Best Of MetaFilter

tree by Jon Bunting (cc by)

Some of the leading utilities with the highest risk of lines being encroached from vegetation simply can't physically maintain all the vegetation in proximity to their assets, even if they were to full-time employ every tree contractor in North America ...

In ambrosen's post about trimming trees from a helicopter, allkindsoftime has a fascinating comment on the amazing use of advanced tech like AI and LiDAR by utility companies to triage and manage the most at-risk lines and areas for vegetation control.

BEWARE of DOG by kennymatic (cc by)

You can mark houses visited/not-visited -- were they not visited because nobody was home? Scary dog? (literally has a spot for "scary dog, can't go to door") Do the same people still live there? Is the house on the market? Does the house have a foreclosure notice? It highlights if someone in the house has turned 18 since the last election -- do they still live there? Are they registered to vote?

Eyebrows McGee offers some first-hand insights on how the NGP VAN database works for candidates and and campaign workers.