All Things Geography

A Python Primer for ArcGIS is Finally Out!

2011-12-21T15:24:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time coming, but I am finally finished. The Primer came out on December 5, 2011. I must say, this was one of the hardest things I have done. You can get a copy here or through my website at JenningsPlanet.

The American River College online Spring course (Geog 375) is already completely filled, but the book can get you productive.

Hope you enjoy it!

Cheers.

Redistricting in Sacramento City and County

2011-05-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

Here is a public radio program that discusses the efforts of redistricting using GIS!

Insight - Capital Public Radio, 90.9 FM, May 17, 2011

The City of Sacramento GIS staff is help supporting a public effort using a web based application. The period is now closed, but we have received a number of groups to propose their Council District Boundaries. The County is doing all of the work in house for vote on by the County Supervisors.

City of Sacramento Redistricting Website

County of Sacramento Redistricting Website

State of California Redistricting Website

Ubuntu and GIS...attempt 2

2011-02-05T17:45:00.000-08:00

I have a renewed vision for running and using Ubuntu open source OS and various GIS packages, etc. Luckily, I have a nice IT friend that has given me a little push, so I am in the midst of doing this again, with the hope of offering others the same encouragement. See Mark Perry's blog in the subject a couple of years ago...this is where I first heard about it.

So I currently have the latest versions of Ubuntu and the following GIS packages on a system. Do internet searches on these to obtain the download info. These work on Ubuntu and Windows...

QGIS - open source GIS with a good interface, pretty easy to use and has GRASS embedded in it. QGIS also has some capability to do GPS to shapefile and vice versa for GPS.

GRASS - open source image processing. Been around for a long time, but not very easy to use. I am taking a look at this again and seeing what QGIS can/can't do with it.

Anyone out there that would like to share/collaborate with me, drop me a line...Students of mine...feel free to get it going as well (even on Windows) and let me know. I would genuinely like to know more, but the Earth Day is only 24 hrs long. You might even be able to work on it for credit in the Work Experience class at American River College.....

PostgreSQL - open source relational database

PostGIS - PostgreSQL spatial add on

GPS Babel- open source GPS converted to dozens of GPS formats, manufacturers.

Opticks - open source remote sensing software. Solaris 32 and 64 bit are supported. I am looking into see if Ubuntu version is supported. It may be limited. I strongly suggest this software, I use it in my remote sensing classes, and I have developed algorithms for them as well.

I encourage discussion and collaboration on it, so keep me in the loop and feel free to post on this.
As for me I hope to create some GIS data in the various supported formats and be able to use them in ArcGIS, since ArcGIS will accept shapefile, postgreSQL, and a variety of raster data formats.

I am also looking into putting a virtual machine on my system as well so I can function in both worlds unless I find out I can function well in one.

Yours in Open Source NMC

Weislander Vegetation Type Mapping

2010-12-29T21:47:00.000-08:00

A student of mine happened upon the Weislander Vegetation Type Mapping data set while conducting some of his thesis research. This is a very great find of historical vegetation cover mapping for California. This method was well ahead of it's time (being compiled in the 1920's and 30's). This data set is now GIS enabled as a result of work conducted by UC Berkley and UC Davis. I hope you find this data set useful in your work. At least check it out. Historical photos are available as well.

My student explained to me that some of the trees in the Sierras are not as near as big now as they used to be, especially of some species.

What a great data set that is available for other ecological research!

Thanks Jim!

Winter Downtime?

2010-12-29T09:16:00.000-08:00

With my busy schedule, I don't often to post much of anything, but thought I might provides some info on a variety of topics.

Python Programming - Geog 375 at American River College

I teach an online Python class at American River College. It is completely full for the Spring and I am working on having the class offered more often. I am also working on a text that I hope will become a book the provides the bridge between Python and ArcGIS. A draft version of this will be offered in my class for the Spring. Check out my blog and JenningsPlanet links for more information.

American River College GIS Program

GIS and the Community

I am working with Soil Born Farms to possibly provide an Internship opportunity that can help Soil Born with their mission while using GIS to deliver the "local food message" and showcasing some of the utility of GIS.

I have also created a GIS of my home property that focuses on how I am using my property for gardening. I hope to develop the data and generate some web services that I can showcase to students about what GIS can be used for and as potential project ideas for some of my classes.

GIS and Renewable Energy/Environmental Management

Renewable energy is an important interest to me and as almost all sectors of industry, GIS is being used to communicate the messages. ESRI has posted some interesting show cases of how GIS is being used in environmental management.

Earth Policy Institute

I came across this organization by chance in a book store. It turns out it is run by the same person who put out EarthWatch and published scientific papers on the state of the World. Check it out and read through Plan B 4.0 and get involved.

JenningsPlanet Urban Farm

My little patch of garden is in nitrogen and soil replenishing mode. I have planted a wheat, vetch, fava bean mix in two of my plots as well as my back fence. Luckily my neighbor cut is "evil privet" bush down, so I now have a little more sun light. I am trying to remediate some soil on my back fence and have dug up a little patch near my shed (aka future green house) for something. Compost bins are near full with my trees leaves and grass clippings, not to mention my home food waste. At some point I need to seriously prune my wonderful seedless mulberry weeds (I mean trees) so that my little garden can benefit from the sun. This will all come in time, since I need to fix my roof.

Energy Production

I have been thinking about how to implement (relatively cheaply) solar arrays on my property, better use water (hmmm...maybe I should be capturing this water for use later)....Note to Self: Buy bins to collect rain water, then use on garden. The solar arrays are not going to sustain my energy use for my home, but it will offset something. The search goes on.

Hiking

I now have some snow shoes, but of course the challenge is finding that time and obtaining winter clothes for my kids so we can go play. I am also thinking of investing in a pretty good GPS for my treks. I also plan to create GIS data sets/web services to also show case the use of GPS (yet, another one of my classes at American River College).

This is the update from JenningsPlanet Urban Farm. If I could just shift the Earth's orbit or slow it down, I would have time to do these things.

If you want to call this downtime, so be it.

Be Productive, Get Involved

Bonsai Rock at Lake Tahoe

2010-08-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

Bonsai Rock - Lake Tahoe

I finally made it to the Bonsai Rock at Lake Tahoe. I was a little disappointed when I saw the rock, since it looked like the trees had been cut down. I checked other posts and realized that they were ok. I am glad these have not been further cut down. I hope to go back at other times of the year to see how it is doing.

JenningsPlanet Organic Family Urban Farm EarthDate - 07.31.2010

2010-07-31T09:25:00.000-07:00

Bed 1

I have been harvesting cherry and large tomatoes from the garden. I also have 3 poblanos almost ready. I have started a new batch of lettuce and carrots that I put in 2 weeks ago. First real leave are appearing.


Bed 2

Started 12 bush bean seeds. Currently 3 are coming up. I realized that one of the potato pieces I planted a couple of months ago is growing leaves. Maybe I will get a batch of potatoes. I also started 3 sweet potato cuts to see if these will start. My Japanese Eggplant which did have at least 4 flowers only has one developing eggplant. We will see if this survives.


Bed 3

My mandarin tree that I thought was dead, looks to be alive. It is producing flowers and buds and leaves, so hopefully, my little tree will make it. The pear tree did not make it. The fig tree has 7 developing figs. The cherry that I thought wouldn't make it has good leaves, but no flowers. I will probably need to wait until next year to see if I get any production.

Mandarin

One amazing thing this growing season, is I have been able to successfully start at least 6 tomato plants that actually started from seed in my developed compost pile. This (accidental) method was more successful than trying to start them from seed in seed trays. I know it had a lot to do with the soil temperature. Some even came up in a bed that I just threw compost on and mixed in with the soil.

Tomatoes

I also built 2 starter boxes from recycled cedar boards I picked up in my neighborhood from a fence remodel.

I am planning on starting onions and brussel sprouts in these boxes and then transplanting them into my garden once sprouted.

Python and ArcGIS 10

2010-05-13T11:20:00.000-07:00

I just completed a webinar produced by ESRI on Python and the new release of ArcGIS 10. Some very cool tools/functions coming out, especially with being able to access the map document, layers, table of contents, extents, etc., being able to create PDF map books, etc. Looks like one can write some code within ArcMap to run some simple processes such as a tool or any other process. The same thing can be done with a script attached to a custom tool. In either case the output can be automatically added to the Table of Contents.
Here are some highlights from the webinar.

Comments welcome. For those in the Sacramento Region (or not), I teach a class at American River College, Geog 375, Introduction to GIS programming. Completely Python and ArcGIS and on-line.

1. Can build Python code in Field Calculator

2. arcpy is now the primary module for ArcGIS (replaces arcgisscritping)

3. Script within ArcMap. Have a Python Script tool within ArcMap. Brings up a Python script window at the bottom of the map interface. Can run in the background and do other map work while script is running. The script results add the output to the table of contents.

4. can import extension modules (e.g. spatial analyst [sa])

5. Type commands from ArcGIS (Python script window at bottom of ArcMap window.

6. Python 2.6.5 will be supported on ArcGIS 10. Previous Python scripts and syntax should work with ArcGIS 10

7. Import arcpy into Python IDE to see geoprocessor code completion

8. Mapping Module:

              arcpy.mapping, automate map workflows, update/repair data sources (use a loop to do this!)

              access layers, create reports

              create PDF map books

              add/remove layers from table of contents

              definition query, transparency, rotation, scale, etc

              turn on/off labels

9. OS Support - Windows XP, Vista, 7

JenningsPlanet Organic Family Urban Farm EarthDate - 05.09.2010

2010-05-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

The second weekend in May, Mother's Day.

Starting Seeds...

of any sort, pitiful. I do have a couple of prospects of

Brussel Sprouts
Beans
Cilantro
Lettuce

but only a few out of the dozens I attempted to start (tomatoes, peppers, tomatoes, okra, peas, squash, zucchini, etc) are atually making it. I think my biggest challenge was keeping the seeds warm and with enough light during the starting phase. I really didn't have any place in my house to really do this.

