The Latest Time-Warner Scam

About a month ago, Time Warner Cable sent a letter indicating that they wanted to upgrade my modem so that I could take advantage of faster speeds available on their network. The letter said that there would be no additional charge, and all that I had to do was go to their web site and request the new modem, and it would be shipped. I could then install the new modem and return the old modem, at my convenience. I signed up for the new modem, received it, installed it, and returned the old modem in the box that the new one arrived in, using the pre-paid FedEx supplied. All seemed well enough.

The day the new modem was installed, the built-in wireless for the modem would not function. I called support, and they walked me through getting it to work, and all seemed well again. The next day, the wireless didn’t work again. I called, and they indicated that somebody forgot to turn it on. That seemed rather curious to me at the time, but they turned it on and all seemed well and good again. Indeed, all was well and good for over a month.

Today, I received a bill from Time Warner Cable showing an increase of $11.19; I was not amused. The bill showed a new additional charge of $7.99 for HomeWiFi, and a partial month charge for the same of $3.20. I was a bit confused why I was suddenly being charged for HomeWiFi, when there had been WiFi in my home for many years, without charge. The switch/router I had purchased long ago supplied this to me quite effectively, and they had never charged me before.

Contacting Time Warner Cable, their customer service representative attempted to explain that I was being charged for WiFi because they were supplying this service to me now. She also began to explain how modems work, but I objected. Explaining that I had worked in Information Technology for more than 20 years, I was very much aware that they were not providing any sort of anything of the sort. The modem they had supplied was equipped with WiFi, and I was paying an Internet Modem Lease of $3.99 for the use of that modem; further, I expected full use of a modem I was leasing, without additional charge! In addition, I had never been informed of any sort of fee associated with using the WiFi built in to the model I was leasing from them, and that if they insisted on charging me an additional fee for full use of the modem, then they could disconnect the WiFi and I would return to using my own personal switch/router instead.

In the end, Time Warner Cable did roll back the fees, and ensured me that I would not be charged for HomeWiFi any longer. However, I cannot help but believe there is nefarious intent behind their effort to charge for a service that clearly are not providing; indeed, I am sure they are probably raking in quite a bit of money from folks that do not really understand technology enough to argue against this charge. I guess some companies will do anything do recoup losses incurred by the intrusion of Google Fiber. Our neighborhood is slated for the summer, and it can’t come soon enough.

Untangling the GeoDatabase - Restoring a County GIS (Part 4)

Data was one of the biggest issues needing addressed at PCAO. The situation was a data disaster, but not just restricted to the data. Anything to do with structure, definition, maintenance or application of best practices associated with maintaining a geo-database had been ignored; all of this irritated by the revolving door associated with the GIS Manager role at the County.

About 5 years prior, ESRI representatives had come in and established the system for enterprise use and application and turned it over to the resident GIS Analyst of the time. Several had passed through that position in the years that followed; some less qualified than others; some attempting to maintain data and data structure integrity; others, not so much. The GIS Manager position had been vacant for about 6 months, prior to my arrival. 

The GIS Analyst during this time was a solid Cartographer but admitted having a very limited understanding of databases. She depended heavily upon the GIS Coordinator in the Planning & Zoning Department (P&Z).

The geo-database was a rather simple arrangement, leveraging ArcGIS SDE v9.1 on a IBM DB2 v8 database, providing unrestricted access to anyone that knew how. It contained all of the features used by the Office of the Assessor and some random features from P&Z. Some of the features had been copy/pasted from one feature to another, thereby duplicating the Shape_Length and Shape_Area field multiple times. 

Many other fields had also been duplicated also, from various attempts to manipulate the data fields All of the fields in all of the tables had been converted or were originally created as 256-character length varChar (text). It was a little hard to believe that ESRI would set it up that way, but I later found that was exactly the case. 

The geo-database also contained numerous incomplete features, and various types of analysis features, from unknown and unidentified projects. Nothing was documented. Meta data was missing from everything. Field names were nonsensical. There was no rhyme or reason to the organization or naming convention of many of the features or data fields.

Straightening out the situation was rather simple and only took about a month. I exported everything to a File Geo-database (FGDB) for analysis and permanent archiving, then removed anything from SDE for which there was no accounting. P&Z was the only other department storing data in SDE, and the Assessor applications were straightforward in their use of the data.

Once all of the features were exported to a FGDB, I carefully analyzed the duplicated fields to determine that containing the most accurate information. In most cases, the newly duplicated field had been used for data storage, from the point it had been duplicated; in other cases, the field and the data were duplicate fully. After completing the analysis, and removing all duplicated fields, and then restoring the newly scrubbed features to be retained.

The data that was to remain on SDE would be strictly for application use and data maintenance and not be stored without some sort of documentation about what it was and what it would be use for; thus, initiating a new and sorely needed policy for SDE.

Missouri Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The College of the Ozarks dedicated the official Missouri Vietnam Veterans Memorial at its campus on April 22, 2015. Thousands watched the unveiling of a memorial that was a long overdue during a ceremony that included speeches by college president Jerry Davis, Bass Pro Shops owner Johnny Morris, Ret. Lt. Col. Oliver North and various graduates from the school that served in Vietnam.

While we were unable to attend the dedication ceremony, we stopped in for a brief visit and photos the following month. The memorial honors the more than 1400 sons and daughters from the state of Missouri, who lost their lives during the Vietnam War.

