Borst68

I have given out roughly half of the favorites I could. If I feel a cache warranted it, I'll award the point. If no point is warranted, IMO, none will be given. I do not feel obligated to use all my favorite points.

In the OPs question, the cache in question is a virtual. No logs to sign. I would log it only once, even if I visited more than one of the sites.

Thanks for the clarification Zoltig. I guess I interpreted your post in a way you did not intend. At any rate, I also enjoy harder caches. Today I finished off a 4/2.5, 4.5/3, 4/3 and two 3/4. Also in there was a 1/2.5. Most of these were more difficult due to the snow. The terrain was easier due to the swamp(s) being frozen. My d/t is 1.82/1.93. Both of my numbers climbed 0.01 today. Looking at the numbers, I trudged through snow, climbed a tree today. While in the tree I used a stick to beat/pry the frozen cache out. 0.01 hardly makes it worth it. Good thing I had a blast doing it. LOL!

Nothing important really. I was just curious what the results would be. Oh, C'mon Gof, be a sport. I think we is learning that most highly active cachers that go after everything listed on the website are going to have micro on top. I for one am proud to have micro as #3, and less than 25% of my finds. Regular 42.46% Small 25.56% Micro 24.53% I was going to post this earlier but was afraid Gof would yell at me. Regular 51.36% Micro 24.32% Small 17.73% I tend to enjoy forest caches, which tend to be regular rather than micros but you probably knew that already by looking at my stats.

I agree with #2 & #3. But #1... Why? What if I like easy caches? What if I have mobility issues? Not every one enjoys long hikes through rugged terrain so why should I do it just to better my D/T rating? To me its about enjoyment. I do enjoy the tougher terrain. I do enjoy canoing. I do enjoy some difficult puzzles. If doing those types of caches increases my D/T so be it. Striving for a metric is just that. While I certainly will be doing harder caches this year, it won't be to increase my D/T ratings. I will be doing those types of caches because I like them and I have become good enough to actually find some of them.

If you want to see what they look like, go HERE.

I am at 440 right now so I have #500 coming up later this spring. I don't have anything finite planned yet but The Spot (GC39) is certainly on the list. It is (so I am told...) the oldest cache east of the Mississippi. Local cachers hold this one in high regard and save it for a milestone.

While that is true, it doesn't alter the fact that anyone who disagrees with me, is wrong! Wrong. I disagree. You just spend too much time in NVP. It has affected your judgment. My impaired judgment is what caused me venture into that frozen swamp hole to begin with...

The favorite cache of my daughters (age 9 & 12) was a 3.5/4.5 multi that involved entering small caves. My 12 year old wants to do some night caching. I wouldn't LIST any of these caches as kid friendly but it depends on your kids whether its kid friendly or not.

While that is true, it doesn't alter the fact that anyone who disagrees with me, is wrong! Wrong. I disagree.

SERIOUSLY?!? I certainly do nOt care if people laugh behind my back (if they are so immature to do so); however, as I am so very NEW to the game, I would have hoped that those "Puritains" (as you call them) who are the more experienced among us would rather offer advice and assistance instead of expressing themselves so childlessly. I came to the forum to ask before making mistakes. My sincerest apologies for stepping on the toes of Puritains. Greetings! Your question would have been better placed in the "getting started" forum. In that forum, snarkiness, smart remarks, attitude and the like are not permitted. I believe there is a code or international treaty that prohibits that behavior. That is the place to pose a question if honestly want help. It this forum, however, its a different story. Don't take offense. You asked a legitimate question but put it in the wrong place <gasp>. As for your question, I would set it up as a traditional with seven mystery bonus caches if you wanted to allow multiple smilies. We don't do the multiple smiles per GC# here. Your area may be different. Good luck.

It sounds like you've done a bit of "research" on the subject. I generally don't care for most keg beers, although have found a few exceptions, and prefer it from a bottle (like the Ommegang Hennephin I'm partaking in tonight). "research" is a good word. I brew my own in my basement and have quite a few of the "corny" kegs. 5 gallon stainless steel containers, you've probably seen them outside stores years ago. They make perfect containers for homebrewed beer. Brewing my own lets me decide exactly how it will taste (or at least how the recipe tells me it will taste , it does not always work out perfectly). Friend request sent! Actually, I homebrew also. About 15 years. I have many 2.5 gal and 5 gal cornys in my posession (all LEGALLY obtained). I have not ever seen a 10 gal. corny but would love one if it existed. I would guess that the keg in question is a 1/4 or 1/2 keg and the OP misstated the volume. No big deal. Volume doesn't enter into the issue. Many posters are correct. The keg is owned by the people who put the beer into it. The deposit is only collected to ensure that you bring it back when you are done enjoying the beer inside. I do applaud the OP for vowing to return the keg. It is the right thing to do. I also applaud the OP for handling many of the comments in this thread. As for making a cache out of a legally obtained keg... a plasma cutter is the only way to go! Other methods not as efficient. A die grinder can be used to round over the edge once the whole has been cut. NYPC: Had a bottle of Ommegang Abbey tonight. Always wonderful stuff!

