Remember comments and ideas are welcome!

Geocaching Maine Newsletter
March 2008
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Volume II Issue 3
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I. Maine Maine Cache and Cache Hider Stats
----SIDE BAR: Add your stats to your Signature
II. Geocaching Maine’s Article Forums
----SIDE BAR: What members are saying about Articles
III. Upcoming Events
IV. Maine Geocaching Media Coverage
V. Hot Topics of the Past Month
VI. Photos of the Past Month
VII. Milestones of the Past Month
VIII. Quote of the Past Month
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I. Maine Cache and Cache Hider Stats
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http://www.geocachingmaine.org/index.php?page=maine_stats
-- On 01/27/08 brdad updated Maine’s stats: “810 Geocaching.com account holders have had 3137 Geocaches approved in Maine. Of those, 701 have been archived, leaving 2436 available for cachers to find. The average lifetime of all these caches to date is 1 year, 8 months and 10 days.” The average cache Difficulty/Terrain rating is 1.86 / 1.97. Northwoods Explorer leads in most cache hides. In addition to more stats, maps are also included at the link above showing distribution of caches throughout Maine.
----SIDE BAR: Add your stats to your Signature
------You may have noticed that some cachers have a box in their signature on geocachingmaine.org that shows how many finds and hides they have. Everyone who has a Geocaching.com profile has one of these. You can copy it from your profile on Geocaching.com (it’s at the top right) and past it into your signature in your user profile on geocachingmaine.org. See if you can find attroll’s; he’s put a twist in his!
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II. Geocaching Maine’s Article Forums
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Another great way to “keep good signal”!
--Did you know that Geocaching Maine has a forum of in depth articles written by Geocaching Maine members? Articles range in topic and purpose; geocachers are able to give in depth perspective and reflection writing an article. On the left of the GeocachingMaine.org homepage, there is a box with a list of recent articles and a link to create new articles. At the articles home page: http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=49 are all article threads, including a thread from attroll, which can help you get started writing your first article!
----SIDE BAR: What others are saying about Articles
------Mapachi calls himself a neo-geo, short for new geocacher. He says, “I like reading the articles, because they help me to get to know my new friends here at Geocaching Maine. They also give me insight into geocaching techniques as well as mishaps. I don't feel so dumb now. Reading some of the articles is like reading someone's diary! Don't be afraid to write about your geocaching adventures, we are all nosy. Well isn't that one of the reasons we geocache? Because we want to know what's hidden!” Mapachi recently posted another article, “Winter Caching”: http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2941
------ Vicbiker says, “This is a great place to tell interesting stories about your life. These stories make you more human to other members of the group. It doesn't matter if you’re not a great writer. I think for me the articles are a good outlet for me to experiment with my writing skills and to get some feedback from my peers.” Vicbiker has written quite a few articles in the hopes he’d inspire others to contribute articles. He hasn’t seen a lot of interest in articles, but hopes people will see the value in sharing more. Vicbiker recently posted another article, “The fifties”: http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2939.
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III. Upcoming Events
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04/12/08 Maine Pirate Quest 2008: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=ec7a8c02-e13d-4572-bf56-e1d2b96eb6cc
--Discussion on the event: http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2942
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IV. Maine Geocaching Media Coverage / Article of the Past Month
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1. “A Modern Valentine’s Day Story”
02/14/08 NovaNewsNow.org http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-183488-A-modern-Valentines-Day-story-a-technological-twist-on-tying-the-knot.html
“Darren Harvieux wanted his proposal to Jada Patey to be something special.”
2. “Maine PodCache”
A link to Maine’s geocaching podcast has been added to the GeocachingMaine.org homepage for Kacky’s and Katahdin Goddess’s podcasting site (http://www.mga.libsyn.com/). attroll talked to Kacky at the Celebrate 2007: It might be about the numbers! Event; he learned more about the podcast, and they talked about adding a link to it on GeocachingMaine.org. attroll says, “I am glad I talked to her, because I have been listening to the podcasts since I came home from the event today. Kacky and Katahdin Goddess do a great job on these podcasts.” Just another great way to keep good signal!
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V. Hot Topics of the Past Month
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2008 Geocaching Maine Geocoin (Coin design): http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2744&page=7
A cache to consider...(New challenge): http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2697
ATTN: brdad - PhotoMarbles (Signature Items): http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2950
Celebrate 2007 (Read about how the event went): http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2876
Celestial Event (Upcoming night time spectacles): http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2900
Change of login name?? (How to change geocaching alias): http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2897
Coupon Code (Read about Pathtags): http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2933
Greetings from Guatemala! (Kaching Karen’s Adventures): http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2961
Let’s play dress up! (Geocaching Maine gets a facelift and so do member profiles!): http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2959
Maine podcache website: http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2901&page=2
New Geocaching Magazine: http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?p=39117
And don’t forget to post your comments and suggestions in the Newsletter Forum: http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=78
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VI. Photos of the Past Month
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“Rescue Rangers” at the Grab Your Snowshoes Event By Kaching Karen: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=1c012b45-ce57-44c6-957e-9e26c05ff032&IID=f4f24a9f-57db-4538-85cc-22db4700795c
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VII. Milestones of the Past Month
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1. Parmachenee tops 2000 caches!: http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2934
2. Msteelee Retires!: http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2940
3. Kaching Karen does her 700th in Guatemala: http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum/showthread.php?p=39697#post39697
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VIII. Quote of the Past Month
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“Cache Long and Prosper” --Mapachi, GeocachingMaine.org
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~~~Next Month’s Feature: GeocachingMaine.org Support~~~
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<<<The newsletter is brought to you by GeocachingMaine.org and is put together monthly by Medawisla and distributed by attroll. The Geocaching Maine Advisory Board reviews each issue. If you have questions or comments, please post on the Newsletter Forum or send Medawisla a Personal Message.>>>
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...for ideas and suggestions and thoughts and comments, please:D
You're welcome to PM me if you don't want to post here.:)

