b@t

This thread gets exactly at some of the points brought up in the following post: forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=164514&st=0&p=3115637entry3115637 I believe that there are a number of cachers participating who are responsible, caring, empathetic, and who want to do the right thing, but who do not pick up TBs because of the guideline that says you must move them along within 2 weeks. I like caching, as does my family, and I like the camaraderie and the 'shared secrets' and the idea of getting outdoors more often, and the opportunities for playing the game at many different levels. If I pick up a TB, I have every intent on moving it along. Picking up a TB if you do not have the intent of moving it along is stealing. Plain and simple. A TB belongs to the owner, and even more importantly to the geocaching community once released! But I hesitate picking up TBs lately because, while we regularly geocache, we rarely, if ever geocache more than once a month. Not because we don't want to, but because there are so many other demands on our time. I appreciate the concept that a TB owner would like to see the TB move, but I also see a lot of TB owners complaining that cachers are visiting a cache where a TB is located, but the TB is not being picked up. Some complain that a cacher should not be logging a TB as 'found' if they are not willing to move it along. Others complain that a TB has sat in a cache for months even though the cache has been found and loggd multiple times during that time period. It also bothers me that some TB owners interpret this attitude to mean that my idea of 'casual caching' or being a 'casual cacher' means that we do not take it seriously, or are irresponsible. There should be enough room in this 'sport' for all levels of interest, and all it takes is a little encouragement to keep people interested, to keep families involved, and to entice new, responsible cachers to join in. I'd be more inclined to pick up a TB if I knew that the 2 wk guideline was only an ideal, and further that it was an ideal that was frequently not met! If more people admitted that they were not necessarily fastidious about getting a TB put into another cache within 2 weeks, and if more TB owners admitted that they were just glad to see their bugs move, even if held for a month (or longer), then there would be less anxiety and angst, and that would mean more fun and frolic. d.b of b@t

Thought I'd resurrect this topic, so I looked for an appropriate original posting to repy to. We've been geocaching a couple of years now, but we aren't in it for the big numbers. We're in it for the fun. We're not obsessive about geocaching, but the kids love to go geocaching. We do not get to go but about once a month or so (between soccer, violin lessons, work, taking out the trash, cooking, homework, school, walking the dog, car repairs, paying the bills, etc etc etc.). I'm sure you ALL know the drill or some form of it. Anyway, we've grabbed a couple of TBs over the last couple of years, and they are REALLY FUN to help move them on thir way. BUT, lately we do not pick up TBs, due to the fact that we KNOW that we will not be moving a TB within 2 weeks (we know this because we know that it is not likely that we will go geocaching in the next 2 weeks). I'm thinking, if you want to encourage 'casual' geocachers to pick up TBs, I would submit that the 'guideline' for moving a TB within 2 weeks should be modified. I know that I COULD email the TBs owner and ask for a special dispensation to keep a given TB for an extra couple of weeks, but to be honest I really do not want to start a one-on-one discussion with a TB owner on a specific instance for permission to 'bend' the guidelines. I have enough trouble making the time to make timely log entries. I have not released any TBs as of yet - I intend to, and I have a couple of un-activated tags. When I do, I really don't care if the TB is held for 2 weeks or for 4 or 5 weeks. Please don't get me wrong. I do agree that moving a TB along in a 'reasonable' amount of time is the right thing to do - I just have an issue with the subjective 'reasonableness' of a length of time. Just curious if any of ya'll out there, especially (a) owners of TBs, and ( other 'casual' cachers agree with this. As it stands now we'll occasionally pick up a TB, especially if looks interesting, or if it's goal is attached to the TB (we rarely research out which TBs are in a given cache - the way we geocache is often so spontaneous that we decide we are going geocaching while we are on outr way somewher else and suddenly discover that we have an extra hour and that there is a cache in the area where we are. We'll try and move it along, but rarely can we meet the 2 week guideline. (edited to delete renegade, unwanted smiley/emoticon)

A couple of months ago I quit using Mobi Reader and purchased Cachemate (not really by choice, but out of necessity - loss of support of ebooks) Everytime I use Cachemate, I get a little frustrated with a couple of features. I was wondering if there are any workarounds. I use the 'search' feature quite a bit, usually searching for nearest to given coordinates. The frustration is that once I 'go to' a cache in Cachemate, reading the details, it is then quite cumbersome to get back to the sorted list of nearest caches. When I click - done - I get taken back to the entire database and it is sorted alphabetically. Then I can do a Search-Last Search to get back to my list of nearest caches, but this is a couple of extra keystrokes. (Yes I know I am spoiled, and I expect a lot, and blah blah blah.) It's also cumbersome to be searching though the Nearest Cache list, and having to make sure the FOCUS (i.e the selected entry) is really chosen and highlighted. I use a Treo650, and the rocker switch/selection button combination is not that intuitive. I find myself often going back and forth between the List of Nearest Caches, then selecting the wrong one, then ending up going to the Unfiled list of all caches, then having to go back to the Search-Last search screen. Sometimes it feel like I am Alice in Wonderland trying to have a conversation with the Red Queen. Is it just me, or are there some features of this CacheMate that are just plain clunky?

