IthacaDoodle
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Posts posted by IthacaDoodle
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I am having a real issue that I haven't encountered before with the maps - for caches that are at named destinations with locale descriptions on Google, clicking on the icon on certain zoom levels is pulling up the Google description site rather than the cache itself.
For example, see Rengstorff Rätsel GCNQYY at Shoreline Park in Mountain View, CA (which instead pulls up the Google Rengstorff House description). This just happened to me again for Souvenir Penny Cache GCHREY in Reno, NV (which pulls up the Siena Hotel Sap Casino). It seems the Google locales have essentially become live links on the cache map.
Anyone else notice this?
thanks, Heidi
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Just got back from a super fun hike to one of the solstice placements today. It's great to see the entries so far. Nice job everyone.
YEAH! I got the grand prize - Vanelle personally visited my cache! Because she has already been so generous to give me a full set of these beautiful coins, I am withdrawing my cache from consideration for the cointest awards and wish everyone else who honored the solstice with new caches the best of luck!
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Bring on the sun!
Our entry is:
GC20HWD
RA'S TREASURE - The Egyptian God of the Sun
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...0d-a55708ad4f21
You are personally visiting all the cache entries, right?!
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Love the detail yet the uncluttered design.
I won't be at GCF but would definitely want to buy one to complete my Vanelle geocoin collection!
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The way people write on forums I think an extremely difficult puzzle would be identifying the grammatical flaws and where/how proper punctuation should be used in a paragraph. I'd have to break out Strunk & White and cram to solve something like that.
Oh, this is just too funny, DragonsWest. I have wanted to create a puzzle based on exactly this...especially since Strunk and White was written by a Cornell Professor and I could place the cache here on Cornell campus! I won't be able to do it now since my neighbor NYPaddleCacher is linked into this discussion (and I think is talking about my own 4 star puzzle above) but I had to chime in given the convergence of topics!
ps I will be in your neck of the woods for a year, DW, starting in September (and was FTF on two of your Aptos area caches in Feb).
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I first heard of this movie in the NYT where it was reviewed. We came close to seeing it in the theater in NYC but decided we would spend our time in the city otherwise thinking that we could catch the film at home. However, it never made it into a wider theatrical release and so we've been anxiously waiting for the DVD release ... finally got to see the movie this weekend (yeah, Netflix!).
The movie itself was completely forgettable except for the geocaching parts, and there were more of those than I expected. It almost seemed to me to be a case of official product placement, especially because the geocaching scenes were so awkward and not well integrated. Did anyone else get that sense?
In this movie the geocacher Galaxy:
1) explains geocaching/GPSr/coords to the guy who is enamored with her
2) finds an underwater cache "Splashdown" whose carabiner attachment device is clearly shown
3) examines and explains the "Splashdown" log book and swag in some detail
4) does cache maintenance on her own large "Monkey Barrel" cache (despite the fact that she is supposedly a traveling carnival worker and not from this area)
5) takes some heat from her boyfriend for always "going after those things"
6) researches new caches including "Down the Rabbit Hole" (which I have found in NYC) on the Geocaching.com website
7) happens upon a microcache "Electric Cache" whose construction is spelled out
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Thanks for posting, it is like a breath of fresh air!As a Central NY geocacher, I've been following this story and thread closely. I am beyond the main center of the thief's activity but have had plenty of inconveniences, frustration, and added expense in gas $ and time when caching in that area. Getting a DeLorme block and separate qualifying county caches in that area for those challenges was nearly impossible! After a string of my own DNFs and other caches that I passed because of the strings of DNF logs on them, I finally went way out of my way to get to a cache called "You Are Being Watched" GCVQCP - which was already placed back in 2006 as a direct reaction to the cache thief activities.Several geocachers from the area have posted here emphasizing the scale of the cache thieving - scale in all respects: geographical, number of caches, and time over which they have been taken. There is definitely a determined cache thief in this area. It is true that the court case will be about the one cache he was caught red-handed with (and others from the car or game camera if they are added to the evidence) but I personally believe that he has been caught given what I have heard and how it matches up with the pattern of behavior that has been experienced in this area. I can understand the rejoicing of those involved and expect that they would have anticipated the geocaching community to share in their joy and am surprised at some of the reactions here. On our end we have mused about what we would do if there was a cache thief like this in our area and the idea of game cameras was at the top of the list. We also thought about creating a cache on private property (probably an ammo can lined with foreign currency) whose value would take it over the misdemeanor level and into the felony category so that higher charges could be sought. We were just thinking, of course, as many here no doubt have been and had no intention of actually carrying this out or pursuing a legal path.
