Windstorm+

How about 3, 2 (average), 1, Go!

What was fixed was me not being able to log in to the forums unless I typed my username as "Windstorm%2B". Now I can log in using my regular username. I'm not seeing the 404 error (and they fixed the issue where clicking on my name took you to the "Windstorm" profile instead of "Windstorm+") so I'm curious, do you get the same 404 error when you click on the david&diana name block? They were having the login issues over the weekend as well.

Thanks, Andrew! I never actually changed my name, just what I typed into the login box, so everything is good on my end!

Well, it would have been a solution to my problem of not being able to log into the forums. Perhaps not a preferred solution, but a solution. And in my case, changing the "+" to a favorite number would have a relatively small effect on my geocaching identity, particularly because I wanted to be just Windstorm, but the name was already taken.

This is NOT a request for assistance. I emailed GC HQ Support and they identified the problem, I was able to find a workaround, and I'm satisfied with how it was handled. This post is in case anyone else runs into a similar problem. Usually I stay logged into the website and the forums, but over the weekend, some changes to my computer kicked me out. Not a big deal, I just entered my username and password. This worked fine on the website, but when I got to the forums, it told me I had an incorrect username or password. Since this was the same username and password I had just correctly entered into the website, I was pretty confused, but I did try changing my password a couple of times with no better results. When I contacted GG HQ Support, they suggested that it might be due to the symbol in my name and recommended changing my username. I wasn't quite ready to give up my current name, and remembering some of the other problems that those of us with symbols have had, I decided to try using the alternate URL % code thingies (I'm not a computer person, I don't know what they're really called) and entered my username as "Windstorm%2B" instead of "Windstorm+" along with my password. And what do you know, it worked! GC HQ Support said that the engineers are investigating, so maybe it won't be an issue for anyone else. But if any of the rest of you with symbols have trouble logging into the forums, at least this will give you something to try.

Also, you could try finding and logging another geocache. If I recall, logging a geocache may force an update of the statistics.

I don't think there's a problem with green ink. Perhaps the other cacher didn't read your info at the top, possibly assuming it was CO and cache information. I'd suggest just letting it go and not worrying about it. FTF is a side game and you don't "lose" your FTF just because someone else is also claiming it (possibly by accident).

Yet, according to the BBC, the UK police are recommending w3w... Which is why I prefaced that statement with "In the United States..." If the UK police are recommending w3w, that's fine, particularly if your emergency call centers are set up to deal with information coming in with that format. In the US, I suspect (although I don't know for sure) that trying to give a w3w location would cause more confusion than using lat/long, and I certainly haven't heard any police or fire services here suggesting that people use it. W3w may be a good solution in your part of the world, but right now, at least, I don't think it should be recommended for mine. Ahh, the problems of easy global communication! You wouldn't believe the number of times I've seen that BBC article shared in the last couple of weeks by people in my area who don't seem to realize that something that is currently recommended for use in the UK might not work very well in the US at this time.

Actually, all phones in the US are required to have GPS chips so 911 can see the co-ords of the phone. Phones may be required to have GPS chips (I have no idea if it's true, but it's not worth arguing about since I can't imagine a phone without GPS chips these days), but 911 doesn't get the info directly from the phone. Location info is provided to 911 by the wireless network. I haven't looked into how the wireless networks get their location info, but for E911 Phase II, the FCC's accuracy requirements vary from 50m to 300m depending on the type of technology used to determine location. I suspect most Phase II coordinates are pretty good, but in remote areas where ravines and trees can give even GPS problems, I wouldn't be surprised if wireless networks have occasional problems getting good Phase II coordinates. Also, since all networks are required to relay 911 calls, your call may be picked up by a network using the technology with larger accuracy requirements, particularly in remote areas where there may only be one network available. All that said, I would hope that most geocachers would be able to figure out the coordinates of their location (we are playing a game based on coordinates after all) and relay that info to emergency services, eliminating any problems that come from relying on the wireless network to accurately locate your phone. In the United States at least, I wouldn't use w3w if you can get latitude and longitude. Emergency services use lat/long from the wireless networks all the time, so going that route will probably get you the quickest response.

Not sure about other countries, but in the United States, I'm pretty sure 911 gets your coordinates from the phone company, so some of it also depends on who your service provider is and how they figure out your location. Some of them are better than others, particularly in remote locations where you might only be going off one tower.