We have about 30 finds to date - actually more but I'm a little lax about logging finds and am not all worked up about getting big numbers. Geocaching is definitely FUN for us, but not an obsession. Yesterday was the first time I cleaned out a cache - 3 pieces of garbage (dental floss, corroded nail clippers, busted AC adapter) were taken from a cache and went straight to the trash. Granted, one person's trash may be another person's treasure, but having seen a few dozen caches now I feel more qualified to gauge the quality of swag. And, it doesn't take much for my kids (11 yo and 9 yo) who are along to get the idea as well - they have seen caches w/ the good stuff, and they have seen caches w/ nothing but trash. I don't have to tell you which THEY prefer. Anyway, we have developed a signature item, and we often leave a bat-themed item in a cache (refrigerator magnets, bandannas, key chains). But not always. BUT, we DO always leave something cool in a cache. I was raised in a pre-Dollar store era household where we would regularly go to garage sales and swap meets. Consequently, I have a few boxes of cool junk in the basement - Olympics memorabilia, military memorabilia, medals and insignia commemorating various events, tourist stuff (Las Vegas dice, casino poker chips, state themed playing cards, collectible spoons [some sterling], cool foreign and US coins, smashed souvenier pennies, small jewelry and pendants, cloisonne, . . . . you get the idea.) I like leaving cool stuff in caches, and I like my kids to see me leave cool stuff. Since it is not really about the numbers for me, I don't mind leaving stuff in a cache that might have cost $5- $7 or so. but I'll also leave items from the dollar store if I think they are cool. I know 'cool' is objective, but my proudest moments are when I am caching w/ seasoned cachers, and they turn around to me and say 'you leave cool stufff in caches.' I'm not a big fan of collecting personalized signature swag - I really don't want wooden nickels, or business cards (laminated or not) and stuff like that. But I do appreciate the fact that some people like that kind of stuff. If I leave a signature item, it will be a USEFUL item, and I won't put my name on it. The new owner of the swag will know where it came from, and probably who left it there. And if not specifically, they will remember that it was left by a geocacher who likes cool swag! So, think 'cool' d.b

I've just started leaving bat themed items as swag. Not sure if it technically qualifies as 'signature' because I am not writing on the items/putting stickers on the items/marking them in any way. I figure if someone likes these items they will remember where and who they came from, and they probably will like them more if they have not been written on with a sharpie! We FINALLY found a geocahing.com username that our entire family agrees on and thinks is cool, and this themed swag complements our new permanent username (b@t). I buy bat stickers, bat magnets, bat bandannas, etc. Have had several people comment on this - people seem to like it. (And I would say that I too would LOVE to find stuff like this in a cache - there is so much garbage and trash and broken McToys and etc.) This also complements our other family outdoor hobby, spelunking. d.b

Hi - I just returned a GREAT book to the local public library (Dekalb County in Georgia). I had it for a while - renewed it a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed reading and re-reading parts of it. They cover map datums, projections, compass, GPS theory and practical use, types of maps, etc etc etc. The book is called "The GPS Handbook", it was published in 2003. Authors are Egbert and King (Robert Egbert). I just did a search on Amazon.com and they have it paperback for about $11, but it is a 3-6 wk wait. I also noticed that there is a new revised edition that is due out soon and can be pre-ordered. Maybe you can find a copy of it in your local library. d.b

I noticed some disrepancies as well as I was using this feature - sometimes seeing the option to select "Found" and sometimes the option not being there. It seems to be related to the Symbol you select to represent waypoint. If you don't select a 'geocaching' symbol for the waypoint (the closed treasurebox = Geocache), then the 'found' versus 'not found' attribute is not available. d.b

One of the features that I like on Mapsource is the ability for it to automatically link over to geocaching.com and find caches that are located near to a waypoint identified in Mapsource. I have 2 computers - and the featrue works on one and fails on the other. I get an error message that says unable to open browser. On the machine that it fails, I have WinXP SP!, and I also have 2 browsers installed - IE 6 and Netscape 7.1 I've contacted Garmin and they don't have any suggestons except to uninstall Netscape. I'm using Netscape as my email client and have no intention to uninstall or to upgrade it. I noticed that mapsource apparently references *.wlx files that it uses to launch a browser and subsequently link to a website. Does anyone have any details on how Mapsource passes the search srtring over to the browser? What are these *.wlx files? Are there registry settings that apply to this process in Mapsource? I could find no info on how this works and Garmin has not been able to provide any info on this. Has anyone else experienced this problem, and if so, how was it resolved. Thanks

