FANTOM PLANET

You have to see this clip from the Daily Show!

So, a number of us had been guests the past week to gracious hosts at the ESRI UC this past week. But in my passing with years worth of colleagues, the major question of the week I encountered was:

“Why are Google Earth and ESRI not doing anything?  It’s just nuts!”

Well, grasshopper, one part could be that there is a “GIS Elitist” market out there?  ESRI would want to protect their and their elitist markets and investments.  This could be why Jack described neogeography with out actually saying it? The “Geographic Approach?” “Storytelling?”  If that’s not neogeography, then what is?

Plus, I heard in a number of venues that some at ESRI feels the OGC process with KML is a rubber stamp. They let their concerns be known, but really didn’t feel like participating than stepping up to an arguement that, unfortunately, could put them in a bad light.  Well, by not participating and starting a debate, they end up looking like the kid who took all his toys home.

Sure there are some things about KML that they’ll support, but the media stuff that they don’t. . . Hello, McFly!  The GeoWeb just doesn’t stop at geometery!  It’s what bring it its richness. Of course, ESRI probably already knows that.

As for Google Earth. I don’t know what’s going on there.  I think they feel like they want to do something, but keep getting the run-around from ESRI. Otherwise we would have seen the migration of spatial operators that GIS professionals use on the desktop to a Google platform for MyMaps or Gears or something similar.  ESRI could have a “Powered by ArcGIS” logo on a Google page or something. Rather than that, as time passes ESRI by, we may just have online geospatial processing powered by Google on their lonesome–probably through the purchase of GeoIQ or something–in the future.  Then that’s when “professionals” really will start getting worried–kind of like what happened surrounding the MAPPS suit, eh?

Face it, whether ESRI or Google hook up or not. It should probably fall within the purview of cross-pollinating folks like us to make the hybrid of Google, ESRI, and whatever else built.  If enablers like them don’t want to bridge gaps, then that responsibility lies solely on us as the geo community that has a diversity of GIS pros and neogeographers to make it happen.

Question is, can we bridge our differences too?

Well, I guess I can say it now: I’m leaving my day job as a map pimp and going to get some brains to put in this straw head of mine. I’ll be starting the MSGIS program at the University of Redlands in California this Fall. Should be an awesome time! I can’t wait for spatial statistics to kick my ass again. Still, do you know what? That’s awesome! I won’t be a cubicle monkey for at least a year and I’ll get my sanity back.

The common questions/comments I get from my colleagues at work are:

• “So, you’re going to be drinking the ESRI Kool-Aid?” My answer is “no.” I think that by keeping my tools open affords me to do much more if I need to.

• “You’re not going to come back, are you?” Who knows? I may actually like squatting in Jack’s pool house. Actually, I’m going to make my company better. I have this thing for organizations who don’t fully realize their potential.

Also, I was able to meet a number of the Redlands programs staff, students, and alumni yesterday. Great people with a passion for geographic information science. That should make the 3000 mile trek across country a little better.

I guess I’ll write up some experiences throughout the year to tout the program. So, stay sharp and we’ll party at Jack’s pool house.

Sorry about hardly posting anything. I’ve been running around to meetings, presenting, and having more meetings, but. . .

The Geoblogger Meetup rocked! I just wanted to say thank you to Rob Painter, the Google Earth Federal manager for sponsoring the event. I also would like to thank Mister Tiki for being great hosts.

So, who showed up? Peter Batty, Dave Bouwman, Dave Smith, The Very Spatial team (Frank-Sue-Jesse), the SketchUp Team, other Googlers, Jermey from ArcGIS Server Development Blog, and a few PlanetGS readers.  It was a little less than we had last year, but I think there’s an explanation to that: Early UC and the Dev Summit.

It was still great to get to talk to a number of bloggers. Peter, the man without a [GIS] country, and the SketchUp team were reminiscing about Denver.  I know I was in a conversation about environmental pollutants with Dave Smith and a reader (sorry, forgot your name) that was interesting.  Even Rob said he had a great time chatting people up and offered to sponsor us again next year.

