[GSBN] Matts' Fun with Maps

[David Elfstrom]

I've looked at this issue recently for the Ontario straw bale home 
registry.

Because we have an annual tour, the actual location of many homes needs 
to be saved in our registry. Yet we also don't want to have that 
information public the rest of the year. So I added an extra yes-no 
field for displaying the address, location and directions, and another 
field that stores if a person is going to participate in the tour or not.

For the general location, using the first three letters of the postal 
code, or even the full code, will work in Canada. Except we don't have 
the postal codes of the homes... though since we are now offering free 
memberships to straw bale home owners in Ontario in return for a listing 
perhaps we can coax that information out. So what I might do is store 
the full postal code in the database, and then spit out the first three 
digits to a Google Maps link.

 From what I've read on Wikipedia about how U.S. zip codes overlap, it 
won't work very well in the States.

How about the latitude and longitude rounded to the nearest tenth of a 
degree (or even the nearest half degree). With a custom map using the 
Google API, overlay a circle that extends out another tenth of a degree, 
and voila, there's your uncertainty radius. Somewhere in that circle is 
the home. Here's an example of a circle using the API: 
http://esa.ilmari.googlepages.com/circle.htm.

Actually, I think I like that even better than postal codes. Except 
everyone knows their postal code, and most don't know their latitude and 
longitude off the top of their head unless they are a GPS gearhead.

David

> From:
> Frank Tettemer <frank at livingsol.com>
> Date:
> Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:29:52 -0500
> To:
> Strawbale at listserv.repp.org
>
>
> I have seen a map that Kim had made, a couple years back, which she 
> took to the ISBBC at Kamp Kawartha.
> Stick pins and all, Nova Scotia style.  Like your suggestion, RT, she 
> used differing colours to indicate ... well, different stuff.
> But point well taken, Derek, to maintain it, some sort of G.D. 
> computer program really should be used.
>
> My suggestion:  (are you there, David Elfstrom?)
> The new Webmaster, at the New OSBBC.ca site probably has enough 
> schmarts to figure that problem, and even set it up on the various, 
> local SB organization websites, so that a variety of authorized 
> personel could add locations as they come up, and are counted. Bill's 
> got a point, though.  People just don't step forward to be counted.
>
> Maybe a 'reward' offered?
>
> Frank Tettemer
> Living Sol ~ Building & Design
> Killaloe, ON
> www.livingsol.com


-- 
David Elfstrom, P.Eng, LEED® AP
President & Sustainability Engineer

Elfstrom Engineering Professional Corporation
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david at elfstromengineering.com
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