Why I love the BBC / Web toys

[nmg]

You can now access the BBC's programme catalogue online. It doesn't contain listings for all of their radio and television programmes, but it's as comprehensive as you're likely to get, and goes back at least as far as the early 1950s. All I need to do now is think of something interesting to do with the data.

I've also seen the following web toy (I hesitate before saying "mashup", because that might provoke a desire to kill in some of you) which combines Google Maps and a NASA land elevation dataset to give a graphical display of what we're likely to expect if/when sea levels rise due to global warming and collapsing ice sheets. It's marginally comforting to see that Gark Villa will survive a 5m rise in sea level, even if it is likely to be inundated by a 6m rise.

Comments

[tamsinj.livejournal.com]

i need to wind the sealevel up 14m before it does anything significant to cambridge.. and we appear to be well above that level.

[sshi.livejournal.com]

heh, we're sorted here up to the depth of 14m (I knew there was a reason why my mother kept going 'always buy on a hill'), as is my beloved Casino. Dublin 4, not so much :>

[vyvyan.livejournal.com]

At 14m we would apparently still be OK - just...but the neighbouring streets would be underwater.

[perdita-fysh.livejournal.com]

How did you find your house? I kept getting lost and having to zoom out. That thing needs a postcode search! But generally my side of the country appears to be fine up to 14m, which is nice...

[nmg.livejournal.com]

How did you find your house?

I know where I live. Was that a trick question?

[perdita-fysh.livejournal.com]

You can drill down on a map with no labels from a country view to your street and get it right?

I've got the Manchester Ship Canal and river Mersey to guide me and I couldn't manage it!

[vyvyan.livejournal.com]

You can toggle the map display to show place and road names instead of satellite images (buttons in top right hand corner).

[nmg.livejournal.com]

There is the conventional map view that vyvyan mentioned, but yes, I can drill down from a full UK view to my street in two or three steps. We live close to a number of features which are easily visible in satellite photographs (Southampton airport, the Ford factory, and the River Itchen), plus I've played around with Google Maps enough to have a good feel for exactly where we are.

[nmg.livejournal.com]

In fact, I can get it centred on my house in three steps.

[mister-jack.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I kind of surprised that so little of Britain disappears. Looks like I'm safe in the Midlands.

[gothick-matt.livejournal.com]

...whereas my basement flat in Bristol shall be fine even after a 14m rise. Ah, the joys of living halfway up a hill. Shame my office will be underwater, though, along with a fair chunk of local amenities.

[richardjfoster.livejournal.com]

I'm pleasantly surprised. Apparently while I will be out of a job at 5m, our house won't go glug until 10!