Maps, GIS and Random Geospatial Matters

Easily Export ArcGIS Attribute Table to CSV

2012-12-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

For many ArcGIS users, exporting an attribute table to a .csv file or excel format file is a common part of their workflow. Unfortunately, exporting to either of these formats has never been a core functionality of ArcGIS. To overcome this you typically have had two choices: write a script using third party libraries or bgo through multiple steps exporting to something like a .txt file and converting it to .csv or .xls.

However, there is a little shortcut you can take to quickly export your data to .csv right from the attribute table.

From the table, click Export.
Under "Output Table" browse to the folder you want to put your .csv file in, save type as .txt and enter a name for your output.
If the '.txt' extension is present in the name the tool will output a normal text file of your data. If, however, your name does not include the '.txt' extension then your output will be a .csv file by default.

This was done with Microsoft Excel installed. I don't know what the outcome would be if you only had something like OpenOffice installed or no spreadsheet software at all. If anyone has any experience with this feel free to let everyone know in the comments.

4 Essential Maps to Have in an Emergency

2012-09-21T05:03:00.001-07:00

September is National Emergency Preparedness month. Every year throughout the United States there are fires, floods, storms, earthquakes, industrial accidents and even explosions. Sometimes these situations are contained to a small locality where they are easily managed. Other times, emergencies cover large geographic areas and impact the lives of thousands of people. Maps, imagery and GIS have become increasingly important in preparation for and management of emergency situations at federal, state and local levels.

But geospatial tools in an emergency are not just for organizations like FEMA and public safety departments. Individuals have access today to numerous map resources and they could be using them as insurance in the event that a natural or man made disaster should strike in their area. Below are four maps that could give you the upper hand in such a situation.

Home Floor Plan

Every home needs an evacuation plan. A simple pencil sketch of your house will do as you really just need to show the walls and where doors are located. If you want to get more detailed you could use an online floor plan creator like Autodesk Homestyler. Homestyler lets you build detailed, multi-level, 3D floor plans of your home’s interior.

Current Printed Street Map

Google Maps are great for finding the shortest distance by road between locations. Along with other mapping applications like Bing Maps and MapQuest, Google Maps are a good first choice for routing yourself or others to safety. However, you always have to remember that in an emergency situation, Internet and/or cell reception could be disrupted. For this reason, among others, having a printed street map of the city you live in and the surrounding area is a good idea.

Street maps can often be purchased through organizations like AAA or in many gas stations located near the entrances to your city. The local chamber of commerce or visitor center often has maps for free or a low price or they can give you further advice on where to go to get a map. It is true that it is getting harder and harder to find good printed paper maps these days but they are still out there.

Safety Map

Maps are great if you know where you want to go. But in an emergency, unless you have a destination in mind of where you can find help or can meet up with loved ones, a map just shows you many ways to nowhere. At Safety-maps.org you can take care of the problem.

Safety Maps is a free online tool that helps you plan for this situation. You can use it to choose a safe meeting place, print a customized map that specifies where it is, and share this map with your loved ones.

Safety-maps.org is a great site that is simple to use but serves a great purpose. Making a safety map is extremely easy. You just search for the area you live in (I used a zip code), position a green cross hair on the place designated for meeting and type a message or directions. Then you create your map and print it. You can fold several copies of the map for different people in your family so each will have one no matter where they are or what the situation.

US Road Map

Having a major roads map (or a US road atlas) can help you relocate once you are out of your local area if you need to evacuate quickly. A national level map is also handy for determining the location of disasters outside of your area. Rand McNally is one of the best known makers of quality road atlases.

There you go, four maps that could mean the difference in surviving an emergency situation. Are you prepared? Are there any you would add?

Could GIS be Killing You?

2012-09-07T05:19:00.000-07:00

If you are a GIS professional there is a good possibility that you are slowly shaving time off your lifespan. What is this malady you might ask, and can it be prevented by moving to open source? If only it were that simple. You see, the problem is sitting.

Several studies have shown that sitting for long periods of time can increase a person’s chances of dying from a heart attack by more than 50%. That is a scary fact that should get you thinking about what you can do to prevent it. Here are a couple of things you can do right now to reduce the risks associated with a sedentary job:

Stand up! At least try to as much as possible. While the effects of sitting can be cumulative, interrupting your sitting periods can be beneficial.
Use a standing desk. If you are in a work environment that will permit it, standing to do your work can make you feel better, make you burn more calories and of course, take care of the sitting is bad for you problem. If the cost of a standing desk is not something your employer will consider, you can always raise your monitors and keyboard with books or other objects.
If you are stuck using a regular desk you can always use a pedal bike under the desk. This will keep your legs moving and blood circulating. Your rate of calorie burning will increase as well.
Sit on an exercise ball. They are great for strengthening the lower back and you can always fall back into a couple of sit-ups when the fancy strikes.
Collect GIS field data. If GPS data collection is part of your organization’s workflow, see if you can add that into your schedule a couple of times a week. You will be moving, burning calories and staying healthy.
Exercise at your desk. You can red this DIYLife article to get some great ideas for keeping your body in motion throughout the day.

The lesson to take away from this is to keep moving. Regardless of you office situation there are probably things you can do to put a little motion into your day.

