Meet the Train Makers
Infrastructurist is doing a series on the manufacturers of high-speed trains:
The transportation industry seems to be undergoing a “retrofication” these days. We’re going back to the original form of mass transit: the railroad.
The computer business is the same way. Business computing through the 70s and 80s consisted mostly of UNIX mainframe/terminal architecture. In the 90s the world went the way of the personal computer, providing fast computing for everyone right at their desks. It feels like we’re swinging the other way again, with terminal services and shared resources making a comeback, along with all of the “cloud computing” possibilities around today.
“North Korea Uncovered” is a project by a Ph.D. student from George Mason University named Curtis Melvin. The objective is to map as many “unknown” points of interest in the super-secretive DPRK as possible, from data gathered on his trips to the country as well as information from other “local spies.” All sorts of infrastructure and military data is mapped, including mines, dams, missile facilities, military bases, prisons, and burial mounds. It’s a huge and fascinating dataset.
Download the Google Earth point data layer here.
(gadling)
Visualizing the US power grid.
A neat data viz map of the US that allows you to see major power line arteries, types of power plants and their locations, and what source the power comes from in your area. There are even layers that show solar and wind power, and where those are most effective.
Looks like Florida is powered by:
- 38% Gas
- 28% Coal
- 17% Oil
- 13% Nuclear
13% of Florida energy comes from three nuclear facilities: Crystal River, Turkey Point, and St. Lucie. That’s pretty impressive. Nuclear power provides 48% of Illinois’ energy, and a whopping 71% of Vermont’s. It’s also interesting to see how important hydro power is to the Pacific Northwest, mostly sourced from the Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams on the Columbia River.
(benfry)