cool_and_the_gang

Okay, Okay! This will be my last one: WHERE'S GEORGE? After 271 years he still cannot tell a lie: The old man is tired and more than content to travel across the nation the helped to found in somebody else's hip pocket. Crossing the Deleware was more difficult last time, and tonight he will take quarter in a box hidden on the bank of the Potomac. There, he will grind his wooden teeth as he presides with a stately gaze over the wild eyed Troll figurines, mocking thier wispy rainbow hair and gaping grins with his neatly cinched tail nad paper thin smile. Such is the life of the General, now. Trusting in God as his day unfolds that his next home will be a comfortable one. That the next person will pass the buck, that the next wandering soul will care to ask: "Where's George ?" I'm having way too much fun with this. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!" [This message was edited by cool_and_the_gang on October 09, 2003 at 10:01 AM.] [This message was edited by cool_and_the_gang on October 09, 2003 at 10:03 AM.]

By the way: Thanks to all who posted. Limmericks are always fun. Okay, here's one last one from me, (not a limmerick (never could do those), not sijo either): WHY DO YOU ALWAYS BUSHWHACK? Isn't running towards the goal more fun than walking? Or did you mean to aks: Why do I always let impatience allow me to make choices I've made before knowing full well that they will lead to similar painful consequence? Ask my father. What did he ever gain by walking? "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!" [This message was edited by cool_and_the_gang on October 09, 2003 at 08:24 AM.]

Well, it took a while. But I'm glad to see that others joined the creative fray. It is true "GPS reciever" and "McToy" are hard to rhyme. Sijo might be the answer: It is similar to haiku but less restrictive. Sijo have three long lines. Each line varies between 14 and 16 syllables, with the middle line the longest. The first line states a theme, the second line counters it, and the third line resolves the poem. Here goes: A hidden ammo box within the weeds. Seekers, with heaven bourne telemetry, scour the landscape. Even with decrypted clues, the treasure proves elusive. Here's another: They say tupperware doesn't make a good cache container. My brittle, yellowed box, holding keychains and small figurines beneath its cracked cover still protects the soggy, spiral bound notebook. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

You won't regret the investment in a GPSr. You don't need a fancy one either. I read a news paper article about Geocaching. Coincidently, I heard about Geocaching on NPR a week later. I borrowed my father in law's GPRr the day after and he, his wife, my two kids and I went out and found our first cache within an hour. Life hasn't been the same since! Bought my own GPSr a month later because I was using the other one more that it's owner. Great is the matter of birth and death. Life slips quickly by. Time waits for no on. Wake up! Wake up! Don't waste a moment. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

Thanks for posting the poem! It's nice to see some different topics in the forums. Too bad this thread didn't get more responses, perhaps everyone is to busy putting in thier two cents about the pirates. I enjoy reading and writing poetry very much and your post inspired me to submit this as a tribute to geocaching and geocachers and I encourage other geo-poets to stop compaining about virtual caches not being approved and write thier own. Maybe we can revive the haiku thread! Here's my attempt: I placed a box within the woods and hid it at the base of a tree. It's drab green color recalls the days when it held munitions, tools of fear that keep people apart. It's contents are more peaceful now, not of the type that kill or maim. Today it holds mostly trinkets. Souveniers aquired along the way by people who like me are also searching. And perhaps those few who choose to find it's home beneath the grass and twigs, will come to know as they add thier marks to the book of others placed before that we are all much more the same than we are different. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!" [This message was edited by cool_and_the_gang on October 03, 2003 at 12:09 PM.] [This message was edited by cool_and_the_gang on October 03, 2003 at 12:11 PM.]

I've always tried to cultivate the habits in the legendary book. I like the idea, and I encourage you to continue to develop it, Snoogans. In doing so you might want to conider celebrating how cultivating each of the 7 original habits makes you an effective geocacher because they've made you a more efficient person overall. The 7 habits, it seems to me, are universally applicable to any aspect of your life, including geocaching: #1 Be Proactive: Assemble all relavant materials before you go out. Anticipate which maps or other info you might need. Having extra batteries or other redundant gear seems to fit here. #2 Begin with the End in Mind: Visualize successfully reaching the cache. Assume that you can do it, even if it's a 5/5. #3 Put First Things First: Take the search one step at a time. Or: Do easier caches as stepping stones to more difficult ones. #4 Think Win-Win: Cooperate with cachers you meet on a trail, share the cahce find. #5 Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood: Really listen to your team members input before you start bushwhacking. Or really understand the nature of the place when you're close to understand likely hiding spots. #6 Synergize: Icorporate each of your team member's diverse talents in the search. Maybe someone can read a map more skillfully than another who is more skilled at taking compass bearings. #7 Sharpen the Saw: Read the forums. Read books on orienteering and hiking. Practice computing coordinates arithmatically to understand the soul of the sport. Thats my $.02. Good luck. Please post when its done so I can check it out even if I can't make it to your area to find it. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

