Yin Yang Pony

This has been a very interesting thread. Having had extensive experience in the martial arts and teaching self defense, I found many of the comments hit the nail right on the head. I have only a few additional thoughts to add. 1 - We are the most vulnerable when we are distracted. So obviously when I am closing in on a cache location is when I am the most vulnerable. I use this knowledge to force myself to stop and look up from my GPS more frequently the closer I get to the cache. 2- Small yippy dogs make a LOT noise. Attackers don't like a lot of noise. Never assume you have to have a big mean looking dog to be safe, especially if you haven't trained it how to do it's job effectively. A couple of yippy dogs can raise quite a racket. 3- In order for guns to be effective it has to magically appear in your hand to moment you feel threatened AND you pretty much have to shoot first and ask questions later. A gun in the bottom of your pack won't do you a bit of good if you can't get to it in time. Also there can be no hesitation about using it. Some people have the right training and mentality for guns, most non-professionals do not. Don't waste time worrying about how to get to your gun when you should be thinking about immediate survival. 4 - The most important lesson I learned from my martial arts training is to never underestimate my opponent or overestimate my own abilities. On any given day, anyone could take me. Over confidence is just as dangerous as victim like behavior. I don't ever want find out how effective my fighting skills are, (aren't). I cache alone about 95% of the time. I usually have trouble finding someone to go with me. I enjoy caching with friends because it is more fun. Even with the extensive training I have had, I catch myself doing stupid things all the time. Each time I go out, I try to be a little smarter. I trust my gut instincts. I try to chose my caches carefully. But I refuse to limit my freedom. Telling women they have to always have someone with them, just reinforces the victim mentality. Each person has to take responsibility for thier choices and thier safety. Seize every opportunity to make yourself safe, so you can enjoy your life without feeling there is a mugger around every corner. (Most assualts are committed by someone the attacker already knows, not strangers lurking in the woods) Take one weekend out of your geocaching activities and take a good self defense class from a qualified instructor. Make sure it has the following content: Sexual Dynamics of Assualt Confrontation Avoidance Confrontation techniques De-Escalation Skills Preventative Personal Safety Skills Physical Self Defense Techniques (should take up no more than 25% of content) Good Luck everyone, stay safe, and have fun caching!

I wouldn't totally write off the Gun Show experience until you try it. I live near the a fairgrounds where they have them regularily. They have more than just guns and knives so sometimes there is even cool stuff. Yes, you have to put up with and try to ignore the militant right wing stuff. But that alone has been quite an education for a tried and true bleeding heart liberal such as myself. You get to actually see how the other half lives, and it tends to reaffirm your convictions. Also, there are quite a few nice people there. Plus, the ammo cans are available at usually a pretty good price. Good Luck!

I consider myself a newbie. I've been reading the posts for a while now. Most of the time I lurk, occasionally I respond. Do I think some people are a little over the edge? Sure. Am I intimidated by them? No. For some reason, typed words viewed on a computer screen just doesn't send shivers up my spine. But bad breath in my face does. Even when people are ranting and raving, they help me remember an important lesson in life. "Don't sweat the small stuff." And I'm glad I'm able to enjoy this sport without becoming so addicted that I lose sleep over some silly posts in a forum. I will only engage in this sport for relaxation, not as a way to add more stress to my life. If I didn't find the forum useful, I wouldn't read it.

cccooper - How does she find the time?

Please keep it. I think everyone should be totally uninhibited with their avatars. Avatar's can tell alot about the type of person they represent. That way I can avoid people I'd rather not know. Thanks for giving me a heads up about you.

I have three loves, horse back riding, woodworking and martial arts. Just before I got into geocaching, I saw a wooden box in a horse magazine. The lid had a yin yang design using the shape of horses heads. It seemed like the perfect symbol. I managed to reproduce the design on some wooden ornaments and gave them away for x-mas presents, everyone really like them. I use them now for FFP's in my caches. My avatar is a pic of my Tennessee Walker. Ain't he handsome?

The cheapest place that I have found ammo cans is at gun and knife shows. Usually they are about $5 or less each. And they have some pretty cools other stuff to check out. I'm lucky because I live a mile from a fairgrounds where they have them quite frequently.

