Project Updates:

I am still looking for a solution for my map display issue. Last night I tested out Webview. It looked like the solution but it was a big pain to work with. How I got suckered: no coding, uses ArcGIS files, advertised as quick and easy, free to try. What went wrong: adding webview as an ArcGIS extension was not so easy, then the actual running of the program once you enter all of the parameters and specifications takes a long time if you want a map with high resolution.

I am not even going to bother displaying the map on my website. It will be a waste of server space as "Evaluation Copy" is splashed over the main map area.

GIS Viewer is my next test subject...

In the meantime I sent away for an evaluation copy of ArcGIS that includes the ArcPublisher extension. Stay tuned...

Yet another exersize to insure that I am not coasting through life on auto pilot.

What did I learn in the past week?

• CSS is pretty powerful. I have already used it to fix my page sizing issue. The next task is to use it to fix problems that occur with browsers that are not IE.
• There are a lack of free web based GIS viewers. I am currently looking at Webview and GIS viewer.
• Adding metadata to GIS files is a pain if you have to do it manually. Kudos to the people that store metadata in a format that can be imported.
• Google can find anything. For example, you can see what the polital breakdown of the registered voters in Florida is. Then you can use this data to make a map and then overlay the map with the latest weather info. Why? This could have an impact on this years election results.

Does my current project have explicit learning goals?

• Mike's Thesis has kept me pretty busy. Right now I am in the process of figuring out how to get it on the web in addition to finding a way that he can use the data at school. After that is nailed down the options are endless.

Well, I didn't manage to find the dataviewer that I was looking for to display Mike's study area map (this image is huge so beware dial up users). I should rephrase that... I didn't find a FREE dataviewer to display the map. I need to check with the web gurus at work to see if they have any suggestions. Otherwise I will post the maps for a limited time only (online 'til the software license expires).

I will be meeting with Mike this weekend to see exactly what he wants done with this map. Iwas messing around with ArcGIS and made a more interactive map (warning huge image once again) which allows you to "pan and scan" the main map and have a locator set up in another window.

Once Mike decides what he needs/wants I will decide whether or not to invest in the paid map display services.

I promise to provide some insight on my latest home renovations, but in the meantime I will tell you about my latest website renovation.

I have always wondered why people are hooked on blogs. I am not against them. Just curious. Then I built my website and realized that a blog would be the best way to chronicle my ongoing projects. People can check up on what I am doing, comment on what you see or make some requests on what you would like to see.

In my quest for organization I did some research on the web. Some of my friends are bloggers. Some of my daily web amusements are blogs. Here are some of the sites I visit and some comments on the blog platform.

In the end I chose blogger. I needed something free and easy to incorporate into my own web site. All I did was modify my existing cascading style sheet to include the codes that blogger uses. Easy? Well, I had to tinker with it. I am often responsible for building websites at work but they never get to be this complex. No Javascript, no colors, no images, no css... Superbland. I still have a few features that I want to add to the navigation bar (recent posts).

Stay tuned.

The email dialogue begins:

8/29 Mike: I am conducting field research for my masters near Victoria, Texas, and feel free to contact me if you are interested in either coming down to see the site or to help out.
8/30 Jen: I may be able to help you out with my newly acquired mapping skills. I finished my ArcGIS class a week ago and I am looking for something to keep me entertained.
8/31 Mike: Be careful what you offer!!! For my thesis project area I would love to have a GIS that overlays topo lines and soils data onto aerial photos.
9/1 Jen: No Problem!

So now what?

I did some research and found the maps online and the soil layers were located with the greatest thing since sliced bread, Google. Mike sent me an email with a detailed description of what he was looking for on Friday.

My thoughts? No problem :)

Here is the project outline (I remember doing these in science lab but I thought that I'd never have a use for them again):

Objectives:
#1. Obtain data for the Nursery 7.5 minute quadrangle.
#2. Use the data to make a map showing an aerial photo with topographic lines and the KyC soil layer.
#3. Make the data user-friendly for Mike who will use it in the field and for his thesis presentation.

Procedures: (this is a rough sketch as I am new to GIS and it is more like tinkering right now)
Download the data and check to make sure that all metadata is there; made sure the coordinate systems conformed with one another; added layers to the map; removed unecessary data (things that fell outside the area of study); set viewable layers (so that certain layers could only be viewed at the appropriate scale).

I hope to have the map done and available on-line by the end of the week. Wish me luck

I know that I should be going to bed but I wanted to see if my current stroke of genius applied to getting this blog up and running. It did.

So, what's the point of this thing? I decided that I would build a web site as an aid in building my own personal brand. I have had a lot of time to think about what I want to do with myself and how I am going to get there.

Tom Peters says that you are your projects. This is me. Projectjen.

Feel free to comment on what you see, or what you would like to see. I know many people out there are curious what I have been working on.