New Topographic Map Format Available

While looking for a map on the US Geological Survey site today I found a new format of topographic maps. Previously it was easy to download a scanned topographic map in pdf format. Today I noticed that for some regions there is a new kind of map called a US Topo. It has a true color aerial photo for a base with all the usual topographic map features on top. 

For example, below is a part of the Iron Springs 7.5 minute map showing the Waynesboro Reservoir, which was made in 1995.

Following is the June 2010 version of the same area.

For some maps there is a Digital Maps beta version that doesn't yet have the contour lines. The new maps can be purchased in paper format. Even better is the pdf format. The data in the new maps can be separated in the reader, just like in a GIS. When you install the free TerraGo add-on in Adobe Reader you can make measurements of direction and distance directly on the map. Very Cool! It is all available at http://store.usgs.gov Topographic maps will never be the same again!

Mansfield Park

I recently finished Mansfield Park, in audiobook format. At first I thought this would be a Cinderella story, where Fanny overcome the adversity of being a near-orphan living with her wealthier relations. As the story continued it became more and more complicated.

I kept wanting Fanny to become more assertive. Instead I started to see her as a blank slate where her total virtue was used to show the shorctomings of her cousins, aunts, uncle, and all the other characters. It wasn't until the end of the book where she goes to visit her family that she showed some reactions of her own.

I didn't understand why Fanny and Edmund opposed the play so much. Was it just too show that it could lead to temptation? After a while I got tired of hearing about propriety so much. I read somewhere that Jane Austen had participated in amateur theatricals with her family. Did she oppose it or did she just use this situation to make the story?

Also it was obvious that Fanny would end up with Edmund. Didn't they worry then about first cousins marrying? And he never seemed to really understand her in spite of all his kindness.

I loved the characters in this book. Aunt Norris and Lady Bertram are fabulous. Henry and Mary Crawford are also great. I have known people like this and will think of these characters when I meet more. I can see coming back to this story again. I think next time I will read it, although I really liked the audiobook version.

"Steller's Jay"

Portrait - "Steller's Jay"

Originally uploaded by Rick Leche.

While visiting a redwood grove in Humboldt State Park last week we noticed this bird swooping down on us as we walked among the trees. Come to find out it is Steller's jay. Here's a good picture I found on Flickr in the bird guide group.
I got a few usable pictures of my own at the park visitor's center.

The park did have warning out to not feed the jays. They adapt easily to being fed and can overpopulate, which make them a danger to other bird species. They are fascinating to watch, though.

Man with Cane and Woman with Umbrella

Right outside Blaine's office at Wichita State University are these two sculptures. The campus has an amazing collection of outdoor sculptures. When I go back for another visit I want to see more of them.




Here is a link to more information on Fernando Botero's work.

Calves by the Park

These calves came by the fence as my dog and I were walking by in the park. They were curious about us, I guess.

With the Old Breed

The HBO series The Pacific ended this past Sunday. The last show started as the Japanese surrendered, right after the Battle of Okinawa. It concentrated on how the soldiers dealt with the peace. Robert Leckie returned home to a job at the local newspaper. He got a job in the local newspaper and got up the courage to date the girl he had been writing too during his time fighting. (But he never mailed the letters.) In a really sad segment, Lena Basilone, John's widow, goes to New Jersey to meet and console his  parents.

A lot of time was taken up with the return and difficulties of E. B. Sledge. He was tormented by nightmares and had a hard time returning to civilian life. In the past week I read his wartime memoir With the Old Breed. I really enjoyed the book, even though the story was extremely brutal at times. The battles of Pelelieu and Okinawa were terribly difficult battles. Sledge describes the horrors in detail that you don't see in many history books. For example he tries to explain how the odor of dead bodies and human waste in the tropical heat got worse day after day as the battle continued. It's a wonder that any of the soldiers could return to normal life after what they had seen and done. I think our leaders should read something like this before deciding whether or not to go to war.

Now I need to get a copy of Robert Leckie's  A Helmet for My Pillow.

Blooming Shrub

This shrub next to our lilacs is in bloom this week. I wonder what it is? I guess I need a shrubbery book.