The Beauty of Maps

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Et kort kan være kunst ... og kartografen er kunstneren ...

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When made right a map is not just useful is is a work of art ...

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EXAMPLES OF LEONARDO DA VINCI CARTOGRAPHY WORK!

- LEONARDO DA VINCI MAPS: TOWN IMOLA, ITALY -

YEAR: 1502

LEONARDO’S AGE: 50

Leonardo created a map of Cesare Borgia’s stronghold, a town plan of Imola in order to win his patronage. When presenting it to Cesare, the powerful leader must have been left in a state of awe. People at the time had hardly heard of maps let alone seen one. Maps themselves held a magical feel to them at the time as it would have seemed as if one was holding a piece of land in the palm of their hands! Cesare hired Leonardo upon seeing the map as his chief military engineer/ architect.

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Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/beautyofmaps/index.shtml

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The Taj and Beer for Data Program

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Hvor meget kan man få for en six-pack?

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How much do I get for a pint?

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The Taj in Jalalabad, Afghanistan is indeed an oddity. Not only is it the only bar in eastern Afghanistan, it is also the location where an ingenious "Beer for Data" program began. Put simply, if visitors to the bar have useful data (gps plots, imagery, technology white papers...) they can trade this information for a beer. This is the best method for information sharing between NGOs I've ever heard of.

This video is part of a much longer interview of Smari McCarthy by Vinay Gupta. The complete video can be found here: http://blip.tv/file/1701435

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Read more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuayC90hvJk&feature=player_embedded

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ArcGIS for Amazon Jumpstart Package

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Outsource din GIS installation i skyen ...

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Your future productivity center in the cloud?

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ESRI offers a professional services package called ArcGIS for Amazon Jumpstart. The Jumpstart package provides installation, configuration support, and technology transfer on a number of standard topics for setting up ArcGIS Server on Amazon’s cloud platform.

ArcGIS Server is not included with the Jumpstart package. You must acquire or use your existing ArcGIS Server Enterprise Advanced licenses to take advantage of this offer.

What is included in the ArcGIS for Amazon Jumpstart package?

The ArcGIS for Amazon Jumpstart package is a consulting service. It includes one week of up to four (4) days of onsite consulting. During this engagement, the ESRI resource will cover the following standard activities:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) orientation
• ArcGIS Server for Amazon Machine Image (AMI) instance setup and configuration
• Sample data set loading
• Create and validate sample ArcGIS Server services
• Create custom AMI based on supported configurations

Upon completion of the standard activities, any remaining hours may be used to address the following topics:

• High Availability and Scalability Architecture
• Data Backup and Snapshot Creation
• Security Considerations
• Monitoring Considerations
• Caching Strategies

What AMIs are available with ArcGIS for Amazon Jumpstart?

The following ArcGIS for Amazon AMIs are available:

ArcGIS Server AMI

• ArcGIS Server 9.3.1 SP1 .Net on Windows 2008
• Includes Network, Spatial, 3D and Geostatistical extensions
• Desktop 9.3.1 SP1 (for administration of ArcGIS Server services only)
• SQL Server Express v2008 (as a repository of users in case user needs to secure access to services)
• A 100Gb drive for GIS Data

Enterprise Geodatabase AMI

• PostgreSQL database v8.3.8 configured for use as an Enterprise Geodatabase on Windows 2008
• A 100Gb drive for storage of data.

Users will be able to launch any type of 64 bit instance from the AMIs. Instances can be launched as either on demand or reserved. Amazon fees as indicated per each service/ component used will apply, and will be up to users agreement with Amazon based on their account.

For more details about Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud features and functionality, visit Amazon EC2.

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Read more: http://www.esri.com/partners/alliances/amazon/arcgis-jumpstart.html

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GIS vs. Humour

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Kun engelsk ...

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Level 1: Basic	Level 2: Intermediate	Level 3: Advanced	Level 4: Expert
Generally uses GIS in a positive way	Uses GIS to bring people together	Knows exactly when and where a map or an analysis will be effective	Can see GIS in almost everything
Is conscientious about timing and setting for GIS	Uses GIS to boost morale or decrease tension	Has a great sense of timing	Sought out by others for guidance in this area
Tries to diffuse tense situations with appropriate GIS	Uses GIS to make for a more relaxed and productive atmosphere	Realizes when and where GIS will backfire, and withholds	Uses GIS as a uniting dynamic across a range of situations
Can map one self and others	Allows others to be mapped	Understands that mapping makes a more comfortable meeting, classroom, etc	Recognizing and appreciates a great sense of GIS in others

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Humor

Related Links • Competency Home Page • All Competencies • Success Profiles • Interview Guide • Competency FAQ • School of the Future

Has a positive and constructive sense of humor. Can laugh at him/herself and with others. Is appropriately funny and can use humor to ease tension.

