rickrich

When a new cache is approved, the map that is displayed is at a scale of roughly 1:65,000. This shows enough street detail that a printout of the cache page might be all a newbie needs in order to navigate to the cache... However, later the map on the cache page is replaced with a prettier MS map, but at a scale of roughly 1:175,000. This map shows a lot less street detail and is fairly useless to the newbie using the cache page printout to navigate... I'd like to see the scales of these two maps at least be made consistent. I can't see the reason why the scale of the map should change depending on the age of the cache. But better yet would be for the cache hider to have a choice of a few scales for the cache page map. Perhaps "urban, suburban, and rural", which translate to scales of 1:50k, 1:100k, and 1:200k, respectively. The cache hider could pick the scale that works best for his printable cache page. -Rick

This is a good site, I have supported it from geo-map for awhile. However, do not attempt to use these maps to fly into US airports. We DO NOT have one on every corner... http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?&sc...=800&height=700

Hey fizzymagic, I should admit that I carry a slightly modified version of your gpx2html program in my toolbag of Linux tools for geocaching. I hope you don't mind. The differences between my version and your version are 1) I decode_entitites() so that pages with HTML in them display (mostly) properly in a real browser; and 2) I added an index sorted by last logged time so that I could easily read the recent log entries of other people on a rainy day. -Rick

You really can't make a blanket statement like that about NiMH versus alkalines. The useful service life of an alkaline battery is highly dependant on the discharge rate. This is why you do not see alkaline batteries rated in mAh like you do for NiMH batteries. Depending on the current draw of the specific GPSr, alkalines could last significantly longer, about the same, or significantly less than the same size NiMH. For example, a AAA NiMH battery might give you 30 hours at a discharge rate of ~25mA, while the same size alkaline battery would last for about 60 hours. But at a 70 mA discharge rate, both batteries would give you about 10 hours of service. Higher discharge rates than that and the NiMH wins hands down. Like for most of the questions rasied on the gc.com boards, the answer to the original question is "whatever works for you". -Rick

Well, I suppose the event organizers could have submitted 21 event caches for approval and assignment of individual GC numbers. But it seems like a waste of effort since the caches are archived after 2 days. One cache listing and multiple logs for it seem completely kosher to me.

All my gear (PDA, GPS, headlamp) uses AAA's, so I keep 2-4 alkalines in my otherwise unused left back pocket. I can't feel 'em, so sometimes they go thru the washing machine and dryer. No explosions so far. I tried NiMH AAA's, but they really did not work as well as the alkalines due to the lower cell voltage and the fact that NiMH's typically leak 1-2% of their charge every day. In one of my previous jobs I wrote software for a LiON battery charger. LiON batteries, if not properly designed, manufactured, charged, and handled, can undergo rapid dissassembly. LiON batteries are required to include a protection IC. Still, I would not want to carry one of those in my pocket. "the concussion blew the Assistant Chief out the office door onto the floor and blew the Captain against the office wall." http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face9939.html#9939p2

Actually, various state legislatures, local governments, and sometimes even judges have clamped down on personal freedoms in these cases, by creating buffer zones around the clinics. I'm just pointing out some history here, lets not turn this into an abortion debate please.

Here are some more things you miss by not being the FTF: - Cache approved but not placed: "2nd finder of the spot where the cache would eventually be placed. GPSFree was already here searching when I arrived. It would have been a righteous hide, if it hadn't really been hiding in Bob's car all night! No harm done. Logged cache after Bob arrived. TFTC." - Cache coord(s) wildly off: "The original posted N coord was wrong (somewhere in Mtka). I figured maybe it was off by 1 minute, but I wasn't sure because it would still have been outside the park according to my map, and the topo map didn't show anything consistent with the clue there. Nevertheless, it was a nice warm day for caching (30+) and I figured worse case I'd have to walk the W longitude line until I found something consistent with the clue. So I set off for the cache with nonlinear-kelsey who is always ready and willing to do a "puzzle" cache."

This came up on our local board awhile ago, and this was the best info I could find on the subject: http://www.aero.org/news/current/gps-orbit.html

Peanut butter jars with a rubber o-ring added under the lid. If you want, I'll sell you my collection for $5 each. They are pre-eaten and washed. The pre-eating is worth $3 alone.

