Greenrovers.com

Archive for February, 2010

Still off from work for at least another week, My Wife is off to Las Vegas for a week with her High School pals …… I have Barnwell maps, flow charts, and junk all over the dinning room table ….
I can’t get started …. It is sunny and warm in Dallas, and… Soooooo quite I can here the refrigerator running in the kitchen….. Hard keeping my mind on one project

I do have a lot of files , between the Iphone (MotionX-GPS) , lap top , and desk top computer. I guess the first thing to do is get them all in one place and then delete the duplicates. But, my Meds are telling me it may be nap time. Glad this is the last week to be on them.

Then get every thing working like I want, then worry about making it pretty(and Greenrover’ish).

Got a rejection e-mail from Overland Journal on an article I wanted to get published with them on using Iphone apps like MontionX and Tom Tom for off road trips and adventures…. So much for that one. Summer is coming and lots of events if my old bones are up to it… Jim E

I had to take a break from my mapping project. These steroids have my brain in lazy mode (some times hyper mode) . For those who have been following this thing evolve, What I plan to do is; have downloadable files for use mapping and gps. I am starting with Barnwell because I have been mapping it for several years now.

click here to for gps system

My old gps equipment and method

So now I have a test page set up at
(****Click *****HERE******)

Take a look, the off roads links page will be linked to maps, maps will be linked to down load page where you can down load a printable map or files for gps.

test down load page, (no down load files active now)

For a an excuse / reason to off road some time in the future I would like to do Bridgeport and Hidden Falls.

Jim E

First I have been really down with my back for several weeks now. Well really high , or doped up, depending on which pills I took last. With the weather man predicting snow, and there was only a dusting on the patio furniture, and a few flakes when checking the mail box …. disappointed … But the wood smoke on the cold morning breeze put my mind to camping.

Coffee from the Mr. Coffee just could not replace super hot , real perked coffee off the camp fire. You know that stuff from the tin cup that burns your lips on first sip.

My back is better than it was two weeks ago, but not up to speed where camping would be the best option. Right now there is only three things I can do well, Set at the dinning room table in a straight back chair , surf the web and watch the world go by. Sleeping does me well and happens a lot as result of the heavy doses of medication, and driving the G4 when I am up to it. It has great heated seats which feel really good on the back. But, Vangie says ” Only to Valero to get lotto ticket and back, no road trips”.

As soon as things get better, I would like to get down to Hidden Falls before SCARR and look around, and do some mapping for my project. I would also like to get to Bridgeport and track some trails.

One future plan for Greenrovers is to have a map section starting with places I have adventured. Including a repository of gpx and KLM file for folks to down load for their gps’.

But wouldn’t this be great weather for some hot coffee around the camp fire (or some hot curry). with good friends

Jim E

I have a Swiss Army Knife, use it all the time. Love all those little bits and pieces that are incorporated into them. Now I have found some thing that is as much fun, My Iphone! I will admit it does not come with tweezers or tooth pick …… Just think, I used the Tom Tom gps application to find my way around the country. At Christmas it took me from my front door in Irving Texas to my Son’s in Virginia with out a hitch. All this time listening to books on the Ipod app. through the Disco’s speaker system (Thanks to Roverville radio famous aux jack modification). Checking the weather ahead. And, actually talked on it as a hands free phone.

I actually have three gps apps on the Iphone. (only use two regularly) . I started out with G-map US west. it worked fine until I wanted to go east of Texas. Tom Tom for the Iphone was on sale not much more than getting G-map East. Tom Tom works great. no complaints. I originally had MotionX lite (free app).(I have now upgraded to the full version) Didn’t like it around town. so it just sat there until I read a post of Texas Rovers about maping and geo-tagging pictures. as a test I started a track at my house. Stopped by the park took a picture of my car using the camera function in the motionx app. Then mailed it to my self…. When I got home There was my email with link that brought up google maps with my route and a little thing’y that was the G4 parked at the park. clicked it and sure enough there I was. Right where it said I was.

I sprung for the $2.99 and purchased the full version so I could save more way points and tracks. If some one is an off roader , hiker or does any thing out side this is the one to use. first I added all the way points and tracks I had gathered over the years. Sent them to motionX as gpx files. they sent me and e-mail with a link that added every thing to my application. Including a map I had done for anther gps.

I was looking at the fine print on the bottom of the map screen ……..”openstreetmap”….. hummmm. I have now uploaded the tracks I have to open source maps, and if you down load the map for Barnwell there are most of the trails … I have not been able to make them routable yet, but if you load a track such as greenlane, it is overlayed in red over the trail on the map…. kinda neat.

Oh Ya ! how can I forget … I have the Word Press app , so I can update Greenrovers.com from my Iphone ……..

More later
Jim E