EagleXplore

Sui Generis reply regarding the "Bad Old Putty Cat" cache in a city park in Maple Grove, Minnesota. NOTE:(If MnGCA didn't continually lock threads to constructive criticism I wouldn't have to post at this forum). On another thread Sui replies, "The birdhouses I have seen are designed in such a way that they are really unuseable by birds. False backs, [etc] .... These are not really bird houses, so much as cache containers designed to LOOK like bird houses." How many of these cache container bird houses have you seen? The one I refer to is made of oak, has a back and could be used by a wren or other small bird if not for the cach contents and geocachers in search of another find. I would encourage you to CHECK~OUT this particular bird house cache for yourself. If geocache.com decides NOT to archive this cache then I guess its open season on NOT real birdhouses. A NOT real Wood Duck house with NO back would hold more treasure. What kind of metal fastner would you seasoned geocachers recommend for attaching a bigger sized "not really bird house" to a healthy tree in a city park in Minnesota that is environmentally friendly for Wood Ducks? I would encourage Silent Bob (VP of MnGCA) to take a closer look at "The Bad Old Putty Cat" as it does have its own back and to my eye looks about as real as real can be. In fact I've seen some bird houses in much poorer condition being occupied by a family of little birds. Afterall doesn't the bark of the tree serve as the back of a no backless bird house cache concealment container? What about making a NOT real bird nest out of sticks and using it as a cache container? The sticks could be hot glued together and hinged so as to conceal a small micro cache. Does anyone have an objection to me making a really neat looking bird nest that is cleverly designed that hides a microcache. At what point is the integrity of the gamepiece more important than the integrity of the gameplace? Perhaps Silent Bob (VP) and S4Xton (board member) were in too much of a hurry on January 23rd to closely notice that this was a REAL bird house. If this real bird house meets with the approval of Silent Bob and S4Xton then where do we draw the line on using quasi-bird houses as a cache container. IMO a fake bird's nest or one that is no longer used would make a really neat cache concealment to hide a micro cache under the nest. For members of MnGCA to ridicule me or lock me out of a MnGCA thread only eXposes their own lack of geocaching sensitivity to the environment and the integrity of certain MnGCA geocachers to the best interests of this great sport.

Do you really believe it is more important to protect the integrity of the gamepieces than it is to protect the integrity of the gameplaces? With that kind of an attitude it's only a matter of time until geocachers find themself up a creek without a paddle. Isn't that akin to a centrist ~ Me, Myself and I tunnel viewpoint in which its really a train coming down the tunnel instead of the light at the end of the tunnel?

I doubt if much is gained by turning this into a match to see who can SHOUT the loudest. What I do appreciate is that members can voice their views at www.geocaching.com without being locked out. If the Vice President, Mr. [name deleted] (Silent Bob) of MnGCA ~ www.mngca.org ~ wasn't so quick to repeatedly lock me out of its discussion forum I doubt if I would even be posting on this message board. Now they would have us believe that they would prefer that I post my concerns back on their own discussion forum. Ya Right!

I believe MnGCA is short-sighted in looking out for its own self-serving interests for fear that more rules and restrictions will be a determent to its own goals. Instead the board of MnGCA should take the lead in running a tighter ship instead of giving everyone the impression that all is well and under control. Because of my efforts we learned that the owner of "Barn Byewater" had "sold her GPS" and had "lost interest" in geocaching. We learned that she wanted someone to adopt her "Barn Byewater" cache. Maybe, her conscience was getting the best of her. This is the first winter in who knows how long that all hiking trails on Barn Bluff (Red Wing, MN) have been closed because of hikers becoming stranded on the precarious Northside Bluff Trail. The geocache on Barn Bluff is located near the head of the Northside Bluff Trail which is now chained off. Three hikers have gotten stranded on this trail earlier this month before it was closed. One hiker was stranded for 26 hours and lucky he didn't fall 50' onto the RR tracks. He was saved by a small tree that stopped his fall. If Lenny Strusz, Deputy Director of Public Works for the city of Red Wing knew that there was a geocache near the head of the Northside Bluff Trail you'd better believe that he would ban geocaches from Barn Bluff. It wasn't that long ago that a child feel to her death in the same vicinity since the "Barn Byewater" cache was placed. It is appalling that the board of MnGCA has its head stuck in the sand instead of looking out for the greater good of a community. I get the impression that the last thing a MnGCA board member would do is to talk with Lenny Strusz to see if it is OK to maintain the current geocache on Barn Bluff. What price does MnGCA place on its own geocaching interests even it a geocache directly or indirectly endangers the lives of others?

Apparently I'm not the only environmentalist concerned about what seems to be a rather free-spirited, hands-off mentality by MnGCA. I find it a little puzzling that the President of MnGCA is only known as John with no last name or photo as far as I've been able to determine. I also wonder if Marsha and Silent Bob's ([name removed], V.P. of MnGCA) elevator goes all the way to the top floor. He apparently sees nothing wrong with a fellow geocacher fiXing an oak birdhouse to a live tree in a city park as an eXtra cute and clever means of hiding a cache container "Bad Old Putty Cat." Does MnGCA need to establish guidelines for a size limit on the use of bird houses for hiding a cache? A Wood Duck house would provide more space for more treasure than a Wren House. Also, one of Silent Bob's own multi-stage caches (the first stage) is hidden 9' off the ground in a hollow portion of a branch "On Top of Old Smoeky." Twice I almost fell/slipped (snow&ice) while precariously balancing myself as I entered the coordinates into my GPS. It was difficult enough climbing the tree so that a geocacher is more likely going to try to write down the coordinates or enter them into the GPS while up in the tree instead of climbing back down and then back up to replace the micro cache. There are more than a few geocachers that enjoy the privacy of geocaching alone. Besides a person could still fall and get injured even if they were with a team. A good percentage of geocachers are children (under 18). What if a child fell and got hurt and the parents decided to take legal action against MnGCA, and its Vice President, [name removed]. Because of Mr. [name removed]'s precedence setting eXample I found myself climbing another tree 2 days ago to peer into a hollow portion of a branch that was 10' off the ground. And believe me it was NO easy climb. If it's OK for the V.P. of MnGCA to place a micro cache 9' off the ground than maybe its OK for another premium member to place his cache 10' off the ground. And what about King Boreas and his monopoly on cache placement (632 cache records). He refers to himself as a "maniacal genius" and "King of cache density" for the greater Twin Cities metro area of St. Paul and Minneapolis. I wonder if some of MnGCAs board members and premium members are still just big kids in a man's body. I would appreciate it if Silent Bob would NOT keep locking threads, but rather allow a diversity of constructive criticism by its members. As far as having to implement an "elite" special forces team of Caregivers and Caretakers I agree that the idea borders on overkill. It's my own opinion that some board member's and premium member's elevator may not go all the way to the top floor. Instead of Silent Bob continually locking threads to silence a free eXchange he might consider encouraging constructive discussion that points out any current weaknesses or lapses by MnGCA members so as to maintain and restore the 'Integrity of the Gameplace.' Apparently I'm not the only Minnesota resident that is concerned about what may be a little too lacks-a-daisical oversite by MnGCA. This post was edited by a forum moderator to remove personal information about a geocacher mentioned in the post. From the Forum Guidelines: