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Hey, a FTF prize that you can lose your head over. No thanks.

 

Speaking of losing your head... congratulations on the Top 10 Yakiest Geocachers. :) Interesting that Georgeandmary (Charter Members) are still up there but have been passed by new-bee cacher Sparky-Watts with an amazing average of 27 postings per day! (Or 85 postings per cache found!!) If I got stuck on a ski-lift with that, I'd have to jump off. :o

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Hey, a FTF prize that you can lose your head over. No thanks.

 

Speaking of losing your head... congratulations on the Top 10 Yakiest Geocachers. :mad: Interesting that Georgeandmary (Charter Members) are still up there but have been passed by new-bee cacher Sparky-Watts with an amazing average of 27 postings per day! (Or 85 postings per cache found!!) If I got stuck on a ski-lift with that, I'd have to jump off. :)

Also interesting to note is that GeorgeandMary haven't made a forum post since Oct 4th. It's also been since August since the posted a find online. They are, however, still up there in chatting and finding stats. <_<

 

--Marky

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They are, however, still up there in chatting and finding stats.

This is well deserved considering GeorgeandMary's vast hunting experience early on. They were there from the beginning (almost) when things were way undeveloped as we know it today. I'm very grateful for their fronting and mentoring. They hunted a lot and shared information as they did so. 2 messages per find is in the healthy range. 85 postings per find... I really miss having the cachers find numbers next to each posting on the forum. <_<

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Yawn .... My kids and I have lost some Geocaching vigor and need a great new cache to reawaken the cacher inside us. Can you help?

 

Any recent caches caught your eye?

My boys and I have found a lot of good ones lately. If Monty the Mule reactivates the San Andreas Fault cache, I'd recommend that one. My boys loved exploring there.

 

If you look at the caches I have found, you'll see a lot of good ones for doing with kids. My boys really enjoy Team Jiffy's planet series (even though they aren't in ammo boxes, hehe) and the light rail ones too.

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Yawn .... My kids and I have lost some Geocaching vigor and need a great new cache to reawaken the cacher inside us. Can you help?

 

Any recent caches caught your eye?

 

/Lefty and kids

Not sure how old your kids are, but last weekend a group of us did Touchtones new TMA-1. That should get your heart back into the game! :unsure:

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Two weekends ago did georgeandmary's cache, Horny Toes, and we had a little e-mail chat. Alive and well.

Thanks for the pulse report.

 

Woof appears to have no limits. Looks like a fun cache but it's been years since I've scrambled around and no longer know anyone with gear. Go get 'em Woof.

 

BTW, Pants?? :unsure:

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BTW, Pants?? :unsure:

Elephant: Vote for me. My dad was president. I even look like my dad.

 

Donkey: Big deal. My dad was a senator.

 

Elephant: On the phone, people think I'm my dad.

 

Donkey: Just think, I'm on TV.

 

Elephant: My dad and I wear the same pants.

 

Donkey: I invented pants.

 

- A snickers commercial

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They are, however, still up there in chatting and finding stats.

This is well deserved considering GeorgeandMary's vast hunting experience early on. They were there from the beginning (almost) when things were way undeveloped as we know it today. I'm very grateful for their fronting and mentoring. They hunted a lot and shared information as they did so. 2 messages per find is in the healthy range. 85 postings per find... I really miss having the cachers find numbers next to each posting on the forum. :unsure:

Geocaching is a rapidly evolving sport/game/hobby/obsession (take your pick). I am a bit perplexed, fascinated, and maybe saddened to see how people who were so involved have suddenly just dropped out of sight or at least become nearly inactive. Some, like Pepper, just moved and continued in another area, but others ... I don't know. It kind of bothers me that Marty Fouts, Marwagslaot, and ~Ninja~ all seemed to have stopped logging finds or hides. There is no doubt that it is harder now to create or find an original cache because so many good ideas have been used. Certainly this is true of my favorites, puzzle caches, but it applies also to methods of hides and even to saturation of urban/suburban areas like Santa Clara County. It is very easy to get the feeling of been there, done that. A lot of new people are coming into geocaching, which is good, but the increasing numbers have changed so many things. Technology is changing rapidly, too. I suspect that there will be some big breakthrough in that realm in the next year or two that will revolutionize the sport, exactly how, I don't know. It will be interesting to see who is on this forum a year from now.

These are just musings. I'd be interested to have the perspective of other "old timers" (sheesh - a year and a half makes me an old timer, I suppose). What can we expect? Is it becoming better? Worse? Just different?