So a project over the summer in preparation for the fall is to convert my shed into a greenhouse!

As a result of my seed propagation failure, I bought plants:

Cherry Tomato (1)
Hot House (1)
Japanese Egg Plant (1)
Basil (2)
Poblano Peppers (3)
Round Red (1)
Okra (2)

Strawberries (1 bag)

Onions were coming up from the bulbs I started earlier in the year. The spacing could have been a little better, but they are coming up.

I transplanted Rosemary and Oregano from a pot I had.

Box 1

Tomato, Poblano, Eggplant, Garlic

Box 2

Lettuce, Basil, Okra, Garlic

Box 3

Started Sunflower, Palm seeds
I found in downtown Sacramento,
Onions

Compost

Is going well. This is the most successful part of my garden, since all I have to do is through my food waste and yard waste in there and turn once in awhile :)

My First Lettuce Salad

I managed to clip enough lettuce I started from seed in my garden for a salad.

My son planted a couple of pumpkin seeds in the garden. We will see if they come up. I also (re) planted a couple of zucchini and squash seeds. Hopefully, these will come up.

Here is a picture of a succulent garden I have that I keep adding to from time to time.

A Happy Accident

I noticed when I was watering my blue berries that I have two small tomato plants underneath my blue berries!! What a surprise. I will try and transplant it to my tomato garden.

Front Yard Orchard

The cherry has some new viable buds on it, so my transplant did not kill it :)

I managed to transplant the pear from a pot to the yard. I am still not sure if it will make it. I did give it some organic fertilizer in the soil and some good watering.

The lemon and lime tree had flower buds on it, but I think the bugs ate them. We will see if any fruit comes to fruition.

The mandarin is still a twig, but I am still hopeful. Some set of leaves are coming out of the ground, but I think it is a privit seedling. If so, it will go.

The fig is the most vigorous. Leaves are growing well. A new bud looks like it is appearing down at the base of the tree. I will see what comes of this.

Flowers

Flowers seem to be growing well. The flowers from last year are coming back, the roses are in bloom, however with a bit of leaf rust. The lilacs are doing well and the little bushes in front are producing more leaves each day!

The lone lily is about 4 feet tall! I can't wait for the blooms to appear.

I threw some flax seeds in the spot where my lemon tree is.

BioInensive Garden Class

2010-05-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

I was able to attend the biointensive gardening class yesterday at SoilBorn Farms. Julie and Alison from Peas and Harmony gave the class. It was a great introduction to biointensive gardening and the basics to work the soil, perform close planting, and keep the soil healthy and your garden functional all year around! Thank you Julie and Alison!

As a result of the class, I was thinking about my back and side fences in my back yard that are now overgrown with grass and still has the clay soil since I have not put any amendments in it. I did manage to clean them out last year and dig up the dirt, but not much else at this point. I do get a bit of shade on both fences, however the side fence does get some afternoon sun, especially in the summer.

Back Fence (South side of property)

South side somewhat shady most of the day. Probably good for flowering shrubs. I have a Japanese Maple (~4 yrs old) in foreground.

Backyard Side Fence (West side of property)

2 lilacs present in foreground. Potato tree by the telephone box in the far corner.

So I was thinking of planting wheat, rye, and/or oats here in the fall, which will serve as my brown material in the winter for my compost. The plan is not to grow grains for eating, but for keeping my compost and soil maintained....so I will try this out.

BioIntensive Gardening

2010-05-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

One of the more well known methods of organic gardening, BioIntensive Gardening lends itself to take a small plot of land (garden space) and turn it into a productive area for growing food. With the latest downturn in the economy and people needing to "be creative" in being able to get by with much less, turning an a small "urban space" into an area where a family can offset some of their food cost while being more gentle to the environment as well as know where their food comes from and to care for it, BioIntensive Gardening is one option.

Coined by John Jeavons in the early 1970's, he is a world wide proponent of productive organic gardening in small spaces and to help the soil be more "alive" and productive. His working farm is in Willits, CA.

This is one area I am spending a good portion of my time learning and trying as part of my own Urban Garden. Luckily, I live near a working organic urban farm, Soil Born Farms, where I can gain on-site information and knowledge that I can translate into my own experience.

Come back to see how my experience expands my own backyard geography.

Creating the Palisades Creek Lost Google Map (GPS/Digital Camera)

2010-04-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

The following describes how I created the map above (from my Oct 2009 Palisade Creek "Lost" hike) - See my Palisade Creek Lost blogpost from Nov 1, 2009.

To create the Google Map post from Nov 1, 2009, I used a basic Garmin 76S and a plain digital camera - Cannon with 5 Mp that does not have GPS capability.

One can create a map like this without any special software other than the Free GPS Babel software to do GPS to other format conversions (one of which is KML) and a free Google (gmail) account.

Pre-Requisites

1. Download the GPSBabel software.

2. Obtain a free Gmail account if you don't already have one.

3. If you want to view your Google KML file in Google Earth, then you will need to download this program. If you want to see you KML file in Google Maps, then you just need to save the KML files.

Create the Map

1. Collect GPS Data

Go collect some GPS locations, routes, tracks. At some point this post will be outdated, but for those of us who don't own the latest and greatest toys, this will be helpful to those who want to create free and easy maps for some basic location GPS data and digital photos.

2. Download/Convert GPS Data using GPS Babel to KML Format

Download the GPS Babel software (if needed). Note where the GPSBabelGUI.exe file is located so you can start the program. The GPSBabelGUI.exe is the GPSBabel program that has a grapical user interface (GUI), which makes it simpler to download/upload/change GPS formats.

Download your data using the GPS babel software and save it out to a KML format. Save the KML file somewhere on your computer.

3. Download your photos to you computer

Once you download your pictures go to the Photos link and create a new photo album and upload the pictures you downloaded to this album. This creates a "Web Album" on your Google account.

4. Add the pictures to a Google Map.

Add a caption if you choose

5. Create a KML file of your photo map

Go back to the Photo Album of your photos, and then click on "View in Google Earth" to generate a KML file.

Instead of "Open in Google Earth," choose "Save." Note the long number. You will need to remember where you save this file, since you will "Import" it into your custom map you will create later (see the next steps).

6. Create a Google Map of your GPS data

Click on the "more" drop down list in you Gmail account andselect Maps from the list to bring up a window to create your own Google Maps.

Click "My Maps" to create a custom Google Map. This map will contain both the GPS data and your photos.

Click "Create a new map" to create a custom map. Give it a name and a description if you choose, and then choose "Import" to import your KML files.

You will need to import your KML files of both your GPS data (exported from GPS Babel) and your photos (that you created in the above steps) into this new map.

7. Import the KML file of your GPS data and photos to your custom map.

You should now have a custom map of your GPS data and photos.

From here you can edit the captions and add text about the locations or photos.

Happy Map Making!

NMC

Urban Garden

2010-04-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

Spring is trying to get here and I am trying to get my garden going as well. For the last few years of creating and planting raised beds, my what should be "green thumb" is rather brown or gray. I thought I might start out this year with actually testing my soil. My son made this his science project, which actually got him to a District science fair. Turns out my soil is basically depleted of Nitrogen and Phosphorus, but ok with Potassium. pH is neutral.

So a few weeks ago (early March), I added the following:

Chicken Manure - 1 bag over all three boxes
Steer Manure - 1 bag per garden box
My own Compost - a number of shovel fulls of compost

Mixed all of this in.

About 3 weeks ago, I planted my gardens:

Box 1

(all seeds)

Pasilla peppers
Carrots
Cilantro
Zucchini
Squash
Cherry Tomatoes - planted in a circle
Big Boy Tomatoes - planted in a circle

Box 2

Lettuce Mix
Garlic - from a head of garlic
Onion bulbs
Basil

Peppers:

Green
Red
Yellow
Habanero
Pasilla

Box 3

Beans - planted in circles
Brussel Sprouts
Green Onions
Carrots

Lately, the temperature has been in the high50's low 60's. Two weeks ago it was 70 in the day, 50 at night. I think it has been a little too cold for the little seeds to germinate.

In addition to planting my garden and keeping my options for planting going, I also started inside:

Starter Box 1

Tomatoes (cherry and big boy)
Pasilla Peppers
Beans

Starter Box 2

Peppers
Tomatoes (cherry and big boy)

The beans are currently in a wet paper towel and germinating

The tomatoes have germinated after 1 week. The peppers have not germinated.
I have not used any light source on them other than the light that comes through my back sliding door and kitchen table.

I have also started pepper seeds in a wet paper towel, but no germination after 1 week.

Currently, lettuce, carrots, and brussel sprouts have sprouted in the garden. Garlic tops have appeared from my planted garlic cloves. All the rest has not germinated.

I do think my soil still has too much clay. I probably should have added 2-3 bags of good topsoil and a little more steer manure. I did not add any lime, or phosphorus or other phosphorus additive. I am attempting for pure organic and trying to develop my soil. I do have plenty of earth worms moving around, so I know the soil has some good stuff in it.

Okra, Peas, Cilantro

Today, I just planted okra, peas, and cilantro in an attempt to germinate other plants indoors while it is still cold.

Berries

On the side of my yard, I do have black berry bushes with buds and one of my two blue berry bushes have buds and the other is doing ok.

Fruit Trees

I bought fig and cherry tree and have yet to install them in raised boxes in my front yard. The cherry is questionable. The leaves that were on there when I bought is are dying, but I do see some new green buds appearing. The fig is doing well. The lemon and lime have sprouted new leaves and the lemon has new buds about to open. The mandarin still has a green stem, but I am awaiting an new signs of recuperation. The pear tree has no buds on it and I am not sure the pear is going to sprout any buds.