Thanks for the feedback, it's the only way the Newsletter will get better...;)

...for ideas and suggestions and thoughts and comments, please:D
You're welcome to PM me if you don't want to post here.:)

Thanks for the feedback, it's the only way the Newsletter will get better...;)

Yes, I think there should be a mention of using the photo gallery on this web site to share photos with everyone else. Also if this is mentioned it would be nice to also mention to please post some description with the photos that they upload. Maybe explaining what cache it was from or where the photo was taken. I have seen many photos in the gallery that looked interesting and that I might be interested in going to but there was not clue to what cache I would go to in order see the photo. If you know what I mean?

Yes, I think there should be a mention of using the photo gallery on this web site to share photos with everyone else. Also if this is mentioned it would be nice to also mention to please post some description with the photos that they upload. Maybe explaining what cache it was from or where the photo was taken. I have seen many photos in the gallery that looked interesting and that I might be interested in going to but there was not clue to what cache I would go to in order see the photo. If you know what I mean?

I agree with that. I have seen some awesome pics here and haven't a clue where they are, or what cache they are near.

Yes, I think there should be a mention of using the photo gallery on this web site to share photos with everyone else. Also if this is mentioned it would be nice to also mention to please post some description with the photos that they upload.

I fully agree. There are some GREAT pictures here - and I echo what Rick has to say about identifying the photos. :D:D

Also - I just looked at the “A Modern Valentine’s Day Story” article. Great story! Glad you found it - it's the type of thing that makes the newsletter special.

Yes, I think there should be a mention of using the photo gallery on this web site to share photos with everyone else. Also if this is mentioned it would be nice to also mention to please post some description with the photos that they upload. Maybe explaining what cache it was from or where the photo was taken. I have seen many photos in the gallery that looked interesting and that I might be interested in going to but there was not clue to what cache I would go to in order see the photo. If you know what I mean?

Definately a good thing to add! I did so in the February Newsletter, but I think it is a good thing to add to more of the newsletters. If there's room in the April Newsletter, I will add it, otherwise I promise to put it into the May Newsletter. I like to keep the Newsletter to 2 pages, but what do you all think about length?

I fully agree. There are some GREAT pictures here - and I echo what Rick has to say about identifying the photos. :D:D

Also - I just looked at the “A Modern Valentine’s Day Story” article. Great story! Glad you found it - it's the type of thing that makes the newsletter special.

Thanks WhereRWe! And if anyone stumble across a great story or picture or something they'd like me to dive deeper into, send me a PM or post it in the Newsletter Forum, I love the ideas!:D

Yes I think keeping the newsletter to two pages or less it the way to go. If it gets to big people may lose interest in it. Keep it short and sweet.

How about profiling some of Maine's geocachers . . . get to know them a little better . . . maybe a pic of them in case you spot them on the trails.

How about profiling some of Maine's geocachers . . . get to know them a little better . . . maybe a pic of them in case you spot them on the trails.

I am somewhat against this in the newsletter. We are trying to keep opinion out of the content, which could happen with profiling cachers. However, it could be a neat project for someone to turn into an article which would contain all the profiles created to date, which could then be mentioned in the newsletter.

I am somewhat against this in the newsletter. We are trying to keep opinion out of the content, which could happen with profiling cachers.

Thanks! I agree! I was going to comment on this idea, but I decided to wait until someone else addressed it. :D:D

This is along the same line as my objection to mentioning birthdays in the newsletter.

FFJ, I think while objectivity was one concern, the greater concern was that some people would feel singled out and others feel left out. I didn't want to take on the responsibility of figuring out everyone's birthday and posting everyone's in the Newsletter, so I no longer post those in the Milestones section. :( But if there's anyone out there who'd like to put together a list from the Birthday Calendar on the site and send it to me in a timely manner, I wouldn't mind including it in the Newsletter...
I like brdad's idea: if someone else writes an Article (in the Articles forum) putting a personality and face to geocachers, I'd love to mention it in the Newsletter. I'd love to be able to draw more people to the Articles forum! :cool: