cimawr

Why are you so sure they were geocachers? What evidence do you have that leads to that as the only conclusion? I routinely go to a similar park near me, and we regularly get people coming in and acting like that. It has nothing to do with geocaching, and everything to do with them being either irrational dog-haters - some have even come more than once, with the obvious INTENT of wanting an excuse to vent their feelings - others have been there for more ordinary reasons but have over-reacted to normal dog behaviour. And some don't dislike dogs, but have had repeated bad experiences with irresponsible dog owners which have made them a bit "quick on the trigger". And THAT sounds as if one of the dog walkers has behaved towards the geocachers in EXACTLY the same way as they are complaining about being treated. Jump to a conclusion and act irrationally.....

I only have one cache, which I "adopted"; don't plan to place any of my own just yet... anyway, the point is that it's hidden in a hollow tree root, and should be tucked back in the hollow with some leaves/sticks for camo. But the last two times I checked on it - both times after it had been recently found - it wasn't even in the hollow, but sitting out in plain sight on the ground in front of it. I just don't get it. Then again, I ALSO don't "get" why people were insisting on leaving items that didn't fit in the container, either.... although that was partially the fault of the orginal hider, who listed the cache as "regular" when it's really more of a "small"; I've amended the listing to "small", and put in the cache description that only small or flat items will fit. We shall see.

Erm... sorry, but this doesn't make any sense. You seem to be asking something about the intentions of the person who placed the cache; can you clarify what you're trying to ask? I'm *guessing* that you're trying to ask if it was intended to be permanent, but I can't tell for sure because of the way you worded it. Also, no insult intended, but this ties back to what you were told in another thread you started: You'll get better responses on these forums if you write in standard English. You've chosen to participate in forums that are primarily used by literate adults, and if you want to be an equal participant, you need to adapt your behaviour to fit in as much as possible. It's the same as if you were to go in real life to a meeting or event where everyone else is an adult; you'd be expected to behave as much like an adult as possible, instead of acting like you were hanging out with a bunch of your friends. If you DID act like you were hanging out with a bunch of your friends, you wouldn't get a very good response from the other participants. Some would tell you as nicely as possible that you needed to change your behaviour, others would yell at you or be rude. If your behaviour was really inappropriate - like using bad language, calling people "gay" as if it were an insult, etc. - and you didn't stop after being told it wasn't appropriate, you'd get kicked out. IOW, nobody expects you to totally act like an adult (if you really are a middle-school age kid, as you've stated in other threads), but you ARE expected to behave appropriately - and it's to your benefit to do so, if you really want to participate. I'm not saying this to be mean, but because I have relatives your age, and I'm telling you exactly what their parents and I tell them about such things. And we don't say it to THEM to be mean, or controlling, but because we want them to have good experiences and to get along with people of ALL ages, as well as to learn how to behave appropriately when they *are* adults.

OMG ROFLMAO Ditto that!! I shall save that one to use on my S.O., who has a Soylent Green Biscuit Co. t-shirt. (Which he was wearing the first time we met... definitely added to the attraction-at-first-sight. )

I've only been to one, and actually didn't realize until after I'd logged my "attended" note that it would add 1 to my total count. However, I don't have a problem with it, given that: 1. Participation in the event DID involve searching for a number of temporary caches. 2. It clearly shows in my detailed stats as being an event attended rather than a cache found. If not for #2, I might feel a bit odd about it; as it is, it's perfectly clear to anyone who looks at my profile. WRT "discovering" coins and bugs, there were a huge number of them there; I only "discovered' the ones that I looked at and thought were pretty cool, rather than just plugging in numbers for all of them. Although I did only see one of the Jeeps as it was being vroom-vroomed across the floor by a 4-yo.

