.

[quercus.livejournal.com]

Is the Jowett van(s) still there mouldering alongside the garage on our side of Long Ashton?

[perlmonger.livejournal.com]

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/perlmonger/371886142/)

[sinibar.livejournal.com]

There are (expensive) applications created specifically for cycle route planning that map the OS data onto cool 3D vis stuff. I think one of them is called TrackLogs... memory not doing its best at this time of the morning.

They're very pretty but I've never found them greatly useful as I was taught to read maps about the same time I learned to read.

[diffrentcolours]

I wonder whether OSM's database contains altitude data from those GPSen which support such. If so, it might be possible to render it in some useful OpenGL-based manner.

(and the ability to have cycle paths and suchlike rendered on OSM maps is very handy in those few places which have decent OSM coverage)

[hirez.livejournal.com]

Cor. OSM's come on a whole bunch since I looked at it last. My corner of Bristol's looking a bit bare, and I've got the right sort of GPS...