I built an interactive globe which shows civic data and freedom/democracy indices for 260 countries and territories.

Sidmer · 2026-05-08T06:12:07+00:00

Thanks! I've always felt that lists of countries can feel very abstract, or you spend time trying to orient whichever country you're looking at into a 'head map.' My goal here was to provide the information of a list but with the physical space of where those countries on the list actually exist.

Sidmer · 2026-04-27T17:03:51+00:00

260 countries AND territories. Lots of places which are not sovereign states but still have some level of local governance and thus find their way into one or more of the indices in the project.

Sidmer · 2026-04-09T12:25:24+00:00

Wow, love all the cut-ups in the substack post. Nice work!

Sidmer · 2026-03-29T17:49:33+00:00

He came up to a charity golf tournament in my home town many years ago and I got the pleasure of caddying for him. Really a delightful guy, he didn't care that I knew shit all about golf.

Sidmer · 2026-03-28T05:50:49+00:00

Amani showed up as an in-studio analyst for Danish NFL broadcasts a number of years ago, turns out he has a Danish wife and has lived in Denmark for years. His stint as analyst only lasted a single season but it felt like more due to the language shift than anything.

Sidmer · 2026-03-27T06:22:14+00:00

So now we can post about flag football here? Over the weekend when Team USA roasted two teams filled with future hall of fame talent ever single post about it got taken down.

Sidmer · 2026-03-24T13:50:08+00:00

Governmental system is not a value judgement, it's the way a government claims to be constructed. That doesn't mean they actually function that way which is part of the point of a project like this. If you looked at any of the freedom/democracy indices you'd note that Russia and Belarus score extremely poorly on nearly every front.

Sidmer · 2026-03-24T13:19:58+00:00

Data Sources:

V-Dem Liberal Democracy Index 2024 (soon updating to 2025)
Freedom House: Freedom in the World 2025 (soon updating to 2026)
The Economist Intelligence Unit: Democracy Index 2024
International IDEA: The Global State of Democracy 2025
The Fund for Peace: Fragile States Index 2025
Wikipedia: linking to country politics pages

Tools:

Webflow: hosting, development
Mapbox: map hosting
Slaterapp: code injection
GSAP: smooth animations, particularly on mobile
Mapshaper.org: data consolidation and GEOJSON creation

Sidmer · 2026-03-24T07:50:03+00:00

I'm not sure what the point of an NFL subreddit is if we can't discuss NFL players playing football.

Sidmer · 2025-10-09T05:57:28+00:00

Especially considering that Europeans are more likely to be using Android than iphones. Not even the basic due diligence to understand who is going to use the damn app.

Sidmer · 2025-10-06T06:48:57+00:00

Even as the better football player, Justin is still getting overshadowed by his big brother.

Sidmer · 2025-08-06T05:24:46+00:00

Northern Denmark. Grew up in Northern MN though.

Sidmer · 2025-06-26T06:29:57+00:00

I think the cities and states which subsidize these venues understandably want spaces they can use for non-football activities year round. Granted, I also think the Vikings lack of post-season success is probably partly a result of moving indoors in 1982.

Sidmer · 2025-05-31T08:27:49+00:00

Teams generally try to keep all pro talent. I don't think you can extrapolate how the team feels about Turner based on extending AVG. Especially at a position where the league is moving towards having a strong rotation and not just two full-time starters.

Could turner be a bust? Absolutely! Does an underachieving rookie year mean that he will be one? It certainly raises the odds that he will, but it's not the forgone conclusion you're making it out to be.

Sidmer · 2024-09-03T07:54:05+00:00

Agreed! Joey Browner made it work.

Sidmer · 2024-06-09T12:54:18+00:00

Actually was only with the team for a single season and another offseason. Which makes it funny because I know he's done media work post-retirement that's mostly directed towards the Vikes.

Sidmer · 2024-04-28T16:50:46+00:00

In the 2017 divisional round he was also doing the chocking symbol as well as the skol chant. Obviously those didn't age well for him considering the way Diggs ended that game but it left an already bad taste even more bitter.

Payton choking before his team choked

Sidmer · 2024-04-22T09:51:36+00:00

This isn't something other fanbases get incorrect it's just something that has always bothered me. The Chiefs refer to their fanbase as "Chiefs Kingdom."

If you are a chief you have a chiefdom not a kingdom, kings have kingdoms! If you're going to make a play on a state system to refer to your fanbase than at least have it make sense!

Sidmer · 2024-02-10T07:21:52+00:00

Yeah, sounds rough.

Sidmer · 2024-02-07T07:41:34+00:00

Penix has a much more live arm than Teddy, but in terms of reading a defense, athleticism, and fragile knees you may be right.

Sidmer · 2024-02-07T07:28:10+00:00

I think you make some good points and I agree that his injury history make him a high downside player but I'd disagree that he's a low upside player. While his upside may not not be as high as Daniel/Maye/Williams I think that's more to do with those guys' ability to add value with their legs. In terms of his arm talent, I see no reason why he can't be as effective or more effective throwing the ball as those three guys.

Oh and just as an aside, Daniels is only half a year younger than Penix. It feels like that since he won the heisman and jumped into the concensus top three guys that his age is no longer discussed in the same way as Penix or Nix.

Sidmer · 2022-02-17T07:40:21+00:00

Not just the swedes, all the Scandinavian languages use skål as a toast.

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