Lunch with Llamas

2009-11-15T23:46:00.000-08:00

An excellent hike today up near the Pilot Hill area off of Salmon Falls Rd and Hwy 49 at Cronan Ranch. My kids and I hiked with the American River Conservancy group and some folks from Vacaville with Llamas. Overall, a pretty easy hike about 2-3 miles to the South Fork of the American. Water is still flowing and a few ripples. Even deep enough for a lone Kayaker today. The kids were able to lead the llamas round. Ended the hike with a view of parasailors floating off of a nearby hill.

Palisade Creek Lost

2009-11-01T01:54:00.000-07:00

View Palisade Creek Lost in a larger map

I finally got a chance to do a more difficult trail sans kids. I had this idea that I would take advantage of a neat trail I had heard and read about. I was all excited to finally get down the the Upper North Fork and explore some of the river bed in this area and witnessing some spectacular scenery.

My expectations were suddenly devastated after I lost sight of the Palisade Creek Trail that comes off the right side of a granite face. I searched all over along the creek that the trail is supposed to run down, however, I never found it. I also ended up more East than I intended when I went searching for it, so about an hour of my 4 hr hike was spent bushwhacking in the manzanita. Cursed Manzanita...evil, vile! Looking at the topos and coming off the granite face, I was not sure if I was too far West or East of the trail. I thought I might cut over East since it "looked" kind of easy to traverse and it wasn't "that far." I was only about 1-2,000 meters from the said trail and thought I might go South to pick up the junction of the Palisade Creek and Long Valley trails. There is supposed to be a little upside down "heart shaped" lake that is also just East of the trail. I am pretty sure I came upon this (completely dry and full of dead grasses this time of year), but still could not see any indication of the trail. So I decided to head back, since I was beat from traversing manzanita hidden granite. Enough of that !#@$*, said I.

Luckily, I had my GPS and my Topo maps with me, which if I did not have, I would probably still be in the "thicket" of things.

Let this be a lesson to you....who am I lecturing. I was the idiot that got lost!

I finally made it back to where I lost the trail and had some deserved lunch. I was wiped out.

I hiked down the trail a little to about a 1/3 mi out from the parking area and I came across another "Bearing Tree for Section 32 in the Township 17N, Range 14E, XXX Topo Quad. The Bearing Tree is 83 links S72N.

A link is: "a traditional unit of distance used by surveyors, equal to 0.01 chain. In Britain, one link is exactly 0.66 feet, or 7.92 inches, or approximately 20.12 centimeters. In the U.S., both 66-foot and 100-foot chains have been used; for a 100-foot chain the link is the same as the foot." University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Units of Measurement Dictionary

I did see some pretty country and an interesting geographical feature.

Next time, I will be sure and go with at least one other person, so I can't blame getting lost on myself.

Palisade and the North Fork will have to wait, yet another day.

NMC (not feeling too cartographica on this one)

Compost Bin ca. 2009

2009-11-01T01:26:00.000-07:00

My new compost bin is finally completed. It took me several weekends to complete since I deviated from my project to go hiking in the various places mentioned below. The plans came from a Lowe's site that I found in a Google search. Pretty sturdy. I did not put in a wooden bottom as per the plans, but left it open. I did put in the middle support, though. The top sides and middle are open to the elements to allow moisture and air circulate and keep the critters out. They are made from 1/4" x 36" roll of "hard ware cloth." It will likely be found in the garden section of Home Depot or Lowe's.

Iowa Hill Ditch to Tadpole Creek

2009-10-21T00:15:00.000-07:00

View Iowa Hills Ditch/Tadpole Creek in a larger map

We made it a bit further than last time. At least we made it to Tadpole Creek. The hike to this point was extraordinary, me being with my kids and all. Some parts of this section of trail (~2 mi to Tadpole Creek) have several washed out spots that are too narrow to cross and force one to bushwhack up and down hills. Luckily, a fire came through here in 2008, which made it much easier.

As one will see in the slide show, because we did bushwhack, we came across a section corner for Township 16 NRange 15 E for Section 31. Also we saw a tree with a "Bearing Marker" on it to indicate which direction and distance from the tree the section marker is located in case it is obstructed by brush.

It was a good day for to hike this section again after a couple of weeks. The fact we were out on the trail much earlier and we didn't run across the squatter again. He left is mobile homestead and must have parked somewhere else.

We came across many interesting features of the Iowa Hill Ditch (or what remains of it). We found numerous hand hammered nails from ca 1850-1880. I am not sure of the exact dates as well as wire, iron stakes sticking out of rock, and splintered wood from when the nails actually held the wood together to form the Iowa Hills Ditch. This ditch, from what I read, was built by Chinese labor and ran for 40 miles. This section is at the 5500' elevation mark and runs the contour for a number of miles from Beacroft trail head East to Iowa Hills. It also continues along West, but I am not sure how far. Consult the USGS topo for more information. This "abandoned" ditch is on the USGS maps. You can also find out more here, at Russel Towle's blog.

Iowa Hill Ditch (short)

2009-10-14T23:53:00.000-07:00

I spent more time driving here than hiking (again). With my 7yr old in tow we set off for another adventure in the North Fork. This time I was hoping for an "easy" trail that we could stroll along for a couple of miles or so. The hike didn't last long due to a washed out area that I didn't really want to take my daughter on in the middle of nowhere and the fact we passed some squatter at the trail head in his beat up trailer and truck. I will definitely come back here, since the ditch is noticeable in many places and covers several miles to the east and west of Beacroft trail head.

Fire ripped through here in 2008 as one can see from the photos.

North Fork American River - Stevens Trail (attempt) and Codfish Falls

2009-09-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

Stevens Trail/Codfish Falls Trail Map

View Stevens Trail/Codfish Falls in a larger map

Stevens Trail (attempt)

This weekend, I had in mind to do a less strenuous hike with my 7yr old and I wanted to start looking over Ron Gould's North Fork Trail guide, so I settled on Steven's Trail just outside of Colfax. I even wanted to get an earlier start which I did, however, we didn't get very far on Stevens.

We reached the parking lot about 10:45am with the plan to take our time and hike as far as my 7yr old could tolerate (I was hoping most of the way 6-8 mi). We ambled down the trail about 0.5 mi just past an old road coming in from the right when we spotted a bear (sorry, no pictures on this one). Luckily, he turned our way, took a look, then headed up the hill from the trail.

I decided to turn around and leave the trail. So our all day hike on Stevens turned out to be short lived.

On our way back we ran into a couple hiking with the same idea in mind. I told them of the bear siting. They decided to turn around as well. Back at the car, they asked me about other hikes in the area. Being a new hiker in the NF and a recent contributor to the North Fork of the American River Alliance, I told them about Ron Gould's guide, the NFARA.org site and Russel Towle's North Fork blog and remembrance site and suggested that Codfish falls might be a good alternative, now that the time was approaching noon. Turns out that the woman of the pair teaches at American River College, like myself. They actually had this trail downloaded from the Internet. I told them we may meet up with them later after my daughter ate a bite.

Off we went to Codfish Falls...

Codfish Falls

Using Ron's directions and taking the easier of the two ways to get to Ponderosa Bridge, I decided to take the Foresthill Road to the Ponderosa turn off and then take the 3 mi drive down, down, to the canyon and parked at Ponderosa Bridge. We did meet up with the pair we met on Stevens and they were just getting ready to head out. The commented on the drive down that it was a lot rougher than they expected. I replied that at least they did not take the 6 mi drive from Weimer. I told them that many of my "scouting" adventures to check out trail heads along I-80 to the NF had been met with driving very "questionable" roads and that a high rise vehicle and possible 4WD would be recommended. I am glad I have one for these such adventures.

So on we went through the stifling heat and the very low NF. To me, its all good. Just getting out exploring these wonderful places with the seed planted from Russel Towle's blog posts and Ron Gould's guide. I definitely plan to revisit some of these places in the spring time when the water is high. I also plan to visit some of the more impressive adventure spots that is profusely described in Russel's blogs. They seem amazing and, checking other related posts and blogs (see above), the are truly amazing, especially earlier in the year.

The trail was not too long, but seemed longer than I would expect because of the heat and my 7yr old likes to talk more and walk less. Eventually, we reached what would have been the falls, except it is September and the falls are just a trickle, perfect for the little frog my daughter spotted and tried to catch. We hung out for a few and then did our return trip. On the side at the confluence of Codfish Creek and the NF, we pulled off to the right and dropped down to the bed of the NF to take some pictures and experience the NF right at its base. So awesome being in the canyon.

We finished off the hike with my daughter jumping in the pool just at the base of the Ponderosa bridge while I hung out on the shoreline and watched the crazy young-folk jumping in different forms off the bridge.

It was a good day. New adventure...more to come.

NMC

Loch Leven Lakes Trail

2009-09-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

View Lock Leven Lakes in a larger map

You may need to open the larger map to see the captions under the photos.

Loch Leven Lakes trailhead is just off I-80 at the Big Bend Exit. The trail is mostly an uphill climb to to the Loch Leven Lake. From there you can hike about 1/4 mi to the Middle Loch Leven or about another mi to the High Loch Leven. On the west side, you can pick up the trail for Salmon Lake which is another mi or two. Loch Leven will make for a good day hike where one can experience some or all of these lakes in a day. Water is much lower in the summer than the spring.

American River Links Added

2009-08-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

I have added a separate link section for the American River for links that include other "forks." The Canyon Keepers link has portions of its trail book in PDF format for download, some with pictures.

Soil Born Farms

2009-08-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

Soil Born Farms is an urban organic farm that exists near my home along the American River. I didn't even know it existed until I saw a blurb in the Sunset Magazine this past month. So now I venture there occasionally and volunteer once in awhile, too. It is so nice to have such a splendid place nearby. Soil Born Farms has inspired me to continue my ventures to organic farming at my home.

