I've been threatening to really dive into Esri Story Maps for some time. They have, in all honesty, been around for a number of years and I've lightly tinkered with them from time to time. However, I finally found a real need to be able to explain and tell the story in a unique way. AmericaView, a non-profit where I serve as national program manager, is a nationally-coordinated, locally-controlled consortium of 39 active "StateViews" that promote outreach, education, research, workforce development, and technology transfer based on Earth observation remote sensing. AmericaView is primarily funded through a competitive grant from the U.S. Geological Survey Land Remote Sensing Program. I gave the Story Map format a go, and while it takes some time to load some of the maps, it seems like a compelling and rich format to use for future projects. Suggestions, corrections, or other comments are always welcome.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Monday, February 15, 2016
Speaking of work...
My job is highly dynamic. In fact, from day to day I might find myself working on a unmanned aerial system (UAS, aka drone), mapping land cover along a desert river, or writing a proposal for a new project so that we (me and four other full-timers and a host of undergraduate techs) have pay checks at the end (or beginning) of each month.
I spent the last two weeks writing a proposal for a small-ish project (120k), which was fine. I completed the proposal, I feel it was well written, and we have a fair chance of being considered for the work. The project will benefit our folks and, I feel, USU overall if we get it; again, that is, if we get it. Writing proposals (and being funded) is kind of like being the kid in high school who isn't a jock but also isn't the worst looking kid. In order to get a date with one girl, you basically have to ask 10. Indeed, persistence is key.
Back to the proposals. I found out on Friday, as I was wrapping up a long two weeks of intensive writing, re-writing, and re-re-writing, that I'm not actually allowed to write. It isn't in my job description (even though it is in my job description) according to the university. And, in doing so, I'm apparently breaking some rule that was written by some twit to ensure that I'm not wasting time doing something useful. Keep in mind, I'm the manager of a lab (title reads associate director or some such) and, apparently, I've been doing it wrong since 2010.
To sum my gripes (since that is really all they are, gripes), the accountant told the dean, the dean told the boss, the boss calls me up and says no bueno. Why? Because, ultimately, even though we have funds that return to our general account from old projects, I'm not allowed to use those funds to turn around and keep the place moving because the government never intended for those funds to be used to pay me to write a proposal to do more work.
So let me lay it out plain and simple: I work at a place with fine, incredibly intelligent folks who want to do a good job (and enjoy their research). At this same place it is almost impossible to give someone a raise or a pat on the back for a job well done because we are second class people in the eyes of the university and state... even though without people like those I work with, the amount and quality of excellent research would be almost zilch. And lastly, I can't even write proposals that keep my folks employed (and, heaven forbid, give them a raise) and keep the good research going such that we benefit the university and all those folks who ultimately take our work and put it to use. Seriously. Boo.
I spent the last two weeks writing a proposal for a small-ish project (120k), which was fine. I completed the proposal, I feel it was well written, and we have a fair chance of being considered for the work. The project will benefit our folks and, I feel, USU overall if we get it; again, that is, if we get it. Writing proposals (and being funded) is kind of like being the kid in high school who isn't a jock but also isn't the worst looking kid. In order to get a date with one girl, you basically have to ask 10. Indeed, persistence is key.
Back to the proposals. I found out on Friday, as I was wrapping up a long two weeks of intensive writing, re-writing, and re-re-writing, that I'm not actually allowed to write. It isn't in my job description (even though it is in my job description) according to the university. And, in doing so, I'm apparently breaking some rule that was written by some twit to ensure that I'm not wasting time doing something useful. Keep in mind, I'm the manager of a lab (title reads associate director or some such) and, apparently, I've been doing it wrong since 2010.
To sum my gripes (since that is really all they are, gripes), the accountant told the dean, the dean told the boss, the boss calls me up and says no bueno. Why? Because, ultimately, even though we have funds that return to our general account from old projects, I'm not allowed to use those funds to turn around and keep the place moving because the government never intended for those funds to be used to pay me to write a proposal to do more work.
So let me lay it out plain and simple: I work at a place with fine, incredibly intelligent folks who want to do a good job (and enjoy their research). At this same place it is almost impossible to give someone a raise or a pat on the back for a job well done because we are second class people in the eyes of the university and state... even though without people like those I work with, the amount and quality of excellent research would be almost zilch. And lastly, I can't even write proposals that keep my folks employed (and, heaven forbid, give them a raise) and keep the good research going such that we benefit the university and all those folks who ultimately take our work and put it to use. Seriously. Boo.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
The bees. They lost their heads.... or their bodies.
It snowed in northern Utah this weekend. The forecast suggested a good three to four inches of white fluffy snow. Naturally I suspected we would get around an inch. Needless to say, I was shocked when I woke up on Saturday morning to a good 12 inches of snow, the bottom two inches being slush. I spent a good hour and a half shoveling the driveway and the part of the back yard that is a moderately impervious surface (read that as concrete with cracks) so the dogs don't think they need to use it as their own, nearby, potty spot. I subsequently braved the continuing blizzard and questionable roads to take the two dogs our for our standard Saturday morning outing. They enjoyed the romp through snow that appeared to make them look like fuzzy snowplows. The backstory is unimportant with the exception that, following all of the shoveling (which I also did several more times during the day) I didn't feel like doing much else outside and had work to do. I mean, real proposal writing-type work, not to mention a deconstructed bathroom that requires additional attention to get back in to proper functioning condition. All of that to say, I didn't take the compost bin out to the back yard and attempt to dump it into the, now filled with snow because I left the lid off, compost bin.
Tonight, Sunday, it had to happen. The compost bin was overflowing and, as one of my standard house chores, it had been neglected. After emptying the bin, and cursing myself for leaving the lid off, I plowed through the snow, right past one of our beehives. This particular hive has done quite well for being an Eco Bee Box "mini-hive". I'm not sure if I expect them to make it through the winter or not, but to this point, they have done well.
As is the case with all hives in the winter, the live bees will carry their dead counterparts outside and dump them on the stoop or in the snow, which makes the area appear like a bee graveyard, which, I suppose it is. This particular hive has a small ramp and board under it, for no other reason then to help the bees get into the hive and catch the dead bees for my inspection and subsequent cleaning up. On this evening, as I tromped by in somewhere between twelve to fourteen inches of snow, I noted that the pile of dead bees that had previously been there in subsequent days, was now significantly diminished. My initial assessment was the wind blew them off; however, upon closer examination, I discovered that, while the bee bodies were gone, their heads all remained in small scattered piles on the board.
