Mudfrog
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Posts posted by Mudfrog
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Had this one come into my head a couple of times when I was way out in the boonies.
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1 hour ago, Ambrosia said:
Wow! That's interesting. Hopefully everything's ok with her.
Babslover was both, a gungho geocacher and a Barbara Streisand fan and a half. She was really into geocaching and placed some creative and excellent caches. But for reasons unknown, she pretty much went cold turkey some several years back. Don't quote me on this but I think she just lost interest and moved on to something else.
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On 7/25/2020 at 8:48 PM, MNTA said:
Maybe we should go back to printing cache pages out on paper and manually enter them into a GPSr?
Personally I like improvements.
I definitely remember those days! I also remember having just an arrow to navigate by and all the wrong turns we made trying to follow it.
Yes, improvements are a good thing but at the same time, some of the adventure/challenge/fun has gone by the wayside because of all improvements and hand-holding we have these days.
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1 hour ago, JL_HSTRE said:
The players have made it so.
With Groundspeak's blessing.
As per usual, Groundspeak see's an opening to possibly gain a few numbers and jumps on it without thinking about the long term consequences of our hobby. I sometimes think the company is purposely trying to shoot itself in the foot.
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29 minutes ago, Keystone said:
Actually, cache placements in Ohio have been outpaced by archivals for the past few years. The 386 active Dr. Alien caches in Ohio have helped reverse that trend. And, unlike the routine "just for the numbers" caches, I have a higher confidence level in the maintenance plan for this cache series.
I haven't tried to compute the numbers but from the email notifications I receive, it's obvious the archival rate for my area is greater than the publish rate. There seems to be a pattern, this being that the caches being archived are pretty much all less than ordinary, easy, boring, non-interesting, forgotten by their owners who themselves lost interest in geocaching, caches. Common sense tells me that even if there are more caches being placed, as in your Ohio example, that they're not going to make any difference in the grand scheme of geocaching,,, because, from what I'm reading in this thread, those 386 active caches are just another lot of non-interesting caches. They may be maintained better but that in itself isn't going help to keep the excitement of geocaching alive.
Imo, this is just another attempt to bolster numbers that'll only work for a short duration of time. We need to forget about quantity for a minute and focus more on quality.
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On 6/30/2020 at 1:03 AM, cerberus1 said:
It's just one smiley. But if they felt they had to, who cares ?
I placed a 1.5/5 for the other 2/3rd's account and never logged it.... I've since adopted it from her, and never logged it beforehand.
I've helped more people place caches than we ever owned. Never logged one as a find. All depends on how you feel about that smiley.
I've helped hide caches a number of times. For me, it would be silly to log any of them as finds since I didn't "find" them. I didn't look up coordinates, I didn't have to use a GPSR or phone to get to them, and I certainly didn't have to do any searching to find those caches. Imo, that's not really geocaching...
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On 6/23/2020 at 12:05 PM, TmdAndGG said:
It tells you in the last post:
Where's the slapping of the forehead emoticon when you need it? Guess I was looking too closely at the images and passed right by that last text.
OP, Looks good!
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17 hours ago, Lostboy1966 said:
The wood core of the PVC can be removed. I did so, and threaded it on to the screw. (Anyone see where I'm going with this yet?):
Nope! Looks interesting though so I'll be checking back.
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5 hours ago, colleda said:
I sometimes wonder if these types are throwdowns.
Hmm, can't find the cache, so what do I have lying about on the floor of the car to solve the problem so's I can get my smiley face or souvenir.
This was a newly published cache and the logsheet was empty so I figured it was probably the owner's doing..
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22 hours ago, dprovan said:
You example doesn't strike me as that bad. Sorry. The cache with the least effort I found was a piece of trash stuck under a band around a telephone poll. I still enjoyed it, though.
The OP's is a decent example for showing low effort but I've definitely run across better examples. How bout an empty, still wet with residual cola, plastic .5 liter coke bottle with a torn piece of notebook paper inside? I thought it was trash at first but figured I'd try to retrieve the paper to make sure. Yep, it had the words "geocache log" on it.
