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Poppy Blocks in Different Sizes

Poppy Quilt Blocks – Measurements Video — How to make a poppy block Video — Making Poppy Block in different sizes

This is such a fun block – so many possibilities. I originally made the 12.5” unfinished block for a Facebook Group called Quilt Block Lottery  And then wondered about different sizes. A little bit of thinking about proportion, a little bit of math and voila!

The construction process remains the same – but now I can play with different sizes as well as different colors.

I hope you have as much fun as I had!

12.5” unfinished block Petal – 6.5” square Background – 3.5” square Center – 3.5” block

10.5” unfinished block Petal – 5.5” square Background – 3” square Center – 3” square

8.5” unfinished block Petal – 4.5” square Background – 2.5” square Center – 2.5” square

6.5” unfinished block Petal – 3.5” square Background – 2” square Center – 2” square

4.5” unfinished block Petal – 2.5” square Background – 1.5” square Center – 1.5” square

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Poppy Blocks in Different SizesMay 27, 2019 - 9:04 pm

February 14th is National Ferris Wheel DayFebruary 13, 2019 - 11:24 pm

Going Caching 2018 Had Something For EveryoneOctober 13, 2018 - 10:10 am

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February 14th is National Ferris Wheel Day

George Washington Gale Ferris Jr.

National Ferris Wheel Day is celebrated in honor of George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. on his birthday, February 14th. George was born in 1859 in Galesburg, Illinois to George Washington Gale Ferris, Sr. and Matha Edgerton Hyde.

At age 5, his family sold their dairy farm in Illinois and moved to the Carson Valley in Nevada.  George Washington Gale Ferris, Sr. moved his family to Nevada in 1864 as a gentleman farmer. He produced your typical crops, but Ferris also planted many varieties of trees,  importing large numbers of Eastern ornamental trees to Carson City including hickory, black walnut, and chestnut. Many of Ferris’s imported trees still adorn the Capitol grounds.  The Sears-Ferris House at 311 W. Third St. in Carson City was added to the National Register of Historic Places for Carson City in 1979.

Sears-Ferris House

The young George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. left Nevada in 1875 to attend the California Military Academy in Oakland, California.  He went on to graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York in 1881 with a degree in Civil Engineering.

After Graduating, George started his career working with the railroad industry and was focused on bridge building. He eventually moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and founded his own company, G.W.G Ferris & Co.  The company tested and inspected metals for railroads and bridge builders.  The Ferris home at 1318 Arch Street in the Central Northside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was added to the list of City of Pittsburgh Designated historic Structures on June 28, 2001.

Invention of the Ferris Wheel

The announcement of the World’s Columbian Exposition to be held in Chicago in 1893, drew Ferris back to his birth state of Illinois.  The directors of the Exposition issued a challenge to American engineers in 1891 to create a monument for the fair to outdo the Eiffel Tower, which was completed only a year earlier.

The directors had said they wanted something “original, daring and unique.” Ferris took this challenge seriously creating several different ideas, before finally settling on the Ferris Wheel. He sketched his original designs out on napkins one evening in a Chicago chophouse.

Original Ferris wheel

Ferris proposed a wheel from which the visitors would be able to view the entire exhibition, however, the planning commission feared his design could not possibly be safe. Ferris was not willing to give up and spent $25,000 of his own money to get safety studies and obtained $600,000 from investors.

With this favorable information, the planning commission agreed to allow the construction to begin.  They hoped the admissions from the Ferris Wheel would eventually pull the fair out of debt and make it profitable.

At its completion, the Ferris Wheel had 36 cars, fitted with 40 revolving chairs and able to accommodate up to 60 people for a total capacity of 2,160.  It carried 38,000 passengers daily at the Exhibition.  It stood at 264 feet tall between two 140 foot towers.

World’s Columbian Exposition Ferris Wheel, Chicago, United States, 1893

At 50 cents per ride, the Ferris wheel earned a whopping $723,805.50 at the 1893 fair.

Unhappy Endings

After the fair, Ferris spent the next two years in litigation claiming the fair management had robbed him and his investors of their portion of the profits.  In 1896, his wife left him and in November he died bankrupt and along at Mercy Hospital of Typhoid Fever.  His ashes remained a the Pittsburgh crematorium for over a year, waiting for someone to take possession of them.

As for the wheel, it was dismantled after it closed in April of 1894 and stored until the next year when it was rebuilt in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.  The Ferris wheel operated here from October 1895 until 1903 when it was bought by the Chicago Wrecking Company.

It was again dismantled and moved to St.Louis for the 1904 World’s Fair where it earned just $215,000.  Following the fair it was destroyed by dynamite on May 11, 1906, thus ending the story of the very first Ferris Wheel.

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February 14th is National Ferris Wheel DayFebruary 13, 2019 - 11:24 pm

Going Caching 2018 Had Something For EveryoneOctober 13, 2018 - 10:10 am

Crazy Dave’s Crew has not gone into hiding!March 11, 2018 - 4:23 pm

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Going Caching 2018 Had Something For Everyone

Going Caching 2018 – Haunted Mysteries

From the moment the Going Caching 2018 theme was announced, I had been looking forward to getting back to Rome for some awesome geocaching adventures.

Experience legends and lore that will give you goosebumps as you geocache your way around secret locations in the city of Rome, Georgia. Travel back to the 1890’s and don your best steampunk ghost-hunting attire as you attempt to tackle unsolved cases and other haunted mysteries.

Going Caching 2018 had a little something for everyone and every geocaching personality.  The entire Crew had a great time, but each member would give you a different reason or reasons.  If you have never been to a Going Caching Mega Event, I believe you will find something in the following list that you might enjoy.

Lab caches

This year, there were thirty (yes I said 30!).  They were divided into three groups of ten.

Highlights of Barnsley included ten traditional type lab caches which lead you around the scenic resort and teach you some of the history of the location.  This group was great for those who love the outdoors, hiking and history.  Best of all, Geocachers wearing their Going Caching 2018 name badge got entry for free all day on Thursday.

Baggo’s Roman Haunts

Baggo’s Roman Haunts got you out exploring downtown Rome and the local businesses.  This gave everyone an opportunity to easily find the lab caches without a great deal of hiking.  This year Rome even provided “chariot” service to shuttle you around town like a Roman Emperor.  For this group of lab caches, you were looking for clues provided by “Baggo” the skeleton.

Tombstone Tour was a special treat for those who prefer to stay on the leading edge of tech. These ten lab caches required downloading a special app on your mobile phone to use in an AR adventure.  The Crew ran out of time leaving this undone.

Puzzle Solving And Earthcache Classes

There were some great classes to learn some valuable geocaching skills.  I have learned some of my best puzzle solving skills at Going Caching events over the years.

GPS adventure games

At Going Caching 2018, the GPS adventure was the Geocaching Haunted Observations and Supernatural Tales (G.H.O.S.T) Challenge.  We followed clues which took us all over Rome and Floyd County to stamp our passports.  For those who were able to finish the challenge received an awesome geocoin to commemorate our adventures.

Trading Cards

Going Caching 2018 trading card

Each year, the Going Caching Crew creates trading cards for all those who wish to participate.  You can just purchase your cards or you can get packs of random cards.  Included in the random card pack you will also receive puzzles pieces to help solve yet another mystery.  The puzzle will lead you to geocaches which include stamps to validate your cards.  Why? To get you into the escape room at the main event on Saturday.

The Going Caching 2018 trading card puzzle pieces lead you to clues and helped up solve the mystery of what really happened to Annie Laurie.  The escape room was actually an “experience” room where we got the final clues and discovered the “Truth”

Many of us enjoy collecting all the cards.  This year over 260 cachers created a personalized card to be traded.  You might think this would be very stressful, but it’s not as hard as you might think.  After the event is over and we have all departed to our geocaching headquarters, we can head over to the Going Caching Geocacher Trading Card Group on Facebook to finish up the collection.

