Small Milestone

We just passed the 1,500 posts mark. Either we have momentum, or I have done a great job of postponing some real work.

The date of the Annual NJDEP Mapping Contest is April 30, 2009. Students are welcome to attend and participate in the contest, and in past years have frequently produced winning maps. The event is always fun, snacks are provided and students have the opportunity to meet GIS professionals.

You can see galleries of past winners online:
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003

Map Quote

"The quality of a map is also in part an aesthetic matter. Maps should have harmony within themselves. An ugly map, with crude colors, careless line work, and disagreeable, poorly arranged lettering may be intrinsically as accurate as a beautiful map, but it is less likely to inspire confidence." John K. Wright

Lecture on Water Quality and Effects

Talk by International Expert on Water Quality and Effects
<http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/news/09/03_water_quality.shtml>

The connections between access to water and gender, security, environment, and human rights will be the subject of a talk by Dr. Peter H. Gleick on Thursday, March 26 at 5:30 p.m. in the Alexander Library Scholarly Communication Center, 4th floor, College Avenue Campus. A
poster presentation and reception will precede the talk at 4:30 p.m. Dr. Gleick is the president and cofounder of the Pacific Institute in Oakland, CA. The institute monitors the quality of the world's water supply and its effect on health, climate change, industrialization, and
international relations. The talk is sponsored by the Rutgers University Libraries and the School of Arts and Sciences Office of International Programs. This event is free, although an RSVP is requested. To attend, send an email events@rci.rutgers.edu> or call 732-932-7505.
Visit the website <http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/news/09/03_water_quality.shtml>
for additional information.

Redeveloping Glassboro

In this Spring's Geomatics Lecture, John Hasse talked about some of the changes that were on their way to Glassboro. The newspapers are just now catching up with our lecture series.

Are you sure you want to bring your laptop to class?

Are you sure you want to bring your laptop to class?

Spatial distrubution of lottery winnings

John Reiser has mapped out 10 years of NJ Lottery winners to show the "luckiest" places in NJ.

A little data can go a long way to making an interesting map. Note that on the right side he has provided four different ways to view the data. But none of them may make you feel good about not winning millions.

First day of spring? Really?

It doesn't look like spring this morning, but maybe it will all change at the exact moment that the sun crosses the equator.
Happy vernal equinox!

The Fountains of Wayne question

The post in which we ask, Should we be saving cultural landscapes that are defined by kitschy stores that become emblematic of the larger community? or Is Roadside America more relevant than National Geographic?

Piscataway in the NY Times

I enjoy reading the "thinking of living in..." section in the NY Times. It often presents an outsider's view of a place that I thought I already knew. This week they took a closer look at Piscataway, NJ. I think the slideshow is the part I liked the best, since it shows the difficulty in finding a strong graphic theme to tie together this rather complex municipality.

Spring Break lists

In lieu of real blogging, I've made some Top One Lists for Spring Break. If you wanted a Top Ten list, try elsewhere. It is sort of a Book of Lists meets Larry King kind of thing.

Best Teen Vampire Movie: Lost Boys
Best Toast: Rye with butter
Best Desert: Sonoran
Best Name of Vice President You've Probably Never Heard Of: Hannibal Hamlin
Best Early Modern Artist: Wassily Kandinsky
Best State Capitol: Honolulu
Best TV Show Set in Portland OR or ME: Hello, Larry
Best Ice Sport Without Skates: Curling
Best Chili: Skyline
Best Palm Tree: Phoenix dactylifera
Best Hotdogs in NJ: Rutt's Hut
Best Chris Elliot Movie: Groundhog Day

Great NCAA graphics

Although it isn't as riveting as the NIT brackets, the NY Times has an elegant graphic that shows the big hubs of NCAA success over the history of the tournament. Because, as we Kentucky fans know, it is not about this year but the long view of NCAA history.

NCAA Tournament time

Basketball season is coming to a sweet but merciful end. And, no, there won't be an NIT contest here, don't even ask. But there is the 11th annual Friends of Dave NCAA pool in the online ESPN Tournament Challenge. Sign in, pick a bracket, and prove your mettle. All are welcome to join the group I have created called, FoD - Friends of Dave v11.

