Bear and Ting

Hi folks, just wanted to stop and introduce ourselves. We are Bear and Ting and we will be moving down to the Tampa Florida area soon from Indiana(polis). We have over 300 finds, which is not alot any more, but we've been busy with other things like work and schooling. In any case, I (Bear) will be down sooner (Dec, as I am starting a new job) and scouting housing and the area for when Ting comes down in March. I'd love to hook up with a local organization or some cachers to learn the area better, perhaps get tips on good neighborhoods, eateries and such while cache hunting. Drop me a line through here. Much thanks, Bear (Jim) and Ting (Teresa) Indianapolis (for only a short time).

Maybe because they screwed it so bad last time? Maybe the next time they will actually ask a cacher advice. El Diablo Actaully, I had heard fom a reliable source that they had ALL geocaching volunteers working on their contest for the last two years. They learned from their first year.

I need your help with a study I am conducting. This study is researching social networking (internet, Instant Messaging, etc.) and social or specialized forums (such as Geocaching). You must be over 18 years old in order to participate. Please, [link removed by moderator] and complete this survey. Your responses will be completely anonymous. (IRB Study# EX0603-08B) Thank you, Jim "Bear" Roysdon Sr.- IUPUI School of Informatics

If the third adventure is in Wisconsin, that is only about 600 miles. Got for it and Be There. Peace, Bear

Last year, it was a new clue daily.... 4 or five clues, building on each other with some "red herrings" thrown in to throw people off... until the weekend when the coordinates were actually posted. It worked last year, not sure that they would want to change it. Peace, Bear Come on, Magellan! Bring one to Indianapolis, Indiana!

While sites/services like these help, these sites sometimes get confused. *geek mode on* I've noticed this happens most when there is a large amount of Javascipt in the HTML code instead of in its own library/file (such as with this case). The Javascipt used here is for the menuing system and is a preloaded script used by Macromedia in both Flash (when making menus) or DreamWeaver (same reason). Dreamweaver does validate its code before it sends it up to a server, but that can be over ridden. *geek mode off * All in all, this SHOULD work on most browsers. I develop websites and test them myself using IE, Netscape, Mozilla, Opera, and many others. It is early impossible to test them all and to test al the security setting variations for each. There are also firewall and proxy servers to contend with as well. It is a duanting task. My only suggestion is to try a different broswer or try it from a different location. I've sent my list of browser and settings to the webmaster already and asked them if they would like me to test for them. I have yet to get a response back. Peace, Bear

Wellmy guess is that it will start sometime after 8AM west coast time when there is someone there to post the information in the website. 3:08ammay be just a little to early. That would be my take on it.... some things are automated, but Magellan did not say registration would open at 0001 hours -GMT . Sounds like someon is getting anxious. Peace, Bear

Ya, but I might be traveling to France and the UK and Germany and Italy and...what was the name of the eastern European country in "Eurotrip" (come on, admit it, you watched it)... would it be cool to get a prize while ON vacation? Peace, Bear

So, I guess that means that the "BeThere" contest Magellan just announced might have to exclude Florida, huh? Peace, Bear

I spoke with the guy that was coordinating the Magellan game, and he reiterated the following: 1) there will be approximately 30 caches worldwide 2) the clues will be given out throughout the week with the coordinates posted on the weekend 3) the contest will be started earlier than last years (watch towards the end of this month) 4) he wouldnt' say exactly where it would start, but hinted at the southwest and north central Peace, Bear and Ting

Only firearm I carry is when I walk too close to fireweed.

Thales (and Magellangps.com) I knew about... what is this Bear advertising? You would think with a handle like ours, I'd have heard about it. Peace, Bear

I heard around the campfire the other day talk about the new contest. Rumor has it that it will be starting earlier this year, sometime around the end of May. I wonder if they'll be doing the same cities, or if they will go more rural? Peace, Bear

You know, if I had been the reported and he has told me, with the camera's rolling, that I was not very bright and "to ask such a question shows your depth of ignorance", he would have gotten an ear full. My first response would have been something like: "There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. My handicap can be over come, yours cannot!" Guess that is why I am not in politics. Bear

If memory serves, sometime around mid May? I seem to remember my finals just being over. Hope this one lasts longer.... and gives a few more cities.

