ThEMaDRuSsIaN

Thanks to all for the 300 wishes. I'm amazed at myself that I've made it this far in only a little over a year. Caching is a blessing and an addiction all rolled into one, but one that I'm glad that I have. May we all have few DNF's and many adventures! Happy Caching. Tim aka ThE MaD RuSsIaN

I just got a 4250 and have used Magellan's POI editor to upload gpx files directly to my 4250. I have not had any real trouble in getting the files up, the only real trouble I had was downloading the software from Magellan's website. I really like my 4250, because the times I've used it for navigating close to a cache, it's put me well within a short jaunt to the GZ. For the actual cache hunt, I currently have a Garmin Vista Cx, a hand me down from my uncle who got me into caching in the first place. I had contemplated getting a Colorado, and my uncle recently got one and has done ok with it, but he also has the DeLorme unit and a Garmin Vista HCx in addition to the Colorado. He lately has used the Colorado for caching, with a Garmin Nuvi 660 for his auto navigation.

I'm up for the Jedi Training. If that's the theme depending on the timing, I might even consider caching in the wookiee costume, as long as hunting season is over.

Congrat's to not only a mentor but a "partner in crime" for many years. I'm glad that you made the 200. You had a little bit of a bumpy ride along the way and a bit of downtime, but that's ok. You got through it and here's to another 200+. -- Tim (ThE MaD RuSsIaN)

Congrat's jgstef on your 200th Cache. It's amazing how quickly they add up. Hope you get another 200 soon. --- Tim

I am currently weighing my options for acquisition of an auto based gps. I have a trail one, so getting another trail one isn't really a necessity. I'm more concerned with overall road use, but I figured since I trust the opinions of my fellow cachers, I'd ask here. Are there any that are less prone to signal loss? More traffic friendly, or overall just better units? I've looked at a few Garmins, I've looked at a couple of the TomTom units, I had at one point considered a Navigon, and it seems that they've been a bit overinflated as to their functionality. My dad and my sister both have Magellans, and they seem ok, But I'm not sure that I want to just get another Magellan, if there's something that is a little easier to use or a little better for me out there. I'd love to see a REAL hybrid sort of like the Magellan Crossover or something with some of the Colorado's Functionality plus some car friendly features. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate them. Happy Caching. ThE MaD RuSsIaN

Thanks to all the CO's of my 200 caches and to all the wonderful cachers I've accompanied on my searches. If it wasn't for jgstef, I wouldn't be a part of the hobby. Thanks to rstefano and Losain for their shared time with me, and the group at the Little Piggy in Old Bridge & 3rd Tuesday events. I'm really excited and looking forward to 300 and hope that we have many wonderful adventures in the meantime. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. --- ThE MaD RuSsIaN

Good afternoon/day/morning/evening. I'm currently shopping for a new cell phone, since I'm up for an upgrade in a month or so on Verizon, and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a phone to consider that would be easy to dump the cache info files to. I've been told that the Windows Mobile OS is a good thing to look for in a phone for paperless caching. I don't think I will be able to afford the internet access on my phone, so what I'm primarily looking for is a smartphone/pda style device that would be user friendly in downloading caching info. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks. ThE MaD RuSsIaN