Idea: Open Road Logger

I think it would be useful to have open and publicly available photo and/or video logs of various roads and highways. These logs could serve as source material for projects like the WikiProject U.S. Roads and even for highway and civic planners.

To be really useful and readily available the logs probably need to be tagged with some kind of open license, like a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. This way information from multiple logs and be combined to produce reports, plans, etc., without worrying about getting the rights to use the data, which is a common problem with mapping and GIS data today.

There are a couple of ways that these photo / video logs might be facilitated. The one option might be to write GPLed a Mono / .Net application to integrate photos and/or video with GPS data in real time (as it is collected) then post the resulting log to sites like Flickr, YouTube, Wikimedia Commons, Internet Archive, etc. Another option might be to develop a flash application that would capture images and GPS data and submit it to some kind of central repository.

Logs of major highways could be collected quite frequently if open minded truckers got involved. Minor highways and local roads would likely require efforts by local supporters and/or local governments and would probably get updated relatively infrequently.

At some point I hope to try some experiments with the same road for which I wrote the original Wikipedia article, WA SR-204. It is short at about 2.4 miles and not very far away from where I live. I'd need to get a new GPS as I still haven't replaced the one that was stolen from my Jeep a couple of years ago.


Anyone know anything about controlling cameras and/or GPS receivers through USB in Mono / .Net? Also anyone have references to XML schema for geotagging images and/or video?

Yet another example...

... of why the time is right for serious reform of the IP laws. 

Hip-Hop Outlaw (Industry Version) - Samantha M. Shapiro - New York Times:

(usual annoying NYT free registration required.)

    It's no wonder that the RIAA companies are reporting declines in sales, they're treating their most important supporters as criminals.  If these DJs tell their fans to boycott the major labels, what would you expect the outcome would be.

End the nonsense, support the creative commons.

Why Web 2.0 Matters

This video shows a little of why web 2.0 matters. I didn't create this, I just found it and share it with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE

Cousin in the news

Verity is one of my cousins. 

Out of Africa - The Bolton Common:

First YouTube Video

I posted my first YouTube video last night. It was amazingly simple. I had set up an account several months ago so that I could rate some videos, so after confirming my e-mail address (clicking a link in an e-mail message) I filled out four blanks on a web form and uploaded the raw video file from my camera. The result is this:

Spamming Google Maps

Slashdot | Spamming Google Maps:

With the increase in the availability of aerial and space photography, it seems that painted roof advertising might make a come back.

Snowy Sunset

Snowy Sunset
Originally uploaded by TSayles.

Wednesday's snow storm hit during vaulting practice. So we ended early, but it still took hours for some of us to get home.

After work Thursday I stopped by the barn and took a bunch of photos, which I've posted to my Flickr account.

Company develops virtual meal technology

I ran across this AP story and was wondering if it could be used with the digital picture frames that my mom and grandma got for Christmas.

Happy New Year

All said and done, 2006 was a relatively good year for me.

May your 2007 be the best that it can be.



Yes, I'm recycling photos.

Creative Commons

For some time now, I've been meaning to update my blog with a CC-By-SA license and finally got around to it today. I've used the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike as the default on my Flickr account from about the time I signed up.

I've chosen this license because I think it is important to allow others to use my work to be creative and I want those that enjoy derived works to also be able to find and enjoy mine. The most important aspect to me is the "Share Alike" provision that applies copyleft to my work.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 License.

Snoqualmie Pass Photos

Parked in the Snow
Originally uploaded by TSayles.

Yesterday I made the trek over to Ephrata, WA to drop off the trailer load of stuff I brought up from SoCal for a friend. While I was there, I talked with my mom on the phone and she wanted pictures of the snow I saw on Snoqualmie Pass. So on the way back I stopped and took some pictures.

Made it home to Woodinville, Wa.

Made it home safe and sound, at least temporarily.

After Vaulting practice tomorrow, I'm going to head over the mountains to Jim's place in Ephrata, WA. I'm planning to drop off the contents of my trailer and spend the night east of the Cascades. Then come back on Sunday.

Tigard again.

Stopped for a weather update and dinner near Tigard, OR.

Current plan is to head to directly home to Woodinville after dinner. Need to confirm with Jim regarding side trip to Centeral Washingtion. [His phone didn't seem to be on.]

Eureka, Ca.

Had a nice lunch with Grandma, and other relatives in San Jose yeaterday. Also got some nice photos near the Golden Gate Bridge at sundown.

 

Made it to the planned motel about 11:30, two hours behind the origional schedule, due to the moring detour around SoCal snow. Planning to lunch in Grants Pass and stop near Tigard for a weather update.

Golden Gate at Rush Hour

Golden Gate at Rush Hour
Originally uploaded by TSayles.

Here are some photos I took on the way home from SoCal.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tsayles/tags/sanfrancisco/

Lunch with Grandma

On my way back from Southern California, I stopped in San Jose, where I had lunch with my Grandma Carol. Also lunching with us were my Aunt Anne, Uncle Barry and his mom Phillis.


It's always good to get to spend an hour or two with my Grandma.

Photos courtesy of Barry Briggs

Buellton, Ca.

Quick stop for food and fuel.

I-5 Closed over Grapevine

Detouring through Ventura and Santa Barbara.

Ready to Head Home

A week with the folks is about enough and I'm ready to head home. I've got the Jeep all loaded up (no additional stitches needed), and am planning to head out about six AM.

I'm planning to have lunch with my Grandma and Aunt (and Uncle?) in San Jose around noon.

The mountains in northern Cal are looking rather snowy, so my plan is to go up the coast route [US-101] from San Jose and over night in Eureka, CA. Then Friday morning head up to Grants Pass, OR via US-199. I'm also hoping to hit the Kinko's in Eureka, CA and Tualatin, OR for weather and blog updates.

Arrived Glendale

Traffic between San Francisco and LA wasn't as bad as I had expected, so I arrived about thirty minutes earlier then I had expected. So I was upstairs in my parent's condo by 12:30 AM. All in all the trip went well and very close to my origional plans.

After I arrived I spend a couple of hours chatting with my Mom, as the effects of the day's caffeine intake wore off.