Category Archives: apps

Really Interesting (ok maybe interesting) stuff

Posted on May 9, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

Check the time with NYC Street Clock — telling the time using more than 20,000 Google Street View images found around NYC . I can be an infinite bore when it comes to giving travel advice. Over the years I’ve learned to … Continue reading →

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Tourist Map of Literature

Posted on July 28, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

While not really a map this simple tool does map affinity based on user’s literary tastes. It allows you to plug in any author you like and then it  shows other writers whom readers of your literary choice also selected. … Continue reading →

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Extreme Cartography

Posted on May 22, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Mercator Extreme is a fun tool that you can use to choose any point on Earth as the pole and then view the resulting ultra-distorted Mercator map.

Posted in apps, Maps | Tagged , | 1 Comment

You too can be a travel cat

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

If you like travel, and you like cats, then you will enjoy the game Travel Cat, TripGeo’s playful flight-sim exploration game allows you to explore over 11,000 cities worldwide from the comfort of a feline piloted golden monoplane. “Welcome to … Continue reading →

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Your AI Travel Guide

Posted on February 7, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I am still dubious when it comes to AI travel tools. I’ve tried out some AI trip planning with disappointing results. But how about navigating tourist sites with your very own AI travel guide, ready to reveal the stories behind … Continue reading →

Posted in apps, Architecture, Art, Asia, Europe, Maps, Museums, Public Transport, Tech, Tourism, USA | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Information Wants To Be Free (some restrictions apply)

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

It’s a bit off topic, but I’ve been increasingly frustrated by the increasing number of paywalled sites that I seem to encounter daily. Obviously for-profit businesses need to raise revue to continue to function, but why tease online information and … Continue reading →

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Traveling Feline

Posted on December 15, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

The new online geo-game  Travel Cat  lets you pilot a plane as a cat. Flying a feline-piloted plane past the Eiffel Tower in Paris or around the Statue of Liberty in New York is as cute as it sounds. It … Continue reading →

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it’s closer than you think

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

CLOSE is a very neat visualization project that shows where to locate in city neighborhoods essential amenities within a short distance of travel. “Proximity governs how we live, work, and socialize. Close is an interactive travel time map for people … Continue reading →

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Data Poetry

Posted on June 12, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Traditional rooftops slope like the backs of resting camels. Forests play fortresses; secrets held in whistling pine needles. Serene valleys echo a painter’s lost blues and greens. Mountains order the sky, no less, wearing casts of gray ruggedness. Although I am a frequent critic of … Continue reading →

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You CAN get there from here

Posted on June 6, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Usually you see a railway map from a local or regional perspective because it’s meant to show how you get from point A to point B. As an experiment, Zhaoxu Sui mapped major railways worldwide. It’s not comprehensive but still … Continue reading →

Posted in apps, Maps, Public Transport | Tagged , | 1 Comment