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Subterranean

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Everything posted by Subterranean

  1. One (slightly off topic) thing that I don’t understand is that the article pater47 linked to says humans sweat, causing concentrated amounts of pesticide to reach the skin. While it’s true that dogs and cats don’t sweat, it’s not true that they (dogs, especially) don’t ever get wet! Wouldn’t they receive a similar concentrated dose of pesticide after coming in from the rain?
  2. Here's a cool map showing the density of WGA (Wisconsin Geocaching Association) members. (All credit goes to jthorson.) The map below shows the distribution of the registered membership by zip code. The number indicates the number of members from that zipcode.
  3. Good point. Also, if you don't have access to a laser printer, a photocopy will fare better than an ink-jetted copy (it has to be black and white only, though).
  4. The Texas Geocaching site has a couple of alternate versions, too. I'm glad you're going to the effort of including these in your caches. I think it's very important to include them and also to clearly label the outside of every container as being a geocache.
  5. You can get it (in many languages) from this page in the lower right-hand corner under where it says "Help! How do I place a cache?" The same thing (English only) can be found here about halfway down.
  6. It seems more likely that a mod closed it and in haste forgot to comment on why. Mods are human (I think) and make mistakes, too.
  7. Sorry if that is directed (partially) at me. I simply needed to respond to a few posts that were responses to my original post. I'm finished, now.
  8. I, of course, haven’t been to the Groundspeak office and I don’t know a single thing about the company’s finances because they have elected to keep that information private. I do know, though, that I would prefer to play a game like geocaching without having to see any ads. If Groundspeak truly can’t support itself through premium memberships and from the sale of its merchandise, then perhaps they need to scale down their operation. It would be better, in my opinion, to have a game where we pass around slips of paper with coordinates written on them (as an extreme example) than to have a game run by a corporation and its sponsors. I guess I’m a purist in that sense, but I’m entitled to be… I’m only expressing my opinion. Those who think there hasn’t been an increase in the amount of advertisement on this site, don’t fool yourselves, the Yellow Jeep Travel Bug “contest” has been the most extensive ad campaign, yet… we’ll see whether or not the amount of advertisement on GC.com continues to increase, but we’ve been given no reason to assume it won’t. I trust most people would agree that at some point, enough is enough. In my opinion, it has already reached that point.
  9. I am still a premium member only because I paid for an entire year and it hasn’t lapsed yet. I am not, however, planning to renew. When I subscribed, I wanted to check out the premium features (few of which I found myself using) and, especially, to support the site. The main thing that has turned me off to the subscription service is the inundation of advertisements that we are being subjected to. It started with just banner ads, then we had the Yellow Jeep Travel Bug promotion, now, if it ever gets off the ground, it looks like “Earthcaching” will be sponsored by Subaru. It’s okay for the site and its owners to recover the costs of daily operation, but it’s not okay for them to become bloated and wealthy while still charging the mass of people …who, by the way, own the caches… own the cache logs… and are the overwhelming essence of the game, itself… to use every feature of their site. It just seems like corporate greed to me.
  10. I've done a fair amount of research over the past couple of years, and as far as brands go, my quick recommendation would be to go with a Eureka! tent and Mountainsmith pack. Enjoy the trip(s)!!
  11. Yellow Jeep Fever You may know this already, but notes that are posted to a cache page are counted in the total number of logs... the total is not only "found it" logs. Still, that's an impressive amount of logs for your cache! It would be interesting to know how many have found it.
  12. I’m guessing that he just goes by the online logs for each cache, assuming that people are generally honest and that each cache owner will delete any illegitimate logs.
  13. It has been done in my area. The cache placer is known locally for continually coming up with creative, new ideas for caches. In this case, the six caches that must be found first had already been in existence for some time when "Southern Six Pack" was placed. Theoretically, many cachers may have already met the requirements for logging the final before it was even placed. Additionally, other cachers own five of the prerequisite caches... so it differs slightly from your idea. The idea behind "Southern Six Pack" is to get other cachers to go out and find some of the best (in the opinion of the placer) or most difficult caches around our area. Obviously, if you place something like this, expect fewer people to log finds on it. I think it's a great idea, though. Good luck with it.
