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d+n.s

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Everything posted by d+n.s

  1. I think that its a little presumptuous when we assume a cache has gone missing just because we can't find it. I've been trying to just say I couldn't find it and note how long/hard I looked. A good CO will do the rest. Worst case scenario is maybe sending a message to the CO after several consecutive DNFs by several cachers on one cache which is traditionally easy to find based on logs. I have completely missed extremely simple caches after several tries and could have sworn they were gone... I was wrong.
  2. I've yet to FTF, but my cache ha one of those "First to Find!" Geocoins in it for the FTF (which was oddly found by a co-worker whom I never told the location of the cache. It happened to be his first FTF too. Weird stuff.) As with Christmas, I think I would be a little bummed to find cash for some reason. I haven't noticed a trend for that or any other swag here, but I rarely see it mentioned in cache descriptions.
  3. This thread feels a little sticky. EDIT: Good stuff here. So many questions come back to this.
  4. We've asked for help once. It was on a pretty simple step in a multi we were just blind to for some reason. We sort of wished the hints had been less spoilery just to be able to take a little more pride in the find and enjoy some more discovery, but it was worth it for such a cool final. Anyway, I wouldn't care if someone did it on my cache and I think its probably safest to have them ask the CO. That said, you ould always e-mail the CO themself and make sure THEY are okay with YOU helping another cacher on the cache. I'm not sure why this would be a better solution, but it is another option I supppose. I guess it would let you make two new aquantances.
  5. As you can see, I live in one of the worse neighborhoods in town Either way, there are soe great parks here that need caches. I'm working on that. any further and it exceeds the limit hard
  6. If nothing else, this thread has been interesting and informative. Perhaps the OP could not post it FOR NOW and begin a call for concrete blocks in this area too... you know, for the kids and stuff After they fight the good fight and get the blocks installed they willl be a hero to everyone and could try the cache again
  7. I would buy them online, but I am completely stupid and have a hard time imagining what size lock n' lock = what size cache. I would like one ammo can sized
  8. I really like dice. I've never found an interesting die in a cache, but I would certainly trade for one if I saw it. Which reminds me... I need to visit the local comic shop and pick up some interesting polyhedral dice and dump them into my small. Beyond that, I suppose i could always use more tent stakes and would probably trade for one if it was in a cache, but that hasn't came up yet.
  9. Yes, and another problem is that once a cache has been replaced in the wrong spot, future finders have no idea where it belongs. I have one cache in particular that was having a problem with that, so finally I took a photo of the correct hiding spot, laminated it and included it in the cache as a helpful visual aid for re-hiding. It's been a *huge* help. Now, even if someone puts it in the wrong spot, future finders know where it belongs and far more often than not errors get corrected without me having to visit. I Love this
  10. I can't imagine how these stores stay in business when couples can buy stuff discreetly online... I think they need the caches to draw business.
  11. We have used a 255w Nuvi for all of our finds. If you put it to "pedestrian" and "off road" it works pretty good as long as you aren't under trees. On ours the map itself doesn't update unless you are moving a little briskly it seems. Since it is designed for cars, I suspect it has trouble seeing anything moving real slow. When the map is giving us trouble or we need to get real accurate we'll do the "signal strength" trick which works well for us when we're near ground zero but still aren't having any luck. Still, the best advice is to start really looking when you are within 40 or so feet and to not rely on the GPS for the finding. In groups, the person with the GPS almost never finds the cache. There is a lot of info out there of going paperless with nuvis and we recently took the leap and really enjoy it, but it does require a premium membership to really enjoy. I'd assume your nuvi is better than mine and we have found over 100 caches with it many of which were in state parks... but it sometimes got hairy and we DO want to upgrade to something that can tolerate tree cover a little better.
  12. That was a really interesting post, thanks for linking
  13. d+n.s

    Referals?

