[state-local-wg] 'Nothr Introduction

[Arnie Shore]

Hey folks - greetings from Annapolis, MD - AKA not-hot-spot USA.  (which 
is the way we - mostly! - like it)

Me, I'm a long-time software developer/manager/consultant/flunky.  (In 
my day job, I'm retired; I do this stuff as an unpaid volunteer.)  My 
current claim to ill-fame is as the prime mover behind a Free/Open 
Source Computer-Aided-Dispatch application (CAD) oriented to the needs 
of teams that remain under-served in a fairly mature market.  CAD is a 
key to effective dispatch management, which is the bread-and-butter 
application for teams providing some form of emergency response to their 
communities.  I presented a paper on it at a symposium this last spring 
addressing geographic technology and information resources for emergency 
response.

What might be of special interest here is that there's a large body of 
teams that while associated with local gov't entities, are not intrinsic 
elements, and thus often have no way to gain budget support.  A lot of 
these guys pay for stuff out of their own pockets or look for donations 
from citizens.  So while discussions of Open Source can bore some of 
these folks to tears, FREE  can be downright fascinating!

These volunteer teams include hams that provide emergency 
communications, EMS groups that coordinate with ethnic communities and 
provide the first response,  as well as ad-hoc local gov't teams 
organized for emergency response.

While it's true that DHS and other agencies have $ available for 
deserving projects,  there's a natural preference for the flashier 
projects that are more likely to make the headlines.  That, plus the 
relative scarcity of proposal-writing skills (as well as interest, 
frankly) among the volunteer teams all conspire to avoid relying on 
grants as $ sources in too many quarters.

Back to Tickets, our CAD's handle.  It's web-based, OS-agnostic, with 
PHP and mySQL engines, and relies on Google's maps for the geo 
elements.  (The latter is on its way out, in favor of OS geo of some 
flavor.)  It's on SourceForge, where it's gotten over 5000 downloads 
last time I looked.  Has an active discussion group at 
http://groups.google.com/group/open-source-cad

Back to me: career highlights include stints with both industry, federal 
gov't (Army, where I led the development of the Wash-to-Moscow hotline, 
Dep't of State, where I put their worldwide payroll system online, etc., 
etc.).  Math major with degree from Rochester (NY) University.

Am looking forward to see how we can all contribute to the success of 
this urgently-needed initiative.  (And thanks for making it this far 
down the page!)

AS