Cinco de Mayo

Celebrate CInco de Mayo with some Mexican Landscape Architecture.

I finally made my first trip to Mexico City last year and was amazed.

MLK Jr., NHP

Atlanta is home to the National Historic Park that includes Martin Luther King Jr's Ebeneezer Baptist Church and his burial site. It stands as a powerful symbol of the diversity of issues that he worked on, from labor issues to anti-semitism to civil rights. And, situated in his neighborhood, reminds us of his humanity.

I anticipated seeing the sanctuary, just like in the photos. But I was taken aback by the Fellowship Hall, which looked like so many other basement meeting rooms. While his sermons and writings got featured at the park's museum, I couldn't help but imagine the less historic meetings that the pastor held in the basement with small bible study groups or struggling families.

In his final Christmas sermon, in the pulpit picture above, he famously said:

"If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective." 

 The National Park Service's mission is: "The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations." While totally different than Yosemite, this site seems essential to fulfilling that mission.

GIS Day at Rowan College at Burlington County

Registration is OPEN

GIS Day at Rowan College at Burlington County

(formerly GIS Day at Burlington County College)

900 College Circle, Mount Laurel, NJ

Wednesday, November 15^th , 8:30-4:30

We are pleased to announce that a full-day GIS Day event will once again be held at Rowan College at Burlington County (formerly Burlington County College) on Wednesday, November 15, 2017.   This event will consist of a morning of speaker presentations and an afternoon of GPS and GIS activities.  This year, the afternoon will once again include an opportunity to visit Palmyra Nature Cove’s Mobile Geoscience and Remote Sensing Lab.  There will also be an afternoon symposium hosted by MAGTUG, the Mid-Atlantic Geospatial Transportation Users Group (www.magtug.wordpress.com), which will focus on Geospatial Data Management for Local Agencies.

Morning topics will include how GIS is being used for:

·         Flood preparedness

·         Solar Siting

·         Inventorying historic architecture

·         Prioritizing land preservation

The afternoon will include:

·         Palmyra Nature Cove’s Mobile Geoscience and Remote Sensing Lab

·         MAGTUG symposium on Geospatial Data Management for Local Agencies with presentations covering

o   File/folder naming conventions and protocols/management tips

o   Web GIS & LiDAR as a platform for guide rail assessment

o   & more

·         GPS field activity

·         Self-paced GIS lab exercises

Registration is open at www.co.burlington.nj.us/gisdayatrcbc

We are also still accepting map submissions for the map gallery/contest for GIS Day.  More info is attached and at available at the link above.  

Poe's 208th

Today is Edgar Allen Poe's 208th birthday. There are plenty of places up and down the East Coast to celebrate, including Richmond, Baltimore and Philadelphia. But did you realize that there are 9 different Poe places in NYC?

If you can't get out, read some Poe!

MLK Memorial

Today is a great day to reflect on the complicated histories of the MLK Memorial in Washington DC. It will get used heavily today, and may become a more popular site over the coming months.

Happy GIS Day

Finally, GIS Day is here!

My GIS Day wish for you is that your day be filled with ample streaming data for rich map narratives and that all of your geospatial dreams come true.

As is part of the CRSSA annual GIS Day tradition, we reflect on the graphic reminders of the early years:

A special thanks to Caroline Phillipuk, whose GIS Day posters capture the timeless quality of the day.

Lose yourself

GIS Day will be a special time for people to forget their day-to-day cares and lose themselves in the celebration of all things spatial.

Next Wednesday at 6:30, get together with like-minded spatial people and talk about grids and least-cost surfaces.

100th Anniversary of the National Park Service