The free throws are called "free" for a reason. Photo Credit: D. Tulloch

P&S in ArchiDose

I am really quite enamored with The Daily Dose of Architecture, so I found it very flattering that they noticed Places and Spaces. Archidose is a great example of what a blog can be when the author is devoted to their material and has a great city just outside their door.

Sketch-up money

Sketch-up is now, apparently, a tool for communication about financial concepts.
(h/t NJGeo)

Spring Break sightseeing

Don't waste your Spring Break on the Internet. Get out and see some great designed or cultural or natural landscapes. But where?

If you aren't leaving New Jersey, then try out some nearby sites. You could try this short list of notable NJ landscapes which includes Pier A, Grounds for Sculpture, Van Vorst Park and the Appalachian Trail. Or you could try out our new Rutgers/NJASLA NJ LA Sites Database to explore some landscape sites - it includes NJASLA design award winners like the Smithville Floating Walkway and the Turtleback Zoo.

You could head into Philly and explore Fairmount Park and the Patrick Dougherty sculptures at Morris Arboretum or you could take a train to New York and see his masterpiece at Prospect Park.
If you are heading to Florida for some fun and sun, you might want to stop in at the classic New Urban comimunity of Seaside or Disney's newer Celebration. Or maybe you should look for McHarg's hidden touch on Sanibel Island.

Then again, you could just pick up a book.

Google blend-ins

Now, when you search locally on Google Maps, Google has started blending in answers that come from what they call the "geo-community". That means that your little KML file, you know, that you never expected anyone to look at, could now help 10,000 find that street vendor selling chaat.

Censoring Google Maps

A California legislator wants to blur out all of the schools and hospitals and churches and government buildings that you currently can see on detailed image sites like Live.com and Google Maps. He would charge them a $250,000/day fine each day that he can find a government building displayed. In an interview, he clarifies that they don't have an inalienable right to show those photos"

Q: If AB-255 (the censorship bill) does pass, why do you believe it would stand up to a court challenge?

Anderson: That's their option. They can take it to court. But since when do you have a First Amendment right to yell fire? This falls under the same category.

I don't think he understands how integrated this resource has become in day-today government operations around the country. It would be like taking away the GPS sugnal after we have all adjusted our business models and flight plans based on a heavy reliance on it.

Just imagine what our enemies could do if they could locate this top secret government facility that is otherwise so well hidden:

View Larger Map

Liveblog: Annette Voigt on Landscape Conservation

Annette Voigt Technische Universität München Dept. of Landscape Ecology
Nature Conversation in Germany – Problems and Perspectives

Today's talk explored questions about the meaning of nature in a place like Germany, where there remains an active dialogue about whether conservation should be favoring natural or cultural landscapes, especially since 19th century agricultural landscapes are treasured by much of the public. This process is pursued to preserve the Germany of the past:

• Heimatschutz = Homeland conservation

Ecologists are less positioned to address the meaning of nature and simply rely on concepts like wilderness and ecosystems as subjective constructs as a convenience.

As an example she described the wilderness development area at Koenigsbrucker Heide in Saxony. Her dissertation abstract is available to help you digest some of these concepts.

(I know little about these ideas, but it looks like this might be an interesting read, too)

A new vision for Agriculture

The new Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, was interviewed by NPR's Morning Edition. Shortly after his nomination by Obama Michael Pollan appeared on the same show and suggested that this appointment was good for corn but bad for real food and eaters. Well, the former governor of Illinois is already making a move for corn. But he has also staked out a clearer need to promote real food, especially for kids: “We ought to be about encouraging our kids to be just terrific consumers of food. They ought to want different colored fruits and vegetables on their plate, they ought to demand it, they ought to be encouraged to do that.”

Here at SEBS (formerly known as the College of Agriculture and Environment) his goals may seem particularly fitting. In a recent speech at the Agricultural Outlook Forum 2009, he said that one of the three goals that Obama wants from the USDA is to "make sure that we worked hard at doing the research necessary to allow, over time, agriculture to transition away from its rather significant dependence today on fossil fuels." Interesting times in Washington.

It is worth pointing out that NJ has new Secretary of Agriculture as well, Doug Fisher.
(h/t Bob Goodman)