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These are just musings. I'd be interested to have the perspective of other "old timers" (sheesh - a year and a half makes me an old timer, I suppose). What can we expect? Is it becoming better? Worse? Just different?

All agreed. I recently found out how over cached the Santa Clara County is. When I attended the last BADGES Dinner, I up-loaded 100 of the closest caches figuring it would cover the South Bay Area. Wrong! It was more like 4 mile radius. Wow. :unsure:

 

Where are things going? Well, assuming outside factors don't change too much (like EBRPD doing knee jerk reactions)... it's hard to believe too much further as clever idea's appear to be too challenging. After lifting several dozen light pole skirts, my brain starts to rot. Been there enough to ignore those caches if I can.

 

There's still many puzzle caches coming out. I enjoy these as it takes some homework and arms me with coordinates for those times I have free to go hunting. MrToad and I have taken a couple efforts into making puzzle more of an adventure. We've held off on many great ideas due to the time requirement to maintain them.

 

As an Amateur Radio Operator, I'd love to entertain cachers via electronics but fear it would cause undue fear to muggles. That said, the three caches that I've hunted that have electronics were all well done so maybe that is an available avenue. Hummm.

 

Comparing the way things were a couple years ago to now, I'd say it's just different. The newness is gone but I'm still entertained. I love a good adventure and Geocaching is a great way to find out new things about old places and there's no better tour of far away places. It's just a good thing.

 

I rarely watch commercials even though I irritate Every Nerve by running mine. Thanks for the extra help Woof.

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Thoughts on Geocaching...

 

First: I don't really enjoy the find all that much! Fy enjoys the find much more than I! ;)

 

So why cache?!? I like the experience of reaching the coordinates. The cache find and log is to me no different than signing the visitors book at the information center at a National Park. I do it (sign the book) just as a bit of a habit/tradition, but it isn't the point of the experience for me. The point of the experience for me is to see the area, and to be somewhere that I have never been before.

 

At a certain point in time, if you reduce Geocaching to the types of hides (under lamppost skirts, under some twigs under a bush or near a tree, in the top of a cyclone fence-post, stuck in a crack between two bricks, under the lip of a nearby utility box, etc.) - or type of container - well, pretty soon it all looks the same.

 

But the national or state parks aren't the same because the visitor logbooks are all made of simulated leather. And the experience of the cache, if you emphasize the fact you are seeing some new place vs. emphasizing the type of hide or type of container (or even "type of suburban park"), you can still repeatedly capture the newness, each and every time.

 

Yes, caching in Sacramento a few months ago reminded me of caching in San Jose. But, I hadn't seen those streets or parks or lakes or shopping centers before, and that was the new experience that I enjoyed.

 

So, I think the continued "newness of experience" of Geocaching to you all comes down to two decisions you make: where you decide your "focus of interest" is with the activity and the level of granularity you apply to evaluating the newness of the experience of the last cache hunt. If you are looking for novel hides, or novel types of places, you'll tire quickly. If you look instead for each instance of caching bringing something new, at a fine level of detail, with the hide indicdental it will stay fresh. There's no right or wrong answer, of course. I am just pointing out that it really depends on your perspective.

 

Disclaimer: Of course, now and then I have a find that I enjoy. But it isn't what I focus on.

 

-Jif

Edited by TeamJiffy
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Yes, caching in Sacramento a few months ago reminded me of caching in San Jose. But, I hadn't seen those streets or parks or lakes or shopping centers before, and that was the new experience that I enjoyed.

 

-Jif

I'd have to agree with Jif here... I just love seeing new places that I NEVER would have seen but for some cache that brings you through/to the area. Finding cache containers can be rewarding, but just getting there is amazing... especially because it constantly makes me realize how I live in such a little world (my own little world, from work to home and back, mostly) and experience the same places daily without "wandering from the path" much.

 

There's nothing I appreciate more than a cache that makes me think, "Wow, who knew this street would be so pretty", or "is THAT what this city looks like... neat!" I've never been into visiting graveyards before, but now I can say I've seen several that are incredibly interesting, and fascinating too. We've seen views I know we never would have found on our own, tromped through beautiful forests, fields, and parks that have gone unnoticed in our lives until now, some just a mile or two away! We eaten at restaurants that would never have gotten our business, all because some cache was nearby. I've never been to so many cool pieces of art or interesting buildings and sculptures, either!

