The Guardian offers five different projections, with their whys and wherefores, for modern maps.
And now I want to learn to fold this paper one.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
beer geography quiz
Beer geography?
(Aside from the odd foray into Belgian beers, which are their own special wonder, I almost always come back to Californian microbrews.)
(Aside from the odd foray into Belgian beers, which are their own special wonder, I almost always come back to Californian microbrews.)
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Fee-free days coming up in the national parks
Many of the US National Parks charge some sort of fee to get in, either a nominal day-use fee, or in the case of big, popular, and over-used parks like Yosemite, a hefty $20 per car entry fee.
Just as California's state parks are on the verge of closing (and our governor is talking about "selling state property" including San Quentin, which makes me wonder a bit about other state land), the National Park Service is instituting a series of fee-free days in our national parks.
Now's the time to get out and visit.
When I was young, I thought Yosemite was overrated, by the way. Then I saw it, and can't imagine not having it.
For a listing of upcoming fee-free days, please check the NPS page about it.
(Pictures below are of Lassen and Yosemite, two of my favorite parks.)
Just as California's state parks are on the verge of closing (and our governor is talking about "selling state property" including San Quentin, which makes me wonder a bit about other state land), the National Park Service is instituting a series of fee-free days in our national parks.
Now's the time to get out and visit.
When I was young, I thought Yosemite was overrated, by the way. Then I saw it, and can't imagine not having it.
For a listing of upcoming fee-free days, please check the NPS page about it.
(Pictures below are of Lassen and Yosemite, two of my favorite parks.)
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
where?
SilverFox at where in the west leads me to ponder doing a regular a "where in the world?" or "where in California?" (or something else geographic, maybe not photolocation-based) but I'm not quite sure whether I have enough readers, or whether it would be at all fun. I shall continue pondering.
Sequoia Sempervirens in Humboldt Redwoods State Park
I hadn't heard this one, but it makes sense:
FACT: For every dollar that funds the parks, $2.35 is returned to the state’s General Fund through economic activities in the communities surrounding the parks.
That means eliminating all funding for state parks could actually result in the state losing over $350 million dollars in revenue
I picked it up on Help4Wildlife, but that links back to (and credits) the California State Park Foundation for the information.
FACT: For every dollar that funds the parks, $2.35 is returned to the state’s General Fund through economic activities in the communities surrounding the parks.
That means eliminating all funding for state parks could actually result in the state losing over $350 million dollars in revenue
I picked it up on Help4Wildlife, but that links back to (and credits) the California State Park Foundation for the information.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
I, for one, welcome our robotic rescuers
Japan's nifty rescue robot might be able to crawl around in buildings looking for folks who are trapped:
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
California state parks system just got its throat cut
also:
Schwarzenegger proposes cuts to schools, in-home health care, and state employee salaries, more
Desert (and other) state parks to close, more
On the other hand: California is also cutting home health care, school funding, funded mandates that allow animal shelters to keep animals alive for five days before killing them ... California is broke. Our treasury system is broken, we can't save money here. Bad times mean hard cuts, because we seem unable to prepare for them.
I love this state, and I wouldn't want the responsibility for running it -- but *argh* sometimes I want to pull my hair out at the decisions the voters and the legislators have made over the years that have gotten us where we are now.
Honestly, I don't know what to say. I don't want state park funding cut, or education cut. I don't know where we're spending money that we (in my rarely humble opinion) shouldn't be. I know California has been historically bad at saving money, both by habit and by constitutional restrictions. (And I know for sure our constitution and its processes are badly broken.)
We can't spend money we don't have, and regardless of why we don't have money now, we just don't have it.
What do we do?
Schwarzenegger proposes cuts to schools, in-home health care, and state employee salaries, more
Desert (and other) state parks to close, more
On the other hand: California is also cutting home health care, school funding, funded mandates that allow animal shelters to keep animals alive for five days before killing them ... California is broke. Our treasury system is broken, we can't save money here. Bad times mean hard cuts, because we seem unable to prepare for them.
I love this state, and I wouldn't want the responsibility for running it -- but *argh* sometimes I want to pull my hair out at the decisions the voters and the legislators have made over the years that have gotten us where we are now.
Honestly, I don't know what to say. I don't want state park funding cut, or education cut. I don't know where we're spending money that we (in my rarely humble opinion) shouldn't be. I know California has been historically bad at saving money, both by habit and by constitutional restrictions. (And I know for sure our constitution and its processes are badly broken.)
We can't spend money we don't have, and regardless of why we don't have money now, we just don't have it.
What do we do?
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Girl Scouts are geographiles
Here's why Girl Scouts rock, among other reasons.
