ecanderson
-
Posts
5645 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by ecanderson
-
-
None of my other caches have been disturbed, but they're all micros or nanos. I had sincerely hoped to keep at least one fairly ordinary "regular" size cache in the area for bug swaps and stuff, but that just may not be possible.I see. I vastly underestimated the size of the park. Are there other caches hidden in the park and are they having the same problem? Otherwise, I have to go with this as the best solution/answer:
Just write "No basura!" on the container with a marker. It means "not trash". We write it on things at work that we don't want the cleaning crew to throw away and I write it on my caches occasionally.
Your main problem is it sounds like a bad location if it's been thrown away twice. Archive it and try somewhere else. There's no shame in admitting that you picked a poor location. Happens all the time.
The one that got muggled certainly didn't get muggled by anyone "passing by" as it was well hidden in an area that gets no nearby pedestrian traffic. Anywhere else, it would easily have been a "safe" hide. But watching these guys work, I'm beginning to think that they don't leave a single bush on the whole bloody 963 acres untended during their semi-annual cleanup sessions. They own enough leaf blowers to move every last grain of sand from the Sahara north into the Med!
-
Appears to have been misdiagnosed. Problem was evidently not in the page itself, but a counter page for which the cache stats page contained a link.Any update to this?
Working for me now. Strangely, the javascript is still there, and looks identical. So either the problem is in the back end, or it was misdiagnosed.
-
The LO is aware of the caches, but the members of the grounds-crew seem to change on a very regular basis and the message obviously isn't being communicated. The LO has plenty to do without worrying over something that isn't a priority to begin with. We're not talking your typical little business park, either. This thing is 963 acres, and while I don't know the total body count for the guys that keep this place tidy, it's considerable. There's trucks and people all over the place all the time. So it's no surprise that word isn't being passed along, and I can't really expect more. The dual language stickers would be a good move, and something I should have thought of before.Good grief.So, have you talked to the land owners and asked them to not have their garden crew remove the cache? Your real issue here is with the land owners and any communication issue between you and them.
Edit: Also understand that the groundskeeping outfit is a contracted company, and that none of these guys work directly for the LO, so it's not like the communication lines are all that tight to begin with.
-
Tried to translate, but "tonto GPS" = "idiot GPS"??? I'll have you know that my Garmin Summit HC is brilliant!"Gringos utilizar este objeto para sus juegos utilizando un tonto GPS. Por favor, no te muevas o tomar este objeto. Gracias!"
I had an ammo can cache muggled recently by the maintenance crew that takes care of our huge business park. While good for the park, these guys make it tough for finding a hide for a larger container. They are exceptionally thorough (good luck finding a single stray leaf in a bush when they're done!).
I hadn't even given thought to needing a dual language geostickers, but having tried to start up a conversation during a break with the guys working around our building, it's clear that some of them have very limited English skills. In retrospect, dual language stickers make a whole lot of sense here, too... but I'm not so sure about "tonto GPS"! Watching is wandering out in the weeds, nos toman por tontos already.
-
I hate fiddling with them, too. However, I understand the need in most cases. Even a mil spec watertight d-con container doesn't work if the finder doesn't snap the lid on properly -- have run across far too many of those. So the CYA approach to avoiding wet logs is to bag it, too. The best container will eventually be foiled by a too-casual finder.I'm not a fan of bags. If the cache can't keep the items inside dry then you need to find a better container.
As for what to do with logs ...
I've run across a couple that were nothing more than moldy paper pulp. I didn't even try to salvage those. Sometimes I'll toss a bagged one in to replace it.
If I can dry one, I'll take the few extra minutes to do so before returning it to the container. Had one hanging out on a piece of barbed wire fence while searching a combo cache/benchmark just recently. Left it to dry while I went off to find the associated benchmark.
If I can't dry one in the time available, and they can still be read at all, I'll replace them with a new log and email the owner asking if they would like to have the original returned. There's no point in leaving a wet log in place to go moldy and illegible.
