brslk

How elitist of you to look down on other graduate programs. Life is about more than making money. You try to sound like you know that, but then you post something like this gem. I liked the good parts of this thread right up until that comment. I was thoroughly disgusted at that point as someone who is paying back undergrad and graduate school loans because not all programs have the luxury to pay people to go to them. In fact most don't regardless of how "hard" they are. The elitism disgusts me. Ditto.

22 (and a half!) minutes long... At least one of the writers must be a geocacher! or an enviro-nut.

That is an excellent point.

Geo. Washington ... That is beautiful man... it almost brought geotears to my eyes.

That's hilarious! There used to be a woman that lived on the same floor of the apartment I lived in that put out candy canes at Christmas and various candy at Halloween hanging on her door. Her door was right beside the door to the garbage chute so everyone on our floor walked by her door almost daily. After a few years people started coming up from other floors to get candy. (we were on the 15th floor(top)) She went from putting out a bag or two of candy a year to several bags a year. She finally quit because people just expected it from her and never thanked her. I of course, being the fine fellow I am thanked her daily. (she was a client of the company I owned at the time) I still miss the mini candy canes...

What's with all of the opinions following this post, anyway? This isn't a matter of your opinion or mine, whether they are unstable, or what they are made of. The guidelines are quite clear on this. To the OP... while I may be wrong, I suspect that most of the time, "swag" of this nature is left by muggles that discover the cache. Now that right there is just priceless. La dee da, la dee da I walking along life's path. Oh, what's that? A plastic sandwich container? Odd place for that to be left. Ummmmm, upon closer inspection.....oh it is filled with a bunch of carp and a small note pad. What's this here? Oh I see, it says that it is a 'geocache', wonder what that is? What the hey, I gots me this here pack 'o firecracker thingies, guess I might as well drop them in there. Geeze, hope that no one minds too much. I think that this would be mildly funny iffin I could stop crying. PBTA Most Merciful. Yup, that's about how it would play out. Probably 14 year old boys out in the woods blowing things up. Thanks for helping me out there, good buddy. As usual, you add so much to the conversation. So glad you're here. Keep up the good fight! I never claimed that fireworks or firecrackers should be placed in caches but seriously? you honestly believe that 14 year old boys would spend money on firecrackers and put them in a cache? Maybe if they lit them first! I think TC's post pretty much sums up how unlikely that would happen.

Are you a lawyer, or do you play one on TV? Because it is clear what the spirit of the guideline meant. My wife is a Lawyer. I run all questionable things by her. (it's cheaper than a divorce) I don't pick the nits... I just point them out and let people like you run with it. Did you find this guideline questionable, and if so, did you run it by her? I'm not interested in running with this one, but there's probably someone who would be interested in opening another bug. I do find it interesting, though off topic, that you would capitalize "lawyer" Create an off topic thread that asks me why I would capitalize the word and I will give you several reasons. Stay cool.

Are you a lawyer, or do you play one on TV? Because it is clear what the spirit of the guideline meant. My wife is a Lawyer. I run all questionable things by her. (it's cheaper than a divorce) I don't pick the nits... I just point them out and let people like you run with it.

Lighters, firecrackers, smokes, ammo, nude pics of my ex, various food items, wedding bubbles, knives, salt?, religious tracts, golf balls and tees, business cards, old prescription drugs from my dead fathers medicine cabinet, illegal drug paraphernalia, McToys, condoms, sex toys and various other things. (It's a large bag)

What's with all of the opinions following this post, anyway? This isn't a matter of your opinion or mine, whether they are unstable, or what they are made of. The guidelines are quite clear on this. To the OP... while I may be wrong, I suspect that most of the time, "swag" of this nature is left by muggles that discover the cache. Fireworks and firecrackers are two different things. I really can't see a muggle leaving a full pack of firecrackers though. Why would they? They do have a value.

