September, 2008

...now browsing by month

 

Old News Recap

Sunday, September 28th, 2008

First off.. I have been going through my older posts looking for Google Earth KMLs I have created and putting them on their new home on my wiki.  So now when you go to my Wiki page, you will see a Google Earth section with the KML’s I have created.. found four.. but I know I have others elsewhere I need to find.

Secondly, I had commented before on the “new” Google Storm Surge maps before..  but now I found an old kml I had created (my first one in fact) to bring those same maps into Google Earth.  Sadly that kml won’t work anymore.. the wms server I was using is gone.. I do have access to another, I just need to get around to setting up the data again.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Slicing and Dicing The Globe

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

Patrick Murris is at it yet again, this time taking a chunk out of the globe to show a cross section.  This just goes to show how limited GE really is.. you can’t do cool stuff like this in GE. (This is also something I have been wanting in WorldWind for three years)

To try this out yourself, download TruncatedEarth.java, and add to the SDK examples package.

What would really make this nice, is to replace the red with the different layers of the Earth’s crust.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Quake-Catcher Network

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Found this via CNN today, it is a distrubited project that turns computers into Earthquake monitors, called Quake-Catcher Network.

The Quake-Catcher Network is a collaborative initiative for developing the worlds largest, low-cost strong-motion seismic network by utilizing sensors in and attached to internet-connected computers.

With motion sensors in many notebooks and an Internet connection, the number of siesmic detectors can greatly increase  (though I have to wonder what normal human activity shows up as).  There is also a desktop version as well that will use a USB attached motion sensor.

This project is also geared greatly towards educational uses and development:

The open-source software will provide the client-user with a screen-saver displaying seismic data recorded on their laptop, recently detected earthquakes, and general information about earthquakes and the geosciences. Furthermore, this project will install USB sensors in K-12 classrooms as an educational tool for teaching science. Through a variety of interactive experiments students will learn about earthquakes and the hazards earthquakes pose. For example, students can learn how the vibrations of an earthquake decrease with distance by jumping up and down at increasing distances from the sensor and plotting the decreased amplitude of the seismic signal measured on their computer.

Share/Save/Bookmark

New Knight Rider Series and “Real Time” Imagery

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Well, the new Knight Rider series started this week, re-watching on SciFi chennel now, and there was one part that I just had to laugh at.  Granted I loved the use of the MS Surface.. especially the setup in KITT.  But the accessing real-time imagery while traveling at highspeed and keeping the suspect vehicle not only in perfect focus at HD resolution but also from a front angle view.. that was a bit much.

But, still a series I am going to keep watching.. maybe more Hoff in future episodes.

Share/Save/Bookmark

The Ocean Comes to the Mall

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Not you’re local shopping mall, but the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. NOAA and the Smithsonian have worked together to develop “The Sant Ocean Hall“, this exhibit hall combines 674 marine specimens and models, high-definition video experiences, one-of-a kind exhibits, and the newest technology, enabling visitors to explore the ocean’s past, present, and future as never before.

What looks really interesting and worth a trip to go see is the “Science on a Sphere” exhibit.

NOAA’s Science On A Sphere™ will take visitors as if they were 22,000 miles in space where they will see ocean and atmospheric processes displayed across a spinning globe and understand why Earth is so appropriately called “the blue planet.” The Science On A Sphere™ was invented by Sandy MacDonald, director of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Network Traffic Visualization in WWJava

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Sometimes, when browsing the WorldWind forums, just come across a screen shot that just makes you stop and look.  This is one such screen shot.

I don’t have any information yet, I am trying to find out more from the developer.

Share/Save/Bookmark