I almost forgot to mention, each and every Going Caching Trading Card is trackable.  They can be discovered at geocaching.com

Lots of geocaching vendors

Georgia’s Rome – Rome Souvenirs, Snacks & Water

OakCoins/Geoswag – Trackables

Space Coast Geocaching Store – Geocaching Items

Georgia State Parks – Info & Georgia State Park Swag

Red Hat The Geocaching Outfitter – Geocaching Gear

AMS Travel – Geocaching Travel and Tour Info

Houma Travel Geotour – Louisiana’s Only Official GeoTour

Let’s Go Earthcaching – Info on Earthcaching

Georgia Geocachers Association (GGA) – Geocaching 101 & Info

Turtle Tracks Design – Geocoins, Pathtags & Lapel Pins

GeoWoodstock 2019 – Info

Meet geocachers from all over the world

Going Caching is the third largest mega event in the United States so it attracts a lot of geocachers.  I have had the opportunity to become friends with geocachers from several different states, countries, and continents right here in the small town of Rome, Georgia. If you love meeting new people Rome is where you should be for Going Caching 2019.

What was your favorite part of Going Caching 2018?

There is not enough time or space to describe every detail of the Going Caching mega event.  So was there something I forgot to mention that you thought was awesome?  Are you going to be at Going Caching 2019, which will be in Rome again?  What is your favorite event and why?  Tell us in the comments below.

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Going Caching 2018 Had Something For EveryoneOctober 13, 2018 - 10:10 am

Crazy Dave’s Crew has not gone into hiding!March 11, 2018 - 4:23 pm

Going Caching 2018 Theme Announced!November 20, 2017 - 5:01 pm

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Crazy Dave's Crew has not gone into hiding!

Crazy Dave’s Sleeper Agents

Crazy Dave’s Crew is still alive

Have you been wondering what happened to Crazy Dave’s Crew?  Well, we have not gone into hiding.  In fact, we have been expanding our social media presence.

Recently, we have decided to work more on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/CrazyDavesCrew.  We are producing a new video every few days and really enjoying it.

Laura is making quilting and sewing videos.  Every Thursday, she publishes another Thursday Threads video and other videos pertaining to the sewist world at other times.

I, Crazy Dave, am still doing a weekly Geocaching video every Saturday which can be found posted on Geocaching Adventures.

We are working on the schedule

Although we have been very busy with the YouTube channel, we are working on getting back to blogging on this site.  I hope you will be patient with us and allow us to get the schedule worked out so we can handle all the extra things we are trying to accomplish.

In the meantime, you can still keep up with us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/CrazyDavesCrew.

Here are a few of our most recent videos for you to enjoy.

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Going Caching 2018 Theme Announced!

Going Caching 2018 Theme Announcement

The Going Caching Facebook page quietly changed its profile picture on November 15th from Going Caching 2017 to a spooky  Going Caching 2018 “Haunted Mysteries” theme.  I immediately started thinking about all the possibilities!  My first thought was Scooby Doo and Mystery, Inc. but we prefer to come up with something more original.

The First Short Description

Later I noticed a short post on the facebook page clarifying the theme further.

Experience legends and lore that will give you goosebumps as you geocache your way around secret locations in the city of Rome, Georgia October 6 for Going Caching 2018. Travel back to the 1890’s and don your best Sherlock Holmes/Victorian Steampunk attire as you attempt to tackle unsolved cases and other haunted mysteries. You may even be called upon to “capture” a restless spirit or two, so come prepared. Join in a Downtown Ghost Walk Adventure, Escape from A Haunted Victorian Mansion and join in on an interactive night cache. We dare you to be here. Cache Page publishing soon.

So I guess we will have to think about something from a time before motorized geo-mobiles and Sextants and compasses instead of GPSr’s.

Who Are We Going To Be?

As you can see from the description, we need to go back in time to pick our character.  We could go with the Sherlock Holmes theme mentioned above for the mystery twist.  Or maybe we should go with something like The Bell Witch theme going with the spooky/haunted theme. Maybe doing something like the Fox Sisters, who claimed to communicate with the dead would be more appropriate.

Let not forget, Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln had some unexplained stories about seeing ghosts.  In fact, Abraham saw a double image of his face in a mirror not long after his election and had a nightmare about his own funeral mear weeks before it came true.

Crazy Dave’s Sleeper Agents

I guess we will have to do some research and determine what direction we want to go with the Going Caching 2018 theme, Haunted Mysteries.  We may go with the Victorian Steampunk, Old-fashioned investigators, some ghost story from the time period or maybe will find a way to wrap it all into one package.  We like to think outside the box.  This year we went as “Crazy Dave’s Sleeper Agents”

I guess you will have to attend Going Caching 2018 to find out what crazy thing Crazy Dave’s Crew will do next!

Do Everything At Going Caching 2018

If you plan to attend Going Caching 2018, I recommend you do everything even if you don’t fully understand what is going on, yet.

Each year we go, we learn we are missing out on some fun and exciting event because we held back.

The first time, we just showed up for the main event and really weren’t very impressed.

For Going Caching 2017, the Crew made and purchased our Going Caching Trading Cards which was cool, but we didn’t get the variety pack, which turned out being important. We did go as Sleeper Agents for almost all of the events and had a great time.

Next year, we are planning to be there for the entire week and will purchase everything in the recommended package because the Going Caching Crew has a reason for each item offered.  Hopefully, we will get it right this year.

Your Thoughts

If you have been to Going Caching before, do you have any suggestions for folks who have never been? Tell them in the comments below.

Never been before? Have questions? Ask them below.

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How To Fix The Agitator Dogs In A Washing Machine

You Have Agitator Dogs Where?

That’s right!  You have agitator dogs in your washing machine.  And it can be very agitating when they aren’t doing their job anymore. So what exactly are agitator dogs and what do they have to do with your washing machine?  A LOT!

Have you noticed your clothes don’t seem to be getting as clean as they should?  Or have you started your washing machine with the lid open and noticed the agitator is hardly moving if it moves at all?  The dogs are supposed to be keeping that thing moving, but sometimes they get old and tired (or broken). The good news is you don’t need a new washing machine.

Agitator Dogs (new puppies)

Agitator Dogs

If you have a ratchet set and ten bucks, you can give those old dogs new life. (Well not really! You’re going to have to get rid of the old dogs and replace them with a new set of puppies)

How to fix the agitator dogs in your washing machine

So you want to know how to save a ton of money by repairing your washing machine yourself. Good.  Let’s get started.

Before we start, you need to make sure you have what you need to replace the old agitator dogs.

A new set of dogs (or litter of puppies)should come in a package of four from almost any appliance parts store for less than ten dollars.

A ratchet with a long shaft and a 7/16 inch socket

About fifteen minutes.

Now we can begin.

Remove the Liquid Fabric Softener Dispenser.  Depending on your brand and model washing machine, this is done by either pulling up on the locking ring and lifting the dispenser off or just pulling straight up on the dispenser (see your owner’s manual if you aren’t sure). Mine has the locking ring.

Liquid Fabric Softener Dispenser Removal

Remove the agitator cap by prying up around the outer edge with a small flat-head screwdriver.

Agitator Dogs

Agitator Dogs

Now, use the 7/16″ socket to loosen and remove the bolt in the center of the agitator.  You may have to hold the bottom of the agitator to keep it from moving. The whole section of the agitator holding the agitator dogs should come off once the bolt is completely loosened.

Use a 7/16″ ratchet to remove the Agitator Dogs

Removing Agitator Dogs

Washing machine after Agitator Dogs have been removed

While you have everything out, I would spend a minute cleaning up some of the buildup and broken pieces of plastic before moving forward.

