Pschtyckque

As Planet noted, cleaning a coin is bad. It wears off the natural patina created during the minting process. The coin will actually tarnish faster if you clean it.

Thanks for the excellent Bug! Hopefully, I'll run across another some day soon. I have tons more action figures.

As a toy collector (and graphic designer) I get my inspiration from the pages of ToyFare magazine. Pick one up. They're hysterical. Most of the pictures weren't scripted when I took them. Fortunately, both caches were large boxes under some bushes. I had plenty to work with. I wanted to do more Assimilation shots, but most of my toys are packed away.

Thanks again, guys. I hope you had as much fun reading them as I had making them. I just hope I didn't set the bar too high for the next person who finds him. And seriously, I don't know why Chekov wasn't in the last two pictures. He was standing right there. Oh, and that creature was Ephant Mon from Return of the Jedi. Only the main bridge crew guys are Star Trek figures.

Yeah, I thought about that after the fact. Ah, well. Next time. Here's the finale:

Well, he never did make it down to the Comic Con (or did, but didn't stay.) But here are some more pics for you.

I've seen that site. Nice stuff. My buddy and I are planning to do Whitney later this year. We're going to pick up the replica mark, and have it framed along with the photo of us at the summit.

I guess that could be it. A personal bug like that is actually an interesting idea.

What is the benefit of having a marker underwater? It does look cool, however. I wonder whose going to log it first.

Something similar happened to a TB I had found. But in this case, it was moved by the Bug's owner prior to being released. He had carried it over 11,750 miles during 2 months before setting it loose. This doesn't seem very "fair" to me. What do you guys think? Btw, here is the TB Po on the Go.

Thanks for the kind words, guys. I'm still laughing over it myself. It turned out funnier than I had hoped. The hard part was crouching under a very prickly bush for almost 30 minutes in the 90° heat taking those shots. But I'd do it again in an instant. Mr. Borg will soon be on his way to the San Diego Comic Convention for some more photos before being dropped off there. I'll post more when I get them. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go read it again.

Hey, guys. I recently found Mr. Borg, and after reading his goal, I thought I'd have a bit of fun with him. Check it out! (Image heavy. Sorry 'bout that).

Watch out for ANTEATERs

I've often thought of combining benchmark hunting with geocaaching. Perhaps to log the benchmarks not listed with GC.com. But as far as placing a cache in a covered mark, I don't know. I've seen some pretty nasty, spider-infested holes, and I wouldn't want to reach into them. I think that the USGS (or whichever agency placed the mark) should be asked about this first.

I found this mark over the weekend (HS4448), and it has the wrong number stamped on it. It is marked P1386, but it should be P1389 (it's in a series, and the data sheet has it as '89). There is no mention on the data sheet of the incorrect number. Does this happen often? Would they ever reset a mark due to an error such as this? ---EDIT--- Never mind. My error. This is the right number. It's .2 miles from the mark I thought it was. Boy, that's confusing. ;-)

Thanks for the comments, guys. I kept waiting for that guy to leave. But trying to get a photo without people in Yosemite on a Saturday is nigh impossible. Sadly, we didn't make it to the top of Half Dome on Monday as planned. A lightning storm turned us back. I'm surprised that there is no benchmark listed for the summit of Half Dome. Curious.

Just took this one on Saturday. HR2877 [GLACIER POINT] with Half Dome in the background.

Here's my entry. It's in portrait format, so it won't work as a desktop. KT2092 It's the Point Cabrillo lighthouse near Ft. Bragg, CA. Absolutely gorgeous. I have a larger version of the picture, but this is how it resized. I also have this shot. It's of a US Army Corps boundary marker. It's not listed on Geocaching.com, however. But I really like the picture. It's located on Table Mountain just outside of Jamestown, CA.

While Geocaching on Table Mountain near Sonora, CA, I found this mark. It is very exposed, dented, and wobbly. It's an Army Corps Boundary marker for the Sacramento region (I assume. Can't find anything about it on their website). Would this mark even still be active, as it is loose? Also, can anyone tell me where I can find any info on this? I did a search, but nothing came of it.

Great news! Let's hope it stays that way. Keep us posted.

Found this link regarding the cache. It's got some pretty good photos. Now that I see what the item actually looks like, if I had found it (and not known about geocaching) I would've definitely been suspicious. Phone Home Photos

I believe that the Park is in the practice of checking all guest's bags upon entry. I think they have been doing this since 9-11. But theoretically, anything can get in. Most of the Main Gate workers are senior citizens.

Back during the Sarin gas scare, we were instructed to search poeple's bags upon entry. We weren't told what we were looking for, but we suspected it was a bomb scare. I'm sorry, but I'm not a bomb expert. There are only 2 kinds of bombs I can recognize: a bundle of red sticks with a bunch of wires and an alarm clock attached, or a black ball with a fuse sticking out. Granted the cache was not discovered by landscapers right away. But not every inch of the Park is inspected on a daily basis. Some of the plants need virtually no care whatsoever above the timed watering system. I was merely sating that the fact that it was ultimately discovered by a landscaper doesn't surprise me. But the fact that the cache was there as long as it was, just proves how easy it is to hide something in the Park virtually undetected. The Park's administrators need to be more vigilant these days to protect the general public. I do not blame 4forfun for placing this cache. Apparently it was quite successful. No malicious intent was shown, and I believe nothing more than a reprimand may be in order. Let's hope for the best.

The problem with that, is that some bombs can be triggered to detonate upon moving. We were taught that if we saw a suspicious item, notify authorities immediately. We weren't trained to make the call whether it was a harmful device or not, nor would I want to make that decision.

As a former Disneyland cast member, I would like to add that the Park has had countless bomb threats over the years, most of them hoaxes. In this heightened age of security, a national icon such as Disneyland needs to be even more cautious than normal. Did Disneyland overreact? I don't think so. They shut the gates on Sept. 11, 2001, fearing a similar attack. We had to check people's bags after the sarin gas attacks in Japan. These are the kinds of things you do to protect the security and safety of your visitors. Mind you, I have no love for Disney. I left there after 10 years with a bitter taste in my mouth. But they are not in a position to take these sorts of things lightly. Actually, the groundskeepers have a highly respected job, and many of them have worked there for years. It's their Park, and they know every inch of it. If something is out of the ordinary, they are usually the first ones to find it. And a cell phone, hidden in a place where no cell phone could have "just been dropped", will raise a few eyebrows. Should the cache ever been placed there in the first place? Probably not. As it is private land, and does require an entrance fee, it should've been off-limits. But the possibilities for hiding something in the Park are very tempting. I would hope that no prosecution come down for something this innocent. Just my 2 cents. Take it for what it's worth.