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.