Rachel (in 4th grade) was among the friends I went to the USGS open house with. She collected a bunch of material -- geologic maps, mineral posters, bookmarks, stamps, anything sciencey and interesting -- at the open house, and showed it to her Girl Scout friends, and they were fascinated.
Rachel is a science geek, and an interesting kid. Her Girl Scout friends rock.
Rachel (in 4th grade) was among the friends I went to the USGS open house with. She collected a bunch of material -- geologic maps, mineral posters, bookmarks, stamps, anything sciencey and interesting -- at the open house, and showed it to her Girl Scout friends, and they were fascinated.
Rachel is a science geek, and an interesting kid. Her Girl Scout friends rock.
There are a lot of good reasons for girls to participate in Scouting, if they can find a good troop:
- Girl Scouts don't require religious attachment or belief.
- Girl Scouts encourage girls to be bold and adventurous, to be smart, and independent.
- Girl Scouts have fun.
- Girl Scouts don't discriminate on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.
- Girl Scouts work on environmental awareness.
- Girl Scouts learn science.
What else rocks about Girl Scouting?
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Thematic Maps
Amanda Briney at about.com explains thematic maps, what they're for, and how to read them:
http://geography.about.com/od/understandmaps/a/thematicmaps.htm
http://geography.about.com/od/understandmaps/a/thematicmaps.htm
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
freedom map of the US?
The picture-maker says (edited a bit, as indicated):
Click through for more details.
Needless to say, I'd like to see this map go black as fast as it can go. I think any consenting adult should be able to marry any other consenting adult.
The United States seems inexorably headed towards marriage rights for [same-sex] -- but how long will it take to get there across the board? Nate Silver has an answer. Based entirely on his hard work at fivethirtyeight.com, here is the future of [same-sex] marriage in the US:
The years indicated are those by which a [same-sex] marriage ban would be defeated by voters in a given state, according to a regression model designed by Silver....
How did Silver come up with these results? Here's the explanation:I looked at the 30 instances in which a state has attempted to pass a constitutional ban on gay marriage by voter initiative. The list includes Arizona twice, which voted on different versions of such an amendment in 2006 and 2008, and excludes Hawaii, which voted to permit the legislature to ban gay marriage but did not actually alter the state's constitution. I then built a regression model that looked at a series of political and demographic variables in each of these states and attempted to predict the percentage of the vote that the marriage ban would receive.
It turns out that you can build a very effective model by including just three variables:
1. The year in which the amendment was voted upon;
2. The percentage of adults in 2008 Gallup tracking surveys who said that religion was an important part of their daily lives;
3. The percentage of white evangelicals in the state.
Click through for more details.
Needless to say, I'd like to see this map go black as fast as it can go. I think any consenting adult should be able to marry any other consenting adult.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Redwood Canyon, East Bay Regional Parks
The East Bay Regional Parks historical photos pool might just be my new favorite flickr pool. I'm going to be poking around in it and sharing some of these photos here and there, because the EBRPD is one of my favorite things about living in this part of California. Just a mile from my house between San Jose and Oakland, I can take my dogs running off-leash over hillsides and on wooded trails for miles, canoe, and swim, and a bit farther away, I can tour historic mines, ride an antique carousel, talk to goats, and learn about the special vegetation of serpentine grasslands.
40%
"A group of high profile New Zealanders talk about climate change and why they Signed On at http://www.signon.org.nz to ask NZ Prime Minister John Key to go to Copenhagen to Sign NZ On to 40 per cent emissions reduction by 2020."
FORTY PERCENT
It's so necessary.
Population control has to be part of it.
Clean energy has to be part of it.
Personal sacrifice must be part of it.
But 40% still seems like so very much.
How can we do it, really?
"Sign on" -- Okay. Now what?
FORTY PERCENT
It's so necessary.
Population control has to be part of it.
Clean energy has to be part of it.
Personal sacrifice must be part of it.
But 40% still seems like so very much.
How can we do it, really?
"Sign on" -- Okay. Now what?
Sunday, May 24, 2009
lightning hits the Space Needle
Geology.com, one of my favorite sites for geographilic information, has a fabulous video from May 23, 2009, of lightning hitting Seattle's Space Needle.
Here's the video:
http://geology.com/news/2009/lightning-hits-space-needle.shtml
And poke around geology.com for more nifty stuff.
Here's the video:
http://geology.com/news/2009/lightning-hits-space-needle.shtml
And poke around geology.com for more nifty stuff.
A Green Journey for Conservation: Nathan Winters of follownathan.org
Nathan Winters has said goodbye (for now) to his beloved dog and set off across North America on a bicycle, raising environmental awareness (and blisters, and muscles) and tree-planting money for the Nature Conservancy.
