[mapserver-users] Fw: DECEMBER 5th!! RED BALLOON SEARCH starts Tomorrow! Help Conservation group win $40, 000 for scholarship Program!

[Jennifer Shanks]

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Lisa Pierce <l.pierce at VERIZON.NET>
To: SCGIS at LISTSERV.URI.EDU
Sent: Fri, December 4, 2009 5:49:38 PM
Subject: DECEMBER 5th!!  RED BALLOON SEARCH starts Tomorrow! Help Conservation group win $40,000 for scholarship Program!

Please send on this note to your network to extend the SCGIS family and
increase our chances of winning! 

RED BALLOON SEARCH Tomorrow! Help Conservation group win $40,000 for
scholarship Program! 
Importance: High

http://www.edc.uri.edu/scgis/

SCGIS Takes On The DARPA Challenge:

Help the Society for Conservation GIS win $40,000 for our international
scholarship program and improve our SCGIS networking efforts!
www.scgis.org

The Challenge: Help the SCGIS Team locate 10 RED Weather Balloons THIS
Saturday Dec 05, 2009. This is a one day event and all we need are your
eyes...We do NOT need individuals to drive all over the countryside, we need
increased numbers of observers. If you forward this email to ALL individuals
on your contact list we have a greater chance of winning. The only way we
can possible win this challenge is to have thousands of eyes looking for
these red weather balloons located throughout the United States. You do NOT
have to be a "geocacher" or own a GPS to participate, we just need you to
keep an eye out for the balloons. This money will be used to help
conservationists world-wide to gain the skills they need to conserve the
environment, indigenous tribes, and local communities.

Why SCGIS: Because the Society of Conservation GIS is comprised of the
world's smartest mapping geeks, nerds, wonks, and pros, if we can't come up
with 10 geographic locations for bright red balloons, who can? Oh yeah, if
we are the first to log the 10 balloon sites, the SCGIS will win a prize of
$40,000 which will be used to support the SCGIS International Scholarship
Fund. Our participation in this event is strictly for fund-raising purposes,
and having some fun as well.

Why is DARPA Doing This?: They want to find out how society can mobilize
itself using the Internet and social networking tools. We have the answer --
pull together a great group like SCGIS and their friends and put them to the
task.

Rules/information for the Challenge:
. Balloons will go up at 10:00am (ET) (7:00am PT) and be taken down at 4:00
pm local time on Saturday 05 Dec - yes this means they will be visible for 6
hrs on the east coast and 9 hrs on the west coast.
. All balloon locations will be visible from a roadway and all areas will be
accessible to the public by pedestrian access. Officials will be stationed
with the balloons and participants should ask officials for the balloon
number and to verify that it is a DARPA Challenge balloon.
. Balloons will be visible on 05 Dec ONLY, but we have until noon on 14 Dec
to collect the information from our participants.
. Federal government employees can not submit locations to DARPA but they
can partiticpate in the search for balloons. SCGIS will submit locations for
everyone. 
. The balloons coordinates should be collected in degree-minute-second
(DDD-MM-SS) format (latitude/longitude, do not use negative values for
longitude). IF you do not have a GPS unit, we have staff available to
convert available information (street intersections,...nearby lakes) for
you..gather as much information as possible, and be as detailed as possible.
See the instructions below for submitting your observation


What You Need to Do: Take a walk, go for a jog, hop on your bike, or fire up
that hybrid and go for a Saturday drive. If you see a big red balloon that
looks like this, take a photo, get an address, and if you are
geospatially-enabled, compute a lat-long value that is within 1 mile of
where the balloon is. If you have no idea how to determine the latitude and
longitude, not prob, just us get an address. There will be a credentialed
DARPA staffer at the site so if you are not sure you found a DARPA balloon,
just ask. DARPA balloons are also numbered (1-10) and be sure to record this
as well. More photos of DARPA balloons can be seen here.  

Spread the Word: Tell your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors to be
on the lookout for a red DARPA balloon. And tell them you are doing it for
SCGIS and their scholarship fund. If they find one, let us know. Here is a
sample announcement for your friends, colleagues and family. 

Reporting Your Observation: We need the following information from you:

Participant's Info:
Participant's Name:
Telephone Number:
Email Address:
Participant's State:
Participant's County:
Participant's Town/City:

KEY Info: 
Balloon Number (Balloon number will be clearly visible and is available from
the DARPA staff at the balloon site):
Street Intersection and City of sighting.
Lat/Long of the Balloon (If feasible but not necessary) How the coordinate
was derived.
A photo (if possible)
Brief (few sentences) of the setting of the balloon (any details are
valuable) Brief summary of who they heard about this contest from (their
network lineage)


How to Log Your Sighting:

TELEPHONE: 909-793-9011 
TEXT MESSAGES: 909-553-4710 
EMAIL: Email the info to:l.pierce at verizon.net
WEB: Click HERE
SKYPE ADDRESS : Lapierce (location is Redlands CA)


Current SCGIS Balloon Sightings (none as of Dec 4, 2009). 
States where SCGIS has registered sightings will be circled on the map
below.

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