Updating OSM, Updating the Wiki, and oh yeah… Building a Virtual tile server on Gentoo.

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks updating the map, mostly around the Chullora Railway Workshops in Sydney. Fixing broken ways, adding a lot more detail, etc. There’s more to do, but I’m dividing my time a bit more now.

I’ve also been doing bit of work on the Wiki, mainly centred around the Gentoo Linux operating system, and setting up my own user space, but also a few corrections and updates here and there.

I spent a bit of time building a virtual tile server on Gentoo, which was inspired by an ubuntu based one that was recently made by Andrew Buck. I’ve written a HowTo which (for the moment) is still under my wiki user space. I’ll be moving it to the main wiki once I’ve edited it a bit more - look for it under the Gentoo category, once its ready. I hope to use it as the base for a project I’m working on. (More on that later). It uses the latest versions of mapnik and mod_tile, and I have created a Gentoo Overlay (also in my user space) with updated ebuilds for these, which others can use.

I have a keen interest in New South Wales railways, and I’ve spent more time than I care to admit following the rail lines along the map to see where they go. I’ve noticed quite a few places where the ways are broken, cross over each other inappropriately, are jagged, or have gaps where segments are missing, so Ive added a to-do list item to fix them in a few places where they need some love. That project I mentioned will rely heavily on these ‘ways’, so its in my interest to get them fixed, and it improves the accuracy and usefulness of the map.

Re-reading the above, it seems ‘all about me’ but I guess that what ‘my diary’ entries are for. It’s really intended to point to a few things I’ve been working on, after all, it’s all about contributing things that others can use.