North Fork Shaded Relief Topo Maps

2009-08-25T00:22:00.000-07:00

I just finished a set of 1:24,000 scale shaded relief topo mosaics (42" x 60") for the North Fork of the American River. The maps include a good portion of the Middle Fork as well to help me plan and prepare my hiking trips. Check out my website JenningsPlanet -->Gallery for PDFs of the maps and more. I will likely make some minor updates and post some pure shaded relief renditions of the area as well. I may prepare some smaller versions of these as well as post the actual 1:24,000 PDFs that come from the USGS for this area. All of the information came from the USGS National Map Viewer and can be downloaded for free. The trimmed topos without the collar can be downloaded from the Cal-Atlas (aka CASIL) site for free. I created the maps using ArcGIS 9.3.1.

If you decide to print them out, they will take about 15-20 minutes to spool to an HP Plotter 4500.

Onion Creek and Cascade Lakes

2009-08-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

Went on another adventure with the kids to explore some more of the North Fork. Again, I didn't get too far because I have a 7yr old and the fact we did not leave until 11:30AM to drive over an hour to any trail head.

Onion Creek

Based on a recommendation from the North Fork of the American River Alliance, I took off for Soda Spring to see how far I could drive towards the Royal Gorge. We went a few miles in just past Ice Lakes Resort and were able to drive pretty much up to a precipice where I took some photos. We continued on down, down towards Onion Creek. When we reached the 1st significant hair pin, I decided to turn around. I didn't want to get much further, just in case I ran into trouble, plus I wanted to check out the trail head near Palisade Lake that would take me down to the North Fork.

Cascade Lakes

So we did make it to the Palisades Trailhead (it is now about 4pm) and I did want to get out of the suburban. We walked about 45 min to an hour. I did notice that the North Fork would be about 7 mi which I will keep in mind for another day. I definitely want to go back and will probably do so in the spring when the water is up and flowing. The Cascade Lakes are of course very dry during this time of year, very dry...

All in all, it was another good scouting adventure and will come back to fully experience the glory of this trail.

China Trail

Another post I came across in the NFARA blog was a description of a hike that Russel Towle and a friend did a couple of years ago that starts around the Emigrant Gap area and trails down the North Fork. I will need to do this on my own or maybe with my son (12), since there will be a lot of driving and hiking.

I am eager to get to the North Fork at some point in time.

I am working on an overall map of the North Fork piecing together the 1:24,000 topo maps to make a large poster size wall map. I will post pics when I get them. I also want to put together a nice hill shade of the are too from USGS DEM data.

True Story Images

2009-08-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

This website is from a good friend of mine. Beautiful pictures and a great person. If you are ever in need of some photog, look her up.

True Story

NC

North Fork of the American River

2009-08-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

First of all, a few links for those who are as interested as I...

North Fork American River Alliance (http://www.nfara.org/). This is a non-profit that one can contribute to help protect the North Fork of the American River.

Russel Towle A remembrance of Russel and his life.

Links to Russel's writings and natural history of the North Fork of the American River

I will add more posts on this subject as I become more involved.

The Slide Show of this Adventure

Euchre Bar

From North Fork American River - Euchre Bar - Lover's Leap

I was looking for a place to take my kids hiking a few weeks ago, somewhere near my home in Sacramento. I had made a pledge to myself to do more hiking and camping than I have done in years past and take advantage of the wonderful place I live near (1-2 hrs from many hiking areas in the Sierra Nevadas) and 1-5 hrs to the Pacific coast, depending on how far I want to drive. I had just completed a hike off of Hwy 50 in El Dorado National Forest (almost to Raymond's Lake). I had done another hike a good ways up I-80, off of the Big Bend exit. (I can't remember the trail, but it was good and went from 7000-8200 ft). I had also purchased both the El Dorado Forest and Tahoe National Forest Service maps and had spoke to someone that I used to work with on some good places to go hiking. I spread out my Tahoe NF map and started looking around the American River area. I knew that there were a North, Middle, and South Fork and have talked to a couple of people who did kayaking down some of them. Once I got a descent bearing of the topography, I checked on-line for any basic information that people have recently put out regarding their favorite hikes etc. Little did I know, but a person, Russel Towle, had spent a good chunk of his life hiking and maintaining trails within the North Fork of the American River. After reading a few of his blog entries, I decided on taking my kinds down the Euchre Bar trail. It was interesting to get to the trail head and then once there, we hiked down about 1/2 way (it's all down going down, thus all up, going up!)....and then my little girl decided to be defiant and touch the poison oak. This ended our trip down to the River for the afternoon.

Emigrant Gap Area

Once washed up, we did another excursion down Emigrant Gap through part of the forest, just checking out the land and seeing what was around. I have some good ideas for another hike.

Adventure to Lover's Leap

From North Fork American River - Euchre Bar - Lover's Leap

It being late, we decided to head back to Sacramento. As we got close to the Dutch Flat, we took the exit and headed south. I wanted to see if we could get to Lover's Leap, since the pictures I saw, were very spectacular!

We drove a bit, and then some more. Passed some very interesting homes throughout the woods along Moody Ridge, then came up to Lovers' Leap Ln. Took this for a bit and finished at the end which was Lover's Leap! I took my two kids carefully down to a look out. Snapped a picture to the West and then went to a small little path that led to a 2000' drop off to the East. Awesome! A hawk flew circles below us hanging on the thermals. We hopped back in the SUV (burb with 4WD, recommended or at least a high riding vehicle) and took off for home. There appears to be part of Moody Ridge that goes East from Lover's Leap Lane, but since I was down at the Alta exit off of I-80 and found a gate closing off the road with what appeared to be a security vehicle, I decided to return the same way I came (to Dutch Flat exit).

A very good trip all in all...

When I returned home, I broke my map out again to check some places where we went to and read some more about Russel Towle and his adventures.

I also came across the North Fork of the American River Alliance, which I am expecting to make a contribution to from now on.

This is a magnificent place and a place that I can spend countless hours on and hope to be the primary place to do some hiking, show my kids some wilderness, and give back to the mountainous environment which I love so much.

JPL 2009 Open House

2009-05-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

Just returned from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Open House....Very cool!! Check out the slide show!

JPL 2009 Open House Slide Show

I have never been to this event, but I am amazed at what JPL is doing. They have their hand in so many things.

One of the high lights is the 2011 expected Launch of the Mars Science Lab.

Earth Science - Remote Sensing

Atmospheric Science - Hurricanes, Ocean currents, tornadoes

Geology - LiDAR, RADAR, subsidence, micro changes in elevation, Earth Quake detection

Water/Ice - snow pack, water, ice monitoring

Nanotechnology

nano machines, chemistry and physics to build nanotechnology

Material Science

Chemistry and Physics

to create and produce thin films, silicon wafers

All of these are used in imaging systems

Imaging Systems (for terrestrial and extra terrestrial uses)

UV sensors, Infrared (short and long wave), LiDAR, RADAR

Solar Technology

multi-band solar cells to power probes, robots, space craft

Fuel Cell Technology

for powering probes, robots, etc.

Electronics development for sensors and probe function

Robotics

Rovers that are/will be on Mars and other planets

Aeronautical Engineering

Spacecraft, orbital sensors and systems, launch vehicles, vehicles for carrying payload to planetary surfaces and atmospheres

They also have entreprenureal opportunities, too!

JPL RSS Feeds

JPL Pod Casts

JPL Blogs

JPL Slide Shows

JPL News

Mapping Urban Forest Canopy in Sacramento

2009-04-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

I just finished a draft urban forest canopy layer for downtown Sacramento. I developed this for material to present to my Remote Sensing Class and for my students to work on for a lab. I developed a process to extract out urban forest canopy from other features in high resolution QuickBird satellite imagery. This is draft, so other refinement is necessary. I will update when it is complete. Imagery July 2006 QuickBird Satellite (2 ft, 0.6m) Software Used: Feature Analyst 4.2 for ArcGIS

Urban Forest Canopy (DRAFT)

Solid Waste Routing Custom Map Book Production

2009-03-28T11:17:00.001-07:00

As part of my re-route work for the City of Sacramento's Solid Waste Dept, I created a custom map book tool that allows a user to choose from a number of solid waste services to produce both an overview map and two detail maps (streets only and streets/parcels) of the route. The tool automatically generates PDF files of each of these. The tool has been timed to generate 200 maps in 8 minutes. Without this tool, it took over a week to reproduce all of the maps. I can generate a full set of maps for a given service in less than 20 minutes.

Searching for a Parking Space (Updated!)

2009-02-03T15:47:00.000-08:00

Here is yet another one of my Business Integration problems, I am working on solving for the City of Sacramento. We (I should say, our Parking Division) has a unique way of "addressing" the parking spaces in our downtown area.

I have developed a way to "geocode" these to our street centerline with an offset which will then accompany the Parking Space/Meter attribute information and, yes, integrated to our wonderful Infor EAM (Enterprise Asset Management System).

The Data

Our Parking Enforcement group provided a Parking Space inventory in Excel that contained "addresses" of the parking spaces. These "addresses" are not actual addresses, but do look like addresses. The Parking Enforcement division has maintained their data for years with this system and so on the right side of the street, the "parking space ranges" are from 00-32 and on the left from 01-31 on each street segment. Since these ranges don't match the existing exhaustive address ranges in our street centerline file, just geocoding these to our street segments don't really work. Some modification of the exhaustive ranges are needed.

Modifying the Street Centerline File

Since our Parking Division only enforces parking spaces in downtown Sacramento, only the downtown portion of the street centerline file is required to be modified ~4000 segments out of ~20,000 segments.

Ideally, the GIS team in the City encourages departments that want to create spatial data use our existing centerline file, parcel file, and master address file without modification. In this case, an exception is made to perform a 1 time generation of spatial data for parking spaces.

A series of queries and calculations were applied to compute additional exhaustive range attributes specifically for parking spaces. Most of this step was not too bad, but it did take about 2 full days to accomplish, since specific queries needed to be made to certain sides of the block.