I've found my solution. When all else fails, read the directions! I guess I'm just too "heavy thumbed" on the page button. I didn't know that holding the page button down turns the compass page on and off. Now I feel pretty stupid. I had a feeling that I was the problem, not my gps. Went out geocaching today, the 76CS worked great! I am a happy camper. Hopefully this might help someone else to keep from feeling like a fool. Sorry to have bothered everyone! Thanks

Tried that, still no go. I will keep at it. thanks - yyp

Thanks for everyone's help. The geocache icon was used, no pointer, no compass. I'm not even getting the NSEW letters on the disk. I haven't changed the batteries, yet. Still the first set I put in. I just checked it out in "demo mode" and the compass pointer and letters were working. When I was geocaching yesterday, I was moving, but the pointer and letters were not working. I'm going to try calibrating it to see if it helps but, we have a significant cloud cover today, so we'll just have to see how successful I am. This is a little frustrating, because I spent some major bucks on a unit that I thought would perform better and get better reception. A friend was with me using my old Garmin 5 and it worked just fine. Grrrrrr! Any more suggestions would be very welcome! Thanks - YYP

For some reason my compass pointer doesn't appear while I'm geocaching. This was my second try. The first time, the cloud cover was pretty thick so I assumed that I just wasn't getting a good enough signal. But today, I had a crystal blue clear sky, my satallite page showed 19 ft accuracy. But my compass just wasn't working. I want my pointer! Does anyone know what's up with this? What stupid thing am I doing wrong? Anyone? Thanks - yyp

Hey out there! I was browsing through some posts a couple of days ago, and someone mentioned that you could save alot of memory on your GPS if you did not download POI's when you transferred maps. I just downloaded City Selects v6 onto my new 76cs. There are all these POI's that I will never use. How do I filter them out so I can use the memory for something more useful? Can someone help me? Thanks! YYP

I just got an shiny new Garmin GPS maps 76CS for xmas. I guess I was a good kid this year. Naturally the owner's manual leaves quite a bit to be desired. Does anyone out there happen to know where I can find a book for this series that doesn't leave out so much information? Thanks!

Okay, so I am truly humbled. I just logged my 100th find and thought I was really cool stuff. My goal was to get my 100 before X-mas, and it wasn't exactly easy to pull off. Guess I'm not as "driven" as some others and I'm not located in a cache dense area. Thanks for a glimse into the real world of caching!

Amazing timing! I had just decided to change my pack arrangement and fought the holiday shopping crowds at Dicks. Couldn't make up my mind about what I wanted, so came home empty handed. You folks have given me some more ideas and options. I think I'm leaning toward a sling type of pack, but, I'm too cheap so will have to do some serious research to find what I want. thanks!

I just logged my 100th find. I know it's not suppose to be about the numbers It's just that it seems like if you are in the 2 figure range, you're still a rookie. Is there a magic number where you are considered a grown up in geocaching? By the way, I'm usually one of the lurkers. This is the first time, I've ever had anything to say. Oh, yeah, Happy Holidays everyone.

Hey Jeremy, Thanks a whole bunch! I mananged to get the maps I needed just before I left town! I really appreciate it! This means I may have a successful hunting trip this weekend. Just want to let you folks know that you do great work on this site. This is probably the best site I've ever checked out. Everything is very user friendly, and pretty much works great! Thanks for your dedication! Yin Yang Pony

Since no one replied to my earlier posting I have to assume one of two things. 1 - Everyone else can get their maps to print out, I'm just doing something incredibly stupid. It wouldn't be the first time. Everything on the page prints out except the map itself. I just get a big blank box. This used to work just fine. Am I doing something wrong? -or- 2 - The maps aren't supposed to print out. If this is the case, could someone please tell me that, and why it used to work, but not now. I'm going out of town this weekend and could really use those maps. Thanks! Yin Yang Pony

I the past I have always been able to print a map to a geocache after I have zoomed in to the level I need. For the past week, the maps won't print out. Is this happening to anyone else? I'm planning to do some out of town caching and I need the maps since I won't be familiar with the area. Thanks! Yin Yang Pony

Wouldn't it be great to have an option to list the cashes closest to a particular address or coordinates? Would this be possible? yyp

Hello Out There! I am very new to this. I've trying to improve my skills with my Garman V but the manual doesn't do a great job explaining all the features. Are there better manuals available anywhere that are more user friendly. I need a "Garman V for Dummies" ! Thanks! Ying Yang Pony