vree

SixDogTeam- I think this is what you're thinking of: Revelations 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. and I agree with Team Tigger

-rjb43nh, right on! -unchristian? um, yeah! that's not a bad word, it's an accurate description. you know, that whole judge not thingy? shame on you for not recognizing that! man. i feel like i just sat down to thanksgiving dinner with my family.

My boss was teasing me about geocaching. He told me that the game was probably a big conspiracy by the oil companies to get you to drive around and use up gas. I haven't cached outside of Michigan, but have noticed lots of differences between even the west side of the state and the burbs of Detroit. I'm glad that I live in Kalamazoo... lots of preserves and wooded areas.

If the approver of the cache had placed this standard disclaimer on the cache when it was approved it would have saved all this fussing and fighting over a box hidden for others to find. FWIW, I found this disclaimer on several Biblical themed caches from different parts of the country. So all you have to do is put this disclaimer on your cache and even if you do intend to promote a particular belief system or viewpoint, you're in the clear. Making me say, "So help me God" doesn't make me more apt to tell the truth. I'll tell the truth because I'm an honest person. It's just something you are required to recite. Freedom of speech and requirement of speech are not the same. You can still pray in school and say "One nation under God". No one will try to stop you. On one hand, I wonder, "Why toe the line?" Looking at the cache page, the pics show crosses on the cache container (is that a crown of thorns sitting on top of the container too?), and people log taking "the Book" (their capitalization, not mine) and a "camo-testament". This is obviously a theme cache and the theme is Bible, Christian, Jesus. No agenda? I call bullsh*t. On the other hand, this is a whole lot of hub bub over a cache. I would just ignore it if it was in my area, just like I ignore cemetery caches. PC is out of control. I'm glad that we have the freedom to argue about this and we all feel comfortable saying what we want to say. But if GC says a certain cache that I place is inappropriate that's their perrogative. I agreed when I signed up to be subject to their rulings. They are the referees in this game and even if I don't like a call that they make, they are ultimately the ones who make the decisions.

Found this on NASA's website. Don't know how accurate any of these software packages are, but hopefully it's sort of what you're looking for: NASA Spacelink - Satellite Tracking

OMG, that is too funny. I love NPR, but you've got to giggle at this. I don't have much money to give to support GC or NPR, but I use their services and think they are both worthwhile, so I'll give the little bit that they ask for. It's worth it to me, but not required by either.

thanks, MountainMudbug! i'm off to change my settings!!

Wow... i am amazed by the creativity and generosity going on here! If someone gets a chance, I would love some help with an avatar. I had one for about a minute, but I was embarassed because it just wasn't right and there are some really great ones in this forum. I am a female and I use a sportrak pro. I am an ice hockey goalie and I was hoping to somehow incorporate gc into a goalie theme... Any ideas would be great. Thanks!

hmm. well, if the vast majority of geocachers are not happy with this site and it's owners and don't want to pay, they don't have to. it's not mandatory. does it make it easier? yes. i am on a very limited budget, but geocaching, for me, is a priority, so i forked it over. i can afford $2.50 a month to get those features. they are worth that price to me. and i am willing to pay to support something that is worthwhile. just like paying to register GSAK. not required, but worth the small amount of money to show your support. i think most people don't use the forums because they don't do forums. how did you arrive at the conclusion that the vast majority aren't here because they are tired of nonsense and don't like the site or its owners? did they post that? pay or don't pay. it's optional. and as for members only caches... i have yet to see one. why does everyone complain about this?

flopka, i am a younger woman who sometimes caches alone. i know exactly what you're talking about. i hope i don't offend any of the men who've responded, but i don't know if some of them can quite put themselves in the shoes of a 5'3 woman walking by herself in a remote area of a preserve. yes, auto accidents are far more likely. yes, people would be highly unlikely to use the geocaching website to find locations where some women may show up alone looking for caches. i think some caches are probably in areas, though that some surreptitious people would be more likely to lurk. but using your instinct is always key. i can tell you that there have been a couple times where men walking in the woods or even on paths have really creeped me out simply because there was really no one else around and you just never know. i have done a cache in a location that is only 1.3 miles away from my house in a nature preserve where a woman was sexually assaulted several years ago. i have done a cache in a location that is in another preserve a mile away where a body was dumped within the past year. i don't live in a high crime area, but i do go to locations where things like that are possible. squirrels moving suddenly in the woods tend to scare the bejesus out of me. i take care to be very alert when i am caching alone, but i know that i am pretty vulnerable. i've taken a judo class, but to be honest, i'm sure i would be pretty easy to overpower. i have taken a riflery class, but i don't feel comfortable carrying a hand gun, so it would be more dangerous to me to carry one. and as the sunset here in michigan comes earlier and earlier, i find that i really shouldn't be doing those after work caches by myself because it's getting dark too early (plus i'm slow at finding the caches and that doesn't help ). i have a team of caching buddies, so i am lucky. the team with which i cache got me started on this game and it's nice to be able to call them up and ask if they would be willing to do a cache with me. in fact, one of those two caches that i mentioned above we ended up doing together because there are some places where even the two of them together felt a bit creeped out. it's valid to feel nervous. it's good to be aware that you are feeling nervous. and it's best, of course, to try to find some other cachers that you can go with. strength in numbers, right? and going in the middle of the day is probably safer than going very early or late in the day, as twilight hits. i will probably look for some mace type stuff to hang on my backpack strap so i have something available at the ready. but i will also try not to put myself in questionable situations. it's hard because i wish i could be caching all the time! all in all, it's important to remember that this is a game. when you don't feel safe at a particular cache location or approaching one, turn around. it's not fun if you're scared to be caching, and that's what this is about. if the cache isn't fun, stop doing it. come back to it later and preferrably with another person/people/adult.

