Technology changes everything, in this case, it brings an old map to life.

My job as a City Engineer takes me into the past quite often, and the ability to use historical mapping as a tool to determine the cause of issues today can be quite important. Since Google Earth and Google Maps have been around, the level of mapping awareness has increased exponentially. The problem is that many of the maps that are useful are still sitting on someone’s wall, or in a dusty closet somewhere.

The map displayed below as an overlay on Google Earth was produced from mining and building data from 1908. The full map can be viewed here.

If you can’t see the large image below, you can view this overlay in the Google Earth viewer, just click here, it comes up as a full window version. You can pan, tilt, rotate, zoom to your heart’s content!

If you want to change the transparency or anything else, you’ll need to load this kmz into your own copy of Google Earth and play with it there.

Google Earth and Municipal Engineering

This is just one easy application of the overlay capabilities of Google Earth, but from a presentation perspective, it provides real clarity when describing the previous industrial activity on a building site, or when trying to pinpoint the location of spoil piles from the mines, or the location of old trails up on the hill.

Recently in my job I’ve used Google Earth;

• to coordinate a discussion of road works along the highway – Street View is particularly useful for this,
• to visualize the watershed boundaries for the municipality,
• to describe the location of construction activities in a timeframe.

We are starting an infrastructure planning study this month, and it is likely that we will use Google Earth to display much of the data for public input and discussion – this is where GIS and all the data behind it can link with the visual display engine that Google has created with Google Earth.

This post was written by Mike Thomas for UrbanWorkbench.com ©2010.

Originally posted as Historical Mining in Rossland on Google Earth

The first days back at work can be a struggle after a holiday, and it was a good one, lots of family time, hiking, enjoying Spring and seeing the wonders of the Canadian Rockies. Lots of photos here and still more to come over the next couple of weeks.

This morning I had a joyful phone experience with an AutoCad rep…

If you can’t see the flash comic strip above, click here.

I am in the middle of deciding what level of cad software we need as an organization, at the moment, I’m torn between Civil design ability and straight CAD. ProgeCad 2010 (under $500) meets almost all of my cad needs and wants, while Carlson Civil Suite (currently around $2500) isn’t as good for Cad, but has a pretty intuitive and comprehensive design suite, including hydrology. Considering that the equivalent product in AutoCad’s lineup, Civil3D  prices around four times that amount, it is difficult to justify, even for dedicated civil design offices.

I’ll be using the free 30 day trial offered by AutoCAD and deferring my decision on CAD and design software for another day.

By the way, if you want to hear a really neat story about the comic strip website above, and how it is getting used in the classroom, listen to this podcast by TVO’s Jesse Brown.

This post was written by Mike Thomas for UrbanWorkbench.com ©2010.

Originally posted as Phone Funnies

Technorati Tags: autocad, CAD, Civil Engineering, computers, Design, drafting, engineering, Software

GTD, or “Getting Things Done” is about the only way that I can stay on top of the multitude of tasks and projects that I am responsible for. Having a smooth online system is pretty key to improved productivity. For me it’s not about it being the only system, but one that compliments my index card based system.

The most promising software in recent months is Nirvana, which has been rolling out the features and listens to the community of users through blog posts and forums. This is more than just a todo list, it allows you to collect, process and complete tasks with ease. Check out this video for a glimpse of the basic set of features…

Nirvana Quick Tour from plu on Vimeo.

This post was written by Mike Thomas for UrbanWorkbench.com ©2010.

Originally posted as GTD with Nirvana

A few weeks ago I discussed one MicroBlogging platform that I regularly use in a post called Twitter for Engineers. You know something is mainstream when the print media picks it up…

Now, Brevity Is the Soul of Office Interaction – NYTimes.com

One hundred forty characters — the exact length of this sentence — is turning out to be just right for business communications of all kinds.

Whether sharing project updates with colleagues or reaching out to customers, workers are communicating in a new medium that keeps messages very short.

But there are also services that are more suited for in-house communications, rather than telling the world every thought occuring within your organization, of these Yammer is my favourite, with a simple interface and a generous free service, this is the choice for a hip tech-savvy workplace to keep the commentary in house – in-house.

Have you considered using any of these services? Or do you use twitter?

This post was written by Mike Thomas for UrbanWorkbench.com ©2010.

Originally posted as MicroBlogging for Business

Technorati Tags: blog, Business, communications, Mass media, microblogging, Online Communities, Social network, twitter, yammer

Last week I participated in a Webinar with users from across Canada. For my readers who don’t know what a webinar is, it’s like a seminar, but presented over the web. I’ve tried a few of these services, and the current leader by a long way is DimDim. With this service it is possible to host meetings of up to 20 people for free – for more people there is a $ubscription fee, but interestingly, there is also an opensource community version that can be installed on your own server if you are into the techy things!

As the price of fuel increases, web conferencing is likely to increase in popularity and services such as this that incorporate video and screen sharing as well as recording of the session will be commonplace in business environments.

I’ve no experienced a technical session such as client – consultant detailing a design project’s progress, but the methods that I’ve used with screen shots and discussing these with clients over the phone would be totoally suited to a web-conferencing format with a bit of preparation.

This post was written by Mike Thomas for UrbanWorkbench.com ©2010.

Originally posted as DimDim – The Art of the Webinar

Technorati Tags: dimdim conference seminar webinar communications

I love technology and social media. Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr etc all hold a great appeal to me as they add contextural content to the web in a social setting. However, many people see these social media opportunities as an extra-curicular activity, one that should occur outisde of the workplace. I’ve seen it work both ways.This post is about the Twitter phenomenon, short 140 character posts, similar to text messages on a cell phone that allow people to upadte and converse about the goings on in their day.