As for next year. . .

Rob and I had an idea: why not make it a little more than just a meetup?  Perhaps we could get someone like Michael Jones to come and have some short talks about our community and what we could do together. There’s an thought that we can do more to bridge the GIS–neogeography gap.  Heck, Jack in his planary was pretty much talking about neogeography, but called it the “geographic approach.”  So, we may add just a bit of structure next year, some eats, and start something new.

Feel free to share your thoughts on the Meetup for next year.

The UC next year starts 4 August, so start making plans for the Dev Summit and the UC.  Try to get both.  I’ll probably be able to make it to the Dev Summit next year.  I just got into the University of Redland’s Master’s in Geographic Information Science, so I’ll be nearby.  (More on this next).

See you guys at 8pm at Mister Tiki on the corner of 5th and F.

For those of you going on the DigitalGlobe Dinner Cruise, take a life jacket. (See map.)

Well, I’m not going to say much about the Planary Session from Monday at the ESRI UC.  Planet Geospatial Team pretty much took care of that one.  I must note the differences between Frank’s perception and Sebastian’s take was on it.    I got the feeling that this is Frank’s first UC.  So, somewhat two ends of the spectrum: a greenhorn and an a seasoned guy who has been here before.  (Correct me if I’m wrong please.)

This is my fourth UC in a row and I like the planary–I even sat in the front row this time trying to rattle off the events on IRC.   There are people who get recognized, awarded, interesting uses of ArcGIS are displayed, and ESRI treats you like family no matter how cynical you are.  I like it. Would have been better if the Wi-Fi hadn’t bombed on me too.

The things that get old year after year are the notes on the upgrades.  It’s not quite like watching grass grow, from year to year, but it’s about the tease of improvements that gets to me.  Sure, no software package is going to be perfect–ever.  But the anticipation is what I think eats at the dev community, or the early adopters of ESRI’s technology.  For instance, Geographic Weighted Regression, Frank talked about this, I’m stoked for it because it’s what I’ve been wanting. I’ve been cranking it out with somebody else’s tool that I don’t like.  Finally it’s in something that like to use.  When does it come out?  Dunno, but I’ll be bugging the hell out of my friends at Redlands for it.

So, the 9.3 upgrades, sure they’re good, it doesn’t excite me as much as it used to. At least they’re talking to you.  Plus, it’s been “user-ized.”  Tech discussions have been moved to the Dev Summit.  So, the devs who are here really should have gone to the Dev Summit, but with all the socializing going on, why not come?

I saw Glenn from Anything Geospatial in the Map Gallery last night.  We were discussing how different Where 2.0 and ESRI UC are.  At Where, everyone’s on a tear to get as much info to you in the shortest amount of time. Plus, everyone can fit inside the same room.

At ESRI, you get the Monday Morning Update. Then you’re off to a ton of paper sessions and to wander about the exhibit hall.  You may see someone who is doing similar work in one session and never see them again in another. So, as there is a relationship between users, there is no continuity of building a personal community. One user from one part of the country may have met someone from another part may not ever collaborate with the other.

So, Glenn and I thought about WhereCamp-like thing for the UC. . . Nah, that’s what the Dev Summit is for, right?

Thinking about it again, “why not have a JackCamp?”  You have about 15,000 people here, they might want to build a collaborative project and actually apply GIS while they’re here.  So, why don’t we do this next year?

I’ll talk to some people and see what I can get going.  It may be ripe for the time to get the professionals acting like the all of the amatures.   Might as well follow the folks who showed up in the geoworld describing their world using a geographic approach without even knowing it (which may be a mix of UC themes.)

Just received word that the awesome guys from the Google Earth team offered to sponsor the drinks at the Geoblogger Meetup again this year. So, geobloggers see you at Mr. Tiki at 8pm on Tuesday!

