Difference between revisions of "User:MagicIan"

Revision as of 20:41, 4 April 2010

About Me

Hi, I'm Ian, and contrary to my username I have yet to discover anything magical about myself!

I've only just started Geohashing, but hope to do many more in the future.

Currently I don't have a GPS device, so am relying on GoogleMaps and good old paper OS maps to locate the hashes.

I live near Norwich, England (right here 52.646387,1.411553 in fact!) and hope Geohashing will help me discover some nice bit of countryside around Norfolk, and hopefully some friendly fellow-geohashers at the same time. If it gets me doing more exercise in the process then it's all good :-)

I have access to car, motorbike, bicycle(s) and kayak(s) so I'm hoping to use them all at some point in the future to achieve a variety of ribbons, as well as using public transport and my own legs!

About 1/3 of my home gradicule is water (North Sea or the Broads) so if I can find someone with a boat then that will increase my range of possible hashes; otherwise I will attempt to make a hash or two around the rest of the UK if they aren't too far out of the way on my weekend travels.

I don't currently have a GPS device, so I use the satellite view on Google Maps to identify the hashpoint. It's generally good enough to get within a few meters and that is sufficient for my personal satisfaction (especially if it's in the middle of a field and there are no barriers in the way). Similarly, I try to take photos at the hashpoint but more for my own reference than to 'prove' to anyone else that I was in a particular place on a particular day.

My Geohashes

2009-11-27, 52.805965° 1.252814° (Norwich, United Kingdom):

My first Geohash! Not very adventurous as I took the car and only had to walk a few meters off the road to a field near Aylsham. No fences to climb over, no people to tell I was "from the internet", no velociraptors. A bit of a disappointment really. Made note to get there under my own steam and try and meet up with fellow-geohashers next time...

2010-03-08, 52.611723° 1.355975° (Norwich, United Kingdom):

A bit of gap since my last one, this one just required a short detour in the car on the way home from work. There were a couple of signs telling me to keep out, but that didn't stop me as there was nobody else around. The hashpoint required a short walk in the middle of the sewage works so the smell was pretty nasty, but there was a surprisingly pleasant view which made up for it.

2010-03-24, 52.585326° 1.354230° (Norwich, United Kingdom):

I am really lame at this. Another one that didn't really involve much effort and I didn't make it to the hashpoint. It was on private land and there was a big gate which suggested I probably shouldn't trespass. At least I got to know my way around this bit of Norfolk a bit better.

2010-03-28, 52.762632° 1.176329° (Norwich, United Kingdom):

Hooray - a proper hash at last. It required a fair old cycle, most of which was on the Marriott Way north of Norwich. It's a converted railway track and part of National Cycle Route #1 from Hull to Harwich. I thoroughly pleasant ride in the sunshine, but with cool temperatures The hashpoint itself was in the middle of a field and not too hard to find. Given it was a weekend, I hung around for a bit to see if anyone else would turn up (especially the clocks went forward that night) and played some patience in the meantime, but when I started to get cold it was time to move on. I took an alternative route back which was great as I discovered some really nice places on the way.

2010-03-30, 52.627771° 1.291378° (Norwich, United Kingdom):

Finally a hash that wasn't in the middle of nowhere. In fact, better than this, it was probably one of the busiest places in the whole graticule - The Forum in the centre of Norwich. The Forum (http://www.theforumnorfolk.com/) is home to several organisations and is a focus for a wide range of learning and cultural activities in the centre of Norwich. It houses learning organisations, café, restaurant and takeaway facilities, as well as the state of the art Norfolk & Norwich Millennium Library. Again, I went on a detour after work and hung around the hashpoint from around 17:30-18:00. I sat upstairs in the library reading a magazine, with an XKCD sign on the glass panel in front of me, hoping someone else would see it. I left it there with an explanation on the back after I left. I'd like to think the librarian didn't just throw it in the bin at the end of the day...