For a visual treat, check out the following infographic from Medical Billing and Coding. It distinctly points out the dangers of sitting too long.

Via: Medical Billing And Coding

AFCEA Tracks Geospatial Intelligence

2012-09-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving military, government, academia and private industry. The association's name centers on communications and electronics but under this broad umbrella are many varied disciplines and professional fields represented.

One such field is information systems technology. The April 2012 issue of SIGNAL, AFCEA's monthly news magazine takes a closer look at geospatial information systems and their impact on today's intelligence gathering efforts. While the articles in the current issue focus on the use of GIS for military intelligence gathering, they are useful for GIS users in all GIS communities. Developments, technologies and trends that begin at a national level often morph into public oriented applications that benefit downstream users. You can read the current issue of SIGNAL online and discover the other free tools AFCEA offers of their we site like their blog and e-newsletter.

Membership in AFCEA was once the privilege only of members of the military. Today, anyone with an interest in technology can join and take advantage of benefits like networking opportunities, educational discounts and product discounts through Dell and HP.

I have been a member of AFCEA for over four years now and consider it a top notch professional organization. Check it out and let me know what you think.

When GIS Becomes a Chore

2012-07-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a week-long trip to one of the last corners of Colorado without smoke filling the air. It was a great time of rock hunting, gold panning, hiking and just spending time with family.

In a typical work-week I will be on the computer for around eleven hours a day, however, throughout the entire week in Colorado I never went on a computer. On the drive back home the realization of how much I did not want to go back to it hit me.

It’s not that GIS work or following blogs and social media are not enjoyable activities because they are. The mix of logical problem solving through analysis and the creativity of cartography are hard to beat in any career field. I enjoy designing useful tools and providing engaging and helpful products for my employer. I also have a good time writing RyanRandom.com and keeping up with other blogs and Twitter.

The problem is that my job and online activites at home have become either boring and routine or overly time consuming. It is easy to fall into the routine of data maintenance at the day job which can make it seem boring or monotonous. Of course there really is data to maintain but my workplace is an environment that encourages innovation and learning. I need to capitalize on this.

When I get home I feel the need to throw myself into extra online activities (perhaps to compensate for my lack of interest at the office?). But what I usually end up doing is reading blogs more than writing them or just lurking places instead of being productive. When I do this I am wasting time that could be spent better elsewhere like with my family, learning a new skill or even getting enough rest.

So what can be done about a situation like this? I came up with the two lists below to help. The first list of five actions will be applied to my work situation. The second list of five actions are things that can be done at home to still be productive without being destructive.

On the Job:

Find new angles to attack problems and try to incorporate new tools that can accomplish the task in a different way. There is no reason to be bored doing what I am doing even if some of my tasks are repetitive.
Improve my cartography skills. No matter how effective your maps seem today, there is always room for improvement. There is a ton of great advice out there on improving cartography skill like GIS Cartography: A Guide to Effective Map Design by Gretchen Peterson.
Start scripting and automating more with Python. Also, learn more programming languages that could make working easier and more fun.
Participate more in the GIS community to gain insight and help from others.
Utilize blogs and Twitter to solve more technical problems rather than stewing over them longer.

At Home:

Put God and family first when I get home. The kids will only be the age they are now, right now. Spending time doing what matters most should be my priority; if it’s online, it does not matter most.
Spend less time on the computer but accomplish more. Become more productive.
Make goals before sitting down to work and get off the computer when done.
Move slower and stop trying to do so much. You do not need to wear your body and mind out to be productive.
Get more sleep and exercise.

Does anybody else suffer from work boredom and self-overwork at home? What are some of your solutions? I would love to hear them.

Why Globes Aren’t Popular But Should Be

2012-06-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

Globes are fascinating geographic instruments. They give a proportionately accurate view of the earth allowing for a better understanding of the relationships between various land areas and water bodies.

While paper maps and on-screen digital maps can give much more detail about large scale areas of the earth, the globe gives an accurate representation of earth’s features at a very small scale. Nevertheless one rarely sees globes anymore today. Few classrooms have one to teach students about the planet they live on. Fewer still are found in homes.

There are several reasons for the disappearance of the globe from society.

Quality globes are expensive

You can pick up a fairly cheap one at WalMart or Target but to get a high quality one that will last many years and the annotation can be read clearly you might have to spend up to $150 or more.

Globes are difficult to update

World data can change. Place names and spellings do not stay the same forever. Updating a globe basically means buying a new one so the expense and effort do not always seem worth it. Some globe manufacturers offer a globe update program. These programs offer a discount if the globe you bought from them is within a certain warranty period.

Digital globes are prevalent

Google Earth can give a more versatile 3D model of the earth’s surface by serving updated data and more of it. Google Earth is free and it does not take up any room.

The question remains, are there any reasons why someone would want to still own a globe? I contend there are at least four good reasons for buying one:

1. A tactile 3D earth is one of the best ways for someone to learn about the relationships between places on the earth. It can be difficult to conceptualize what is meant by terms like “the other side of the earth” or “the land down under”. On a globe it becomes obvious. Seeing a spherical object rotating on an axis is still a most effective learning tool.

