Joe_L
-
Posts
126 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Joe_L
-
-
1 hour ago, The Jester said:
From what I've seen in crossings, any felony can be a bar to entry.
That's true, too.
But in many (most?) states a single DUI/DWI is a misdemeanor.
-
On 5/26/2019 at 6:00 PM, SwineFlew said:
Having a DUI record ..... will require you to do some extra paper work ahead of time
SwineFlew’s post barely touched this subject:
A US citizen with a DUI/DWI conviction from any state in the past 10 years will not be allowed to enter Canada. It does not matter whether you intend to drive or not; the DUI/DWI conviction in the past 10 years is sufficient grounds to bar entry.
There are waivers that can be applied for, but like any bureaucracy, they take a long time to process. And there is no guarantee of a positive outcome.
For official information, see the Canada Border Services Agency website.
Joe
-
A few thoughts:
1. Knowing the CHS without knowing the threshold score that triggers the email doesn’t provide any guidance.
2. Similarly, knowing the CHS without knowing what a “high score” is doesn’t provide any guidance.
3. Since the behavior of the CHS with time and events is unknown, knowledge of a CHS at an isolated point in time is not meaningful. That score could change abruptly or gradually in either direction.
Based on posts over the years, the documented responsibilities of being a CO, and GS’s general description of what affects the CHS, we have a very good idea about what keeps the CHS high (or high enough, I suppose). We even have a good idea about what pushes the CHS below the threshold. There are quirks in the algorithm that occasionally yield a misleading score from time to time, and these just need to be lived with.
-
.png)
2
-
-
17 hours ago, MtnGoat50 said:
Has anyone had experience with plastic "ammo" cans? The one's I've found seem to hold up well and they're very cheap at that well know discount tool place (as low as $2.99) but my overnight leak test in a tub of water was disappointing.
I have two deployed and both have kept their contents dry. Both have a gasket, though. The cheapest models don't appear to have a gasket, and the ones I bought were on sale at a sporting goods store for about $15. (One of these hides is under a rock ledge, so it's out of the elements. The other is on the ground under a pile of typical geoflage.)
-
2
-
-
3 hours ago, icezebra11 said:
500184mE, 442804mN
Please check this.
-
I suppose another dilemma would be a Mystery Cache with the bogus coordinates outside the blackout area, but the actual cache inside the blackout area.
-
1
-
-
23 hours ago, TwistedCube said:
Stage 2 - ???
How about a hollowed-out telephone book as the cache container?
-
That was just convenience. Feel free to calculate rates on a different sample size.
-
Back to the original question. (Too much time on my hands.)
As of this afternoon:
Alamogul – 183,693 finds
From profile page: About 816 find logs (traditionals) in the last 80 days (since 4/30/18) (OK, I don’t have that much time on my hands.) So that’s a rate of 10.2 finds/day.
200,000 – 183,693 = 16,307 finds to reach 200,000
16,307/10.2 = 1,599 days
mondou2 – 173,814 finds
From profile page: About 781 finds in last 24 days (since 6/17/18)
So that’s a rate of 32.5 finds/day
200,000 – 173,814 = 26,186 finds to reach 200,000
26,186/32.5 = 806 days
So mondou2 will pass Alamogul before Alamogul reaches 200,000.
QED
No need to thank me.
Past performance does not guarantee future earnings. Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. Your mileage may vary. If you have an FTF for more than four hours, seek medical attention.
-
.png)
1
-
-
Maybe not scary, just high anxiety. The place was the East Ohio Street Corridor Walking Trail in Pittsburgh, but “street” is an anachronism for “four lane highway,” and “trail” is wishful thinking for “sidewalk”. The trail begins several feet above the highway and separated by a 4-foot high railing but then descends to the road elevation, narrows to about 3 feet wide, and is separated from the road by a standard Jersey barrier with no shoulder. While signing a log at the third or fourth cache, it dawned on me that cars and trucks are whizzing by at 50 to 60 miles per hour, that there are hubcaps, trim, and other car parts on the trail, and that this portion of the highway was once known as the “Death Stretch”.
-
In your mind, what is a high quality geocache?
- Dry logsheet
- Container in sound condition
- Water-proof/weather-proof container
- Accurate coordinates
- CO maintenance so that the above is met
In your mind, what is a low quality geocache?
- Leaking container
- Unsignable logsheets
- Absence of maintenance by CO
What steps can the community take to improve geocache quality?
- Post NM logs, as appropriate
- Post NA logs, as appropriate
- COs need to act when logs indicate problems – wet logsheets, missing logsheets, leaking containers
What steps can Geocaching HQ take to improve geocache quality?
