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TEWSPilot

I received this email tonight from a friend. Does anyone know what is going on here?

Wing Wiper · Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 4:42 am Post subject:

I'm not so sure it matters. If you put the crosshairs on your house on Google Earth, it gives you the GPS coordinates already.

Or are you saying they're printing the GPS coordinates ON the front door? If so, I'll just paint over it the next day.

TEWSPilot · Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 5:02 am Post subject:

It may be nothing, but since ACORN is gathering the info, it may be going into a database that shouldn't be allowed to collect that information, and at the taxpayer's expense. Getting GPS coordinates of a single address one house at a time using Google is one thing, and I'm not too happy about that, but collecting an entire database of all houses and apartments in the USA that is searchable and sortable and can be used to target individuals by Obama's brownshirts is a different matter, but then again, maybe I'm just a bit "skeptical" as to why this information is needed to collect a simple census of the population.

...I don't know whether they are painting anything on the houses, but I doubt it...good question, though.
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GoophyDog · Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 3:04 pm Post subject:

Okay, if I was really paranoid I just might buy the reasoning in his article however, working in a 911 center as I do the location of the front door is a critical element.

This could be part of the national GIS initiative (I didn't know they had approved it yet) where some of the census information such as the location and address will be shared with emergency services - something that has not been allowed in the past. I mentioned it is a critical element and it is. Part of the next generation 911 services (NG911) which in part is due to phone number portability and such things like VOIP, Text911, Vid911, means people will be reporting emergencies in all sorts of ways to people who may not know the area.

In the county I work for we are doing the same thing. We're not doing the front door so much as the main point of access - all for emergency response. This ties in with the addressing so when a person dials 911 from their home it automatically plots accurately on a map and displays the response resources for the location (which fire apparatus, ambulance, law enforcement unit, nearest fire hydrant,nearest power transformer etc.) Since it is plotted on a map, we can also get the quickest routing to the location and either give it over the radio or flash their display with it.

Yes, Google can put dots on a map. But, is the address accurate? Is it really the front door? Is the front door really the best access point? Just a few issues I have found myself running into on a continuous basis.

To refute the author's premise again. Homeowners have been giving their "GPS" location for decades in the form of property parcel information and land surveys. How else do you think Google can plot a dot in the first place? The front door, or in my case best access, plot requires feet on the ground and while I may not have a badge, I do have some nifty business cards telling people what I'm doing.

While I agree ACORN is probably the last organization I would support doing this, and this administration is the least to be trusted the information, the GIS initiative has been in the works since the last census. Its not new, nor is it any more intrusive than before.
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TEWSPilot · Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 4:33 pm Post subject:

GoophyDog, thanks for the clarification. We had a chimney fire a few years ago, and the fire trucks got here in less than three minutes from the time I called. If using GPS or other technology can provide them this sort of accurate info to get to emergencies ASAP, I have no problem cooperating...now if they ask me how much water my toilet uses per flush or what kind of light bulbs I use or how many guns I own, then I have a problem.
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BuffaloJack · Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 7:23 pm Post subject:

Garbage In, Garbage Out.

Early last summer we used our Garmin GPS unit to go to my brother's new house in Southern Ohio. We made our hotel arrangements and the GPS unit got us to a spot 2.5 miles from my brother's house. When we went to our hotel, the GPS was a little over 4 miles off. Luckily the hotel was able to give us directions. When we finally got there, the hotel explained that Google had screwed up the coordinates of most of that area. It didn't matter if we used a Garmin, a Tom Tom, or a Magellan, they all get their directions from Google and the hotel said it was a constant problem for them.

Next time I'm bringing a genuine folded up paper map.
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kate · Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 2:04 am Post subject:

GoophyDog · Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 2:56 pm Post subject:

Kate, you nailed it with this part:

TEWSPilot · Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 3:34 pm Post subject:

This is too good not to post, especially since I am in Kansas. It's posted on Neal Boortz today.