Ben Welsh
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palewi.re
Ben Welsh
@palewi.re
๐Ÿงฎ Data journalist ยท ๐ŸŸ  Reuters editor ยท ๐Ÿค– Computer programmer ยท ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Send tips to [email protected]

๐ŸŒ‰ bridged from โ‚ https://mastodon.palewi.re/@palewire, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
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Ben Welsh @palewi.re ยท Nov 24
๐Ÿ“บ Tune in to my School of Visual Arts interview with graphics star Marco Hernandez.

https://youtu.be/NK6vZaY0TZk?si=d4LnyCjfMTAAj4ph

We discuss learning on the job, putting AI in its place, expressing yourself inside constraints, and why, despite all the downer data, you should join us in the MSM.
๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿณ https://gourmetmagazine.net/
Gourmet Magazine
Gourmet is a worker-owned publication about food and the people who make and consume it.
gourmetmagazine.net
January 13, 2026 at 2:41 PM
โœจ Thanks to the strange miracle of AI assistants, I watched my blog upgrade itself to Django 6 and Python 3.12 this morning while I sipped my coffee. I'm not over how weird this feels. https://palewi.re/
January 10, 2026 at 2:20 PM
๐ŸŒฉ๏ธ In response to my Freedom of Information Act request, the U.S. Air Force has released the official emblems of its 557th Weather Wing in remixable vector file formats.

You can find them all here: https://github.com/palewire/557th-weather-wing-emblems

Weather for victory!
January 9, 2026 at 12:19 PM
Hundreds of sparrows titter in the wind behind the Festhalle Barn

Today in Amana, IA
๐ŸŒก๏ธ High 53ยฐF
๐ŸŒง๏ธ Light rain
๐ŸŒ… 7:35 a.m. sunrise
January 8, 2026 at 5:48 PM
"First Basemap" walks you through how you can use inexpensive cloud computing tools to solve the problem. Follow along and you'll have a basemap of your own for less than $10. Where you go from there is up to you. https://palewi.re/docs/first-basemap/
First Basemap โ€” First Basemap documentation
palewi.re
January 5, 2026 at 4:57 PM
One challenge in creating a basemap is the size of the massive database containing almost every border, road, building and natural feature on the planet.
January 5, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Scott has written a detailed explanation of his process. While the fonts, styles and other customizations he tailored for Reuters are copyrighted, his underlying techniques are free for anyone to adapt. https://scottreinhardmaps.com/blogs/custom-mapping-projects/custom-reuters-open-source-mapping
January 5, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Casey Miller has already used it to track hurricane activity and share the latest forecast with our readers.
January 5, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Partnering with Scott Reinhard, we used Protomaps, OpenStreetMap, MapLibre and other free tools to craft a stylized version that will serve as the foundation for all Reuters mapping projects going forward.
January 5, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Then open-source software changed the equation.
January 5, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Until recently, creating a basemap was a difficult task that required specialized skills and expensive servers. Rather than take on the challenge, many organizations chose to pay for commercial mapping services, which can be costly for applications that draw a lot of traffic.
January 5, 2026 at 4:53 PM
This type of map is often called a basemap because it provides the foundation for displaying data layers like weather conditions, election results, demographics or the location of newsworthy events.
January 5, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Follow the step-by-step guide and you'll learn how to create a shockingly fast and virtually free interactive map of the world.
January 5, 2026 at 4:52 PM
๐ŸŒŽ Today, I'm happy to release "First Basemap," a free tutorial that shares one of our most valuable recent innovations at Reuters. https://palewi.re/docs/first-basemap/
January 5, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Reposted by Ben Welsh
December 30, 2025 at 12:59 AM
๐Ÿ” Happy Public Domain Day to all who celebrate. Books from the year 1930 are now free to remix.

https://blog.archive.org/2026/01/01/welcome-to-the-public-domain-in-2026/

That includes Freud's "Civilization and Its Discontents."

Thus I give you [โ€ฆ]

[Original post on mastodon.palewi.re]
January 1, 2026 at 10:41 AM