-
In one of the two local cases that come to mind (and to set aside some guesses above), these roads are not the result of easements from previously private land. "Our fair county" includes a fair bit of federal land within its borders. There are some legacy situations where houses remain on federal land, and many other situations where private property is adjacent to federal land. In both cases, roads exist on federal land that provide access.Perhaps the saddest of the problems of this type are actually caused by local government. We have situations here where roads that can be demonstrated to have been "public" over the course of decades are handed over to well connected private property owners by local government.I don't know about where you live, but around here the local property owners are sometimes offered the ability to buy the right of way. I haven't heard of the government just giving that property away.
I suppose it could happen, not all local governments are the pinnacle of honesty. However, without proof otherwise I would assume the landowner paid for it.
Also some right of ways are on easements, and the easement is suppose to revert back to the property owner if it is no longer going to be used for what the easement was given for. ( not usually relevant to public roads though.)
Let's say that there's a fair bit of weekend 4WD traffic on one of the roads that runs along one side of the federal land, and that this road actually has a real FSR designation number and all. Understand also that this particular road has been in continuous use for at least the last 80 or so years (which in itself answers one of the obvious legal questions).
Let's further assume that there are homeowners out in the boonies across the road from this federal land that don't appreciate the unwashed masses appearing out there on the weekends. They make their appeal to friends in County government, the road is gated and padlocked at its head on a county road, and the keys handed over to the landowners.
From a legal perspective, this behavior by the county is so bizarre on so MANY levels as to defy belief. I was talking to someone from the sheriff's office about the gating and asking his opinion of where he thought the county got off gating off FSR roads that weren't and never would be in the county's inventory of rights of way. He chuckled and just shrugged -- he knows as well as the rest of us that it doesn't make sense, but the county writes his check every month.
-
Naw - even cake eaters can have coordinates.Rather than "the great unwashed" (earlier post), or Plebs, or muggles ...
"The uncoordinated"? (pun intended)
Oh, you mean cake eaters?
-
The attempted conversion of public property for private use is a battle that goes on constantly. While I would not necessarily bother to fight those battles in the context of a geocache, they are certainly worth fighting. I've also run across attempts by local landowners to convince the unaware that public land or roads are private when they are not.
Perhaps the saddest of the problems of this type are actually caused by local government. We have situations here where roads that can be demonstrated to have been "public" over the course of decades are handed over to well connected private property owners by local government. Good grief, we even have problems with the local county gating or otherwise blocking off Forest Service roads (national) to make local landowners happy. Where they imagine they derive the authority to do that is beyond me. Problem is, they'll blithely ignore FLPMA/RS2477 rules unless someone actually calls them to task. Unfortunately, people are too often unwilling to make the attempt.
At some point, it's incumbent upon us to take issue with this sort of garbage. Again, involving the finders of a cache in the problem isn't fair to the finder, so I'd deal with the issue separately, but I'd certainly make a point of dealing with it.
-
Rather than "the great unwashed" (earlier post), or Plebs, or muggles ...I don't use "muggle" in my logs, but rather "Plebs" a Latin term for common folk.
"The uncoordinated"? (pun intended)
-
Based upon terminology in this thread, I would say that would be 'bad evil', on the order of a nano in a giant rockpile. Nothing original about it -- just a pain in the arse to find.Would a magnetic Nano Cache, on a 7 story steel staircase qualify??
-
I left him a voicemail on Friday afternoon. Was a bit surprised he didn't pick up. He may be traveling.Does anyone know when/if they are working to fix the problem at cacherstats.com? -
I left him a voicemail late Friday afternoon. It's unusual that he didn't pick up, so my best guess is that he is traveling.If problem continues next week I'll send e-mail. I find it hard to believe no one contacted him already. He's probably away for the weekend or something.
