Mark 42

Mine is huge. But I don't carry it while geocaching because I can cover 1/2 mile fast enough to get help for all but extremely unlikely scenarios, and most caches are within 1/4 mile of where the car is parked, and 50 feet from a well established trail. I think you guys take yourselves and the woods a bit too seriously. If you learn to improvise, you can use stuff you carry anyways (like a fanny pack, your underwear, sticks, leaves, ziplock baggies) to make bandages and such if the nearly impossible happens. You could get hurt badly in the mall... so do you carry a full set of sutures and clamps and torniquette and all that when you go shopping? I've spent half my life out in the woods. I've jogged in the woods for years, and never had an injury that I couldn't take care of. What are you going to do that requires all that first aid gear? what are the odds? Have you ever taken any risk in your life? Sheesh... just what I want to do... become an OSHA approved hiker! If you cut youself... apply pressure. If you break a bone... tighten up your laces and limp like a real man. People who can't get out of the woods without a first aid kit probably aren't going to make it even with one. If I'm going on an overnight hike, then I will start thinking about bringing a first aid kit... but on a short day hike, what are you going to do... shoot yourself? Get hit by a car? Get run over by a deer? Take a pocket knife, and you can cut up socks, underwear, and other stuff you already carry with you. Bandaids, splints, etc. can be improvised, and may be better than the prefab stuff that often isn't just right for the situation either. Use the space you would have put the ER in to carry some water, if you live in a climate that makes water important (you could spend weeks lost in my area without worry of dehydration). Or use it to cary extra happy meal toys or something. But you don't need 20 lbs of gear just to go two miles into the woods on a forest service road. Paranoia is okay, but you can take it too far. [This message was edited by Mark 42 on October 20, 2003 at 08:32 PM.]

I think we should applaud them. I see nothing wrong with interesting topics. How much memory space do off topic threads really represent? What's wrong with just ignoring them, and reading the ones that interest you? I posted an on-topic thread, and I thought it would be interesting, but it died quite quickly. The of-topic threads seem to be the ones people enjoy, so why restrict them? How many bytes does a message thread take up? Now, if you are referring to hijacking a thread, in some cases that is rude (not so much when a thread just evolves into more than one subject running in it)

A simple "Watch out for Ticks" would have sufficed. The groundskeeper seems to have a problem with the cache being there... Here's a tip: Tell him what caching is, and that initially a few people will want to find it, and then it will slow down to one or two a week, and after a few eeks, one or two a month. Then ask him where he would recommend, and if there is a good place that would hide it adequately, be in an area that won't cause any harm, yet would still draw people to come to this historical treasure and enjoy it... people who might otherwise never know that it is there. Let him know that the cache is just a way to show people the location, as are many other caches. If you let him show you where he thinks might be good, then he is in on it, and may even protect the cache from vandalism to some extent. By having a role in it, he become "part owner". Of course, he may tell you to **** off and die, but it's worth a try. "I'm not Responsible... just ask my wife, She'll confirm it"

COORDINATES?! (This better not be a multi).

I'd be happy if it just would find fewer than five letters (Like "Bone", for example). I chose "Bone Scan" as the name for mine because I thought no one had used "Bone" in a cache name (I thought that was odd at the time). "I'm not Responsible... just ask my wife, She'll confirm it"

quote:Originally posted by Prime Suspect:Well, I hope Mark 42 doesn't have a heart attack, but I actually _agree_ with him. ... Ack, ack, gasp, choke, gaahk,.... PLOP! How about a microscope for micros... or a magnifying glass. I think they should be somewhat original... but elements of the old or new icons, or images adapted from cliparts should be allowed. Inevitably some people will have and submit similar ideas, and taking the best of them (even combining elements from more than one to make one better than either individually) seems reasonable (though admittedly unlikely). I do like this one though: "I'm not Responsible... just ask my wife, She'll confirm it" [This message was edited by Mark 42 on October 18, 2003 at 07:23 PM.]

How about a picture of a vehicle for the icon for locationless caches... maybe a Yellow Jeep or something The camera would apply to other (permanent) virtuals, and might be better for that, but I think maybe a picture of a monument would be more descriptive for virtuals. "I'm not Responsible... just ask my wife, She'll confirm it"

I'm on a diet, so hopefully I won't need one soon. But... why not just a sticker on the existing one, that way you know it will fit your particular tire.

Just in case you didn't think to try it... here is a search "I'm not Responsible... just ask my wife, She'll confirm it"

I use the MSN maps and the Mapquest maps and the TopoZone maps to do the driving to the nearest intersection or section of the road, and then use the GPS to find the final (closest?) parking area. I'm to lazy to keep switching back and forth, so I use the "track up" mode on the compass display navigation screen. It really makes little difference to me whether I use North up or Track Up... I adapt automatically since I'm always disoriented anyway (does that term come from what happens to Chinese immigrants in North America?) Anyway... I have no real preference, I just never changed it since I bought the GPS unit. Besides... if I changed it now I doubt my wife would like the change now that she's grown acustomed to Track Up mode.

quote:Originally posted by Bull Moose: quote:Originally posted by amishangel:Shhheeeesh... Seattle and rain...goes together just like a nose for glasses. My lawn was brown all summer now it is turning green again! OH GREAT... NOW I'LL HAVE TO START MOWING AGAIN! Just what I needed... one more reason to hate the rain. Yeah, I probably would gripe if y'all hung me with a new rope. Overshadowing every silver lining there is a huge dark cloud! I'm sick of the rain... when is summer going to get here?

