canada
HAZUS-MASAS
HAZUS-MASAS is not a magic incantation used by GIS wizards, just the name of an interesting project I was involved with (on the data engineering side of things) when I worked at Galdos Systems, back in Vancouver. I just saw CEO Ron Lake has written an article about it on the company’s blog. In short, the goal of the project was to enable the distribution of HAZUS files (created with a FEMA-provided ArcGIS plugin for the estimation of potential losses from natural disasters, like earthquakes or floods) through the Canadian Multi-Agency Situational Awareness System (MASAS), used by emergency managers. Some of the UI was done with the ArcGIS Viewer for Flex (screenshot above): In the backend, it connected with INdicio (a CSW-ebRIM implementation), which provided metadata about indicators extracted from HAZUS files, as well as the contents of the indicators themselves, stored as KML documents.
Last update from Vancouver
Today is my last day in Canada: I am taking a plane back to Geneva (via Frankfurt) in the next hour. I definitely had a great time here!
Victoria
The week after Whistler, I went to the capital of the province of British Columbia, Victoria, located on Vancouver Island. It was just for a day but I enjoyed the change of scenery.
Seaplane tour
Yesterday, I went on my first seaplane ride, a 45-min tour departing from and arriving at the Vancouver Harbour. Here are some pictures I took on the flight.
Vancouver update
I haven’t posted in a very long time but I am still alive and in Vancouver. Here are some pictures I took in the last few months. Above, the Burrard inlet from the Vancouver Lookout at Harbour Centre.
MiniComi + International Autonomous Robot Racing Competition 2011 @ UBC
Total nerdfest at UBC yesterday: MiniComi (artist market & cosplay, similar to Japan’s Comiket) & International Autonomous Robot Racing Competition at the same location.
Acoustic Cartography of Vancouver: Urban Sound Ecology
Urban Sound Ecology is a research initiative dedicated to exploring, examining, and understanding the sonic spaces of Canadian cities. At once an archive, database, and creative remapping of the city, Urban Sound Ecology is free to join and free to use. We invite interested participants to construct lines of inquiry into the aural landscape of Canadian cities by producing sequences of geo-referenced ‘soundwalks. (more)
