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DanOCan

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Everything posted by DanOCan

  1. Anyone have a cheap supplier of ammo cans in or near Calgary? I would really like to find some for hiding some caches, but when I went down to Crown Surplus they were selling for $30 each, which is just WAY too much to spend on a cache before I even buy anything to put in it.
  2. I got so sick of the "you must be kidding" looks that I now resort to "We're going hiking" rather than "We're going Geocaching." I got frustrated too many times trying to explain how the GPS works, why people hide these things, how we know where they are, etc, etc that I decided it was easier to only tell part of the truth. That may not make me the best ambassador, but now that I am in I want to make sure the club remains exclusive.
  3. May as well add to my post count. I like virtuals. I don't think the .1 mile rule should apply to virtuals since there is no way a virtual could be mistaken for a physical cache. I don't like puzzle caches, so should I start encouraging people who think about placing a puzzle cache to just post the normal coordinates?
  4. OK, I'm glad to see I am not the only one who sees value in this. I also searched further back in the archives and discovered I am not the first to suggest such a thing. Since there seems to be a general agreement and it has been discussed before, I am going to close this topic. Thanks everyone!
  5. I have made a few purchases from GPS Central, both via shipping and in-store pickup. No complaints at all. In fact, it was at GPS Central that I first handled a 60CS, right after they were released and I have been trying to justify the purchase of one ever since.
  6. OK, how about this one? I am mourning for a travel bug I didn't even own. I picked it up because it was in a cache that is not the easiest to reach in the winter. We made several attempts to move it, took some pictures with it and basically became really attached to it. We finally placed it in a cache and it was picked up the next day...and never heard from again. That was two months ago and the person who picked it up hasn't even logged into GC.com since. I sent a note to the last known holder today hoping for some news and maybe a chance to save the little fella, but I have a feeling this one may be gone. I feel so responsible for it's demise, even though there is no way I could know the next person to retrieve it would be the last... Godspeed little buddy! Cricket
  7. I have an idea for an extension to Pocket Queries. How about being able to specify a set of directions from your intented search point? For example, you could specify to only include caches that are E,SE,SW, and W in your query. Let me explain why I think this would be handy: I live west of a city with a very high density of caches. I can run a Pocket Query to include 300+ caches and I still only get about 30km from home. Since I spend most of my time working in the city, I don't want to go there on days off to go caching. If I could exclude caches that are East of my home coordinates that would eliminate a large number of caches and would allow my Pocket Query to focus on more of the rural caches we favor. Yes, I know I could just move my centre point and "fake" the query, but eight simple checkboxes on the Pocket Query screen would make it a whole lot easier. Anyone besides me see the usefulness of this idea or am I out to lunch?
  8. Yeah, it was that way here (Calgary, Alberta) for the longest time. I don't drive my diesel in the winter because it is only a two-wheel drive and has too much power for driving on ice. When I last filled it in October gas was about 15 - 20 cents per litre higher than diesel. Since then diesel has skyrocketed and is the same or more than gas, which makes no sense to me and no one seems to be able to explain. Back on topic... The higher gas prices have made some changes in how we cache. Some of the caches farther away from our home coords will have to wait until we are in the area for some other purpose -- no more trips specifically for caching. It also means we think twice about going caching because we know staying home will be a lot cheaper. For the record, we paid 78 cents per litre in Cochrane, AB last night, but at least with that we got a 5 cents per litre grocery coupon. What's that work out, about $2.50 US / gallon?
  9. I think Lemon Fresh has it right on. I don't disagree with BigRedMed, there needs to be rules. However, a lot of the things he mentioned affect cachers as a whole, even if it just by giving all of us a bad name. When someone else wants to compete for more finds, more posts or more icons on their cache page it doesn't affect me in anyway. In that case I am quite content to let them cache in their own way.
  10. Yes, I had the exact same problem. It is likely related to the mapping software you have installed. For example, I had Metroguide North America v6 installed and it does not support auto routing, so I could not activate the route in nRoute. Once I installed Metroguide Canada v4, which supports auto routing, I was able to make it the active mapping software (from the pull down in the upper left corner) and then the "Activate Route" option became available. Go to this link: GPS Central Near the bottom of the page there is a section called "MapSource nRoute Add-on for Laptop Use" that contains a drop down list of the compatible mapping products. A friend of mine just showed me nRoute last week -- I think it is great.
  11. How about putting a regular ammo can in it as a FTF prize?
  12. At the risk of sounding like one of the "cache snobs" I complain about, it doesn't sound very interesting. That could just be because I am the sort of person who doesn't like caching on or near private property, even if the owner is OK with it. I have thought of hiding a cache near my house because we have some great wilderness around us, but quite frankly I don't want the additional traffic, both vehicular and pedestraian that it would cause. I don't think the other people in town would like it either.
  13. I was a Boy Scout, a proud member of the Second Coaldale (Alberta) troop...I think I left around 1986 or so... Now I'm a volunteer firefighter so I still get to work on all the knots that gave me headaches back in those days.
  14. I am a "numbers don't matter person", but don't worry, I don't slam anyone who worries about numbers...to each his own. Anyway, your question intrigued me enough to search back to see what our record is. In turns out our most caches in a day is six. I was surprised, I never would have expected it to be that high. Our second best mark for a day is three, which we have done five times. Our biggest concentration was 14 caches in 4 days, which we did last August while on holidays in Oregon. Caching just provides such a great way to see different places that other tourists might not go and to get off the beaten path. Whenever we go to a different area I make it a point to run a Pocket Query to see if there are any caches that sound interesting near the destination. Cheers!
