A Geography of the Unemployed

"more than 31 Million"

Exaggerations can exist in percentages. Nonetheless, this animated map presents some interesting an alarming results of the change in unemployment history since January 2007.

Interesting Areas of Higher Unemployment:
Southwest South Dakota - Pine Ridge & Rosebud Reservations
North-central South Dakota - Standing Rock Reservation
Michigan- Auto.

Interesting Areas of Lower Unemployment:
Travis County, Texas - Austin
Washington D.C. Metroplex
New Orleans - Rebuilding? Low Populations?
Most of New Hampshire?
Northern Alaska - Oil.

Inauguration Day Crowds in Washington, D.C.

A friend sent this link to me several weeks ago and I am just now getting around to posting here. I've seen this image on various websites but the Earth Observatory site has the full resolution image.

"Despite the blustery weather, more than a million people gathered in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2009, to witness and celebrate the inauguration of the forty-fourth president of the United States. The commercial satellite GeoEye-1 captured this high-resolution view of the crowds that morning."

Click here for a link to the NASA Earth Observatory site with the full resolution image. Humans as ants... even with millions gathered... how small we really are.

Living The Map

Last week we had a guest at the survey who wanted to be an archaeologist for the week. Evidently, his week at the survey was part of a larger 50 jobs, 50 states, in 50 weeks project. I don't watch TV so I was not aware of the national coverage our guest had been getting or the previous jobs he had already done. I really didn't care, actually.

His project is called Living The Map and he has a website where one can read his (brief) journal along with some selected photographs of his experiences at his weekly jobs.

www.livingthemap.com

Well, he showed up last Monday (12th) to start his week as an archaeologist and spent the week "doing archaeology". On Wednesday some of us took him out to a Civil War site to do a little research. A nice enough kid and frankly I wish I was doing the same thing - traveling across the country, meeting people, learning about people and our vernacular America. Hopefully, through his experience, he will see the United States and the people that occupy it (in all their various idiosyncrasies) in a new light.

Anyway, he took several pictures and uploaded two to his website that include me so I figured I would post them here. His journal entry for his week of archaeological work only includes one day. I'm not sure if he plans to contribute additional entries.

A group photo of students in our Monday night Cultural Resource Management class. You can't miss me, I'm the tall dude in the back with the scruffy face.


A photo taken in the field at the end of our day. It was a little chilly that day, although not too bad for an northwest Arkansas winter day - probably in the 20s, maybe low 30s. The kid with the camera remote is Daniel, our guest. The others are all archaeologists at the survey. I, of course, am the one with the snazzy hat and matching windbreaker. I'm about average height in this photo!

We're not in Kansas anymore.

I don't think I'd wear one, although "field shirt" does come to mind. I'd go as far as a bumper sticker. My inner dorkness shouldn't let it go to waste. It is important to advertise the survival of a NAD shift. They can be dangerous.

http://www.gisnuts.com/

Hope, Arkansas

Airport hangers? Construction storage? Rail yard? Nope. Discarded FEMA trailers.

The Google image is missing several more in a field SE of the airport deposited after the above image was taken but can be seen in the oblique image below.

While driving to visit Historic Washington State Park just outside of Hope, Arkansas our group passed the Hope Airport and were witness to a field of FEMA trailers. These trailers are surplus from Hurricane Katrina and number in the ten thousands. Much debate exists regarding re-deployment, economic stimulus to Hope (rent), and their potential dangers with possible formaldehyde contamination.

I lived in one for two weeks while working in Bismarck, ND... they weren't so bad... well... for two weeks.

FEMA Trailers Sit Empty in Hope
FEMA Trailers 'Toxic Tin Cans'?

Currently, they are available for auction but I have a feeling the majority are not going anywhere anytime soon.

FEMA Auctions Trailers at Hope Airport
FEMA auctioning off trailers at fire-sale prices

A smaller storage in Selma, Alabama:
Madison, IN:

Sightseeing with Google Maps

OK, now this is pretty cool.

Clicking around looking for some satellite images for my thesis, I happened across this website that has tons and tons of links to interesting Google Earth satellite images from around the world. They advertise having over 12,000 "destinations" and one can easily waste an hour or two (or more) clicking around and seeing the world from above.


Enjoy!
Sightseeing with Google Satellite Maps

He already has his own Web site.

It is fairly apparent that technology (the Internet) is changing western views about communication. More so, the rapid increase in digital "life" is challenging questions on privacy, plagiarism and moral conduct. The amazing thing is that much of these debates have only started to come to light in the last few years as tools (blogs, wiki and other forms of digital self expression) become more available and adopted by more people. Some people do not want to have an Internet presence while others have a digital “life” that is full of expression and reflection... for all to see. It could be assumed that others not partaking in this digital “revolution” (Childe, where are you?) could be concerned with privacy. Economics and access to technology surely plays a part in some instances of non-participation – especially when viewed globally. Or maybe people just don’t care. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how adoption to having a digital “life” develops and becomes more a part of western culture. The digital adoption is in motion and it is moving fast. It seems like once a week, someone who swore of creating a profile on Facebook or Myspace has created a profile (given in?) and become a new member of the online communication realm. Is a sudden participation in online communities analogous to the Nancy Reagan definition of a gateway drug? This article on parents choosing their children’s names on the availability of their kids to get a domain is but one salient example of a switch toward a rapid adoption of digital “life” and changes in family values. Are they addicted? I was named after my great grandfather and traditionally most children are named after a family relative to carry on the memories of a particular individual. However, these kids in the article are named because their parents felt it more important to provide them an avenue for a personal digital presence. Not a bad thing, just a change in ideology and it will only compound as these children move into adulthood and have their children with domain names and so on.. and so on.. and so on...