TheAlabamaRambler

In this case there may be another reason for the bouncy signal while the GPS was stationary.

I cache with groups more often than alone, and we all like to chase FTFs - whoever spots it first may or may not call it immediately - he/she may allow the others to find it. Regardless, the first to spot it gets FTF and the rest of us usually confirm it online as a way to say "Good Job!". Interestingly, most of us leave the FTF prize for the next finder. We have one finder that gets most FTFs within a few hours of them being posted - he signs the logbook but doesn't post the find online until someone else (STF)does - Can't tell ya how many times I have seen the cache, thought "Yes, FTF!" only to find his moniker in the log! Evil! But funny, and good for a laugh. Ed

So do I take it that finding an abandoned cemetary that has opened muggled graves, laying down in said empty grave at midnight and having one's picture taken is in poor taste?

I often geocache at night, alone or in groups, and it's a rare night I don't get checked out by the cops...last night by Birmingham City and tonight be a County Deputy Sheriff. I expect I have been stopped 20+ times in 9 states this year - in every case they simply wanted to know what I was doing, made sure I was sober, learned something about geocaching and went on their way. Only once were we chased out of a city's parks, which were clearly marked as being closed at sunset. Once my car was searched, but afterwards we talked geocaching and he lightened up and at least acted interested. Just keep in mind that the cop is your friend - he may have an attitude - he's got a tough job, but if you are friendly and honest about what you are up to he's gonna let you go on about your business - and may even discover an interest in geocaching if you explain the game! Have fun, Ed

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-- Copy of email sent to TNGeocacher -- A request has been made by TNGeocacher that GCHWYB The Passion Of The Rock cache be archived. I believe that this approver misunderstands the purpose and content of the cache and this request is in error. Below find my request for review, as stated in my cache log of 10/20/04 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The request to archive this cache in in error. Groundspeak's rules regarding religion and solicitation are well-grounded, but this cache page does not fall within their letter or intent. Nowhere within this cache page is any religion, faith or point of view proselytized, no belief stated, no solicitation made. The bible is a book. Almost all colleges teach at least one course entitled "The Bible As Literature" that looks dispassionately at the book without religious slant - this cache treats the bible in the same way - as a reference book and no more. I ask that this cache be reinstated due to the archive request being made in error. COPY TO: Groundspeak, TNGeocacher Ed Manley TheAlabamaRambler 205-956-6814 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Response from TNGeocacher:

Have to vote yes on this one. While it is true that the container size is different, the real issue is the hunt - hunting micros is a completely different experience than hunting traditional caches. Without expressing opinion for or against any certain cache size I think micro and traditional hunting is a completely different TYPE of experience and should be recognized as such. Regardless, have fun out there! Ed

I have done this as well as ask finders to do the same for one of my bugs. If I have a bug that wants to travel, no real goal in mind, I may check it in and out of several caches along my travels so it can report to the owner interesting places it has been. OTOH, I have bugs out there with missions that I want to see keep moving - if they're moving from cache to cache in the possession of the same cacher as oppossed to moving from one cacher to another is irrelevant - it's moving, collecting logs and fun to watch. I try to never hold TBs more than two weeks, but I might on occasion check one into and back out of caches during that time. I picked up a bug once that wanted to visit every state; I was driving to Az from Al, so I checked it into and back out of a cache in each state along the way. Ed

A muggle who finds a cache, signs it, trade or not, and re-hides it, is a geocacher.