  15. Most of the stickers I have seen have been quite good. They have the cachers' name(s), what find number it was for them, their logo, their location or some combination of the above. I actually have thought about doing it myself but I am not creative enough to do a "good" sticker. To me there is no doubt it counts as signing the log and no one will convince me otherwise.
  16. I love it when these old topics get bumped, especiallty when they are too long for me to remember if I replied the first time around. Anyway, if we made an actual attempt to look for the cache and can't find it then we will log it as a DNF. I think it is important for other cachers to know whether a cache is still active or not -- if everyone starts posting a DNF then it is clear there is a problem. If we run out of time and drive past a cache location or take a wrong turn on a path and can't get near the cache I don't think it is a DNF and I won't log it. But, if we get to the actual location and can't find the container, I will log a DNF with pride. After all, all of my logs become part of my caching record and they help me remember where we have been and the fun we had.
  17. We set goals when we cache. -- Our goal is to get out and enjoy some fresh air and get exercise. -- Our goal is to go someplace we have never been before. When it comes to your second question, the answer is more complex: I log our finds because I want to keep track of where we have been and what caches we have found. I like to know how many caches we have found, just for our own satisfaction, not for purposes of comparing us to other cachers. Our numbers are not impressive (less than 50 finds in 15 months), but caching is something we do for fun when we have time. If there is a weekend where we have nothing booked then we will knock off a cache or two. Normally I will sit down with our Pocket Queries and GSAK and see which cache looks the most interesting to us on that day. If there are some others close by then we may hunt them, or we may leave them for another day. I guess we are pretty casual cachers -- we'll pick a cache and make a day of it. We aren't into seeing how many caches we can knock off in a day. We don't care if we are the first to find. We don't care if we hunt every new cache or every cache that it listed as being the closest to our home coordinates. Quite frankly, I don't see the point in that -- plenty of people do and the beauty of caching is others can cache in a way that is enjoyable to them and it doesn't hurt my experience at all.
  18. We normally head out with a laptop, iPaq, the trusty eTrex Legend, digital camera, two cell phones, compass, and if we think we might end up needing them a set of FRS radios. We use Pocket Queries and GSAK to determine what caches we want to do, then use a combination of Streets and Trips and/or Mapsource to determine how to get there. On scene we will try and hide the laptop under a seat or something, and use GPXView on the iPaq if we need additional cache information enroute. If I am feeling really naughty I will use Netstumbler after the cache find to seek out someone's open Wifi to log our find, but normally it is easier to just head home. All in all, pretty standard paperless setup. Biggest problem is remembering to bring a pen to sign the micro logs.
  19. I am happy to say I finally broke down and paid for GSAK. I also have paid for gc.com, but for different reasons. I bought a gc.com membership because there was specific functionality (Pocket Queries) that I could not get with the free version. I bought GSAK because I think it is a very useful tool and one that I want to see Clyde keep developing and working on. In theory I could have kept using it forever for free and gotten the same functionality, so I did it just because it was the right thing to do. I had used GSAK for about 9 months before buying. I had learned to start it right away and then do other things like check email while waiting for the "GSAK Spouse" (hilarious!) to disappear. You know, in many cases I specifically won't purchase products with a nag screen because I don't want to encourage the idea that they work (kind of like buying products advertised via spam or pop-up ads), but some things are just too useful to pass up. I honestly cannot imagine caching without Pocket Queries and GSAK.
  20. That sums it up for me too -- I don't mind a "gather information from here and use it to fill in the numbers for the actual location", but the cryptography ones and ones that require large amounts of thinking are just too much for me to bother with.
  21. We don't have very many lightpole caches here -- in fact I have never seen one. (A lightpole cache, I mean -- I have seen plenty of light poles!) I actually want to travel to an area that has some just to try one so I can come into the forums and complain like everyone else. To be honest, I've never looked at a lightpole closely enough to know what everyone is talking about. I'll have to check one out sometime.
  22. Yeah, I won't even try and understand the differences between the Metroguide and City Select products. It seems like the further into it I get the more confused I become. I guess the bottom line is that for my area N.A. v6 is more detailed than Can v4 so that is the one I will stick with. Thanks for the link.
  23. Thanks for the link. It really seems strange when I read the chart that Canada v4 is "the most detailed maps of Canada" and has 326 MB of map data for Canada vs just 80 MB for NA v6 because, as I said, for our area the N.A. product has much more information vs the Canadian only product.
  24. Our fire department uses Mapsource Canada v4 for mapping purposes. Last year I purchased Mapsource North America v6. I have discovered that my version seems to have improved detail for our area and also corrects several glaring errors in the Canada v4 product. For example, on the v4 product we cannot locate specific addresses in our town. Also, it had a local golf course located far from where the actual course sits. The North America v6 product has fixed these glaring errors, yet most websites seem to say that Canada v4 is more detailed than NA v6. I am curious if others have used the two products and which they have found better for their particular area -- is my experience unique?
  25. Your post reflects my feelings so well I don't know if I should even try and add anything, bit I will. I am somewhat disheartened by the "cache snobs" who seem to think all caches need to meet their standards for "non-lameness". For me the activity is what counts -- we got outside, we got some excersise and we didn't just stay home and do nothing. Whether it is a micro, a virtual, a DNF or otherwise is irrelevant. I figure it is not my place to judge someone else's hide as to its degree of lameness. That is totally different from notifying a cache owner about maintenance issues or a problem with a cache. To me, I never ask myself "Why did the cache owner bring me here?" because the answer is obvious: "To find the cache." We already have "wow factor" standards for virtuals, we don't need them for traditionals as well.
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