Steve&GeoCarolyn
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Posts posted by Steve&GeoCarolyn
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Words are symbols just as pictures are symbols. Why would you be more offended by a picture of a swastika than you would be offended by the word?
That is a fascinating question, isn't it? Why are pictures so much more powerful than words? Even symbols, which are not quite like real pictures?
My guess is that it has to do with how far it is removed from reality. A picture is one level removed from the real. You're not seeing the real thing, but your mind doesn't have to do too much to evoke it because the picture is in front of you. Words are two levels removed from the real since they have to both evoke the picture in your mind and translate that into your understanding of reality. So does that mean that pictographic alphabets are more evocative?
Wouldn't it be wonderful to have the time and money to study this?
Carolyn
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Putting the cache in Germany would be illegal as the use of the Swastika has been banned in that country.
Thus, extremely provocative.
Carolyn
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Because some have pointed out that the symbol is not the problem? Because we all have the power to reconsider our prejudices in light of new information? Because we have become enlightened? I'm not saying that any of these are true for you, but you ask why... there are three potential reasons, should you chose to use them.
Even if everyone reading this becomes enlightened today and realizes that the symbol is not the reality, the map is not the territory, and words are just pretty puffs of air, it doesn't address what happens when someone opens this cache in the field.
That is the real question here. Is this symbol too redolent with malice to be used? Or has enough time moved on that no one would be offended? My guess is that a cache in Missouri would find few people offended but that there would still be a small number who would be. The same cache in New Jersey or Illinois would have a different audience and probably more negative reactions. Putting the cache in Germany would probably be extremely provocative.
Know your audience and be careful with your words and symbols. And yes, a local reviewer would be an excellent resource for checking on these things.
Carolyn
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Offended is too strong a word, but it would make me uncomfortable.
We had a similar challenge when we put together a murder mystery party set in Algiers during WWII and we ended up avoiding symbols that would evoke a strong bad reaction. We also reduced the level of horror by side-stepping the issue of what the refugee characters were running from. We wanted to make sure that people would enjoy the evening. We wanted them to be caught up by the story, but not triggered into personal bad associations or feelings of horror.
The problem with symbols like the swastika or the burning cross is that they are not yet symbols of our barbaric past. They are symbols with resonance today and are used by modern groups whose goals and beliefs I find disagreeable.
As to those who complain that the symbol was appropriated from Hindu symbolism and misused, that is true. But we must deal with the meaning of symbols as they are used in our culture and in the context we have. I really doubt that the OP wants to signal Hinduism with his use of the swastika, nor do I think that most people finding his cache would be making that association. So I think the origin of the symbol (whether India or Persia or Ancient Greece) is besides the point.
If it were me, I would find another way. Symbols are powerful and sometimes they can overpower the story you are trying to tell with your puzzle cache.
Carolyn
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We've found ants, termites, slugs, spiders, millipedes, ticks, and other bugs I cannot name in caches, however, we've never found roaches in caches. That said, you can spot our enormous Memphis roaches wobbling along on sidewalks like fat-bellied drunkards. They are totally unafraid of people, so I suspect that we will someday find one in a cache.
Carolyn
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This is a well known position which I don't subcribe as it is. Frustration is a human emotion and will survive all nice theories like this. Some individuals have a good and kind heart and can go through a DNF with no negative feelings. Some others gain this ability with experience (I'm almost reaching this point as I only feel frustration in some cases now). But generally speaking a DNF means negative emotions. Yeah, great, the place was nice but... we went there for something and we didn't accomplish it. Besides... for simple romanting findings, there is Waymarking.com.
Ricardo
I don't think it has as much to do with a kind heart than it does with how you think about geocaching. I think it depends on what your goal is, what game you are playing within geocaching. For example, I feel no frustration when I don't get a FTF because that's not part of the interior game I'm playing. But one of the true FTF hounds might feel quite frustrated at that failure to be first.
