Monday, January 5, 2009
Program Preview:
Digital Cartography

by Rob Limbaugh

When you take a look around you, maps are present everywhere in our lives. Road atlases, weather maps, political maps (changing every week), tax and survey maps, sky maps, maps of the shopping mall, blueprints and floor plans of buildings, stadium and theater layouts, trail maps in parks, corporate flowcharts, assembly instructions that come packaged with products. How often do we MapQuest, give someone directions, or try to follow theirs?  Maps are everywhere. And yet strangely, how rarely do we ever teach a child how to read a map, let alone navigate by it. No wonder so many of us grow up “map-challenged.”

Maps are magical!  If you can make sense of them, you can find your way to a place you’ve never visited, never seen, never even heard of. You can get from where you are to wherever you want to go – whether to a store cross-town or the third moon of Jupiter. But for many people, maps remain a mystery, a confusion of direction and features, left and right. Which way is which?  What are we facing, what is behind?

Our modern world has given us MapQuest, Google Maps, Expedia. Mapping GPS units are now mainstream and cheap. Phones have GPS built in. Knowing where we are in relation to anything and everything else around us is so important that the killer mapping applications and devices cater that to the extent we no longer think about what goes on behind the technology and the principles by which it works.

In time with the New Year, when we all vow to plot new courses, we are pleased to present Ed Hicks, owner of “Orienteering Unlimited, Inc.” as our featured speaker for our January 2009 General Meeting. Topics we will be exploring include: How cartography tools have evolved with technology, navigation techniques, depths of Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth, creating maps from aerial photography, mapmaking software, and more!  OCAD (http://www.ocad.com) and Global Mapper (http://www.globalmapper.com) are two applications Ed will use to demonstrate different mapping solutions whether using existing data or when needing to create your own map.
Mr. Hicks is a retired New York State science teacher who pioneered the outdoor education and computer programs for his school district from the 70’s through early 90’s. Since founding Orienteering Unlimited in 1979, Ed has lead Map Adventure programs with countless schools, camps, youth groups, corporations, and teaches two 3-credit graduate courses on the subject. He has produced over 100 orienteering-quality maps of state parks, camps, and conference centers and educational campuses.

If you’re an explorer, adventurer, hiker, cyclist, tourist, spelunker, aviator, or sailor then stop by and learn how to get more detail from mapping technology!  Attendees are encouraged to take a preview look at the OCAD and Global Mapper software demos before the meeting and bring questions they may have.

DACS meetings are held at the Danbury Hospital auditorium. Activities begin at 6:30 p.m. with registration and casual networking. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. with annual members meeting and other regular features. The main evening presentation begins approximately 8:00 p.m. Meeting is scheduled to adjourn at 9:30 p.m.

DACS General Meetings are free and open to the public. Members and prior attendees are encouraged to extend invitations to anyone interested in this topic.

Danbury Area Computer Society (DACS) is a registered nonprofit and has been serving the region since 1990. Members receive an award-winning newsletter, Members-only workshops and events, and access to volunteer phone support.


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