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On 5/27/2020 at 11:21 AM, hzoi said:
Have you considered that most souvenir promotions are a marketing tool aimed at newer or less experienced geocachers in order to hook them into caching more, and veteran cachers are not the main target audience?
On 5/27/2020 at 11:25 AM, MNTA said:Bingo!
Bingo, Bingo!
I doubt it hooks very many though...
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10 hours ago, Gill & Tony said:
The reason I don't care if someone signs a log without actually climbing the tree, claiming a find by some sort of divide and conquer trick, or similar, is that these don't distort the state of the cache. In all cases, the cache was found by someone and it was logged as found.
What does bug me is techniques which make a cache look like it is there when it isn't, and vice versa. An armchair found log when the cache is actually missing. A find on a challenge cache dated months or years after finding and writing a note - who knows if the cache is still in place. Logging DNF without even starting a search - a few folk do that and it looks like the cache may be missing. All these potentially give a wrong impression of the state of the cache. Maybe that doesn't bother you. That's fine. But it does bug me.
At face value, yes, almost any type of log can be misleading. More than likely thought, we're able to get a good idea of why the log was posted, if we take the time to read it. I have posted several DNFs over the years, a few where I could see the cache but not reach it, some where I was headed for a cache but got derailed, etc,,,. I always give the circumstances involved for my decision to log a DNF. Take the time to read it and it'll tell right away if there's an implication the cache might be missing.
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13 hours ago, niraD said:
If I go to a climbing gym with youth from my church, and spend all my time belaying the youth rather than actually climbing myself, then I have still been an active participant in my church's youth trip to the climbing gym.
You were there and you did participate, in a fashion. But did you actually accomplish what the actual climbers did? If someone asked about your climb to the top,,, would you tell them that you actually made the climb?
Imo, this is pretty much the same situation we have with geocaching. Say I watched someone do the work, maybe even held a ladder for them. Sure, I did participate,, but did I really find the cache?
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9 hours ago, MNTA said:
Um the app might be free but the phone is crazy expensive.
No matter what they paid for it, everyone already has a phone before they install the geocaching app. You can bet your sweet bippy, the phone wasn't bought just to use with geocaching. Of course if they happen to think like me, they wouldn't have paid much (think less than $60 at most, so far) for a phone in the first place.
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Shouldn't the person who physically signed the log be the only person who gets to claim a find, the others write a note? No matter where those people are on the planet?
Myself, I have to make it to ground zero, then to the container, then to the logbook, before i consider logging a cache as found. I'm such a stickler that even after watching another person climb and sign for everyone, I've climbed afterward to prove to myself that i really got a cache. I don't have a problem with someone else signing my name if I know for a fact the cache, in its hiding spot, is reachable by me.
At the same time, and this is a bit hypocritical on my part,, there have been quite a few times where I made a challenging grab and then passed the cache to others waiting so they could sign. It seems that most cachers, cache owners, don't have a problem with this. Me, It's either I get it myself or log the DNF.
Imo, virtually logging a physical cache is plain silly and a great example of how NOT to geocache.
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21 hours ago, cerberus1 said:
Really ? Please explain how "lingering" outdoors poses any kind of hazard. Thanks.
No offense, but it seems (to me) you're more-than overreacting...
- the exaggeration of someone lingering around, coughing and sneezing on caches...
I'm in a state with a "stay at home" order. If it was literal, we wouldn't be able to get groceries, medications, or go to a doctor, as well as health/sanity walks outdoors.
- Those groceries in an indoor environment, visited and touched by many, pose a greater risk than a found once in a while cache outdoors.
It should be common sense that most people in any park aren't geocachers.
Subtract the cachers worried about going out too, and all the fears of "touching" an outdoors cache of all things (I feel) is really silly.
