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@AuntieNae wrote:
I am looking for updates on how well both the Oregon and Colorado models handle the really cold weather . …
The Oregon has held up just fine with temps hovering around zero. Haven’t had a chance to try it any colder as the weekends have been fairly nice. I have found that the screen speed did not slow noticeably, and the buttons are only slightly less responsive, needing just a bit more firm touch to make a selection. Bright winter days have shown the Oregon’s weakness, screen glare. It’s a bit tougher to read, but something I had become used to with a couple years worth of use out of my Palm Zire 31. With all the tasty goodness you get out of this package, that’s just not enough of a minus.
Heh, heh. Too funny Marc. It’s going to be a tough year for voting with no bad candidates. And be sure to vote early and often 😉 .
Like the others, I would of course like to serve because I feel I can give something back to the organization that has given me so much over the last couple years. I visit the site nearly daily, whether to read the forums, the recent logs or keep up on the news of the moment.
It’s also important to realize that anyone who serves, myself included, will support the agendas that they feel are important, and I believe some of the ideas I have will be helpful to the future state of geocaching in Wisconsin.
Another question where I will have to answer quite simply none. Not from lack of interest, just lack of need. Happily things have been just a bit simpler here in the central part of the state. Of course if duties as a board member required contacts with land managers it really wouldn’t be an issue.
Just wouldn’t do it. I’ve walked nearly a mile for a writing utensil after forgetting mine, and I’ve passed on caches because the camera was home that day. Now that ALRs are required to be mystery caches it makes life a lot easier. There were times when we nearly missed these because we glossed through the description on the Palm while on the fly.
Now none of that really answers the question as to what I would do if my log were deleted. Really, there would be two choices: Accept it gracefully and move on, or take the time to complete the requirements correctly and re-submit my find.
Nice job Brian. Definitely no surprises there, except maybe that slight yellow in the Minocqua area.
Hmmm… This is a difficult question for me. I tend to work in a fast-paced environment where decisions have to be made quickly and correctly without much time for deliberation. I feel I’ve developed a sense for getting to what ends up being the correct answer the majority of the time.
When making other decisions in my life, I tend to deliberate for a good while and when I choose a course of action I set to it immediately. I plan well and then execute the plans I create well. Flexibility does tend to be a necessity. Paraphrasing an old military adage poorly, no strategy survives beyond the first shot.
I work well in decision making with others, preferring to arrive at a consensus rather than seeing it as imperative that others are bent to my point of view. Others will regularly have better ideas or a different angle on my own ideas, and that is the way to go. I’m definitely no fire-eater.
By the yardstick of public service I will fall a bit shorter than my fellow candidates.
Cache placements have been slim, when we have had time I’ve preferred to seek caches rather than place them. Some people get far more from the hiding experience, some far more from the seeking. I fall into the latter category.
I have not held any events. I have discussed many times holding social events in the Central Wisconsin area, but never acted. I enjoy the company of my fellow cachers but am not necessarily a social butterfly.
I have not had contact with government entities. I will be happy to help out in that area, but others have the access to the right channels to get things moving. I’m certainly not incapable, I just haven’t had any reasons to pursue that direction.
In all honesty we could have done more than we did, and only part of that can be attributed to the birth of our son. Perhaps 2009 will provide better opportunities.
😀
We joined the WGA less than a month after we began caching. I think that I had actually discovered the site the day after we did our first cache, but lurked for a little while seeing what the water was like. We decided to join and haven’t looked back since 8) .
My question would be “What is the most important function that the WGA serves for our membership? Social, educational, government liaison or something else entirely?”
Very cool of you to bring this to Wisconsin Conman. We just picked up an Oregon around the holiday and we’ll look forward to coming down to try it out. We would offer to maintain this one, but that area is about a 3 & 1/2 hour drive from our home coords.
1. What got you into caching and how long have you been doing it?
I had been casting around for an activity that the much better half and I could learn together. She was always game to try things that I was active in, but I thought something new that we both had no experience in would be a lot of fun. I bought her a Garmin Geko 301 for Christmas 2004, and we logged our first cache on April 1, 2005. And the next day we did two more, and it has continued to evolve from there.
2. What area of the state are you from?
The heart of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.
3. How much of the state have you geocached in that is away from your home area? ?? of 72 counties
All the counties, all the DeLorme pages and we’ve spread out from there.
4. how far from home are you willing to travel for events and how far in the past have you traveled to go to an event?
We’ve been to MWGB twice and have attended one event in Minnesota and one event in Michigan. We tend to try to attend as a couple and that has really limited our event opportunities as Marie is frequently on call as part of her job. We particularly enjoy the social aspects of the events we do attend, and will travel plenty for the right event.
5. Are you members of any other geocaching association: Michigan’s MiGO, Minnesota Geocachers, GONIL, Big bob’s bulletin board, etc.
From time to time I do check other forums, most especially Minnesota and Iowa. I’ve checked many other states’ forums here and there, especially in connection with trips to cache.
As long as we’ve been adding specialized forums, why not something like “Ask a Cacher”? It might be the easiest way for someone to get an answer to a question rather than trying to choose an appropriate forum. Pin it right at the top of the list too 😀 .
I think that most people will probably have their first caching experiences before they stumble onto our site. I did, but on the other hand I’m always pleasantly surprised at the number of people who come to the boards and talk about how excited they are to try geocaching. Welcoming atmosphere is one thing, and I think we have that cornered. I really think we have the kind of forums where a newbie can come in and not be made to feel like one. We have a new member forum that does see activity.
But, that’s all without lifting a finger. To improve a new cacher’s experience we have to know that they exist, which is going to mean them coming to us. We have the WGA banners available for cache pages, and googling Wisconsin geocaching will get you here in the end. So virtual presence isn’t a problem in my eyes. The one thing I can point toward is having more events around the state so that those new cachers have somewhere to come and get that shiny new unit figured out, talk to like-minded people, etc. You don’t see a lot of wallflowers at geocaching events because it really is a social sport.
That’s going to take more than just the board of the WGA though. Events can be posted, and hopefully will be, but if we increase the number of WGA events we’re going to need volunteers, as no matter how much the board makes themselves available they’re also not a 24/7/365 volunteer event staff. To make events scattered around the state we’re going to need people in those communities to stand up and represent.
We should aspire to host a mega-event. We’ve attended two Midwest Geobashes now, and both have been highlights of our caching year.
But… Should we try to create one from scratch? Probably not. We have two excellent WGA events each year that could gain that status all on their own. I don’t know the attendance figures but a short search could bring them up. If we decided to push in that direction, either of those events could gain mega- status.
Another option is adding our resources to the West Bend event, though a lot of smiling WGA faces were already there every step of the way for that event. It too has a good likelihood of becoming a mega-event.
MWGB is always a possibility, but the couple running it are Ohioans and I think it will stay more in that area. Never hurts to ask though.
We will have to remember the impacts of that many people caching in a pretty tight area. The caches closest to the event are going to see a couple hundred people and a couple hundred signatures. That’s some pretty serious wear and tear if we choose the wrong area. Just something that’s important to take into the equation.
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