[kbraband]

LOL! I looked at the photos and descriptions this morning and wondered if that was one of our geocachers. His photos looked familiar.

[kbraband]

Rpaske has come through for us once again. He created a downloadable EasyGPS file for free WiFi locations inthe Chicago area and one for all of Illinois. Enjoy!

[This message has been edited by kbraband (edited 11-17-2004).]

[kbraband]

Now that we have a file of Wisconsin’s free hotspots, is anyone interested in creating a file for Chicago area hotspots?

[kbraband]

When I first read wzbt03’s posts that said that some geocachers were posting logs for caches that they never actually found, I was not overly alarmed. It didn’t seem like that big of a deal. Over the years I’ve seen several questionable trends come and go. These have included: an over abundance of virtual caches seemingly at every roadside stop, geocachers from out of state who argue intensely with you when you question whether they actually found your cache, caches nailed to the sides of trees, enthusiastic geocachers who place more caches than they can reasonably hope to maintain, locationless caches, caches that look like pipe bombs, caches on school property without the school’s knowledge or permission, caches under busy highway bridges, tucked under freeway barriers, and next to electric utility boxes… well you get the idea.

I’ve made mistakes along the way too. No one is perfect. We all learn as we go along. No big deal.

Hopefully, that’s what has happened here as well. A handful of eager geocachers were so enthusiastic about their new activity that they cooked up a way to have even more fun. They read about “teams” going out to look for caches together, and their team decided to split to cover more ground in less time. They didn’t realize or comprehend the uproar this would cause if their practice were to become widely known in the geocaching community. And now that word is out, the community is voicing its displeasure.

The simple thing for those divide-and-conquer geocachers to do now is admit they made a mistake and go back to logging only the caches that they actually sign the log for themselves, with no proxy assistance. (After all, that’s what the log book is for — to sign in, not for someone else to write down your name.) If they want to publicly admit their mistake, that would be fine. If they’re too embarrased to make a public statement of apology, I would understand that. And I hope my fellow WGA members would also. If they do want to fess up publicly, we will listen, understand, and chalk it up as a simple mistake. At the very least, I hope they realize it’s time to stop what they were doing because other geocachers don’t like it and feel their sport is being diminished by this practice.

[kbraband]

quote:

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Originally posted by wzbt03:
They started with cache one as a team and when Ken caches alone he logs them as KBraband.

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Ah, but I never cache alone. However, sometimes I may geocache alone.

Sorry, I just had to raise that topic again.

[kbraband]

It should be noted that if you want to take advantage of free WiFi hotspots, you don’t have to get a wireless router and set up a wireless network in your home. You could, if you so choose, simply use your wireless card in your notebook computer when you’re away from home.

quote:

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Originally posted by Cathunter:

Unless you have set up MAC address filtering or are using a properly set-up firewall, anyone can get on your network. WEP is a popular authentication/encryption method that comes with the access point, but is not good enough security to prevent someone from accessing your network.

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Thanks for the good information! This begs the next questions: How do you set up MAC address filtering, and how do you “properly set up” a firewall?

[kbraband]

smokey, did your new laptop come with built-in wireless capability? (Many newer laptops do.) If not, you can purchase a wireless PC card to insert into the side of it. You can get one for about $29 after mail-in rebate at places such as Best Buy or American TV. Then whenever you get within a WiFi “hotspot” a little indicator pops up on your screen telling you that you are online. This is a high-speed, broadband connection. It’s free at the locations listed in the website that I posted above. You can read more about by Google searching “Wifi explained”, including this site: http://www.lordpercy.com/wifi_explained.htm

[This message has been edited by kbraband (edited 11-09-2004).]

[kbraband]

That’s what I love about the WGA — ask and ye shall receive. Rpaske created the file today and emailed it to me. Thanks, Randy! Great job. We’ll get it on the Links page soon. Meanwhile, it can be downloaded here: http://www.rocketink.com/WisconsinWiFi.loc
If anyone knows of additional free WiFi hotspots in Wisconsin (including your own driveway if you have a home wireless system and want WGA members to stop by use it), please post them in this message topic and we’ll add them to the list.

[kbraband]

The PowerPoint is now on the WGA website. We’ll get it listed on the Links page soon. Meanwhile, it’s here: http://wi-geocaching.com/info/WPRAGeocaching.ppt

[kbraband]

Thanks for the words of encouragement about the PowerPoint file.

The session was held at the WPRA convention this afternoon. It went well. I think we did a lot of good for geocaching in Wisconsin. There were about 40 to 50 WPRA members in attendance including the WGA’s own Auntienae, who is a WPRA member. A couple of people asked me for a copy of my PowerPoint or handouts, so I am going to ask our webmasters to make it available online here at the WGA website. In the meantime, it will continue to be available at the link I posted in the first message of this forum topic.

One of those I spoke with after the session was Kathy Gruentzel, superintendent of Gov. Dodge State Park. She said she knew there were geocaches in her park but she wished the cache owners would have contacted her to inform her about the caches and ask permission. Since I am one of those who has a cache in Gov. Dodge, I apologized and said I would contact the other cache owners and ask them to email Kathy about their caches.

All in all, it was a good opportunity for the WGA to explain our activity and open up more communication with park managers.

[kbraband]

I saw your note about the events just now, so I updated the events page. (I’m not sure if we have anyone on the board assigned to keep the page updated.) Anyway, I’ll try to keep an eye on it and keep it more up-to-date.

BTW, I check for upcoming events by going to the “nearest caches” page for Wisconsin, which I have bookmarked in my web browser. Here’s a link: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?state_id=50&submit2=GO

[kbraband]

quote:

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Originally posted by What’s Next?:
Thank you, that’s helpful.

We’re seeing the Palm Pilot IIIxe for a good price, but it doesn’t seem to list our operating system (Windows XP). Would we have a problem?

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It won’t be a problem for paperless geocaching if you follow the procedure listed in the link that I provided above. I use a Palm IIIxe and have Windows XP as the operating system on my computer. You could also use the GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) program with the Palm and Windows XP. Although I haven’t taken this step, I understand it’s a great program.

[kbraband]

Thanks for scanning and posting the article. Nicely done!

[kbraband]

http://www.geocacher-u.com/resources/paperless.html

[kbraband]

I would love to get rid of the two land lines I have coming into the house (one for personal, one for business). My two teenagers and I each have our own cell phones and I have Road Runner cable connection for internet service. The problem is that I get poor cell phone reception here at the house. I live several miles outside of town in a fringe area for my cellular service. I have to step outside to take or make a cellular call, and even then it may drop. For now, I stay hard-wired.

[Author]

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