In the exploration of ways to make the web site easier to update I took a closer look at the concept of blogging as a means for posting announcements, articles, etc. This is how it works:

 

·         Anyone in our department who has a valid account on our web site AND permission can create a blog.

·         The blog can be moderated if desired, comments can be posted, etc.

·         User can post to their blog from the web site, or from tools such as Windows Live Writer (FREE) or Word 2007 ($$$). Posts can be public or private.

·         The blogs are displayed in a common viewer on our web site. We can make that viewer private or public. The blogs can also be filtered by name of the blogger and by month. The blogs are also searchable.

 

I defined a new tab on the web site called BLOG so you can see a few examples. I took the...

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With Wildland Fire season coming upon us it is a good opportunity to review our mapping standards. For our purposes most of us do not need detailed geospatial training but we can benefit from an understanding of two topics: Grid Systems and Reference Datum. I know this is starting to sound like your 7th grade math class, so bear with me.

 

A Grid System allows the location of a point on a map to be described in a way that is meaningful and universally understood. The common Grid Systems used in the United States are:

Geographic  - uses degrees of latitude and longitude. Public Land Survey - used in Colonial America for surveying. You might know it as Township/Range. UTM  - Preserves shape, and allows for precise measurements in meters. State Plane  -  Developed for local surveying, with minimal distortion. For our purposes we use a Grid System to tell someone where we want them to land to pick up a patient or drop a load of water or retardant. When communicating location...

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