Hit "agree" for the brussels sprouts, truly the scariest of veggies??

I actually love brussels sprouts. I have to admit, though, that it's fairly difficult to get good ones; I've bought quite a few packages that were just lousy. When you find good ones, cook until they fall apart, drench in butter. Delicious!

It's eggplant that I hate. Yuck! :-p Oh, and I'm not fond of turnip greens, either. SWMBO likes okra, but I let her eat it all.

or "disagree" for Velveeta? Mmmmm, Velveeta.... =)

I don't mind Velveeta. A 50/50 mix of Velveeta and sharp cheddar makes an excellent omelet.

The truly disgusting cheese is the stuff in the aerosol can. Or any low-fat cheese, which is both an oxymoron and completely uncalled for.

The fact that Kirbert likes Brussell sprouts doesn't surprise me in the least.

***throws confetti****

GG

Uh.....because you're all out hiking, being together and enjoying the day? You could teach them that maybe?

Not sure if you ever had, or have young kids but they tend to be much more concrete than abstract, and more goal-motivated than adults might be. It's totally normal developmentally.

With my kid, I try not to promise the finding of any boxes but say we will be looking for one or two along the way. If she knows the planter in real life, I mention whose box it is as that will make it more real to her.

If I know it is an oldie and has not been found in a while, or last attempt was unsuccessful, I let kid know that up front - we may not find this one, the last people didn't, but maybe *we* will.. and anyway, there is a cool waterfall at the end of the trail.

Letting the kid ahead of time that it is tenuous may be easier than consoling them after they are disappointed.

Luckily my kid is really into banana slugs, salamanders, birds and nature trails so she is actually not as disappointed as I am if we don't find a box!

Part of my disappointment isn't just "oh I wasted my time taking this hike," it's feeling bad for the planter who has forever lost their artwork, and having to write and tell them "so sorry but I think it's gone missing.."

{While it maybe fine to question why folks use one site over another, the pluses and minuses of each, or even why folks use the sites as they do, you should know the answers are as varied as the letterboxers themselves}

OK, I've been lurking on this thread for a while, and I finally decide to chime in with my very ideosyncratic reason for preferring AQ: LBNA is really north american biased. Us folks here in New Zealand get lumped into "International Other" -- it's really hard to find the listings for Kiwi boxes. Here on AQ, there are separate categories for each of the islands!

So we went out for dinner to a new restaurant that's famous for its desserts. The meal was delicious, the conversation was great fun, and the ambiance was just right. At the end of the meal, we learned that they were out of desserts -- all out -- all kinds. The rest of the meal was wonderful. I didn't waste my time eating, but I want my dessert!

I hate when I know a box isn't there, and I log it as an attempt and email the owner only to see shortly after they erase all the logs online and don't note the box's distress status...why?

I can see both sides of this..

On the one hand it is hard on people who DO have limited time, limited money for gas and park admission fees and limited energy (elder, physical handicap, toting younger kids) to try to do what is supposed to be a letterbox hike to end up with something that turns out to be *only* the hike.. sure it was a nice enough trail but so was a less expensive day at the beach or going to a Boy Scout event or free day at the museum or something else- if not for the box you would not have driven that distance and paid the park entry just for a nice little hike. Lots of other things to do with the family, but the idea was to be able to practice the LB hobby as well..if there are lots more misses than hits it is discouraging.

After all, if you had not gone hunting that missing box, you would have had time to do ANOTHER nice trail that DID have a box- double score!

I look at the whole find/attempt record IF it is not hidden. If it was found regularly at first by several people, but then has been attempted mutiple times since, it was probably not a hard plant or an unclear clue. If the finds and attempts are mixed and there have been a few finds again after some attempts, then it's just a hard box or an unclear clue or some inexperienced folk in the mix.

On the other sde, people do miss boxes, whether lazy, bad clue or just an off day. It is reasonable to expect that person email the planter *before* recording an attempt, with a precise description of the locale. One attempter on a box of mine even offered to email me a photo she took of the 'little cave' but since it was so close to home I just checked- and she was right, it was gone, BUT I was lucky to find the stamp in the grass nearby.

If the planter responds that I have wrong locale, then I have not recorded the attempt and it was my bad.

If I don't hear back and I am really pretty sure (distinctive landmarks and- dang- a tupperware shaped indentation in the pine needles near the scattered remnants of a SPOR) then I record the attempt.

I think overall it is a little bit more "fair", if one is hiding attempts, to have some way of checking on them.. being close enough to do maintenance, asking a local boxer to check for you, or responding to the attempting member with some clarification re: locale.

