Interesting maps showing broadcast areas for NFL, College Football, and MLB games.
Thanks goes to Tom Lutgen at Burbank Water & Power for finding this site. He poses the question “Interesting to see the market boundaries for each team – like, why is San Diego the only SoCal market to get the Atlanta-Miami game on Fox? Advertising bucks at play I suppose”.
The Glen McLaughlin Map Collection of California as an Island is now available online. The 731 maps were collected by Glen McLaughlin over a period of 40 years and acquired by Stanford University in 2012. It is the largest known private collection of maps showing California as an island. It is now available for anyone to search, find, view and download via the Stanford University Library’s catalog. Please visit californiaisland.stanford.edu to read more about the collection.
Many of us use our global coordinate system everyday. Latitude and longitude are here for us to pinpoint our location on earth. However, there was a time when latitude and longitude were not around … someone had to invent them. Latitude came first, however, longitude was more difficult to determine. Longitude was the conundrum that baffled some of the greatest and most eccentric experts of the 18th century – and captivated the British public during an era of unprecedented scientific and technical transformation.
In July 1714 an act of British parliament established a £20,000 prize, worth about £1.5 million today (2.3 million US), for the discovery of longitude at sea: determining a ship’s position east and west from a fixed meridian line.
Cambridge historian Professor Simon Schaffer said: “The problem of longitude could be a lethal one. The act of parliament established the Board of Longitude – think the X Factor, only much more money and much more important – that would reward anyone who could solve the problem of longitude. The longitude story is a spectacular example of expert disagreement and public participation. As well as attracting the greatest scientific minds of the day, the board enticed people who belong to one of the most important traditions in British society; the extreme eccentric.”
Now, for the first time, the full story of attempts to solve the longitude problem – unravelling the lone genius myth popularised in film and literature – will be made freely available to everyone via Cambridge University’s Digital Library. Here is a brief introduction to the Board of Longitude:
Treasures of the Longitude archive, available to view in high-resolution for the first time, include accounts of bitter rivalries, wild proposals and first encounters between Europeans and Pacific peoples. This includes logbooks of Captain Cook’s voyages of discovery, the naming of Australia and even a letter from Captain Bligh of HMS Bounty, who writes to apologise for the loss of a timekeeper after his ship was ‘pirated from my command’.
The hugely significant archive preserves detailed minutes from the first recorded meeting in 1737 right through to the Board of Longitude’s dissolution in 1828.
As the schemes for longitude needed to be tested on long voyages, the archive includes much detail on Britain’s maritime interests, explorations and encounters with other cultures. It also played a major role in plans for voyages by James Cook and successors into the Pacific in the 1770s – and into the Arctic in the opening decades of the 19th century. The archive includes four eyewitness accounts of Cook’s Second Voyage and contains the first Western maps and descriptions of many Pacific places and peoples.
The Board’s work continued long after longitude was effectively solved and its many interests and long duration makes the archive a hugely important primary source on the development of science and technology in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It also provides valuable insight into the social history of the era with thousands of names featuring in its files; from Isaac Newton, to eccentric inventors who berated the Board for not following up on their ideas.
Indeed, the archive contains two volumes of ‘impractical’ schemes submitted in the hope of finding a reward. They were later bound and prefaced with title pages such as ‘wild proposals resulting from dreams’. They came via a diverse cross-section of society, from prisoners seeking release in return for their ‘solutions’ to citizens like Mr William Lester, who proposed solar experiments to find longitude that involved igniting points on a globe with a lens. The board underlined his statement that if the globe is correct and properly adjusted ‘you will set fire to London’.
The Longitude collection has much to tell us about the effects of scientific discovery on society and many of its themes and concerns are still relevant today.
… Something to think about while you Google your next address!
A bio-optical knowledge recording and dissemination system, under the trade name: MAP.
Interesting story about a new Native American Map and how information was collected to make the map.
