Bud

Just bumping this one again. We've still got some of these left, and would like to get these out to the public. Drop us a line, we've still got enough to accomodate a few more of the large orders, but then will have to limit supplies for individual orders. Thanks to all who've bought coins so far!

Still lots of them. We got a lot of them distributed at MWGB, but nowhere near all of them. I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who's purchased the coins so far. We've been using this as a fundraiser for a few years to keep our local group and website, Geocky.org, up and running, and appreciate the help from anyone purchasing our coins. Since they're trackable and have their own icon this year, we've had a much better response than in previous years, where they were numbered and trackable on our website only. Keep the orders rolling in, we're nowhere near sold out.

Thanks to all who keep requesting info. We're still doing well with supply of each metal, though the gold are moving a little quicker. Still plenty of each for everyone at this time, and enough to take a bunch to MWGB next week.

Supply's still holding up pretty well. Third shipment just went out, and we've still got a few hundred of each metal left, so will be taking some along to the Midwest Geobash, assuming we don't get any really large orders before then.

I'd heard about this cool idea to hike using GPS to find things hidden by other geeks in the woods. I was just finishing my degree in Network Administration, and the geek appeal coupled with the fact that I'd been spending too much time at my computer and getting fat made me want to get out and hike. So, in April 2001 I pooled my money with a friend to split the $125 (gasp!) cost of a low-end Magellan, and out we headed to find the only cache in San Antonio. I still have the scars on my shin from running in to the barbed wire while watching the GPS instead of where I was going. We were hooked, and took a week off to drive north to Austin, and find 12 of the 13 caches that existed there. Since then, I got my wife started a few months later. We've had occasion to cache in 30-some states, met friends that we never would have if we hadn't picked up this crazy penchant for hidden ammo cans, er, um, metal boxes, and have lost a lot of weight and feel great. Geocaching as a sport and website is always evolving, and I have to believe that it's for the best, though some of the changes and growing pains aren't always pleasant. As my wife mentioned above, I filter micro's, and don't hunt them on my own. However, I love caching with other people, and will even hunt a skirt-lifter if I'm out having a good time with other folks. I remember the first micro that I found, and thought it was a novel idea, but never thought it would grow to the popularity (blight?) that it has today. I also always enjoyed the virtuals, which were easy to hunt at 3AM when we were working overnights during the hot Texas summer. I understand the reason for them going away, but they were enjoyable, and I'll still log any that I find along the way. Locationless were OK for when our nearest unfound cache was 80 miles away, but it wasn't really geocaching, so I don't miss it that much. Thankfully, GPSr's have gotten better, though the $125 starter that I had pales in comparison to the amount of cash that I've laid out since then on mapping software, hardware, PDA's, a digital camera just to take along, and various other expenses. I'm not a poor student any longer, either, so it doesn't hurt as much as it would have back then. I troll the forums, but try not to post, just because there's always someone getting offended, and b|tch sessions starting up over some simple subject. I prefer to spend the time on the trail, and let the complaining be done by those who like to complain. Well, this old-timer is heading off to the trail, it's a beautiful Saturday, and I'm burning daylight. See you in the woods!

Batch number 2 shipping out tonight, thanks to all who ordered!

No surprise there, ours were just released by our website (Geocky.org) 2 weeks ago for $9.00/coin, and 3 days after the first shipment went out, they were listed for auction at $16.99, stating that they were "limited quantities" and "available through limited outlets". I suppose being sold through the group that minted it would be considered limited outlets, but since we've still got hundreds left, I don't know about the limited quantity part. The sad part is that they're selling for the 16.99 and still getting bids, while we're not selling enough to pay back the initial expense of getting them minted.

Sorry, detracting from the actual discussion at hand, and have committed ritual e-seppuku.

...

It's just a little brazen. I had a long reply written out, but it was pretty inflammatory, and probably untrue. It's just a little hard to believe that someone would try to directly profit from the work of another group.

I guess that I'm shipping them fast enough. So fast, in fact, that someone already has the 2 coins that I sent them last week for resale on (that auction site) for $2.00 more than asking price, despite the fact that I still have hundreds left. Strange.