One can also put in the clue that maintenance will not be possible on this box, so people know they are taking a chance .. but in that case, at least let the attempts show when there has been more than one (unless you already know it is a hard one and mutiple failures are expected) Some will be discouraged by several attampts from looking , some will give it a try anyway esp if they were 'in the neighborhood' hiking that trail anyway- for the trail's sake.

I realize that is not always practical when one has planted many, all over, but in my opinion it is a little bit more fair play when you are sending someone out on what could be a long and expensive hike they would not have done *but for* there possibly being boxes there.

That's easy... shred them up and saute with butter, salt, pepper and a bit of lime juice... or white wine. They are FAR more palate-able when they are not in their whole status. (And yes... top with a little grated cheese)

You can also cut out the center core to take most of the strong/bitter(?) flavor out. The food network comes in useful sometimes :)

You may disagree with things, and it is OK to rationally hash those differences out, but things are not going to change on your account

The motive may not have been trying to change someone over to your way of thinking, but just to find out why they think that way.. maybe the one asking teh question would be the one doing the changing! Or maybe just interested in learning more.

A debate is not always about trying to convince someone to change his mind "on my account". Although someimes.. there are folks with an open mind.. who might find, when they heard all the comments from a variety of folks.. do find themselves changing opinion just a *little*.

I love brussels sprouts too, But it sounds like Kirbert overcooks his. Once in a restaurant, I was served brussels sprouts in maple syrup -- now THAT was truly vile. Who ever dreamed up that one has no sense of what is good in a brussels sprout or maple syrup!

Ah but would you have chosen that restaurant if you had KNOWN they would run out of dessert? Or would you have tried another restaurant on your list- same great conversation , maybe even better food and ambiance. PLUS the dessert you were craving.

And let's say you really love lamb and really wanted lamb for your birthday dinner; your budget's a bit tight so this is a rare treat to go out.. went to a highly reviewed restaurant that is famous for its moderately priced lamb dishes.. but all they had left on the menu that night was stuffed mushrooms (you hate) , shrimp scampi ( you're allergic) and something outrageously priced you were not thrilled about ordering because of the damge to your budget. Would the ambiance and conversation- and even a decent dessert- make up for having no entree to eat on a special night out?

Maybe some of us see the letterbox as the dessert- the icing on the cake- that can be skipped with only mild disappointment. Maybe others see the letterbox as the entree and there is not as much point to going out to dinner at that locale if one is going to end up without dinner- and *could* have eaten at a dozen other good restaurants in the area.

In this area we have so very many boxes to look for, so prioritizing does make more sense. If there were limited ones in the area it could make more sense to try every one even if not found in a while.

The fact that Kirbert likes Brussell sprouts doesn't surprise me in the least.

Actually, I like brussell sprouts too. Then again, I like ALL food.

Quartered, olive oil, pepper, salt, garlic, shallot, saute, squeeze of lemon, yum!

I had some incredibly delicious ones like this at a dinner party. Quartered, slightly steamed in a little chicken stock, then sauteed in olive oil & lotsa garlic and topped with liberal amounts of quality fresh grated parmesan and a little sea salt. Even the kid loved them.

"Part of the problem is that the clue writer does not take into account where the seeker is standing and just assumes the seeker will be standing wherever the planter happened to be standing when taking the bearing."

This is so true! there is one planter who has such nice carves but the planter's left and right always seem to be the opposite of mine! If you are sitting in the clue-designated bench facing outward, your right and left are reversed, rather than if you have just arrived at the bench and are facing it. Or that gate on your right as you come up the stairs, and the box should be on the left.. or do you turn and face the gate, now the box should be located to left of gate, not left of stairs? Seems like there is some unspoken part of the clue that should say (now sit on the bench) or (now turn and face the gate). I would not normally add in a direction-changing movement that was not specified..but now that I know how she works I build that into my search!

Disagree with some otehrs in the thread that whether a boxer is new or old is dispositive. Although a newer boxer, I am extremely persistant and really do not give up until it is pitch black and the kid is begging for dinner.. yet one of our very most famous boxers, accompanid by another highly experienced boxer, missed a really easy plant of mine. No mental challenge at all to it. I so believed them (since, really, these gals are *pros*) I didn't even go check for weeks- and found it right where it should have been. When I emailed them, Number 2 gal told me she was sick and stayed in car and #1 was in a bit of a rush, all these palm trees look alike ya know. I think some people just give up more easily! Maybe she had a plane to catch.

"Another thing that I've seen several times is that the box has been replanted in a different location, up to 20 feet away."

True! That can happen. Not only due to environment/weather.

I had to replant a box, whose contents I found scattered, in my *best approximation* of where it originally planted. Didn't have a tupperware so had to put log and stamp in a ziplock from my lunch. Emailed planter to let them know but didn't hear back (it was LBNA, all right?!)

