This checkin to GC3VHPY Never at Sea - Rock of Gibraltar reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
So close… but a chap had parked his boat RIGHT NEXT TO THE CACHE and was giving me suspicious looks. Some other time, perhaps. :-(
This self-post was originally posted to /r/oxford. See more things from Dan's Reddit account.
I’m trying to index the location of red telephone boxes in Oxford, for a project I’m doing. I’m especially interested in ones outside of the city centre (it’s easy to find the ones on Broad Street, High Street, Parks Road, St. Giles, etc.). If you’re aware of any, or if you’re e.g. willing to keep your eyes open for them on the way to and from work/class/wherever for the next couple of days, I’d really appreciate it. Also happy to throw Reddit Gold at people who are particularly helpful.
Want me to send you a reminder in a few days, once you’ve been looking for them? Leave a comment, and I’ll PM you a few days later. Want to know what the project is? Find a box for me that I haven’t got on my list, and I’m happy to PM you the details.
Thanks!
This link was originally posted to /r/rugtoad. See more things from Dan's Reddit account.
The original link was: http://i00.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/1092570622/Free-shipping-hot-sale-cute-most-fashion-65x45cm-frog-shape-bedroom-kitchen-bathroom-are-floor-living.jpg
[the image attached to this post originally came from http://i00.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/1092570622/Free-shipping-hot-sale-cute-most-fashion-65x45cm-frog-shape-bedroom-kitchen-bathroom-are-floor-living.jpg but since seems to have disappeared]
This link was originally posted to /r/reversegif. See more things from Dan's Reddit account.
The original link was: http://www.gfycat.com/VictoriousMinorCatbird
http://www.gfycat.com/VictoriousMinorCatbird
This link was originally posted to /r/misleadingthumbnails. See more things from Dan's Reddit account.
The original link was: http://i.imgur.com/lJqLNcy.jpg
This checkin to GC54F7N Oxford Steganography #4 - Tilt reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Confirmed repaired by ClubKOLA. Thanks!
This checkin to GLF6XK60 St. Mary reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Took a lovely walk out here with my niece, this morning. Tried to use the counting of the scrolls as an educational exercise, but she was far more-interested in looking at all of the flowers on the graves. Had to reverse get pushchair down one path to avoid her getting nettled! Found the cache with a little help from the hint! TFTC.
This checkin to GLF6KB5X Alchemist Quest reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Cancel that! Couldn’t see it for looking. Ate my sandwiches and double-checked my calculations, then went back to the hiding place… and saw it right away! TFTC!
This checkin to GC13WZQ Swing Lower (Historic Site) reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
No, lucymcneil99, you don’t necessarily need climbing equipment. A boat would suffice, instead. Or just a lot of guts and good climbing skills. How close did you get?
This checkin to GC28EQZ Alchemist Quest reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
After some thought, worked out the puzzle. Found my way to the GZ this lunchtime, and found both the blue portal and the other part of the clue (two of them, actually, but it seems clear which one is meant). But no luck. Hope it’s still there: this seems like a great cache and I wouldn’t want it to disappear!
This checkin to GC58KJN 1 fo 7 Souvenirs reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
Here I am! Great crowd!
This checkin to GC54F7N Oxford Steganography #4 - Tilt reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.
As evidenced by recent logs, this cache has “drifted” a long way from where it belongs (for anybody familiar with the hiding place: it should be out-of-sight, but easily reachable by an arm as short even as a child’s). I’ll get down there and check up on it within the next few days. Thanks for letting me know, justinbjacobs/(S)A&J!
This link was originally posted to /r/geocaching. See more things from Dan's Reddit account.
The original link was: https://danq.me/2014/08/13/gc591vv/
Hot on the heels of the Oxford Steganography Series, a series of “hidden in plain sight”-themed geocaches I placed earlier this year, I’ve recently placed another geocache – GC591VV – and I think that – conceptually – it might be completely unique.