While I have no idea if it is bird, mammal, insect, or other (I doubt insect due to temperatures), I thought it post worth for the sheer fact that I enjoy the fact that something is foraging on these dead creatures, for better or worse.
****************** UPDATED*********************
After a number of weeks keeping an eye out, and finally placing a good, old-fashioned mouse trap, the culprit, and six of his kin, have been dispatched. I normally would go for a live trip or similar, but the mice are hard on bees and I know the mice aren't suffering from colony collapse. I'll keep the traps set for a few more weeks just to help keep the pressure off the hives. Of course, the large hives all have mouse guards, I'll look in to something similar for the mini-hives for next winter.
 |
| A shot from early January 2016. A warm day, roughly 38*F. |
 |
| The bees, they lost their bodies. |
****************** UPDATED*********************
After a number of weeks keeping an eye out, and finally placing a good, old-fashioned mouse trap, the culprit, and six of his kin, have been dispatched. I normally would go for a live trip or similar, but the mice are hard on bees and I know the mice aren't suffering from colony collapse. I'll keep the traps set for a few more weeks just to help keep the pressure off the hives. Of course, the large hives all have mouse guards, I'll look in to something similar for the mini-hives for next winter.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Zika and Beekeeping in the United States
I've recently been reading up (as I'm sure many have) on the mosquito-borne Zika virus and have been considering the impact from the perspective of a beekeeper. Why bring it up in relation to beekeeping? Because we already, at present, deal with fairly extensive mosquito spraying for other health and safety reasons, including West Nile. There is an interesting research paper by Bogoch et al. that contains this figure:
Indeed, with changes in climate, our proximity to wetlands (along the Wasatch Front, the back valleys, and the Cache Valley - where I happen to keep bees), we could also be subject to seasonal occurrences here. If you take a look at the map, you can zoom in on the Utah area and see that modeling already predicts suitable habitat to support an outbreak around the Great Salt Lake.
The full article is here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673616000805
This will bring additional required spray instances to many who keep bees should the outbreak spread into these seasonal mid-latitude regions.
Another interesting graphic:
Indeed, with changes in climate, our proximity to wetlands (along the Wasatch Front, the back valleys, and the Cache Valley - where I happen to keep bees), we could also be subject to seasonal occurrences here. If you take a look at the map, you can zoom in on the Utah area and see that modeling already predicts suitable habitat to support an outbreak around the Great Salt Lake.
The full article is here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673616000805
This will bring additional required spray instances to many who keep bees should the outbreak spread into these seasonal mid-latitude regions.
Another interesting graphic:
Data curated by HealthGrove
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
A few interesting graphics regarding gun control.
A few interesting graphics regarding gun control and background checks.
Data curated by FindTheData
Data curated by FindTheData
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Supporting employees in an organization that isn't interested in supporting them.
Here's a quandary: You have employees that are amazing. In fact, some of the most driven and intelligent people you know. They work hard, in fact, harder than they get paid for and they do a great job on the work they complete. Sounds like ideal candidates for rewards, kudos, hey, even salary increases, right? Of course I'm right. The problem is, working for a public university, an institution of higher education where bright people help improve our world, one finds it almost impossible to offer rewards to employees due to rules, regulations, and the nature of higher education and research.
I've had this problem looming over my head for the better part of five years. Great people doing excellent work, and almost no way to reward what they do. And that poses a problem. How long would you work in an environment where your work seems less-than-appreciated? How long would you keep up the good work ethic without a reasonable (more than cost-of-living) salary increase? The answer is pretty clear... not long. And who can blame someone who want to be rewarded for their hard work? I certainly can't.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Downloading, importing, and projecting PRISM climate data
This was a email I put together for a USU QCNR graduate student. Maybe someone else will find the information useful. I suggest using caution since this information is subject to change as Esri/EPSG may change transformations and PRISM may change data formats/etc. Please leave a note if you find errors and I will attempt to clarify and/or fix. It is was a copy/paste job email to blog - so user be warned.
- Download the desired data from PRISM (prism.oregonstate.edu)
- Download (or view) the associated FGDC Metadata. Note that the various details are NOT the same for each PRISM layer. Projections and cell sizes vary product to product.
- Use the ASCII to Raster tool in ArcToolbox
- Input the downloaded ASCII file
- Assign the output file a .tif extension. We generally try to work with tiff files since they are universally read by GIS and RS software. You can also use .img files since they have similar properties if you wish. Avoid leaving it blank (native ArcGIS format) or assigning a .jpg format.
- Use the Define Projection tool to assign the proper projection to the newly imported file
- ArcGIS will make a best guess about the initial projection and use that projection in your ArcMap view. Do not rely on the project-on-the-fly functions for anything beyond looking at the data; never for analysis.
- After defining the projection you need to reproject the data to match the best option for your field data or analysis region. This is done using the Project Raster (for raster data) utility in ArcToolbox. Note that the PRSIM data is generally developed using WGS72, WGS84 or NAD83/GRS80. This is not adequate or acceptable for inter-continental spatial analysis.
- Depending on the scale of your study, you will want to select the correct projection. If you conducting a multi-state or regional study that would stretch across UTM zones, I suggest using Albers Equal Area (USGS version); if you are working in a small area, such as the state of Utah, and all of your data is within one UTM zone, I suggest stepping from unprojected (geographic) to Albers (or similar) and then to UTM. You can go from unprojected straight to UTM if you wish, but realize that you need to subset the data (extract by mask) to your study area once you complete the process and that any data outside of your UTM zone is invalid as it is spatially inaccurate.
- In the Project Raster tool, add your Input Raster; assuming you have defined the original projection, it will populate under Input Coordinate System.
- Select an output location. I suggest that you do not allow it to go to Default.gdb. You will also need to give it a file extension, similar to above, I suggest that you use .tif.
- Select the Output Coordinate System. This is where you select the best system depending on the coordinate and system and scale of your study. Don't mix coordinate system if at all possible. Actually, just don't mix coordinate systems!
