Seamus

Places like Home Depot sell them empty with the lids. Good thing about those is that they've always been empty, and have never been near food. Lots of 5-gallon buckets are available for the asking, provided you do your asking in the right places, but they are often from food service applications, where you might have a hard time de-scenting them. I'd have another idea for the "money to burn" topic, but I'm in the process of burning a small amount of money on it, and don't want to ruin the surprise. (I can't afford to burn much, but it's an intriguing idea and I have to see if I can do it)

If you look hard enough, it may be possible to find a naturally occuring hole that just happens to be a perfect fit for your cache container. I've seen several where the owner just happened to find a hole in the ground which, by sheer coincidence I'm sure, was in an ideal spot for cache-hiding, and was exactly as deep and as big around as the 5-gallon bucket or ammo can they used for the cache container.

Me too. (I'm really just posting here because it seems like the popular thing to do)

Ah. Thank you for that clarification. I understand, now. Do you want your current one submitted, or the line art one? --Marky Go with the 3-D version, since it's my actual avatar. Thanks!

Ah. Thank you for that clarification. I understand, now.

My first PQ triggered my virus checker because I hadn't requested that it come to me ZIPped. Checking that box solved the problem for me - no virus alerts ever since.

Mine's not a "real" avatar?

I always figured that the "ph34r" label referred to the "slash of light across the eyes" effect that's used in the movies to portray terror. Goes well with the huge, wide eyes, I think.

I like to have a bit of fun with my avatar, but I generally try to stick to the basic theme. Clockwise from left: Traffic Safety Awareness Day, Cinco de Mayo, Sock Puppet Day, 4th of July, One-man Satellite Uplink, Canada Day, Apollo 11 Landing Anniversary, Tinfoil Hat (protection from the orbital mind-control lasers) Edit: Should probably include an actual avatar-sized version, huh?

Nothing wrong with not using the tags. I'd keep them around though, in case you want to use them to restart the bug, should it go missing. Or use them to reference the TB number in the same instance (I don't think you can grab it back from someone or someplace without the serial number, can you?). I have a stack of dogtags from active, inactive, and lost bugs that I keep around just in case I need to refer back to them.

As with most situations with a diverse mixture of participants, there will be some people who will take offense at it. On the other hand, I have seen many Travel Bugs that are much more blatantly alcohol-related than your seems to be. While the potential does exist that someone may have a problem with your Bug, I'd still say "go for it", and see where it goes from there.

One of my first finds was a golf ball with an actual DARPA logo on it - thought it was pretty appropriate for a sport that uses the global positioning system that they developed for us. That was in 2001. I have yet to see another golf ball that's even remotely as interesting as that.

Why's that? I do know our PRS differs from CB at least insofar as it uses the 476MHZ band instead of way down in the 27MHZ band. A lot of the "uselessness" comes from the garbage that litters the CB frequencies, and the callous disregard for anything resembling regulation of the band (not that there's very much regulation to disregard anymore). Another factor is the fact that even with today's compact circuitry, an antenna has to be fairly large in order to really be effective on 27 MHz, limiting the portability of such a unit. The fact that FRS uses low power at UHF frequencies into fixed, inefficient antennas (yes, some units have replaceable antennas - not sure how they get around that part of the spec) not only allows for more compact and portable units, but also limits their utility over long distances, making them less than desirable for the crowd that uses amplifiers to boost their CB signals to kilowatt levels. The FRS spec was actually engineered to be of limited use to the power-hungry CB guys who have made the US 11-meter band what it is today, in order to prevent it from happening in the UHF spectrum as well. (Ugh. That sounded like soapbox-speak. Sorry.)

In the logs, I would mention the state that the caches were found in. If it was the same cacher that found them before you did, it might serve as a subtle signal that they should take more care in replacing the caches, or a somewhat-less-subtle signal to the rest of the caching community that they might need to keep an eye on the caches that this person finds. If they make a habit of leaving lids ajar and the like, then someone might drop a hint that they should take a bit more care with these things, for the sake of the caches and out of respect for their fellow cachers.

You've already done more than the vast majority of GMRS users. I have never heard anyone use a GMRS callsign on the air. Ever. (nor do I expect to) I would love to see a comparison of GMRS licenses issued versus the total sales of GMRS radios. That would probably be a very interesting stastistic indeed.

