Mr Smiles

Where can I find log-sheet forms of various sizes to print out?

Many caches have been hidden in public areas of privately held land. Parking areas of malls, big-box retailers, hospitals, and golf courses and the landscaped planter strips associated with these places, for example, are popular places to hide caches. My question is: when is a public place not a public place for the purposes hiding caches without explicit permission? In many instances, if not most, it would be nearly impossible to even find an individual with authority to grant permission, let alone getting the grant.

Sooo, I have a great idea ...fun for all...that would require that I place one leg (but not the final leg) within about 75' of an existing physical cache. Is this allowed? Mr Smiles

This may help the understanding. Search the forums for the keyword "Centroid". At least your understanding of how a centroid is found will explain why the geographic center of a town or postal zone do not seem to make sense. (Centroids are fun!) Mr Smiles

My Vista C is still pretty new to me, and I am not sure about better reception, but the "C" does everything faster...including acquiring the satellites...and is pure pleasure to use. I often had problems screen-reading with the Vista, which led to errors, required that I stop everything to get into favorable light, etc. The "C" is much easier to read under every light condition that I have tried. I am quickly coming to appreciate the menu/submenu and quit buttons as I don't have to visually locate the highlighted option button and toggle my way through the screens and menus. I find the users manual to be more thoughtfully presented also, which might be a boon to someone new to GPS navigation. Mr Smiles

My final destination will be the Holland America Lines Terminal, but I am driving... My hope was that I could get one or two really nice or different caches to start...then I'd find "Nearby Caches"...and go from there. Thanks for writing (and I know that Your beautiful City is not a village) Mr Smiles

I'll be in Vancouver with an hour or two to spare. I'd like to have a suggestion for a couple of your best. (I like all types.) Thanks for your help! Mr Smiles

I have a photo or two that might look nice on the main page. How ya gonna know about them? Are the photos selected "behind the scenes" from our galleries?

...so the lady having coffee with me was telling me what she did for fun, and as she rambled on, my brain hit the brakes back in conversation when she used a word that I had never heard before. (geocaching) I had to ask her three times and then to spell it for me. She said she enjoyed taking her kids and their young friends out and to teach them how to use a GPS. I asked her if she would teach me. A few days later we went out and found three or four with her lengend, and I bought my Vista a day or two later. I have found 134 caches since that day last february, and likely about half of them I have found with her. We have become great friends, and we have had just a TON of fun hiking and hunting caches together.

I have a great Halloween theme cache planned. This theme would be outdated soon, and would likely not be considered "of a permanent nature". The location would lend itself well to other seasons, (Thanksgiving, Xmas, etc.) and I would edit the cache page accordingly. Questions: Would such a change best be accomplished with archiving/resubmitting? If the location remained the same, but the cache "character" completely changed, would return visitors be able to log a new find? What would your suggestions be regarding the best way to do this? Mr Smiles

(.... Mr Smiles reaches into his swag bag...pulls out a tube of Pringles...offers it in trade for the bag of chips and says..."When you're done, you can put a little logbook in there and ...")

About 600 years BC, a Sufi mystic wrote this poem for geocachers: "Out beyond all rightdoing and wrongdoing There is a field. I'll meet you there. And when our souls lie down in that grass, The world becomes too big to speak of." Cache with a Smile, Post with a grin... Mr Smiles

My business for 12 years, with over 200 employees working with chainsaws and wood chippers in almost constant contact with poison oak, and a Workers Compensation carrier threatening to cancel my coverage due to poison oak-related lost time, I tried *all* of the above mentioned preventions and cures. Technu works, *but*, even with Technu, nothing worked better for prevention than washing, washing, washing, (4 times in an 8 hour shift) . We used Fels Naptha in bar soap form, but believe that dish soap works just as well. The Technu was reapplied after each washing. This aggressiveness in the field paid off. Now, if you screwed up, and are afflicted with a devilish dose, there is a method that has proven to alleviate that itch...It'll cost you nothing to try. Affected areas held in *very* hot water for 15 to 20 minutes, will get relief because the body will quit producing histamines...and histamines are what cause the itch. As far as I know, the hot water method will not do anything to remove the rash, or make it go away any faster, but you can get a nights sleep out of it. Remember that some of the discussions/methods have to do with pre-exposure, some have to do with post exposure/pre-reaction, and some have to do with post exposure/post reaction. Cold water is best for washing up, hot water for when it's too late. I've noticed that many women that are very allergic to the urishiol, will get the rash on arms, legs, stomach, etc. and not get it on the face. Make-up base providing the block? If you are going to spotaneously go for a cache, and don't have your technu with you, use sunscreen. Not as good as Technu...but better than nothing. Gasoline can burn your skin very badly if not washed with soap afterwards. What's the point? If you have soap and water, skip the volatiles and just wash.

I'll pass on the hug...for now! I walked up on the FTF signing the log! Who's gonna beat that for a near miss?

