katybird
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Everything posted by katybird
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quote:Originally posted by Eswau:High power and experimental rocketry. http://www.tripoli.org/photo.htm Though it gets way too expensive and is really getting beat up with the new Homeland Security Laws. Eswau Judging from your avatar, I'd say you're into African American folk art, as well. Assuming I remember that jug correctly.
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I like to read, watch movies, drink martinis, surf the 'net, and bet on horses at the track. Oh, and I enjoy walking around cities, shopping and eating and drinking all day long. Geocaching is the only "nature-oriented" thing I do. I'll admit to not caching as much as I'd like because I'm sorta ambivalent about nature, and don't like being in the woods by myself. I'm afraid of spiders/ticks/poison ivy/the Blair Witch. I can walk forever, though, and I do enjoy getting sweaty and coming home all dirty and thinking "That was great! Let's fix ourselves a martini!"
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I kinda wish I hadn't been told that was Dillinger. I liked to think he was a cross between Clark Gable and John Waters. I actually loved that avatar, and thought he was kinda cute. On another forum I participate in, the subject of "why do women like jerks?" merged into "why do so many famous murderers get fan mail from women?" I guess the fact that I thought Dillinger was cute would sorta make me one of those women.
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Geocachers and the scrapbookers who love them
katybird replied to Dinoprophet's topic in General geocaching topics
Yeah, I hear about this scrapbooking thing, and it sounds intriguing, but I'm not sure my life is interesting enough. No, actually, my life is VERY interesting, but it doesn't "go" with the usual motifs of pretty decoupage and little ribbons and pressed flowers. So, my stuff sits in boxes. Except for a couple of things I've done with photos/train ticket stubs/museum tickets/journals from trips abroad. -
quote:Originally posted by sbell111: quote:Originally posted by katybird:...Boxes of 8 crayons were 2 for $1. You might want to toss the crayons in a ziplock before putting them in a cache. That way, if (when?) they melt, they won't get all over anything and no one will have to relive your 'gumball' experience. That's a good idea! I already tend to put things that could get soggy (beanie babies, decks of cards) in baggies. I think crayons would be good in baggies for your reason, and because it would keep the cardboard dry... as well as just keep the crayons clean, neat, and appealing.
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quote:Originally posted by mrkablooey:maybe wait a week or two to see if Garmin follows with price drops to make up for expired rebates. it's a typical retail "trick" so hold off a bit if you haven't bought already! ~robert You see, now, this is exactly the crux of this thread: There are those who can wait a couple of weeks before buying their gpsr and those who can not. I could not. I wanted to go hunting RIGHT AWAY. I was able to read these forums enough to find out what everyone thinks of the yellow etrex, and I sent away for it within hours of discovering this site. It really all comes down to temperment. I've seen people on this thread argue for and against going ahead and getting the yellow etrex. Both sides are right - it just depends on how you see things. Are you a person who loves gadgets? Do you think you'll eventually have more money? Can you stand to wait several weeks before going hunting? Do you like to have every modern convenience. Do you plan to travel far afield and search in unfamiliar places? That's all that matters.
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They didn't sign the online log, just the book. I know it was the person who was there just before me, and I think they said it was their first day of caching. I wrote something about it on the online log, just in case they were following up with the cache.
