PhxChem
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Posts posted by PhxChem
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And, sometimes, you breathe deeply, say "Oh, well", and continue on with life.
Unless you feel that there is a particular reason that that particular cache MUST be archived? Have you found the 'absolutely most perfect spot for a cache" and that cache is getting in your way? (I'll admitting that about a few caches... They just irritated me... (Cache owner missing for a year. First stage missing for ten months. Final missing for six months.) (Or: coords about a mile off. CO lives 100 miles away, and has hidden one cache, and not found any...) Other than that, I just say "Oh, well".
Sometimes I have had such a bad experience with a cache, filled with water, cache owner MIA, I just don't want others to waste time on such a piece of.....um.....badly maintained cache.
As a matter of fact, I'd rather just not find a cache than find one chock full of mildew (yes, even caches in AZ can have this problem)....
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Nawww.... sorry, but I can't agree with you, in this case, at least. They had reasonable doubt that it was a bomb. As I pointed out, that Coke can or "empty" McDonald's bag in the ditch nearby is just as likely to be a bomb. The ONLY thing (based on the information that we have available to us) that made the cache "more likely" was the call that reported it as a bomb.
You know, I honestly think this has more to do with it than anything, in this and in many similar cases. These guys aren't stupid. Yeah, they weren't 100% sure... but are you ever, about anything? Are they 100% sure that the Coke can that might have been lying 10 feet away wasn't filled with explosives? Of course not! And once they had the information from the geocaching cop. they were much more than 1% sure that it was NOT a geocache, yet they chose to go ahead with their "drill".At least the cops got some practice at defusing a situation.They were just found this to be a perfect excuse for a drill.
Bombs are rarely about terrorists. Kids make bombs for fun. Do a simple Google search and you will find online detailed instructions to make bombs out of just about anything.
We public don't hear a lot about it but EOD guys sure do.
So, put yourself in their shoes. You know from observation and experience that bombs are in fact quite common and are frequently created in a huge variety of containers. Most bombs aren't meant to cause damage, they're created for kicks. Who would hang a bomb on a road sign? The same people who would spray paint graffiti on it.
So someone tells you "I think somebody hung a bomb on that sign... see that thing hanging on the back of it? How about you check it out for me?"
Someone else tells you "Nah, I don't think that's a bomb, I think it's just a geocache... I saw on the internet that there's supposed to be a geocache there. You know, a geocache, one of those things somebody hides somewhere."
You don't really think it's a bomb, but more than anything else you want to go home physically intact.
Are you going to say "Well, it may not be a bomb, I reckon I'll just mosey over there and open it, see if anything blows up."
Or are you gonna treat it as if you know for a fact that it is dangerous and do whatever needs to be done to render it safe?
My bet is you'll render it safe without hesitation.
You in fact CAN be 100% certain that if you treat every suspicious package as if you knew it to be a bomb that it won't surprise you.
EOD is kind of like the old saying about pilots - There are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots!
Hello, exactly! Apparently, the bomb "expert" is the person who finds it and calls it in. I'm guessing the ball gets rolling when the guy who might have 0% knowledge of bombs called it one. Which means, the bomb squad, in essence, is relying on regular Joe's to determine if it's a bomb.
Need trash in a ditch picked up? Call it in as a bomb!
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"Beta finder"? Really?
Is that the second Greek person to find your cache?
Tomorrow, I'm releasing a beta version of a cache......once I find out what that means.
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I'll go you one further. Ban caches placed in parking lots.
My only problem with this idea is that I'm not overly fond of outright bans on any specific locations. I agree that it would likely have the desired effect, in that less cachees would get an unexpected introduction to a water cannon, however I think that's analogous to using a sledge hammer to swat a mosquito. I also don't think Groundspeak would support your idea any more than they would mine, as both would result in a decrease of income for their company. In today's world, profit margins trump common sense every time.
This thread isn't about you. It's about marking cache containers. Please stay on topic. thanks
There's no need to be snippy....seriously, what's the problem? 
Do we need to now write all our posts in 3rd person?
PhxChem would not like that!!
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I doubt very much if these people would have gotten in the trouble they did if they were using a good old road atlas.
GPSr are a great comfort to those that can't navigate but it also puts them in situations that they otherwise wouldn't be in.
As do road maps, since you can never be sure you're on the road you think you're on.....or at the location you think you are.....