2. They look cool in an office or a library. Nothing says geography professional like a quality globe.

3. Globes make it easier to understand the concepts of latitude and longitude. Lines of latitude and longitude are measured in angular degrees from the center of the earth. Understanding this is not easy on a flat paper map.

4. Globes add a certain style to rooms. You can choose decorative globes that look vintage, modern, dark, light, large, small, nautical themed or covered with animal pictures for children. You can even find globes of the moon or ones that show constellations and glow in the dark.

Whatever your reason for buying a globe rest assured it will get used. There is just something about the things that make you want to touch them, spin them and admire them. Although they might not be the first thing one thinks about when geography is mentioned these days, globes are still a great and valuable tool for everyone.

National Adjustment of 2011 - What Does it Mean For You?

2012-05-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) has been working for over a year now to adjust the NAD83 datum with what is called the National Adjustment of 2011 or NA2011. How much adjustment are we talking about here? If you guessed only about two centimeters, you would be right on the money.

So why are the NGS geodesists working so hard for such a small change and is it worth the potential problems it could cause users of NAD83? It turns out the reasoning behind the adjustments are sound and will be a benefit to the future of surveying and GPS usage.

The main advantage of the NA2011 is that it will tie together and align passive(in ground monuments) and active(CORS) control stations throughout the United States. There are roughly 80,000 passive control marks that will be effectively brought into the modern system.

It is important to remember that this is not a new datum (that will be coming in about ten years); It is an adjustment of the current NAD83 datum. However, there will be a new geoid model (Geoid12) as a result of the changes. Of course this new hybrid geoid will not be developed until after the NA2011.

Fun stuff! The projected completion date for the adjustment is June 30, 2012 so it could be just around the corner. Of course they had originally planned on completing it before the end of 2011 but maybe this time they will be on schedule. If you want more information about the NA2011 you can visit the NGS web site.

Another Tool in the Box: National Geographic's MapMaker Interactive

2012-05-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to playing with National Geographic's MapMaker Interactive application on the organization's education site. As a GIS analyst with two young boys I am always interested in tools that can help teach them about geography or GIS. The MapMaker tool helps teach both of these.

The interface is built on the ArcGIS framework using the ArcGIS API for flex. It features eight base maps to choose from including National Geographic view, satellite view, streets view and oceans view. There are also six themes (with related sub-themes) such as water, land, climate and population, that help users turn out handsome looking maps quickly.

The drawing tools are very user-friendly and include only six basic tools. In addition to these, there is a "markers" tab that provides 30 different symbols representing vegetation, structures and events. You choose between three different marker sizes then drag and drop the marker where you want the point to be located.

Other than looking at the prefabricated themes or measuring distances between locations there is really no analysis that can be done with this map. However, the tool is called MapMaker, not MapAnalyzer, and is geared toward kids so one really cannot complain.

While kids might be the target audience of the MapMaker, its simplicity lends itself to be used by adults who are not GIS savvy but might want to make a quick and authoritative looking map for a manager or client.

The National Geographic education site is still in Beta at the time of this post so there are still a few issues with the tools acting buggy. It would also be great to see a PDF export option and a way to retain measurement annotation as a permanent part fo the map. Those are just minor complaints though and the functionality may well change as the web site goes through and comes out of Beta.

Overall this is a great tool to use for basic mapping or teaching about geography and geographic information systems. Head over to the site and give it a try. You might find that you have another free tool that you can use to make a quick one-off presentation map or you can recommend it to a non-GIS user who wants to play cartographer.

Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act is Misguided

2012-04-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

There are nine core academic subjects in the No Child Left Behind Act. Of the nine, only geography doesn't have its own federal funding stream. Since 2008, geography advocates have petitioned the federal government for just such a stream, in part by supporting what is called the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act. There is a reason why this act has been introduced and subsequently died in two previous congresses - It is not good legislation.

Out of 15 potential uses for the funds identified within the Act, only a few reference clear, actionable uses. The rest consist of "promoting", "strengthening", "encouraging" or "supporting" vague notions including "academic standards", applying GIS to teaching, and "research". What does that actually mean?

The language of the Act creates a grant of $75,000,000 spread over five years but fails to designate concrete uses of that money. The Act basically throws money at an issue expecting the issue to then resolve itself. Of course, this should surprise no one since the government's response to most problems is to appropriate funds. Educators should know better than to see this as a solution but it becomes difficult to see beyond the potential of receiving money, regardless of its dubious origins.

Activists could better spend their time trying to get rid of legislation like the No Child Left Behind Act so we can stop teaching based on federal mandates and standardized tests and go back to student based teaching.

What Makes GIS Interesting?

2012-04-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

Geospatial technologies do not exist for their own sake. The real power of geospatial technology is in its ability to solve problems in other disciplines. GIS is not a tool that is applied to the GIS industry. Rather, it is a tool to be applied to geology, engineering, aviation, logistics, gardening, personal navigation, intelligence, real estate... the list goes on and on.

It is rare that an industry today is not touched by some form of location based technology or GIS. It is this interplay between geospatial technology and the multitude ways of consuming and utilizing it that makes it so exciting.