hey, the outdoor research sombrero is a bit cheaper at rei: OR sombrero at REI you all have me wanting to go caching in the rain!

used deoderant? a cup/jockstrap? wha?? i found a FTF prize that was a nice multitool/knife. nice prize, but it seems pretty explicit in the rules that knives are inappropriate. speaking of explicit, i found a sig card that has a naked betty boop picture on it next to the cacher's name. with all the details. not too happy about finding that.

this is some really good input. i have been planning on placing my first two caches for the past few weeks. my ammo box has been sitting next to my desk for two of those weeks and my decon box has been camo taped for one. i've been trying to think of what would be appropriate FTF prizes. i'm on a kind of limited budget, but i'd like to put something decent in the caches. i think i'll go ahead and put them out stocked well, but not out of my budget and now i won't feel quite as bad. small, GC stuff should be appropriate, no? you all rock.

I've started decrypting the hints ahead of time. It seems like the use of hints by different cache owners really varies. Some use clever clues that don't quite make sense until you're out at or near the cache site. I love those! Others give it away in the clue. It's hard to know when to decrypt it. I am grateful for owners who let you know that they give it away in the hint so you know not to decrypt it right away. I was really annoyed by one owner who put an encrypted hint on the page. I was stumped, so I decrypted it trailside... it said "you shouldn't need a hint, silly" or something to that effect. If I didn't think I needed a hint, I wouldn't have bothered to decrypt it. I think it's nice to have hints in case a cacher really can't find it.

OMG, drat! Those DNFs had me rolling! I am a believer of logging DNFs. I have had a few different reactions to DNFs from a couple different cache owners: On one multicache, the owner saw that a couple DNFs showed up (I had gone with another geocaching team) and he went out to check on it. He was kind enough to check on it right away, post a note and email both of us. The problem ended up being that he writes his 4s (does that need an apostrophe? ) with a closed top and we mistook the 4 in the coordinates from one stage for a 9. When he emailed us to check the coordinates that we had, he immediately recognized the problem. He has since added that info to the hint and the next finder after us said that that info had been helpful. On another multicache, I can barely get a response from the owner. The cache hasn't been found since May 15. My DNF makes four DNFs in a row. I had taken the same geocaching friend with me as it was relatively late in the day and this park is in a kind of sketchy neighborhood (geocaching alone in the dark = bad!). After much looking on my own, she tried helping me and we were unable to find the first stage. She showed me where the final stage was supposed to be (we decided to check since there had been 3 DNFs) and it was gone also. I emailed the cache owner and sent pics of the location without the cache at least 4 days ago and still no response, no note. I even saved him the trip out to check on the cache by sending the pics. I have really enjoyed reading some of the thoughts on this thread. I plan on continuing to log my DNFs on the caches on which I am able to make serious attempts. I've also learned not to post the half-hearted attempts as DNFs. I'm still learning the etiquette. Thanks!

i, too, am a lurker. still a noob. still getting the ins and outs of everything. i enjoy reading the posts and sitting back to marvel at all the different people and the trememdous amount of creativity that many ppl here have. this is one thread where i feel like i can contribute, because i do lurk. lots of great info in these forums and it enables my newest addiction. i spend way to much time on geocaching now!

wow! this is really sad. i'm pretty new to geocaching and it's really gotten me into the outdoors a lot more and you would think that park and forest people would encourage people to come enjoy it. gc encourages picking up litter, not disturbing the area and being generally no disruptive to the environment! yay CITO! i am also surprised by it because i just learned about an account created by huron-clinton (detroit area) metroparks (user: metroparks) where THEY are placing caches and encouraging people to go. i think that is totally cool and i'm heading over there to do some this weekend! i don't mind paying a reasonable fee to get into a state park, and i wouldn't be opposed to getting a permit and checking on a placed cache every month. i think that is a reasonable request. having to renew a permit every three months seems a bit much, but once a year seems about right. can't we just get along with them!? i think some (little) people do have the big egos and are a bit too protective. what do they want to do, hide the parks and forests away so no one can go even enter them? eh, i'll keep going where i can go to cache. now i'm afraid to place a cache!

I have two questions and wanted to save space. Please pardon this newbie. 1. I swear that I read a post in the forums about Magellan having a trade in program. Does anyone know where I can find info on this? 2. I'm looking for someone who has a nonworking Sportrak Pro that they would be willing to sell. I spilled some bugspray on mine. It functions perfectly, just difficult to see through the plastic cover. All I need to do is replace the outside case, so if anyone has a spare that would be willing to sell me one, please email or pm me. Thanks! vree13