Bryan Crosby Dot Ca » maps

Open Ski Maps

Bryan — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 05:30:40 +0000

Just when you thought I couldn’t become any more of a map geek, I go pull something like this. Openpistemap.org is another open source, wiki style mapping project out to usher the world of skiing into convenient online map format. It operates using OSM data, but adds a few more rendering options in the side bar such as contours and elevation shading effects (in addition to the standard MapNik and Osmarender).

The result is a wicked looking map that really brings out the feel of the traditional NTS topographic map .

OPM (viewed in Osmarender). Pine Pass, British Columbia. OPM does not have an export html function.

I am particularly proud of this map of Powder King that I drew over the past few days. Missing are the new runs that were cut this past summer as my source image is of an older date.

The Europeans are decades ahead of North Americans in open source mapping with tags available that render just about everything (not to mention the insanely detailed osm maps they produce, seriously, go browse around Europe in OSM). Many of these tags are compatible with Canadian map symbology. Unfortunately, OPM is even more of a niche past time that OSM and many the rendering tags for ski trails have yet to be converted to Canadian standards. For example, Canadian and American ski resorts utilize green (circle), blue (square) and black (diamond) to differentiate the level of difficulty of each trail. The map tags that can be presently rendered by MapNik and other slippy map viewers are European and designate trails differently. An intermediate trail is coded as red , not a blue square.

Nanjing is also represented in OSM. I was surprised at the detail (I can find my old street). but I believe most of the data was scooped from Google Maps. It does appear that some folks are actively uploading data (could get you into trouble if you are a foreigner) as there are some traces around Xuan Wu Hu and Zijin Shan . Usernames indicate non-local mapper but the traces are dated 2007 and I don’t see anything recent (could be many others as well, I just took a quick peek at the imports). I might trace out a few buildings for kicks next week.

View Larger Map

Technorati Tags: canada, maps, nanjing, open source mapping, openpistemap, openstreetmap, pine pass, powder king

Open Street Map

Bryan — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 20:34:40 +0000

In addition to eating my way through Neal Stephenson’s gigantic Baroque Cycle hyper-marathon, one of my ‘stay sane’ activities over the past eight months has been heavy involvement in the Open Street Map project.

Essentially OSM is a user-generated online slippy map, along the lines of Google Maps. Features are added by users using licensed government spatial data, licensed aerial and satellite photography, local knowledge and personal GPS traces and surveys. Started in 2004 OSM is apparently extremely popular service (and activity) in Europe and is responsible for creating some seriously detailed maps in that region that put Google to shame. The power of OSM is best demonstrated in the rapid mapping of post-earthquake Haiti (check out some of maps from that area). It is still quite fringe in North America with only about 400 or so people in Canada actively uploading and manipulating maps. There is a core Canadian group of about several dozen power users who have organized a list-serve, a public datasheet to coordinate uploads, organize local mapping efforts, format data into OSM format and lobby government organizations to release data into OSM.

I’ve been working almost exclusively with CANVEC data (digitized NRCAN topographical maps in OSM) format preparing and uploading the data for Northern British Columbia using JOSM , a basic java-based GIS program. I’ve added my own GPS and satellite image traces for trails and buildings around Mackenzie.

Mackenzie via Bing Maps

Mackenzie via Google Maps
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Mackenzie via OSM

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Apparently OSM only operates off one server at present (in Germany), which could help explain why the slippy map doesn’t load as fast as Bing or Google. That said, I believe the maps speak for themselves (zoom around each map for smaller scale interpretations of the detail).

I’ve completed CANVEC NTS sheet 093O and I’m currently mapping 093P which is situated in the Peace River region (Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, Tumbler Ridge).

One of the greatest strengths of OSM is it’s ability to offer quality online maps for sparsely populated areas, small towns and rural areas. While Google and Bing serve up high quality, detailed maps (vegetation, addresses, buildings, trails etc.) for major urban areas, regions outside that exclusive circle can consider themselves lucky if they receive a basic street network. Local webGIS applications are usually only available in larger municipalities, leaving the smaller kids out of that game.

An recent development of note is the MapQuest creation of a user-generated system based on OSM data @ http://open.mapquest.ca/ .

Cool stuff.