Look for the smoke, and you'll know the ccordinates. I had a friend as about negative longitudes... (Just to stir some cusriosity & controversy) "I'm not Responsible... just ask my wife, She'll confirm it"

I'd considered that as well... a team account. But then if someone is looking at your "Find/Hide" ratio it may look like you're a slacker if you like to collaborate with others. "I'm not Responsible... just ask my wife, She'll confirm it"

HOW ABOUT A FRIENDLY DESIGN COMPETITION! Let people submit ideas for icons, and let the users voice opinions. How about a picture of a vehicle for the icon for locationless caches... maybe a Yellow Jeep or something I don't like the new icons, and I don't like the old icons. Of the two, I think I prefer the old ones. I would like to see the addition of unique icons for micros and night caches. The new multi cache icon is a step in the right direction. The old one just plain sucked. It didn't intuitively say "multi". For archived caches, why not just make the icon that they would normally have appear subdued, like in gray instead of color... sort of like a lot of computer programs do to buttons that are not available in the current scenario. Also, a choice whether or not archived caches show up in search results. And while I'm suggesting... How about the ability to invert the order of log listings into chronological order. And... how about the ability to save preferences like "View all log entries" and "Decrypt" as defaults to save having to let pages refresh two extra times. I would like to also have a list of waypoints saved online so I could just put the name of my waypoint(s) into the search and find all nearby caches. Maybe the ability to save searches? I ended up with a few bookmarks on my dad's computer last time we visited, and they were URLs I'd emailed myself before we left for the trip.

quote:Originally posted by joefrog:I have one in the back of my suv ready to be placed -- does that count as a locationless and/or mobile cache until then? Do you leave the doors unlocked, are you going to put a hide a key for us and call it a multi, or should we just break the window and sign the log? "I'm not Responsible... just ask my wife, She'll confirm it"

One "I'm not Responsible... just ask my wife, She'll confirm it"

I have sorta the opposite problem... The is an abundance of great places I know of from Hiking, Jogging & Hashing, but I haven't had time to acquire all of the containers, logs, contents, waypoints, etc. to actually place them. I'm starting to at least carry my GPS more and mark waypoints when I find a location that's ideal. But I'm a bit busy trying to find caches and keep up with chores & such.

I'd like to submit "Front Porch" as the name for the OT (Off Topic) forum. Does anyone agree? (I knew you wouldn't). So, is a thread of pictures of people's pets related to geocaching? I suppose if there were a cache, or if pictures were confined to those taken while caching... Found: 35 Hidden: 1 Lost: usually But it would be nice if people did a search for a similar topic before startinga "new" one. BTW, cookies are not appropriate trade items except at cache events.

This is a great list! I'm going to print it and keep it in the car so that if I see anything interesting I can see if there is a category for it. Of course, i'd have to guess at what form of evidence I need to submit, but I can always cover a few bases (e.g. picture of me w/ item, picture of GPS w/ item, etc.). On categorization... what would be the drawback to repeating a cache in more than one category if it applies? I have one other suggestion, though others may not agree... add &log=y to all th URLs. I would actually do &log=y&decrypt=y, but some people may not want the hint decrypted. I actually intend to put them into an email to myself with the above added to the URLs so I don't have to wait for the screen to refresh every time I add it into the "location" or "address" field of my browser. BTW: DO NOT list all of the log entries for the Yellow Jeep Fever locationless cache and then print them out! It's a good thing it's a Friday today and everyone is out to lunch... the printer is still going! "I'm not Responsible... just ask my wife, She'll confirm it" [This message was edited by Mark 42 on October 17, 2003 at 12:12 PM.]

No big deal. If I were only playing the stats game I could do a bunch of locationless caches like the one that only requires a picture of a U.S. flag on a pole. I may do that one because I have an idea... have my family re-create the famous Iwo Jima photo and post that. But I still see it as the plaque being the same cache... if the coords didn't change, and the location is at the exact same spot, to me, that's the same cache. Since the original webpage is gone anyway, I think the plaque and the "original" should be combined into one. But it really doesn't matter... that's just how I would approach it if I were the one creating it. Everyone is different, and there's nothing really wrong with the way it is. BTW, is it just my computer, or is the picture I posted kind of dark and hard to see? I adjusted the brightness before I uploaded, and now I'm wondering if I uploaded from the wrong directory or something (I only found one on my hard drive). [This message was edited by Mark 42 on October 17, 2003 at 09:31 AM.]

The search engine on Hide & Seek a Cache won't work for searches of words with less than five characters. "I'm not Responsible... just ask my wife, She'll confirm it"

We get them at the local "Dollar Store". I think they were two for a dollar, but not sure (My wife bought them). Also found some nice cache containers for a buck a piece there. "I'm not Responsible... just ask my wife, She'll confirm it"

If it was raining, or the person signed as part of a team, or some other reason, it would be common courtesy to mention it in the online log entry, I would think. I don't honestly care all that much, but generally, IMNSHO, if you don't touch all of the bases it ain't a home run. "I'm not Responsible... just ask my wife, She'll confirm it"

Not sure I agree. I changed mine to a note, but it seems to me if you find the plaque, you've found the cache. I didn't check the dates on the other finds, but I think they probably were after the demolition of the original too. Personally, I'd rather see the plaque cache removed and the original reinstated, since it is the same place.

Here is a link to the commemorative plaque that was placed at the location where the first "Stash" (Cache) was hidden. A logbook was hidden, and the location was put online as Original Stash Tribute Plaque cache. Here is a link to the Un-Original Stash cache, also placed in tribute nearby. Here's a picture of me and my family in front of the location of the very first Geocache (Stash) ever placed. [This message was edited by Mark 42 on October 17, 2003 at 08:18 AM.]