meralgia

Cool cache!!! (just kidding)

I got the same email. Don't ever click on links in email unless a friend you know sent you something. Even then, be very suspicious.

I dunno--your nearsighted pooch is pretty scary

wow--an on-topic post... wait, this isn't the off-topic forum... yay

Okay, I have a rubber snake wired to the outside of a "small", but I'm also not in snake country. Not to mention, the name of the cache is "slippery, slimy snake". Can't make it any more obvious!! ; )

Auclairs: Why, on earth, are you so upset? Personally, I'd rather see multiple, slightly off-topic comments than three people who say, "yeah--I think so too" and watch as the topic slips slowly down the list. Apparently no one knows how to make a bicycle handlebar mount for your streetpilot c330. Sorry.

TBs aren't swag.

The cost of those smileys sure add up--especially if you add the purchase of swag (and containers for those of us who hide) to the fuel expenditure! But boy, isn't it worth the time and expense!!

now, if only she would have given you coords to find the cake!! ; )

warning: cynical and slightly scathing post... My son and I went to a small cache yesterday with a naked log and absolutely NO swag in it whatsoever. Of course, it could have been muggled, but it makes me think that the cache owner was simply too lazy to bother with swag and a baggie for the log. Makes me not want to look up his subsequent caches just in case they're similar to this particular one. I sent a message to the owner via a "found" log that said, "Container was completely empty, so we added a few things." I'm sure my "few things" will be the only things in there. End of this particular cynical post--but don't expect me to keep my cynicism to myself!!

I'd love to see a time-lapse video of an area of vegetation getting trampled as folks walk in circles looking for it. Maybe publish the coords but don't put out a cache and watch people go nuts! I did that the other day with my son--walking around in circles for an FTF in a "new" field only to find that when I returned home to log the DNF the newbie hider had to update the coords over 100' away!

lamppost??? Oh, dear goodness, say it isn't so!!! I also work in the health field, and the diabetes test strip cases are wonderful--my favorite brand are black and water tight.

I attached mine through my navel ring. Wanna see that pic again? ; )

i'm not saying that my containers have the "best" stuff--just that they're well stocked and refreshed often. i buy a lot of the after-Easter and after-Christmas items that could be useful all year long. and i go through my collections and thin them down--this time it was my thimble collection and jewelry collections. I downsize around the house regularly, and some of the items are put in the caches (as long as they're "like new"). Nobody has taken the vinyl flooring instructional video or the winnie the pooh video that I put in there in the Fall. But until I can swap it out for something better, they're still in my large cache on the off chance that someone might find them interesting.

WARNING: CONTROVERSIAL POST!!! BEEP, BEEP, BEEP The point of trading up (or even) is supposed to keep junk out of the cache, right? As a cache owner, I feel that it's my responsibility to ensure that the cache is stocked with "decent" stuff. Although I love it when folks fill my cache for me, I feel that it is still my "job" to keep it stocked with interesting things. If I don't "feel" like spending the extra money to keep the container(s) stocked, I don't hide it. It's disappointing to go to a regular cache only to find "junk", but honestly I tend to blame the owner more than the visitors. CONTROVERSIAL POST OVER. RESUME YOUR NORMAL LIFE.

my husband gets tired of going to the grocery store with me. Inevitably I'll say, "let's buy this", and he'll ask why because it's not usually something we purchase. My response? "Because the container would make a great cache container!!"

Those look VERY nice! So far, mine are in a pile. I hope to get a little time to lay the pages out, scan them, add them to the gallery (of the archived cache), and then put them in my scrapbook. One of the logs got so soaked that the names are simply colorful smears, so I may just toss that one.

my 8-year-old son is overjoyed to get another golf ball to add to his collection. we found three yesterday (though not all in caches). I think we have 25 now.

I've recently made a container out of concrete that's supposed to look like a boulder. The lid is separate from the rest and a little heavy. Unfortunately, I need to find just the right shade of "rock" because the rock-look spray paint is a little too light. Any suggestions on those who have made rocks in the past on a color name the next time I run to the hardware store?

borax crystal experiment You can use pipe cleaners (as the people did in the link above) to make holiday gifts as well... those you should suspend from a wide-mouthed jar. If they're going to be put in caches, however, they would get bent and probably broken. That's why I suggest using rocks--any kind of rock that isn't too smooth would work nicely! My son has TONS of them on display in his room and gives them away for birthday gifts. A box of borax (which probably makes 20 batches) costs only $3.50 (we got one for $2.75 on sale). If you make 10 rocks per batch, you could make 200 pieces of swag. That's less than two cents a piece!

i purchase things from the dollar store as well, but the cost tends to add up. to supplement the purchased swag, we'll be making more "crystal" rocks to leave as swag. They're pretty but basically free. Boil 3 cups of water and add 9 tablespoons of borox. Put the rocks in a shallow dish or pie tin (one that you no longer need) and carefully pour the solution over them, making sure that they cover the tops of the rocks. Let them sit overnight. Drain the solution in the morning (don't worry--it's laundry detergent so should be fine going down the drain) and let them dry. Your kids will love the project, and the swag won't dent your budget.

I have helped out in the past with many-a-cache, but I have not felt comfortable completely replacing the container. I feel like that would be stepping on toes more than posting an SBA, but I don't know why. On one cache, the coords are over 100' "off". I suppose the best one can do would be to post a note with the correct coords since I can't edit the page.

Out of all of the back and forth, I can relate most to you, Harry Dolphin. And Confucius, yes, the hider probably did see me as a "flippant busy body". Thanks all for your comments. Yes, it is true that I should have looked at the past logs. At the same time, if the cache were to have been archived long ago, it wouldn't have shown up in my GPS. If it's not in my GPS, I don't go there; but since it was, I did. (Probably incorrect) lessons learned: 1) be sure to check logs before going into the field. 2) when, after three dnfs, post a "needs archived". After all, who else will? another "flippant busy body"? 3) don't bother to contact original hider if they haven't been online for months on end. They probably don't care. 4) don't use "IMHO". Use "IMO" instead! tee hee. Whom amongst us are truly humble anyway? Please don't take this synopsis as a "please don't discuss the topic further". If it's helpful to discuss, please do. I'll read it!! ; )

The owner hasn't logged in since the Fall. October, I think it was. and, to be fair, I really don't know if they've had internet access. Seems to me that if you're leaving the country for an extended period of time, you'd tie up loose ends--especially with hobbies that affect other people. I doubt she was abducted.

By way of history (to understand my angst), I work in the health care field. My job is to schedule patients for health education (about a specific health concern). About 1/5 of the patients I try to schedule seem to have no interest in modifying their habits to improve and maintain their health. I get frustrated, and perhaps it carries over when it seems that cache owners have no interest in maintaining what they're responsible for. That, and I have limited time (as do we all) and an excited 8 year old that gets disappointed when we come up empty.