Zwack_&_Irish_Eyes

I've done puzzles with and without geochecker... Some of them also had checksums to make sure you had the right answer. One of them I got the checksum exactly right, I had the right method but some of the digits had multiple possible options. I managed to find ANOTHER combination that made the checksum come out correctly, but geochecker told me I was wrong. I was really confused so I contacted the CO and they said... "Interesting that the checksum comes out, but no, you're not correct". A bit more fiddling and I got the right answer. Still haven't been to find the final, but when I do go I know I'm looking in the right area. Z.

Or you could pretend that you're drunk. People will deliberately ignore you then. Z.

Well, unless you run a DNA test on every log to check for the absence of my DNA that I used to sign it then I'm going to claim that I found every cache in existence... OK perhaps that's going too far. My feeling is that the spirit of the guidelines is that you must leave a physical indication on every log that you have been there. It should be visible and not require any special training or knowledge to know it was you. However, if you don't have a writing instrument then feel free to log your find online with a note and leave it to the cache owner's discretion. I've done that once... I would be interested in knowing whether an alternative logging requirement is acceptable, that seems reasonable enough to me. However there is the guideline that a GPS must be used (or at least usable) in the search. So I suspect that an alternative logging requirement should have a GPS involved somehow. Either climb this tree, find the cache and sign the log, or take a photo of yourself holding a GPS and wearing a hat (in your living room). Z.

And you should have seen the smile on my face when I saw your icon... "MORPH!" That brings back memories of Tony Hart (and tangentially Johnny Ball)... Anyway back on topic. I try and always trade up if I am going to trade. Sometimes I put things in and take nothing, sometimes I put multiple (cheaper) items in and take a single item out. I try and leave each cache in at least as good a condition as I found it. Probably the most expensive item I've placed in a cache was a vintage pocket watch fob. I don't use that style and it came with a watch I bought. I took a travel bug from that cache... nothing I needed to trade for. My wife has started collecting pathtags from caches and she keeps a box of "treasures" to remind her of the good times we've had. The cost that one person put into swag is not a gauge of how much that is worth. One of her favourites is a "geo pet rock" which someone had varnished, added eyes to, and placed in a ziplock bag with a card. It was hand made, probably low cost, but it is a truly unique item. Anyway, we can't make others act the way we think they should. What we can do is act the way we think we should. Improve yourself, and those caches you find/maintain and all caches will get better on average. Z.

News Release I'm not sure I can find the matching news story, but... OK.... News Story I haven't found anything nearly as scary... Z.

I really love this coin so far. I know I'll want one. However, we have no way to get to the geocoinfest. Will it be made available to those of us who can't make it, I wonder?

sorry--double posted.

Actually, my wife had an idea about using "Shrinky Dink Paper" to make the proxies more "3d". It still wouldn't have the weight of a real coin, but it would have more of a depth to it. So, we'll probably try some ideas out with one proxy (I'm thinking the Hyacinth Macaw coin, as we have a Hyacinth Macaw so could include some feathers) and see how well it does. I'll add a photo to this thread when we've made the proxy. (My wife is the artist though...) Z.

OK, perhaps I should have been clearer... 1) The only way I can release any of the coins I currently own is as proxies. Is there any reason to release them or should I just forget it? 2) Not all coins are circular, using a washer as a proxy does not make sense for a non-round coin. Would a laminated card be considered acceptable by most people? 3) I can include images of the coins on a laminated card but I was thinking a piece of original art work related to the coin as well would make the proxy in some ways better than the original. For example a Hyacinth macaw geocoin could have an image of the coin and an original sketch of a Hyacinth macaw on it. Would people like that or is t just a waste of time? 4) If I did this I would make sure that the title clearly identified it as a proxy so that people weren't deliberately mislead. Would that make a difference to your answer to question 1? 5) Yes, I know that I could attach original works of art to travel bugs and release them but they don't have unique icons, and I already have some coins. Does that make a difference to people's thoughts on the subject? Thanks, Z.

Greetings, So, the title probably says most of it. I've heard too many stories of coins going missing, and some of the ones I have are far too pretty for me to want to release them (not to mention some of them were more expensive than I want to risk losing). So, I came across a proxy the other day, and it had photos of the front and back of the real coin and a bit of a blurb. It was OK, and I can understand doing that. I also have access to a lamination machine, and so I thought I would ask for opinions. Should I create proxies to send out (especially for those coins with their own icons) or just keep them all safe at home? If I was to create a proxy then presumably a piece of card with the tracking number is all that is absolutely required, but what else would people like to see? Images of the coin? Original artwork related to the coin in some way but not necessarily from the coin? Any other ideas? Making a mould and then creating a copy of the coin while it would be nicer seems like an awful lot of work to go to. I've heard of people attaching photos to washers of the right size to simulate the coin, but not all of the coins are circular. So, Thoughts people? Z.

In much of the United States, visitors are required to go into the office and acquire a visitor's badge when school is in session, even before or after school hours. Most schools react defensively when they see a stranger on the grounds, particularly strange adults. In my Neighbourhood (Portland, Oregon) I can think of five (5) Elementary and Middle Schools that border on public parks without trying. Each and every one of those has NO fences between the "school grounds" and the "public park". So, if I visit a public park that is beside a school should I go into the school, find the office (after walking around lost for a while because I went in via the wrong door) and get a visitor's badge just in case I cross the invisible boundary between school and park? Would it be more or less dubious for me to wander around in a school or in a public park? I think the most important question about this situation is "WAS THE CACHE PLACED WITH PERMISSION?" If not then it should be removed because it was improperly placed. If so then it should be left where it is because it can be there. Z.