Walmart straw hat, $5.99; looks nice, sweatband, chin tie, lose it, stain it, whatever, you're out six bucks and can get a replacement in 30 minutes in most towns. $60 bucks for a label? I don't think so! Ed

Several of us here in the AGA (www.alacache.com) are avid FTF seekers. It's competition, but only of the most benign and friendly kind. Most of us, as mentioned above, leave the FTF prize for the next finder. As far as the question of even having an FTF prize - yes, certainly! All of the cachers I know are trying to improve the quality of trade items and promote the game as a family activity, and a nice FTF prize does both. See you on the trails, Ed

Thanx, SeaTrout - that's helpful and timely - I was just struggling with distributing 70 pics from a recent geocaching weekend, and each pic is 1mb+ or so...this should be a great help! Ed

I love my Ray-o-Vac 15 minute rechargeables. AA = 2000 mAh AAA = 800 mAh Charge in 15 minutes, at home or in the car, the AAs give me 9-10 hours service in my Meridian Platinum, can't say how long they last in my Minolta digital camera - several hundred pics taken and they haven't run down yet. Good luck, Ed

Ha! Just found a new usage in another thread! This from BalboaGirl: Muggle-jumped! I love it!

Don't know much about Groundspeak, but somehow I think it's more than a wild-eyed Jeremy sitting in skid-marked skivvys at a computer 24 hours a day. The company would survive I suppose - certainly the game would, were he to move on to that great ammo can in the sky. I think the idea that sans Jeremy this site would die is ludicrous - it's taken on a life of its own. Not that I want to test that theory - I like what little I know of him! As far as the migration to other caching sites - why would you? As far as I can see the "me too" sites and the "I''m not GC.com" sites have become a haven for malcontents and folks who could not find acceptance here. I think the best folks in geocaching are here, and will stay here, and those who can't deal will move on to other sites or hobbies.

Pinko Commie must be a politically correct version - I always heard they were Pinko Commie Fags. And tho I survived the 60's and 70's in the South I never heard dope called a muggle. I think this thread has been muggled!

35210 @ 4 Miles = 11 caches = .22 35210 @ 100 Miles (my normal search range) = 614 = 12.8 Caches found = 350something - I need to get busy! Me Dense? Duh!

the good news about gas prices is that you will see a drop in RV prices when sales slow down! A gas crunch is the time to buy a gas hog! Ed

I think you will see more and more accidents caused by GPS nav systems in cars. I use a laptop mounted on the dash of my Suburban and a Delorme Earthmate GPS to see scrolling maps with geocaches and points of interest while driving. This is very sensory-intensive, requiring much more focus than a cell phone, and not something that can be done safely by anyone while driving...I have learned to pull over to interact with the system, but even glancing at the map while driving has caused some hairy moments. I worked with Ryder Dedicated Logistics to implement fleet tracking computers on-board all of their freight trucks - they had numerous accidents when the drivers were trying to interact with the On-Board Computer while driving and had to eventually link the user interface to the speedometer system so that if the truck was in motion the OBC couldn't be used. Be safe out there! Ed

Most everyone in the South carries a gun, or so the legend goes, so cars unlocked and untouched on the side of the road are common. I never lock my car, but then I don't leave anything attractive in it either. I put anything worth keeping in the trunk. Two thoughts at work here - If it's locked they'll break in to see what's there, if it's unlocked they'll look around, find nothing and move on. And, while thieves may be dumb they aren't necessarily stupid - they know the owner is somewhere in the surrounding woods, maybe watching, and likely has a gun! I did have a car stolen from my driveway a couple years ago. The cop asked me was it locked and I told him no. He says "Good, then the window won't be broken!" The point being, if they want it, they'll take it, and the more you secure it the more they'll tear up to get it. Ed

Papago Park in Scottsdale is an easy cache in a pretty park; wish I could go with ya - my son lives about 2 miles from it, I did this one on my last visit. Have fun, Ed