Hi! I'm handling all of the shipping of the Geocky.org coins. Thanks for all who've purchased, we appreciate your support to help keep Geocky.org up and running (gosh, sounds like the PBS telethon all of a sudden). I've shipped out a few hundred in the last week, but we still have PLENTY left in both metal finishes for anyone who would like them. As for international orders, I was pleased when I shipped them that Canadian orders were only pennies different from U.S. shipping rates, and European shipping rates were only about a dollar higher. If our European friends would include an additional dollar for shipping, I'd appreciate it, but wouldn't hold shipping based on that. Thanks for all of the kind words that you've sent on the coins, and I look forward to hearing from more of you. Bud

#1 is actually 2 questions. An event cache, as I understand it, and have both hidden and found them, is placed for the event attendees to find using a GPSr, and as such, is an actual find for the period of the event. A pocket cache is there to be signed by all attendees, requires no GPSr or hunting skill, and is basically a freebie, so is not an actual find, IMHO. Have I logged both of these kind of finds? Yes, though upon reconsideration, the pocket cache variety should not count in the total number of finds, and I'm going to quit logging them, and logged none for GW4. My event caches that involved hunting and active participation should stand, and I will still continue to log. Will other people log pocket caches and leave them logged without a guilty conscience? Yes, and I bear them no ill will. We all play the game the way we like it, and I won't play your type of geocaching, and you may not like to play mine. That still does not mean that you can dictate my, or anyone else's, type of geocaching. There have been too many people slowly working themselves toward a stroke by dwelling on this topic, and it needs to go away, unless the official Geocaching powers-that-be make an edict one way or another. Questions # 2 and 3 are for people who have more daily finds than me to discuss, and unless there are some type of official written Geocaching.com rules and money on the line for a "winner", that we don't need to worry about, or even recognize some type of record number holder.

While we've only tried 2 of them, there is an entire series of caches placed on the premises of Chicken Fried Steak places around Austin, TX. We planned a few days of caching to end at the CFS joints, and had dinner after finding the cache. I've lived and cached lots of places, but have never had CFS like I had in TX.

Sold! Thanks to those who inquired.

My wife and I have upgraded to a pair of Rino's since we split up so often on the path, and now have an extra GPSr. Surely someone can put this one to good use. One Venture, in great shape, and working flawlessly, with PC interface and 12V auto power cables. Since it doesn't have an internal compass, I've got one on the end of the lanyard. Firmware is the most recent version, 2.70. I don't have the manuals, but they can be downloaded from http://www.garmin.com/products/etrexVenture/ if you need. I have photos that I can send if you'd like. $125 shipped. Drop me a line at budophylus@satx.rr.com

A few words in Team ClandestinePenguin's defense. I had tried this cache on the day that it was approved, Sunday. I don't log my DNF's, having assumed that it my old eyes/bad coordinates/lack of patience making me miss the location. Having seen the discussion on our local Yahoo board, I knew that it hadn't been placed yet, so wasn't too hard on myself about missing it, though was a bit burnt up by it not being there at all. The real rub is that the hider had it approved on Sunday, but didn't get around to placing it until Wednesday! The cache itself is at a city natural area that's being reclaimed from where they straightened one of the roads in town, and there are some old fences in there. Having lived in Texas since '87, I've learned not to cross fences if I don't know what's on the other side, lest it be an angry bull or owner with a shotgun. This one was a safe bet, since the trail that the cache was off of was on the other side, inside the park. I took a side road in to the park, and only hiked 500ft to the cache, rather than the 1/2 mile from the official parking area. And while I am no FTF junkie (we have another local cacher has that title, Bilderback), I did try to find this on Sunday seemingly mere minutes after it was approved, just because it had been listed sometime while I was out caching that morning, and was pretty near the house. So if you're gonna get 'em approved, people WILL go out to find 'em. Are they really ignorant? Or is the hider ignorant for rating inappropriately? Be well, and cache safely!

