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RiverExplorer

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Everything posted by RiverExplorer

  1. I tried it with my G4 PowerBook and my Intel iMac. Neither one could see the GPS. RE
  2. Hmmm. What am I doing wrong? I can't get it to find my GPSMap 60cs. Are you connecting via USB or a serial adapter? I'm not having any luck with either. The GPS doesn't seem to recognize that it's USB is connected, and WebUpdater keeps saying it can't find the device. Any help would be appreciated. RE
  3. Guys, come on! Back off! I don't think he's kidding! CARP, he's gonna ruin it for all of us. We're sorry! We're sorry! DON'T CALL "THEM"!!!
  4. THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T RUN THIS SITE - GEOCACHING.COM DOES! IT'S THEIR RULE! They can make any rules they want. That's only been stated about 10 times now! GET IT ALREADY! You don't have to like their rules. Apparently you don't. The vast majority of us do! GET OVER IT. Nobody is making you play this game. In fact, it seems most of us don't want you to play anyway! You called Hypocrisy. You had your rant. Everyone else disagrees. You've been PROVEN wrong. ACCEPT IT. Find another game to play if you don't like this one. Sorry you'll be missing out on all the fun the rest of us have playing the game.
  5. I haven't visited the forums for a while. Thanks for reminding me why! For God's sake, would somebody go ahead and shut this thing down already! It's apparent that reasoning doesn't work with this guy. He already KNOWS he's in the wrong. He just likes the attention. And by the way, the first rule of calling a bluff is that if he keeps threatening over and over to shoot, HE AIN'T GOT ANY BULLETS! Where's CYBret's wisdom and whit when you need it?
  6. I don't want to hi-jack your thread or your project, but my son has already created such a widget. It searches by Zip, or GC# or Keyword, and displays the results in your web browser. It's only for Max OSX 10.4 Tiger (Sorry Windows folks), but it is REALLY handy, since all the widgets can be called instantly to the screen by use of a hot key or hot corner, and take no time to "load". I have found myself using it alot already (along with all the other cool widgets!) He just posted it to the widget sites, but it takes a while to become publicly available on them, but if you want, you can download it directly from his site: http://ashanks.ctsquare.net/geocaching.html He's only 14, but way beyond his years in programming. Dang kid!! He's just like his Dad ('cept he's smart an' all) Here's a photo of the widget on my desktop: RiverExplorer (a Mac using cacher!)
  7. Sounds like a typical bone-headed government reaction to something new. Don't try to understand it, or intelligently try to determine it's value and/or appropriateness. Just vote to ban it, blanket style, with little or no input from those involved. Does anyone know the incident(s) that lead to this legislation? Sometimes understanding where something is coming from is the first step in steering it in a different direction. Clearly some areas are inappropriate for physical caches, but this legislation seems to be exceedingly broad. Perhaps they could at least add language such as "unless prior permission has been obtained from the appropriate agency". That would cover alot of caches where the local oversight entity is aware of, and supportive of responsible caching. Hope this kind of thinking isn't contagious. (Apologies for using the words "government" and "intelligent" in the same paragraph. ) RiverExplorer
  8. Quote: "Unless there's some sarcasm here... which I really can't tell... I'm thinking pot meet kettle..." Actually, that would be SKILLETT meet kettle.
  9. Hmmm...<Thinking>... So next spring, when my wife starts bugging me to till the garden for her, there might just be a new cache listing in my backyard - literally! Cache is buried on private property, with permission of owner. Bring shovel. Coords. only accurate to about 30 ft. so you might need to poke around a bit. It's only buried about 8" deep, so if you don't find it by then, move over a bit, and dig another hole. Avoid the flower beds. It's not in there.
  10. Actually, Springfield is about 45 minutes away! The Lemon Tree is not doing so well - about half dead. We don't have Joe's Bar, but we do have Joe's Pizza, but it's not as good as MY Pizza. No Root Marm, though. (We do have several people married to their cousins here.)
