Good morning everyone. Normally I have an interesting fact or stat to start off my blog. This week is a little different. Some of the stats are incorporated in the blog itself.
It's Sunday morning, and I've decided to do another random thoughts blog. I am working on another blog, but I haven't had the proper amount of time this week to give it the attention it deserves. I want it to be a good blog. I do have another one waiting to be published, but I wasn't happy using it just yet. I initially had this one started a number of weeks ago, mostly as a rant. When isn't my random thoughts not ranting about something? LOL.
A couple of thoughts came to mind yesterday as I was watching Cache Canada's Open Mic show on their YouTube channel. One thing that was touched on was some reviewers putting a lock on publishing new caches. Some have done that, some haven't. What if where you live has a lockdown on new caches and nothing gets published for the entire month of April? Will people still go out and hide caches anyway? There is a possibility that no caches are hidden and published. That could make it more difficult to keep your Jasmer calendar up to date. It could make the caches that have been or will be hidden during this time more sought after by Jasmer hunters. Manitoba had 16 new hides for March. Twelve so far in April. Hopefully some of these new caches can withstand the test of time.
Another thought actually was a comment on a podcast, probably The Geocaching Podcast. People who go out every day to find at least one geocache to keep a daily streak going. I'm not talking about thirty days or one hundred days. There are people with streaks around the two thousand day mark in Canada. That's five years and counting. To have your streak end and not on your terms. Looking at Project-gc and active streaks, I see quite a few with red bars (that indicates the streak is no longer active) on the first page (the top 30 streaks in Canada), where in the past most of those were green bars (still active). Carnigrewal is still the top Canadian with a streak of 3,570 days and counting. That's nine and a half years of finding a geocache every day. Looking at the top 30 in the States, only eight are indicated as being ended. To be in the top 30 in the States, you need to have a streak that lasted over eight years. Drjay in Utah still has the longest streak at 4,819 days. That's 13 years of nonstop geocaching. I did a streak of one thousand and ten days. It wasn't fun anymore towards the end. That's a couple months shy of three years. To go eight plus years of dedicated finding each and every day? I couldn't do that. All the power to those dedicated people. Hopefully their streak isn't forced to end because of the pandemic.
I'm sure everyone's numbers for caches found is down. Mine isn't really down. They've been low since the last half of 2019. How will the lack of finding geocaches affect the creators (vloggers, bloggers) and the amount of content they can put out? For vloggers, some have lots of footage from previous adventures to hopefully get them past this dry spell. Same could be said about bloggers. Without some sort of an adventure to write about, what else is there? I don't have too much of a problem with that. I can write something every week. My issue is making sure it's interesting enough for people to read. I'm more about quality. So is Geocaching Jangie. She doesn't want to put out something for the sake of putting out something. She has made the decision to not do a weekly blog during this pandemic since she really can't get out and go on adventures.
Events. We are just starting to see the effects of this pandemic on the larger events. Mingo Madness has been delayed. I haven't been keeping tabs on this event since I wasn't planning on attending, but hearing from podcasts that a future date is being worked on. Most smaller events have probably been cancelled and archived. I'm also hearing of geocachers having their travel plans cancelled because of this pandemic. What sort of lasting effect will Covid-19 have on geocaching? The Geocaching Podcast did a Patreon only show and the topic was; should geocaching be paused while the pandemic grips the world?
Switching topics, this is actually what I had written a few weeks back and I'm including it here. It's basically my rant about and views on some aspects of the game. I'm a part of this really awesome FB group called Worldwide Geocaching. One day I decided to post a question to see what sort of feedback I'd get. The question was about sending answers for Earthcaches or Virtual caches. As an owner, would you be a stickler about the answers you got? If a geocacher gets only one question out of four correct, but gave a good effort in answering and can prove they were indeed there, would you still deny that geocacher the found it log? Are you the type of owner that would let it slide? The response I got back was overwhelming. Basically everyone was saying if an honest effort was given and there was proof that the geocacher was there, let them have the found it log. Earthcaches are about educating people and bringing people to a point of interest. On the flip side, it is at the owner's discretion if they want to allow found it logs with incorrect answers.
If you did an Earthcache, submitted what you thought was the correct answers, only to find out you were wrong and was denied logging that cache, would you go back? I think that sort of depends on how the owner replied to you. If the owner was rude and slightly harsh, then probably not. Again, this is up to the owner and how they choose to reply. General consensus is that if the owner is rude about the wrong answers, not only would you not go back, but possibly avoid any other geocaches by the same owner.
I did do a blog about Earthcaches and from what I heard from different geocachers is that a good percentage don't like Earthcaches because of the questions. Not all of us are geologists or mathematicians. I usually avoid Earthcaches if I find that the answers are going to require a degree in something that I don't have. That doesn't say I haven't tried some. I have. One particular Earthcache that I did about a year and a half ago asks to estimate the size and weight of a boulder. I haven't done that sort of math since I graduated high school. I gave it my best shot though. The owner got back to me and said my calculations were way off, but he did allow me to log it as found.