- Selection of the correct Geographic Transformation is the next step. Geographic transformations can be thought of as the equations used to convert from one projection to another. Some conversions require these transformations, others do not. Without going in to a long-winded discussion about what/why/how, you can turn here (http://wiki.gis.com/wiki/
index.php/Geographic_ Transformation) for a basic discussion; and here (http://blogs.esri.com/esri/ arcgis/2009/05/06/about- geographic-transformations- and-how-to-choose-the-right- one/) for an in-depth discussion of which one is the correct one to choose. - Generally speaking, when your focus area is the 48 contiguous US states and you are moving from WGS84 to NAD83, you can opt for either NAD_1983_To_WGS_1984_5 (don't let the from and to confuse the issue here, it will work correctly even though the logic seems wrong), or according to Esri, the more accurate transformation is now WGS_1984_(ITRF00)_To_NAD_1983. You can also see here (http://support.esri.com/en/
knowledgebase/techarticles/ detail/24159) and here (http://forums.arcgis.com/ threads/40988-WGS_1984_( ITRF00)_To_NAD_1983-when-to- use) for further details. - If you are moving from GCS_WGS_1972 to NAD83, you will need to add to selections to the Geographic Transformations box; that is, the first one will be WGS_1972_to_WGS_1984_2 (which is slightly better than _1) and the second transformation will be WGS_1984_(ITRF00)_To_NAD_
1983. Another good discussion about "what to use" is here (http://forums.arcgis.com/ threads/48328-Datum-NAD83- NA2011). - Leave the Resampling Technique as NEAREST
- Output Cell Size, set this based on the metadata. Generally PRISM has 1KM and 4 or 5KM data; you can also download 800m Normals data, just make sure you opt for the correct cell size according to the product you download. I suggest not leaving the default as you will end up with oddly-sized cells.
- Click OK
- Once it is properly projected to the continental (Projected) projection, you can step down to UTM or use the data as is. You can also subset the data (extract by mask) at this point.
- 19 August 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
Online GIS Lectures
I seem to be able to follow the standard rule of not posting a blog entry more than once a year. I figure there is enough stuff out there for folks to read... who needs more?!
That being said, I do try to make the occasional post worth while. In this case, I wanted to toss the info out there that I've been recording intro to GIS (and GISci) lectures for USU and putting them up on YouTube. Anyone is welcome to use, review, or comment on the lectures.
I would suggest using Introductory Geographic Information Systems by Jensen and Jensen as a companion text for the lectures. I've been searching for a satisfactory GIS text for years and finally feel like the Jensen (father and son team) have done a good job at putting a reasonably solid text together. There are a few things I would change, but I'm not going to write my own book, so this will do very well.
The lectures are generally in 10 minute segments and I've tried to provide the proper citations to any outside source material. However, if you note something of your creation that I didn't cite properly, please let me know and I will fix as soon as possible.
You can find all of the videos on my YouTube account. I've embedded the first two below for you to take a look at and make sure they are worth your time and effort to review/use the others.
Again, please comment. I look forward to fixing my mistakes (of which I'm sure there are plenty) and making the clips better through time. Each 10 minute segment takes about two to three hours to produce (recording, editing, uploading, etc.).
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Online GIS - a quick test of GIS Cloud
I've spent my fair share of time playing with the tools over at ArcGIS.com. I've used ArcGIS Explorer Online to develop a few tools for my Introduction to GISci class at Utah State University, and have been generally pleased to be able to pass the knowledge of an online GIS tool to my students. There aren't many bells and whistles over at the Esri stie, but the point isn't to give it away free - just provide a simple GIS-for-everyone application. At least that is the impression I get.
I've had my eye on GISCloud.com for quite a while. I signed up months ago to test it out and never really got into it. At the time I was busy getting into the swing of a new job, working on developing lecture material, and madly writing grant proposals. So this past week when James Fee blogged that GISCloud had abandoned it's beta tag, I figured it was time to give it a once over and evaluate the basic features.
I hadn't intended on sharing them here, but, it's a slow day on campus so here are a few notes:
I uploaded the 3mb shapefile, zipped, and it seemed fairly fast. The file appeared to save in my File name directory - somewhere in the cloud.
Overall, GIS Cloud looks promising. The work the team has done with HTML5 is solid, the functionality appears to be good, albiet a little limited at the moment. There are a number of other tools available that I didn't cover and I would suggest signing up for a trial period and giving it a go.
I've had my eye on GISCloud.com for quite a while. I signed up months ago to test it out and never really got into it. At the time I was busy getting into the swing of a new job, working on developing lecture material, and madly writing grant proposals. So this past week when James Fee blogged that GISCloud had abandoned it's beta tag, I figured it was time to give it a once over and evaluate the basic features.
I hadn't intended on sharing them here, but, it's a slow day on campus so here are a few notes:
- It's easy to start! Creating a new map didn't take too much. There are standard and advanced features. Advanced allows you to set up the map extent and select your projection. It helps to know your EPSG codes if you want to start off with a specific projection.
I uploaded the 3mb shapefile, zipped, and it seemed fairly fast. The file appeared to save in my File name directory - somewhere in the cloud.
- For some reason, data display after loading the file required me to refresh the map, but the data showed up right away after that.
- The layer properties window is available by double clicking the shapefile. It seemed to hold all of the familiar tools for displaying the data, labeling, rendering, etc.
- When I tried to get a distinct value from the shapefile it got a little testy with me. Oops, okay.
- Clicking on any feature quickly opened up the feature attribute table, which was easy to read and navigate.
- GIS Cloud has allowed the user to tap a good selection of data. Everything from uploads (I don't know off hand what the size restrictions are - I expect it depends on how much you pay) to PostGIS, Web Map Service, Tile Map Services (OSM, Google (Maps, Satellite, and Terrain), Bing, 3Tier Wind), other GIS Cloud maps, and, of course, mobile uploads.
As a side note, I did install the GIS Cloud app on a Xoom tablet and went to work taking photo points - it worked very well once the kind folks over at GIS Cloud told me how to set up the mobile device to upload data. Data was captured, uploaded, and ready for viewing in seconds. I don't want to minimize this feature by not going into it in more depth- it works very well. The GIS Cloud folks have a few kinks to work out, but they assured me they would do so.