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I took my roommate out for a couple of caches today for her first excursion. She definitely went for the useful items - a tiny screwdriver set, a pack of bug repellent wipes. I, on the other hand, think in terms of what I've already collected - I like to look at my items grouped on their shelf. I tend to pick small, iconic things like a marble, a rubber ball, a wooden alphabet block. Today I removed two dirty golfballs from a cache as well as took bugwipes for my friend, and a plastic glow-in-the-dark witch for myself. I simply wanted to "clean out" and edit the cache. Who wants to find dirty golf balls? I like the idea of finding, as I said before, clean, new, colorful things. Dirty, used things are depressing. Since I took so much, I left a lot: 2 little-girl let's-play-dress-up plastic rings, 2 "hotwheels" cars, one of those little puzzles where you move the tiles around to get the picture, a squirt gun, and my signature item (just started it today): one of those little puzzles where you move it around to get a BB to go around the maze to the center (they're good because they're a colorful disk of plastic and you can write on the back of them with a permanant marker.) At the earlier cache, we found truly useful items - a miniature flashlite keychain (brand new, still in package) and a tiny screwdriver set. I left a magnifying glass (a real one, not just a little plastic one), silly putty, a hotwheel, and my signiture puzzle. I don't know if that counts as trading "up" but at least I put more items in than I took out, and they were all new. Now, I've read the threads on this topic, and from what I can see, adults are more likely to go for the fun of the hunt, while kids actually want STUFF. So, my stuff tends to be somewhat kid-oriented. Still, my roommate has shown me that somebody WILL appreciate little items of useful hardware and such. Oooh! I had to edit this to add: My roommate, who prefers to sit on the sofa, decided she'd prefer to participate in the future by giving me all sorts of fun stuff. She's one of those pack-rat people who never, ever threw anything away as a child. She has boxes and boxes of little trinkets. She gave me rubber frogs and snakes, mirrored disco ball review mirror hangers, goofy little action figures, Magic 8-Ball keychains, funny jewelry, and more silly stuff than you can imagine. [This message was edited by katybird on July 09, 2003 at 02:48 PM.]
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It took almost a year, but ...
katybird replied to Prime Suspect's topic in General geocaching topics
I like that the guy to find it found it as his very first find! Wow! The description of the hike would make me not even want to attempt it. I'm not one of those types of people who wants to break their neck miles from civilization. However, for those who do like that sort of thing, you can't beat something like watching a glacier calve! -
Alternate Mosquito Repellents - Backpacker Mag. Article
katybird replied to Aronius's topic in General geocaching topics
If you've found something that works for you, that's great. However, I'm not going to try anything that's "hemp based." Not because I think there's anything wrong with hemp per se, but because I figure they're only using it because, it's like, hemp, dude, which is like, you know, totally natural and groovy. I used to live in Berkeley and I've seen all manner of "hemp" things sold by hippies. None of it looked like something that couldn't be made better out of some other substance. One thing being a female consumer has taught me: ingredients of cosmetics are often based on stupid associations. Like shampoos with "mink oil." What, is that supposed to make my hair all glossy and luxurious like a mink coat? What if mule sweat made my hair luxurious, do you think Revlon would bother to market THAT? -
I try to take something as a souvenire from each cache. It could be a neat marble with swirls inside, or something like that. However, I think that I am definitely a good "leaver" - I've noticed that my stuff has been snapped up by the next people to visit the caches. Personally, I think it's depressing to find a cache with nothing "neat" in it. I don't care about valuable items - I care about clean, intact items. Yesteray, I spent about $16 at dollar store, and I got some NICE swag. I got a lot of those party-favor toys that come in multipacks - like three squirt guns for a dollar. I also payed more for some things - I got yo-yos that light up for $2 apiece. Boxes of 8 crayons were 2 for $1. You can get five little matchbox cars for $1. Those are small, so you can leave a couple of them in one cache. I got little decks of cards ($5 for a dollar) and playdough (well, generic "play putty) for a dollar per "egg." I also got these little toy "let's play dress up" rings (9 for 1$) because they're little and cute and a nice thing to drop in "extra." These are just things *I* think are cute. I'm sure many adults wouldn't enjoy them, but at least what I'm leaving is new, clean, and colorful.
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quote:Originally posted by dogastus:I'm very new to this and found my first 2 caches last Saturday. What I found with both of them was that they were wet inside. So I decided that it would be friendly, in the future, to bring along some 'maintenance' items. So I would bring some tissues or kitchen towel to dry out the cache, some poly zipper bags to help keep the contents dryer, and some spare pens so I could leave one if there wasn't one. I think if everyone helped in maintaining any caches they find, it would make for a better experience for future finders. Nigel I agree - yesterday, I had to use my shirttail to clean up after some idiot who had put in A GUMBALL, then not sealed the container. A towel is simply a handy thing to have, anyway. Good idea!
