When Dan set out to drive his Jeep from the Northern tip of Alaska to Tierra del Fuego on the Southern tip of South America, he had no idea how much the adventure would change his life. Over the course of two years, Dan's expedition spanned forty thousand miles through sixteen countries. Now he will never be the same. After years of saving, dreaming and planning, Dan wanted to find out if an ordinary guy can achieve the extraordinary. With no sponsorship, a modest savings account and a willingness to learn Spanish, Dan threw himself in. Going solo, with no GPS and sleeping in a ground tent, Dan wanted to experience everything the Americas have to offer. From poking lava with a stick and hiking among world-famous mountains to corrupt military and camping with Ecuadorian locals - every day provided something new. With his eyes and ears open to the world around him, Dan met many interesting and thought-provoking characters. With their guidance and prodding, and by using their unique perspective, Dan was able to learn many valuable life lessons. Running to the beat of a different drum, Latin America was the perfect classroom for Dan to view our modern work-a-day world through an entirely new lens.

Richly illustrated and information-packed tools for anyone whose play or work takes them to remote areas. Basic Illustrated Using GPS, 3rd is a guide to practical field use of the Global Positioning System, written in simple language, with each new term explained as it's used. This book is a wealth of useful backcountry navigation advice for beginners and experts alike. It also includes information on using GPS with the latest mapping software. Disocver how to: Pick the best GPS receiver for your specific needs Read and pregrid topographic maps Identify waypoints with various coordinate systems Use GPS to navigate on land and water Create your own maps with GPS software

At once far flung and intimate, a fascinating look at how finding our way make us human. "A marvel of storytelling." —Kirkus (Starred Review) In this compelling narrative, O'Connor seeks out neuroscientists, anthropologists and master navigators to understand how navigation ultimately gave us our humanity. Biologists have been trying to solve the mystery of how organisms have the ability to migrate and orient with such precision—especially since our own adventurous ancestors spread across the world without maps or instruments. O'Connor goes to the Arctic, the Australian bush and the South Pacific to talk to masters of their environment who seek to preserve their traditions at a time when anyone can use a GPS to navigate. O’Connor explores the neurological basis of spatial orientation within the hippocampus. Without it, people inhabit a dream state, becoming amnesiacs incapable of finding their way, recalling the past, or imagining the future. Studies have shown that the more we exercise our cognitive mapping skills, the greater the grey matter and health of our hippocampus. O'Connor talks to scientists studying how atrophy in the hippocampus is associated with afflictions such as impaired memory, dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, depression and PTSD. Wayfinding is a captivating book that charts how our species' profound capacity for exploration, memory and storytelling results in topophilia, the love of place. "O'Connor talked to just the right people in just the right places, and her narrative is a marvel of storytelling on its own merits, erudite but lightly worn. There are many reasons why people should make efforts to improve their geographical literacy, and O'Connor hits on many in this excellent book—devouring it makes for a good start." —Kirkus Reviews

A fictionalized biography of the mathematician and astronomer who realized his childhood desire to become a ship's captain and authored The American Practical Navigator.

"One of the most mesmerizing and exhilarating, yet alarming modern technology books…an extraordinary tale." —Gillian Tett, Financial Times Pinpoint tells the fascinating story of a hidden system that touches nearly every aspect of modern life. Tracking the development of GPS from its origins as a bomb guidance system to its present ubiquity, Greg Milner examines the technology’s double-edged effect on the way we live, work, and travel. Savvy and original, this sweeping scientific history offers startling insight into how humans understand their place in the world.

“Just astonishing . . . Our natural navigational capacities are no match for those of the supernavigators in this eye-opening book.”—Frans de Waal, The New York Times Book Review Publisher's note: Supernavigators was published in the UK under the title Incredible Journeys. Animals plainly know where they’re going, but how they know has remained a stubborn mystery—until now. Supernavigators is a globe-trotting voyage of discovery alongside astounding animals of every stripe: dung beetles that steer by the Milky Way, box jellyfish that can see above the water (with a few of their twenty-four eyes), sea turtles that sense Earth’s magnetic field, and many more. David Barrie consults animal behaviorists and Nobel Prize–winning scientists to catch us up on the cutting edge of animal intelligence—revealing these wonders in a whole new light.

