southdeltan

quote: OK....OK..... yes you should REALLY doublecheck your coordinates. It is all fun and games until somebody drops dead in the woods, only to be found two weeks later with a etrex in one hand and a lincoln logs key chain in the other. I'm not sure what cache accuracy has to do with preventing somebody from dropping dead (from say a heart attack, etc) in the woods. It would help spead up the recovery process, but only if the cacher was wise enough to tell somebody "Hey, I'm going off into the woods, I'll be here and here and..." It's always wise to let a family member or friend know where you're going and what you're doing. It's also wise to mark a waypoint at your vehicle so you can get back out. --- On a more realistic note - it may be wise to go back to your cache 2 or 3 times to average. If you're getting bad data on one day, it's likely you'll get bad data the whole time you're there. Averaging bad data yeilds a bad average. Checking over 2 or 3 days (if possible) would really help. southdeltan

Oops

quote: quote:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by MiTuCats: I've been reading a lot of threads and everytime as I go through them I begin to wonder if I want to continue with this wonderful activity due to the apparent vehemence with which some points of view are defended. The jury is still out on that issue, we'll go on for a while and decide based on our experiences. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I would suggest that the discussions on the geocaching forums have only a passing effect upon actual geocaching. Some folks learn stuff, some get to vent about problems and feel better, but much of the time we simply end up with two or likely more people putting forth their own views and not changing them based upon what others say. I agree with Yumitori totally. I have no specifics but I'd bet that most cachers don't read the forums regularly and some have never read the forums. If what's found here is depressing or annoying to you - ignore the forums Forums are just an extra feature. All you need to cache is a GPS (some would debate that) and a list of waypoints. southdeltan

I'd like to first say that after reading several view points I'm against a rule and for helping newbies by being friendly and offering them (politely) advice. But I've seen the arguement that 'This rule would have prevented this sport/game from even getting started' - I mentioned earlier the idea of a 'waiver' for the rule. Not that it matters because the rule is unnecessary. It's just driving me nuts that people are ignoring that possibility quote: posted April 17, 2003 08:50 AM quote: I did, but perhaps you missed the point I was making. Maybe in your area there never was a time when there were less than 15 caches. It wasn't till not long ago we got over 15. BUT..... Thare many many areas where there STILL are not 15 caches. My second paragraph was a kind of re-hash. How woould you propose taking care of those areas? Personally, I would have been thrilled if someone volunteered to come to El PAso and place 15 caches to get the game started. It is a very generous thing to do. Or we can just let them drive to where the caches are. Not a good way to get them started. So, again, it is not "A MOOT POINT" in a much larger area than it is. Just looking at maps will show that point clearly. I mentioned the possibility of a "waiver" for areas with few caches earlier. quote: It could always be lifted for people who live in an area (country?) where there are no caches within a certain amount of distance... shrug... Of course, it doesn't matter because the rule is a bad idea.... Who is to say what numbers should be used as limits, what number of caches should be the maximum in an area before the rule was put in place, what constitutes good/bad caches... etc... I'll say this thread has opened up some different things I hadn't thought about. I just wish some people didn't have to get so angry over it Somebody suggested a 'newbie mentoring' group. I don't know if that's necessary either - but a friendly email to a new hider would be a good way to start. You just have to make sure it's friendly and not overbearing. "Hey, NewbieCacher2003, you sure that a empty KFC tub is a good cache container?" southdeltan

quote: Sorry, D-rat, but I'll have to somewhat disagree with you on this point. It certainly would be a good suggestion to have some finds under your belt, but I would imagine that hiding a cache gets more people hooked than finding one. It makes my day to get an email saying "Somebody Found Your Cache!". The more I think about it the more I agree that a rule might not be the best idea - but I don't see why there shouldn't be a suggestion in there for first time hiders. I think that would help a lot of people out. I'm not sure if how it could hurt anybody, or how it would do so...but I'm sure if it's possible somebody will point that out... I still think it would be a good idea to have that "Check here if you have read the FAQ and agree to follow it to the best of your ability" or something like that... I'm not sure the best way to word it. I think somebody suggested making it so you'd have to actually scroll through the helpfile/FAQ before you could click 'I Agree' and hide your first cache. Just an idea.... nothing more... Tooooooo many people get their feathers ruffled at suggestions. Suggesting something doesn't make it happen. Sometimes the best way to find out if your idea is good or bad is to mention it and then wait for it to get dissected on these forums.... southdeltan

