If This Then That

So in my trawling across the Internet I found this website that can be used as a powerful tool: ifttt.com

Using a simple if-then statement you can connect yourself across social media seamlessly, simplify your life, and many more things.

In fact, when I publish this blog post it will automatically create a Facebook status with a link to the post. It could just as easily post it on Twitter or backup a copy to your Google Drive.

Let's see if it works *crosses fingers*

Gambling For Cache

So if you check my finds lately you'll notice I've been working on a poker themed series of caches in a small town near where I work.  Well today I've finished the caches in the series and plan to do the final in under a week.

I've enjoyed this series for a couple reasons:

1. Minimal Bushwacking - this means I was able to work on it on my lunch (which has been most of my caching to date). Plus I'm traipsing burrs or anything else back into the office.

2. Size Small - as a mostly urban cacher I've learnt to endure the tiny bison tubes and itsy-bitsy-nanos. But I like the odd Tupperware container now and again. This whole series are small sized containers with a regular size for the final.

3. Butterflies - while finishing the last cache I needed for the series I wound up walking through a field of butterflies. It was awesome! I didn't take any pictures because all I had was my iPhone.

It's these type of experiences that i think are going to keep me geocaching for a while yet because, let's face it, I wouldn't have had this experience otherwise.

Some 'Dam Good' caching

About 2 weeks ago I got my new Magellan ToughCase in the mail.  I had been having issues with my dinosaur of a GPSr (Garmin eTrex Legend) and wanted something that would do the job but not cost me a fortune.  With the ToughCase I can now take my iPod Touch (or iPhone 3G) out geocaching!  It's a bit finicky they way it needs to be charged.  But they have taken care of the issues with working at walking speeds.  Not mention it has a tough and waterproof case.

I took it out for a lunch time cache run and it was AWESOME!  It was reading 7-10 meter accuracy and zeroing at GZ.  I did 2 cachers that lunch hour and a handful more with it since.  I even placed my first hide using it to get the coordinates.

No Dam Good

Today I went back to take some pictures of the second cache I did that day.  Because in all the excitement I forgot my camera at home.  Now my iPhone was in the car but it was COLD out!  I was lucky I even grabbed that 2nd cache.  I was on my way back to work when I pulled over because I remembered looking at the Geocaching.com map and that there was a cache near by.  I pulled out my iPod Touch app and sure enough 150 m away!


Despite being a stones throw away from a major highway the location is rather picturesque.  It was a nice easy stroll to GZ.  Once there I just had to duck a few branches.  When I grabbed the container I was surprised to pull out an ammo can!  I was surprised because ammo cans aren't very common in Canada (a small military means minimal amounts of army surplus.. besides Tupperware is cheaper!) and because the description had mentioned a first aid kit container.

The description also advised cachers to take the extra few steps and check out the now defunct dam.  I'm glad I did.  There were concrete walls diverting the water where the dam had been dismantled.  A few parts still remain.  When I went back today to take the pictures I forgot to take last time I discovered that someone has been working hard at restoring the dam.  Or rather, something.  As you can teel from these pictures it appears that there is a beaver in the area who is busy building a dam on it's own.  So what used to be 'No Dam Good' is now 'New Dam Good'.

Evidence of Beavers:

Beaver Lumber

New Dam, Good!

50 + 1

50:

Today marks my 50th geocache find.  I know it's not a huge number considering the fact that I started 7 months ago.  But starting a new outdoor hobby at the same time as having a young baby and winter soon after that can slow one down.

I know that other geocachers tend to pick a memorable cache to do for their milestones.  Mine?  It was just a step up from a park and grab near a carpool parking lot (GCPD8T).  I chose this cache because it was hidden by a cacher in Ontario with the 2nd most finds:

I figured what better way to mark s small numbers milestone than by finding a cache hidden by someone lits TONS of them.  Who knows, maybe some of the geocaching skills will transfer on to me.  I know I know! But a man can dream!

