Here’s an excerpt from that article about one member of academia who is truly breaking boundaries when it comes to geospatial predictive analysis:

Max Lu, a professor at Kansas State University, developed a novel method of finding meth labs through geospatial predictive analytics. In the 2009 book Geography and Drug Addiction, Lu and partner Jessica Burnum applied spatial data analysis tools to compiled information on the informal meth industry in Colorado Springs and rural Kansas. Burnum and Lu examined data collected from 2002 to 2005 on seized meth lab equipment and where rogue chemists dumped the toxic by-products of methamphetamine manufacture. Using the data, the pair were able to successfully prove meth manufacture was creeping slowly through more and more middle-class neighborhoods in Colorado Springs. Map data analyzed over time successfully demonstrated the spread of meth labs throughout a metropolitan area–and even predicted where they would pop up next.

In addition, law enforcement is already using geospatial predictive analysis for fighting crime in general. For example, the Smart Policing Initiative integrates geospatial predictive analysis into all levels of crime fighting. Police departments in Lowell, Massachussetts, and New Haven, Connecticut, are using similar methods for finding blocks likely to host drug activity. And, USGIF member company GeoEye was featured in the article for its ability to use predictive analysis to find gang recruitment areas. Esri was also highlighted because of police departments worldwide using its specialized map intelligence software.

You can check out the full Fast Company article here.

Be sure to check out these experts’ recent articles here:

- Directions Magazine
- Space News
- Imaging Notes

Special Forces Seek Help to Halt Deadly Helicopter Crashes
The U.S. military is looking to equip its elite warriors’ helicopters with LiDAR solutions capable of seeing through fog and dust to find safe landing zones.

Iran Reports Launch of Small Satellite into Orbit
Iran successfully launched a new small satellite into orbit last week, the latest in the country’s ambitious space program that has raised concerns of its possible military applications.

Federal Planning Agency Approves Design of Future Spy Complex in Montgomery County
A federal planning agency has approved the design of a future spy complex at the former home of the NGA.

SSTL-OHB System Consortium to Build a Further Eight Galileo FOC Satellites
A consortium led by OHB System AG and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) will build eight satellites for the European Union’s Galileo satellite navigation program under the supervision of the European Space Agency.

GNSS Manufacturer Trimble Reports Strong Growth in 2011, Predicts More in 2012
Trimble’s year-on-year revenues grew 35 percent to $435.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Breaking Down “Data Silos” for More Effective Geospatial Collaboration
Latest GIS Cafe post from Mladen Stojic, Vice President, Geospatial at Intergraph SG&I, on enhanced geospatial collaboration.

New USDA Map May Mean Earlier Planting In North
A new map from the USDA has some northern gardeners hoping to grow plants that used to be considered too fragile for cold weather zones.

The Washington College GIS Program Provides Mapping and Data Services to Maryland Health Resource Centers
The Washington College GIS Program is providing in-depth mapping services and data analysis to federally qualified health centers and other health care providers in the state of Maryland,

Google Earth Update Erases Undersea ‘Atlantis’ Error
A Google Earth map that raised rumors of the lost city of Atlantis has gotten a much-needed update, ridding the seafloor of a gridlike pattern that some vigilant users suspected were sunken streets from the mythological underwater city.

The Community’s Got Talent – Battle of the Bands
Last night, KippsDeSanto & Co. hosted The Community’s Got Talent, which was an invitation-only battle of the bands to benefit The CIA Officers Memorial Foundation (CIAOMF) and The Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF). Competing bands were judged by a discerning panel of internationally-recognized music critics, including Tish Long, Tom Ferguson, Ron Burgess, Charlie Holland and Scott Large. Oh, and Dan “Elwood Blues” Aykroyd and Steely Dan founding member Jeff “Skunk” Baxter performed a set of Blues Brothers songs, which was awesome! Check out more here.

Where Does Talent Come From?
Thomas Edison gave his famous formula for genius as 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Modern-day students of geniuses and prodigies, though, argue over the relative contributions of more tangible factors—of genetics, of physiology, of hours spent in training. Most believe that geniuses have special genes. Almost nobody takes the opposite stance: that prodigy performance, in any field, lies within the grasp of anyone who cares to try hard enough. Anders Ericsson, a psychologist at Florida State University, falls into the minority camp. Given ten years of deliberate practice, Dr Ericsson says, anyone should be able to attain prodigy-level performance in his discipline of choice. Check out more here.

How to Become a “Triple Threat”
Have you ever noticed that some of the most talented actors can also sing, dance, play an instrument and sometimes even paint and sculpt works of art? Yes, life is not fair. In the entertainment industry, they call these folks a “triple threat,” because they are way more than just a pretty face. Did you know there are programs that train children on how to be a “triple threat”? So, while it may be too late for you, your kids may have a shot at stardome.

Seven Most Talents Guitar Prodigies in the World
While it seems most youngsters these days are more enthralled with pop musicians than with guitar legends like B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Eric Clapton, there are still millions of young guitarists around the world taking guitar lessons and trying to learn how to play guitar. Every now and then, a prodigy emerges from the abyss of average talent on the Internet. Check out this post that features seven of the most talented guitar prodigies in the world. It will blow your mind.

Dan Aykroyd and Jeff “Skunk” Baxter 2005 USO Performance
While we are waiting with bated breath for video to appear from last night’s event, we did find this awesome clip of Dan Aykroyd and Skunk performing Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor” at a 2005 USO event in Washington DC. We hope you enjoy and stay talented!

