# I got a sweet new toy at work today. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 13, 2002, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419 "2002-12-13T03:37:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419/1 "2002-12-13T03:37:08Z")
Actually, several. I got a Garmin V GPS, with an attachable WAAS unit and antenna for differential correction. So now, instead of 25-30 feet of error, I’m potentially getting less than 1 meter (on a good day.) Also, I got a new 4.1 megapixel digital camera that I can attach to the GPS so that each image I take is stamped with the latitude and longitude. And the kicker? A Panasonic Toughbook PDA loaded with Arcview GIS software, so I can instantly produce GIS coverages in the field. God, this job rocks. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419/2 "2002-12-13T04:19:33Z")
Um, what do you do? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419/3 "2002-12-13T04:38:12Z")
Ah, yes. Sorry. 🙂 I am a biologist/geographer working with the [url=“[http://www.nature.nps.gov/im/](http://www.nature.nps.gov/im/)”]Inventory and Monitoring Program of the National Park Service. I’m in charge of making sure that we have complete lists of all species of vertebrates (and some inverts…we’re starting up snail and mussel studies) in a group of national parks. I’m also in charge of water quality, air quality, soil quality, exotic species, and threatened & endangered species monitoring. Thus, the toys. I’m now able to, say, go out to a given national park, locate the habitat of an endangered plant, grab GPS locations, do a stem count, load that into a permanent coverage for later GIS (geographic information systems) use, and photodocument the whole thing. All the data goes into a national database, and we’re _finally_ standardizing formats across the country so that data from all national parks will meet the same standards. It’s a fantastic job. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419/4 "2002-12-13T04:39:16Z")
Crap, dude. [Inventory and Monitoring](http://www.nature.nps.gov/im/). ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419/5 "2002-12-13T05:19:00Z")
Need an assistant? ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419/6 "2002-12-13T06:30:21Z")
Hell, I’d love it. I’ve got more work than I can handle, but I’m afraid the network money is gone. Wanna volunteer? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419/7 "2002-12-13T15:14:51Z")
I’d volunteer, but I already have an ogre for a boss! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419/8 "2002-12-13T15:17:17Z")
(_peering at the empty Location: field_) And with all of those toys you still don’t know where you are… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419/9 "2002-12-13T17:10:25Z")
Sounds like some neat toys. Have you evr looked at the Degree Confluence Project web site [http://www.confluence.org/](http://www.confluence.org/) You’re certainly equipped for the task. Or how about GeoCaching? I have digital cameras, and a Garmin 3+ but no way to combine them. What camera do you have? ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419/10 "2002-12-13T18:16:25Z")
I’d never heard of the Degree Confluence Project. That’s awesome. And **Ferret** , Ha. Ha. ha. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419/11 "2002-12-13T18:17:31Z")
Oh, and I’ll post the camera type on Monday, **Gary**. I’m away from work a the moment. ---
**Author:** ![super\_head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@super\_head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/super_head)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419/12 "2002-12-13T22:30:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ogre \* > Oh, and I’ll post the camera type on Monday, **Gary**. I’m away from work a the moment. Yeah, Mr. So-Busy-He-Needs-An-Assistant, it must be tough having every other Friday off. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-sweet-new-toy-at-work-today/142419/13 "2002-12-13T23:13:04Z")
:: drooling :: Tripler I want one.