Sorry, but I don't comprehend why you would have an issue with this - unless you meant to have the word "free" in front of the second iteration of the word "software"? Even if you DID mean to say "free software" the second time, there's nothing "rude" about recommending shareware (such as GSAK) when the question is asked, unless the shareware is of the type that disables itself after a trial period or has severely limited function. I've participated in all sorts of forums, on all sorts of subjects, since 1993, and IME its standard practice to include shareware when discussing free programs - shareware IS free, even if you have to tolerate nag screens to use it. WRT GSAK specifically, not only does it remain fully functional after the trial period (aside from brief delays when starting up or using some advanced functions), but if one does choose to pay for it, it's CHEAP. Me, personally, I'd rather have occasional nag screens than the ads that often accompany "free" software. And no, I don't work for GSAK - I just found it the best of the various programs I "test drove". As a side note, here are the "industry standard" terms (I used to work in tech support) for various types of downloadable-for-free programs, as I understand them: Freeware = completely free to use, and does NOT contain advertising of any sort. However, some "freeware" has annoying screens which ask you to send the programmer money, or direct you to the programmers other non-free programs. Freeware is also generally fairly limited in function. Adware = doesn't cost the user anything, but is paid for by advertising which the user must view whenever using it. Often delays at startup to to download new advertising, and may also load spyware on your computer. Shareware = doesn't cost the user anything, but the distributor asks that you pay for it if you find it useful; usually relatively inexpensive. May have nag screens asking/reminding the user to pay after a certain period of time, but remains fully functional other than nag delays. If it has nag screens, can also be referred to as "nagware". Crippleware = usually touts itself as "shareware", but either does not fully function right off the bat, or disables itself after a trial period.

I recently attended an event in DE, and it wasn't done there either.

The logs don't make sense WRT his claim on the cache page of his coins going missing. All three coins are still officially "in his hands". One, he put in a "TC", rather than in a geocaching.com cache; if by that he means "terracache", well then what on earth did he expect? Perhaps it's common in his area for cachers to belong to both sites, but that's still no guarantee that anyone finding the coin would know, or care, what to do with it. The second says he traded it to someone else. Well gee, if he traded it, maybe the people he traded it TO thought it was for them to keep?? Or were they supposed to go out and put it in a cache, and never did? Either way, it seems to me his beef should be directly with those individuals. I didn't see anything in the logs for the third.... As a bit of a side note, I'm gobsmacked that anyone can be that clueless after being in the game for two years; I'm a total noob (started in August, 76 finds), and I figured out how to handle geocoins correctly as soon as I'd found my first one. And I can't imagine not only deliberately keeping an activated coin that's supposed to travel, but having the unmitigated gall to post to the cache log that I was doing it...

Someone definitely should do so. Although WRT the coin he's effectively stolen, seems to me it would be up to the coin's *owner* to whack him upside the head with a clue stick.

Because his parents were?

Most of us already knew that; we were simply having a bit of fun by joking about edible Peeps.

Peeps, as illustrated up-thread, are sugar-covered marshmallow treats in holiday shapes & colors, best eaten with coffee or cocoa after opening the package and allowing it to sit overnight. Makes 'em chewy.

Yep. Most of the ones around here do, although there are a couple of "super" ones that stay open longer.

No. Caches are never buried in the ground, and you shouldn't need more than your hands to discover them. If they're in the woods, they usually will be in some sort of a natural hiding spot - under a pile of sticks, in a hollow tree, between or under rocks, in the fork of a tree, or the like. Often, they will have sticks and leaves deliberately scattered over them, for further concealment. They may also be camo'd in some way. Also, caches SHOULD be placed in such a way that they can be both found and re-hidden without doing damage to the surrounding environment, although some cache placements fail in that respect. WRT your comment of being sure that you were no more than 20 feet from the caches.... have you heard the term "GPS bounce"? GPS units aren't precise, and their accuracy varies depending on location, tree cover, atmosphere, and a number of other factors. Sometimes my GPSr points me right at a cache, other times it is pointing me 30-50 feet away, especially if I'm under trees or there are big rocks or buildings nearby. Finding caches requires using logical thinking and observational skills as much as it does being able to read the screen of the GPS unit. Last but not least - what *size* were the caches you were hunting for?

Ewww, I hope not! Sorry, I know that was a typo- it just struck me funny. (Especially since it's not impossible at some the urban caches I've seen - you know, the ones out by the dumpsters. ) More seriously, it's not usually a matter of caches "becoming" covered, but of being DELIBERATELY covered to hide them. They're not supposed to be sitting out in the open for anybody to see. (A pet peeve of mine, because for some odd reason, people keep leaving the one cache I own out in the open instead of putting it back in its hideyhole.)

Erm.... I found GSAK extremely easy to use, no "learning curve" at all. IMO, the basic database and transfer functions are simple and easy to understand.

That's exactly what I thought when I read the replies. Me three. As others have stated, there's no such thing as free software to install ON THE GPS. The only "software" that can normally be loaded onto a GPS unit is detailed maps, which are produced in proprietary format by each GPS maker. IOW, Garmin makes and sells maps for Garmin units, Magellen for Magellen units, etc. There are, as others have detailed, shareware programs whicn install on your *computer*, and which can be used to manage waypoint information downloaded from geocaching.com, and to transfer the waypoint information to the GPS unit. I'll only add that I do find GSAK useful, in concert with a $3-a-month premium membership which makes it easy to download waypoint information to my computer for inclusion IN my GSAK databases.