Usually, the Monday of the ESRI User Conference is a day of spatial technology announcements–not all from ESRI. While Jack awards and highlights the accomplishments of his users, other companies are usually out launching their wares too. For instance, I can remember two years ago when Microsoft launched Virtual Earth officially. I have a sneaking suspicion that we’ll see a number of these in various forms this year.

1) Geoblogger Meetup: 8pm Tuesday 19 June at Mr. Tiki. Get in on the “Tikicast” from the Very Spatial guys.

2) Jack may have some slides of one of my projects in his Planary on Monday.  Stay sharp!

3) Look for me doing a demo somewhere in the exhibit hall on Tuesday.

Preparing for the UC next week and some serious geeking out, I’m posting a my “Geography” playlist from my iPod.

Name Artist Album   Southtown Girls The Hold Steady Boys & Girls in America   Prenzlauerberg Beirut Gulag Orkestar   This Isn’t Farmlife The Essex Green Cannibal Sea   Mexico Cake Prolonging The Magic   The Naming of Things Andrew Bird Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs   Traveler’s Song Fruit Bats Spelled in Bones   Visiting Friends Animal Collective Sung Tongs   Pennsylvania Is… Everclear World Of Noise   Thunder on the Mountain Bob Dylan Modern Times   Underground Ben Folds Five Naked Baby Photos   The World Stops Turning Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Living With the Living   Life Begins at the Hop XTC Compact XTC: The Singles 1978-1985   Devil in Mexico Murder by Death Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left of Them   Alpha Beta Parking Lot Cake Prolonging The Magic   Shoplifters of the World Unite The Smiths Louder Than Bombs   Why Don’t We Do It in the Road? The Beatles The Beatles [White Album] Disc 1   Canyon Girl Fruit Bats Spelled in Bones   Falling by the Wayside People in Planes As Far as the Eye Can See   Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone? Ted Leo & the Pharmacists Hearts Of Oak

The Land Beyond British Sea Power Open Season   Province TV on the Radio Return to Cookie Mountain   Those Who Left Little Joe Gould Like the Exorcist But More Breakdancing   Did You See the World Animal Collective Feels   Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) Arcade Fire Funeral   06 - Faded Lines The Secret Machines Ten Silver Drops   The Man Who Sold The World Nirvana MTV Unplugged in New York   To the Lighthouse Patrick Wolf Lycanthropy   Oregon Girl Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin Broom   My Home Is the Sea [Royal Stable Music] Bonnie “Prince” Billy/Matt Sweeney Superwolf   New Amsterdam Elvis Costello & the Attractions The Very Best of Elvis Costello & the Attractions   Stuck Between Stations The Hold Steady Boys & Girls in America   Ocean Breathes Salty Sun Kil Moon Tiny Cities   Bratislava Beirut Gulag Orkestar   The Canals of Our City Beirut Gulag Orkestar   Montréal -40°C Malajube Trompe-L’Oeil   Haiti Arcade Fire Funeral   There Is a Place The Silver Jews Tanglewood Numbers   The Distance Cake Fashion Nugget   Streets of Where I’m From Old 97’s Too Far To Care

Traffic Stereophonics Word Gets Around   Omaha Tapes ‘N Tapes The Loon   Rendezvous Potrero Hill Architecture in Helsinki In Case We Die   The Middle Jimmy Eat World Bleed American   Mountain of Needles Brian Eno/David Byrne My Life in the Bush of Ghosts   Travel Is Dangerous Mogwai Mr. Beast   Where’s Your Girl At? Blueprint 1988   The District Sleeps Alone The Postal Service Give Up   World in My Eyes Depeche Mode Violator   Tiny Cities Made of Ashes Sun Kil Moon Tiny Cities   Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) Arcade Fire Funeral   Somewhere Hüsker Dü Zen Arcade   2 Dots on a Map Russian Futurists Our Thickness   Canada vs. America Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene [Bonus EP] Disc 2   Fear Made the World Go ‘Round The Dears Gang of Losers   So Many Roads Chris Murray 4-Trackaganza!   Such Great Heights The Postal Service Give Up   Plymouth Rock John Vanderslice Pixel Revolt   The City With Two Faces Goldfinger Goldfinger   The Men are Called Horsemen There Sunset Rubdown Shut Up I Am Dreaming