You can lead Jeremy's horse to water, but you can't make him drink (see my web page mock up posting). The quick fix for the cross-browser formatting problems with the log list is to make the first column HTML look something like this... <td valign="baseline" align="left" height=16 ><img src='../images/icons/icon_smile.gif' border=0 alt='Found it'> 3/18/2004</td> Bascially, that is getting rid of the 2% width specifier on the column, and getting rid of the height and width tags on the image (which force the icons to get "stretched" from 15 to 16 pixels). -Rick

Thanks for the plug, Robert. The rules that I currently use for the MnGCA graph are designed mainly to limit the size of the graph. The graph is created using an open source program that works off of a simple text data file. I do not have to place each node and edge with a WYSIWYG editor. The more edges there are, the more CPU time it takes to create the graph. Too many edges and the program can exhibit quadratic behavior, fall into a potential energy well and go into an infinite loop, or require a huge amount of virtual paper. Thats geek-speak for "it don't work". These are the rules I currently use: 1) Event contacts are not counted. 2) Cachers that meet on the trail "by chance" and speak to each other get a black line. 3) Prearranged group caching expeditions get "red" lines, but I only include those red lines which are necessary to include somebody on the graph that wouldn't be on the graph otherwise. However, I keep all of the group info in the data file, and can generate a chart with full group connections if desired. 4) Cachers that sight but don't speak to each other on the trail (either one-way or two-way) get a blue arrow. 5) Sighting a naked geocacher gets you a tan arrow. Naked muggles don't count. 6) Kids get black lines only if they are caching without their parents. Otherwise, they just get red lines to their parents. 7) One of the cachers must be a member of the MnGCA, or a known Minnesota cacher. I hope to someday be able to connect the MnGCA graph to other graphs, such as the MTGC graph. Clicking the "foreign" cacher on our graph would take you to their local graph. FYI, we recently had a meeting of "The Treasure Trovers" from Kingston, TN, so we have gotten our first link into TN. Now, if only somebody runs into them from the MTGC! Anybody who wants to copy my ideas and source code is free to do so. Also, if geocaching.com wants to maintain a database of these contacts via the website and with no distribution restrictions that would also be most welcome. I would hope that a gc.com databse could be queried on cacher name as well as on state/region. -Rick

Here is a mock-up I did in about 5 minutes that I think encompasses most of the features and bug fixes people have requested so far. Quick View Mock Up 1) Restores all logs 2) Restores search newest 3) Fixes icon size and multiple lines in logs (overzealous HTML) 4) Adds Pocket Query tab 5) Bonus feature: search newest filter finds I'm not saying this is a great layout, just that it provides the features within the constraints of the current layout. -Rick

Here is an improved analysis, with a third task added as well. Here is a Human Factors and web server analysis of three tasks. A plus (+) sign means an action was performed and a new page was loaded. A plus (-) sign means an action was performed, but no page was loaded. Find cache log from last summer by name: Old Way: + Click "My Cache Page" + Click "Show All Logs" - Click browser "Edit" - Click browser "Find in this Page" - enter cache name New Way, method 1: - Cannot be done New Way, method 2: + Click "My Cache Page" + Click "The old cache page" + Click "Show All Logs" - Click browser "Edit" - Click browser "Find in this Page" - enter cache name Find cache log from last summer by date: Old Way: + Click "My Cache Page" + Click "Show All Logs" - Click browser "Edit" - Click browser "Find in this Page" - enter date New Way, method 1: + Click "My Cache Page" + Click "<" + Click "<" + Click "<" + Click "<" + Click "<" + Click "<" + Click "<" + Click "<" + Click "<" + Click on desired day New Way, method 2: + Click "My Cache Page" + Click "The old cache page" + Click "Show All Logs" - Click browser "Edit" - Click browser "Find in this Page" - enter date Find newest caches in your state: Old Way: + Click "My Cache Page" + Click "Search for nearest caches in <your state>" New Way, method 1: - Cannot be done New Way, method 2: + Click "My Cache Page" + Click "The old cache page" + Click "Search for nearest caches in <your state>" New Way, method 3: + Click "Hide & Seek A Cache" - Click "by state pulldown" - scroll to your state and select + Click GO