I had not thought about the archeological impact some of the caches might have until I was taking a class at IUPUI. The professor was an archeoligist for the state and said there were hundreds of sites around that were still being studied and were sensative. When I heard this, my first thought was of geocachers. I have, on a number of occasions, asked to speak to the state archeologist for the State of Indiana concerning placement of caches. The office will not acknowledge a site for fear of looters and scavengers. But, when they do find something (a cache) placed near a site, they get all up in arms. As with any activity, skiing, snowboarding, off-roading, surfing, etc, you will get the dregs of society. The thing is, a rotten apple will ruin a pie and it is so hard to police activities like this. I am one of those who likes walking through old cemetaries, day or night. I like the history and he educational caches that bring me there. I don't showboat though, I walk with respect. Peace and good luck, Bear P.S. Wile I am in indiana, my folks live in Elgin and love to cache with us. My dad is a retired army officer and retired from civil service as well. I cannot speak for him, but if you need more support, I will ask him.

That's interesting, a worldwide campaign that is sheduled only in North America I'm just wondering when will it be scheduled in other parts of the World. Magellan is owned by Thales navigation, an international compnay. Perhaps they are planning on non-US caches. Would be kewl to find one while on vacation. Bear

Let me tell about our experience with an eXplorist. We have one (the eXplorist 200) and took it out for the first time with us yesterday (along with our Etrex Vista, Etrex Legend, and our Sportrak Pro). We wanted to compare it's "revolutionary accuracy and it's ease of use". It was not out of the box for 30 minutes and it display screen had busted. We are not sure how it happened either, but it looks like something hit the screen and cracked the display. When we had reached our first parking area for our first cache of the day, we had locked onto the satellites and input the coords, got our bearing and dropped both GPSs around our necks. When we got to the area across the field, we picked up the GPSs to verify our bearings and distance. We were trying to verify accuracy with this new unit, but the kids found the cache first and in the excitment (it was their first time caching) and we forgot to check the GPS's accuracy. When we returned to the car, Ting picked up the eXpolrist to input the next set of coords and the eXplorist's screen was cracked. We are not sure how it could have gotten cracked unless it hit up against something while rehiding the cache. When Ting showed it to me, I looked closer at the design and saw a potential problem. The screen is recessed into the unit and there is a protective plastic cover or window above it separated by an air space. Our other GPSr's have that as well, however the window on the eXplorist is very thin and flexible. Pushing on it even slightly negated the airspace and puts it in contact with the display. Our other three do not have such a thin material. Not sure what they were thinking, but if I were Magellan/Thales, I would be going back to the drawing boards on this one before releasing ANY new models. If a unit is to be used outdoors, it should be somewhat rugged. Bear and Ting

I would have to go with Turkey Run State park, but only in the late winter, early spring when the creeks and waterfalls are still frozen in the canyons, but are starting to melt. We had the best time that day. Bear and Ting

Thanks for all your help...the cache owner did indeed remove the picture and they did email it to me. COD, congrats on the Megallan find. Bear and Ting

Recently (in the last 2 weeks) I saw a picture of a tombstone/headstone which actually was a cache (sorry for the spoiler, folks). Anyway, I've been searching the forum again and cannot find that picture. I would LIKE to use it in a presentation/speech I am giving in class. If the cache owner (or anyone else that has a picture of it) could let me know, I would appreciate it. Thanks, Bear & Ting. P.S. I searched through the CCC thread and had not luck.

What the heck, add us too!

Tried that once. This was pre-geocaching and some friends and me were out hiking. We were trail blazing, trying to take a short cut back to camp. I had been fairly cautious around this one area where there was a field of nettles and made it without too much incident. The next area was nettle free, or so I thought. I was trying to get through this rabbit hole sized area (I am 6'2" and 270 lbs, though I don't look it so I am told) and I squatted down with back pack and all to waddle through. Well, the plant that was under me was .... you guessed it ... nettles (AKA Fireweed). There is no worse feeling than nettles THERE. So, I moved... dropped trou... and used the ferns. Thank goodness I know the difference between ferns and poison oak.

My only complaint with Cachemate (and the author listens to complaints quite well) is that if you go to the "log" page and log your own, it does not chage the cache's catagory. This makes it harder to find the caches you might have logged (10-20 out of 500). It is a great program, and when jermy opens the sandbox up for developers, perhaps the bext version will allow the "log" page to be posted. Bear

Wish gas prices weren't so high and that I had not taken summer classes this semester, we'd be there too. Bear and Ting