Guanajuato
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Posts posted by Guanajuato
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From a failed attempt at GC1J1H4.
Not really up to the standards of other pictures on here, or my usual standard. It was quiet beautifully lit really, but the phone camera wasn't really up to catching it. Upping the levels has got the details, but at the expense of a very strong yellow cast. It won't win, but it just shows that there are some nice places round Warrington.
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There's already a Yorkshire Geocaching site. But (and being brought up in Sheffield, I know its a BIG but!) it is rather West Yorkshire centric (a bit like Look Leeds)
I guess you need a critical mass of users to get it to take off.
The Northwest forum (Covers Carlisle all the way down south to Manchester) seems to have got this critical mass with a few regular contributors.
Down that way for the first time in 20 years next weekend.
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Give Trekbuddy combined with Mobile Atlas Creator (google will get you the web addressed) a try. It'll work on pretty much any phone. You need GPS (Internal or bluetooth) for the navigation side, but it gives you the cache details and hint plus pretty much any maps you might want with a little fiddling.
Not great for actually finding the caches, but give you OS Maps and can overlay caches on it.
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Image was taken on 23 March 2009 just seconds before someone drove into the wingmirror of my brand new cachemobile and failed to stop - now that would have been a good image.
It wasn't damaged by a little black car with a camera sticking out of the roof was it?
No it was one coming the other way, but if the camera car hadn't gone by I would have been quicker reversing back in against the kerb.
Not the black Passat estate then>?
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Isn't that just crying out for a cache!
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I've not got on that well with Geoshrine either, but I thought I'd pass on that its available.
The thing I like about Trekbuddy is being able to plot the positions on a (shrunk) OS Map (using Mobile Atlas Creator) It really is only suitable as a backup for navigation close to the cache, but great for getting on the right footpath to the cache!
I'd suggest doing a search from the homepage for Windermere and Kendal. You then get a list of caches ordered by distance from a defined point. You can then click the 'Map It' button to see them plotted on a google map that you can drag around to you hearts content - very useful.
I've put a bookmark of some suggestions together. I already had a bookmark for Safie's west bank wander, and Martlakes put a bookmark together for Safie's Sedgwick Saunter.
Dave's (LakeUK) link looks like it could be a useful tool - You've never been doing this too long to learn something new.
What I missed was suggesting the circuit of Levens Park. If you come off the main road into the lakes at the first roundabout after the motorway you can park up (Here or Here) and do a lovely circular walk of about 2 miles, labelled up as 'Levens Park Circuit' in the first bookmark list. Some of the more southerly Safie series are pretty close by as well. A combination of the three series centred on Sedgewick will give you a lovely walk of anything from a couple of miles to about 8 miles.
Another place to look is round Staveley - the 'Secret Staveley' Series is excellent. Wilf's Cafe and Hawkshead brewery are worth visiting. I've yet to do the Jason's Jaunt circuit following the river south of Staveley, but it looks good!
When you pick up a travel bug or coin, you'll see a code printed/etched on it. If you click on 'Trackable Items' on the left of the homepage, you'll get a space "Enter the Tracking Number of the Item:" - put the code in there and click 'Track'. That'll give you the TB Details. Click on 'Add a log entry' in the top right of the page. Then you can log you find, much as you would a cache. On the drop-down, you'll need to select 'Retrieve from...' When you come to drop it off in a cache, its a good idea to note in the log book that you've dropped a TB/coin in. When you then log the find of the cache, below the box where you enter you log, you'll get a list of the trackable items you've picked up. just select whichever items you've dropped into the cache before you submit your log. It's all there on the Trackable items page though.
As I said before though, ENJOY IT!
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A friend helped out in the Lab in a Lorry a couple of years back (and is now a physics teacher). In my youth I did quite a lot of lackey work for the IOP journal, putting stuff into LaTeX for them (oooerrr Phnarrrr).
Does the IOP have a nice big HQ in London like the engineering institutions? If so, you could quite easily hide a really big cache just outside your doorway. A chained-up Wheelie Bin for example? Maybe with a combination padlock on, just to stop it being USED as a wheelie bin!
The combination could be got from clues in the local area or maybe from physics-based questions. Just a thought anyway.With a big cache you could put some EXCELLENT experiments in there.
One thing to bear in mind is that Groundspeak have a bit of a thing about promoting charities and other such like without their express permission. I'd suggest you get in touch with 'The Powers That Be' at Groundspeak HQ - If you get in touch with Deceangi, he might be able to give you a specific person to deal with.
Being a bit of a techy geek hobby
I'm sure they'd be up for letting you do it, as long as your not soliciting payments of any kind. -
1 - In Windermere itself theres a few sneaky micros. There's one on Orrest Head, as well as one on the way up - worth doing. I'd recommend going over the ferry (on foot or by car) to the western shore to pick up a few caches over there. School Knott & Brant Fell are worth doing too - a good round walk leaflet is available that'll take you to both. Slightly further afield, Kendal has loads of well-thought out caches - the Safie series (Sedgewick Saunter and West Bank Wander) make a fantastic riverside walk between Kendal and Sedgewick. There's 3 caches on Scout Scar, which is probably the lake's best kept secret. You'll just have to do a little homework on my cache up there, but its worth it, really!
