Well Well I thought I would do a google image search to try to find the original picture Steve used in his travesty of justice and guess what?
I found a real picture of him properly restrained
http://www.natives.co.uk/news/2005/0...nia/stocks.jpg
I also found an amusing Castaway parody featuring Forrest Gump's alter ego Tom Hanks
http://www.starland.com/sf-sc/sf03/i...m%20stocks.JPG

John Fowles

I'd say it's more of an INSECURITY clearance.

Man Cathy, I've been reading some of your stuff and your pretty cocky. I don't think your all that but oh well.

Good for you. And I don't think you're much of anything, either.

I just love it whan new people come in here and start making assumptions....
Or maybe he's not new. Maybe he's.... no... I won't say it. Too cocky.

You are cocky, but that's fine. Just don't see why you are, but oh well.

John, I could not help but try to help in some way, seeins' how I am the MAPster. Simply a point of interest I hope for you. You seem to be a very detail oriented man, with, as you put it, a desire to understand. Banking on this keen interest, a bit of trivia. As you noted, regarding the mapping engine's database of annotation being mis-spelled:

Per John, as follows:
<snip>
I have now reentered my two locations:-
my current New Jersey one with the picture of me in Sherborn MA and one showing me in front of my house in my home town of Sherborne (note how Americans have this odd habit of either mis-spelling words or omitting letters....they also in Massachusetts mispelt Barnstaple as Barnstable)...Dorset <snip>

As I mentioned farther above, this mapping engine, essentially the same as mapquest's alternative program, hails from U.S.Geological Survey's Terramapper project. It was also partnered by an outsourced *bigggg* private software company as a general contractor of sorts.

As such, with multiple layers of farmed-out labor, it is subject to the limitations that have come close at times to paralyzing USGS' work in cartographic data entry such as the annotation in question.

in aproximately 1999, USGS weathered what was called "Black Monday", obvious to GL fans as a name applied to other events as well...

This was a day essentially of pink slips, firing, laying-off, early retirements, "re-purposing", and in sum total nearly 50% of their Cartographic professionals, paraprofessionals, and technicians were let go, flooding the industry with Government personnel.

This sad event was in response to legislation referred to as the Brook's Act that required that (among other things) 50% of mapping be outsourced to private industry, in keeping with the precept that the U.S. Government should not compete with the private sector, e.g. private Mapping Companies.

Point being, these private sector companies, austensibly could do the same work "faster and cheaper" and profit to the benefit of the constituency the Government in principle serves.

However, as farming out so often does, it actually hamperes the output quality of what is a painstakingly detailed and normally thoroughly researched part of the work, despite it not falling into the pervue of professional Cartographers in larger projects like this.

Unfortunately, having been involved in many contracts myself to outsource mapping services to private companies, one of the means by which they can do it cheaper (and often worse) is by (you guessed it) farming-out the labor intensive non-professional components (such as annotation - street names , town names, etc....) and other quickly-trained data-entry map database elements.

The foreign outsourced companies in particular, employing extremely cheap labor in "second (and third) world" companies, adds a huge amount of annotation in databases ....such as these. The emphasis, in order to make contractual time obligations, is of course speed. And of course speed in detail-oriented work breeds errors and omissions such as you are seeing.

I have seen outsourced contracts in satellite mapping projects post-processing work where the private vendor bidding actually would offer two prices. One would be be made in the "good-ole U.S.A.), and the other, for aproximately 40PERCENT LESS was to openly send the labor-intensive work to their "foreign subsidiary" (read:sweatshop) often in Malaysia et al .

It seemed of at least mild interest to point this out as things have gotten rolling again in what sounds like the first corfid map still existing, to my relief as I worried previously that my "run-in" with Watchman may have spurred a suspected retraction of the first map. I now understand this is not true.

This Terramapper project is also widely spoken of on the internet as being the brainchild and effort of one of the "giants" in the software business. Such company's name will not be mentioned here, as I understand Bill G(oops) has an army of lawyers eating company authorized junk food and looking with NSA tenacity for any cheap defamation of the project (j/k Bill).

