Well it didn't make sense that the ISBN would confound it but it was the only thing I could think of that I did differently than the two other boxes I posted!

I tried it again ( the 3rd time!) using Firefox and had no problem. My previous problem was using Internet Explorer and the error message came up after the Edit Page SAVE button had been used. Funny, because it took the other two boxes. Gotta love Microsoft....grrr.

I even thought perhaps you had some kind of site blocker as there were references to SEX in my clues for this Oneida Community Mansion House box. You wouldn't try to filter out sex, would ya? *grin*

Lock Wench (making sure she uses Firefox each and every time.....)

I doubt we'll get a link... Cook's Illustrated is one of those sites that makes you pay for access to their archives. Oh, sure, they'll lead you all the way to the point when you can look at the list of kitchen items they've tested, but should you click on a link... you gotta show 'em the money, honey!

Maybe we could get a transcription???

Wishful thinking...

SteveS

Is there anyone to add in people to the attendee list or do they have to do it? I love the feature where you can email all the attendees, but not everyone has registered on atlasquest.

Thanks
Shell

Quote

Cook's Illustrated is one of those sites that makes you pay for access to their archives. Oh, sure, they'll lead you all the way to the point when you can look at the list of kitchen items they've tested, but should you click on a link... you gotta show 'em the money, honey!

Cook's Illustrated has my blessing to run their website however they please, since they don't accept any advertisements in the magazine itself.

The scoop on bags: They only tested the three national brands, but did test the differerent styles offered.

Recommended:

Glad Freezer Zipper Bags
second-thickest bag tested, double groove seal held fast through the spaghetti drop test, although testers hated the blue color.

Ziploc Freezer Bags
single groove seal, nice wide opening

Hefty OneZip Storage Bags
more porose than other bags

Ziploc Storage Bags
flimsy gauge made ladling sauce into bag a chore (often a problem on the trail, right?)

Not Recommended

Ziploc Easy Zipper Storage Bags
leaky seal on the bag let odor right in, but not as badly as the Ziploc Easy Zipper Freezer Bag

Ziplock Double Guard Freezer Bags
the double ply bag was actually the thinnest freezer bag in the tests. Area between layers tends to get waterlogged

Ziploc Easy Zipper Freezer Bag
Good water vapor transmission rate, but the slider seal allowed water and odor to flow right in

Hefty Baggies storage Bags (they tested twist tie bags, as a control)
Twist tie seal is surprisingly airtight, if you follow the twisting-bending-twisting sequence shown on box. Moisture, air and odors easily penetrated the ultra thin film.

Whew!

I bet y'all are glad I shared all this with you.
Lisascenic

I would also add the following site:

http://www.secondharvest.org

It's an network of food banks, working in local communities throughout the ravished area and beyond. Here in Houston, for instance, the Food Banks, working with the Red Cross, are going to have to feed tens of thousands of people 3 meals a day. Much like with the Red Cross, Food Banks can leverage your donation, so that your cash provides more meals than the food you might donate.

Everywhere I go, I am running into LA and MS refugees. At the CVS, I gave directions to USHumane Society workers who were preparing to go to LA to try and conduct animal rescues. At the grocery store, I met others who were staying with family for what will now be an extended period. So many people I know have friends and family who are coming here to stay, probably for months. The magnitude of this is unbelievable, as I am sure that what I've seen here is true all the way across the South.

Dewberry

Thanks for sharing! Good nformation there! Wish they had tested some generic bags though, like Wal Mart, Target, Harris teeter, ect. Those are the ones I tend to buy because they are cheaper. I hate wasting money!

Liz

Quote

My previous problem was using Internet Explorer and the error message came up after the Edit Page SAVE button had been used. Funny, because it took the other two boxes.