OSM base layer added:
- I found out that it helps to set the map extent under Map Properties. If you don't you may find yourself zooming to 0,0 each time you restart the map. I'm not sure if that was unique to how I created my first map or not.
- On to a little analysis. The analysis toolbar didn't have a whole lot on it straight away, but perhaps that will change with future development. I went ahead and gave the Hotspot tool a run:
The tools seemed to work fairly well. I'm not sure what algorithm is being used - and I didn't look at the documentation to see if it was there. I also didn't run any comparisons in other software to compare results. The transparency slider, located at the bottom of the table of contents, seemed to do the job well.
Simple to embed too:
Overall, GIS Cloud looks promising. The work the team has done with HTML5 is solid, the functionality appears to be good, albiet a little limited at the moment. There are a number of other tools available that I didn't cover and I would suggest signing up for a trial period and giving it a go.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Back to the "not-so-smart" phone
For many people the smart phone has become a way of life. Checking in, verifying prices and reviews, directions, calling cabs, mapping out a local coffee shop, looking up long lost friends, and on and on. All of this, and, all for a price. And, I've discovered that I have grown tired of paying that price. In fact, I'm tired of always being connected.
I'll preface the rest of this post with this statement: I'm not naive enough to think, that other than a very few individuals, people would ever switch back to a feature phone- and luckily so for the cellular companies. As a recent article on CNET pointed out, even feature-minimized phones are a relatively low cost option for a simple smartphone running some flavor of the Android OS. That, and I'm sure that at some point in the future there is a yet-to-be-made smartphone with my name on it. That I assume is almost inevitable.
The price I was paying for my original Droid (which I got the day after they became available) was $39.99 for the account, $5.00 for text, and $29.99 for a true unlimited data plan - so $75 + assorted E911 fees and taxes, nearly $100/mo, $1,200/year, and $2,400 for a two year plan.Wow.
I say true unlimited because I signed on with Verizon when data was still unlimited and unlimited meant unlimited. With the plan I could stream video, listen to music, connect my laptop, all over 3G. I far exceeded 1GB, hell, even 20GB and still paid $30/mo for the service. Those were good times.
Alas, times are tight. We've had a few medical issues in our small family of two humans, two dogs, two cats, and a mortgage (also part of the family), and even with good insurance (for the human contingent) times are pretty tight. I started looking for simple ways to save money. The most obvious low-hanging fruit were cell phone data plans. So, two weeks ago, I called up Verizon (you have to call to cancel a data plan), and talked to a very nice woman who insisted it was a terrible thing to get rid of the plan I was on, but in the end, she did as I asked.
I re-activated my Moto Slvr L7 and went to work updating the contacts and learning how to text with no keyboard (takes for ever to send messages by the way), all for $50/month (still seems like a lot when I write it out). The first thing I noticed, I didn't check my email before bed or right when I woke up (to be honest, I do have a Xoom tablet, but it is staying tucked away at night - nowhere near the bedroom). The second thing I noticed, I couldn't tweet when I was drinking a very good beer. Third, my God, I had to actually wait to read the news. Oh, and my Latitude account will forever (until I update it with the Xoom) say that I am at home. Sorry, Boss, you can't verify my location without checking my office (or calling).
My lack of connection didn't change the world over the last two weeks, I never thought it would, - but it is changing me, just a little. I can still tweet and stay connected - just not that connected. My SAR has decreased, a little, so maybe cancer, heart problems, or plain old age will take a little longer to get to me in the end. All of this and I'm saving about $1,200/year, which isn't bad (that's one extra mortgage payment or a vacation).
Over the past two weeks, I have realized that the idea of needing a smartphone, plus the fact that the cell companies are bending us over the proverbial barrel and giving it to us in the pocked book for "unlimited" data, is pretty short-sighted. Sure, it opens up another world, or maybe some would say, it opens up the world, but it certainly shuts us off from other, more immediate and human and physical components of the world. At least I think so.
So, I've rejoined the ranks of the feature phone crowd. At least I still have a cell phone, I guess. Luckily for Verizon, they still get that little chunk of cash from me each month, dammit. Maybe one day they (cell companies) will realize that they will have to reduce the overall costs of data. Of course, why would they do that when most people are willing to shell out the bucks?
I'll preface the rest of this post with this statement: I'm not naive enough to think, that other than a very few individuals, people would ever switch back to a feature phone- and luckily so for the cellular companies. As a recent article on CNET pointed out, even feature-minimized phones are a relatively low cost option for a simple smartphone running some flavor of the Android OS. That, and I'm sure that at some point in the future there is a yet-to-be-made smartphone with my name on it. That I assume is almost inevitable.
The price I was paying for my original Droid (which I got the day after they became available) was $39.99 for the account, $5.00 for text, and $29.99 for a true unlimited data plan - so $75 + assorted E911 fees and taxes, nearly $100/mo, $1,200/year, and $2,400 for a two year plan.Wow.
I say true unlimited because I signed on with Verizon when data was still unlimited and unlimited meant unlimited. With the plan I could stream video, listen to music, connect my laptop, all over 3G. I far exceeded 1GB, hell, even 20GB and still paid $30/mo for the service. Those were good times.
Alas, times are tight. We've had a few medical issues in our small family of two humans, two dogs, two cats, and a mortgage (also part of the family), and even with good insurance (for the human contingent) times are pretty tight. I started looking for simple ways to save money. The most obvious low-hanging fruit were cell phone data plans. So, two weeks ago, I called up Verizon (you have to call to cancel a data plan), and talked to a very nice woman who insisted it was a terrible thing to get rid of the plan I was on, but in the end, she did as I asked.
I re-activated my Moto Slvr L7 and went to work updating the contacts and learning how to text with no keyboard (takes for ever to send messages by the way), all for $50/month (still seems like a lot when I write it out). The first thing I noticed, I didn't check my email before bed or right when I woke up (to be honest, I do have a Xoom tablet, but it is staying tucked away at night - nowhere near the bedroom). The second thing I noticed, I couldn't tweet when I was drinking a very good beer. Third, my God, I had to actually wait to read the news. Oh, and my Latitude account will forever (until I update it with the Xoom) say that I am at home. Sorry, Boss, you can't verify my location without checking my office (or calling).
