Spatially Enabled
The SAL Portal & Blog
Earth-fixed vs plate-fixed and GDA2020
The march towards the adoption of GDA2020 continues, and one of the great things to have come out of this is the move away from the term “dynamic datum” to “earth-fixed datum”.
Not sure what the difference is?
Why it’s super interesting and you should care?
Ah ha, Dear Reader, read On! Read More
Exploring your Study Area
Sometimes, you just need to see your research area to help get a handle on what you are doing. There are a number of online tools that can help you get an overview of your site, here are some to get you started:
Global Viewers
These are services that cover the globe:
State / Regional Viewers
Some Australian States have viewing Portals for State spatial data: Read More
Password Management
I came across this YouTube video from The Verge today which, I think, does a great job of explaining why you want to put a little bit of effort into managing your passwords.
Whatever ‘system’ you use, if you are using the same password (or set of passwords) everywhere, you are leaving yourself vulnerable and courting trouble. Yes, you can never be 100% assured that you will never be hacked – but managing your passwords reduces your risk, increases your ability to respond quickly should it ever happen, and just makes good sense 🙂
Droning On…..
Curious about UAVs or just needing to check up on the current state of play with the technology and legislation?
CHOICE has just released a report on Drones and Australian Law and updated their Drone Reviews 🙂
While you need to be a CHOICE member to benefit from their lab tests, just seeing which ones they have tested can be interesing. The CHOICE article is worth a read as it provides a neat, up-to-date, summary on:
- the current rules
- new rules that are on the way
- small VS large drones
- some do’s and dont’s
- a short discussion on the impact drones are having on the concept of ‘privacy’
It also provides links to these two very useful resources:
- CASA’s Drone User’s Tool – It helps yu understand what you need to know
- Droneflyer – Full of useful information and for those who think their knowledge is pretty good: Take the quiz!
SALtech – Sept 2017
Making Maps: The Good, The Bad, and the What the?!?
We’ve all seen them, those maps and data visualisations that have caused us to scratch our heads in bewilderment, or worse…
- What did they mean?
- What was this coloured line supposed to tell you?
- Is that shape and this shape the same colour – or are they different things?
- Why did this work for that map, but it just isn’t working for this new map I am trying to do?
The scope for potential bafflement is limitless, unfortunately 😦
And if you are confident your design / map-storytelling skills are spot on, where do those data citations need to go again?
Bring your favourite maps (good, bad, or spectacular for other reasons!) or a map you are working on (if you are feeling brave 😉 ) and come talk all things cartography and spatial data visualisation with us at the second last SALtech session for 2017!
SEES Map Library and Collaboration Space at 12pm on Tuesday 5th Sept. Don’t forget to let me know you’re coming:
[edit: rsvp form removed]
SALtech – Aug 2017
We are still a little off schedule due to the overbooking two months ago, so tomorrow we are talking about tips and tricks for managing your spatial data through the life-cycle of your project.
As you are working on the project, new copies of existing spatial data and new spatial data sets can just seem to create themselves. They can appear in all manner of places – often where you least expect them… 😮
All is not lost however!
There is a way out of this nightmare 😉
It does take a little ‘getting organised‘ and ‘stepping back‘ – hard to do when it feels like there are deadlines looming and so much work to be done 😦
Taking that breath and wrangling things back into your control is well worth the effort though!
And in this SALtech session we are going to talk about tips, tricks, and techniques that can help you to do this 🙂
Are you going to join us?
12pm Tues (Aug 1st) in the Map Library:
<edited to remove RSVP form>
SALtech: GISc Model Development
Hullo SALtech-ers 🙂
Tomorrow is the GISc Model Development discussion session!
When? 11am in the Map Library (11th July 2017)
So, no spatial software, no computering, just our brains, creativity and whatever you prefer to draw or make lists with. Bring your research problems and whatever works for you when it comes to brainstorming; pencil & paper, a tablet, a page from your mates notebook and a borrowed pen…
We will dicsuss some geospatial techniques you can use to get from:
- What I have…
to
- Where I hope to be
And work out what happens in the middle BEFORE you get anywhere near a keyboard 😉
SALtech sessions – roving Tuesdays
Latest update: 23rd June
The SALtech session for June has now been postponed.
A recurring meeting was been booked over the top of our regular booking by someone who is more senior than myself so I have been trying to work out a schedule around it.
As with many things geospatial, flexibility, patience and attention to detail will have to be our friends though as there is no simple solution to the scheduling situation. As things currently stand, the next few dates are likely to be:
Tuesday 27th June –this is locked in, I will find another venue if necessary!Now changed again…
The topics are just going to move back a month.- Tuesday 11th July – 1 week later than planned
- Tuesday 8th August- 1 week later than planned
- Tuesday 5th September – as originally planned
- Tuesday 3rd October – as originally planned
These dates are not confirmed!
The other booking in the Map Library may disappear as suddenly as it appeared, or another may trump it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Keep an eye on the blog if you want to know what’s happening. An email will be sent out to SEES in the week before the next SALtech session for those who are members of the School.
SALtech – May 2017
In this month’s SALtech session we are going to get into all things “finding data” related.
- What is ‘good‘ data?
- Where do you find it?
- If you’ve found something that looks interesting, how can you tell if it is fit for purpose?
- If I want to make one of my spatial datasets discoverable, what are my options?
The other big issue we will discuss is the difference between using a spatial data webservice and acquiring a digital copy of the data from the owner/custodian…
How do you work out which pathway is right for your research work?
Planning to join us in the Map Library at 12pmon Tuesday 2nd May?
RSVP here:
<edited to remove RSVP form>
artist: Samantha Hill
Spatially Enabled 