As a newbie, it has been incredibly useful to me to try out the various games people play within geocaching (FTF, Numbers Runs, High Terrain collectors, etc.) and to figure out what my interior game is. I want the story. I want something I can write up in my log as an adventure or funny story. I want photos that are beautiful or unusual.
Last weekend we DNF'd one cache and found two others. I was pretty excited by the first DNF because it was attached to an adventure and the coordinates led us to a good place to photograph. I had something to write about! The other two caches were less exciting, even though we found them. I got good photos from all three, so overall the day was a win for me.
Had we found three unexceptional hides with no adventure and scant photo opportunities, I would have been frustrated because I would be failing at my personal game.
Carolyn
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I have a "truth in numbers" section in my profile so that puritans can make adjustments to my numbers in case they disagree with some the Found Its I have logged. The point is that if someone has 17,000 finds and they logged the 100 cache they own plus have left 60 replacement caches and maybe have not signed a wet log 80 time they will have found by a puritans count 16,760 caches.
But that isn't what is bothering the puritan. The puritan is bothered because that person has been "dishonest" 240 times. I believe that many times the puritans have stated that they don't care about someone else's actual number. What they care about is that there are geoachers who would "lie" even one time. Whether you have 17,000 finds or 70 finds, if you "lie" even once, then the puritans will have condemned you. The biggest issue I have is that some puritans feel that the only motivation to lie is to get a bigger number and therefore any one with a big number is more likely to be a liar. That is like saying that everyone who is rich is likely to be a thief.
But they are concerned about "lying" in only one direction, aren't they? I met someone who says that for quite a while he never logged micros. He found them, but didn't bother to log them. So his numbers are probably wildly inaccurate. Does anyone care about this kind of inaccuracy? Not that I can tell.
My personal policy is that I don't log hides that I can't say something nice about or don't remember well enough to write up a log entry. So if I have honestly logged (according to purist doctrine) 100 finds and haven't logged another 20 finds that I found dull or unmemorable, am I dishonest?
Can you trust my numbers? Clearly not since they don't include the caches I decided not to log. But from what I can tell from the forum discussions, no one is at all concerned about people whose numbers skew downwards because of selective or slip-shod logging.
Carolyn
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Does the "straw" all lay in the same direction, or is it randomized, like you'd find in the wild?
It's random bits, including little shavings and bark. It's rather shiny (always looks "wet"), which can be good or bad depending on location. Here I glued a large mat of rubber mulch to the lid of a small lock-n-lock, and put on its side, among tree roots. My next step would be to rip it to fit (you can do that on-site).
EDIT: The stuff takes a little camo paint just fine, which reduces shininess. Hadn't tried it til just now, since it's rubber, and I thought it wouldn't paint well. I have tried various glues, and it seems fine with Goop or whatever you want. If you want to have a lot of overhang, back it up with something to reinforce it, otherwise it can rip.
Here it's glued to a small lock-n-lock, and those are pretty easy to hide anyway.
That looks great, Kunarion! I can think of a number of places the shininess would work here. However, my Lowes store is clearly defective since they didn't have this stuff. I shall have to look elsewhere. Thanks for sharing this.
Carolyn
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Whoo Hoo!! Another convert to my nefarious plot!
I should warn you that while I am willing to join your nefarious cult of Mossy Ammo Can Creators (MACC), I draw the line at cuddling with pythons or poking alligators. Even cultists have limits.
Carolyn, two thing I noticed I neglected in my tutorial:
1 ) Prepping the medium.
I use a heavy duty pair of crafting scissors to chop up the Spanish moss and the excelsior into roughly 1" bits.
The floral moss just gets shredded by hand into about 1" bits.
These get stored in gallon ziplocks. When I am ready to apply, I've got the open ziplocks next to me in a tub.
I just reach down and pluck out which ever stuff I want for that section of the ammo can.
2 ) Adhesion.
After you create your "pattern", you need to firmly press the medium into the caulk.
That's the messiest part, and where the rubber gloves come in the most handy.
After you do a few cans, your project area will be covered in stray bits of medium. I save this for small jobs.
