chii

I really don't get things like this. I'm new, haven't even had find yet (my GPS is arriving from Amazon today), and yet I've already gathered SO much about the rules just from looking around on the site. I see all these posts saying "someone didn't log" and whatnot, and I can't help but wonder what kind of idiots these people are... even *I* know it, and I've only been around here for a week. It blows my mind! ============================== http://www.kawaiineko.net/ >^..^< - nya

You rock! Thanks for the entertainment. I wish more people posted neat things like that. =] ============================== http://www.kawaiineko.net/ >^..^< - nya

Desert_Warrior, I'm curious if any business have actually responded to these and changed their policy? This sounds like a neat idea... I live in NC, and NO ONE allows permitted concealed weapons. I know several people who would probably be interested in printing up some cards similar to yours. Could you perhaps email me a copy? vdozier at email dot unc dot edu Sorry to spell it out, I prevent spam that way. ============================== http://www.kawaiineko.net/ >^..^< - nya

Katoomer, what kind of pepper spray did you have? Those tiny keyring bottles are pretty worthless. I had one in college because I was worried about walking at night. My roommate who also had one, had the sense to test it out one day, and discovered that it only sprayed a tiny stream... almost a trickle. After that, I tried my own and found that it did the same thing. My roommate ended up going to a gun store and bought a rather large, hair-spray sized bottle, which actually sprays. Although I'm not sure how much good that will do in a backpack (which is how she carried her around campus), I'm sure it'd be handy in a holster while hiking. I personally never bought one because I knew I wouldn't walk around campus holding it the whole way... So after that, I just elected to find friends or people walking back to my dorm if it was after dark. In terms of hiking, luckily, I live in N.C. The worst we have are black bears, and only in the mountains, which I don't get to visit often.

Usually as long as you're careful to mail in rebates on time and follow the directions to the letter, you won't have problems. I do a TON of rebates. Also, make sure to make copies of everything you send them for their records. Search1128, usually CompUSA's rebate receipts have the date/time on them, yours must have been a weird exception... rebate receipts are useful because you can keep the original for proof of purchase should the company try to deny your rebate for some BS reason or another. The really evil part about rebates is that they occasionally send out "Sorry, you didn't do x" postcards to people, sometimes when you DID do x. I think they do this randomly in hopes that you'll just accept it. Usually, however, if you call and raise hell, they'll honor the rebate. I had that happen once with a monitor- they told me I didn't send the UPC when I had. I called them up and told them that I did, and that I had a copy should they need it to verify, and they agreed to send me the rebate without even asking that I fax them copies of the UPC. I've even managed to get a rebate that I mailed in past the postmark deadline honored because I called and calmly told them that there obviously must have been a processing error on their end. *blush* *ashamed* (I know that was evil, but I figured it was worth a try. God knows they probably save enough money on the people who forget to send in the rebates, and the ones they send bogus "Sorry..." postcards to.)

In terms of data cables, the eTrex Legend from Amazon that I mentioned earlier actually comes with the PC cable. (Is it standard that most units don't?) Unfortunately, the sale price I ordered mine for is no longer current, but it's only $12 more, and still a really good deal if you order before the rebate runs out in July. If you're stuck in a really tight budget, the yellow eTrex for $84(?) sounds to be about the cheapest you can get. (At least the cheapest price I've heard.) The downside is that you may end up wanting to upgrade later, thus spending more money in the longrun.

Why not post to the message board for your area and call for cachers in and around the area, or who may be visiting to set up more caches? Granted, it wouldn't be *your own* cache, but it would hopefully help the sport take off, at which point you would have reason to invest in a GPS and then be able to place caches of your own. I think the idea of teaming up with someone to place a cache is a good one too. I don't quite understand your problem with the offset caching idea. Are there no landmarks on your island that you could use to do that? I know your purpose is to start up caching in your area, and that placing one with temporary coords seems like the sacrifice you have to make to get it started... but I don't see how doing an offset cache (that seems acceptable to the majority and will likely be approved by the admins) is any more of a sacrifice. It might be a bit of a compromise in that you don't have the freedom to just put it anywhere you want, but like with my other suggestion, once people get attracted to it and start caching, you'll have motive to buy a GPS and place more caches. Finally, I think the idea of borrowing a GPS is a pretty good one. I'm willing to bet that at least one shop would be willing to loan one out for the purpose, even if for no other reason than that it would bring them business if the sport takes hold on the island. Agree to post in your cache description where you borrowed the GPS from to place the cache, thus likely bringing business to the shop from cachers/new cachers in your area who look up your cache.

Right now, Amazon has the Garmin Legend on sale for 187. Garmin is offering a $50 rebate on it, bringing the total price to 137 (with free shipping). I ordered mine two days ago. I definitely think it's a hot deal, considering that it's almost 50% off the retail price, and only 37 dollars more than the basic yellow model, but has a lot more features.

Hah... As I have run out of office work for the day, for the last hour, I've been sitting here, completely absorbed in this thread. Just a second ago, I hit the down arrow on my keyboard, and for some reason, my computer tripped and made a very loud, low-pitched beep at me, startling me so badly that I nearly jumped out of my chair. I think my officemate is convinced that I'm completely crazy now...