Spoiler warning: this article contains minor spoilers about Oxford-based geocache GC591VV – “You Can’t Do It Alone”. You won’t find any shortcuts by reading this page, but you might ruin part of the surprise.
The cache’s name is the first clue that there’s something unusual about it, and this theme continues in its description, where it insists that this is a cache that is impossible to find by yourself. Experienced ‘cachers may have come across geocaches that benefit from a second pair of hands: usually to help “bunk you up” to a high spot. Some really clever caches use your “buddy” to press a battery-powered radio doorbell while you “listen” for the cache’s hiding place nearby, or use your friend to stop up the holes in a pipe as you pour water into it (in order to raise a floating cache to the surface). But every single one of these has a “workaround” – a way in which you can do it by yourself, if you’re imaginative enough. I wanted to make a cache that genuinely required two people.
The cache description page repeatedly insists that to solve the cache, you need you and a friend to simultaneously visit two different waypoints. When you and your friend get there, you discover why: at each, I’ve hidden a small electronic device, specially-built for this purpose (and instructions on how to use it). The two devices are a synchronised pair, and each shows on its screen a pair of numbers. To find the location of the cache itself, you need to add the first number on Box One’s screen to the first number on Box Two’s screen… and the second number on Box One’s screen to the second number on Box Two’s screen. But… the numbers change every 15 minutes: and because both boxes are hidden on opposite sides of Oxford, there’s no way to get from one to the other within the narrow window. Truly: you can’t do it alone!
Once the two cachers have each other’s numbers, they can head on to the final coordinates: the actual location of the cache: they can race there, if they like (it’s close-to equidistant from the two points) – though if they’re feeling that competitive, they’ll probably want to agree on some key exchange mechanism by which they can swap numbers without giving the person to speak first a disadvantage: I’ll leave that mathematical exercise for somebody else to solve, though! In any case, I’ve been sure to put two “first to find” prizes into the cache: one for each of the people who worked together to find it.
How does this magic work? Well, it’s reasonably simple, so long as you’re familiar with the conceptual workings of time-based two-factor tokens and the predictability of computer random number generators. I’m offering the source code and support in construction to anybody who successfully finds the cache, in order to try to inspire a new generation of digital caches in Oxfordshire (and further afield!). But the essence of it is an ATmega328 chip acting like an Arduino Nano, hooked up to a clock chip (powered by a long-life lithium “watch battery”) that keeps it in sync with its partner, and – while a switch is pushed – fully-powered by a stack of AA batteries (which provide enough power to do the maths and light up the screen).
The whole package is sealed up inside a custom-built acrylic box (courtesy of RazorLAB, whom I discovered after Rory did a craft project using them), and I’m hoping that they’ll live at least a year before I need to get out there and replace the AA batteries.
This cache represents a huge leap in complexity over anything I’ve placed before, and – I think! – might be completely unique in design, worldwide. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the community make of it! Want to go find it yourself? Start here!
Update (2018): This cache has now been retired. If you’re interested, you can read the source code here.
This review originally appeared on Steam. See more reviews by Dan.
You know the way that everybody plays Grand Theft Auto (at least, 1 through 3) or Saints Row at least once? That is: they ignore the plot and just zip around blowing stuff up? Well: Just Cause 2 is a game that you’re supposed to play like that. Sure, there’s a plot (and it’s as stupid as it is zany, all the way from pulling statues over with tractors through to the climactic fistfight on the back of a cruise missile), but who cares: you’ll spend your time using a hookshot to pull soldiers out of aircraft, steal the aircraft, fly the aircraft into a radio tour while you jump away with your parachute, all the while shooting, hacking, and slashing anybody that gets in your way.
It’s completely silly, the voice acting is almost as appalling as the scriptwriting, and the plot makes no sense. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t one of the most-awesome games ever. Play an hour or play 5 minutes: this game’s great for “dropping into” when you need a few minutes of quick destruction as much as it’s great when you want to execute a thought-out mission. And nowadays, it’s cheap, too – no excuse not to give it a go.
