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America Hates Geocaching


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Careful how you hold your maps right now...

 

:blink:

 

Food for thought or rampant discussionism.

 

Quote from original CNN article:

 

"The FBI noted that use of almanacs or maps may be innocent, "the product of legitimate recreational or commercial activities." But it warned that when combined with suspicious behavior -- such as apparent surveillance -- a person with an almanac "may point to possible terrorist planning.""

 

I'm almost glad I haven't been able to cache lately... I can just see doing an urban cache and getting pounced upon... :bad:

Edited by New England n00b
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But it warned that when combined with suspicious behavior -- such as apparent surveillance

 

This is the quote I found particulary entertaining... After reading some of the humorous posts of cachers being questioned, I'm kinda looking forward to reading more of these adventures. If I can't be there, at least I can live vicariously through other poor souls, right?

 

 

 

 

(psssst, your '?' key is stuck)

 

(and so is your "!" key)

Edited by New England n00b
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!? (Shhhhhhhhhhhh)

 

On my Washington D.C. visit recently the Secret Service talked quite nicely to me at the Mile 0 Stone in front of the White House.

Very interesting shakedown,had me shakin down to my little toes,but I had done nothing wrong execept bring a WASS GPS to the front of the White House looking for those 2 caches there.

 

It is good to know that someone is watching out for us?????????

Even if it is us.

 

But you have to consider that the enemy has the same capability as the U.S.Citizen on the GPS level,and it would be (could be)a vital point to have precice platted maps and points. :blink:

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I don't know why any terrorists would seek out potential targets with a map and reference book. All they would need to do is post a Locationless for "Good Targets", and there would be hundreds of logs within a few days. :bad:

 

Of course, they've already got the exact coordinates for cell towers, water towers, airports, stadiums, bridges, and dams. Probably not too many left. Maybe it's not such a bad thing that Locationless caches aren't approved anymore. :blink:

Edited by BeachBuddies
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!? (Shhhhhhhhhhhh)

 

On my Washington D.C. visit recently the Secret Service talked quite nicely to me at the Mile 0 Stone in front of the White House.

Very interesting shakedown,had me shakin down to my little toes,but I had done nothing wrong execept bring a WASS GPS to the front of the White House looking for those 2 caches there.

 

This is interesting, considering that one needn't get the most votes in order to live there.

 

Long ago I suggested that geocachers wear the Sherlock Holmes style cap. This was to help in some fears about exposing the cache location. Muggles can't tell whether you're coming or going if you wear this cap. Nobody takes me serious...I wonder why? :blink:

 

This terrorism threat has brought a change to my thinking. I suggest that all geocachers use the British uniform while out in the field. This uniform can be seen in the avatar of "The Cuthberts". They are English geocachers and can be seen in the UK forum. The English haven't done any dastardly deeds to the White House since the War of 1812. This was long before GPS and Boy George doesn't count, we have our own George III problem. :bad:

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Say goodbye to everything, because might be used as a weapon... :blink:

 

Don't forget - in the most countries the people select their officials and president/prime minister/or similar... (Except the US where you don't have to win to become the president :bad: (Oops, another 10% warning...))

 

No, I don't want to discuss politics, but I just want to remember you that it's up the people to make sure that GPS and other normal things don't get banned!

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Is it me or are they talking about a "the old farmer's almanacs" what good would this before???

 

HOW in the world would a person use this????? I'm confused!!!

Well if the old Farmers Almanac says March 11 will be a clear and sunny day... there ya go!

 

Actually they are talking about map almanacs which have detailed maps of many areas.

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Say goodbye to civilian use of the GPS satellites!! :bad:

 

Anyone wanna go Letterboxing?? :blink:

 

Ugh... just doesn't have same ring to it.... :bad:

GPS may not be taken away, but the system can be limited or even shut down. That goes for all navigational aids like LORAN and such. Abuse can result in priveliges taken away. Scanners used to pick up cordless phones, now you can't buy 800 megahertz scanners. Just for example.

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In some places brething the air is OFFENSIVE.

 

The Main reason I like where I am Living way back in the woods you see a shotgun rifle,the wife and me.

 

Let em use the Almanac I have tried to use it and well you know no one can fool MOTHER NATURE. :bad:

 

The only Terror :blink: you might experience is my Brahama Bull,Do NOT cross the fence.

Ruby Ridge!! Ruby Ridge!! :bad:

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Not a "chain yank" Techmage. Article is in the Erie Times News from Tuesday, December 30.

