WiFi Caching Map

AIG: WiFi Caching Map

Another interesting use of a GPS device is to map out local wireless access points in your neighborhood. When the GPS is connected to your laptop computer, you can run a program like NetStumbler to record the coordinates of the wireless signals you discover. The mapping program, JiGLE, uses these coordinates and the signal strength of the detected wireless networks to map the approximate location of the source of the wireless access point that was detected. To create a map like this one on a Windows XP computer, follow the steps below.

1. Download and install NetStumbler from http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/.
2. Download and install JiGLE and the vector map for your county from http://www.wigle.net/gps/gps/GPSDB/dl/.
3. Connect your GPS to your laptop with a data cable and configure your GPS to send a NMEA compatible signal in your Interface Setup screen.
4. Start NetStumbler and begin driving through your neighborhood. Each time NetStumbler picks up a signal, it will show its listing on the main screen and generate an alert sound.
5. When you are finished with your drive, close NetStumbler and save the NS1 file it generates for you in your C:\JiGLE directory as "nt.ns1".
6. From the command line or the Run menu, launch JiGLE by typing "C:\JiGLE\run.bat -getstumble nt.ns1".
7. Then choose your county map from the drop-down list and you will be able to pan/zoom around the map to view the wireless access points in your neighborhood.

Geocaching Blogs

AIG: Geocaching Blogs

This is a partial list of the Geocaching blogs and blog related sites that were submitted to me through email or the Groundspeak.com forum topic, Geocaching Blogs.

• M-T-P
• BruceS
• BradGrier
• dzrtgrls
• Beowulf83
• arkville
• jimmyreno
• Ohgr
• Mr.Snazz
• fly46
• Mr.BadExample
• sbell111
• Daclaren
• AuntieWeasel
• idiosyncratic
• blazerfan
• Lazyboy&MiteyMite
• acPilot
• TeamBubbyMac
• Maclir
• Icenrye
• tiber
• Milbank
• PlasteredDragon
• JoeBass85
• geoholic28

POISON IVY: The Bane of All Geocachers!

AIG: POISON IVY: The Bane of All Geocachers!

There are many evil plants in the world such as Henbane, Hemlock, Datura, Deadly Nightshade and Mandrake. But the most vile, contemptible, wretched, and loathsome of them all must be Toxicodendron radicans - POISON IVY!

After we purchased our new house last summer, we noticed that poison ivy was actively growing in our back yard. Unfortunately, I discovered it only after I was covered head-to-toe in the itchy rash that has come to plague me for the umpteenth time since my boy scout days as a child. If you are not aware of how poison ivy affects your body, a normally benign oil called Urushiol is produced by these plants and binds with your skin. Once bound to cell membranes, urushiol is virtually impossible to wash off and attached to cell membranes attracts patrolling T-cells and initiates a full-blown immune response which is the cause of the horrid rash. Each time you come into contact with poison ivy, your body learns how to "fight" it harder with an increased T-cell response.

To make this long story short, I hired a lawn service three times to come dig up the poison ivy found in our yard, and I followed by filling the holes with Roundup. For the remainder of the summer and fall, this seemed to do the trick. Every time that I had to mow or do other yard work, I had no recurring reaction - UNTIL NOW! This weekend, I decided to pick up the remaining leaves and ground clutter in our back yard by mowing the yard with the grass catcher attached. It did a fantastic job and yard looks great! But as Sunday night passed into Monday morning, I began noticing the ever-so-distinctive itching sensation under my right arm. Now, I'm covered once again!

Needless to say, each bout of poison ivy makes you hyper-sensitive to the three leafed plant in your surroundings, and this is how it relates to Geocaching. Even though my arms, legs, and chest are covered in this itchy rash, I decided I'd attempt to be an FTF at Anti-Q-Zoo near the old Waco Zoo. After I arrived in the abandoned parking lot, my GPS was guiding me near the edge of the lot towards the old fence line and some trees. As I approached the edge of the pavement, my eyes focused on one thing and one thing only near my feet! POISON IVY! Everywhere I looked, there was POISON IVY! There were a few patches of grass and tall weeds between the pavement and the fence, but through it all was POISON IVY! I truthfully don't think I've ever seen so much of this dreaded plant in one place in my entire life and I was about to trample right through it!

I'm afraid this will be one cache that will forever be on my forbidden list. In fact, I feel incredibly sorry for anyone who ventures near this cache and wonder how sawdust92 managed to hide it without being covered in the oils of this demon.