MajBach

quote:I would never take my daughter or walk my dog through the crap this cacher is talking about. This cache is like all my other caches my family have hidden, Just off a main trail in a park. As I stated, there were no suggested parking spots and someone not familiar with the area may pick a parking spot (as I did) that appeared close, but really not the most ideal spot since it was no where near direct. If you parked where I stated I did, you would have seen the 'crap' I trenched through. quote:I read the above post to my wife and she and I agree that this cacher should have contacted me directly with his concerns first and then I could have helped him out and gave him directions. My apologies for my lack of proper etiquette. I thought I was doing the right thing by not posting these comments on your cache page but in a forum instead. I also stated that my perception of where the cache was placed is based on how accurate my GPS was. However, after looking at the map, it does seem to be very close to the backyard of a house. quote:I have met some cachers and I hope this does not tarnish my name in the community. I don't think you have to worry about this. As I also said, your reputation preceeds you. I've been to a lot of caches and read your logs and saw your trademarks. I never believed you were a irresponsible cacher. quote:I would like to remind all that before you go look for a cache you need to have a plan and maybe just more then the crappy maps they post on this site. Again, a rule of thumb I with adhere to after learning the hard way. quote:This is our side of the story and I hope it explains what is happening here. The cache in a nice spot that is a quick intecity hunt that you can enjoy. Dear GM100Guy, Gucci and especially Lizzie: I'm heart felt apologies for making you feel the need to defend yourself. Obviously this was not a cache left by a novice as the lizzie's profile would suggest. I did not assume that it was a person of any age that placed the cache, I only assumed you had something to do with it. I would also like to state I had a bad day caching and this one just made it worse. My post was not targeted at your cache specifically, even though it was the majority of the post. Rather, it was an account of my day. In the future I will contact the owner of a cache before 'flaming' it, or I will omit the cache's identity when I feel compelled to comment about it. Lizzie, I hope I didn't upset you. Please keep Bizzie Bee in the cache, as I currently have GTRacer here and we're going shopping for some skiis for him on the weekend before he departs for the west. I think he would like BB's company. Sincerely, MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

I AM going to find that dadgum cache that eluded me last night! There is a bug in it with MY name on it! MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

I was expecting a number of people to jump down my throat with 'don't be such a sore loser' response. I really tried to be constructive instead of critical in my initial post. I'm glad to see so far that the mentallity of Geocahers seems one notch above, well, many other forums. I guess you need to have a brain to operate a GPS. Ha Ha. Anyway, I take a lot of resposibilty for what happened yesterday myself. Like you obviously do J.A.R.S., I have to 'study' a cache a bit before I go looking for it. When I first learned about geocaching, I uploaded every cache for Ontario into my GPS and whenever I went by one, I went hunting. Experience does make a difference in geocaching. I think now my decision to fork out $50 for membership is now a little more clear. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

