A website called www.quikmaps.com lets you put markers, draw lines, all kind of cool stuff on a google map, and then save it, email it, publish it, etc. Pretty nifty. Might be nice for when you are planning a run. Now if only google maps would add something like that. What they need is to give me the ability to draw a line, and then they tell me how many miles long that line is based on the current scale of the map. That would be nifty.

It would also be nice if they provided something like what mapquest provides now, where you can put in multiple destinations or waypoints, and they map from one to the next. I also read a good idea where the user provides a list of waypoints, the program provides the quickest route that covers all the waypoints. No one is doing that yet though. Any more good ideas for google maps? I am going to write google with some suggestions.

This is interesting, not sure what to think of it.

Found three more geo caches yesterday, two in Durham by where I work and one in Mebane, with a caching crew.  We looked for another one in Mabane but couldn’t find it.  After getting home we looked up the clue and now are pretty sure we can locate it, we just have to get out there again.  It was fun for everyone, and we very much enjoyed rumaging around the center of town.

Wow what a day. I got up early this morning (for a Saturday) and headed down to the REI in Raleigh for their garage sale. Thankfully I got there soon after they opened (10:05) because by the time I was there there was already a long line to get into the area where they had their sale items. It didn’t take long to get into the room, and once I was in then wow, it was like being in a candy store with a five dollar bill in your pocket. There were lots of clothes and shoes, and so many incredible deals. I got a pair of $55 nylon convertible pants for backpacking for $15, and a $20 life is good T-Shirt for $9. I also got a pair of $100 Keen sandal/sneakers like the Sketchers I got earlier for like $28, and a pair of $90 Vasque hiking shoes for $35. I also picked up a hat and some snow pants for Jillian that would usually be in the $100s, but I got for $35. Last but not least I got a little handheald GPS unit for $50 that would usually go for $120, and that is probably going to be the most fun item of them all.

Geo caching is a new sport that is all the rage these days. A geo cache is a little container hidden somewhere that contains various items. All geo caches have a little log book that finders sign their names in. Some caches have trinkets that finders can take, and then leave something else. A few caches have “bugs” that a GPS units themselves. When a finder finds a cache with a bug in it then he takes the bug out, finds another geo cache and leaves the bug in the new one. So the bug travels around from cache to cache, and the owner can track its progress around the world on the internet. To find a geo cache you go to a geo cache website and look up the co-ordinates of geo caches that are listed on the site. You then enter the co-ordinates in your GPS, and head out to search for treasure. Once you have found a cache then you can go back to the website where it was listed and add a note saying that you found it and maybe a little about your search.

It would seem that it is very simple since the GPS would lead you right to it, but most GPS are only accurate with maybe 10 or 20 feet, so usually you know when you are close, and then you have to use clues left on the geo cache website to locate the actual cache. Caches are also usually hidden quite handily to prevent just anyone from running into it. There are some additional twists that are sometimes thrown in, for example sometimes one cache only contains a second set of co-ordinates which then lead to the actual cache. If you enjoy watching things like the amazing race or eco challanges, then you would enjoy geo caching.

So anyway all that is just to introduce those who might not be familiar with what we did this afternoon. We found two geo caches which were within a couple miles of our appartment, and officially introduced ourselves to the wonderful world of geo caching. We really enjoyed driving around “getting closer” and then once we parked the truck and went on foot then the walk together in the evening was delightful.

We plan to do more geo caching on days when we have time in the evenings or when we are feeling lazy. It will be an enjoyable way to get out and spend some time together being active but not distracted from each other. So this is why I say that the GPS was the best of anything that I got at the garage sale. Not only will I hopefully never get lost in the woods, but Jillian and I can now enjoy the wonderful world of geo caching together.

Oh yeah and all this is made possible by REI’s garage sale. I am never going to miss a garage sale again. I had high expectations going in, and I came out very surpised at just how great it was. Oh yeah and picking up some new stuff for backpacking really has me excited to get out in the mountains again. Come July and August I’ll be all there.

I found this to be uplifting and I hope it is uplifting for you too. Here is a quote:

“On the positive front, Casey revealed for the first time the Sunni insurgency has reached out to both the U.S. and Iraq to find some way to end their terrorist campaign.”

The New Your Times today has an article concerning a discovery that 100,000 years ago men seemed to behave as “thoroughly modern humans.”  Here is the article.  Once again science comes through with evidence that evolution is wrong.

Democrats in congress today saught to raise minimum wage, and republicans voted the measure down. Of course all the headlines go something like this: “Republicans hate poor people.” However this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Here is a really great article about why raising minimum wage actually hurts rather then helps minimum wage earners. The truth is republicans in congress actually understand how capitalism works. My hat is off to all those men who took a stand for what they believe and for the good of the nation despite knowing that the headlines would bash them. It makes me proud and gives me hope that not all politicians are power hungry people pleasers who will do anything to get a vote. Here is from the article cited above:

Deep down everybody knows it. We all know that if the government raised the minimum wage by $20 an hour, many employees would be laid off. Businesses are not charities; they hire workers only when the workers create more revenue for the business than they cost in wages and compensation. We know that many workers’ productivity is less than $26.75 an hour and that they would be laid off if the minimum wage were that high. Yet people kid themselves when they believe smaller increases won’t harm employment.

This reminds me of the move that politicians in France attempted to make to reverse a trend there. It was a good move, but it was rejected overwhelmingly by those who it would have benefited. In France there are comunistic laws in place which make it very difficult to fire someone that is working for you. As a result unemployment amoung young people is very high because they are high risk employees and employers are afraid they will be stuck with them. The new law would have allowed employers to fire employees who are under 26 and who have been working for less then 2 years. This law would have greatly increased the number of young people that got hired because the risk involved in hiring someone would have dropped. However the young people couldn’t understand this, and they rioted until the law was repealed.

Congressional democrats have the same economic philosophy as those young people. Do what looks right in the newspapers. I thank God for republicans who understand basic economic principles and who stand up for what is best for the poor people of this country despite the fact that probably those same poor people will hate them for it. Its funny how democrats build a platform of helping the poor by promoting communism. Can’t they understand from looking around them that communism doesn’t help anyone but a few elite folks who run the show? By promoting capitalism republicans are providing for everyone who is willing to work for their food.

A dating website has been set up for Red Sox fans to meet other Red Sox fans, and perhaps have Red Sox babies. Sounds like a great idea to me. I like the quote from Tim Lampa, the creater of the site: “My main goal is to keep those New Yorkers in New York,” he said, “and keep them away from our Boston girls.” What a noble cause. I wish you the utmost success.

Continuing my expose on the real lives of major league baseball stars, here is a piece written for fathers day on Ken Griffey Junior and his outlook on being a dad. Its kind of sad that as a major leaguer he doesnt get to spend as much time with his kids as he would like, but at the same time, its special to see a guy who is really attached to his kids and loves spending time with them.

I never imaged so much insanity from someone so ugly.