eagletrek
-
Posts
269 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by eagletrek
-
-
I think I fit right about there! Frankly, who cares?????
-
I wonder how much those numbers are skewed by the fact that many of the people who are killed in there homes by firearms are not 'normal'. For instance, you hear of a bunch of people being shot in homes when drug deals go bad. The people living in that drug house have a MUCH more likely chance to have a violent end than the 'normal' person. In my opinion, the fact that the people owned a gun is not necessarily the driver of the statistics. The fact that these people led lives that got them killed was the driver.That still doesn’t support your contention that homeowners shoot themselves far more than they shoot bad guys. That claim also leaves out all the times homeowners (or other citizens) use firearms without shooting.
Nope, and I did not try to support it - if you discuss the whole post instead of out-of-context sentences the end reads:
How does my experience match national statistics? I have no clue... but I stand by my position that having a gun is more dangerous to you and your family than not until I see statistics showing otherwise!Got stats?
Glad to hear the OPer is recoverying WITH his GPS.... now for a drift to off topic...
There are stats on this subject, see the reference and quote below or in summary...
People with guns in the home are more at risk of dying from a firearm homicide or firearm suicide . The breakdown on the deaths comes from the paper. You can see 1 in 3 are killed during an arguement, while 1 in 6 are killed during a robbery. Therefore if you have a gun in the home, you are more likely to die for the wrong reason than in defending yourself in a robbery.
It, of course, does not estimate how many robberies or deaths were prevented by the gun owning homeowners. None of the surveyors wanted to knock on their doors!
This is not a political statement, just a fact from an epidemiology publication.
The data comes from 49 states (South Dakota has a law about looking at death cert for research, hmm wonder what they are hidding
) and a 10% sampling of everyone 15 years and older who died in 1993. Aprox. 2000 deaths make up this data."Over three quarters (76.3 percent) of the homicide victims knew their assailant. Nearly one third (31.7 percent) of the homicides occurred during a family argument, 15.4 percent during a robbery, 4.1 percent during a drug deal, 0.2 percent during an abduction, and 44.1 percent for other unspecified reasons. In 4.5 percent of the homicides, multiple circumstances were reported."
Guns in the Home and Risk of a Violent Death in the Home: Findings from a National Study
Linda L. Dahlberg1 , Robin M. Ikeda2 and Marcie-jo Kresnow3
1 Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
2 Epidemiology Program Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
3 Office of Statistics and Programming, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
Received for publication February 9, 2004; accepted for publication June 7, 2004
I believe sbell111 is on to something!!!!! If only "normal" folks should have guns, then I think it's high time that all "cachers" surrender their weapons!!!!!
-
Two months ago I went to a cache completely destroyed by mowing and clearing and helped clean up the site. Today I wake up to find the following image on Bridging the Gap (GC11318), my first placed cache:
Not again. Sheesh. That was my last can, to boot.
On another note, I never realized anything could slice through an ammo can like that. Wow.
I've posted another topic on this before, when I cleaned up the first one, but I just had to say, there is something annoyingly sad about having your cache run over without anyone realizing it's even there...
No sympathy from me. On the bright side, we at least know that you hid it well!!!!!!!
Could this be a plea for an "ammo can" handout?????
-
Well I guess the OP's comments make those "Wal-Mart lightpost skirt caches" seem more acceptable and enviro-friendly!!!!!! No rants please!!!!! Just kidding!!!!!!!!!
-
I have used reflective tacks before. I got mine from walmart and I didn't pay $10.If you want your cache to be essentially inaccessible during daylight hours better go with the stealth type which I don't believe are available at Walmart. Just did a night cache the other "day".
Based on price, I think I'd go the Wal-Mart route. I've been able to purchase 8 packs of the plain ole reflective tacks for 10 cents a pack, after hunting season.
As far as being able to see the tacks during the day, it all depends on how you place them and the distance from tack to tack. Come to my neck of the woods and I'll give you a good run for your money. I'm currently redesigning a night cache that will use reflective tacks and LED flashers and I'll guarantee that few if any will find it during the day.
