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TheAuthorityFigures

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Posts posted by TheAuthorityFigures

  1. I am visiting the southern US and I am surprised at how many logs I see that end with a quote from the bible. I am aware that a cache listing cannot promote a religious agenda (or other agenda) but what can a cache owner do about people putting this stuff in their logs?

    You're surprised? In the Bible Belt? Really? What would surprise me is NOT finding the occasional pocket bible left as swag in many ammo can caches south of the Mason-Dixon line. :rolleyes:

     

    I never have.

     

    Actually, come to think of it, I can't say I've ever even seen a bible verse in an online log.

     

    Hmm. Interesting. I'm married to a southern gal, but we don't live in the SE. We visit her family in NC regularly, so I know the southern culture very well. I've yet to do any geocaching when we visit, but I would have thought that would be an almost common thing knowing the southern rural culture. That was an assumption on my part. Guess it's not as common as I would have thought.

  2. I am visiting the southern US and I am surprised at how many logs I see that end with a quote from the bible. I am aware that a cache listing cannot promote a religious agenda (or other agenda) but what can a cache owner do about people putting this stuff in their logs?

    You're surprised? In the Bible Belt? Really? What would surprise me is NOT finding the occasional pocket bible left as swag in many ammo can caches south of the Mason-Dixon line. :rolleyes:

  3. Like kunarion, I don't ask people for trackable info at events, I only photograph trackables displayed in view for later logging. In my opinion, I would go with the vehicle decal, I think you would get more discovers.

     

    As for vehicle decals, my daughter-in-law went a little overboard for the decal she got me. See this link for the decal on my vehicle.

     

    Skye.

    That. Is. Awesome. I want one on my future Airstream.

  4. That's your takeaway? I must hate cops because I wish to not be detained? No, I respect police as much as I respect anyone else in our society. I don't give them any extra respect just because they are a cop though. The worst thing you can ever do is answer a cop's questions. If you only learn one thing from this thread it is this:

     

    Don't answer questions. Avoid interactions with law enforcement.

     

    And no, I've never had a bad experience with a cop as I'm sure you are assuming. They've all been pleasant interactions. But it's best to avoid them.

     

    To the guy who said it's illegal to have a scanner in your car? You're incorrect. Only in 2-3 states are there laws about it. In those states get a ham radio license. Then you don't have to worry about it as ham operators are exempted. I have an Extra class radio license. But it has nothing to do with meeting the letter of the law as it's legal for anyone to operate a scanner in a motor vehicle.

     

    Have a good day.

    This is begging the question: Why? Why is conversing with a cop "the worst thing you can ever do"? As an LEO myself, I would say unholstering a concealed pistol would trump your "answering questions" as the worst thing you could ever do, by a long shot. :rolleyes:

     

    Because there have been so many people innocent people imprisoned for something they didn't do. Which started with them "incriminating" themselves without them even knowing it. Anything you say WILL be used against you. Nothing you say can be used to HELP you...

     

    Haha, you got me there though with the weapon comment. That is a very bad idea. Lol. When I've been pulled over I always make sure to state that I am armed and where my weapon is.

    Well, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. If someone is giving a LEO probable cause that a crime is being committed, then you would be Mirandized. Simply stating that you are geocaching, when not under arrest, when that's all you are doing will only help you. I'm not up on the statistics, but I think I can say in confidence that there aren't many (any) geocachers out there lingering in prisons for geocaching.

     

    You seem to have missed the part where I was questioned by police that had observed me doing something they deemed suspicious in *Rome, Italy*. Miranda rights don't apply when you're not in the U.S. I did explain geocaching, but because the incident happened in Italy my explanation in English wasn't understood easily by Italian speaking polizia. That was why my "takeaway" was to have something, such as a geocaching, brochure which would help explain what I was doing in a language that could be understood.

    ??? I'm sorry, but are you addressing me? The entire conversation you quoted was between myself and pinballwiz. I'm sorry if you thought I missed your point, but it was probably because I was addressing another persons points/issues.

    But, to address your point: I'm U.S. Federal LEO. I have no educated opinion on Italian LEO policies or procedures. Again, I apologize if you were addressing someone else.

  5. I don't get on the discussion forums very often, but just wanted to get this off my chest. I've made a habit of not doing power trails very often, as I've never cared about my number of finds that much. But after going with a few friends Super Bowl weekend on a rural power trail, I really understand how many cheaters there are out there. Some of the cheaters were claiming finds on caches that didn't have their signature on the log sheet, and one group dropped 4 throwdown caches even though the real cache containers were no more than 16' away. One of this group is the so called "Big Fish" (Alamogul)who has 130K caches. I can see how you can accumulate that many caches if you play by these tactics. This is only a game , but if you have to cheat to get a find, then that's pretty pitiful. Anyway, I know this topic has been covered many times before, but I'm interested to see what other cachers think about this kind of stuff. Thanks for listening.