California Phantom Planet The Guest   The Earthquake of ‘73 Fruit Bats Spelled in Bones   Moving to L.A. Art Brut Bang Bang Rock & Roll   Harrowdown Hill Thom Yorke The Eraser   Sleeping on the Roof The Flaming Lips The Soft Bulletin   Since U Been Gone/Maps Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Since U Been Gone/Maps - Single   Remember the Mountain Bed Billy Bragg/Wilco Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2   Satellite TV on the Radio Young Liars EP   Where Have You Been Reel Big Fish Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album (Live)   Worlds Apart …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Worlds Apart   Wherever You Go Built to Spill You in Reverse   Brandenburg Beirut Gulag Orkestar   09 - Ocean Which Humanity Is Sky Cries Mary A Return To The Inner Experience   Forever Lost The Magic Numbers The Magic Numbers   Take Me to the River Talking Heads More Songs About Buildings and Food   Find a Way A Tribe Called Quest Anthology   Geometry Of Lawns The Clientele Strange Geometry   Peace in the Valley Johnny Cash At San Quentin (The Complete 1969 Concert)   Paris Patrick Wolf Lycanthropy   Which Way to be Happy The Magic Numbers The Magic Numbers

Bridges, Squares Ted Leo & the Pharmacists Hearts Of Oak   Bloomington Old 97’s Drag It Up   Those To Come The Shins Chutes Too Narrow   Petersburg, Liberty Theater, 1914 Swan Lake Beast Moans   A Million Ways OK Go Oh No   El Paso Old 97’s King of the Hill Sound Track   In This Home On Ice Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! Clap Your Hands Say Yeah   The Town Halo A.C. Newman The Slow Wonder   So Come Back, I Am Waiting Okkervil River Black Sheep Boy   Wont Be Home Old 97’s Drag It Up   Playhouses TV on the Radio Return to Cookie Mountain   Allison Road Gin Blossoms New Miserable Experience   Scenic World Beirut Gulag Orkestar   Finsbury Park Kid The Sex Pistols Anarchy in the USA   The Good Witch Of The North Everclear Songs From An American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time For A Bad Attitude   Slope Song The Essex Green Cannibal Sea   Warm Where You Lay Rosebuds Birds Make Good Neighbors   Prison On Route 41 Iron & Wine (with Calexico) In The Reins   Roll Plymouth Rock Brian Wilson SMiLE   Amsterdam Guster Keep It Together

Breakfast At Tiffany’s Deep Blue Something VH1 Crossroads   This Island Le Tigre This Island   Tales from the Forest of Gnomes Wolfmother Wolfmother [Australian Version]   Modern World Wolf Parade Apologies to the Queen Mary   six months in a leaky boat Ted Leo & the Pharmacists Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is   In Houston Tapes ‘N Tapes The Loon   The Line Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Howl   2Nd Ave, 11Am Ted Leo & the Pharmacists Hearts Of Oak   Under the Northern Sky Elf Power Back to the Web   City Calls Swan Lake Beast Moans   Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles) Arcade Fire Funeral   This Scene Is Dead We Are Scientists With Love and Squalor   Heaven or Las Vegas Cocteau Twins Heaven or Las Vegas   NYC Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights   Road, River and Rail Cocteau Twins Heaven or Las Vegas   Manitoba Tapes ‘N Tapes The Loon   Rockin’ The Suburbs Ben Folds Rockin’ The Suburbs   Fake Tales of San Francisco Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not   Sin City The Essex Green Cannibal Sea   Chicago [Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version] Sufjan Stevens The Avalanche: Outtakes & Extras from the Illinois Album

