StarBrand

Just 7 within 12 miles of my house - all mine..... zip 69336

Sounds good to me!!!

I have some mild concerns over the clause: I would guess that 75% or more of the caches I have found (and hidden) have to some extent used a compliation of nearby natural coverings including logs, bark, grass, vegetation, rocks, leaves etc.... When searching for a cache we certainly don't want to tear up an area during our search and should leave everythig as close as possible to the original setting. However, we often use these items to help with a hide so I guess some clarification is needed here. All of the mentioned caches had low impact on the surroundings but some "material" was used for the hide. Any other thoughts along these lines??

I liked this one - presents a good mental picture!!

I wish someone would start a nationally sponsered list of phrases I am to avoid using. Maybe I have spent too much time out here on the wind swept high plains but it is difficult to keep up with every person's take on what is offensive. On second thought maybe I need to spend more time out on the wind swept plains - geocaching and just quit pondering this issue.

Contentious - Only if you chose to make it that way. Seems most people see it in a whole different light..... Don't be offended by things not intended to inflict offense. It is just a point of view and an important one to this gentleman if he bothered to make labels with it. I think many aspects of Geocaching embody tradtional family values. (but maybe that is just me).

Severe??? Extreme???? Wow.......... A great deal of us see those positions as mainstream and typical. (just a point view). Again - if the intent of the stickers was to be mean spirited and hateful than shame on him. If it expresses who he is , it is no worse than many avatars I have seen.

Some find the phrase "offensive". Some find the phrase "political". Some find it encouraging. Some find it patriotic. If the gentleman's intent was to inflict hurt, pain and suffering to those who read it than shame on him. If it is a reflection of his beliefs and values than I know him better (whether I agree or not) [i kinda like it for a variety of reasons]. Somehow I tend to think it has a small bit of what makes him unique. Don't we ALL try to leave something like that in our logs?? Our Avitars?? Our cache names?? (gulp - Mopar and I are agreeing)

First of all an apology...... I did not mean to show disrespect for any - individual or thier opinion, values, thoughts or merit as a geocacher; merely the frequency of statement. I am sorry for the bad impression that I left with some folks. We all have an opionion and the right to share it. However, keep in mind that I was reffered to as a "lazy" cacher earlier in this same thread - please apply ALL rules evenly across the board. Thank You. As for my questions about Buxleys? (see above) Anybody know why this topic is being given such a low priority by TPTB??

I don't know why Mopar has to keep airing his same tired useless thoughts on Buxley's (he doesn't use it and doesn't like it and sees it as a waste of resources). However, for those of us that have found it useful, I am ready for the final answer on this. Is GC.com talking (I mean really trying to work it out) or is the answer a big fat NO with emphasis. Seems to me that all the dancing around in here has not got anything moving along. It is therefore logical to assume (my big mistake here) that GC.com is ignoring the Buxley issue and has no desire to work it out. Thats fine - just say so and quit leaving so many hanging around waiting. It is time we got a little truth here. I have and will continue to support gc.com in many ways but would like to see a straight answer. Thanks!!!

A $35 gift certificate for a steak dinner at a nearby town - I left 2 filled subway cards, a DVD and a $10 bill in exchange.

Thanks Ed!!

Finds in Yellow (153) Hides in Blue

While nateminy might have worded his post badly and caused a bit of heartache (and Mopar weighed in with ........pre edited line here..................) the question still stands - what is up here?? Any progress? Why can't Buxley just have a big PQ once everyday with addtions and deletions? Is it a money issue? Bandwidth issue? copyright issue? or is it just a case of "does not play well with others"? (notice that I will leave it up to you to decide who....) - Bottom line - will Buxley include GC.com info (in the near future) or not?? Nearly 2 months have passed - just wondering..........????

Bravo!! We are talking with straightforward talk now!!! I am glad to see solutions and honest talk about the data and 3rd parties - good job with the systems Elias and thanks for responding!!! (now I am really out of here!!!)

sigh...... my last post here (in that I am soooooooo lazy). I want Buxleys to be there AND I want performance for gc.com - let us work to find a solution that works both ways. Obviously there were problems - lets work to resolve them. I vote gc works on a solution.

