[Team Deejay]

I would like to add one idea to this thread. When you post something in a WGA forum (or any other public forum), it would be good if you could avoid insults, sarcasm, inflammatory language, and accusations of incompetence, ignorance, malfeasance, or laziness against other members of the organization. For this forum to be effective, it is necessary that we all respect the opinions of those we disagree with. Remember that things put in writing will always lack the nuance that can be employed with “in person” communication. Anything you write that can be taken harshly will be taken harshly. It doesn’t matter that you meant something as a joke or were just being overly dramatic. People will take what you say literally. We are all friends here, and there is no reason be disrespectful.

[Team Deejay]

WHAT HAS BEEN GREAT:

• The events we had were well executed, well attended, and apparently enjoyed by all who attended. We are best identified by these events, so it is important for them to be executed well.
• The geocoin launch and sale was excellent. This was a model for how we can repeat this process in the future.
• The administration of the website has been great. I especially appreciate the additional forum categories.
• Most of the board members have been very active in our forums, which helps the rest of us understand what is happening.

WHAT COULD BE BETTER:

• While the minutes of the February meeting were posted, it seems most of the other discussions and considerations have all been conducted in relative secrecy. I would like to see much greater transparency to the board activities. While I can see the value of privately conducting some deliberations, once these discussions are complete and a decision is reached, the thought process of reaching this decision should be revealed to the membership in detail. This could be done either by posting edited threads to the forums or by posting minutes of the smaller meetings that are held by the board.
• In my opinion, we MUST start having more WGA events in the northern half of the state, either by holding the picnic or campout there or by having more events. We are a statewide organization and need to serve ALL the membership. I am fully aware that there are a lot of challenges involved with doing this, but we have a lot of great people in our ranks, and I’m sure we can get it done if we make the effort.
• I would really like to see more effort put towards building a presentation for park personnel and another for law enforcement personnel, so that we can provide speakers and consistent content when the need arises.
• The handling of the logo change was not the best, but I think it was a difficult situation, both within the board and in the membership as a whole. The resulting unrest demonstrates the importance of clear, open, and regular communication with the membership of board proceedings. When “all is quiet”, many people tend to assume the worst.

[Team Deejay]

Hey, when did Jeremy shave his head and start doing videos for Garmin?

[Team Deejay]

OK, I will respond to this one first. I personally like the new logo. The lines are clean, the effect is dramatic, and it has a professional look to it. I especially like the darker color scheme, reflecting a “camouflage” look. I will admit to not voting for this logo in any of the elections (liked some others better), but given all the issues, I think this is a good compromise and will serve the organization well for many years. The old logo was nice, but I think it reflects an earlier time in the game when things were “smaller”. I know that many of us long for those early days, but the times have changed and it is good that we have chosen to change with them.

[Team Deejay]

Anyone can, but you should contact the owner first. The purpose of this rescue type is to handle situations with absentee owners or when an owner is unable to check himself for some reason. Normally these should be posted by the owner. If you are too shy to email the owner, just post a needs maintenance log and I will see it.

[Team Deejay]

If you just type your zip code into the front page of geocaching.com, you will see a big list of caches centering on your home. Now, family friendly means different things to different people, but here are some hints:

1. Stick with regular or large size caches for a while. These tend to be much easier to find and usually contain swag which will be fun for your kids to go through and trade.

2. I’m not sure how adventurous your kids are, but the terrain ratings on caches should give you some idea of how rough they are. I like to think of it as a “footwear requirement”:

Terrain 1 = Can be found in Sandals, should be handicapped accessible
Terrain 2 = Can be found in Sneakers
Terrain 3 = Hiking Boots and long pants required
Terrain 4 = Usually involves wading, rock hopping, swimming, tree climbing, scrambling up rocky cliffs, etc.
Terrain 5 = Requires a boat, scuba gear, climbing equipment, etc.

Consider your kids and what they like/tolerate. For some kids, a tree climbing cache would be great. Others don’t want to venture off the pavement. Note also that significant snow will raise the terrain rating at least one level in most cases.

3. Mystery caches should be evaluated individually. Most kids aren’t too interested in the desk puzzle variety, but some might enjoy the type where you visit a notable site and collect information to build the coordinates.

4. Consider a trip to a park with multiple caches. Most kids would rather be hiking/geocaching rather than riding in the car between them.

And don’t worry, it will get easier. Have fun, ask questions here, and don’t worry about a “no find”. It is all part of the game.

edit: I just looked at your log and realized that you have a two year old. Save the above advice and just look for regular/large containers with terrain of 2 or less. Looks like the closest one is Neshonic Kids Cache.

[Team Deejay]

@Team Black-Cat wrote:

@Team Deejay wrote:

The problem with this sort of analysis is that there are a lot of caches archived over the same time period, including many which are both published and archived over the same year. I can’t speak for WGA3,. but I published 2493 caches in 2008, including events. I’m guessing she published about the same.