Geocoding the Parking Space File

Once the street segment file was completed, a custom geocodeer was created that used the modified centerline file as the street centerline base for geocoding. One of my co-workers had created a custom geocoding style that we use for other address searching functions in other websites we maintain, so I used this in my geocoder routine.

Once the geocoder was set up, I took the parking space file I imported into ArcGIS (I did convert the excel file to a Dbase file so I could use it in ArcGIS) and geocoded it.

The first time I ran this, I did find some street address range issues, that I needed to fix. After running several iterations of the geocoder process, I was able to geocode all but 78 of the 21,400 parking space records. The 78 end up having "space range" values beyon the xx32 mentioned above. I will need to work with our Parking Division to work this out, but it won't be too much of a problem.

The Result

Overall, this process worked well. I am going to have an intern make some minor adjustments to the placement of the parking space information and work on a similar process for "angled" parking v. the "parallel parking" mentioned here.

If GIS was consulted before the inventory process began, we could have saved a lot of time of parking enforcement workers filling out an Excel field form and then having to go through this process of geocoding. If Parking Enforcement had worked with our GIS group and used already established GIS field form methodology from the beginning we would have save about a week's time running this geocoding process.

NC

Traffic Sign Inventory ArcUser Winter 2009 Article

2009-02-03T10:14:00.000-08:00

Check out my article on the City of Sacramento's Traffic Sign Inventory Project.

I have received numerous calls and email on the I am doing with the City.

NC

ArcObjects 9.3 Help

2009-02-03T10:05:00.000-08:00

A few of my students were asking how to navigate the convoluted course of the ArcObject Model Diagrams. You can check under the latest ArcGIS Web Help

http://resources.esri.com/help/9.3/arcgisdesktop/com/vba_start.htm

Hope you find this useful.
NC

City of Redlands and Sign Inventory

2009-01-29T09:03:00.000-08:00

A person who read my article in ArcUser sent me this link to what the City of Redlands is doing. They are using Street View of the Google Map to assist them in identifying and locating street signs. Check my Subscribed to links on the right or click here:

City of Redlands Sign Inventory

Rapid Eye Releases Demo Imagery

2009-01-27T11:14:00.001-08:00

Rapid Eye launched a series of satellites simultaneously in Aug 2008. Check out some of the galleries and data.

5m multispectral image data (5-band) B,G,R,NearRed, NIR

One of their benefits is they can capture a tremendous quantity of high-res data in a fairly short time.

NC

Ode to a Tree

2009-01-15T15:55:00.000-08:00

Well, the City is underway with the Urban Forest Services Tree Inventory. Davey Resources, the consultant on hand to complete the citywide inventory of city-managed trees, has been working for a month now and has about 10% complete.

In the meantime, I have been working on the back-end GIS data management infrastructure setting up the SDE transactional and publication environments using SDE Replication and Synchronization that will eventually hold the tree inventory data as well as developing some processes to create spatial SDE table views that will be used in the work order management side of things using Infor Enterprise Asset Management.

Just finished a Python script to create attribute domains out of the look up tables provided by Davey.

I will update as progress is being made.

NC

Unbutu Linux and GIS

2008-12-30T12:04:00.001-08:00

Check out my highlights and Open Source Links for information on Unbutu Linux and Open Source GIS information. The Wiki is informative and concise and has many links to various Open Source GIS info for those of you who are interested in Open Source and GIS. Many of the software packages are fairly well developed and have been around for awhile. They cover the gamut from GIS to Image Processing to Web-based and relational geodatabases.

Comments and other links are encouraged.

Naticus

Routing Them Garbage Trucks 4-10 Good Buddy!

2008-12-10T16:01:00.001-08:00

My latest endeavor from the JenningsPlanet is to help a Solid Waste Supervisor re-route Garbage, Recycling, Greenwaste, and Street Sweeping trucks throughout Sacramento for a possible 4 day/10 hr work day.

Using RouteSmart ($50,000) - sits on top of ArcGIS

9 days of training with RouteSmart - a definite necessity

Correcting some of our Customer data records and Geocoding so I can get the correct street segment for routing.

Many runs testing various parameters of RouteSmart to reduce routes, increase workload, and save the City of Sacramento some money.

Contact me for more details.

ESA SAR Toolbox - RADAR processing

2008-12-10T15:57:00.000-08:00

I received a post regarding some RADAR processing software. This is open source. I have not yet checked it out, but it may be useful for those interested in processing RADAR data.

Next ESA SAR Toolbox

Tales from a Python Script

2008-08-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Much of this year has been spent writing Python code for a Rental Inspection Program for the City of Sacramento. I have developed a series of Python scripts that I manually start that creates several files for a 3rd party hosted application. The scripts I write process existing and new SDE feature classes (this is an experience in itself). I have learned a lot through this process:

- Creating SDE table views (very cool way to process large quantities of data, but somewhat difficult to track bugs)

- Finding bugs that a programmer would assume would be caught. For example, non-existent field mappings not being picked up through exception tracebacks

- Still in wonder why my SDE Table views to Feature Class processes don't want to transfer all the data in the table view to my output feature class.

Overall, my application development has proved worthy for the Code Enforcement Dept, since the data I am creating serves as the fundamental data for the citywide Rental Inspection Program.

For this project I have developed:

1. Python scripts to process the data
2. Develop a 5 year priority plan based on census tracts (all GIS Analysis based)
3. Create maps and templates to use for field maps and status maps.

American River College Student Projects

2008-05-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

This is a first of what I hope to be many example projects that my students have completed as part of the GIS Certificate or GIS Associate of Science degrees at American River College.

Fui Fang conducted a rectification project on 2 sets of historical photos for the City of Sacramento. Below is her report on how she completed this task. The imagery will soon be up at the City of Sacramento's website. Go here for links to Student Projects.

GISCorps

2008-05-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

GISCorps is a volunteer organization associated with URISA (Urban and Regional Information Systems Association). If you are interested in volunteering in global locations to help those in need, check it out! It will be a wonderful opportunity to share and gain experience on a national and international basis.

Mobile GIS Tablet PC

2008-04-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

(Using the Motion F5 w/ built in bar code scanner, ArcPad, Water Meter Asset Collection. A slight red tinge on the bar code represents the bar code scanner in action.)

I have been testing a tablet pc from Motion Computing, F5 model,the last couple of days for some asset management we are doing for the City of Sacramento. So far, I love this thing. I have ArcPad loaded with a GIS layer that we are going to maintain through tapping the screen to log the location, then click the integrated bar code scanner button to log 2 different bar code values into two separate data fields. Works like a charm! Most of the common bar code format types are supported. Also built in to this little 3lb machine is an RFID reader and digital camera. Uses pen and Tablet PC technology. Pictures to come shortly.

We started looking at high-end GPS (see Topcon v. Trimble below). This is not going to work because of all of the overhead obstructions, plus we can get closer 99% of the time with just tapping the ArcPad screen. Although we have an option to use GIS Server, we don't have the proper licensing to build an editable GIS web app and serve up our GIS data and do data entry real-time. hand held PDAs were too small (visual real-estate).

Our other working alternative will be to use a tablet pc and a separate wireless bar code scanner (two gizmos rather than one).

1. Motion F5 using ArcPad
2. ArcPad shown with Water Meter number filled in from using built-in bar code scanner
3. Second image showing Motion F5 and ArcPad
4. Motion F5 docking station

Specs:

Semi-rugged (not for dropping!)
Intel Centrino, 1.2 Ghz, 2 Gb RAM
35 Gb of hard disk space
Windows Tablet XP, SP 2
ArcPad 7.0 or later (not included, separate purchase)

Retail ($2600-$5200, depending on configuration)

Optional docking station (probably will need), includes 3 USB ports, Network port, Serial port for external monitor
Optional keyboard (probably will need if you also want a desktop system
Optional battery

Pros:

Light weight
Can change screen orientations (landscape, portrait right handed, portrait left handed)
most of the tabular/text data entry is done through hand writing using the pen. For the most part accurate and easy to change mis written words.

Integrated:

RFID
Bar Code Scanner
Digital Camera
Finger print reader
Blue Tooth

Cons:

A little difficult to use in bright sunny areas (can change the screen brightness)

I used this outside with air photos in the background which made it difficult to plot my points. If I turned the photos off, I could plot my points with other reference information (parcel boundaries, street centerlines, ROW lines, address points).

No external USB ports, but it does have BlueTooth. The only external port is a power port.

Laser Range Finder and GPS

2008-04-27T10:17:00.001-07:00

This is a supplement to my previous post on high-end GPS. One possible solution for high end GPS in obstructed environments is the use of a Laser Range Finder (LRF). The latest versions of LRF offer blue tooth connections and can be hand held type binocular type devices or can be a "laser gun" typically mounted on a survey pole with a yoke. This is a good solution if you are going to be doing data collection day in/day out for thousands of assets (objects). If you are just going to conduct sporadic data collection or need a LRF for part of an overall asset collection, then it might be worth just renting a LRF (and/or the GPS unit as well).

The City of Sacramento uses Trimble GPS, LaserCraft LRF, GPS Analyst, GPS Correct and synchronizes with a transactional ArcSDE enterprise database. The City paid ~$13,000 for the hardware/sofwtare. The city uses these devices for:

Street Sign Inventory ~150,000 assets
Urban Forest ~150,000 (initial collection is contracted out). On going data management will use
GPS and ArcPad.

If you want to buy a GPS/LRF set up for use with GPS expect to pay for the following:

Hardware

High-end GPS (~$4500-5000) [Trimble/TopCon]
LRF - ~$3000-4000, the City of Sacramento uses LaserCraft Contour (gun)
pole - $200
yoke - $100
GPS pole mounting bracket - $50

Software (Assuming ESRI shop)

ArcPad $500
GPS Correct $500
GPS Analyst $2000

Alternately,

Trimble

Pathfinder Office $1500
TerraSync $1000

If the Trimble solution is used, the it will be more difficult to manage data collected by multiple users and to synchronize changes to a central GIS database.