My lack of connection didn't change the world over the last two weeks, I never thought it would, - but it is changing me, just a little. I can still tweet and stay connected - just not that connected. My SAR has decreased, a little, so maybe cancer, heart problems, or plain old age will take a little longer to get to me in the end. All of this and I'm saving about $1,200/year, which isn't bad (that's one extra mortgage payment or a vacation).
Over the past two weeks, I have realized that the idea of needing a smartphone, plus the fact that the cell companies are bending us over the proverbial barrel and giving it to us in the pocked book for "unlimited" data, is pretty short-sighted. Sure, it opens up another world, or maybe some would say, it opens up the world, but it certainly shuts us off from other, more immediate and human and physical components of the world. At least I think so.
So, I've rejoined the ranks of the feature phone crowd. At least I still have a cell phone, I guess. Luckily for Verizon, they still get that little chunk of cash from me each month, dammit. Maybe one day they (cell companies) will realize that they will have to reduce the overall costs of data. Of course, why would they do that when most people are willing to shell out the bucks?
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
GEOG 1800 - Introduction to GIScience Course Books
I wanted to make a quick mention of the books I'm using this semester in the GEOG 1800 course at Utah State University. Both have been very effective so far - and while I would love to have a solid compilation of ever evolving online curriculum - these will have to do until my dream comes true.
Geographic Information Systems & Science, 3rd Edition. By Longley, Goodchild, Maguare, Rhind.
And our lab book:
Mastering ArcGIS, 5th Edition. By Maribeth Price.
Geographic Information Systems & Science, 3rd Edition. By Longley, Goodchild, Maguare, Rhind.
And our lab book:
Mastering ArcGIS, 5th Edition. By Maribeth Price.
I don't have a review of either book yet, but will try to discuss the content as we get further into the semester.
Impressions of the Ashtech MobileMapper100 and ProMark200
We generally try and purchase GPS/GNSS equipment that is made locally at Juniper Systems, Inc., here in Logan, Utah; however, a recent project required that we purchase three Ashtech PM200s (which is operated by the MobileMapper 100). Here are a few first impressions:
The unit itself is fantastic for acquiring data. The "Blade" technology seems to do the job and using the Utah TURN network, I can have a 2-3cm fix (or better) in less than a minute, and closer to 15 - 30 seconds hot. Without the TURN network, I can have a sub-meter (generally 10 - 30cm) fix in about 15 seconds or so. I will say that it works well for rapid high-precision data capture.
The physical usability of the device leaves much to be desired. We have grown accustomed to the more ergonomic and well thought out devices developed by Juniper - so the less than adequate quality has taken some getting use to.
The device is not pretty, a slightly rounded brick comes to mind when you hold it - nto to mention the overall lack of a hand strap, or any place for a hand strap. The unit is meant to be in a cradle and mounted on a pole, not carried by hand.
(Note the screen - it looks great... indoors.)
(Tell me that isn't fugly, really.)
The unit is rated at MIL-STD-810 514.5, it is nowhere near IP-67, not that they claim it is, but I'm still used to fully sealed devices. Once you pull the SD card slot cover aside, all bets are off. In a dark room you can look into the SD slot and see the back of the screen. Water and dust would be a bad deal for this unit. There is a thin rubber gasket around the battery door that should give you about two seconds to pull it out of a puddle that hopefully isn't more than a centimeter or two deep.
The OS, Windows Mobile Pro 6.5 really needs no comment. It generally sucks and Ashtech spent almost NO time customizing or making it easier to use - but then, it seems rare for many companies to spend time making these kinds of modification on smaller market devices.
Just a note on the battery, it isn't keyed very well and can be put in backwards. While this seems obvious, it is worth mentioning for the sake of overall functionality.
The SIM card is locked in under the battery. There isn't much to say here except that Ashtech was NOT helpful at finding the correct data plan to request from ATT. I would be happy to correspond with folks who are trying to identify the correct plan. We had to jump through some hoops before the service rep was able to click the right buttons.
Mounting the unit on the pole and connecting it to the antenna is very straight forward. We use 2m locking poles that seemed very durable except for the top threads. I am concerned that these may weaken and break in cold weather work, but thus far, it has worked out well.
As far as connections go (not speaking of connecting the antenna, rather other devices through ports), there aren't any. The unit really only swings one way - and that is to connect with its dock. The unit is Bluetooth capable, but there are no serial or USB ports to speak of.
The dock is required for all charging, data transfer, etc. However, the dock is equipped with an extra battery charging slot. In our field work, it seemed that having two batteries for a full day of work (8 - 12 hours) was a necessity. You can reduce power consumption by turning down the screen brightness and turning off the modem when possible.
Apologies for continuing to compare the PM200s to the Juniper Systems equipment, they really are different beasts, but one last comparison is required. Outdoor screen readability. Juniper devices thrive in the sun - seriously, the brighter the direct sunlight the better you can see the screen - and yes, it seems counter-intuitive. The PM200 - really, the MobileMapper 100 is horrible in the bright sunlight, especially with the dull screen protector. Screen sensitivity is good, and in general, when you have cloud cover, the screen is great - just not that great.
Where the PM200 package excels is in processing power and rapid data high-precision data collection. As far as I can tell, I don't have a similar GNSS Toolbox option for the Juniper Systems devices thus, my connection to our network would be mute point on those units. The crew, once we made some executive decisions collected lots of high-precision data very fast. But, not without some angst when it came to trying to rapidly learn (and collect) data with Fast Survey. The program is certainly developed for the survey community so if you are a GISer thinking that Fast Survey will be simple and FAST... you had best think again.
In the end we ended up abandoning Fast Survey for Esri ArcPad 10.x. We set up the GNSS Toolbox to connect to the Utah TURN network and parse out the strings via a virtual COM port. This was a bit tricky to figure out as the documentation to do such a think isn't readily available.
In the end, for what it's worth, I would rate the Ashtech PM200s at a 2.5 stars out of five. The units seem half-baked and the overall functionality leaves much to be desired. I would encourage interested parties to test a unit, in the field with respect to their particular application, before making the purchase commitment.
The unit itself is fantastic for acquiring data. The "Blade" technology seems to do the job and using the Utah TURN network, I can have a 2-3cm fix (or better) in less than a minute, and closer to 15 - 30 seconds hot. Without the TURN network, I can have a sub-meter (generally 10 - 30cm) fix in about 15 seconds or so. I will say that it works well for rapid high-precision data capture.
