krisandmel
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Posts posted by krisandmel
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If you only need a PC for a few minutes, to check email, or log on to log a find - there are a few places I've found to snag some cybertime.
Two of my three local Office Max's have PC's around for customers to use to view Office Max's website, but they're not blocked so you can go to any site you want.
It may be a little sneaky, but at a Best Buy I asked to be allowed onto the internet on a particular PC so I could go to one of my favorite forums to check a thread.
I told the employee I wanted to see how that site looked on that particular computer I was 'considering'.
I had no intention of buying a computer that day, I just needed a few seconds to check a topic I was following closely.
But to even out the karma, I have bought a computer at that Best Buy since then.
Libraries have PC's available too.
I was at a Barnes & Noble once and I needed to find a number on Dexonline and they were pretty empty so I asked one of the helper people if I could use the internet for two minutes.
They watched over my shoulder, but they let me do it.
Most stores these days have a computer/internet and if you ask nicely, many will let you log on for a couple minutes if you tell them why.
(Might even have better luck at outdoorsy stores like biking, camping, hunting outfitters.)
Smaller stores are usually better about this than Big Box stores where the employee might get freaked out that it's "not in the policy".
-Kris
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Forgive me if this has been mentioned, but couldn't geocaching.com set up a rule that you can't hide any caches until you've found X number?
Or a ratio, like hide 1 max per 10 found or whatever number is agreed upon?
I belong to a few different forums for my various hobbies, and a few of them will not allow a new member to start a New Topic until they've replied to 10 existing topics.
That prevents some people from just popping in shopping for info without contributing to the forum as a whole.
I've only hidden 1 cache thus far, and I want to keep it within reason.
At least two reasons I can cite:
I want to put thought into a clever hide in a good location.
And, I want to be able to check on the cache regularly to ensure it's in good condition.
If I had 30 hidden, I'd spend alot of time on maintenance.
It's tempting to hide a cache along the way on a vacation too, but then I wouldn't be able to maintain it once I'm back home hundreds of miles away.
At least at this point, I don't want more than 3-4 hidden that I have to keep tabs on.
But that's just me, -Kris
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I think that there could be one explanation in addition to idiots.
Most people that find a cache have probably eaten sometime in the past few hours.
Depending on the food, I can smell it on my hands several hours later even after several handwashings.
(Mexican food, onions, gyros, garlic, etc.)
Some of the smell can transfer onto the cache container, the logbook, the swag....
An animal may smell the odor and think there is food inside.
Something like tupperware can easily be batted around until the lid pops.
Animals like racoons can easily open many containers.
Possibly the 'stinky cacher' did properly restash the cache, but left the scent of food.
Lock & Lock containers certainly would prevent openings due to temp differentials poofing the top off a cache, but wouldn't slow an animal at all.
I like ammo boxes myself; they are never a little open or a little closed. When you close it, you know it.
Some tupperware's get so full of swag and papers in ziplocs it's hard to get the lid on without snagging some plastic in the groove - preventing a proper seal.
Whether ammo boxes or Lock & Lock stuff, I think containers that latch are much preferrable to those that just have a press-fit closure.
$0.02, -Kris
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My "scooter" is my 1984 Honda Shadow VT700c.
Just recently got it back to box-stock configuration with some pristine pipes I found on eBay.
60mpg! Yay!
-Kris
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Little trinkets and McToys are sometimes kinda cool, probably more so for the kiddies.
My local hdwr store has a clearance table with all kinds of cool stuff.
4 pc sets of mini-6" bungee cords, mini-screwdriver sets, small spring clips, keychain compasses, LED flashlights, sharpening stones, watertight match containers, small tape measures, cheapo 'leatherman'-type tools, etc.
All of these items are $0.99 to $3.00 each and all that I buy are small enough to fit in your palm (so they don't take up too much space in a cache).
These are the kinds of things I like to find, stuff I can use, so I figure that's the stuff I'll leave for others too.
-Kris
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Have you previously interfaced the PC successfully with that GPSr?
On my Legend C, I had to uninstall the drivers that Windows found, and reinstalled a driver I found on Garmin's site.
Also, I screwed up initially by connecting the GPSr before loading the drivers.
