Apollo Bob

But...but...I didn't study!

Isn't sea-toe the eventual cause of pirates needing peg legs?

First you get the carkeys. Then you get the power. Then you get the women.

Man, I wish we could make an exception to the "no food in caches" dictum for some Girl Scout cookies.

Many many nuances go into Apollo Bob's game but I'll only mention a few that come to mind. For me, one cache page=one find=one smiley. While I appreciate the generosity of hiders offering up bonus smileys for answering a trivia question about the cache site, posing like a monkey for the webcam, humming "The Star Spangled Banner" quietly to myself in the shower after the find, or even an extra smiley for each and every time I ever think about the cache until the end of time, I will respectfully decline. Find count is measured by my own personal yardstick, as it is for everyone else. I imagine that bonus smileys could be seen as a way to balance out multicaches with multiple finds that only count as one, so that's cool. But I don't play that way. I am an obsessive list completer, so I do like to fill up my search pages with the little checkmarks. However, if I ever develop a strong dislike for a particular cache type (hey, it could happen), I will not force myself to find them just to fulfill that end. I will return to caches I have not found multiple times like a stubborn mule. Some of my most satisfying experiences have come from finally finding a cache that eluded me over and over again. I will also willingly and happily seek caches with any number of DNFs as previous entries, because maybe I'll be the one to find it, and if it's truly not there anymore, I still enjoy the journey out to see where it could have been. The journey and the finding of unknown places in the area is every bit as satisfying as finding the little hidden box. I hope you all are enjoying your game however you play it!

Why aren't there any caches hidden in strudel? If I find one more micro hidden in a raisin, I swear I'll freakin scream.

Crouch down and carefully grip the cache-leaving area with both hands. Then, with one deft motion, flip it up onto its' back. A quick decisive follow through will ensure you don't strain something in the process. It is kind of fun to watch the legs of the helpless cache-leaving area wiggle around for a while. But it is needlessly cruel to leave it in that condition, so be sure to turn it back over soon after.

I always log it right after sending the email. In my log I say "email sent". If there's any problem, the cache owner can let you know and delete your log if your info was wrong for some reason. I'm usually pretty confident my confirmation is right so that's why I do it that way. If you don't hear anything from the owner you could always compare info with a previous finder of the cache if you really want to make sure.

I, too, have decided to take tomorrow off from work and have a caching day. I've got my route planned, my coordinate puzzles solved, a bag full of trading swag in the car. I'm stoked. I even fantasize about getting up and starting before sunrise, but I'm probably fooling myself with that one...

Sometimes for any number of reasons, an owner makes changes to their cache page. Maybe they've added hints. Maybe they've changed coordinates or added info about parking. I recently saw a 2 stage multi that got changed to a traditional - the redirector was removed, and the coords changed to the final cache instead. Whether caching paperless or with printed pages, if you have old info your hunt could be affected. It would be helpful to be able to look at a search page and maybe have an icon reflecting recent owner changes to a page. At a glance, similar to the "New" icon, maybe. Of course, the downside of that is I wouldn't expect such an icon to stay up indefinitely, so I suppose there would always be a risk to miss updated info. I may be the only one obssessive enough to browse my unfound cache list daily, so maybe this would only help me. For all I know there may be something like this for premium members via PQ, but I thought I'd mention it.

Geo boy, Doggone if you aren't an enthusiastic and ambitious lil' geo cuss. I've followed your forum participation for a while now, and that's really my final assessment on you. So, I tell you what...I live in Austin just like you do. I really do think you should just start with a simple traditional cache of any size before moving on to these grandiose and complicated plans, as enthusiastic as they are. But regardless, whenever you get your first cache approved, I swear to you I will go hunt it. Dear God, I feel like it's my duty. And if you have done your job as a hider admirably, and I do in fact find your first cache, I will stand up (figuratively) and say very proudly in my log: "Thinks for the cache!" Peace.

You say that as though it's a bad thing. Just noting that "The Hunt/The Unusual" walks on the wild side.

Top 3 posted topics in this forum section are now sex, drugs and elimination. I'm 2 seconds away from bumping the "panties in the woods" thread...

Don’t go chasing waterfalls. Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to.

Take heart, school starts up again soon. That might help on numerous fronts.

Please trade up or trade even. Don't leave junk wives in the cache.

It's been fairly entertaining to follow sbell111's suggestion and browse around at profile #2.

That is generally true. No matter how short and easy they are, most cachers it seems can't be bothered with them. I had never heard this before...but I guess it explains some things. I had 99 finds and wanted to get an FTF for my 100th - I targeted one about an hour away, which had been sitting unfound for at least a week after it was placed. It was a multi, so now I wonder if that's why. Other new "regular" caches placed in the same area had already been snatched up. Fine by me, I got the FTF and had a great experience for my 100th. It was only one redirector not far from the final ammo can near the shore of a nice lake. I don't understand the avoidance of multis, but I guess I don't need to. To each his own.

I wouldn't think so...people either like puzzles or they don't. I personally do, but if someone just likes to be told where a box is so they can go try to find it, and they enjoy that, then there you are. The only other possibility I can think of is a person who stays away from puzzlers because they are intimidated by them, but then they try and solve an easy one and discover they like it and want to do more. Even then, there's not much you can do except put "Please try this one - it's easy" on your cache page. But you can't make them decide to try unless they decide that for themselves. If the goal is to get lots of people to your cache, then I guess it might be wiser to avoid puzzles (or multis also, as I just heard on a different thread). If the goal is give people a good puzzle, then you could just be happy with the "select few" that enjoy your cache and the puzzle that led them there. I understand the temptation to say "They don't know what they're missing", but maybe they do. So different strokes, etc... I'll figure out the things I enjoy and do them, and trust others will do the same. That whole pursuit of happiness thing, I suppose.

When I first started caching, the FTF mania around here was pretty baffling to me. But now I have to admit I do see the appeal. You're the first to have that experience of a new cache - the location, the hide, etc... There is something satisfying about it. And when there are numerous people in the area vying to be FTF, those people might find appeal in that sense of (mostly) friendly competition. I currently have 99 finds and 3 FTFs. I wanted to be FTF for the first time on my 50th find to make it a little more special. Late at night I studied the newest caches still unfound for likely candidates. I got up fairly early the next morning and drove about 20 miles and snagged one. It was a nice memorable experience to have an early morning hike in the cool November air. Sometimes it's all about timing regardless of how FTF crazy your area is. I found my second FTF on a cache that no-one had been able to find due to "loose" coords, but I was lucky enough to catch the cache page after new hints had been added. I found my 3rd because I came into work on Saturday and a new listing popped up that afternoon right down the road from where I work. In general I don't go out of my way for them, but again, I'd like to get one for my 100th find. When I do get them I sign FTF in the log book, but I've never felt the need to fill my online log with "FTF! FTF! Woo Hoo! FTF! Hey everybody look at me, I'm the FTF!". But again, I think that's more for the folks who find the appeal of the friendly competition.

I accept all your apologies as well as the large sums of cash you are all about to send to me.

Don't you tell me how to play the game! I work very hard to not find it entertaining at all! I try to have as miserable a time as possible, so stop oppressing me with your rules!

I'm thinking about creating an 128 stage multi where every single container contains a spring-loaded boxing glove that punches you in the face when you open it.

OH, ACCURATE HINTS are important too...

Exactly - it's like Schrodinger's Cache. Each cache exists in a simultaneous state of Found/Not Found, until the cacher comes along and collapses the wave function. Personally, I have no qualms about going out to look for a cache with a couple of DNF's as the most recent logs. I always have fun looking, and who knows, maybe I'll be the one to find it.