EC denial rant

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 3:39 pm

I think I read somewhere that the focus of ECs should be geology (edited to add: It is the Geological Society of America - so I can see why they want the "rocks" to be a focus). Things like waterfalls, etc are no longer accepted unless it shows a specific unique geological feature, not a "type".

in a nutshell, they want you to "talk rocks" and most hydrological features won't count.

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 3:40 pm

there ya go 3 ECs for somebody to work on. if you want more ........ask. i have more. they aren't doing me any good. go ahead and plagiaize. all the time writing them up, doing the homework, gas to the site to get coords, wear and tear on the car..................it just aint worth the trouble. spent 4 hrs on one cache today to be shut down at the last step. what a wasted of a day.

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 3:45 pm

I would say they can still be doable, but you have to explain how and why they are formed geologically. if you can show how the "rocks" help create the features at each of your sites and make your task related to the geological formation you should be able to get a bit further.

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 4:22 pm

Is it easier to move an Ice Age Trail ColdCache through to completion? I.e., are they 'more highly-valued, or more desirable for the sake of getting the IATCC program's map filled?' at least for WI? Or are they in some other way treated differently? Just curious.

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 4:31 pm

iatcc. nothing special. nothing different. just helps advertise the trail

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 5:43 pm

iatcc's are just regular ecs that go through the regular bull.............Plus ...........have to be okayed by iatcc before you change the name thats all

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 8:01 pm

Yea, they're moving away from water EC's. I just published one from our trip to Hawaii and the reviewer made me shy away from the original intent of talking about natural water regulation. I kind of complained that all of the EC's on the island compared sand particles and I was trying to do something different so they let me keep it with some minor additions.

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 9:56 pm

EarthCache, isn't earth 3/4 water and 1/4 rock?

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 10:05 pm

Prettiest sand EC we've seen is on the Big Island (Olivine). Went back and took our grandson there, and he just wanted to play in the water.

Coolest sand EC is in Door County (Portage Park)....by Peach --> Went back and took our grandson there, he did an experiment and it made his eyes grow very, very large! And he kept on playing in the sand. A year later, and he still wants to do 'the experiment' at beaches we go to. He learned something cool and memorable on that day......thanks to Peach. Smile

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 11:19 pm

Well, first, please understand that neither Becky nor I review earthcaches at all (other than checking for DNR rules at their request). There are a special set of earthcache reviewers. Their direction comes from a combination of the GSA (no, not THAT GSA) and Groundspeak.

In reality, the program is to be about "Earth Science", not just geology, but the rules keep changing because the focus was always supposed to be educational "on-site", meaning you actually learn on the site, not by reading the cache page, and those in charge of the program felt that this objective was not being achieved. Of course, this rule was not really enforced until recently, making for lots of confusion.

My personal prediction is that publication of new ECs will end up being very rare and limited to very special sites with very clever experiments to be conducted. Your everyday marsh, rock, beach or sand dune won't qualify.

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 7:23 am

I Know that the gods that be are changing the rules trying to better the whole show. But are the gods always right? I see EarthCaches taking the same road as webcam caches and virtuals. What a shame. Webcam caches were just fun to do. A lot of virtuals involved historic sites. Way to cool. Earthcaches gave me a whole new hobby. Loved them. I'd go way out of my way to get an EC. Looks like those days are also coming to an end. How many traditionals can a person do, looking in guard rails and stop signs, before becoming bored and quitting the whole show. just saying

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 8:06 am

So, when will the Frog/GSA be selling their official EC Field Lab Kit? Some EC's are impossible to do on a whim, unless you just happen to carry a thermometer, a pH kit, a diamond ring for comparative hardness testing, a refractometer, etc.

Hmmmmmmmm........ an unmet need.......gotta go........gonna be rich! Smile

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 8:14 am

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/rock-hounds-backpack-kit/p/KT-YROCKS/

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 10:37 am

lone_gunman wrote:

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/rock-hounds-backpack-kit/p/KT-YROCKS/

And it's on sale! Laughing

Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 8:27 pm

wow! are you looking up.............or down. now measure something that hasn't even been discussed. unfreakin believable!