NGA GEOnet Names Server Ensures Uniform Place Names

2012-04-16T05:11:00.000-07:00

If you work with international GIS data you know how important it is to have standards for place and region names. Many governments maintain stability in place names so they rarely change but there are always plenty of exceptions. Furthermore, spellings often have variations based on translations and dialect making it difficult to put an official name to a place, let alone have it be uniform across multiple applications.

Thankfully, there is the GEOnet Names Server (GNS) maintained by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The GNS contains over 5 million geo-located features and more than 8 million feature names. Updated weekly, the GNS database provides its data through several means including an OGC web map service graphical interface, a text-based interface and a data download page.

NGA's Name server viewer

So, whether you are designing and building an international geodatabase or you are just interested in place names, the GNS is the authoritative place to go. Bear in mind that the GEOnet Names Server is only for locations outside the United States. For official names within the United States see the US Board on Geographic Names.

The Map Was Alive with the Sound of Earthquakes

2012-04-09T20:56:00.002-07:00

I recently saw a tweet highlighting a Youtube video showing 2011 earthquakes as a dynamic time lapse map. You can check out the video below:

During the 9 minute video of a single map, the viewer is shown various sized rings at each epicenter location. The ring's size is dependent on the magnitude of the quake.

This in itself might not make for an exciting video. What captures your attention is the addition of sound corresponding to each earthquake presented. Each time one of the quake rings appear the map makes a short click. As the magnitude increases, so does the volume of the click. The video moves quickly covering days in just seconds and revealing the hundreds of earthquakes each month throughout the world.

It is profoundly disquieting and surprising when you see and hear the March quake near Japan that caused the tsunami and subsequent nuclear meltdown that is still affecting the people of Japan.

One could easily interpret the map with only its visual symbology but having sound represent an attribute of each quake represented by the ring symbol gives the destructive reality of high magnitude quakes more realism. It just made me wonder what the future might hold for sound symbol integration in GIS. Is there any point? Would there be any widespread application?

Maintaining Relevance as a GIS Professional

2012-04-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

Technology changes rapidly. It seems like there is a new version of some device or software presented daily. GIS technology is no exception to this rapid change. While currently employed GIS professionals are usually in their position because their skill set matches the needs of the employer, keeping up with industry development can help you stay relevant. The best way to keep a position or move higher in a company is to be the expert in your field who is able to answer questions and solve problems that others cannot.

In today’s economy, no job is 100% secure. Businesses might downsize, shift focus or close altogether. This could leave a GIS analyst looking for another place to ply their trade. Or, perhaps you are a technician hoping to land a higher level GIS position. In either case would you be current enough with your GIS skills to land the new job?

How can you stay abreast of the constant changes in technology and know what changes you should be focused on to improve your skill set? It is easy to get overwhelmed by the number of software systems, tools, languages, platforms and technology uses there are out there. One way to keep up is to follow blogs (industry and individual) and relevant web sites. The idea here would be to learn about the latest and greatest innovations as they emerge. The problem with this approach is that not every new technology, tool or update will be utilized industry-wide (if at all). One would need to follow too many blogs and sites to get a broad view of the industry. Following blogs can still be a useful tactic, however, for keeping up with specific subjects.

I have found the best way to maintain currency across the GIS board is to study job postings. Even if you are not looking for a job, postings give you detailed insight into what GIS employers are interested in and what they are expecting out of their personnel. It really does not matter what software producers are developing. What matters is what businesses are using and how they are using it.

I make it a practice to search job boards on a regular basis. I am not looking for another position but for insight on how to be better in my current position. I find the best boards for doing this kind of research are the Geospatial Jobs Clearinghouse and Indeed.com. I start by searching for job titles that closely match my own. Then I simply read through the body of the listings and look for trends in the position requirements. The good news is that employers tend to structure their position details the same way every time. It usually looks something like this:

Company overview
Position Description
Requirements
Preferred experience

While the requirements section is probably the most important you should also pay close attention to the preferred experience section. These are the skillsets that can set you apart from the rest of the crowd. Most GIS professionals will have the typical requirements of a degree, experience using desktop GIS software and good communication skills. Those who have specialized skills like scripting/programming languages, photogrammetry, web design or database design will be in more demand. Specialized skills might not be mandated for a position but employers will see you as more valuable to their organization if you have them.

There are many ways to try and keep current with your profession. Whatever method you choose, remember that those who advance their knowledge and skills along with associated industry changes are the most likely to stay useful to their employer and outshine others in their field.

Letterboxing as an Introduction to Navigation and Location

2012-03-12T21:33:00.000-07:00

Letterboxing is an old activity, somewhat related to both geocaching and orienteering. It involves navigating from a given starting point to a cached box containing a log book and a rubber stamp. Navigation consists of anything from following riddles and printed clues to compass directions and distances.

The low-tech nature of letterboxing is one of its attractions. You do not have to have a GPS device or any specialized equipment. A compass is really all you might need.

Once a letterbox is found, the letterboxer uses the stamp in the box to mark his log book and marks the box’s log book with his stamp. Each letterboxer also comes up with a trail name. The trail name coincides with your stamp identity and allows others to follow your hunts. Here is a picture of the stamps I made with the family. The cat is our family stamp and the snake is one my son drew for himself. I carved both of them out of a $1.26 art gum eraser.

