Is Geocaching Kind of Nerdy?

January 27, 2003

Although I love caching and I am still fairly new to the sport, I can't help but feel a little nerdy everytime I put that lanyard around my neck.

My wife stills says to me, "You're such a nerd!" Am I? Are we? I mean, what the heck are we actually doing anyways?

I suppose the nerd stigma will slowly dissipate as the sport grows in popularity. Time will tell.

--CoronaKid

January 27, 2003

You are a nerd! Any self-respecting geocacher knows you wear the laryard around your wrist.

A lot of geocachers geocachers seem to fit into 1 of 2 groups: people who love high-tech toys &/or people who love the outdoors.

It's kind of weird, but I don't think I fit into either group.

"I'm jumbled up. Maybe I'm losing my touch." - Echo and the Bunnymen

January 27, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by JoeCthulhu:
You are a nerd! Any self-respecting geocacher knows you wear the laryard around your wrist.

LOL...I usually put it around my wrist, but sometimes I need both hands free. I have a 3 year old son who usually needs a little help on the steep hills.

I can't be the only one that occassionally puts the lanyard around their neck, can I? Maybe I'm more of a nerd than I thought.

--CoronaKid

January 27, 2003

Lanyard? What laryard?!

I love high-tech toys AND the outdoors...and I don't think anyone would classify ME as a nerd !

I guess it must be determined on an individual basis. You said your wife thinks you look like a nerd? She must be right, wives always are !

January 27, 2003

What could be cooler than a device that indicates your exact position on the Earth's surface?? Would James Bond laugh at that? I think not.

You make it cool, and it will be.

______________________________________________________________________

Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination. - Roy M. Goodman

2.6k · January 27, 2003

Yeah, it's nerdy.

george

Pedal until your legs cramp up and then pedal some more.

24.7k · January 27, 2003

Putting it around your neck frees up your hands for doing things like climbing around on rocks (we have a lot here).

Geocaching isn't nerdy, but nerds and dorks geocache. There is a difference.

Your wife isn't Nerdaphobic is she? Do you find her backing away as you put your GPS lanyard around your neck? Does she sit a little farther apart at a party when you talk about geocaching? When muggles walk by does she fade into the background as they look and wonder what you are doing? Does explaining night caching to the police at 3 am make her wish she was dead? Wait, nerds don't explain things to the police...

You get the idea.

Wherever you go there you are.

January 27, 2003

The very first time I went out not knowing a thing about caching I put the lanyard on my wrist. It is totally uncool to wear your GPSr around your neck...

January 27, 2003

At least We're GEOCACHIN NERDS!

Happy. Hunting.

January 27, 2003

The question is which is more nerdy, Wearing the lanyard or holding the GPSr to your ear pretending it's a mobile phone.

I've never worn the lanyard, but as you say in the US I claim the 5th on the phone trick!

Cache the Bug-Geocaching

1.6k · January 27, 2003

Lanyards!, Hah! We don't need no stinking Lanyards!

By appointment to the Court of HRM Queen Mikki I.

January 27, 2003

HMM Nerdy or not, I'm sertanly not a steriotypical nerd,

1: it's hard to call a six foot female nerdy

2: it's even harder to call a airport security officer nerdy

3: I'm the outdoors type I grew up in the mountains and love the silence only deep forest can produce

4: Athough I love high tec toys, I don't know every detail about them, how they were proggramed, etc

5: I may have a pale complection but that's because I work night shift

6: When I'm not holding my GPS it's clipped to my belt

No I don't think the sport itself is nerdy it's how you go about it

More to see, More to do

January 27, 2003

I'm into computers, I'm into gadgets, and I wear glasses (though I gave up the pocket protector after high school). I also love the outdoors. So GeoCaching fulfills all of my nerdy and outdoorsy compulsions at the same time. What could be better than that?

PS: in regards to the lanyard thing - I usually wear it on my wrist, but I have also been known to wear it around my neck when I need both hands free.

