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Proud Soccer Mom

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Posts posted by Proud Soccer Mom

  1. People act this way consistently on every forum on every subject across the internet. People grow out of it and learn to assimilate and get along. While the behavior is annoying, new players should be graded on a curve with an understanding that, just with some young people who have to grow into the real world, they need some time to grow into the game to realize how they're acting and knock it off. And, just like some young people, you won't be able to tell them that until they discover it for themselves.

     

    I'm not a prolific Geocacher by any measure. I'm still working on getting to 200 finds after 5 years (4 years on this account). There's still tons for me to learn. So I respond from my experience of knowing people, not necessarily what I know of the game.

     

    Since I have all the patience of a steeped tea kettle I've had to make a concentrated effort to pick my battles and I just can't say know-it-all newbies would be one of them.

  2. Alright.

     

    Well, I have a Garmin eTrex little yellow booger and for some reason, it never zeros out at GZ. I can't tell you where a single GZ is. When I get within 4 feet of GZ, the thing goes nuts, switching erradictly from 8' to 15' to 6' and so on. It's at this point that I know to begin looking.

     

    I understand that I was about four feet away when the device starting freaking out. Then I give a 15' radius on top of that. Now I have my search area.

     

    From this point, I consider the information provided on the cache page. The basic D/T ratings, combined with size information, description information and anything said in recent logs. I read rot13 fluently so I know the clue whether I want it or not. I apply this information to my experience at Geocaching. I identify likely hiding spots and search from "most expected" to "least expected" on my internal list of hiding spots.

     

    When my find logs say, "Coordinates lead me right to it!" what I really mean is, "My GPS brought me pretty close and I can assume the remaining distance is very accurate to what you've provided."

     

    Since I do not have a handheld GPS device that I can use as a bible of Global Positioning, I don't hold the cache owner as responsible for dead-on coordinates as someone else might. I always consider there to be a margin of error and that, as the one who's searching, it's my responsibility to compensate for that in order to find the container.

     

    When marking coordinates for a hide, I take a set of ten coordinates, approaching the hide location from as many angles as I can manage. Then, I average. There's not been complaints about my coordinates.

     

    I'd have to wonder if you're over-thinking the game a little bit.

  3. My husband is Geek in Denial. We used to cache separately and had individual accounts, then we cached as a team with one account, then we decided to go back to individual accounts again. He doesn't cache as much as I do and I don't cache nearly as much as most cachers do, but we both do enjoy Geocaching very much.

  4. This is obviously a Girl Scout troop. Boy and Girl Scout troops are doing more Geocaching as familiarity with the game increases. This could be a simple case of them not understanding the details about how things are done. This is a great opportunity to send a polite message about the situation. Opening a dialogue can help everyone involved to understand what happened, why it happened and what can be done to prevent the confusion in the future.

     

    Far too often I see too many people jumping to the defensive about things that happen in this game that they don't understand. While it can be alarming to have something like this happen, the involvement of a scouting troop can assuredly calm any upset and allow you to redirect your focus to making contact and getting the issue sorted out amiably. So, no, it shouldn't have happened, but the way it's happened is likely one of the most innocent and non-malicious ways that happens in this game.

  5. I was driving in the back country roads of an old midwest city, trying to find a pioneer cemetery that hosted a geocache. I was watching my GPS and saw a little sign that pointed towards the cemetery, so I turned. In the 2 seconds that it took me to realize that was a bad idea, I was already stuck. You might be able to spot my youngest child in the backseat.

     

    2171941835_99fcb4d3d0.jpg

     

    At least in Spring and Summer, there is an actual road under all that white stuff.

     

    Here's a picture of the County Sheriff Deputy and the tow truck that helped me out. Because it was Christmas Eve, my insurance (Progressive) couldn't get any towing company in their network to respond. This towing company (who was in town) not only responded when the Deputy called, they billed my insurance only, not collecting a dollar from me.

     

    2172752708_144ffe1311.jpg

     

    Also to note that people who did drive down that deserted road on that cold day did stop to try to help me out but just weren't successful because their cars wouldn't handle a tow or they couldn't push my car out.

     

    Thank heavens the world is full of good people when Geocachers drive where they shouldn't! :rolleyes:

     

    PS: I returned in the Spring to find the cache. I also waymarked the heck out of that old cemetery, and a grave within that cemetery was the inspiration for this Waymarking category.

  6. So this person hasn't logged in since December but jholly suggests that they will log in to lie about the status of a cache to keep it current? I realize cachers who have been playing for a long time have seen just about everything but... really?

     

    It sounds like life interfered with them playing the game and they are unable to respond to the needs of a hide. Archiving would be appropriate and I seriously doubt the cache owner will bother to log in just to lie. If anything, the cache owner might take the time to go check on the cache and temporarily disable or outright archive on their own if all they need is that kick in the butt. Reviewers will tell cache owners to contact them if they replace the cache to reverse the archive so the CO might not do anything until then. On the other hand, they might not even be checking email. Either way, when someone doesn't log in to the website for six months, any reasonable person will accept what comes with that. The game must go on.

  7. Sorry to hear about it. Something like that happened to me when I began hiding caches, but it was just the one. I was upset, then treated it with humor, then moved on. If it ever happened again, I'd just move on.

