TheAlabamaRambler

You are kidding, right?

Since you posted 3 days early, can I post 6 days early? If my memory serves me correctly, I first visited the website about 10 days before I joined, and "researched" Geocaching before joining the night I found my first cache, and I do remember going out for it about 7:00 at night for it. Congratulations to you, and I suppose soon to myself. I wasn't early - I found my first cache 8/13/03 and joined geoaching.com on 8/16/03, so I achieved ten years of geocaching 8/13/13 and ten years of geocaching.com membership 8/16/13.

In another thread I was prompted to look at how long I have been geocaching - ten years today! I joined on August 16 2003 but I found my first cache three days before that. What a fun decade it has been! I mostly quit posting finds online some years ago so I have no idea how many caches I have found, 2762 logged, but I can tell you that I enjoyed every one of them! I have had the pleasure of meeting a lot of geocachers, of attending events large and small across this country, of discovering thousands of places and things in twenty-six states and three countries, and the people of geocaching have been a delight and blessing. Who else among us has been geocaching for ten years or more?

Of course there are. 'Geocachers' is a big demographic. The more people in any group the more bad apples - you have to look at it as a percentage of the whole, not as exceptions. The percentage of self-serving geocachers is no higher than you would find in any group, and it's been my experience that it's likely a lot lower.

More likely the CO edits the listing after it is published.

I can't decide what is the most disturbing aspect of this - a noodle terrorist or the fact that there is such a thing as spicy kimchi flavored microwaveable noodles. Was it hidden by a Pastafarian of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster?

I've never compared one of my cache logs to online logs and don't intend to. That's not fun for me, and I hide caches for fun. The only time I have deleted logs is when someone wrote a warning in my forum that someone was armchair logging caches in my area. I checked and sure enough he had logged two of mine, so I deleted them. If it's not specifically called to my attention as a problem I don't look for it. My experience has been that the vast majority of cachers are good honest people and I don't need to be a cache cop.

The problem with that cache is the CO's control issues. He calls it a determination to "play the game right" but deleting logs and fussing about a throw-down is causing problems. He could just as well go fix the problem when he sees a log that indicates someone left a throw-down or signed the wrong cache. I've never understood the laser focus on absolute rules...even Groundspeak calls them guidelines to allow a bit of discretion and wiggle room. Be flexible, have fun, allow others to have fun.

Can a CO be told to remove that statement from their description? Can the cache be archived because the owner hasn't got a maintenance plan? http://www.geocachin...achemaintenance Yes. I refuse to publish cache listings that include this statement, on the grounds that it isn't an adequate maintenance plan. Groundspeak confirmed my interpretation of this guideline. Thank you. You are a good reviewer IMO, and a great geocacher. Having met Mr. Keystone I wholeheartedly concur. However, I'll be the voice of dissent and take the flak. I have no problems with " throw downs " ( yet another downer catch word coined by a group I'll call the " negative bunch " )....it is a cache container w/log placed when a geocacher has reason to believe a cache is missing and is attempting to help the CO ( he's already there and the CO might not be for weeks ) and by doing so future seekers may have a cache to find for another couple of years or so. I've had a PVC pipe cache replaced with an ammo can ( pipe was still there)....no big deal, I just picked one up when I was in the area. On one of my harder hides two replacements eventually joined the original which was still there.....again, it didn't really bother me which one folks found ( some found two ). I agree that on high diff. hides no replacement's should be put out as the CO went to a lot of effort to make it a hard hide....can't find it, log a DNF and move on. I feel the vast majority of cache replacements and log replacements are really appreciated by CO's....I know I do. The more we help others the more caches will be in play for all of us to find. I'm with Bamboozle on this one. I think it's a matter of trust. I trust cachers to do a good search before calling it a DNF, and I include my contact info in my cache listings. If they do a good search and at least try to contact me or a previous finder for a hint (or actual instruction) then I greatly appreciate them replacing it. I see no reason for DNFs and having them return, nor having to disable it until I can get there. If I find one that needs maintenance I clean it up. If I can't find it and have valid reason to believe that it is gone I will put something in its place. I expect (and history has proven) that if I leave a replacement the CO will be along shortly to see what's up as part of his due diligence and cache management. If what I left is inappropriate he will remove it or put a proper cache in its place. A casual 'throw-down' done with little or no reason but to avoid a DNF is wrong, but I really don't think many cachers do this. Besides, the point of a cache, for me, is to introduce cachers to an interesting location, so whether they find it or not the purpose is served.