Here is a human factors analysis of two tasks with the old and the new pages... Find cache log from last summer by name: Old Way: - Click "My Cache Page" - Click "Show All Logs" - Click browser "Edit" - Click browser "Find in this Page" - enter cache name New Way, method 1: - Cannot be done New Way, method 2: - Click "My Cache Page" - Click "The old cache page" - Click "Show All Logs" - Click browser "Edit" - Click browser "Find in this Page" - enter cache name Find cache log from last summer by date: Old Way: - Click "My Cache Page" - Click "Show All Logs" - Click browser "Edit" - Click browser "Find in this Page" - enter date New Way, method 1: - Click "My Cache Page" - Click "<" - Click "<" - Click "<" - Click "<" - Click "<" - Click "<" - Click "<" - Click "<" - Click "<" - Click on desired day New Way, method 2: - Click "My Cache Page" - Click "The old cache page" - Click "Show All Logs" - Click browser "Edit" - Click browser "Find in this Page" - enter date

Besides the missing alllogs and find by state links, I've noticed that I've been logged out 4 times so far tonight. I usually go days if not weeks before I get logged out automatically. Maybe that is because you are doing on the fly page development (why wasn't this beta tested with a link to "try new My page").

Yeah, but now we have to load two pages to get where we want to be, if you forget and hit the "My" button. There needs to be a user preference: eye candy page or classic page.

I miss the display of "all logs", which I used quite often. I'm really not thrilled to have to clicky-clicky on a calendar to find old logs. I miss the "all caches in <your state here>" link, which I used to see the list of recently placed caches. Now it looks like I need to create a bookmark to get to that info quickly. I need another bookmark like I need a hole in the head. Maybe those abilities are still there, somewhere. But for the time being I'm inclined to stick with the old "my" page. I think the old page would have been perfected if I could have just configured it to turn off the travel bug display. -Rick

I'd love it if the fact that I had "accepted" a EULA was stored in a cookie that I could delete anytime I felt like it. What a level playing field that would be.

I don't think the proposed solution solves the problem of getting all of your *logs*. It just gets all of your *finds*.

As far as getting rid of extraneous clicks go, here's another easy one: Change "Find ...all nearby caches" to "Find ... all nearby caches (that I haven't found)". that way there is no need to click once and then insert "f=1&" into the URL.

My kids (8 and 10) liked the trading thing at first. But they got bored with it eventually. So now we are a happy TNLN family, and just enjoy the walks and the time togerther.

I can't add any quality to these stories, but I can add quantity. 1st) 10/06/03. At NOT 2 EZ I set a Visor Handspring plus Magellan GPS Companion (original cost for pair about $350) down on the concrete walkway while the kids and I searched for the final micro (at night). We found the micro and logged in as FTF. Then went home, sans GPSr. I didn't realize it until 9:30 the next morning. Went back, but it was gone. Never recovered. 2nd) 02/21/04. At Maximum Exposure III I set a *second* Visor Handspring plus Magellan GPS Companion (cost for this pair was only about $75) down on the bridge railing while I searched for the micro. Found and logged the micro, then went home. At home, I realized what I had done. Luckily, I knew someone who lived just a block away. So at 7:50AM on a Saturday morning, I called over there and woke up his son. I quickly explained what geocaching was and where to find my GPSr. The son got dressed and retrieved my GPSr before a dog-walker found it. 3rd) 03/04/04. At Smile! I set a Garmin Geko 201 (cost $115) down inside a baseball dugout. Found final micro and logged FTF. Then went home. Later that day, I was driving to a job interview when I realized where the GPSr was. I figured it was safe from plunder there, and I could get it later that night. When I got home, a fellow geocacher had left a message on the answering machine that he had found the GPSr. I learned three things out of all of this. First, I should never own any expensive handheld GPSr's, because I cannot be trusted to not lose them. Second, electronics depreciates really fast, so break that early adopter addiction and you can buy 4 times as much stuff. Third, always put your phone number in and on your GPSr. -Rick

If you go to HD for lumber, you will be picking thru it. Check my log and this cache... http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?lu...1-D51E19D94DE3} Luckily, there was a cache there so the trip wasn't completely wasted. Oh yeah, to keep this post on-topic, got the call today and I'm going back to a "real job" after 9 sweet months off.

I was out there today, and the cache has the usual assortment of "good" starter dosh in it, that will slowly degrade into golf balls, used McToys, and expired coupons over the next few months. Personally, I think allowing some "limited time" caches might be a good idea. -Rick