malak
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Everything posted by malak
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GPS accuracy relies on extremely precise timing -- the gps knows where it is since it takes a reading from several satellites whose positions are known and the exact time of signal transmission is known. From that the gps calculates the time the signal from each satellite took to get to the unit based on the speed of light, the speed at which the signals were travelling. There's a problem involved. The satellites have atomic clocks in them, so they know precisely what the time it is down to you don't want to know how many gazilionths of a millionth of a second. Your gps, on the other hand, doesn't have an atomic clock, so the time calculation is less precise. You wouldn't be able to afford a gps with an atomic clock, nor would you want to bring it along with you geocaching both due to its high value and cumbersomeness. Hence the inaccuracy in calculating position. 8 metre inaccuracy is actually pretty good, unless you're a cartographer or land surveyor. So you want to get a good reading for determining your cache's location? Take ten readings at the location you want. Between each one walk at least three or four metres away and come back to take your next reading. Then take an average. Beyond that you'll still never know whether or not your value is the location of your cache or some other tree 8 metres away. For what it's worth: A) I get a number of "your coordinates were dead on", though of course I also get the occasional "My readings were off by 20 metres". I did a little test the other day on one of my multipoint caches. After a few problems deciding on some coordinates I decided to go out checking each and every one; taking only four samples this time at every waypoint, I averaged them. Of this second set, one of the five coordinates had an accuracy of about 12 metres from the original, and the other four each had an accuracy of about 2 metres. YMMV but it demonstrates how accurate a handheld commercial gps can be if used properly.
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quote:Originally posted by cliffy: quote:_Originally posted by malak: As for your event, T&N, my birthday is June 24 _ Holy smokes, you should see the party they hold for him in Montreal too! People even get the day off! Incredible! lol Quebec is truly a progressive society, Cliffy. Imagine that, a holiday in Quebec for a Bloke! Pssssst Missy's b-day too Don. Happy Birthday, Missy.
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quote:Originally posted by cliffy: quote:_Originally posted by malak: As for your event, T&N, my birthday is June 24 _ Holy smokes, you should see the party they hold for him in Montreal too! People even get the day off! Incredible! lol Quebec is truly a progressive society, Cliffy. Imagine that, a holiday in Quebec for a Bloke! Pssssst Missy's b-day too Don. Happy Birthday, Missy.
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I've set my Montreal event for Saturday, June 15. details at: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=23143 As for your event, T&N, my birthday is June 24 so I doubt the june 22 weekend is great, I'll have to see. Don
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http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=23143 All are invited to come to Montreal on June 15, 2002. A good way to get that gps the day before Father's Day and test it out! Please sign up on the page or email me at malak@pobox.com
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http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=23143 All are invited to come to Montreal on June 15, 2002, although I expect Vermont, Northern New York, and Maine cachers will mainly be interested in coming up to Montreal. A good way to get that gps the day before Father's Day and test it out! Please sign up on the page or email me at malak@pobox.com
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On the day of, one of the many minor details will be FRS radios. I will be using as my main channel 5/5 without privacy. I have two units, so I can move a conversation to another channel while still monitoring the main channel.
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quote:Originally posted by MajBach: Even caches in city parks are 'wanna be' caches in my opinion. They alomst seem like a lazy attempt to place a 'scenic' cache. On the other hand, urban caches in the heart of popular or high traffic areas are caches all on their own. To stay hidden, they usually have to be small and of particular design. The geocacher also has the challenge of appearing nonchalant when hunting them. As has been mentioned, J.A.R.S. has come up with some pretty neat ideas for such cahces. I.E., old couch medicine tins with a magnet stuck to man-made structures. these types of urban caches you look for on your lunch break! MajBach _ Too bad you think that, though I see your points. I have a few urban caches in Montreal, but I agree that they are "drive ins" with barely 500 metre walks. One in particular (a microcache) is in the structure of a bridge ... Iced Tea 12's Excellent Adventure.
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Lars and I are putting together an event for about June 15, 2002. It will be hosted in Montreal for Montreal area cachers and anyone from the areas of Ottawa, Quebec, Sherbrook, Vermont, New York and points in between. We are looking at a rally type event with 7 microcaches set up for the event, as well as an invitation to set up caches in the area by the locals (just like Tick & Nammie's "Go and Get 'Em" event in February). It won't be unusually difficult but just fun. Afterwards we'll meet up again at the starting point for BBQ, chips, soft drinks, and long tales. Whaddya think? Event page will be set up once details are firmed up.