I think geocaching is a great economical sport. I've tried to find small items that I've collected over time for use as trade items and I seem to pass along cache items from cache to cache so without counting the original cost of the items these are by and large without cost. The things from around my home are starting to become scarce so I've taken to picking up good quality items ar various places for a dollar or two. If you keep your eyes peeled you can find some good bargains. If you spread the cost of the GPS unit over each of our trips and add the cost of gas and trade items it might come to $10 at most per trip. That's FAR less than a ski outing with lift tickets and rentals etc. or several other activities for my family of four would cost. We're glad to have taken up Geocaching. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

Eventually you will run out of caches that you can get to by bicycle. An alternative, if you are able to get your bike there via automobile, is to take your bike to a large state park. Often there will be numerous caches within a larger state park which you could spend a day or weekend (if you are camping for example) finding them. If the bicycle is your primary means of transportation you will, obviously, be limited to cahces within the distance you are able to pedal. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

Once I read a funny magazine article. I nearly fell over laughing over it and couldn't wait for the guy I work with to read it. He did and chuckled a little but was nowhere near as moved by it as I was. The POINT: We react to things based on our unique points of view and ways of seeing things. There's no telling why some people are moved by one thing and not another. Putting a negative "review" in the log because you personally didn't see the significance of the place or felt that thier skill in choosing it was lacking might turn off other people from seeking it and isn't fair to them or to the placer. And to comment on the contents doesn't seem right either. That is beyond thier control unless thier not purging the junk during thier maintenance. In that case I'll simply say "TNLN". In the case of the former, where I might not have seen a grand vista but still posted a find, I describe other things besides the details. "Nice day for a walk...thanks for the hide." "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

I've sometimes considered using a metal detector for caches but have always been of the mindset that this was cheating for some reason. When you look at it in the context presented by Keystone Approver it seems less like cheating. I suppose if I would feel better about using one if it was limited to use in a situation as presented, where the terrain was obscured by snow. Anyone share this view, or am I holding myself to an un-neccesarily high standard? "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

I assume it's going to be on the grounds outside of the building and won't be tied directly with your company so I don't see a problem. You might want to make sure that it's okay with the building owner and grounds keeper just to put the approver at ease. BrianSnat: I have to say your newest new avatar is much more refined that your last. Is this a before and after type of thing? "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

Hey! We live in Honeoye Falls, I work in Rochester. It would be great to hear from you. It would be nice to get to know some cachers personally for caching outings, too! Drop me a line. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

We make our own Geo-Tokens, too. But we buy the blanks. Search the forums because there is alot in there on this subject and some good How-to's. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

The need to respond with equal or devestating force when attacked is common. Self defense is one thing, vigilanteism is another. To retaliate would simply give them a reason to act out again leading to more retaliation. This pattern is the stuff wars are made of! They've put themselves into thier own misery: They have lost the respect of most cachers, angaging in this in a normal fassion will be forever impossible for them. Like most "brats" they are thriving on the attention and on the chaos they've learned they can cause. If we deprive them of this feed back and reward thier game is pointless, they will tire of it and more on. I might be out of line in this thinking. I have no caches and have never known the of having one ruined. But I have known frustration in other areas in life from similar causes. It's never really worth the fight. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

Glad, that things worked out. To Wilywampa: With RK on the questioning. I question the existence of "God" everyday and have never seen a plan clearly laid out. Given the overall state of the world's affairs, I suspect there isn't one. But I do know that good things will happen and bad things will. People will be kind to each other, others will perpetrate evil. The trick is to manage both aspects with serenity, utilizing all of the many types of resources available. I believe that when applied constructively this makes good things happen. Offering thanks, as always, is merely a gesture of humility. Gratitude helps us be aware of the resources and reminds us to treat each of them with respect. We'll never really know how or why they come together the way they do. Again, great news, Diverman. I wish you all peace. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