DARPA’s Soldier Centric Imaging Via Computational Cameras (SCENICC) program is leading the charge on this new effort. Innovega iOptics is the partner working with DARPA to actually develop the contact lenses. Check out more here.

Clearly, this is the next step for delivering vital GEOINT data to the warifighter.

Here are some excerpts from that post:

Remember when the military actually put human beings in the cockpits of its planes? They still do, but in far fewer numbers. According to a new congressional report acquired by Danger Room, drones now account for 31 percent of all military aircraft.

But even as the military’s bought a ton of drones in the past few years, the Pentagon spends much, much more money on planes with people in them. Manned aircraft still get 92 percent of the Pentagon’s aircraft procurement money. Still, since 2001, the military has spent $26 billion on drones, the report — our Document of the Day — finds.

Be sure to check out the full Wired Danger Room post here.

The Future of Commercial GEOINT
There have been a number of compelling op-eds recently about the future and viability of commercial imagery. Check out this latest Space News piece by Joshua Hartman of the Center for Strategic Space Studies.

The Case for Commercial Imagery — The Budget Threat and What Could be Lost
Along the same lines as Hartman’s Space News piece, here a recent Imaging Notes Magazine op-ed by Dennis Jones, President of Jones Consulting.

WikiLeaks Forces Change in Intel Community
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told attendees of a Center for Strategic and International Studies event last week that plugging leaks of classified materials is still a challenge for the community as it develops new systems to protect information while at the same time ensuring the right people have access to it.

Next Generation Optical System Tops 2012 Milspace Procurements
A multibillion-dollar contract award to Lockheed Martin for a new generation of optical spy satellites tops the list of U.S. military space and missile defense procurements on tap for 2012.

U.S. May Rely on Aging U-2 Spy Planes Longer than Expected
The U-2 spy plane once slated for retirement in 2015 may fight on into the next decade.

NASA Releases New ‘Blue Marble’ Image of Earth
NASA just released a brand-new “Blue Marble 2012,” based on image data from the VIIRS instrument aboard Suomi NPP, the most recently launched Earth-observing satellite.

Space Station Dodges Debris From Destroyed Chinese Satellite
The International Space Station fired its thrusters this weekend in order to steer clear of orbital debris from China’s 2007 anti-satellite test.

Combined Intergraph GeoMedia and ERDAS IMAGINE Solution Now Available Through Live Link
USGIF member company Intergraph Corporation recently announced the availability of Live Link, connecting GeoMedia and ERDAS IMAGINE — leveraging GeoMedia’s rich set of vector handling tools and ERDAS IMAGINE’s raster capabilities to support synchronized data sharing, viewing, editing, updating, and analysis.

PIXIA Becomes a Principal Member of the Open Geospatial Consortium
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) announced last week that PIXIA Corporation has raised their OGC membership level to Principal Member.

Two Teens Send a Lego Man Into Near Space
Two Canadian high school students have successfully launched a Lego man almost 80,000 feet above sea level–high enough to capture video of the plastic toy hovering above the curvature of the Earth.

Pentagon Cuts to Hit Defense Industry
The budget cuts the Pentagon proposed Thursday stand to hit nearly every part of the defense industry, from makers of fighter jets and warships to providers of services such as information technology support. Facing rising political pressure to trim spending, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta proposed cutting the budget by $487 billion over the next decade. There were notable exceptions to the austerity. The Pentagon is seeking to protect spending for building unmanned systems and for developing new ones. Funding for an unmanned Army system known as Gray Eagle would be spared, and the Pentagon vowed to invest in sea-based intelligence systems like Fire Scout, a Northrop Grumman-made drone, and in space systems.

More About What Won’t Get Cut
Space News also pointed out that planned upgrades to space capabilities including GPS, the Space-Based Infrared System for missile warning and Advanced Extremely High Frequency secure communications satellites will be preserved in the request, expected to be delivered to Capitol Hill in mid-February. Programs to defend U.S. and European territory against ballistic missile attacks also will be preserved, officials said, but some regional interceptor programs will not see funding increases that had been anticipated.

Needing to “Leap Ahead to Defeat the Enemy”
NextGov points out that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta comment yesterday about “leaping ahead to defeat the enemy” across many domains, including space and cyberspace

Adjusting to a New Budgetary Culture in Space
Intelsat General’s CEO discusses how we are in “hunker down” mode when it comes to dealing with new budgetary realities for space.

Defense Cuts Imperil Our Security
After the International Atomic Energy Agency dropped the bombshell news that Iran has accelerated its drive to build a nuclear weapon, you’d expect leaders on Capitol Hill to hold a flurry of hearings on how to counter the threat. Instead, congressional hearing rooms have been booked solid to discuss how to slash national security spending. Budget cuts dominate the debate, while the prospect of a nuclear Iran barely raises eyebrows. The defense cuts proposed under the debt ceiling deal would leave the U.S. with far fewer options for confronting an Iran armed with the bomb. Congress has already cut $450 billion from the Pentagon budget. Read the full Op-Ed by retired Navy Rear Adm. Ernie Elliot here.

No Music This Week
Since these budgetary changes are serious business, we are not featuring a music video this week. Though be sure to come back next week, as we will be amping up our efforts to “find a popular culture thread” that reinforces what is happening in the GEOINT sector.

Happy Friday.

And, check out this real-life version of the game:

Finally, on a completely unrelated note, Google has recently added a Public Alerts feature in Google Maps. So, gaming and providing the tools to keep people safe. Nice.