If you see any caches by Martlakes, its probable they'll be good ones!2 - It might be worth checking out TrekBuddy. That way you can have offline cache details (from a GPX file, not scraped, unlike on-the-fly apps). Geoshrine may also work on an android phone. Both of these work on pretty much any phone with Java.
3 - Yep. That's the whole idea of TBs/Coins. Just check that they don't have a specific area to stay within though. I know there's a couple in Cumbria that should stay in Cumbria.
Finally. Enjoy it!
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Taken close to the start of GCHQCT earlier this year when it was all frosty.
Bit of fiddling the arty filters in Photoshop/Gimp to turn it into an 'oil painting' or 'watercolour' and you've got a victorian Christmas card there.
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I've used a PDA & Bluetooth for a few years with Geoscout. A bit too fragile really! Mine died over Christmas - whether it was the battery, the cold or the age I don't know.
There's a few programs available for mobile phones for storing cache details. i've been using TrekBuddy on a SonyEricsson C902 since Christmas - navigation and cache details (plus Maps if you get hold of Mobile Atlas Creator) . I tried Geoshrine, which has more readable cache detail presentation but could never get the navigation to wok.
Just got an Etrex Vista HCx from a fellow Nortwest Cacher who's upgraded to an Oregon. I've not used it in anger yet though.
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Near Kingscote Walk No. 2 GC1XWBH - A snowy day!
A tip I got recently with snowy photos was to set the camera's white balance to Daylight and, if you can, up the exposure by about half a stop. Most digitals will give you at least the white balance control. And then you can use your favourite tool (Photoshop, Picasa etc) to change the white & black levels. That way the snow tends to have less of a blue cast.
Mind you, yours doesn't have that much of a blue cast. I'm passing it on because it might help other people get even better pictures.
So far, the Blorenges is the most original and HazelS is the cutest!
IrishWaves waterfall is stunning!
I love the opportunity Digital gives for experimenting.
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When I placed my first cache (GCX78J) which was one of the first caches placed under the agreement, I had the same issue - the OS map is next to useless for that purpose. So I did exactly what you plan on doing and gave clear directions from a defined spot. basically, I gave a grid ref & coordinates of the start of an unofficial path through the woods and gave distances and landmarks to the inal location.
Good luck!
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We've just got back from a couple of days up in Keswick - best time of year as there's fewer tourists!
From Friar's Crag, so near GC211KG, Memorial Plaque - Rawnsley
On our second day,we had a lovely low-level walk from hawse end and back along Cat bells terrace. This photo is from very close to GCMPQD, Four Oaks.
Picking just two from the pictures we took was really difficult. I've gone for one that's real cliche photo and another that's a little different.
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You could get a Bluetooth GPS (around £20 new - I have a Bluenext unit) unit and, depending on what phone you've got, there's software out there that'll give you the basics. I'm currently trying out TrekBuddy, which'll work on pretty much any Java-enabled phone (which is most of the normal ones)
The problem I have is that the heading doesn't update all that quickly and it reports in fractions of a km or mile rather than yards, metres or feet.
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Here in the wilds of SE Wales we have to create our own entertainment to fill the long, dark evenings and inevitably such recreation often involves the cooperation of our ever-obliging sheep population.
Helping to address stereotypes there...
I've seen it before, but that video is VERY clever!
Sorry for the smiley overkill, but its just in case someone, somewhere just doesn't GET my humour.
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Excellent winner - I'd agree wholeheartedly with the critique too.
Isn't it amazing what a small change of position can do - the spot of 'Britain's favourite view' is only a couple of hundred yards away. But a slightly different angle and the stones in the lake in the foreground make for a less formulaic, cliched shot. And you've captured the colours of the bracken just turning beautifully.
I love it!
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I'm trying out Trekbuddy on my Ericsson C902 phone (with bluetooth GPS) and it seems pretty reasonable overall. I find the cache details a little hard to read, but its not too bad.
I was wondering if anyone knows of a program for a J2ME phone that has a multi solving capability. for those caches where you go around collecting numbers, which then plug into an equation of sorts. This cache is an example of what I mean.
Handy Geocaching looks like it might have potential, If it works in English...
Thanks
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And Guanajuato
What I said was in jest. The sheepworrying was tongue in cheek given recent stories in the Westmorland Gazette. Must just be my sense of humour. I REALLY wouldn't suggest harming a dog unless it was an absolute last resort. If a dog latched onto one of our girls, I'd not hesitate at using any means at my disposal of removing it. But I'd hope that situation never arises by trying to get out of the situation before it develops that far.
