Tuesday, April 29. 2008

Maps in the Media Update

Backpacker (at one time my favorite magazine - from which I stole "The View from Here") offers a new website with some geo-goodies:

Featured prominently on the homepage and the destinations page is a new interactive Flash map directing users to more than 1,200 edited and approved GPS-supported hikes, from the Appalachian Trail to the Pacific Crest Trail. Another 10,000 trips are accessible to site users. The hikes, which are submitted by volunteer Backpacker readers and staff contributors, can be searched by city, state, park, and long trail.

...

Tech-savvy participants can also upload GPS tracks, geotagged photos, and Google Earth screenshots.

- press release

The National Geographic Channel also launched a new website.

Of the changes to the site that are most readily apparent, the new Nat Geo schedule application presents viewers with a more intuitive calendar of show descriptions, allowing users to navigate through programming descriptions via a drag-and-drop fashion that’s similar to how visitors engage with Google Earth.

I don't understand how this interactive calendar (while sexy!) is similar to Google Earth.
- MediaWeek

Podcast: Do You Think Spatially?

An interactive session at a recent regional GIS event (see article) prompts our editors to explore how we are trained in GIS and how and if we use spatial thinking in our day to day work. Are we just pushing buttons and following recipes or are we truly using the underlying ideas of how people, places and things behave in space? Does it matter if one is trained in geography vs. GIS vs. another discipline? What's the future look like for those skilled (or not) in spatial thinking?

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Monday, April 28. 2008

Reminder: Early Registration for NYS Geospatial Summit Ends Wednesday

The one day (with an optional evening reception the night before) is a must-attend for those who can get to Skaneateles Falls (pronounced "skinny atlas") on May 20 and 21. I'm honored to be invited back to speak this year.

The agenda and registration info are online. If you want to attend, act fast; it's a small intimate venue with limited seats. And, as I've noted in years past - this is not your average geospatial event. It's all plenary (we all see all the sessions together) with topics a bit outside the norm. It's a refreshing way to knock the cobwebs out of your head.

USDA Hardiness Zone Map - Coming Soon

Living on Earth (NPR radio show) asked the question of why it's been 18 since the last one.

GELLERMAN: So why hasn't the United States Department of Agriculture released a new hardiness zone map in almost 20 years? I put the question to the USDA's Kim Kaplan.

KAPLAN: Well there's actually been no set interval between any two editions of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. One of the things that drove this one, frankly, is that the government printing office called and told us they were out of the old one, and should they print the same one again or were we going to do a new one. Because the old one was done in 1990 and predates the internet, it was not digital, and we knew we wanted to go to something that was state-of-the-art – something GPS, GIS compatible, much more detailed and much more sophisticated and most importantly web-friendly.

It's expected in months not years.

Nike Patent Indicates Future of Nike+ iPod Options for Fitness

iPodNN reports on a new Nike patent suggesting the company will be enhancing the Nike+ Ipod fitness options. Now the shoepod simply tracks pace and distance (based on your stride and time). New versions may include other sensors for heart rate, EKG, hydration (how do they measure that?) and perhaps GPS. There may be options for the device to interact with an iPhone or computer and show motivational video.

I lost my Garmin ForeRunner (GPS watch) last fall and have yet to replace it. My iPod shuffle is however my constant companion when I travel on public transportation or do long runs on my own. Anything small enough to clip to my hat for 3 hours of entertainment, and not be impacted by heat, cold, sweat and the odd drop on the floor, is ok by me.

Arbor Day and the Geography of Urban Trees

Los Angeles, like many other cities, has a goal for planting trees. But it's tough to be an urban tree - no soil, sidewalks crowding you, people stapling things to you... The Washington Post, in honor of Arbor Day, the last Friday in April, discusses many of the initiatives and challenges.

And, then there's the geography of urban trees:

Driving around Los Angeles in his Prius is Andy Lipkis, the founder of TreePeople, one of the nation's most experienced organizations of "citizen foresters," who is helping Mayor Villaraigosa reach his million mark. Lipkis points to shady boulevards lined with ficus trees and then to entire neighborhoods devoid of any shrubbery at all, and he confirms what satellite imagery tells us: Poor people don't have plants. The thinnest tree cover is, no surprise, over the city's most impoverished neighborhoods. Where ritzy Bel Air has 53 percent canopy coverage, gritty South Central has only 7 percent.

And, then there's the challenge of finding spots for new trees:

When Los Angeles launched its "Million Trees LA" project, it was assumed there would be plenty of room, but as it turns out, "the space is actually quite tight," says McPherson, the scientist with the Forest Service who surveyed the city's bio-inventory with the help of aerial reconnaissance and computer algorithms. McPherson found just 1.3 million spots to "realistically" plant in Los Angeles, most in the yards of private homes.