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BaylorGrad

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Everything posted by BaylorGrad

  1. Actually, we don't know that. What we know is that the percentage of Google searches that include the term "geocaching" has gone down over the last 6 years. If the number of Google searches has increased over the last 6 years (which seems likely), then it's possible that the number of Google searches for "geocaching" has stayed constant or even increased. Hey CanadianRockies, If I'm understanding correctly, you're saying that Google Trends reflects the percentage of X term compared to total Google searches? Instead of the actual numerical value? If that's the case, Google Trends is entirely misleading. I'm interested to know where/how you discovered this.
  2. I think you all are hitting on the same topic--which is that we can draw correlations here, but not causation. All we know objectively is that the term is searched less and less each year over the last 6 years. Certainly, it's likely that this reflects some sort of decline (such as "less growth" even if it's still technically growing). To take things up a notch, here's the Google Trend data for the search term "geocaching.com"--I think this should be much more of a concern to those who are worried about the future of the hobby... This would likely eliminate people who are casually interested in learning what Geocaching even is--and only includes people who are actively looking for the website itself. A small nuance, but one nonetheless.
  3. That sounds good to me, so we'll go with it! Also--and perhaps this is just my guess from living in TX--perhaps the dip in June/July is due to the heat. (Same reason there's a dip in February.) I can see there being an increase in August as kids and families realize there's only another 1-5 weeks before school starts again.
  4. Of course it's too early. My intention was purely comedic effect. Of course that graph will look completely different in another week, month, year, etc.
  5. Not sure that this has been looked at / discussed recently, so I thought I'd add a topic for those of us who are data/statistics junkies. (If that's not you, it's ok--we all like different things. ) Given the recent popularity of Pokemon Go and its obvious parallels to Geocaching, I decided to take a quick look at Google Trends to see how the search term "Geocaching" has changed over the years. Here's the chart that appears, showing the relative popularity of Geocaching as a search term over the past decade or so. A few things I noticed: 1) Geocaching as a search term peaked during the summer of 2011, and has declined every year since then. (Notice that I'm not drawing any conclusions here--I will let you do that.) 2) Since the onset of smart phones (and the Geocaching app?) in 2009 there has been a very recognizable pattern. 3) That recognizable pattern is really interesting, and perplexing to me. In general, each year shows dual peaks in April and August, with dual valleys in December and February. (Perhaps climate in the Northern Hemisphere has a lot to do with this? But if so, why the double peaks and double valleys? Why a small increase from December to January each year? And why is there a small dip in June/July each year?) This stuff just fascinates the heck out of me. Now in case anyone wants to be amused (or depressed), here's a comparison of the search term "Geocaching" (blue) versus the term "Pokemon Go" (red). Any thoughts?
  6. I'm a little amused that no one has yet offered the most obvious solution here. If you're really intent on finding those caches--you live in the upper Midwest--poison ivy doesn't survive for more than 5-6 months of the year. Here in Texas, those of us who aren't fans of poison ivy/snakes/ticks/etc have about 2-3 months to find caches in the woods.
  7. Thanks, Keystone. That makes perfect sense. As a reviewer, you can probably take a look at my profile/information and see that I did exactly this yesterday.
  8. I think #2 is the option that should be employed, but only for caches that are truly problematic. Skimming through the CO's caches, some seem to be in decent condition. That may be because other cachers are propping up his caches. Some of his caches of have had NM's logged, in which case it would be appropriate to post an NA log on those if the problems haven't been resolved after some time. I don't think it's appropriate to try and have all of his caches adopted out or archived. It starts to appear that you are targeting just this one cacher, while there is another CO that has 200+ hides and another with 350+ of the same style and many of those have NM attributes. Why target just this particular CO, instead of targeting specific caches regardless of the CO? In some areas this is becoming a very noticeable problem. There really does seem to be an addiction issue. Some people can not stop themselves from hiding. Once they get the bug, they keep hiding until they implode. They push out the quality cache owners who want to hide one or two caches a year. Fewer and fewer quality cache owners are hiding caches. They leave a lot of junk to rot, and active addicted cache owners will encourage the practice of throwdowns. Most will publicly thank the finder that reports the cache gone leaves a bison tube to claim a find. Good luck BaylorGrad, those NM caches need to be NA'd before the next throwdown. Very few people will post an NA. You may have to live with the "cache cop" handle. But there will be others who will appreciate your efforts. I think we're of the same mindset here. It's the littering that really gets to me. Destroyed geocaches just become litter--and that's something that many cachers actively work to reduce. I don't think I'd be labeled as a "cache cop" here--at least not in this town. And frankly, I think most local cachers would appreciate it.
