Geocacher Or Domestic Terrorist?

1.2k · September 2, 2004

I received a "Terrorism Quick Reference Card" at work as an aid to identifying potential domestic terrorists.

Some of the characteristics and identifiers:

Unusual items in vehicles/residences:

*GPS tracking devices

*Training manuals/certificates (i.e. scuba, military, explosives, etc)

*Numerous cell phones, prepaid calling-cards

These are many others on the card, but those at the top stood out immediately...

Ed

Edited September 2, 2004 by The Badge & the Butterfly

4.7k · September 2, 2004

i LOVE to be detained and questioned on suspicion of being a terrorist. it gives me an opportunity to rant about civil rights.

i am not interested in your state of heightened alert. i'm doing something IMPORTANT over here: i'm playing games. now get out of my way.

September 2, 2004

Crap! I fall under four of those as a S.C.U.B.A. certified ex-combat engineer (military: explosives + boobytraps) who owns a GPSr :lol: :lol:

1.2k · September 2, 2004

Crap! I fall under four of those as a S.C.U.B.A. certified ex-combat engineer (military: explosives + boobytraps) who owns a GPSr

=BB=

Men in black suits should be knocking on your door any second...I suggest you cooperate :lol:

Edited September 2, 2004 by The Badge & the Butterfly

September 2, 2004

Crap! I fall under four of those as a S.C.U.B.A. certified ex-combat engineer (military: explosives + boobytraps) who owns a GPSr :lol:

Same here, *AND* I've been to Fort Meade.

Secretly, I'm on a crusade to rid the US of the infidel aerosol cheese eaters.

1.1k · September 2, 2004

Okay I give up. Shees I fit all of the above and probable more. Guess I'll have to move to my shack in the woods.

Cheers

September 2, 2004

A "GPS tracking device" is not just a GPS receiver. It's only a tracking device if it can transmit its location to somewhere else. Like a Garmin Rino :lol:

September 2, 2004

Okay I give up. Shees I fit all of the above and probable more. Guess I'll have to move to my shack in the woods.
Cheers

shack in the woods is alos on the card! :lol:

9.4k · September 2, 2004

I received a "Terrorism Quick Reference Card" at work as an aid to identifying potential domestic terrorists.

Some of the characteristics and identifiers:

Unusual items in vehicles/residences:

*GPS tracking devices

*Training manuals/certificates (i.e. scuba, military, explosives, etc)

*Numerous cell phones, prepaid calling-cards

These are many others on the card, but those at the top stood out immediately...

Ed

I have 3 GPSr's and many electronics books. Does that make me a terrorist? :lol:

3.9k · September 2, 2004

Yeah, you can really hurt someone if you poke them in the eye with a GPS. A gun is much safer. Terrorists don't carry those.

2.2k · September 2, 2004

Okay I give up. Shees I fit all of the above and probable more. Guess I'll have to move to my shack in the woods.
Cheers

shack in the woods is alos on the card!

well, there goes my cover. guess i'll have to move in with mom.

2.6k · September 2, 2004

I have 3 GPSr's and many electronics books. Does that make me a terrorist?

A musical terrorist, at least.

1.3k · September 2, 2004

Oh boo-hoo.

If I'm hanging around acting weird, which I usually appear to be when looking for an urban micro, I'm actually pretty impressed when an officer or security guard asks me what I'm doing. It means they're doing their job.

I'll be the first to call foul if someone is hauled off just because geocaching looks funny. But that's not going to happen.

24.7k · September 2, 2004

...I'm actually pretty impressed when an officer or security guard asks me what I'm doing. It means they're doing their job....

Ditto:

4.7k · September 2, 2004

But that's not going to happen.

i've already been detained for questioning.

September 3, 2004

Wow I have a gpsr a scuba certificaction, an unofficial degree in blowing stuff up and lots of cards in my wallet.

1.4k · September 3, 2004

*GPS tracking devices

Hmmmm.... my cell phone transmits GPS data.... dang it, does this mean I'm a terrorist?

Whew, I just remembered I'm a police officer.... I reckon I'll have to be on the look-out for folks with GPS enabled cellphones

Edited September 3, 2004 by jeff35080

1.3k · September 3, 2004

But that's not going to happen.

i've already been detained for questioning.

Only because you were standing around with a GPS? I doubt it. What's the whole story?