Nathan started in Maine and is now in his home state of Vermont. He's chugging along visiting farmer's markets and organic farms, talking to real people doing real work about sustainability and conservation.
(Nathan talks to Larry Bisbee about recycling.)
This is an expensive trip. He's saving travel expenses where he can, but this is a fundraiser -- your donations to the Nature Conservancy (one of my all-time favorite environmental organizations) are fuelling his spirit.
To learn more about Nathan's travels:
Also:
Nathan's flickr stream, awesome cafepress shop (I love that bike), youtube channel, facebook page, and twitter stream. (Nathan posts updates about his location to Twitter, including when he's looking for a cozy place to bed down for the night, so you can help by following his travels there, and letting friends know when he's approaching and could use their hospitality.)
Please visit http://follownathan.org/ to find out how to donate to the Nature Conservancy and support Nathan on his journey.
Nathan started in Maine and is now in his home state of Vermont. He's chugging along visiting farmer's markets and organic farms, talking to real people doing real work about sustainability and conservation.
(Nathan talks to Larry Bisbee about recycling.)
This is an expensive trip. He's saving travel expenses where he can, but this is a fundraiser -- your donations to the Nature Conservancy (one of my all-time favorite environmental organizations) are fuelling his spirit.
To learn more about Nathan's travels:
Also:
Nathan's flickr stream, awesome cafepress shop (I love that bike), youtube channel, facebook page, and twitter stream. (Nathan posts updates about his location to Twitter, including when he's looking for a cozy place to bed down for the night, so you can help by following his travels there, and letting friends know when he's approaching and could use their hospitality.)
Please visit http://follownathan.org/ to find out how to donate to the Nature Conservancy and support Nathan on his journey.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
a bit more of the earth from space
One of NASA's many jewels is its Earth Observatory. I like the Natural Hazards section, with its volcano plumes and blowing sand, and its now-and-then unusual features like the ice in Saginaw Bay:
I never would have imagined -- at least, not right now, we'll see what a geography degree brings me -- chlorophyll, along with the other things they map.
The US Space Program isn't all about astronomy. It's invaluable to geographers, too, and I'm glad we don't ignore it.
I never would have imagined -- at least, not right now, we'll see what a geography degree brings me -- chlorophyll, along with the other things they map.
The US Space Program isn't all about astronomy. It's invaluable to geographers, too, and I'm glad we don't ignore it.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Michael Palin to head up the RGS!
From Emma Quilligan:
Oh SQUEE. Just SQUEE.
I love what I call "Palin's geography stuff." His *delight* with it -- his response to locals, his enthusiasm, his pure amateur joy at discovery -- is one of those things that helps feed my own, like John McPhee's, or David Attenborough's.
*SQUEE*
On June 1st, Michael Palin will be named as the new president of the Royal Geographical Society. The former Monty Python star has been travelling the world for more than three decades and says that his love of geography stems from school field-trips as a boy in Sheffield. He may therefore use his new position to promote geography in schools, previously arguing that the subject should be made “relevant, lively, stimulating, adventurous and…fun.
Oh SQUEE. Just SQUEE.
I love what I call "Palin's geography stuff." His *delight* with it -- his response to locals, his enthusiasm, his pure amateur joy at discovery -- is one of those things that helps feed my own, like John McPhee's, or David Attenborough's.
*SQUEE*
buuz!
This is really a beautiful article in The Atlantic Monthly:
The Hearty Food of Mongolian Winter.
Perhaps as much as with any National Geographic story, I felt like I had a sense of what hanging out in a Mongolian home is like.
The Hearty Food of Mongolian Winter.
Perhaps as much as with any National Geographic story, I felt like I had a sense of what hanging out in a Mongolian home is like.
Sharing water in the Klamath Basin
Dangit, I finally just got the Klamath Water Wars book (Water War in the Klamath Basin: Macho Law, Combat Biology, and Dirty Politics) as a birthday present from my friend Sue ... and now, finally, the war is over. No?
(there's more at that link)
There's so little water in that area, and so much life depends on it -- salmon, migrating birds, farmers, ranchers, the water table.
The current cessation of hostilities is "pending approval of a federal agreement leading to removal of dams on the Klamath River." I'll certainly continue reading the book, and hope for the best.
The Klamath Tribes and farmers have agreed to drop their state water rights battle pending approval of a federal agreement leading to removal of dams on the Klamath River.
The settlement filed Wednesday with the Oregon Department of Water Resources mirrors the water issues in the dam removal plan, known as the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement.
(there's more at that link)
There's so little water in that area, and so much life depends on it -- salmon, migrating birds, farmers, ranchers, the water table.
The current cessation of hostilities is "pending approval of a federal agreement leading to removal of dams on the Klamath River." I'll certainly continue reading the book, and hope for the best.
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