This is where the owner can reply with the correct answers and maybe guide the finder through the steps on how to reach the correct answer. Geocaching is suppose to be fun. Nothing fun about being told you're wrong and not knowing how or why you're wrong. I think the reputation of an owner can increase or decrease with the response. This could also apply to asking for hints or nudges when you're stuck solving a puzzle. When I'm asked, I won't give the answer away, but I will give hints, clues, or mention where they went wrong with guidance towards getting the correct answer. I want people to find my caches. In return, I hope I can get the same feedback, or at least inspire others to give the same feedback when put in that position.
I bring all this up because I have been on the receiving end of being allowed to log a cache as found, despite wrong answers and being denied. I did an Earthcache five years ago with my boys while on a vacation in Alberta. It was a spur of the moment stop so I didn't have this inputted into my GPS. There was also no cell service. I gathered up any information that I could that might be an answer to a question. When I got back to the hotel, I discovered that I didn't have a single answer. I messaged the owner, explaining my situation and that I was just passing through. I had enough proof that I was indeed at the Earthcache that I was allowed to log it as found. Until this day, I am very grateful to that owner.
I've done a Virtual that is local last summer. I did the tour with the boys and gathered what I thought was the correct answers. I know the owner to the cache. I was denied. I thought of going back, but ultimately said nope (I actually said something else but we'll keep things family friendly), not going back. My message to current and future cache owners, be nice to the people trying to find your hides. You're only hurting yourself by being rude.
Since I'm on the topic off logging caches, another bone I need to pick. I've seen this a couple of times. Fortunately I don't see it very often. It is important to log your "will attend" for events. This gives the host an idea of how many people are showing up. Reservations might need to be made and a number given. It's very important to let them know you're coming. Understandably, life can get in the way from the time you said you'd attend to the actual event date. You post a regret that plans have changed. Again, it keeps the host in the loop. This is where I have an issue. Logging that you can't attend an event because you're going to a different event that's at the same time (approximately) and an hour or so away from this event. If you're not planning on attending, why post anything? It could be just me, but I find that sort of action to be rude and disrespectful. If I have no plans on going, then I just ignore the event. Nothing posted. Done.
That's all for this week. Time to go have some breakfast. Until next week, be happy, stay safe, keep your distance, wash your hands, and most of all, try to have fun. Peace out.
It's Sunday morning, and I've decided to do another random thoughts blog. I am working on another blog, but I haven't had the proper amount of time this week to give it the attention it deserves. I want it to be a good blog. I do have another one waiting to be published, but I wasn't happy using it just yet. I initially had this one started a number of weeks ago, mostly as a rant. When isn't my random thoughts not ranting about something? LOL.
A couple of thoughts came to mind yesterday as I was watching Cache Canada's Open Mic show on their YouTube channel. One thing that was touched on was some reviewers putting a lock on publishing new caches. Some have done that, some haven't. What if where you live has a lockdown on new caches and nothing gets published for the entire month of April? Will people still go out and hide caches anyway? There is a possibility that no caches are hidden and published. That could make it more difficult to keep your Jasmer calendar up to date. It could make the caches that have been or will be hidden during this time more sought after by Jasmer hunters. Manitoba had 16 new hides for March. Twelve so far in April. Hopefully some of these new caches can withstand the test of time.
Another thought actually was a comment on a podcast, probably The Geocaching Podcast. People who go out every day to find at least one geocache to keep a daily streak going. I'm not talking about thirty days or one hundred days. There are people with streaks around the two thousand day mark in Canada. That's five years and counting. To have your streak end and not on your terms. Looking at Project-gc and active streaks, I see quite a few with red bars (that indicates the streak is no longer active) on the first page (the top 30 streaks in Canada), where in the past most of those were green bars (still active). Carnigrewal is still the top Canadian with a streak of 3,570 days and counting. That's nine and a half years of finding a geocache every day. Looking at the top 30 in the States, only eight are indicated as being ended. To be in the top 30 in the States, you need to have a streak that lasted over eight years. Drjay in Utah still has the longest streak at 4,819 days. That's 13 years of nonstop geocaching. I did a streak of one thousand and ten days. It wasn't fun anymore towards the end. That's a couple months shy of three years. To go eight plus years of dedicated finding each and every day? I couldn't do that. All the power to those dedicated people. Hopefully their streak isn't forced to end because of the pandemic.
(celebrating a big milestone in my daily streak)
I'm sure everyone's numbers for caches found is down. Mine isn't really down. They've been low since the last half of 2019. How will the lack of finding geocaches affect the creators (vloggers, bloggers) and the amount of content they can put out? For vloggers, some have lots of footage from previous adventures to hopefully get them past this dry spell. Same could be said about bloggers. Without some sort of an adventure to write about, what else is there? I don't have too much of a problem with that. I can write something every week. My issue is making sure it's interesting enough for people to read. I'm more about quality. So is Geocaching Jangie. She doesn't want to put out something for the sake of putting out something. She has made the decision to not do a weekly blog during this pandemic since she really can't get out and go on adventures.
