Stats from Project-GC.com

For this week's episode of the GeoGearHeads I spent some time on Project-GC and got a little hooked. I'd played with the service over a year back to find things like the hiders with the most favorite points on their caches but hadn't really checked back in over the last year. What really got me back into the site was the "Forgotten FTFs?" tool while I was looking for the reason I only had two FTFs in my list (there's a few specific tags you need in the log for that cache to be counted). I knew I'd had at least a hundred but that seems like another Geocaching life ago when I had been an active FTF-hunter so I didn't know how many I'd had. Using that tool I was able to find and edit the logs on about 180 caches I'd FTFed (one was on a locked cache for the log couldn't be edited). The stats are the most used feature of the site and there is a handy image you can drop into the Geocaching.com profile if you'd like (see below) with a ton of information. There's even more tweaking you can do if you're a paid member of the site along with many other tools (which I'll be spending more time with over the next few weeks). A nice feature of the paid membership is there's a referral program – the new subscriber get two free months and the referring member get one. So if you're going to do the upgrade get that link from your friend(s) using the site to get a little extra. If you don't know anyone, use mine. Of course you can check out GGH 122: Project-GC.com for that conversation with the site's creator and to earn more about the cool tool.

Meeting with Scott & Walt

I mentioned earlier the chance I had at the "West Bend $1000 Cache Ba$h 2013" to finally meet Scott Berks and Walt Grogan. It was the first time we'd met in person despite having talked several times through email and on a few of the shows I'd produced ("CAM Ep. 219: scottberks," "CAM Ep. 222: Shazamman," and "CRT Ep. 32: Wherigo (November 2010)"). This time is was my turn to be on their "Chicago Geocacher" show ("86: For the Third Time! Live from the West Bend Cache Ba$h!"). During that interview Scott and I talked about being a Podcaster and Geocacher, and he even got me to swear on microphone!



The highlight for me was taking off after that recording for lunch at their West Bend tradition (burgers at Toucan Food & Custard) and a power trail just outside town. With them, polkajen, and pulda1 (caching as the "Podcast Crew," signing just "PC" in the logs) managed to rundown the caches on the "Today's Ahh Milestone" trail (1 - 100) so quickly I was having trouble marking the right one found at the right time! It didn't wrap up there. After the closing ceremonies we stopped by a few more events and caches making for quite the full day.

They're on show 86 now and their fans are already planning an event for the 100th episode. There's no date yet, but it's about 28 weeks out and I'd love to be there. Hopefully I can and I'll look forward to meeting up with them and many more Listeners again!

We've Been (and Are) Honored!

I returned to the office this morning (following a couple days working from home) to a package from MiGO. Drie and I were honored at their Winter Social with the "MiGO Silver Geocoin Award." The award package contained a couple of silver MiGO Geocoins and a certificate which read:

"The Board of Directors of the Michigan Geocaching Organization Would like to honor
Darryl and Drie – DarrylW4 and Firefly03
With the silver coin award for 2013.
Congratulations, and Thank You.

Today we would like to honor two podcasters. These cachers are not just known in Michigan, but all around the world as the hosts of, or involved in, several podcasts – Cache-A-Maniacs, Cachers of the Round Table, Geocaching Podcast, and GeoGearHeads. The original Cache-A-Maniacs series was launched in 2007. After 260 episodes, the show was retired in 2011 with having 'a candid, uncut, and irregular interview' with 250 members of the Geocaching community. Cachers of the Round Table featured 36 episodes running from 2007 through July 2011. Their new venture, GeoGearHeads, has produced 58 episodes to this date. The Platinum Level Earth Cache Masters are also known for hosting first class events such as Cachercon 2010 and the Coffee, Coins, and Sigs events. Speaking of coins – they have over 1000 geocoins adventuring throughout the wild. All this and they still made time to find over 5100 caches. The Board of Directors is honored to award Darryl and Drie (DarrylW4 and Firefly03) the Silver Coin Award for furthering the sport of geocaching, acting as goodwill ambassadors through their podcasts, geocaching blogs, and events."

Thank you to the MiGO Board. We are honored to have even been considered for such an award for our geocaching efforts! We also look forward to activating the Silver GeocoinThese special silver geocoins are numbered but not trackable but we will be adding it to our collection of coins special to us which we carry to events for discovery. Catch us at one of those events for a look through those coins and an opportunity to discover those which are trackable.

