Open Source GIS and Mapping Tools to Help You Get Started


I’ve been an ESRI ArcGIS user since the days of Arc/INFO Ver. 5.0. Having used “command line GIS” since 1991 the rise of open source GIS solutions intrigues me. Trying new products and new software and learning new terminology and getting familiar with many different data formats are valuable jobs skills for me. However, being…

Tribulations of GIS Center Management


The unfortunate position of blogging in situ circumstances is having to constantly prognosticate the down-stream consequences of words and assertions. If my words appear to deliberately obfuscate some details, you are observant. As the saying goes, names have been changed to protect the willfully ignorant. That is the saying, right? Upon my return to my…

ESRI International Users Conference: Day 2


One of San Diego’s best traits is the dog community. Dogs are great; their owners vary in disposition as much as dogs vary in size, weight, color, temperament, and breath odor. Walking down the sidewalk in San Diego, one may pass all sorts of dogs breeds as well as associated human breeds. Pass a dog…

ESRI International Users Conference: Day 1


One convenience of traveling to the same locale over time is consistency. San Diego seems to transform with each visit, though in essence change is more superficial, more cosmetic, than truly trans-formative. My comment may seem insulting and I don’t mean to convey any message San Diego is a hopeless mess. Quite the contrary, San…

ESRI Education Users Conference: Day 1


San Diego is a city I’ve come to hate to love. San Diego represents the best of urban life and the worst of urban settlement patterns. San Diego is a city wrestling every day with contrasts; wonderful climate, multimodal transportation, eminently walkable, family-friendly, dog-friendly, bike-friendly, LGBT-friendly, yet not environmentally friendly. Not really, but they do…

Geospatial Technologies Attract Everyone (Part III)


“Geospatial Technologies Attracts Everyone” was intended to be a long article about the “geospatiality of all things” but I’ve opted to break once article into a series, mostly for easier reading, but also to publish more frequently. THE GEOSPATIALITY OF EVERYTHING Life is All About Location and Data I had a trouble adapting the subtitle…

Geospatial Technologies Attract Everyone (Part II)


“Geospatial Technologies Attracts Everyone” was intended to be a long article about the “geospatiality of all things” but I’ve opted to break once article into a series, mostly for easier reading, but also to publish more frequently. THE GEOSPATIALITY OF EVERYTHING Agriculture is All About Location and Data Another fascinating implementation of UAV technology is…

Geospatial Technologies Attract Everyone


“Geospatial Technologies Attracts Everyone” was intended to be a long article about the “geospatiality of all things” but I’ve opted to break once article into a series, mostly for easier reading, but also to publish more frequently. THE GEOSPATIALITY OF EVERYTHING Everything is location. Or, location is everything. All things are spatial. A thought occurred…

Building Consensus for an Idea Lab


I spend a considerable amount of class time each semester advocating “geography is a holistic discipline, infused in all things and in almost every action or choice made, and not merely by people but by all organisms. Geography is inescapable.” The problem with my perspective is many other disciplines could be argued to have the…