Maps courtesy of the algorithm

I love a good map. I enjoy books that have a map in the front of them. I like looking at old maps, obscure maps, made up maps... 

Some of the maps in this post are more like data visualisations. They are all maps that have popped up on my social media feeds that I've liked enough to save. The algorithm now knows I like maps and keeps showing me them!

If anyone finds a map on here that belongs to them, then please let me know and I will credit you properly.

Let's start with this beautiful graphic of African river basins.

I found it interesting to compare the map of natural features with this map showing which European colonisers laid claim to parts of Africa in 1914. 

Moving to another continent altogether, here's a map showing the relative populations of humans and kangaroos in Australia. The roos seem to have the upper hand in most of Oz. 

Meanwhile this agricultural map from 1920 firmly divides Australia into terrain suitable for sheep and inhospitable to sheep. 

A friend of mine commented this would make the good basis for a remix of Insomnia by Faithless. "I can't get no sheep."

This map of placenames in Tasmania is done purely for puerile amusement. It amused me.

Coming closer to home, this is a map of the western edge of Europe during the last ice age. A person could walk from Britain to Denmark across Doggerland. 

A map showing Cymraeg names for places in England. 

And another map showing castles - note how many were built along the border between Cymru and England. 

It's almost as impressive as this map showing Gregg's locations across the UK.

Back to castles, this cute map of castellau Cymreig isn't very accurate.

And to bring the post full circle, here's another map of rivers, showing all the rivers in Cymru. 

I wonder what maps the algorithm will push my way next.

10 Christmas cards from the 2022 ACCA

As we received fewer cards this year, as detailed on the Annual Christmas Card Audit (ACCA) post yesterday, I have limited my selection of favourite cards from the audit to just ten. There were lots of great cards, but these were the ones that particularly stood out. 

The first card I want to show off is one that was sent to me by Jon in Melbourne. I met Jon through an online discussion forum and he contacted me a few months back saying how he liked the audits I wrote and he wanted to send us a Christmas card. I liked it so much it's the lead-off card in this post!

Australian animals wearing Santa hats? I might never have met Jon in real life, but boy, did he know what kind of card to send me!

I try to include at least one religious themed card in my yearly selection. I'm counting this one as the religious one this year, even though it's not explicit. Cathy said she really liked the way the dove was drawn, which swayed me towards including it.

Speaking of Cathy, there's a 'couples card'. We had a couple of couples cards, but I only had room for one in the selection.

Robins were a resurgent category this year. This robin design from Oxfam included Christmas greetings in lots of languages, including Cymraeg, which edged it against lots of other cards.

The next card would give me an opportunity to rant about the ballad of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and how Rudolph should have told all those other reindeer to suck it after the way they treated him. But Christmas is a season of goodwill and all that, and besides, if Rudolph has decided to forgive the other reindeer and include them on his team, then who am I to bear a grudge on his behalf?

Some members of "Team Rudolph" had glittery accessories. Glitter doesn't scan very well, so you will have to take my word for it. Overall glitter use was way down this year on the Christmas cards, which is good news.

Occasionally a fairly simple design from an unexpected source gets my attention. This card was sold in Morrisons supermarkets. I think it's a lovely, effective representation of a Christmas tree that really stands out. 

'Christmas elf' was a returning category this year. Technically it was Christmas elves, plural. Our friends Sara and Leanne dressed their twins up for a delightfully cute photo-card. Because, let's be honest, if you're not going to dress them up as props for your Christmas card, what really is the point of having kids?

I am planning to keep that card until the twins are old enough to be terribly embarrassed by it, and then fish it out to show them. Well, someone has to...

We are getting to business end of the post now. Some people get quite competitive trying to send a card that will be my favourite. The remaining three cards are all from family members. They all pin-pointed certain known preferences that I have blogged about before.

So, in sort of third place, my sister Sarah sent us this.

Dogs in Santa hats with a joke on the front and a greeting in Cymraeg? Several boxes ticked there. Just having dogs in Santa hats is likely to get your card a place in the selection. This card takes it to a new level. 

In runners up spot, with yet another podium finish, is Cathy's cousin, Adam. I don't know if he chose this because of my interest in stamp collecting, or just because he was looking for the most off the wall design possible. 

"Replaced with a lump of coal" made me laugh out loud when I opened it. Sounds about right! 

Adam's card was the clear winner for several days, until this final card arrived. 

Yep, it's a narwhal delivering Christmas presents and food. It's just adorable, despite the lack of a Santa hat - but fairylights around his horn is a fine substitute.

The sender was my sister-in-law Abby, who has form for sending good cards - she usually places high in the selection post including a number one spot back in 2018. 

We are, of course, grateful for all the cards we receive whether they feature on the blog or not - so thank you to everyone who sent us one!

Some of the Christmas Cards from the 2021 ACCA

I've picked ten Christmas cards we received this year that stood out and have scanned them to share on here. First though, a couple of cards that literally stood out as 3D cards, that wouldn't scan. 

The card with Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang on lights up and plays music if you press where it says "Press Here". Lights on the tree come on!

One of the first cards we received this year came from the rock band Terrorvision along with a copy of their Christmas single.

What makes it special is that the band have signed it.

I was a bit disappointed that the multilingual greetings didn't include Welsh.

I try to include at least one religious card in these showcases. This one ticked a number of categories on the ACCA, including the 'cartoon religious' theme.

It also has a line from a Christmas carol on the front. As did this next card. Sort of.

As a heads up, cards featuring puns feature strongly in this post. Despite having a carol-based pun on the front, this didn't get counted as a religious card.

Technically I suppose Saint Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus, could be counted as a religous figure. I really liked several of the depictions of Santa that arrived this year.

I sometimes feel like this juggling Santa, trying to get all the right presents to people.

This next one really appealed to me. Cathy pointed out that the artist, Karen Fjord Kjærsgaard, sounded Scandinavian. I looked her up and she was Danish. So that might be why this appeals so much.

And then there was this card from my Ozzie cousin, Trefor, featuring a surfer dude Santa.

The expression on the kangaroo's face made me chuckle. He looks like a mischief maker. 

A couple of years ago, Stewart caused me to redo my audit with a late entry and a note about being late. His card this year gets a place in this post because a) it has a dinosaur on, b) it has a pun on, and c) he made me laugh with the post script message after wishing us a happy Christmas.

Here's the P.S.

"PS - Isn't it funny that my whole family now have to suffer weird Christmas cards because of your blog!!"

Yes, it is funny. Also, I think this means that I am officially an influencer! (Now if only I could monetise this.)

We had a few Snoopy cards this year. I asked Cathy which one she wanted me to scan and she picked this one.

See, that could have been listed in the 'Dogs in Santa Hats' category. But it wasn't.

And so on to my final two cards of this post. Both were strong contenders for favourite card of the year. Both were puns and both featured... cheese. (Which seems punningly apt - after all cheeses is the reason for the season!)

Kitchen implements in Santa hats has never been a category. It might become one in future.

And here is my absolute favourite card this year!

It was sent to us by our friends Matt and Nikki, and is just brilliant. A posh cheese pun. What could be better?

Chilly

Did you know that Australian Aborigines used to use dingos as living blankets? Apparently when it was a bit parky they'd call it a "three dog night". One to remember when winter swings around.

(I could also imagine the phrase being used as a description of one of those nights clubbing when you get groped by drunken harpies. If it hasn't happened to you, then you've obviously never been to Flares.)