I was going to post this on Sunday, late. But I figured that would be just plain silly and as you know Ian and I are taking this mapping experiment incredibly seriously every single day. But what a day this is! A celebration of taking things slowly, appreciating life’s unhurried moments, and generally slowing down. That can’t be a bad thing in today’s ridiculously hurried world.

In fact, if I were to make an analogy with the world of cartography my big critique of all the technological impacts that have brought about new ways to draw maps rests squarely with time. Time, in the sense that technology compacts the time taken to make maps. What used to take months or longer now takes minutes or less. But the thinking time required to figure out what you want to show and how hasn’t really changed. it’s still critical to do the thinking. Figure the map out. Then, and only then commit the ideas to page or screen using the tools of your trade. Thinking in cartography is fast becoming a lost art, and possibly the most important loss of the squeeze in cartographic production time.

So…whilst today was instigated by the Procrastinator’s Club of the US in 1956, just slow down and give your map the time it deserves. Or not, in the case of this rather hurried effort with some very odd examples of tardiness.

Original Prompt (ChatGPT)

Can you create a map showing the locations of famous incidences where someone was late for something. Style the map with various timepieces. Please make a geographically accurate map of the places first, then style it.

What would the world be like without the Spice Girls. No, wait, I read that wrong. Today is a day to celebrate actual spices…not a crazy mix of scary, sporty, baby, ginger, and posh (though that sounds intriguing – maybe there’s another day for that?).

The silk road was a network of roads and sea routes that traders used from the fourth to fifteenth centuries. So the map i want is broadly to show the approximate routes used, adorned by colourful spices. Since I’m short on time to make this map I’m going to cheat by asking the LLM to specifically not label places. This will avoid the possibility of having to spend too long correcting misplaced labels. Cheating, yes. Sensible. Yas, also (in this instance because of other constraints).

Spice up your life!

Original Prompt (ChatGPT)

Can you make a map of the traditional historical spice trade routes and the Asian silk road. This map should be colourful and show different spices from across the world and their origins. Please keep labels to a minimum and ensure they are accurate if you’re going to use them.

Cheese-on-toast Sir? No! nothing as mundane. This is a day for the delectable Welsh Rarebit (Rabbit). Now, I’m already going to annoy purists because I can’t stand mustard so I go with the version that demands Worcestershire Sauce but if you’ve never had Welsh Rarebit then today is a good day to tantilise your taste buds.

Original Prompt (ChatGPT)

Let’s celebrate Welsh Rarebit Day. The irony being that there’s no recorded evidence of the dish being invented in Wales. I’d like a map that illustrates the different variants you get in England, Wales, and Scotland with recipes for the different versions. Don’t use a geographical map. Instead, use a stylized version with three pieces of rarebit and cheese oozing across the borders. Please adorn the map with facts about the dish, and please ensure the title block is horizontal, not curved. Please also not the spelling options with some versions using the word rabbit, again ironically given there’s no rabbit in the recipe. Finally, please illustrate the map with tasty images of a classic Welsh Rarebit.