simpjkee
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Posts posted by simpjkee
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I used to have a rigid idea of what I wanted to see in the logs on my caches. That viewpoint has changed drastically and I now feel the logs on my caches are whatever the other cachers make them. I can't think of anything that I would have a problem with seeing at this point.
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AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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For me, this is the #1 reason I don't urban cache much at all anymore. I've found too many caches like this and I just have no interest in doing them anymore. Unfortunately, I haven't quite figured out a good system for me to find those urban cache gems so they get lost amongst the riff raff.
If you ever find a foolproof method, could you let me be the first to know? I'd pay good money for that!
--Larry
Closest solution I've found is to pick caches by cache owner. I have gsk file I created of all the caches placed by owners I know to place creative caches. It works pretty well.
I usually examine the cache page before opting to do it. I avoid caches by some owners or save them for when i'm really hard up for a caching fix. Sometimes I do wonderfully bad caches just because I like the cache names. I'll admit it. I'm willing to get the smiley in a parking lot if it has a cool name.
I've been picking caches by owner and by reading the cache pages. This system works okay, but when I wanna cache I wanna go! I don't like all planning.
And I'll also pick caches based on name or theme. If it's a theme of something I know about, I'll find it just so I can log it and ramble about my views on whatever the theme is (ie NASCAR, Books, Video Games, Music, etc).
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I'd strongly suggest you read this recent thread before going any further, just to be sure what you may be getting into.
Stop trying to scare people. Thats a pretty extreme example of what may happen. Absolutely nothing may also happen if the log is deleted.
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Being relatively new to geocaching, I've found that finding a geocache isn't as easy as it sounds. It would be a lot simpler if there were large flourescent arrows pointing to the caches but then where would be the fun in that? Most difficult are the caches that don't have a description of what to look for other than the size. What does small mean for instance? Something that will fit into a nostral?
I guess what I really want to know from more experienced cachers, how do you find the more difficult and no description caches. Any hints, secrets, methods?
I think some experienced cachers share their phone numbers with eachother and then when one of them finds the hard cache they hit up their friends and give them hints or just plain instructions on how to find the cache. Then the info spreads like wildfire. If you're not in the know (purposely or otherwise), you'll probably spend a lot more time looking for a cache that a lot of other people seem to have found rather easily. They don't have advanced geocaching finding ability or anything like that unless you consider listening over the phone to be advanced geocaching finding ability. Now, if you're puristy like me and you don't do the whole PAF thing then you naturally have to develop secret methods and tips and such. What are my secrets, you ask. No way I'm telling, I put in a lot of time developing these skillz.
I saw you lifting a square base on a lamp post the other day. what were you doing?
I may or may not have been practicing my technique.
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For me, this is the #1 reason I don't urban cache much at all anymore. I've found too many caches like this and I just have no interest in doing them anymore. Unfortunately, I haven't quite figured out a good system for me to find those urban cache gems so they get lost amongst the riff raff.
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As a seeker, I'd rather have a hint.
As an owner, I'd rather up the difficulty.
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The old guidelines said "Micro (35 mm film canister or smaller – less than approximately 3 ounces or .1 L ". I just measured the volume of a preform and it came out to about 1 3/4 oz., which puts it in micro territory.
See what I mean?
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By the definitions from the knowledgebooks page, it does look like a soda preform would be a small. I think an argument can be made for it being a 'large micro' though. Scroll down on the knowledgebooks page you linked and look at the section for 'Pill Bottles'. The pill bottle shown looks shorter than the preform but slightly wider. They describe the pill bottle as a large micro. Interestingly, that seems to contradict their description of micro being 'smaller than a film canister'. Apparently a micro is smaller than a film canister, but a large micro can be a little bigger than a film canister.
In regards to the logs from people saying that preforms should be micro and not small, I think that is a sign of the times. What is small today was micro back in the day and what is micro today hardly existed back in the day. I would guess that anyone who has been around for a while would be more inclined to think it should be a micro and not a small. I think GS has slightly adjusted the size definitions over time and maybe the geocaching community is a little slow catching up.
That all being considered, if it were my cache, I would list it as small.
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Generally speaking, the geocoins that you find in geocaches are owned by other geocachers. They are sent out for other cachers to discover or move and their movement is tracked on the website just as any regular travel bug.
Some geocachers like to collect geocoins, but they only collect geocoins they own. They don't collect the geocoins they have found in geocaches. If you were to get a display book and then when you found a geocoin you put it in the book and kept it, that would be stealing.
There are some rare occasions where a cacher will buy a brand new geocoin and then put it in their cache as a FTF prize or something. Those geocoins are 'unactivated' meaning they haven't gotten a tracking page set up on the website. Then if you were to be FTF you could take it as your prize and activate it under your profile.
I own a few geocoins myself. I don't really collect them so I activate them under my account and then send them out to be move and tracked on their page (hoping all the while that nobody finds it and decides to keep it
). I also own a couple others that were given to me by friends that I keep in my personal collection. Not enough to fill a cool display book though.2 for 1 special on threads tonight.
