Feb

21st 2007

Pending Federal Court Case

Filed Under General | 1 Comment

The Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS) has brought a motion in US District Court that could have severe consequences for the GIS and mapping communities.  For example, everyone but licensed engineers or licensed surveyors could be excluded from federal government contracts for “mapping” services, which includes mapping services of every sort and not just those traditionally performed by engineers and surveyors.

I ask you to read documents and consider the implications related to this case, and to discuss them with your colleagues and associates.

The AAG has a webpage with links to documents relevant to the case, which is available at:
http://www.aag.org/Donate/links.html

Also, the UCGIS has issued a public statement about aspects raised by the petition, which is available at:
http://www.ucgis.org/docs/UCGIS_position_MAPPS_lawsuitFinal.htm

Thank you for your time.  Please share this message with others.

Sincerely,

Scott A. Drzyzga
AAG GIS SG representative to the UCGIS

Feb

21st 2007

Juicy Geography

Filed Under Education | Leave a Comment

Noel Jenkins has revamped his web site Juicy Geography.  This web site’s focus is a personal collection of ideas and resources for Geography teachers.  Browse around the web site to find articles, reviews and how-tos. 

Feb

18th 2007

Substorm Satellite Launched

Filed Under Satellite | Leave a Comment

Substorm satellite launchedA Delta 2 rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral on Saturday, February 17th.  The satellite will probe geomagnetic substorms in the Earth’s atmosphere in a mission to figure out the cause of these substorms. 

Scientists hope the $200 million Themis mission unravels the mystery behind the storms that can damage communications satellites, disable power grids and shoot high levels of radiation down on spacewalking astronauts and airplane passengers flying over northern latitudes.

Source: Physorg.com

Feb

17th 2007

Meet the World - reinterpretation of flags

Filed Under World | Leave a Comment

Each country’s flag was created with specific symbolism in mind.  Brazilian artist, Icaro Doria, reinterprets the colors and symbols on the flags of select countries in an artistic, political statement.  Take a look at his gallery of flags and see if you agree with his interpretations.

Meet the world - http://www.brazilianartists.net/home/flags/index.htm

 

Feb

15th 2007

Real-time Satellite Tracking

Filed Under GPS, Google Maps, Satellite | Leave a Comment

Ever been curious where the satellites are orbiting in relation to the earth? Now you can track satellites through a Google Mashup offered at http://www.n2yo.com/. The site offers categorized satellites that you can click on the link to in order to see where that satellite currently is and to view the real-time tracking of that satellite. Track popular, well-known satellites like the Hubble Telescope, or browse the categories to track a type of satellite. Categories include geostationary, military and GPS satellites. When you track a satellite, the location is displayed on a Google mashup in the middle of the screen. Off to the upper right hand side of the browser, detailed information about the satellite is displayed including a description of the satellite’s purpose. If you are logged in, you can also click on the “What’s up in the sky link” to see the satellites orbiting over your home’s location.

Feb

14th 2007

Geography of Food on a Wheel

Filed Under Offbeat | Leave a Comment

The latest restaurant tool became popular after lifehacker.com posted a link to it.  Called the Wheel of Food, the web site also you to see a randomly generated listing of a food establishment from Yahoo! Local.  I would wait a couple of days until the lifehacker frenzy has died down and then try it out at: http://www.coverpop.com/wheeloffood/

Feb

06th 2007

Virtual Geographers

Filed Under Google Maps, Live Search Maps | Leave a Comment

The Los Angeles Times has an interesting front page article this morning about the web sites that are dedicated to exploring and posting interesting tidbits found online at Google Maps, Google Earth and Microsoft’s Live Search Maps.  The article profiles Jason Lee and Jon Coogan who run the web site Bird’s Eye Tourist and chronicle many of the images they find in their virtual journeys. 

Google Earth is packed with things that its creators never intended. Paper maps are a cartographer’s rendering of the world, whereas digital versions in Google Earth, Google Maps and Microsoft’s Live Search Maps are more like sophisticated collages — moments captured by cameras on satellites and airplanes, seamlessly blended to create a digital world.

Bird’s Eye Tourist isn’t the only web site dedicated to scouring satellite imagery for thrills.  With the tagline “Why bother seeing the earth for real?“, Google Sightseeing is another such service.  This blog has even put out a book called “Off the Map: The Most Amazing Sights on Earth as Seen by Satellite”. 

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