Halloween and GIS

ESRI, the GIS folks have a cool interactive map at this site.  Called the Geography of Horror, I suspect it really should be called the Geography of Horror Movies, so not to confuse it with reality.

But anyway, Happy Halloween!

And instead of pigging out on the left over candy, donate it to a shelter or pantry in your community.

Planning a downhill ski resort

So, we are planning to build a small downhill and x-c ski center on campus. In this exercise for Site Planning Studio, we are working with the area we call the North Campus, downhill and north of the new dorm.

This area was the site of the former Sheraton Inn and a public swimming pool when our Foundation purchased the property some 10-15 years ago.

Since the slopes (ski runs) face generally a northerly direction, why not put in some ski trails?  The north slope will have shade.  We can use one of the many sunpath diagrams to identify the solar path and impact on the snow cover.  Try this one for size.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

This year, like every Halloween, I show one of my 16mm prints to celebrate the holiday and collect food for the local food pantry.

This year, I will show Night of the Living Dead (1968 Directed by George Romero).  Set for the bewitching hour of 7 pm TONIGHT (29 October 2013) in the WSU Ely Campus Center, the show will take place.

Can't make it but want to see the film?  Check out Archive.org.

Since it is public domain, it is easy to find.

weather interpretation

So, everyone has an opinion about the weather.  While waiting in line at the grocery, you might talk about the good (or not so good weather) with the others in the queue.

Try this for size.  Or my paper here.

Fall in New England

This fall has been incredibly beautiful.  The fall foliage and clear sunny weather provided a picture perfect opportunity for leaf peepers.

This is a shot found along my morning commute.  It is the Little River from the Granville Road Bridge.

where to get data when the government is shut down

Hi, I got this from my trinet listserv and edited it down for you:

University of California, Berkeley
http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/status-of-government-websites-during-shutdown

United States Census Bureau on Internet Archive
http://web.archive.org/web/20130928074925/http://www.census.gov/

Leonard Library
San Francisco State University Library
http://libguides.sfsu.edu/governmentshutdown

Knowledge Center
http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/drupal/content/expert-information-shutdown

Eastern Michigan University Library
http://guides.emich.edu/content.php?pid=126801&sid=1103855

got any others?

Innovative Business Practices

See Chapter Sixteen

Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria: An International Perspective on Restaurant Sustainability Model Development

Ian Jenkins and Robert S. Bristow

Europe Locations

Black Sea, Iberian Peninsula, Baltic Sea, English Channel, Danube River, Pyrenees, Corsica, Sardinia, Jura Mountains, Palma de Mallorca

Dog Parks

More and more dog parks are appearing on the landscape as humans realize that dogs need parks as much as people.  Find your local park by visiting this site.

For example, in the Boston MA area you can find these parks.

Now, would you deny this pup a park?

red sky at night ....

You know the old sayings, right?  Well this site is a pretty good place to start to read about more of them.  After all, a site called Granny-Miller can't be all bad?

See also this one and this one.

Volunteer Land Management STOPS

All Volunteer work on the Appalachian Trail has been ordered to stop due to the Government Shut-down.

The Appalachian Trail National Park is CLOSED.  See the NPS website for details.

I wonder how many hours and days of lost "free" labor will be lost due to the careless actions of a few GOP Representatives.

Shameful.

Irony and Yosemite

It is ironic that Google is celebrating Yosemite National Park's 123rd Anniversary on the first day of the US Government shut down.

And all about American's lack of willingness to provide health care for everyone.

What a shame.