- Continue to promote cache maintenance
Joe_L
-
1
-
This is a night cache/puzzle cache in North Park:
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC455CY_the-legend-of-blue-mist-road
It hasn't been found for a year, but the CO is active and diligent, so I think the cache is in good shape. Tough one though, the CO used little reflectors.
Joe
-
1
-
-
Absent any other information (for example, how large of an area you plan to cover), I suggest using the USGS maps. They are made to fit together, so if you need more coverage, get the adjoining map - there will be no gaps. They also have a standard legend, scale and scale bar, and true north/magnetic north arrows. (They are also available in pdf, but watch your scale if you print those on smaller size sheets.) State and national parks usually have maps, but not necessarily topo, but they do show amenities and parking, and you can work these details with the USGS maps. Maps from other sources will likely use different mapping conventions.
The maps, whether purchased or printed on your own, can be rolled up into a tube for safe keeping when not in use.
Watch your declination.
Joe
-
This is a darker story. In 1993, a local school bus driver was struck and killed by a car while tending to his broken-down school bus along a major road on my commuting route. (I had passed the bus 10 to 15 minutes before the accident.) In 2014, a cacher who was unaware of the story placed one of a series of caches named after Rolling Stones songs a few hundred feet from the location of the accident. That cache: 19th Nervous Breakdown. I found the coincidence a little disturbing.
-
1
-
-
To the original question: I use the permethrin spray on a single light color pair of pants that I use exclusively for geocaching in the woods and orienteering (Western Pennsylvania). (I also wear a light color shirt.) I've been using the spray for about 3-4 years. I apply the spray twice a year, but I don't necessarily wash them after each time I wear them. If I remember, I'll apply DEET to my calfs. I have had good results and have not had a tick attach since I started using permethrin. But when I bushwack or walk a grassy trail, I'll regularly check my clothes for the blood-sucking food-chain dead-ends. On the other hand, twice in the last year I found a tick attached, but I had been wearing untreated jeans and used no DEET (both times were while caching, once in a park and once in a cemetery).
So, I would say the spray works well, but diligence is still needed minimize exposure to ticks.
I think this website from the University of Rhode Island is one of the most comprehensive sources of tick information: http://www.tickencounter.org/
Joe
-
Are nettles even in leaf this time of year? There is very little green around here (Western Pennsylvania.)
Joe
-
Regardless of the app, make sure your instructions are clear about whether the bearings are relative to true north or magnetic north.
Joe
-
1
-
-
You can also crunch the answer in the field with a calculator and pencil and paper provided you know how many feet are in each minute of latitude and longitude in your area. From the distance and bearing, you can calculate the north-south distance and the east-west distance relative to your starting point using trig functions. Then convert those to minutes and add/subtract accordingly from your starting point. If you have a map of the area, you can plot the general location to find a good route.
And, yes, I did this once.
-
How about: This Cache is the Schist
-
If you are caching alone, be sure that you have left a note or information behind so that people know where you are if you don't return on time. Along those lines, I'd include a whistle.
Joe
-
Open the page of a recent cache near you. Scroll to the bottom of the logs. The local Reviewer should be the first one.
Joe
-
From King Lear, Act I, Scene v
FOOL
Thy asses are gone about 'em. The reason why the
seven stars are no more than seven is a pretty reason.KING LEAR
Because they are not eight?FOOL
Yes, indeed: thou wouldst make a good fool.-
1
-
-
I regularly take part in both geocaching and orienteering. As noted before, other than finding something in the woods, they are different activities.
Some other considerations:
If you are giving the cachers the same maps as the orienteers, then the cachers might as well be orienteering. (In your post, it sounds like the map is a USGS quad. Not as much detail as compared to a typical 1:10,000 or 1:15,000 orienteering map. )
Consider the planning that one must do for a 3-hour or 6-hour course. The time for entering the coordinates into the GPSr devices will cut into the cachers planning time. Not to mention the potential for error.
The geocachers may not even have an appreciation for the planning that is needed for the event. In particular, the distance that they can cover in the allotted time. Climb can be overlooked by a novice, but maybe the terrain is so flat that it’s not an issue.
The geocachers may not be able to read maps. Will they be given any instruction? Can you spare a volunteer to do that?
You should require the cachers to carry an extra set of batteries and a compass.
The only benefit I see is that you may get some cachers interested in orienteering. They will be learning it to some degree as they use the GPSr with the map.
Joe
-
Also see the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) website.
Joe
.png)
.png)
USGS and Google Maps/Earth Inconsistencies
in General geocaching topics
Posted
The "3D Buildings" function in GoogleEarth affects the elevation. (In Pittsburgh, it throws the elevation off by 4 to 6 feet.)
Joe