Geospatial Infrastructure Should Outlive Its Technology

On August 10, 1846, Congress established the Smithsonian Institution with a simple mission: “the increase and diffusion of knowledge,” and gave it “perpetual succession.” One hundred eighty years later, the Smithsonian is still here, though almost everything about how it carries out that mission has changed. (siarchives.si.edu) The people who established the Smithsonian couldn't have … Continue reading Geospatial Infrastructure Should Outlive Its Technology →

DMV GIS Midpoint Meetup 2025

I'm happy to once again be participating in a DMV GIS Day event. GIS Day is still months away, but Cercana Systems is partnering again with New Light Technologies on a "Midpoint Meetup." Like the inaugural event, it is a free virtual event. The midyear event will be about two hours long and serves as … Continue reading DMV GIS Midpoint Meetup 2025 →

Walls and Bridges

In the 18+ months since I stepped back into the world of geospatial consulting and services, one of the most striking things I have noticed is the seemingly increased tribalism in the geospatial space. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, given the increased tribalism of society in general, but that’s a different post that won’t get … Continue reading Walls and Bridges →

Pour One Out for ArcMap

On March 1, 2024, ArcMap will transition into "mature support." This means it will stop getting patches and updates. While ArcMap is not scheduled to be retired until 2026, the lack of patches and updates is the death knell for any modern software. At a minimum, many IT shops will begin to uninstall it simply … Continue reading Pour One Out for ArcMap →

TUgis Wrap-Up

Earlier this month, I attended TUgis, Maryland’s annual GIS conference. It was my first time attending since I gave the keynote address in 2017. That was due primarily to the conference being moved to early August - a reasonable adjustment due to the fact that the venue is always Towson University and the new timeframe … Continue reading TUgis Wrap-Up →