I don't like dogs - they really do put me on edge. Relaxing is not an option! Even well-behaved dogs make me nervous. I guess it comes with having been set upon by a red setter and a boxer when I was about 5. Whether they were 'just being friendly' or not, it wasn't a pleasant experience.
Tash & Spencer are lovely dogs. And I'm sure most are as well (or nearly as well) behaved, looked after and trained. Its the usual issue of an irresponsible minority that get noticed.
If the dog isn't being boistrous, I'm OK. And if the owner is responsible, that makes me relax a lot more. The in-laws have always had a dog, and I tolerate it. They CAN be fun, and I do understand why others want to have dogs. But the problem is some owners don't seem to realise they have some responsibility to other people when they have a dog.
But Birdman probably should report the incident, who knows what that dog might do.
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Get yourself a pet sheep, then you can shoot the dog, claiming its worrying your sheep.
Seriously though, 'stay calm and relaxed' is impossible if you got a snarling brute making directly for you, with the most obvious intentions. Particularly if you've had previous experience.
There's a lot to be said about bringing back a requirement for paid-for dog licenses. At the moment anyone can own a nasty little bugger quite capable of killing someone. I don't like dogs, particularly the one's that 'are only being friendly'
I got some advice about Rottweillers once. Apparantly if you pull their front legs apart hard enough, you'll crush their lungs. A bit like the advice of punching a shark on the nose!
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Hmmm... and those robin photos... they're not nailed onto the branch, by any chance?
Well, o'course it was nailed there! If I hadn't nailed that bird down, it would have nuzzled up to those twigs, bent 'em apart with its beak, and VOOM! Beautiful Plumage.
Sorry, it just had to be done.
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Problem is, you go high enough up a big organisation and you'll find someone who'll just say 'No' as a first response to shut you up and move you along with minimum effort.
If you word the question(s) right (imply somthing covert or risky), you can be CERTAIN of getting refusal.
The thing is, if the recipient takes the time to investigate, they'll see there's less risk than with the general public in the same area. But of course, they're too 'busy' to spend the time. So for an easy life say 'No' because that's the default answer to anything they PERCEIVE to be a risk. Lazy? arguably. Understandable? Yes! They've got better things to do than deal with a few geeks.
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I'd be very surprised if a cacher went out on the fells with just a GPS loaded with OSM as their only maps. Surely most cachers who'd go into properly wild country are more intelligent than that? But on the small screens, the maps give a decent idea of the terrain.
As for OS maps giving definitive footpaths. No they don't - it specifically states on the maps that they don't. OS maps don't include LOADS of defacto paths around here, and show paths where none exist and some paths that would be dangerous to follow. So OS Maps are not perfect either.
But I'd not like the conversation with my friends in Mountain Rescue if they came out to me and I hadn't actually planned ahead and only had my GPS-based OSM.
Maybe you should add a 'donate to Mountain Rescue' button on your site?
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The quick & dirty fix works for me, even if its not perfect. I really missed the maps!
Thanks for the work to fix it.
Edgemaster, I hope you don't get distracted from work you should be doing!
Are we able to offer you a virtual beer yet? -
Until a couple of weeks ago, I've been using a PocketPC, bluetooth GPS and GeoScout for all my caching needs. The pocketPC has expired - battery holds charge for only a couple of hours, even when switched off. A new battery has made no difference - there's something fundamentally wrong with it. As its about 4 years old, maybe its just dead!
I've tried caching with Geoshrine and Trekbuddy on my Phone, but the update rate just doesn't cut it. Useful for the cache details and as a backup, just in case.I'm wondering what to get as a replacement.
The Oregon seems the 'standard', but the Dakota is cheaper for what seems essentially the same spec (Dakota 20 Vs Oregon 200). Other than the screen size, is there any REAL difference in functions & usability? I've seen Oregon 300s for less than the 200s - again, what are the practical differences?
The other interesting bit of kit is the new Memory Map Adventurer 2800. The advantage is getting OS Maps (I'm in the UK) roughly the same price as the Oregons that don't have it (but can be added later). But it doesn't seem to have the paperless caching functions. It seems like its almost a locked-down PocketPC, so I wonder if I could install GeoScout on it??? I HAVE found a place that sells the Oregon 300 with OS Maps for only £40 more than the cheapest without maps, which is VERY tempting. But its still nearly £100 more than the cheapest Dakota.
From reading recent posts, I think I could scan OS Maps and use them as custom maps on the Dakota 20. I'm not clear whether the Oregon 200/300 would support the custom maps.
I'm leaning towards the Dakota 20 as its the cheapest option and has all the features I need (I think!).
Any advice/help would be much appreciated.
The combination could be got from clues in the local area or maybe from physics-based questions. Just a thought anyway.
If you see any caches by Martlakes, its probable they'll be good ones!
April 2010 Photo Competition, Click Click
in United Kingdom and Ireland
Posted
Those Fraggles get EVERYWHERE!
I just couldn't resist and I'm a little bored...