As to "what the heck are we doing" - think about this - we could be out hiking and hunting a cache in our spare time, or we could be spending it doing 16 ounce curls killing brain cells with mindless "must see TV".

Remember this: Shaq makes something like $15 million a year or whatever. If he worked his entire life at that rate, he might be able to match Bill Gates' income for a year. Nerds Rule!

Nurture your nerdy side.

- Nate

(www.geocky.org)

January 27, 2003

quote:
...holding the GPSr to your ear pretending it's a mobile phone...

Heh heh heh. Been there, done that. I love the fact that my Garmin looks like a cell phone. It allows me to be a lot more subtle in busy areas. I just wish it had a voice ("...12 feet Northeast. 5 feet Northeast...") so I didn't have to look at the screen while "stealth caching" in busy areas.

Of course, I have to bunch the lanyard up and hold it in my hand behind the GPS, or the effect is lost.

- Nate

www.geocky.org

1.6k · January 27, 2003

Lanyard? I've tossed the lanyard and modified a cellphone glove to fit my SporTrak. I now clip one of those cellphone quick-release belt clips either to my belt or backpack strap and clip the GPS there. When I need a reading, I just whip it out, look, and back it goes--it's pretty darn fast. And secure!

Plus, not only is it handsfree, I'm not likely to strangle myself on a lanyard around my neck if I take a tumble.

CR

January 27, 2003

Nowadays I think its good to be a NERD, we are in demand.

quote:
Originally posted by CoronaKid:
Although I love caching and I am still fairly new to the sport, I can't help but feel a little nerdy everytime I put that lanyard around my neck.

My wife stills says to me, "You're such a nerd!" Am I? Are we? I mean, what the heck are we actually doing anyways?

I suppose the nerd stigma will slowly dissipate as the sport grows in popularity. Time will tell.

--CoronaKid

January 27, 2003

Nerd? no selfrespecting nerd would be caught dead in the swamp i was in looking for a cache this weekend! Oh i took the wrong road and ended up on the wrong side of a small river. lol

Altree

(you will not starve with a p38 and a can of food)

January 27, 2003

Not nerdy.

Using an electronic device is not nerdy.

Whipping out a slide rule from your pocket and hand cranking the bearing and distance from your current position to the published coords is nerdy.

========================================

Friends don't let Friends geocache drunk.

1.5k · January 27, 2003

You're all a bunch of nerds.

January 27, 2003

Ok, in high school...nerdy, kinda quiet, was more comfortable with a wrench than with a girl....

Fast forward 22 years.....

Great job, great family, nice income, HOT wife!!

Now, the high school "jocks" are all fat, in dead end jobs....and divorced ten times!

Nerds rule! Just ask Bill Gates!!

LOL - Yep, I am a Geocaching NERD!!!!!!!!

Next question!

Counter Fit Cache

...or is it really me????

January 27, 2003

Oh its Nerdy. Its fun and I participate in the sport but its nerdy.

1.5k · January 27, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Counter Fit Cache:
Now, the high school "jocks" are all fat, in dead end jobs....and divorced ten times!

So... all the jocks scored with nine more women than you did?

6.5k · January 27, 2003

Definitly lotech style here. I manually enter the coords into my Etrex using scribbled notes from the cache webpages. Since I earn a living with fire and knives it seems like the only way to go for me.

quote:
Whipping out a slide rule from your pocket and hand cranking the bearing and distance from your current position to the published coords is nerdy

What about using my sextant?

Be careful what you wish for!

January 27, 2003

If you don't think this is nerdy, check out the thread a few threads down discussing Atomic Clocks and GPS.

Not to bash anything or anybody but...

