Sparrowhawk

(deleted duplicate post)

Hmmm... I think the thing to do is microcache the best wifi cafes and then link to a good waymark search in the cache page for the locations that won't work for caching. THAT could work...

After hiding a new micro near a coffeeplace with free Wifi in my neighborhood, I just now realized that I can do a heck of a service for my fellow geocachers. I just might start a whole series of caches around places that serve up free WiFi so that folks can log their caches, especially out-of-town visiting cachers. I will use the code of "802.11" in the cache name so it would be obvious. Would this be better as a Waymarking thing though? Some of the best wifi locations would be pretty difficult to locate a micro there. What do others think? Maybe a combination of both...

802.11 is now live. We have what otherwise would have been a lame micro in a parking lot - except that it's been de-lamed by the fact that you can walk into an air-conditioned space nearby and log your cache online after logging in the cache's tiny logbook. You don't even have to bring your own laptop. It's also a good place to take a break in the middle of the day to relax, sip something and do online logging of your latest cache finds without having to go home first. Thus this new cache serves as a good public service to other geocachers - especially out-of-town visitors.

I run a very popular airport TB hotel in Portland, Oregon and never had any problems, and a LOT of praise for it. Never been muggled because it has extremely adequate camo. I saw a TB hotel in southern california that was disgused as an electrical box. Had a combo lock on it too. Best protection for TBs that I have ever seen. Honestly, it's all in the planning and how you set it up. ALL caches are prone to having things stolen from them. A well-planned TB hotel cache is well worth it. One that is not well-planned simply isn't. Same for all caches. Don't dump on ALL TB hotels because of a few lame TB hotels out there.

Easy. just use a zip lock. And for those who say "I don't want a bug sheet or ziplock attached to my TB, just say so on the TB page... you can't assume the whole geocaching world to know unless one says otherwise.

Heck, you can bleach or disinfect the silly thing.

Well, it looks like I have made a decision to go ahead with what will seem like a parking-lot "lame" cache on the surface... but it now turns out that a better purpose for it has come up. That new reason removes the lameness of the cache. The name of the cache is going to be something techy like "802.11 + LAN". And it's going to be magnetic, which just fits the theme somehow. That geeky name says everything about what you can also find at the cache site besides the cache itself. Makes the coffee angle kinda irrelevant. Is that cool news or what? Stay tuned, I hope to have it in this weekend, and I hope it is approvable.

I was just sitting here, thinking about folks who get broken bones sometimes, and what usually happens after they get their cast. Then it hit me: THE silliest thing a geocacher can do with that cast after the limb heals! Create a geocache called "Central Casting". Have it be a large cache. Put your cast in the cache. Maybe post the story about what happened to you that you got the cast in the first place, and ask that others post their stories on how they got THEIR cast in the past. The kicker: have your cast become the logbook for the cache. THAT is SO nuts, I bet there is someone out there crazy enough to do it! SOMEwhere!

The advantage of this coffee place is that they have live computers as well as free WiFi there so you can instantly post your find. And it's about 10 minutes from the airport cache, heading directly south. Hmmm... I like the idea of taking a lame parking-lot micro idea and having the challenge of making it clever. Hmmmm....! Well, this DOES change things. I gotta get some thinkin' done! Stay tuned...

http://portland.craigslist.org/evg/159868051.html Hmmm... wait... 5 buck entry fee. Is that worth it?

Now it's over a year later... did you New Yorkers ever create a good travel bug hotel in the area you were talking about here?

When I was in vacation in Reseda, CA I learned the true meaning of "lame caches". First, there was a cache in - get this - a fast-food taco place parking lot. Second was stuck on the side of a metal box in the middle of a shopping mall. Even though I gave up on caching in Reseda pretty quickly that week, my inner brat really wants to place a cache like that. Must... resist... submitting... a cache like that at a coffeehouse I like here in Portland! I mean... if they allowed it at a TACO place, why not a coffee place? With the same kind of placement as I saw in Reseda? I got an angel on one shoulder that says "don't place a lame cache, you KNOW you personally define a good cache by uniqueness of location!". I also have a devil on the other shoulder that wants to place a cache called "Portland/Reseda Cache Experience" Arrrggh! Hey, at least it's a GOOD coffee place...

"On one of my hides I left $0.02 as a FTF prize. Of course, it was a 2 cent coin minted in 1865! (1865 was important to the cache.)" HOLY BLEEP! I just googled for "1865 2 cent piece" and found an Ebay auction for that coin that ended at $4,450.02!