To be fair, there are situations where you simply can't get to the log for fear of ruining it or where the log is too wet to sign. I had a situation recently where I brought not one, but TWO pens... hiked two miles from my house, and found the cache with ease--only to discover I'd lost both of my pens on the way. I left some swag, explained I'd come back to sign later, but logged a find. I don't see anything wrong with what I did--I certainly didn't intend for my pen to fall out of my pocket while I was walking. On another occasion I found a nano cache, but wasn't able to get the log out. The log was already torn in a few places from people forcing it in and out of the container, and I was afraid I'd wind up ripping it in two if I tried to force it out, so I just logged a find online, and replaced the cache. I'd have gladly signed the log, if I could have gotten it out without damaging it. :/ I agree with a lot of what most people in this thread have posted and I agree with you. "It really is up to each cache owner to decide what to do within the guidelines" I would not delete your log if you explained it as such. BTW, STOP LOSING PENS!!!

I won't compare the logbook to the online logs. But when someone logs online as saying they didn't sign the actual log book because they did not have a pen or were too busy to do so then I delete the log. I mean really? you remember to bring a GPS'r but not a pen? I have never went looking for a cache without a pen. I have also never found a log book so damp or full that I could not make a mark on there. It really is up to each cache owner to decide what to do within the guidelines. I DNF'd a cache yesterday after an hour drive to get there and about a 45 minute hike through the mountains in the woods. I and my wife looked for about 20 minutes in +30 heat. We saw where it would have been and even looked around the whole area. Today the cache owner emailed me saying it was indeed gone and I was looking in the right place. She said I should go ahead and log it as a find now. I won't. You either found it and signed the log book or you didn't.

Nice edit on post #69 CR. I was about to call you on criticizing the poster on their "tough time understanding the written language". Remember Muphry's law. You are getting a bit insulting trying to prove your point though. If there is one.

Why not just read the entire page? I have never seen a cache that cannot be found without reading the hint. Do you have an example?

The guy is feeling down due to the loss of a GF. Allow him to have a pity party. Doesn't hurt you. While Ashnikes may not be my favorite person he does seem like a decent enough guy that may just be a little over eager at times. I hope he will just take a break and eventually return to a hobby that he once enjoyed. For the most part he has taken the well deserved jabs at him in stride. Take care shnikes and don't let the loss of a GF spoil something you enjoy. The sadness will pass and the fun will return.

Just posted two DNF's. One I could almost see it and knew exactly where it was but couldn't get it because it was pretty high up on the edge of a cliff and I am deathly afraid of heights. The second one was in the same park and I am pretty sure I knew where it was also. Just couldn't find it. Neither could the person who logged a DNF the same day. The hint and a photo pretty much told you were it was but it wasn't there. It was still an enjoyable little hike. Got to see two waterfalls. The drive home through winding mountains with an 18% grade drop and rise after dark was a bit scary though. Saw a deer an elk and a bear on the way out so it was still a great day!

I used to travel in time but my tardis broke down.

And yet, miraculously, it hasn't happened. Yet. And when it does and some idiot calls for an "End of Geocaching for All Time" I will be there to remind people of all the other, much, much more common items that people see everyday in there waking hours that have been used to hide and/or contain an explosive device.* *Hint: goes "vroom vroom" and kills more people than bombs every day. When have you ever heard of somebody discussing the "End of Interstate Travel for All Time" because somebody put a bomb in a Chrysler?? "Yet." Great observation. And just as soon as a close relative or loved one of yours joins a police force bomb disposal squad, maybe then you'll have reasonable standing. Until then, you and the rest of the glib jokers might want to keep it zipped. Despicable. Do you have a close relative that has lost his or her life by joining the police force or "bomb disposal squad"? or are you just trying to argue? I am glib and you have no say in deciding if I keep it zipped. And go put a shirt on.

But that's like saying you did not make it to the store if you couldn't find your car keys. It kinda depends on where and when you hit the go to button or decide to look for your car keys. I see what you are saying and mostly agree. I have no problem with logging a DNF (although I rarely do because either I or the wife won't give up until we are dead, convinced it is gone or are fighting over whether we should give up). I suppose it is all about where we draw the line in the sand. Is it when you turn the GPS on? When you fire up the computer? When you get out of the car at the trail head? We all cache different but mostly for the same reason. To find buried treasure!!! hahaha....