I also am very pleased w/ the Invisible Shiled, and have also bought several of these - for cameras, pdas, smartphones, GPSr's etc. The 'application solution' is probably just water. it does not seem to even make the slightest bubbles when sprayed. I think the solution originally (2 or 3 years ago) had some detergent in it, but it does not seem to now. When they first started providing it, they were not allowed to ship it USPS, but now they can - that indicates to me that it is probably just water. And the little spray containers are really cool! I have about a dozen of these things around. My kids love to fill them w/ water (about 5cc) and then to use them to cool off with on these 105 degree days we have in Atlanta so often lately. Anyway, I love these things. The only complaint I have w/ them is w/ the Full Body Shields they sell for some PDAs and Smart Phones. These tend to make a little bubble when they wrap around a tight corner. I have tried making some mods to them before I install them, but my success is only 'mostly' successful and not 'completely' successful. I have removed these Invisible Shields from several devices and have had NO problems. The company is very good about replacing these if they ever get scratched. I had one replaced once when I had to return a Treo 650 for service/replacement - the company asked for the Invisible Shield that I had removed to be returned to them, and they sent me a replacement about a week later. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that the company has been acquired by another company, and now they are publicly held, and probably a subsidiary of the larger company. Let's hope that the quality of the product stays high, and their customer service remains excellent, and their Lifetime Replacement policies remain unchanged.

What is best management practice . . . . I haven't searched for nor found a lot of caches, but have had to make at least 2 trips to a cache site to find it. In fact this happened to me for 2 different caches. Is it best to log a DNF, then to edit and change it to a Found after subsequent trips? Or is it best to leave the DNF and add a new log "Found". Or, should you not even log anything if you are intending to go back and try again. d.b

I had a couple of ideas for tb's- have never set one loose before but have some ideas for goals. I thought they were pretty good ideas - and in fact, when I did a search in the tb section, I realized that these ideas were so good that a few bugs have already been set loose with goals very similar. So my question is - do owners of tb's generally take offense if someone else releases a bug with a similar goal as theirs? Or are they perhaps appreciative of the compliment that someone gives them by embracing and expanding on their good ideas? Rather than leave this question in the conceptual realm, I'll rephrase . . . . You tb owners out there. . . . what if I released a bug whose goal was similar to one that you have already released? I wanted to release an I Love BBQ bug - take me out to eat BBQ - any kind, anywhere. Roadside stands, BBQ and beer parties, a patio cookout with the family, a BBQ cookoff. . . . (I searched and there are already one or two w/ similar goals) What do ya'll think? It seems like this world is a pretty big place and that there must be plenty of room for travel bugs to wander around, even if they have the same/similar goals to other bugs a-wandering this world. Sometimes I catch myself subscribing to the theory that there are no original ideas under the sun? And sometimes I think the world has more than its share of plagiarizers. d.b

Gosh golly gee! You did this just for me? I'm touched. (But, as promised, I did order a couple of these.) d.b

Put that Satellite/Tupperware logo on a nice basesall hat and I'll buy a couple. d.b

BD said : Probably some technical requirement. (Translation: that's how it got built and they aren't going to change it.) db replies: Or maybe it has to do with the way they protect their assets, i.e make their money. Garmin seems to have quite the business model to keep you interested in the product, while periodically getting you to spend more $$$. I'm just happy at this point that I was able to unlock both of my units with the updated version of CitySelect. Being able to use CitySelect on 2 units played no small part in my decision to buy a 2nd Garmin unit. d.b

Blue Deuce - I read that on the unlock pFAQ page- which is why I was surprised that I did not have the option to unlock that second unit. I went ahead and went through the unlock process on the one unit that DID show up, and when I was done, then the other untoi showed up as availabel for unlocking the CitySelect upgrade. I guess Garmin uses that primary unit (the first one unlocked originally) first, and then once that one is unlocked, they let you unockl the auxiliary/secondary unit. Seems to be working fine at this point. Thanks for response. d.b

Can the update to Ver 7 be used on 2 GPS units (yes, I have Ver6 unlock codes for both units) . . . I rec'd my disk yesterday, installed it on my PC tonite, and when I tried to get unlock codes it looks like they only will generate an unlock code for 1 of my 2 registered units. Back in July '05 I bought an iQue3600 (which came w/ CitySelect Ver 6). I bought a GPS60c soon afterward and used the same software on that unit (Garmin lets you unlock 2 units on a single copy of CitySelect) My assumption was that since I had CitySelect Ver 6 unlock codes for 2 GPS units, that the update Ver 7 could also be unlocked for these same 2 units. Maybe it is a bug on the Garmin website and in the Wizard. or maybe there are some undisclosed details that restrict unlocking a 2nd unit a second time, or maybe if I call them tomorrow they will just give me unlock codes for the 2 units, or maybe they will charge me half price for half of an update . . .. Anyone had a similar experience? d.b