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Return The Bug To Its Starting Place?


Team Cotati

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Hello:

 

So you explain the goal of the TB on the www site. You attach a card with detailed info regarding the TB's goal.

 

A hunter who apparently can't read or use a compass picks up the TB and deposits it NOT in the general direction that you had instructed. The Bug is still close by my home coords.

 

My question is this, the Bug is not being picked up primarily because the hunter placed it in a difficulty 3 location and in the wrong direction from home.

 

Is it permissible for me to retrieve my own TB and essentially start over at its point of origin?

 

Make me nutso, whacko, crazy why don't you?

 

And yes I do realize that if some other unschooled hunter moves it 300 miles in the wrong direction, that I will just have to learn to live with it. Trust me this I do understand.

 

Thanks.

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Gosh, I wish I got that kind of traffic on the caches I've placed this winter. I've hidden eight caches since November and have only about ten logs amongst all of them. I have travel bugs in two of the caches I placed around Christmastime that haven't moved yet, so I'm still waiting...

Dude, I live in Cali. Winter only exists in a narrow band of territory above 4000' MSL.

 

Where you can golf, you can also Geocache, trust me. Just don't use the same hole.

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Chill, at least you know where it is!  I still can't believe the jerks that take a travel bug and keep it.  99.9% of these things are practically worthless, except to the bug owner.

And the other Geoswag.....has exactly how much 'value'? I had never considered that the worth of a cache's contents was even remotely related to the reasons that people participate in this game/sport/past-time whatever. Is it? The inconsiderate and ill-informed will always be around it seems. I had hoped that our crowd might be more the exception to the rule. They probably are, just bad luck I suppose.

Edited by Team cotati697
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Your travel bug took one hop, 28 miles, and you're upset already? Take a seat. Take a deep breath. At least they didn't take the bug to Hawaii. Any movement is good. Spring is coming, not winter, the cache will be active enough, soon enough. It's a brand new cache, and has had only three visits thus far. That means there are plenty more cachers to come. Lots of cachers like a nice 3 terrain. It's the best kind of hiking for some. It's moving, be happy.

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Your travel bug took one hop, 28 miles, and you're upset already?  Take a seat.  Take a deep breath.  At least they didn't take the bug to Hawaii.  Any movement is good.  Spring is coming, not winter, the cache will be active enough, soon enough.  It's a brand new cache, and has had only three visits thus far.  That means there are plenty more cachers to come. Lots of cachers like a nice 3 terrain.  It's the best kind of hiking for some.  It's moving, be happy.

Not to put too fine a point on it. I am not upset. I am disapointed. The 'hop' as you call it just happens to have been made in the wrong direction. I would have hoped that adults would have been more aware of what they were doing vs feeding their own self-interest. I wonder what they thought that they were accomplishing. I wonder if they were thinking at all. Doing something silly like moving it to Hawaii or Vietnam would only have made my point stronger. It seems fairly easy to just leave it alone if you can't comply with someone's simple request.

 

By the way, I was 'happy' before I placed my Bug and I'll try my best to remain 'happy' going forward. Trust me, just as soon as I discover that my 'happiness' hinges on the success of the movement of a Travel Bug I will either jump from a high high bridge or eat a .357.

Edited by Team cotati697
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Your travel bug took one hop, 28 miles, and you're upset already?  Take a seat.  Take a deep breath.  At least they didn't take the bug to Hawaii.  Any movement is good.  Spring is coming, not winter, the cache will be active enough, soon enough.  It's a brand new cache, and has had only three visits thus far.  That means there are plenty more cachers to come. Lots of cachers like a nice 3 terrain.  It's the best kind of hiking for some.  It's moving, be happy.

Not to put too fine a point on it. I am not upset. I am disapointed. The 'hop' as you call it just happens to have been made in the wrong direction. I would have hoped that adults would have been more aware of what they were doing vs feeding their own self-interest. I wonder what they thought that they were accomplishing. I wonder if they were thinking at all. Doing something silly like moving it to Hawaii or Vietnam would only have made my point stronger. It seems fairly easy to just leave it alone if you can't comply with someone's simple request.