Probably... And from what I've heard since I'm glad I'm not there [] I left in 1999... But I was in Middlesbrough when the IRA blew up a litter bin, killing two kids, and when they tried to blow up a gasometer. I was in Manchester the day that they blew up the Corn Exchange... Sorry about your unfortunate incident with some kids. Personally I would have tried to throw them all into the pond if they did that to me. Z.

http://www.equipped.org/ has reviews of the SPOT II and various other similar equipment. If you are going anywhere you should probably read some of their suggestions. Z.

If you feel that you did the right thing then you did the right thing. Personally, I find the terrorism theatre that is being played out in the US ridiculous. I grew up in the UK under the constant threat of IRA bombings and back then (although not any more) the general response was "be vigilant, but don't be afraid". I was too close for my liking to several different bombings but people didn't let them stop them. After all, if the people are terrorised the terrorists have at least succeeded to some extent. Personally I would question 1) Was the cache placed by a member of staff at the elementary school? 2) Was it placed with explicit permission from a responsible party at the elementary school? For example, perhaps a teacher also geocaches and so as a class project had a class create a geocache and place it with the full knowledge and permission of the principal. In this case why would anyone be concerned about the cache? Just my 2p. Z.

Ultimately you're looking for something out of place. A good hint helps too. Don't be afraid to use them. Some of my DNFs were missing, some I just did not find. You need to look under things, inside things, and on things... Some of the ones I've found... A Blinky on a sign. Couldn't find it at night, found it the following day with more light. A log inside a ziplock bag slipped in a crack in the bark of a tree. A chest inside a rotten log covered with bark. A Mail box. No attempt to disguise it... It looked like a mailbox. But I just wasn't expecting it to be so obvious. A pill tube under a small piece of wood. So you can be looking for almost anything.... Z.

Actually in my case it was about a month ago. That's too long, but not bad for these days of email and phone. But then I am nothing compared to most of the prolific writers on the Fountain Pen Forums. Z.

I log a DNF if I did not find the cache after a reasonable search. If I'm looking for a normal cache at night/poor light conditions then I'll usually come back during the day the following day. In those cases I assume that environmental conditions played a part and so I don't log a DNF unless I'm done looking (until next time). If the CO (or someone else) posts that it's still there, or that they found it then I'll go back and look again. I post notes when I want to say something about the cache and I've already posted a DNF or a Find on it. One example, I searched twice for a cache that had been described as being highly visible last time a find was logged (over a month earlier). I posted a DNF on it, and tried to contact the CO (no response from a non existent email address for someone who hadn't been on in months). So I posted a note asking if someone else could check if it was still there. Two other people have since confirmed that they can't find it either, and a reviewer has disabled it. Z.

You might want to take a look at Letterboxing instead. It's like Geocaching but without the GPS and you are expected to stamp your logbook with the stamp in the letterbox and stamp the logbook in the box with your own stamp. I would imagine that for beginners signing rather than stamping would be considered acceptable. Letterboxing Web site Otherwise I would suggest finding some difficulty 1, caches in your area and using Google Maps to map the actual location of the cache. Then go there. I did my first cache (a multi stage one) by doing exactly that... The other option would be to see if a veteran geocacher in your area would be willing to take you out with them. They would have a GPS and know how to use it, and if they were willing then that might help you. Z.

If you can set your GPS to also display accuracy as well as distance you will have a good idea when you're real close. If it says the cache is 10 feet away due north but it's only accurate to 20 feet... Guess where it is... While looking the other day I had my GPS tell me I was at ground zero twice with an accuracy of 16 feet... about 30 feet apart. Admittedly I was on some very rugged terrain with lots of tree and cloud cover at the time. Accuracy at one point dropped to 50 feet. I suspect that a better search of a wider area will help me find it. Z.

I didn't read this entire thread, so forgive me if this has been covered already... But... Since when was climbing a tree a requirement? If you have some way of physically retrieving and replacing a given cache (no matter how you do it) then you have the right to sign the log. If you have incredibly long arms, a cherry picker, or some other aid then surely it doesn't matter how you got the cache/log. The CO can place the cache but then they really can't add additional requirements short of you having signed the log. In other words, let the CO say what they want on the Cache page. As long as YOU signed the log they can't do anything about your claim of having found the cache. Just my 2c Z.

Maybe... Unless LoveJoy and Tinqer is around... Z.

I'm not sure that the use of a padlock shim to open the final would be against the rules... It wouldn't harm the lock and it wouldn't require visits to the other caches. So, a final that was logged after the cache log was signed would be valid. I would just remove the reference to "I will know without even checking the cache" That second paragraph definitely comes off as condescending. You might want to replace it with something a lot simpler like "This cache involves a hike over XXXXXX Terrain, please be prepared for that before you start." I'm sorry, but I wouldn't rush out and purchase a bandanna for this cache. Z.

I have the Triton 400 but it is probably similar. At the main menu you can enter coordinates by hand but even if you are going to do that I would suggest using Vantage Point instead. You might also want to add a state map from maps4me or creating a raster map using Mobile Atlas Creator. There is also a Magellan Communicator plug in for your browser available from http://www.magellangps.com/ in their "Maps and Software" section. I hope that this helps, Z.

I think I see it. If you look on the right hand side of the skirt you'll see a little black dot. I think that might be a magnetic nano. It is well hidden. Z.

Your choice.... I did this with two in L.A. and logged them in the end. I was intending to go to them both but ended up there without the instructions when I wasn't intending on visiting them. Given that I managed to get enough of the info to show i was really there and logged them. Z.