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ClayJar

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Posts posted by ClayJar

  1. quote:
    Originally posted by peter:

    The times are recorded based on UTM,


    Um, not to be nit-picky or anything, but before any neocachers get confused, that was UTC, not UTM for time, right? "Universal Coordinated Time" references time, as opposed to "Universal Transverse Mercator", which references position.

     

    (Of course, knowing the standard nit-picking style, I've probably made a mistake somewhere in this post, eh? icon_wink.gif)

  2. I tend to do the multi-stage hint thing. For example, I'll have a [parking] hint, then perhaps a [trail] hint, maybe a [look here] hint, and if, in my opinion, it might be hard to locate, I may even include a [dead giveaway] hint.

     

    Thanks to the [bracketed non-encrypted words] feature, it's easy to let people decide what they want, and at the same time, people who want to hunt with almost no information can just leave the hints alone. Splitting the hints up also means that when someone gets all the way to the cache zone without hints and then gets stuck they can just decrypt the part that helps. I find it annoying to be in the middle of twenty-seven bazillion mosquitos and decrpyting seven paragraphs about the drive and parking to get to a three-word hint. icon_smile.gif

  3. I tend to do the multi-stage hint thing. For example, I'll have a [parking] hint, then perhaps a [trail] hint, maybe a [look here] hint, and if, in my opinion, it might be hard to locate, I may even include a [dead giveaway] hint.

     

    Thanks to the [bracketed non-encrypted words] feature, it's easy to let people decide what they want, and at the same time, people who want to hunt with almost no information can just leave the hints alone. Splitting the hints up also means that when someone gets all the way to the cache zone without hints and then gets stuck they can just decrypt the part that helps. I find it annoying to be in the middle of twenty-seven bazillion mosquitos and decrpyting seven paragraphs about the drive and parking to get to a three-word hint. icon_smile.gif

  4. Okay, here's your answer. In order to maintain the site, they have to control the data. If that doesn't make sense to you, then I invite you to join the linux-kernel mailing list and suggest that they (a) move to C++ or (:D switch to the BSD license. I look forward to reading the replies. icon_wink.gif

     

    Basically, if they didn't have the right to do with the submitted data whatever they want to, they would have to get permission from each and every person impacted by each and every change. (For example, disabling javascript on the cache pages for security reasons could be construed as creating an unauthorized derivative work, which would be a big no-no.)

     

    So, to put it shortly, unless all the world suddenly holds hands in a big circle and sings a pleasant little tune while agreeing to do away with all the litigation and Just Be Friends, there exist very few workable alternatives. (And since I am not a lawyer, much less one with a background in copyright and IP law, I can think of no "better" solution.)

  5. Okay, here's your answer. In order to maintain the site, they have to control the data. If that doesn't make sense to you, then I invite you to join the linux-kernel mailing list and suggest that they (a) move to C++ or (:mad: switch to the BSD license. I look forward to reading the replies. icon_wink.gif

     

    Basically, if they didn't have the right to do with the submitted data whatever they want to, they would have to get permission from each and every person impacted by each and every change. (For example, disabling javascript on the cache pages for security reasons could be construed as creating an unauthorized derivative work, which would be a big no-no.)

     

    So, to put it shortly, unless all the world suddenly holds hands in a big circle and sings a pleasant little tune while agreeing to do away with all the litigation and Just Be Friends, there exist very few workable alternatives. (And since I am not a lawyer, much less one with a background in copyright and IP law, I can think of no "better" solution.)

  6. quote:
    Originally posted by Ranger Rick:

    If you don't know where you are going, you are lost!


    Actually, no...

    • If you don't know where you are, you're lost, and
    • If you don't know where you've been, you're really lost, but
    • If you don't know where you're going, you're on walkabout. icon_smile.gif

     

    Actually, you could say that knowing where you're going is orthogonal to lostness. (In other words, they're not related.) You can know precisely where you are without having a destination, and you can be completely lost while knowing precisely where you're going, the latter being the case in the vast majority of instances of lostness in common conversation.

  7. quote:
    Originally posted by Ranger Rick:

    If you don't know where you are going, you are lost!


    Actually, no...

    • If you don't know where you are, you're lost, and
    • If you don't know where you've been, you're really lost, but
    • If you don't know where you're going, you're on walkabout. icon_smile.gif

     

    Actually, you could say that knowing where you're going is orthogonal to lostness. (In other words, they're not related.) You can know precisely where you are without having a destination, and you can be completely lost while knowing precisely where you're going, the latter being the case in the vast majority of instances of lostness in common conversation.