Take for example the blogger Darren Rowse from Australia who has been blogging about blogging for a couple of years. Now some might say that it’s not real work, but I’d argue differently, as he’s making real money. Darren has just recently launched a second blog, this time about Twitter, Darren has been using Twitter for a few months now and has compiled a video of reasons why people love Twitter, (on his new Twitter Blog)…

ProBlogger Twitters

For Engineers, communication between clients and peers is important, as is building a relationship and trust. As such a tool such as twitter can be used to bridge the gap between  email and face to face conversation with regular updates that are archived in time as well. There have been arguments against using twitter for work, (the most ridiculous in my mind being that the 140 character limit means you can’t put in a disclaimer!), but I like reading about times when Twitter has made someone more productive in their work environment…

Twitter is my watercooler as I work solo from home (or a local cafe) in Alaska. It is my finger on the pulse of social media and things happening in the Lower 48. It is my way of touching base with friends, acquaintances and people who I’d like to get to know better.

WebWorkerDaily » Archive 10 Everyday Ways to Use Twitter for Work «.

I welcome anyone who hasn’t used this to join in and build up a community. And if you are already on Twitter ,you can find me here – @urbanworkbench.

This post was written by Mike Thomas for UrbanWorkbench.com ©2010.

Originally posted as Twitter for Engineers

Technorati Tags: communication, engineering, Internet, social media, Software, tools, twitter, webworker

I’ve had a few requests for the Drupal to Worpress Script that I used to make the move. I take very little credit for it, and no responsibility if it doesn’t work in your situation! Follow the instructions, in the script and see how you go.

I suggest attempting it on a test installation before hitting the real deal.

This post was written by Mike Thomas for UrbanWorkbench.com ©2010.

Originally posted as Drupal to WordPress Script

Technorati Tags: drupal, migrate, Software, wordpress

Wow, AutoCad has finally brought Civil3D out of the dark-ages with a couple of extensions that should have been included long ago.

Having had the misfortune of using Civil3D, I am shocked that they actually responded to something that their competitors have done for years. Three small extensions that will add significant usability to thousands of users, the ability to import/export HEC-RAS model data, some subassemblies for sections like pipe trenches, and the ability to get pond stage storage data from a surface were just announced last week.

All of these functions were available in 12D software at least four years ago, along with many other functions that still are impossibly difficult in Civil3D. As with many things in North America, the market is stuck buying products from one big company, and in the case of Civil Design software along, I’d have to say that this would cost millions of dollars in lost productivity each year – that’s not the story you get from AutoCad of course – in their mind, the industry just couldn’t survive without them. (and really, when you are continually paying maintenance fees for software that you aren’t even allowed to sell if you don’t want it, many companies keep using it in the hopes that it is as good as the next software, or perhaps that it will one day get better!) Doesn’t that sound just like a drug addition?

It’s rare that I will beat on a particular company on this blog, but Civil3D by AutoCad misses the mark on almost every level of usability and functionality when compared with alternative design software.

Civil 3D 2009 Extensions Available on the Autodesk Subscription Site

At the rate that the Autodesk Developers keep improving and adding new tools, you know, the tools you keep asking them for…

I have to ask – why is the largest civil design software company having to respond to user’s request for functionality in a product several years old? Certainly not the apple iPod or iPhone experience.

If you are in the market for some new software, and don’t mind a small learning curve, you have to check out 12D. It is truly the best civil design software package available today.

I’d love to hear your comments on  your favourite or worst software!

This post was written by Mike Thomas for UrbanWorkbench.com ©2010.

Originally posted as More Civil3D Extensions and an Alternative

Some of the most famous decision makers in the world napped during their work day – yet the practise never caught on for the general masses in our post industrialized economy of workaholics. But in today’s technologically driven workplace, there are tools that can help you relax, and even wake up feeling refreshed so you can continue the work you need to do. Pzizz is one of the options out there, and one that I’ve used on and off for the past couple of years.

Do you feel tired during the day? You’re not alone.
Sleep problems and lack of energy affect most people at some time, but Pzizz can help.
This revolutionary insomnia treatment enables you to sleep better by stopping the nightly struggle.
It also helps you increase energy levels during the day with unique power naps or performance breaks.

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There have been many notable nappers throughout history, here’s a partial list…

• Salvador Dali
• Thomas Edison
• Winston Churchill
• John F. Kennedy
• Albert Einstein
• John D. Rockefeller
• Lyndon B. Johnson
• William J. Clinton
• Napoleon Bonaparte
• Ludwig van Beethoven

Why aren’t you napping?

This software has changed how I operate during the day. I am able to time-out in a structured manner, gaining the ultimate in relaxation and rejuvenation from a short, sometimes 20 minute nap.

You can check it out at this link. I highly recommend the practice, and all you need is an mp3 player such as an ipod.

This post was written by Mike Thomas for UrbanWorkbench.com ©2010.

Originally posted as Power Naps at Work – Pzizz

Email is once again being recognized as the future for social networking. Unfortunately for many of us that spend a third of every day in the corporate setting, Microsoft Outlook is the email client we are given, whether we choose it or not. Now Outlook has its benefits, it’s actually pretty great as a calendar/email application. The todos are hard to use effectively, and overall message management is terrible.

Xobni steps in at this point and offers users of Outlook a solution to finding messages related to a particular person, or even people related to someone.

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If you’d like a beta invite, leave me a comment here and we’ll see what I can do for you. Of course you need to be running Outlook as your email client. Check out the links above to find out more through their website and demo video.

Gmail is still my favourite app for email, and that’s what I use for all of the UrbanWorkbench accounts, but while at work, life has become much easier since upgrading Outlook with Xobni – and it’s only in beta!

This post was written by Mike Thomas for UrbanWorkbench.com ©2010.

Originally posted as Xobni – Dealing with Email