  9. Hi Everyone (OP here)-- Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful responses, and for being courteous to each other as well. I'll address a few things that have been discussed, and add some more detail to the conversation: 1) Since I've first posted, I have verified that DrHogg is indeed still alive, and also teaches classes at the same university where I work. I might reach out to him by e-mail, but I haven't decided yet. I'm frankly not sure what I'd say to him: "Please clean up your mess?" Regardless, it would be awkward, because I have no interest in adopting his caches, and I suspect (but can't confirm) that others would agree with me. Which brings me to: 2) Admittedly, a part of the story with DrHogg is that his caches are generally regarded in the geocaching community in my town as the "lowest quality" caches in town. My desire is not to get into a long discussion about what qualifies as a "good" cache, because as we all know, that depends on the person you ask. However, regardless of the quality of the location of his caches (which we need not discuss), it is rather true that his containers tend to be those that fall apart quickly and easily--pill bottles, peanut butter jars, car key holders--you name it. The point is--the fact that he has been inactive for 2 years has simply resulted in a lot of litter, and that's the thing that really irks me, and makes me want to find a solution here. When a cacher simply replaces a DrHogg cache container, in my opinion, they aren't "keeping a good cache going"--they're contributing to the litter that neither they nor DrHogg will maintain. The cycle continues until someone mercifully posts a NA log. But from what it sounds like, the consensus is that either (a) he should be reached out to, in which case he could hopefully allow adoption or clean up his 1,000+ abandoned caches, or (2) the local cachers can simply post "NA" logs to his caches. (This makes me think of creating an event called "Clean Up DrHogg's Mess" and simply having local cachers go around to his caches and post "NA" logs where necessary... Now that I think of it, would something like that actually be allowed? Because that actually might work.) Just thoughts; please no one burn me at the stake for my suggestions. Thank you for your insight and thoughts in advance, BaylorGrad
  10. Hi Everyone-- In my area, there's a cacher by the name of DrHogg. This cacher has hidden over 1,000 caches over many years of geocaching, but if you look up the user, you'll see that he/she hasn't logged into Geocaching.com in over two years. In the meantime, dozens and dozens of DrHogg's caches are going quickly to ruin. There's a rumor floating about that DrHogg might have passed away, but this hasn't been confirmed. So, here's the question(s): Is there any way, aside from one-at-a-time "Needs Archived" notes, to facilitate the process of removing DrHogg's caches from the website? What if the cacher is actually dead? Does this change anything? I'll end with this: I've seen so many heated arguments on these forums that I haven't posted here in about three years. Just asking these questions makes me really nervous--I just want to be clear that I'm not trying to stir up anything, I'm just simply curious. I hope you'll take these questions for what they are: Questions. Thanks for the help, BaylorGrad
  11. I'm 0 for 7 on the souvenirs so far... In Central Texas, there just isn't too much appeal to caching in August, when a nice, cool day is in the upper 90s. Ironically, I hosted an event this past Saturday. When I posted the event 2 months ago, I didn't know about August souvenirs, and I didn't know it was International Geocaching Day. Go figure--I made a lot of cachers happy though! I'm also of the don't-log-my-own-event group (but I certainly don't care if others do differently).
  12. I'm a better-safe-than-sorry geocacher most of the time, I can relate to the issue here. I've never had it happen, but this would be a nightmare for an LPC. I always, always, always tap my knuckle against the outside of a lamppost skirt a few times before lifting. It doesn't take more than about 2-3 seconds for me to have a pretty good idea that it's safe to open. But I'm significantly more cautious than your average geocacher, so take it or leave it.
  13. I kind of feel like we're talking about opening Christmas presents on Christmas Eve here.... Ha
  14. I think a lot of folks have said it perfectly already, but I'll add my two cents--I most definitely stop searching when I stop having fun. I have searched for 4.5 hours over the course of 5 trips for a single cache--of course, this was in a sparsely-populated park in the rather beautiful months of October/November in Indiana (GCRR30). See my post from 10/17/2010 and my found log on 11/19/2010. But I have also DNFed after searching for just a few minutes. For instance, just a few nights ago I DNFed a cache due to heavy foliage and the rustle of large critters in the tall grass in the immediate vicinity of the cache. I got spooked, and didn't find the cache, so that was that. The fact that it was 92 degrees outside didn't help. Now, with that said, I make absolutely certain to mention in my DNF log if I haven't given the cache what I feel to be a fair search based on its Difficulty rating. If I search for a D1 cache for 15 minutes, I will probably log a DNF without any caveats. But if I search for a D3 cache for 5 minutes, I will almost definitely say something like, "To be fair, I only searched for 15 minutes, but I just couldn't make the find today. Not saying the cache isn't here, but I had trouble." Or, often, when I'm the first to DNF, I will say, "Here I am with the dubious honor of first-to-DNF! I have little doubt that it's still here, but I sure couldn't find it."