Hmmm... if actually good caches get lots of bookmarks, can we have a feature where you can search for caches with more than x number of bookmarks - or watchers, for that matter? Too bad we can't get location popularity. Man... I would SO love that...

The ultimate point of caching for me is the "wow, didn't know THIS was here!" reaction of an excellent cache location. Unfortunately, the more popular caching get, the more caches we get that are simply not that interesting, location-wise. I wish we had a feature on each cache page where we could rate a cache's "quality of location" from 1 to 10. 1 would be an altoids container in a lightpole in a Wal-mart parking lot. A rating of 10 is the kind of wonderful surprise you get from a cache such as Oregon's "The Pipeline". I think if caches were rated by quality of location, and one could then search for the highest-rated ones, then folks would be more inclined to find good, unique places to find caches. What do others think?

Here's a good idea. Start a cache called "A Moment of Silence" The cache description should say that this cache honors all peoples in history who have been killed en masse, from the current terrible situation in Africa (Congo?) or historic situations such as the Holocaust. Now mention that the cache contains Nazi coins. Say that you can take a coin for yourself, but please give a moment of silence in the process and meditate on that time in history and what it means. Reflect on other sad times in history like that. Then consider, as you take the coin, sending a positive thought or prayer to your higher power of your choice that mankind as whole will learn someday to never let that kind of history ever repeat again. After the coins run out, just change the description to a general request for a moment of thoughful reflection regarding those kinds of moments in history. That would be a good use of the coins.

I am surprised the photoshop contest that made fun of this thing was not mentioned in the forums. It happened Tue, 20 Sep 2005. It was posted on the "Website That Is Not To Be Named" i.e. it rhymes with "park" and starts with a letter F. They have Photoshop contests. Some highlights of that contest: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/dkb...ollsmall383.jpg http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a27/drinpsmith/lava.jpg http://www.redlinespoilers.com/Fark/catfish.jpg http://img272.imageshack.us/img272/3124/coldsoup6by.jpg http://tinypic.com/dwc1ea.jpg http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/9430/headlights4pp.jpg

I just got a fun multi-cache idea. I wish I had the land and the money and time to build it. Permission is given to geocachers to step on private land for this cache. Stage 1: you find yourself acquiring a golf club at this stage. You are told to keep it thru the rest of the stages. Stage 2: Good lord... it's a miniature golf thing near the owner's house! Get that little golf ball into that difficult place, the clown's mouth, or whatever. Once you do that, the miniature golf thing pops up coords on an LCD screen. Stage 3: Good gracious, who put a miniature golf thing in the WOODS? Stage 4. OK, what kind of evil genius comes up with miniature golf thing WATER HAZARD?? Stage 5. Rube Goldberg would have loved this one... hit the golf ball into the miniature golf thing, it hits a bell, a carrot drops out, and along comes a goat to eat the carrot. The coordinates are painted with non-toxic paint on the side of the goat. ETC! If you had the too-much-money, the time and the land, what kinda insanity would YOU add to this wacky miniature golf course/geocaching adventure to make it even more fun?

Step one: Hold the TB up to a cloudy Oregon sky and take a flash pic. Step two. Use Photoshop to erase your hand holding the TB. Add a cool drop shadow. Step three: Enjoy.

Heh. I knew it would change pretty quickly, but it was fun while it lasted. "Neighbor of the Beast" - I like that! Does this mean that 333 is only half-evil, I wonder?

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_4ge...ll=all-news-hed At least they didn't blow up this one.

I was just now searching for caches that have the name "travel bug" in them to find some TB hotels. The search result popped up like this: "Total Records: 666 - Page: 1 of 34" (Mr. Bill voice) "Ooooooohhhhh nooooooooooo!!!" Is it a sign of the apocolypse? (Or however you spell that?) Take a look now. Search keyword "travel bug" in the cache search before someone adds a cache, or someone archives one, or something. Now THAT is funny. I saved a screenshot of that one for my archives.

(VERB) THAT (NOUN)! Man I really think that this is a (VERB)-ing bunch of (NOUN) that shows what a bunch of (ADJECTIVE) some (NOUN) can be. We should really (VERB) (ADJECTIVE) with that (NOUN). (VERB)! (VERB)! (VERB)! So there! EDIT: Ummm... the noun has to do with fluffy kittens and flowers and things, and the verb has to do with being sweet to everything and the adjective is just all niceness and mushy things and that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Oh, OK. (turns to inner paranioic: "see, I TOLD ya they weren't out to get you!")