Name: Alex Mandel

Sidekick: Doughnut,Well as much as a stay at home cat can be, she's never far from my lap except when she's sleeping under the covers.

Office: UC Davis

Profession: GeoInformatician

Using technology to further wildlife science, conservation, and humanity.

Hobbies:Photography http://www.wildintellect.com, computers, gardening, birding,squirrel watching etc...

Personality: What's this person like? I'll leave others to fill this in.

Current Quote/Thought Damn you wiki I'm supposed to be working on some papers! (rinse, repeat, every quarter)

Hand Perpetually in the cookie jar of projects: OSGeo,Open Street Map,World of Davis Game ,Campus Center for the Environment ,Education for Sustainable Living Program's Sustainable Modern Media action research team : videocast/audiocast/DVD for 2007,Campus Green Map ,Davis Wiki ,GLOBAL:geography club ,Linux Users Group of Davis , Fixing everyone I know and their mother's computer

In Progress list:

To do list:(Message me if you want to learn/help)

  • Raspberry Pi Weather Station

Tabled for later

  • Sustainable Desk, while not all reused materials this is an experiment in green building materials. So far I plan to pick up some wheat straw board, and I've got some bicycle inner tubes for bumpers. This is a hard project since I'm trying to build a desk with enough space for a 17" CRT, 19-21" LCD, 2 Laptops, a scanner and some scribble space, and yes I realize that much electronics is not sustainable but it's how I do things like the edit the wiki and make Sustainable Modern Media.
    • Got a free desk instead, reuse always comes 1st.
  • Solar food dehydrator, if I can find those blueprints I have all the parts - found at least a diagram to follow, just need an absorbing element and the glass now.
    • 12/22/07 Update, just needs a clear cover now. Something transparent of the glass, plexi, lexan variety about 3x4'
    • 12/08 Done in time for winter...
  • Davis wiki Map update using OpenLayers - I'm looking for volunteers to help, I know how to do it just need people with time to help implement.
    • 12/22/07 New branch in the sycamore svn for mapping. Trying to get a test server up to see if my example map page works.
    • 12/08 Ready to start testing in the real world, want to help make map markers or pretty up the template? check out the Mapping Upgrade
  • Build a backyard Biodigester, I have plans from a professor in New Zealand who builds these with small farmers in south eastern asia.
  • Bike Trailer, after I learn to weld.
  • Bike Rack made of old Bicycles, also after I learn to weld sometime soon.
  • Solar Oven, saw an old oven by a dumpster today, thought the inside shell might be a good start to this project.

One Shields Ave Davis, CA

Comments:

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2007-06-04 03:06:58   World of Davis Game sounds fun. i hope it goes well. —JessicaRockwell


2007-06-13 01:29:23   I'm going to get at least 100 edits from World of Davis Game/Results, do I get a prize for most # of edits during Finals. —AlexMandel


2007-06-19 11:49:22   really? i don't have much in the way of actual toilets, so much as i have a bunch of self portraits in public restrooms from a photo-war with some kid online... but yeah, let me know and i'll take pictures of every toilet i come across. —MichelleAccurso


2007-06-27 17:27:44   If forgot the   thanks for getting it... —StevenDaubert


2007-07-11 00:20:19   Hey, tell all your friends about the catapult this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! —DevinCastellucci


2007-10-26 07:09:08   re: IRC. No worries. I had been watching it for awhile, noticed it had stabilized and was just tightening up the scattered points. I'll leave it be. —JabberWokky


2007-11-14 08:13:58   Howdy Alex. If you use the Mailto() macro, you can present obfuscated email addresses to non-logged in users (much like you had them), and nice working links to logged in users. See my edit here for an example. (I'm guessing from your interests I don't need to explain any further, but if you have questions, just ask, or you can read about them in the help documentation). —JabberWokky


2007-11-14 16:05:57   I had much the same problem... I almost filed a bug report because I tested it in IE, and it didn't work. Then I realized I wasn't logged in. —JabberWokky


2007-12-22 00:07:01   Alex, I thought you built the solar dehydrator already! —DanielConstable


2008-02-28 01:06:32   Odd. I changed some global wiki settings, but it doesn't like that address. —JabberWokky


2008-02-28 01:12:41   I filed a Bug Report. —JabberWokky


2008-11-05 13:52:14   whatsup alex. im definitely interested in solar ovens and solar dehydrators. ive already built a small scale solar oven, out of cardboard and aluminum foil and glass, based off solar joe's sunstar design. im interested in building a larger scale solar oven as well as solar dehydrator. let me know what progress you've made on yours, and maybe we can work together to build this big solar oven. im going to be working with some other people to build a big solar oven (box cooker probably) on a bike trailer, to have solar potlucks in the spring. hollar back! peace~b —BrennanBird


2009-04-17 10:00:30   re: "What's the rush?" Those of us who enter grad school in a serious relationship tend to feel a little extra pressure to hurry it up <.< —EdWins


2009-11-10 11:29:56   I noticed you added "November 19" to GLOBAL. Does that mean Nov 19 of every year (like xmas is always Dec 25) or did you just mean 2008? Don't forget to add the year for one-time events. —SteveDavison


2011-08-17 03:56:46   Alex, new topic: Do you have any experience of GIS mapping of historical data sets onto OpenLayers or Google Map, where historical maps of towns and counties have been digitally imaged and 'spread' over modern maps? —ColinGreenstreet

Yes that usually involves, digitizing, geo-registration and reprojection. Or the eye-ball method sometimes called rubbersheeting where you pull on the corners and twist until it fits. If it's public data look at Cartagen Knitter or Metacarta Georeferencer (Online tools).