Putting it into perspective, the chance of meeting up with the virus from a geocache container is most likely much lower than when doing other normally routine things such as grocery shopping and pumping gas. Still, there is the slight chance it can occur. We go to adding everything else that might go into a geocaching trip and the odds become greater. Driving (possibly getting into an accident), pumping gas, buying snacks/supplies, greater chances of running into people, and grabbing the cache itself offer up opportunities for catching/spreading this thing.
I don't know,, Do viruses like covid-19 survive longer on surfaces in dark and/or damp areas? I may be totally off base but my thinking is that a damp geocache could be a place that a virus might survive longer???
Our local government has stay at home guidelines in place right now. We are advised to not go out except for going to work or when necessities are needed. Gecoaching is a fun hobby but it does not fall into the category of being essential or necessary at this time. No over-reaction here, I'm simply doing my share to help slow this mess.
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1 hour ago, stealth11 said:
Stream trout season opened in Jan so now it's just a matter of weather - Weather I want to be cold or warm that is. I realize the rules as I had 300 caches of my own at one time and never once deleted a find for any reason. This is not a competition or a must win event it's just an excuse to get out and do something hopefully healthy. So if anyone thinks signing a log is worth contact with this virus and endangering others than I guess we are in for a long long summer at home.
Finding a cache itself is not part of the health equation. If anything, finding a cache these days can be unhealthy, possibly deadly. It's very obvious this new virus is more easily spread and more dangerous than a regular seasonal flu virus. No one has a good grasp on how long this virus can actually last on various surfaces or all the ways it can be spread.
A stay at home order is mandated by most state's governments. Exercise outside is an exception but I don't think lingering in an area, finding caches, touching, possibly coughing or sneezing on them, falls into this exercise category.
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11 hours ago, Clancy's Crew said:
It boils down to this in my mind:
1) This is a game.
2) No one is forced to play it.
3) In this global pandemic, each country and areas within each country are being impacted differently, and have elected officials at the federal, state, and local level responsible for looking after their constituents.
4) There are different govt approaches in place across each country and region (state) that reflects local conditions and local philosophies.
5) Gc hq is allowing local reviewers to set rules around enabling new caches, etc. within local rules.
6) Each geocache participant is responsible for doing what they think is right for them and their families.
7) If someone is uncomfortable with how the caching situation is being handled in their area, see 1), 2), and 6) above.
On 4/3/2020 at 1:46 PM, MartyBartfast said:I would recommend that you use your own judgement rather than relying on sound bites from politicians.
E.G. Matt Hancock (Health Minister) said on Question Time last night that driving a short distance to exercise or walk your dog was acceptable.Think for yourself!
Edit to add: I've just looked at today's press briefing, and it was actually presented by Matt Hancock and contradicts what he said on Question Time on TV last night, which IMO reinforces my admonition to not listen to sound bites, but think for yourself.
The bolded above, people thinking for themselves, is what presents problems. One person thinks one way, another person thinks another way, and yet another person thinks somewhere in between. One believes the pandemic is real and listens to what has been said about the virus and how it's being spread. Another person believes there is a virus but it's not all that bad and they'll shake it off if they get it. Then there are others who believe the whole virus thing is a hoax and go on about their business as usual.
It'd be one thing if the person who made the wrong decision only affected themselves. Unfortunaely, that's not the way it works with this situation. With this virus, people "thinking for themselves" can cause harm to others around them.
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On 4/2/2020 at 1:44 PM, tealeaf said:
Most of my hides are urban, easy to get to and have generous hints so i'm getting a fair amount of traffic, especially from newbies. I've disabled 2. One because it's in a touristy area and the sidewalk to it would be impossible to allow 6ft of distance between a cacher and any muggle using the sidewalk. The other is in a little free library (which is closed) but security cameras still show lots of folks checking for books.
I have two caches placed at Interstate rest areas that get found quite often, sometimes multiple times a day. It's clear to me there's a chance people can be in proximity to each other going for them. It's also very clear that the virus can be left with the cache and spread to the next finder if conditions are right. I did the right thing and disabled those caches. I made sure to leave a note stating why they were disabled.