January 27, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by LoneHowler:
HMM Nerdy or not, I'm sertanly not a steriotypical nerd,

1: it's hard to call a six foot female nerdy

2: it's even harder to call a airport security officer nerdy

3: I'm the outdoors type I grew up in the mountains and love the silence only deep forest can produce

4: Athough I love high tec toys, I don't know every detail about them, how they were proggramed, etc

5: I may have a pale complection but that's because I work night shift

6: When I'm not holding my GPS it's clipped to my belt

No I don't think the sport itself is nerdy it's how you go about it

More to see, More to do

1. Its easy on the net - Nerd

2. Nerd

3. Cool

4. Knowing that makes you a geek as well as a nerd

5. Nerd

6. I assume next to your cellphone and at least one pager - NERD

I took a poll around work here and we are all nerds. Or at least we are participating in a nerdy activity!

PS when is the next Geocaching competition? I am thinking Cannonball style.

January 27, 2003

- drunk

- in the woods

- pretending to talk on a cell phone

- strangled by the lanyard of a GPSr disguised as a cell phone

Can it get MORE nerdy? But isn't that the beauty of Geocaching? It gets nerdy people to actually go outside! And we get prizes!!!

Gotta go! Star Trek is on!

"If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there?"

1.3k · January 27, 2003

It's both nerdy and not nerdy at the same time. But does it matter as long as you're having a good time outdoors?

3k · January 27, 2003

Because I'm cool! And the lanyard goes around your neck, then you glue one side of a velcro patch to your GPSr, and sew the other half to your Geocaching shirt and perch your GPSr on your shoulder facing the sky. Your hands are free, no weight on the neck, and no loss of satellite reception from the GPSr turning and facing your body. Also, if you wear certain types of river shorts in summer you can still get reception through the material.

I am not now nor have I ever been accused of being a nerd. Just ask brdad!

Cache you later,

Planet

"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will

give you a look that says, 'My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" - Dave Barry

January 27, 2003

Sorry!

I was just kidding about Star Trek being on.

Like anyone would have to tell this group!

Seriously, my kid likes caching and anything that we can share is cool in my book.

-DREN

January 27, 2003

quote:

What about using my sextant?

Did you make the sextant from scratch using no power tools?

I once spent a week backpacking crosscountry with no map or compass. I used the old floating magnetic needle trick and studied the map until I had it memorized.

========================================

Friends don't let Friends geocache drunk.

January 27, 2003

Well, maybe it is *nerdy* and maybe it's not. We play the game mostly as a means of determining a destination for a motorcycle ride on a nice day.

I have no lanyard, but some may find it 'nerdy' to see the GPS strapped to the tank on my V-Star - Oh Well.

-TomO (Raiders of the Lost Park)

January 27, 2003

If you think it's nerdy, then it's nerdy.

Personally, I just think it's fun, otherwise I wouldn't do it.

------

An it harm none, do what ye will

3k · January 27, 2003

It's the people who find excuses for not going geocaching because they don't yet own the latest of (always totally unnecessary) techno-toys that are nerdy.

January 27, 2003

Isn't that kinda.......purse-like?

2.6k · January 27, 2003

It is nerdy unless you geocache like I do. I beat up the guys with lanyards around their neck and make them tell me where the goecache is.

george

Pedal until your legs cramp up and then pedal some more.

January 27, 2003

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What about using my sextant?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I never use a lanyard on my wrist or around my neck, but then I did drop my GPSr over a 30 ft cliff once.

Look at the what's your favorite GPS accessory thread and most of the replies SCREAM nerd.

you LOVE my PDA, your digital camera, your mapping software, etc.

We're all in denial here. Fess up we're mostly nerds.

Oh yea. where can I get a sex tent??

$1000 Bill geocaching is living in a 30 foot circle

January 27, 2003

Hey you can be a Geo-nerd and know that you have some new place to explore to have fun ---while your friends who think you are a nerd, sit at home borred and grumpy....

See you in the woods!

Natureboy1376

January 27, 2003

I like the highteck stuff and love the outdoors. My kids call me a redneck. Can you be a redneck nerd? Well, anyway I don't know what's worse being a nerd or admitting you married one.