    I came across this recently too. I was suprised it didn't auto-friend us or something at least
  14. I say NM it wait and if nothing happens NA it. Go ahead and make a new cache in its place that is a "tribute" to the old one if its really great or maybe do something new with it and make it even better.
  15. We buy cheap little party packs of neat favors (like those prism lens things) and just drop them into each cache. We never trade. We just try to improve the swag of the cache cheaply.
  16. I sort of wondered if stage 2 of the world famous/ universally hailed Necropolis here in austin was maybe a bit tasteless but I don't know... I know i didn't see it the first time for some reason! Not at all. If you don't feel comfortable caching in a certain location, then don't, but the act of being in a cemetery doing something other than attending a service is not immoral. The only real time that everybody should avoid a cemetery is during the service. ...but it is perhaps a little tacky IMO. Anyway, its hard to imagine anyone is getting permission to hide containers in active cemeteries and the locations themselves are pretty bleh. If the tombstone or its inscription is of note perhaps using it as a stage in a multi is slightly better, but I'm sure their family would be displeased to know it was used in a silly game (perhaps irrationally, but thats the nature of death religion and ritual)
  17. I see a lot of reviews for GPSrs that seem pretty negative but people in the comments mention that after some recent firmware updates they have improved. This makes matters extra confusing foir a noob like me trying to find a budget GPS. Like, I've heard the GC is much better now than when it hit and so is the Triton but I can't find a lot of info on this. Is there somone out there who writes detailed and noob friendly reviews that are updated? I feel like this is a problem I run into more and more with internet reviews.
  18. This. As a side note, I think its fair to consider the potential problems with geocaching and its effect on the environment. We all know that a LOT of archived caches just become litter eventually, not many people really practice CITO and going off trail can lead to erosion generally make the area uglier. That said, Geocaching brings people to a lot of parks that get money from cachers doing their thing and its up to these agencies to balance these risks vs. the rewards. Personally, I think the impact of geocaching is pretty minor and it makes people who wouldn't normally care much at all, more aware of the natural beauty of certain areas and it probably raises more non-political awareness and caring than the harm it does. What I mean is, it warrants some intelligent and reasoned discussion, but its not something for people to be activists over. The world NEEDS activist but not for this.
  19. Micro is the smallest size. Micro simply means its only big enough for a log and no other swag or trackables. Nano is a "type" of micro. It's really tiny and they usually look like this: http://shop.Groundspeak.com/photoPopUp.cfm?ProductID=114 They aren't a specific category though. Sometimes people will tell you when a micro is nano sized, but other times they will not. The official information on sizes can be found here: http://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx So, the smallest size is micro (no room for stuff beyond a log) The next smallest is a small (room for a few small items) The middle one is regular Second to last is Large. The final one is "Unknown or NA" which applies to an unusual or hard to classify container in addition to some non-physical caches. This is also sometimes used for nano. I would strongly recommend that you read the guidelines I linked above as they will make your caching career much easier and smoother.
  20. I used to feel this way, but after I started hiding caches I realized that a regular or large in an urban area is really just going to cause more frustration than its worth. Its going to be really hard to hide a regular sized cache in an urban area that doesn't look suspicious. In fact, I've had a regular sized cache in my living room and ready to go for a few months... I just haven't found a place that I was confident it would last. Some people might call it lazy on the part of COs but I would just say its a difference in view. I don't care about trade items. I only care about interesting hides and locations. We have found two regular sized containers in EXTREMELY busy/urban areas that were amazing, but the locations happened to be able to support them. If you are taking me somewhere cool and there isn't room for a regular sized cache there is no reason NOT to take me there. I WILL agree that there should be more smalls and they usually work where a micro would work, but I'm not going to worry about it. Also, there are a lot of homeless people in austin and a ton of people picking up litter. Even with fantastic camo, a larger cache is probably going to be muggled frequently and that is just going to make life difficult for both the CO and cachers. If people want to find ammo cans, they should go to places where an ammo can is appropriate and can last 3 months+. I think micros in general are less likely to get the hobby bad PR at the end of the day and sometimes they just make sense. Long story short, the location should determine the container. Large containers also make bomb squads and the public nervous. Complicating matters, at least where I live, is that many of the popular geocaching containers have names like "Ammo Can" or "Decon Container". "Ammo Can" in particular is often bandied about as an ideal that hiders and seekers often strive for. In an area where law enforcement is nervous about mysterious packages, hiding containers designed to keep ammunition (or possibly explosives?) may not be the best idea. I don't know how often folks actually read the warnings printed on the outside of Decon Containers, but if I were a muggle who was at all suspicious, it would freak me the heck out. If you'd like to hide something larger than a micro in an urban environment, I'd urge anyone to move away from military packaging. Transparent containers are ideal, and marking them liberally with information about geocaching on the outside helps a lot too. This is a fantastic post.
  21. I never look at pictures until after I've found a cache or I am desperate for a hint. I think the site warns you that photos may contain spoilers
  22. Will I have to restock my friend's list or anything? are there any risks? I know how to do it, but I'm a bit nervous about doing it.
  23. I have a pretty ambitious hide in mind. Its my goal to do it someday.
  24. You could more easily choose 10 pre-existing and active caches around the state. If someone has already found one or two of them, they get a "leg up" but that just means they are a well traveled cacher and deserving of a boost. You could still make the ones in your home city "new hides" and have them unpublished until the day of the event.
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