Python code: Get count of features in feature class

Working on the Python command line in ArcGIS 10 I decided to try out some of the code examples:

>>> result = arcpy.GetCount_management("feature_class_name")

>>> print result.getOutput(0)

54 (or # of features in a feature class)

So this worked pretty well. However, and this seems to be a big however, but maybe not as it is likely beneficial at some point, but the number of features is resultant upon the selection of the features in the feature class. So if you have a certain number of features selected in that feature class then that will be the returned output not the total number of features. If nothing is selected then you will get the total number of features in that feature class. So perhaps the lesson is that what is in the "quotes" is not the feature class as we know it, but as the feature layer, as in what is defined in the map document.

NYC Composting Guide

I've been looking into setting up an outdoor compost bin and The Lower East Side Ecology Center (http://www.lesecologycenter.org) has a great composting guide.

See the PDF here: http://www.lesecologycenter.org/images/LESEC/pdfs/outdoorcompost.pdf

Mt. St. Helens reforestation in GE

From Google Earth Blog:

Each year since the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens, NASA has captured imagery of the area using one of their Landsat satellites. Over the course of those 30 years, you can watch how the earth slowly reclaims the land that was destroyed in the eruption.

If you want to see the imagery inside of Google Earth, you can use this KMZ file(27MB), or watch the video below which shows all of the images from 1979 through today.

Wikileaks Report Activity in Afghanistan Viz

I saw this visualization of wikileak report activity in Afghanistan a while back but recently was talking about it - so I thought I'd share it. Very cool.

Visualisation of Activity in Afghanistan using the Wikileaks data from Mike Dewar on Vimeo.

Typographic Maps

Axis Maps LLC brings us some very cool typographic maps of Boston, MA and Chicago, IL.

Check them out here: http://www.axismaps.com/typographic.php