This book guides animal ecologists, biologists and wildlife and data managers through a step-by-step procedure to build their own advanced software platforms to manage and process wildlife tracking data. This unique, problem-solving-oriented guide focuses on how to extract the most from GPS animal tracking data, while preventing error propagation and optimizing analysis performance. Based on the open source PostgreSQL/PostGIS spatial database, the software platform will allow researchers and managers to integrate and harmonize GPS tracking data together with animal characteristics, environmental data sets, including remote sensing image time series, and other bio-logged data, such as acceleration data. Moreover, the book shows how the powerful R statistical environment can be integrated into the software platform, either connecting the database with R, or embedding the same tools in the database through the PostgreSQL extension Pl/R. The client/server architecture allows users to remotely connect a number of software applications that can be used as a database front end, including GIS software and WebGIS. Each chapter offers a real-world data management and processing problem that is discussed in its biological context; solutions are proposed and exemplified through ad hoc SQL code, progressively exploring the potential of spatial database functions applied to the respective wildlife tracking case. Finally, wildlife tracking management issues are discussed in the increasingly widespread framework of collaborative science and data sharing. GPS animal telemetry data from a real study, freely available online, are used to demonstrate the proposed examples. This book is also suitable for undergraduate and graduate students, if accompanied by the basics of databases.

Need directions? Are you good at getting lost? Then GPS is just the technology you’ve dreamed of, and GPS For Dummies is what you need to help you make the most of it. If you have a GPS unit or plan to buy one, GPS For Dummies, 2nd Edition helps you compare GPS technologies, units, and uses. You’ll find out how to create and use digital maps and learn about waypoints, tracks, coordinate systems, and other key point to using GPS technology. Get more from your GPS device by learning to use Web-hosted mapping services and even how to turn your cell phone or PDA into a GPS receiver. You’ll also discover: Up-to-date information on the capabilities of popular handheld and automotive Global Positioning Systems How to read a map and how to get more from the free maps available online The capabilities and limitations of GPS technology, and how satellites and radio systems make GPS work How to interface your GPS receiver with your computer and what digital mapping software can offer Why a cell phone with GPS capability isn’t the same as a GPS unit What can affect your GPS reading and how accurate it will be How to use Street Atlas USA, TopoFusion, Google Earth, and other tools Fun things to do with GPS, such as exploring topographical maps, aerial imagery, and the sport of geocaching Most GPS receivers do much more than their owners realize. With GPS For Dummies, 2nd Edition in hand, you’ll venture forth with confidence!

If you're looking for an up-to-date, easy-to-understand treatment of the GPS (Global Positioning System), this one-of-a-kind resource offers you the knowledge you need for your work, without bogging you down with advanced mathematics. It addresses all aspects of the GPS, emphasizes GPS applications, examines the GPS signal structure, and covers the key types of measurement being utilized in the field today.

'A compelling investigation of navigation in the animal kingdom.' Mail on Sunday 'David Barrie, who himself has sailed the oceans using a sextant, is passionate about navigation and describes in delightful detail the myriad ways in which animals get around ... eye-opening book.' Frans de Waal, New York Times 'Only a sailor could relate the navigational powers of both humans and animals with such appreciation, excitement, and precision. Thank you, David Barrie, for taking us along on these riveting voyages by sail and wing, hoof and flipper. We arrive surprised, delighted, and awed.' Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus 'Immensely entertaining... [Barrie] is an admirably reliable and assiduous guide to what we do and don't yet know.' Andrew Holgate, Sunday Times 'Barrie has a good eye for colourful detail.' Kathryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday 'This is a must-read for anyone fascinated with the wonders of nature.' Publishers Weekly In Incredible Journeys, award-winning author David Barrie takes us on a tour of the cutting-edge science of animal navigation, where breakthroughs are allowing scientists to unravel, for the first time, how animals as various as butterflies, birds, crustaceans, fish, reptiles and even people find their way. Weaving interviews with leading experts on animal behaviour with the groundbreaking discoveries of Nobel-Prize winning neuroscientists, Barrie shines a light on the astounding skills of animals of every stripe. Dung beetles that steer by the light of the Milky Way. Ants and bees that navigate using patterns of light invisible to humans. Sea turtles, spiny lobsters and moths that find their way using the Earth's magnetic field. Salmon that return to their birthplace by following their noses. Baleen whales that swim thousands of miles while holding a rock-steady course and birds that can locate their nests on a tiny island after crisscrossing an entire ocean. There's a stunning diversity of animal navigators out there, often using senses and skills we humans don't have access to ourselves. For the first time, Incredible Journeys reveals the wonders of these animals in a whole new light.