The Marijuna Futures Market Mapped

The Price of Weed

Some enterprising supporters of the free market have developed this Google Map to track the retail price index of marijuana. In order to gauge the true street value of this globally traded product the Price of Weed has decided to crowdsource the cost of marijuana and post the results on a handy Google Map.

Currently the map only shows marijuana prices in the USA and Canada. Other countries will be added to the map once the data begins to flow in. If you click on a map marker you can view the average prices for weed in that location. You can also view the latest submission below the map.

Warning: Please remember the value of your investment in this market could go up in smoke.

Also See

Potlocator - medical marijuana dispensaries
Medical Marijuana Shopping - more medical marijuana dispensaries

Hat-tip: Street View Funny

5 Google Map Apps You Can't Live Without

I've only had an Android phone for a couple of weeks now and I've already discovered a few Google Maps based applications that I now can't imagine how I lived without.

Google Navigation, the Android phone's GPS navigation system has already proved invaluable to me on more than one occasion. I'm now looking forward to trying out the new Google Maps Navigation Walking.

I haven't had time yet to explore all the great Google Maps based applications available in the Android Market but here are five free applications that I have already installed and love:


My Tracks
My Tracks allows you to record GPS tracks and view live statistics,such as time, speed, distance, and elevation, whilst hiking, biking or running. The application includes the option to export your tracks to Google Spreadsheets and visualise them on Google My Maps.

My Tracks also allows you to view the elevation profile of a track by time or distance, create waypoints on your track and spilt tracks into subtracks.

http://market.android.com/search?q=com.google.android.maps.mytracks
(use your Android phone to open these links - the links won't work from a desktop)

Google Sky Map

The Google Sky Map is a brilliant window into the night sky and an essential tool for astronomers. The map uses the Android phone's built-in compass, GPS, and clock to display an annotated Sky Map of the area it is facing.

The application includes an horizon layer, planets layer, Messier Objects layer and a constellations layer. The application also includes a great gallery of Hubble photographs. If you click on a picture in the gallery the Sky Map will even point you towards the location of the subject in the night sky.

http://market.android.com/search?q=com.google.android.stardroid


Been There
Been There is a Google Maps based browser for your photographs. The application allows you to view the photographs you have taken with your phone on a Google Map.

The photographs are displayed at the location where they were shot. This is a great way to browse photo albums on your phone. Not only does it allow you to view your pictures in their geographical context it is a handy way to find pictures, as you can normally remember where you were when you took a particular photograph.

http://market.android.com/search?q=com.picmap.ui

WHERE
WHERE for Android is a local search and recommendation service. The application lets you search for local restaurants, bars and cafes and read real-time user reviews. The application comes with a host of other features, such as local events, gas prices, movies, weather, news, traffic information, special offers and coupons.

Once you have found a destination with the WHERE application you can get text or mapped directions. WHERE also includes a check-in feature called Placebook that helps you keep track of your daily travels and reviews.

RunKeeper
RunKeeper uses the Android phone's GPS to track your runs. The application can track your distance, time, pace / speed and how many calories you burn. The applciation can also show you your track using Google Maps

RunKeeper Pro for Android has also just been released. This paid application has all of the same core functionality as RunKeeper Free, plus audio cues and no advertising.

http://market.android.com/search?q=com.fitnesskeeper.runkeepe

If you are interested in developing your own Google Maps based application for Android InformIT has a great tutorial: Mobile Mapping on Android and iPhone Using the Google Maps JavaScript API.

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Get your building modeled by PopArchitexture

We've discussed a variety of companies that can help you get your home or business modeled in Google Earth. I'm always happy to show off new companies, as increased competition is always good for us consumers.

The latest is a company called PopArchitexture. They got their start in Google's "Build Your Campus" competition back in 2006.

PopArchitexture offers three different pricing levels:
• 'Pure and Simple' tier: For $95, receive a 3D digital model viewable in Google Earth or embeddable on any website.
• 'Detailed' tier: For $295 and up, receive a detailed 3D digital model for GE or embeddable.
• 'Sophisticated' tier: For $595 and up, receive a hand built 3D paper model as well as a detailed 3D digital model.

In addition, you can get a 10% discount on any order that uses the voucher code 'GEARTHBLOG'.

The paper models are a unique option, and they appear to be quite cool. Here is an example of one they recently built for a client:

Of course, they're not the only option out there. We've covered a variety of different companies in the past, and here is a brief rundown:

Concept 3D: They offer custom 3D models in various formats including high quality photorealistic renders to Google Earth. They also offer web development services and interactive campus mapping service in Earth/Maps using 3D, 360 degree photography and video, which can leverage their Campus Bird interactive map site and CMS. Prices vary based on scope of project.

