Well-done Sheldon!

Funnel cloud over Springfield!

27 July 2014

Apollo 11 Transcript

This is just cool: the complete annotated transcript of Apollo 11 (and other missions) in 9 phases from launch to splashdown.

USGS Stream Gauges and more!

USGS stream gauges, winds, precipitation, and temperature all in one easy-to-use ArcGIS Online web map - nice!


View larger map

State of Climate in 2013

It's really not that complicated: 425 authors from 57 countries just released the State of Climate in 2013 - have a look! Then, for a good laugh (or cry) click over to Yukon Jack's Global Warming Cargo Cult nonsense.

Screencasting

We all do it...narrate and record our presentations, be that from MS Excel, Prezi, or whatever. There are plenty of apps and programs to do that - here's a small compilation (and here's a big one):

• Screencast-O-Matic (records up to 15 minutes!)
• Jing
• CamStudio (open source)
• OBS (open source)

OECD Data (beta)

Well, the OECD is definitely a great source for data on literally anything that can be compiled as a function of individual countries. Their new world data portal (still in beta) is impressive - too impressive for my taste = too much, too fancy, TMI. Check FlowingData for a different opinion and try yourself!

Get to Know a Projection

Get to Know a Projection by Wired is a great compilation of different map projections, their history, and their characteristics. Then watch this!

Python rules!

Python is the most popular introductory teaching language at top U.S. universities - so learn it!

Geography Games

• Smarty Pins
• Know your States!
• The Mercator Puzzle

Drones around the world

Drone Adventures, TravelByDrone, and Dronestagram - fun and useful at the same time!

Wikia Maps

Wikia Maps is a new simple and interactive mapping platform along the lines of ArcGIS Online and Google Maps Engine Light. But, what's cool is that Wikia Maps allows you to create interactive 'maps' of any image that you upload yourself (similar to StoryMap JS)- thus the concept of geographic maps is extended to image maps (image maps used to be super-cool in the early days of the WWW ca. mid-1990s). Read more about Wikia Maps at Google Maps Mania.

STEM majors and jobs

Where do college graduates work? is nice interactive infographic from the US Census Bureau showing where STEM and non-STEM majors end-up in terms of jobs. The data are included as well so you can perform your own analysis and data visualization.

The Internet in Real-Time

Click the animation to open the full version (via Penny Stocks Lab).

Let's move to ???

Wait - we don't have to...all we need is to wait until the end of the century:

Bad Infographics!

Well - infographics and data visualizations can be quite bad...just consider the famous example from Fox News below. Here are some good tips a) to avoid creating bad infographics, b) to spot errors and inaccuracies in infographics, and c) to better communicate data in general.

Data Visualizations

These compilations tend to be outdated as soon as they are published, but nevertheless have a look at Stuff that every programmer should know: Data Visualization. This is geared more towards the programming / math geek and starts with the classic Ancombe's quartet:

UAV over Niagara Falls

Very impressive video, especially considering that he used a pretty inexpensive system.

Awesome Mud/Debrisflow!

This is from 2 years ago, but excellent footage!

Paths to a "Good" Anthropocene

As a scientist I do not like the term 'good' and as an educator I do not like the term 'anthropocene', but otherwise this is well-worth watching:

UAVs for Parcel Mapping

Mesas-Carrascosa et al. (2014) Validation of measurements of land plot area using UAV imagery.

A Guide to the Energy of the Earth

USGS Historical Map Viewer

Sure, Esri added the USGS Historical Maps to ArcGIS Online, but this here is really cool: USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer. Select your place of interest, add whatever maps you want, and adjust the transparency to see how things changed.