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hzoi

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Everything posted by hzoi

  1. Expand What if the information needed to determine "why it was (color)" is found on a sign? Simple: incorporate what's on the sign into the cache description. That way, when the sign gets destroyed,.or vandalized, or upgraded, the information is preserved in the cache description, and no owner maintenance is needed.
  2. But providing students with a page with blanks to fill in, using information from an article or other written material, is very much an educational task. Having specific questions to answer and/or blanks to fill in helps direct the student's focus while reading the article, and writing the information in the blank spaces helps the learning process. Late response, but better late than never. Filling in the blank is an educational task, but it's not a very good one. It's pretty much the lowest level educational task out there, which is why you see this more for quizzes and tests for beginning students (in the US, first through third grade or so). As students develop, teachers start requiring more, like short answer questions. When I was teaching law, my academic director had us study Bloom's taxonomy and apply it when we were designing quizzes, and tests, and exercises to check student learning. You can go to the page I linked above for a longer explanation, but here's the quick application: the higher up the pyramid students go, the better, if your goal is to teach them something. Fill in the blank/read the sign questions fall under "remember." It's something to do at the coordinates, but it's really not driving the point home. It basically makes it a geology-flavored virtual, which, let's be honest, describes most of the early earthcaches. But over time, the GSA has changed the guidelines to try to make this the educational program it's supposed to be. Here's what I suggested above: With these, we're not just regurgitating facts. We're moving up to understanding the lesson (describe the thing) and then applying (or even analyzing) the lesson (why is that?). Since earthcaches aren't college courses, there's only so far earthcache owners should go in order to teach a point, otherwise, cachers are going to grumble about "homework caches" and skip it. So I try to keep things within the green at most. But I've seen caches that go all the way up to create, and pull it off. I can't remember the cache off the top of my head, I'll see if I can find it, but I remember doing one where I had to submit a sketch of something. I'm glad I stuck it out, because it was a really good way of driving home the points in the lesson.
  3. I would argue that the application process changed. For round 1, it was relatively random, and there was no opt-in to ensure that theople were actually going to do one. After that, it went from having people opt in by raising their hand, to having people opt in by hiding a cache of sufficient quality. I thought I had done so, but I didn't get enough FPs to qualify. I moved halfway across the US last year. I didn't bother hiding anything new at the old house, because I knew I'd be picking it up in six months. I should have gotten out earlier to hide a cache at the new house, but I didn't get around to it until early fall, and by then, it was apparently too late. Well, bummer, but life goes on. Congratulations! The main takeaway from this whole thread is that every time virtuals are given out, people find reasons to get all butthurt about it. I think both of you sum up this thread and the last few discussions about virtual rewards pretty well. It's always interesting to see how people deal with disappointment. Like: Being a petulant child is certainly one way to deal with disappointment, but it's not the preferred technique.
  4. 2023 gave me plenty of free time for geocaching, since I left active duty in July and didn't start a new job until mid-December. I think 2024 is going to involve less travel and free time, but I'll still see if I can meet or exceed some goals: 50 more Texas counties for the Texas County Challenge One new state cached One new country cached Host at least one event and one CITO
  5. Well, let's see how we did. I did complete the Delaware Delorme Challenge, but that wasn't too much of a struggle since I had four pages to go and one could do the whole state in a day anyway. But I got it. I did maanage to make significant progress on the Texas County Challenge, adding 60 more counties this year, most of them in December. But I'm still less than halfway through, so this probably isn't going to get done for a bit. This was a conservative goal, since I'd been planning to move to Texas and take the long way to get there from Virginia. I added four new states, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Dakota. Just four more to go: Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Alaska. Didn;t get this one, but I did at least double my find count in Mexico (from 1 to 2!) and add a new Mexican state. Good progress here, again thanks to my highly indirect road trip from Virginia to Texas. Found nine more: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio*, and Wisconsin. *All evidence apart from the placed date points to this cache actually being the oldest in Ohio, but I found it in 2022. Only hosted one, so didn't really get to the spirit of this one. Maybe 2024 will get me better at this once I get settled into the new job.
  6. My guess is that this formation is the remnants of a natural arch that collapsed. If I recall correctly, this would be a jughandle arch; unfortunately, my work connection is slow, so I can't confirm. Here's a great site that goes into the types of natural arches and bridges and how they form. I've used it in the past for earthcaches. naturalarches.org/ The pockets visible below the top of the projecting stone appear to be tafoni or haloclasty (salt weathering).
  7. Two counterpoints: First, parroting information off a sign is not informative. It means I can skip to the part of the earthcache with the logging questions and follow directions as to which part of the sign I'm supposed to copy back to the owner, with little danger of actually learning the earthcache lesson. It's only slightly less effective than tasks like "estimate the (height) (width) (depth) of (the thing)," which usually doesn't tell one anything about (the thing) other than how (tall) (wide) (deep) it is. Good earthcache tasks are tied to the lesson. Have cachers observe something, and then ask them to tell you what the significance of that observation is based on the lesson. Don't just tell me that the (thing) was (color), apply the lesson and tell me why it was (color). Second, using a sign means an earthcache cannot be maintenance-free. Most earthcache subjects are relatively permanent, so if the cache is done right, the cache owner doesn't have to keep returning to the site to make sure the earthcache still relfects what folks are going to see there. Signs change. Signs fade. Signs get washed away in hurricanes or vandalized. And when that happens, earthcaches that rely entirely on signs to answer the logging tasks become impossible to complete. Unless the owner lives nearby and can come up with replacement logging tasks that rely on observations of the subject of the earthcache, the cache gets archived.
  8. Sorry, I'm not on the forums as much as I used to be, and I didn't see your reply until now. I linked the business in my post, it's Rubber Stamp Warehouse. If I recall correctly, I sent them a JPEG, and they made it into a stamp.
  9. hzoi

    Geocaching in India

    This is one of those times where it helps to check on who you're replying to when you make a comment like this. If you had, you might see that @RuideAlmeida lives in Manaus, and perhaps they might not need you to lecture them about the culture in Latin America. Apart from that... Good luck with that attitude. You may find that accusing Groundspeak and volunteer reviewers of doing a poor job, without knowing all the facts, is not exactly the path to becoming a Groundspeak volunteer. Also, it's interesting to see that you believe two months in India has made you an expert on all things India, such that you think you can be a volunteer reviewer there. This would make YOU one of those problematic foreign reviewers you complain about...
  10. We use this one, it was about $20 when we got it. Technically it's small enough to even stamp most micros, but we typically only stamp notebooks - like a "small" sized cache or larger. Not every log needs to be stamped - see every log we've ever signed where someone took up like 5 lines for their single stamp. Example log: edit to add: while I took up a fair amount of the log with my entry, based on the frequency this challenge gets logged and the amount of paper left in the book, I don't feel guilty about it.
  11. Well, you've found four caches in 19 years, so I certainly understand $40 a year being too much in your situation. For us, it's still worth it, that's less than a tank of gas even with Texas prices.
  12. Solutions were proposed. @GeoElmo6000 even offered to lend you his phone at a specific event in your area so you could get a lab. Instead, here we are again. I see you at least changed your tune from "can't" to "don't," to reflect that you don't want help, you just want to kvetch.
  13. Harry, if you were really concerned about getting the souvenir, it seems it would be pretty easy to borrow another cacher's phone, log into their Adventure Lab app, and find a lab. If you want the souvenir badly enough, you could host an event at a location with a lab stage nearby, then ask one of the attendees to help you out. I'm guessing then that your main intent is to complain about how geocaching is continuing, against your will, to evolve past the technology that was required 15-20 years ago. I can't think of many technology-dependent activities that started in the past 25 years or so that haven't changed significantly over time due to improved technology. For example, Netflix started with DVDs only in 1997, and now they're completely discontinuing DVD rentals this September. I think it says a lot about how much Groundspeak still caters to GPSr-only cachers that, aside from Adventure Labs, you can still play using only a GPSr and PC. If geocaching had started in 2010 and not in 2000, it's quite likely that it would have started as an app and never had backwards compatibility with stand-alone GPS receivers. You have chosen not to get a smart phone, and therefore, you have opted out of newer aspects of geocaching (and banking, and many other things) that would otherwise be readily available to you. That's your call. But it doesn't make much sense for you to turn around and be insulted by the consequences of that choice. If Groundspeak discontinues pocket query downloads and stops supporting GPX files, then you can be insulted. Unless or until that happens, as long as you refuse to simply borrow someone else's phone for five minutes, then no, you don't get to chase this month's souvenirs. But unless your opinion has changed greatly over the last twelve years, you were never really a fan of souvenirs to begin with. So in theory, this should be no great loss to you.
  14. I've noticed this over the past week or so: when editing bookmark list descriptions, the description text is lighter shaded and seems a little blurry at first. Example from this list: \ I presume it has to do with the length of the description, because when I edited another one to make it shorter, suddenly the preview text became sharp and black.