Still looking!

January 27, 2003

Well! I resemble that remark.

________________________________________________________________________

Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, you'll be a mile from them, and you'll have their shoes.

1.4k · January 27, 2003

No, geocaching isn't nerdy.

Hanging out in the geocaching forums is nerdy.

Geonerd

4.4k · January 27, 2003

One I thought this was nerdy,then went out and seen the birdies,the views they were so great, I knew at once this was my fate,No other way to get great views,you might even make the news.So I will go back out and get real nerdy, And while I am at it i'll get real dirty................cache on!!!!Happy Geotrails

When all else fails Geotry again.

January 27, 2003

But fortunately there's more of us nerds than truly cool people!

"I thought you said this was a quick find!" - My wife

January 27, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by JoeCthulhu:
You are a nerd! Any self-respecting geocacher knows you wear the laryard around your wrist.

I have a 3 year old son who usually needs a little help on the steep hills....I can't be the only one that occassionally puts the lanyard around their neck, can I?

--CoronaKid

Putting the lanyard around their neck is not a good way to help your 3 year old up a steep hill!

You could damage the GPS!

[sorry, I couldn't resist!]

My two cents worth, refunds available on request. (US funds only)

January 27, 2003

...headset to your GPS, then walk around talking to yourself.

You'll blend right in.

George

January 27, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by CoronaKid:
Although I love caching and I am still fairly new to the sport, I can't help but feel a little nerdy everytime I put that lanyard around my neck.

My wife stills says to me, "You're such a nerd!" Am I? Are we? I mean, what the heck are we actually doing anyways?

I suppose the nerd stigma will slowly dissipate as the sport grows in popularity. Time will tell.

--CoronaKid

Does wearing Geocaching.com Boxers add to the Nerd Factor? I was just wondering, no reason. UM, going now....

Bluespreacher

"We've got the hardware and the software, the plans and the maps ..." -- Citizen Wayne Kramer

2.2k · January 27, 2003

I don't know about nerdy, but I have been called a geogeek more than once.

January 27, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by CoronaKid:
Although I love caching and I am still fairly new to the sport, I can't help but feel a little nerdy everytime I put that lanyard around my neck.

My wife stills says to me, "You're such a nerd!" Am I? Are we? I mean, what the heck are we actually doing anyways?

I suppose the nerd stigma will slowly dissipate as the sport grows in popularity. Time will tell.

--CoronaKid

You say nerd like it's a bad thing.

Mickey

Max Entropy

More than just a name, a lifestyle.

January 27, 2003

I think it becomes nerdy when you start enjoying the planning. You know looking at aerial and topo photos, useing several map software programs to figure the best route to the destinations. Then loading all your data into your PDA, or laptop just to take with you. You also become nerdy when you want to know as much about how GPSr work.

If you go just for being out doors or the hunt, then I don't consider you a nerd.

Wyatt W.

Uh, I am a nerd (kind of, I think there is an IQ test I may fail to be in the club fully, and/or a useless carp(I ment it) test).

The probability of someone watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your actions.

January 27, 2003

I personally prefer the term "geek" over "nerd." "Nerds" to me are the folks with pocket protectors and taped up glasses. Yeah, I taped my glasses once, but I got them fixed the next day...

I don't mind being called a computer/linux/tivo/geocaching geek at all. I've got the t-shirts and hats to prove the first 3.

Actually, I really like the term "hacker." Problem is the word has such a bad rap in everyone's mind, except those "in the know."

Jason Roysdon

jason.roysdon.net

January 28, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by nincehelser:
...headset to your GPS, then walk around talking to yourself.

You'll blend right in.

George

You are so right. But when our cell rings out in the middle of the woods, I could scream. Leave that thing home. But he won't.

rocker51

Is Geocaching Kind of Nerdy?

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