Log 2016012401

I cleaned The Robot's heatsink with a vacuum and a compressed air can.  And while I was working on the polygon for TARTA's #4 Call-a-Ride, it didn't crash.  But when I went to start working on the #8 - Maumee Call-a-Ride, then it powered down and I lost my work.  So, the heatsink compound is the last and final thing to try.

Log 2016012302

I cleaned out The Robot about a month ago and there doesn't seem to be much dust in it's fans or CPU heat sink.  But during movie playback when my display is cloned to my TV, the computer will expectantly shutdown.  And also when I'm working with my overlaid TARTA maps and I'm drawling polygons for their call-a-ride zones, if it's a particularly large one, then it will also shut down.  Since the fans are clean, I've heard that the heat sinking compound on my CPU might need to be cleaned and re-applied.  Well, that's possible considering that the computer has been running almost non-stop for six years.  Frankly, I'm surprised that the CPU has lasted this long at all.  Heat sinking compound is cheap.

Log 2016012301

This is an image of the Winter 2016 System Map from the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) with a track that corresponds to their Route 29 - Waterville Call-a-Ride against the route of the Buckeye (BT) and North Country Trail's (NCT) overlaid. Because of their color, the BT and NCT are very difficult to see.  But NCT is in blue on the lower left, while the Defiance and Pemberville Section's of the BT are in light blue and it's a little left of center at the bottom.

If you look and find where the NCT meets the highway that travels east into Whitehouse of Lucas County, a walk to the Kroger grocery store (on the edge of the Waterville Call-a-Ride's zone) is 4.1mi and barely disqualified to be mentioned in the Ohio Transit Hiker's Resource (OTHR).  I downloaded TARTA's system map from their website, which comes in the PDF format.  I then used PDF to JPG online converter to convert it into a JPG image.  The reason is that Google Earth will only allow me to over lay images.

The conversion website allowed me to choose the outputs quality and since I have a powerful computer, I choose 300dpi (their maximum setting).  When I first overlaid the image on Google Earth, it had to be resized and repositioned.  To that, I lowered the opacity on each image so that they'd become more transparent.  And that allowed Google Map's main roads and highways to appear with TARTA's system map overlay that I used as a basis for the repositioning and resizing.

TARTA's system map is drawn to scale and that made things easier. But I wasn't able to get it to match perfectly.  That's OK, they seldom ever do anyway.  So what I'm going to do from here is it as a template to trace it's Call-a-Ride Zones using polygons, which are shapes of unlimited sides.  Once the polygon closes, Google Earth will assign a color and fill the shape with it.  I'll probably use whatever color TARTA has on their map just to make it match.

Last night, those two 300dpi images plus working on one polygon made my CPU overheat and crash my computer.

Log 2015012001

The guide rough draft for the Ohio Transit Hiker's Resource (OTHR) has been edited.  And for the most part, there's something to change on all 64 of those pages.  The biggest revisions will be on the Medina and Whipple Sections - BT.  That's because the Medina Section was re-routed in a suburban area.  And month ago, I had the opportunity to board a bus route in the Marietta of Washington County area the reveled several more areas for transit along the Whipple Section.

Log 2016011901

The total distance that I have left to hike on the Buckeye Trail (BT) is 187 of 1,441 miles.  All of which that remain are concurrent with the American Discovery and North Country Trails.  As I mentioned before in a previous logs, in addition to the Buckeye Trail, I've also completed the independent arms of both of those in Ohio, as well as NCT's 11 mile bypass of the Caesar Creek Section - Buckeye Trail in Southwest Ohio.  Currently, my plan is to complete all three in the Village of Mount Orab of Brown County.

So far today, I managed to edit the first 13 of the Ohio Transit Hiker's Resource's 64 page guide rough draft.

Log 2016011703

I mention "my favorite coffee shop" in the Buckeye Trail Association's Facebook group because like I mentioned in the previous log, the rough draft for the Ohio Transit Hiker's Resource's (OTHR) guide is quite thick.  When editing it, I usually like to do it in some place that is comfortable because I'm anticipate being there for a while.

New editions to the OTHR should only happen about once every 2 years at most.  And because it commands so much of my regard when doing it, that I assign it to my winter tasks.  These are ones that don't necessarily have to be done during the traditional hiking season.

Log 2016011702

The Ohio Transit Hiker's Resource's (OTHR) guide rough draft, fresh from my laser printer came out at 64 pages and about a half inch thick.  When put to a clip board, I don't have an exact measure, but it's heavy to hold as it place some minor stress on the muscles surrounding my wrist.