Next, toss the old dogs out and replace them with the new puppies.

old Agitator Dogs

no Agitator Dogs

new Agitator Dogs

Now you just do steps 1-3 in reverse order.

Saving Money With DIY Projects

Over the years, I have spent a lot of money paying professionals to do things I can do myself.  The problem was I didn’t know I could do it myself.  I have learned how to do many things with the help of YouTube and Google.

Recently I did a repair on our dryer that only cost a few dollars, but I probably would have gotten a new dryer for the same problem in the past.  I started researching all the things I could do myself and realized I could replace every part on our dryer for much less than a new one would cost.

Not long ago, the power window on my truck stopped working.  You know what?  I fixed that too, with the help of “How To” videos and blog posts on the Internet.

I just thought I would share some of my experiences along the way so you can save money too.  If you would like to learn how to repair other household appliances, tell me in the comments below and I will try to get a post or a video up on how to do it.

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How To Fix The Agitator Dogs In A Washing MachineNovember 3, 2017 - 6:06 pm

Crazy Dave’s Thoughts On The New Amazon KeyOctober 26, 2017 - 9:34 pm

Going Caching 2017 Was AWESOMEOctober 20, 2017 - 5:45 pm

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Crazy Dave's Thoughts On The New Amazon Key

Amazon Key! What’s That?

Amazon Key is a new service for Prime members from Amazon available initially in 37 cities across the US.  You see, the two of you have been spending a lot of late nights together especially as Christmas gets closer and Amazon wants to take the relationship to the next level.  It wants a key to your home so it can drop by anytime. Seriously!

Heart Lock

Amazon Key is a brand new smart device being introduced by the world’s largest online retailer that will allow anyone you trust inside your home when you are not there.  I know it sounds crazy, but Amazon sees it as a bold new step into the future and they could be right.

How Can I Get It?

The Amazon Key is actually a bundle of products designed to make you feel safe.

The Amazon Key app allows you to manage the whole thing right from your smartphone.

You will also need to choose from three different styles of smart locks.  Each of the styles comes in three different colors, bronze, brass, and nickel.

Finally, the Amazon Cloud Cam allows you to monitor everything either live or view a video later.

You can go ahead and pre-order yours today at this link if you are in one of the 37 selected cities and you are a Prime Member.

Your cost at the time of this post is between $249.99 and $319.99 based on which smart lock you choose.

Pros –

First, let’s hear what Amazon has to say.  They make a pretty compelling case in the following video:

So Let me get this straight.

Place an order, choose “In-home-delivery” and the package will be placed inside my house, safe from the weather and the possibility of being stolen.

Receive three separate notifications, on the morning of the delivery, immediately before the delivery, and after the delivery is complete.

Watch the whole process either live or later.

Let anyone I trust into my home anytime from anywhere.

The service is FREE!

Electric Lock

Cons –

I’m giving a complete stranger access to my home.

Technology has a tendency to fail at some point. (Trust me, I know!  I work in IT.  Not going to bring up ALEXA)

It is only available to PRIME members

The cost is a little high (Prime membership + at least $249.99)

Crazy Dave’s Final Thoughts

I may be a conspiracy theorist, but I can see how this will be used by criminals to scope out prospective homes to rob.  An amazing amount of information about you and your possessions can be determined by stepping inside the front door of your home.  How many pets do you have and are they friendly to strangers?  Do you have expensive decorations? How quickly can your entertainment equipment be accessed after entering your home?  What hours are you home and how could the security camera be avoided.  By the way, if you are using this service, I already know you don’t have an alarm system in place!

All in all, Amazon Key sounds like a great idea.  I could see how it would be a valuable service if you have packages disappearing from your doorstep or being damaged by the weather.  But I think I will take my chances before allowing someone I don’t know to enter my home when I am not there.

Amazon, I hope we can keep seeing each other.  So far our relationship has been good, but I am not ready to take the relationship to the next level.  I will not be giving you an Amazon Key to my home anytime soon.

Your Thoughts

What do you think? Should we trust Amazon with a Key to our homes?  Are we allowing convenience cloud our better judgment or am I being too harsh?  Tells what you think in the comments below.

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Crazy Dave’s Thoughts On The New Amazon KeyOctober 26, 2017 - 9:34 pm

Going Caching 2017 Was AWESOMEOctober 20, 2017 - 5:45 pm

Backward Geocaching or Geocaching In Reverse?August 30, 2017 - 1:49 pm

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Going Caching 2017 Was AWESOME

What is Going Caching?

Going Caching is an annual Geocaching Mega-Event held in the State of Georgia USA. Each year the Going Caching Crew hosts geocachers from all over the world for five days of fun somewhere in Georgia. The main event usually takes place the first Saturday of October with smaller events on the three days before and the day after. Each year there is a theme that adds to the week of fun.  This event seems to get better and better each year probably due to the fact the same group of cachers plan and organize it each year.  This gives them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and correct them the next year.  It also allows them to take what worked well and apply it to future events.

Going Coastal

CDC_Mom at Going Caching 2014

Going Caching was originally called Going Coastal and was held in Savanah in 2010, 2011, and 2012.  In the beginning, it was pirate themed.

Going Caching 2013

In 2013 the name of the event was changed to Going Caching and so did the themes.  In 2013, the theme was Indiana Jones and early 1900’s and was held at the FDR state park in Pine Mountain, GA, near Columbus.

Going Caching 2014

The next year, 2014, Going Caching left the southern half of the state and was held in Rome, GA.  The theme for this year was “When in Rome” and included things like chariot races.

ChaseCat6 at Going Caching 2014

This was the first one Crazy Dave’s Crew attended and we were there for just the main event.  It was okay but didn’t seem like a big deal to us.  We weren’t fully engaged and really missed out.

Going Caching 2015

In 2015 Going Caching was again in Rome, Georgia and had a Renaissance theme.  I am sure my wife would have really enjoyed this event, but we were unable to make it.

Going Caching 2016

The Going Caching Crew time traveled to the first location the event was called by its present name. I was held at the FDR State Park and had a time travel/steampunk theme.  I did get the Geocoin and Path Tags from this event, but we were not able to attend once again.

Going Caching 2017

This year, the Going Caching theme was Spy Games in Rome, Georgia.  The main event took place on Saturday, October 7, 2017, from 9 am to 5 pm, but the fun actually began earlier in the week.  Everyone was invited to dress up as their favorite spy and join in the hunt for Dr. Muggle and save geocaching from his evil plans.

Crazy Dave’s Crew at Going Caching 2017

So Why Was This Year So Awesome?

Well, because Crazy Dave’s Crew was there, of course! (along with about 2000 other cachers)

Seriously, each year the Going Caching Crew does a better job of putting together a well planned out, fun event for the entire family.  We have been to other events and there always seems to be something missing.  At this event, I watched as each member of the Crew found an activity they enjoyed.

Real Geocaching Challenges

There was plenty for the hard-core geocacher to do, as is usual at almost all events.  But even that seemed to take a twist here in Rome.  I had a chance to practice my endurance on the hiking trails, test my knowledge of the T.O.T.T.(Tools of the Trade) and even use my powers of deduction in figuring out several field puzzles.

Socializing and Cache Cards

SlaitFox55 (Dave) and ChaseCat6 (Nick) seemed to really get into the trading cards.  They spent the entire week running up to strangers asking to trade Cacher Cards.  Now that we are home I am even enjoying making trades on the facebook page.  We have decided to create a “memory book” of sorts to hold the cards and many other items we collected while at the event.

We even saw Nick step way out of his comfort zone.  If you have seen any of our videos on YouTube, you probably have notice Nick is ducking the camera most of the time.  But he went out of his way to help people find their button match, talking to complete strangers.