Those that live in glass houses...

A. I could handle B if it were well written and didn't come across being desperate for votes. Honestly, the whole notion for stumping for votes is stupid. The dude in MO. probably has a great cache but acting like a tool does nothing to help it. I'm not sure what being "#1 cache" anywhere gets you. By stumping for votes is surely doesn't get you the respect of your peers.

Correct. You need to sign the log. Now that you know where it is you can return later with a taller friend or what ever you need to get the cache.

I got that far also before I ran out of ideas. I have not figured out the significance of the images on the cache page. I am sure they are there for a purpose. Not everyone is into tough puzzles. If you want it to be solved more frequently a better hint might help that.

Except people from WNY. We associate Ontario with beer and "ballet" <cough, cough>

GC6069 - Toronto Old City Hall is a must do.

I did my first ever snow caching run last Saturday. The snow was not deep (only 3-4 inches). 1 DNF, 2 finds 9both ammo cans) and started 3 multis that I did not have time to finish. The nature park I cached in is a notorious swamp. Winter caching is better there since the swampy parts are frozen and there are not bugs! One of the caches I found was an ammo can under some sticks. Its a pretty standard, easy find during the summer. Under snow increases the difficulty considerably. It took me 15 minutes to find it in the snow. In the summer it would have taken under 2 minutes. Don't give up on the snow caching. It can be a lot of fun. You probably need to do extra research to make sure you have a real shot at finding it.

Welcome aboard! Sounds like your family has a new hobby. There is lots of great info here. Feel free to post any question in the "Getting Started" section. No question is stupid in this forum. The recommendations on difficulty, terrain and container given above are spot on. There is a learning curve to this game. It sounds easy but the reality is different. One thing that newbies have trouble with is the use of the GPS. The GPS DOES NOT find anything. YOU find the cache. The GPS only points out the general area where the cache is. Sometimes it leads you with in inches of the cache. Other times it can be off by 30 feet or more. You have to use your eyes and your cunning to find the spot the cache is hidden. Often newcomers don't expect the cache to be as well hidden as it is. It often helps to ask yourself "Where would I hide a cache in this area?". Thinking like a hider often helps in determining where the cache is. Also, look over the logs before you attempt a cache. If the last 5 finders couldn't find it, you probably won't either. It may not be there, difficulty may be very understated or the coordinates may be off. As a newbie, you don't stand much of a chance in finding it. As your experience, confidence and skill increase, give them a try but for now, stick with the easy ones.

The alternative is tons of ice and snow, collapsing domes, canceled airline flights, and the biggest East Coast blizzard in years! We had to have our plane de-iced in Atlanta the day after Christmas. They don't handle de-icing too well in the South. An hour wait on the tarmac. Then monkeys on leashes with icepicks! Finally somebody got some portable generators and guys with hair dryers and long extension cords... We're looking at a predicted 76 degrees for the game in Tampa saturday!! Actually, Buffalo was unscathed by the blizzard that tore through the east. It was in the 50s and raining when we returned. Most of the snow has melted. Still, I enjoyed seeing the sun even if it didn't provide much warmth while we were down there. We did get out to Honeymoon SP. It was very nice. Windy and cool but fine by my standards. The cool weather kept the hordes of people away. We had a real nice time.

I drove 22 hours for FROST. Its suppose to be warmer tomorrow. Just in time for us to head home. At least it was nice and sunny.

With a number of ways to play the game, you are bound to have lots of different criteria people use to rate caches. No rating system is going to be perfect. No system will please everyone. I do feel that I will be able to use it effectively to determine the quality of caches in my area. In the end, I feel the data will be beneficial to those willing to do the research.

So far I am very interested in the voting. I like looking at what local caches have gotten votes. SJudging from the results, votes in my area are mostly by non-LPCers. There is a lot of love for the multis and tough caches. There is a cache that is a 4 part multi with a 4 mile round trip hike/bike near me. It is part of the Seaway Trail series. Early on the CO got lots of flack from people who said it was too hard and not family friendly, etc. I felt bad for the CO since it was one of the best ones I have done. Its good to see that cache get 5 votes for favorite in the first 24 hours of voting. There are some others that I haven't done that are getting votes so they will be high on my "todo" list once the snow melts.

You can see what caches another cacher listed as their favorites by going to their profile and going under the "lists" tab. I haven't figured out yet how to say "show me the top 10% of favorited caches" or what have you, but that sounds like a job for a PQ in a later release or some such. I'll also agree that 10% seems to generous though it's nice to have too many rather than too few- I think 1/20 would suffice for me personally though. To be honest though once you'll be able to do searches on the top favorite caches in an area statistics dictate that the top percentage will rise out of the signal/noise ratio regardless of whether you can favorite your top 10% or 5% or whatever percent of caches. One of those things where it's not fully ideal yet but I certainly see the potential and like the way things are heading. I agree with the ratio. I went through my finds and awarded 19 'favorite' votes out of 390 caches. Its right about 1 in 20. I don't see a problem with having too many votes. I would rather have extra votes than not enough.