I try to place swag that people can use. It's tough because that gets expensive. Back before I had to retire I loved putting things like FRS/GMRS radios and stuff like that in caches, and when I hid one I would spend $100 or more stocking it. My personal movement to increase the quality of swag actually did have some effect in the local community, we talked about it often at events and in the forums and swag quality overall did go up. I used to build really nicely stocked caches and give them away as door prizes at events, and that did have effect - I believe it led people to put out better quality of actually usable swag. Then I got poor and ever since it's been tough to find anything both affordable and usable. Now it's rare to find anything worth keeping so it's just move junk from cache to cache. I have a shelf in my office with maybe 50 interesting items I traded for, but I traded something of equal or better value for every one of them. I had three lots of geocoins made, a total of 1000 coins at $8 to $12 cost apiece, and when geocoins were fairly new folks traded nice things for them. Now a geocoin gets traded for a plastic whistle. Wish I had that money back!

An offset multi has always been the simple answer to replacing virts, and it's beyond me why the folks who are still hollering "bring back virtual caches" aren't out there doing that. Maybe simple obvious solutions are not what they really want...there's no drama involved with them. If your purpose is to introduce cachers to an interesting place then an offset does the job quite nicely.

We would love to link to it from The Online Geocacher, and if you want to send any future articles we would be happy to publish them! Mind if I put a link in our Found On The Web section?

I created a new section - Found On The Web, for links to geocaching stories & stuff that you find on the web... blogs, newsletter, forums, logs, wherever, share the link and I will list it in the magazine for all to enjoy. Of course we still love the original stories that you submit! Send what you have to The Online Geocacher. Enjoy the new story published today about a traveler long time gone making a reappearance!

As with any other classification system for humans there is no 'average wheelchair cacher'. We all have different capabilities and determination. Some have no legs, some have 'em but can't walk with them, others have one that works just fine. I am a one-legged 60-something who primarily uses a wheelchair but can walk on crutches. If I can't get there on crutches I have been known to drop to the ground and crawl, pushing myself along with my arms and leg. You can't possibly rate a geocache terrain for me. I've cached in caves and on mountaintops and everywhere in between. It really just depends on how determined I am to get that cache that day. That's pretty much going to be the story for most of us. Thus perhaps the best way to evaluate it is to use the example of a paraplegic... someone with no use of their legs who is dependent on their wheelchair, who cannot walk or stand up but who has full use of their arms. This makes it fairly easy for the able-bodied to generalize and visualize. Could you get the cache sitting in your wheeled office chair without getting out of it? Use that as your standard for what is wheelchair accessible. Of course many of us can go in wheelchairs over some pretty rough terrain, but then you get into the micro assessment of capability and willpower. Stick to the macro (office chair analogy) and you will be safe. I love parking lot caches... but before my heart attacks and neck surgery gone awry I loved those that are a mile up a steep muddy trail, too, so go figure! Good luck! ETA: Check out the rating system at http://www.handicaching.com/

Some GPS receivers use USB-Serial converter cables. I've certainly had issues with some, so when I saw this article I thought it might help you. It's focused on ham radio but it applies to every serial device, such as GPS pucks. http://wa8lmf.net/ham/USB-Serial-Dongles.htm

Sometimes Iog them, other times I don't. I've been fairly active in the geocaching community for some time and COs aren't surprised when they find my sig in the log but no online record. I rarely cache alone anymore so the others with me logging it is enough. I have not logged about half as many as I have. I cache for fun - sometimes I feel like logging them, sometimes I don't, it's certainly no reflection on or statement about the cache or the CO.

If you don't have a Premium membership register your Garmin device and get 30 days free. If you already have a Premium membership this will extend it for 30 days free. I am already a Premium member and my GPS has been registered for years, but they still gave me the free extension. Cool! I like free... but, what's up with that? I knew about the free trial fr basic members, but the extension for current Premium members... is that new? http://www.geocachin.../freetrial.aspx

Talking to folks about it has made me realize that I really do want to keep it going, The host dropping the price made it possible. So thanks to everyone who considered it or made suggestions, I hope to see some articles come in, but I'm keeping it. If we get enough articles coming in that I can't keep up I will contact some of you who offered to edit and publish them. I'm asking a Moderator to close this and if we want to talk about the mag we can use the thread that's been open for years.

