Where is Everybody?

Last week I came to class, but there was no class. I was confused because the community college where I work had class, but the community college where I study did not. It was so freeing to arrive here and find all the parking lots empty and buildings dark. I went home and was all geared up for an arduous class, and thought I would use all that energy to get all this stuff done at home instead. Then I sat down and my momentum spun down and I went to bed at 9:30, which was nice also.

This week we got our test back, which I though was so hard when I took it, but I got a good grade on it. Maybe I just didn't feel confident but actually knew the material. Pete did some interesting lecture on the use of type on maps. Now we are working on our final projects, which we only have 2 more classes to get them done. I'm doing an enrollment mapping project for my work that I'm pretty interested in. I'm already hitting trouble though, as the carrier route data is not available online from USPS like I thought it would be. I'm not too worried about that; I think I can find another source through our bitchin' PIO. I'm also now clipping some street data that is taking forever... Oh, it looks like it might be done now, after 40 minutes and 12 seconds! Glad I got that done tonight, so I can start fresh next week.

Pete kills us with test #2

Pete, what are you trying to do to us with that test? I hope there is a lot of partial credit on those answers.

Fortunately, we got to do Pete's evaluation *after* the killer test. {evil laughter}

Below is an image from the project we worked on in class after the test. It was the old fashioned hands on stuff we did last semester. It was kind of fun, and that lab work is a pretty informative way to learn.

The map above is from Africa and has the digital elevation model and hillshade combo that is so popular with the kids these days. Below is the whole poster thing that all this work contributed to. It is sized 44 inches wide, so it is severely shrunk in this image. Everything about Africa makes me think about the movie War/Dance which I saw last weekend at the Asheville Film Festival. I bought tickets for the winning documentary and student films not knowing what they would be. I wouldn't have picked War/Dance to go see based on it's description, but I'm so glad I did see it. It was a very well made doc about such a moving story. I see now it's about to make its theatrical debut and also won best doc at Sundance.

NC Map Project, Part 4

Above is the map as it is shaping up into an actual map document. Still a ways to go, but it is exciting to start visualizing what it will look like being on a page 40 inches wide. They have a big, sexy new plotter there at ABTech. Printing that large you really can get quite a bit of detail onto the page and still have it simple and meaningful. I want to have something to print out for GIS Day, which is this Friday, November 9th 2007, there at ABTech in Asheville, NC.