+1:

On my way to making my 50th find I placed my first hide.  I just filled out the submission form.  So check back and I'll update this post when it's approved.  It's nothing fancy.  Just a quick P&G (park & grab).  But I thought the location was interesting.

In the next few months I plan to place many more caches.  As a matter of fact, I'm currently planning a series of caches.  So stay tuned to my blog posts with the geocaching label.

***Update***

My first hide has now been published.  It's called 'Telemarketing' because there is a phone booth (a rarity these days) with all sorts of advertising stickers all over the doors.  Sadly it only has 1 find so far.  Around here once the FTF frenzy has cooled off people take their time to grab a new hide.  I think the D1/T1 rating puts people off too.  I might bump the difficulty up to a 1.5.

How To Convert A Muggle

Those who follow me know that I started caching by following the posts my buddy Dave made about caching with his family.

As I've been getting more and more into the game, sport and obsession known as Geocaching (shout out to HeadHardHat) I've been telling all my co-workers about it.

Bit by bit one of my coworkers has been asking more and more questions about it. He was thinking his boys would like it.

Last week we popped out on lunch to grab a cache. Despite coming up with a DNF he was hooked. In fact, he went back later that night with his son and DID find it. Despite being sick, after signing the log he turned to his dad and dripping with anticipation asked "Are there any more?"

Hooked.

In fact, even his wife was saying "Pick me up after work so we can grab the one just around the corner". I even had him signing up for a Premium Membership the same day he logged his 2nd find.

So far we've gone on a second lunch time cache run. But the scary part for me is that I think very soon he's going to surpass me in finds.

I can hardly wait until my daughter gets older and we will be caching all the time.

PUNK'D - Work Edition

So today my unit had to go to another work site for a meeting about a specific file. Afterwards, we had a second informal meeting with the local unit, who belong to the same department as my unit.

Part way through the meeting someone popped into the room to let us know about some brownies & ice cream cake in the lunch room that were free for the taking. Myself and couple others heeded the invitation and each grabbed a couple brownies and a slice of cake.  After the meeting broke we then went to Boston Pizza because it was now lunch time and after lunch we all went back to our respective locations.

When I got back to the office I went to hang up my coat. But I decided to check the pockets first to make sure I didn’t forget anything later. When I reached into my right pocket I felt something a little heavy and wrapped in paper towel.

“Weird” I thought, “ I don’t remember putting any paper into my pocket”. I pull it out to look at it and I see that something is wrapped inside. I unroll it to find what at first glimpse looks like a piece of turd!  But I quickly realized it’s just a bunch of brownies (note the chunks of walnut) mushed together and molded into that shape of one.

After a few minutes of whodunnit discussions, a couple accusations and insane laughter I finally found out who the pranksters were and gave them a well deserved kudos on a prank well played.

The Urban Cache

So far I've been doing mostly urban caches, which means mostly micros & nanos.  There are the usual suspects: light pole skirts and traffic sign magnetics.  I like the ones that are a little more inventive.

I also recently signed up for a premium membership.  The idea was to make planning caches along a roadtrip easier.  But I also get to sign up for email notifications of newly hid caches.  Mainly because I'm eager to get a FTF (First To Find) under my belt.


I was online this morning making a bookmark list for an upcoming day trip when I noticed this cache. "Hmm" I thought, "I don't remember seeing a cache in that parking lot before".

But it wasn't until I was on a completely fruitless cache run on my lunch break that I saw the email notification of a new cache. Woo hoo, I can get my first FTF. So I open the Geocaching.com app on my iPhone and load the cache. DOH! It's already been found.

But I had some banking to do after work so I swung by and figured I'd give it a shot. I got out of my car and saw a guy walking around patting everywhere and holding a GPSr in his hand. Wooohoo, my first bump in with a fellow geocacher in the wild.

We fumbled around for a few minutes before Big Zee made the find but was kind enough to offer me first to sign. We traded stories for a lil while before we each made our way home after an afterwork cache.