     

    I'm guessing you know this but PT's are really a subset of geocaching where the finder is encouraged by the CO to do maint on the trail....its a good thing because lots is needed. My wife and another couple did a trail last week where we replaced 99% of the logs which were soaked by a front that came through a few days earlier, in fact my wife's job was to make logs as we proceeded. Several containers which were cracked were replaced. Right or wrong, trails couldn't exist without the continued maint. of finders....bring sacks of logs and containers with you, its the way the PT game is played.

    What ever happened to pride of ownership? :huh: I've replaced the occasional full or destroyed log, but I will never completely replace a container. That's what NM log is for, IMO. If the owner is unresponsive, well, hopefully things take a natural course to eventual archival.

  6. That's your takeaway? I must hate cops because I wish to not be detained? No, I respect police as much as I respect anyone else in our society. I don't give them any extra respect just because they are a cop though. The worst thing you can ever do is answer a cop's questions. If you only learn one thing from this thread it is this:

     

    Don't answer questions. Avoid interactions with law enforcement.

     

    And no, I've never had a bad experience with a cop as I'm sure you are assuming. They've all been pleasant interactions. But it's best to avoid them.

     

    To the guy who said it's illegal to have a scanner in your car? You're incorrect. Only in 2-3 states are there laws about it. In those states get a ham radio license. Then you don't have to worry about it as ham operators are exempted. I have an Extra class radio license. But it has nothing to do with meeting the letter of the law as it's legal for anyone to operate a scanner in a motor vehicle.

     

    Have a good day.

    This is begging the question: Why? Why is conversing with a cop "the worst thing you can ever do"? As an LEO myself, I would say unholstering a concealed pistol would trump your "answering questions" as the worst thing you could ever do, by a long shot. :rolleyes:

     

    Because there have been so many people innocent people imprisoned for something they didn't do. Which started with them "incriminating" themselves without them even knowing it. Anything you say WILL be used against you. Nothing you say can be used to HELP you...

     

    Haha, you got me there though with the weapon comment. That is a very bad idea. Lol. When I've been pulled over I always make sure to state that I am armed and where my weapon is.

    Well, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. If someone is giving a LEO probable cause that a crime is being committed, then you would be Mirandized. Simply stating that you are geocaching, when not under arrest, when that's all you are doing will only help you. I'm not up on the statistics, but I think I can say in confidence that there aren't many (any) geocachers out there lingering in prisons for geocaching.

     

    Not answering your questions is not probable cause to arrest me. That's what you make it sound like; intentionally or not. A false arrest is serious business. I know cops don't like their authority being questioned, I know I wouldn't either if I was a cop. But I would respect that citizen more than the rest who just sing like a canary out of some weird backwards notion towards law enforcement. You are here to serve and protect. I'm not here to serve you. I of course respect you (all cops) the same as I respect everyone else. No less or more.

     

    Sorry I sound so argumentative but all the flack I'm getting irks me. Lol.

    Nope, you're correct it's not. But you may not be aware of other circumstances that may have prompted the cop to ask you what you are doing. Hypothetical: For example there may have been some burglaries in the area in the recent past. Putting myself in the shoes of the patrolman being dispatched to "investigate a suspicious individual", and I encounter an individual at an odd hour acting in an evasive manner, Now my danger alarms are ringing in my head. Now for my own safety, I will search your person. What do I find? A concealed sub compact 9mm. Now with the totality of the circumstances I'm going to have to cuff you for MY safety and disarm you. Now you're sitting in the back of my cruiser as I make your plate, run the serial number on your pistol, run your name for any wants and warrants.... All of which comeback negitive. But in the meantime, 1 hour of your precious time has been wasted all in an effort to never speak to a cop, when simply stating you were geocaching and trying get a ftf on that back alley micro would have saved 55 of those 60 minutes. Oh, I almost forgot, during that entire encounter, I was being paid.

  7. That's your takeaway? I must hate cops because I wish to not be detained? No, I respect police as much as I respect anyone else in our society. I don't give them any extra respect just because they are a cop though. The worst thing you can ever do is answer a cop's questions. If you only learn one thing from this thread it is this:

     

    Don't answer questions. Avoid interactions with law enforcement.

     

    And no, I've never had a bad experience with a cop as I'm sure you are assuming. They've all been pleasant interactions. But it's best to avoid them.

     

    To the guy who said it's illegal to have a scanner in your car? You're incorrect. Only in 2-3 states are there laws about it. In those states get a ham radio license. Then you don't have to worry about it as ham operators are exempted. I have an Extra class radio license. But it has nothing to do with meeting the letter of the law as it's legal for anyone to operate a scanner in a motor vehicle.