September 3, 2004

I gotta tell ya, I'm kinda depressed....I've been so backed up on paper lately, I swear it's been days since I've been able to illegally detain or harass someone.

1.4k · September 3, 2004

I gotta tell ya, I'm kinda depressed....I've been so backed up on paper lately, I swear it's been days since I've been able to illegally detain or harass someone.

I feel your pain brother.... I feel your pain....

Okay, for those that think we're serious... the statement I just made and the one I quoted were made in jest and are NOT to be taken seriously. They are simply a tongue-in-cheek statement made by us to complain about the about of paperwork we are required to do in our jobs and a feeble attempt at humor

September 3, 2004

I received a "Terrorism Quick Reference Card" at work as an aid to identifying potential domestic terrorists.

Some of the characteristics and identifiers:

Unusual items in vehicles/residences:

*GPS tracking devices

*Training manuals/certificates (i.e. scuba, military, explosives, etc)

*Numerous cell phones, prepaid calling-cards

These are many others on the card, but those at the top stood out immediately...

Ed

Maybe if I wear an aluminum foil hat as well, they'll leave me alone? :-)

September 3, 2004

I gotta tell ya, I'm kinda depressed....I've been so backed up on paper lately, I swear it's been days since I've been able to illegally detain or harass someone.

I feel your pain brother.... I feel your pain....

Okay, for those that think we're serious... the statement I just made and the one I quoted were made in jest and are NOT to be taken seriously. They are simply a tongue-in-cheek statement made by us to complain about the about of paperwork we are required to do in our jobs and a feeble attempt at humor

Gosh, "feeble" is kinda hurtful. I like to say that our sense of humor is simply misunderstood...

September 3, 2004

I received a "Terrorism Quick Reference Card" at work as an aid to identifying potential domestic terrorists.

Some of the characteristics and identifiers:

Unusual items in vehicles/residences:

*GPS tracking devices

*Training manuals/certificates (i.e. scuba, military, explosives, etc)

*Numerous cell phones, prepaid calling-cards

These are many others on the card, but those at the top stood out immediately...

Ed

Maybe if I wear an aluminum foil hat as well, they'll leave me alone? :-)

Have you ever heard of the term "Involuntary Commit"? Man, I'm having fun tonight!

1.4k · September 3, 2004

Woohoo! I'm off tonight and thus am entitled to being able to enjoy an adult beverage or two

September 3, 2004

Woohoo! I'm off tonight and thus am entitled to being able to enjoy an adult beverage or two

See ya at the bar. I'll buy you and everybody else a round for a courtesy card.

1.4k · September 3, 2004

LOL! I've got some Monopoly 'Get Out of Jail For Free' cards.... I won't guarantee that they'll work, but it's always worth a shot

September 3, 2004

Okay, for those that think we're serious... the statement I just made and the one I quoted were made in jest and are NOT to be taken seriously.

Dang it all, Jed! Just when I thought I had another excuse for NOT hiring one of them DOMESTICS.

1.9k · September 3, 2004

Crap! I fall under four of those as a S.C.U.B.A. certified ex-combat engineer (military: explosives + boobytraps) who owns a GPSr

Wake up, Neo.

September 3, 2004

I saw a warning that said to be suspicious of people with World Almanacs. I ended up with one from a X-Mas geocaching event and have been driving around with it on the dash for months. After seeing the list in the OP now I realize I need even more books in the car.

4.7k · September 3, 2004

But that's not going to happen.

i've already been detained for questioning.

Only because you were standing around with a GPS? I doubt it. What's the whole story?

i was standing around with a GPS. and taking pictures. because a bridge was pretty.

3.9k · September 3, 2004

I saw a warning that said to be suspicious of people with World Almanacs.

As I understand it, Al-Qaeda members are generally extremely devout Muslims, who foreswear alcohol and dress modestly.

Perhaps we should be suspicious of anyone who isn't drunk and in a bikini ?

September 3, 2004

But that's not going to happen.

i've already been detained for questioning.

Me and my son-in-law Chunky Monkeys of the Sea were "detained" by the Secret Service while caching in DC. Everything was happy and cool with the first couple of officers, then got serious when the other 2 officers and the black Suburban showed up. Funny, no one ever got out of the Suburban. I bet we had laser sights drilled into our foreheads the whole time. I guess driving around and around the White House in a mini-van packed with ammo cans and other junk at 3am with temporary tags is not a good idea.....