It, in fact, despite errors and omissions, is an incredible piece of work placed free of use into the public domain, as you all noted with glee in the novelty of the product.

Rather than being able (yet) to make a salient contribution to the problem you guys worked through, I thought my only area of input could be thoroughly little-known minutia pertaining to the annotation that is contained in this mapping engine, and at least save some face as a mapper myself ;)

Does this also mean, if the first corfid map *is* still intact, that I do not need to grovel in apology to its progenitor ? (j/k Watchman... err... just an observation :) ) All in good fun.

Since of course all people think idle shop-talk specific to their field is utterly fascinating to the world, and represents over 75% of known information in the whole world as well... I did hope this little fact would help alleviate some of the frustration encountered when annotation was missing or wrong.

Just occurred to me this info would not do a bit of good. In true government tradition, or at least historic teutonic form as Trevanian would say (any British folk know this author?) I will therefor proceed unsullied by the facts, and make an error better by making it bigger. hehe - Steve all in fun.

I'm added.

Just wanted to say the original Corfid map still works for me.
Lots of interesting pix there. :)

works for me too Bru - at the link i posted - regardless of how it shows up on this site when i copy and paste it directly from my addy bar...

Hey Andy - did your mother not teach you to say nothing if you don't have anything nice to say?
If that's your opinion that's fine...keep it to yourself please. I for one (and one of many) have a different opinion but regardless of that fact....it would be nice if you could refrain from posting such negativity and hostility..especially for no apparent reason.
just a thought.
thanks.
Char

Found the map! Found the map! Found the map!

I'm on the map! All "lone" in Texas.
http://www.frappr.com/corfid

Bill W,
Yesterday's Washington Post fearured the summer schedule for Wolf Trap? Are you and Lizanne interested in going? If so I will get on ordering tickets. I have forgotten the exact date but the concert is sometime in mid-August.

:eek: Dude, you don't know the half of it!!! :eek: Take this advice and trust me.
After what i've had done to me and having found out why... i'd run screaming from this place and never look back!!!! :eek:

Man, this is funny!!

Quixote / Jessi i'd watch my back.. please be careful.. this site should have a warning on it when you sign up!!

"BEWARE 2-FACED BACKSTABBERS! AND GETTING YOUR HEAD RIPPED OFF OR GETTING TORN A NEW ONE ON A FREQUENT AND REGULAR BASIS!"

The so-called moderator on site is an even bigger joke!!
:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[ April 14, 2006, 09:00: Message edited by: changes ]

Why do you keep trying to bury my postings???
I haven't seen the message board this busy in like FOREVER!!

Did ya think i was going to go sit in the corner and cry "OOHHH they don't like me anymore?? Wah Wah Wah"???

Changes , personal abuse of any kind is normally a no no on a message board. It would not surprise anyone that your posts are being deleted if they cross that line.

It may be time for you to take some of your own advice and head to another area in cyberspace where you feel more appreciated. Without fully understanding all the issues involved , I confess I initially felt elements of sympathy for you, but your drama queenesque hysterical rants and tirades which would appear to be more in keeping with excerpts from a B grade soap opera have brought some "changes" in my attitude.

For someone who was professing a christian ethic only recently a remarkable set of "changes" has come over you and they do you no credit.

I suggest you go and take a couple of the coloured pills the nice Doctor prescribed for you,listen to some soothing music and please do not kick the cat. There's a good little changes - this site does not require more than one of the delusional variety. I already occupy that niche.
Unfortunately there is no emoticon which adequately describes my view of your rants. This is probably because they would cross over into your sphere of innappropriate rudeness. Also they all depict the head rather than what I would rather choose ,which is that of someones rear end. :D

what's wrong Steve can't a person have a little fun! if you want to bring up personal abuse.. hmm let's see.. if i had a nickel for every lie that's been told about me and every name i've been called in all the PM's and e-mails behind my back. i'd be rich!

I there an emoticon for giving someone the finger?

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: