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Check http://www.members.aol.com/nattybumppolbna/newt.html

I clicked on the above link. And, being the curious person that I am, I clicked on contact the placer to see if I could learn anything more. I was ROFLMBO.

Janet, Blooming Flowers

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I clicked on contact the placer to see if I could learn anything more. I was ROFLMBO.

okay that was cute!

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Check http://www.members.aol.com/nattybumppolbna/newt.html

I clicked on the above link. And, being the curious person that I am, I clicked on contact the placer to see if I could learn anything more. I was ROFLMBO.

Now, THAT'S my kind of LBer! Got a problem wid that??

~SHH :-)

That is freakin' funny!!!! I loved the part about, "it's waterproof, unless you screw it up" LOL!!!

My Dad has that sort of sense of humor, and I LOVE it!!!

moonshowr

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I clicked on the above link. And, being the curious person that I am, I clicked on contact the placer to see if I could learn anything more.

I especially liked the page title, "What's The Matter, Quitter?"

Which gives me an idea. How about a clue where the hint is embedded in the HTML markup comments section? Only people who click View Source would get it, though.

<!-- Hello -->

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How about a clue where the hint is embedded in the HTML markup comments section?

It's been done. By . . . someone.

DebBee, not saying any more

>It's been done. By . . . someone.
>
>DebBee, not saying any more


Several actually.

'nuff said.

LB

Speaking of which..it's very hard to come up with a new "twist" in letterboxing. I know, as that is my biggest goal, and it ain't easy!

LW PhD ( who thinks she has the first letterbox on set up on a 24 hour cam with options to watch the finders or archive a photo of them finding it, and the first "Glow in the Dark Box" using specially made glow ink)


"Nice Counts"

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LW PhD ( who thinks she has the first letterbox on set up on a 24 hour cam with options to watch the finders or archive a photo of them finding it...

Interesting. In geocaching there is a special category for a "webcam cache". There's no physical box; to get credit for the find, you must go to the spot and smile for a picture (and usually hold your GPSr above your head or some such). Some webcams automatically log a picture on the hour every hour, so you just go to that spot right on the hour and stand there like a fool holding your GPSr over your head while everyone walks by looking at you like you're an idiot.

Some of these also have an option that you can manually save a photo whenever you happen to be there, but that either requires a laptop with wireless service or a cohort sitting at a 'puter somewhere talking to you on the cell phone.

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...and the first "Glow in the Dark Box" using specially made glow ink)

Cute! I've been thinking of trying something using glow-in-the-dark hardware, but hadn't considered the ink. Maybe I'll look into that.

I've also been trying to think of a way to use those little walkway lights that charge up using solar power during the daytime and then glow eerily after dark. Of course, they're kinda expensive, especially if the idea involves a whole bunch of them rather than just one. I think just one would be the way to go, and waaaaaay out in the middle of nowhere where there is little light pollution, and camoflaged well enough that passersby in the daytime would never notice it. Provide clues that get you within sight distance but still perhaps 100 yards away so you can't easily find it in daylight. People can hike out there at dusk, wait until it's dark enough for the thing to come on so they can see it, then have to hike out in total darkness.

It might be possible to shield the light from the lamp so it's only visible from one direction -- the direction of the spot you're supposed to be standing looking for it. This would greatly reduce the incidence of accidental finds, since otherwise anyone passing by within 100 yards in any direction would spot it.

My other favorite idea is to somehow use the "clapper". Box totally hidden, not visible at all. Instructions are to go to a particular spot and clap your hands, and the hiding place suddenly reveals itself. Great fun, but offhand I don't see any practical way to do it, since I believe the clapper requires 110V to work, and this thing would need to be in such a remote spot that there is no possiblity that something nearby will make a sound like a clap.

That would be pretty funny to see someone standing out in the middle of nowhere clapping their hands....sing with me..."clap on...clap off..."

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I've been thinking of trying something using glow-in-the-dark hardware, but hadn't considered the ink.

I think theatrical glow tape might be the easiest and most visible way to go... It's what the stage ninjas use to mark the corners on stage where set pieces go... or what they use to mark stairs and doorways so actors don't kill themselves getting offstage with the lights out.

Of course, now I'm wondering how many glow in the dark things require a light charge up...and if glow tape is one of those things...

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Of course, now I'm wondering how many glow in the dark things require a light charge up...and if glow tape is one of those things...

Light is energy, so anything that emits light must have a source of energy. To the best of my knowledge, things that glow in the dark generally fall into four categories: 1) things that must be "charged up" with light -- and in my experience, they glow brightly only for a matter of minutes and then barely visibly after that. 2) Chemical reactions such as "glow sticks" -- only work for a few hours, then get thrown away. 3) Light-emitting bacteria and other various living things, including fireflies. Technically I think it's another chemical reaction. Still only has a limited lifetime. 4) Radioactive materials. These used to be used on watch faces, but I don't think they are any more. There are currently available "Tritium" (or something like that) sights for firearms so you can aim them in the dark. I believe they emit light for ten years or so.

