A collection of various GIS related links, information and other GIS blogs.

Monday, October 30, 2006

What's Coming in ArcGIS 9.2: "With ArcGIS 9.2, ESRI continues to focus on quality, usability, and performance. ArcGIS Desktop (ArcView, ArcEditor, ArcInfo) Check out the Usability Enhancements videos"
Project Center - ESRI Support: "Welcome to Project Center... The Project Center provides an information portal to a wide range of GIS information, resources, and ESRI services for planning, designing, implementing and maintaining a successful GIS project lifecycle. The ESRI Project Center framework has been established so that you may quickly find available resources and services to support your specific GIS needs."
Maps for Journalists - Disaster Response and Assistance: "Riverside County Wildfire Maps and Images Sunday, October 29, 2006 ESRI is supporting the firefighting efforts for the Esperanza Fire by providing GIS maps personnel on-site at the fire Incident Command Posts. Maps are provided as a public service to inform residents and other interested people."

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Not GIS related - but cool.... Oxygen masks for dogs, cats donated to San Diego Fire Department: "Oxygen masks for dogs, cats donated to San Diego Fire Department October 3, 2006 SAN DIEGO – Pets are ten times more likely to die in a fire than people and they are just as likely to suffer smoke inhalation, but now San Diego firefighters have devices designed to save the lives of four-legged victims. Best Friends Pet Care, a national chain of boarding kennels, on Tuesday donated 20 sets of oxygen masks for animals to the San Diego Fire Department. Each cone-shaped resuscitation mask fits tightly over a pet's snout and attaches to a tube that connects to an oxygen tank. They come in three sizes, one for large dogs, one for small dogs and one for cats. Dawn Garcia, a manager at a local Best Friends facility, said that last year some 40,000 pets died in fires at homes across the nation. She animals are at a greater risk for smoke inhalation because they often don't find their way out. “They don't know what to do, they run and hide,” Garcia said. Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Carle said regular oxygen masks are ineffective for pets because they do not fit properly over an animals' face. He said firefighters recently pulled six cats out of a burning apartment and two were suffering after inhaling smoke. They were able to save the felines by using the equipment on hand, but Carle said the new masks would have worked much better. Best Friends launched the Cause for Paws Campaign nationally in 2004 and has since donated 2,250 sets of masks to fire departments in 20 states. “We learned our rescue teams in our own back yard didn't have these masks and we wanted to help,” Garcia said. Today's donation will provide the gear for go to less than half of the city's 46 fire stations. Garcia said Best Friends' goal is to equip all of them."