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Check out these cool new (to me) Google Map mashups:

• ZIP Code Boundary Map: displays the boundary of any ZIP code on a Google Map
• State Quarters Map: each state that has its own quarter has a marker that leads to an image and more information from the U.S. Mint
• U.S. Presidential History: shows the birthplaces of U.S. Presidents and their First Ladies
• PackageMapper: uses Google Maps to track packages that have been shipped using FedEx, UPS or the US Postal Service

All of these “Best of 2005” lists are probably getting tedious, but if you’re still interested, check out Fimoculous’ Top 20 Best Of Lists For 2005, which narrows down his more exhaustive List of 2005 Lists.

For some amazing astronomical images, check out NASA’s JPL 2005 Year In Images.

For some amazing astronomical images, check out NASA’s JPL 2005 Year In Images.

Jayisgames’ Best Web Games of 2005 has a really nice roundup of online games. For an even more exhaustive (but less selective) list, check out over 3,000 flash and java games.

The thread FARK’s best Photoshops of 2005 has some really funny stuff…

Extratasty is a very cool site for drink recipes, allowing you to input all of the ingredients in your bar and listing recipes that you can make with those items. This isn’t new, but the submission and rating options make this site a cut above other similar bartending sites. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the cool folks that came up with Threadless created this site… 😉

retrievr is an amazing Flash application that searches for flickr images based on sketches you draw. Very cool…

Just when you thought that Sony’s rootkit fiasco had demonstrated how asinine the music industry’s attempts at DRM are, along comes something at least as egregious. Check out the disclaimer inserted inside the newest Coldplay album, X&Y.

As the Boing Boing post where I found this points out, I too wonder whether Coldplay is aware of the presence of this disclaimer. If I were in their shoes, I certainly wouldn’t be happy with something like this being foisted on my fans without my knowledge.

Go ahead and read the fine print; I guarantee you’ll be as dumbfounded as I was. All of this “in order for you to enjoy a high quality music experience.” My ass…

Go check out this amazing video compilation of TV ads for the Isuzu Gemini (18MB direct link to Windows Media Video). According to several commentors in the MetaFilter thread where I found this, and from the general look of the model, this was probably shot sometime in the 1980s (ignoring the obviously dubbed-in somewhat recent soundtrack). Supposedly no special effects were used, which if true makes these maneuvers particularly amazing.