november 2004 archives

Saturday, November 20, 2004

Maps for friends and foes

In September I pointed out the discrepancy between geographic information being a security loophole and informing the general public about environmental hazards. Since the end of the Cold War geographic data became more widely available. As the World Wide Web came about, more and more people started to access online maps. Standards for searching, retrieving and displaying geographic information as developed through OGC have taken this even further. The online map sector has become one of the fastest growing Internet sectors in Europe.

However, step by step geographic information is being snatched from under our noses just when, via the internet, the aquisition of geographic information has never been better. For example, the DoT maps of New York State got shifted over to the GIS Clearinghouse of the Office for Technology, which can act as a censor rather than a Highway department, where maps in the other 49 states would generally be available. Or are we just growing paranoid?

The latest development is the announcement of intent to initiate the process to remove aeronautical information from public sale and distribution. The action will be taken starting from October 1, 2005 to safeguard the integrity of Department of Defense aeronautical navigation data currently available on the public Internet and to prevent unfettered access to air facility data by those intending harm to the United States. So go on and download the DAFIF data from the NGA website, now you still can.

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Mapping hacks

If you're reading my blog regularly, I am sure you'll be interested in the book Mapping Hacks. Be patient: it's not in bookstores yet, as it is due in February 2005. The book features in the O'Reilly Hacks Series among Google Hacks and XML Hacks.

As GPS units are becoming cheaper and more widely available, they come integrated into cars and even mobile phones. With the collection of mostly open source techniques that the book provides, readers can create and share digital mapping of their own. The book shows the best sources of publicly available geographic data, and tells you how to collect your own data, and how to integrate that information into maps, weblogs, photo galleries, and interactive applications.

The authors Jo Walsh and Schuyler Erle showed some of the hacks during the Locative Media Workshop at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and at the Art+Communication festival in Riga. To be sure you get your copy hot off the press, pre-order Mapping Hacks from Amazon.com!

Sunday, November 14, 2004

high-tech, low-tech hiking

Inspired by the opening of MILK project last week, we got a group of friends together today and went on a GPS trail around the Groeneveld estate. The plan was to go geocaching first, but we settled on this trail.

As my GPS device is currently on its way to Dakar, I left a deposit and my ID card at the information desk to obtain a GPS device with the waypoints for the trail. Otherwise I could have downloaded the waypoints from the Dutch National Trust website into my GPS device.

We took the short trail as the GPS device had to be returned in time and some of us arrived late because of heavy traffic (even on a Sunday!). The short trail took us only a few hours so we decided to take out the map to plot our own course. To be honest, I preferred the latter. Following the compass on the GPS device was too much a distraction from the beautiful surroundings of the estate and it didn't trigger the imagination as much as a map can do. Maybe I should just try it again and let myself be guided by the satellites! I certainly hope geocaching is more fun.

Thursday, November 11, 2004

Counter/cartography

Rotterdam is the epicentre of cartographic activity this week. Not only is it host to the Cartographic Command Center at DEAF04, but Rotterdam will also harbour the Counter/Cartography Lab tomorrow night.

The first step in creating friendships and forging alliances, is to get acquainted and explore mutual interests. Taking the local terrain of Rotterdam as a reference, this lab will make an impromptu cartography of different artistic and activist strategies of engaging with a given urban, social and political order.

Tomorrow night's organised by the makers of Parallel Ports and members of CCRED. The counter/cartographies project aims to make a series of maps of artists, activists, collaborative frameworks, groups, and collectives who are working with different notions or ideas of resistance and social engagement.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Web mapping technology update

The article The Making of a Web Map - 2004 wraps up the second annual Web Mapping Contest. Basically, the article gives the statistics that helped me to make some observations regarding the current state of the art of web mapping technology.

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Hacking the hack

Live from DEAF04. Arrived here in Rotterdam at 7pm and now posting to webmapper.net from one of the computer terminals. Got a great view onto a sensitive platform people walk across changing the patterns of light and sound. Not quite sure what the geographic coordinates are doing on there and the seemingly moving icons that represent GPS satellites.

Behind me is the Cartographic Command Center overseen by Jaanis whom I met in Riga last month. He's already got the Illustrator files of Rotterdam on screen and he's just assured me that a DEM shall make it into the presentation within the next few days. Karlis of GPSter is fast asleep on the couch. Maps as lullaby?

The Van Nelle factory is a truly magnificent piece of industrial architecture and a suitable setting for the festival. The view from the roof (please don't tell anyone) over Rotterdam at nighttime is really good!

Monday, November 08, 2004

Locative media in Rotterdam: DEAF 2004

Tomorrow night's the official opening of DEAF04. The festival is organised by V2 and takes place in Rotterdam until the 21st of November.

Of particular interest to locative aficionados is the workshop Tactical Urban Map Hack featuring the Cartographic Command Centre (C3) towards the end of this week. If you have a genuine appetite for this, join the Open Brunch on Thursday themed Sensing Location.

Sunday, November 07, 2004

Oddens' (virtual) map room

After the National Atlas project group meeting on Friday, I went to have a look at the map room of the new library of Utrecht University. The new map room is on the 6th floor of the beautifully designed library building: lots of black, white, and red structures, but spaceous at the same time. The map room is quite a bit bigger than before and there's much more room in the depots. As it's not anymore hidden away, it comes across a lot more welcoming.

Oddens, the map curator, not only got himself a new map room, also Oddens' Bookmarks got some brand new looks matching the house style of the Faculty of Geosciences and a new engine: MySQL! Interestingly, it has got the search and browse functionality at the same page. Looks rather similar to an unauthorised, but web standards-compliant redesign prototype I came up a few months ago. Anyway, I am glad Oddens' Bookmarks has lost its 1990s look-'n-feel at last and runs much smoother. Congratulations!

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Latvian cheese on Utrecht open market

Walking at the open market here in Utrecht today, I just had to go and ask one of the cheese vendors whether he's got Latvian cheese for sale. After a confused look, his face brightened and his mouth formed a smile. Was it some sort of secret handshake? Don't worry. Walking past the Freemasons' Hall, the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England, near Holborn station in London last week was not quite what inspired my weird question... Yesterday was the opening of the MILKproject exhibition at the Groeneveld estate. The cheese vendor happened to be one of the participants in the project.

As part of the Art+Communication festival in Riga last month, we were invited to join a bus trip to go and see the MILKproject installation in the Latvian countryside. The party of about fifty got a very warm and welcome reception by Esther Polak, Ieva Auzina and Markus The. So yesterday was the opening here in the Netherlands. It was great to see the installation in the setting of the Groeneveld estate. The exhibition lasts until the beginning of December, but can also be viewed online. Certainly worth a look! By the way, the cheese vendor unfortunately didn't have Latvian cheese for sale today.

Friday, November 05, 2004

Atlas of the Netherlands

This morning was the first meeting of the GIN National Atlas project group. Attendees included the webmaster of the Atlas van Nederland website, the project leader of the National Atlas of Public Health, and board members of the Foundation for the Scientific Atlas of the Netherlands. The aim of the project group is to establish an online national atlas to provide an overview of the Netherlands through maps and to set up a mapping interface to access geographic data sets.

There was certainly an awareness among the attendees similar initiatives exist in the Netherlands. However, the usage of maps as the primary means of access shall be a new metaphor in searching for geographic data sets. The national atlas shall have a strong link within the national geographic data infrastructure.

Examples from other countries include the Atlas of Canada, the national atlas of the United States of America, and the national atlas of Sweden.