If they're jerking you around about the free gift, maybe you should check on the validity of the free extended warranty as well...

I've seen a number of these combo FRS/GMRS radios, and not all of them share the same channel numbering system. Some place the "FRS only" channels at the low digits, some place them in the middle, and some actually scramble the channels around. On the radios with variable power levels, chances are good that the upper power levels will only be available on the GMRS or combo channels, while the "FRS only" channels will only allow you to transmit at low power. Probably the only way to really be sure is to check the manual that came with your radio. It will list the channel numbers, the services that they use, the frequencies, and if your radio has an odd numbering scheme, how they relate to the "official" channel numbers. You can cross-check the frequencies and channel numbers with the tables here. (or here.)

I prettyy much figure that if a bug has a specific goal to achieve, it's the job of the owner to make sure that it bears that goal, clearly printed on a durable tag or otherwise attached to it. Without some clear statement of goal that travels around with it, you certainly can't fault a cacher for not knowing the specifics before they pick it up. (Not that this stops some people. Apparently, some owners expect everyone to have magic psychic Travel Bug Mission Determining abilities)

I guess it's officially old news by now, but I'm getting the same thing here. The only choices I have are my current avatar and the one I uploaded way back before the current file naming convention was instated. Uploading a new image does not add it to the page. (Guess it's a good thing that I still have them all backed up on the hard drive...) Edit: Same thing with profile photos, too. Only the very first image and the current one are there. Uploading doesn't allow the new image to be used. Going to http://www.geocaching.com/upload/account_images.asp does show the images as being linked to the account, but I cannot select one for my avatar or profile image from there.

The only places I'm aware of that this is indicated is a red + next to their name in the forum listings of who's viewing a given page, and in the user's profile, it will say that they are a member. Edit: I was unclear.

The eMap does not do autorouting. I've got one, with a data cartridge, into which I have loaded the MapSource City Select map set. The detail is much better, in terms of the features and map resolution, but it doesn't actually enhance the basic functioning of the eMap unit itself. You will find that it doesn't show you as standing in the middle of a lake or off-roading next the the freeway as often, but that's about it. I still have only the eMap, and it still does a great job of getting me to the cache boxes. It just doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the newer units.

I think you would be lucky to get a fraction of that before it grew legs and disappeared. The reason why disposable cameras work is because they are just that - disposable. There's really no point in stealing it, since at best you'll get half a roll of photos of total strangers, you'll have to pay for processing, and you'll be out a camera. A digicam is reuseable, the cables are easily available, and the drivers and instructions can be easily downloaded from the web. The only way I'd place a digicam in a cache - even a very cheap one - would be if it were made a permanent part of the cache container, which in itself would not be removable. Even then it would be a fairly risky thing, and I wouldn't expect it to last long. (Yes, I've got ideas of how it could be made to work, but none of them are very practical at all)

Just wanted to mention that the eMap, while not being the "latest and greatest" unit out there, is still quite sufficient for geocaching purposes. It's the unit I started with, and the one I still use today. If you're concerned about the reception and accuracy of the unit, don't be. 20-40 feet is pretty good for any GPSr of its generation, and is certainly good enough to get you to where you're going. If you find that the reception is a bit spotty under the canopy, you can try an external amplified antenna. I purchased one to help with questionable conditions, and found that it did help to suck in a signal when the going got a bit tough. The current crop of amped antennas are cheaper and better than the one I was running a couple of years ago, so you'll probably see an bigger improvement than I did for less money, should you decide to take this route. A lot of the difficulty in finding caches is less the fault of the GPS unit than it is just a matter of getting acclimated to hunting geocaches, and getting a feel for how and where they're hidden. Give it a few shots, and as others have suggested, go out hunting with some experienced cachers. Pretty soon, you'll figure out what to look for, and you'll be up to speed in no time. Have fun!

Good point. Only change I'd make is that I would want it to be on an opt in basis. This isn't the sort of thing that you would want to implement by default.

My wild guess, from looking at the vehicles, is that a repairman was up on the pole working, the jeep hit the pole, and he fell onto the wires. So how close am I? It happened in January, I believe. Supposedly, the guy was driving his jeep, had an accident, got ejected, and wound up clinging to the wires until they got him down. Do a Google for: Jeep ejected wires - and you will find numerous news articles about it. (Yeah, sorry it's off-topic. I'm no good at coming up with captions for thses things...)