Ernmark

Never! ...I will admit using what was left of my Diet Sierra Mist® one time on one really muddy disk... If you don't want to get arrested for carrying a baggie of corn starch, grab some of the kids' big "sidewalk" chalk - it does an adequate job.... PS - this character looks really suspicious ! PFF at FY1827

I've run across this: This also was near railroad tracks - at one of the "back" corners of a small power substation (PP&L is Pennsylvania Power & Light) - this disk appeared to be steel/iron & is "normal" (3.5") in size ...

...I've run across these settings a number of times: JV3354 - cover for an old well & JU0435 - sewage manhole (don't stare at your GPSr or datasheet when looking for this one ..just in case !!)

..there's also a Canadian Benchmarks category on Waymarking.com.

Slippeddisk - don't sell - that disk makes a great avatar !! That's the shinist disk I ever saw - if I were a numismatist, I'd grade it an "MS-67"! ....hmmm a whole new way to classify a disk ..recovered in good condition, full "mint lustre". (or is that full "factory lustre"?!)

...in Central PA we use "chicken boards" when painting a roof (especially the old standing seam 'tin' barn roofs) - normally you would have flat boards w/ "rungs" nailed to them tied together end-to-end & hang them on each side of the point of the roof ...for obvious reasons. ...so do you think somebody climed up there for the 1996 Not Found recovery?

...I think I've found one at the courthouse in every county I've hunted in - many also are "2fers" with a dome or cuploa that is an intersection station as well as the requisite disk on the steps (or wall)..

I'm not sure if this is definitely the culprit, but I seem to notice the "disappearing info" problem when I have another (IE6) window open to the datasheet page & am doing PID searches at the same time I have the submit recovery page open....lately I enter all the PIDS in the datasheet retrieval page at the same time & "let them sit" & I don't seem to have the recovery info in the other window disappear...

..don't get many USPSQD visits in my area, but I ran across a well-detailed recent USPSQD visit to one I recovered a few days ago - KW2818 ...

...same here - was in for a while yesterday if I remember correctly.

...I was hoping that you'd match PFF's $1 per recovery - but wait - USPSQD has offered $1.10 !

It's partially Ernmark's fault for setting up shop 40 mi to the west - otherwise it could have been 1382 & 1st place ! ( I must admit, though - getting paid $1 per recovery by PFF has been quite a motivator! )

Re: 1, 2, 4 & 5 - I've seen a 30's era unset disk & the stem as shown would seem to match it. It was about 3/4" in diameter & flared outward at the point where it abuts the disk. The stem & base of the disk (which was flat) had a rough texture as if sand-casted w/ no visible evidence of welding. The 40's era (at least in my area [PA]) disks have a narrower hollow stem & the disk was convex-shaped& look to me to be welded..... Re: 3 - I've run across a number of empty drill holes in rocks that lead me to believe that they are easier to work their way out (naturally or otherwise) than cement, etc ...possibly because the stem isn't flayed out when set? ..so for #7 - I vote stem, but I defer to the more experienced hunters...

..gosh - I remember those keypunches! I had a COBOL course once in college (disclaimer - I was REALLY young at the time...and the machines were replaced a year or 2 later) & remember having a program go into a 'loop' when one of the cards got bent & the reader stopped - it was really 'fun' watching the monitor as your program (identified of course by your last name) started using up the mainframe's resources until it was reset... ..end of flashback.. Thanks for the info - I won't worry about messing up the Caps anymore and will direct all efforts to spelling & clarity

..just wondering - has anyone ever typed in the description info normally (both UPPER & lower case) & submitted (accidentally or on purpose) & found whether it rejects/accepts/changes the text ? I know it "corrects" the PID to upper case at the top of the fom. I've always diligently switched back & forth to caps lock, but wondered what would happen if a lower case slipped thru....hmmmm.

The main reason I started submitting recoveries to the NGS is that feels like you're actually doing something worthwhile, in addition to 'just playing a game' - especially after you've found a few hundred & have to invest a little more time & gas to enjoy your hobby...

...unidentified bug found at last disk of the day around dusk at KW2067

..so I just got done uploading pix from a Benchmarking Vacation® in Southern NJ & I have a shot I took for mloser: ...almost has a sinister beauty ! It looks like it really grew nice this year @ the Jersey Shore...and of course, I ended up standing in it at least twice (but somehow managed not to get any)! (it was the MOSQUITOES that did me in!)

...speaking of pinching critters - here's one of my favorite recoveries: KW2072 ..took about 5 min. to get that much of the disk cleared off - they weren't too happy... ...wonder if they'd've made a good soup......

...wonder if there's an Accountantsville out there ?

..looked thru my logs & most of the names were pretty ordinary - did make a special effort to pull over along I-95 (not too smart) to grab this one - JV6938 ...as it was named in honor of the mall (White Marsh) that my wife was making me drive to after a visit to Baltimore's Inner Harbor...

JV5615 - didn't find it, but I REALLY wanted to !

..the 3300 has seemed to help in looking for buried marks along RR tracks ...haven't had a lot of free time to give it a rigorous shakdown, though - other non-BM things keep cropping up...

..lingering results of dehydration from the ELLENDALE hunt !

...the scoop on Mechanicsburg, PA: Named for a settlement of mechanics who repaired and made wagons in the early 1800's, Mechanicsburg's continued growth was also attributed to the Cumberland Valley Railroad (CVRR). Another part of Mechanicsburg's growth occurred when the Naval Support Activity was built on 840 acres of land in Hampden Township. Completing its line in 1837, Mechanicsburg was designated as a water station where workers could restock the locomotive's wood and pump water. The train became the town's link to the world of business and industry. Grain and feed companies, lumber yards and numerous factories were purposely built along side the railroad tracks. Archives show that, at one time, there were twenty-five trains chugging through the town daily carrying travelers, coal, feathers, fruit, ice, mail and newspapers. During the Civil War, the railroad was an invaluable method of transporting troops and supplies. Today, approximately two trains travel through Mechanicsburg each day. Although automotive technology changed the town forever, today's residents cannot dismiss the vital role the railroad played in its development. Info courtesy of the Mechanicsburg Museum Association ....which I didn't know existed until a few minutes ago.... which is a shame - I don't live that far away..