On This Page

	Proficiency Level
	Overdoing Humor
	Essentials Questions
	Interview Questions
	Learning on the Job
	Recommended Readings
	Next Steps

Proficiency Level

Level 1: Basic	Level 2: Intermediate	Level 3: Advanced	Level 4: Expert
Generally uses humor in a positive way	Uses humor to bring people together	Knows exactly when and where a joke or story will be effective	Can see humor in almost everything
Is conscientious about timing and setting for humor	Uses humor to boost morale or decrease tension	Has a great sense of timing	Sought out by others for guidance in this area
Tries to diffuse tense situations with appropriate humor	Uses humor to make for a more relaxed and productive atmosphere	Realizes when and where humor will backfire, and withholds	Uses humor as a uniting dynamic across a range of situations
Can laugh at self and others	Allows others to be funny	Understands that laughter makes a more comfortable meeting, classroom, etc	Recognizing and appreciates a great sense of humor in others

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Read more: http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/humor.mspx

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WEBKORT OG GIS

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Kortunderstøttende sagsbehandlinger ved brug af kort-kloge applikationer?

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Only Danish ...

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De seneste års teknologiske udvikling har gjort det tydeligt, at der ligger et stort potentiale i at bruge interaktive kort til at anskueliggøre og analysere sammenhænge mellem forskellige datasæt. En vedholdende standardiseringsindsats og udviklingen af let tilgængelige værktøjer har gjort, at offentlige myndigheder står godt positioneret til at udnytte potentialet ved at omsætte deres data til geoinformation.

Netværksgruppen beskæftiger sig blandt andet med følgende temaer:

I CEDI's netværksgruppe om Webkort og GIS ser vi på de mange nyskabende anvendelser for kortbaseret visualisering af stedfæstede data. Netværksgruppen beskæftiger sig blandt andet med følgende temaer:

• Hvad betyder de fællesoffentlige initiativer på geodata-området?
• Hvad er de typiske snubletråde i offentlige geoinformations-projekter?
• Hvordan bruges interaktive kort som middel til borgerinddragelse?
• Hvordan forholder man sig til web 2.0-fænomener som brugergenererede data, mashups og lokationsbaserede tjenester?
• Hvor går grænsen for, om et offentligt datasæt er egnet til geokodning?
• Hvordan bruges geografisk information strategisk?
  
  

Kommende møder

Med mindre andet er anført, afholdes netværksmøderne i tidsrummet 13 - 16:

27.5.2010 hos CEDI, Islands Brygge 55, København S. På mødet vil du bl.a. kunne høre Jan Hvidtfeldt Andersen, direktør for Halsnæs Forsyning tale om sine erfaringer fra udarbejdelse af en GIS-strategi i Ringsted Kommune.

18.11.2010 hos CEDI. Islands Brygge 55, København S. På mødet vil du bl.a. kunne høre Chefkonsulent Karsten S. Bjerrre fra Københavns Kommunes Socialforvaltning fortælle om forvaltningens statistiske model for budgetmæssig prognosticering af udgiftsfordelingen vedrørende tiltag for udsatte børn og unge i byens forskellige socialdistrikter.

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Read more: http://www.cedi.dk/visArtikel.aspx?ID=6646

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How Will GIS Companies Weather the Gathering Cloud Computing Storm?

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Der er lang vej endnu ...

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Cloudy, cloudy, foggy ...

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The debate about cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) is well and truly over. SaaS has just too many advantages to offer customers and end-users for anyone to credibly argue against it. The pay-as-you-go service model provides ease-of-use, scalability, reduced maintenance and support effort, and lower total cost of ownership, which means that more and more customers expect SaaS or cloud options when they evaluate new business software. But what does this mean in the world of GIS where change and technical advances have tended to be a bit slower than in many other business software categories? We know the potential that GIS and online mapping and analysis can offer to solve complex business problems, but can GIS software and the use of spatial data evolve to meet the needs of a world that consumes its software as a service in the cloud or do we need to rip it all up and start again?

[...]

