title: How do I scrape/interact with Google Maps to make FloatingSheep-style maps (e.g., # of bars per capita)?
body: <p>I was looking at this <a href="http://www.floatingsheep.org/2010/02/beer-belly-of-america.html" rel="nofollow">map of bars vs. grocery stores in each part of the U.S.</a> on FloatingSheep.org, and noticed they used data from Google Maps directory.</p>
  
  <p>My question is: How do I access the directory to find similar info (e.g., daycares per city, grocery stores per city, etc.)?</p>
  
  <p>I know some Ruby -- enough to scrape certain web pages. I learned from <a href="http://ruby.bastardsbook.com/" rel="nofollow">Dan Nguyen's Bastards Book of Ruby</a>.</p>
  
  <p>If you need me to be more specific or give any more info about what I'm looking for, just let me know.</p>
  
  <p>Thanks.</p>