quote: If this were the line of thinking, Geocaching would have never started. How could the first cache placer have found 15 caches before placing? It could always be lifted for people who live in an area (country?) where there are no caches within a certain amount of distance... shrug... I think a better idea would be this: When a cacher attempts to list his/her first cache the cacher should be forced to read through the helpfiles about placing caches, as well as even a few of the more relevent threads. "Click Here If you have read the FAQ on Hiding Caches" That might work, It might not... but I don't see how it could hurt anything... SD

Hrm, I rambled a bit in my last post, let me see if I can be a bit more concise: Good points to this proposed rule: 1. Will help reduce caches by newbies who quit the sport after they 'newness' wears off - resulting in abandoned caches. 2. Will help reduce poorly planned and placed caches. Bad things: 1. It's yet another rule. 2. Some people are good hiders from the start, some can find a 1000 caches and still hide bad ones. 3. Some people live in areas with few caches. (However, the rule could be lifted for people with no caches within an X mile radius) SouthDeltan

quote: Hey drat19, Iraq is looking for a president. Was this really necessary? quote:Perhaps you should first bring this proposal up on the Mississippi Geocachers Association web forum, of which you are a member. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't see any mention of it there. Personally, I'm against it. I don't think the number of finds you have is any indication of how well you might place a cache. I think it's pretty much a common sense issue. Actually this issue was discussed on the MGA forums, although the thread doesn't necessarily indicate that. There are at least 2 threads there mentioning this. The longer of the threads started out as a discussion over what types of containers were good or bad ideas. There is a local cacher who is a "newbie" (well, he's not anymore) who placed some caches that were toolboxes. They were not water tight and this led to some cachers being upset by this. It turned out there was a bit of confusion over what the site meant when it said waterproof. Everything has been worked out now, the "newbie" has replaced all of his traditional caches with ammo cans and I think all of the friction is gone Matter of fact, I took one of the previously mentioned 'toolboxes' as a door prize at the Metro Area Cachers meeting this past weekend. My point is - it has been discussed there. I'm not sure that it matters if it was discussed there or not, however. The MGA (or any other local group) has no countrol over what guidelines approvers set. I think a nominal number of finds should be required before placing any caches. Somewhere between 10 and 20. I know arguements can be made on all sides about this, there are people with hundreds of finds who hide caches poorly. It won't solve all the problems. It certainly couldn't hurt. I've noticed several people with 2 or 3 finds placing 2 or 3 caches and they are often ill thought out. This rule could be bad, for people like me - who have only 1 cache within a 40 mile radius. BTW - Common sense is a rather uncommon thing... SouthDeltan

I just purchased a Ray-o-Vac universal charger for $20 bucks. I'll admit I didn't do any research before I purchased this, but I haven't opened the box yet and I have the reciept and wally-world is usually forgiving on returns so... Would it be a better idea to return this one for the 1 hour charger? I purchased this one because it has the ability to charge AAA, AA, C, D, & 9v batteries. Does anybody here use C, D, or 9v rechargeables? The longer time isn't a problem to me, but I'd save 10 bucks Is Ray-o-vac a good charger? How about their batteries, or are all rechargeables (of a certain type, say NiMH for example) the same? SD

This is slightly off topic...but I was wondering what sort of door prizes would would be cool for a caching event? There's one coming up and it mentions bring a door prize 'if' you can. I know it's not mandatory but I figure it'd be a nice thing to do. So what kind of items have you seen as door prizes, and what kind do you think would make good door prizes? SouthDeltan

My Legend just arrived today from Amazon. As stated they're 199.99 with a $50 dollar manufacturers rebate from Garmin. The shipping/handling is free if you don't mind waiting 5-9 days. I payed 9 bucks for 2 day express. So after the rebate It'll come out to 160, which is cheaper than most places after the rebate and tax. The ones I've seen in Wally World were 217 I THINK plus tax. The Walmarts here don't have them on clearance. I also agree about Ebay. They run higher and you cannot use the rebate if you purchase from an online auction. Garmin's site has a huge disclaimer about that where you print out the rebate form. SD