I find the idea of increasing the value of the container to increase the severity of charges interesting. I wonder if value of many containers over time would accumulate? Probably not, and it would be nearly impossible to link him to enough caches, unless he's got them all in his home. If he did, they are probably gone now anyways. . .
I think this an interesting take, that I don't think has been mentioned in this thread. Something GC.com might want to think about, if they haven't already.I don't know what the court will make of this because ultimately an item of minimal value has been taken and that is why I am disappointed that Groundspeak has not taken an active role in this by inquiring, educating, and arbitrating between those affected. Ultimately someone was heavily interfering with the game that is their business. If someone interfered with their computer system to electronically alter coordinates for the cache listings, I would expect that they would take action. The systematic and deliberate cache thief as not much different in its effect.If they have considered this & have decided against action, I'd suspect it would have to do with the fact that they are, technically, a listing service and have no real ownership in the containers that have been taken.
My thoughts exactly! The letter, as presented, didn't strike me as something written by someone falsely accused, but as someone who was trying to get out of trouble.For those looking for more evidence, I found geolobo's posts here most interesting in this regard. He has actually communicated with the cache thief who both apologized "for the game of geocaching going where it is not supposed to be" and made an indirect offer of a contribution of $500 for containers and geocaching education as a retribution. Does a $500 retribution sound like a reasonable offer someone who stole a single magnetic key holder?Great post, hopefully it will bring some focus back for those who can't seem to stop hitting the
button even when they have nothing to say about the topic. 
thanks TTJ - I hope we can bring some of the more interesting issues back into this conversation!
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The circumstantial evidence below more than meets the burden of proof for a conviction in this Kangaroo Court here on the forums. Unfortunately, the burden is much higher in an actual court. It seems hard to tell to which court some posters are referring. Personally, I am reasonably sure that Mr. Repak is guilty of the theft of hundreds of caches, but I am not in the jury pool, nor will I have any influence whatsoever on the case.
As for the evidence, wouldn't it be nice if C.S.I. NY could go through his computer and his house. I'm sure that they could find links to many if not most of the missing caches. That's just not gonna happen.
and while yes, it would be unfair for us to assign blame for every cache that goes missing to mr. repak, there has been a great body of circumstantial evidence that he is responsible for a great deal of the cache thefts in that area over a period of years.
What's the great body of circumstantial evidence? ...
Let's see what I've heard so far.
1. Caches tended to go missing around Rome midweek, when Mr Repak would have been working in the area and they tended to go missing in the Adirondacks on weekends, when he would have had free time to make the 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive there.
2. He was caught on a game camera stealing another cache.
3. Many of the stolen caches were back country caches that involved longish hikes over difficult terrain. Mr. Repak had some expertise in back country travel.
4. Difficult puzzle caches were also stolen. He is an electrical engineer, so obviously has some brains.
5. He ran when caught.
6. There were logbooks and key holders from other caches in his car, as well as a list of other caches and their coordinates.
7. When a local geocacher contacted him after his arrest, he didn't deny that he was THE thief, but he did offer to make some type of restitution.
I'm sure there is more that I missed
In a criminal court much of this evidence would probably be inadmissible. In the court of common sense Mr Repak is the likely culprit. Whether he is convicted as charged, plea bargains, gets the charges dropped or is found not guilty, as a cache owner please allow me to take delight in any uncomfortability that his actions caused him.
As a Central NY geocacher, I've been following this story and thread closely. I am beyond the main center of the thief's activity but have had plenty of inconveniences, frustration, and added expense in gas $ and time when caching in that area. Getting a DeLorme block and separate qualifying county caches in that area for those challenges was nearly impossible! After a string of my own DNFs and other caches that I passed because of the strings of DNF logs on them, I finally went way out of my way to get to a cache called "You Are Being Watched" GCVQCP - which was already placed back in 2006 as a direct reaction to the cache thief activities.
Several geocachers from the area have posted here emphasizing the scale of the cache thieving - scale in all respects: geographical, number of caches, and time over which they have been taken. There is definitely a determined cache thief in this area. It is true that the court case will be about the one cache he was caught red-handed with (and others from the car or game camera if they are added to the evidence) but I personally believe that he has been caught given what I have heard and how it matches up with the pattern of behavior that has been experienced in this area. I can understand the rejoicing of those involved and expect that they would have anticipated the geocaching community to share in their joy and am surprised at some of the reactions here. On our end we have mused about what we would do if there was a cache thief like this in our area and the idea of game cameras was at the top of the list. We also thought about creating a cache on private property (probably an ammo can lined with foreign currency) whose value would take it over the misdemeanor level and into the felony category so that higher charges could be sought. We were just thinking, of course, as many here no doubt have been and had no intention of actually carrying this out or pursuing a legal path.