That map, and the GPX file I loaded into my GPS for that trip, does exist. That was a real example from a few weeks ago. All the software exists right now to do that yourself for your own trip. It just has to be done on your own PC, using the PQs we have now. The only problem with that is it's wasteful. That leg of the trip required 2 PQs of 500 caches each just to get the 40 I was interested in. This is going way off-topic though, so if anyone is interested in how to plan a trip without staring at maps and clicking hundreds of little red dots, start with this thread. I basically use several of the ideas discussed there. Ok - I too could run endless PQ's for my 1100 mile trip, massage the data into a database, filter it a bit and then load it into my copy of mappoint 2004 create a route and reverse out the data that fit..........sigh. Or I could follow Buxleys maps. Again - I get that you don't use Buxleys Mopar - I get it - really. I get you want routeable maps - I want them too (if it is easy to use). But this topic is for trying to get an understanding between gc.com and buxleys to restore a useful service - i vote YES!.

Gee Mopar - that looks cool!! - too bad it doesn't exist anywhere..... (arc file???? - geekspeak to me - I am a visual person - zoom in and red dots along a highway look great to me) - We all get it - you don't use Buxleys - I do and would like to see an amicable solution that gets the Buxley site updated while also not killing gc.com performance. All most of us are asking is that the community work on a solution that doesn't include killing useful (to some of us) websites.

If GC could just allow a (for example) 1 time per day download of new caches and disabled/archived ones to Buxley's I would be happy and I am sure it wouldn't strain the web site. Just how big could an XML of that data be?? Just coords, names and types. I like the brillig maps for the rural areas I live in but I understand the frustration for high density cache areas. Maybe Brillig could up the number of zoom levels??

I feel the need to add my "rural" perspective here. Driving 200 miles (roundtrip) to get 1 or 2 caches is common for me and several local cachers. If we want more than 15 - 20 finds we are forced to drive distances to them. Also, I travel to towns 200 - 300 - 500 miles a way to grab caches - some that I have kept my eye on for a year or two. My first geocache had no finds for 7 weeks. It had less than 15 in the first year and stands at less than 50 finds after 2 1/2 years. Another of my caches sits under up to 20 feet of snow 10 months a year. An expiration date on these would be a shame. Get with your local groups and encourage "churn" if you want but realize that 70% or more of the landmass out there is far from saturated and for many finding 20 to 50 caches a year is all we want to do. I would hate to see some kind of random zigzag movement just to beef up stats for glory seekers. If I had to rehide - rewrite every year or so on my 41 hides, I would never have time to find any new ones. By the way how's a better than 4:1 ratio?? (I have to or no one around here would have anything to search for!!!)

Just the opposite has cropped up here too so let me add a nearby zip: 69350 Within 10: 1 Within 20: 1 Within 40: 1 Within 50: 2 Within 75: 29 within 100: 57 Rolling grassy hills and prairie.

My only comment on this one is a concern over logbooks. At a minimum, a micro should only be approved if it has a logsheet and a writing utensil. I always try to leave something in even mini-micros and take something if it is available (big part of the game to me) but without a logbook of some sort it may as well just be a virtual. Only way to track down legit visits to a cache and best way to find out about caching stories. I actually would like to see a new size - minis. A mini is something like a sandwich sized rubbermaid that has room for a mini notebook at a minimum. Writing utensil is for those of us to lame to bring one along.

We have a new one that bridges the midwest with The RockyMountain Area - Wyoming - Nebraska Area Geocachers (WNAG)

Finally some recognition for those of us that know what real Geocachers drive and those that understand the sticker in both of my Jeep's back Window: "It's a Jeep thing......You Wouldn't Understand...." Looking forward to my new Wrangler!!!!!!!!!!

I don't expect gold but I do expect fairly even trades. I spend $15 - $20 for 6 - 8 items when I stock a new cache and then I return 6 months later to find 3 or 4 McToys or rocks & twigs. Dollar stores abound with nice items in the 1 to 3 dollar range - make a quick visit. If you don't have an even swap - don't swap. Occasionally I find nicer items and I carry a goodie bag with nice trades (I in fact have a $30 Timex compass watch brand new just waiting for a $15+ item in a cache - been carrying it for 16 months now). Overall, I am in it for the fun, adventure and seeking of new places but the trades are either a wonderful bonus or a reason to diminish the fun. Your choice. Either way - I will just keep on caching and restocking my boxes when I find the junk.