  8. Hiding your first cache is one of those things where a modicum of procrastination is a good thing. Of course, you don't want to wait forever, but waiting one more week is often a good idea.

     

    Now, if you want quantitative answers, just find some poor caches around, and look at when they were hidden relative to the hider's first find. Chances are, you'll find that while time-to-hide is a valid measure, at least in part, the hider matters much, much more.

     

    Some key points to remember:

    Don't hide an old shoe.*

    Do use an appropriate container.

    Don't be afraid to fix your cache.

    Do maintain/upgrade it as needed.

    Don't worry about it, as long as you...

    Do think about it before you drop it.

     

    *Regarding the "old shoe" comment: Someone actually *did* drop a pair of old shoes in the woods and called it a cache. If you do something like that, people will despise your caches, but if you put a bit more time, effort, and thought into it, at worst they'll respect your caches and at best they'll absolutely love them.

  9. Okay, just a little question here: How many of us have or have access to a canoe or kayak? A couple of us from Louisiana are considering taking a nice, long paddle, and we figured we'd ask to see if there are any other cachers who have a bit of water on the brain. We've basically decided where we're probably going to go, but we were wondering if we should consider other Gulf-area cachers in the plans.

     

    It'd be really cool to have a whole flotilla of geocachers out on the water, and it'd give all of us in the hydrocaching business a chance to meet each other. (I know I've done hydros in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida, and I've never met another cacher on the water.)

     

    Anyway, if anyone's potentially interested in a really fun (and not *too* short) paddling trip, chime in now. Let's see if we can come up with at least a few people. icon_biggrin.gif

  10. Okay, just a little question here: How many of us have or have access to a canoe or kayak? A couple of us from Louisiana are considering taking a nice, long paddle, and we figured we'd ask to see if there are any other cachers who have a bit of water on the brain. We've basically decided where we're probably going to go, but we were wondering if we should consider other Gulf-area cachers in the plans.

     

    It'd be really cool to have a whole flotilla of geocachers out on the water, and it'd give all of us in the hydrocaching business a chance to meet each other. (I know I've done hydros in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida, and I've never met another cacher on the water.)

     

    Anyway, if anyone's potentially interested in a really fun (and not *too* short) paddling trip, chime in now. Let's see if we can come up with at least a few people. icon_biggrin.gif

  11. My favorite caches, hikes, etc. are the long, hard, challenging ones. They're also the ones that nobody else seems to believe they are capable of doing. icon_biggrin.gif

     

    I've done a few caches with a person or few along, but the vast (um, make that *VAST*) majority have been solo. Among those are two hikes >20 miles, several Arkansas and Tennessee mountain hikes (12 miles or less), an 8.5 mile downstream paddle, a 4-hour paddle in the Tensaw River delta, and a lot more hiking and paddling (including in 3-4 foot waves on Lake Pontchartrain).

     

    The thing to remember about solo caching (or anything) is that you *are* alone. If you need help or medical attention, you had better have it with you. If you've got cell towers near enough, great, but other than that, be careful. Oh, while a GPS receiver will not necessarily stop you from getting lost, at least you'll know *precisely* how lost you are. icon_biggrin.gif

  12. My favorite caches, hikes, etc. are the long, hard, challenging ones. They're also the ones that nobody else seems to believe they are capable of doing. icon_biggrin.gif

     

    I've done a few caches with a person or few along, but the vast (um, make that *VAST*) majority have been solo. Among those are two hikes >20 miles, several Arkansas and Tennessee mountain hikes (12 miles or less), an 8.5 mile downstream paddle, a 4-hour paddle in the Tensaw River delta, and a lot more hiking and paddling (including in 3-4 foot waves on Lake Pontchartrain).

     

    The thing to remember about solo caching (or anything) is that you *are* alone. If you need help or medical attention, you had better have it with you. If you've got cell towers near enough, great, but other than that, be careful. Oh, while a GPS receiver will not necessarily stop you from getting lost, at least you'll know *precisely* how lost you are. icon_biggrin.gif

  13. I went to the listings to do a check for hard caches in Louisiana (I can dream, eh? icon_wink.gif), and right there was the locationless link. I came over here, and here's the topic. Anyway, "Also search for [locationless caches]" is listed on its own page, as well. (Can't help but note that.)