-
This thread should be called I carry a gun, neato. I carry a gps and a flashlight and found over 900 caches in my first five months. I do believe gun control means using both hands but give me a break, who cares if you carry.
No need to worry about carrying a gun if it comes with its own wheels!!!!! The only problem is terrible gas mileage!!!!
-
How absolutely right you are! Good situational awareness can do more to keep you safe than anything else. A great article on one man's work on situational awareness can be found here.
Excellent article. I especially noted this paragraph:
Anything or anyone in your immediate vicinity that is unusual, out of place, or out of context, should be viewed as potentially dangerous, until you have had a chance to assess it. Someone who looks out of place, or someone engaged in activity that has no obvious legitimate purpose, should be looked over carefully. When your mental radar picks up on a blip, you immediately escalate one level on the scale, to Condition Orange.Does this description sound familiar?
Like maybe a cacher searching for an urban micro?
As cachers, we are on both sides of the security issue. We need to constantly be aware of our surroundings and at the same time we are perceived as a potential threat by others in the area because our actions are "unusual" in the context of the environment.
So we have a very difficult proposition: to watch for suspicious activity whilst at the same time trying not to look suspicious ourselves.
This brings up the question, especially if a cacher is unknown to the local community, who will the local LEO focus on as the potential "bad guy" if called to the scene where perhaps a cacher is being mugged? (obviously depends on over-all circumstances)
Hell, don't worry about being mistaken by law enforcement, I've been shot at twice while caching, while on public land. Seems that some folks don't like strangers in their parts!!!!!
-
There was another thread started by this same user which was locked down by a mod and redirected here. The purpose of said thread was to discourage people from using laser pointers for fear of burnning someone's corneas out.
Let me just say, that unless you hold someone down and hold that thing in their eye for an extended period of time, you aren't going to do any harm.
I hate it when people try to scare the crap out of people based on something they heard and didn't bother to check it out any more.
It all depends on the power rating of the unit. There are some handhelds now on the market that will do eye damage with minimal exposure. It helps to get your facts straight now, doesn't it!!!!!
-
I like to tote one of these along to open those hard to open containers.
-
WOW!!!!!! Has this thread derailed itself over the "fight or flight" issue. I believe that if the OP had kept aware of his surroundings before, during, and after finding the cache, he might have been able to avoid the situation altogether. If he had maintained a heightened state of alertness, I believe he would have noticed the approaching group of punks long before they were in position to overtake and mug him.
Given that the incident occured in NYC and the size of the group encountered, I believe the "flight" option was the only practical option to the OP. I believe, as a new cacher, the OP was entirely focused on the cache and not was aware of what was going on in the surrounding area. If he had been, he might have noticed the developing situation and had time to react to avoid the situation.
No matter what, the OP let down his guard and allowed a bad situation to develop. Stay alert, stay alive.
Now if this had happened to me on my turf, Texas, it may have been a different situation. Since I normally cache solo and in a heightened state of alertness (yellow/orange), I believe I'd have had advanced notice of the group's approach and either would have decided to retrograde out of the area (first choice) or if no adequate escape route was available, to fight. It helps to conduct a visual recon of the area the cache is in as you approach it, as knowledge of that area may save your life. If left with no choice to fight, two well placed rounds in the most dangerous target followed in rapid succession by two more shots in the next most dangerous target will most likely get a group of punks to change their attitude real quick and leave the area.
Remember, since this is a litigious society, my first choice would be flight but if faced with the imminent danger of loss of life, with no chance of escape, I'd fight.
Situational Awareness is worth its weight in gold!!!!!!!!!!
-
As a city kid, I found that "acute situational awareness" was the best way to stay out of or avoid trouble and/or dangerous situations.