So I had to uninstall the driver, shutdown, restart, reinstall driver, shutdown, restart, and then the PC recognized my Legend C by name, when previously it thought it was an "external storage device".
I also found that my PC likes me to connect the GPSr while OFF, and then turn on the GPSr once I've opened Mapsource.
Otherwise it doesn't always like to interface.
(Of course, I've had tons of issues with my PC lately, it doesn't always recognize itself, I think it had digital dementia!)
Good luck!
-Kris
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Hi everyone,
I got a Yellow eTrex about a month ago, but then got a Legend C when I realized I needed to be able to load street maps on it for trips.
The Yellow one was an open-box AS IS sale, no returns, so it seems I am stuck with it.
I haven't used it caching yet, as the Legend is so easy to use.
But since both my wife and I 'cache it seems natural for us to carry along two GPSr's.
On to my questions:
The interface connections on the Yellow eTrex seem very strange.
Just four gold dots. I've never seen anything like it.
Is it worth buying or making a connection to the computer?
Can I add waypoints with EasyGPS, LOC or GPX, just like on my Legend?
With no thumb-joystick it's very painful to enter coords into the Yellow one manually, and I can see it would be very easy to mis-enter something.
Have any of you modified the antenna and/or rigged up a re-radiating antenna to the Yellow eTrex?
Or is this model just kind of limited to leaving a black trail of where I was with little aid in getting me anywhere?
Thanks, BTW, I love this sport!!!
-Kris
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Thanks!
I kinda figured I'd missed it somewhere.
Well, 6 down, 281,965 to go!
-K
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Hi everyone!
My wife and I are very new to this sport (6 finds, 1 placed) and so far we love it!
I'm curious, how many caches are in the US, or worldwide?
I looked around on the site trying to see if it's listed, but I didn't find anything.
(If I missed something obvious, sorry.)
On the Wikipedia page it says there are "well over 220,000" caches worldwide.
A buddy of mine thought the number was in the millions.
That's a big difference.
Anyway, just thought I'd ask, and say "HI!".
-Kris (of krisandmel)
Cache Locations
in General geocaching topics
Posted
I understand those points.
One could make a case I suppose, that the sport of geocaching is partly about going to places you wouldn't normally go, seeing things people don't normally see (in the boring 9-5 of the daily grind).
So if what you say about the density issue is true, than it could possibly prompt new cachers, heck, all cachers, to venture beyond their county lines into 'uncharted' territory.
Any rules though that would discourage the spread of and participation in the sport would be a bad idea, I agree.
I'm merely brainstorming about possible ways to maintain a high quality of caches, which in itself has many subjective meanings, I'm learning.
Some love micros, some hate 'em.
Some love multi's and puzzles; me, I'm such a noob I just like the traditional regulars and smalls right now.
I do think though, that it would be nice to have something in place that would prevent some people with a fleeting infatuation with geocaching from just tossing a bucket of crap out in the woods and calling himself/herself a geocacher.
Just like professional bicyclists look down on some shlub that buys a $3000 road bike and never wears the little whiskers off the tires.
Owning the toys does not make one a member of any activity.
If caches are poorly thought out, ill-maintained, contain junk, are easily muggled, and are uninteresting then 'real' geocachers won't want to look for them, and really don't amount to much more than littering in the woods.
I think there's probably a common thread of frustration that some people place on micros, others on 'junk' swag, others unimaginative camo/placement/containment, others on 5/5 rated caches.
People don't want the reward to outweigh the effort.
Some people truly are into the hike, and only the hike, they don't care what's in/at the cache.
They're called hikers.
We're geocachers by self-granted title.
That means to some extent we are all interested in the prize.
A film can under a bench with a scrap to sign, or a box full of one penny plastic spider rings, or an unadorned tupperware out in the open or a 2 hour hike through PI to find an open soggy empty ammo can all take a bit of fun out of it in some way or another.
We like this sport and it's disappointing to see those things.
I don't think anyone here wants to rag on others about liking this or that instead of what they like.
We're all just trying to find ways to better this activity for all of us, without bogging it down with as many rules as some 'organized' sport.
Whew, if you read all that, thanks! Sorry I rambled, just got of the night shift at the gerbil wheel.
G'night, -Kris