     

    Have a good day.

    This is begging the question: Why? Why is conversing with a cop "the worst thing you can ever do"? As an LEO myself, I would say unholstering a concealed pistol would trump your "answering questions" as the worst thing you could ever do, by a long shot. :rolleyes:

     

    Because there have been so many people innocent people imprisoned for something they didn't do. Which started with them "incriminating" themselves without them even knowing it. Anything you say WILL be used against you. Nothing you say can be used to HELP you...

     

    Haha, you got me there though with the weapon comment. That is a very bad idea. Lol. When I've been pulled over I always make sure to state that I am armed and where my weapon is.

    Well, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. If someone is giving a LEO probable cause that a crime is being committed, then you would be Mirandized. Simply stating that you are geocaching, when not under arrest, when that's all you are doing will only help you. I'm not up on the statistics, but I think I can say in confidence that there aren't many (any) geocachers out there lingering in prisons for geocaching.

  8. That's your takeaway? I must hate cops because I wish to not be detained? No, I respect police as much as I respect anyone else in our society. I don't give them any extra respect just because they are a cop though. The worst thing you can ever do is answer a cop's questions. If you only learn one thing from this thread it is this:

     

    Don't answer questions. Avoid interactions with law enforcement.

     

    And no, I've never had a bad experience with a cop as I'm sure you are assuming. They've all been pleasant interactions. But it's best to avoid them.

     

    To the guy who said it's illegal to have a scanner in your car? You're incorrect. Only in 2-3 states are there laws about it. In those states get a ham radio license. Then you don't have to worry about it as ham operators are exempted. I have an Extra class radio license. But it has nothing to do with meeting the letter of the law as it's legal for anyone to operate a scanner in a motor vehicle.

     

    Have a good day.

    This is begging the question: Why? Why is conversing with a cop "the worst thing you can ever do"? As an LEO myself, I would say unholstering a concealed pistol would trump your "answering questions" as the worst thing you could ever do, by a long shot. :rolleyes:

  9. I'm trying to put this image in the mission description box of a TB. winter_snow.cc176.jpg?itok=lC6tFbeP

    I paste the url in appropriate place (just as I did in this post) in the dialogue box and click ok, but nothing happens and it won't let me x out, I have to back up the browser to get out of the screen. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

  10. Like the Topic Starter I love to travel Travel Bugs to other caches. I wish there was a filter on the site by wich I can see in wich caches TB's are present. So that I don't have to look alle individuel caches in an area to see wich ones have a TB in the inventory.

    Is it possible to make a filter like the ones you have to search cache types? Or make a symbol like a little star on caches on the map that have a TB in it.

    It would please a lot of people!

     

    Pocket query and filter caches with listed TB's. The problem with this as I discovered in my area is that after looking at all these caches closely, nearly all of them listing a trackable hadn't actually had it in the cache... many of them for years. I messaged the TO and CO owners if I noticed a TB listed in the inventory but after reading the cache log and the tb log to find numerous post saying the tb isn't in the cache. I got some response from CO's and TO's thanking me for giving them a heads up, and they marked it missing. But overall most didn't reply (inactive CO's and TO's), so I e-mailed a list of TB's in caches in my area to Eartha who was nice enough to mark these long lost tb's as missing thus taking them out of the cache inventory. The caches in my area are getting a bit closer to being accurate in their inventory listings.

  11. I love geocaching! I love the challenge of solving the puzzles and finding the caches. One of my favorite things is moving travel bugs. I like finding caches I haven't found with a TB and picking it up to move it. I love the creativity of the bugs and to help them, but also the movement lets the owners know that they are safe. What I don't understand is why cache owners and bug owners refuse to mark the bug as missing when several people let them know it isn't in the cache. I don't know if the reviewers should do it if they refuse or what should happen, but it is ridiculous to see a cache that is supposed to have a bug and find out that it is not there. Some have been missing for 10 years and still show up as there......that is crazy! I write that they are missing in my log, contact the CO and the TB owner and nobody changes it usually. I don't get it! It's not like if it is marked missing that it can't be grabbed and put back into the game.

     

    That is my pet peeve for 2016!!!!

     

    I hear ya. This subject has been discussed on this site ad nausea and I share all your frustrations also. But I don't see any foreseeable easy fix. The fact of the matter is that TB's are secondary to caches. Many don't know the difference between swag and a trackable item. People stop geocaching for what ever reason and forget they have a TB in their possession, many simply don't know they need to log the retrieval/placement of a TB... and on and on.