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Generally speaking, the geocoins that you find in geocaches are owned by other geocachers. They are sent out for other cachers to discover or move and their movement is tracked on the website just as any regular travel bug.
Some geocachers like to collect geocoins, but they only collect geocoins they own. They don't collect the geocoins they have found in geocaches. If you were to get a display book and then when you found a geocoin you put it in the book and kept it, that would be stealing.
There are some rare occasions where a cacher will buy a brand new geocoin and then put it in their cache as a FTF prize or something. Those geocoins are 'unactivated' meaning they haven't gotten a tracking page set up on the website. Then if you were to be FTF you could take it as your prize and activate it under your profile.
I own a few geocoins myself. I don't really collect them so I activate them under my account and then send them out to be move and tracked on their page (hoping all the while that nobody finds it and decides to keep it
). I also own a couple others that were given to me by friends that I keep in my personal collection. Not enough to fill a cool display book though. -
I did a puzzle cache with an Aztec Code once, but never a regular bar code. When I did the Aztec Code cache, I just started with Google and went from there.
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2001: You know you're addicted to geocaching when...
2002: You might be a geocacher if...
2004: You Know You're Addicted To Geocaching When...
2010: You know you are a geocacher.......
2011: You know you are addicted to geocaching when...
...just to get the ball rolling.
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I ended up just taking the one as I was unable to find more than one cache listed within 3 miles of our hotel that wasn't micro or nano. I was excited about this cache as it had 4 travel bugs in it, I planed on bringing one or two home with me. I didn't check their logs until tonight when I was logging the visit... All 4 were not in the cache. I did leave the traveler I had with me in this cache. In hindsight that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do.
nah you did fine. The cache you left the TB in has been around for a while and has had 104 TBs logged in it. A vast majority of those 104 trackables seem to have passed through the cache without incident. If you look at the 4 missing TB's that are still logged in the cache, they seemed to have disappeared over a year ago and there are a lot of logs since then mention the moving of trackables. Those 4 TB's could have been stolen in an isolated incident of TB muggling over a year ago. The cache owner or trackable owners should probably have marked the 4 trackables as missing by now especially considering that cachers have logged notes to inform them that the TB's are gone.
Anyway, Before I go on vacation I'll typically start hoarding TB's (that want to go with me) 2 or 3 weeks in advance.
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Viruses being spread through USB drives != Urban Legend
Viruses being spread through USB drives attached to TB Dog Tags and found in geocaches = Urban Legend
Any "virus" danger is certainly nowhere near the hype. When I found a USB drive in a cache, I plugged it right in without a care -- and if it were shorted out due to being corroded, that might be bad.
But if I'm the one who logged placing it, and next someone puts even one nasty photo on it... I dunno, I'd rather not risk getting aspersions cast upon me.
Anyone could put a nasty photo right under your signature in a physical geocache logbook. Anyone who would then blame you for the nasty picture would be way out of line to do so. No different with a USB drive TB.
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IMO the only logical reason to make a cache PMO is to limit the amount of finders. Say for example, you put a cache on a new trail and want to limit foot traffic at first to judge potential geoimpact on the trail. Eventually if it's all clear, open it up to everyone. This is the only logical/rational use I have ever heard of for making a cache PMO. All these other 'uses' listed above are, well, useless.
I imagine someone could try to stalk someone with the audit log, but I doubt it is that effective as a tool for stalking. However, since the audit logs are completely useless and serve no purpose, I see no reason why my cache page viewing should be recorded for the cache owner to monitor.
I think the content of the e-mail recieved by the OP is beside the point. It's the fact that the owner even knew to send the e-mail because of the audit log that is the issue. Is it stalking? nah. Is it a big deal? nah.
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I had a cache of mine sabatoged by a geocacher. I reported it to contact@geocaching.com . Groundspeak then intervened and handled the situation nearly exactly how I asked them to.
The hard part is trying to prove who is doing the sabatoging so that there can be intervention. In my situation, I couldn't prove who it was, but it was kinda obvious who the guilty party was. Obvious enough at least that I had GS on my side from the get go.
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In the beginning viruses where spread by infected 1.5" floppy disks. Then the internet and email came along and that became the main vector for spreading. The thumb drives and other forms of flash memory became popular. A common one you find on the web now is getting a popup that looks like a lagit virus scanner. It starts showing you a huge number of viruses on your system and props you to use there free tool to clean them out. You agree and instead of a cleaner they actually infect you with a virus and tell you they can clean it out but it will cost you $30+. It wouldn't be hard for that same thing to be put onto a SD card. The internet is full of Malware as well that will in fact search your system and send your personal info out on the web. If your system is kept up to date then you should be OK. But new exploits are being found all the time. If one of these new exploits finds it way to the card your system could be infected.