 

By the way, I was 'happy' before I placed my Bug and I'll try my best to remain 'happy' going forward. Trust me, just as soon as I discover that my 'happiness' hinges on the success of the movement of a Travel Bug I will either jump from a high high bridge or eat a .357.

Trust me, not only will you eventually be able to make a stronger point, you'll be able to make it many times over.

 

Pretty soon this bug will be beyond your reach and completely at the mercy of cachers.

 

This may seem like an odd thing to hear, but you need to have fairly low expectations. You'll be less disappointed and surprised when someone holds it for six months and that much more happier when it happens to take a short hop in the right direction.

 

Travel bugs require a lot of faith and a good mission tag.

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Your travel bug took one hop, 28 miles, and you're upset already?  Take a seat.  Take a deep breath.  At least they didn't take the bug to Hawaii.  Any movement is good.  Spring is coming, not winter, the cache will be active enough, soon enough.  It's a brand new cache, and has had only three visits thus far.  That means there are plenty more cachers to come. Lots of cachers like a nice 3 terrain.  It's the best kind of hiking for some.  It's moving, be happy.

Not to put too fine a point on it. I am not upset. I am disapointed. The 'hop' as you call it just happens to have been made in the wrong direction. I would have hoped that adults would have been more aware of what they were doing vs feeding their own self-interest. I wonder what they thought that they were accomplishing. I wonder if they were thinking at all. Doing something silly like moving it to Hawaii or Vietnam would only have made my point stronger. It seems fairly easy to just leave it alone if you can't comply with someone's simple request.

 

By the way, I was 'happy' before I placed my Bug and I'll try my best to remain 'happy' going forward. Trust me, just as soon as I discover that my 'happiness' hinges on the success of the movement of a Travel Bug I will either jump from a high high bridge or eat a .357.

Trust me, not only will you eventually be able to make a stronger point, you'll be able to make it many times over.

 

Pretty soon this bug will be beyond your reach and completely at the mercy of cachers.

 

This may seem like an odd thing to hear, but you need to have fairly low expectations. You'll be less disappointed and surprised when someone holds it for six months and that much more happier when it happens to take a short hop in the right direction.

 

Travel bugs require a lot of faith and a good mission tag.

Thank you for your inspirational message. I'll try and lower my expectations so that I might enhance the odds of increased happiness. Perhaps I should go retrieve the Bug while it is still nearby so that I can improve the quality and completness of the mission tag. Again thanks.

Edited by Team cotati697
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And who is to say it went in the wrong direction? The next cacher who picks up your TB may be able to take it the right direction.

 

I had a TB that started in western NC headed for Peoria IL. The first hop was to Charleston SC. The next hop was to Chicago IL.

 

Ours is not to reason why... (Or something like that.)

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I will sometimes move a bug in the "wrong" direction. I have purposly moved a bug that was sitting in the middle of Kansas trying to get to California back to Missouri. I took it out of a low volume cache to one that gets hit regularly by visiters to a travel bug motel in Missouri. The next week it moved to Idaho.

 

Sometimes the quickest route is not the most direct. A new cache will have a higher number of visitors than an established cache as old time cachers keep there area clean.

 

I say let it sit for a while. It will move on soon enough. Perhaps the visitors to the cache after it was placed knew that they couldn't imporove it's travels.

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And who is to say it went in the wrong direction? The next cacher who picks up your TB may be able to take it the right direction.

 

I had a TB that started in western NC headed for Peoria IL. The first hop was to Charleston SC. The next hop was to Chicago IL.

 

Ours is not to reason why... (Or something like that.)

Up until the point in time that south becomes east, the Bug was taken in the wrong direction. Should I be so fortunate as to have someone actually move the Bug east as clearly stated on the site and the attached mission card, then we can all rejoice in the near miracle of the Bug having been moved as requested.

 

The apparent difficulty of this task has far exceeded my wildest imaginations. As I sit and ponder the reasons for not honoring the wishes of the Bug owner. It boggles.