 

Certainly Jif hit a chord with me... I'm all about the experience of getting to the cache location. Finding the cache is fun, but even if all caches were virtual, this is still a sport I would be devoted to.

 

In all my life, nothing has gotten me out into my local area more than geocaching. And for that, I thank all the cachers who hide the caches that bring me to someplace new. ;) It's a big world out there... and sometimes we need a reason to explore it!

 

ChrissySkyking (and I probably speak for Blaze, too)

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Not being an oldtimer I dare to add my opinion anyway.

 

For me, the best part about the whole geocaching experience is to get together with friends and setting out to reach a goal. The last hike we did in Sierra Azul made me wonder if I can make it at all and then we finished it with a smile. I have not hiked for more than 12 miles in a long time. Now I can not wait to do it again. I doubt I would ever set out for a hike of this size if there weren't a few caches along the way. This strikes me as rather funny.

 

I also enjoy having to research on web a theme to find a "specimen" of the requested kind - locationless caches. Sure, the first 20 or 30 were rather easy, but now it gets harder and harder. Beats searching for the 1/1 in ivy, but can not compete with a a good hike.

 

I have never been out and about as much as I have been in the last nine months. Previously I looked at the mountains of the Valley wondering what is up there - now I know - at least for a few of them. And I met some really decent folks and new friendships have developed. What more can I ask for?

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It kind of bothers me that Marty Fouts, Marwagslaot, and ~Ninja~ all seemed to have stopped logging finds or hides. <snip>

Well, I can't speak for Marty, but I think he's cut way back on his caching due to health problems. I wish I knew what happened to Marwagsalot. I did adopt one of her caches (Britdog's Frisbee Spot) and I know Nostrada adopted at least one other one. I miss that dog and her wit and wisdom. Emails to her bounce back, too.

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For me, the best part about the whole geocaching experience is to get together with friends and setting out to reach a goal.

I haven't cached with others (besides Nurse Dave, of course) in a long time. And that was Jay, Caine & Becca. What ever happened to them!? Lately we've managed to get out and cache sans kids a few times, and it's been really refreshing. I'd love to cache with others, if ND is up to it...

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I'll weigh in as a newbie here...

I've been involved in a lot of hobbies (really a LOT), and each one has its own unique community. But I have yet to find a group of people as diverse, interesting and friendly as the group I have discovered caching. That's a big plus for me, might even keep me addicted a bit longer than I might have expected given my past experience (well, that and passing up Nostrada's stats ;) ).

Sure the hunt is fun, the puzzles are challenging, and there are many clever caches out there, but if there were no contact with people... I'd move on pretty quick.

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...snip

That's a big plus for me, might even keep me addicted a bit longer than I might have expected given my past experience (well, that and passing up Nostrada's stats B) ).

snip...

I guess the next hike will be 20 miles and I'll have to take along a shovel and a bible, workerofwood. ;)

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I can't speak for kusa - only met him once, he is still caching, visited my Harmony of Shapes a few days ago. . Perhaps he'll be at the April Badges. There are some in the east bay who are pulling caches after negative run-ins with ebrpd rangers. Maverix has pulled most of his caches.

 

I too wonder about the people whose names show up in the logs of older caches but not newer. Is this a high-mortality sport? Or does it just get boring. Hasn't gotten boring for me yet.

 

If you're looking for a good hike, TeamAlamo hid 3 caches up on Monument Peak - take 237 East past 880, past 680, and up into the hills. Turn in at Ed Levin Park and drive to the dog park. Give yourself plenty of time and take plenty of water.

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My musings seem to have triggered something. I haven't seen this many posts on one topic in quite awhile - another thing I have been missing. Now that this great weather has arrived, at least for awhile, the enthusiasm seems to mount. I concur that cache maintenance is a pain, which is why I am archiving some of mine. I still have some ideas for puzzle caches, though, so you may see a replacement pop up gone fairly soon. :rolleyes: I just archived Tue Zane, and was surprised to see that 10 people were watching the cache. They would know that I posted the solution on the final log. Anyone else who is interested can check it out. I also confirmed that K3 Gang was in place, despite 6 months of no finds. That's a very hard puzzle, and if anyone wants hints (but not a spoiler), I give them for that.

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Maybe I missed it but does anyone know why Kusanagi has archived and removed almost all of his caches?

EBRPD is most likely the answer. Keeping the Ranger's property clear for all that cattle. I liked the idea of changing the coordinates before placing them on temporarily disabled. Much better than archiving them and collecting the cache.

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I don't want to speak for kusanagi, but I don't believe that EBRPD had anything to do with his archived caches.

