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GEOG 602 Online Portfolio |
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GEOG 602 Online Portfolio |
I am a GIS Engineering Technician for Brungardt Honomichl and Co (BHC). It is me and my team's responsibility to manage and digitize shapefiles and geographic features so utility companies know where to dig when laying down fiber and utility lines. I am on the autism spectrum, which means that I have difficulty in social situations, and may fail to grasp some social concepts that others easily understand, but thanks to years of therapy, this does not severely hamper my ability to perform. In fact, my hyperfocus, which is a trait of autistic people, really helps me concentrate on my work, and filter out all the noise in the environment to really dive deep into what I'm doing. Years of therapy have helped me get better at social situations, but I also know that I can turn aspects of my disability into personal strengths.
Weather and geography have fascinated me for many years. I got my degree in the former, but really enjoyed the aspects of the latter as well. I always feel a sense of thrill whenever a thunderstorm moves through my area, and would be excited to chase a tornado one day. I remember seeing one in May 2012 in my home town. Fortunately for my town, it stayed out in an open field south of town, but I'll never forget seeing the funnel come down from the sky. I am also fascinated in the geography of the world, especially that of my home state. I am interested in ghost towns, landmarks, and the features of Kansas, and have a long list of places I want to see in the state, especially in western and central Kansas. I also love the tallgrass prairie that grows in this state, the sunflowers and wildflowers, and endless rolling plains that make up the scenic beauty of my home. If I could, I would live in a farmhouse in the middle of the countryside. But I also know a lot about geography around the world. In fact, I once placed 2nd in the entire state for the Geography Bee when I was in 7th grade. I know a lot about maps and geography, I love making maps, and I love reading maps.
When I'm not working, I enjoy listening to old rock music (Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, and the Eagles are my favorites), browsing the web, building with LEGOs, watching cartoons like Beavis and Butthead, watching Kansas City sports (Patrick Mahomes is my favorite player on any team), and spending some time with the family cats, Katniss and Prim. I would be interested in trying out photography too one day, as shown by my picture of a sunflower field outside Lawrence, KS that I took with a film camera. I wanted to achieve a "vintage" effect, like the picture was taken in the '90s or early '00s. On the topic, I'm also interested in old or vintage stuff in general. It's fascinating to me how they used to make things.
Be sure to check out the book report I wrote on the book Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott. It contains philosophy of mapmaking and the importance of conveying information through graphics, highly relevant to geography.
Click on these links to take a look at websites I like to visit!
Brandon Furman
