I don't mean to be disrespectful to Dr Jon Blower and colleagues from the University of Reading who were awarded Best Paper at the UK e-Science All Hands Meeting in Nottingham recently, but this seems so uninnovative. The paper describes "how ... virtual globes can aid scientific research and communicate results to a wider public." The article in scenta goes on to note how by combining two datasets scientists can connect things.

First of all, one dataset was used to view how Hurricane Katrina affected the sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, while another dataset displayed the sea surface temperature with red colours of the warmer regions.

Another dataset tracked the passage and intensity of the hurricane with red dots representing greater intensity.

In a different project, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey are displaying real-time data in Google Earth to help them direct scientific missions.

The movement of penguins recorded by scientists in the field, for example, is being combined with satellite images of nutrient concentrations to plot where the penguins, and hence the scientists, should be heading next, helping to make the most efficient use of time and resources on scientific cruises.

The bemoans the loss of the local success story's name (corrected per comment) and offers former chairman Mike Marvin's take:

"The victor writes the history and picks the names," he said in an e-mail. "In the corporate world you grow or die."

MapInfo should have been setting a course for $1 billion in sales; it should have acquired Group 1 and others "a long time ago," wrote Marvin, who has bemoaned the loss of corporate headquarters here as local companies are the hunted, not the hunter. "I am sorry that MapInfo was not a company built to last."

The report from Input Executive Program notes that after performing "an innovation assessment specifically on the FEMA Multi-Hazard Flood Map Modernization Program, Input observed specific trends within that program and related general trends throughout the agency that point to a movement by FEMA's leadership to cautiously embrace technological innovations." The good news? The future may mean more opportunities for the private sector to participate in FEMA work, including geospatial technologies.


- HSToday (Homeland Security)

Five San Diego State University Professors in the geography department, along with colleagues at Harvard and George Washington University recieved a $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue an ongoing exploration of urban health inequalities in Ghana: "Health, Poverty, and Place: Modeling Inequalities in Accra Using RS and GIS."

- SDSUniverse

In Connecticut a $7,450 state grant will put 20 students, ages 12 to 15, in the city's Seaside Park Summer Day Camp to map trees at Seaside and Beardsley parks next July. It's been called a "GIS Tree Mapping Boot Camp."

- Connecticut Post

Allan Doyle whose latest efforts have been with the MIT Museum's Museum Without Walls project has a new job: MIT Museum Director of Technology. We can only expect cool things...

Sean Phelan of Multimap fame tells his "How I made it" story to the Times. He was an entrepreneur at an early age, not a map fanatic. Some pearls of wisdom:

- Start on the cheap and in the early days spend as little money as possible.

- But also be on the lookout from day one for really good people to work with. Find really good people, motivate and retain them and give them the wherewithal to do their job. Really good people will want to join a start-up if they believe in it.

- In the early days don’t recruit people who are just like yourself. You want people whose strengths complement your weaknesses.

I received actual snail mail from MapInfo (it says Pitney Bowes MapInfo, so I guess this was written before the name change to Pitney Bowes Software, but after MapInfo was acquired) regarding V9 and pricing changes. It was addressed "Dear MapInfo Professional Customer" which is strange since I'm not and never have been a MapInfo Customer. More to the point:

- As of June those with MI 7.5 or earlier no longer can receive upgrade pricing; they have to buy a new license.

- As of Oct 1, all software, upgrade, maintence and tech support costs will rise 10%.

- Limited promo for MI 7.5 or earlier license holders: until 9/30 they can get the upgrade to v9 at upgrade prices.

We are coming up to a city mayoral election here in Somerville, MA. The incumbent mayor sent out a fold up map as a campaign piece. On one side is a bit of the city map with areas highlighted describing in words and pictures successful projects including relations with local universities, tranportation, the arts, economic development in our squares, the redevelopment of our dead mall... It's a really effective piece. On the other side is a wall sized map of the city. (I already have this map hanging in the hallway of my house; it's amazing how useful it is.) The only odd thing - the maps is from 2002.