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quote:Originally posted by Zuckerruebensirup: "So what did you originally get your GPS for?" Geocaching. What else are they good for?
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quote:Originally posted by Zuckerruebensirup: "So what did you originally get your GPS for?" Geocaching. What else are they good for?
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I ned help because I am not only new but I'm only 11
malak replied to Buddy11's topic in How do I...?
quote:Originally posted by Buddy11: I need help because i dont no where caches are that are close enough for me to walk to because i live in blackburn so please i need mero caches here so i can find somethin so hurry up and hide some in blackburn close to the loeb and if you can thanks a million! Buddy Thomson So Buddy, I take it you want me to come in from Montreal to do this ... sounds like a challenge. Maybe I can hide it for you -- with a number of keychains -- and let *you* post it under your account, like I did for Cliffy a few weeks ago. Seriously, I know the Hamlet a little bit, and even exactly where the Loeb is. I'll have to think about it, though perhaps near the firestation would be a good place to hide one. -
I ned help because I am not only new but I'm only 11
malak replied to Buddy11's topic in How do I...?
quote:Originally posted by Buddy11: I need help because i dont no where caches are that are close enough for me to walk to because i live in blackburn so please i need mero caches here so i can find somethin so hurry up and hide some in blackburn close to the loeb and if you can thanks a million! Buddy Thomson So Buddy, I take it you want me to come in from Montreal to do this ... sounds like a challenge. Maybe I can hide it for you -- with a number of keychains -- and let *you* post it under your account, like I did for Cliffy a few weeks ago. Seriously, I know the Hamlet a little bit, and even exactly where the Loeb is. I'll have to think about it, though perhaps near the firestation would be a good place to hide one. -
quote:Originally posted by The Heavenly Host: I am looking for ideas for my second cache. Before you jump in, I know I have only about 4 finds so far. Look for caches by "binthair" in Ottawa. His multicaches, while usually doable in one day and trip (if you do your homework), are often ornery.
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quote:Originally posted by The Heavenly Host: I am looking for ideas for my second cache. Before you jump in, I know I have only about 4 finds so far. Look for caches by "binthair" in Ottawa. His multicaches, while usually doable in one day and trip (if you do your homework), are often ornery.
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quote:Originally posted by mrcpu: I've been watching the discussions about missing TB's and missing Caches and Missing Cache Owners and it got me thinking. What we need is an AUTOMATED method for handling inactive cachers and their caches. As an example, hotmail and other such sites notice when you are inactive and suspend your account. Why not do the same thing with Geocaching accounts. It has to be assumed that if the cacher doesn't log in then perhaps they aren't maintaining their caches either! I'm proposing something Automated to take the workload off Jeremy and his volenteers. Basically what I see is a system whereby if you are a cache owner and you haven't logged into the cache in over a month you get an email from the site. Thirty day's later, if you still haven't replied to your email your account is suspended and all your caches get a notice saying that they are not being maintained and are going up for adoption. A link is provided whereby other cachers can announce their interest of adopting the cache. This could be a discusion board topic under a new forum called ADOPITIONS or some other way for the cachers to communicate and hagle it out with each other. Thirty day's after this the adoption process is started a program would look at the cache and a list of adopters sorted by distance from the cache. The program would then pick the closest adopter to the cache. The system would generate an email to that person asking them to click a link to confirm. Caches that don't get adopted would become archived and an email sent out to everyone who lives within a 50 mile radius asking someone to pick the cache up. The incentive would be that the cacher would now "own" the garbage. Keep the container and any good contents and throw the rest out. This entire process hinges on it being automated. It needs to be setup now before we have 100,000 caches world wide and 30,000 of them are garbage!!!!! I've thought about this and have some basic problems with it beyond the appearance of logic and sense that it has on the surface. In the Montreal area we have two caches which were hidden by people who either have never found a cache and never intend to, or found one or two and seem to have moved on to whatever the next novelty in their life was. We have another three set by someone I consider to be an active cacher but who in the past year has only found three due to work restraints, and until proven otherwise is a defacto inactive. There are two more caches within my 100 miles set by someone who has never looked for any and AFAIC has no intention to -- he set the two almost a year ago and hasn't been active at all since. Both are good cachs (though access restrictions have made getting to one difficult). The first five are popular caches. I have gone out to check up on one, someone else lives within tripping distance of another, and in general I am the local self appointed "fun friend-uncle" who looks after all the local caches, be they mine or not, be they owned by cachers active or not. The automated system as suggested above is *way* too restrictive, at least in its suggested numbers, and assumes that *everyone* is as obsessed with this website and sport as I am. At the very least the automated system needs to take into account the number of "couldn't finds" (particularly in a row) that are recent, and just how inactive the cache is. One of the caches I referred to above was set June 24 2001 and hasn't been found yet, along with another sort of near it that has been aronud almost as long and hasn't been found either. Should each be auctioned off to the nearest bidder, without consideration of practical issues that despite my paranoia, caches are big boys and girls and can take care of themselves 99 times out of 100, 99% of the time?