I don't know what the court will make of this because ultimately an item of minimal value has been taken and that is why I am disappointed that Groundspeak has not taken an active role in this by inquiring, educating, and arbitrating between those affected. Ultimately someone was heavily interfering with the game that is their business. If someone interfered with their computer system to electronically alter coordinates for the cache listings, I would expect that they would take action. The systematic and deliberate cache thief as not much different in its effect.
For those looking for more evidence, I found geolobo's posts here most interesting in this regard. He has actually communicated with the cache thief who both apologized "for the game of geocaching going where it is not supposed to be" and made an indirect offer of a contribution of $500 for containers and geocaching education as a retribution. Does a $500 retribution sound like a reasonable offer someone who stole a single magnetic key holder?
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Hi firefly03,
Thanks for your offer of the bronze Team Sand Dollar geocoin - I've now had a chance to familiarize myself with all the different versions and decided that I am really searching for either a silver or gold version.
thanks though, hope our paths will cross again, Heidi of ithacadoodle
Seeking
Sand dollar
Please let me know if you are interested in a trade - thanks, Heidi (ithacadoodle)
Which Sand Dollar are you looking for? I have a 2005/2006/2007(don't what year
. It's his first version) bronze Team Sand Dollar. -
Hello, I am focusing my geocoin collection and am looking for the following coins:
Seeking
Puffin by Eclectic Penguin
Sand dollar
Earth Compass/aka Elements Compass with acorn motif
California Grizzly Micro
Darkest Dreams Night Caching
Ernies Plain Geocoin
In exchange, I have the following available:
2008 Tsunbey Earth Turtle Blue and Gold
LE Tsunbey Dragonfly Talisman Bucket List
Scavok Journey in Antique Copper with green
NAWSAL Scavok in Antique Bronze
Little Wing (movable with Pink Tulip)
Eclectic Penguin in Copper (V1)
Little Rhody Horseshoe Crab (Antique Silver)
Please let me know if you are interested in a trade - thanks, Heidi (ithacadoodle)
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I also got in earlier this morning but not at 7:55 MST when I tried to reenter. Just posting this note so Vanelle will know that I really, really did try to get the coins for her while she is off with our boys!
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR VANELLE!
I'm glad to have the opportunity to participate in your bday coinfest:
First concert was Eric Clapton in 1986.
I'm guessing yours was Police or U2 in 1983...or maybe The Salads (for reasons only local cachers will understand!)
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sorry for dupe post - having trouble with connection
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Hi,
I am interested in some dragonfly trades.
I have:
Tsunrisebey Dragonfly Talisman Bucket List
Tsunrisebey Dragonfly Talisman Johnny Cash
I am looking for:
Tsunrisebey Dragonfly Talisman Ocean Mist
Tsunrisebey Dragonfly Talisman Nutella
aetoys Dragonfly 2007 with green or blue wings
This is my first trade listing but Vanelle will vouch for me!
Thanks, Heidi of ithacadoodle
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85 - lots of unwrapping to do. Happy Holidays
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Thanks TWU and IK for your kind responses. I have never received an email notification alerting me to new rankings on my booklists but I do check them infrequently. I've recently deleted a few lists so that I could make new ones and that is when I saw the negative comment.
I was perhaps too sensitive, but it still seems a good idea to make all correspondence attributable to the author to avoid the opportunity for anonymous flaming (whether intentional or, in this case, misguided). When you post a ranking, the site says that it will be anonymous but linked to your account for reference, so that information is there and just needs to be made visible.
I admit it is a small point, but is no one else having an issue with negative and anonymous comments on bookmark lists?
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I didn't see this discussed elsewhere -
I am wondering about the practice of rating bookmark lists. One of my public lists recently received a "not useful" rating from someone who misunderstood the content and intent of the list. I have no way to contact this person to explain and no way to rectify this negative ranking. I think that bookmark ratings - both positive and negative - should be tied to the ranker's account name for accountability.
Amazon faced a similar situation and made all reviews and comments there attributable to a specific user, and I think the same should be done here on geocaching.com.
thanks for considering this, Heidi of ithacadoodle
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moved to appropriate category, sorry.