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quote:Originally posted by Renegade Knight:Well... True enough. A squared plus B squared equils C squared. C is the long leg. Drawing it helps. I remember that from school - but I tell you - I have NEVER used that in the 15 years since I last HAD to know it! LOL!
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Am I the only person who, when reading this thread, found themselves sort of scratching and itching and reflexively looking down at their ankles? I'm glad to know that I'm not being a sissy about ticks. I HATE creepy crawlies, and I thought that I'd just need to get some pals to make the woods less threatening to me. (Yeah, I cache alone, but only in suburban parks where I'm unlikely to wander off and die, and if I fall and break my ankle, somebody would probably hear me yelling from their back yard.) Anyway, I'm both comforted and alarmed to hear that I'm NOT being a hysterical sissy. Thanks for the tips on permathrin. I think that, coupled with lots of DEET on the skin, should help me feel better. BTW, would it even do me any good to look up "brown recluse" or is it true that they're perfectly ordinary-looking little spiders that I probably wouldn't get a chance to ID, anyway, so why scare the beejeezus out of myself?
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quote:Originally posted by EraSeek:Yes. I've run into to other cachers more times than I can count. Introduce yourself and join forces. It is the only way. Every other method just ends up seeming ridiculous. It always cracks me up when I see someone trying to hide their GPS. http://img.Groundspeak.com/user/4497_300.jpg _"See the wonderous works of Providence! The uncertainty of human things!" Geo.Washington_ Yeah, I see logs where people say "Ran into Team Rabbitfoot and went away for a few minutes while they searched for the cache." That seems so weird to me. Why not just look TOGETHER? However, it makes me think that if I suggested it, the other party might say "Um, no, we want to find this for OURSELVES." Which is kind of how I react when I'm running the pool table at the bar and somebody comes up and asks if they and their SO can play "doubles."
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quote:Originally posted by rolltidekid:Is it proper to approach other geocashers who are already at the cashe site? Um, yeah, of course. How else are you going to fight them to the death if you won't even get close to them?
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quote:Originally posted by Renegade Knight:Pythagriams theorom will solve the problem if you draw it out. I could of spelled Pythragiams wrong. Do the math in UTM it's easier. and there are programs out there that will solve the problem. Something tells me that, if I even knew what you were talking about, I'd know how to triangulate.
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Yeah, I need a compass. Thus far, I've been able to rely on the sun. Today, I even had the presence of mind to LOOK AT THE SUN and NOTE IT'S POSITION when I was in a clearing. That way, when I found myself going backwards and forwards and looking around, I could say "OK, that's West" because your GPSr will be completely confused. Now, I'm not too good at this thing in the woods. I've found that, if I'm following the trail, and the trail takes a sharp turn, I'm screwed. Of course, I can TELL that the arrow is pointing "over there" and the sharp turn is going to get me "over there" - but when I get "there" my GPSr might not have recovered its bearings. To be honest, sharp turns throw off the GPS when you're in a field, too. I just don't have any problems in fields because I don't have to make sharp turns. People talk about stopping and letting the gps "settle" - I think, although I'm not sure, that this means something when you have a model that "averages" coordinates. I know that my model does not "average." I don't think it DOES "settle down." No, wait, I think I noticed, while I was sitting on a bench, filling out the log, that the pointer did eventually seem to end up pointing directly at the hiding spot. However, I DO know that moving in a straight line is the best way to get my doo-hickey back on track. Of course, it's usually a straight line back up the trail, and when I turn around to go back, I'm screwed up again. So, I had an unsuccesful search today, but that was based on two things: not having enough faith in my unit, and not WANTING to believe that it was right. It was pointing at a spot off the trail in a bunch of bushes and mud and plants with "leaves of three." I didn't WANT to go look over there. Got home, read the hint... it was where the thing told me it was. So, I need two things: a compass (so I can just say "OK, time to stop looking at the gps and start looking") and a hunting companion who would make digging around in mud and shrubs FUN.
