[Team Deejay]

Thanks to 2CraziesMSN and WoodlandNomad for providing the final waypoint for Training Camp!

[Team Deejay]

If there is a container or other object you placed, other than a firetack, please list this as a stage of a multicache. For firetacks and for anything that you didn’t put there, list as a question to answer or a reference point. Firetacks/reflectors are a special exception to the proximity rule.

Essentially, if it is subject to the proximity rule, make it a SOAM. If not, make it a Q2A.

[Team Deejay]

You can choose which you prefer, but I would recommend visible. Otherwise, you may have “helpful” people bugging you to add the waypoint. For those who are wondering the purpose of this, the site is adding new functionality to “hide a cache” screen to show a map marking unavailable areas. Multis will not be included unless they have a SoaM waypoint at the start location.

[Team Deejay]

In your Oregon, you should be able to turn off the GPS. Go to the Satellite page and hit the menu. Change to use with GPS Off. Then you will have the option to Set Location on Map. Do that, now search nearest GCs. If they are missing, there is something wrong.

[Team Deejay]

The calendar app that already built into your phone (look in your apps for the app named “Calendar”) is automatically synced to your Google calendar account. Google used to distribute a PC program that runs automatically, but they stopped distributing it, as it was encouraging people to use Outlook instead of Google (sigh). In any case, I saved the program, and it still works, so if you send me your email, I will send it to you. Note that either Microsoft or Google could do something to break this program at any time, but right now, it works.

[Team Deejay]

Congratulations to all who volunteered to help the organization, and welcome to the incoming board members!

[Team Deejay]

@beccaday wrote:

I think this was one of the hangups with getting the series going in the first place was waiting for the DNR to pay for anything.

Exactly. The difference between our program and those in Minnesota and Georgia is that the state parks actively promoted the programs and provided at least a minimum level of support. Right now, the WI DNR appears to be just going along for the ride. I guess that is fine, but maybe we need to offer them another opportunity to participate.

My experience with rangers in Wisconsin is that they recognize that during the spring and fall (outside of camping and hunting seasons), we constitute the majority of park users, so they really want us to place caches. They do recognize that their budgets are dependent on visitor levels and entry sales. It is just too bad that the executives in the DNR don’t recognize this (yet).

[Team Deejay]

I haven’t said much on this topic, because I’m not really into swag. That said, if we want “prizes”, I’m thinking that this is a good spot for the DNR to step up and fund said prizes. As far as I know, they have contributed nothing to this project, so if they want to be involved, maybe this is their opportunity.

[Team Deejay]

@sevencards wrote:

Living out away from all the “cache dense” areas, here is my list:

What? GC25HAQ didn’t make the cut?

[Team Deejay]

I tend to agree with the Jims on this. I’ve never really understood the attraction of the paraphernalia of geocaching (or anything else for that matter.) The game is about the collection of experiences, not dust collectors.

[Team Deejay]

OK, the report form is ready for input.

[Team Deejay]

Part of the issue with favorite points is that the number of favorites is somewhat proportional to the number of finds. The percentage method discussed above is much better. To make examination of this MUCH easier, go to http://www.project-gc.com and look at the Percentage favorites instead of the number of favorites, or better yet, use theL ower bound of Wilson score confidence interval for a Bernoulli parameter (for you statistics jocks out there). In Wisconsin, here are the “Total favorites” Top Ten:

Covert Cache -#1
Dr.Evermore&Lady Eleanor -#2
Pike Powder Hike – #3
Boom, Boom, Boom – #4
Dickeyville Grotto – #5
Cache Across America – Wisconsin – #6
X-Wing Fighter – #7
Sophia Lives here – #8
What the CLUCK? – #9
1335 The Goonies: One Eye Willy’s Pirate Ship – #10

Here is the percentage top ten:

Take a Deep Breath – #1
American Literature: Final Exam – #2
Pop goes the cache… – #3
Am I Shrinking? – #4
What Gomer Said – #5
TARDIS / The Key to Time Travel – #6
No Tools Required – #7
The Beautiful Smith Park – #8
Bank Heist – #9
The Old Man | Gets All Strung Out – #10

Finally, here is the “Wilson” top ten, which takes into account the uncertainty related to caches with a very small number of finds:

Take a Deep Breath – #1
American Literature: Final Exam – #2
Am I Shrinking? – #3
Pop goes the cache… – #4
What Gomer Said – #5
Wisconsin Ornithology: American Crow – #6
No Tools Required – #7
TARDIS / The Key to Time Travel – #8
Bank Heist – #9
Quicksand Swamp – #10

Note that the two caches which fell off the list are numbers 14 and 16 in the Wilson list, so basically, the percentage stat is almost the same as the more complicated statistical analysis. Similarly the two caches missing from the percentage list in the Wilson list are #11 and 23. Note that of the 12 caches in this list, 6 are traditionals, 3 are mysteries, and 3 are multis.

The only problem with the Project GC site is that you can’t download from it. (I’m sure this is a TOU issue with the Geocaching API). Calculating these numbers for a lot of caches is difficult with GSAK, as one usually doesn’t have all the logs, plus, it is not easy to determine which logs are Premium members. There is a macro that will calculate percentage based on total logs, but obviously that is not the same thing.

What I have taken to doing is taking my PQ and turning it into a bookmark list (download to GSAK, then use the add to bookmark function), then using project GC to analyze the bookmark list. then I just pick the ones I want from the website and map a route to go find them. Essentially, this is “Find the best caches where I am going” instead of “Pick the best cache around and then go find it”, but it works for me.

[Team Deejay]

@Lacknothing wrote:

@Team Deejay wrote:

I just checked and we have given out 72% of our available points. Basically, if we like a cache, it gets a favorite point. We really use favorites to decide what caches to seek on trips, so I appreciate you all being serious about awarding them. Based on some of the caches I found in Vegas, I think people out there award points based on how drunk they are when the find the cache.

I am guessing there is a lot of drunkedness….so that could be interesting…

Not really. It means people favorite things like:

– A virtual where you simply take a photo where the location of the photo is 500 feet away from the listed coordinates. (We took our picture at the listed coordinates) – 186 favorite points
– A virtual with no task or question located at a store. (We took a picture, yea) – 277 favorite points
– A nano on a sign in front of a shopping center where the coordinates are actually in the middle of shopping center inside the building (its a 3 story building). The hint gives the location if you happen to read it before wandering all over the stupid mall. – 53 favorite points
– A fake light plate on a McDonalds sign, placed by a local timeshare business (next door to McDs), where as soon as you sign in, they come out and start the timeshare spiel. – 50 favorite points

Quite frankly, I wasn’t amused by any of this.

That said, everywhere else we have been delighted by the caches we find by using the favorites feature, especially in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois. Even in Vegas, we found a lot of great caches out in the desert by using the feature, as well as some great stuff in the city. There was a cache at a Drive-Thru wedding chapel (yes, really), where we happened upon it with a wedding going on, complete with an Elvis impersonator and a pink Cadillac. Never would have found that one without using favorites. I’ll keep using the feature for sure. I just wish people would remember that they are endorsing these things when they put favorite points on parking lot LPCs.

[Team Deejay]

I just checked and we have given out 72% of our available points. Basically, if we like a cache, it gets a favorite point. We really use favorites to decide what caches to seek on trips, so I appreciate you all being serious about awarding them. Based on some of the caches I found in Vegas, I think people out there award points based on how drunk they are when the find the cache.

[Team Deejay]

OK, sounds good. I will contact the volunteers team and start the process.

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