Lab Caches and Shopping

Lab Caches

CDC_Mom (Laura) and MysteryWings enjoyed exploring all the quaint little shops in downtown Rome.  You will never guess where almost all of the lab caches were located.  Yep, right inside all those quaint little shops in downtown Rome.  The boys and I got to figure out the clues for the lab caches while the female Crew members looked around the shops.

Well Thought Out Events By The Going Caching Crew

Throughout the week of Going Caching 2017, Wednesday thru Sunday, the Going Caching Crew held smaller events.  We didn’t make it to the first event, Spyware & Gear Requisition (GC77NR1) on Wednesday night, and we didn’t stay for Spies Like Us: Block Party (GC77NRB)on Saturday night or the last event on Sunday, Spies Go Home! Farewell Debriefing (GC77NRF) so I can’t say much about them.  But I can say the rest of the events were great.

Thursday

On Thursday, we attended Save Geocaching! Rally and Flash Mob (GC77NR5), Secret Agent Dead-Drop Swap & Spy Games (GC77NR8).  Save Geocaching! Rally and Flash Mob was exactly what is sound like, a gathering of GCC Agents and a flash mob.   Secret Agent Dead-Drop Swap & Spy Games (GC77NR8) was probably one of our favorite events. The stage was set up like a game show and several members of the audience were brought to the stage to participate.  The rest of the audience participated from their seats.  Some of the show was scripted, but the majority was impromptu and everyone did a great job.  There were excitement, suspense and lots of prizes.

C.A.T. Challenge Dossier

Friday

The Events for Friday were Covert Action Training (C.A.T.) Challenge Coffee Break (GC77NR9), where we opened our dossiers and were briefed on our missions for the day.  We then broke up and spent the day completing goals and help stop Dr. Muggle and the W.R.E.N.C.H (World Renowned Evil and Nefarious Cache Haters) organization.

After dark, we got a little open-air theater with  The Adventures of Skyler West: A Spy Story (GC77NRA).  We got to watch as Dr. Muggle was finally defeated by the Geocaching Protective Service (G.P.S.)

Saturday

The main event, Going Caching 2017: Spy Games Mega-Event (GC6VT45), lasted all day (well, 9-5) and included Vendor Booths, Lunch (food trucks in the park), Geocaching 411: Top Secret Puzzle Solving Techniques, the Mega Group Photo, and finally Announcements, Awards and Prizes(lots and lots of prizes).  The best part of the main event is you don’t have to be there constantly.  You can come and go as you please for the activities you wish to take part in.  In fact, Crazy Dave’s Crew spent our morning hiking around a local lake to complete the C.A.T. Challenge.

The Going Caching Crew Knocked It Out Of The Park

Dr. Muggle In Rome

The Going Caching Crew put on an awesome event that kept everyone entertained but not overworked.  We were kept busy but were able to work at our own pace doing what we thought was most important. There were plenty of events will lots of time between them for extra caching, socializing, exploring Rome, or just some R&R time.  I will tell you right now if we are only able to attend one event next year it will be Going Caching!

Crazy Dave’s Recommendations

Get hotel reservations as soon as you find out the date and location.  The first year we came I hadn’t planned ahead and ended up stay 45 minutes away. Not Cool!

Join the discussion on the Going Caching Facebook page.  It is the best way to keep up with whats happening.

Get the multi-pack of trading cards.  We didn’t this year and found out too late there was a puzzle and other cool activities included in each pack.

DON’T MISS GOING CACHING 2018!!

What Was Your Favorite Part?

Everyone is different so we would love to hear about your experience at Going Caching.  What was your favorite part? What mistakes did you make?

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Backward Geocaching or Geocaching In Reverse?

Backward Geocaching or Geocaching in Reverse?

The Crew at Inspector Gadget Geocache

What should I call it?  Recently, I have had to start something new, either backward geocaching or geocaching in reverse, but I can’t decide what to call it.  Maybe you can help.

Let me explain what is going on.  We homeschool our children and they have to have a physical education credit in order to graduate.  We discovered my favorite hobby/passtime/sport/… will count as a P.E. credit (WOOHOO!!)  But we have to have some way to keep records to prove they actually went out on the hikes to find the geocaches.  We decided the best way to accomplish this was to have each individual log the cache on their own profile. (I believe Laura plans to grade their logs as a writing assignment, too.)

So, Is It Backward Geocaching?

Here’s the dilemma.  I have found over 1100 geocaches as Crazy Dave’s Crew over the last few years.  Many of those were family outings and the whole Crew was present when I found them.  Sometimes one of the Crew actually found the cache before I did.  So what to do? If I didn’t say so in the log, we really have no way of knowing exactly which ones they were involved in.  I suppose I could do some backward geocaching, reading through the logs and try to determine which caches I had company for and who was with me.  Even if I can figure it out, is it right for them to log the cache we found before they were geocachers? And should we log the correct date or just the date they signed up(That would make a total mess of their stats)?

Crazy Dave’s Crew at a CITO event

Or Geocaching in Reverse?

We could spend the next several years working our way through all of the geocaches I have already found so they can log finds on them, too.  Geocaching in reverse could be a lot of fun, reliving all of the memories I have made along the way.  I have an amazing ability to recall all of the caches I have found and I would be able to help them.  But I would rather be out finding new caches, making new memories.

Geocaching As Usual

In the end, I suspect we will not be geocaching in reverse or backward geocaching.  I think we will just find the caches as we come to them and if it happens to be one I have already found, I will get to watch my Crew go through the struggles I did to make the find (hopefully I will be able to watch without giving away the location).

I have also found myself struggling with whether to go geocaching without them because I don’t want them to miss out.  But I believe I will make the adjustments and be able to get back at it soon and just let the rest of the Crew enjoy their own journey, where ever that may take them.

Your Thoughts?

So what do you think?  Should we be geocaching in reverse or backward geocaching?  Or should we just continue as usual and just have fun with it?

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Getting Fit By Walking It Off Together

Samsung Health Most Steps

Why I Started Walking It Off

I started walking it off due to a series of events that occurred over the last couple of years.  Almost as soon as I turned forty years old, I noticed my weight going up for no apparent reason.  I have always had a limit of 250 pounds and anytime I got close to that weight, I did something to turn it around and all was good with the world.  But I have never had to exercise on a regular basis to keep my weight down.

In November 2015, I actually crossed the 270 mark!  I had already cut out my favorite drink, Dr. Pepper, completely and was having a low-fat meal for lunch every day at work, but the numbers just kept going up.  At this point, I started having a salad for lunch, a slice of peanut butter toast and a banana for breakfast and eating little or nothing for dinner.  I almost completely stopped eating snacks and desserts.  With all these changes in my diet, I managed to keep my weight from going up anymore, it still didn’t go down.

I was too busy (I thought) to add any more activity into my life.  My weight was going to stay at 275, but I could live with it as long as it didn’t go up anymore.  I did start planning short hiking trips to find geocaches, but when the summer heat arrived, the trips slowed down.  I did manage to keep this weight until the next November when something shocking happened.

Samsung Health main screen

Walking It Off With Samsung Health

In November 2016, one of the guys at work was talking about an app he was trying out on his Samsung phone called Samsung Health.  We found out it could be used on Androids as well, so I loaded it on my phone just to see how many steps I took every day.  I was sure it would be a lot because we are always heading next door to handle some computer issue.

Well, I thought wrong!  I was shocked to learn I was taking less than 1000 steps on an average day.  Yes, there were days I walked more, but that was the average.  Ouch, I think I may be lazy!!

Laura and I talked about our need to be more active and decided this app might help with it.  I loaded Samsung Health on Laura’s phone.  The app allows you to set your own goals and keeps up with many different aspects of your activity.  It keeps up with your steps taken, whether you are running or walking, the amount of time you are active and much more.