I just can't understand people who take a picture of the cache to verify that they found it because they forgot to bring a pen? Seriously? you remembered to bring a camera but not a pen? Fail...

In this scenario, I refuse to remove log sheets I don't think I will be able to put back in properly. I am talking about those pesky nano's. I don't want to wreck the cache. If a log owner wants to delete my find in this case, I will go out attempt to remove, sign and replace the log. If unsuccessful I will relog my find. I signed the log. If I cannot replace the log properly I will also post a Needs Maintenance log. I certainly hope most "Nano hiders" would rather have the log in place than have to go out and fix their cache. If you cannot remove and replace the log of a nano them you really shouldn't look for them. If you do find a nano because you did not know you were searching for a nano, sign the log and put it back in properly or do not log it.

I cache with my two sons, ages 4 & 5 (ages 2 & 3) when we started this adventure. I get so frustrated not because I want the stuff but because I hate for us to find a cache and it is either empty, has something broken in it or I kid you not was stuffed with McDonalds ketchup packets because they are so disappointed. A few times like this and I carry a large backpack so I can stock others caches so other children won't be disappointed then I let the boys pick something out of the backpack or I will somehow swirl it all in so they don't realize that we came up empty. I don't know what the answer is but that is my solution to the problem. I just fill em up as I can. We almost always cache with my 4-y-o son. He enjoys looking through caches, but isn't disappointed if there isn't some new toy for him. Much of the time, he's more interested in finding a neat stick or throwing rocks into a puddle. We make caching about the adventure of getting to the cache, finding it, and spending time together as a family. I don't want him to grow up thinking that there has to be a toy or a treat involved in order for something to be worthwhile. When he does spot something he'd like, it's usually the kind of dirty old McD toy all the old timers like to gripe about. I think it's nice that some of these plastic toys can get a bit more use before they end up taking a thousand years to break down in a landfill. Even in supposedly "well-stocked" caches, there's rarely anything that interests me. My favourite swag from a cache was a bracelet made with wooden beads that had obviously been worn before it got to me. I really don't know what people expect when they talk about good swag. And now plastics take "a thousand years to break down" Must be some special Mc Toys there in Ontario...

I have never been "let down" by the contents of a cache, because to me, finding the cache is the reward. The thing about geocaching is that as a cache owner, you really have very little control over what happens to your cache once you put it out there. You can only control the way you react. Hey, I'd prefer not to see adults misusing ellipses and using the term "lol," but for the sake of my own health I just roll my eyes and move on. I feel for you OP. I wish some people would play fair but some don't and some just make snarky comments. It must be nice to be perfect.

Yes. Yes. Yes. No. A cacher doesn't have to do anything more than see your cache in its hiding spot and he/she can walk away without signing the log and it's still a find. You found the cache. Maybe you didn't touch the cache or open the cache but you still found it. Now, if you want to claim your find using the geocaching.com website, you'll have to sign the physical log or risk having your find deleted. As others have said, it's up to you on how strict you want to be on this point. If you feel the cacher experienced finding your cache the way you intended, a name on a piece of paper isn't going to matter at all. If you feel that a cache can only be considered found once the log is signed, then delete the logs. As a cache owner, you have those options. ^ yup.

What you did was an "I'll show them" tactic. An "Oh, so you don't like micros. See how you like climbing a tree to steal this micro" tactic. It's a tit-for-tat/retaliation move rather then a "make the best cache I can that appeals to the majority of cachers" move. I really don't see it as him doing an "I'll show them" tactic. Recreational tree climbing is a hobby he enjoys and is working it into caching. If he labels them a 5 terrain I don't see a problem. I think there needs to be a balance between a "make the best cache I can that appeals to the majority of cachers" and something the CO enjoys placing.