Let's face it, some people just do not have common sense.
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IMO, there should be a "stupid fee". If you do something stupid and have to be rescued from the mess you created, you need to be charged/fined for it. Doesn't matter if it's SAR or service-based businesses. If I screw something up maintaining my car or bicycle, the repair shop should charge me extra for bailing me out. Make stupidity hurt and people might start to make better decisions.
We have something like that here in Arizona that pertains to trying to cross a flooded road. We unabashedly call it the "Stupid Motorist Law".
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I must be the only one with this method but.....I usually drill some small holes into the plastic in the area the magnet will cover. Then I apply JB Weld to the surface allowing it to get into the holes (you can use tape on the other side of the plastic so the JB Weld will stop at the inside surface). Seems to work.....
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In another thread I mentioned that historical sites are often wrong, and that the history we learned in school is very often wrong as well.
That got me to thinking about some books I had read a while back that I really enjoyed,
Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong
and
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
by James Loewen.
After you play this game a while everything takes on a geocaching perspective, so this made me think
"Wouldn't a nationwide cache series marking incorrect historical sites, with an explanation in the description of how and why it was wrong, be a kewl thing?"
"Why yes," said I to me, "It would!"
So, I shall begin tomorrow to find sites in my area where history has gone wrong, and I invite you to do the same. Hide caches at or near these sites and explain the true history.
Then let's create a bookmark list of History Gone Wrong caches across the nation.
Join me, we'll have some fun, hide and seek interesting caches and maybe learn a thing or two along the way!
Just do good research and source citation... you wouldn't want to place a History Gone Wrong cache and have it pointed out that you were wrong!
For instance: Explorer Desoto discovered what is now the State of Alabama, right? Of course that's right, it's in all the history books! There are many historical plaques and signs and such to commemorate it, it has to be right.
Except... it's not.
One of the easiest to research and best-documented cases of History Gone Wrong can be found in http://books.google.com/books?id=Tld5AAAAM...snum=4#PPA13,M1 page 13, Section 1. Thus all memorials of Desoto discovering Alabama are now considered by scholars to be wrong... lots of monuments exist to state (incorrectly) his discovery, each one a great location for a History Gone Wrong cache!
Well.....of course De Soto didn't discover Alabama. Heck, how can any European claim discovery of something with people living there already?
Just saying.....
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When I attempt to run a PQ using a map made using Groundspeak's version of Google maps, I keep getting a generic error. In this case, I'm not selecting to actually run it, I'm just trying to preview it. The moment I hit submit......error time!
I actually even tried maps which I made before using KML in Google Earth.....still not working. It was actually working fine earlier today.
Anyone else....?
Uh oh....I just had a thought......I think I need to delete a couple of my pocket queries...boy do I feel silly....
BTW, why isn't there a SPECIFIC error for that?
(Now I'll just slink off....nothing to see here....theses aren't the droids we're looking for)
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I've been lucky enough to get a few lucky numbers that can relate to the cache.
You can try luck.....or, you can fill out a ton of submission forms until you get something....THEN submit the cache. I realize it's not the "whole universe is working together way," but I figure that's how most people get these "lucky" numbers/letters anyway....
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As a solo female cacher, I have been placed in situations I have been uncomfortable in whilst caching on more than one ocasion...
For you men, it's probably less of a worry - but trust me... there have been some VERY scary moments for me out caching on my own... and I'm not stupid, and never take uncalculated risks....
I for one would welcome the attribute.
What is an "uncomfortable situation?" And how will we determine if everyone will be "comfortable?"
These ideas seem a little nebulous....could you give some specific examples?
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When I attempt to run a PQ using a map made using Groundspeak's version of Google maps, I keep getting a generic error. In this case, I'm not selecting to actually run it, I'm just trying to preview it. The moment I hit submit......error time!
I actually even tried maps which I made before using KML in Google Earth.....still not working. It was actually working fine earlier today.
Anyone else....?
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Do you think GS would support PQ's by carrier pigeons?
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how about getting a "needs handholding" attribute attached to some users?
Highlighting the perceived mis-perception of your activities by others in "sensitive" areas might not even cross a cachers mind.
There is a case in Kent where a male cacher was collared by a pair of drunken thugs in a park and because he had a bag of cache swaps (ie kiddie toys) they assumed he was "a paedo" and proceeded to beat the guy senseless resulting in a stay in hospital.