This was for a box whose clue was hosted on AQ? Okay, I think I might know what the problem is, and it has nothing to do with your browser. =)

Quote

I even thought perhaps you had some kind of site blocker as there were references to SEX in my clues for this Oneida Community Mansion House box. You wouldn't try to filter out sex, would ya? *grin*

Not exactly, but you aren't far off the mark! =) There's a program that runs that tries to detect someone hacking into AQ and I'll bet you inadvertantly tripped it. There are certain UNIX commands it tries to find in anything you type and if it finds it, rejects the post with a page not found error. Sex, however, wouldn't have been the word that tripped the hacker-detection program. It's probably some otherwise innocent sounding word you'd never imagine would be an issue, but I'd have to see the text of the clue you typed to figure out what it is.

The only reason it would have posted this time is because you somehow changed the clue not to use the trigger word. Knowing EXACTLY what you typed in as the clue it rejected would help! =)

-- Ryan

Quote

I love the feature where you can email all the attendees, but not everyone has registered on atlasquest.

Well, clearly, those are inferior people you'd rather not have attending your event anyhow. ;o)

Just kidding. But no, only the attendees who sign up themselves can be on the list. AQ does quite a few things with that list including sending AQ mail to those who sign up (which means they have to be registered to get AQ mail) and including the signed up event as part of the "Events Attended" page of their logbook (which also requires registration).

Registering is free and easy, so I'm not really inclined to spend any effort hacking up the code to support people who don't want to use it.

-- Ryan

Silly Ole Bear and I work for The Salvation Army, so we would be remiss if we didn't add this from the official press release:

The Salvation Army asks people who want help those affected by Hurricane Katrina to visit www.salvationarmyusa.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY or visit any Wal-Mart or Sam's Club.
o The Salvation Army is deeply grateful for the generosity of contributors like Wal-Mart, which yesterday donated $1 million to help its neighbors in the wake of Katrina.
o Monetary donations are encouraged at this time to help meet victims' most immediate needs.
o A $100 donation will feed a family of four for two days, provide 2 cases of drinking water and one household clean-up kit, containing brooms, mops, buckets, and cleaning supplies.


Thanks, y'all!

Thanks for passing along the info!

Hey, is there a way to make sure that the person who CREATED a box gets the e-mail updates as well as the person who ADOPTED the box...or does that already happen? The Highlander and I don't hear much from our out of state boxes, but the adopters do. Conversely, we're getting all the notices from folks who found the gathering boxes in WNY last weekend, but none of the creators get to hear the nice thoughts unless we forward them (ALL of them!)!

Any way to change that?

Quote

Any way to change that?

Yeah, I'll see what I can do. ;o)

-- Ryan

Hey there guys,

I'm really thinking that taking a trip to Spokane tomorrow isn't what 'we' (our family) should be doing this weekend in light of the current tragedy in the Gulf Coast region. I'm considering donating the money we would have spent on fuel/expenses traveling to/fro Spokane to letterboxers from LA/MS who have been adversely affected by Katrina instead. The President has asked that we, as a nation, conserve fuel in the near future to help reduce the amount of demand on the nation's fuel resources and I just can't justify traveling the distance for purely 'recreational' reasons knowing we'd be adding to the nation's fuel burden at the moment when other countrymates need it much more than do we.

I feel a strong tie to New Orleans as we've spent some considerable time exploring it 'via letterboxing' a couple of weeks these past two years. I also lived not too terribly far away from in Galveston many moons ago and remember vividly what it's like to have to evacuate due to dangerous weather only to return home and observe row boats floating down residential streets. Thankfully, we never had to experience the extent of devastation that this region is unfortunately now enduring. My heart goes out to the folks who are enduring this living hell right now! I can only pray that God comforts and provides abundantly for the people who have been so greatly affected by the hurricane and its aftermath.

Just hoping folks will understand why I'm deciding to not attend the gathering. I know how much effort goes into planning an event and appreciate HSMommy for all of her tireless effort in coordinating it. I feel like a cad for backing out but hope that it proves to be an incredible success. I apologize profusely for 'bailing out' at the last minute. If I need to send any money to help cover the costs please contact me offline and I will happily do so.