-
Ever since I started geocaching about a year and a half ago, I've been a regular customer at the Coleman Outlet Store up in Loveland, CO. They've got stores in 10 different states in about 90 locations. They know why I'm buying all of this stuff, so they are even kind enough to provide a discount. Ponchos for a buck. Coleman lantern LED key fobs for two bucks. Their "survival kit" for two bucks. Little beener/compass thingys for a buck. A package of chemical handwarmers for a buck. They've got all kinds of goodies there.I think what we need is some INSTRUCTIONS on WHERE to get "COOL SWAG.""Regular" size caches almost always get something from my Coleman bag-o-swag unless my supply has been depleted. Yeah, it adds up, but it's cheap entertainment all the same.
I've only taken two swag items in all that time (if you don't count the Mondo whistles we've been collecting for another purpose altogether) - simply because there were only two items that really called my name when I opened the cache. One was a really cool little 3/4" compass rose. The other was a bungee cord that was a perfect fit for the situation in the back of the cachemobile.
-
This is automatic ONLY if you happen to hit one of the "key" caches that causes your information to be queried and added to the list. The statistical model they've used to determine which caches are used for the sample is pretty cool, and it works the vast majority of the time. However, it is possible to have >200 caches and have missed every one of the caches that would trigger your entry in the list. If that happens, you can always ask to have your stat added directly by contacting the owner of the site -- which I intend to do right now since I don't think he realizes he's getting alarms on it at present...did you know if you get over 200 caches you go on a learder board against the whole world -
Contrary to the above, I'd go one step further and recommend the Summit HCx to you. I know a lot of folks with units like the 60Cx that have never even tried to use the real magnetic compass even though they've got one, but once they watch you use your own in tough environments, they start using them right quick. Backing away from a target by 40' and doing a little eyeball triagulation can get you hides under dense trees, near bridges, and here in Colorado, close to canyon walls. It's the least expensive option of the series that gives you the additional tool.Hey,I have been looking for some low-priced GPS. Could anybody give me suggestions of a good starter GPS under $200 canadian. Thanks
-
There are times when I've written precisely that, and have done so by way of apology for the really crappy formatting and upper/lower case and brevity and ... phones aren't always the best logging tools.Well, they sure beatLogged from my phone using [whatever]Those, I hate.
If I happen to hit a FTF (doesn't happen all that often, but it happens), I'll pull out my cell phone to make an initial, brief found log so that all of the regular FTF hounds in my area aren't jumping into their cars and interrupting their lives in an attempt to make the FTF. When I get home, I'll usually edit the log and clean it up so that it's presentable.
-
Guess I'm not clear about what you are trying to do. All geocaching.com coordinates are in DD MM.MMM format, using the WGS84 datum which, unlike some of the older methods that varied by country, is used worldwide. Your GPSr should be set up to deal in both that format and datum.I'm trying to log a new cache in France but can't find a coordinate converter that gives me the correct MinDec etc readings. The converter I use in England doesn't work in France. Any ideas please?
If you're getting hung up because of a puzzle cache that is using a peculiar datum, let us know WHICH one and perhaps we can help.
If your only problem is that you're dealing with DD.DDDDD format vs DD MM.MMM format, that's easy.
".DDDDD" = "MM.MMM" / 60
"MM.MMM" = ".DDDDD" x 60
-
For some folks, it's a social event. I know a couple of older couples that always cache together as a "safety in numbers" sort of thing. Some of our caches can be a little strenuous, and it's nice to have someone along for one of those "just in case" moments. Lost one our charter members out here one year, and while it wasn't possible for his caching buddy to be of any help, it was good that he was there. billzjeep was on the trail geocaching with jeepers1&2 and suffered a massive heart attack. We have an annual CITO event in his honor.Is it just me or does it seem like a lot more geocachers are going out as a group lately.
I've probably done 80% of my caches solo, but have a buddy at work that also caches regularly, and we like to go out during lunch and grab a couple when we can. We also plan weekend bike runs when there's a long string of them somewhere. With two of us, we can drop a pickup vehicle at the other end! And then there's the "buddy system" - I don't think I'd consider some of the mountain caches out here in Colorado without two people. You get dinged up there, and there ain't no cell phone coverage to call someone to drag your sorry cache out of the woods
-
I tend to run about 5% DNFs, if current stats are any indication.