September 3, 2004

I saw a warning that said to be suspicious of people with World Almanacs.

As I understand it, Al-Qaeda members are generally extremely devout Muslims, who foreswear alcohol and dress modestly.

Perhaps we should be suspicious of anyone who isn't drunk and in a bikini ?

A g0od solution to this is for all female cachers to cache in a bikini.....

on second thought.... not ALL!

1.3k · September 3, 2004

I guess driving around and around the White House in a mini-van packed with ammo cans and other junk at 3am with temporary tags is not a good idea.....

Yes, suspicious activity around the White House, didn't have much to do with the GPS.

1.3k · September 3, 2004

But that's not going to happen.

i've already been detained for questioning.

Only because you were standing around with a GPS? I doubt it. What's the whole story?

i was standing around with a GPS. and taking pictures. because a bridge was pretty.

So you were asked some questions because you were taking pictures of a bridge?

What a harrowing story. Please, get it on tape before you're gone and the world forgets.

September 3, 2004

That's why you should only geocache at night and be decked out in black rubber when doing so. :rolleyes: Also going with geo-freinds that you can out-run and really don't know who you are in real life because you're wearing a mask can also come in quite handy when the turd hits the spinning blades and you're confronted by these security/law-enforecement/property resident types...

3.9k · September 3, 2004

A g0od solution to this is for all female cachers to cache in a bikini.....

on second thought.... not ALL!

On UK TV right now, there's an excellent Budweiser ad - don't know if you have it in the US.

Scene 1 is on a beach in Florida - 2 hot bikini chicks emerge from sea - 2 guys watching - one guy says "You know, in Spain, chicks go topless on the beach, it's practically the law", other guy has his tongue hanging out...

Scene 2 is on a beach in Spain. 2 guys sitting there. Big fat old lady stands up in front of them, twangs off her heavy-duty bikini top, and turns to face them - guys horrified. One says (in Spanish): "You know, in America, they make women keep their bikini tops on. It's the law".

Guess we should indeed be careful what we wish for, we might get it :rolleyes:

September 3, 2004

Like a Garmin Rino

I was safe...until that last sentence...I have a legend that I cache with, and a Rino that I take as a backup...

sgt cache

September 3, 2004

I guess driving around and around the White House in a mini-van packed with ammo cans and other junk at 3am with temporary tags is not a good idea.....

Yes, suspicious activity around the White House, didn't have much to do with the GPS.

In this case, I think the GPS saved us.... they did examine our units quite extensively...

unit = GPS unit (perverts!)

September 3, 2004

But that's not going to happen.

i've already been detained for questioning.

Oh flask! that sounds like a story that needs to be shared! LOL

September 3, 2004

As I understand it, Al-Qaeda members are generally extremely devout Muslims, who foreswear alcohol and dress modestly.

Perhaps we should be suspicious of anyone who isn't drunk and in a bikini ?

So if I took up drunken night caching in speedos, would take me of homeland securities 'scopes' ?? :rolleyes: Of course , then there is that altogether different can of worms when the polizia show up

September 3, 2004

I received a "Terrorism Quick Reference Card" at work as an aid to identifying potential domestic terrorists.

These are many others on the card, but those at the top stood out immediately...

Ed

Any chance that you might be able to scan that in and post it ? Sure would be good for a luagh or two

September 3, 2004

I saw a warning that said to be suspicious of people with World Almanacs.

As I understand it, Al-Qaeda members are generally extremely devout Muslims, who foreswear alcohol and dress modestly.

Perhaps we should be suspicious of anyone who isn't drunk and in a bikini ?

ummm...I think I'd DEFINATELY be arrested if I were wearing a bikini. But if I were drunk enough, I might do it. :rolleyes:

4.7k · September 3, 2004

So you were asked some questions because you were taking pictures of a bridge?

What a harrowing story. Please, get it on tape before you're gone and the world forgets.

no, i think the word i used was "detained". "asked some questions" does not involve two hours and four officers with lights flashing.

it's not a sob story. there was no brutality involved. but the fact is, i was DETAINED for questioning when, in fact, i was standing around with a GPS, which you said would never happen and if it did, you'd be the first one to call foul.

at least i think that was you. maybe that was just somebody logged in on your account.

