NorStar

Pheew! Glad Geocaching wasn't involved with it.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/10933834/detail.html This is a web page article on the incident from Channel 5, Boston). I saw the tv report on Channel 5. The web article is definitely toned down compared to the TV article. Though I don't think that the tv article said "banned in NH" either, the tone, especially with the statements from the police, was that 'If we catch you...we will book you.' I was trying to find a video file of the article to point you to, but I didn't see it. Also, Boston had a recent similar scare in the city on a botched advertising campaign involving Turner Broadcasting. While, again, some overreaction may have happened, a similiar theme appears that this group that put up these electronic devices on bridges and other areas did not get permission to put them up. And this group acted indignant to the point of belligerant when they were confronted. I haven't followed the story that closely, but I think that there was a real pipe bomb scare in the Longwood Medical area, so there was a contributing factor. If Boston didn't have that incident, we might not have heard of this NH incident. But, the media is looking for these stories, now. The link to the latest in that story is here: http://www.boston.com/news/necn/New_England/ So, GET PERMISSION. If we have to go through a local registration list, so be it. But, for the enforcement folks out there, this game has provided a lot of fun to people and families, and the joy that is generated far outweighs any safety risk factors.

I've been wondering about that as we post verbatim text for signs, but I believe that it's OK since the signs were meant to be in the public domain (no copyright symbols, out in the open, etc.) and the fact that we are giving direct credit for where the text came from and, if possible, the authors of that text. It's a good reminder, though, to all of us category managers to more carefully check the text of submissions.

That's a really good example, and I agree with listing each one rather than just the cemetary. It might clog up the search by coordinates function, but then clumped benchmarks do the same thing in the benchmarks part of geocaching.

As an example, I have a plaque that is in both the "Presidental Birthplaces" Category and the "Massachusetts Historic Markers" categories. Each is a separate waymark (using the same waypoint). When I was putting in the waymark for "Presidential Birthplaces" I received no warnings that this was close to the other waymark that had already been entered and accepted. However, when I was putting in a string of historic signs in Cambridge that were less than a tenth mile away from one another but had no relation to one another, I did see a page warning me that the waymark that I was entering was close to these other waymarks. I clicked on the button "Submit Waymark Anyway." So, there is no code that will prevent someone from submitting a waymark. It's up to the category managers to review and approve the waymark. And a feature to the managers that shows the proximity of waymarks in the category to the one submitted would be nice to have, accessible by a button, maybe.

Shorelander; I just looked at my email I received an email approving my waymark for Presidential Birthplaces today at 00:17:02, and the previous one to that was another waymark approval for a Mass. Historic Sign on Wednesday the 19th at 20:36.33. I see you added three to the category on 4/20. I haven't seen any confirmation or other notices I usually see as an officer for these. Does this make sense with what you have been observing? N/S

I found a bug clicking on a 'breadcrumb link' (the links to the larger categories that a waymark is part of). This is what I did: I went to Directory Home > History/Culture > Historic Markers > Massachusetts Historic Markers Then clicked on Fenway Studios. I then went to the gallery of photos for Fenway Studios. If I click on Fenway Studios, it correctly goes back to that page. However, when I click on Massachusetts Historic Markers, the link goes all the way back to the root directory page. The clue is that on the gallery page, the chain is as follows: Home > Massachusetts markers > Fenway Studios > Fenway Studios Gallery This chain is missing the History/Culture > Historic Markers categories and may be displaying the default root category. There also seems to be inconsistency whether the last link displayed in that chain is the page you are on or the link to the next larger category. The chain on the Fenway Studios page is Directory Home > History/Culture > Historic Markers > Massachusetts Historic Markers Compare that with the chain on the gallery page shown above. Same thing happens with Pennsylvania Historic Markers and Murals. I suspect many others. On the whole, I am liking the structure, and I love the feature where you choose which picture to display in the waymark page!

