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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 1h

He uh, he knows about it.

Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 15h

Many bookstores already have their Christmas purchasing done and they'll coast on their current stock til Jan.
Of those buying, many only work with big distributors like Ingram which shuts out smaller makers/distributors (like me). Independent STORE doesn't mean independent CONTENT.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 15h

Seriously thinking about putting on a Trans-Atlantic accent and doing the whole traveling salesman schtick.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 15h

Today I had a meeting with someone who might have me do some consulting, I did a talk at the Newton Free Library, went for a walk in a glorious autumnal cemetery and pitched 'Maps on Vinyl' in person to 2x record stores and 4x book stores around Boston. (One buyer!)

Not a bad day.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 19h

Thanks for the shout-out, hope you had a good time!

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 1d

omg I would love to live in/adjacent to a library

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 1d

gaaaah what an amazing experience! and on camera!

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 1d

I'll be in the Bay for a week after NACIS, let's hang!

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 2d

Can't argue the facts! Seems backup cameras are an important innovation. I'll modify my argument: I think cameras themselves are better (since user behavior re: mirrors is also bad) and suggest that the reason backup cameras are useful is because cars are just too big for a mirror to be enough.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 2d

apologies to @awoodruff.bsky.social who actually should have been tagged

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 2d

dang it! sorry!

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 2d

Important alert for people who like working while a light white noise is playing in the background, there is a family of whales singing next to the Moss Landing Marine Lab hydrophone right now and you should listen! radio.garden/visit/moss-l...

Listen to live Moss Landing CA radio on Radio Garden

radio.garden

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 2d

There was a time, long ago, when tech was seen not just as a get-rich-quick-scheme standing atop a pile of personally identifying information and venture capital.
It was a method for solving problems closest to the people they affected. It was accessible empowerment. Tech still has that potential.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 2d

Why is it important that we make maps? Well, it's a good skill at the foundation of tens of thousands of jobs in the US. Learning in a group is fun and feels like play when done right. Sometimes learning something silly leads to something important. But also it is better to map than be mapped.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 2d

Also I've been capitalizing the T, do we not do that? Do we have a style guide? Also there's a ton of web infrastructure that doesn't work anymore. eg. a ton of the contact links go to defunct Twitter handles

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 2d

What will MapTimeRI look like? Each chapter of MapTime is a little different and reflects the interests and passions of its attendees. But I have a vision for classes, workshops and community for people who want to learn Leaflet, Blender, QGIS, CloudCompare or other programs together.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 2d

Big thanks to @mappingmashups.net @lyzi.bsky.social and other OG map nerds who built it a long time ago. Also shout out to @andywoodruff.bsky.social who led MapTime Boston and made a ton of documentation.
We might be past "Peak MapTime" but I can't wait to see what a RI geo community looks like.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 2d

When I lived in Oakland, I was part of this amazing group called MapTime that was a friendly, quirky, techie and kind group of cartographers and geography-enthusiasts.
It was called MapTime and I've started a RI chapter. Come hang out and learn with us! www.mapcenter.com/maptimeri

MapTimeRI — The Map Center

www.mapcenter.com

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Reposted by Andrew Middleton

Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 2d

L is for... Lithograph! A lithograph is a stone with an image drawn out in a greasy material, and the surrounding stone is etched out to create a water-receptive surface. The ink will only adhere to the drawing, allowing for printing of an image, as shown here in Breaking Ground.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 2d

But also I just visited a 1.4MW hydroelectric powerplant on the Blackstone River yesterday and got serious Chernobyl-vibes from the wall of analog electrical gauges Watching the operator manually adjust voltage made me desperately want to install a SCADA and digitize the whole thing.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 2d

This feels like a good relationship with the tech. It is an enhancement but not a replacement for responsible human behavior. Some tech provides benefits at the expense of reliance.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 2d

It's really hard to drink a coffee and check your email while driving manual. It is a more cognitively satisfying way to drive and now that I have a Prius it makes driving more comfortable and easy and accessible in a way I actually don't like.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 3d

Hah! Good point actually.
I'd argue that the backup cameras tend to enable larger vehicles with less natural visibility. On the trucks that are being recalled, a camera is not an enhancement of an existing feature (the mirror) so much as a necessity.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 3d

I'm a recreational (and occasionally scientific) scuba diver and I prefer analog gauges to digital ones. All that stuff is tested and safe, I just like gear that has fewer failure points and generally indicates when it is about to fall apart before it does.

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Andrew Middleton @mapcenter.com · 3d

I'm skeptical of a lot of digital tech. The marginal benefit of a backup camera is offset by the probability of failure AND the catastrophic way in which it fails. Mirrors are reliable.

Good technology fails safely. I call this the 'Mitch Hedberg principle.'
apnews.com/article/toyo...

Toyota recalls nearly 400,000 Tundras and Sequoias due to malfunctioning rearview camera

Toyota is recalling nearly 400,000 vehicles because the rearview camera may not display when backing up, increasing the risk of a crash, federal traffic safety regulators said.

apnews.com

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