Guilt trip much? Our caching trips are fairly benign - tending to be kid-friendly terrain - but if you are okay with that, I'll put a few articles together. Actually... I just had a great idea. "Caching with Teens: You don't want your Mother to DIE, do you?" Simply pointed out a fact. If that makes you feel guilty in some way I can't imagine why! Seriously, sorry if it came across that way, that was not my intent. No one should feel obligated in any way. On the other hand it's like any other resource - use it or lose it. There's not much point in keeping a magazine of geocaching stories going if geocachers aren't contributing their stories. Yes, I am sure cachers would like to read your stories. I know I would. Send 'em when you got 'em.

Thanks all! Several folks have contacted me and we'll work something out one way or another. Finding someone dedicated to keeping it going, free to users and ad-free, who don't want to sell the membership list and won't use it it to become an opinion blog is a chore, but I will do that or keep it going myself. One thing that would help me or anyone else get inspired about maintaining the monthly cost is to have some cachers submit their geocaching stories! If I could get just one new article a month submitted I would feel more that it's worth keeping. I doubt (without looking) that we've had four articles submitted in the last six months. The number of subscribers (subscription is free, it just gets you an email when a new article is posted) and the site's traffic metrics tell me that it is popular, folks do read it, just very few contribute articles to it. I've never understood why. Folks come to forums and tell their stories but won't send them to the magazine. Maybe it's the sense of community or the feedback that they don't get from a magazine article, I don't know. Cachers really do want to read about other cachers experiences. I don't know why folks are hesitant about telling them. I have noticed that of the several folks who have asked about taking it over none have ever written an article for it, so that confuses me about their motivation. We'll see how it works out. Maybe instead of a change of ownership what it really needs is folks writing or encouraging others to write for it.

Center Point #872 F&AM Masonic Lodge in Birmingham, AL.

Part of any park management's job is to attract visitors. They spend money to do that. Whether they know what it costs them to attract a visitor or not, it does. Tell them you will attract visitors to their park for free. Tell them to look at what they spend to attract each guest. You are saving them money. Heck, they should be paying YOU! Tell them you will charge them $1. per log signature for every guest you attract to their park with your cache! (kidding, but fun to think about!)

Oops, not free! I spoke with the owner of PageFarm (PressPublisher). Pagefarm no longer offers a free version but he did offer to keep hosting it for one-third of their normal subscription price, so whoever takes it will pay $10/month plus the GoDaddy-registered domain name fee which is, I think, less than $10/year. Folks tend to try to help when they know that you're doing something for free solely for the enjoyment of others. Aside from having the best CMS on the net these guys rock!

I don't want to speak for TAR, but he is using E-zine software, and the template is all set up. I personally don't think there is any major mucking skills needed after the articles are edited. Any and all people interested should be contacting Ed personally, but then again, I originally rescued this about 4 new threads from being off the first page with no replies. So another bump here, I guess. Thanks for the hosting offer but this magazine runs on specialty publishing software. Mr. Yuck is correct. I use PressPublisher, a magazine design and publishing tool (Content Management System) built on WordPress. Adding new articles is pretty much a cut-and-paste affair, so the text can be taken from an email, Word document, text editor, whatever and imported or pasted into the software and it will handle everything else. Changing the look and function of the magazine is pretty much menu-driven and very easy to understand, and the folks at PressPublisher (I think it's called PageFarm now) provide the friendliest and most helpful service I've ever had. Even for the free edition. Anyone curious can create a free account at http://presspublisher.com/ and play with it. Create a magazine or newsletter to see how easy it is to work with. No longer free. See next post. I've never done much editing, just some light spelling and word choice corrections, to keep the articles as close as possible to the true voice of the writer. Therefore receiving an article in my email, reading it, making a few corrections in a text editor and publishing it is usually about a 20-minute effort. If you're still interested let me know.

Who wants to own a free magazine? The Online Geocacher http://onlinegeocacher.com/ needs a new owner and Publisher. I've pretty much lost interest but a lot of work went into building it, a couple hundred fun geocaching stories have been published, someone should enjoy it. Hosting cost is $19.95/ month but it could be cut back to the free hosting solution when you take it over. I have a couple articles that have been submitted lately sitting in my email that need to be published. Contact me if you want it. Ed Manley, TheAlabamaRambler edmanley@att.net 205-914-6814