TopCon

FAST $2000 - form builder for TopCon units. Can integrate with ArcPad, but you can only see the current feature collected. Will need TopPad for a more integrated solution with ESRI.

TopPad $500, TopCons custom ArcPad for use with TopCon units

The software/hardware will have on-going maintenance and licensing fees. Be sure to add this to your budget.

If you want to purchase such a set up, here are some things to think about.

1. Budget for hardware/software
2. Skilled GIS staff (that can set up GPS, fully understands GPS issues, and can manipulate data and back end processing)
3. How many assets are going to be collected
4. Available staff to conduct collection and on-going data maintenance
5. Work out and test a data collection workflow. If this is done ad hoc, then you can waste time, hardware/software expenses, and data management time. This will lead to the data either difficult to use or not used.

EU GPS Satellite Launch

2008-04-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

Check out the link for the latest GPS satellite to be launched from the EU. Supposed to rival US GPS satellite sources.

Opticks - Open Source Remote Sensing Software - Ball AeroSpace

2008-04-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

Opticks is my new endeavor for developing an open source image processing software that I can provide to my Remote Sensing students at American River College. I am getting set up to begin plug-in development for Opticks hopefully to expand some functionality of the out-of-the-box Opticks.

Opticks has been the cleanest open source image processing softwares I have seen lately...so much so I am foregoing my Python Image Processing endeavor. In addition, it seems Opticks has a hyperspectral slant to it as well, definitely something that will be up and coming in the near future.

I will continue to update based on my findings so that others have an idea of what it will take to develop themselves and use the Opticks software.

Some of the things I would like to be able to add to Opticks is:

1. Various band raios. This looks pretty straight forward with using their Map Algebra tool and you can create your own "custom" band calculations.

2. Image processing using a moving window (edge detectors, specialized filters)

3. Add RADAR image processing such as slant-to-ground range correction and texture processing.

4. Image Classification. This may be a little tricky to do since it require spectral signatures. I need to check more on this.

Geospatial Emergency Responder Conference March 9-12, 2008 - Seattle, WA

2008-03-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

This is a first ever Geospatial conference for emergency responders. Attend or join the discussion. Promoted by Delta State University in Mississippi.

http://www.gita.org/

USNG Google Mashup

2008-03-01T09:43:00.000-08:00

The site below is a Google mashup that shows the US National Grid locator and grid system. Very neat! Also is a Google Group that has some brief discussion on the use of the USNG for disaster.

http://www.fidnet.com/~jlmoore/usng/

Google Discussion Group on the USNG Google Mashup

This is something that the Sacramento EOC (Emergency Operation Center) is looking into. We are evaluating the use of Google Maps and similar Internet ready maps where we can just load up GIS data for our EOC members (that are not GIS). In past trainings and activations, the EOC membership needs data rapidly and in an environment that is easy to navigate, update, and present on large screens (in addition to creating paper maps and GIS analyses).

Mobile GIS Field Data Collection Prospects

2008-02-28T12:40:00.000-08:00

In my search for a Tablet PC that can run ArcPad and connect a bar code scanner, I have come up with two possibilities that I am hoping to test.

1. Dell Samsung (~$1000)

This little job offers a 7" display screen running Tablet XP OS, only 1.5 lbs and a little more display real estate than a PDA, makes this a good candidate for the City of Sacramento's water meter mapping. We should be able to connect a bar code scanner to collect the necessary water meter information.

2. HP C5 Mobile Computer (~$2800)

I am even more impressed with this little gizmo. 10.4" screen with a built in bar code scanner, 3 lbs. Runs Tablet PC and will run ArcPad.

I hope to test both products and report back. I am also hoping that our utilities dept. settles on one of these items.

NMC

TopCon (GMS-2) v. Trimble (GeoXT) for GIS Data Collection

2008-02-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

Here is a rough assessment of the two GPS units. I recently conducted a field trial on the GMS-2. Most of my experience is with a GeoXT. Both of these work pretty much the same with the same kinds of data collection issues. If the GPS receiver is obstructed, the accuracy goes down, even with post processing). In Sacramento ("The City of Trees") we have this problem and with tall buildings or near the sides of buildings (i.e. water meters, tree inventory, sign inventory).

TopCon

Pros

-Accept Glonass (Russian) Satellites (i.e. more satellite coverage than other GPS units)
-Built in Digital Camera (very cool!)
-Pictures are automatically downloaded and hotlink field is automatically maintained
-Can add Flash memory
-WAAS correction
-Post processing or real-time correction with additional modules/software

FAST (Form Building software)

-Easy to create
-Easy to import to GPS unit
-Can add a component for Digital Camera and/or GPS if desired
-GIS add-on will allow for export to shapefile and can see GPS data on ArcPad

Cons

-Form and ArcPad do not integrate
-Can only see current point within ArcPad interface
-Must convert .DBF file to Access Table, then import into the FAST Form to update existing records
-GIS workflow is not as streamlined as GeoXT (more steps and must build a process to manage and maintain a unique ID)

Accuracy (submeter - 2-3 meters, depending on satellite coverage and post processing capability)

Cost

(~$5000-6000, includes all hardware/software - GMS-2, FAST with GIS capability, post processing software)

Trimble GeoXT

Pros

-Straight forward GIS workflow (must use Trimble GPS Analyst and GPS Correct)
-Completely integrated with ArcPad
-WAAS Correction
-Post processing with GPS Analyst or add-on real-time correction beacon and software

Form Builder software

-Build forms through ArcPad or ArcPad Builder

NOTE: You can use TerraSync (field data collection) and Pathfinder Office (post processing and form building), but this will not work very effectively for use in an ArcGIS environment, thus I don't mention it.

Cons

-Digital Camera separately attached
-Photo management on back end or through additional software
-No Glonass satellite reception

Accuracy (submeter - 2-3 meters, depending on satellite coverage and post processing capability)

Cost

(~$4000-5500, includes all hardware/software - GeoXT, GPS Analyst/GPS Correct, ArcPad)

Field Data Collection and Bar Code Scanners

2008-02-25T17:20:00.000-08:00

I am working on a solution for collecting field data on water meters using a Tablet PC with ArcPad and a connected bar code scanner. If anyone has any experience in integrating a Tablet PC (not a GPS or PDA), a bar coder, and ArcPad, I would like to hear about it. I am trying to get a bar code scanner that will be able to direct connect to the Tablet PC through a serial port so I can directly record the bar code in an ArcPad text field.

NC

Back from the Sea

2008-02-24T09:24:00.000-08:00

I have had a serious hiatus from my blog, but I am back. I hope to continue to add comments and posts as time permits. I have a full fledged website www.jenningsplanet.com. Check it out! You will find a full description of what I do professionally as well as a whole host of GIS, Remote Sensing, GPS, Programming, Free Spatial Data, and Internet Mapping resources.

Best,
NC

Geography for All

2006-12-31T13:32:00.000-08:00

This blog is to serve those interested in the "Art and Science" of:

-Geographic Inforamtion Systems
-Remote Sensing
-GPS
-Internet Mapping
-Geography
-Earth System Science
-Mapping
-Exploration
-The Environment

Please check out past posts and archives for other interesting posts, books and other references. Comments, suggestions, and web/programming tricks are greatly appreciated.

NC

Is that a Space Imag Orb in your GeoEye?

2006-05-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

The largest remote sensing firm in the world is now....

GeoEye....a conglomerate of OrbImage and Space Imaging. OrbImage recently acquired Space Imaging to become this mega company of remotely sensed data acquistion, distribution, and digital image products.

Check out the respective links.

Vexcel becomes Microsoft's latest acquisition

2006-05-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

Well,
Microsoft has done it. Bough Vexcel, a highly respectable remote sensing and photogrammetry compnay.

See details of the acquisition here:

Microsoft/Vexcel

Take a Trip to Jennings Planet

2006-04-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

Since my blog has grown over the past year, I am working on building a website to host a variety of things. Much of this blog will end up in some form or fashion on the website(s).

For now the only content available is basically my resume, work experience, skillset, some some of these related links. I will transfer more of this content to the website as I have time, which is very limited. Until then, this will be the parking spot for Remote Sensing, GIS, GPS, programming and all the related hullabalu.

So, if you want to take a joy ride to a new dimension, take a peek, want me to do some consulting...leave me comments here on anything related to the site. It is a work in constant development.

JenningsPlanet

NC

XY Project and National Grid

2006-04-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

Something I heard on a Sunday morning NPR radio bit a month or 2 ago. It is called the National Grid (USNG) and a project that is promoting its use as a "flat" alpha numeric reference system for, at a minimum, the United States. It is called the XY Project. Being in government as well as part of an Emergency Operation Unit such a system may provide some valuable benefit, especially if local, state, and federal government need to cooperate (and they often do in any major disaster).

The National Grid is based on the UTM coordinate system and is similar to the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS), both of which are available on many kinds of GPS units, GIS, and mapping systems. This system has the ability to provide location information down to a meter and can be applied on a world-wide scale.

Check out the links above and on the right for more information.

NC

National Map Corps

2006-04-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

Do you want to be one of the many?
Do you have acess to a GPS unit?
Do you have a desire to build better spatial data for the nation?

Then apply to join the National Map Corps.
Info: The National Map Corps

The National Map Corps
MS 925
U.S. Geological Survey
1400 Independence Road
Rolla, MO 65401
tnmcorps@usgs.gov
Toll free 800-254-8040
Missouri 573-308-3863

Visual Basic Garmin

2006-01-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

This is a VB App for downloading/uploading GPS data from a Garmin Unit. Provided by the CA Fish and Game.

