Q & A with World Class Companies & the "Eye of the Storm – Hurricam"
With June 1, 2012, approaching and marking the official start of the 2012 Hurricane Season, EIGS decided to visit with Darrell Jones, CEO of World Class Companies, to learn more about their innovative video recording system, the "Eye of the Storm- Hurricam" and how it can be used by many including residential and commercial property owners, the National Flood Insurance Program, FEMA, for hurricane mitigation and research and possibly the Insurance Industry. Mr. Jones has partnered with Greg Becker of Becker Engineering in the design, production and application of this new technology which will allow the gathering of this highly useful visual data. World Class Companies is a member of the EIGS geospatial technology cluster of the Magnolia Business Alliance (MBA).
The Sensor:
Can you tell our readers about World Class Companies (WCC) and your role with the company?
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Commentary From: Michael Liu, Sr. Vice President, Dutko Worldwide
It's been a rocky ride but Mitt Romney is now the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for president. However, he still needs to collect delegates, and as I mentioned in last month's column I think that sometime in late May, a host of uncommitted delegates from the establishment wing of the Party (e.g., elected officials, RNC members, etc.) will publicly commit and provide Romney with the statistical comfort of having the 1,144 delegates needed to capture the nomination 'crown.'
In the meantime, one aspect of the campaign that now gets a lot of attention is the selection of a running mate. This may be of special interest to the Gulf Coast since Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is on everyone's short list. For members of EIGS and MBA, Jindal as a vice-presidential running mate gives issues surrounding economic development on the Coast, and subjects such as Stennis and Michoud potential cache at the highest level of federal government policy agenda. Governor Jindal is very familiar with the high tech and geo-spatial business strengths of the region.
Among Jindal's plusses as a wing-man from Romney are:
*First and foremost, Jindal is a recognized expert in healthcare policy, and could argue the weaknesses of "Obamacare" with any policy wonk or politician in support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Given Romney's potential vulnerability on this issue from the right and the left, Jindal can be a real help.
*Jindal's youth (41) and south asian ethnicity helps the GOP fight the image of being the Party of white older Americans.
*Jindal as a relatively successful governor, brings a record of government "executive" experience that could help bolster a GOP ticket that stresses the "executive" experience of its presidential and vice-presidential nominees, that contrasts well with the incumbents who lack this background. (Having served a full-term as governor, Jindal is probably a safer bet on this element than say a Chris Christie of New Jersey.)
*Jindal could help solidify the GOP hold on the South and retake states such as North Carolina and Virginia that went for the President in 2008.
Jindal's weaknesses as a choice include:
*If winning a swing state becomes a key component in Romney's screening for a running mate, Governor McDonnell of Virginia would probably be more helpful in this regard.
*He's come late to the Romney party, having just endorsed Governor Romney in April and prior to that having supported Governor Perry of Texas.
*Jindal may be viewed by insiders as too much a 'policy wonk' which does not complement Romney who allegedly still has challenges in connecting with voters on a "human" level.
While in most situations, the choice for VP is not of much relevancy to the final outcome of presidential races, this is one year when it could have a very definite impact on communities from the Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama Coasts should the GOP ticket prove victorious in November. This is definitely a subject that EIGS and MBA need to monitor.
And since we are on the topic of the nomination process for President and Vice President, let me urge businesses and organizations that have issues of concern with the federal government, to seriously consider being a part of the two major nominating party conventions this summer. These are more than gatherings where people wear gaudy hats and silly buttons. Serious contacts can be made with key Congressional staff, members of Congress, and policy advisors to the national campaigns and parties. Planks in platforms and working papers that can influence federal programs are forged. In short, if you have an issue, going to one or both of the national party conventions could be well worth the investment of time, effort and money. But note that this is not a trip that can be done on a whim at the last minute. If you decide to go, make your arrangements now, and have a game plan on how you will get your message across to the right people. If you need help, there are a number of consultants who can assist you…
Image of the Month
Counting Penguins from Space
Credit: (Image: DigitalGlobe)
Counting emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) cannot be easy. They spend much of their time in the Antarctic Ocean and when they do come on land it's for winter in some of the remotest, coldest and windiest places on Earth.
Using images of the colonies like this one, the team counted a total of 595,000 birds, much higher than previous estimates of 270,000 to 350,000. The satellite images also helped the researchers to find seven previously unknown colonies, taking the total to 44.
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Items of Interest
Annual Utility Spending on GIS Tools and Services Will Reach $3.7 Billion by…
MarketWatch (press release)
Land-based and street-level data, ownership/real estate, vegetation, network topology, GPS location data, census data, and many others forms of geospatial information are critical to the successful performance of the smart grid.
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Remote sensing catches bees in the act
Farm Weekly
"We started by reviewing existing technology including off the shelf sensors for weight, temperature and humidity as well as the motion detection cameras," Dr McCarthy said. "We're now working with the beekeeper to entice groups of bees into an empty…
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Where You Live Could Make Your Kids Fat
The Atlantic Cities
That's according to a new study from the Seattle Children's Research Institute that looked at GIS data from neighborhoods in San Diego and Seattle (via Walkonomics). The headline of their press release? "Zip Code as Important as Genetic Code in…
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READ MORE]
Fort Sill maps past with new technology
United States Army
By Ben Sherman, Fort Sill Aaron Peterson, Geospatial Information Systems specialist, Directorate of Public Works, holds a hand-held GPS unit over the headstone of Comanche Chief Ten Bears to mark the exact location at Fort Sill, Okla…
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Did you know the Asset Development Division of the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) has launched an interactive website, assetmap.mississippi.org, to showcase unique assets found in communities throughout Mississippi?