I’m not sure which analysis you referring to,

I was referring to the stats posted by Ken, which measure the growth of the sport, but not the total caches published. In your case, if you are taking a regular query of the whole state and manually recording those archived caches, you will only be missing those caches which are published and then archived between your queries (not that significant, but you’d actually be surprised how often this happens).

[Team Deejay]

The problem with this sort of analysis is that there are a lot of caches archived over the same time period, including many which are both published and archived over the same year. I can’t speak for WGA3,. but I published 2493 caches in 2008, including events. I’m guessing she published about the same.

[Team Deejay]

Trying to avoid biting clean through my tongue….

[Team Deejay]

@furfool wrote:

I looked at the new LCG bookmark list and the first three pages were good. Page four was a repeat of three and so on at least to page ten. I have a total of 22 pages on the list. I wonder how many pages are there supposed to be?

Obviously there are 9 pages of 50, since the bottom of the page says “430 caches”. At this point, you have two choices:

1. Download the list using a pocket query and use software that actually works to review the list.

2. Make yourself a total nuisance to the folks at http://WWW.GEOCACHING.COM until you persuade them to fix this correctly.

Note that if you need help on how to create a pocket query, how to use GSAK or Easy GPS or Mapsource, how to map the list, etc. This is the place to ask. Problems with gc.com, well, you will be much more effective asking them.

[Team Deejay]

Actually, it happens with Firefox 3 as well. Just not as often. The hot ticket is to use the bookmark list to create a pocket query, then display the list in GSAK, Easy GPS or anything other than geocaching.com.

[Team Deejay]

One more thing: when creating HTML for cache pages, you are better off to use a plain text editor (like Notepad) rather than something like Microsoft Word. Word will create your HTML for you, but it will insert LOTS of extraneous tags which don’t do anything but make your page a big mess. Just learn to use the basic tags and you will get much better results.

Oh yeah, one more thing: If you are an advanced HTML user, the geocaching website will strip out any Java, Javascript, or other programming language objects. (CSS is ok.) This is done to “protect” users from unscrupulous people who might embed viruses, keyloggers, and the like in their cache pages. This may seem like an extreme solution, but this is the solution they have chosen.

[Team Deejay]

You mean this one?

You are a fluke of the universe. You have no right to be here.
Deteriorata. Deteriorata.

Go placidly amid the noise and waste,
And remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
Avoid quiet and passive persons, unless you are in need of sleep.
Rotate your tires.
Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself,
And heed well their advice, even though they be turkeys.
Know what to kiss, and when.
Consider that two wrongs never make a right, but that three do.
Wherever possible, put people on hold.
Be comforted that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment,
and despite the changing fortunes of time,
There is always a big future in computer maintenance.

Remember The Pueblo.
Strive at all times to bend, fold, spindle, and mutilate.
Know yourself. If you need help, call the FBI.
Exercise caution in your daily affairs,
Especially with those persons closest to you –
That lemon on your left, for instance.
Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls
Would scarcely get your feet wet.
Fall not in love therefore. It will stick to your face.
Gracefully surrender the things of youth: birds, clean air, tuna, Taiwan.
And let not the sands of time get in your lunch.
Hire people with hooks.
For a good time, call 606-4311. Ask for Ken.
Take heart in the bedeepening gloom
That your dog is finally getting enough cheese.
And reflect that whatever fortune may be your lot,
It could only be worse in Milwaukee.

You are a fluke of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether you can hear it or not,
The universe is laughing behind your back.

Therefore, make peace with your god,
Whatever you perceive him to be – hairy thunderer, or cosmic muffin.
With all its hopes, dreams, promises, and urban renewal,
The world continues to deteriorate.
Give up!

[Team Deejay]

@SammyClaws wrote:

Checked out Mapquest for rural areas, and its what I am looking for. Now at the risk of sounding ignorant, I cannot find the help on their site for importing or plotting waypoints? Can someone point me in the right direction?

In the “When you only have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail” category, I have a junk database in GSAK where I have just a few caches that people ask me to check. I just change the coordinates and use the GSAK “link” to send them to Mapquest. If you want to do it manually, the syntax is:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=%lat&longitude=%lon

Where %lat and %lon are decimal degree latitude and longitude.

[Team Deejay]

I agree with Cheeto with regard to placing the permanents ahead of time. LB7’s caches in Lapham Peak were a hit, both for the event and after. For those not used to placing caches on DNR property, please see the cache notification form on the Hiding a Cache page. You will find that on “highly managed properties”, like state parks, taking the time to meet with the ranger and get a feel for what they don’t want you to do. This can save you a lot of time going back and forth to place and remove caches, and also lets the rangers know that you are not going to abandon your cache after the event. Overall, the DNR has a positive impression of geocachers, so do your best to keep up our reputation.

[Author]

Posts