Technorati Tags: bing maps, google maps, gps, mackenzie, maps, open source mapping, open street map, peace river

Another Social Media

Bryan — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 06:58:56 +0000

I missed the exclusive college Facebook launch in 2004 and was relegated into the sparse hinterlands of Hi-Five , Multiply and even Friendster before being offered land in Facebook circa 2007ish. Taking a look at the 2010 map , I see that I still have properties in Skype, the blog islands, Youtube, a vacant condo in Twitter and a considerably depreciated flat situated in the Republic of Messenger and Windows Live. I used to have nice little place in QQ until some jerk stole it and used it as a spam restaurant (not a terrible loss). I’ve visited a considerable number of the remaining lands although I’m quite certain I’ve never sailed into Bieber Bay or attempted to grow anything in Farmville.

I’ve known about Linkedin for some time yet felt it was rather redundant to set up shop in yet another community. It’s already pretty easy to find Bryan Crosby on the internet, which is either a good or bad situation depending on who is looking for you.

Well, here we are…2011 and I’ve managed complete my 85% of my Linkedin profile according to the unsolicited advice column to the right of my account manager.

At the core Linkedin looks, walks and talks like most other online communities, except everyone wears ties. Think the suburbs of the social media city (which I suppose makes MySpace the slums). While it has been argued that Linkedin has morphed from a genuine ‘networking’ cafe into a last-ditch job search meat-market…I’m totally cool with that. I’ve already received one or two job planning job opportunities thrown my way from roving headhunters. Sure the positions were situated in the upper management exosphere and required a Saturn V rocket fueled with a mixture of several hundred thousand pounds of planning experience, guile and ruthlessness…but hey, nice to know folks are interested.

It also came with a nifty new button for my blog (it’s the simple things).

Technorati Tags: facebook, job hunting, linkedin, maps, social media

The nation that wasn’t there…

Bryan — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:38:49 +0000

I wasn’t clear on the exact location of the latest North Korean tantrum , so I enlisted the ever faithful Google Maps to precisely show me where the Kim Jong Ill minions were lobbing shells into civilians .

Yeonpyeong Island is indicated in Red. To be fair, the island has also yet to be mapped. It’s possible the North Koreans were only after the famous spiced crab found in the area.

Were I more detailed oriented I would have opted for a mermaid clip art piece.

Coincidentally, I just re-watched the Korean DMZ film Joint Security Area a few days ago. I had forgotten how awesome it is (with exception of the poor foreign acting…but that is fairly common among Asian films).

Technorati Tags: dmz, maps, north korea, south korea

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Google Street View

Bryan — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:14:09 +0000

Yeah, it has been out for awhile, but in my ignorance I had no idea its saturation level into some countries, notably the USA, Japan, Australia and Europe. I’m quite impressed.

I’m going to use Cape Vincent as an example of some of the places Street View has documented. Cape Vincent is in the US, just south of Kingston. Some friends and I cycled there in October via Wolfe Island . Cape Vincent is quite rural and while not really in the middle of nowhere, it probably won’t make the any 1000 places to see before you die lists (although it is a nice, quaint example of rural America…apparently wealthy too, I might add).

Canadian street penetration remains very limited. However, if US rural coverage is any indication, in a few years one will be able to drive the Alaska Highway without ever stepping into a vehicle.

Street View Greenland would be cool too.

Technorati Tags: google, google street view, maps, travel

Japanese Onsen July 2008

GeoBC

Bryan — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:19:03 +0000

Map and raster geek alert. The Province of BC has posted a bunch of their geo data online @ http://geobc.bc.ca

Distributed in kind of a webGIS format, the webpage presently incorporates parcel data, forest covers, health services into Microsoft Bing Maps. Fairly basic data set at the moment, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it expanded in the future. Some data analysis is available via a link to BC Hectares . There is also some free .kmz files which can be downloaded and inserted into Google Maps as an overlay. I haven’t played around with that too much yet.

The real benefit is the high quality ortho images. I was able to drill right down to the building level.

Mackenzie BC – Land Fabric

Azu, BC – Land Fabric

Powder King and Azu Subdivision…kind of 3D ( old photos of the area)

Technorati Tags: azu, bc, canada, geobc, gis, mackenzie, maps, powder king, urban planning

Super bad-ass maps

Bryan — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:08:54 +0000

Strange Maps puts the cool back in mapping. The premise pretty simple, if you don’t think maps are cool after browing some of these post, then it is fairly obvious that you are not very cool.

Some one once laughed at me for putting ‘maps’ as an interest on my Facebook profile – ha!

Technorati Tags: cool stuff, geography, maps

Open Ski Maps