The website pinpoints historic sites, unique businesses, tourist attractions and natural resources found in communities that have undergone MDA's asset mapping process. The website also highlights markers found along the state's Blues Trail, Country Music Trail and Culinary Trail. It features a search function enabling visitors to search unique assets within an individual community or on a statewide
Read more: msbusiness.com
NVision Solutions Receives Accolades from U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
The United States Army Corp of Engineers recently presented NVision Solutions, Inc. with a Certificate of Appreciation for exceptional achievement in supporting the Mississippi Valley Division's New Orleans District in the execution of Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System mission. NVision's outstanding achievement is in keeping with the finest traditions of public service. The certificate was presented by Colonel Edward R. Fleming of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
EIGS IN THE NEWS
NVision Solutions Releases BasinTools Software Update for ArcGIS…
GISuser.com
Bay Saint Louis, MS-- NVision Solutions, Inc. announced today the release of its BasinTools software for ArcGIS 10 Desktop. BasinTools is a toolbox for Esri…
[Read more]
Magnolia Business Alliance Offers Advanced Small Business Services
Legal News
Magnolia Business Alliance (MBA) is pleased to announce that it now offers a series of paid small business services to assist companies with labor-intensive processes as well as common business opportunities with a high barrier to entry.
[Read more]
New NVision Software Helps Schools with Safety Grants
Directions Magazine
NVision Solutions Inc., is pleased to announce the release of its new NIMSmart program which helps schools comply…
[Read the full article]
Global Perspectives
A New System to Measure Quakes in Real Time
Wall Street Journal (blog)
But the task of calculating earthquakes is a slow process–one that a new system developed by Japan's Geospatial Information Authority seeks to do better. Last week, the GSI and Tohoku University began testing a system that will allow researchers to…
[Read the full article]
North Korea Rocket Launch Site Seen From Space
Space.com
The photos, which were snapped by DigitalGlobe, a commercial provider of high-resolution Earth images, give a unique bird's-eye view of the new North Korean launch site, which is located near the northwest village of Tongchang-ri…
[Read
the full article]
The Sensor (Full text)
Can you tell our readers about World Class Companies (WCC) and your role with the company?
Jones: The WCC were formed just prior to Hurricane Ivan in 2005. The companies consist of WC Adjusting Services, WC Business Consulting, and WC Moving and Storage. I am president and CEO of the Companies.
The Sensor: Tell us more about the video recording system, "Eye of the Storm - Hurricam."
Jones: We developed the system after Hurricane Katrina due to the highly controversial wind/water debate and resulting litigation. It was designed to monitor destruction imposed by hurricanes without risking life. You may have seen our product recently featured on the "Weather Channel".
The Sensor: What are some of the major uses and benefits of Eye of the Storm?
Jones: The uses of the product are many. Residential and commercial property owners can now know the true peril of their loss after a hurricane. With such a large financial difference between flood coverage amounts and wind coverage amounts, it is critical the property owner to know which policy to collect from. The National Flood Insurance Program can use the data to insure only true flood damage claims are paid instead of wind damage passed off as water damage. FEMA can use the visual data for hurricane preparedness and mitigation research.
The Sensor: Let's give our readers an idea of the scope of what an undertaking Eye of the Storm is. For example, what is the time frame and the number of cameras that would have been deployed during Hurricane Katrina?
Jones: If another storm with the same characteristics, such as Katrina, were to hit anywhere from Brownsville, TX around the southern tip of FL and up the Eastern Seaboard, we would deploy approximately 300 cameras. This is done with 10, 2-man crews equipped with bucket-lift trucks installing 30 cameras each over a 24 hr period. Our crews are deployed approximately 96 hours before the projected landfall of a storm allowing enough time for travel, installation and then evacuation of the projected landfall area. If the storms change course, our crews are equipped to adjust the coverage area in order to gather the maximum amount of visual data possible.
The Sensor: What value do you think organizations such as the Magnolia Business Alliance and the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions bring to your company and product?
Jones: I see a definite advantage in the collaborative opportunities that arise from working with other companies in the cluster. For example, they introduced us to WorldWinds, Inc. This company, headed by Elizabeth Valente, should prove to be an extremely valuable asset in the fact that in combination with Greg Becker of Becker Engineering, we will be able to use the visual data collected along with other markers such as wave and water height, wind speeds and gusts, structural components, such as building materials and construction dates and compile this data to provide engineering and atmospheric reports to help settle insurance claims.
The Sensor: What is on the horizon for World Class Companies and Eye of the Storm- Hurricam?
Jones: We are currently expanding into all states along the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard.
World Class Companies: For more information about the "Eye of the Storm – Hurricam", contact Darrell Jones at
worldclasscompanies@gmail.com or (877) 337-5263.
You can also view informational videos on Youtube under "DJ – weather channel" and "Eye of the Storm – Hurricam"
