Launch Jon?

After just one day it's already hard to separate the truth from fiction of the Space Apps Challenge.

There's this http://storify.com/comer_unsa/the-story-of-mini-jon

And then there's this http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releases/archive/2012/NASA-challenge

Maybe all will be clear soon.  Let's hope so.

Back to earth

Space Apps Exeter was great fun and a great success. Too tired to write much now but there will be more on the Met Office blog in the coming days.  See http://metofficenews.wordpress.com

And this is lots of fun - http://storify.com/comer_unsa/unlimited-space-agency-hacking-space

Counting down...

In a week from now if all goes well I should be back where I am now,  drinking beer and fending off a greedy cat with a great love of crisps.   Between now and then are the last few days of preparation and then Space Apps Challenge Exeter!  If you haven't heard about this (where have you been?) check out the Met Office blog http://metofficenews.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/met-office-to-host-nasa-space-apps-challenge/ and NASA blog http://open.nasa.gov/blog/2012/04/13/an-invitation-to-participate-in-spaceapps/

Thanks to the fantastic support and help from Second Muse, NASA and all my colleagues at the Met Office it's just possible that we haven't missed anything important . And now thanks to some London hackers we now have an extra checklist at http://hackdaymanifesto.com/  - if our PiratePads, UStream and the like all work out we'll be linking up with some at #nhtg12 on Saturday and also with our fellow Space Apps locations at ISIC Oxford and the rest of the world.

For those who haven't been to a hack day before, and I know there are many, because I've been pestering some really cool scientists and others to join us for weeks now, here's a useful blog post http://thenextweb.com/dd/2012/04/14/hackathon-survival-guide-9-things-to-make-the-most-of-a-hack-event/
To which I should add,  there are a couple of affordable hotels within walking distance of the Met Office building - so if you don't live locally it might be worth getting a room.  However we won't throw you out if you want to stay all night - well unless you upset the Chief Forecaster.  Remember you're hacking inside an operational weather service -  it's quite likely the is the first time this has been done anywhere in the world.  It's certainly the first time in over 150 years in the UK. Wow, we've broken another century plus record!

Keep an eye on these pages for more updates -
http://spaceappschallenge.org/location/met-office
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/conference/space-apps-challenge

Get ready for Space Apps Exeter

If you've registered for the International Space Apps Challenge and haven't been back to the website lately then you might not know that you can now join the projects that form the challenges.


At Exeter we're fortunate to have the sponsors of five projects attending our event; so I'll be making sure they get a few minutes each on the Saturday morning to try and persuade those at Exeter to join their teams.  If all goes well videos of their presentations will be up on the web early UK time for those working on these projects virtually or at one of the other global locations. 


So please take a look at the challenges and start thinking about what you could contribute. 

The challenges

These two rather different sorts of project are from Jon Rogers and friends
BakerFaire
WeLoveData Challenge


This one is from the UK Hazard Centre
#HazardMap - Real time hazard mapping by scraping social media


Last but not least two from Met Office scientists
Predict the Sky
Grower's Nation 


Oh, and if you've registered for Exeter you'll be hearing from myself and the team in the next few days with details of the schedule, questions about your dietary needs and stuff.   Oh and we do have showers, but please bring your own towel.