 

The Bug was not moved to a more advantgeous location. Quite the opposite in fact.

I never expected this Bug to make it's voyage in three hops direct to it's destination. I did however expect for those who chose to move it to follow my instructions. What ya gonna do, eh? Hopefully my luck will change. Bye bye little Bug of mine, you're on your own now.

Edited by Team cotati697
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Sorry, but your expectations are too high. You expect people to read the mission tag? You should know by now, if solely from driving or taking public transportation, that nobody actually reads instructions or signs anymore.

 

The bug is gonna move the wrong way sometimes. Sometimes a LOT in the wrong way. That's just the way it is. I had a Missouri-bound bug get grabbed in Texas and moved to Michigan before finally being placed in Tennessee. It's since been grabbed, taken to Florida, with a promise to drop it in Iowa in a couple of weeks. Iowa is closer to its destination than Texas, Michigan, Florida, or Tennessee. In the span of just over a month, this bug, which has logged almost 6,000 miles so far, will finally get within shooting distance of home.

 

On the other hand, as you pointed out, it's only 28 miles away. That's still within reach if you really want to go out, grab it, and place it in whatever cache you like. There's no rule saying an owner can't pick up a travel bug to move it or re-place it. You're free to do so, if it really bothers you that the person moving it moved it in the wrong direction.

 

Or you can just wait. This is a 3-day weekend. I'm sure a lot of geocachers are getting out and about this weekend, especially if the weather stays clear. Your bug will probably move soon.

 

If not for the fact that we're taking 580 and it's out of our way, I'd offer to take it into the Sierra Nevadas this weekend.

 

Edit to add: Portsmouth.... where? What state? The website doesn't say. If I didn't have the bug in my hand, I wouldn't know where you plan to send it. Is it written on the Mission card? Just some thoughts for if you want to make it more likely to get to its final destination.

 

Edit2: Ahh... I see the Goal says "Portsmouth, VA." Still, I think perhaps in the longer description you could include what state you want it to go to, and if it's not printed on the Mission card, you should definitely put it there.

Edited by mortaine
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Not to put too fine a point on it. I am not upset. I am disapointed. The 'hop' as you call it just happens to have been made in the wrong direction. I would have hoped that adults would have been more aware of what they were doing vs feeding their own self-interest. I wonder what they thought that they were accomplishing. I wonder if they were thinking at all. Doing something silly like moving it to Hawaii or Vietnam would only have made my point stronger. It seems fairly easy to just leave it alone if you can't comply with someone's simple request.

 

Acutally I think someone was complaining just the opposite recenty. They wre annoyed that people were visting the cache AND not moving their traveler :mad:

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=90531

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The apparent difficulty of this task has far exceeded my wildest imaginations. As I sit and ponder the reasons for not honoring the wishes of the Bug owner. It boggles

 

Jee, that wasn't a rude comment.

 

 

Someone can markwell this for me, but someone once said that the "wrong" hop might be the one that gets your bug to it's destination.

 

Aside from that, you don't know that the tag is still with the bug. The person could very well have picked up the bug without it having a tag.

 

You don't know that the person didn't try to put this bug in a cache closer to the goal. Maybe this person went that way and didn't find a cache that the bug would fit in so (s)he came home and put it in a busy cache.

 

 

Now then, Team cotati697, you have exactly one travel bug. It's out there and it's moving and that's all that really matters.

 

My first travel bug went from Nashville, TN to Cleveland, OH - 60 miles from it's goal location - and was then picked up by someone who dropped it almost to WV and the Ohio River and didn't log it in the cache he dropped it in. The owner happened to find it on cache maintenance and logged it into that cache. Someone picked it up from there and made it back to Kent, Ohio - but not without me not hearing about it for months and thinking it was missing from the Cleveland event.

 

My second travel bug was picked up from GW2, and then the cacher that had it didn't realize his wife had taken any bugs from the event until our December event where the bug resurfaced - again, many months away from any news of the bug.

