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sir_zman
Past MnGCA Board
Joined: 30 Jun 2005
Posts: 1725
Location: Twin Cities
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 Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:36 am Post subject: Going to GroundSpeak HQ |
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Hello all,
I'll be going to Seattle in early November and I just received word that I will get to visit HQ and see the lilly pad. If anyone has any small TB's they would like me bring with (either something to visit and return or something to be dropped off), let me know. I'm going to try to be at the next Breakfast buddies, so if you can make it, we can do an exchange then. |
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bflentje
Geocacher
Joined: 29 May 2006
Posts: 3655
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| Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 9:32 am Post subject: |
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The HQ cache, the single worst, uh, er, best, source of missing TBs in the history of geocaching.  |
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sir_zman
Past MnGCA Board
Joined: 30 Jun 2005
Posts: 1725
Location: Twin Cities
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| Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 9:37 am Post subject: |
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| bflentje wrote: |
| The HQ cache, the single worst, uh, er, best, source of missing TBs in the history of geocaching. |
Well, if anyone wants me to pocket a coin or TB and have it "Visit" the HQ cache and return to MN, I'd be happy to take a few with me. |
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bflentje
Geocacher
Joined: 29 May 2006
Posts: 3655
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| Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Didn't mean to burst the bubble.. sorry. |
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geomatrix
Geocacher
Joined: 29 Jun 2006
Posts: 19
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| Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 8:57 am Post subject: |
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went to HQ last year. rearranged my schedule to make the 2pm Friday gathering they insisted they wanted all visitors to come to and I was the only one that showed at that time and heard others had come earlier in the day and the day before which would had worked way better for my schedule. I bring this up to help you, not trash talk HQ.. though I thought it quite rude none of the lackeys came out to say hi as I watched them stream in and out of the break room
oh.. and HQ is a black hole for TB's!! I started a MNGCA cachkinz that didnt make it out of the cache.. so if you see that you could grab it. the receptionist got me to load up on TB's to take away.. so dont worry about trading fairly |
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tonkaMN
MnGCA Board
Joined: 10 Jun 2009
Posts: 544
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| Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 9:03 am Post subject: |
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| I would make an appointment and then just show up whenever it is convenient for you. It's not like they have a presentation at 2pm on Fridays or anything. When I went there I showed up about 30 minutes early, swapped out some TB's, got my free HQ TB's and hit the road. |
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bflentje
Geocacher
Joined: 29 May 2006
Posts: 3655
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| Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:00 am Post subject: |
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| tonkaMN wrote: |
| I would make an appointment and then just show up whenever it is convenient for you. It's not like they have a presentation at 2pm on Fridays or anything. When I went there I showed up about 30 minutes early, swapped out some TB's, got my free HQ TB's and hit the road. |
We went this last summer. We had an appointment but showed 30 minutes early. They actually told us to leave and come back at the scheduled time.
To some extent, I understand. But the outright disdain we were shown when we came back (our 2pm appointment consisted of 15 or so other strangers) was nothing short of rude. I mean, if you don't want us dork geocachers visiting, stop scheduling visits.
Though I still love the game, I left with a jaded and tainted attitude towards HQ. If it weren't for the stupid icons we're all addicted to, I wouldn't recommend a visit to anyone. |
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schmittfamily
Geocacher
Joined: 21 Sep 2012
Posts: 16
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| Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 9:08 am Post subject: |
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We made an appointment 7 weeks before going to Seattle for last Friday (10/19). We got an email 67 minutes before our time slot that the office was closed due to an emergency. Since we were a few blocks away, we stopped anyway (after picking up a nearby puzzle cache). The building was open but the Groundspeak office was dark with a sign on the door to go ahead and post a find. I am kind of curious what kind of emergency shuts down an office but not the building - maybe the donuts at the morning meeting were tainted.