It's a good thing it was a long drive home and a chance for me to cool down before posting this; else we’d be seeing a lot of !@#$@ and &%$#. I’m going to try and speak positively and constructively, but what it boils down to is disappointment with the placement of the caches I ran today. Mind you, I’m pretty new to this myself, so I’m hardly an authority – but everyone is entitled to an opinion, right? I ran three caches today. The first one, GC13C6, probably would have gone better had I remembered to take my clues with me. Suffice is to say, I didn’t find it. But that’s not what bothered me. This cache is a memorial - a nice one too – for those local men who gave their lives in the WW I. I actually paused for a moment and gave my respects. What bothered me was how many of the locals currently living obviously don’t have any respect. My GPS kept taking me into the bush several meters from the actual memorial leading me to believe that there actually was a cache here and it was not just a virtual cache like I had now assumed. Remember that I didn’t bring anything more with me than the coordinates. Located near this spot were several intact and broken beer bottles, tons of garbage and used toilet paper – yes used, and lots of it! As much as I may appreciate the significance of this memorial, I probably would not select to leave a cache here simply because of the filth. The next cache, GC13E8 was less than a kilometer away in a somewhat nicer section of the city. The clue for this cache said ‘under the bridge’ which is exactly where I was. In my opinion, any cache that is too small to hold even a pencil should have a hint a little more specific. My GPS was practically begging to display a distance readout in inches, it was that accurate and consistent. However, there were only two places to hide a cache here and it wasn’t present in either. What was there however were the remnant of a ‘exotic picnic’ that last visitors shared under this bridge. Again, my own fault for not reading the logs for this cache in which I would have realized that no one has seen it since last year. Of course, the people who placed this cache have hidden 3 but only found 4 caches and the link to their home page no longer works. Certainly not a responsible geocaching veteran. BTW, if anyone knows how to let Jeremy know this cache is MIA, please do. As I said, I’m pretty new here myself. But it was the last cache of the day that really got my goat: GC42E6 Now, the comments that follow are partially based upon the accuracy of my GPS, i.e. not being off by more than 300 feet. With the exception of two caches, all caches I have hunted, my GPS has been accurate to with less than 10 feet! A few hours earlier, my GPS (GM100) was giving me some funny reading for about 45 minutes. It was saying I was 15,000 feet high and 20 kms away then it said –ve 1500 meters and 60 kms from position and moving at 30kmh when I was stationary. (Did anyone else notice strange readings today?) I do not think this was a factor however when I went hunting for this cache as everything seemed normal. You should read the description and hint for this cache yourself and look at the map at high zoom. I started by driving as close to the cache as possible. This took me to the very end of a cul-de-sac with a distance reading of 77 meters. It looked like it was in someone’s back yard! With no entrance to the park, I parked my car at the west end of Norfield Cres. There is a bridge that spans a park and small river here than joins up with the larger river on the map. There really isn’t any parking that I could find that was any more accessible to the cache on Albion road. Nevertheless, there were no recommendations by the placer of this cache on where to where to park at all, as there often is for other caches, so anyone not familiar with the area (like myself) would have to ‘take a guess’. Although the area seemed open enough near where I parked, I quickly disappeared into a bush with steep hills and the river in the middle. Basically, you end up paralleling Norfield Cres., following the river and the fences bordering the back of the subdivision, albeit about 30’+ lower. As I began walking through the bush, I remembered the part in the cache description about ‘crossing some rough area’. In addition to the uneven terrain however, I discovered 7 discarded bicycles, 1 mattress frame, 1 mattress, enough beer bottles to buy a GPS, 3 shopping carts and a plethora of other refuse. As I rounded the bend and headed south, after crossing the stream several times just to get this far, the surrounding area was a little less dense. I then found the ‘sewer’ with the 42 on it and began homing in. Well, homing in isn’t a very good word for it. Although there is a distinct path here now, (it follows the main river, perpendicular to Albion Rd – if only I had of known!) there are also several barely recognizable paths that go in every direction. Certainly none of them could be classified as a ‘side trail’ to the cache. What’s more is that the sewer is no less than 80 meters from the cache! I’m thinking to myself, ‘they could have said it was east of the airport and it would have been just as helpful’. So I continue following my arrow, which is next to impossible considering the density of the vines in this area. Yes, you come to an area with those really tough dried vines covering everything! I’ve got about 15 minutes of daylight left, I haven’t been any closer than 25 meters to the cache and I know I am not going to get any more help from the clues (I did have the cache description with me on this one). I know than WHEN I find this thing; it is going to be that much more rewarding for me, considering the effort so far. I am now to the point that the only where left to go is up a steep, very steep embankment to narrow the distance to the cache. I could ascertain that the cache was indeed in this direction and at the top of the hill because of various bearing and distance readings from out in the open, about 30 meters from the cache. But make no mistake, it is a long 30 meters and the GPS is all but useless in the very heavy cover. I’m now at the top of the hill, hanging onto a fence in someone’s backyard. Moving back and forth, I get a reading as small as 4 meters but no better. I’m looking for a plastic bag, all the time hoping no one in any of the three or four houses that can see/hear me near their backyard is phoning the cops; there is absolutely no reason for someone to be hanging out here and anyone from the area knows full well it isn’t easy to get to where I am standing. The place is littered with debris and garbage, it’s almost dark, and just about any of it could be a white plastic bag. Just when I’m ready to pack it in, I see something underneath a bunch of fallen branches. Whoopee! Well, it’s about time anyway. I walk down the hill to approach it, moving 6 feet in anyone direction seems like I’m taking a risk. I reach my hand out to grab the container while holding onto a small tree for balance. Mother #@$@#, it’s just an empty gallon jar. I was done for the day. Now that I have rambled on like this, I am trying to remember what my point was when I started. I suppose I walked away thinking ‘that wasn’t any fun at all’. It wasn’t just because I hadn’t found the cache that I had a bad taste in my mouth either. Again, geocaching is supposed to be fun. That doesn’t mean you have to find the pot of gold either. I’ve been on several cache hunts that I haven’t found the cache but was very glad I went looking. Usually it’s because it’s in an beautiful area, often close to where I’ve lived for the past 34 years and not even known about it. But there was nothing appealing about this area to look at. The clues were not clues at all either. I mean, I know it is not a rule written in stone but doesn’t common sense suggest that a clue, (or cheating), be a description of where to locate the cache that is one step closer than the accuracy of the average GPS? If the average GPS is accurate to a 30 foot radius, that leaves a very large area to hide a small bag or Tupperware container in. Further, this cache was placed in a spot that made a cache hunter look VERY suspicious. I mean, you’re right in someone’s back yard! I have very little doubt that in one of those houses lives a geocacher and the placement of this cache was selected to make it easy to constantly keep an eye on it. That may sound innocent and fun for the person hiding the cache, but it makes for a very uncomfortable experience for those looking for it. Geocaching is like fishing, catching a fish may be the point of the entire trip but just because you get skunked, doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth going. This is probably about the eighth or ninth cache I’ve searched for in vain in the Toronto area. Right now I feel it will probably be my last Although I have carted out some garbage with me on a few of my geocaching excursions, I cannot help but feel that overall, the joy of the ‘sport’ is lost in the surroundings. I also plan on being a little more vigilant on whose caches I go looking for. I would appear to me that a little experience in finding various caches is required before placing one yourself. Never thought I’d say this, but ‘That’s just my two cents’. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