Can I join as a member? I can be the official cheerleader for the group! Give me an 'I'! Give me an 'R'!... I will be looking for some iron furnaces in New England soon. Most of them have no remains, but it will still be important to me to find where they were. I visited the closest one to me (already logged as a waypoint). Inactivity isn't necessarily an indication of non-interest. It's getting warmer out. N/S

I know of at least three Professional Engineering Societies that designate places/artifacts as landmarks of interest to their profession, and include the presentation of a plaque to be mounted by that place/artifact. Such organizations I know: American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) - http://www.asme.org/history American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) - http://www.asce.org/history/hp_main.html Materials Information Society (ASM) - http://www.asminternational.org/ (Don't know if they have an active History Committee - I saw one plaque of theirs). In the first two cases, I know that they each have over 100 listings in their respective directories, all over the world (though most are in the U.S.). I would love to be manager or be a part of a group that is formed to manage this category. The following suggested variables were taken from Massachusetts Historical Signs: Agency Responsible for Placement Agency Responsible for Placement (if not in list above) Year Placed County City/Town Name Relevant Web Site Other requirements - Like Mass Historical Signs, a GPS in the photo would not be necessary, but geo coordinates at the location are needed. - One photo either of the plaque or of the place where the plaque is located is needed. The plaque may be in an exhibit where the museum (or other organization) does not allow photographs. - Rather than typing in the whole text on the plaque (the paragraphs can be long), enough should be taken from it to give someone enough understanding of why it was designated.

Wow! It's up! And there are 5 already logged! I'll log a few of my own this week. Let me know if, down the road, you need help managing it. N/S

Not too long ago, I read part of the history of the USC&G on NGS's web site. It goes into quite a bit more detail than the account given above, which was great in getting me up to speed on the rest of the history. I joined the benchmarking club partly for the coins and partly to see if it might evolve into a more formal group which the NGS might interact. It might or might not (it won't affect my membership either way). I support the idea of making our ties with NGS more formal. I'll also support efforts to formalize any 'documentation' that would help someone make right judgements in the field and properly log them both to gc.com and NGS's. There is a lot of 'stuff' out there, and much of what has been in the forums has been condensed. But a lot of stuff referenced is still written more for the surveyor than for the less technical benchmark hunter. I think we can make a strong case that non-surveyors (like me, my engineering background is from a discipline other than civil) can make a contribution, as well. One of the things I do for work is produce guidelines/user manuals/operating procedures. Another project I thought about was to determine and find what locations are of particular significance to the history of surveying/benchmarking in the country (Canada, UK, and others could look for their own, as well), state/province or other locality. Then we could use Waymarking.com to list them. For instance: http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=MY3471 is a destroyed marker that has the triangular plate to mark the location of an important early survey measurement made in 1834 by Simeon Bordon (it's in the description). http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=QF0763. is also a destroyed marker; however, NOAA just put a commemorative marker there just last July. The Calais Observatory was an important station in fixing the boundary between the U.S. and Canada and in establishing exact distances. It has particular interest for me since part of my family came from Calais-St. Stephen. http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=MY5214 is a recovered marker that has a large cement monument around it with several years and names on it and appears to be an important marker in fixing the boundary between Mass. and N.H. It has also been formally cleared for geocachers to visit it. These are all on both the GC and NGS databases but there should be flexibility in having non database ones tagged as well, if there is something left to visit (if destroyed, some remnant such as the foundation or tower remains).

I'm not entirely sure what I'm getting myself into. But, I'll give it a try. My interest in the BM geocoins/pins might be 4x year. So how do I get the secret handshake (just one more that I would have to know!)? Or maybe a secret 'wink'? N/S

I have MANY signs in mind. I have been taking pictures of many of them for another project I am doing. There are also many other historical signs (bicenntennial, Boston's, Cambridge's) that could support a category by themselves, and might be interesting for a visitor to track down. N/S