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Name of coin: 2008 Dragonfly
Name of Vendor: AEToys
Date Paid: 5/27/08
Shipment Due Date: Who the heck knows
Ordered by:
1. yalehockeymom, not received, pd 5-27-08
2. AtlantaGal, not received, pd 5-27-08
3. kehunt64 , not received pd. 8-13-2008
4. Vanelle, not received
5. rivercity, not received, pd 3-2-08
6. fairyhoney, not received, pd 3-2-08
7. GeoKs, not received, pd 5/27/08
8. LionsLair, not recieved, paid 5/26/08
9. RSFish1, not received, Paid 5/27/08
10. pingos, not received, paid 5-27-08
11. Steel City Babes, not received, Paid 8/13/08 and 8/20/08(Don't ask...as you can see I have a problem biggrin.gif )
12. Sweetlife not recieved and paid for 5-27 08
13. Nashuan - Dragonfly 2008 sets not received. Pd $161.25 on 5/27/08 (also pd $119.30 on 5/30/08 for Pirate Treasure coins - not received)
14. Penny and Kona - Dragonly 2008: 1 set and extras of each not received. Paid: too much Paid when: 27 May 2008, and I still have original email receipts and an order number to prove it.
15. gardengorilla, not received paid sometime in April...
16. hitechman, paid June 1, 1 set, have all e-mails and receipts
17. FamiliaSilvestre, paid 5/28/08, 1 set plus S&H $74.25
18. ThePetersTrio paid for 5 coins on 5/26 for a total of $55.05 and coins were never received.
19. Whitby, not received, paid 6-4-08 $78,80
20. Sunrayers: Order #5008 date 5/27/08 2 sets of Dragonfly coins $107.70 + Order# 4952 date 5/24/08 Pirate coins $60.57
21. Pabloturtle, not received, paid 5/27/2008
22. IthacaDoodle, not received, paid $22.45 for 2 coins on 8/19/2008
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I just love seeing the variety of these Adopt-a-Highway signs affiliated with geocachers!
We drove by one, Bugmann's Mile, by chance while in Arizona
Bugmann's Mile and it inspired us to adopt a segment of road here at home. We now have adopted a 2.1 mile section of rural highway here in Ithaca, NY EH GEO-LANDMARK and have recently completed our first CITO event for it: Ithaca Adopt-a-Highway Fall CITO Event
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We recently held our first CITO along the 2.1 mile stretch of rural highway the "EH Geocachers" have adopted here in the Ellis Hollow area of Ithaca, NY.
Ithaca Adopt-a-Highway Fall CITO Event
We had 18 participants come out on a beautiful fall day and collected 8 bags of trash, 80 cents of returnables, a microwave, TV, and grocery cart. Our haul does not compare favorably to some of the major contributions listed here, but we did find a very appropriate object - a "GEO" hubcab!
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Thanks to all who responded. I'm now using MacCaching and happily exporting waypoints directly to my GPSr with the USB (no USB-Serial cable needed). I think the limitation was with the MacSimpleGPS program and I hadn't realized there were other Mac compatible programs available. It still doesn't do everything that GSAK does for the PC but is getting closer. thanks all for the excellent help on the forum.
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The cable provided by Garmin does physically connect with the MAC but it seems that the Mac programs compatible for downloading GPX files require serial connection rather than USB. When I try to transfer Waypoints, nothing happens when the USB cable is connected. I've just ordered a USB to RS 232 serial 9 pin DB9 connector from ebay. I hope this is what I'm looking for. I will report back either way once I've given it a try.
To answer the other query about just getting a low end PC, I'm looking to be able to download Pocket Queries on the road and will only have one laptop (MAC) with me.
thanks all, Heidi
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Hi, I'm a Garmin-Mac user trying to go paperless. Up til now I've been downloading waypoints from my PC at work but am trying to move this process to my Mac at home and use MacSimpleGPS. From reading the Forums, I think my frustration up to this point as been that the Mac is not compatible with the Garmin USB cable and I need to get a USB-Serial connector. I'm assuming there are different types??? - please advise, many thanks,
Heidi of IThacaDoodle
. It's his first version) bronze Team Sand Dollar.
New Garmin 62st
in GPS technology and devices
Posted
I have noticed this recurring problem since I bought a 62st in 2010 (now out of warranty) but it is more of an issue now because of the way I am using my GPS: when following an Active Route with turn-by-turn directions, when you deviate from the given route, it freezes the entire GPS leaving no buttons functional. I have to take the batteries out to give it a hard restart. I thought it might be a software bug issue, but I updated to version 4.4 yesterday and then confirmed today that this issue has not been resolved. It renders the GPS essentially nonfunctional for automobile driving guidance to get to a cache. Is anyone else having this issue? is it unique to my device or a fundamental design flaw?