Video Review of PowerBag (Sling by ful, Backpack by ful, and Messenger by ful)

Yesterday we released the first combo audio and video podcast under the new Cache-A-Maniacs Review feature. I still hope to get a couple of blog posts with more on these great products in the near future, but in the meantime you can click through to the Cache-A-Maniacs post or watch the YouTube video right here!

Cache-A-Maniacs Listener Farewell Messages

As we're wrapping up the Cache-A-Maniacs show at the end of this year we've asked our Listeners to call in with their messages. We're looking for a variety of messages from those interesting caching stories to farewell greetings for the show. Some of our favorite stories shared with us by our listeners over the years have included chance meetings with Cache-A-Maniacs guests at events or on the trail, and some of our guests have shared interesting stories with us about being recognized from their interview. Hopefully we'll hear some of those messages along with the best caching wishes for the new year on the final episode of the Cache-A-Maniacs which will drop on December 31st. Please call them in to 206-350-3647, or you can record an audio file and e-mail that to podcast@cacheamaniacs.com if you prefer. Please get those messages in soon -- we need those by December 4th to plan, prep, and assemble the final shows in time.

Google+ Hangouts on the Podcasts

As many Geocaching Podcast Listener know something a little different was tested during last week's Cacher Coffee episode. We used the Hangouts feature of Google+ allowing up to nine Google+ users into the conversation from their computers. Overall it was quite successful with multiple people from the Hangout speaking-up during the show. Thanks to that interaction we will be trying the Hangouts again, but we're not sure when. If you're on Google+ make sure to add me to your circles. If you're not on Google+ but would like to be, drop me an e-mail with the address to which you'd like to have the invite sent (gmail addresses are fine, but Google App Domains are not currently supported. Please also let me know if you're into Munzees and Photography as well so I can add you to those circles.). I'll post the notices on Google+ as to when we'll be trying the Hangouts, and of course the Hangouts will be opened their when we're ready to host the show. As a general rule I'll try opening the Hangouts between 9:10 and 9:20PM Eastern when we'll be using them.

I've had a few people asking how I'm getting the connection to TalkShoe (the live bridge we use for the Geocaching Podcast) from the Google+ Hangouts. To make these work I'm connecting the laptop's Google+ Hangout audio into the mixing board used in my local Geocaching Podcast rig. Only the audio is coming out of and going back into the board through an M-Audio Fast Track Pro audio interface (which must be set as the "Microphone" and "Speaker" in the Google+ Hangout "Settings"). That just ends up on the board as a separate input channel (the "Speaker" setting in Google+ Hangouts), then I feed mix-minus to the USB interface (the "Microphone" setting in Google+ Hangouts). Video for our first test came from the internal webcam of the laptop set to the side. Next time I'll be using the Logitech Webcam Pro C910 (I just got that this weekend) which can be mounted on the computer I use for the TalkShoe Pro interface and show doc while being connected to the laptop off to the side. You can select which webcam is being used through the Google+ Hangout Settings. It really is quite simple if you have a board with the inputs and outputs you need, and I'm finding that the quality of the audio from the Hangouts isn't bad.

I'd really like to try using the Hangout function to host in Cache-A-Maniacs interview. Not to broadcast the interviews, but rather to interview our guest through a Google+ Hangout. Not only would we actually get to see our guest (and they us), but I suspect if the guest has a quality USB headset the audio would sound much better than a telephone connection. If you'd like to be a Cache-A-Maniacs guest and act as a Google+ Hangout guinea pig (and haven't already appeared on the show), drop me an e-mail with your Geocaching.com screen name and we'll work something out.

Inside the Podcast Studio: GeoWoodstock IX

I've had a few people asking about the gear we brought out to GeoWoodstock IX for the Podcast Studio (especially following the "Several Unsung Heroes of GeoWoodstock IX" post by HeadHardHat on his blog) so I thought I'd post a list of the equipment list for what we actually used (I'll be leaving out all the spares, cables, stands, brackets, and the gear for the streaming since that wasn't set-up). While most of the recording gear was mine, much of the gear was borrowed or purchased. With the rentals, hotel, gas, tolls, and such (but not including the sponsorship or food), this expedition cost well over $3,000 out of pocket just to get a studio and sound reenforcement rig for seven hours of shows. So what was there?