  11. I just temporarily disabled and removed a stage from one of my multi's because it's in the same area as our community's "Tiny Tim's Christmas Treasure Hunt." It's an annual hunt for a $500 gift certificate, with daily clues in the town newspaper. I have to say I didn't really mind it though, since 2 years ago, I was the WINNER! In fact, it was just after winning, that I googled for "treasure hunts" on the internet, and discovered GEOCACHING. So, all's well. Incidently, if anyone wants to come to Shelbyville, IL, and hunt for the treasure, I'll be glad to forward the clues to you! It's like geocaching, just without the GPS! RiverExplorer
  12. Sorry about that. I was going by the About Geocaching page stats, but it seems I misread it. That is the number of unique account holders logging in the last 7 days. I'd be happy to send a corrected number to the Chronicle-Tribune if someone could provide it to me. RiverExplorer
  13. I just sent the following Letter to the Editor of the Chronicle-Tribune. Comments welcome. To The Editor: I’m writing today to address an article published in your Saturday, October 30th, 2004 issue, under the heading “Some boos and cheers for recent events - News brings pats on the back, raps on the knuckles”. Specifically, regarding the item stating the following: “A BOO for Upland resident David Cook, who trespassed onto private property as part of a so-called game and left a suspicious package on the property, resulting in unnecessary hassles for law-enforcement authorities and worries for the property owners. Cook left a gray plastic container on the property of a Blackford County restaurant as part of a GPS location game affiliated with an Internet Web site. As it turned out, the box contained harmless junk, but no one knew that at the time. That came after a police bomb squad was called in to detonate the box. In this post-9/11 world, stunts such as this are un-called for. Playing so-called adventure games is fine, but use common sense. That means don't trespass, and don't leave suspicious packages stashed about.” Several misstatements and unfortunate inferences are made, which should be corrected, to prevent the general public from forming the wrong opinion regarding the activity/ sport known as GEOCACHING. First, it is NOT correct that Mr. Cook trespassed onto private property. The owner of the business has stated that he gave permission to hide the cache at that location, and was allowing geocachers to enter his property for the purpose of hunting the cache. Unfortunately, the owner was not present at this time, and may not have informed some of his employees about the activity. Those employees, RIGHTFULLY SO, reported what they felt was suspicious behavior to the proper authorities. Mr. Cook was just unlucky enough to be perceived to represent a possible threat, when he wasn’t. Again, he was doing nothing illegal, just unusual enough to attract unwanted attention. Secondly, the use of the term “so-called game”, with it’s pejorative connotations, was inappropriate, in my opinion. The game/ sport of Geocaching is a growing, well established, legal, wholesome, family-friendly activity, complete with rules and regulations, organized oversight, big corporate sponsors, and well established legal and environmental ethics. Geocaching is done within the law, and with the permission of land owners and land managers. It is enjoyed by over 13,500 registered participants, from all walks of life. Over 127,000 caches are currently placed in 211 countries. I personally know law enforcement officers, firefighters, retirees, ministers, business owners, community leaders, and a host of wholesome families who enjoy geocaching, and who would not even consider breaking any laws. Geocaching is often taught to scouting groups as part of orienteering, and is undertaken by school classes as part of math and science studies. This is not some “fringe” activities done by swarthy, senseless scofflaws, as seems to be the notion of the writer. Another inaccuracy is that Mr. Cook “left a suspicious package” at the site. The container in question was already located there, and had been since July 10th, and had been found by at least 8 other geocachers (without incident) during that time. Mr. Cook FOUND the container there, exchanged tokens in it, and signed it’s logbook, then replaced the container as he found it. Still another incorrect statement was that “no one knew” at the time that the box was harmless. When Mr. Cook was detained by authorities at the site, he explained the game, detailed the contents of the box, and even offered to open it for them to reassure them it was not a threat. While I can understand the authorities apprehension in accepting him at his word, several things might have been done to verify his truthfulness, including checking the internet site to confirm that there was indeed a cache placed there. This alone would have shown that his story was believable, as well as provided information about the cache’s placement, how long it had been there, and how many other cachers had visited it before. Despite the information that was available to them, the box was destroyed as a precaution. I DO NOT fault officials for doing this for the safety of all involved, but it is not fair to state that “no one knew” the box was harmless. No “stunt” was undertaken, and Mr. Cook was only doing what thousands of people do every day around the country, and around the world. Mr. Cook, nor his fellow geocachers, deserve the scorn or public humiliation of your so-called “Boo”. The only thing “un-called for” here, is the tone and inaccuracy of the article. No blame should be placed on either Mr. Cook, the citizens who reported the incident, or the Sheriff’s Department for rightfully taking precautions to protect public safety. Many safeguards are already in place to help minimize these misunderstandings. Geocachers are encouraged to use “friendly-looking” containers, complete with labels explaining what the container is, and where to get more information on the web. Caches are not allowed in areas that might reasonably pose a concern, or be seen as a possible threat, including areas around bridges, active railways, airports, etc. Cache owners need to secure permission from land owners before placing caches on private property, and are asked to contact appropriate governmental agencies, regarding their policies about placing caches on public lands, getting permission where required. Many land managers welcome geocaching on the properties they maintain, as an approved land use, and many of those same land managers will attest to the good stewardship demonstrated by the cachers that frequent these parks. Cachers often take it upon themselves to educate local officials about their activity, to prevent situations like this one from arising. Contrary to your article’s conclusion, most cachers ARE using common sense, are NOT trespassers, and are diligently working to prevent these types of incidents. We are all painfully aware of the new reality of terrorism in America, and most of us are working hard to provide the necessary safeguards, while continuing to enjoy our pastime in a safe and legal manner. What IS needed is for the geocaching community to do a better job of communicating with law enforcement and the general public about our sport, to help prevent misunderstanding in the future, as more and more people enjoy this activity. Those efforts are currently underway. As we say in the geocaching community “We’re workin’ on it.” We invite the public to learn more about geocaching at the following web sites: www.geocaching.com and www.geocacher-u.com But be warned, a visit to these sites might be all it takes to get you hooked!! Note: Next Sunday’s Parade Magazine will include an enlightening article on geocaching. Mark Shanks 611 N. Will St. Shelbyville, IL 62565 mshanks@mac.com (217) 369-1187
  14. HEY! I wasn't throwing that ammo box out, that's my new cache "Cache in the Trash". Thanks alot, CACHE THIEF!
  15. Works fine. I use a Mac and Topo! for Mac. I have both IL and IN installed on my iBook, and recently upgraded to the 60cs. This model is newer than the TOPO! software, so it's not listed in the GPS settings preference. Just select Garmin and for model select "None of the Above". Works great. Of course, you need a USB to serial adapter, as with all other model GPSrs. Garmin has not released USB drivers for Mac, so you can't use the USB port on the GPS, even though you've probably got USB on your Mac! Works for Waypoint Transfer and Tracking on Map too.
  16. RiverExplorer's chief means of exploring rivers... and finding caches.
  17. Down here in Shelbyville, we say Rt. 16 is the Central / Southern IL line, and since my house is on the North side of 16, I'm in Central IL!
  18. I've never posted to these forums before, largely because they seem a bit intimidating, with all the "friction" that seems to come out, but for quite some time, I've thoroughly enjoyed lurking, laughing, shaking my head, and learning an immense amount about this activity we all (mostly) enjoy. I was finally compelled to post today because of a sense of loss surrounding my favorite cache, which had to be archived this week. Read the recent posts on this cache for an explanation of what happened. Lucifer's Spine For the majority of you who have never visited this one, this cache was in a small nature preserve in West Cental Indiana with unreal natural features. The centerpiece of this park is a narrow ridge about 6 ft. wide, with 100 ft. drops on either side, known as Devil's Backbone. The view here is truly breathtakingly beautiful. This area is made even more exceptional because most of the rest of this part of the country is table-top flat, and planted in uniform 1 mile squares of corn and soybeans. Despite it's uniqueness, it seems largely unknown, and relatively few people venture the fairly long hike back to the preserve, and fewer brave the climb to the top. Near the top of the backbone was a hollow log, where a tupperware cache box had remained, unobtrusively, for 3 1/2 years. It had been logged 90+ times, and most of the logs contain many superlatives to describe this place, many proclaiming it their favorite cache yet. It was the one that I placed a Birthday card in for CYBret, who chose it for his 500th cache on his most recent birthday, as was noted and commented on here in the forums. Now it's gone. I guess I am asking here what the next step should be. Ask for a virtual? Try to get permission to place a new one? Or just forget it. I realize that this cache was probably placed without first obtaining permission, back when that was the way it was done, but I'm looking at the bigger picture, and the greater good, and I really believe the cache was good for this little known preserve. Is the person that removed it just a Neanderthal, or am I looking at this wrong? Is there anything more I can do to help make our sport more accepted, and seen as a good, proper, and educational use of public lands? I'd appreciate others thoughts. Thanks for listening.
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