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“There aren’t a lot of legislators who have any experience with GIS, I have a little. I think this will really help land-use commissions. They can see exactly what’s going on in an area.”
- CT State Rep. Clark Chapin, R-New Milford, who spoke at the new state land use website in the News Times
As individuals gather from around the world for ESRI’s first Geodesign Summit there is one thing for sure: no one is exactly clear on what to expect, who will attend or what will be discussed. My breakfastmates, two from the states and one from Singapore, all agreed to this. One fellow also noted that while his organization thought about presenting a paper, in the end they pulled out, not wanting to “look silly.” I understand the reticence since the idea of geodesign is still being defined. I’m committed to looking at the ideas and this whole event with an open mind, forgetting for a moment that “my” first product, ArcCAD, was described as a “Geographic Design System.” I’m not sure I’d have admitted it then, but I didn’t really know what that meant.
I’ve been skeptical about the possible success of Garmin’s nüvi phone. I mean, why do we need another company selling cell phones just for navigation? Just a few days ago I was passing through Hartsfield-Atlanta airport and I saw a huge ad for the nüvi with a tagline that read "For your location-based life." Wow, really, a location-based life?" Do I have a location-based life? Well, that’s a topics for another editorial.
Anyway, Garmin released a press announcement today about ecoRoute hd, a device that installs onto the nüvi that will monitor all kinds of telematics data for your car such as the standard gas mileage data but also intake manifold pressure, throttle position, and your carbon footprint. Sounds like the stuff a truck driver would want and I wondered if this was the kind of value-added app that might drive sales of the nüvi. I think this has some potential but I’m still skeptical. I’ve embedded a short video from Garmin below so you can decide.
Arnie Fielkow, a New Orleans Saints Exec stood up for his team with the city council, then got fired. Then he ran for city council and now is running to keep his seat for Alderman at Large. He’s pitching GIS among his ideas to keep the city on track:
I also believe a single, citywide GIS (Geographic Information System) database, with established protocols for sharing and updating of information — and completely accessible both within and outside government — needs to be established. The city and the Orleans Parish Assessor’s Office should find a way to unify behind this need. This is an extraordinary tool for making sure that everything from transportation routes to new developments to health clinics are placed where they are most needed and can be used by the most people. GIS will help us deal with blight, fight crime, and protect ourselves better from flooding. It will also keep the citizenry plugged in and informed on city land issues.
Sounds like a pretty fair understanding to me.
- Bayou Buzz
This sure sounds fishy: an energy company basically acquires its CEO antique map collection that’s been hanging in the headquarters building for years. Chesapeake Energy did the buying for $12.1 million and now is getting lots of questions about the move. Readers of the SEC Web site footnoted.org. selected this tidbit as the worst footnote of the year. In the filing regarding the acquisition, the company said, in essence, it was not appropriate to continue borrowing the maps for use at headquarters.