I've noticed this as well, and it seems that they cut off (on the HTML output) at caches beginning with GCF---. I don't know if you remember, but there was some considerable discussion last year about how to number caches after GCG---, and then it was finally decided to go to some variant of a Base-36 (1-0 and A-Z lettering) to increase the number of caches that could be named and listed. My theory, which could be entirely wrong, is that the software on the website didn't get changed to parse out the data for the newer caches, so all we get are the ones with the older names. FWIW, I'd really like the HTML iSilo output; it's better than the hard to navigate Mobipocket file that is included with the custom searches. But, they'll do for the time being. If anyone has a way to tune GPXSpinner, or they do any updates, do please post it here! Greg

The map page will say that it should be up by "the end of May". Budophylus San Antonio, TX 5-star cache team member (because we can make the easiest 1/1 into a 5-* difficulty cache) What started all of this? Well, I said to my friend: "I'm bored. Can't we find a new sport?" Now, hundreds of caches later...

dadgum! Like the sheep that I am, I saw the header to this topic, so I right-click it and choose "Open in new window", only to see that it's not an instruction, just a topic header. Well, if public school did one thing right, it taught me how to follow orders. Budophylus San Antonio, TX 5-star cache team member (because we can make the easiest 1/1 into a 5-* difficulty cache) What started all of this? Well, I said to my friend: "I'm bored. Can't we find a new sport?" Now, hundreds of caches later...

quote:Originally posted by Marky:The key word here being different, not duplicate. --Marky ...and if by being different, you mean supplying usable maps again, I'll go anywhere where they might be. /remembers back in the day Budophylus San Antonio, TX 5-star cache team member (because we can make the easiest 1/1 into a 5-* difficulty cache) What started all of this? Well, I said to my friend: "I'm bored. Can't we find a new sport?" Now, hundreds of caches later...

7-10 days! That's wonderful! I just looked at the map page, and saw that it still had the "end of May" message, and assumed that it'd be next May. /remembering back when the message said "end of February" Budophylus San Antonio, TX 5-star cache team member (because we can make the easiest 1/1 into a 5-* difficulty cache) What started all of this? Well, I said to my friend: "I'm bored. Can't we find a new sport?" Now, hundreds of caches later...

Actually, I finished my log in too much haste. I would love to have the ability to define from "My" page that when I do a search from my home coords/Zip code to exclude my hidden/found caches at that point, to avoid having to do another search. Perhaps this could be implemented when you do the aformentioned "My" page overhaul. This would cut down on the need to do a second search, and take some of the strain off of the server. Not that it appears to need the relief right now.... Budophylus San Antonio, TX 5-star cache team member (because we can make the easiest 1/1 into a 5-* difficulty cache) What started all of this? Well, I said to my friend: "I'm bored. Can't we find a new sport?" Now, hundreds of caches later...

Much faster! Sunday night, and I don't notice any bogging by the server. Now that I've found the "Exclude hidden/found..." checkbox, I'm much happier with the search page than before. We're having no luck pasting coordinates into the search box to find nearest caches. It only give us results from N 00 00.000 W 00 00.000. Allowing pasting into a single search box would be helpful, but I do realize that parsing that data out may be problematic. Wait, I'm in Texas; problematicable. Now if we could just get the founds back on the state map page, searching would be PERFECT! (yes, yes, I know. Another topic that's been beaten senseless.) Nonetheless, thanks for your tireless efforts, Jeremy and team! Budophylus San Antonio, TX 5-star cache team member (because we can make the easiest 1/1 into a 5-* difficulty cache) What started all of this? Well, I said to my friend: "I'm bored. Can't we find a new sport?" Now, hundreds of caches later...

quote:Originally posted by skydiver:Lastly, I'd say, if you take them on a cache hunt, take them on either a bogus hunt you setup (like we did) just for the purpose of taking them, or take them on one you've already been on, or hid yourself. I am glad to hear that there are some good outcomes to getting the story told. I particularly like the idea of taking a reporter on a fake hunt made especially for them. In the story that I'd already mentioned, the camera crew were taken to the first cache that we had in the S.A. area, the first one that I ever found (note emotional attachment). It was pretty identifiable by its landmarks, and was promptly stolen. It's since been re-placed and moved a bit so it's not taken again. Making one just for them to film could certainly avoid this problem. Thanks for the idea if this comes up again. Budophylus San Antonio, TX 5-star cache team member (because we can make the easiest 1/1 into a 5-* difficulty cache) What started all of this? Well, I said to my friend: "I'm bored. Can't we find a new sport?" Now, hundreds of caches later...