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Don't feel too bad, at least it is still out there and active. My first Geo-coin made 90 miles in three jumps and has vanished. Someone appears to have decided it made a good collectors item.

 

I didn't care what direction it took, I just wanted it to move.

 

Yours will move again soon and probably get back on track somewhere along the way.

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Sorry, but your expectations are too high. You expect people to read the mission tag? You should know by now, if solely from driving or taking public transportation, that nobody actually reads instructions or signs anymore.

 

The bug is gonna move the wrong way sometimes. Sometimes a LOT in the wrong way. That's just the way it is. I had a Missouri-bound bug get grabbed in Texas and moved to Michigan before finally being placed in Tennessee. It's since been grabbed, taken to Florida, with a promise to drop it in Iowa in a couple of weeks. Iowa is closer to its destination than Texas, Michigan, Florida, or Tennessee. In the span of just over a month, this bug, which has logged almost 6,000 miles so far, will finally get within shooting distance of home.

 

On the other hand, as you pointed out, it's only 28 miles away. That's still within reach if you really want to go out, grab it, and place it in whatever cache you like. There's no rule saying an owner can't pick up a travel bug to move it or re-place it. You're free to do so, if it really bothers you that the person moving it moved it in the wrong direction.

 

Or you can just wait. This is a 3-day weekend. I'm sure a lot of geocachers are getting out and about this weekend, especially if the weather stays clear. Your bug will probably move soon.

 

If not for the fact that we're taking 580 and it's out of our way, I'd offer to take it into the Sierra Nevadas this weekend.

 

Edit to add: Portsmouth.... where? What state? The website doesn't say. If I didn't have the bug in my hand, I wouldn't know where you plan to send it. Is it written on the Mission card? Just some thoughts for if you want to make it more likely to get to its final destination.

 

Edit2: Ahh... I see the Goal says "Portsmouth, VA." Still, I think perhaps in the longer description you could include what state you want it to go to, and if it's not printed on the Mission card, you should definitely put it there.

Your excuse making changes nothing. Low expectations yield low results. Have it your way.

 

Dude, VA = Virginia. Of course one could make the common mistake with that bit of information and think that I wanted the bug to stop at the nearest VA Hospital that was near the mouth of a port. I'll have to remember that the next time that I send Buggsy out on his own. Poor poor Buggsy.

 

TO WIT:

 

"Current GOAL: To travel from it's point of origin Fairfield, CA. to Portsmouth, VA. and return.

 

About this item:

Large OD Green plastic Carabiner w/magnetic compass, laminated 'Mission' statment card all connected to the TB and chain. This mission is the first in my overall goal of having my TB make round trips from my current home to every town in which I have lived. This first in the series is naturally to the place of my birth thru my mid-twenties. Thanks to everyone who participates in this adventure. Cache on Dudes!!!"

 

Perfectly clear, concise and to the point. That was my fatal mistake.

Edited by Team cotati697
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"Current GOAL: To travel from it's point of origin Fairfield, CA. to Portsmouth, VA. and return.

 

About this item:

Large OD Green plastic Carabiner w/magnetic compass, laminated 'Mission' statment card all connected to the TB and chain. This mission is the first in my overall goal of having my TB make round trips from my current home to every town in which I have lived. This first in the series is naturally to the place of my birth thru my mid-twenties. Thanks to everyone who participates in this adventure. Cache on Dudes!!!"

 

Perfectly clear, concise and to the point. That was my fatal mistake.

Actually that first line could be very confusing because w/o a check to the website I don't know if its going out to VA or on its way back to CA. But if you only put the one part on there if it gets there the goal sheet is now wrong/incomplete.... ;)

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"Current GOAL:  To travel from it's point of origin Fairfield, CA. to Portsmouth, VA. and return.

 

About this item:

Large OD Green plastic Carabiner w/magnetic compass, laminated 'Mission' statment card all connected to the TB and chain. This mission is the first in my overall goal of having my TB make round trips from my current home to every town in which I have lived. This first in the series is naturally to the place of my birth thru my mid-twenties. Thanks to everyone who participates in this adventure. Cache on Dudes!!!"

