I came across a Wall Street Journal article this morning that told of how some people are opting out of wind insurance especially in hurricane prone areas. Apparently, recent changes to the law in Florida are allowing home owners to opt out of wind coverage. Most home owner policies include coverage for wind damage but with increasing costs, some are trying to reduce fees by saying "no" to "big wind."

I had much difficulty in trying to search for "wind damage maps" to see where the most risky areas lie. Google didn't find anything and while the Geospatial One-Stop was somewhat helpful, I eventually found my way to the FEMA Mapping Information portal, which has an excellent mapping portal for displaying most of the risk factors associated with both natural and man-made events.

The USGS has started podcasting on some basic research information. The first episode discusses what the USGS's responsibility is during hurricane season. They, too, are using podcasting as a way to deliver news about current topics. It's worth listening to the first episode because they discuss what the hurricane predictions were at the beginning of the season versus what they are seeing now and how coastal barrier islands are affected by hurricanes.

INPUT, a company that tracks government contract spending, estimates that the US government will spend $20 billion for information technology during the fourth quarter. There is a report that can be purchased for $395.