Printess Caroline

I hate sweet swag. It is usually a gooey mess when I find it in the cache. Candy is bad swag for many reasons. But, more to your point, my favorite thing has been a little pen on a reel that attaches by a clip to my pants pocket. Gosh, I love those! I've found two of them in caches which were spaced far enough in time to give me a replacement just as I was worried the first would run out of ink. Talk about providence! The best traveler that I've found so far was a geocoin on a keychain that requested others to add a coin before moving it along. There were a nice collection of foreign coins plus a couple of other geocoins on the keychain when I picked it up. Now, that was cool!

I would translate that to read "Clan Riffster, your cache was pathetic. So much so, that I am going to use only a hint of virtual ink in my online log." " . " is the worst insult then, I guess.

I'm someone who feels a bit insulted when a finder can only bring themselves to write "TFTC", but today I saw an even worse log. While looking through logs of caches I am considering, I saw a log that consisted of " * " today. To me, that is shorthand for, "All that matters is my smilie."

That would be fine. Just post a "note" rather than a "found-it" log and pick up the TB. It would be good to check the mission of the TB before you pick it up to be sure that the trip would be welcomed by the TB's owner.

I'm having a lot of fun working on the New York DeLorme Challenge, but a question just occurred to me. Why are these challenge caches not considered ALRs?

Now, THERE'S a funny face! Why did he go to all that trouble of creating that unfunny one?

Really? At age 13?? I think your parents were happy at the thought of being rid of you, man. What did you do to them? Sorry, but I find your story kinda sad. This one ranks way up the list of rudest posts for the year. Gee. I'm sorry that it came across that way. I was influenced by his comment about his certainty that his parents considered putting him up for adoption on more than one occasion. I was sort-of joking just as he was. It seems this hit a nerve with a few of you. Hey, sorry all of you let-the-kid-gallavant-all-over-the-countryside folks out there, I don't think that many of your stories relate age appropriate experiences. That's my opinion, and that's what I would have told my kids if they had come up with such crazy ideas. I would tell them that they would have to wait until they were older or we would try to work out a plan with which I would feel comfortable.

"No" is so much harder to say than "yes".

Me too! I also like that it is less stiff than lamination. I have an instruction sheet in one cache that rolls easily into a tube cache I own. A while back, I thought that I would "upgrade" the sheet with a laminated copy. The new one didn't roll up as tightly or as easily, however, so I just kept using the old one. Over the years, my contact papered items have gotten wet on occasion, but they still remain in good condition. Make sure that you fold over the edges to make sure that moisture stays out.

You know your boy better than any of us do, and I question how many people who have said that your concerns make you overly concerned have experienced the parental side of raising a teen. I think that you must do what makes you feel comfortable about the safety of your son. The information about him being adopted by you at the age of 7 reminds me of a conversation I had with a cousin who adopted a boy from Ethiopia at about the same age. He is now about the age of your son. Recently, she said that he was beginning to wander off on his own without telling his parents what he was up to. She feels that it is related to his adoption and his experiences of having to care for himself at a young age. She dealt with it by taking the boy aside and telling him that there are reasons that children stay with their parents until they are a certain age and that he must follow the family rules because they were put in place to help him grow up safely and because they love him.

Really? At age 13?? I think your parents were happy at the thought of being rid of you, man. What did you do to them? Sorry, but I find your story kinda sad.

From your bold, italicized print, I can see that you fully understand what you wish to impress on your son. I fully support your explaining this to your son and then using whatever means you have available to you to deminstrate that you seriously mean what you say. (For us, we found that taking away the computer for a period of time made our point.) Kids don't often agree with their parents in these matters, so don't expect it. This is the hard part of parenting, but it must be done. Chin up! He'll come to respect and understand your reaction one day; and then, you will have a good chuckle together.

Very nice! It does have the military look that you were striving for. Also, the white print over the symbol does a lot to visually minimize its importance. I don't think that anyone would be offended by this. Nicely done! I'll keep a look out for this one the next time that I am able to return to my home state, Missouri. (Pretty kitty! )

From Get Smart, it was KAOS: From Man From U.N.C.L.E., it was THRUSH: I like these suggestions! I think it would make a very creative and fun cache!

I have thought quite a bit about the powerful associations evoked by the swastika because my family has a cabin in the Adirondacks that was named "Swastika". It was named by my great-grandparents before WWII because of the swastika's Native American connection. During the war, the family changed the name to "Rustica", but afterwards, they again called it by its original name. My father thought it was all silly and refused the idea that the cabin should be called anything but Swastika. After all, it wasn't named for that swastika, and to him, the Nazis did not own the symbol, they stole it. He even went so far as to have swastikas designed into our porch railings. While the name did not offend my brothers and me because we appreciated its true history, we did change the name when we inherited it. We hated explaining the name to shocked friends and felt that the name did not fit our beloved cabin because it conjured such awful associations in others. Why ruin a good thing with a bad association? I'm glad that you decided against using the swastika on your cache. As a visual person, I wonder at your choice to replace it with the geocaching symbol, though. By doing so, it seems you are equating geocaching with the Nazi movement. I'm pretty sure that was not your intent.

Yeah, they work great...as long as you are not looking at something that is both 'close' and 'up'. I never thought about turning them over until just now...I wonder how that would work? Turning your bifcals over looks funny but it works fine. My mother used the technique. You've definitely got to let go of any vanity, though, and brace yourself for the teasing if you have a teen daughter around.

