cexshun

Hey bird, I feel your pain. I placed my first cache and tried very hard to fill it with interesting things. Then, on find #4, I get the following log. "Took: First aid kit, koozie, kids bouncy ball, lock, slinky. Left: Girl scout polar bear patch, eye glasses guards, token, union pin, Grover the frog TB" Being my first cache, I lost some sleep over it the first night. Every item in the cache was worth at least $1. I think I would rather it be muggled then have the swag replaced with $.19 items I can find at any local Girl Scount supply store. Lesson learned. I never thought I'd have to CITO the swag in my cache.

Well, after 1 month of using the Gilsson Etrex car cable, the tabs snapped off. I wasn't twisting of bending it, I just grabbed it to disconnect the unit, and they snapped. So, I call thegpsstore.com to speak with them about it. Fantastic customer service! The man I spoke with apologized over and over again, even after assuring him that I don't hold his company responsible since it is obviously sub-par quality per manufacturer. Since the order was placed less then 1 month ago(only 29 days i think), they would exchange it. I asked about just paying extra for the Garmin model because I don't want this happening again. So, they gave me an RMA number. As soon as they receive the broken cable, they will charge me the difference for the Garmin, and then ship it to me UPS 2 day express at no charge. I was expecting a little bit of fuss and mess, but it was easy as pie. I will use these guys for every one of my GPS needs from now on, and I highly recommend them!

OK guys. I've seen so many tutorials online and they get quite complicated. So, here's my quick and dirty method that will generate a detailed road map in about 5 minutes using 100% free tools. First, download the ESRI data. I use Tiger's 2000 census data. It's a tad old, but it has every little minor street in it with amazing accuracy. http://arcdata.esri.com/data/tiger2000/tiger_download.cfm Now, my first time I grabbed all the relevant counties. it made a 6mb map that took 37 seconds to redraw in my Legend. I recommend doing 1 county at a time. On the website, you want to select a layer: Line Features - Roads. Now select your county and download. You will need: GPSMapEdit(shareware is fine) http://www.geopainting.com/en/ cgpsmapper(free version is fine) http://gps.chrisb.org/en/main.htm Now, since I'm concentrating on the free versions, the maps will not have POI info and will not be routable. The pay versions of this software will allow for both of these features. So, you've download the county zip. Unzip it to a location. Inside this zip is another zip. Be sure to unzip that one also. Start GPSmapedit. Now, this is windows software. However, the functions we will be using are functional under WINE for you linux heads. I know, surprised the heck out of me too! File-Import-Shape file Select the unzipped shape file. Opening window, select Residential Street on the first tab. Click next. Next screen, select FENAME. Now, under WINE, this will not highlight but it will still work fine. Click Next. On the next screen, select Latitude and Longitude, change Datum to WSG84. Click next. Click finish. File-Map Properties. Set the ID to 8 digits (12345678 works fine). Give the map a name (Porter County Streets). Then, click on the 'cGPSMapper' tab. Click the transparent map box. This will enable the factory basemap to show in addition to your custom map. I did this because I live by Lake Michigan and I want the basemap bodies of water to display. Click Apply, then OK. Save the new file as an mp file. Now, windows users can use the builtin GUI, and file-export-garmin. Just point it to where you have cgpsmapper saved to. Linux users will just have to use the cgpsmapper command line. Processing will take a little while depending on the data. A 1.3mb shape file took my PC around 2 minutes to process. Voila, the exported IMG file. Now, you can use sendmap (available on the same site as cgpsmapper for free) to transfer the IMG files over. The maps are extremely detailed and I was blown away with the accuracy. Zoomed into 120ft, I was still placed right on the street line. You'll probably use more then 1 map since I like to break them down into county maps for speedy redraws. First, generate all of the IMG files, then transfer them ALL OVER AT THE SAME TIME. This is important because transferring the new maps erases the old ones. So, there you have it. A custom Garmin street map, no bells or whistles. Easy peesy and free. EDIT: IMPORTANT! The ID for each map must be unique. So, in my example, just set a different ID for each county(00000001 00000002, etc etc).

As of this past weekend, I crossed the 2 week line on 2 TBs I'm holding. My caching partner came down with severe pnemonia, and we were not able to make it out of the house on the weekend. There are circumstances where a cacher may not be able to place a TB. I doubt that volunteers want to devote time on deciding who has a legit reason to be holding TBs and who is just being lazy.

Slander is word of mouth. Libel is print.

Thanks for the clarification. I understand what you are trying to do, and I agree it's a very difficult task. And I fully understand not wanting to slap the generic Groundspeak logo on there or another oft used symbol. I was just looking at Michigan Geocacher's logo, and I was really excited to have something as brilliant and creative as that for our state. Not saying ours isn't creative, but it really isn't a geocaching logo. I'm normally not one to critisize without a solution, but this one is a bit over my head due my relatively rookie status. With our state being known by Larry Bird, Corn, and Indy 500, the options are relatively limited.

Guys, I don't want to be a downer or anything, and I say this will all due respect. How does Narrows Bridge represent the State of Indiana, geocaching, or make a connection between the 2? I live in NW Indiana, and perhaps we're uncultured. I asked several people at work and friends, and none of them had any idea what that bridge was, and until this coin, I did not either. I know you were grasping at straws trying to come up with a symbol for Indiana, but I feel that perhaps the bridge was a last minute cop-out since nothing else better was thought of? The coin is a nice coin, and I really appreciate the hard work going in to it. However, besides the word geocaching, I have a hard time seeing this as a geocoin. I look at all the other state's coins with strong connections to the activity, and we have an outline of our state and a bridge. It's very sad with the bridge being burned down and I agree that we want to honor it. But putting it on a coin with the cords seems like more of a cache advertisement or bridge memorial rather than a geocoin. I'm not trying to be a jerk, and I sincerely apologize if I sound that way. But as an Indiana geocacher, I just wanted to say my peace before these go into print.

I'm just dumbfounded that instead of working with us to find a solution, an all out witch hunt of biblical proportions breaks out. I think most of us would agree that a solution would have easily been reached by both sides if Ceips would have just asked. I guess she's one of those "shoot first, ask questions later" type people.

Do amendments require the "readings" to start over again?

What is the bill as amended?

This guy wants to recommit the bill for futher research. I think he smells a rat... and he'd be correct.

Note sure, but it looks like it will pass.

Ceips amendment tabled. 1 more amendment to go.

Voting to table the amendment now...

Man, it really sounds like our friends in the house either listen to us really well, or read this post very carefully. They are bringing up all of our concerns.

Guy proposing another amendment to ban historical site also.

He has to wait until questions are done before removing arch sites from the amendment, but he has already expressed his willingness to do so. Moving for it now.

Looks like the guy is going to remove archeological sites and focus stricktly on cemeteries.

He concedes that this bill would prevent you from playing with your dog in the stated areas.

Dang, you can tell everyone tuned in at once. I've completely lost the stream.

Starting to feel like prom night. I know what I want to happen, but have no idea how it's going to unfold. My stomach is gittery, and the whole outcome depends on the whims of this woman.

Just asked Ceips if she was ready to go.

cnn.com says, "Security alert prompts evacuation of U.S. Capitol and White House. Details soon."

Interesting. This guy is debating that she's trying to ban everything fun from SC and she's trying to legislate morality. Sounds like the geocaching bill, doesn't it?

LMAO "No way. You show me that and I'll kiss you here in front of everyone."