Events. We are just starting to see the effects of this pandemic on the larger events. Mingo Madness has been delayed. I haven't been keeping tabs on this event since I wasn't planning on attending, but hearing from podcasts that a future date is being worked on. Most smaller events have probably been cancelled and archived. I'm also hearing of geocachers having their travel plans cancelled because of this pandemic. What sort of lasting effect will Covid-19 have on geocaching? The Geocaching Podcast did a Patreon only show and the topic was; should geocaching be paused while the pandemic grips the world?
(we wouldn't be able to do this type of picture right now)
Switching topics, this is actually what I had written a few weeks back and I'm including it here. It's basically my rant about and views on some aspects of the game. I'm a part of this really awesome FB group called Worldwide Geocaching. One day I decided to post a question to see what sort of feedback I'd get. The question was about sending answers for Earthcaches or Virtual caches. As an owner, would you be a stickler about the answers you got? If a geocacher gets only one question out of four correct, but gave a good effort in answering and can prove they were indeed there, would you still deny that geocacher the found it log? Are you the type of owner that would let it slide? The response I got back was overwhelming. Basically everyone was saying if an honest effort was given and there was proof that the geocacher was there, let them have the found it log. Earthcaches are about educating people and bringing people to a point of interest. On the flip side, it is at the owner's discretion if they want to allow found it logs with incorrect answers.
(myself and my youngest, MewTwo at a Virtual cache)
If you did an Earthcache, submitted what you thought was the correct answers, only to find out you were wrong and was denied logging that cache, would you go back? I think that sort of depends on how the owner replied to you. If the owner was rude and slightly harsh, then probably not. Again, this is up to the owner and how they choose to reply. General consensus is that if the owner is rude about the wrong answers, not only would you not go back, but possibly avoid any other geocaches by the same owner.
I did do a blog about Earthcaches and from what I heard from different geocachers is that a good percentage don't like Earthcaches because of the questions. Not all of us are geologists or mathematicians. I usually avoid Earthcaches if I find that the answers are going to require a degree in something that I don't have. That doesn't say I haven't tried some. I have. One particular Earthcache that I did about a year and a half ago asks to estimate the size and weight of a boulder. I haven't done that sort of math since I graduated high school. I gave it my best shot though. The owner got back to me and said my calculations were way off, but he did allow me to log it as found.
This is where the owner can reply with the correct answers and maybe guide the finder through the steps on how to reach the correct answer. Geocaching is suppose to be fun. Nothing fun about being told you're wrong and not knowing how or why you're wrong. I think the reputation of an owner can increase or decrease with the response. This could also apply to asking for hints or nudges when you're stuck solving a puzzle. When I'm asked, I won't give the answer away, but I will give hints, clues, or mention where they went wrong with guidance towards getting the correct answer. I want people to find my caches. In return, I hope I can get the same feedback, or at least inspire others to give the same feedback when put in that position.
I bring all this up because I have been on the receiving end of being allowed to log a cache as found, despite wrong answers and being denied. I did an Earthcache five years ago with my boys while on a vacation in Alberta. It was a spur of the moment stop so I didn't have this inputted into my GPS. There was also no cell service. I gathered up any information that I could that might be an answer to a question. When I got back to the hotel, I discovered that I didn't have a single answer. I messaged the owner, explaining my situation and that I was just passing through. I had enough proof that I was indeed at the Earthcache that I was allowed to log it as found. Until this day, I am very grateful to that owner.
(my boys at the Earthcache that I was allowed to log)
I've done a Virtual that is local last summer. I did the tour with the boys and gathered what I thought was the correct answers. I know the owner to the cache. I was denied. I thought of going back, but ultimately said nope (I actually said something else but we'll keep things family friendly), not going back. My message to current and future cache owners, be nice to the people trying to find your hides. You're only hurting yourself by being rude.
Since I'm on the topic off logging caches, another bone I need to pick. I've seen this a couple of times. Fortunately I don't see it very often. It is important to log your "will attend" for events. This gives the host an idea of how many people are showing up. Reservations might need to be made and a number given. It's very important to let them know you're coming. Understandably, life can get in the way from the time you said you'd attend to the actual event date. You post a regret that plans have changed. Again, it keeps the host in the loop. This is where I have an issue. Logging that you can't attend an event because you're going to a different event that's at the same time (approximately) and an hour or so away from this event. If you're not planning on attending, why post anything? It could be just me, but I find that sort of action to be rude and disrespectful. If I have no plans on going, then I just ignore the event. Nothing posted. Done.
That's all for this week. Time to go have some breakfast. Until next week, be happy, stay safe, keep your distance, wash your hands, and most of all, try to have fun. Peace out.
(random cute puppy pic)
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