Nordic Geospatial Blog –

The power of projections … thank you @veltsos and go to http://linux.philosweb.com/drupal/ for more great info.

With California’s spectacular collection of State Parks ( http://www.hearstcastle.org/ ) suffering under draconian budget cuts, you can experience the grandeur of Hearst Castle and help fund amazing restoration projects by contributing to the Friends of Hearst Castle via an upcoming special event -

http://www.friendsofhearstcastle.org/special_events.asp

For more info, go to -

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Hearst-Castle/247995260112

The following video by Mike Byrne (FCC GIO via the 2011 FOSS4G Conf. in Denver – http://2011.foss4g.org/ ) and resources are very useful and prescient to a new, scaleable, resilient, and cost effective way of doing ‘geo’ business -

http://vimeo.com/29410731

Use ‘This Tract’ derivative app to learn more place-specific (XY) information via Data.gov about your location –
http://thistract.com

& for ye iPeeps out there, how bout a mobile app

https://github.com/benbalter/National-Broadband-Map-Web-App

and lastly, to prove this is not a flash-in-the-pan geo revolution with a lifespan shorter than a Kardashian marriage, the Pew Jedi Knights have weighed in…

http://www.pewinternet.org/Media-Mentions/2010/Geolocation-Services-Gaining-Ground.aspx

FOSS4G 2011 Mike Byrne: A new way of open data from Peter Batty on Vimeo.

Excellent embeddable and downloadable global disease data via the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) -

http://www.cfr.org/interactives/GH_Vaccine_Map/index.html#map

http://www.cfr.org/interactives/GH_Vaccine_Map/index.html#/intro

As the foundation of the information ‘superhighway’, broadband connectivity across the US (rural, urban, tribal, etc.) is a vital component of the critical infrastructure of our nation’s future communications and competitiveness – well done FCC maps and GIS team!

http://www.fcc.gov/maps

Great blog and small business cyber security planning resource
http://www.fcc.gov/blog/empowering-small-businesses-become-cyber-secure

For developers – http://www.fcc.gov/developers

GIS programs – http://transition.fcc.gov/oet/info/maps/programs/

Embeddable map collection > http://tiles.mapbox.com/fcc

Given that geospatial tools are effective at a variety of scales, here are two timely meso and micro scale developments of note -

Mapping the transit routes (aka OD, Origin-Destination, Modelling) of UK rioters via the @Guardian -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/datablog/2011/dec/05/england-riots-distance-travelled-map

Download PDF here > http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2011/08/15/rioteventsandaddresses.pdf

” They were the “riot commuters”, people who came from far and wide to take part in – or just watch – the disturbances across England. But did they really exist? How far did people actually travel?

Now we have the first answer: 2.2miles

According to analysis by the UK’s top transport data mapping company, ITO world – based on the Guardian’s database of riot-related court records – the average distance from home to where defendants were accused of a riot offence was just over two miles, or a half hour walk.

If the most likely road route was taken into account, that distance rose to 2.6 miles.

That varies between cities – in Manchester, the average from home to offence location was 2.8 miles. In Birmingham, the average was 2.9 miles and in Nottingham, 2.6.

In London, people were closer to home: 1.5 miles in Peckham and 2.2 miles in Brixton. But those accused of riot-related offences in suburban Ealing and Croydon were 2.7 miles and 2.3 miles.”

Via the National Science Foundation (@NSF), using advanced sensor technologies (i.e. mobile accelerometers,, GPS, WiFI, Bluetooth, etc.) to track first responders INSIDE of buildings during disasters – aka the ‘holy grail’ of HLS/EM GEOINT since 9/11 -

http://t.co/ZieMvTJE

And once such sensors are deployed, note the compelling Google (Earth, Map, Latitude) foray into documenting INDOOR spaces at key sites (#CIKR) –

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-frontier-for-google-maps-mapping.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2011/12/05/google-indoor-mapping-at-malls-airports-creates-new-market/

Sunset Beach focuses wind, waves, reefs, and geography to make a great contest. Great to see the Hana trifecta of Ola, Hank, Monyca et al at the Vans World Cup of Surfing at #SunsetBeach Oahu HI and support sustainable clothing via Local Clothes (Cayucos CA) -

http://localclothes.com/?p=5946#ooid=5kY2wzMzr6DHiyF8MVrze3RfYGbEjULW

Here’s how to control the #paintball #battlespace using tablet computing, Twitter, GoogleEarth, and, of course, camo outerwear : ) -

Compelling ISW (Institute for the Study of War) video of the integrated, multi-scale (i.e. micro<>meso<>macro) use of structured and unstructured geospatial and WWW data to analyze the labyrinthine cultural, military and social forces which defined the various stages of the Libyan uprising and NATO response -

http://www.understandingwar.org/press-media/webcast/video-understanding-libyan-revolution-through-palantir

Along with a great map halfway through to address specious causality intrinsic to our Fordist, assembly-line, industrial education system, the ‘emancipation-through-creativity-and-technology’ message of this video makes it one of the most compelling I have seen …. enjoy

This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA’s Benjamin Franklin award.
For more information on Sir Ken’s work visit: http://www.sirkenrobinson.com