Andrew Middleton

Ten Thousand

Another one of yesterday's Lucky Ten Thousand xkcd.com/1053/

TV spots on three channels. Library talks. Three newspapers. Social media. Four national conferences. FAN VIDEOS. C'MON!

Sometimes it's frustrating. How do I reach people if not this way? But then I remembered that I should find it encouraging that new people are still discovering the Map Center.

Had a lovely customer come in last night while I was working late. Dude was blown away by what I've been doing. It felt really great.

It's kind of funny to see folks who live three miles away discover something amazing in their neighborhood. I'm trying hard to tell y'all!

There may or may not be additional Nicholas Cage content in said talks

Come see my popular talk "How Maps Lie:"
At the Salter Library in Longmeadow MA on March 10 at 6PM
and at the Norwood Library in MA on March 12 at 7PM

It's wild how many Confederate flags fly up there

A lot of people don't realize that New England and Florida have this one crazy thing in common: the farther north you go, the deeper South it gets.

If anyone hasn't read it yet, Marie Tharp's reflection on her career is one of the coolest things.

"I had a blank canvas to fill with extraordinary possibilities, a fascinating jigsaw puzzle to piece together: mapping the world’s vast hidden seafloor."

news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/07/24/m...

Celephais, the jewel city, capital of Ooth-Nargai

Map for my @exaltedfuneral.bsky.social RPG "Dreamland: Fairytale Portal Fantasy Beyond the Wall of Sleep" www.dreamrpg.com #ttrpg #dreamlands

Hem - Not California [Official Music Video] YouTube video by NettwerkMusic

I've loved this song for over a decade and it just gets better and better. Recently revisited it to assess its lingering potency.
Oh yeah. Still go it.

youtu.be/DQNknNX7HoA?...

A+ parenting

Some days, a kid will come in with a hand drawn treasure map that he wants to show me and it will reset the emotional tenor of my entire week. I'm gonna keep going a little longer just for you, kiddo.

It's a slow day and I'm trying to boost my flagging morale but reminding myself that I do in fact have something to say.
So far all I've got is a scratch pad with the talk title: "Bad Maps and Bad Acting: what Nicholas Cage can teach us about Cartography"

Idk might be time for a break.

I joke that I grew up in a Norman Rockwell painting. I rode my bike to the creek to go fishing. I walked to school (and complained about it all the time). Rollerbladed in the street.

The world is a different place. So much of what I'm grateful to have had as a kid is straight up illegal now.

Older folks are constantly complaining to me about how young people don't use maps.
Of course, I tell them. What would a kid need a map for? We don't let them go anywhere.

If you love maps, exploring and childhoods that are full of adventure, independence and curiosity, we must protect mobility.

I love molas. I've seen them several times on dives around Monterey CA and they're fascinating oddballs. They survive well beyond our expectations for them which says less about them and more about our understanding of survivability.

"OK honey, your mother and I are heading out for the night. You have dominion of the house until we get back."

"SWEET I'm gonna go sell off the furniture to the neighbors, light the carpet on fire and eat the dog!"

"What? No, just get your little sibling to bed and walk the dog WTF"

Pi Day! Nice!

Brutal that Providence is so deeply flawed and also probably one of the more walkable cities on the East Coast. ebikes can be a solution for some people. I wish we considered this type of mobility need seriously because there are tons of folks in the same boat!

Hey nerds, my birthday is coming up.
I'm just gonna be hanging out at Ogie's in Providence on March 15 from 6PM to whenever we get bored and go home. It's a Sunday so don't get your hopes up for a rager.

It'd be cool to see you if you wanted to swing by and say hi.

Lenience for people who break laws and risk the lives of innocent bystanders is the kind of "toxic empathy" that needs to be studied.

Another 96 Year old speeder & Her boyfriend is a bum! YouTube video by Caught In Providence

Remember that feel-good story of Judge Caprio being lenient on a 96 year old speeding through a school zone?
We learned the wrong lesson from it.
youtu.be/VJ7pCB4g3sU?...

It's infuriating to me that younger people want dense housing because we know that building more is the only way we'll be able to afford to buy. This would massively benefit older folks who could downsize and live independent car-free lives as they aged in place.
But guess who fights it hardest?

I was genuinely shocked when not long ago I heard a friend talking about people eating babies on Epstein's island.
Baby eating? Really? Blood libel getting another rerelease post Satanic Panic and QAnon? Can we focus on actual, documented crimes for a minute before careening into conspiracy?

That'd be a great Map Center

that feels right.

is that like a dirty martini but with clam juice?

Map of UK to India showing dots where people thought Iran was. On 24% of dots are in Iran https://pro.morningconsult.com/articles/can-you-locate-iran-few-voters-can

In 2020, 77% of Americans could not locate Iran on a map.

How many of those people are in favor of killing Iranians?

pro.morningconsult.com/articles/can...

I get lost in Pawtucket precisely because I know how cities are supposed to work.

Divine Pawtucket is what happens when you need to go grocery shopping but you don't want to go out because the streets aren't plowed yet but you find a Colombian empanada wrapped in foil in the fridge and your evening is saved.