quote:This is what I saw a couple weeks ago across the street from a park while hunting a cache.http://home.earthlink.net/~whidbeywalk/_images/trashy_house.JPG Why are people always taking pictues of my house? (You didn't happen to notice a pair of car keys did you?) MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

I too plan on creating 'marine' caches. However, there are no tides near here. I spend the majority of the summer in my boat.I have noticed there a very few caches place in or near hot fishing spots or marine travel waterways. I plan on placing some caches on islands and submerging caches that one require a sonar device to locate. To elaborate on the latter idea, sinking a cache in say 10'-30' tied to a empty bleach bottle or something with heavy test fishing line such that the floating jug is about 5-7' below the surface. Passing over top with a sonar unit should display the bleach jug. Of course, there would be a few factors to consider first. The cache would have to be heavy to offset the buoyancy of the jug. It would have to placed such that no boat with a deep draught would snag it or in a spot where there is chance of a trolling fisherman snagging it either. It would have to be close enough to the surface though to snag it with a docking hook or to dive for it too. As you can see, I want to encourage other boat owners to place caches too. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

My GPS refers to this 'bee dance' as pinning. I believe it ignores any movement that is not linear for a specified time and that is also below 2.5 mph as sporadic reception. When I approach a cache, I turn this feature OFF, as I find it more accurate since it will almost immeditely sense any movement I make. Mind you, it also shows sporadic reception as well. In other words, as I approach the coords, unless I'm am moving fairly quickly and in relatively straight lines, my direction arrow constantly changes - usually 180 degrees though. I know the relative direction of the cache from my initial approach so I ignore the arrow. However, my distance reading shows a smooth decrease in distance as I approach the cache. If I leave pinning ON, the arrow indicator usually remains the same and the distance measurement decreases in increments. I could walk by the cache before realizing I have done this. If ever I am getting inconsistant readings when the pinning is off, I just stop, power down and back up again. The GPS will almost always show a greater-than-actual distance to the cache. But if I remain atanding still, the distance will 'settle' after about 30 seconds. Of course, the arrow indicator will surely be incorrect as it needs movement to deterine relative bearing. In this case, I just take a bearing from north. 4 times out of 5 though, my GPS walks me to within 1-2 metres of the cache, providing I approached relatively straight. The other 20% of the time I never get within 15 metres. This must be tree or geographic cover though. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

