How can the building industry use Web 2.0 tools to enhance delivery of services and better integrate new concepts like sustainability? These are some of the questions and issues that will be discussed at the upcoming barcamp, Be2Camp, to be held at The Building Centre on Store Street in London on Oct. 10, 2008. This…
Category: Public Works
Web 2.0 and Public Works Presentation
Today, I am giving a presentation at the 2008 APWA Congress; my topic – virtual public works. My portion of the presentation will focus on the use of Web 2.0 tools in the public works and government sectors. Representatives from TEEX and World2Worlds are also participating. You can check out my presentation at this link….
First Day of APWA
Yesterday my husband and I attended the opening day of the 2008 annual APWA Congress, held this year in New Orleans. APWA always schedules outstanding speakers for their general sessions, and yesterday was no exception. Benjamin S. Carson, MD, a pediatric neurosurgeon, gave an inspiring talk about taking risk and how it affects our lives….
Barcamp, social media, and pizza
Ok, the pizza in the title probably caught your attention, but the real focus of this blog will be “barcamp” since I am beginning to become more involved with this concept and thought others might be interested in hearing more about it. Not really sure how familiar the average person is with that term, but…
Institute for Geospatial Analysis & Mapping in SL
The Institute for Geospatial Analysis & Mapping (GEOMAP) showed up in Second Life late last month on Geo Island – a sim set up by Zeppo Romano for the Geography-Geology Department at Illinois State University. The Institute supports research, education, and training, and community outreach activities. This build has also been interesting to me for…
Workshop Orientation
On Wed., Aug. 20, 2008, members of the Public Works Group will be giving a presentation at the American Public Works Association (APWA) Annual Congress & Exposition in New Orleans. The presentation is a workshop to introduce other public works professionals to virtual worlds and other online Web 2.0 tools. In preparation for the workshop,…
The Ugly Stepsister
Over the last few years the amount of information related to stormwater practices has dramatically increased. Some days it seems like every e-mail, magazine, or flyer I receive covers some topic related to the stormwater industry. However, it wasn’t until this weekend when our area had the worst rainfall event that I can remember, that…
A Little Bit of GIS in My Life
So today Rick Knights, technical service associate, with WTH Engineering stopped by to continue his work on helping us implement our city geographic information system, or GIS. Rick is a certified ENP or emergency number professional who is very familiar with how the 911 system works in the states. We began discussing the many intricacies…
A Voice from the Trenches
Because as a city engineer/director of public works I have to deal with politics on a daily basis, I usually try to avoid getting involved in hard-core political discussions. But lately with the state of the economy, the policies and direction of my home state, and the comments I hear about selling our nation’s infrastructure,…
Siemens PLM Software – Making CAD Easier and Even More Fun to Use
Siemens PLM Software has hosted a few events recently in the virtual world of Second Life that have been fun and interesting for anyone interested in CAD. And according to their calendar, this is just the beginning. During one of these events, held on May 20, the company hosted a live launch of its Velocity…