Many letterboxers carve their own stamps. Here are my not so artistic attempts

Once my seven year old son caught on that letterboxing was like going on a treasure hunt, he was easily convinced to learn the skills necessary to find the boxes. It only took him a minute to learn how to shoot a rough azimuth with my compass. I wrote out some basic directions including azimuths and number of paces from point to point throughout the house. He was successful in navigating through the house and finding a couple of baseball cards I had hidden for him.

I see letterboxing as a great way to introduce my younger children to the world of land navigation and location awareness. It might help them later to appreciate geocaching and orienteering which I would love to get them involved in.

The best place to find out more about letterboxing is Letterboxing.org. The site details history, etiquette, materials needed and rules of the game. More importantly it provides a list of letterbox cache sites and the instructions to find them. If there are no locations for your area, by all means go out and create some.

5 Nifty Mapping Sites From StumbleUpon This Week

2012-03-10T09:47:00.001-08:00

StumbleUpon is a great site for finding web sites and blogs you might not otherwise come across. Of course many well known sites are there as well.

In my perusals I came across the following five mapping/GIS sites that I thought were interesting.

FlashEarth - Here is a nifty little satellite imagery viewing application. Flash Earth is refreshing because it does not look like Google Earth. Yes, it is flash based and it pulls its imagery data from Microsoft and Yahoo.

Wikimapia - Yep, it's a Google Map powered wiki. Launched in 2006 there are over 15,000,000 places already marked. You can use the site for free and anyone can upload information without registering.

Maps Of War - Another flash based map site Maps of War is a collection of maps having to do with wars and war related subjects.

IRIS Seismic Monitor - The Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology is a consortium of universities that aquire, manage and distribute seismological data. The Seismic Monitor is the geospatial mapping application they use for the distribution. The application is not perfect. You can only zoom to a small scale view of an area but the information is interesting. Play around with it and see what you think.

Worldology.com - Interactive geopolitical maps focused largely on Europe. While the site does not yet cover a large portion of the earth, the site's creator intends to expand his project worldwide.

Please Don't Be "The Map Guy"

2012-03-04T17:56:00.000-08:00

It never ceases to amaze me how many GIS professionals feel the need to brand themselves "The Map Guy". If you could collect a business card from everyone at a GIS conference you would find maybe a quarter of them with "The Map Guy!" printed below their name. It's not a bad tag line for someone who makes maps but for goodness sake, it's been done.

Of course it does no good to complain about something unless you can come up with an alternative. Here are a few business card ready tags you can use to show yourself to be a unique member of the GIS community:

The Ace of Maps
The Map Ninja
The CartoWarrior
The GeoGiant
Not To Scale
The Carto Kid
The Human Projection
Thematic and Proud
The Mad Mapper
CartoManiac
And my favorite - The Original Geographer

There, see? Now there are no more excuses for following the crowd. Now go out and be someone different, and no, "The Map Man" Doesn't count.

6 Ways to Squeeze More GIS Juice From Your Budget

2012-03-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

We all love working for an organization with deep GIS pockets. When there is a fat budget you can afford to buy more toys, upgrade the toys you already have and generally keep up with technology.

Our current economy, however, has impacted even the biggest budgets like that of the Federal government and most state and local ones too. Private companies have not been immune either.

There are ways to grow your geospatial program though. You just have to become a little more creative in how you approach your acquisitions. Following are six ways an underfunded GIS team can thrive in a down economy.

Ask your software vendor for an upgrade. Most software companies work to constantly improve their products. When they compile enough changes they will release a new version. Find out if your current maintenance schedule already includes new versions. Even if your maintenance agreement has expired or you never had one, you might be entitled to an upgrade to the next version after the one you bought.
Learn scripting to automate your processes. They say time is money. If this is true then learning a relevant scripting language can be worth its weight in gold. One useful and popular language in the GIS world is Python. Python can be used not only for scripting but for full blown product development. It is easy to learn and there are plenty of resources out there to help you utilize it. ArcGIS 10 is probably the most widely used GIS platform supporting Python but the free and open source Quantum GIS does as well.
Speaking of free and open source.... If your organization is open to open source software and free products on their network, you should definitely look into it. If you can only afford to maintain a few paid seats of ArcGIS you could augment your holdings with the previously mentioned free and open source Quantum GIS (QGIS). QGIS can read and write Shapefiles and PostGIS data, both of which can be utilized in ArcGIS. Products such as Google Earth, MapQuest, and Open Street Map can also be powerful geospatial tools and can either augment your current software or in some cases replace it. Some of these software products even provide development APIs to create your own custom tools. It all depends on what your mission is.
Ask your local college for help. Do you need to be freed up to pursue important projects that have been languishing? Utilize your local GIS students for digitizing, GPS location and more. Talk to the head of your local college GIS program about hiring students as interns. You can typically pay them a lot less than a regular hire but still get great results. They get the benefit of experience; you get the benefit of accomplishing more in budget.
Mine the internet for free data. There is always the fear that data from the internet is inaccurate or outdated. That is certainly true in some cases but there is plenty of quality low cost or free data to be had. A few examples of quality (usually) data providers include federal, state, county and city governments, special districts such as utilities and university data repositories. Check to see if the data has associated metadata available. This will tell you if you are working with quality or if you should be looking elsewhere for your needs.
Buy used equipment. If you are in need of new data collection equipment (GPS receivers or survey equipment), data manipulation equipment (computers), or data output equipment (plotters and printers) eBay could be your answer. The online auction site is still going strong and offers just about anything imaginable. Try creating a custom search for the items you are looking for and keeping watch for great deals. You can determine the price you are able to spend and then start bidding. This might take a little longer than traditional purchasing methods but the cost savings can be worth it.

Even if your GIS team is on a shoestring budget there are many ways to maximize output and proficiency while staying on top of current GIS trends. As shown above, open source and free products are widespread and in many cases perform just as well if not better than their proprietary and fee based brethren. There are also plenty of ways to find help and equipment at prices lower than you might normally pay. Do you have suggestions of other ways to save money while growing your GIS presence? Leave a comment and let me know.

Gardengraphic Information Systems – How Maps and Data Help Gardens Succeed

2012-02-24T05:42:00.001-08:00

Spring will soon be upon us and gardeners of all stripes will begin pruning landscapes and planting vegetables. The National Gardening Association reports that gardeners spent nearly $3 billion in 2011 on food gardening alone. With this much money being spent (not to mention the amount of time) to grow produce or create beautiful landscapes, it stands to reason that most gardeners would appreciate any advantage they could get to make their efforts fruitful.

Modern mapping and GIS is just such an advantage. With a computer and an internet connection, today's gardener has at his fingertips a wealth of information to help make decisions about things like plant selection, date of last frost and possible blight. The following are just a few of the sites a tech savvy gardener might consider consulting before sliding his spade through the topsoil. Taken together they form what I like to call my Gardengraphic Information System.

The USDA Hardiness Zone Map is probably the best known of the maps listed here. It is used by gardeners and farmers nation-wide as a general guide for selecting plants that will thrive in a given location. The map is divided into zones that depict average annual minimum winter temperatures. When you go to purchase plants or seed packets you will often see what zone the plant is recommended for. The 2012 hardiness zone map is available for download but is now also available as an interactive map that can be searched by zip code.

While knowing the hardiness zone that you live in is important, it can be equally important to determine when frost might begin appearing in the garden in the Fall. The Better Homes and Gardens First AutumnFrost Map might help do just that. While the map is not very precise, it can give a general window for the gardener to keep watch on the temperature.

Another USDA map useful to the gardener is the soil survey map. The map provides soil data and information for more than 95% of the counties in the United States. The soil in an individual's home garden will likely be slightly different than what is found in the map but the survey will describe the major soil types for a given area. This can be extremely helpful to the gardener who is trying to decide how to best amend his soil for the type of planting he intends to do.

USDA Soil Survey

USAblight is “a national project on Late Blight of tomatoes and potato in the United States”. Tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetables grown in US gardens. It is easy to see why this disease is an important one to track. Late blight was the cause of the Irish potato famine in 1845. USAblight uses a Google map to show reported incidences of Late Blight. The map can be checked to track outbreaks or to report one.

Just to emphasize the importance of Late Blight, uspest.org has designed their own Google powered blight risk map. This one displays not only reported outbreaks but risk conditions throughout the US. Other maps available for use on this site include Daily degree-day accumulation modeling maps and a Page with Weather, Plant Disease Risk and Degree-Day/Phenology models.

Again the USDA provides a useful application that the gardener can leverage for his own use. The PLANTS database provides information about a variety of plants found throughout the United States. The most significant category for the knowledgeable gardener might be on the topic of cover crops. Clicking on this link will bring up a list of cover crops. The user can click on the plant's name and be taken to an interactive map showing US states and counties. Clicking on your state will show whether that cover crop is native or naturalized. Much more data than this is also presented about your selected plant in a non-spatial format. This database also has fact sheets, guides, culturally significant and alternative crops data and information about invasive and noxious weeds.

Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in the United States. It is also one that can directly benefit from GIS technology. If you have a green thumb I highly recommend spending a few minutes checking out some of the above resources. If you know of any other sites that would help gardeners be more efficient or more productive, leave a comment below and let me know what they are.

Update 2/25/2012:

The good folks at Hampton Hollow Farm ( @HHollowFarm ) pointed out that they use AgSquared, an online farm planning and management software package, to run their organic vegetable farm in Nova Scotia. According to the AgSquared website the software allows you to create a "Farm Plan" which includes an interactive field layout mapping tool. You can also manage your farm's schedule, keep year to year records, plan harvests and generate reports. The software looks powerful and was designed for small farms but even the home gardener could benefit from its use. The software's regular price is only $60 per year making it affordable even for hobbyists.

Are Paper Maps Dying?

2012-02-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

With all of the visualization technology we have available, why do we still find it necessary to print maps? With desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets, it would seem that paper map production should be all but extinct. This does not seem to be the case though.

Technology has broadened our access to maps we previously could not obtain and created new mapping products that we might not have even considered before the popularization of personal GIS.

Likewise, when Kindles and later Nooks first started appearing it was said they would herald the demise of the printed and bound book. We have certainly seen plenty of bookstores go out of business over the last few years but the last time I was in Barnes and Noble there were plenty of books still to be found.