I still cannot decipher this info. I do understand the chargeing and performance capabilties of different batteries. I also want both alkaline and NiMH batteries for different applications. It's the charger I am uncertain about. Check these sites out, look at the PS3 at the bottom: http://www.rayovac.com/products/recharge/chargers.shtml These are the specs: http://www.rayovac.com/busoem/oem/specs/ren10.shtml And this is it's technology: http://www.rayovac.com/busoem/oem/specs/ren7.shtml And this is general info on all batteries and charges: http://www.rayovac.com/busoem/oem/specs/download.shtml I'm still undecided!!! Any techies care to help? MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

Maybe I will go with a just a MiMh or NiCd 'smart' charger. Curious, what would happen if I stuck a rechargeable alkaline in one of these charges OR in one of my old NiCd chargers? If I leave it in for a determined time to avoid damage I mean. would I be able to get away with charging and alkaline battery? MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

It wasn't until yesterday that I realized how behind the times I am. I had no idea of the new battery technology that was available. Last I knew, Alan Thicke was doing infommercials on rechargeable alkalines. Judging by how long that lasted, it didn't catch on to quick. Anyway, so I read all the threads here on batteries and such and decided I should catch up with everyone else. I did a bit of research too on the net and couldn't decide if I wanted to go NiMH or rechargeable alkaline. Naturally I like the lower cost of the latter but it was the shelf life I really wanted. Using them in emergency flashlights and remotes etc. NiMH, on the other hand, self-discharge faster than any other but appear to have to longest use and lifetime longevitey. So I went shopping today, figured I'd go one way or another and to my surprise, I found a Rayovac charger that could charge both types of batteries (even NiCds too - but who cares about them anymore). Even better was that it could charge all sizes excluding 9V (again - who cares) and do as many as 8 AA or AAA at once. The best feature was its cost - $29 CDN, compared to $69 for that one-hour charger from Rayovac. Dilemma solved, right? No, I didn't buy the unit because a few things made me suspicious and I was hoping someone here could shed some light. The unit in the Rayovac PS3. Now, all other units from any company I found that charge NiMH, also charge NiCd too. There is a switch on the charger to go back and forth. This leads me to believe there is a difference in the way the charger charges the batteries. The PS3 had no such switch to distinguish between the two different types. Not to mention the fact that this unit also charges Alkalines, which is clearly marked on ALL other chargers not to mix the two different types. How does the PS3 know what type of battery it is charging? Finally, it also doesn't state in the instructions how long charging should take, which is somewhat important. Does anyone have experience with this charger or can advise me further on it? Thanks in advance. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

http://www.gifs.net/animate/giflist.htm There are tons here. Look at 'Earth' for starters. You can try these too. http://www.webdeveloper.com/animations/ http://www.gifs.net/animate/animate.htm MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

I guess what I was missing was the fact that I have to have an image in my own personal web space [i do not] provided by my ISP. the reason why I didn't realize this is because I have uploaded these images into my profile, one of them appears if someone views my profile. Is there no way of using the images I have uploaded already down at the bottom in 'Signature (For the forums)' in modify your account' section? Hope I am not become an annoyance - I have read the FAQ already. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

I've been reading these posts twice daily for two weeks now and never saw a mention of it. Thirthy seconds after posting this thread, I see a thread in the Canadian forum about ideas for 'Trademarks'. Duh? Are these things intended for the cache owner or for anyone though? MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

quote:Originally posted by MajBach: I obviously cannot how to quote properly either. Nor create a complete sentance. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

I obviously cannot how to quote properly either. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

