A Visual Guide to the Sunshine Coast
So here’s a random look at YOUR Sunshine Coast, from Howe Sound to Desolation Sound. Cool graphic, eh?
This little image is called a ‘wordle‘, and the code is based on the Google App Engine, and was created by a guy who wrote the core of the program during the course of his job at IBM and finished it off in fun time.
My crazy and very smart friend Colleen Friesen, a travel writer who travels the world but lives on the Sunshine Coast (and who has Chickens Who Type) showed me this today and was so stoked she found something I didn’t know about yet (thanks, Colleen!)
It looks like the app creator, Jonathan Feinberg, has a great sense of humour. Review the FAQ and you’ll find great Q&A that is direct, funny and very respectful, such as this excerpt:
Could you remove or change the name of the “Sexsmith” font? I don’t want my students to see it.
Yes, with pleasure. First, please write to the musician Ron Sexsmith, after whom the font is named, and get him to change his name. You may also want to write to Sexsmith, Alberta, Canada, and see if you can get them to change their name before any of your students inadvertently consult a map. Christian rocker Paula Sexsmith ought to be in your sights as well; don’t let her feel left out. Take a slapshot at goalie Tyson Sexsmith, while you’re at it.
“Sexsmith” is a common surname and placename, especially in Canada. It’s analogous to “Shoemaker”, “Fletcher”, or just plain “Smith”; it’s a profession. A “seax smith” was someone who made seaxes.
The place-names Middlesex, Essex, Sussex, etc., all derive their names from the seax.
If the children of Boston and its suburbs can grow up in Middlesex county, perhaps giggling occasionally at the mention of the sheriff or courthouse thereof in local news broadcasts or 5th-grade geography lessons, then I believe that the children of the world can weather the mere sight of those letters, in that context. Good luck!
Gotta love a guy who deals with requests so adroitly!
This app can be used as-is on the site, using a Java Applet that will run on your machine. The Wordles can only be captured via screen shot, but can be used in any setting afterwards. If you make a mistake, hit a back button or lose your colour combination you’re out of luck; as there is no user verfication or login capture all Wordles are created in real time… as soon as you move away from them, unless you’ve saved them in the gallery, they’re lost forever.
If you plan to save them in the gallery, make sure to not use words you wouldn’t want your mom to see – because there’s no login process, there’s no way to go back and edit or delete any wordle saved to the gallery.
Have fun!
