Ariel_PSU

Sounds good to me. And I have Paypal. I'll PM you. ~Ariel

I'd be interested in talking to you about this! My question is about the unlocks on the CN. Since I don't have it, I don't know what that refers to... will I be able to install it on my computer, but just not be able to load them to another GPSr? ~Ariel

So is this what I am to expect from the Groundspeak community?? I am not the greatest typist, but at least I don't let that define who I am... NOOOOOOOOOO This is NOT what my (fairly recent) experience has been. Everyone has been friendly and welcoming and helpful! Please don't let one idiot ruin this place and this addiction for you. ~Ariel

Have you thought of woodburning it, instead of carving/painting? It would be faster and just as pretty, I think. My dad used to do woodburning when I was a kid. It's pretty neat, I think. And not so complicated that you couldn't have your kids "help" with their own initial. ~Ariel

Are you inside a building? It says in the instruction books that you need to be outside with a clear view of the sky when trying to acquire satellites. Just an idea. ~Ariel

Thanks. I appreciate your posts. And I apologize if I inadvertently took piercejr's thread in a direction he was not intending... I honestly didn't mean to get snippy... was just surprised at the first few answers that didn't really address the original question, just moved on to something different. "We're eating bananas and were wondering how y'all store 'em?" "Well... we eat plantains 'round these parts. No one eats bananas anymore." As for the paperless, clearly it's the way to go. And it sounds like most people just put up with the pages and pages of printout until they got a PDA. So.... I'll look into that. (and XopherN71's Word doc sounds like something I'd do.... thanks!) Thanks all. ~Ariel

OK... sorry for the snippiness of my previous reply. I was really interested in seeing what more experienced cachers had used before... so this topic was very interesting to me. While I understand the value of paperless, I'm just getting into this game/sport/activity. I don't want to buy all the toys and then find that I'm just not going to be as involved as I was imagining. So I'm trying to buy as little as possible. I have access to a new Venture HC at work, so I don't even have to buy my own GPS for awhile. Which means I'm VERY interested in organizing cache paperwork. Until such time as I'm ready to buy all the gadgets. Because, I AM a true geek... I love me my gadgets!! When the time comes, I'll be sporting all the gadgets and gear... But I'm in grad school - so I'm trying to be prudent at the same time. So... for now, let's assume I'm not going to be getting a PDA. Are there any tricks-of-the-trade for reducing the sheer volume of paper spent on this activity? ~Ariel

Does anyone have anything to suggest that is in line with the OPs original request? Not everyone is willing to put a ton of money and effort into this to start. Yes you can get a cheap PDA from EBay... if you like that sort of thing. But then you have to figure out all the technology with that as well. And since the OP mentions SPECIFICALLY that he's not wanting to carry around a PDA.... I'm actually curious what people did BEFORE they went paperless, and I'm sure the OP was thinking along those lines too (although he can correct me if I'm wrong). I know paperless is where everyone is going... but for some of us, we're not there yet. And we're looking for suggestions to help us out along the way. ~Ariel

Here are a couple of links I found helpful: Getting Started Glossary The glossary is good... but I'm finding it's incomplete. There is a lot I am still puzzled by. But it'll get you started. The ones you mention: TL-LN, SL. - Took Nothing-Left Nothing, Signed Log. (Didn't trade swag, but signed the logbook) TFTC - Thanks for the Cache. Hope that gets you started. ~Ariel

Mine's the opposite, I guess. I have PSU in my name - which is Penn State University. But currently, I live in California. ~Ariel

On the other hand, I'm working on getting INTO shape. I can't handle a hard hike. But I love a challenge. So I'd love an "easier" hike... and then a hard hunt. For now. Hopefully someday, I'll be craving the hard hikes too. ~Ariel

Yeah... but that's still REALLY imprecise. I'm a 5'2", definitely overweight 34 year old. I have no way of really gauging how many of my steps would equal your "go 30 paces to the NW". None. So unless there was a HUGE and obvious landmark, I'd be looking forever... and would probably never find it. *shrug* Again, just my $0.02.... you can do whatever you want. But I'd probably steer clear of this one. ~Ariel

Reading your post, I had more questions than answers.... Do you have regular contact with visitors and are wanting a way to suggest this to them? Or are you a cache hider looking to create cache's that might draw visitors into the game? My first thought was to organize an outing with someone who knows how to use the equipment and how to do it. Teach by showing. That way you can introduce the etiquette as well as the procedures. *shrug* ~Ariel

Well, being new, I don't have many stories yet (8 finds, 3 DNFs). But today's DNF is classic newbie, I think... I forgot to do the final part of a multi-puzzle thing. duhduhduhduhduh. And I led a group of 5 other people to skip the same thing. I'm a dork. ~Ariel

I was out caching today with a bunch of co-workers. I take 2-3 steps for each one step of my friend. I'm 5'2... he's 6'4". Our "steps" are VASTLY different. I'd say no. I don't think that's a very good idea. WAY too many ways for it to be 'variable'. But... that's just my opinion. ~Ariel

I've logged 2 DNFs on my first day out... and it turned out to be a good thing. The cache owner contacted me about one of them, and turns out I was looking in exactly the right place for exactly the right thing. The owner is on his way to check out the hide now. I haven't heard back... but I'm guessing something is missing or out of place. So yeah.... the DNF was a good idea. And to me, getting to log a find after logging at least one DNF on one is actually something I look forward to. It'll be really nice to show that accomplishment. ~Ariel

I'm new around here (only 4 finds to my name so far).... but I'll chime in too. I'm a student in grad school... and I work at the same school full-time as "Special Events Coordinator" for technology. So if you come here and have a conference, you talk to me about getting technicians to run your sound and stuff. ~Ariel

I'm really new to this and am planning on logging my finds as an individual. Even though my first 2 outings with be with other people. Today, I'm heading out with a friend to play with the new office GPS and get comfortable with it in our city. Then Monday, 6 of us are headed out for an office Team Building day. We're gonna cache... and I'll try to get them all to sign the logs. But I'll be logging them as an individual here at the site. It's highly unlikely that all 6 of us will get into the sport/game... *shrug* don't know if that makes sense to anyone else... but that's my thinking. ~Ariel

*waves* Hi all. Newbie here... so I guess not technically a lurker, since I haven't been around long enough to lurk. I heard about geocaching years ago, but never really tried it. Recently my boss brought it up as an idea for a Team Building activity. So I started looking into it again. Now I've found one (although that was a bit of a cheat since it was on my school's campus!) and have planned a trip for my team. See me in a few days, and my find count will (hopefully) be much higher! I haven't looked in enough threads to see the flame wars and such... but I'll keep my nose out of the mess and enjoy watching and learning for awhile. ~Ariel