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>[Large - Containers larger than a gallon Along those lines, I use a lot of 3 gallon plastic buckets I get from the lab at work when they've used up their contents. I have *always* identified them as LARGE.
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OK send me a packet. How do you want to get it to me?
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OK send me a packet. How do you want to get it to me?
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Team Epitome: I agree that it is heartbreaking to see any cache go for any reason. And I have heard of targetted caches, and this idea frustrated. I am ever so thankful that neither any of my caches or any others local to my 100 mile radius has ever (at least to my knowledge) been targetted this way. My big beef right now is just with people increasing the inherent security of their cache. My first cache disappeared after three months, and unfortunately while disappointed I'm not surprised, particularly since any other location as little as 100 metres away would have been so much more secure. Another of my caches surprises me more and more with time that it's *still* there. As do a few of my others. One completely baffles me beyond it having been in a popular park. I have been to others' caches and figured that the cache would succumb to theft sooner or later, despite the hider's confidence. It was stolen. Another cache I went to, I figured the moment I spotted it, good location that it was in in a general sense, that it wouldn't last long. Within six weeks of then (I was first and only finder, within two days) Cliffy went looking for it without success. I am very sorry that your team's caches have been targetted. I know that I likely won't replace a cache in its original location to avoid embodying "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." No insult intended -- but unfortunately, I'm afraid that that may very well be a part of the game. Just leave that bunch of ne'erdowells alone. I'm also sorry to hear that you may disband -- what a shame it would be!
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Team Epitome: I agree that it is heartbreaking to see any cache go for any reason. And I have heard of targetted caches, and this idea frustrated. I am ever so thankful that neither any of my caches or any others local to my 100 mile radius has ever (at least to my knowledge) been targetted this way. My big beef right now is just with people increasing the inherent security of their cache. My first cache disappeared after three months, and unfortunately while disappointed I'm not surprised, particularly since any other location as little as 100 metres away would have been so much more secure. Another of my caches surprises me more and more with time that it's *still* there. As do a few of my others. One completely baffles me beyond it having been in a popular park. I have been to others' caches and figured that the cache would succumb to theft sooner or later, despite the hider's confidence. It was stolen. Another cache I went to, I figured the moment I spotted it, good location that it was in in a general sense, that it wouldn't last long. Within six weeks of then (I was first and only finder, within two days) Cliffy went looking for it without success. I am very sorry that your team's caches have been targetted. I know that I likely won't replace a cache in its original location to avoid embodying "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." No insult intended -- but unfortunately, I'm afraid that that may very well be a part of the game. Just leave that bunch of ne'erdowells alone. I'm also sorry to hear that you may disband -- what a shame it would be!