I've seen some instances in which the owner logged a find where it made sense. For instance, I know someone who will log a find on his cache that is one of the few remaining travelling caches. If you are the owner and locate the cache in a place where you didn't hide it, didn't you find it? There is one young cacher that I've noticed that logs a find on his own (rather lame) caches. In fact, last I looked, of the 20ish caches he's found, half of them are his own. I chalk it up to his inexperience and youth. If I ever meet him in person, I might say something to him about it if he seems like someone who wouldn't mind hearing what I would say in the most gentle way I could. Otherwise, why ruin his fun... and ours as we chuckle at his growing number of "finds"?

The container in the case of the NY cache was simply the logbook. There was no log sheet inside. It seems bizarre to me that a book with a log sheet might be acceptable, while just the logbook would not. After re-reading the reviewer's note a few more times with tozainamboku's points in mind, I think that both the cache owner and I may have misunderstood the reviewer's objections to the cache. If there had been some puzzle that involved the GPS to discover the location of the cache in the library, it probably would have been acceptable. By cutting the dialog short with lies that would satisfy the reviewer, the owner not only broke the trust of the reviewer but also denied cachers of a more interesting and enduring cache.

In that case, the cache was not archived because it was in a library, but because the CO was not being honest about where it was placed. What it really boils down to here with whether or not the use of a GPS is an integral part of the hunt. A cache for which the published coordinates just takes you to the building and they you go in and find a book based on a call number (not all libraries used dewey decimal...the term "call number" is more frequently used) that is the cache listing might not be good enough. However, a cache where you have to visit 1 or more locations to get the numbers/letters in the call number might be fine. As I understand it, there were several reasons that the reviewer would not have approved the cache if the owner had made an honest proposal. One of those reasons would have been that the cache was located inside the library. (By the way, the owner was honest with the library staff. There were several logs that described helpful librarians aiding cachers.) Here is the what the reviewer wrote when they archived the cache: ______________________________________________________________________________________ quote: You as the owner of the cache must visit the site and obtain the coordinates with a GPS. GPS usage is an essential element of geocaching. Therefore, although it is possible to find a cache without a GPS, the option of using accurate GPS coordinates as an integral part of the cache hunt must be demonstrated for all physical cache submissions. ________________________________________________________________________________________ The above quote comes from the Cache Listing Requirements / Guidelines and tells us a geocache may not be placed entirely within a building. At the time this one was reviewed the owner assured me it was a multi part cache with the final outside in a bush. Based on the quote below from the cache owner I published the cache _____________________________________________________________________________ quote: The cache IS NOT inside the building. You told me to move it outside, and I did. The cacher has to manipulate (as you call it) R 000.1 and the word epilogue. If they are looking up information in a book, that is research. Once again, as you directed the cache is outside, in the bush, just behind the curb. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Recently a new cache came into the review queue that was located within a library. I asked the owner to rework the cache so that part if it was outside and include gps usage. He reasoned that since this cache was inside a library and he copied it his should be published too. Since I was spending the holiday in the Adirondacks I decided to stop by and take a look at this one. Sure enough, it’s a book on the library shelf. No container, a required part of a geocache, no cache in the bush outside, no stage two, just a book inside the library. See photos. Since this is not the cache I reviewed and published and that the cache owner intentionally deceived me during the review process to skirt the guidelines the only option I have is to archive this cache. Reviewing geocaches is largely dependent on trust. Trust is a fragile thing and easy to obtain but once lost its hard to recover. if you believe that I have acted inappropriately, you may send an email with complete details, waypoint name (GC*****) and a link to the cache, to Groundspeak’s special address for this purpose: appeals@geocaching.com. New York Admin Volunteer cache reviewer Geocaching.com

Not every reviewer approves of library caches. NewYorkAdmin archived one in my area not too long ago that was located in a library because s/he discovered it was hidden inside and not outside as the owner assured him/her when they submitted the cache proposal.

I post one whenever I look and don't find it.

double post

Hi Sarah! You don't sound stupid or whiny to me. If you look through this forum, you will see that many, many people have had the same sort of difficulties in the beginning, so you are not alone! Reading through some of those posts may be helpful to you. What I suggest is that you pick a cache that has a 1 star difficulty and is a "regular" size container to begin. Since you have had a few tries without finding, I would also suggest that you look at the hint for the cache. At the cache area, look for something that seems out of place and think of where you might hide the cache. If you see a pile of parallel sticks, check that out first!! Good luck on your next search!

A nearby stick has worked for me so far.

Hey, theohiosman, I can relate to your frustrations. Several years ago, I told my husband that I would like to try geocaching, so he bought me a GPSr and a video that was supposed to instruct me how to use it. Well, I watched about 15 minutes of that dern video and was so confused and overwhelmed that I packed the GPSr away for over a year!!! When I eventually dug it out of the deep, dark corner, I kept my first attempt at geocaching very simple and low tech. I approached it just the way that you suggest that it should be. I printed out the cache description, turned on the GPSr and tried to get the coordinates on the GPSr to match the ones on the paper. I still tend to cache this way. I did get a bit more technical with the addition of a hand held compass after a little while. My low tech approach may take a bit longer or seem silly to those who like their gadgets, but I'm comfortable and successful with it. Basicly, I think that you just need to find a method that works for you.