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I've been thinking about that, too. From what I've gathered at this site/on these forums, people have varying ideas of what makes a "Good" site. I do know that you ought to strictly obey the rules (which are listed on this site somewhere) regarding private property, environmental and archaological fragility, and common sense. Personally, I don't want to climb around in a whole bunch of briars. I also don't want to go sticking my hands into any holes in the ground (one of the first newspaper articles I read on the subject described the hide as being in an abandoned fox den. I would imagine that in many parts of the US, that sort of thing can get you bitten by something very nasty!) My second find was right smack-dab in the middle of a LOT of poison ivy, under a rock, next to a rotting log. A spider crawled up my arm and I ended up flinging the box and having to gather the contents back up (out of the poison ivy. Yeah, I'm a dweeb.) I think I'll either get over my heebie-jeebies, or start taking someone less squeamish with me. OTOH, many urban, virtual caches seem like a total waste of time to me. There's one nearby here that is a large local landmark (the World Peace Bell in Newport, KY). I walk or drive by it all the time. Why would I bother to use a gps to get there, just to take a digital picture of myself standing there? A virtual cache could be cool, but the ones I've seen posted (downtown Philadelphia is full of them, since most of the truly great historic sites are off-limits. There is even concern about terrorism at some of these sites.) Personally, I like finding the actual cache - be it a film canister just big enough to hold a scrolled paper log, or a tupperware box full of toys. I know that there are many people here who just LOVE to go off in the direction of their GPS arrow, prefering to slog through mires and climb overgrown, thorny hills. There are also people who wish there were more handicapped-friendly caches. I do know that people tend to like to discover new places/see interesting things. If you can give them a bit of local history, or a magnificent view, they'll be grateful. I'd say, read the rules on where you can go, then just go with what YOU like to do. Maybe you like seeing rattle snakes and scorpions, maybe you like finding little hidden logbooks in public places that require stealth. Go with it!
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Yeah, I've noticed things like that, too - the geocacher logo or something. I think people just make 'em, then print them out.
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quote:Originally posted by seeker22:What are antenna balls? Maybe Arizona specific. Maybe even Phoenix South Mountain specific. I THINK what you're asking is "What do people mean when they say "took keychain, left antenna ball." If so, then I know what they are - they're those little things that you can stick on the end of your car antenna. You know, like the little orange "76" balls that the gas station used to give away. They're just a silly decoration.
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quote:Originally posted by BrianSnat:Its a fine unit for geocaching, but the data cable is a $30 add on and the data cable is an important feature. You _will_ need one. [This message was edited by BrianSnat on July 05, 2003 at 05:01 PM.] Why will I need one?
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quote:Originally posted by utedude:sounds great to me but then we are a little weird over here in oz. We got folk over here that like going geocaching in the nude hey wait wait wait I gotta good one, why dont you combine horror and nudity and call it the vouyer cache or something. IN the NUDE??? I'm waaaaay too paranoid about ticks, chiggers, and poison ivy for that! Actually, I was at my second find, when I read in the log book "I've never seen so much poison ivy in one place." I looked around me and saw that I was surrounded by "leaves of three." Figured I ought to get online and refresh my Girl Scout training ASAP! Spent last night reading about poison ivy and ticks. Am now tempted to stick to urban microcaches. LOL!
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I'd say GO FOR IT! You can have that sucker in your hot, grubby little hands in minutes. Personally, I didn't want to wait a few weeks to get more money so I could upgrade to a bunch of stuff I didn't really understand. I'll probably meet someone with the Excelsior Ultra-Poop Triple Platinum Model someday, who will show me what it can do "See, it emits a sub-audible whine that repels insects while attracting the opposite sex, it tells you how close you are to the catch, and that you're damned sexy, to boot..." Then, I'll say "Oooh! I need to upgrade to one of those! At which point, I can either keep my eTrex as a backup, or sell it to someone for more than half of what I paid for it.
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I just starting caching this week, and noticed the Ladybuggers were at a couple of finds the day before me. They somehow seemed so friendly, that I thought I'd email them, and they're emailed me back. I'd be VERY interested in getting involved. It would be fun to explore the region together with a group. xoxoKatybird