So why do we continue to print what we can simply view instantly and continuously? Here are a few reasons why paper maps are not going away any time soon:

Paper maps do not freeze up or run out of batteries. A GeoPDF on your tablet is a great tool. It becomes somewhat less effective when your tablet is not working properly.
Cost of new devices can be an issue. This is becoming less a factor as technology becomes cheaper and plotters, ink and paper prices stay the same or rise. Technology is still a new investment for many organizations, though.
Paper maps give the big picture. There is only so much of a map that one can fit on a computer screen without having to reduce its on-screen size. It is easier for the brain to process a map of fixed size than to readjust its spatial understanding with a zoom.
Physical maps are easy to share. A paper map can be passed between several people without worrying about computer access, having the right program installed, formatting and compatibility.
Humans still desire tangible and tactile things. A paper map has an aesthetic that appeals to the human need for real things.

Let me know what you think about the future of map media.

Free GIS Data – Ten Favorite Sources

2012-02-14T05:33:00.000-08:00

GIS data is everywhere. Some you have to pay for but much of it is free and widely available like at the sites below. Doing a search for free GIS data will yield some of the data sources I mention here. Locating other sources just takes a little digging. Almost all of these sites are from the U.S. government so the datasets are largely nationwide.

GIS Data Depot - Large data holding in various formats from various sources.
USDA Geospatial Data Gateway - Environmental and natural resources Data including imagery
BLM Internet Sites - List of BLM sites hosting a variety of public lands data. Some state specific data
U.S. Department of Transportation - Transportation data sets and links to other GIS data sources
National Park Service - Interactive data search map. Data provided in .csv or .xlsx formats
EPA - Environmental Dataset Gateway
USGS - High res orthoimagery downloads from the Seamless Data Warehouse
FEMA - Emergency and disaster datasets in formats including KMZ, shp, and geoRSS
Census - TIGER products including data up to 2011
NOAA Vents Program - Great resource for Bathymetric GIS datasets related to hydrothermal vents

Other great sources for free GIS data include city, county and state websites. Pages likely to include useful geospatial data include departments of transportation, departments of wildlife and county assessor’s offices.

Many government entities centralize their GIS data repositories. Others will distribute the data to the various departments they pertain to. With a little bit of site searching you should come up with whatever you are looking for.

Getting Your Bearing In A Digital World

2012-02-08T21:40:00.000-08:00

There is no doubt we live in a geospatial age. We are inundated with location based data wherever we turn. While some mapping applications like OpenStreetMap appeal to targeted users, others such as Google maps, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps and MapQuest are main stream and are accessed by millions of users every day. But are people any more spatially aware of surroundings even with these tools and GPS units in every car and smartphone?

North is up there

I run into people all the time who can follow a GPS that says turn right on Smith street but couldn’t tell you what directions Smith street runs to save their lives. It could be said that we are actually losing our directional abilities. Google maps doesn't even give bearing throughout your route. There is only one bearing at the beginning of the directions. The rest of your route is made up of “Left”, “Right”, and “Take Exit…”

Okay, so what? If we have the tools to get us from point A to point B, why should we care if our driving map has a compass rose on it? Well, here are three reasons I think directional aptitude is still important:

Mapping technology is unreliable. Online maps are only as good as the data human beings put into them.
Data may not always be available. Even with mobile technology there are times when digital maps and directions will not be at your fingertips. Batteries die, charging cables are forgotten and phones are left behind on counters.
Having your bearing is a safety issue. Knowing your location relative to another location can be a matter of safety. Emergency services can find you easier if they know you are north or south of a particular intersection.

So how can directionaly challenged individuals build back their sense of bearing? Here are three things that might help:

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Knowing just this piece of information can help a person get their bearing for a good portion of the day. Face a rising sun and west is behind you , north is to your left and south is to your right. With practice, directional orientation will become second nature.
In town, pay attention to N,S,E,W on street signs. That paired with increasing or decreasing block numbers will give you a direction.
Get in the habit of using paper maps. You will remember street names and landmarks in relation to a map’s compass rose.

Modern computer mapping has revolutionized our world today. While the internet and geospatial technologies are indispensable in much of our daily lives they have also taken away some of our ability to think for ourselves. Fortunately it is not difficult to reclaim that lost territory.

Using Pinterest to Catalog Online Maps

2012-02-03T05:32:00.000-08:00

What is Pinterest?

Cartographers and GIS users are often visual by nature. Pinterest is a tool that allows the visually minded to capitalize on images posted throughout the web. In a nutshell, Pinterest allows a user to “pin” images, found on the web, to virtual pin boards. These pin boards are organized by topic and the images you save to them link back to the original page they were found on.

Here are a couple of my pin boards I use for geospatial images and maps

Pinterest is sometimes thought of as a social network for women interested in home décor or fashion or recipes. To be honest, I first head about the site from my wife who has a food blog. When I saw what you can do with the site, however, I knew I had found a great resource for organizing, saving, and enjoying maps found online. Of course I don't use it only for maps. I use it to inventory anything of visual interest that I come across including food, clothing and various hobby interests. That, incidentally, is how the site got its name. Users pin their interests.