Jet Lag Brendan Benson Lapalco   No Man’s Land Sufjan Stevens The Avalanche: Outtakes & Extras from the Illinois Album   A Hit in Sweden Say Hi to Your Mom Numbers & Mumbles   Trucker’s Atlas Sun Kil Moon Tiny Cities   City Middle The National Alligator   O Valencia! The Decemberists The Crane Wife   dirty old town Ted Leo & the Pharmacists Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is   This World Over XTC Compact XTC: The Singles 1978-1985   Too Far Apart Wilco A.M.   Amazon M.I.A. Arular   Cardinal Points The Essex Green Cannibal Sea   The Farmer’s Hotel The Silver Jews Tanglewood Numbers   Down to the Well Pixies Bossanova   Be Quiet Mt. Heart Attack! Liars Drum’s Not Dead Disc 1   Where We Went Off The French Kicks One Time Bells   Pangea Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin Broom   North Hanging Rock British Sea Power Open Season   Letter To The East Coast John Vanderslice Pixel Revolt   Long Walk I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness Fear Is On Our Side   Lost in Boston The Walkmen A Hundred Miles Off

So Many Ways Mates Of State Bring It Back   Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands Bob Dylan Blonde on Blonde   Where Is My Love Cat Power The Greatest   fa far way Guster Lost and Gone Forever   Blue Blue Ocean Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen   04 - Small Town Talk John Martyn The Church With One Bell   Say Hey There (Gotta Go to Mexico) Atmosphere You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun Were Having Disc 1   Dakota Stereophonics Language Sex Violence Other?   This Place Is a Prison The Postal Service Give Up   Tropical-Iceland The Fiery Furnaces The Fiery Furnaces EP   Roads Portishead Dummy   Direction Midtown Save The World, Lose The Girl   Many Rivers to Cross The Walkmen Pussy Cats Disc 1   Nowhere Bound Golden Smog Down By The Old Mainstream   Pittsfield Sufjan Stevens The Avalanche: Outtakes & Extras from the Illinois Album   Towers of London XTC Compact XTC: The Singles 1978-1985   loyal to my sorrowful country Ted Leo & the Pharmacists Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is   Carlyle Lake Sufjan Stevens The Avalanche: Outtakes & Extras from the Illinois Album   The Cemetary Architecture in Helsinki In Case We Die   Just Like California Old 97’s Too Far To Care

Postcards from Italy Beirut Gulag Orkestar   Small Town Eve 6 Eve 6   Islands Cat Power The Greatest   Buick City Complex Old 97’s Satellite Rides   Where Would I Be? Cake Prolonging The Magic   Maggie’s Farm [Live] Bob Dylan The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: No Direction Home - The Soundtrack Disc 2   Carolina Rain Ryan Adams 29   San Quentin Johnny Cash At San Quentin (The Complete 1969 Concert)   Fields, Shorelines And Hunters M83 Before The Dawn Heals Us   Building Skyscrapers in the Basement Ted Leo & the Pharmacists Hearts of Oak   Let’s Push Things Forward The Streets Original Pirate Material   Monsoon …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Source Tags & Codes   I’m Sleeping in a Submarine Arcade Fire Arcade Fire [EP]   Airport Song Guster Goldfly   Santa Monica Everclear Sparkle And Fade   All The Pretty Girls Go To The City Spoon Kill The Moonlight   All Over the World Pixies Bossanova   The Island, Come and See, The Landlord’s Daughter, You’ll Not Feel the Drow The Decemberists The Crane Wife   Steal My Body Home Beck Mellow Gold   12 - Buss To Gate 23 Sky Cries Mary A Return To The Inner Experience

Grey Ice Water Sun Kil Moon Tiny Cities   Troubled Waters Cat Power The Covers Record   Here In Your Bedroom Goldfinger Goldfinger   Never There Cake Prolonging The Magic   I Left My Wallet in El Segundo A Tribe Called Quest Anthology   Don’t Come Down Here Serena Maneesh Serena Maneesh   Where The Streets Have No Name U2 The Best Of 1980-1990   The Coast Is Always Changing Maxïmo Park A Certain Trigger   New Zeland Pines John Vanderslice Pixel Revolt   New Direction Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen   Corpus Christi Carol Jeff Buckley Grace   Somewhere Down the River Elf Power Back to the Web   03 - Moldavia Front 242 Tyranny (For You_   World Inside The World Rhett Miller The Instigator   The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! Clap Your Hands Say Yeah   Pyramid Wolfmother Wolfmother [Australian Version]   Travel Song Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin Broom   Where I End And You Begin Radiohead Hail To The Thief   On the Road Tom Vek We Have Sound   Into the Woods My Morning Jacket Z