    I too love the TB side of geocaching, and I make sure to do the right thing with them. For me, that starts with READING THE TB PAGE. This seems to rarely happen with many cachers. If the bug owner (this concept seems to be missing in a large degree out there! they are private property owned by someone else!) has set a goal for the bug, before I retrieve it, I ask myself "can I further its goal?" If the answer is no, then I don't retrieve it from the cache.

    It's best to think of TB's as an owner as expendable items with an expiration date. If you're sending something out there that is truly special to you and has sentimental value to you out into the wild, then you're setting yourself up for heartbreak. Lets face it; if everybody out there thought the same way as you about TB's then they would last indefinitely out in the wild. But most don't.

  12. I guess I shouldn't let anything irk me about geocaching. Most of the stuff discussed really doesn't bother me in any real way. In general, thievery and vandalism irks me. I guess what really gets under my skin is seeing the amount of times a cache like Auschwitz - The forgotten cemetery GC2WJXG gets muggled. Really?? What's going through the head of someone standing at the site of the most horrific crime in human history that they feel this solemn site of genocide needs to be a site of pilfery also?

     

    Or that such a solemn site should be insulted by the presence of a game piece..

    That is also a legitimate concern.

  13. I guess I shouldn't let anything irk me about geocaching. Most of the stuff discussed really doesn't bother me in any real way. In general, thievery and vandalism irks me. I guess what really gets under my skin is seeing the amount of times a cache like Auschwitz - The forgotten cemetery GC2WJXG gets muggled. Really?? What's going through the head of someone standing at the site of the most horrific crime in human history that they feel this solemn site of genocide needs to be a site of pilfery also?

  14. Just read 14 pages of misery, sorrow and heartbreak. I have 4 TB's that I WAS going to release, now I'm not so sure (TB7A0R3, TB7A0T7, TB7DZTM). Just too many people out there that just want to see the world burn. Nearly ALL the caches that list TB's in them around my area have no TB's in them. I know because I went to a few to rescue the listed TB from a cache that its been in for way too long, only to find it's not there. So I posted notes on the cache log(s) that the listed TB aren't there and a note in the TB log stating the same. I also emailed the TB owner to let them know.

    But this got me curious, so I did a pocket query of caches in a 100 mile radius of my home location that have trackables listed. After reading the cache and tb logs, I've come to the conclusion that over 95% of TBs that end up here are lost to the black hole. What was discouraging was after looking at these logs closely, was discovering that many of the TB's were mentioned as not there by a cacher in the cache log, but NOT on in the TB log. Isn't common courtesy to let the TB owner know that their property isn't in the listed cache? Somewhere there is a break in the communication between the cacher-CO-TBO chain in my area because there are way too many TB's listed in a cache that from what I can tell went missing months and even YEARS ago.

  15. There are more of these in my neck of the woods that I would have thought (GC3JVJ7). Just out of curiosity and as someone who is new to this hobby, how does this happen, and what are everyone's thoughts on the "ethics" of it? or am I reading this wrong?

     

    geocaching.com is a listing service. It does not own the caches, and it does not have exclusive rights to the cache listings. Back in the days when there were other cache listing services, caches would sometimes appear on both.

     

    It is completely within the rights of a cache owner to make caches available to anyone they want prior to having the cache listed here. I suppose Groundspeak could decide that the resulting online logs are not valid, but that would run counter to the geocaching.com philosophy, and I expect that will never happen.

     

    My advice? Don't get bent about this. It's just part of how caching goes. Be grateful for the caches being made available for you to hunt.

     

    I'm definitely not bent about it. I was just perusing some caches on the map and came across a few that when reading the logs, there were finds before the publication date. I simply found it odd is all. Just satisfying my curiosity about apparent time traveling geochachers. ;)

  16. Thank you for your reply. The three options that I'm seeing on the drop down menu for this item are 1.Mark as missing 2. recalculate distance 3. lock. I'm not seeing 'move to unknown location' as one of my options.

  17. I have a question for the more experienced out there. I placed a few of these FTF nano geocoins in a couple of my caches for the FTF crowd as a "reward". All the FTF'ers except for one has logged the geocoin as found/retrieved. I've messaged/emailed the one user to please log the geocoin as found (he/she stated in the log that they retrieved it), as it still is showing up in the cache inventory. This person has not responded needless to say. I guess my question is, is there a way for me to "transfer" or otherwise show that this trackable item is in the position of said person? I'm not seeing if this is an option on the website. I didn't give any of these geocoins a goal, and all I really want if for it NOT to show up in the cache inventory as I don't like the idea of someone coming to the cache specifically to find this item which isn't there! Not everybody reads through the log on the caches they choose to go for. Not sure what else I can do, this person is a 23K+ find cacher, so it's not like I'm dealing with some one who just doesn't know. Help??

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