I don't know that this is a hand-holding nanny state attribute, but just an option to focus the attention on a potential risk and a wasted journey.
(edited by moderator for potty language)
Every cache run is a potential wasted journey. What does being beaten up by drunken thugs have to do with an attribute? Are playgrounds the only place drunks congregate?
Yes, the world is dangerous...if need be, stay indoors.
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ALR
Besides, the mere logging of your cache would negate the loggers qualifications to log the cache--if it were a true Challenge cache.
Did someone just describe the plot to Back to the Future IV?
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I want to join the Navy but have absolutely no idea why....
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Yup, so a nice friendly outing with the kids is now turned into a PIA situation.
That's pretty much any outing with the kids!
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The KFC was closed, hence I figured it was OK to park there. I was actually trying to not cram the Clarion hotel lot full of cars, thinking the guests staying there might want a place to park.though it was a little hard to discern where the KFC lot ended and the Clarion beganI honestly thought when I parked that it was common parking for both businesses.
I know it sucks you got towed, but at least try to be honest here. Your story seems to be evolving to take the blame off of you.
Most of us here are not trying to be mean, but by posting here, you asked for our opinion. Unfortunately, it was not the one you thought you were going to get. Don't let this experience on the boards sour you.
Yeah, the $150 in cash vs. $95 does sound shady....
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My bug has a specific goal. If it survives to reach the goal, I will attempt to retreav it and remove it from the pool. I have no idea how long it will take, and I would hate to have it expire before it finished.
Most bugs now have goals that amount to "go as far as I can" or "go to as many caches as I can". It would be nice if these had an expiry date. It is only fun for so long.
Fun for whom? Shouldn't the owner decide if they want to continue the fun instead of someone who is apparently all TBed out?
And...is this REALLY a problem?
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Of course there is nothing to say that this TB et al can't get spammed with "notes" from cachers in such a quantity that it would be annoying for the "owners" every time they open their email.
You don't need a TB code to post notes.
So getting a bunch of people to view and log this spam bug would be exactly what the owner doesn't want?
I say ignore it completely.
BlueDeuce is in on it, too! By saying not to go and look at it....I WANT to do it....NOW!!
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It is still broken!!!
No it's not. It's working just fine...both old and new queries I just tested arrived in less than a minute.
According to the post after yours, by Elias, you were WRONG......AGAIN..
Actually, it's not "broken." If a couple of PQ get flagged for whatever reason, it does not mean that entire sytem is system is still broken....
And what's with all the yelling and grumpiness?
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So I was searching through some of the store links from the GC adverts and saw a container that they called a big micro (or something like that). Looked like it was a painted soda bottle cap.
As so often happens when I see stuff (like when I go to craft shows), my first thought was, "I could make that."
So I headed down to the laboritory (I know...sp...but it's almost Halloween!) and let the mad scientist juices start to flow.
This first one is pretty close to what the one on the site looked like except theirs is painted flat black. I cut the bottle off at the lip just below the cap, sanded the bottom flat and then glued on a piece of plastic I cut from the center of the bottle. I glued a little rare-earth magnet inside and then painted the plastic bit silver figuring I'll put it on the base of a guardrail or other silver sign post type thing, hopefully the base will blend in and it'll just look like a bottle cap laying there at first glance.
Another method might be to get some of the cheap $2-3 contact lens cases, cut them apart and trim the extra plastic off.
I actually have 2 contact lens types, painted, out in the field. So far, so good. I'll have to go grab a picture of one or two....
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Not working for me either.
There's still the annoying but non-critical issue with the "Add to queue" button not greying out, and now this.
It doesn't seem to me that Groundspeak is doing too much fpr their $30, as PQ is a PM-only feature
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FWIW....I wouldn't assume, however, that your $30 is only going to premium services....I'm pretty sure it's not.
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Also, I don't want my cache on Magellan products. Have you seen the people who use those?
And on Garmin products, I only want those who own the H series purchased east of the Mississippi to be able to load any of my caches.
There's no need to be snippy....seriously, what's the problem? 
I hurt myself today
in General geocaching topics
Posted
Darn! First thing I thought when I read the title.
And let's be honest, NIN is just Trent Reznor and, oh yeah, there are those other random people he just happens to have on stage.....
What was this thread about again.....addiction?