 

Washington- The FBI is warning police nationwide to be alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the popular reference books covering everything from abbreviations to weather trends could be used for terrorist planning.

 

In a bulletin sent Christamas Eve to about 18,000 police organizations, the FBI said terrorists may use almanacs " to assist with target selections and pre-operational planning."

 

It urged officeers to watch during trafficstops, searches, and other investigations for anyone carrying almanacs, especially if the books are annotated in suspicious ways.

 

"The practice of researching potential targets is consistent with known methods of al-Quaeda and other terrorist orgs that seek to maximize the likelihood of operational success through careful planning," the FBI wrote.

 

The FBI said info typiclly found in almanacs that couuld be useful for terrorists includes profiles of cities and states and and info about waterways, bridges, dams, reservoirs, tunnels, buildings,and landmarks. It said this info often includes photographs and maps.

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:blink: I encountered some weirdness on 12/27/03 as I was emerging from a geocache find in a Boston park. I was met by a park ranger who had his weapon unholstered and was very, very suspisious of what I was up to. I had all the documentation with me relative to the cache and was trying to explain....he was not interested in what I had to say. I was shocked to say the least. Then yesterday I read about the almanacs, etc. and it then made sense, sort of.

 

My advice is this...make sure you have a printout or something that legitimizes your task. Otherwise urban geocaching will be a very risky sport.

 

As I look back on the experience it was really funny. The guy actually had his hand on his gun ready to use it if necessary.

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I think there's a potential market here for a new geocaching t-shirt.

 

3608_7000.jpg

Have you ever noticed that the location of the GC logo makes a great target right over your airway and Aorta? If you are carrying an almanac and a GPSr and wearing one of those shirts, you could accidentally make some SWAT sniper's job a lot easier.

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didnt this almanac warning come from the same people who advised us to stock up on plastic tarps to shield our houses form a nuclear blast? or was it hide under the nearest desk to be safe from a chemical attack? geez i cant remember but anyways i personally would be on the watch for people reading books entitled "Homemade Bombmaking 101" or "You too can be a terrorist"

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You know, before I got into geocaching, I was in to birding. Before birding, I was into astronomy (all three are still hobbies, but I've had similar experiences with the law with birding and astronomy, but not yet with geocaching). What happens is this: It's 2 am, I'm in a dark corner of a parking lot, hunched over a huge telescope in a highly residential area. A neighbor spots me, calls the cops, and I spend the next 15 minutes explaining that I'm looking at the stars, not into apartment windows. After the second time, I was sure to carry a star map with me, just to be safe (especially if I leave the telescope at home and just use binoculars for star-gazing). Same thing with birding, I always carry a checklist or field guide, just as 'proof' that I'm doing what I say I'm doing (I've been questioned about why I was hiding in the bushes at a local park with a pair of binoculars). <_<

What to carry while geocaching? I typically carry printouts of the caches I'm hunting or something similar. I'm usually birding while I'm caching, so my field guide seems to be a good choice. I guess we'll see what the cops say when they bust me out caching!

 

bbmagic

Edited by bbmagic
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This could be especially troublesome for those of us who also hunt benchmarks. Try explaining to the officer why you've printed out detailed information from a goverment website about the local bridges, water towers and radio towers! <_< I was approached by an officer the other night when I had pulled off the road to look for one. She was very nice, but it could have been different if I was lurking around a bridge or dam.

On the other hand, I had a legitimate reason, and she acted very appropriately. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt unless people start getting hasseled.

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I was also stopped once while benchmarking. It was on a power pole in the back of a shopping center. I showed the cops my D/L, GPSR and PID printouts and explained what I was doing, he asked who I worked for, I said it was volunteer work for the NGS, and he let me go at that.

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What to carry while geocaching? I typically carry printouts of the caches I'm hunting or something similar. I'm usually birding while I'm caching, so my field guide seems to be a good choice. I guess we'll see what the cops say when they bust me out caching!

 

<_< This seems to be a good arguement against paperless caching! Trees be damned, I am gonna print this stuff off so I can hopefully prove what I am doing.

 

With my luck I would reach for my PDA and be shot before I could turn it on.

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Oh, man. We ought to just bomb all of the terrorists, and their supporters into oblivion. Then we can relax and cache all we want. Not to mention bring our shaving kits and nail clippers on airplanes. I'll bet nukes are cheaper than moving all of our troops over there. :D:unsure:

Actually the nail clipper ban was lifted a while back. I guess they finally figured that threatening to manicure someone to death wasn't all that likely.

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