All posts by GeoRabble

Uncategorized

Expanding Geo-Horizons

1 Comment

Stimulating the geo minded people in Western Australia is not a hard thing. We are blessed with great weather, fantastic opportunities and a community that is strong and vibrant. One might say that there isn’t a geo-person who isn’t more than 1 or 2 links away from another geo person.  In recent years a foreshadow has crept into the community where too often we hear comments stating it is the same people, the same technologies always presenting and promoting the industry.

GeoRabble aims to challenge that concept where like minded people (geo or other) can get together and celebrate the ideas, the innovations and yes even the ‘weird’ where corporations, brands are not the highlight of the show. It is perhaps with this last thought the reason why the inaugural GeoRabble for Perth sold out in record time.

Short, sharp interesting presentations is the name of the game for GeoRabble and the first Georabble (only a few days away now) has organised a great line-up of speakers.

  • Maurits van der Vlugt (The origins of GeoRabble)
  • Nicholas Flett (Imposing Order Onto Chaos – human beings perceiving a living world)
  • John Roberts (Mapping Land Disturbance in Rangelands via Photogrammetry)
  • Tom Brownlie (GIS is dead)
  • Drew France (The Cholera Epidemic – A spatial review)
  • Steve Snow (Looking at LiDAR)

GeoRabble Perth looks to be a fantastic night on the 8th of November (the Generous Squire, Perth) with a full house and food proudly put on by Gaia Resources we look forward to seeing you there.

p.s. There will be a door prize of a free ticket to the first GeoRabble Melbourne event scheduled for the 9th of November (you have to make your own way there). After all, we in Western Australia have never shied away from helping other states with their events. 🙂

More Info on GeoRabble can be found at: https://georabble.org/ If you are interested in speaking at the second GeoRabble Perth please contact us at perth@georabble.org

Perth, Uncategorized

GeoRabble crosses the Nullarbor

Leave a comment

After three successful outings in Sydney, GeoRabble has got its wings on and is visiting Perth for one night in November. A strong line up of speakers have been arranged for the first GeoRabble Perth, and anyone who has anything to do with GeoTech, GeoDev, GeoBusiness, GeoTrends, GeoFutures, GeoPasts – you name it, as long as you’re passionate and want to share your challenges, triumphs, frustrations and pride in the work that you do should attend!

  • Date: Tuesday 8 November, 2011
  • Time: Doors open 5.30pm, talks from 6.30pm
  • Location:

The Generous Squire

397 Murray Street, Shafto Lane

Perth, Western Australia

Speaker & registration details here.

Events, Melbourne

First Melbourne GeoRabble, November 9th

2 Comments

Join us in Melbourne for an evening to share geo-ideas, full of fun, and free of sales-pitches.

Date: Thursday 9 November, 2011
Time: Doors open 5.30pm, talks from 6.30pm
Location: Upstairs at the Lanai Bar, CQMelbourne, 113 Queen St, Melbourne.
Format:  A series of short (10 minute) talks, followed by discussion/networking

SPONSORS

Thanks to our Sponsors attendance is FREE but we need you to REGISTER HERE and attend GeoRabble be eligible to win a Free iPAD donated by GIS Recruitment. 

Speakers

Welcome by Francisco Urbina, of GeoRabble Sydney and handover to our Melbourne RabbleMaster, Sally Waller

Presenters (order may change):

Stewart Hay: “Losing My Religion”

  • Them’s fightin’ words….a look at where GIS fits as an “industry’.

Claudia Aberl : “To 3D or not to 3D, that is the question – what is all the 3D craze about?”

  • 3D modelling – Review of the 3D Models available –  what’s good, what’s bad and what’s reality! The presentation will explore some examples of 3D models (Geelong, Melbourne, Frankston, Ballarat) created using different GIS 3D packages Where is the line between GIS reality (accuracy and reliability) and model (facades and texture) become blurred – what’s all the craze about? 

Rohan Fernando (Google).  Google Earth Builder: Under the Hood

  • Bring your spanners, grease-monkeys, we’re going in. So what’s really under there, Vern?

Milos Pelikan:. “A journey in perception and representation”

  • A cooks tour at how representation influences what we think is possible.

Andrew Wise:  “Uh oh. Where did the rest of my road go?”

  • Valuable time is lost when an emergency vehicles enter from the wrong end of a discontinous road and have to double back. Andrew does some clever tecky network analysis on Vicmap Transport in SQL and finds incredible numbers of blocked-roads across Victori

Martin von Wyss, GISP:  “Melbourne Meetup Map Feelup”

  • We all have an uncle in the emergency services who has claimed that “a printed map with a bullet through it will serve a soldier better than an electronic device with a bullet through it.” And we have probably all insisted at one time that interactive web mapping applications are great because they let the user choose the colours that are prettiest. Let’s put tired clichés and absurd arguments aside and begin the healing by conceding that the digital and analogue worlds can work together nicely. And since we’re all in the same room, let’s look at some cool examples!