I was one of those who had been in Charlestown looking for marks and can attest that this section was also where I had the lowest recovery rate (I think my average was 1 in 7). It shows how much things can change. It didn't help that some of the coordinates were simply off by up to a couple hundred feet. One of the piers (5, I think) is now completely fenced off and probably will be built on in a short while, threatening more disks. Then there are the ones that are preserved but under a rectangular cover. Did you get the 'evil eye' from the parking attendant on Pier 11 (the pier near the Mystic River)? Still, it was well worth going through there as it led me through the part of the old Naval Shipyard that is not part of the National Park. I have found that recovery rates around piers are pretty low - you either can't access them (private property) or the piers have been modified or destroyed. But, I have found some on piers. Anyway, enough about my tales. MY3028/MY0588 - I had come to the conclusion that this was a double designation and logged where everyone else logged. The descriptions are slightly different, but there isn't enough to really tell if there they are separate disks. It is not likely that they replaced stones here, and I didn't see any stems in the vicinity. escutcheon pins - I googled the name and got what I thought they were - small brass nails. I get that 'the sketch you requested is currently not available' page all the time. I haven't broken down to pay for one, yet. I think that page is the standard one you get no matter what you request, so it was a stroke of luck that escutcheon pin was on it. My feeling, too, is that more information could be filled in for each mark entered. MY2081 - On the way to the ball game one evening, I walked one side of the bridge looking for it, then the other. I didn't see anything "obvious" myself, and, since there were hoards of people, I would not only have looked strange inspecting the bridge, but probably would eventually have been knocked over and trampled. So, fair to say, I didn't have a thorough look, but suspect that it is lost. There are several bridges that predate the turnpike (the 'extension' was built in the early sixties, I believe), that have been modified and the marks were not visible. They must either be buried/hidden or lost.

Too funny! I'd help out with listing PA waymarks but I am too far away. I'm close enough to Boston to be listing McDonalds waymarks but I want the PA Markers to win. Now if we had Massachusetts Historical Markers....

Coming Soon: Nationwide Differential GPS, or NDGPS. This is a signal broadcast from antennae on the ground that supplements the GPS signal. It works similarly to FAA's WAAS that some GPS receivers can use, but it will cover the entire country (including much of Alaska). I would bet that in a few years, you will see GPS receivers will come out that will be able to receive the NDGPS signal. Details - http://www.tfhrc.gov/its/ndgps/ Down the road: High Accuracy NDGPS or HA-NDGPS. This is the 'next generation' signal that is being tested out. Details - http://www.tfhrc.gov/its/ndgps/handgps/03039.htm

For instance, does a bank that displays the temperature in Fahrenheit as well as Celsius qualify? There are roadside ones that measure temperature that don't display the results but are used by traffic services and highway departments to understand local road conditions. I have an excellent place for this category and would post. Thumbs up!

1) In order of activity: benchmarks, geocaches, waymarks (though all activity lately has been down). 2) I report to both. N/S

Just answered my own question. This biographical sketch found says that he invented "an apparatus for measuring the base line of the trigonometrically survey of Massachusetts, which was found to be more accurate and convenient than any instrument of the kind then in existence." http://www.famousamericans.net/simeonborden/

Here is another Borden benchmark, unfortunately reported gone. It sits on top of Blue Hill just outside Boston. The triangular plate over the spot has a nice description. http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=MY3471 Do you have any links that talk about Simeon Borden?

Thumbs Up Vote!! From the other thread, I passed the Art O Mat link on to a coworker who is the Art Director. He was really interested in the concept.

Railroads will be around for a long time as a long distance carrier, especially as a transporter of raw materials such as coal. Passenger service is another story, but, again, in larger metropolitan areas, I think that commuter lines will remain (they are building new commuter rail lines in the Boston area). But, all too true, many of the lesser lines have been abandoned. Having said that, though, I give it my 'thumbs up' vote. I know that a fairly prominent trestle was taken down near where I work, and from time to time, a trestle is destroyed because either it was for a railroad line that had been long abandoned or was just too old to fix.

Do you guarantee that you'll see a bigfoot when you get there?? I guess if there is some sign that says that 'bigfoot was spotted here' then I could be won over. My preference, though, is to see 'something' when I get there.

I see my efforts in the mediumly dark counties of eastern Mass. (though I only contribuited a little to Barnstable - Cape Cod). The dark spot in central Mass., though, is none of my work - that goes to ddnutzy and others. I see a 'white spot' close by, though that I will just have to visit! I'm a little surprised that none of the Cleveland area has had any reports (I went to college there). It follows my general observations that many of the manufacturing or densely urban areas are less visited, but there are affluent sides to Cuyahoga and surrounding counties as well.

There it is, now. By a combination of bumping up its popularity and bumping down the filter to display waymarks, it showed up. I didn't need to do that with a waymark I created in two other categories, so I wasn't expecting to do it in this one.