• Control Rack
• dbx 166A 2 Channel Compressor/Limiter/Gate
• Furman Power Conditioning
• Marantz PMD570 Recorder
• 3 x Aphex 240 2 Channel Logic Assisted Gated Compressor
• Aphex 320D 2 Channel Compellor
• Mackie ONYX 1640
• 6 x Sennheiser MD 46 Dynamic Microphone
• 6 x Sony MDR-7505 Headphones
• 2 x Aphex 454 HeadPod 4 Channel Headphone Amplifier
• Audio Cart
• MacBook Air with SoundBoard
• M-Audio Fast Track Pro
• Prompter/Show Notes
• MacBook Pro 15" with Presentation Prompter & Google Docs
• Sound Reenforcement
• Soundcraft GigRac 600
• Electro Voice SX 200 Loudspeakers

Happily all this gear has been returned to their usual locations. Our podcast studio is up and ready to record more interviews with Geocachers tonight. The other equipment is out visiting company events, productions, and occasionally a wedding. If we were to set-up this system from scratch I wouldn't have used some of this gear (it's designed for studio use rather than field use and didn't like the temperatures late in the day). Of course there would be changes to this kit if we were to attempt another event studio. The big question is when and whether we'd do this again. That answer remains to be seen.

Cache-A-Maniacs Live Stream?

It's been more than a year since the last time we streamed live recordings of the Cache-A-Maniacs via our Ustream channel. It does take some time to set-up and run the streams and we weren't getting many viewers. There seems to me more people interested again in watching live video from podcast recordings so we're considering running the experiment again. We've done some of the prep for steaming again for the GeoWoodstock IX Podcast Studio (which sadly did not work out). The question is whether you would be interested in checking out those live recordings of the Cache-A-Maniacs interviews? Please drop us a comment or tweet me if you would like to watch these live streams.

Photos From the GeoWoodstock IX Podcast Studio

While we were busy all day in the GeoWoodstock IX Podcast Studio, one of our guests was able to capture some photos of our recordings. Our thanks to softball29 (featured on CAM107, the upcoming CAM228, and found on Flickr as hoohaaphotos) for shooting these great images and allowing us to repost them here.


Recording "Cachers of the Round Table" episode 36


HeadHardHat makes a return appearance on the
soon-to-be-released "Cache-A-Maniacs" episode 228.


DarrylW4 is the man behind the board.


DarrylW4 running off his mouth again.


Firefly03 hiding behind her shades.

GeoWoodstock IX Podcast Studio Ustream Update 2

We are still working to get power to the Podcast Studio at GeoWoodstock IX and the internet connection is not yet ready. Unfortunately we will not be able to stream most of the sessions through Ustream. We still hold out hope that Geocaching World might be able to get a stream out so watch @HeadHardHat for updates.

GeoWoodstock IX Podcast Studio Ustream Update

As of 9:00PM last night the folks over at SkyStreak were still working to get us the internet connection for our streaming from the GeoWoodstock IX Podcast Studio. While they haven't given up on getting us a connection, it is likely that we will not have the connection to broadcast through Ustream. We should still be able to get updates out via Twitter as to the status of the connection so you'll want to want my Twitter feed -- @DarrylW4 -- as we get closer to the event. We're looking forward to meeting so many of you there and still hope we can include those who can't make it to GoWoodstock IX through the Ustream.

GeoWoodstock IX Live Stream Update

We're only a few days from Geowoodstock IX and hope to meet many of you at our sessions on the Podcast Studio. Many more won't be able to join us in person and have been asking for live streams from the sessions. Barring any unforeseen issues onsite we will be streaming live video through Ustream for each of the sessions. I've updates the schedule below to include the URLs where you'll be able to find each of those streams:

11:00AM EDT 8:00AM PDT 15:00 UTC	Cache-A-Maniacs Live Stream Start the podcasting day off as we record a special, live edition featuring at least one cacher interview, catch-up with past guests, and a Q&A session with the hosts.
12:45PM EDT 9:45PM PDT 14:45 UTC	Geocaching World Live Stream Join HeadHardHat and Dave Dufour from RVNN as they record episodes of the "Geocaching World" video podcast.
2:00PM EDT 11:00AM PDT 18:00 UTC	Geocaching Podcast Live Stream Participate in the live "July Cacher Coffee" episode. Audience members are asked to bring their topics and opinions to this recording.
3:00PM EDT Noon PDT 19:00 UTC	Caching Northwest Live Stream The Bad Cop hosts the first live recording of the "Caching in the NorthWest" podcast. Have a look at GeoWoodstock from the NorthWest perspective.
4:00PM 1:00PM PDT 20:00 UTC	Cachers of the Round Table Live Stream Attend the last recording of the "Cachers of the Round Table" featuring TheBadCop (Caching in the NorthWest & Geocaching Podcast), DarrylW4 (Cache-A-Maniacs & Geocaching Podcast), Firefly03 (Cache-A-Maniacs & Geocaching Podcast), HeadHardHat (Geocaching Podcast, Geosnippits, & RVNN's Geocaching World), and Zor (Cacher's Corner).

We recommend watching the Twitter feeds of your favorite hosts (@TheBadCop, @DarrylW4, @HeadHardHat, Zor_) and their shows (@CacheAManiacs, @CRTPodcast, @gcpodcast, @GeoSnippits) for updates on their sessions.

Also a quick thanks to the GeoWoodstock IX committee, SkyStream Solar, Podcast Hosts, and the Podcast Audience for their support and assistance in making this happen.

Change in Schedule

Sadly TeamPodcacher will not to able to visit Pennsylvania next weekend (more info here). We have revised the schedule for the Saturday, July 2nd Geowoodstock IX Podcast Studio (look for us to the left as you enter through the main gate, all times are local which is EDT):

11:00AM	Cache-A-Maniacs Start the podcasting day off as we record a special, live edition featuring at least one cacher interview, catch-up with past guests, and a Q&A session with the hosts.
12:45PM	Geocaching World Join HeadHardHat and Dave from RVNN as they record episodes of RVNN's Geocaching World video podcasts.
2:00PM	Geocaching Podcast Participate in the live "July Cacher Coffee" episode. Audience members are asked to bring their topics and opinions to this recording.
3:00PM	Caching Northwest The Bad Cop hosts the first live recording of the Caching in the NorthWest podcast. Have a look at GeoWoodstock from the NorthWest perspective.
4:00PM	Cachers of the Round Table Attend the last recording of this round table show.

This should be the final schedule but we may need to make changes. I'll post updates through the day of the event here. We're really excited about all these great recording sessions and hope to see many of you there.

Geowoodstock IX Podcast Schedule

Please note that this schedule has been changed. The new schedule is available here.

We have a tentative schedule for Saturday, July 2nd's Geowoodstock IX Podcast Studio!

11:00AM	Cache-A-Maniacs Visit with several guests from the Cache-A-Maniacs shows as we record a special, live edition.
Noon	Geocaching World & GeosnippitsJoin HeadHardHat as he records for his shows.
1:00PM	Geocaching PodcastParticipate in the live "July Cacher Coffee" episode. Audience members are asked to bring their topics and opinions to this recording.
2:00PM	PodcacherJoin the PodCacher International Media Organization staff for a live recording, Q&A, show creation demo and prize giveaway.
3:00PM	Caching NorthwestThe Bad Cop hosts the first live recording of the Caching in the NorthWest podcast. Have a look at GeoWoodstock from the NorthWest perspective.
4:00PM	Cachers of the Round TableAttend the last recording of this round table show.

This should be the final schedule but we may need to make changes. I'll post updates through the day of the event here. We're really excited about all these great recording sessions and hope to see many of you there.

Podcasting at GeoWoodstock IX

We're only days from GeoWoodstock IX and in full planning for the Podcast Track at the event. More details will follow, but here's a list of the shows which will be recording at this year's GeoWoodstock in Warren, PA:

• Cache-A-Maniacs
• Cachers of the Round Table
• Caching in the Northwest
• Geocaching Podcast
• Geocaching World
• Geosnippits
• Podcacher Podcast

Geocaching 12 of 12 on Geocraze

Tonight at 7:30PM Eastern (12:30AM March 9th GMT), I'll be on Geocraze discussing the Geocaching 12 of 12. The Geocaching 12 of 12 is only scheduled twice each year to give Geocachers to chance to share their Geocaching day with the rest of the world through a dozen images. The first for 2011 hits just four days from now -- Saturday, March 12th. Join us live tonight on TalkShoe or download the episode later for more on the fun merging between geocaching and photography. (I'd prefer you join us live.) But don't forget to pull out your camera on Saturday for the first Geocaching 12 of 12 this year!