VB Garmin

Where or Where is that Wireless Network

2005-12-17T16:33:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to a Wireless Network finder (sniffer) with locational capabilities. One of my former students used it for a data acquisition class to spatially locate wireless networks and strength within a regional area. I am sure there are others...

NetStumbler

TOPO Fusion

2005-12-16T10:03:00.000-08:00

This is a link to another GPS program to download. Low cost ($40). Seems to have some interesting basic image processing alternatives to look at Digital Orthos and Topos. Link will be on the Right Under GPS.

TopoFusion

Be the GIS

2005-12-04T14:07:00.000-08:00

Wearable GIS

I have heard about this over the last couple of years, but thought I might add a segment on some interesting links to Wearable GIS. Check back or submit any additional links.

Thanks,
NC

Project Battuta
Wearable GIS for Homeland Security 1 (PDF)

Landsat Imagery Worldwide

2005-11-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to obtain Mr. Sid format Landsat data anywhere in the world. Great for viewing and teaching. Not good for image classification or other derived image data.

Landsat Imagery from NASA

GPS Enable your Pet

2005-11-02T21:17:00.000-08:00

Kind of Reverse GeoCaching

My wife wanted me to devise a gadget for one our neurotic cats...I already knew there was something out there...a bit pricey $350 + monthly service fee + $35 activation fee.

However, on our latest loss, the cat did show up with an infected ear. After it got worse and taking it to the vet and $200 later, $350 may not sound so bad....or you can opt for another cat, if it doesn't return.

For those of you interested:

Global Pet Finder

Free ArcObjects Web Seminar

2005-11-02T21:07:00.000-08:00

This is a FREE web seminar presented by ESRI. You will have to establish a global username and password (free) if you don't already have one. This is a useful thing to have, especially if you do or will be doing a lot of GIS using ESRI software. I encourage all my students to review the seminar as an additional exposure to ArcObjects.

Let me know if you have any issues/problems. I recommend headphones and a broadband/T1 connection. Take notes.
NC

ESRI ArcObjects Web Seminar

ESA RADAR Processing Tutorials and Free Software

2005-10-30T11:10:00.000-08:00

I am working on putting together some RADAR processing tutorial materials from a variety of sources so that students and others can work on RADAR data on their own. This is a work in progress, so please be patient. Check back often for updates to materials and other documents).

NC

1 of many to come

Processing of Polarametric RADAR Data. Data collected with multiple look angles (HH, VV, HV)
HH = Horizontal Incident and Return
VV = Vertical Incident and Return
HV/VH = Horizontal or Vertical Incident/ Return

ESA Polarimetry Tutorials -this is a set of tutorials (3 parts)

Free Software POLSARPro
The software and tutorials go over how to work with Polarized RADAR data, specifically with POLSARPRo. The tutorials are mostly math. PolSARPro currently works with a variety of airborne RADAR Sensors (eg. AirSAR), and a couple of satellite RADAR systems (EnviSat, and RADARSAT). There are a couple of other satellite RADAR systems that will be available in the future.

Active Tcl - POLSARPro requires this to be installed
POLSARPRo - PolSARPro 2.0 Beta 7 release

Leave No Trace

2005-10-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a website on the Leave No Trace Program. Since I am a Scout Leader and enjoy the natural environment, I try to instill these principles to my kids and Scouters.

Hope you enjoy.

Leave No Trace

NC

Books

2005-10-19T00:15:00.000-07:00

I have added a Photogrammetry book to my list since I use it in my Remote Sensing Class. This is one of the premier texts on the math and science behind the rectification of aerial imagery. Again, these are on the right side under "Books I Teach From."

NC

Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation - Lillesand, Kiefer, Chipman - 5th ed, 2005
Publisher: Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0471152277

Introduction to Digital Image Processing, John Jensen, 3rd ed, 2004
Publisher: Prentice Hall
ISBN: 0131453610

GPS Made Easy: Using the Global Positioning System in the Outdoors, Lawrence Letham, 4th ed, November 2003
Publisher: Mountaineers Books
ISBN: 0898868238

Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL, 3rd edition, 2004, Kevin Yank
Publisher: SitePoint

Getting to Know ArcObjects: Programming ArcGIS with VBA, October 2003, Robert Burke
Publisher: ESRI Press
ISBN: 1-58948-018-X

Elements of Photogrammetery with Applications in GIS, Wolf and DeWitt, 3rd ed, 2000
Publisher: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
ISBN: 0-07-292454-3

All Hail Euclid and Pythagoras!

2005-10-17T23:39:00.000-07:00

All that talk about n-dimensional space is blowing my mind. We can all thank Euclid and Pythagoras for that one. In talking about image classification, these principles are at the heart of many of the image classification algorithms.

Here is a link to the proof of Pythagoreum's Theorem that is used to define Euclidean Distance in the n-dimensional world we call "Feature Space." Some say Hyper-space, but I will leave this to Star Wars.

Courtesy of MathWorld

The Proof is in the Triangle

and

Euclidean Distance

NC

Wanta be a Superhero?

2005-09-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

For those of you who ever dreamed of becoming a Super Hero, here is a book that will tell what you may have to accomplish. The book comes out later this month. I have a link to Amazon to find it.

The Physics of Superheroes

Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel

NC

Pictometry

2005-09-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

Just came from a meeting provided by Pictometry. The city may look at this company as an aerial provider. For those of you interested in a unique aerial collection, tools, and gis, then check this out. For those of you in my remote sensing class, I am working on getting this in the classroom!

NC

Pictometry

GPS Enable your Workout!

2005-09-12T15:09:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are into physical activity and want to know where you are "playing" the hardest, check out this from MotionBased...again...link will be on the right.

MotionBased

Cherio
NC

Open Source Office Software

2005-09-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are pro-Open Source, here is a link to "free" open source office software, cross platform and compatible with MS Office. Link will also be on the right.

Enjoy!
NC

OpenOffice

Hurrican Katrina Images

2005-09-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some links to recent high resolution satellite images taken just after the hurricane.

Enjoy.
Peace be with those who are affected.
NC

For those of you who have Google Earth Check the link out here and download a Google Earth file to see the latest image for Google Earth. More will be posted here as images become availalbe.

Google Earth Katrina (Click on Google Earth Link to the right to obtain a free copy of the program)

Katrina - QuickBird1 (3.7Mb)

Digital Globe - Quickbird Imagery Link New Orleans, Biloxi

Ikonos Images

FORE!

2005-08-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

To bring my major passion "golf" into this picture I will add some links and have section dedicated to GIS and Golf Course Design...and related topics. This will be bringing in the field of Landscape Architechture, 3D simulations, GIS, and GPS.

So for now...I'll tee it up!
Au Revoir Gopher

Planning a Golf Course - Power Point Slides by Kevin Mellot (Montana Tech)
Xtra-Spatial Productions, LLC very cool work by Mr. Zack
3DNature - another cool shop constructiong digital renditions of various landscapes

Stellar Maps

2005-08-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

The following is a link to stellar maps of planets and stars by JPL. This will also be on the sidebar

Enjoy,
NC

Solar System Simulator

Gigawatts and Fluxcapacitors

2005-08-11T21:59:00.000-07:00

One special area of remote sensing is that of Archaeology and the use of magnetometers and sensors to measure resistivity. These devices help archaeologists located buried building foundations, artifacts, and different kinds of historical cultural matter. I will have more on this, since I am not an archaeologist (although I would like to be). For now here are a couple of links and will also be on the right.

Tremaine & Associates

Barrington Instruments

Notre Dame Archaeology Field Schoo l and they use TNTMips Lite (for those of you in my remote sesning class!)

GeoScan Research

Bait the Trap for RAT

2005-08-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

I have added a link under Free software for RADAR image processing called RAT (RADAR Tools ~2.5 Mb). Download the binary zip file. It is developed by the Berlin University of Technology. It does require IDL Virtual Machine (~180 Mb download). IDL stands for Interactive Data Language, developed by RSI. There is a link for this too. Also, download the sample data.

Both of these are cross-platform, so if you are not a Window's user, then choose your OS flavor.

1. Install the IDL Virtual Machine...you don't have to install the full IDL
2. Unzip and follow directions for the install of RAT. See website above for Windows install details.
3. Download and unzip sample data (3).
4. Check help and on-line help for additional information about functions, algorithms, etc.

Now, go catch that RAT!

Bang! Zoom!

2005-07-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

Google just released it's Lunar version of Google Earth. Check it out. Awsome level of detail.

GoogleMoon

Hyper Yellowstone

2005-07-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone is my first love of Nature from my childhood. When I was older, I worked at the historical Old Faithful Inn during the summers. I also met my wife there. I have longed to work there as a professional...maybe someday! But for now, I have these links.

This is a short video (9min - 29 Mb) of mapping in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem with the use of Hyperspectral Imagery. Produced by MountainVisions. Check out the Yellowstone Ecosystems Research Center as well.

Google Earth!

2005-06-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

This is one of the coolest "Geography" things I have recently seen. This is a beta for Google....
Check out the free Google Earth download as well as Google Earth Plus for $20/year to use with your GPS, and Google Earth Pro $400/year for enterprise/business solutions for use with GPS and your own GIS data. With the Pro version you can make 3D flythrough movies. Imagery provided by Digital Globe and EarthSat via Keyhole.

Minnesota DNR Garmin for ArcGIS

2005-06-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

Check out the MN DNRGarmin Link to the right to get a program to download GPS data from Garmin into ArcGIS.
NC

DHTML SitePoint Excerpt Ch. 1-4

2005-06-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

Click the link below to obtain an excerpt from a newly released DHTML Book from SitePoint

SitePoint DHTML Excerpt Ch. 1-4

NC

DynoSeg and Networks

2005-06-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

My latest struggle is with Linear Referencing (aka Dynamic Segmentation) of street centerlines for various applications. There are some cool tools within ArcGIS....the big wonder is how to maintain and update the referencing. I will be getting some insight next week, so I will be back. Also, the Network Analyst has some nice functions as well to do point to point routing, direction creation, and service areas.