1.3k · September 3, 2004

So you were asked some questions because you were taking pictures of a bridge?

What a harrowing story. Please, get it on tape before you're gone and the world forgets.

no, i think the word i used was "detained". "asked some questions" does not involve two hours and four officers with lights flashing.

it's not a sob story. there was no brutality involved. but the fact is, i was DETAINED for questioning when, in fact, i was standing around with a GPS, which you said would never happen and if it did, you'd be the first one to call foul.

at least i think that was you. maybe that was just somebody logged in on your account.

OK, you were detained for two hours for taking pictures of a bridge, that sucks. I will revise my statement to very unlikely to happen.

Maybe the cops were way out of line, that's not unheard of, but it still sounds weird to me. The couple times a cop's asked me what I was doing, I told him and that was the end of it. Next time I'll lecture him on my civil liberties and see if that makes things worse or better...

4.7k · September 3, 2004

Next time I'll lecture him on my civil liberties and see if that makes things worse or better...

unfortunately, it will make things worse. i was very polite to the officers AND i explained exactly what i was doing several times.

the thing about civil liberties though, is that if you're unwilling to defend them, you don't deserve to have them. when you abrogate your responsibility and surrender y our liberties, you almost never get them back.

civil liberties are the greatest thing about this great natin, but i notice every year we seem to have fewer of them. a police state doesn't happen all at once. it creeps up on you.

and i'm not anti-police. i LOVE my police officers and i LOVE it when i see a thinking cop using brains and best practice. regrettably, in today's society we are all too happy to surrender our rights to engage in legal activities in the name of security. i don't feel any more secure. i feel more scrutinized.

it is possible to ask questions in a manner that does not foster an atmosphere of fear and suspicion. it does no good to discuss civil liberties in the moment. (no matter what the zen people say.) the officer does not usually interpret this as a gesture of desire for free exchange of ideas.

in a best case scenario, the officer thinks you're a smarty-pants. worst case, he shoots you. places like this, on the other hand are a lovely venue for the free exchange of ideas on topics such as civil liberties.

i'm in favor, actually, of reporting criminal behavior. i think lately we're in a little too much of a flap about it. i think it's important for people engaged in legal activities to be able to engage in those activities unmolested.

this does not mean "without question". i can think of an awful lot of times that a question about what i was doing would have been entirely appropriate. one need not be suspicious of terrorist activity to justifiably ask questions.

2.5k · September 4, 2004

To heck with that making you a terrorist.

I was carrying roses and a violin and got a special search at the Airport.

1.6k · September 4, 2004

Two scenarios (really happened to me).

1. A friend put a temp cache at the back corner of his family business's parking lot (geoquilt). I went to find the cache and an employee in a neighboring business called 911. The cops came after I had left and as a second group came by. The cops had found the box, and called the helicopter to find my truck and called the bomb squad. Much fast talking needed to keep the quilt squares from turning into ash. I found true fondness for my big bushy pin oak.

2. Was in Albion,NE doing some caches last weekend. Went to a cache called 11th Pine. Was told in the description that the cache was placed on private property, with permission. Was not told that the cache was hidden at the far corner of a power substation.

Here I am, driving out of town plates in a state, where abusing people from Omaha is the second most popular sport around, wandering around the transformer station with a GPS. That was the last cache of the day in Albion and I will be happy to not return for a while just to be sure that if the cops were called, I am no where around.

Most of the people I know from geocaching could do far more damage from their place of work than from geocaching and most are pretty hard core straight arrows. While we know that we are harmless, the neighbor that sees a stranger with a gps walking around the transformer sees a terrorist.

September 4, 2004

Shortly after 9/11/01 someone placed a cache in a green ammo can near a railroad tunnel in the town of Dorris CA. When it was spotted the bomb squad was called out and blew it up, just to find trinkets and the geocache letter raining down!

3.9k · September 4, 2004

But that's not going to happen.

i've already been detained for questioning.

I have been stopped at least 4 times. Usually by Security Guards along the Strip in Las Vegas... but also by Sherrif and local Police while caching in Utah. I was glad they were doing thier job! (yes, 3 people running around town in cammo, 3:00 a.m., GPS's and SWAG bags.)

Geocacher Or Domestic Terrorist?

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