  15. I just wanted to bump this with the latest version of my "pretty please" letter, since (a) it's gotten better (or at least I'd like to think so), and (b) it took me a while to find this post. I've got some notes at the bottom. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello, I am looking for permission to create an earthcache based on [, based on research available here: [links to references] An earthcache is a geocache that has no physical container and requires people to answer questions to log their find. based on earth science lessons. In order to get started, I need permission from park staff. This is not my first earthcache. I currently manage [total] earthcaches in different areas of the United States. Over the past several years, I have worked with [agencies] to place earthcaches on park property. (Note 1) As I mentioned to [person you spoke with], (Note 2) I want to ensure this cache is designed responsibly, putting the park's needs first and foremost. I will make any necessary changes to the cache location or description before publishing (Note 3), and I will design the experience to make sure that people completing this earthcache would stay in areas that would have no more impact than any other visitor to the park. I anticipate bringing visitors to [subject] in the vicinity of [coordinates] and having them examine the [feature] there from [publicly accessible area]. If you'd like to see examples of earthcaches I placed at [other places] after working with park staff, you can see them here: (Note 4) [links] I'm available by email at [email] or by cell at [phone] if you have any questions or need more information. If I have not sent this to the right folks for review, I would appreciate you forwarding this to the right official(s). Thanks for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes 1. Obviously, if this IS your first earthcache, this part's not so helpful. But maybe replace it with, "I'm working with an experienced earthcache reviewer, who has a considerable amount of experience working to ensure that earthcaches are placed appropriately, including in protected areas like this one." 2. Normally, I'll call a park (or visit in person) to see who I should be talking to, even if I already know who the right point of contact is (because I looked at the regional wiki for that area). First, it's easy to miss an email (or to get one stuck in a spam filter). But people don't normally ignore conversations. Second, talking to a live human is a good way to demonstrate that you have a sincere interest and aren't just some kook from the internet. Third, park staff know their location and might have recommendations for a good spot, or access to additional sources that you didn't find, or even let you know about another feature in the park that would also be a good earthcache. 3. How to let park staff see your earthcache before review? I usually pull up my draft earthcache, then print to PDF and attach the file to my email. It's not perfect, but it gets the job done. 4. Again, if this is your first earthcache, not super helpful. But you could instead just link them to other earthcaches that have been placed in environmentally sensitive areas, to show the land manager how someone else did it and that's how you intend to do itas well.
  16. It doesn't need to be 528' / 161 m away. But it normally should be offset enough so the one icon doesn't overlap the other one on the map. 30 m / 100' is usually enough.
  17. Apologies, I thought you were complaining about the time restrictions. On further reflection, it appears that for some reason, you were more boasting about your lack of personal integrity. My mistake.
  18. I remember when souvenirs were introduced in 2010. The main complaint was, who cares? Then souvenir challenges were introduced, and the main complaint was, they're too easy! Then different levels of challenges were introduced, and the complaints are, they're too hard! Just like not every geocache is for everyone, so too is not every challenge for everyone... ...also, Souvenirs aren't challenge caches. No changes have been made to the challenge cache criteria. Now, go find something else to complain about.
  19. Bumping this to request a feature for allowing more than one date to log an Adventure Maze. In the past, these used to be available like museum exhibits, for days at a time. See, for example, GC222MV, which was open for two months. (The logs are an interesting mix of "found it" and "attended," but they reflect the full date range the exhibit was open.) Even at AFK's recent GeoWoodstock XIX iteration, the maze was open for three days - but though I went through it on the 27th, my log defaults to the 25th. (I almost got it to stick to the 27th by logging through the app, but then it apparently reverted.) I wasn't even in Kentucky on the 25th - I was at home in Virginia, and I didn't start my drive until the 26th. Regardless, I'm stuck with a 25 May "attended" log. If this could please be treated differently from events, and be available to log on the dates it was actually available, that would be swell.
  20. i mostly agree with this. Except for the last part about "only when worthy," because even the most boring guardrail and LPC caches out there somehow have managed to garner a favorite point or two. Why? Often, it's a token from either a buddy of the CO's and/or a thank you from the FTF. But I digress. Limiting FPs to 1 for every 10 finds does tend to keep many points from going to caches that, objectively, should not be in anyone's top 10%. I have given out about two thirds of the favorite points I've earned over the past 16 years. I've not bothered to take them from the archived caches I awarded, because they're still my favorites. Plus, I've got over 400 in reserve, so it's not like I need them back.
  21. That boldly assumes there was joy to kill, but whatever floats your boat.
  22. "It should *now* be possible" I assume you mean... "Should not be possible" was the issue in the first place When you see a typo, and it's obvious it was a typo, you don't have to be that guy. In fact, I'm just going to ask: please stop being that guy.
  23. I don't have experience using RitR paper for a letterbox. But since I carry a stamp and enjoy using it on logs that are big enough, I have some experience trying to use a stamp on RitR paper. Poorly. It smears. I have stopped trying to use a stamp on it. I don't really like using RitR paper for regular caches, because it seems the ink pens I typically carry almost always smear. But any stamp I have left on RitR smear almost instantly. So, unless you are providing some alternate stamp ink that you have found works on RitR paper, I'd recommend using old-fashioned paper.
  24. As an alternative to using GSAK, you can also use the native search function on the website. Go to the search page. Click on the "Filters" box. In filters, under "Found status" (second column from the left), click on "Found by me." At the bottom of that column, under "Found date," you can pick a date range or a specific date. Using this, I looked up all the caches I found on my 40th birthday. (Edit: I think using this link, everyone will find the caches THEY found on my 40th birthday, so, enjoy!)
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