We set a goal of 2500 steps and would actually compete with each other to see who could get there first.  In the beginning, it was very difficult.  I know what you are thinking, 2500 steps should be easy! But remember, I sit in front of a computer all day and enjoy blogging and making YouTube videos at night.  Laura has MG and becomes fatigued very quickly.  Her activities include sewing and homeschooling our children.  2500 steps was twice what we used to walk and walking for the sake of walking was outside of our comfort zone.

Weight, You Lost How Much?

Samsung Health Mid-Day Steps

I started walking every day during my breaks at work.  I increase my distance just a little each week, reaching the next tree or light pole or the crack in the side walk up ahead.  I have gone from walking less than 1000 steps to averaging 8500 steps every day. That’s almost FIVE miles every day!!  And you know what? I feel better and I have more energy.  Oh, the weight, I have been walking it off! This week I hit 245, a weight I didn’t think I would ever see again.  I have had to drill three new holes in my belt and I have gone from size 42 to 38 in pants!

I’m not done yet!  I have been walking it off and I plan to keep on walking it off until I lose at least another 20-25 pounds.  I keep adding to my goal each week and I am planning to add some weight training to the mix.  It has taken me 9 months of walking alone to lose 30 pounds, shrink the waistline two sizes and increase my energy level.  I wonder how much I will lose by the end of this year.

What Are You Weighting For?

Have you been wanting to lose weight, but just couldn’t seem to get motivated?  Try out the Samsung Health app or any other app that motivates you to walk it off, then tell us how it’s going in the comments below.

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Crazy Dave Hosted His First Geocaching Event

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geocaching event

WHAT IS A GEOCACHING EVENT?

Geocaching Events are gatherings of geocachers. These gatherings can include just a small group of cachers with specific interests or thousands of geocachers from all over the world.  Reasons for having an event are almost as numerous as the number of geocachers.  Some events are educational, others are for cleaning up the environment (CITO) and some include fun games, education and CITO.

Some geocaching events are “meet and greets” at a local restaurant where geocachers come and go as they please.  They usually last for thirty to sixty minutes and don’t include any planned activities.  I have been to a few that turned into an all day group geocaching trip, but only a few.  These are a great way to meet local cachers and get a few hints on local geocaches.

Some geocaching events last for the entire day and include lots of planned activities.  These events usually attract geocachers from hundreds and thousands of miles around.  Most of the time, they plan several smaller events on the days before and after the event making it seem as if the event lasts for many days.  These events are called Mega-events and Giga-events if they attract enough geocachers.

No matter what type or size event you choose to host or attend, any geocaching event is a great place to meet other geocachers and learn more about the sport.

What Type Of Geocaching Event Did I Host?

Well, that’s complicated!

It certainly was not a Mega or a Giga!  Those events take months and even years to plan and finance.  I was surprised, however, at the distance travel by a few of the attendees.  One geocacher traveled 200 miles to be at my event! (He must really like events)

My event was also not a CITO or just a simple “meet and greet”.

No, my event was meant to be a small get together, but I wanted to think outside the box just a little.   Geocaching.com and Enterprise South Nature Park provided me with the circumstances for the perfect storm (that will have more meaning later in this post).

Starting in the middle of July, geocaching.com come out with the “Lost Treasure of Mary Hyde” promotion which set up the perfect situation for an fun event and gave me lots of ideas for planned activities.  And speaking of lost treasures, I discovered Enterprise South Nature Park had a “Hidden Lake” that provided a perfect venue for my event.

So, what type of geocaching event did I host? I guess you could say it was a hybrid “meet and greet.”  The event had a pirate theme with a short .7 mile hike to ground zero and several planned activities.

Photo Props

Preparing For The Event

As soon as I found out about the Hidden Lake, I convinced the Crew to come with me on the short hike to do a little recon.  I needed to make sure it was suitable for having events and what facilities were available.  I was pleased to see 3 picnic table and 2 bench swings near the water’s edge.  I was surprised to discover there was actually a restroom this far out in the woods, but soon learned it was really a concrete outhouse with no running water. (I guess it would be better than sneaking behind a tree and using poison ivy leaves).

Location, location, location!

I decided the location was right so I contacted the person in charge of the park to get permission for the geocaching event.  She quickly gave me approval, but let me know the tables were first come first serve and no vehicles could be used to transport supplies to ground zero.  Well, that’s okay.  We will just use the dollies I have and a large red wagon the children haven’t used in years.  Looks like we are a GO!

Northwing’s Crew

Planning and buying

I created the event on the geocaching website and started making plans.  I planned activities necessary to make my first geocaching event fun and started purchasing door prizes and other items we needed.

Sky watching

I also became best friends with the Weather Channel, the Accuweather app on phone, Google weather and several other weather predicting outlets. They kept me on edge right up until the morning of the event.  I even planned a secondary location just in case it looked like a rain out.  On the morning of the event, all of my weather buddies were say the rain would hold off until at least an hour after my event was over.

More Recon

The Thursday before the event, I decided to hike back up to GZ to decided exactly where to place my treasure chest for one of the activities I had planned.  On this trip, I got to meet some of the local wildlife.  There was a rabbit, several squirrels and at least three snakes(one in the place I had planned to hide my treasure! I picked a different location.)

Geocachers Converge on Ground Zero

Flagg meets flag on the treasure hunt

The big day finally arrived.  The van was loaded and the Crew was being rushed to get ready.  I had planned to arrive at the park by 9:00 AM and it was already ten after!  When we finally arrived, we were greeted by several geocachers who had beaten us there.  Not off to a great start!

I loaded all of the supplies on the carts and we started our hike (funny, this walk seemed easier when we didn’t have all the luggage)  By the time Crazy Dave’s Crew got to GZ, we were already worn out.

Hidden Treasure

I rushed to set up the treasure hunt I had planned.  I placed an ammo-box at the point I had decided on a few days earlier and the marked several waypoints along the way back to GZ.  Each way point was marked with a small Jolly Roger flag with a hint to find the next flag.  As my fellow geocachers signed the log which was a large clothe Jolly Roger flag, they received a treasure map with instructions for find my treasure chest.

Props at events are fun

Photo booth

After finding the hidden treasure, I had set up a treasure chest prop and several costume props for everyone to have photo proof of joining Capt’n Crazy Dave’s Crew.  I have never seen so many adults having this much fun playing dress up ever before.  I may have to provide this type of entertainment for my future events.

Tall Tales and Trackables

As it usually goes at geocaching events, there was plenty of time for everyone to compare notes on those hard to find caches and give suggestions for solving difficult puzzle caches.  I could even hear the occasional lie being told (but hey, its geocachers at a pirate event!  What did you expect?)!

geocacher walking in the rain

For many geocachers, discovering and moving trackables are the highlight of any event.  You never know what will be turned in to a trackable or what mission it will have as it heads out into the wild.  We had a place under some shelter to trackable to be spread out for all to see.

Door Prizes

Everyone enjoys winning!  So I devised a way for everyone at my event to win twice.  When a geocacher arrived and signed the log they and everyone in their party received a ticket and they also received a ticket for finishing the treasure hunt.  All of those in attendance, including muggles got two tickets.

About 30 minutes before the end of the event, we gave away all kinds of cheesy pirate themed prizes.  There were plastic skull rings, eye patches, priate’s gold medallions, pirate tattoos, and more.  We ended with a “Mary Hyde” pirate mini geocoin and a “Mary Hyde” trackable dog tag.

Crazy Dave is all washed out

Washout!

Just as we were ending the event, it started to rain.  It continued to pick up as geocachers started rushing toward the parking, which was three quarters of a mile away.  All of the weather station had told me the rain would hold off until at least one o’clock, if it came at all!  What was the meaning of this?

I was a little concerned the other geocachers were going to be upset and would never want to come to one of Crazy Dave’s crazy events again, but the smiles in the pictures take at the end of the trail said differently.  They might decide to bring umbrellas next time, though!