 

Perfectly clear, concise and to the point. That was my fatal mistake.

Actually that first line could be very confusing because w/o a check to the website I don't know if its going out to VA or on its way back to CA. But if you only put the one part on there if it gets there the goal sheet is now wrong/incomplete.... ;)

You know, if people are really interested in moving a bug, they will look at its travel history as well as read the attached laminated goal card which explains in painful detail what the objective is and its starting point. Or they could always take the bug home, email me and I can supply my snail mail address so that they can send it to me. Then I can compose a new text for the laminated card, get it laminated and snail mail it back to them. Then they can put it back in the nearest appropriate cache container. Then the next person who moves it in its intended direction can repeat the process and we might make the trip outbound in 5 or 10 years. The return trip? I'll probably will be pushing up daisies by then so it really won't matter. Thanks for your helpful feedback. I am learning so much about how to correctly create a TB that I am quite certain that my next one will move much more quickly and directly towards its goal.

 

Thanks very much.

 

P.S. If you don't know what you are doing or why, then don't do it.

Edited by Team cotati697
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Yeah. I take it back-- I wouldn't pick up your bug, even if it were sitting in a rest stop cache. Who wants to deal with a bug owner like you? Very high maintenance and really cranky, it seems to me.

 

My suggestion: drive out to it, pick it up, put it in your pocket, and go home. Mail it to someone in Portsmouth and have them mail it back to you.

 

It's the only way to be sure.

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Dude, VA = Virginia. Of course one could make the common mistake with that bit of information and think that I wanted the bug to stop at the nearest VA Hospital that was near the mouth of a port. I'll have to remember that the next time that I send Buggsy out on his own. Poor poor Buggsy.

 

TO WIT:

 

"Current GOAL: To travel from it's point of origin Fairfield, CA. to Portsmouth, VA. and return.

 

About this item:

Large OD Green plastic Carabiner w/magnetic compass, laminated 'Mission' statment card all connected to the TB and chain. This mission is the first in my overall goal of having my TB make round trips from my current home to every town in which I have lived. This first in the series is naturally to the place of my birth thru my mid-twenties. Thanks to everyone who participates in this adventure. Cache on Dudes!!!"

 

Perfectly clear, concise and to the point. That was my fatal mistake.

No, the common mistake would be to skim the Goal and miss the two-letter "VA." In reading "About this Item:" I see "This mission is the first in my overall goal of having my TB make round trips from my current home to every town in which I have lived. This first in the series is naturally to the place of my birth thru my mid-twenties." But no mention of where the place of your birth actually is. Seriously-- Repetition is your friend.

 

I realize that rancor, sarcasm, and snide remarks are your defense against our criticisms that your method of playing the game isn't in line with the way the rest of the world plays it, but do consider the fact that you have a number of people here telling you that your expectations that everyone will have the TB sheet and an Internet connection available at a geocache are too high, and that if you're going to be this anal about your TB's movements (cripes, it didn't even move 28 miles west, just perpendicular), then perhaps you won't enjoy your travel bug's journey quite as much as you'd hoped.

 

You might want to quit while you're only a little bit behind.

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You know, if people are really interested in moving a bug, they will look at its travel history as well as read the attached laminated goal card which explains in painful detail what the objective is and its starting point.

Yea, and maybe that sub set will also be able to move it the right direction too. Everyone else that stumbles accross the TB has to diside from the goal sheet if they're able to help. It wouldn't be the first time someone took it the wrong way intentally thinking it the right way.

Don't get me wrong, I think its a good tag, just pointing out how even that could be misread.

 

Or they could always take the bug home, email me and I can supply my snail mail address so that they can send it to me. Then I can compose a new text for the laminated card, get it laminated and snail mail it back to them. Then they can put it back in the nearest appropriate cache container. Then the next person who moves it in its intended direction can repeat the process and we might make the trip outbound in 5 or 10 years. The return trip? I'll probably will be pushing up daisies by then so it really won't matter. Thanks for your helpful feedback. I am learning so much about how to correctly create a TB that I am quite certain that my next one will move much more quickly and directly towards its goal.