Melbourne

GeoRabble Melbourne #1- Speaker Registration Now Open

Leave a comment

Agile speaker or passionate Geo-Geek? Today, we’re opening speaker registrations for GeoRabble Melbourne #1 , from 5.30 pm on Wednesday, 9th of November (Precise venue yet TBD but it will be a pub in a convenient CBD location)

If you have something interesting to share with your fellow Geo-tragics, and want to present, demo, sing or otherwise  for 10 minutes, please let us know.

Send an email to Melbourne@georabble.org  with your name, presentation title and a short description. You can also get our attention on Twitter via @georabble or using the #GeoRabbleMelb hashtag, join us at the online  GeoRabble Melbourne Meetup Group   or the  Facebook GeoRabble group

This first GeoRabble has a crazy short planning period to beat the the Xmas rush, so there will be a very short  review period.

We’ll announce the speaker line-up very soon!

Uncategorized

Third GeoRabble coming to Sydney, 22 September 2011

Leave a comment

After a very successful GeoRabble #1 & #2, we are hosting another evening to share geo-ideas, full of fun, and free of sales-pitches.

Date: Thursday 22 September, 2011
Time: Doors open 5.30pm, talks from 6.30pm
Location: Upstairs at the The Shelbourne Hotel, 200 Sussex Street, Sydney
Format:  A series of short (10 minute) talks, followed by discussion/networking
Registration: Attendance is free, but we need you to register here.

Speakers

The final speaker line-up is now confirmed:

Angela Clark (EveryMap): “Putting Sydney on the Wiki Map” 

  • Mapping is at the heart of the Sydney wiki and the map is the place way for people to explore the City.


Keith Austin (Freelance Journalist): “Looking Back, Going Forward”

  • In a landscape dominated by high-tech GPS, Keith Austin champions the utility and beauty of an old-fashioned map



Geoff Thompson (NSW Planning): “Urban Feasibility Model” 

  • The Urban Feasibility Model is a crucial tool in delivering the Metropolitan Plan for Sydney 2036.  

Stephen Lead (Ajilon): “how to make a map which doesn’t suck” 

    • Examples of great (and not-so-great) online maps to determine whether it’s possible to build user-friendly maps without sacrificing functionality or performance.

Elise McKenna (Hyder Consulting): “Geo-Whaaaat?”

  • How to better convey GIS to your non spatial colleagues and friends. Removing the “Geo-what??” from society!

Shane Conserdyne (EICU): “Getting GIS out to the masses”

  • Getting GIS out the masses: Approaches used by the Spatial Information Management System (SIMS)
Uncategorized

GeoRabble #3 – Speaker Registration Now Open

Leave a comment

Today, we’re opening speaker registrations for GeoRabble #3  in Sydney, on Thursday, 22nd of September.

Sorry: no miming

Do you have something interesting to share with your fellow geo-tragics, and want to present, demo, sing or otherwise (sorry: no miming) for 10 minutes, please let us know.

Send an email to info@georabble.org with your name, presentation title  and a short description.  We’ll review all submissions in the next few weeks and announce the speaker line-up soon.

Rabble on!

Uncategorized

GeoRabble #3, Thu 22 September

2 Comments

Reserve the date!

GeoRabble #3 will be coming to Sydney on Thursday 22 September 2011.

Expect another line up of interesting, quirky, and entertaining speakers, and an opportunity to meet likeminded geeks and do some (not so) serious networking.

As before: it will be free to attend, with a cash bar.

We are always looking for interesting talks on anything Geo, so if you have any ideas, please drop us a line at info@georabble.org

More details to follow soon, but pencil in the date now!

See you then, the GeoRabble team

Uncategorized

Speed Mapping – Comes to GeoRabble #2

Leave a comment

Have a favourite map? Bring it to GeoRabble #2 on Thursday 16th June.

Speed Mapping is our way for everyone to share their passion and geo obsession and to get to know like-minded people.

Bring a copy of a map on your phone, tablet or printed that gets your Geo juices going and during the evening we will ask you to turn to the person next to you and in 2 mins each, share that map and why you love, hate it or just totally respect the science or art of the work.

Here is an example from one of the crew @ciscourbina talking about one of his favourite maps.

I clearly remember attending a GITA conference and at the cocktails having a chat to few of the people on the exhibition floor and having a really vigorous discussion with an old school surveyor that cartography is not about accuracy but communication. I didn’t win him over but I did everyone else.

That is why I really respect the work and art of the Geo-genealogy of Irish Surnames from Kingston University, London. It takes the 1890 census, uses total count by counties to set label size, uses county polygons to restrain labels and some clever label conflict resolution to provide a story about surnames across Ireland at that time. You can see dominate names, population densities and even impact of terrain. Though I can’t seem to find Urbina – go figure!

Not perfect, but a great way of getting people to relearn the art of cartography, combined with software and turning complex information into a story.

Another example is found over at Bill Rankin blog check out his discussion on why dot maps are better.

Of course we couldn’t forget our own GeoRabble crew blog post by Hugh – Map Wins and Map Fails

Don’t forget to register and bring your favourite map to share.