More Events

Yes, I think Crazy Dave’s Crew will have more events in the future, but not your standard events.  I think something with a twist or a surprise with planned activities helps make it more fun for both the host and the attendees.

Do you have any ideas for geocaching events?  Let us know in the comments.

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Crazy Dave Hosted His First Geocaching EventJuly 28, 2017 - 8:56 pm

How To Build Shelves In A Useless ClosetJuly 7, 2017 - 4:09 pm

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How To Build Shelves In A Useless Closet

How To Build Shelves

Have you ever wondered how to build shelves?  Have you ever wanted to customize a useless closet to make it useful.  Me too!  That is how this project started.  We have had a coat/hat closet at the top of the stairs in our home for fourteen years.  What it’s true function has been for those fourteen years is unknown to many.  But I know it has been the place to shove things that are in the way or you want to hide when company is coming.  Until a few days ago, we really had no idea what had gone missing in this scary closet.

Why Now?

Well, we have been doing a lot of gardening this year and decided we wanted to try our hand at canning.  About a week ago, we purchased a pressure canner for canning tomatoes, squash and beans. It also doubles as a boiling-water canner for preserving fruits, jams, jellies, pickles, and salsa.  Laura and I suddenly realized, canning takes up a lot of counter space.  We really needed somewhere to store all this equipment and canning supplies.  We are also going to need somewhere to store all the canned foods after processing them.  

I had been planning to put up some shelves in the laundry room downstairs, but now that didn’t seem to be the best idea.  Having to lug all of the canning supplies and the pressure canner up the stairs every time we had a small harvest would get old fast!

1. The Useless Closet

After exploring options, I landed on the useless closet in the hall way across from the kitchen.  I felt this would provided the best accessibility and would make a useless closet useful again.  I already had some ideas for shelves in my head, but since I didn’t know exactly where I would be putting them, I now needed a plan. YouTube has become one of my favorite places to learn new things so I watched a few videos on how to build shelves. It wasn’t long before I had determined what I wanted to do.

Waterlogged Tomatoes

Mildewing Squash

2. The Rain….

Man…The Rain!  I can’t seem to get anything done in the garden or yard this summer because it is always raining.  In fact, I am a little concerned we will have nothing to can because my tomato plants are waterlogged and my squash plants are growing mold and mildew on their leaves.  I didn’t have any trouble keeping my plants alive last year during the worst drought this area has seen in twenty years, but this year I am fighting to save them from the rain!  Oh, and the weeds seem to be doing just fine in my garden this year!

So, I had a useless closet that needed shelves and had the information on how to build the shelves and the time to build them on this wet, wet Independence Day Holiday.  Let’s get to it!

Clear the Useless Closet

Cleared Closet 1

The first step in this project was to find the walls and floor in this coat/hat/junk/useless closet.  I found two large storage tubs (courtesy of Laura, who has been emptying here fabrics onto shelves downstairs) which worked great for grouping the junk together and keeping it movable.  I threw away many items we had no reason to be keeping in the first place. The two tubs held everything else from the closet.

Cleared Closet 2

After cleaning the walls a bit and sweeping the floor, I was ready to get to the good part.

If are planning to build shelves in your useless closet here are some of the tools and items you will need:

level

measuring tape, yard stick, ruler or all of the above

pencil

drill or rechargeable screwdriver (doing this manually would take forever, but it could be done)

some sort of saw

a couple of boxed of 2 inch screws

wood (size and type to fit your project) – I used Poplar because I liked the color and grain of the wood.

Take Good Measurements

This is where good shelving starts.  If you don’t get good measurements, all you will get is frustration!

I knew up front I wanted 7.75 inch wide shelves.  This is the perfect size to place one quart sized jar in front of another.  I have found shelves that are too deep allows things to get lost and forgotten.  I also already knew, I wanted exactly 11 inches between my shelves.  This allowed for two quart jars to be stacked with almost no wasted space.

Every house is different, but in our case, I have to over do the measurements to make sure everything comes out right.  I learned in a wallpapering project, the last owners didn’t worry too much about straight lines when they remodeled a room.  So I take a new measurement at least every 12 inches all the way up the wall to make sure I get the right length at every level.

Lines on Wall

I started with measuring the distance from the floor I wanted my first shelf brace located(note – I used a 2 inch wide board for my braces so my shelves will be 2 inches higher than this measurement).  I took this measurement all the way around the closet on all three walls.  Next, I drew a line from one mark to the next using my level to ensure this line is perfect.  If you mess this up, you mess the whole project up!! (At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if your walls are straight and level, but your shelves have to be!)

Now We See If I Know How To Build Shelves

First Shelf Brace

The next step is to measure the width back wall and cut one of my braces to fit. Why just one?  Because I don’t trust the measurements and I want this done exactly right!  I cut the first board and screw it into place while holding the level on top just to be sure.  Your screws need to be long enough to get through the board, the sheet-rock and a good distance into the stud.  I used 2 inch screws to make sure they would not pull out when the shelves get loaded.  I followed this step for each shelf local all the way to where I want my top shelf to be.

back Shelf Braces

Next I lined up and attached braces on both sides of the closet and on the small lip just inside the door.  Making sure these are perfectly aligned with the back wall braces and level is extremely important.

Finally, Our first Shelf

Finally, we are going to start see the rewards of all of this prep work we’ve been doing.  It is time to measure the first board to be placed on the back wall.  There are many different tool you can use for cutting the boards, you can even have Lowe’s to do it for you.  How ever you do your cutting, just make sure you have the right length to cover the majority if not all of the space between the walls.

After placing the first shelf, bring out the handy dandy level again to make sure we it is perfectly balanced.  Although, not required, screwed the shelf down with three or four screws to make it even more stable.  (It isn’t really required because the two side shelves will keep this one in place, but I wanted my shelves to be super solid).

back shelves completed

At this point, it probably doesn’t matter it you place all of the back shelves or do one layer at a time placing the side shelves as you go.  I chose to do all of the back shelves first so I was only having to think about one measurement at a time while cutting my boards.

Adding The Side Shelves

Measure from the front edge of the back shelve to the front wall.  This is how long you want to cut the shelf boards trying to keep it as snug as possible.  In my closet, the shelves protruded several inches beyond the door opening so I cut the corner off at a 45 degree angle and sanded the edges to avoid possible injury.

Earlier, I said it wasn’t required to screw down the back shelves.  Well, that isn’t the case with the side shelves.  These shelves will need all the extra support we can give them.

mending braces

I actually placed the top shelves first and worked my way down, completed one level at a time.  A mending brace must be added to these shelves where the back shelf and the side shelf comes together.  This, in my opinion is just easier to do without the next level down in the way.  One mending brace per shelf would probably do the job, but I wanted my shelves to be strong so I added two per shelf.

Finished Closet Shelving

Do I know How to Build Shelves?

You might disagree, I suppose, but I believe my shelves will stand up to whatever abuse the Crew throws at them and Laura is overjoyed with all the storage now available in what was once a useless closet.

I did end up adding a few finishing touches to the closet, as well.  I installed another large shelf above the old shelf in the top of the closet and I purchased a full length wall or door mounted steel adjustable shelving.  Lucky for me, it fits perfectly in the space I created by cutting the corners off of the side shelves and provided lot of extra space for storing kitchen items.

Your Thoughts

What do you think?  Before this project, I didn’t know how to build shelves.  Guess you could say I had on the job training.  Is there a better way to make use of wasted closet space? Did this post give you ideas of how to build shelves in that useless closet?  We would love to hear your thoughts and about you DIY projects.  Comment below.

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Summer Is Here, Finally! Are You Ready?

Summer is here!