Now thats a interesting idea! Maybe you do a post card setup, just enclude a bunch of post cards and each person to take the TB home mails one to you and waits for a new tags to be mailed to them.

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Dude, VA = Virginia. Of course one could make the common mistake with that bit of information and think that I wanted the bug to stop at the nearest VA Hospital that was near the mouth of a port. I'll have to remember that the next time that I send Buggsy out on his own. Poor poor Buggsy.

 

TO WIT:

 

"Current GOAL:  To travel from it's point of origin Fairfield, CA. to Portsmouth, VA. and return.

 

About this item:

Large OD Green plastic Carabiner w/magnetic compass, laminated 'Mission' statment card all connected to the TB and chain. This mission is the first in my overall goal of having my TB make round trips from my current home to every town in which I have lived. This first in the series is naturally to the place of my birth thru my mid-twenties. Thanks to everyone who participates in this adventure. Cache on Dudes!!!"

 

Perfectly clear, concise and to the point. That was my fatal mistake.

No, the common mistake would be to skim the Goal and miss the two-letter "VA." In reading "About this Item:" I see "This mission is the first in my overall goal of having my TB make round trips from my current home to every town in which I have lived. This first in the series is naturally to the place of my birth thru my mid-twenties." But no mention of where the place of your birth actually is. Seriously-- Repetition is your friend.

 

I realize that rancor, sarcasm, and snide remarks are your defense against our criticisms that your method of playing the game isn't in line with the way the rest of the world plays it, but do consider the fact that you have a number of people here telling you that your expectations that everyone will have the TB sheet and an Internet connection available at a geocache are too high, and that if you're going to be this anal about your TB's movements (cripes, it didn't even move 28 miles west, just perpendicular), then perhaps you won't enjoy your travel bug's journey quite as much as you'd hoped.

 

You might want to quit while you're only a little bit behind.

Oh quite the contrary mon Sherri. I am overjoyed by my thus far wonderful TB experience. It can only get better going forward. Thanks for your heart-felt concern, it has renewed my faith in mankind knowing that there so many helpful people in the world.

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You know, if people are really interested in moving a bug, they will look at its travel history as well as read the attached laminated goal card which explains in painful detail what the objective is and its starting point.

Yea, and maybe that sub set will also be able to move it the right direction too. Everyone else that stumbles accross the TB has to diside from the goal sheet if they're able to help. It wouldn't be the first time someone took it the wrong way intentally thinking it the right way.

Don't get me wrong, I think its a good tag, just pointing out how even that could be misread.

 

Or they could always take the bug home, email me and I can supply my snail mail address so that they can send it to me. Then I can compose a new text for the laminated card, get it laminated and snail mail it back to them. Then they can put it back in the nearest appropriate cache container. Then the next person who moves it in its intended direction can repeat the process and we might make the trip outbound in 5 or 10 years. The return trip? I'll probably will be pushing up daisies by then so it really won't matter. Thanks for your helpful feedback. I am learning so much about how to correctly create a TB that I am quite certain that my next one will move much more quickly and directly towards its goal.

Now thats a interesting idea! Maybe you do a post card setup, just enclude a bunch of post cards and each person to take the TB home mails one to you and waits for a new tags to be mailed to them.

But of course!!

 

Say aren't we about due for another 'discussion' WRT batteries or the 'best' GPSr?

 

Oh wrong forum................never mind!!

Edited by Team cotati697
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Oh quite the contrary mon Sherri. I am overjoyed by my thus far wonderful TB experience. It can only get better going forward. Thanks for your heart-felt concern, it has renewed my faith in mankind knowing that there so many helpful people in the world.

Well, the cachers in the real world aren't doing what you want and the posters here in the battle grounds aren't buying into your angst.

 

We tried to help, what response would you like to hear?

 

Do us all a favor, take a parting shot and close the thread

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