About Zach

What’s In A Name?

Sagebrush + GIS ?

Sagebrush because I am a bit of a desert rat. I live in the Intermountain west, and sagebrush is one of the indicator plants of the region. I am not saying I do not love trees, but I love the way you can hike up a small knoll in sagebrush country and see to the horizon. Plus, one of the best smells I can think of is sagebrush after a summer rain. I love it so much that I planted a couple of Big sagebrush (Artesima tridentata) in my front yard. In a place like Boise, Idaho, it is a plant that requires no irrigation, and looks good.

GIS = Geographic Information Systems. The way I describe it when someone asks what I do, is kind of like Google Maps. Basically, a way of managing geographic information. I have been in the GIS field for almost 15 years. I have used it to solve problems in many different fields. Energy transmission and distribution. E-911. Health statistics. Water resources. Transportation. If data can be plotted in a map, GIS can make that data come alive.

Development

My development interests break down into the ones I get paid for, and the ones I dabble in. Generally in my work life I program to the Esri and Microsoft stack. SQL Server, C# .NET, Windows, ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Server, and some Python thrown in to round it out describes a typical work project. Both of these companies make great products, but one of the bothersome things about Esri in particular is that its software is so dang expensive. Looking into alternative GIS technologies lead me down the road into the Open Source world. First I installed Linux, then started dabbling in PHP, the PostgreSQL with PostGIS extensions.

Brewing

I have always enjoyed drinking beer, but a year ago I finally decided to learn how to brew beer. I took a class at the local brew store and became hooked. My beer tastes lean towards the bold American IPA styles, particularly some of the IPA’s out of the northwest.

Road Signs

As a young child, I learned how to read by reading words of street signs. Soon I was memorizing maps (to the point that I wanted to make a career out of it). I remember drawing pretty accurate pictures of street signs in elementary school, down to fretting over the appropriate color of green for a road sign. I started taking pictures of street signs with a film camera, and started taking lots of pictures with my first digital camera. I have an entire site cataloging my road sign pictures here: https://roadsign.pictures

Travels

I have traveled throughout the western United States and Canada. I have driven many a back road and hike many a trail. Some of my travels I write about at https://travels.sagebrushgis.com. I also keep track of all of the US Counties I have visited over at Mob Rule