Team Ducky's Cache-A-Maniacs Guest Ducky

Cache-A-Maniacs guests Team-Ducky made and released one of their signature ducks marking their appearance on episode 202. Each of their ducks are decorated, photographed, and recorded before release on their blog. This one features the Cache-A-Maniacs logo, a camera, and a firefly. The "Cache-A-Maniacs Guest Ducky" (TB23G6C) uses their Guest Coin's tracking number to log and track on Geocaching.com. It's mission is actually three fold;

1. to meet geocachers who have been been guests on the Cache-A-Maniacs
2. to have listeners answer their favorite Rapid Response Question,
3. and to us at a Mega-Event or mby getting to our Boulan Park Cache II (GC1472M) cache.

Another creative idea from a Cache-A-Maniacs guest. Thanks Team-Ducky -- we look forward to running into Cache-A-Maniacs Guest Ducky soon (but hopefully not too soon and after many encounters with Cache-A-Maniacs fans and guests)!

Unboxing a Guest Coin?

A recent guest on our Cache-A-Maniacs show did something a little unexpected. If you haven't heard of an unboxing video this might seem a little strange, but they are common among the tech set. The point is to basically share the excitement of opening a present, but typically a new piece of hardware. Gianster98 was the guest for episode 208 of the Cache-A-Maniacs and hosts his own podcast on TalkShoe titled "Geocraze." He sat down in front of the camera and did a short unboxing video of the Cache-A-Maniacs Guest and Discovery geocoins we sent.



Cachers interviewed on a Cache-A-Maniac show receive a package like this one. They get the Cache-A-Maniacs Guest coin to keep for themselves and a Cache-A-Maniacs Discovery Coin with information about their appearance to release in their area (you can see Gianster98's coin here). Unfortunately he got the coins a little mixed up in his video, but it was cool to see a guest receive and open his coins. Thanks Gianster98!

At Geocoinfest 2010

We did a quick trip to the Twin Cities this past weekend for the Geocoinfest 2010 - Twin Cities mega-event. While Firefly03 was out trading (and generally drooling over the coins) I was working on assembling material and editing a couple of video segments for the Geocaching Podcast and Trackfiles. You'll be able to check out the first of those segments on Trackfiles this coming weekend, but the piece for the Geocaching Podcast is available now on YouTube.



You can also hear me talk with the hosts of the Twin Cities Geocaching Podcast on their 60th episode. Our thanks sir_zman and Super R for taking us on some caching Saturday and just a whole bunch of fun. We really had a great time (aside from the problems with the hotel) at the event and have to send our thanks to the committee and team behind this year's Geocoinfest.

An Encounter With Pill Bottles in Their Natural Environment

Sadly I had another encounter with Bronchitis thanks to a new flu strain which knocked out my voice Tuesday. This time it kept me from joining the crew on the Geocaching Podcast that evening. It also prevented me from recording wrappers and two interviews for Cache-A-Maniacs postponing release of this week's show and leaving us without an interview recorded for the following week. A visit to the doctor on Thursday supplied me with a larger selection of prescriptions than usual. They did seem to have the typical affect of draining any energy I had and making the symptoms worse for a couple days. At least during the downtime I was able to get moved into my new laptop (a 15" i7 MacBook Pro) which I'd expected to cause some problems and delays anyhow. Today I am on the mend and feeling much better. Expect my return to the Geocaching Podcast this Tuesday at 9:30PM EDT and that next Cache-A-Maniacs show for this coming Saturday. The next Photography4Cachers article and segment will be postponed at least a week. I'm looking forward to hitting a few of the 10 Years! events this weekend too, so I'm looking for a good report from my follow-up appointment this week. Look for more on that and podcast status updates later this week.

-- Posted From My iPhone