If I were in your shoes, and didn't hear back from the person who dropped it - literally! - I think I'd "grab" it, then virtually "drop it' into the cache and retrieve it; that way it would get the miles logged correctly.

A friend of mine has allowed his 14-yo to place a cache. She has her own GC account, entirely handled publishing it, answering questions from the reviewer, etc, and maintains it on her own. It's in a park a few blocks from her house, and she either walks or bikes there. However, she asked his advice/permission first, and I believe he keeps the cache on his watchlist, so he basically gets cc'd on all the logs.

Yup. It's useful in many circumstances, but I agree that with a dog truly intent on attacking, your best bet is to avoid. Read your log, btw... now THAT was an incident worth getting upset over! That's her - and yep, she's happy in that picture. If you're intererested, a lurcher is a crossbred hunting dog created by crossing Border Collies, working sheepdogs, and/or terriers with sighthounds; they've been bred in the U.K. for hundreds of years. Mine is half BC and half Saluki or Saluki/Whippet.

Replying to this line in a seperate post, being a different subject than my other reply... please accept my condolences.

Yep. As I stated upthread, there is absolutely nothing wrong with allowing dogs to chase appropriate prey under appropriate conditions - and prey drive and dog-human aggression are not at ALL the same thing (although dog-human aggression may be partially motivated by misdirected prey drive). Sorry, but that's not at all the case. Most dogs ALSO carry their tails upright and wagging slowly or stiffly when they are aggressively and/or sexually aroused, and some of the worst incidents I've seen with dogs have come about because people incorrectly interpreted the wagging motion. There may - but some dogs naturally carry their tails low, and a friendly wag is often done with the tail lowered. If my lurcher were to run towards you with her tail low and straight, it wouldn't indicate anything except that she's part sighthound and that's normal tail posture when running. And her version of a friendly greeting wag with strangers is to carry the tail down at her hocks, and wag just the tip of it. You really can't go JUST by the tail, or JUST by the facial expression, with any dog - correctly interpreting a dog's communications requires looking at the entire posture and way of moving, and those aren't things that can be adequately described in a text medium.

Likewise, although more often when I'm posting on USENET dog forums or Jack Russell lists. Yup! Even though we were reasonably fit to begin with, both the dogs and I are in better shape since beginning to "cache", mostly from doing parks caches with tougher terrain. However, I am NOT (and never will be again) in the shape I was when I was able to practice judo 2-3 times a week. The toughest part of the technique is getting OTHER people to comply with it; too many will go "Oh, that's OK!" or pet when the pup is jumping. I live in Baltimore County; my S.O. lives in Cecil, so I'm up there 1-4 days a week. He's also a cacher (got me into it a week or so after he started)... let me run the idea by him. Not that I couldn't or wouldn't do it on my own, but he might like to be included.

10 isn't too young to have an account, but IMO it's definitely too young to be doing things completely unsupervised. And I'm astonished that parents would let a kid that young place caches without any adult input, and also have no access to the site themselves. Has anyone contacted the reviewer who approved the caches with the information that this cacher is underage, and needs extra supervision? And has anyone contacted the reviewer WRT the cache placement possibly being inappropriate? As far as the mom saying all contact should be through her, somebody needs to explain to her that as long as her son is participating in an adult-oriented web site unsupervised, people are going to be contacting him directly regardless of her wishes. IOW, if she wants all contact to be through her, SHE needs to be reading what's posted on the site. WRT what age is old enough - that depends on the individual kid. However, I suspect that the case of a 10-yo caching entirely alone is unusual; MOST young kids who cache are doing so with parents, and those who have their own accounts have parents who also have accounts.

You're very welcome! BTW, I *like* Pit Bull Terriers, although they are not a breed I, personally, would choose to own**. I just don't like them off-leash around my own dogs... and have seen far too much trouble and heartbreak occur when well-meaning people take them on without understanding their nature. ** I spend too much time in parks where there are off-leash dogs, and at agility compeitions, to want to own a dog of *any* breed with strong fighting instincts. I am, however, nuts enough to live with multiple "high-drive" hunting dogs; a lurcher and a Redbone Coonhound cross... and until recently, a Jack Russell Terrier. In fact, I'm nuts enough to be preparing to take on another Jack.