The physical usability of the device leaves much to be desired. We have grown accustomed to the more ergonomic and well thought out devices developed by Juniper - so the less than adequate quality has taken some getting use to.
The device is not pretty, a slightly rounded brick comes to mind when you hold it - nto to mention the overall lack of a hand strap, or any place for a hand strap. The unit is meant to be in a cradle and mounted on a pole, not carried by hand.
(Note the screen - it looks great... indoors.)
 |
| From PM200 |
The unit is rated at MIL-STD-810 514.5, it is nowhere near IP-67, not that they claim it is, but I'm still used to fully sealed devices. Once you pull the SD card slot cover aside, all bets are off. In a dark room you can look into the SD slot and see the back of the screen. Water and dust would be a bad deal for this unit. There is a thin rubber gasket around the battery door that should give you about two seconds to pull it out of a puddle that hopefully isn't more than a centimeter or two deep.
The OS, Windows Mobile Pro 6.5 really needs no comment. It generally sucks and Ashtech spent almost NO time customizing or making it easier to use - but then, it seems rare for many companies to spend time making these kinds of modification on smaller market devices.
Just a note on the battery, it isn't keyed very well and can be put in backwards. While this seems obvious, it is worth mentioning for the sake of overall functionality.
The SIM card is locked in under the battery. There isn't much to say here except that Ashtech was NOT helpful at finding the correct data plan to request from ATT. I would be happy to correspond with folks who are trying to identify the correct plan. We had to jump through some hoops before the service rep was able to click the right buttons.
Mounting the unit on the pole and connecting it to the antenna is very straight forward. We use 2m locking poles that seemed very durable except for the top threads. I am concerned that these may weaken and break in cold weather work, but thus far, it has worked out well.
As far as connections go (not speaking of connecting the antenna, rather other devices through ports), there aren't any. The unit really only swings one way - and that is to connect with its dock. The unit is Bluetooth capable, but there are no serial or USB ports to speak of.
The dock is required for all charging, data transfer, etc. However, the dock is equipped with an extra battery charging slot. In our field work, it seemed that having two batteries for a full day of work (8 - 12 hours) was a necessity. You can reduce power consumption by turning down the screen brightness and turning off the modem when possible.
Apologies for continuing to compare the PM200s to the Juniper Systems equipment, they really are different beasts, but one last comparison is required. Outdoor screen readability. Juniper devices thrive in the sun - seriously, the brighter the direct sunlight the better you can see the screen - and yes, it seems counter-intuitive. The PM200 - really, the MobileMapper 100 is horrible in the bright sunlight, especially with the dull screen protector. Screen sensitivity is good, and in general, when you have cloud cover, the screen is great - just not that great.
Where the PM200 package excels is in processing power and rapid data high-precision data collection. As far as I can tell, I don't have a similar GNSS Toolbox option for the Juniper Systems devices thus, my connection to our network would be mute point on those units. The crew, once we made some executive decisions collected lots of high-precision data very fast. But, not without some angst when it came to trying to rapidly learn (and collect) data with Fast Survey. The program is certainly developed for the survey community so if you are a GISer thinking that Fast Survey will be simple and FAST... you had best think again.
In the end we ended up abandoning Fast Survey for Esri ArcPad 10.x. We set up the GNSS Toolbox to connect to the Utah TURN network and parse out the strings via a virtual COM port. This was a bit tricky to figure out as the documentation to do such a think isn't readily available.
In the end, for what it's worth, I would rate the Ashtech PM200s at a 2.5 stars out of five. The units seem half-baked and the overall functionality leaves much to be desired. I would encourage interested parties to test a unit, in the field with respect to their particular application, before making the purchase commitment.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Adventures in BootCamp
The boss recently gave me his "old" MacPro, which, for all intents and purposes is a very nice machine. 4Tb of storage, 16GB of RAM, off the top of my head I can't think of how many processors/cores are present - but plenty. He upgraded to a new MacPro with some ungodly amount of RAM 8Tb of storage... the works.
I haven't really had the time to move machines and the computer I've been using is a decent Dell Precision T5400 with 8GB of RAM, 2x 3.16GHz, 2Tb of disk space and so on. Not too bad really. It works great for running the ESRI ArcGIS (ArcInfo) suite, Erdas Imagine, and of course the MS Office suite. But, I do need to pass the machine onto one of our employees who is using a 6y/o Dell workstation. I, therefore (and I thought logically), decided I would install Win7 on one of the Mac drives because as great as a Mac may be, it isn't going to run the apps I need.
I started the Bootcamp assistant, selected the drive, tossed the Win7 64-bit disk in the "optical" drive and away I went. For a good 45 seconds. And then I ran into the first error:
1.
2.
Select CD-ROM Boot Type: _[blinking cursor]_
Ok, no big deal, I'll hit a number and see what happens... Nothing.
Figures. Keyboard input is a no-go
So, I turn things on and off a half-dozen times, reformat the drive I want to use... no dice. Finally, I turn to Google for the answer. Luckily, I wasn't alone in finding this error - but the solution did take about a full extra hour and a half to get working.
I wanted to cite Sergio McFly's blog post and credit it with the final solution to the mess. Note that the post is written for Server2008, I just substituted that with windows7 and worked out of a temp folder on my C drive - it worked beautifully. I've copied and pasted here, adding slight modifications as I used it:
I did want to mention that I used PowerISO to re-burn my disk to use in the Mac... and as I look at the screen now, it appears that the install worked. Time will tell how it runs.
I haven't really had the time to move machines and the computer I've been using is a decent Dell Precision T5400 with 8GB of RAM, 2x 3.16GHz, 2Tb of disk space and so on. Not too bad really. It works great for running the ESRI ArcGIS (ArcInfo) suite, Erdas Imagine, and of course the MS Office suite. But, I do need to pass the machine onto one of our employees who is using a 6y/o Dell workstation. I, therefore (and I thought logically), decided I would install Win7 on one of the Mac drives because as great as a Mac may be, it isn't going to run the apps I need.
I started the Bootcamp assistant, selected the drive, tossed the Win7 64-bit disk in the "optical" drive and away I went. For a good 45 seconds. And then I ran into the first error:
1.
2.
