< kencox design >

<kencox design> is moving! As the crow flies, it’s less than a mile from our old ’stuffed to the gills’ townhouse to our new splendid accommodations, but the logistics are disproportionately complex. I’ll probably be down for a few days until FIOS gets installed and the home office gets re-assembled, but I should be able to handle any site updates and time-sensitive requests using my mobile command unit (aka MacBook Pro).

The move itself is progressing slowly but inevitably toward this townhouse being empty. I’ve got cardboard boxes of every shape and size filled with many things I didn’t even know I had. I swear I’ve thrown out at least a house-worth of stuff already, and there always seems to be more hiding in the dark unexplored corners of closets. For instance, last night I turned up a cache of vintage computer hardware while tunneling through the office closet. By vintage, I mean a PowerBook 100 laptop, complete with external floppy drive (circa 1991), and also a whole box of scsi peripherals including a 250MB hard drive, a couple of zip drives, and three 56K modems! I tend to hold on to things like that way too long, but the modems were still a bit of a surprise.

A friend of mine had found that PowerBook 100 in a dumpster and gave it to me back in the late 90’s. I actually got it to boot for a while (off its 20MB hard drive) and used Lynx and an old modem to surf the internet “old-school.” I also got it to run Spectre Supreme and networked it via old phone-net cables to another Mac for some retro tank battling fun. I still think it was cool to have a working computer that’s over 17 years old, but alas, it was time to say goodbye.

I also retired my old PowerBook 1400, which I used before I got my Pismo Powerbook (which Zoe is still “using”, and aside from one missing key, has yet to destroy). There’s also a PowerMac 7600 which is going to the recyclers. That box was upgraded so much, it barely has any original parts left in it. Its final incarnation sported a G3/400Mhz processor, and a fast server-quality SCSI drive. All that extra umph required some more cooling, so I drilled a bunch of vent holes in the case and sawed a big hole in the top for an auxiliary fan. To keep things from falling into the fan blades, I added a plastic shroud which had more than a passing resemblance to a hood scoop.

In the new house, <kencox design> will have a snazzy 1st floor office, complete with new workstation furniture from Biomorph. Photos soon!

Ever since Middle Run received a bunch of shiny new signposts, I’ve been mulling how to include the trail names in the map without adding any additional clutter. The solution ended up requiring a pretty complete overhaul of the map’s graphics, so please allow me introduce The Unofficial WCC & Middle Run Trail Map Version 2.0.

To address the trail names, I’ve given each trail a 1 or 2 letter code, such as “PC”, which is much easier to fit on the map than “Possum Hollow Connector”. I’m also differentiating between looping, non-looping and cutoff trails by the shape of the box the code is in. With new trail construction now slowing, I did away with some things such as showing closed trails. I’ve added arrow heads to show where trails start & end, and bolded up the trails which loop to make them stand out.

I also cleaned up the display of expert trails, which I still consider: any trail which requires advanced skills to ride, for which there is no “chicken-out”, and for which rider error would have serious consequences. Included in that are the sections of the Chestnut Hill and Possum Hollow trails which have drop-offs on the side of the trail. This is mainly so that beginner riders don’t get caught by surprise on these sections. When in doubt, please walk it!

I spoke briefly about the map to a member of the park staff, and one of his comments took me a bit by surprise. He said my map showed “too much” and that I wasn’t leaving anything to explore. I can agree with him in that it’s really nice to turn the bend in a trail and find an unexpected new stunt, or sweet new section of trail, but I still believe that with 30+ miles of twisting trails, a good comprehensive map is an absolute necessity. As a compromise, I’m not including comments in the PDF this time. I’ve added one major new stunt to the map, and there’s a nice new section of re-routed trail too, but I’ll leave it up to you to find them

I’ve always thought public transportation was just for people without cars or those who couldn’t drive, but I’m now happily riding the DART bus into Wilmington each morning, and saving a load of money in the process.

I have Mark Miller to thank for helping me get over my bus preconceptions. The last time I rode a bus, I was in Barbados, packed like sardines into a rocking, reggae-blasting, diesel-spewing machine that sped insanely through the twisting island roads. Before that, I was a freshman in High School, and can remember nothing pleasant about waiting to get home as the school bus weaved through every single street of each development we traveled through. Mark was sans car for a couple of weeks, and he took the bus some days, and I drove him on others. He explained the whole bus thing to me, including where to find schedules, buy passes and where the stops in my area were. Once I did the math, it was a no-brainer.

With gas now over $3.80/gallon and my monthly parking permit adding another $105 to the bill, I was spending about $250/month commuting by car (not even factoring in things like car repairs). Each trip on the bus costs $1.15 in cash, or as little as $.69 if you buy in bulk with a pass card (which I now do). That’s $35/month to ride the bus, or a savings of $215/month, or $2,500 a year!

My bus stop is an easy walk away on New Linden Hill Rd., or I can drive 1/2 mile to Poly Drummond shopping center and catch the bus there if the weather is ugly. If only there was a secure bike rack in the shopping center, I could ride my bike there. If I can find a place to stash my bike at work, I might try bringing it with me - all DART busses have bike racks! In Wilmington, I get dropped off and picked up in Rodney Square which is a block from my building (actually closer than my old parking lot was previously). The bus trip takes 45 minutes which is only a little longer than my average driving time.

As icing on the cake, I’m decreasing my carbon footprint and helping to make a better world for my kids. I’m losing a lot of wear and tear on my car, and get a nice relaxing ride instead of battling traffic and dodging kamikaze SUVs. I can read a book, eat some breakfast, talk on the phone, or even get some work done on my laptop. I also have a great excuse for leaving the office on time - gotta go and catch the bus!

Version 1.1.9 of the map has been posted!. I fixed some notation where my map didn’t match the new park signs. I also figured out exactly where the “Snow Goose”, “Lenape”, “Double Horseshoe” and “Possum Hollow” trails officially begin and end. What made it confusing is that some of the new signs haven’t been installed yet, and some of the old brown plastic signs remain in place and are now wrong (particularly the ones near the stepping stones which have arrows for the Lenape trail). Treat all the old plastic sign posts with suspicion! Once I got it all sorted out, it makes perfect sense.

The Snow Goose trail is the big loop on the east side of Middle Run, and it has a cutoff trail which then has offshoots for both the Mountain Goat and Corkscrew trails. The Possum Hollow trail is the new big loop which heads over toward Chapel Hill. The Double Horseshoe trail consists of the loop which begins at the big wooden bridge near the Tri-State Bird Rescue gate and heads west before looping around to connect to back to Possum Hollow or Lenape. The Lenape trail includes the Fox Den area, and the remaining trail which orbits the Middle Run day use lot, except for the Lenape cut-off (which goes by the day use lot) and the Earth Day Trail, which provides a second way to shortcut Lenape.

Now, my big challenge is to find a way to mark these individual loops on the map without creating visual spaghetti. Stay tuned.