Ticket to Immortality The Dears Gang of Losers   Far, Far Away Wilco Being There Disc 1   The Great Salt Lake Band of Horses Everything All the Time   Lost in Boston The Walkmen A Hundred Miles Off   King Of All The World Old 97’s Satellite Rides   Sleeping with a Gun Under My Pillow Boy Least Likely To The Best Party Ever   Streets Of Fire The New Pornographers Twin Cinema   Inner City Native Son Blueprint 1988   Lost Horizons Gin Blossoms New Miserable Experience   Ghost Town The Specials Stereo-Typical   Brand New Colony The Postal Service Give Up   Tenley-Town The Walkmen A Hundred Miles Off   Seconds Le Tigre This Island   The Delicate Place Spoon Gimme Fiction   Jackson Cannery (Original 7″ Version) Ben Folds Five Naked Baby Photos   Rhineland (Heartland) Beirut Gulag Orkestar   Back To The Sea The Futureheads News And Tributes   Mountains Sparklehorse Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain   Exit Does Not Exist Sun Kil Moon Tiny Cities   Railroad The Zutons Who Killed…… The Zutons

Louisana The Walkmen A Hundred Miles Off   The Laughing World Everclear World Of Noise   Neighborhood #2 (Laika) Arcade Fire Funeral   Michigan Ambulance LTD LP   Rusted Guns of Milan Art Brut Bang Bang Rock & Roll   North Phoenix It’s Never Been Like That   Where Did You Sleep Last Night Nirvana MTV Unplugged in New York   Twin Falls Ben Folds Five Naked Baby Photos   End of the Line Murder by Death Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left of Them   When I Come Back Around Jamie Lidell Multiply   Statue of Liberty XTC Compact XTC: The Singles 1978-1985   Point Shirley Rhett Miller The Instigator   Peacefull Valley Ryan Adams & The Cardinals Jacksonville City Nights   Electricityscape The Strokes First Impressions Of Earth (Advance)   Walking To Do Ted Leo & the Pharmacists Shake the Sheets   Where There’s a Will There’s a Whalebone Islands Return to the Sea   Colorado Grizzly Bear Yellow House   7th St. Entry [*] Atmosphere Headshots: Se7en Disc 2   Where Eagles Have Been Wolfmother Wolfmother [Australian Version]   New Tokyo Is Calling The Stereo New Tokyo Is Calling

Midnight Voyage Ghostland Observatory Paparazzi Lightning   To Russia My Homeland …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Worlds Apart   The City Jamie Lidell Multiply   We Built Another World Wolf Parade Apologies to the Queen Mary   The Big Country Talking Heads More Songs About Buildings and Food   Folsom Prison Blues [#][*] Johnny Cash At San Quentin (The Complete 1969 Concert)   There Is Nothing Like A Dame Reel Big Fish Vacationing In Palm Springs   Sweet Spots The Fiery Furnaces The Fiery Furnaces EP   Those Who Stayed Little Joe Gould Like the Exorcist But More Breakdancing   No Place Feels Like Home Midtown Save The World, Lose The Girl   Sad Sad City Ghostland Observatory Paparazzi Lightning   Nehalem Everclear Sparkle And Fade   London Patrick Wolf Lycanthropy   Miles Away Goldfinger Goldfinger   Plateu Nirvana MTV Unplugged in New York   Stay Where You Are Ambulance LTD LP   Danny’s at the Wedding The Walkmen A Hundred Miles Off   Weight of the World Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Howl