Of that 5% (I've only been at this for about 16 months), I'd say that a good 75% of them have turned out to be missing. Had a rough patch this spring where I'd solved a bunch of puzzles over the winter, and found half of them MIA when I arrived at GZ, confirmed by the owners.
My personal % is made up of several factors. If I arrive on scene during a lunch cache run, I try not to search for caches with 2.5 or higher difficulties. I know I can't devote the necessary time to those at lunch, and save them for the weekends. That helps a lot to keep the DNF rate down. If I DO get silly and tackle a 3.0 during lunch, but can only spend 10 minutes looking (typically not nearly enough for a 3.0), I'll take a couple of lunch passes at it before recording the DNF if I have no luck. No sense raising red flags when the lack of looking on my part is the problem.
Another reason for the relatively low DNF rate is that we've got quite a few easy ones around my area.
-
The geocaching.com site points to the following rating suggestions http://www.clayjar.com/gcrs/That all makes perfect sense to me. Since the difficulty and terrain rating are 100% objective with NO types of guidelines to follow. (At least none that I have been able to find on geocaching.com) It is hard to determine what is the appropriate difficulty and terrain rating to put.
I say that.. because what seems easy for me, is difficult for others, as well as some being easy for others that I find difficult! Same thing goes for terrain. I have climbed many a mountains. So what is easy for me is obviously more difficult for others.
When you create the entries for your caches, on the "Report/Edit a Cache Listing" page, right next to where you select the difficulty and terrain ratings, you'll find that link.
-
Wouldn't be the first time it has happened to me. Spend the winter solving puzzles (hardcopy) and the spring finding them. Unfortunately, found too many muggled that way, too. Serves me right for not looking back on gc.com before heading out, but of all the ones that bite me, it's puzzles previously solved where it takes me some time to get out to the final.There is an archived mystery cache that folks log all the time. Sometimes 10-15 logs a week. I think it is somewhere in Seattle.
Jim
-
Let's set aside the issue of bookmarks for a moment and point out how many shades of gray there are in this.True.
It also seems that challenge owners (& other bookmarked nosence dragging down the game) not
asking permission for the use of other peoples caches as an integral part of their own caching experience is proving to be a problem as well.
If I create an "A to Z" challenge cache where you have to come up with a collection of 26 traditionals whose Groundspeak names start with the letters A to Z, and unless I put out 26 or more such caches myself, it is inevitable that to meet the challenge, other caches will be used.
So what?
Took me a while to get the Q and Z logged, but it was fun.
-
I did go back and try to log in again, and you are correct. This "viewstate" business is evidently only going to appear the first time through.And the 'viewstate error' has been present for months with my phone (after login, when redirected to another server). Luckily there is a workaround for this and you'll see that you managed to login if you go to the site again by a bookmark for example. But for looking up (and logging) trackables i haven't found any workarounds.
Which leaves me to repeat an OLD question ...
WHY, unlike other sites, does wap.geocaching.com not manage cookies such that one can avoid logging in every time on a cell phone? Sites like yahoo.com and others seem to be able to manage this. Having to type in a login name and password to retrieve log data after 30 minutes of inactivity is a real nuisance.
I believe that if it were not for that requirement, I'd not be seeing the viewstate error to begin with since it's the transfer from the login server to the database that seems to cause this error.
-
I recently picked up a new phone, and it behaves very badly on the WAP site. After providing my login data, and having to tell the phone that it is OK to be redirected to another site, I get the following message along with a great deal of source code text to which the browser evidently took exception.
Validation of viewstate MAC failed. If this application is hosted by a Web Farm or cluster, ensure that <machineKey> configuration specifies the same validationKey and validation algorithm. AutoGenerate cannot be used in a cluster. The problem relates to an "invalid viewstate".
At this point, I am now unable to retrieve information in the field!
Has anyone else encountered this?
The browser claims to be something called Obigo
Now what do I do?
in General geocaching topics
Posted