Ah, I see. Forgive me, my sickness was blinding me. SD

Can somebody explain to me what is sick about this: quote: My 4 yr. old enjoys geocaching - but I don't let him drive the car to the cache sites. Sounds like you're just angry your cache didn't get approved (and I'd bet the dis-approval has nothing to do whatsoever with your kids or any handicaps). Probably best to take it up privately with the (dis)approver and see if you can get things worked out amicably. Just my two cents. I'm still not letting the 4 yr. old drive the car I am completely lost on what's sick about that? What moron would let a 4 year old drive a car? he's sick for having an ounce of common sense? Am I misreading this or what? I have to agree, it's offensive how somebody would say that the only reason their cache was not approved was because this site doesn't care about handicapped. What an illogical pile of cr@p. SouthDeltan

Any word if/when the bit in the profile that shows caches found/hidden/etc will be fixed? SD

One last bump before this weekends Metro Area Lunch. I promise not to bump this thread for a month SD

How does one go about getting state/local caching groups listed on their respective state's cache page? Which admin should I email? Where do I find his/her email address? Sorry if some of this has been addressed before, but I'm lazy, my dialup is super slow due to inches and inches of rain, and my computer is also on the fritz SD

Anybody here have any experience with staples? I don't see where the promotion codes mentioned earlier are accessed. I haven't gone thru with attempting to order one so I don't know if it's in the ordering process. Anybody know who has the best price? The best I have found is Office Depot (actually a subsidiary) who sells a new Legend for 199.99. The shipping/handling is around 6 bucks so the total is basically 206 before the $50 mail-in rebate. Anybody know somewhere cheaper than this? SouthDeltan

-=bump=-

quote: If the owner of the site doesn't want political debates on HIS website (and thats what any thread with "war" in it turns into), he has that right. Your answer lies here. Other non-controversial off-topic threads have a much better chance of being allowed that something that WILL turn into a flame war. On another note, this arguement: quote: But if you and a friend were visiting at my house and I told you, "you can't smoke" but told the other guy, "yeah, go ahead and fire it up" ... wouldn't you you ask why? would be a better arguement if they were allowing anti-troop posts, but not pro-troop posts - which they are not. They are stopping both kinds. SouthDeltan

Elias, any idea if the "post number" of forum members will be corrected? It's not a big deal but it's an interesting feature. SouthDeltan

Any idea when these items will be available for purchase? I didn't see a date - sorry if I missed it... SouthDeltan

Still no information about Staples.com discount codes? The cheapest I can find a NEW Legend for is $205 from tvnav.com (that's before the $50 rebate). The shipping is $10. That comes out to $165 after the rebate. I'll check Amazon.com out. SouthDeltan

I'm glad you brought this up. I know rules on here are getting a bit out of hand, but pepper spray is considered a weapon and shouldn't be left in a cache. Someone should email the person (he said he left pepperspray in his post) and nicely suggest he not do that again. SouthDeltan

This is yet another example of people trying to impose their moral values on others. The solution is very simple: 1. If you have permission to place the cache, by all means place it wherever it is 'legal'. to do so. and (most importantly) 2. If you don't like the description of the cache - DON'T LOOK FOR IT. I would like to say I thought this was a rather strange comment: quote: I still stay it's tacky to cache where people are buried. I hunted one (a virtual) myself and just didn't feel good during and afterwards. And it was Babe Ruth's gravesite, something one could say had "historic" value. But a grave is a grave If you'd visited Babe's Grave for the reason of visiting him only, would you have felt bad? I'm not sure how a virtual cache letting people know about the grave is any different than a city or state tourism guide. SouthDeltan

I'm not sure about the graphic from the MsGA website I am just a newbie cacher without a GPSr of my own (hopefully next week..) who is anxious to do anythign caching related, hehe. I'm just trying to get the site advertised a bit, I don't think it's finished by any means. Hrm... I'm not sure about folks from TN.... I honestly don't know but I don't see why not: quote: Informal 'Meet & Greet' Luncheon for all cachers within driving distance. I reckon if you're driving in for a caching trip nobody would mind, but again, I dunno If you're really concerned (I doubt you are, from what I've read most cache meetings are fairly open) you could email Mauler6. -bump- rofl SouthDeltan