How absolutely right you are! Good situational awareness can do more to keep you safe than anything else. A great article on one man's work on situational awareness can be found here.
edited to add: After glancing through the article I noticed that it makes references to the use of lethal force. It is great information even if you have made the decision against, or are legally barred from, using lethal force. I ask that if you are in that category and choose to read it that you do so with an open mind and take from it that which is useful in your situation without further comment on your choice or the choice of others.
Great article!!!! Couldn't agree more!!! It's something I learned on the streets of New York as a kid, honed during 20 years of military service, and I'm now trying to get my kids to develop these skills as they mature.
-
As a city kid, I found that "acute situational awareness" was the best way to stay out of or avoid trouble and/or dangerous situations. I know personally, that if one gets "totally focused" on finding a cache, they can quickly lose focus on the situation in their surrounding area.
I was just wondering how a group of punks as large as the one that attacked you got as close to you without you noticing? I would have expected a group that large to have made some noise that whould have alerted you.
Hi eagletrek,
I hadn't really thought about that. I credit my 22 incident-free years in NYC to my 'acute situational awareness' (nice phrase). The attack happened a few minutes after I had replaced the cache, so I wasn't focussed on that task, and when I heard them behind me, it wasn't immediately obvious that an attack was imminent. If I started running every time I saw a bunch of kids making a ruckus I'd be in much better shape
It is certainly possible that my 'spider-sense' was somewhat dulled by the cache-find-afterglow though. I will certainly keep that in mind in future. Thanks for the post.
Spoke to my girlfriend who has the GPS in hand - she says it looks totally fine and powers up. Yahoo! What is the best way to visualize the track log? Just view it on the GPSr, or are there desktop solutions? I guess mapsource will do it, right? I'll poke around in there...
Thanks again folks.
You can see it of the GPSr screen but that won't tell you much. It will be best to download the track on something like QuakeMap or some other mapping software to give you a better view of where it's been.
-
Sorry to hear about your situation but it looks like things are starting to improve a bit.
The first 22 years of my life was spent in New York (Queens). I've found the posts about self defense very interesting but I think they overlook one extremely important aspect of "city life."
As a city kid, I found that "acute situational awareness" was the best way to stay out of or avoid trouble and/or dangerous situations. I know personally, that if one gets "totally focused" on finding a cache, they can quickly lose focus on the situation in their surrounding area.
I was just wondering how a group of punks as large as the one that attacked you got as close to you without you noticing? I would have expected a group that large to have made some noise that whould have alerted you.
Please don't get me wrong. I hope you recover quickly and get out on the trail again!!!! But remember to never let your guard down. Acute situational awareness will do a lot to keep you safe. Stay alert, stay alive.
-
There are just too many fantastic opportunities to place a cache to bother ending up in a legal dispute over ROW. Keep in mind that a lot of ROW areas may also be considered threat areas. I'm amazed to hear that micros have ended up on transformers and such. It's not worth the bad press in an increasingly paranoid public. Best solution possible.... PERMISSION, PERMISSION, PERMISSION.
What a spot-on post!!!! I couldn't agree more!!!!!
-
From the guidelines:Can someone guide me to where GC.com defines "permission" and discusses the difference between explicit and adequate permission????? I've noticed how the terms "explicit" and "adequate" permission have been used in previous posts. When I've read the GC.com rules/guidelines concerning the topic, I've noticed that they've just used the word "permission."By submitting a cache listing, you assure us that you have adequate permission to hide your cache in the selected location.
Yeah I'm familiar with the definition of "adequate." Having read GC.com's guidelines, their use of "adequate" does not exclude "explict" permission. GC.com states "We also assume that your cache placement complies with all applicable laws." Now one could argue that not all laws are explict but in most cases they are. The vagueness normally comes into play in how they're enforced. GC.com also states "If you are given permission to place a cache on private property, indicate this on the cache page for the benefit of both the reviewer and people seeking out the cache." Let's see, the term "given permission" sounds like "explict permission" to me. Now is that explicit permission adequate???? Why sure it is since it falls within the GC.com guidelines.