  14. I wouldn’t think that a Brunton compass would be what you’re looking for. They are specifically designed to measure vertical angles as well as bearing. Structural geologists rely on them to measure dip and slope, among many other things. Brunton compasses are unique in that they have a built-in balance and, as strange as it seems, the East and West positions are actually reversed… this takes some getting used to for the average compass user. A regular-style compass will probably work just fine for general navigation. I use a $5 compass and it work for me, plus I don’t have to worry about breaking it. If you did want a Brunton, though, try to find one in a pawnshop. You could even try telling the guy working there, “Hey look! The East and West are reversed! No one’s going to want to buy this compass! …I’ll give you three bucks for it.” I’ve been told that sometimes works.
  15. It is nice to read about someone's adventures, but some cachers just aren't the writing type. At least these two cachers log online... many people don't feel it necessary to submit even a one-word log.
  16. It looks like 316 is an area code for Wichita, Kansas, so that's probably the owner's phone number. (I'm assuming it was found in Kansas, since that seems to be where you're from.) I wouldn't blame you, though, if you didn't feel comfortable calling some strange phone number that you found in a box in a stream. If you search letterboxing.org for letterboxes using the keyword "Pawnee," there are two that are in Kansas. Maybe that'll help.
  17. You can fully satisfy your curiosity by logging into your account at paypal.com. In your account’s “history,” you'll find the subscription to Groundspeak entry. If it says “active” in the status column for this entry, your subscription will renew automatically until cancelled. Hope this helps!
  18. Mr. Bush is currently in Colorado, while Mr. Kerry is in New Jersey, but its not November yet. Now that is a cool idea! They'd be TBs that I'd actually pick up.
  19. In fact, every person who visits GC.com “pays” to geocache by, if nothing else, viewing banner ads or searching for and logging (or even writing an essay about) certain little, colorful, plastic product promotions… er, travel bugs.
  20. Agreed. I attempted to persuade GC.com to create a "stash note" sticker. I also wish they would better promote (and even enforce??) the regular use of both the stash note and the "official geocache" sticker that is used for labeling the outside of caches. I think these are very important issues and I was disappointed that Jeremy wasn't more receptive to the ideas.
  21. I know I’m getting away from the original topic a bit, but after having slept on it, it dawned on me (actually I woke up at noon, so it didn’t exactly dawn on me) that if any pace-calibration method is included in a cache, actual pacing can be avoided altogether by using a GPS instead. In the calibration method I illustrated, for example, you could simply mark a waypoint at each distinct object and have the GPS calculate the distance between the objects for you. Then, simply multiply the constant given on the cache page by this distance, instead of by your counted number of paces. It’s then just a matter of projecting a waypoint using the resulting distance to get to the next leg of the cache… no pacing required at all. If the calibration of the type given in the linked article is used, again, find the distance between the two objects using a GPS. Divide this distance by the given number of paces the cache hider says should be between the two objects (this gives the exact length of a single pace used by the cache placer). Then, multiply the resulting number by the number of paces you are supposed to walk in order to get to the next stage. Use this distance to project the waypoint, instead of pacing, and again, you’ve avoided the need to pace altogether. Using a GPS instead of counting paces may be considered cheating by some and perfectly acceptable by others. So, for those who are thinking of including a method of calibrating paces in their cache, keep in mind that some will use their GPSs instead of actually pacing.
  22. You're not going crazy, CompuCash (er... at least this thread isn't evidence that you are ). Check out this post. It must have been a bug, if only for a short moment. By the way, Sputnik, your IT guy sounds like a L 053 R!
  23. In Wisconsin, if you’re looking to find caches near waterfalls, The Lil Otter is the person to contact. She has a series of 52 caches that are all near waterfalls in the state. Check out this link for a complete listing. I know that quite a few of these caches are in northern Wisconsin. (Many are in Marinette County, which borders Michigan.) There are few people who are more enthusiastic about geocaching than Lil Otter... simply email her and I'm sure she'll be more than happy to give you travel advice. Have a great trip!
  24. Hmm... maybe I should have read the linked article before replying. My "calibration" method is way better, though!
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