Many of you probably already do this, but others may not be aware of it: I only started GeoCaching a few weeks ago, although I have used a GPS for years for flying and boating [great fun - geocahing - Ontario cachers can look forward to many 'marine' cahes this summer]. On several caches I've found, I've noticed little 'trinkets' that were identical in other caches, namely a spotted marble. After a bit of easy research, I figured they were being left by 'SpaceGirl'. I got to the point that if I spotted a marble in a cache, I knew she had been there. This struck me as an interesting idea. I've seen some cahcers who have display cases on their wall showing all the items they have collected from their hunts. But other than a log, you really don't have anything to show for the caches you have placed. Wouldn't it be a nifty idea if we all thought of a little object that we left at EVERY cache we went to, stored in a seperate bag along with those from others, that was intended only for the person who left the cache there. It could be anything from a marble to a business card to a pin, whatever. A physical object in addition to your recorded log, that identifies you specifically [like a trademark or something] and is intended only for the person that left the cache for you to find. I'm thinking about leaving a fishing lure - minus the hooks of course, or perhaps a pin in the shape of a plane. Like I said, I know many of you do this already, but I think it would be neat if the idea was spread [like in the geocahing.com main page] and we all did this. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it? [This message was edited by MajBach on March 12, 2002 at 08:44 PM.]

1.How do you upload a little picture [are these avatars] that is posted along with your signature? I've tried this and it doesn't seem to work. 2.How are some people uploading .gifs as an avatar when it states only .jpgs 3.At the left margin of a post under the user name, there is always something like 'Geocaher', 'charter Member' or other stuff - lie a link or team name. How does this get there and how do you modify it, if at all? MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

perhaps gone are the days when people noticed something suspicious and chose not to 'get involved' MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

quote:Originally posted by Ianic: I export my Street and trips map and calibrate them is Ozi when I want to navigate with a more powerfull software. Ianic How do you do this? I have only been able to 'Copy Map'. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

i forget her name, but i saw one caher today with 293 finds to her credit! MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

My GM100 goes through 4 non-alkaline batteries in about 40 minutes! I managed to make my own 12V adapter which I have been using for my car and boat. But now that I'm into geocaching, I either carry a portable 12V power supply [cumbersome to say the least], or I have a lot of batteries left for my clocks & home remotes. Fortuneately, you can rig this unit to charge batteries as well; which I will endevour to do today. You are right though about the technological lapse. Maybe Garmin is in bed with a pink bunny. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

quote:Originally posted by Ranz: I don't remember the link but I downloaded it and it works very well. Converts Deg.Min.Sec, Deg.Min.mmmxxxxx, and Decimal Degrees. If you can't find it and are interested, I can post a link to my web area. http://www.xmission.com/~ddrw/geosign.gif I found it, Thanks MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

what's the difference betweeen #1 and #2. follow with an example, please. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?

quote:Originally posted by brokenwing: o-do person places a bomb or what have you in one of these things. While it is certainly possible that someone could do this, we have to be realistic and not live in fear. If someone wanted to hurt other people, where are plenty of better ways to do it than placing an explosive device in a box that may or may not ever be found again. Besides, the possibility also exists that someone could place a bomb in your car while you are in the grocery store. Shall we all stop leaving our car unattended because of it? Do we all start checking the car out for bombs before we get in? No, there is little point. You are much more likely to die on the highway in a car accident than by a car bomb. It just is not very likely someone would do this kind of random act. There are much better ways to terrorize people and cause mass causalities. Public places are much more likely to be bombed than a container in the woods. In reference to your idea about "Strict rules, and perhaps a governing body", I fail to see how this could make any difference at all in whether or not such a thing ever happened. Can you explain how this would help? Remember, malicious people don't follow rules. Thanks. ------------------ Brokenwing _http://www.cordianet.com/geocaching_ I am not living in fear nor do I plan to stop geocaching. Like it is often stated, 'if we stop doing such and such, then they win'. I do think I am being realistic however. Someone planting a bomb in my car specifcally is targeted at me, or it is a random act. since there are far more cars than geocaches, little worry. However, there are geocacher haters and it is drawing attention to itself. Some weirdos like seeing their name in the paper. It's random but targeted at the same time. Kind of like arson. i'm not suggesting we all live in fear or even be any more vigilant than we are. I'm merely stating that I believe it will happen and I think it sucks that I am pessimistic about be even more so because I have reason to be. How is it any different than dropping cinder blocks from bridges or spiking Hallowe'en treats? It happens, all to often. I too fail to forsee how a governing body could make any difference. That too, doesn't mean it will not happen. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it?