Today's public service announcement: Don't hike and code.

I've been fixing bugs on TrailPhone.net this morning, so the site can be in tip top shape for the 2008 hiking season.

[The next few sentences contain a bunch of geeky things that might sound like gibberish, feel free to ignore...] Somehow, the web server I use switched over from PHP 5 to PHP 4, and that caused a bunch of bugs. I switched it back and now those bugs should hopefully go away. Also, the VoiceXML server I use had to move to a new location, and the SIP hosts won't be able to point to the new VoiceXML server until tonight. Right now its all about sitting and waiting. Also, all the mile data in the system is from 2007. Unless there have been huge relocations, I'm not sure if that matters. I don't have the latest mile data book, so there's not much I can do about that anyways. And, right now the phone system isn't taking in decimals when inputting mile data, only whole numbers. Again, minor - but something I'd like to fix when I have the time. I'm sure more bugs are going to pop up as I get TrailPhone.net working right again.

I really want to be out in the woods right now... But, its a good thing I'm doing all this web coding from the comfort of my living room in Brooklyn, not a beautiful rustic shelter in Maine. I can't imagine trying to do all this with a non-existant wifi connection and 5 minutes of battery left on my laptop. Beside, who wants to stare at a computer screen when they could be enjoying the outdoors and the company of other hikers.

Happy Trails.

TrailPhone is still up an running.

I guess its that Springer Fever time of year. I've been getting emails from people wondering whether or not TrailPhone.net is up an running. The answer is yes. If you are planning on hiking any part of the AT this season, I invite you to use TrailPhone.net, for free, to share your journey with friends, families, and everyone on the internet.

Can you walk any faster?

People who live in busy cities walk 10% faster than they did in 1990. Singapore has the fastest walkers, going 60 feet in 10.55 seconds (a little bit more than 4 miles an hour). New Yorkers ranked in at 8th place, taking 12 seconds to go the same distance.

I wonder if the average speed of hikers has also gone up? City dwellers don't have fancy poles and Vibram soles to help them along, but they also don't have to walk over mountains carrying a tent, a sleeping bag, and a week's worth of food.

We have lift off

Photo by mikewebkist

Okay! It took me about a month and a half longer that I anticipated but, as of 3 hours ago, TrailPhone.net is up and running. The web site and phone system are built. Now comes the real challenge: getting the word out to hikers, trail angels, and the outdoors community; and encouraging people to call in. I'm looking forward to TrailPhone.net getting filled with the stories, the personalities, and the magic of The Appalachian Trail. I'm looking forward to helping hikers share their journeys and communicate with one another. I'm looking forward to raising some awareness for environmental and conservation issues through the stories of the trail. And, I'm looking forward to being able to get a taste (or pungent whiff) of the trail, on days when I'm stuck in front of the computer.

Damn

I don't think this thing is going to be ready by tomorrow morning. Maybe tomorrow evening. There's not much left on my list: I need to make sure the password reset function plays friendly, secure some back end stuff, figure out what stats package I'm going to use, delete all the stupid (actually, hilarious) fake hiker accounts and audio entries, and then... rock rock.

Ok, seriously

Yesterday, I finished up work on the phone system. Today I'm putting the final touches on the website. TrailPhone.net is seriously just about ready to launch. I'm guessing it will go live tomorrow.

A word on mountain lion safety

I'm still hard at work on TrailPhone.net. The project's phase one completion is now my number one priority, code red, alpha status. I want to get it online while it still early in the A.T. thru-hiking season, and with all the necessary features in place. Hopefully it won't be more than another week or two.

In the meantime, a word on mountain lions. First of all, mountain lions don't really exist on the Appalachian Trail. However, some new research aims to find out if the cats are making a comeback :

The cougar has not been confirmed in Virginia since 1882, but there are increasing signs they have returned to the state. Motion-sensitive infrared cameras have been deployed near Appalachian Trail to try to determine whether cougars are back.

So hikers, as you ramble through Virginia smile for the motion sensitive night vision cameras ;)



Picture by Ekai (click it to see funny photo notes about the stick figures)