Simply Paul

A very genuine Congratulations and well done to Dan the Man who hit 300 caches today on my own The World's Tallest Building... cache. Cheers dude How long will it be before Pid joins him in this exclusive club? He's on 218 at the moment... I'll start the betting with a guess of July 12th 2004. SP

Some more ideas: Geocachers do it in the Woods/Up trees/Under piles of sticks Geocachers do it Nationwide/Worldwide 'Check out my lunchbox' From my friend Claire: Geocachers stick it where the sun don't shine Geocaching: It's one stash the police aren't looking for. SP

Three 'Founds' actually, it was their first back in September last year

Please have a look here. I'd be interested to hear other peoples views on multi-found and TB hokey-cokey logging. SP

I've heard of this before. I think just try a few random letters after your 'NN1 1' code and see what happens. It shouldn't effect your 'nearest' cache, unless you live in a very well stocked area. SP

Frankly you sicken me. It's an envy thing! 100 in a smidgen over two months is a brilliant effort and makes me feel my poultry 54 in 11ish months is pretty rubbish. In my defence, I have put 25 caches out there (fresh one in Haddenham nr. Aylesbury yesterday) so that might have slowed me down... On the subject of cache-placement I'd echo Ozguff's wise words. Just set a cache you'd enjoying if it was someone else's and you'll be in the right ballpark. Most of mine have been fairly 'traditional' in design (even if they've actually been multi's) but I have set the occasional more twisted one - Claydon Conundrum, and the Puerile Photo-cache series, for example. Have a think about your own favourite ones that you've done, work out what it is that you enjoyed about them, add your own spin and volia! You're a groovy geocache setter! Lastly, I was delighted to be there for your 100th cache at CTG7-White King. Since you're about 50 ahead of me now, it was interesting to see your 50th was D&P's Egyptian Springs, which is my closest cache and also the first I ever did. Good luck with your next 100! They only get more fun as the weather improves! SP P.S. Yeah, ok. Congratulations I suppose... mumble mumble...

Whats that then ? I've seen bumper stickers and rear window stickers with things like "If you can read this you are TOO CLOSE!" to any following cars. Also there's the 3 second rule of thumb, when driving, never to get less than 3 seconds travel distance behind the car in front. The way I was always taught it was to say to yourself "only a fool breaks the 3 second rule" which takes about 3 seconds to say. 3 seconds of arc would a measure of distance around an arc, 1/20th of 1/60th of a degree. I just rolled the two together. Ah, but that distance gets shorter the further you go North or South. At a pole, it'd be zero. No way to drive a 'cachin' waggon. SP P.S. Isn't it the 2 second rule? "Only a fool breaks the 3 second rule" only takes two seconds to say, the way I say it.

I liked Wildtrekker's approach. My own spin would be: American Geocachers do it with Rubbermaid. Aren't they the lucky ones? I'm impressed with the quality of suggestions. Keep 'em coming folks! SP

Just a little tomfoolery to pass the time on a dull Monday, but I was thinking about getting a GC sticker for the back window of my Jag, to identify me as one of the Chosen Few Beautiful People. I suspect geocaching.com sell them, but I fancied something more...personal, somehow. I came up with the following and would welcome anyone else's suggestions. My dad owns a screen printing firm, so you never know... Geocachers do it with hand-held devices. Geocachers do it with the family (perhaps not!) Geocachers: Outstanding in their field. Love is... Never having to post a DNF. Geocaching. It's better than golf! I've found 100/200/300/400/500 geocaches and all I got was this lousy bumper sticker. Love me, love my etrex. Drunk Geocachers know where they are, even when they don't know who they are. Looking forward to others thoughts SP

I, for one, am impressed! Not only with the caching, but with the quality of the records taken of where and when and how, what why and when! Congratulations on an awesome days caching guys. It makes me feel I should be a more committed cacher myself. Not that I'm saying you two should be committed I might have a little experiment in the summer. June 21st is the longest day of the year, and I'm in the mood to try a dawn-til-dusk-til-I-drop day out I think. Anyway, well done again chaps SP

"Muggle to recordholder in two weeks." Ah, in the states they'd call that 'The American Dream'. The same could be said of "Idiot to President in two weeks". A little bit of politics there... Put me down for 29 found. Good luck guys! On the subject of food and drink, 7up tastes better than coke when it's warm and flat, and dinner is for wimps! (However, a sandwich, packet of crisps and a bar of chocolate while in transit might not be a bad idea. You need to keep those starch and blood-sugar levels up) SP

Now here's a thought. Or possibly an excuse: I have to admit I tend to trade down at caches, but not 'maliciously'. If there's something I fancy for myself, I'll typically swap a candle for it. Unless it's a more valuable item, in which case I'd leave two candles. I know, I'm rubbish.... However, I sometimes leave an item (probably a candle) but take nothing from any particularly understocked cache to help balance this out. I also have a high placed-to-found cache ratio (23 placed/52 found at the moment) so a lot of the things I might collect go straight back into circulation...along with a couple more candles! And a party popper and Bucks tourist attraction flyer. And a thing for cleaning the fluff out of your keyboard. I've yet to see anything desperately valuable in a cache, and if I ever do, I'd leave it there. That's unless I've got an awful lot of candles with me. Ultimately the chance of a cache being plundered by oiks means nothing *very* nice should be left in them - to my mind. If it gets out that really worthwhile stuff is up for grabs, we can expect much more pilfering by evil muggles. Some of those McToys are getting collectable you know... The target, I believe, should be finding the cache with swapping being merely the icing on the cake. The moral of this story is this: Give the gift of light. Nothing says 'I love you' as much as a candle. Plus it's a present you can burn without feeling guilty... SP

Looks a tricky spot for a cache. Do we know anyone with a two seater jet, a long length of rope and some really strong glue? Very funny picture, thanks! SP P.S. I was going to say that feature looked like an animal exercise track, but never got around to it! dadgum, I would have been everyone's hero too. Gurrr.