2010-03-31, 52.509096° 1.137942° (Norwich, United Kingdom):

Two in a row!! ...and I'm on a roll - 4 hashes in 8 days. The hashpoint wasn't too far from work, and even better it was on a road so a chance to achieve the Speed Racer ribbon. It was quite a lazy hash to achieve as there was very little chance of meeting anyone else in the process, yet I quite enjoyed it as it allowed me to investigate some more bits of countryside that I hadn't seen before. Even better, the roads to the Speed Racer hash were great driving roads which made it all the better to achieve it. I stopped just short of the point to take a photo at the farm, waited until the road was clear and then accelerated up to the national speed limit (60mph on the country road), taking a photo as close as I could, and then braked and pulled into a gateway to the field in order to take a photo of me and my noble steed for the achievement.

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 * 2009-11-27, 52.805965° 1.252814° (Norwich, United Kingdom):
-My first Geohash! Not very adventurous as I took the car and only had to walk a few meters off the road. No fences to climb over, no people to tell I was "from the internet", no velociraptors. A bit of a disappointment really. Made note to get there under my own steam and try and meet up with fellow-geohashers next time...
+My first Geohash! Not very adventurous as I took the car and only had to walk a few meters off the road to a field near Aylsham. No fences to climb over, no people to tell I was "from the internet", no velociraptors. A bit of a disappointment really. Made note to get there under my own steam and try and meet up with fellow-geohashers next time...
 * 2010-03-08, 52.611723° 1.355975° (Norwich, United Kingdom):
-A bit of gap since my last one, this one just required a short detour in the car on the way home from work. There were a couple of sings telling me to keep out, but that didn't stop me as there was nobody else around. The hashpoint was in the middle of the sewage works so the smell was pretty nasty, but there was a surprisingly pleasant view which made up for it.
+A bit of gap since my last one, this one just required a short detour in the car on the way home from work. There were a couple of signs telling me to keep out, but that didn't stop me as there was nobody else around. The hashpoint required a short walk in the middle of the sewage works so the smell was pretty nasty, but there was a surprisingly pleasant view which made up for it.
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 * 2010-03-28, 52.762632° 1.176329° (Norwich, United Kingdom):
-Hooray - a proper has at last. It required a fair old cycle, most of which was on the Marriott Way north of Norwich. It's a converted railway track and part of National Cycle Route #1 from Hull to Harwich. I thoroughly pleasant ride in the sunshine, but with cool temperatures
+Hooray - a proper hash at last. It required a fair old cycle, most of which was on the Marriott Way north of Norwich. It's a converted railway track and part of National Cycle Route #1 from Hull to Harwich. I thoroughly pleasant ride in the sunshine, but with cool temperatures
 The hashpoint itself was in the middle of a field and not too hard to find. Given it was a weekend, I hung around for a bit to see if anyone else would turn up (especially the clocks went forward that night) and played some patience in the meantime, but when I started to get cold it was time to move on.
 I took an alternative route back which was great as I discovered some really nice places on the way.
+* 2010-03-30, 52.627771° 1.291378° (Norwich, United Kingdom):
+Finally a hash that wasn't in the middle of nowhere. In fact, better than this, it was probably one of the busiest places in the whole graticule - The Forum in the centre of Norwich. The Forum (http://www.theforumnorfolk.com/) is home to several organisations and is a focus for a wide range of learning and cultural activities in the centre of Norwich. It houses learning organisations, café, restaurant and takeaway facilities, as well as the state of the art Norfolk & Norwich Millennium Library.
+Again, I went on a detour after work and hung around the hashpoint from around 17:30-18:00. I sat upstairs in the library reading a magazine, with an XKCD sign on the glass panel in front of me, hoping someone else would see it. I left it there with an explanation on the back after I left. I'd like to think the librarian didn't just throw it in the bin at the end of the day...
+* 2010-03-31, 52.509096° 1.137942° (Norwich, United Kingdom):
+Two in a row!! ...and I'm on a roll - 4 hashes in 8 days.
+The hashpoint wasn't too far from work, and even better it was on a road so a chance to achieve the Speed Racer ribbon. It was quite a lazy hash to achieve as there was very little chance of meeting anyone else in the process, yet I quite enjoyed it as it allowed me to investigate some more bits of countryside that I hadn't seen before. Even better, the roads to the Speed Racer hash were great driving roads which made it all the better to achieve it.
+I stopped just short of the point to take a photo at the farm, waited until the road was clear and then accelerated up to the national speed limit (60mph on the country road), taking a photo as close as I could, and then braked and pulled into a gateway to the field in order to take a photo of me and my noble steed for the achievement.