A recently found virus called Stuxnet spread buy USB thumb drive. It was designed to target specific equipment that Iran uses to enrich Uranium. You can read a bit more about it here. Fact is these kind of things are not an urban legend. They do happen so its not worth checking out any stray flash based media.
Sure viruses and such are spread via USB drives. These instances of virus spreading via USB drives certainly makes me think twice about putting an unknown device in my PC. But really, what are the chances someone is going to get a virus like 'Stuxnet that is designed to target specific equipment that Iran uses to enrich Uranium' in a USB drive thats attached to a TB dog tag and found in a geocache? I'm guessing slim to none.
Viruses being spread through USB drives != Urban Legend
Viruses being spread through USB drives attached to TB Dog Tags and found in geocaches = Urban Legend
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As a young cacher, I was certainly naiive enough that if I found a USB drive as a TB I would have probably popped it in my computer. Now since I've heard these stories of 'potential' for misuse, I wouldn't. I wonder though if the stories are just that and have spread and evolved in to an urban legend of sorts like poisoned Halloween candy.
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We found a disposal camera in an ammo box that had 1 picture left. We figure it was used up by everyone finding the cache. We are getting it developed soon!
Some cache owners put those in their caches for cache finders to take their picture, but I think the idea is that the finders then leave the camera for the cache owner to develop the pictures and put on the cache page. If you haven't, it might be courteous to e-mail the owner and let them know you have it and that the camera was full. If they don't know, they eventually may end up wondering why someone 'stole' their camera.
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Given the time it takes to construct the caches we put out, the last was just over 3 months to get it working correctly, I can honestly say I would archive all our caches and not put out any more if it became the norm to blank log all caches. Whats the point if you cant read the nice comments?????
I place my caches in hopes that others will enjoy finding them, as I enjoy finding theirs. If some of them leave nice comments, that's icing on the cake for me.
One of the things that strongly attracted me to Geocaching in the first place was the strong sense of community. The idea of perfect strangers from all over sharing a brief moment of thier life with future visitors at the special place that an owner had pciked out to share with them.
Take away the logs and it really impacts that sense. How can I even know if they enjoyed or really even located my special location(s)??
You can tell if they located it by seeing if their sig is on the logsheet. You'll never know wether they enjoyed it or not unless you read their minds, but you could ask them. I imagine that some people would rather share their feelings with the cache owner in a private e-mail than publicly on the cache page.
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I place my caches in hopes that others will enjoy finding them, as I enjoy finding theirs. If some of them leave nice comments, that's icing on the cake for me.
I agree. But, how do you know they enjoy finding them if they dont bother to leave any comments at all? How do other people know its a cache worth finding without any written logs? Like I said its not that bad at the moment, but it might get alot worse.......
Just because someone said in the log that they liked the cache, how do you know they are telling the truth and not just telling you what they think you want to hear because they really thought your cache stunk? How do you know they aren't just writing nonsense because they've been guilted in to thinking that not writing anything in the log is rude?
You could tell a cache is worth finding by looking at pictures, looking at favorites points, reading the cache description, analyzing the maps, checking out the attributes, e-mailing a previous finder for comments or whatever on their trip to the cache, etc, etc, etc.
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We had a couple of these recently. We just emailed the cachers and explained that 1) We dont know, without a comment, if they are actually logging a find, or if they just pressed a button on their GPS by mistake. So unless a comment is added we will have to remove their log as it MAY not be a genuine find. 2) One of the only reasons we put so much time and effort into constructing and putting our caches out is to read the comments of cachers when they find the cache.
Both times the cachers emailed back to appologise and changed their logs. Since then they are now writing logs for everyone.
It was brought up at a regional event we visited a little while ago and most of the cachers round here are deleting logs that are either blank or just have a dot as they are not actually "making any entry in the log" so are not necesarily logging a find. If they leave TFTC at least they are registering a find, although it is frowned on by lots of cachers and they usually start writing logs when they have been around a bit.
Still thats in the UK so it may differ slightly in other countries.
It's great that you have taught two cachers a bit of caching etiquette, and they respoded well to it.
Of course you realize that if you were to actually delete one of the logs and they appealed to Groundspeak, the log would probably be reinstated and locked. For reasons beyond my understanding, the CEO is in favor of blank logging.
Of course valid find logs that are deleted should be reinstated and locked. I think the CEO is in favor of logging and that is a good thing regardless of the text box being empty.
). I also own a couple others that were given to me by friends that I keep in my personal collection. Not enough to fill a cool display book though.
How'd you Find Geocaching?
in General geocaching topics
Posted · Edited by simpjkee
My mom is an elementary school teacher and heard about it when she got a class set of GPS's for the latitude/longitude/compass/navigation cirriculum. She told me about it in April 2007 and I had to try to find one. I found one a couple days later and the rest is history.
Later she told me that she originally told me about it in 2004 and I wasn't interested. I don't remember her telling me in 2004, but if she had I probably wouldn't have been interested back then.