In case you haven’t been paying attention, SUMMER IS HERE!  Summer officially begins June 21, 12:24 A.M. EDT so the first full day of summer this year is June 21.  That’s right, tomorrow is the longest day of the year.  We are looking at a full fourteen hours and thirty minutes of daylight tomorrow.  In the Chattanooga area, we will be having sunrise at around 6:30 AM and sunset around 9:00 PM.  That gives us a whole lot of time for enjoying nature even if you have to work for eight of those hours.

I have been preparing for summer for the last few months, but if you are waiting until the last minute, summer is here!  And here are a few tips from Crazy Dave’s Crew to get you caught up quickly.

Staying Cool

Pioneer Week at Ooltewah Church of Christ

One item the Crew highly recommends is the Neck Cooling Bandana. Last week, the week before summer, the Crew took part in the Pioneer Week at Ooltewah Church of Christ.  Somehow the heat got here slightly before summer and these bandannas were a true blessing.  All you have to do is soak the bandanna in water for 3-5 minutes and wear around neck, forehead, or wrist.  They will keep you cool until all of the water is evaporated.  Then you just soak them in water again.  For an extra cooling affect, you can place them in the freezer for 5 minutes.  Last week Crazy Dave’s Crew wore them all week and managed to survive the heat.

Protect Yourself

Summer is here and so are the bugs, tick, and mosquitoes.  Normally the freezing temperatures of the winter season helps kill off some other more annoying critters, but this year most of us had a very short, mild winter.  In fact, I can’t remember more than one or two day of below freezing temperature in the Chattanooga area. We hardly ever have a severe winter, but we usually will spend at least a few weeks with temperatures in the teens and twenties.  Not this year!  That means the ticks and mosquitoes are worse than ever this year.

Knowing how bad it was going to be, I did some research and found two of the most awesome products made by Sawyer.

Permethrin 

Permethrin is used on your clothing and gear.  Permethrin not only repels insects, it actually kill mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, mites, and more than 55 other kinds of insects on contact.  It takes a little planning ahead, but it is definitely worth the effort.  You carefully spray it liberally on your clothing and gear and allow it to air dry.  Yes, it has a strong smell.  Just stand upwind from it and you’ll be okay.  It is odorless once it is dry.  It is effective for 42 days of sun exposure, or 6 washings.

Crazy Dave’s Crew with Signal at GeoWoodstockXV

Picaridin

Picaridin is a insect repellent lotion to apply to the exposed skin.  It repels a wide variety of pests including mosquitoes, ticks, biting flies, sand flies, gnats, chiggers, and midges. One of the longest lasting repellents available, it provides up to 14 hours of protection against mosquitoes and ticks.

Using these two products together has been awesome.  The entire Crew managed to avoid a single mosquito bite or a single tick when we used them before a recent hike.  That is unheard of this year.

Have Fun

Summer is here so have fun.  Whether you are working in the yard or the garden, camping, hiking or geocaching Crazy Dave’s Crew hopes you will follow or suggestions for staying cool and protecting yourself from all the insects and ticks.  Have a great summer!

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Crazy Dave's Crew - Getting Our Chickens In A Row

Getting Our Chickens in a Row?

Crazy Dave’s Crew – Getting Our Chickens in a Row may not sound right.  I know; It’s supposed to be “Ducks” but Chickens seemed more appropriate.  Let me explain.  I guess you might have noticed the Crew has not been very active lately on social media and might have even wondered what happened or even missed our witty humor and wise commentary.  We have managed to get ourselves involved in a lot of activities over the last few months and it has taken a while for us to adjust.

Ooltewah Church of Christ Building

Building Ooltewah Church of Christ Website

About this time last year, we were geocaching and came across the Ooltewah Church of Christ building and decided to start attending.  Over the year we became more and more involved.  I wish we had found them earlier, but we didn’t due to the fact they had no up to date website.  At some point I might have mentioned I had a website and I enjoyed creating it.  One thing lead to another and I agreed to “help” get access to the domain name and the website.  Somehow I ended up spending the next few months building OoltewahChurchofChrist.com.  Now I am maintaining and keeping the website updated.

In the process of building this website, I discovered a lot of new tricks.  I discovered I was not happy with my personal site, cdcrew.com, so you will probably notice several changes over the next few months.

Baby chickens

Raising Backyard Chickens

Laura and I have talked about raising chickens for several years, but this year we actually did the research and jumped in with both feet.  We found a large chicken coop on sale at Tractor Supply for less than I could build one and I spent one Saturday afternoon putting it together with the help of Shelby.  Next we needed to chickens and all the things that go with them.  We ended up with two Buff Orpingtons, a Rhode Island Red, two Black Ameraucana and an Ameraucana.  Today, we are hoping to start see some eggs soon.  I am sure you will here more about these ladies and how we are getting our chickens in a row soon.

Our Garden

Planting A Garden

Being at the Tractor Supply store got me to thinking and I started looking at the prices of the garden tillers.  It didn’t take me long to decide to take another look at my Father-in-Law’s old garden tiller.  After a little more tinkering, I managed to get it started.  I had to try it out and ended up plowing up a fairly large section of our back yard.  So now we have a dozen tomato plants, watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, several different variety of peppers including chocolate peppers(yes, I said chocolate), beans, sunflowers, and more.  I guess we are doing more than getting our chickens in a row.

Service Project

ladies of ooltewah church of christ on hat day

Participating In Church Activities

Becoming involved with a active church family has added a lot to our schedule.  It seems every time we turn around there is something going on we want to take part in.  Just take a look at this calendar and that doesn’t include the Bible classes and worship services.  Over the last few months, the boys and I have been attending all of the Men’s Pray Breakfasts and some times we have service projects afterward.  Recently, we started attending a couple of monthly bible studies and now Laura and Shelby have gotten involved in the Ladies Class.  Let’s not forget the Dorcus Club.  And tomorrow the ladies of the church are having a vintage English Tea in which Laura was directly involved in the planning preparation.

Crazy Dave’s Crew with Signal at GeoWoodstockXV

Traveling To GeoWoodstock

Finally, we had the opportunity to travel to Asheville, North Carolina along with a few thousand other geocachers for GeoWoodstock XV.  This is one of the biggest events in the world of geocaching.  We used this time as a mini family vacation along with the geocaching activities.  On this trip, we went to the Retro Gamer Museum in Canton and Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River and visited several other sites of interest.

Busy Getting Our Chickens in a Row

As you can see we have been very busy getting our chickens in a row.  Between church activities, geocaching events, gardening and raising chickens, and building websites, it has been very hard to get back to working on blogging and YouTubing, but we are back now.  And as you can see we have plenty to tell you and show you.  Be sure to watch for our next post or video.

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Disney Comes Out of the Closet! Are You Shocked?

Out of the Closet

Disney has finally come out of the closet!  Up until now they have hidden their beliefs and values away from the public.  Now they have shocked all of us with the sudden revelation of their support of the LBGT community (less than 2% of the population, BTW).  The big news lately is Disney actually has an “exclusively gay scene” in the upcoming release of the live action Beauty and the Beast movie.  Or maybe you have seen the news about several same-sex kisses being shown in the latest episode of the company’s animated Star vs. the Forces of Evil program. This show targets children and adolescents on Disney XD, the company’s digital cable and satellite television channel.

But is this really the bold move everyone says it is?  Is this the first time we have seen Disney’s support for the LGBT community?

Let’s take a look at Disney’s history to determine when they actually came out of the closet.

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Two Decades of History

Disney has been coming out of the closet for almost two decades according to lifesitenews.com. The speaker on this post says a whooping 40% of Disney’s employees are gay!  I just have two questions:

(1) Why, exactly, would your employer know your sexual orientation? Isn’t there some law against an employer asking such questions?

(2) How is it that a group making up less than 2% of the population has filled 40% of the jobs with Disney?  This sounds like a bit of employment discrimination might be going on!