Back in the day, some friends and I used to have great fun playing with a glow-in-the-dark Frisbee in total darkness with a blacklight on an extension cord from the house. You really couldn't see much of anything with the blacklight, but it made the Frisbee light up like the moon! So you'd go running full blast trying to catch it until you'd run into a tree or a parked car or something. Usually one person would be standing near the blacklight so every now and then you'd toss it to him and he'd "charge it up" by waving it over the blacklight for a few seconds.

Actually, this may bring up a solution here! The glow-in-the-dark ink or tape or whatever would probably work GREAT if the boxer were carrying a blacklight and waving it around in the darkness! So: two-stage box. First box contains a blacklight! Second box findable only by blacklight. Carefully laid out so the boxer must hike right past the first box on the way back to the car anyway, might as well return the blacklight to the first box.

Is there any such thing as a battery-powered blacklight?

Good luck not having the blacklight stolen. Probably an excellent place to use that Find Count requirement to see the clues; anybody who's found 50 boxes or more would be very unlikely to steal the blacklight.

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My other favorite idea is to somehow use the "clapper".

Thinking more about it, the actual "clapper" might not work -- but there are a great many similar things that WOULD work. For example, there are oodles of electronic thingamajigs these days that emit sounds or flash when properly motivated; I just recently launched one as a geocaching travel bug. We all have key fobs that unlock our cars.

So, bear with me here. Let's say you have electronic gadget A with a watch battery inside and a button on it. And let's say you have electronic gadget B with another watch battery inside which starts beeping when you press the button on electronic gadget A -- but only if you're within 20 yards or so. Two-stage letterbox: in the first you find electronic gadget A and instructions. You go to some particular spot and push the button, and the beeping will lead you to electronic gadget B. And the hike back to the car will take you right past the first location so you can return electronic gadget A to its rightful hiding place.

Variation #1: Electronic gadget B flashes instead of beeps -- so the whole project becomes a night hunt.

The travel bug I recently launched starts flashing when it's bumped. That sounds like it may have potential, too, but offhand I'm not sure how you'd set up a letterbox that you find by shaking everything until something lights up.

yes their is most certainly battery powered blacklight. We use them at night while playing "glow" disc golf. We have glow in the dark discs and you charge them with the blacklight. aim for the basket , throw repeat!
chadams

Why does it not surprise me to find out you know about this? :->

I dunno. What are you trying to say here? ...... :-)
chadams

caching with fermented malted beverages, glow in the dark disc golf.....

whatever could I possibly mean? :->

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fermented malted beverages, glow in the dark disc golf.....

*jumping up and down waving hands*

OOOHHH.......OOHH......I'm in...I'm In

Shiloh

Hey...I'm NOT complaining...just making an observation.

lol

Yep its a tough life I lead!!!
but seriously, I try to have as much fun as possible because If you are not having fun what is the sense of living. Might as well shoot yourself now ya know.
There is work time where I work my butt off and then there is playtime where I play my butt back on! I do both to the fullest extent and I don't let the two interfere with each other!
chadams

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Some webcams automatically log a picture on the hour every hour, so you just go to that spot right on the hour and stand there like a fool holding your GPSr over your head while everyone walks by looking at you like you're an idiot.

Some of these also have an option that you can manually save a photo whenever you happen to be there, but that either requires a laptop with wireless service or a cohort sitting at a 'puter somewhere talking to you on the cell phone

Well if you look at my Marshall Street box, you will read that this cam allows live viewing ( so you can call up your friends and let them watch you "live" online as you go after the box.....and it also archives a photo every minute for 24 hours. When you get home, you can scroll through the photos it has taken ( if you know the approximate time) and then save the photos that have you in them. Several finders have sent me their "footage" and some have posted it in the Marshall Street Photo Album ( all links can be found on the clue page). I've even had people who held up signs saying "Hi Lock Wench!" But the best part about this hide is that the box is sitting there in PLAIN VIEW. Other than some black electrical tape on the lid of the box, there is NO camoflaging of this box at all. I actually used this box to test my theory that most people are too busy to notice little details. I tested the hiding spot by laying a $10 bill next to the hiding spot and sat nearby watching for 20 minutes, and no one picked up the money. I figured the box was safe. :)

Jackbear and I, as well as others, have tested all manner of glow tapes, paints, firetacks etc. Most are best for night boxing although sharp eyes can find them in the day as well. But my glow box was made specifically so that someone could take away a glowing IMAGE in their logbooks. I supplied my own handmade glow ink..made of acrylic paint, glow medium and stamp medium. I also supplied black post it paper to make the image really "Pop". The ink holds up well in the box for about 6-9 months, then needs rechanging. I am mixing up a fresh batch now as we speak! I also supplied a credit card flashlight in the box for "charging" the stamped image as well as a silver pen to write on the black paper, but they keep disappearing. :)

LW PhD

"Nice Counts"

Good philosophy to have!