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May 24, 2013
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
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Jewish World Review
Working without a map
By
Randy A. Salas
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
(MCT) Web Search's answer to a recent reader question about finding the coordinates of a property online led to a good follow-up clarification by a county official in the know.When readers Betty and Gary Dagen wrote to ask how they could find the coordinates to their township property in Otter Tail County, Minn., to enter into their GPS system, I turned to Google Maps Mania (googlemapsmania. blogspot.com). Its owner, Mike Pegg, suggested using ACME Mapper 2.0 (mapper.acme.com) to obtain a satellite view of the property and click on its corners to get the coordinates -- something the Dagens said they had been unable to get from the county.That answer didn't sit well with Thomas Veenker, land survey coordinator for Aitkin County, Minn. A registered land surveyor, he criticized the information as being misleading to the general public."You cannot get accurate coordinates for your property corners from the mapping database quoted," he said in an e-mail.He said he gets the same question -- "Can you give me the coordinates (latitude/longitude) of my property corners so I can take my handheld GPS receiver and find them?" -- from property owners every day. His answer is always no."By giving your readers the impression they can do this is probably going to cause many property-line disputes," he continued. "It would take a lengthy response to explain exactly why this is the case, but basically there are too many 'built-in' inaccuracies in a 'mapping' database and the fact that one's handheld GPS unit is not accurate enough."I asked Jef Poskanzer, who created ACME Mapper, what he thought about the issue. He replied that Veenker makes a good point but that the reason he alludes to is wrong."Property boundaries are not defined in terms of longitude and latitude," Poskanzer said. "In general, property boundaries are defined by a distance and direction from a landmark such as a surveying monument."It is certainly possible to take these legal definitions from your deed, do some trigonometry and come up with longitude/latitude coordinates. However, that still won't be the legal property boundary."So, the lesson here is not to use online mapping tools as legally binding applications but as the helpful aids they are intended to be, a sentiment echoed by Google Map Mania's Pegg in a follow-up e-mail."I suppose I should have suggested that people use this data as anecdotal and not to use the data provided as 100 percent accurate," Pegg said.But he also admitted that he likes the fact that government agencies are concerned with the use of online mapping, especially if some people are turning to such websites out of frustration with bureaucratic channels."If there's something these mapping applications are doing, it's pushing the envelope for government-provided services," he said. "If it wakes them up a bit, good!"
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Randy A. Salas is a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Do you have a favorite Web site or a question about how to find something on the Internet? Send a note by clicking here.
Previously:
Just you watch!
New year, new diet
Your mail answered
Chatting: Central characters
Wonders never cease
Secret messages
For your consideration
Freaky food forays
Best of 2006 online
Missed marketing
H.G. Wells’ legacy endures
A quest for dragons
E-mails you've sent
In the news
It's free!
Websites that help you find books that are right for you
Coping with illness
Some serious face time
Some serious face time
In reply to your e-mail ...
Turn your handwriting into a computer-based font that will allow you to churn out homespun greetings
Music for everyone
'Elusive planet' can be viewed clearly from Earth with the naked eye
Central characters
E-mail @ 35
Idle chatter
Funny money
Classic artwork in motion
For an unusual Thanksgiving
Your slip is showing
Best of the worst
Test your mind power
Remain anonymous
© 2006, Star Tribune Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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