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Pool for Great Renumbering


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When cache GCFFFF gets approved, the cache waypoint naming scheme will have to be changed, an event I call the "The Great Renumbering." This thread gives everybody an opportunity to lay claim to their estimate of when it will occur.

 

The pool prize is: fame and reknown among the geocaching cognoscenti. Admins are, of course, not eligible to play. icon_eek.gif

 

GCFFFF will be cache number 65535. My pick, based on Extensive Mathematical Modeling, is May 19. Here's my graph of the growth of geocaching:

31393_200.gif

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My pick is May 12th. Reasons? Although Fizzy has demonstrated linear growth over the relatively long term, I believe that the harsh winter weather has caused a backlog of caches that are waiting to be placed (we have five in the works). Once the weather improves in snowy climates, there will be a brief non-linear growth spurt. And also, May 12th is a Monday. Cache placements always spike on weekends.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I was formerly employed by the Department of Redundancy Department, but I don't work there anymore.

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quote:
Originally posted by robertlipe:

I pick about 1-2 days before the outburst of various programmers weeping uncontrollably that then start dealing with all the code that assumes a simple hex->decimal translation between GC numbers and IDs.


 

except for those of us who abstracted the conversion and only have to change one function. icon_biggrin.gif

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Ahhhh. Guestimation time. I think cache GCFFFF will be placed on May 3, but the cacher will have a flat tire in a rainstorm and not get it submitted until the morning of May 4. It will be approved during an episode of Junkyard Wars. Not actually on the show, but that's what I'll be watching when the cache approval goes through. Unless I'm out fighting mosquitos and poison ivy.

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quote:
Originally posted by Mr. Snazz:

quote:
Originally posted by robertlipe:

I pick about 1-2 days before the outburst of various programmers weeping uncontrollably that then start dealing with all the code that assumes a simple hex->decimal translation between GC numbers and IDs.


 

except for those of us who abstracted the conversion and only have to change one function. icon_biggrin.gif


 

Then your specific slice of "all that code" is small. There's a growing amount of code out there that will require some non-zero amount of effort to cope.

 

Has a mapping between GC#'s and id #'s been announced and published? I saw Elias propose a couple of schemes, but I don't recall it sounding very authoritative at the time.

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quote:
Originally posted by robertlipe:

Has a mapping between GC#'s and id #'s been announced and published? I saw Elias propose a couple of schemes, but I don't recall it sounding very authoritative at the time.


 

Last I heard, the conversion spec won't be published. You'll submit the cache ID to be converted to a script at geocaching.com, along with your Application ID Number (not sure if these are given out for free or not). The number you get back will allow you to reference a specific cache for a period of 24 hours before expiring.

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I'm laying claim on April 21st. I would have picked the 20th, but Maleki beat me to it. Justifications? I think everyone is waiting for warm weather to stash their cache......and because it seems that Monday morning is the day most of our new caches show up........

 

Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every effort to teach them good manners.

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The big number was already reached on 2 January 2003. (note the magic second point on the graph)

 

The US government, frightened that the world markets would tumble, secretly reverse engineered the numbers to look like the great number was still ahead of us at the same time starting a small war as a diversion.

 

I claim the prize (plus I have an original super 8 home movie of the man standing to the left of the programmer)

 

Lance

It's dark and we're wearing sunglasses.

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Instead of GDhhhh, I'd rather drop the C in GC and have 5 hex numbers for a possible total of 1,048,575 geocaches using Ghhhhh ... and if it grew to over a million caches and we still wanted legacy support for old GPSrs with only 6 character waypoints, then they'd have to switch to another leading letter.

 

What's this talk about guids? Any details or URLs for further reading on the current ideas for expanding the waypoint naming system?

 

Thanks,

DON of NovaNow

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quote:
Originally posted by Treasure Hunters Inc.:

quote:
Originally posted by tylosaurus:

can anyone explain the great renumbering to me? Is there some reason why they can;t list them all the way to GCZZZZ? And, do we know what the new scheme will be?


 

OH Boy! are you asking for it. Now you're going to get a Hexidecimal math lesson or two.

 

$1000 Bill geocaching is living in a 30 foot circle


 

Actually that isn't such a bad suggestion....True in the conversion you would have "gaps", but instead of doing a total renumbering just grandfather those caches at the Number they currently own.

 

Since the numbers are used only for Identification purposes it wouldn't hurt that a new cache being assigned GC000G after GCFFFF...True if it was really BASE 26 it would have a lower value, but since we're not using it for addition or subtraction there should be any Problem!!!

 

Logically I don't see a problem if we do this....RAM access is run the same way.

 

There is nothing like a Packrat who is a geocacher.

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quote:
Originally posted by Treasure Hunters Inc.:

quote:
Originally posted by tylosaurus:

can anyone explain the great renumbering to me? Is there some reason why they can;t list them all the way to GCZZZZ? And, do we know what the new scheme will be?


OH Boy! are you asking for it. Now you're going to get a Hexidecimal math lesson or two.

 

Here's your Hexidecimal math lesson. And it has a prediction I made a long time ago. I have to update the page.

 

Markwell

Chicago Geocaching

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