Thank you for the additional information. I have now gone to Lowes and picked up Spanish moss and various other things. I will still need to get the green moss and I'm thinking of adding some local dried bark, twigs, and leaves to the mix.
Carolyn
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How well do those things hold up in the wet swampy (or partial swampy) areas?
It's a maintenance issue. Over time, the bits of moss snap off at or near the roof repair caulk.
I swap out a new one for the old one every couple years, then reapply caulk/moss to the old one.
Recycling at its best. This can was pulled after about 26 months in the field:
Thank you! That doesn't seem bad at all for 26 months and I'm sure that as voracious as the environment here is, the swamps you traverse are probably even more so. So, I will soon be paying a trip to our local craft store so that I too can have a mossy ammo box.
Carolyn
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I think one of the geo-checkers offers the CO the ability to limit the number of guesses per hour.
EVINCE does that. If you make one mistake it delays your next attempt by five minutes. If you blow the second try it takes something like eight hours before you can make another attempt. It is frustrating when it turns out that you miskeyed rather than made a mistake in the puzzle. But it is still better to use EVINCE than it is to make an unrealized mistake and walk into someone's backyard while following the little arrow on the GPS. (Lesson learned: the GPS is not always right and we are not as smart at puzzles as we think we are.)
Carolyn
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Personally, for every cache I find I do these four things: take a photo, write something unique, describe the condition of the cache and log, and thank the owner. For every cache I find.
Do you do many puzzle caches? I do those four things for most of the caches I find. However, there are some caches where a photograph would immediately give away the answer to the puzzle. For those I keep the photos to myself.
Carolyn
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we are wondering whether the moss would just turn to compost within a few months.
Carolyn,
If you're looking for something that doesn't wilt, you can get artificial mulch. It comes in a couple of colors, and there's a pine straw version, and "wood chips", all made of rubber.
That sounds pretty cool! Where do you find it?
Carolyn
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Don't feel bad about logging your DNF's! I recently hit find #100 and had a specific idea for my "coundown to 100" with a specific group of 5 caches by a specific co. I was only able to find 1 of the first 4, putting an end to my well made plans and I fell a couple short of hitting 100. I logged the DNF's and was soon notified by the co that all 3 DNF's were gone! I have no problem at all with my DNF being the final entry for an archived cache and I feel good that by recording my DNF I saved many future hunters the time chasing a missing cache.
Good advice! I would go a bit further. Embrace your DNFs for the adventure they are. Some of my best days have been in searches where we ended up with a DNF. Also, the find is sweeter after a few DNFs.
Carolyn
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how do i convert one to the other and do you have any suggestions i can read to understand it better
The easiest way is to go to this page: http://www.geocaching.com/wpt/
Then just choose the format you have, enter your coordinates in that format, and click the Change Waypoint button. It will show the coordinates in a variety of different formats.
The best thing to do is to set up your Magellan to match the way Geocaching.com does the coordinates. I don't know how to do that in the Magellan but I'm sure someone else does.
Carolyn
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Apply bits of physical camo.
I like to use floral moss, spanish moss and excellsior.
I also thank you for the demo.
How well do those things hold up in the wet swampy (or partial swampy) areas? We see things revert to nature at an alarming pace here. So we are wondering whether the moss would just turn to compost within a few months.
Carolyn
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it was just confusing to me will the stats update on there on or will i have to export to html and past into my account page every now and then ?
You will have to get a Myfinds query and upload it and then export to HTML and revise your account page each time you want to update your stats. You can only do this once per week, though. If I only have one find in a week, I will sometimes wait until the next week to update stats.
Carolyn
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Thank you thank you thank you i feel kinda dumb lol
Yay! Congrats on getting your stats up. I enjoy mine.
Carolyn
P.S. No need to feel dumb. It took me a few hours to get the hang of the stats thing.
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i hate to ask but do you have yahoo messenger or some kind of IM so maybe you could talk me through it if not its no problem thanks
Strange to say, but the only IM I use these days is one for work and iChat with my beloved when we're working a puzzle cache together and need to send info. However, you are free to use my email as a chat mechanism. Go to my profile page and email me from there and I'll respond. It would help if you would send me your zip file and I'll take a look.
