Under the Web 2.0 paradigm, it seems the phrase “dog eat dog” has taken on a new connotation. Back when the law of the jungle ruled the business world, “dog eat dog” meant kill or be killed. But the concepts of the past are, well, passé. We no longer engage in hostile takeovers, we collaborate. We no longer compete, we consume each other’s services. There is a difference between a dark jungle and a thriving ecosystem.

One example of this new way of thinking can be found on the upper right-hand corner of your screen. The map visible under the “weather” column heading is the result of the Columbia Center consuming a web service provided by the Herald Tribune called IbisEye, which in turn consumes Google Maps in order to display its data. Dog eat dog indeed!

IbisEye’s mission is “to bridge the gap between the technical world of meteorology and the common man.” They accomplish this by providing “mountains of real-time weather and tropical storm data; a system to estimate a storm’s threat to property and population in its path; a system to exchange damage reports; and an encyclopedic storehouse of hurricane history.” At the time of writing this article, IbisEye has been tracking the progress of Hurricane Bertha.

When any major storm or hurricane pops up, IbisEye automatically centers on the storm and follows it throughout the course of its existence. Feel free to click on the IbisEye map to the right and enjoy a full screen version of the tool. Historic storm information can be viewed on the IbisEye site itself. The Columbia Center is excited about making IbisEye accessible via its website, and will continue to research new ways to keep our users informed about the world around them.

America loves her Superheroes. But unless they’re from Krypton, heroes are made, not born. Here at the Columbia Center we can boast our own Superhero: Professor World. The illustrious Professor World began life as mild-mannered professor Dr. Darrel McDonald. About a decade ago, however, something changed in Dr. McDonald, and he began to wear magical robes imbued with mighty Geospatial powers.

His mission was clear: “To go out and encourage awareness about our world, about the people who live in it, and the way maps can impact our lives.” Dr. McDonald always smiles when he delivers his mantra. “If you know where you are you’ll better understand who you are.”

Professor World has been busy, holding more than 50 events over the years, for crowds ranging from second graders to seniors, in order to help people understand their world. Like all superheroes, however, Professor World must rely on powerful tools. The aforementioned robes, of course, allow him to become one with the globe. Upon his head sits the Scarlet Cap of Culture, which allows him to understand and explain societies across the oceans.

In his hand rests the sturdy Rod of Life, through which flows the life energy of the planet. Finally, his feet are clad with the never failing Walking Wuffers, which allow him to traverse unimaginable distances at mind-bending speeds.

On June 3rd, Professor World was called upon to perform yet another mighty deed. The Nacogdoches Public Library summoned him to bring enlightenment and escape from summer tedium to a group of Nacogdoches school children.

Against all odds, rare footage was captured of Professor World performing at this event. Until now, few mortal eyes have had the privilege to see the Professor at work. The Columbia Center has decided to broadcast this clip over the internet. What better way to pay homage to this unsung hero than to make his work accessible to the world the Professor fights so hard to celebrate?

There are few fields as acronym riddled as Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This is most likely due to the polysyllabic nature of the terminology we use on a daily basis: no one wants to spit out ten syllables when three will do just fine. Among these frequently used acronyms is ESRI, which stands for Environmental Systems Research Institute. To say that ESRI is a big player in the GIS industry is a gross understatement: they hold a kind of monopoly on enterprise GIS software solutions.

It comes as no surprise, then, that ESRI related user groups abound. In April, the Columbia Center sent several employees to a conference held by one such user group called the South Central Arc User Group, or SCAUG (yet another acronym).

It's refreshing, however, that members of SCAUG are aware of how much their acronym, when pronounced correctly, sounds like something a scurvy dog might say on the deck of the Flying Dutchman. This is why April's SCAUG conference was pirate themed.


In keeping with this sea faring theme, it might be appropriate to say the Columbia Center made a big splash at this year's conference. Just before the conference, Jason Grogan and Johnny Brown taught a training session which included ArcPad familiarization and GPS usage. Johnny and Charles Ashton entered maps and a map book into a competition, with Charles' map book coming in second place. Johnny, Charles, and Diana Gunter participated in a panel discussing the operations, capabilities, and services the Columbia Center offers to the public.

All reports indicate that the conference went swimmingly—SCAUG has proven to be a treasure trove for networking with other GIS professionals and gaining knowledge and insight for navigating the field's exciting waters.

During the course of their work collecting data for the TCEQ Critical Facilities Infrastructure Project (see TCEQ Partners with Columbia Center), Columbia Center Data Collection Technicians Buddy and Chyrell Reich found themselves in the vicinity of Daisetta, Texas. Their duties took them well within the restricted area around the growing Daisetta Sinkhole, and they were able to capture these images of the phenomenon.

At the time of their visit, the sinkhole was about 900 feet across and some 250 feet deep. It had filled with water, and there was an oil slick on top caused by a ruptured oil tank. These photos tell the story.

Geologists believe the collapse was caused by the removal of oil from a salt dome under the site. Over time, pressure from the overbearing layers caused the dome to collapse. No one knows how much the sinkhole may grow.

Daisetta is located in Southeast Texas between Houston and Beaumont.

To learn more about the Diasetta Sinkhole, visit:

Houston Chronicle, 5/9/08
ABC13, Houston, TX, 5/10/08
Houston Chronicle, 5/12/08
Clastic Detritus

To learn more about sinkholes and what causes them, visit:

USGS Water Science for Schools

While the employees of the Columbia Center aren't necessarily hobnobbing with the rich and famous, we've certainly been keeping great company: the Texas State Guard.

Our work with the Texas State Guard began in the summer of 2007 when, in collaboration with Colonel Charles Miller, plans were laid out for twelve hand-picked guardsmen to participate in a five day introductory GPS course at our facility on the Square in Downtown Nacogdoches.

The purpose of this training is to familiarize the State Guard with the use of geospatial technologies as tools in carrying out a successful first response to an emergency situation.

The initial training, which was held in December of 2007, was so well-received that it has cemented a relationship between the Texas Military Forces and the Columbia Regional Geospatial Service Center System. In fact, over the months of April and May we will have held around a dozen similar training sessions for the State Guard in five different locations, with several of them happening at the same time!

In order to facilitate all of this training, the Columbia Center has sent emissaries to our System partners at locations over 800 miles apart in order to bring uniformity to our training. This has provided us a chance to "train our trainers" in order to develop a quality, system-wide training curriculum. The goal is for the CRGSC System to have trained over 150 guardsmen by the end of October 2008.

Aside from helping the Texas State Guard develop crucial skills in emergency response, these trainings have resulted in positive publicity for both the Columbia Center and the Guard. According to First Sergeant Steven Donaldson, "The press coverage was surprising in its results for the Texas State Guard. So far we have received over 40 requests for information about joining the Texas State Guard. The story was covered by two television stations who put their stories on the web. Both of those stories made it up my chain of command to the General Staff, and received praises all the way up. So besides all the skills we learned, we may wind up gaining some soldiers also. This will help us fulfill our mission of military assistance to civil authorities, and continue to live up to our motto: 'Texans Serving Texas.'"

We are proud of our relationship with Texas' Finest, and look forward to exploring new opportunities for training in the future.

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