Select CD-ROM Boot Type: _[blinking cursor]_
Ok, no big deal, I'll hit a number and see what happens... Nothing.
Figures. Keyboard input is a no-go
So, I turn things on and off a half-dozen times, reformat the drive I want to use... no dice. Finally, I turn to Google for the answer. Luckily, I wasn't alone in finding this error - but the solution did take about a full extra hour and a half to get working.
I wanted to cite Sergio McFly's blog post and credit it with the final solution to the mess. Note that the post is written for Server2008, I just substituted that with windows7 and worked out of a temp folder on my C drive - it worked beautifully. I've copied and pasted here, adding slight modifications as I used it:
Solution:
(I created a c:\temp folder to work from)
0 - create 3 folders c:\temp\windows7iso c:\temp\windows7exe c:\temp\windows7dvd
1 - download this .exe file and put into c:\temp\windows7exe
2 - put .iso you downloaded from ms into c:\temp\windows7iso and unzip it
3 - move .iso file out of c:\temp\windows7iso
4 - open a dos prompt in c:\temp\windows7exe and type:
oscdimg -n -m -b c:\temp\windows7iso\boot\etfsboot.com c:\temp\windows7iso c:\temp\windows7dvd\windows7dvd.iso
The windows7dvd.iso is the file [you are going to] burn onto a new DVD
Enjoy !
I did want to mention that I used PowerISO to re-burn my disk to use in the Mac... and as I look at the screen now, it appears that the install worked. Time will tell how it runs.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
A month gone by, but blog not forgotten.
I managed to let a month slip by without so much as visiting my own blog. Not that I lack things to discuss, but more along the lines that I have too much to do and haven't found the time. I did, while on a Google image search for "heads-up digitizing", find a picture that exemplifies how I feel - almost perfectly. To say the least, things have been busy... but I'm not complaining!
It really had little to do with digitizing...
It really had little to do with digitizing...
Monday, August 23, 2010
A note from the field
I didn't realize how much I had missed fieldwork. There is certainly something gratifying about spending time in a place that is so enjoyable, only to turn around and realize that you are working. Last week we took a two day trip to Fillmore, Utah - a small, quiet town in central Utah just off of I-15.
The area around Fillmore is generally quiet, accustomed to cattle grazing, agriculture, some energy development, and outdoor recreation of various sorts. However, that was not the case on 6 July 2007. During a short eight day period, the Milford Flat Fire burned more than 360,000 acres between the towns of Milford, UT and just north of Fillmore, UT. The fire burned so fast in some areas, destroying native and invasive vegetation alike, that there was no time to fight the fire, only evacuate.
Our purpose in Fillmore was to evaluate remote sensing monitoring protocol that are being developed in conjunction with the BLM offices in central Utah. The BLM (and several other organizations) have invested millions of dollars in rehabilitation to the region. I actually have to be honest, for the most part, the rehab program has done amazing things. No, the native plants haven't returned in force - and many may never return, however, the region has gone from moonscape to almost savanna-ish.
Our methods are being developed primarily to track the invasion of the cheatgrass, also known as Bromus tectorum. Cheatgrass is a highly invasive grass that has a unique phenological cycle that makes use of late and early moisture, before natives have the chance to begin their cycle.
The major issues surrounding cheatgrass are 1) altered fire regimes, 2) changes in the plant community composition and biodiversity and 3) the reduction of forage for domestic animals and wildlife.
The above panorama is taken at a location known locally as the "Wind Tunnel". The wind, is nearly always blowing in this area, which, during the fire, encouraged rapid and very hot burning. Looking at satellite imagery, striations from tens of thousands of years of winds can be seen trending from southwest to northeast.
View Larger Map
The "wind tunnel" has seen significant clean energy development (wind turbines) over the past five years. The region currently has nearly 100 turbines in their initial phases, with additional phases planned. Sadly, the power is not desired in Utah and generally sold to California Utilities.
Although the region looks quite bleak and dry to many, it truly is full of many fascinating facts. The region, amongst other things, has a geologic history that includes a significant amount of volcanic activity. This activity produced huge amounts of obsidian used by Native Americans for tools, arrow heads, and other implements.
The state and federal agencies have worked very well to mitigate for this huge disaster. Collaboration and quick action have saved hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlands from complete degradation. Of course with all of the good, there are some areas that are have not responded well. The areas known as "clear spot" are highly saline and extremely arid environments that have not taken to any management practice. These areas are of concern due to the extreme loss of topsoil which is impacting air quality along the Wasatch Front.
Further, soil erosion barriers (fences that catch tumble weeds and in turn catch soil) have been erected to help minimize massive soil loss.
All in all the trip was a success. We were able to show that the models created by the RS/GIS Laboratory were quite accurate for the scale and we were able to visit with local managers who understood what was happening on the ground.
The area around Fillmore is generally quiet, accustomed to cattle grazing, agriculture, some energy development, and outdoor recreation of various sorts. However, that was not the case on 6 July 2007. During a short eight day period, the Milford Flat Fire burned more than 360,000 acres between the towns of Milford, UT and just north of Fillmore, UT. The fire burned so fast in some areas, destroying native and invasive vegetation alike, that there was no time to fight the fire, only evacuate.
Our purpose in Fillmore was to evaluate remote sensing monitoring protocol that are being developed in conjunction with the BLM offices in central Utah. The BLM (and several other organizations) have invested millions of dollars in rehabilitation to the region. I actually have to be honest, for the most part, the rehab program has done amazing things. No, the native plants haven't returned in force - and many may never return, however, the region has gone from moonscape to almost savanna-ish.
Our methods are being developed primarily to track the invasion of the cheatgrass, also known as Bromus tectorum. Cheatgrass is a highly invasive grass that has a unique phenological cycle that makes use of late and early moisture, before natives have the chance to begin their cycle.
The major issues surrounding cheatgrass are 1) altered fire regimes, 2) changes in the plant community composition and biodiversity and 3) the reduction of forage for domestic animals and wildlife.
The above panorama is taken at a location known locally as the "Wind Tunnel". The wind, is nearly always blowing in this area, which, during the fire, encouraged rapid and very hot burning. Looking at satellite imagery, striations from tens of thousands of years of winds can be seen trending from southwest to northeast.