Thanks for understanding,

Bethany
'dvn2r ckr'

Has anyone heard from boxers in the Gulf area? I am especially wondering about Boxdn in LA.

Thanks

as far as I know no one has heard from boxdn. a few people on the lbse board have tried to call him, but no luck. I did read on the postal board that Wilson (ph0t0bug) is with his wife in Texas.

Desi

Quote

Lockwrench wrote: Has anyone heard from boxers in the Gulf area? I am especially wondering about Boxdn in LA.

BZMom has left several messages on his cell phone, so as soon as his cell service is restored (or his phone gets recharged, I imagine) we should hear about it on the letterbox-southeast yahoo list. We've gotten to know several people in the area about whom we are anxiously awaiting news, but at the moment we're all very busy praying and organizing relief packages.


-Red

A note to all who want to do more than "just give money" for Katrina relief efforts: there is nothing wrong with giving money instead of goods or services. A Salvation Army dollar actually has greater purchasing power than a dollar you would spend by yourself buying supplies, because The Salvation Army already has arrangements with merchants to get the supplies cheap. Unless you can be a volunteer, money is the most urgent need right now.

The Salvation Army asks people who want help those affected by Hurricane Katrina to visit www.salvationarmyusa.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY, or visit any Wal-Mart or Sam's Club.

Boxdn in particular said he wouldn't have net access where he was but he was out of New Orleans as of Saturday, I believe. It's impossible to get calls through to New Orleans cell numbers. My sister-in-law can call us but we can't get her.

Red's probably right that we'll hear from Boxdn as soon as his phone is charged.

Knit Wit

Calm down, actually just our account has been renamed to Pungent Bob3 since most folks now know that Brett and Penny = Pungent Bob. The '3' is just there because Atlas Quest doesn't allow an account to use the same trail name in existance or recent existance. I've asked Ryan to override and remove the '3'. In any case, all the the Brett and Penny boxes and Pungent Bob boxes now show up under Pungent Bob3.

PS Always remember to say, "no" to a pickled tutor.

I guess I'm just hoping that he'll see that I've called and get back with me somehow! And yes, he did leave N.O. Saturday. He lived in Metarie though, which I believe is underwater. We can pray and do what we can to help with the relief efforts.

bzmom

BTW, LW, I bought another item from your micro box supplier. I couldn't resist trying one of those fake sewer drains. A bit pricey, but considering the time & effort I've put into replacing urban boxes, it may be worth it. The downside is that you do need to dig to "install it". That's going to limit the number of places I can pull that off. But I do know of one extra large city park that's so big you could bury a body there w/o anyone seeing you. His fake apple and fake bird are not quite the ticket - let the geocachers buy those.

Paul in SF

We should have a big gathering next year and really pump up the whole state!

Paul in SF

Well, sometimes rules are more fun when they're broken...

Being mostly an urban guy, distance doesn't become a factor (unless you're within 10 feet of a geocache).

This summer, I liked a location of a box so much, and knew the letterboxer, that I planted an entirely different one about 5 feet directly above hers, but completely out of sight, and unlikely to be accidentally discovered.

She was cool with that. Our reasoning was that we wanted to attract more folks to to this really neat geologically unique spot.

Quote

But I do know of one extra large city park that's so big you could bury a body there w/o anyone seeing you.

Hmmm...... I really want to say something, but I won't. ;o)

-- Ryan

I have a lot of messages sitting in the trash that I'd love to delete, but my only options are the "In" box or "Archives". Is there any way to do it? Thanks.

catbead

Quote

since most folks now know that Brett and Penny = Pungent Bob. The '3' is just there because Atlas Quest doesn't allow an account to use the same trail name in existance or recent existance. I've asked Ryan to override and remove the '3'.