Here's the help center section on Log Deletion: https://www.geocaching.com/help/index.php?pg=kb.chapter&id=112&pgid=482

I had fun with this promotion. I really liked the planning involved in deciding which caches to go after for the first three levels. The fourth level was more of a chore because I don't tend to go after large numbers of caches at once, but I managed it (barely). I was a little worried when a few DNF's left me with one cache to go at 9 pm last night, but I found a self-advertised guardrail cache that avoided the need for a long and slightly suspicious after dark search. During this time, I put a pretty good dent in a local geotour, found several awesome gadget caches, and found my first letterbox hybrid. I also ended up with a new Longest Streak of 12 days (previous best was 4) and a new Best Month.

True, but it's interesting that they both work on some types of writing, so whether something is visible with blue light will depend on what the CO used. My blue light had no problem picking up the graffiti further down the tunnel, although it did show up a little better with the UV light. That's a definite contrast to whatever the CO used in this case because that was completely invisible with the blue light.

Thanks, colleda! I picked up a UV light at the sportsman's store (apparently fishermen use them for something) and almost immediately found the cache info I was looking for, so it was definitely the light, not my search technique. I enjoy caches like this, as long as I have the right tools. I took a look at your cache to see if it was close enough for me to find, but unfortunately, I don't have plans to travel to your part of the world anytime soon.

Yesterday, I tried looking for a UV Light Required cache for the first time. Since I don't actually own a UV light (yet), I used a fairly powerful flashlight with a blue lens held over it. While I did pick up some fluorescent writing (it appeared orange under the blue lens, but was practically invisible under regular light), I don't think it was related to the cache (most of what I found was not family friendly). This was a D1.5 cache (with no DNF's until mine) and I did what I thought was a pretty thorough search of the area. From the description, I think I was looking for three pieces of information, so if my improvised light was working, I'd be a bit surprised if I didn't find at least one of them. My first step will be to pick up an actual UV light. Are there any other tips for searching for information visible only under UV light?

I have a Samsung Galaxy Tablet 4 that doesn't have data that I sometimes use for Geocaching. I use the Geocaching App and I've generally had trouble getting the blue dot to show up if I don't have Wi-Fi at the same time. My process is usually to start from somewhere that I have Wi-Fi, turn on "Location" until the blue dot shows up (sometimes it takes a minute or two), and then turn off Wi-Fi and start caching.

For anyone else with this problem, there seems to be a delay on updating the number of clues found on the https://www.geocaching.com/promos/mysteryatthemuseum page on the website. For me it has generally updated automatically within several hours. The app shows the correct number of clues immediately.

Looks like there's still a bit of a lag in when the clues show up as found on the website on the https://www.geocaching.com/promos/mysteryatthemuseum page. Last night I logged (on the website) a cache with the shadow clue. On the cache page it showed I had found 1/2 shadows, but the Mystery at the Museum page still showed 0/2. The Mystery at the Museum part of the app showed 1/2. This morning, the website has updated to show 1/2, but the lag is still a bit inconvenient.

I've melted a few beer bottles in campfires before, so glass may not be the best option if you're trying to avoid fire damage. The melted bottles made some cool shapes, but were really brittle and broke easily afterwards.

OP, you asked for thoughts: Delete the "Log in sequentially." Most people are going to do that anyway. Sure there are a few who won't, but there are others who would normally log sequentially, but will do something different just because you have basically told them it annoys you. You're better off just ignoring the few. Enable your cache so people can find it and this drama can get buried by new logs. The most recent log says it's in good shape and well hidden, so let people enjoy your cache.

You both found the cache. It's perfectly acceptable for you both to log it if you have separate accounts. If you share an account, the system should prevent you from logging more than one Found It on the same cache.

Woohoo! I was wondering how the shadows fit in as clues!

The footprint, fingerprint, and shadow filters are working for me now on the website! Thanks!

I went out this evening and found a cache with the detective clue. I logged the cache on the website and received the souvenir (yay!). However, when I went to see what nearby caches might have the next clues, I found that the filters for Search and Search Map don't recognize that I found the detective clue. Also, the Mystery at the Museum link from my dashboard says I'm 0/1 for detective clues. If I view the individual cache pages, I can see whether a cache has footprint, fingerprint, shadow, or still hidden clues, but using that method to plan my next caching trips is going to get old pretty quickly. I'm kind of excited about finding more clues and hope this problem is fixed soon!

Maybe it's not a bad thing to use the promotion to showcase the Search Map's capabilities. I almost never use the Search Map because I'm used to the Browse Map and generally happy with the information I get from it. If I have to use the Search Map for the promo, I will get an idea of what it can do (which I haven't bothered to do so far) and when it might be the right tool for what I intend to accomplish.