  15. I am most definitely not a radius slave. That would be rather difficult in my current town (although I guess that depends on the radius). I would call myself an "Opportunistic Cacher, Plus." That is to say, most days I don't have the time for anything more than opportunistic caching. (Or here in Texas, these are the days where it's over 90 degrees, which is about 35% of the year.) These are the days I will stop for easy P&Gs--basically anything to tide me over. Then there are those few sweet but rare "Plus" days--when I get to geocache the way I actually want to geocache. Doesn't happen often, and the conditions have to be right. The ideal setup is a nice, large park--me on my bicycle--temperatures between 45 and 65. Thus, I a generally an Opportunist--never a Radius Slave--and I strive to be neither.
  16. I am having this problem for the first time today... and I leave for my honeymoon in London in 48 hours. Not great timing... Not bringing my phone, so can't cache with that. Garmin Nuvi is my only option. Boo.
  17. Hi Everyone, I think I can contribute a little on this topic--I am currently a staff member on a public university campus in North Texas (won't be hard to figure out which one if you look at my recent finds), and I have placed caches on two different campuses. I have found no resistance to these caches, except that some cachers can be uncomfortable, particularly when caches are located next to areas where they don't blend in very well, such as near residence halls (dorms). I have noticed that university police tend to be fairly well versed in geocaching, as colleges and universities are hot spots for caches due to their often unique architecture, outdoor features, etc. Some of my favorite caches are on college campuses, and I think that just as long as students, faculty, staff, and facilities are being respected, caches on campuses will continue.
  18. Mission accomplished. I guess I just needed to complain a little.
  19. Ok... I have GSAK downloaded and all set up. Now, GSAK won't detect POI Loader (that I've now downloaded and saved 4 times). POI Loader appears in downloads, but when I request that a shortcut appear on my desktop during the installation process, it doesn't appear. Also, it doesn't appear in the folder that it says its installing in. Therefore, GSAK doesn't recognize it. This is endlessly frustrating...
  20. Also, I've done my research--is this still the best method? http://geocaching.totaltechworld.com/
  21. Hi Everyone, I'm a premium member who uses a Garmin 255W (yes, I realize this isn't the best GPS to cache with, but it works for me, and it's what I can afford at the moment). On my old computer (now deceased), I used GSAK and POI Loader to get the caches onto my GPS, and it worked GREAT. My new computer (same model as my old one--just a nothing-special Toshiba Satellite) seems to have problems with these programs, particularly POI Loader. Is there any other way to accomplish putting the caches on my GPS? If not, would anyone know where to find instructions about adding GSAK and POI Loader so that they'd work with this GPS? (I'm willing to delete the programs and try again if necessary.) Thanks in advance, BaylorGrad
  22. Thanks everyone, I apologize that this appears to be a redundant post, but it was helpful.
  23. Ok, I know this sounds dumb, and I'm not sure how to word it any better... But how far is the exact distance from one coordinate point to the next in feet? I'm not sure if I'm explaining that correct. Basically, what I'm asking is--what would the distance be between, for example: N 35 42.011 W 082 32.132 and N 35 42.012 W 082 32.132 Notice that the only difference is one numeral at the end of the Northern coordinates. What would the exact difference in feet be? Thanks! BaylorGrad
  24. This is why people flock to this hobby. I remember a story on the boards not too long ago where an individual said that he/she couldn't afford the $30 membership for a premium account, and one of the forum users paid for it--a total stranger.
  25. I cache on my bicycle ALL THE TIME. Not only is it (1) fast, and (2) healthy, I (3) don't have to pay for gas, (4) get to enjoy the scenery, and (5) discover new things along the way. If I ever drive to a cache, it's because (1) the cache is too far to bike to, (2) I'm headed elsewhere and happen to be passing a cache, or (3) it's some sort of special day, and I need to get a cache fast (i.e. 2/29/2012).
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