Let it be known, I have overridden the name so now it shows up as "Pungent Bob." =)

-- Ryan

Quote

I have a lot of messages sitting in the trash that I'd love to delete, but my only options are the "In" box or "Archives". Is there any way to do it?

Nope, but don't worry about it. AQ will automatically remove anything from your trash folder that's more than a month old. Nobody really needs to see old e-mail messages more than a week old, do they?

I'm thinking about cutting the time down to a week to reduce the clutter, though. Seems like a lot of people are bothered at having old mail pile up in the trash can! Well, it's nice to know that AQ members like to remove their trash often. ;o)

-- Ryan

"LW, I bought another item from your micro box supplier. I couldn't resist trying one of those fake sewer drains. ...His fake apple and fake bird are not quite the ticket - let the geocachers buy those."

Oh I know which you mean. Those looked pretty intriguing to me too. I gotta give him snaps for trying to come up with unique items but some - like the apple or fake bird - are SO fake that they would lead me right to the box/cache! All I can think of when I see the fake birds is that Monty Python skit...with the guy returning the dead parrot to the pet store!

A few of us have discussed NY events for last year....right now just in the "talk" stage. MtNstRobin would like to host an event at Trenton Falls (they have that great big Adirondack dining hall with all the big tables) and there are 4 or 5 letterboxes near by but TONS of areas ready for planting! She was thinking more of a book making class or stamp carving session. I like the idea of the Texas planters ( see Mark Pepe's site) who are doing a "Barn Raising" style event (making tons of stamps and planting them all at once to seed an empty area). This is kind of what Sprite did for the Durand Eastman Park in Rochester.

And Tony, Tamsyn's son...wants us to host something near Moss Island so he can return and bring friends. :) This is definately a possibility...as we could go to nearby Canajoharie (Wintergreen Park) and then do all the boxes in that area, as well as seed some. It would also give our neighbors on the east side of the state some visitors.

Of course there is always the Adirondacks. I am looking into getting the Chimney Mountain cabins for an extended weekend. There are 8 cabins of various sizes, and they were part of an old Boy Scout camp. All have bedrooms with beds (you supply the linens), bathrooms and stone fireplaces with great space kitchen/living areas complete with kitchen ware...and screened-in front porches and outdoor fireplaces. I stayed in a 2 bedroom one about 4 years ago and it was $75 a night for a place that slept 4....more if you used the cots and couches and sleeping bags! We split it and it was soooo affordable and fun. Right on the water (Deer River Flow into Indian Lake) and canoes and rowboats are provided. Lots of great trails, mountains and caves nearby..and lean tos for those who want more rustic camping than a cabin. The Adirondack Museum and Enchanted Forest Water Park aren't that far away..and there are places that rent kayaks as well. So kinda something for everyone. I will check it out over this fall and see if it is doable.

"This summer, I liked a location of a box so much, and knew the letterboxer, that I planted an entirely different one about 5 feet directly above hers, but completely out of sight, and unlikely to be accidentally discovered."

Hey, never let it be said that I won't let a guy be the top. :)

Seriously, the place is so cool and so easy to get to that I like sharing it with others. I figure more people to sign MY book as well! Besides, my stamp is so plain (since it was carved on the trail) that they deserve a better looking stamp such as yours for their trouble! lol

Little Falls actually has a lot of cool things going for it so it might be a nice place to have an event. Hey, did you ever make that Herkimer Diamond box?

And yes, he did leave N.O. Saturday. He lived in Metarie though, which I believe is underwater.

Long before I read this post, I felt I just had to find out for myself what the conditions where at BOXDN's home.

Some diligent research and creative keywords lead me to believe that his home is not underwater. I first started on CNN.com, looking at the satellite images taken yesterday. Knowing Steve's (former? had he moved?) address, I plugged it in to MapQuest. I then compared the map with satellite photos from CNN, EarthObserver and NASA.

Thanks to some pretty definitive landmarks, I believe the location is not underwater. I could be wrong. I hope I'm not.

Best wishes to all...

StarSaels