Monthly Archives: May 2009

Ed Parsons posted a link to this short video from the launch of Ordnance Survey’s new business strategy. Before you tell me – I know I don’t film well, still have a laugh. Someone remind me to do an end of term report as we come up to the anniversary of the launch of the strategy.

I wanted to express my heartfelt sympathy to those modest football fans who travelled to Rome. It is unfair and unjustified for millions of people who support any club other than yours to gloat. Quoting Evra’s perceptive comment “men & boys” after you thrashed Arsenal seems highly inappropriate. I can’t think why anyone would want to see Sir Alex eating humble pie, surely he baked it? So make that long journey home from Rome or […]

I have just finished grading 118 paper submissions for GeoCommunity. Don’t worry there are 10 or 12 other judges grading them too so you won’t be lumbered with my favourites unless the rest agree and vice versa.  There is an amazing diversity of papers and judges which will produce a stunning program. This one promises to be the best ever. Just wait until we announce the program in w/c 8th June and you will be […]

At the beginning of the week Gavin Brock blogged about how his OpenSpace application that used kml to combine OpenSpace mapping with Google Earth had been shut down by Ordnance Survey. Within a couple of hours, Peter ter Haar of OS had posted on Gavin’s blog explaining the OS position regarding Google’s claims of perpetual licenses to any data displayed over their service but also reinstating Gavin’s API key  I know there are many other […]

With all the furore over the abuse of the expenses system by some MPs there have only been a a few mashups appearing shedding light on the fiddlers. This map from OUseful shows travel expenses. Interesting to pick out the couple of exceptionally high bills from the MPs for Luton and Epsom for example and the MP from Coventry NW seems to stand out from those around him. Surely there are some others out there? UPDATE […]

To all my Manchester United loving friends (even the ones who have no connection with Manchester and have never been to Old Trafford for a match) Congratulations. You are worthy champions. Gulp! Did you know that my grandfather wanted to emigrate to Barcelona? Posted with LifeCast

At the HSC dinner in Cardiff this week I sat on a table with a fellow Arsenal fan born in Highbury and now living in Cardiff, 2 guys from Wigan one of whom supported his local team and the other who supported Man U, another Man U fan from Somerset and a lady from Carmarthen whose sons supported Man U whilst her husband supported Liverpool (she didn’t support anyone) and last but not least a […]

The Ordnance Survey’s New Business Strategy was published the day after the budget and is currently open for comment via a blog type interface, so far there have been 70 responses. Before the strategy had been published I had written that the important part would not be the content of any announcements but the way that Ordnance Survey chose to execute upon the strategy. In other words judge them by what they do. On Tuesday Iain Wright, […]

An article in eGov Monitor announced the launch of a new local information service for Turnbridge Wells (sic). The TW web site says  LocalView is an online map-based service enabling people to search  for and locate properties and other mapped land, people and property information in the Tunbridge Wells borough.. Sounded good, but in practice this is just one more of the same old same old’s that local authorities have been deploying over the last 6 years […]

The nice folk at UMapper have come up with this really neat tool to build map based quizzes and games. Here is a British Coastal Quiz (half completed to be honest), you score points dependent on how close to the location of the place you click. If the embedded window is too small you can play a larger version here. Have fun and then go build your own game and then post the link in […]

The clock is ticking down, we are in time aded on for stoppages etc. No it’s not the Champions League Semi Final, it’s the GeoCommunity call for papers. If you still have brilliant idea for a paper or workshop but you just can’t get it finished over the weekend because of barbecues, DIY, visits to the zoo or other pressing matters – fear not we don’t want to come between a GeoCommunity presenter and their […]