     

    Now, as for hybrid caches like Prime Choices... hmmm... They'd probably fit more naturally in the locationless section, but otherwise, I guess they'd just be unknowns. Hehe, that's the problem with hybridizing two caches into one listing. icon_wink.gif

  14. I went to the listings to do a check for hard caches in Louisiana (I can dream, eh? icon_wink.gif), and right there was the locationless link. I came over here, and here's the topic. Anyway, "Also search for [locationless caches]" is listed on its own page, as well. (Can't help but note that.)

     

    Now, as for hybrid caches like Prime Choices... hmmm... They'd probably fit more naturally in the locationless section, but otherwise, I guess they'd just be unknowns. Hehe, that's the problem with hybridizing two caches into one listing. icon_wink.gif

  15. I'm sure someone will have a good suggestion. I'd suggest food on the way to Wilson, myself, but I'll go along with just about anything, as long as you don't have to be 21... I want to try to talk J. (that's J. as in ClayJar's J.) into coming along.

  16. I'm sure someone will have a good suggestion. I'd suggest food on the way to Wilson, myself, but I'll go along with just about anything, as long as you don't have to be 21... I want to try to talk J. (that's J. as in ClayJar's J.) into coming along.

  17. You neglected to mention whether you prefer culture or ecology. (There are two distinct sides to Louisiana.)

     

    Buck8Point and the rest of them are definitely *far* more well versed than I when it comes to the cultural side of things. I'm just a long-displaced native Wisconsinite living in my adopted home (well, for everything except football... GO! PACK! GO!).

     

    If you'd like to see what Louisiana-sans-people is like, however, there are indeed several really good caches around. Probably the best (and definitely the most vintage) is, as has been mentioned above, Wilson.

     

    Red Beans and Rice is a really nice, but really long walk... It's a lot faster with a bike (if you wanted to bike it, I'm sure arrangements can be made icon_wink.gif). Dwarf Sumac is really nice, too. The "mountain" is the best part.

     

    Anyway, I'd really recommend Wilson, myself. It's been quite a long time since I hiked it, but IIRC, it's about a mile to get to it from the parking, and I believe it's the only cache where an alligator has actually delayed a cacher's return hike. icon_biggrin.gif

     

    Incidentally, I assume you'll have transportation, eh? (If not, I'll open the bidding for Jeremy's taxi service at 1 meal of his choice on me, up to a reasonable limit. icon_wink.gif) You wouldn't be too put off by an impromptu micro-gathering a la cache, would you? To some of us vintage cachers, you're practically... um... someone we've never met. icon_biggrin.gif

     

    (Too bad you're probably not up for some hydrocaching... you can get some really nice paddling on the other side of the big lake.)

     

    [Editor's Note: It's not my fault that I used *waaay* too many emoticons... I do that when I'm tired. icon_wink.gif]

     

    [New Editor's Note: The previous editor has been dismissed.]

  18. You neglected to mention whether you prefer culture or ecology. (There are two distinct sides to Louisiana.)

     

    Buck8Point and the rest of them are definitely *far* more well versed than I when it comes to the cultural side of things. I'm just a long-displaced native Wisconsinite living in my adopted home (well, for everything except football... GO! PACK! GO!).

     

    If you'd like to see what Louisiana-sans-people is like, however, there are indeed several really good caches around. Probably the best (and definitely the most vintage) is, as has been mentioned above, Wilson.

     

    Red Beans and Rice is a really nice, but really long walk... It's a lot faster with a bike (if you wanted to bike it, I'm sure arrangements can be made icon_wink.gif). Dwarf Sumac is really nice, too. The "mountain" is the best part.

     

    Anyway, I'd really recommend Wilson, myself. It's been quite a long time since I hiked it, but IIRC, it's about a mile to get to it from the parking, and I believe it's the only cache where an alligator has actually delayed a cacher's return hike. icon_biggrin.gif

     

    Incidentally, I assume you'll have transportation, eh? (If not, I'll open the bidding for Jeremy's taxi service at 1 meal of his choice on me, up to a reasonable limit. icon_wink.gif) You wouldn't be too put off by an impromptu micro-gathering a la cache, would you? To some of us vintage cachers, you're practically... um... someone we've never met. icon_biggrin.gif

     

    (Too bad you're probably not up for some hydrocaching... you can get some really nice paddling on the other side of the big lake.)

     

    [Editor's Note: It's not my fault that I used *waaay* too many emoticons... I do that when I'm tired. icon_wink.gif]

     

    [New Editor's Note: The previous editor has been dismissed.]

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