If bflentje and geomatrix are jaded from their visits - at least they got in the door. We did log our find but it seems really weird to see that on top when we order our caches by "most favorite points". On the plus side, we did the Seattle Underground tour instead (again, after grabbing a puzzle cache on the way) which was the highlight of the trip for our daughter. |
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KRedEP
Geocacher
Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 713
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| Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 3:03 pm Post subject: |
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| I can also relate to the recent previous comments. My visit was a big ho hum... |
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15Tango
Past MnGCA Chair
Joined: 17 Dec 2002
Posts: 825
Location: St. Paul
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| Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:17 am Post subject: |
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Sounds like things have changed in the 3 1/2 years since I visited - I think the lily pad moved, but when I went, it was downtown, under the elevated train tracks, and across the street from an excellent not-Starbucks coffee shop. There were about a dozen cachers at our appointed time, and we got to meet Heidi and a few other lackeys, and even Jod himself came out to meet everyone and talk for a bit. We toured past the cube farm, and the lackeys who were working told us who they are and what they do.
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There comes a time in every young boy's life when he gets an irresistible urge to seek buried treasure.--Mark Twain |
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sir_zman
Past MnGCA Board
Joined: 30 Jun 2005
Posts: 1725
Location: Twin Cities
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| Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:35 am Post subject: |
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| 15Tango wrote: |
| Sounds like things have changed in the 3 1/2 years since I visited - I think the lily pad moved, but when I went, it was downtown, under the elevated train tracks, and across the street from an excellent not-Starbucks coffee shop. There were about a dozen cachers at our appointed time, and we got to meet Heidi and a few other lackeys, and even Jod himself came out to meet everyone and talk for a bit. We toured past the cube farm, and the lackeys who were working told us who they are and what they do. |
The person I made my appointment with said they couldn't do that kind of tour, because they were a "working office" and didn't want to disturb the workers. |
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Pear Head
Past MnGCA President
Joined: 04 Apr 2004
Posts: 5594
Location: north of Duluth
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| Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:17 pm Post subject: |
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| sir_zman wrote: |
| 15Tango wrote: |
| Sounds like things have changed in the 3 1/2 years since I visited - I think the lily pad moved, but when I went, it was downtown, under the elevated train tracks, and across the street from an excellent not-Starbucks coffee shop. There were about a dozen cachers at our appointed time, and we got to meet Heidi and a few other lackeys, and even Jod himself came out to meet everyone and talk for a bit. We toured past the cube farm, and the lackeys who were working told us who they are and what they do. |
The person I made my appointment with said they couldn't do that kind of tour, because they were a "working office" and didn't want to disturb the workers. |
I think I can see that.
A few years ago the lily pad was quite a bit smaller - now it's grown. It would be hard to have tour groups going through my workplace on a regular basis, chatting it up with the workers, and I would imagine the same for most any office environments...
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Hmm... |
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sir_zman
Past MnGCA Board
Joined: 30 Jun 2005
Posts: 1725
Location: Twin Cities
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| Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Pear Head wrote: |
I think I can see that.
A few years ago the lily pad was quite a bit smaller - now it's grown. It would be hard to have tour groups going through my workplace on a regular basis, chatting it up with the workers, and I would imagine the same for most any office environments... |
Yeah, but it'd be nice if they'd bring down a few lackeys to say hi. I asked them about doing a recording for my podcast and they told me they couldn't dedicate any time or energy to that...I asked them over a month in advance and they couldn't schedule anyone's time to speak with me..that was a bit frustrating. Maybe if I was podcacher they would have done it. |
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bflentje
Geocacher
Joined: 29 May 2006
Posts: 3655
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 11:28 am Post subject: |
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[quote="Pear Head"]
| sir_zman wrote: |
I think I can see that.
A few years ago the lily pad was quite a bit smaller - now it's grown. It would be hard to have tour groups going through my workplace on a regular basis, chatting it up with the workers, and I would imagine the same for most any office environments... |
How exciting would an office tour be anyway? It's an office with a bunch of dudes sitting in front of PCs. I do agree that they should make more of an effort to meet the people if they're going to allow appointments. |
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Moe the Sleaze
Geocacher
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 1130
Location: Champlin, MN
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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| sir_zman wrote: |
| Maybe if I was podcacher they would have done it. |
Very doubtful unless things have changed greatly in the past couple of years.
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"Hi, I'm Moe, or as the women know me - Hey! You in the bushes."
-Moe, The Simpsons |
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