I think most folks confuse how GC.com uses the term "adequate permission." I think most folks will defer/default to "adequate permission" to be the "easiest" permission to get since following the path of least resistance seems to be the most natural thing to do. I'm not sure that's what GC.com really meant.
Let's use this as an example: If I intend to hide a cache on a college campus during any given weekend and I attempt to get permission to do so but can only find a campus security guard who says "yes," have I gotten adequate permission? I'm sure some folks will say "yes" but what if the security guard is not empowered to make that decision and grant permission??? If the security guard has exceeded his scope of authority, then I'd say you don't have permission for the hide until you can find the real decision maker and get his permission, but then again that's only my opinion.
-
Can someone guide me to where GC.com defines "permission" and discusses the difference between explicit and adequate permission????? I've noticed how the terms "explicit" and "adequate" permission have been used in previous posts. When I've read the GC.com rules/guidelines concerning the topic, I've noticed that they've just used the word "permission."
-
Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! I love discussions that involve the concept of "geo-herding." I like to socialize at events but I like to cache solo!!!!! Yes, I know I'm one of those rare "birds" but I like to know that "I" found the cache and not one of the other folks in the "herd."
-
What is the proper way to award this cacher a smiley but still keep the FTF open for the next cacher who finds the cache solely by using geocaching.com?
You can ask the person to wait until someone else finds it before he logs it. Still, that doesn't change the fact that he is the first to find it. It doesn't matter that he was beta testing. The second person to find the cache is still the second to find regardless of how the first finder received the coordinates.
You can just skip the beta testing stage if you are so concerned about FTF protocol. Bad coords and other problems are a chance the FTF hounds take. It comes with the territory. Its why a lot of people are perfectly happy to let the FTF hounds work out the kinks in the cache before they go after it.
Right on, briansnat! Especially the part I made bold.
Couldn't agree more!!!!!! Pay attention to detail and trust in yourself. If you screw up, others will let you know.
-
A Personal Locator Beacon, used promptly, probably would have made a difference in both cases. Yes they are expensive, but how much do you value your life? One can be had for as little as $549.00.
Try $400. Link
Maybe it's time to start thinking about adding one of these to the pack.
If you want one for that price you better be quick as it only pertains to 8 PLBs that were returned by a "military customer."
-
Back to the original scope of the OP. I think the Boy Scouts sum it up the best: "Be Prepared" A Personal Locator Beacon, used promptly, probably would have made a difference in both cases. Yes they are expensive, but how much do you value your life? One can be had for as little as $549.00.
GPS: Never leave home without it, when hiking. I also carry a Silva Ranger compass and a map of the area.
-
Geoherders!!!! When is a find only a fraction???
-
They don't carry much weight with me. But then again, I don't spend too much time reading their posts. Why waste time reading posts when you can be caching. Sorry I got to go now!!! The leftover turkey is calling!!!! Eagletrek
-
Almost, only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades....
I'd replace "almost" with "close" and include nuclear weapons.
-
Got to comment when I see something good. Kudos to both sbell 111 and Coyote Red on their cammo patterns. I'll also have to agree that the pattern itself can greatly help in breaking up the straight lines of the can, if properly applied. Coyote Red's pattern while not exactly a pilexlated pattern has pretty much the same effect. Very well done!!! Nothing irks me more than finding an unpainted can thrown under a bush with the yellow lettering facing up. It doesn't show much effort by the hider. However, I do like reading the data on the can when I find them like that. I guess it's the old Support Platoon Leader in me coming out. (Support Platoon Leaders are responsible for ammunition resupply in Armor and Infantry Battalions)
) and a 10% sampling of everyone 15 years and older who died in 1993. Aprox. 2000 deaths make up this data.
I have used reflective tacks before. I got mine from walmart and I didn't pay $10.
tick-talk tick-talk tick-talk
in General geocaching topics
Posted
YIKES!!!!!!!!! And I thought it was a tumor!!!!!!