NC

Great Bear Rainforest

2005-06-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is an article I came across in the Nature Conservancy Magazine. Take a peek at the photo essay.
NC

Great Bear Rainforest
The Rainforest Solutions Project

ESRI Developers Network (Coding) with the Release of ArcGIS 9.1

2005-06-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

With the launch of ArcGIS 9.1 there is a new location for obtaining scripts of various sorts by ESRI staff and users. This area at ESRI replaces ArcObjects Online and ArcGISDeveloper Online will server as a place for archived scripts for ArcGIS 8.3 and ArcGIS 9. The ESRI Developers Network (EDN) will be the new location for all scripting needs. You will be able to obtain scripts for a variety of languages and ESRI products including ArcView Avenue scripts and AMLs.

To find scripts you will need to go to the Coding Exchange and do searches for samples there.

Python and Web GIS

2005-06-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

Read up about how Python is being used for a variety of Web-Based GIS applications.

See the links below how Python is being used in Web Application Servers, Map Servers, and Networking Frameworks.

There is also a good brief on these in the latest edition of ArcUser Magazine (April-June 2005)

Flash!......Geography

2005-05-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting melding of GIS and the Graphics world. A compnay called GeoGraphs has some innovative Interactive Mapping Solutions. Promoting that Open Source, too! Uses Macromedia Flash Technology

GeoGraph

NC

Alaska Ho!

2005-05-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to another great adventure, led by Edward Harrimann in 1899. Had with him a number of notable scientists and artists, including one John Muir. Enjoy the links and photos.
Hopefully more to come when I come across it....

Edward Harriman Expedition of 1899

NC

Trimble GPS Fix

2005-05-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

Trimble has come out with an important fix for those of you using State Plane Coordinates. Here is the link to the White Paper:

State Plane NAD83 Issue

Who knows how much "bad" data there is as a result of this.

NC

What's the Direction, Naticus!

2005-05-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to some basic functions of determining your direction.
Enjoy,
Naticus

Compass, Bearing, Azimuth, and More

Forest Canopy and GPS

2005-04-28T23:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a little summary about some of the problems with using GPS in forested areas.

White Paper on GPS in Forest Areas

Telemetry of Forest Elephants, Moonwalking Birds, and a Laser Yardstick

2005-04-28T22:34:00.000-07:00

This comes from a show I was watching on PBS called Deep Forest. There were some very cool uses of GPS, remote sensing and 3D modelling....this is one...oh yeah, and interactive mapping.

Forest Elephnants

Manakin Birds...can you say MoonWalk!...check out the video links!!!

Manakin Birds

Here's another
Manakin Birds 2

Here's the ultimate handheld solution for collecting 3D information in forests
Laser Yardstick

LIDAR and Forest Canopy Structure

Processing the LIDAR

2005-04-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

I just finished processing the City of Sacramento LIDAR data to generate a 2' DEM. It took 12 straight days of processing (24/7). I am currently working on a QA/QC of the DEM mosaic.

Thanks to the UC Berkley guys for providing me batch routines for some of the initial processing.

I used several software packages to generate the DEM partly because of the amount of data I had to process and the fact that I did not have any developed batch routines that would work within ESRI.

PERL - for processing ascii text points to new overlapping tiles
Surfer - to Grid the point data using a Kriging algorithm
Python - to batch import Surfer text to ESRI text format and ESRI Grid format
ESRI - to generate the DEM mosic and QA/QC

The LIDAR data came from a flight done by Merrick in 2004. The data were in over 1300 text files containing the XYZ location of each laser point. Since the files were not overlapping, I used the PERL script to re-bin the ascii text points to new files (1370 files to 70 files). I next used Surfer and a Surfer Script to create the overlapping Surfer Grids. I then used a Surfer script to generate ASCII text formatted files. From here I ran a command line script to convert the Sufer text to ESRI text. I then ran a Python script I created to batch process the Ascii text files to ESRI Grid image files. The "glob" code helped me do this. Finally, I created a DEM mosaic using the Mosaic to New File function within ArcGIS.

Check the links for more info on what LIDAR is.
NC

Dad, Where does a pole come from?

2005-04-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

Not the North Pole or magnetic pole, but a measure of distance. A pole is a British measurement of distance that was often used to measure land. I recently came across this interesting measure when I was reading Lewis and Clark's journals. They described the Great Falls of Montana to be a length of so many poles from one fall to the next. So upon searching the glorious internet, I came across what a pole is.

A pole is is 1/4 of 22 yards (66 feet) which comes out to be 16.5 feet. This was related to the amount of land a person could work over the course of a day. "It was reckond to be 2 perches by 2 perches (33 x 33 feet). Related to this was the ability for oxen to work an area of land in a day. 40 dayworks in an acre--the area that could be worked by a team of oxen in a day. A daywrok being 4 square perches.

Earth Day Coming Up!!

2005-04-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

Earth Day, April 23....Do what you can do for your local environment. Check the Earth Day Link for more general information.

Also, TV TurnOff Week (April 25-May 1) is coming up...Do it for the Kids! (see link)

Earth Day is Everyday!

Glob Code

2005-04-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

The code I got to work is as follows. I then used elements in the list to run my ASCII to GRID algorithm. This code only runs under the PythonWin GUI. I have yet to get it functioning within ArcGIS 9x. You may need to do some minor modification since you will be cutting/pasting the code into PythonWin. You will also need to change path names.
NC

#Author: Naticus Cartographica
#Created: April 12, 2005
#Batch ESRI ASCII format to ESRI GRID format Conversion
#Python 2.1 for use with ArcGIS 9.x

#Import standard/necessary library modules
import win32com.client, sys, os, glob, string

#Create the Geoprocessor object
GP = win32com.client.Dispatch("esriGeoprocessing.GpDispatch.1")

#Set the input/output workspace
GP.workspace = "C:/Naticus/python_test"
#GP.workspace = sys.argv[1]
print "The name of the workspace is " + GP.workspace
GP.addmessage ("The name of the workspace is: " + GP.workspace )
#Check for this toolbox (not absolutly needed)
#GP.Toolbox = "Conversion"

#Set the output workspace
#outWorkspace = sys.argv[2]
outpWorkspace = "C:/Naticus/python_test"

#create the file list with the .txt file extension
#this is a temporary file, but could be made to an output file
#Python has a structure called a "glob" that allows the parsing
#of file/string names

filelist = glob.glob('*.txt')

#loop through the list of files and process each one
#indenting is important, since Python uses this format for processing
for filename in filelist:
if GP.exists(filename):
print "Input file: " + GP.workspace + "/" + filename + " does exist"
GP.addmessage ("Input file: " + GP.workspace + "/" + filename + " does exist" )

#create output file by removing the .txt extension and adding grd to
#the end of the file (this is not an extension, just a trailer)
#the format of the output file is a ESRI GRID format
outgrid = filename[:-4] + "grd"
print "Output file: " + outWorkspace + "/" + outgrid

elif GP.exists(outgrid):
print outgrid + " already exists"

# Process: ASCIIToRaster_conversion

GP.ASCIIToRaster_conversion(filename, outgrid, "FLOAT")

print "Finished converting ASCII file: " + filename + " to: " + outgrid + " GRID file."

except:
GP.AddMessage(GP.GetMessages(2))
print GP.GetMessages(2)

The Glob

2005-04-11T23:58:00.000-07:00

I spent part of the day researching how to create and use a listfile within a Python script so that I can run a batch process to convert ASCII XYZ data to ESRI Raster GRIDs. They key is the use of a 'glob'. The glob allows for a user to create a list of specific filies containing a particular extension (or other criteria). In my case it was just creating a list of files that ended with ".txt". Then you can use this to create input and output variables for other functions such as the ASCIItoRaster function in ArcGIS.

In AML (Arc Macro Language) functions already existed (along with examples) of how to do and use this for Arc Workstation. Now that times have changed new processes are needed and are sometimes not so obvious....at least for the semi-need-to-figure-it-out-when-I-have-to programmer. Yes I could just do my processing in AML, but that is 'old school' + who knows when AML will no longer be supported.

Global Challenges

2005-04-11T23:20:00.000-07:00

The Earth has many environmental challenges....clean water, clean air, enough food, population pressures, conservation of wetlands, energy use.

We can each play our part in finding sustainable solutions to these problems...and they don't have to impede our lifestyles...many of them are simple changes. Here are a few:

-Turn off the lights when you are not home
-Use public transportation (Where I live, it costs less for me to travel by public transportation than to drive a car, let alone the cost of parking).
-Water your lawn in early morning or late evening
-Start a compost pile and use it on your own vegetable garden or lawn
-Turn down your water heater
-Plan trips to multiple stores
-Buy bulk

Check out the links on the right for other sources on Global Challenges

NC

Remote Adnventures Added

2005-04-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

I have put a couple of links to some remote adventures that I am aware of. I have done work in both of these areas and at some point will actually be able to do these.

Check back for more.
NC

Talking to MySQL 4.1 through PHP 5

2005-04-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

Well,
I finally got my PHP code to talk to MySQL 4.1. I ended up installing the latest version of PHP 5.0.4 which came out last week. There are some difference between older verions of MySQL beingable to read the "password" parameter when connecting to a MySQL database. I thought I was going to have to use a trick that I found to run an old_password() routine, but I didn't. I did notice that PHP 5 changes some syntax in creating and using variables from previous versions...such as using $_REQUEST, $_GET, $_POST instead of just setting regular variables such as $name. Also, the use of single quotes seems to be used more often than double quotes for variables.

So I am now able to connect to MySQL database, put data in and post data back all through a web interface. More to come on my quest for a database driven website. Check out tutorial informatinon from SitePoint and Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL by Kevin Yank.