 

I am a little sad that The Rat and PhillipeGPS haven't found Buzzy Kaboom yet; I thought it was one that The Rat, in particular, would like. Maybe they are secretly working on it and I just can't tell. :rolleyes:

 

The event today in Fremont was a lot of fun. Everyone should have been there! I hope to see more people at the BADGES event early next month in Pleasanton.

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Walruz, TeamSpaz and I had quite an adventure yesterday, just check out our logs on the former Secret Sidewalk cache (GCHXNG). Thanks to Joe, we escaped with our lives, he sacrificed himself by sharing a Bud with the "owners".

 

Joe's New Best Buds:

 

ade84c5f-9672-440a-a92e-402cfcba1ab1.jpg

Edited by TeamAlamo
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I am a little sad that The Rat and PhillipeGPS haven't found Buzzy Kaboom yet; I thought it was one that The Rat, in particular, would like. Maybe they are secretly working on it and I just can't tell. <_<

 

Yes and no. I've been offered hints by one finder and by another Geocacher who had received the hint. But I refused - for now. When hints are passed along, I prefer them to be available for everyone, like in an 'OOPS'-log, or directly on the cache page by the owner. Meanwhile, there are enough other puzzle caches popping up, almost on a daily basis. So I let Buzzy rest.

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I thought it was one that The Rat, in particular, would like.

It's one that everybody who solves it would like. Very neat puzzle. It's one of those that you try various things and before you know it, the solution is staring you in the face. Believe it or not, I solved this one over the phone. :blink:

 

--Marky

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Those of you who've been waiting for months to hike the Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail in the Peninsula Watershed, there is a 8-mile hike event that just posted this morning. Sign up at www.sfwater.org (click on the butterfly logo) to reserve one of the 17 spots for this Saturday, March 27 at 9 AM. Hurry, before they're all gone!

 

While there you can find my multi, 5-Field K-Hill (GCHFP8) and TeamAlamo's micro, Hemlock Rules (GCHJ45). Have fun!

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Some people will do anything to get visitors to their caches. 

Geez, I hope that wasn't directed at me! :) I posted to this forum as a courtesy. I wanted to give you all heads-up on availability, since reservations fill up quickly (that's the reason my cache has a 3* difficulty rating! :lol:) I could care less about my actual cache. I care more about getting people to go out and hike! I enjoy hiking even if no geocaching were involved. The cache is just incentive for those who wouldn't otherwise go on an 8-mile non-caching hike.

 

Fifield-Cahill Ridge has been closed off to the public for generations. Only since August 2003 has the ridge trail been opened, but on a limited basis mostly due to restrictions imposed by a recent Environmental Impact Report on the area, and the fact that there aren't enough trail leader volunteers. It's also an important missing link to the Bay Ridge Trail. I wanted to bring attention to this protected area, which was my main reason for 5-Field K-Hill. Others who know me well enough know of another reason... :)

 

Glad you can make it, WalruZ. Hope others can too!

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Sorry to put a damper on this discussion, but .......

 

Honestly, the Fifield-Cahill Ridge hike was a disappointment. You are restricted to the dirt road, rarely is there a view of anything and the chaparones are with you at all times. There are much nicer hikes in more available parks throughout the Bay Area.

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For anyone who was thinking about doing my triangulation cache, Magic Trig, in Livermore, now is the time.  I re-enabled it last week, and I expect that it will stay enabled for a month or two until I finally archive it.  Keeping all the "satellites" in good shape is a lot of work!

I already did that one, but I appreciate your giving people a chance to log it before it gets yanked. I hope this sets a precedent :D

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ExpertGPS Calibrated Maps Archive

 

As previously promised to some of you, I've put together an archive of maps calibrated for ExpertGPS. That means that with ExpertGPS and these files, you can plot waypoints on top of any of the available maps, like maps of county parks with trails on them.

 

Get the goods at: http://boulter.com/geocaching/maps/

 

Please send me other calibrated maps that you may have.

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Geocaching is a rapidly evolving sport/game/hobby/obsession (take your pick). I am a bit perplexed, fascinated, and maybe saddened to see how people who were so involved have suddenly just dropped out of sight or at least become nearly inactive.

Some people know why I cut back. But I've recently loaded the gps unit with the closest 400 caches, but my PDA died, so I don't have the descriptions. If I'm in the area of a cache. I'll give it a shot.

