links for 2009-07-02
July 2, 2009 - Filed Under links
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With images from the L.A. Basin and the Himalayas. "The GDEM is produced with 30-meter (98-feet) postings, and is formatted as 23,000 one-by-one- degree tiles. The GDEM is available for download from NASA's EOS data archive and Japan's Ground Data System."
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"The previous digital elevation model, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, covered 80 percent of the Earth’s surface."
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"The new global digital elevation model of Earth was created from nearly 1.3 million individual stereo-pair images collected by the Japanese Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or Aster, instrument aboard Terra. NASA and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, known as METI, developed the data set. It is available online to users everywhere at no cost."
links for 2009-06-22
June 22, 2009 - Filed Under links
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A guide to the terms of classical and renaissance rhetoric.
links for 2009-06-17
June 17, 2009 - Filed Under links
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This is nothing new. But, it is a reminder that global climate change is very much here and not going away. I, for one, do not look forward to rain, rain and more Ohio rain and extra-irritated eyes.
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A new federal report on the already-visible effects of global climate change (as I've said before, it's a creeper, not Armageddon, but things are changing, like excess Midwest rain). Wired refers to this as a "surprisingly unchanged final version of a Bush-era report on global warming within our borders … It’s not just going to be animals and ecosystems that are impacted but human systems: roads, power production and health care."
We Are With You
June 15, 2009 - Filed Under citizen journalism, global, government, photographs, social media
- Pictures of protests in Iran and worldwide – Flickr set
- Juan Cole | Top Pieces of Evidence that the Iranian Presidential Election Was Stolen
- fivethirtyeight.com | Iran Does Have Some Fishy Numbers
- The Map Scroll | Reading The Geographical Tea Leaves In Iran – “Those don’t strike me as the sorts of events you’d expect to see following a fairly decided election.”
Writing At VizWorld
June 6, 2009 - Filed Under blogs & bloggers, computing & internet, mapping, new orleans, science & technology, visualization
As you all know, I love everything to do with the earth, from mantle rocks to surface maps, and computer visualization. With its varied interests and equally disparate readership, VatulBlog doesn’t seem like the place to post about my scientific interests, especially if I want to generate consistent discussion. So, when Randall Hand, senior editor of VizWorld.com, asked last week if I would write for the VizWorld blog, I eagerly accepted.
I have three pieces up so far: Challenges In Earth Science Visualization, Social Geography and Testing Map Warper Beta. Since I am not a hardcore hardware and graphics nerd (that would be Randall) but understand them enough to work with others to turn scientific ideas into reality, I will write about the latest in visualization techniques, conferences I attend, crazy experiments, i.e. how I broke Java, GoogleEarth or Blender today, and collaborations with other technologists and non-technologists. The best thing I’ve tested and written about to date is Map Warper Beta and how, in ten minutes yesterday, I used it to georeference an 1895 map of the French Quarter & Garden District of New Orleans and export it to Google Maps. Cool stuff, and I want to bring it to you, so you can do it, too.
Meanwhile, VatulBlog will chug along, with the usual Deep Thoughts and many, many plots of HinJew World Domination.
Where 2.0 Impressions
May 20, 2009 - Filed Under computing & internet, mapping, visualization
This week, I’m at the Where2.0 conference in San Jose, California. It’s all about making maps, now enabled by the web and mobile devices. If you really want to know what’s going on, search #where20 in Twitter. I’m surprised we’re not a trending topic given the internet-choking number of tweets coming out of here. What the hell is #woofwednesday and why is it a Top 10 trending topic?
While most everyone is going on about APIs and platforms, I am as always enthralled with novel ways to access and visualize data. In this arena, I’ve been impressed by the presented work of Stamen Design’s Maps From Scratch, Urban Mapping’s transit trees and animations (GORGEOUS stuff, but I can’t find pictures or videos online – if you do, please provide links in the comments) and Sense Networks’ CitySense 4D heatmaps. Other than being beautiful and innovative mapping techniques (which make you go “Wow, this data makes so much more sense viewed like that!”), they remind you not to be dependent on Google or another major map API to the point where you force your perception into accepting that there are only certain ways to view our world. In other words, let the data and relationships between that data dictate the map, rather than allow a pre-canned map define the data. Again, I’m all about (Open) standards, but let’s not standardize our way into a small dark box.
Also liked:
- Nokia’s Ovi Maps Beta with 2.5D buildings on faux (shaded) terrain. 3D structures on georeferenced 3D terrain, in my opinion, is the only way to understand built-up spaces in geographic context.
- Greater New Orleans Community Data Center’s Denice Ross and James Fee talk on how junk mail and the geoweb helped a tally of post-Katrina repopulation numbers. Denice’s advice: Create metadata-rich & usable maps which present correct information that matter to locals.
- Grand vizier Jack Dangermond’s talk on online mapping enabling the government into transparency, accountability and coughing up data.
- Matthew Ericson, deputy graphics director at The New York Times, showing us how they made some of my favorite 2008 presidential election RedState-BlueState maps.
Dude, Velodyne Lidar demo with Radiohead’s House Of Cards laser! Gotta go.
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