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THE INTERVIEW
Five Questions for .
. . Don Cooke of GDT
Don Cooke is best known in mapping circles as the
founder of data provider Geographic Data Technology, GDT,
which was recently acquired by Tele Atlas. Before that he
was a member of the Census Bureau team that developed the
Dual Independent Map Encoding (DIME) system and co-founded
Urban Data Processing, Inc, now Harte-Hanks Data
Technologies, which supplies Marketing Customer
Information File services and software to banks. Mr. Cooke
served on the Board of Directors of URISA and was a member
of the National Academy of Science’s Mapping Science
Committee.
A man of many interests, in the last year Mr. Cooke
took on a new project: writing a book. His Fun With GPS,
published by ESRI Press, will be available in September.
1. The world knows you as a data
person, all the way back to your days with the U.S. Census
Bureau. How did this book, about GPS, come about?
I’ve always thought GIS data was the most
important part of a GIS, because if data’s not
available, then all other issues are moot. It’s like
owning a Lexus with an empty gas tank. I was asked if I
could write a book about data and perhaps this GPS book is
a defensive reaction: the data book would be really hard
to write; the GPS book would be easier, and it would have
but one chapter on data.
2. The book showcases the mapped
paths of a wide range of people and animals at work and
play. How did you select which “things” to track using
a GPS?
I started out with tracking projects I’d already
done with GPS: my car, commercial airline flights, my
windsurfer, skiing, and snowshoeing for trail mapping. I
made a taxonomic list of other possibilities which quickly
evolved into the book’s chapters: “Snow & Ice,”
“Animal Kingdom,” “On the Water,” “Airborne,”
“On the Road,” and “School and Community.”
We’re limited, of course, by some facts-of-life
about GPS: no SCUBA diving; no spelunking. Too bad! Also,
no drag racers: the good ones do a quarter-mile in about
four seconds and GPSs gather one point per second. I
can’t make much of a map with four points. But, then
again, why not try? I probably missed some fun by
overthinking projects rather than just going out and
trying them.
I also decided against some dicey projects: roller
coasters, for example. Most amusement parks only allow
photos for personal use, and one I spoke with was reacting
to a recent fatality. I decided it wasn’t a good idea to
be flouting laws, regulations, and common sense in the
book, though the “Oooops” topic (dropping a running
GPS from a plane) pushes this a bit.
3. You and GDT have been longtime
supporters of geographic education. How do you think this
book will play into formal or informal education?
I like to believe that the book will inspire
home-school and middle-school science fair projects. I
tried really hard to include those girls from Lubbock I
read about in GIS Monitor: the ones who won the science
fair by GPSing their cat. At some point I stopped nagging
the parents—I hope before I became a pest. In the end,
our cat, Mary, got to star in the book instead.
Though the book is about “Fun” I’ve included
some really nerdy technical details which I hope are
educational, and tried to couch these in an informal
chronicle of my many learning experiences throughout the
writing process. A GDT colleague who used to teach at the
college level said—I think sincerely—that he would use
Fun with GPS at the college level. That’s a giant leap
from the Thomas’ Calculus text I used in college!
4. One of the current concerns with
GPS and other “tracking” technologies are the
implications for invasion of privacy and the sharing of
location information. Are those concerns overblown? Or is
part of the concern just a lack of familiarity with how
the technologies work?
I don’t think invasion of privacy is “Fun” so
I’ve sidestepped dark-side applications of GPS, such as
that bozo who hid a GPS and cell phone in his
ex-girlfriend’s car. I don’t think privacy concerns
are overblown at all. I would like to believe that
everyone shares my feelings about this. I would advise
that there are much more urgent privacy concerns nowadays
than GPS. And I’m dismayed at the overall lack of
understanding of science and technology as it impinges on
energy policy, touch-screen voting, or climate change.
I hasten to add that my son is dismayed that I
haven’t read his graduate-level genetics text yet; he
considers this a prerequisite to having an informed
opinion on genetic engineering. All is relative.
5.What did you learn about
yourself, about GPS, or about the people and animals you
tracked while putting together the book? Which “topic”
was your personal favorite?
Oh, great question! I learned a lot about GPS in
the process, and I hope I’ve captured not only this
knowledge, but the fun of learning it, in the book. And,
there’s been all that author stuff: feeling
“blocked;” getting stuck in dead-end organizational
structures; balancing writing the book with life in the
real world. I’ve learned how incredibly supportive my
wife is of my projects!
I’ve been overwhelmed at how open and generous
people have been, and I hope I’ve adequately
acknowledged this. For example, Thea van der Geest asked
my wife “What is a GPS, anyway?” as I was taping a
Geko [a small Garmin GPS] to her collar a minute before
the start of her speed-skating race. It’s been really
gratifying to GPS an event, send some maps to the
participants, then a week or two later get an e-mail
message saying they’ve bought a GPS, recorded a track
log, and what do I think of the attached shapefile!
My favorite topic? There have been so many great
ones. I can’t believe how well “Message to Outer
Space” worked. I mowed “Fun with GPS” in my back
field, 670 feet long, guided by a Garmin 76. I thought you
needed real-time differential to do that. I also enjoyed
spending an afternoon photographing the Dartmouth sailing
team from a launch piloted by my daughter Abby, who had
raced for Yale. (“No, Dad, they didn’t almost capsize;
that’s a roll tack...”) Meeting Tim Kelly and GPSing
his personal best in the Boston Marathon wheelchair
competition was a thrill, too. They go on and on. And
I’ve even grown closer to Mary the Cat as a result of
our GPS collaboration.
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