I have this interesting collection of books I keep at our family vacation house. Here are just a few titles:
Not that I am obsessed with disasters, it does make interesting reading for guests, especially the history of the events. I finally started reading California Disasters and came across a chapter on the 1857 Earthquake of Fort Tejon, one of the largest quakes in California history, a 7.9. Since it occurred close to home, I thought I would share this one with you all:
In early January, 1857, rancher John Barker and a neighbor were searching for some stray horses on the eastern shore of Tulare Lake, a large runoff basin for the many rivers and creeks of central California. Knowing their horses would not drink from this particular area of the lake, the two ranchers rode to a nearby waterhole to look for tracks. Years later, Barker recalled that memorable day:
I dismounted and led my horse by the bridle and walked to the edge of the water. Just as I reached it, the ground seemed to be violently swayed from east to west. The water splashed up to my knees; the trees whipped about, and limbs fell on and all around me. I was affected by a fearful nausea, my horse snorted and in terror struggled violently to get away from me, but I hung to him, having as great a fear as he had himself. The lake commenced to roar like the ocean in a storm, and, staggering and bewildered, I vaulted into the saddle and my terrified horse started, as eager as I was to get out of the vicinity. I found my friend, who had not dismounted, almost in a state of collapse. He eagerly inquired, while our horses were on the run and the lake was roaring behind us, “What is this?” I replied, “An earthquake! Put the steel on your horse and let us get out of this!” and we ran at the top of our speed for about five miles.
We returned the next day and found that the lake had run up on the land for about three miles. Fish were stranded in every direction and could have been gathered by the wagon-load. The air was alive with buzzards and vultures eager for the feast, but the earth had acquired its normal condition.
Barker’s recollection was validated by other intelligence, as reported in the January 13, 1857 San Francisco Herald:
In every portion of the state from which we have heard, up to the present, the earthquake of the 9th inst. was very seriously felt. It is by no means improbable that it extended to the extreme North. We clip the following additional particulars from our upcountry exchanges–
A gentleman from Mokelumne Hill informs the Sacramento American that it was severely felt in that region, and seemed to shake the hills for miles around. Reports were numerous of the caving in of several tunnels and burial of a number of men, but he could not obtain the particulars.
By all we could learn, says the Stockton Republican, the commotion was very visible, lasting some minute or two. We have heard two or three gentlemen describe the sensation as being so violent as to cause a kind of sea-sickness. In our establishment, the shock was quite apparent. The lamps, which are suspended from the ceiling, swung to and fro for the distance of more than a foot. One of them was thrown against the walls so violently that its jingling was heard in every part of the office.
Barker could hardly have exaggerated the extent of the tremor. Others reported the Kern River, to the south, flooding its banks as it actually reversed course and ran upstream. The quake, generally regarded as one of the most powerful in U.S. history, was felt throughout a large swath of California. Surface ruptures ran all along this tract. Artesian wells in the Santa Clara Valley suddenly went dry, while other wells appeared suddenly near San Fernando and Santa Barbara. Both the Los Angeles and the Mokelumne rivers, some 350 miles apart, flug water from their beds, leaving dry spots in some areas. The earthquake was felt as far north as San Jose, San Francisco, and Sacramento.
When an express rider from Fort Tejon arrived in Stockton on January 15, he brought additional news of the quake’s effects in the vicinity of his post. There was a light, barely perceptible shock about six o’clock that morning, with a heavier one following at 8:30. This second jolt lasted from three to five minutes, accompanied by a sound resembling the rumbling of a train of railroad cars. Nearly all the adobe buildings in the area were damaged to some extent as chimneys tumbled down, plaster cracked and walls fell. Several adobe buildings a the fort were under construction and were all but destroyed. Miraculously, no one at the post was injured, although there were some close calls. A man in the kitchen of on of the adobes rushed outside just as the walls caved in, and a Dr. Tenbrock was thrown to the ground violently.