Interesting - almost a year in the game and 350 or so finds; I thought I knew the game pretty well, but have never considered the origin of the word "muggles". My kids read the books and we've seen the movies, but still it didn't register! Anyhoo, my issue with the word has been voiced above - a sense of "innies" and "outies". I do everything I can to promote and build the sport. We are working hard to build a state association to promote the sport and educate all interested parties www.alacache.com. I can't see treating outsiders as muggles. I have met all sorts of folk while geocaching - hunters, fishermen, hikers, cops, firemen, and introduced them to the game. I talk to most everyone I meet. If I am walking down a forest trail I will speak to everyone I pass. Often we get into conversations. Often they express interest, and often have I taken them with me to find the cache. Most were never heard from again, but some have joined our association. The important part is that I have never had someone reveal or go back and tamper with a cache. GeoRose and I met a young man out with his 10-year-old sister in a local park Friday. We explained the game, showed them basic GPS functionality, handed her the GPS and said "lead us to the cache!" She did and had a ball. She understands that she can tell her friends that she got to find something hidden in the park but not where it is, and I think she'll stick to that. I heard from the brother Sunday - he bought a GPS so he can cache on a class trip to Greece this summer! I wanted to park in a Fire Station to search for a cache by a nearby river, and went in to ask permission to park - the Fire Captain was very interested in GPS for his airplane - he and a lady paramedic spent an hour hiking with me to the cache...I never even got to hold the GPS! Obviously there are folks you can't trust, and generally they're pretty easy to spot. Last month in Tennessee a group of teens (long-hair, too young for the cigarettes they were smoking and skateboarding behind a shopping center at 10pm) watched two Suburban-loads of us in a Cache League team pull up to a light-pole micro; eight people jumped out, wandered around in plain sight 20' from them, found it, signed it and sped off - we just knew they'd have it muggled before we were out of sight - they never touched it, or if they did the rehid it - it's still in good shape. My point is that we shouldn't be afraid of everyone we see. Over a lifetime of camping and outdoors activities I have found that outdoorsmen are, as a whole, great people. I guess that in urban areas bums might wander the parks, but down here I have yet to meet a bum hiking! Please consider muggles as opportunities to meet new friends and introduce new cachers! See you on the trails, Ed

Re Rusty TLC's post; I use a laptop with a Delorme Eartmate GPS. My laptop has Wi-Fi built in and I bought a Bluetooth USB dongle, so I can pull into truck stops and other hot spots and connect using Wi-Fi or I can connect via Bluetooth and my Sony Ericsson AT&T Wireless cell phone. I have had quite good success with the cell-phone connection from some pretty remote campgrounds, mostly at 64k, but if you happen to be in certain sections of AT&Ts coverage area you get 1.5 Mbps speeds. With this lash-up I can connect while driving to get a PQ for the area ahead of me, allowing for spur-of-the-moment itenerary changes. Not bad from an old camper in the woods! Ed

I have had both motor homes and trailers, and each has it's advantages. I prefer the motor home so that I can tow my boat, but if not boating the trailer makes more sense as you can set it up and drive away. Being in the South I wasn't aware the campers built for northern climes had insulated double floors to keep tanks and pipes from freezing and to insulate the camper...I got my 28' Hi-Lo set up in Kansas City for the winter one time and immediately learned that it wasn't made for cold weather - had to emplace skirts and heaters around it. So, if you live or travel in cold climates keep that in mind when buying a camper. Renting campers is a rich man's game! I like to spend my money in a wiser, more cost-effective way. I paid $2500. for my 28' Hi-Lo and towed it all over the country for four years with negligible maintenence - four years comfortable use for what two weeks rent would be. I first pulled the Hi-Lo with a Jeep Grand Wagoneer and then with a Suburban, and would not recomend pulling something this size with anything less, so the cost of a tow vehicle may have to be factored in if you don't have one. Again, I paid $3,000 for the Jeep and $3500 for the Suburban that replaced it and got a combined 10 years and counting of dependable service out of them, so tow vehicles don't have to be expensive either. I paid $7,000 for my Dodge Champion motorhome, a 454 gas-burner that got about 8 mpg. I had maybe $2000. in maintenance costs over the five years I had it. I am not talking junk here either - both of these campers were in excellent shape and, per trip, cost next to nothing. My policy is never rent when you can buy, but if your dream is to travel in the $180,000 Land Yacht then renting might make sense! Ed

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