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re: Candles Haven't taken any. I have too many as it is due to my firestarter collection. Else I have been tempted a couple of times. Candles are fine! re: McToys: I'm sick of them too. But I can't complain if they're new and still in the wrapper -- I *know* kids covet them. And others putting them into my caches is the only way kids will get McToys from me, since I only patronize the McD for its restroom services, which I'm considering stopping for ethical reasons (I don't contribute to their money stream, so I shouldn't contribute to their wastestream.) re: upgrading I *always* put an item in, regardless of whether or not I take something. My item is always the same -- a pack of firestarters. Right now they are locally being touted as being more numerous than trees. I have taken things I like, not bothered with what I don't, maps, and the occasional nice item, thoiugh I was *very* tempted at one cache to take a *really* nice item (of which there were many) but decided that it wouldn't have been fair, and figured that kids (and parents!) would rather some of the really nice coffee table-quality games. Items: - a dooby pipe purported to once having been full - matches - golf balls - McToys - food - drink boxes (which I took once, and appreciated! I'd love to see more of them, particularly in summer!) - *really* nice, new, factory sealed, and probably expensive coffee-table quality games - cards -geocoins - comic books -computer games - computer parts - DVDs - I could go on, and on, and on ... Over all, I have seen stuff that lives up to the notion that most people are either one or two timers who don't put too much thought into the trade and walk away with a really good deal, or are die-hards in it for the fun of the game. I even know of a couple who just start off with a few items of their own and trade items from caches they have found previously -- to me, defeating the purpose of the game (since these items neither have travel bug tags nor are otherwise designated as travellers). Go figure, some of these items are reasonably nice dollar store fare (among other things, *new*, sealed basic calculators, and to think that I cherish the one I took from a cach early on and use it for the basic averaging when I set a cache.)
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re: Candles Haven't taken any. I have too many as it is due to my firestarter collection. Else I have been tempted a couple of times. Candles are fine! re: McToys: I'm sick of them too. But I can't complain if they're new and still in the wrapper -- I *know* kids covet them. And others putting them into my caches is the only way kids will get McToys from me, since I only patronize the McD for its restroom services, which I'm considering stopping for ethical reasons (I don't contribute to their money stream, so I shouldn't contribute to their wastestream.) re: upgrading I *always* put an item in, regardless of whether or not I take something. My item is always the same -- a pack of firestarters. Right now they are locally being touted as being more numerous than trees. I have taken things I like, not bothered with what I don't, maps, and the occasional nice item, thoiugh I was *very* tempted at one cache to take a *really* nice item (of which there were many) but decided that it wouldn't have been fair, and figured that kids (and parents!) would rather some of the really nice coffee table-quality games. Items: - a dooby pipe purported to once having been full - matches - golf balls - McToys - food - drink boxes (which I took once, and appreciated! I'd love to see more of them, particularly in summer!) - *really* nice, new, factory sealed, and probably expensive coffee-table quality games - cards -geocoins - comic books -computer games - computer parts - DVDs - I could go on, and on, and on ... Over all, I have seen stuff that lives up to the notion that most people are either one or two timers who don't put too much thought into the trade and walk away with a really good deal, or are die-hards in it for the fun of the game. I even know of a couple who just start off with a few items of their own and trade items from caches they have found previously -- to me, defeating the purpose of the game (since these items neither have travel bug tags nor are otherwise designated as travellers). Go figure, some of these items are reasonably nice dollar store fare (among other things, *new*, sealed basic calculators, and to think that I cherish the one I took from a cach early on and use it for the basic averaging when I set a cache.)
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quote:Originally posted by rghermes: What if you just made it a members only cache? I have yet to see any of these listed near me, but it seems that it may help the issue. If you are desperate enough to steal an ammo can. I doubt they would pay $3 to be a member here. Making the cache members only or providing email support only for the coords occurred to as an idea, but I decided a while back that after a few of my caches were either plundered or apparently so but actually the victims of other lazy cachers, that a cache's inherent insecurity (posted coordinates) is hardly the whole problem. Take the example of the maintenance personnel, who apparently stumbled upon it. Or the local ne'erdowells who go out "spliffing" and consider the neat hiding place around your cache to be neat for their purposes as well. Or in general, the cache that is placed (inadvertantly) 30 metres off the trail?) Or the off-trailers who stumble upon it? Too many caches that I've placed and found could be discovered that way. This issue bothers me too, but there isn't much we can do.
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3 gallon sealable chemical buckets I reclaim from the lab. Or 1 litre sealable nalgene sample bottles cleaned out and reclaimed from the lab. Or 1 gallon sealable buckets from the lab or anywhere else. Notice that all the containers are sealable and FREE! (actually, some of my favourite finds have been the custom containers, such as cliffy's containers.)