The social aspect of Pinterest comes with its follow and re-pin functions. This allows you to view images saved by others with similar interests. I have searched Pinterest and while there are a few maps here and there, the geospatial and cartographic communities have yet to really discover the site.

How to Use Pinterest

As of this blog post Pinterest is available as an invite only network. If you know someone who has an account you can get them to send you an email invite. Otherwise, you can use the Request an Invite button on the log in page.

You can request an invite at Pinterest.com

After receiving an invite and signing up for the site you will be prompted to install a “Pin It” button extension for your browser. When you are visiting a page with images on it, you can click the Pin It button which gives you the option of pinning some or all of the images found. You can add the images to any board in your Pinterest profile or create a new custom board right then. In addition to the image you are asked to provide a description of the pin.

Users are given several default boards when they sign up. These can be deleted or renamed and new boards can be created. This benefits the cartography connoisseur by providing a framework in which to categorize and link to maps found while perusing the web.

Conclusion

The goal of most social networking communities is to interact and converse on topics of interest. Pinterest is no different and is perfect for those of us with geospatial interests. I have only just begun to utilize the site and hope to see my virtual pin boards grow throughout the year. Let me know what you think of Pinterest as a tool for geospatial users. If you decide to join you can

Update:

The more I use Pinterest and engage with the community, the more geospatially oriented folks I find including Big Map Blog who recently started following my pins.

The KidsRuby 1.0 Adventure

2012-01-21T18:12:00.000-08:00

Today my seven-year-old son and I embarked on a mission to learn how to program with KidsRuby 1.0. Before ever hearing of KidsRuby my son had expressed interest in programming so he could create games.

I use Python on a regular basis and had considered using the language to teach programming basics. However, there are few resources specifically for teaching Python (or any language) to kids out there. Those resources that do exist for kids are not well developed. That is why I was very excited when I discovered KidsRuby through Twitter (@kidsruby).

The KidsRuby 1.0 environment seems like a great way to get started with the Ruby language. It includes a code editor, a help tab with Ruby lessons and an output area where you can interact with your code.

This was my first experience with the Ruby language so as I go through the tutorials with my son I will be learning too. So far I am encouraged that my son has put in several hours learning with KidsRuby and keeps asking to do more. I have to pull him off the laptop so he can take a rest. As we get further into our studies I will post updates on our progress.

Add Custom Color Ramps To ArcGIS From The ESRI Mapping Center

2012-01-17T05:45:00.000-08:00

This post references ESRI ArcGIS Desktop 10.0. While the steps listed might work in previous versions of ArcMap, it is not guaranteed.

When you have a continuous raster such as a DEM in ArcGIS, you will likely want to adjust its color ramp to better highlight elevation changes. The default color ramps suffice for a majority of situations, however, your choices are still limited. To expand your list you could create your own color ramp or you could import a new .style file containing ready-to-use color ramps and symbols.

The ESRI Mapping Center provides a set of color ramps to help further depict raster surfaces. The ramps are divided among four styles which are Hypsometry, Hillshades, Events and CartoEffects. Following are the steps you take to add the new color ramps:

On the ArcGIS resources page of the Mapping Center choose the Styles tab and click on ColorRamps2.0 to start the download.
After you download the file, unzip it. Inside you will find four .style files and a .txt file describing the styles.
Copy the four .style files to C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Desktop10.0\Styles.
Open a map document.
Click the customize dropdown and select Style Manager.
On the right side of the Style Manager click on the Styles… button. In the Style References window that opens click Add Style to List….
Navigate to C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Desktop10.0\Styles where you placed the .style files and select the first one. You might have to repeat this step once for each style.
After all of the styles are shown in the Style References list, make sure they are check marked and click the Set as Default List button.
Click OK and you should see your styles on the left side of the Style Manager. Close the style manager. At this point you can go to the symbology tab of your Layer Properties for a given raster and select one of the new color ramps.

Tip: Right Click on the color ramp dropdown and uncheck Graphic View to see the text descriptions of the ramps.

GISnation.com, Social Networking for the Geospatial Community?

2012-01-11T18:33:00.000-08:00

A new GIS centered web site called GISnation.com launched yesterday. According to the site’s mission statement its purpose is simply to promote “geospatial solutions” and provide a multi-use platform to showcasing GIS projects.

The site tries to pack a lot into its pages. It attempts to provide tools and services such as social networks, job boards, resource searches, news feeds, promotional challenges and project submission platforms. The social networking aspect itself is quite involved. There is a Facebook-like “wall” that you can post updates to, a blogging interface where you can create your own blog within the larger site, a file upload area, a photo gallery, a professional networking page where you can have a LinkedIn-like profile and a project collaboration area where you can work with others on a geospatial solution.

It will be interesting to see how the geospatial community reacts to a centralized site like this that combines multiple aspects of already established social media services in a GIS centered environment. As with any application that claims to be a social media platform, its value will be revealed by the users who engage with it. If the GIS user community has a need for what GISnation is attempting to provide, it could do well.

I will be interacting on the site in the coming days and will try to report my findings. Meanwhile, if you sign up for access to the site, leave a comment here and let me know what you think. Do you think it has a future?