I Have an Addiction

I have an addiction.  It makes by eyes bloodshot and sometimes gives me a drastic headache.  It is somewhat seasonal or binge like in nature.  When I'm sitting bored, I'm thinking about picking it up and doing it.  When I'm working I am tempted by it.  My wife feels that sometimes it means more to me than her.  The geek side of me embraces this addiction and thrives under its influence. 

Browsing over maps is addictive to me.  I spend hours looking over Google Maps or GeoNB.  I look at the topo map or the aerial photo.  I zoom them in or keep it well back.  I'll follow roads, rivers, shorelines, mountain ridges, or tree lines, just to see what is around them and to see where I might want to go hiking next time out.  If I ever wish to move I've visited many cities already and have some strong ideas of where I'd like to go. 

GIS technology is amazing and I wish I knew more about it so I could feed my addiction even more.  The best thing about the online mapping that is available is that it provides you with so much free information.  If you want to know whether the house you are considering buying is in a flood plain you can check out the GeoNB site.  If you want to know about the confusing rotary in Halifax, check out Google maps. The information you can glean from these maps is impressive and if you build your GIS repertoire it is endless.

I have been building my Google map skills and have built a few maps that I have shared here before.