At the government sawmill located some twenty miles distant, a mule team was thrown to the ground, oak trees were uprooted, and large branches fell to the ground. At Reed’s nearby ranch, a Mexican woman was killed by the caving-in of an adobe house. A Reverend Bateman, who rode through the surrounding country, reported that there were great fissures in the earth, indicating a very violent upheaval. He was informed by a vaquero that the mountain road to Los Angeles was nearly impassable due to rock slides. “From the accounts detailed by Mr. Cannady,” commented the Stockton Daily Argus, “we are confident that the shock was more severely felt at Fort Tejon, than at any other point in the state.”
Although it could not be measured in any way, most scientists of today agree that the quake was very large based on eyewitness accounts. It is generally agreed also that the quake was perhaps as large, or larger, than the San Francisco quake of 1906. It was only due to the sparse population, and lack of high population densities throughout California, that much greater damage and loss of life did not occur.
After reading this, it made me think of what would happen if this earthquake occurred today. If the power goes out at my house for a few hours, it’s annoying, but I cannot imagine what devastation will result after an earthquake like this today … no power, no air conditioning/heating, no refrigerator, no house, no shelter … you get the picture.
Californians of today remain equally vulnerable to earthquakes as they were during its earliest days of habitation. With the exception of 1906, no earthquakes equal to those felt in 1812, 1857, and 1872 have re-occurred. California was fortunate in that the population was sparse in those early days and the construction less extensive. If any of those earthquakes are re-created in the future, property losses will probably be in the billions, and the human toll will be unimaginable.
Some of us had a taste of this during the 1994 Northridge earthquake, a 6.7 with high ground acceleration. I remember half of the water in the pool jumped out, anything on the walls in the house fell off, and many cracks appeared on the property. Our house was lucky, others in the neighborhood had foundations that were severely compromised. Others in the valley were completely destroyed or ready to fall. I remember it was hard to find a gas station that was open. To this day I don’t let the tank go below 1/2 so I can drive for a few days in case of an emergency. I remember during re-construction of the 5/14 interchange bridges having to drive in heavy traffic on the two lane “old road” for over a year. And during all of this I remember the constant aftershocks for months on end … kept many of us on edge!
Remember, be prepared for the next “big one”. Have your emergency survival kits ready. We even have one for our dog! Solar chargers are good to have and led camping lanterns too. And establish an out of state point of contact for all family members in emergencies. As government GIS Analysts and Managers, we are involved with emergency preparedness and EOC operations and training at work. Let’s not forget to be prepared at home too. -mike
I could not resist the challenge, but I had to limit it to LA County to save time. Click the image below to open the application:
It took a little time going through all the municipal codes. Interesting how the cities differer on when fireworks can be sold and when you can discharge them. The data and application are all in the cloud on ArcGIS Online.
I remember as a kid how fun it was on the 4th of July to light my own fireworks at home. A bunch of families on the block would get together, have a BBQ, and enjoy the fireworks.
Later, the city I lived in banned them … I had a few choice words for them!
It sure does seem that fun past is just a memory now. Not so! There still are areas in California, and for us LA and Orange County, that you can still enjoy buying and lighting your own fireworks. Check out this nifty listing at The California Fireworks Newswire.
Each city/county has their own rules, so you should consult their web sites or give them a call. Most sales start at noon on June 28th.
Hey, someone should make an app for this! Any takers?
Have fun and be safe! And if you work/live at a city that still has fireworks, tell your leadership thanks for keeping the tradition alive! I’ll spend my money in your city! -mike
Ok, had to repost this because I had a link that allowed you to see my location answers, so this is a do over! RESET…
Try out the GeoGuessr and see if you can beat my score of 11780! I challenge you! The closer you guess where you are, the more points you get. Post your score by replying to this post. Send the bit.ly share link you can generate at the end of your guessing game to mcarson@burbankca.gov . Top score by July 1st will get a map or globe themed prize from me! Good luck. -mike
Stumbled upon the Weird California site. Check out the interesting things in and around LA County.
SoCalGIS.org 