Maybe this is a good solution to the pirate problem. Doh! Keystone's popped up just before mine did! I thought I wzs so clever, too... "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

We make very simple Geo-Tokens. Our avatar is one side of it. Both sides can be viewed at a larger size at Fisur's awesome collection. Our methods are really low tech: We designed the graphics and print them off of our printer, cut them out and glue them to wooden nickle blanks which you can get just about anywhere. Over that we apply several layers of decopage sealer (remember that from the 70's?, I think it is really thick white glue). After the glue cures for a week it gets 2 coats of paste type furniture wax. They are pretty cool looking and hold up pretty well, I think, but probably not as well as one cast in metal. That is why we don't call them 'coins'. Search the forums for Geo-Coins and Geo-Tokens. I recall seeing some good links in there somewhere. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

quote: Some people have said that they wish they could do more. You have... It lit a fire in his heart and gave him hope. You ARE doing something. You ARE helping. In more ways that you could imagine. For where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20 The combined meditation or prayers of a group of people are very powerful and CAN make a difference. I will dedicate the merit of my daily meditation to your niece, she and your family will be in my family's prayers. May she be protected and returned safe so that she and your family will be at peace! "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!" [This message was edited by cool_and_the_gang on September 26, 2003 at 05:23 AM.] [This message was edited by cool_and_the_gang on September 26, 2003 at 05:25 AM.]

Mnay of the caches in this area have a listing on the alternate site. Competition is a must for inovation and so I am glad that it exists. In my opinion, though, it's really not much competition. I personally find no benefits to using it over this site! "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

I would guess it's a signiture item made and left by one of the previous visitors, probably those who visited on Sept. 14, according to the logs. We leave wooden coins with our avatar on them as well. If you still want information you can e-mail questions to the group them through thier profile. Get more info on geo-tokens and coins at http://www.geocities.com/team_fisur/geocoins/index.html "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

I tried to enjoy Geocaching with my wife and kids. I have found that it's best to go with them if we are after a 1/1. They just don't seem to have or want to aquire the skill and nuance involved with anything harder than a 2/2 and trying it really spoils the experience for everyone. So periodically I'll go after more difficult ones on my own. This way I get to enjoy the sport both ways and they get to have some fun with it too. My wife has no real interest in ever doing it on her own, though. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

I, too appretiate a heads up to a parking area if it is REALLY hard to find or if the cache placer knows that parking elsewhere is dangerous or will get you a ticket. Once I was SURE I knew where a cache was, parked and got to within 500 feet of it. The problem was it was on the opposite side of the Erie Canal! Parking coordinates would have alleviated having to find a way to get across it that but would have also diminished the learning experience involved with the search. Sometimes its part of the game. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

Funny that this is coming up in the forums. When I got in my car afterwork yesterday that song was playing on the radio. It was on a local station that claims they play "CLASSIC ROCK THAT REALLY ROCKS"! Problem is I'm not old enought to hear music that I, too, purchased a cassette tape of played as a "classic". Oh, well. At least it wasn't on an 8-track. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

Not even the smallest details of a situation escape the notice of my twin 5 year olds. It's amazing what they pick up and, as RK posted, it's things you would never have thought they were paying attention to. It's ammusing (annoying?) to hear them use your logic and discipline against you, too; or at least point out inconsistencies in your messages and your actions: "But, Daddy, YOU'RE not wearing Your bicycle helmet.." and as illustrated in the cache box statement above. I swear these two could litigate in court. Worse is when you see or hear your speech patterns or other mannerisms in thier play. Ever "hear" one doll say to another: "Bad choices will always result in bad consequences.." or whetever your recurring message is? They are a joy to be raising and it illustrates why we have to be so carful about being consistent with our messages and actions. I think they have increased the level of my integrity because of that. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"

We make very simple Geo-Tokens. Our avatar is one side of it. Both sides can be viewed at a larger size at Fisur's awesome collection. Our methods are really low tech: We designed the graphics and print them off of our printer, cut them out and glue them to wooden nickle blanks which you can get just about anywhere. Over that we apply several layers of decopage sealer (remember that from the 70's?, I think it is really thick white glue). After the glue cures for a week it gets 2 coats of paste type furniture wax. They are pretty coll looking and hold up pretty well, I think, but probably not as well as one cast in metal. That is why we don't call them 'coins'. "Now may every living thing, young or old, weak or strong, living near or far, known or unknown, living or departed or yet unborn, may every living thing know happiness!"