Model Invasion of Adelaide

I started playing with the code that has gathered up in the 3d-Models forum thread in Worldwind. Basically dumping it into eclipse and running it, ultimately I want to load complex DXF models. But the dxf format is not simply faces/vertices/edges, so will require more digging around and understanding. At least Autodesk has a free viewer to make my life easier and check while I make progress. The same can't be said about other 3d formats. They also make the awsome 3ds-MAX, so I can possibly use that as a format converter.

Mapping the Arts and the art of mapping

One of my friends recently launched a digital arts initiative and I decided to check out the mapping arts program she had talked about previously. It makes heavy use of the Google maps/globe API and the google earth browser plugin to produce a content control interface via flash that the standard Google Earth would be lacking. Quite ingenious.



The bit of the program I especially like is the geek in residence concept. Now this is a rather personal interest thought - but making maps and making maps pretty is a fusion of art and digital technology. We even had a presentation in FOSS4G about making maps pretty. I would love to see a geek-art collaboration in this domain.

Security through obscurity - virtualization and spoofing

In a comedy of errors I managed to completely lose access to a machine. Underlying hardware windows IP stack got taken over by a Linux stack in a VM with bridged IP ( I spoofed the host by assigning the same IP to the guest VM). I had perfectly inaccessible system (via network) with a windows machine pretending to be a linux machine for all intents and purposes.

Then I found an article on security through virtualization and spoofing, exactly what I had done by mistake. Here comes some more penicillin.

Coding in Geoserver

I finally got my BIL/DDS code out and can start proving my community module to extensions status by writing some code coverage tests. Currently attending geoserver optimization workshop.

Developing inside GeoServer

Since Geoserver is such a nice implementation of the OGC standards, I decided to include WorldWind .bil format elevation output to it. The deployment of data is a breeze, just point geoserver to your file. There is already imagery output as .dds plugin written by an enterprising french man, but it requires maintainance. I will probably take over both of this "Map Producers" and get them tested and maintained as part of core geoserver.

Then we will have a proper Java WorldWind stack from serving to consuming and displaying.

Reading about reading - Infinite Jest

While in a backpackers in Hobart , checked out and waiting for transfer to airport, I picked up a really thick book I had no hope of finishing in the time left - enter the "Infinite Jest". It was even harder to get through , reading it feels like swimming through treakle or may be the non-newtonian fluid, the faster you try to go through the more you get lost and are left unable to continue.

I have finally managed to procure it from the library and gone thorugh first 2 chapters - I have been forewarned about the non-linear nature of the book. So I will read it in a non-linear fashion and collate on the fly (yay for TCP). Let's see how that works out.

Another Wallace work is coming out in film this year - Brief Interviews , might read it first. The good thing about anthologies is that you can read them in bite sized bits .. lovely.