Disney’s Gay Day

Please don’t tell me you failed to notice “Gay Day” at Disney!  Way back in 1991, Disney came out of the closet by hosting its first annual Gay Day.  Since Disney chose to host Gay Day long before being gay was cool, it is reasonable to believe, they have not only accepted the practice of homosexuality but actually lead in pushing the agenda.

Disney’s Argument Against DOMA

Do you remember way back in 2013 when there was a law stating marriage was between a man and a woman?  Something you might not know is Disney, along with several other big name companies signed the DOMA amicus brief for the Supreme Court hearing that ended the Defense Of Marriage Act.  Here are just a few quotes from that document:

For many employers, DOMA does violence to the morale of the institution itself.

Do what?  My sex life actually does violence to the morale of the company I work for?  When did my sexual orientation become fodder for conversation around the water cooler? Or anywhere else for that matter?

Our organizations are engaged in national and international competition— for talent, customers, and business. That competition demands teamwork, and teamwork thrives when the organization minimizes distracting differences, and focuses on a common mission. DOMA’s core man-date—that we single out some of our married col-leagues and treat them as a lesser class—upsets this imperative.

Wow!  Did I read that right?  Are they saying having gender confusion isn’t distracting? And once again, what does my sexual orientation have to do with my employment?  Maybe I am different!  I go to work each day for a certain amount of hours, perform my assigned duties and then I go home.  My employer pays me for doing that and nothing else!  Not once has my sexual orientation been discussed, caused a distraction, or did any violence to the moral of my company.

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Disney Promotes Their Agenda to Your Family

Then Disney decided to take its LGBT agenda to the next level.  On January 26, 2014, the family friendly show Good Luck Charlie, Disney introduced two lesbian moms to your living room.  This show is mainly targeted at adults and older teenagers who are having to deal with these type of issues in real live.  It was done carefully and tastefully.  I believe that this episode could be watched with smaller children and it would not have caused any uncomfortable questions with them.  But it was the beginning of Disney trying to show your family there is nothing wrong with choosing this lifestyle.

Now they have taken it to the next level.  Disney has started bypassing you as the parent and are now pushing the LGBT agenda directly to your children (early teens and younger).

Disney, like Satan, has spent many years easing us into believing this is okay.  We have been lulled to sleep!  Now Disney wants you to believe it is their place to indoctrinate your young children.  Our five-year olds are being taught homosexuality is normal long before they should thinking about sexuality at all.  In the words of Popeye the Sailor Man, “Enough is enough and enough is too much!”

So what should we be doing?

We have to protect our young children from this evil influence.  It is our job, as parents, to take the time to screen what the world is telling children.  In the past, we just assumed if it was Disney, it was safe.  Never again.  From now on, all new Disney movies or shows must be screened before allowing our children to watch.

Send a message.  This could be in many forms.  We could just send a letter to Disney, but that is unlikely to get the point across.  We could stop buying anything with a Disney label.  Believe me, money talks the loudest!  But once again, this message would take many years to effect a company so large.

Teach our children and others the Truth! I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1,2) All of the answers can be found in the Bible.

Were you really surprised by Disney coming out of the closet recently?  If you were, you haven’t been paying attention.

What are your thought?  Regardless of your stance on the LGBT community, is it really Disney’s place to try to force-feed their agenda to small children?

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Crazy Dave, Politics

Crazy Dave's Letter To The President

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Christian Protests Are Just Like Other Protests

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Why was 2016 The Worst Year Ever?

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I Will Always Be There For You!

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If You Love Me, You Will Keep My Commandments

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Tolerance : Satan's Favorite Trap

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Habakkuk : Contemporary Prophecy For America

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God Is Not Safe

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Transgender Target wants all to feel accepted

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Christianity, Crazy Dave

Not my will, but Thine, be done

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Geocaching at Fort Campbell Memorial Park

Visiting Family Near Fort Campbell

Fort Campbell is where our brother-in-law was once stationed.  After he was discharged, Laura’s sister and her new husband decided to stay in the area and started their small family in Clarksville.  With a young teenager and two small children (Their small family grew quickly!), they don’t make it down to Chattanooga very often.  In fact, it has been almost a year since we last saw our niece and nephews.

We had Christmas presents to deliver and had nothing else pressing on our calendar for Presidents’ Day  weekend(a three-day weekend for me, Yea!!) so we spent the day traveling from Chattanooga to Clarksville, TN.  I have to tell you, that was the absolute worst drive I have ever made (and I have had a tornado pass over on a drive before).  We got started a little later than planned, but that was okay. I could make it up by driving straight through with no stops on the way.

Since we got a late start the rain was with us for the entire trip.  So picture driving in light to heavy drizzle in Nashville traffic(if you have never driven in Nashville, TN, DON’T!)for almost four hours.  By the time we arrived in Clarksville, attended the grand opening of the new JoAnn Fabrics store(not sure how I got talked into that one) and spending the afternoon with family, I was so ready to collapse on the bed in our hotel room! And that is what I did.

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Fort Campbell Memorial Park

After relaxing for a little while, I noticed the muscles in my back were actually tensing up instead of getting loose. I knew what I had to do.  I needed to stretch my legs a bit or I would not be able to sleep. What better way to stretch your legs than a little night caching at a local park.

I did a quick search on geocaching.com and found a small park with three geocaches less than a mile away.  Fort Campbell Memorial Park honors 248 soldiers who were killed on December 12, 1985 at Gander, Newfoundland while returning home to Fort Campbell from a peace-keeping mission in the Sinai.  This park was just what I needed and would provide nice a history lesson for the kids.

When we arrived in the parking lot, there was a couple sitting in a parked car right in front of the statue of the soldier (not sure what they were doing sitting in the dark). We reversed the order of our caching to let them get done with whatever they were doing and headed the last geocache first.

Geocache #3

The walk to GC16V4X – Whomp, Whomp, Whomp was fun but a little spooky due to the fog and darkness.  As we walked, Dave and Nick were burning up some of their pent-up energy pretending to be Team Skull from Pokemon (don’t ask, I don’t know!) and Shelby was making fun of them. After a while, we found the end of the sidewalk but to reach the cache we had to keep walking. We reached ground-zero for the cache and had to walk very carefully due to the mud caused by the rain earlier today. The cache was well disguised as an electrical box at the base of a large pole holding up a full-sized military helicopter, but it was easy enough to find. After signing the slightly damp log, we replaced it as we found it and started walking back toward the parking lot.

Geocache #2

Our second stop along this path at the Fort Campbell Memorial Park was GC2YVMY – A Moose’s Best Friend. As we neared at ground-zero, we could make out a park bench and a couple of large rocks.  I was pretty sure of what we was looking for, but I am trying to train my future geocachers so I let them try to figure it out. Laura and I got a good laugh when I read the hint to them “Based on a cartoon from the 1960’s and 70’s, and movie in 2000. The moose’s best friend’s name.” and they had no clue what it meant. (I guess we are showing our age!) After I explained, Little Dave was able to find the container disguised as a small rock very quickly. Dave signed the log for us and put the cache back in its hiding spot.

Geocache #1

It was now time for us to find the geocache near the parking lot.  Thankfully, the muggles who had been parked there earlier had decided to move on.  GCNT31 – Rock Hard should have been easy to find with a difficulty rating of 1.  The entire Crew searched for at least 30 minutes with no luck. It may be because it was dark, but a difficulty of 1 should be easy even in the dark. After searching all the bushes, rocks, the statue and the signs, but we finally had to call it a night. This one had to go in the books as a DNF.

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Fort Campbell Memorial Park was a great park and I am glad geocaching brought us here even with the DNF.  We learned some history we didn’t know, my back muscles finally relaxed and the children had burned off a lot of energy running around pretending to be Team Skull from Pokemon.

Has geocaching taken you places you never would have gone before?  Have you learn history or science lessons along the way?

Tell us about your experiences in the comments below.

[crazy-daves-crew]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x0T5kGtRbY)