I was comparing some world maps this week and came upon some interesting distinctions between two methods of projecting a spherical map on a 2-dimensional plane; Mercator Projection and Cylindrical Equidistant projection.
Mercator projection uses the latitude and longitude coordinates (φ and λ, respectively) of a point/location to determine the x and y coordinates on the map using the following equation:
Cylindrical Equidistant projection is more simple, with linear functions (lat == y, lon == x).
Like most map projection methods, Mercator projection suffers the fate of stretching or distortion of land-mass far from the equator (ultimately, geographic accuracy diminishes as you get closer to the poles). As a result, Russia looks ginormous.
On a completely unrelated note, I saw Batman Begins last weekend. Great movie. Go watch it in IMAX at Metreon (SF) if you can. One thing I noticed; while the new Batmobile is pretty badass, what's up with the styling? Aesthetically, it goes against Batman's persona: sleek and stealth. A quick contrast and comparison between the new Batmobile and the original:
New:
- Looks like a desert storm tank
- Can bash through concrete walls
- Despite it's un-stealth frame, it has a "stealth mode"
- Like the original, it has a jet-turbine engine
Original:
- Powered by a jet-turbine engine
- Can't bash through concrete walls
- Is the perfect extension to Batman himself
Verdict: Bring back the old Batmobile.
I think I need a vacation. Location suggestions welcome. Maybe Venezia again, but this time for more than three days. Tokyo sounds nice right now too.
(w00t: fully indexed).
4 comments:
if you're going to go to Tokyo stop by Okinawa-
eh confusing formulas..anywayz i heard tokyo's fun
erika
i love that you're a bigger nerd than i am... =P ~04 FACTORIAL
Hello. And Bye.
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