CyberCity 3D: For residential 3D they offer two options: "Premium" ($100-$150), usually done with terrestrial photo-textures provided by client and "Deluxe" ($200-$300), which includes more detail with added geometry.

Estate 3D: As we covered a few months ago, for $99 they'll do a single building that's composed of 50 faces or less.

Google Map of the Week

Commute Map

This Google Maps lets you discover who commutes where from any given zip code. The map uses data from the Census Transportation Planning Package and calculates travel times using the Google Maps API.

To use the map you first need to enter a zip code and choose whether you want to view commutes from this area or commutes to the area. The map will then displays the commuting results using blue lines and red map markers. The blue lines indicate where people commute to and from. The size of the red dots reflect the numbers of people commuting in that location.

As well as the map view Commute Map presents the results of your search via an interactive chart. 

Google Map of London's Expensive Homes

Dwellings by Council Tax Map - Bands F,G,H

CASA's Map Tube has been used to visualise the number of houses in different council tax bands in London. The council tax is the name for local authority taxation in the UK.

The level of tax that citizens pay is based on the value of their homes. Band A homes are the cheapest properties and therefore pay the least in local taxation, Band H homes are the most expensive properties and the owners in Band H are required to pay more in council tax.

The Council Tax Maps overlay the number of properties in different tax bands over a map of London. The resulting choropleth maps show which areas of London have the most expensive and the cheapest houses.

One of the great features of Map Tube is that you can add different data sets to the map. This means that you can compare cost of housing in different areas in London to other data sets such as crime, drug use and health.

Check out the Map Tube search option to browse the available overlays.

What you say is what you search

Many of you have searched the web by speaking since the launch of voice search in 2008. In fact, one in every four searches from an Android phone in the US is by voice. In certain situations, voice search just works much better than typing. It’s a lot faster than typing on a small phone screen. You can search things even when you don’t know the correct spelling. It’s more fun as you can share what you’re doing with your friends. And it’s safer when you’re walking around. Once you start using voice search, you start discovering all sorts of new ways to use it.

We’ve thought of a few interesting uses for voice search and made some short videos out of them. Check them out on our new YouTube channel. But we know you can do better. What are some of your most frequent or unusual voice search queries? Leave us a comment below or on our YouTube channel.

Do You Know the One-Legged Bomber?

The One-Legged Copenhagen Bomber

The Danish police are trying to identify a man who was arrested following a blast in a Copenhagen Hotel. The man was arrested fleeing the hotel after the blast. Explosives and a loaded gun were also found in his room.

The man is 25-35 years old and has only one leg. However the police have been unable to establish his identity. Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet are using Twitter and Facebook to see if social media can help establish his identity.

Soren of microformats.dk has decided to help the newspaper by producing two Google Maps with the map tiles replaced with a profile and portrait photograph of the arrested suspect. 

Warning: these two maps aren't pretty. 

Pittsburgh Homicides on Google Maps

What's Killing Pittsburghers?

If this Google Maps from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review is anything to go by the answer to the question 'what is killing Pittsburghers?' is 'guns and drug overdoses'.

The map shows deaths handled by the Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office during the last four years. It is possible to filter the results by 'homicide' or 'drug overdose'. It is also possible to filter the results by year.

In the map sidebar there are options to centre the map on specific neighborhoods and to refine the results further by race, age, gender or cause of death. The 'What is killing Pittsburghers?' map also uses the Google Maps Styled Map feature to present a suitably appropriate black and white base map.

Also see

Fresh imagery from San Bruno

As they do after many major events, Google has released some incredible imagery of the recent fires in San Bruno, California.

Google's imagery is used by a variety of organizations to assist in disaster recovery, so they strive to get it posted as quickly as possible. In the recent past, Google has responded with imagery for events such as the flooding in Pakistan, the Haiti earthquake, the Gulf oil spill and the earthquake in Chile.

The San Bruno imagery isn't yet available in Google's base layer, but you can view it by usingthis KML file. For more information, you can read more on the Google Lat Long Blog.

Google Map of Banned Websites

HerdictWeb

Harvard's Berkman Center has created a website where web users can report where and how web sites are being blocked around the world. HerdictWeb allows users anywhere in the world to post a report of a web site that is inaccessible. 

The home page of HerdictWeb features a live real-time map showing the latest reports of inaccessible websites. The map animates through the latest reports submitted to HerdictWeb. Each mapped report includes a link to click through to the HerdictWeb site report for the submitted website. 

The site report details how many times the website has been reported inaccessible and in which countries. The site report page also includes a heat map to visualise which countries have reported the site inaccessible the most.