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On 3/30/2020 at 3:22 PM, RobinsonClan56 said:
My thoughts exactly. You are no more likely to catch COVID-19 from touching a cache than any other of a myriad of diseases. Just wash your hands. It’s not rocket science.
I have never worried about getting my hands dirty, sliming up my hands with a moldy cache, or diving into the muck. I'm still not that worried for myself but i sure as heck don't want to take the smallest of chances on spreading something like C19 to another person. You guys do know that new information shows that the virus can live on some surfaces for hours, some for days, right?
This is not an issue for a lot of caches but common sense should tell us that it could be an issue with a more popular cache. Of course we know there are all kinds of dangers out there but why on earth would we want to take even the slightest chance of spreading something that affects so many people? Sure I know the odds are low but there's still that slight chance a popular cache might help with the spread. I have two "rest area" caches that sometimes get found multiple times a day so it just made sense for me to disable them until this mess goes away.
I've always advocated that signing the log was part of our hobby. For now though, I'd accept an image as proof on my other still enabled but rarely found caches,
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On 3/9/2020 at 9:21 AM, thebruce0 said:
Then it's no longer a plateau.
YMMV.
That's unfortunate. My local community is thriving and we're seeing new people fairly often. But I'm not examining raw numbers, I'm looking at people, which to me is a better indication of 'health'.
Ok, not sure what I'm doing wrong here as I cannot get your complete reply to show when I try to quote it. Anyway, first I guess I don't know my plateaus very well but I'm sure you knew what I was getting at.
Yes, I definitely realize that mileage varies when it comes to geocaching activity. I'm not trying to say that the phone app is the root of all evil. However, I do believe that some of its side effects have contributed to our slow down.
And third, I do wish that geocaching was thriving in my area. Looking at people around here doesn't help as it's downright depressing seeing so few faces out and about, especially at our local events.
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3 minutes ago, thebruce0 said:
There's bound to be a general plateau at some point. That's not inherently a bad thing. Cycling of content is more important than overall numbers. And that'll vary from place to place.
Unfortunately, a plateau that'll probably never regain any height, and in fact, will probably sink lower. It's good to be optimistic but let's face it,,, the game that we have now is not the same as the hobby we once had. It's now an app that's played on a phone, an app that's fun at first but ends up being replaced by the next fun app when it becomes too boring.
We did actually have 5 caches published a few days ago, all by the same person. Adding these makes for a total of twelve non event caches, within 50 miles, placed since January 1st. The two monthly events are still going but they are lacking in attendance. The last one had four attendees. Just not much interest around here these days.
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On 2/25/2020 at 5:45 PM, Mineral2 said:
Welp, you've reaffirmed my original suspicion that power trails are probably unrelated to the decline in find activity.
My hypothesis: There are fewer new accounts that are staying engaged with the game while older accounts are running out of local finds to keep them playing as hard as they used to. On average. Now I just need the data to test this.First half of your sentence,,, Agree, there are too many fly by nighters.
Second half,,, I agree somewhat, that some areas are probably lacking in caches. But that being the main reason for why older cachers have slowed is questionable to me. Even with the archival rate being higher than the publish rate, there are still plenty of caches to find in my area. My slowness is because I'm not interested in going after them because they aren't appealing to me. It wouldn't surprise me at all if this wasn't a big reason in many areas.
Like you, no data to support this,,, just going by what I'm seeing around here.
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1 hour ago, on4bam said:
If that's correct you've just disclosed your exact location.
Nice! Oxford, I'm in need of a new water hose. Do you leave that shed unlocked?
Here are the words that get you to my unlocked shed: certainty.cavaliers.credentials
Sorry I don't have a water hose but there may be a sack of manure in there if anyone needs it.
p.s. There is no geocache hidden at this location.
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DNF's Not being logged
in General geocaching topics
Posted
I log a DNF if I didn't find the cache. I'm not worried at all if there are other DNFs and in fact, figure it helps get the CO motivated to check things out. A cache is not automatically archived when a CHS is triggered and it's easy to get things straightened out if it does happen. If a CO refuses to take any kind of action, then his or her cache needs to be archived.