Hi all, A few weeks ago I found out about OSM. Actually, it was when someone posted about it on the Linux SA mailing list. Anyway, I checked OSM and noticed that none of the streets in my suburb were mapped (Hallett Cove, SA). So, I thought I'd have a go at doing it.
My mapping technique is to draw a rough sketch of the area I'm going to map, then get in my car. I stop at each street sign, take a photo of it and scribble the name on the paper map I drew earlier, so I can match the photo to the street, since I'm too lazy to write neatly enough so I can read the correct spelling. I feel quite uncomfortable about doing this, but it's got to be done. The alternative is to get out the car and walk around the block, but I'm lazy. I'd feel uncomfortable about doing that too though, and staying in the car and driving off allows for a quicker get away. Anyway, today I thought I'd do a few more streets (I only do a few at a time. it's surprisingly time consuming). As I was pulling over to take a photo of a street sign and jot down its name, I got too close to the curb and felt the tyre rub a little (it was on a road that links up several other residential roads, so busier than the average residential road, plus it's not wide, so I thought I'd be good and get over as much as possible while stopped). Not a problem I thought. I've done worse when trying to parallel park. Unfortunately there was a storm water drain there and I nicked the side of my car's tyre on the edge of the drain cover, putting a nice little hole in the tyre. The road's pretty steep and I wouldn't be comfortable changing tyres anywhere other than a very level area, so I drove home since it wasn't far, but the sounds coming from the wheel weren't pleasant. It doesn't look like anything was damaged, so I'm hoping it was just the rim edges pressing against the deflated tyre on the road. You know what the kicker is though? Today's my birthday. I quite enjoy using JOSM to do the mapping, so I thought I'd do this while I have a few hours break between events. Oh well. So, this has somewhat dampened my enthusiasm for mapping, but I think I'd still like to finish off my suburb at least. I'll obviously be a lot more careful where I stop and will try to avoid places where I feel obligated to pull over as far as I can. Andy _______________________________________________ Talk-au mailing list Talk-au@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/talk-au