Paid for almost entirely through donations and fundraising, it stands near Veterans Grove, at the entrance of the college. A bronze statue represents the veterans who survived and returned home, and divides two walls of granite displaying the names of those that did not. Near the foot of the statue lies a small flowerbed shaped in a V, standing for valor, filled with red flowers to representing the blood spilled during the conflict. Granite benches face inward, providing a quiet place for visitors to reflect.

. . . Further Reading . . .

The Missouri Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Legion.org

Avenza PDF is not the Answer

Recently, a local firm asked that I review a solution they were using for electronic distribution of printed maps. The intent of the solution was to provide folks with a map for personal use, and personal data collection, on their personal device.

Providing me with a typical County land ownership map PDF, and some basic instructions, I set about the task at hand. The instructions indicated that the associated app should be downloaded prior to attempting to download or open the PDF file provided; in true testing form, I did exactly the opposite.

Downloading the map first, I immediately attempted to open it. The default app provided on the device (Samsung S2) was insufficient to open the file and immediately crashed. It did work on the second attempt but was too sluggish to be of any use. The Adobe Reader app also allowed me to open the PDF, and it was not quite as slow, but still just as little painful to manipulate. I also tried it on my Nexus7, with similar results. The best results came when I downloaded the file to my PC and opened in Adobe Reader. Speed and performance were no issue, and I discovered that Adobe Reader now provides some basic geospatial tools; as well, of course, the ability to print all or part(s) of the map.

The intended app for this map is Avenza PDF Maps Mobile App, and after installing it, and locating the file on my device, it opened slowly on the first attempt; likely, from whatever processing/caching is going on in preparation for first viewing, since each subsequent opening was fairly quick. There were no problems opening the map though, in spite of the instructions specifying that the app should be downloaded before the PDF; perhaps, it acts differently on different devices.

Functionality and performance is good with the app and map; both work as intended, without frustration, and even when lacking a mobile network connection. The app provides all the features one would expect from a decent mobile mapping application. It has tools to find coordinates, addresses, and other place names on the map; one can also plot points into layers, plot photos, record GPS Tracks, measure distances and areas, and even open whatever view you have in Google Maps.

There are a few deficiencies though, and as a method for distributing maps for personal use, it fails. The app does not provide for the ability to switch to a satellite or terrain view, with the existing map data intact. I was very surprised that the app lacked this basic capability that every other map app contains.

The PDF can be distributed to anyone, anywhere, anytime, without any other restriction than a general agreement to not do so. The Avenza app is not required. The map can opened with Adobe Reader, manipulated, and printed at its originally specified resolution.

The map data is old. As my first Geo-Mentor told me, printed map data is outdated as soon as you print it; often times, even before you print. Using static map data as this map/app does, it might be of little use after as little as year, depending upon the area. With ever increasing need for, and reliance on the most up-to-date map data, this sort of map would be much better suited to a custom app and associated web service.

The map data and associated view are strictly for one county. This is pet peeve of mine. If a person were to suddenly find themselves in another county, they would have to either 1) switch view to Google Maps view, or 2) pull up another PDF map. Any map should provide basic information for surrounding areas to provide for a seamless frame of reference. This should include surrounding county boundaries, major roads, and cities; similar to the format that DeLorme uses in their topographic state maps, when displaying a state outside of the purchased maps boundaries.

While the map and associated app are generally good, it would be better provided via custom app and/or web service, which would address all of these problems easily. Distribution and printing could be restricted. The most recent data would always be available, and folks could switch between map, satellite, and terrain view.

Problem Steps Recorder

I made an interesting little discovery today. Within Windows 7, there is a hidden application called “Problem Steps Recorder,” which enables a local user to record issues they are experiencing in any application they are accessing.

This application provides a MHT file (within a ZIP file) that contains all of the steps and information recorded in a session, helping a user to describe a problem. Passwords or other text typed are not recorded, excepting function and shortcut keys used.

The file displays the recorded problem steps in a screen shot for every click, function, or shortcut key, and logging related to the same, all with time/date stamps. You can even review the steps in a slide show.

The application does not seem to exist anywhere that I can find. You can create a shortcut to it by right-clicking your desktop, select New, select Shortcut, and in the “Type the location…” box simply put “PSR.”

Accessing & Using the Application

1. Click Start
2. In the box that says “Search Programs and Files,” type PSR and press <ENTER>
3. The small tool bar shown above will appear
4. Prepare your desktop to be recorded
5. If you have Dual Screens, you will want to turn one of them off.
6. Right-Click Desktop
7. Select Screen Resolution
8. Change the Multiple-Displays drop down to “Show Only Desktop X”
9. X being the Desktop you want to use for display.
10. Note: some things may fly off screen while in this mode. You can use the “Identify” button to figure out which screen is which.
11. Make sure you do this on the screen you are keeping, or you may not be able to get back to this setting.
12. Click “Apply” (you want this window to stay open, so you can come back to it)
13. A message will display asking whether you want to keep or discard the changes.
14. Click “Start Record”
15. Begin doing whatever it is you want to record steps from.
16. You will notice a Red Dot every time you click something; the application is only taking a screen shot.
17. Pause the recording, if you do not want steps included
18. Add Comments, if you want to call something out
19. Click “Stop Record,” to end the recording session.
20. A window will appear, asking you to name the file.
21. Select a location and file name, which will be a .ZIP file
22. Access the ZIP, and contained within, you will find a MHT file.
23. Extract MHT
24. Double-Click the MHT to open in Internet Explorer, or use MS Word to open the file.