I revisit caches for a variety of reasons, and my caches get revisited. Notes are the way these repeat visits are logged. (I have one cache that has been revisited 4 times by one cacher since it was placed this spring, and I almost think of him as co-owner!) Mr Smiles

So, what I gather from these posts and other (limited) research, ELEVATION, as a clue to a cache location, would not be helpful to a majority of GPSr owners. (While my Vista would tell me at a glance if the cache were "UNDER the bridge or ON the bridge" , a cacher without altimeter function would have to try both.) Regarding CONVERSION of waypoint FORMAT, there is still confusion. From what I gather about this, MOST GPS units will do the conversion if the cacher just knew how to toggle the right buttons. Is this right?????

I've run this question in the "Topics" forum, but this might be a better place to ask, being GPSr oriented. Do most units display elevation if set up to do that? Will most units convert Formats? My example for use regarding reading Elevation: (1) Is the waypoint ON the bridge or Under the bridge? Is the waypoint on the 3rd. level of the parking garage, or the 1st? My example for Converting Formats: (1) My map shows a targeted waypoint in UTM Format, and I want to route it in DD.DD.DDD (2) The 1st chevron of a multi is listed in one format. The second leg, (when I arrive) is given in another format. My "Vista" does this, but I want to know if other geocachers would be unable to read elevation or convert formats, using Magellan, or other Garmin products. Thanks! Mr. Smiles

I have been contemplating a multi cache placement where elevation reading and Format conversion in the field would be part of the description/directions. Imagine going to a five story parking facility with coords that lead you to the front entrance...and leg #1 container is 3 stories directly up over your head. (Elevation Clue) Finding that container, you now are given coords to leg#2 given in UTM Format. My question is; How many GPSrs would not be able to furnish the important info to the cachers? Can most units convert? Read Elevation? Thanks! Mr. Smiles

It seems that I have more "hidey" genes than findy ones. because I put WAY more effort into that side of the game. In both the hiding and seeking I am building my expereince and skill levels, and the more I find, the more my imagination soars. There certainly is more to it than I ever imagined when I first started caching. I compare this pastime to others that I enjoy, or used to enjoy...Hunting, fishing, canoeing. golf, archery, etc., and think about how much money I have spent in those pursuits compared to the "costs" of geocaching. Reminding myself about this, I tend to be a little more generous than the average cacher, or so it seems, in both what I will put into my hides, as well as how I trade. For caches that I find, I will leave them somehow a little better for my visit if I can. For caches that I place, I will provide a unique, or humorous, or educational experience. I never have, and never will, put a film canister under a lamp base at WalMart. I have, but won't again, trade unfairly. I have, but won't again, put my fellow geocachers in an unhealthy environment while seeking my cache. I used to, but don't anymore, expect any other geocachers to maintain my standards. (does my "Halo" shine?)

Do rat poison containers leak? If not where can I get some?

RastaDave says he obtained the CD's lawfully. There is no other issue(s) in this thread other than "snarkiness and sanctimoniusness" and with THOSE one might question the appropriateness. CD and other recorded music "swapped" in a cache is a great idea. My bigger concern might be that you will get a bunch of McToys swapped for good music. It will be a popular cache. The swag will be enjoyed by the caching community long after the initial discovery. Some of the songs will remind them of the caching experience of that day. It would be a cache that I would visit often. My vote: Beyond appropriate!!! Mr Smiles

Got mine here: http://www.galleria-e.com/cgi-bin/Colemans...duct/130401&2D2 Added: Note that they are described as ..."waterproof containers..." not so! Mr Smiles

I put out a couple of decon boxes in wet locations, only to have to replace them due to leakage. I still have one in a fountain where it is above the water line, but has water dribbling over it 24/7. This one stays dry (inside) because I found (after a lot of shopping) an "O" ring that is a perfect size. I still get "Found It" logs on occasion that report moisture inside of it too. This is due to some cachers just not snapping the lid down tight all around, and there is nothing I can do to prevent that, so I have put a note inside that asks for no trade items that would be adversly affected by moisture. My logbook is contained in a fishing license holder, and it has yet to come up wet. Also, I thought that I had found a solution in a box that is a similar size and shape to the decon made by Witz Products http://www.witzprod.com/witzprod/product.cfm it leaked also, and the manufacturer and retailer were unsympathic. Mr Smiles

As a brand new "out of the box" newbie, I went forth without thoroughly reading the owner's manual, and didn't altogether "get" what my "Getting Started" pamphlet told me. For example: My Etrex Vista required calibrating the compass I didn't know the difference between "Heading" and "Bearing". I was not in the "WASS Enabled" mode. I didn't know how to use the Satelite page to "Zero Out" I didn't know if I wanted "Default" settings or not. I was afraid of "messing up" by clicking around the menus In other words, when all else fails, read the destructions! Do simple search tasks first, get familiar with the gizmo, and if at all possible, go out with an experienced cacher a time or two. Hope that you have as much fun with this as I have had! Mr Smiles