Flush It Friday - 2013 (Part 1 of 2)

Yup, it's that time again. I've got a plunger and some Drano and I'm ready to get rid of the backlog that didn't make the cut this year. As found below, it's actually an amazing range of stories which speaks volumes about the disaster prepping, surveillance trending, social media connecting, geospatially evolving world we now live in. To see what I mean, you'll have to read fast because I'm reaching for the handle that will bring the flush. (updated January links on January 1, 2014)

January
2-   GPS Technology Helps Track, Monitor Airfield Anomalies
3-   Interactive Tool Expedites Emergency Response

8-   Hospital Opens Emergency Tent in Midst of Increasing Flu Cases

February

8-  GIS-Assisted Disaster Relief in 2013 and Beyond

23- Drone Pilots Are Found to Get Stress Disorders Much as Those in Combat Do

March
1-  It's Complicated - Lawmakers Propose Dozens of UAS, Location Privacy Bills

11- exactEarth Provides Unique Insight Into Global Ocean Traffic 
12- Woman Accused of Exposing Breasts at Cameras

19- Rules of Cyberwar Set Out for First Time in Nato Manual

21- US Plan Calls for More Scanning of Private Web Traffic, Email
24- Bills Would Require Warrants for Police to Use GPS Tracking
25- Is Sony Working on a Rival to Google Glass? New Patent Suggests Work is Well Underway
28- Cyberattacks Seem Meant to Destroy, Not Just Disrupt

April
1-  FirstNet Moves Forward, But Hurdles Remain
2-  Google Faces More Inquiries in Europe Over Privacy Policy
3-  Disaster Communications: Covering the 'Last Mile'
4-  Turkcell and UNDP Showcase Lifesaving Technology
5-  UN Event Highlights Importance of Mobile Technology During Disasters
5-  House Intelligence Committee to Work on Cybersecurity Bill in Camera
8-  GIS Applications Incident Command System of Fire Bureau
12- NSA Data Center Front and Center in Debate Over Liberty, Security and Privacy

17- USDA Starts New Program to Track Farm Animals

17- Underground Assets - Streamlining the Call-Before-You-Dig-Process

22- Product Review: Find Spot
24- NYPD Releases Gases in Subway

29- A Water Marker Monitored by Satellites to Predict Seasonal Endemic Cholera

May
1-  Verizon Deploys Disaster Trailers with Wi-Fi, Cell Charging
3-  Google Glass Will Soon Also Let iPhone Users Access Navigation And Text Messages
7-  A Colossal Supercell Thunderstorm Cloud Over Montana and Other Astonishing Photos of the Massive Storm Systems
10 - Tornado Activity Hits 60-year Low
16- New Apps Arrive on Google Glass

June
14- Putting Landsat 8’s Bands to Work
16- Officials: NSA Doesn't Collect Cellphone-Location Records

18- Should the Geospatial Industry Improve Their Location Privacy Self-policing?
19- Big Data and the NSA

20- FBI Director Admits Domestic Use of Drones for Surveillance

26- Game of Drones: Does NYC Have an ‘Unmanned Aerial Vehicle’ Problem?

26- License-plate Readers Let Police Collect Millions of Records on Drivers

28- MDA Provides Access to High Resolution RADARSAT-2 Flood Maps of the Calgary Flooding

July
1-  Industry Nonprofit Group Proposes Privacy Guidelines for Location Data
2-  New App Helps Emergency Volunteers Collaborate Better

12- Meet DARPA'S Humanoid Robot That Could Someday Save You From a Crumbling Building
15- Business Forum: Drones in Civilian Life: Useful Tools or Invasive Trouble?
15- Attention, Shoppers: Store Is Tracking Your Cell

16- Why Are These 5 Apps Tracking Your Location?
16- Gov't Bureau 'Creating a Google Earth on Every Financial Transaction,' Senator Warns

17- Driving Somewhere? There's a Gov't Record of That

17- Police Documents on License Plate Scanners Reveal Mass Tracking

18- Police Need Warrants to Track Cell-phone Data, N.J. Supreme Court Rules
19- WSSC: Water Restrictions End, Normal Service Resumes (scroll down for interactive map)
22- Will Your Next Physical be Done by Smartphone?

22- NSA Can Reportedly Track Phones Even When They're Turned Off

29- The Rise of the [Geospatial] Machines Part 1: The Future with Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)

29- Plan Would Give Soldiers a Common Geospatial View of the Battlefield
31- Where Cops Can & Can't Snoop Through Your Phone (Interactive Map)

Wishing You an Enjoyable and Restful Post-Christmas Day Weekend!

Photo credit: Wikipedia