Carolyn
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I don't carry reading glasses since they would quickly be covered in mud from my hands and lost. What I use instead is a small magnifying glass with a built in light that I bought from Walgreens for $10. It's been quite handy, especially when reading the numbers off travel bugs. Since it is in my pack, I only remove it when I need it and I put it away when I'm done.
Carolyn
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i am haveing trouble with mygeocachingprofile.com when i browse and find my PQ's i upload it and it says this: Invalid Pocket Query file. Please upload an official My Finds Pocket Query file from www.geocaching.com. and my PQ's came from geocaching.com im confused lol HELP
Did you unzip it? It seems counter-intuitive to me, but you must upload the zipped file you get from Groundspeak and not the unzipped version. Try that.
Carolyn
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There are meaner 4-legged critters than alligators?
Most of the gators I encounter are 6' long or less. Not a true threat to an adult human.
There have been rare instances where a larger alligator has dined on a person, but for the most part, they will avoid you.
The obvious exceptions are mating season and when Momma is sitting on a nest.
So long as you pay attention to your surroundings, and keep a mental note on the calendar, you'll be fine.
Thank you for your reply. I find this a great relief since I long to see the swamps along the bayou and the Everglades. I have been told that they are even more beautiful than the swamps here, which are already breathtaking. However, the thought of alligators has been a bit of a concern. I shall study up before planning a trip there so that I know to avoid mating and reproductive season and plan to enjoy the swamps.
BTW, I read your snake story to my beloved and he sends his thanks to you for getting the python home to his owner. (He is sympathetic to homeless snakes and worries that they will be killed by the authorities whenever they hit the news in such a spectacular fashion.)
And now I will stop hijacking the gun thread with all this critter talk.
Carolyn
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How do I add my statistics within my profile ? I can't seem to figure it out. I see the place to add a stat bar only.
It's a third-party sort of thing. You can use GSAK (Windows), GCStatistic (Mac), or one of the various web pages that will do it for you like MyGeocachingProfile.com (which is what I use).
Before they can give you cool statistics to put on your profile, you need to go to your pocket queries on geocaching.com<http://www.geocaching.com/pocket/> and ask for the MyFinds file to be sent to you. You can get this file sent once a week. Then you upload this to your chosen tool and they give you stats you can put on your profile.
I know that's over-easy and light on details. If you want to know more about any individual step within it, just ask.
Carolyn
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Hi cachesuchen, allow me to qualify my answer by saying I am a staunch advocate of gun rights.
That being said, I've learned over the decades that the most dangerous critter on the planet has only two legs.
You won't find many of these critters in the boonies I like to play in, so my Glock 21 tends to stay in the truck.
If I am caching in an environment favorable to these critters, (urban jungles), then I keep my handgun handy.
Because I live in Florida, there are no 4 legged critters that I can't dissuade from attacking with just a pokey stick.
If I lived somewhere with meaner 4 legged critters, I'd probably feel differently.
Seriously? There are meaner 4-legged critters than alligators? I kind of thought that alligators, crocodiles, and sharks were single-minded eating machines who would chomp through anyone who entered their path. Wouldn't pokey sticks just be an appetizer to an alligator? Something to clear the palate before they move on to your delicious flesh?
Carolyn
(I don't carry a gun, don't want to, and don't care what other people carry as long as they don't lecture me about my gunless state.)
Would you be offended by a swastika on a cache container?
in General geocaching topics
Posted
Lately, there's been a bunch of research in neuroscience on the salience of pictures vs. words that's really interesting but I am also sadly ignorant. It is one of several areas I think would be fascinating to do graduate work in. (Unfortunately, my beloved points out that being fascinated by a variety of fields is not the way to get a Ph.D., which is an exercise in narrowing one's interests.)
I am not certain that fear is the animating emotion. It could be for some people, but my guess is that there is a melange of negative emotions stirred up by that symbol.
Carolyn