First Geocache Find
Alexis and I found or first geocache on New Years Day, which was only a half a mile away. The hiding spot was near a park surrounded mostly by trees with a bridge across a babbling brook. The GPS receiver led us to the approximate location near a steep drop off to the brook. There wasn’t much cover from possible onlookers as the leafs had all fallen from the trees, but luckily no one was around. I told Alexis that we should consider passing this one up after I slipped in the leafs and nearly fell on my butt. She decided to take one last look near the edge of the drop off which is when she noticed it on a bit of an incline. It was a pill bottle with rolled up paper which listed the previous people to find it.
The next day we went with Tyler and Max to the Cottonwood Creek trail in Allen where we found five geocaches. Each one was just off the trail in the brush and a couple we returned to after not finding them the first time. It took us roughly an hour and a half to find them.
Alexis is keeping a journal/scrap book and I’m updating the online logs to document our little adventures. We created a team name for ourselves because it seemed appropriate and we needed a user name for the website so that we could claim our finds. We settled on the name “Hat Tricksters”. To keep track of us you can go to the profile page on Geocaching.com by clicking on the link below.
“Cat”astrophe
It wasn’t as bad as the title implies, but yesterday Atticus and Minna met my Mom’s cats, Xena and Zelda, at our house. Hissing and growling ensued as soon as they met. Our cats did not appreciate the company and confined themselves to comfortable areas while the other two roamed freely. Atticus was more vocal and more stagnant than Minna. After it became clear that Atticus and Minna were simply not going to budge, possibly forgoing food, water, and litter box, I suggested that Xena and Zelda be taken back home. Perhaps their next meeting will go smoother.
Those that have talked to me within the past couple of weeks know that I’m excited about Geocaching. Wikipedia defines Geocaching as “an outdoor activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called “geocaches” or “caches”) anywhere in the world.” The key word in that definition is “outdoor”. I need to get out of the house and get to know more of the Metroplex and surrounding areas. It should be a great way to find trails, parks, and scenic areas. I’ll be sure to post about my first find and subsequent adventures.
Home Stretch
Alexis and I are reaching the end of our 6-7 month old home improvement project. There’s no picture this time since there’s not much more to see. It’s doubtful you would be able to see the grout and caulk very well and it’s not all that interesting to boot. All we have left is to seal the grout, install the shower head and shower handle, then buy and install the shower door. It will be a huge relief to be completely finished.
No transition here, but how about a picture instead.
Things I learned this month:
- You can access an array in C++ like this, “4[array]“, instead of the typical way, “array[4]“. I haven’t found a reason yet as to why it’s allowed, probably some historical reason.
- The AMC remake of “The Prisoner” is a waste of time to watch. The ending is poorly written and disappointing.
- It would have been easier to put up the X-mas lights if I had tucked the plastic doo-hickies under siding instead of under the roof shingles.
- Management is always right.
- The Star Trek movie that came out this year is great on DVD.
- Never leave home on Black Friday and the subsequent weekend.
- I’m addicted to Facebook games.