View Larger Map
The "wind tunnel" has seen significant clean energy development (wind turbines) over the past five years. The region currently has nearly 100 turbines in their initial phases, with additional phases planned. Sadly, the power is not desired in Utah and generally sold to California Utilities.
 |
| From Millford Flats |
Although the region looks quite bleak and dry to many, it truly is full of many fascinating facts. The region, amongst other things, has a geologic history that includes a significant amount of volcanic activity. This activity produced huge amounts of obsidian used by Native Americans for tools, arrow heads, and other implements.
The state and federal agencies have worked very well to mitigate for this huge disaster. Collaboration and quick action have saved hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlands from complete degradation. Of course with all of the good, there are some areas that are have not responded well. The areas known as "clear spot" are highly saline and extremely arid environments that have not taken to any management practice. These areas are of concern due to the extreme loss of topsoil which is impacting air quality along the Wasatch Front.
 |
| From Millford Flats |
Further, soil erosion barriers (fences that catch tumble weeds and in turn catch soil) have been erected to help minimize massive soil loss.
 |
| From Millford Flats |
All in all the trip was a success. We were able to show that the models created by the RS/GIS Laboratory were quite accurate for the scale and we were able to visit with local managers who understood what was happening on the ground.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
A note on homeownership
Owning you own home is amazing, a huge decision - one not to be made lightly.
When we purchased our home one year and fourteen days ago it was a huge pain. The best part was our mortgage lender, Ron, who was on time, on top of things, and always ready to answer questions. I will admit, in dealing with him, we were lucky.
The acutual interaction with the agents on the other hand, sucked. Honestly, it went well until the day we were supposed to move in (we did end up moving in, but, it is a long story not meant for this post). The advice I wanted to impart today is this: just because you own your own home does not mean you should go tearing down walls, off the roof, or generally making home improvements until you are ready to do one whole project in one big push.
Currently, we have the roof half done and has been in progress for six weeks (though our roofer, a good guy and great roofer, is giving us a good deal and should have it done soon). In addition, we have the living room 85% completed (painting now, trim left... and Ellie wants to redo the hardwood floors - eek); and one bedroom torn down to the studs. The last room is a bigger project than we anticipated and we found out that a building permit is required - so that one is on hold until we get all the other stuff taken care of (I'm thinking winter).
So, the advice: remember, if you tear a wall down, you have to put it back up (generally speaking). Keep that in mind.
When we purchased our home one year and fourteen days ago it was a huge pain. The best part was our mortgage lender, Ron, who was on time, on top of things, and always ready to answer questions. I will admit, in dealing with him, we were lucky.
The acutual interaction with the agents on the other hand, sucked. Honestly, it went well until the day we were supposed to move in (we did end up moving in, but, it is a long story not meant for this post). The advice I wanted to impart today is this: just because you own your own home does not mean you should go tearing down walls, off the roof, or generally making home improvements until you are ready to do one whole project in one big push.
Currently, we have the roof half done and has been in progress for six weeks (though our roofer, a good guy and great roofer, is giving us a good deal and should have it done soon). In addition, we have the living room 85% completed (painting now, trim left... and Ellie wants to redo the hardwood floors - eek); and one bedroom torn down to the studs. The last room is a bigger project than we anticipated and we found out that a building permit is required - so that one is on hold until we get all the other stuff taken care of (I'm thinking winter).
So, the advice: remember, if you tear a wall down, you have to put it back up (generally speaking). Keep that in mind.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Course structure and options
The course I will be teaching is supposed to touch on four major topics in 16 weeks. Those being GIS, GPS/field data collection, remote sensing, and a tiny bit of Python at the end of the semester. Lots of info to cover, but I have to do it superficially enough not to overwhelm - yet with enough detail to provide a foundation.
With such a broad, yet connected set of topics, I'm left wondering what the best method is for assessing student abilities and understanding? I could offer four, well three really, distinct modules with exams at the end of each; I could structure it such that the course attempted to flow thereby presenting perhaps a late midterm exam and a final project; or I could build a project based course with "check-in" points throughout the semester.
Decisions, decisions. I want to be able to assess that the students (undergraduates) are learning the material - but, at the same time, I'm not a big "test" person myself. I would rather have a hands-on exam/project to assess my abilities than a regurgitation of theory (but, the theory is also important). Of course it can be argued that if a project is completed properly, the understanding of theory will present itself.
Another question... should I expect that the students, younger undergrads for the most part, have the ability to take the initiative to develop a worthy semester project? Something that will take foresight from essentially the first week of class. I honestly think as an undergrad I could have done it, and likely enjoyed it, but I was weird.
So... what is the best method, or is there technically a "best" method? Sometimes a class like this makes teaching algebra or calculus simple. You have a clearly defined set of questions you can ask and projects aren't really a option (generally speaking).
ETA: The course is a 4-credit undergraduate course w/ lab sections and ~65 students. At the end of today I'm leaning towards 11 assignments (that correspond to 14 required labs), six quizzes, one late-season midterm, and one final project. I'll have to sleep on it.
With such a broad, yet connected set of topics, I'm left wondering what the best method is for assessing student abilities and understanding? I could offer four, well three really, distinct modules with exams at the end of each; I could structure it such that the course attempted to flow thereby presenting perhaps a late midterm exam and a final project; or I could build a project based course with "check-in" points throughout the semester.
Decisions, decisions. I want to be able to assess that the students (undergraduates) are learning the material - but, at the same time, I'm not a big "test" person myself. I would rather have a hands-on exam/project to assess my abilities than a regurgitation of theory (but, the theory is also important). Of course it can be argued that if a project is completed properly, the understanding of theory will present itself.
Another question... should I expect that the students, younger undergrads for the most part, have the ability to take the initiative to develop a worthy semester project? Something that will take foresight from essentially the first week of class. I honestly think as an undergrad I could have done it, and likely enjoyed it, but I was weird.
So... what is the best method, or is there technically a "best" method? Sometimes a class like this makes teaching algebra or calculus simple. You have a clearly defined set of questions you can ask and projects aren't really a option (generally speaking).
ETA: The course is a 4-credit undergraduate course w/ lab sections and ~65 students. At the end of today I'm leaning towards 11 assignments (that correspond to 14 required labs), six quizzes, one late-season midterm, and one final project. I'll have to sleep on it.
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