 

I discovered geocaching a little before I found out I had throat cancer. I was very active in cycling, but the summer I went though radiation therapy, I couldn't ride much, but I could geocache. Geocaching kind of filled that empty space that not being able to bike left. After the cancer was gone, I still geocached a lot and enjoyed it, but my biking suffered.

 

It was never a conscious decision to almost stop geocaching.. it kind of just happened. Some of the main factors that brought this an were,

Renewal of my love of bikes and being involved in the local scene, loss of cache stats, drive distance to caches and personality conflicts with locals and I was probablly just a little burned out.

 

I'm around. You can keep up with me at http://www.trogspace.com if you're really interested.

 

george

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ExpertGPS Calibrated Maps Archive

 

As previously promised to some of you, I've put together an archive of maps calibrated for ExpertGPS. That means that with ExpertGPS and these files, you can plot waypoints on top of any of the available maps, like maps of county parks with trails on them.

 

Get the goods at: http://boulter.com/geocaching/maps/

 

Please send me other calibrated maps that you may have.

Boulter, you are my hero. :D Now I guess I need to pony up the bux for Expert GPS that I have been putting off buying.

 

--Marky

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For anyone who was thinking about doing my triangulation cache, Magic Trig, in Livermore, now is the time.  I re-enabled it last week, and I expect that it will stay enabled for a month or two until I finally archive it.  Keeping all the "satellites" in good shape is a lot of work!

Instead of archiving it, you could just make it into a Traditional and rename it Magic Twig. :D

 

--Marky

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So here we have three dedicated geocachers setting out on a Friday to clear our Fremont. As Marky is our witness, we were high spirits and achieved our goal of 25 caches in Fremont, making this area a hole in my StreetAtlas map.

 

I wake up at 2:30 and casually check my Email - 35 new caches in Fremont. Sure, Happy Birthday to you, JoeSpaz, but couldn't you have had your Bday LAST week? :rolleyes:

 

Whilst I am tempted to go right NOW and start all over again I will leave the FTF race to my dedicated peers. Guess I will have to meet with boulter and Motorbug again and visit Fremont soon again. We missed each other by less than 24h, JoeSpaz!

 

Have a good one!

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There are still at least 6 FTF's still available on the Happy Birthday series. 4 of them had incorrect coords, three or more had possible bad coords (and evil hides). I had a total of 9 DNF's for the day. Probably the most DNF's I've had in one day.

 

--Marky

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I am a little sad that The Rat and PhillipeGPS haven't found Buzzy Kaboom yet; I thought it was one that The Rat, in particular, would like.

OK, you cajoled me into it. I liked it for its originality, although it really isn't a puzzle cache, but more of an unknown. PhilippeGPS is one puzzle cache solution ahead of me, but I got to this one ahead of him. Last night we saw House of Sand and Fog with the geowives. That's definitely a must-see movie. It follows the book very closely and the acting is superb.

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I liked it for its originality, although it really isn't a puzzle cache, but more of an unknown.

Yeah, I suppose that is correct; it is more of a data-analysis cache. Since I do lots of data analysis, I often think of it as a puzzle. Still, it is based on good physics and math principles!

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Honestly, the Fifield-Cahill Ridge hike was a disappointment. You are restricted to the dirt road, rarely is there a view of anything and the chaparones are with you at all times. There are much nicer hikes in more available parks throughout the Bay Area.

 

I actually enjoyed it a lot. The views were more intimate yes, but still very worthwhile. It beat heck-all out of the 35 park slog I did the next day. I felt that the type of hike was different, not the quality, although I wish the docents didn't carry whips to use on the slower hikers. Still, the hike is WalruZ Recommended .

 

 

On a seperate note, for various reasons, the Highway 84 TB Hotel (GCHTMN) has recently had an influx of travel bugs. Most, if not all of what you see on the listing is in the cache - I was there yesterday. The restaurant it's in is on peralta, off fremont blvd. This is about 1/2 way between the thornton and mowry exits if you're on 880 - you have to take one and then jog east to fremont. peralta is also a right-hand jog off mowry if you're coming out of niles canyon.

 

Please be careful visiting fremont this spring. you could trip over a film cannister and hurt yourself. :P

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>>Please be careful visiting fremont this spring. You could trip over a film cannister and hurt yourself.

 

Hahahahaha! Say WalruZ, you looked really silly when you pulled your head out of that bush and a film container was stuck behind your ear. :lol:

 

PS: Congrats to Team Alamo, Beckerbuns, and Worker of Wood on their milestones.

Edited by bthomas
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