So where stands GIS and the mapping software companies as regards the cloud and SaaS? Certainly a lot of organizations are paying lip service to the concept and a few vendors have introduced SaaS offerings of one sort or another. But for existing GIS software vendors to successfully provide GIS as a service they first need to make the obvious significant philosophical leap: They need to stop thinking like software companies and start thinking and acting like service providers. There is little evidence in the announcements so far that the larger GIS software incumbents have made the mind-shift. This mirrors the pattern in other software categories. Just ask Marc Benioff, founder of probably the best-known and most successful cloud computing company, Salesforce.com. He claims his big rivals in the customer relationship management space, Oracle and SAP, don't have what it takes to make a go of it in the new cloudier climate. He could be wrong, but history would support his point of view. Innovation and major paradigm shifts - such as what is required to move from providing traditional on-premise solutions to offering software purely as a service - are not easy for large incumbent technology vendors.

[...]

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Read more: http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=3481

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København Street View Roulette – tilfældet råder som tilfældet vil

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Tilbage i '95 eksisterede der en side som kunne sende dig hen til en tilfældig side på nettet ... Sjovt og fancinerende dengang ... En lignende 'service' findes ikke længere (?) - antallet af sider er eksploderet siden da så der er ikke længere behov for at surfe til en tilfældig side ...

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Only Danish ...

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Det er nu tre måneder siden, at Danmark fik Google Street View (natten til 21. januar 2010). Er du løbet tør for ideer hvad du nu vil tjekke ud i Street View?. Så kan du ladeKøbenhavn Street View Roulette vælge et tilfældigt Street View billede for dig fra København.

Hvis du vil se et nyt tilfældigt Street View – så klik på hyperlinket “Lad Rouletten køre!”. Bemærk, nogen gange oppe i højre hjørne – så dukker et lille billede op med “Photos” (dansk Street View tekst: fotos) – Klik der og brugernes geotagget billeder fra Flickr, Panoramio og Picasa webalbum vil kunne ses. [...]

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Read more: http://www.microformats.dk/2010/04/24/københavn-street-view-roulette-tilfældet-rader-som-tilfældet-vil/

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NSExplore - Exploring Nova Scotia

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Gamle kort ...

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A very nice collection of old maps ...

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Brian Grant-Paul's NSExplore website includes a wide variety of information about Nova Scotia. He has posted a series of historical maps on the site. The one below is from 1750, shows the Harbor of Chabucto in the town of Halifax, and is titled, "The Porcupine Map." Click for larger view.

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Read more: http://www.nsexplore.ca/maps/

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Building a Free Worldwide Database of Addresses

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Tumler i øjeblikket med Ny BBR Adresse Web Services ... Det sgu' ik' for sjov ...

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The more advanced the civilization is the more complex the position and the definition of a point gets ... Describing and finding it gets even harder the more you try ... I say: good luck and goodnight ;-)

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A shiny new user driven effort, OpenAddresses.org, aims to build a worldwide database of addresses. Will it work? Will citizens of the world participate? What will it be used for? And will it encourage address development in areas without existing addresses?

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Read more: http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=3473

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Cut-out 3D model of Eyjafjallajökull volcano, Iceland

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Lad din indre Jørgen Clevin sprudle ...

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Rock-Paper-Scissors ...

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A simple schematic model of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano summit, crater and ash plume.

It is intended as simple guide to understanding how volcanoes such as Eyjafjallajökull are influenced by tectonic plate activity along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

It also shows the route of the floodwater from melted glacier ice to the sea.

The model is not to scale. The height of the volcano is highly exaggerated.

Download and assembly instructions

1. Download cut-out 3D model of Eyjafjallajökull 2MB pdf
2. Print the 2 pages of the pdf to an A4 printer — heavy weight paper or card works best
3. Cut around the 3 parts of the model — you may need to get an adult to help you
   1. Ash plume
   2. Base
   3. Summit and crater
4. Ash plume: fold and glue the two halves together
5. Base: cut out the hole in the middle of the base
6. Base: fold along the thick black lines and glue tabs to make-up the model like a box lid. Allow to dry.
7. Summit and crater: fold as per the images below
8. Glue the summit and crater to the base as per the image below. This is the tricky bit!
9. Glue the ash plume to the summit and crater

What you will need:
Making up the base and ash plume
Folding the summit and crater
Summit and crater assembled
Finished model

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Read more: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/highlights/iceland/3dVolcanicModel.html

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