     

    You can't stop people from being petty so you can (1) accept that infantile petty behavior is a risk and continue to play; or (2) not accept that behavior and stop playing to prevent your exposure to it.

     

    From now on, I recommend hiding Premium Member Only Puzzle caches. Not only will puzzle-workers appreciate finding a Regular size cache at the end of it, you'll have two filters (people have to be willing to pay $30/yr and spend time working out a puzzle) to stop maggots from stealing the containers.

  8. 1. Why is Geocaching so addicting?

    Because it is a habit-forming activity that can be worked into any errand run and can consume all free time. Any activity can be habitual, really.

     

    2. Why is it so important to get the FTF?

    It is important to the people it is important to because they feel it is important to be the first. These were the kids who knocked you down in elementary school because they had to be at the front of the line. And you remember that kid who announced just as loudly and proudly that s/he was Second? Geocaching has those people, too.

     

    3. Where abouts is the original geocache?

    It was in Oregon but 500 people already told you that before I could.

     

    4. Who has found the most caches?

    Me... I have found the most in my family. Almost all my geocaching friends have found more than me. I don't know who has the non-existent crown of Geocaching right now. It could be you if you get to it.

     

    5. Is there a type of geocache that you just use hints to find?

    Puzzle caches, in a manner of speaking, but coordinates always have to be included in, even if they're fake coords for a puzzle cache. Letterboxing is an activity that leans more on orienteering than coordinates.

     

    6. Why arn't you allowed to hide geocaches near railroads?

    Same reason you can't hide them in airports or in seaports and why you shouldn't hide them next to interstate roads. Homeland Security and ... well ... we all liked playing Frogger on Atari but nobody wants to BE Frogger.

     

    7. Why do multi caches have to be more than 150 meters away from each other?

    There is a saturation concern that prevents caches from being within .1 mile of each other, but this saturation does not apply to stages within a multi-cache.

     

    8. Why were all Locationless caches archived?

    Because we have Waymarking.com. Go check it out. It's FUN. Just steer clear of that forum.

     

    9. How do you find a Wherigo?

    You buy an Oregon or a Colorado and follow the instructions on Wherigo.com.

     

    10. What makes an event a MEGA-Event?

    When it's on SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!!! No, honestly, it's got to be a really big event. More than just a few dozen people getting together on a Saturday morning.

  9. Towel

     

    :):blink::blink::o:o:o:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

    (if this doesn't mean what I think it does, ignore this message)

     

    It means the only thing it could mean:

     

    A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

    - Chapter 3, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

     

    And a gentle reminder that Towel Day is May 25th.

  10. Here's the way I look at this, whether anybody agrees or disagrees...

     

    When you include the Geocaching explanation blurb (available for download for free from Geocacher-U.com), a Geocaching.com sticker, your trail name and a means of contact (whether that's email or phone number), you're sending a message that this IS a game piece that should stay in place and, if it should be moved, there is a procedure for getting that done. There is a message that there are responsible individuals who can be reached and are willing to be reached about the container.

     

    Muggles are more likely to respect a geocache when someone explains what it is. I've seen it with the kids in the old neighborhood when we had the home cache. My kids would explain the game to their friends, their friends would explain it to other kids who found it, and the curiosity was quenched... and the container was respected. If a kid wanted to be rotten, it wouldn't have mattered what anybody said but since these were ordinary prudent people, they responded in a rational way.

     

    In lieu of having people posted guard for every cache hide to answer questions if they arise, we can have information included. It won't stop someone from destroying what they want to destroy, but it will enlighten people who just need to know the Who, What, Where, Why and How.

     

    So, I think it's worth it.

  11. Towel

    At least one caching companion (human or canine)

    GPS

    Notebook with cache info

    Pen

    Cell phone

    Camera

    Pepper spray

    Travel Bugs / Swag

    Baggies (kept in car)

    Calculator paper (kept in car)

    First Aid Kit (always in car)

     

    What doesn't stay in the car, travels easily in my camera bag. My GPS is on a lanyard and I keep my keys, phone and pepper spray in my pockets.

  12. So far this thread contains:

     

    An exaggeration of facts, creating an unnecessary stir.

    A discovery that the media has no idea what Geocaching is (again).

    Ranting about a Sheriff mentioned in the OP.

    Ranting about a Sheriff not mentioned in the OP.

    Off-topic bashing of poor people by somebody who hates the President.

     

    And the topic was what? A local sheriff doesn't want people breaking the laws while Geocaching so the game doesn't become a nuisance.

     

    I love this forum. All we need is for sbell and Mustang to start arguing about something completely off-topic for the sake of arguing with each other and for someone to bring up micros and LPCs!

  13. This is the Florida hide that makes me wince:

     

    istockphoto_221482-palm-tree-trunk.jpg

     

    One of those nooks would have a 35mm film container or otherwise micro stashed in, covered by spanish moss. And it wouldn't be neatly trimmed like that. The trunk would be sprouting out all over with spanish moss and pine needles stuffed into each nook. And fire ants would be crawling all over it, too.

     

    But you better believe I'll still be sticking my hand in there as high as I can reach until I find that geocache!

  14. I found a cache that I later adopted. It's still active and I'm glad I kept it that way. But I didn't find it after I adopted it. I've always been taught that it's poor form to log a find on a cache you hid. There's no hard and fast rule about it on geocaching.com, though.

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