Thanks Washboy, I couldn't have said it better myself, lol! What I meant was the sub 1ltr. tupper'ish boxes I sometimes use. Tesco do some own-brand 600cc plastic boxes for about 60p, which I think's a bargain. Happy caching SP

Fair comment from Stem. The content listing is a bit pointless after the cache has received a few visits, but it does say something about cache size, and it does initially reassure the cache-approver that there's no contraband (firearms, drugs, food, Asylum Seekers) in it. SP

Another bright idea: I list the original contents of the cache on the page, which gives a clear indication of the size of the box. It's also helpful to workout what's likely to still be in it when you visit... That's if anyone cares SP

To throw my tup'neths worth in. I would (and have) log a cache as a find twice if there's been a significant change in the challenge of finding it. For example, I've logged Dan & Pid's Egyptian Springs twice. The first time I found it, it was without GPS, just using the clue on the site. At the time it was right near to the spring, on the other side of the lane. Since that cachebox was plundered D&P have recast the cache as a multi, where you need to decode the hieroglyphics (I hope I've spelt that right) on the spring to find the final location, which is a few minute walk away. I'd say the design and challenge of this cache has changed enough to warrant being logged twice. The same might be true of a mobile cache, which can move from place to place, or some other variants. Any thoughts on my reading of the rules? SP

Like he said ^ I've used some very small containers for a few of my caches too, and have said as much in the description. As I read the rules, a micro is big enough for a log, a pencil nub and very little else. On that basis the 600cc boxes and tins I've used are regular caches...just very small ones When in doubt, just add a mention to your description. That way if people don't realise they're hunting for a tiddler, it's their own dadgum fault for not reading the page properly. Just like when I go out not knowing I'm looking for a micro. SP

Well now... Simply Paul brings us: Supply mail (I always get asked this when I'm trying to be anonymous) Pupa Slimly (My Pimpin' name) Amyl Pupils (Sounds like a punk band) Pimply Saul (A simple spoonerism can be a joy forever) "Paul! My slip!" (Brings back some bad memories of when I was 14...!) Mull pay slip (Proof of Scottish earnings?) I pump Sally (!) However, my real name brings delight in the shape of: Hum Spital (I hate it when I get this) Thai lumps (It's a ladyboy thing) Hit a slump (It can happen to the best of us) A hump slit (Now I know why people call me a c- Leave it!) I palm tush (When I can get away with it) Humps tail (Pass ) Thai plums (See Thai lumps!) Thump lisa (Only in self defence) Tulip mash (A dance craze from the 60's?) A s*** lump (I hope my mum doesn't read this) Thumps Ali (He might move like a butterfly and sting like a bee...) Hits, um... Alp (No way to land a plane) And best of all, caching-wise: Hi, Map Slut! dadgum, they got me More to follow, if I find the time to look for more in my busy schedule... SP

A huge WELL DONE! from me too John. Now, if only I'd thought to work 20 times as hard at cache-hunting than I have over the last year, I could be up there too. I hope you'll be celebrating your 1000th find in proper style. And then have a hot bath, a lie-in and think about writing a book about your experiences while it's all still fresh in your mind. Enjoy your semi-retirement and I'm sure you'll be back... just maybe in a lower gear.

Hi Tiffany, yes, it's taken this long to pull my forum finger out. It's nothing personal, it's just that I've never got around to it before. I might just be lazy... Good to see you've borrowed my thoughts on golf for your profile too, lol! Hello MarcB, yep, that's me in the middle. I'm the one with genuine breasts. Glad you liked the article. As you can see, the chance discovery of one of D&P's caches online while researching the Chiltern Sculpture Trail (.co.uk) has lead to me finding 40+ caches, hiding 20 (no. 21 going in near Buckingham later today!) and setting up the UK's only currently listed Event Cache (Chess Themed Geocache No.10 - Black King) to take place later in the year. I have to say it's all thanks to Dan&Pid, who have placed some wonderful caches in my area, as well as I now have Dan's old etrex, which seems to remember just where he placed all his caches. Cheers guys Simply Paul

My first ever forum posting, about myself! (Well, the article I wrote back in June last year) Reading everyone's thoughts, mild swipes and feedback was very interesting. Thanks to everyone who was nice, '500 words is all I get' to people who said it was short and sorry to everyone who likes Golf. Before now I'd not realised it *was* possible to be political over a box of bobbins tucked in tree, but there you go! Some of the postings I've read today remind me too much of the schoolyard but I understand people can hit the ADD REPLY button in the heat of the moment. And other people are the sort of people who make the first sort of people very angry. And then there's the people who are both sorts of people, and that's where the trouble really starts. Eh, listen to me, rambling. And I'm not ever wearing appropriate footwear. Simply Paul