I was a little shocked at my first event to hear an experienced boxer ask me if I'd had trouble finding a box that is spittin distance from my house. I told her we did need 2 tries since it is not clear what direction one should face when taking X steps and apparently this person takes VERY big steps.. but we got it the second time. Since it was our very first find, I assumed that was just our ineptness. I was shocked that she told me she replanted it where she felt it better matched the clue. (again, an older LBNA box and planter never responded when I Contacted Placer.)

True, but I would expect deliberate obtuseness to later become clear when/if one finds the box.

Someone posted in an earlier thread about finding a reported-missing box that was under a W but the W was actually so huge that you almost couldn't see it, because it was so overwhelming (still trying to imagine WHAT that was- a colored line in a rocky cliff?).
Like you can't see the forest for the trees.
I searched for a long time for a box that was "under water" which it turns out was not underwater, but under a sign,"Water".
"double trunked tree" in a forest full of them would only be deliberately obtuse if one of those trees had a sign "Double Rock Camprgound >>"

Quartered, olive oil, pepper, salt, garlic, shallot, saute, squeeze of lemon, yum!

I had some incredibly delicious ones like this at a dinner party. Quartered, slightly steamed in a little chicken stock, then sauteed in olive oil & lotsa garlic and topped with liberal amounts of quality fresh grated parmesan and a little sea salt. Even the kid loved them.

I could probably actually enjoy brussels sprouts like these. Add garlic and lemon or cheese to something and it's almost always good!

KuKu

I love brussels sprouts too, But it sounds like Kirbert overcooks his.

Julia Child can bite me! She's the one who conjured up this hogwash about veggies being better when undercooked. I like my veggies cooked until tender, not crunchy.

Part of the problem is that the clue writer does not take into account where the seeker is standing and just assumes the seeker will be standing wherever the planter happened to be standing when taking the bearing.

I found one clue where it was really egregious. It was like:

1. Follow trail for about 15 minutes

2. Take a bearing of 225 degrees...

That's not common, though. What is far more common is driving directions that presume you're coming the same way they came. "Go to Such-and-such State Park. It's only about 40 minutes away."

Just for grins, I have one clue that says "From so-and-so road, turn right on such-and-such road". And that's the FIRST clue. It's funny because so-and-so road is one way, so the only way you'll be turning is right.

True, but I would expect deliberate obtuseness to later become clear when/if one finds the box.

There's no rule there. The planter can just be obtuse because he feels like it.

Someone posted in an earlier thread about finding a reported-missing box that was under a W but the W was actually so huge that you almost couldn't see it, because it was so overwhelming...

Somebody was watching "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" on late night TV.

Brussels sprouts..... They are FAR more palate-able when they are not in their whole status. (And yes... top with a little grated cheese)

Or cheese doodles perhaps? :D

dancing pecan

The planter can just be obtuse because he feels like it.

well, sure, unless you actually want people to be able to *find* your boxes. You coud just hide the box and not even post a clue at all. Or posta clue that says: Box hidden under a pine in El Dorado National Forest.

"It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

I loved that movie, with the huge crossed palm trees in the W shape. oops hope I did not just give away a *mystery*!

the only way you'll be turning is right.

Unless you're a pedestrian. They normally walk on opposite side, so they can face oncoming traffic.

The only thing Velveeta makes is constipation....

I'm several days behind on this thread, but...where's the TMI button??

Honestly, you can choose whatever method you wish for deciding on a box to go searching for, but I think by using a method that relies on an arbitrary bit of data logged online you are very well missing out on some great boxes.

That is your choice, but if that were my choice, I wouldn't be letterboxing at all, I would be Geocaching.

I think by using a method that relies on an arbitrary bit of data logged online you are very well missing out on some great boxes.

Unless you find every single letterbox ever planted, you are probably going to miss out on some great boxes. It happens. You get over it. *shrug* =)

-- Ryan

Unless you're a pedestrian. They normally walk on opposite side, so they can face oncoming traffic.

A pedestrian at that particular intersection would be risking his life!

where's the TMI button??

I could have used this a few times.....

Ryan, is this possible?? Can we get a "TMI" button? Ha!!

would be risking his life!

Have you never risked your life for a letterbox?

Quartered, olive oil, pepper, salt, garlic, shallot, saute, squeeze of lemon, yum!

thinly sliced and sauted with oil and honey!

Quartered, olive oil, pepper, salt, garlic, shallot, saute, squeeze of lemon, yum!

thinly sliced and sauted with oil and honey!

Gosh, what were we cooking again? Oh yeah, BRUSSELS SPROUTS! Sounds yummy!