Geocaching in Alabama

So I was just interested by this idea of geocaching from Andy's story so I looked it up to give me a better idea of how it's used and such. One of the sites I found has all sorts of examples of geocaching and "puzzle caches" including quite a few from right here in Alabama.
I put the link to one of these puzzle caches in the title. It's one that I found particularly interesting, as it is entirely based around the UA campus. Just thought I'd share it as it seems pretty cool.
Scroll down the link to get to the good stuff.

Law and Order and Geocaching

Ok, so I don't know if anyone else is as much of a Law and Order: SVU nerd as I am, but I'm watching it on USA right now, and guess what! The first ten minutes of this episode ("Sugar" from season 11) was all about geocaching. A couple of young guys got hauled in for questioning because there was a body found right by where the treasure they were after was located.

Andy's Story

So Andy, I really like the fact that you set the story in such a familiar setting, and I like that you referenced the university you're at. Very nice. I have to ask though, is geocaching a hobby you've ever been into? I'd never heard of it so I was wondering where that idea came from.

Tragic Hero Revisited

After my presentation of my topic at the end of the class, Andy had some questions on why I chose to relate Zeppelin City to 300 and Sin City rather than a tragedy like Oedipus. One point that I am going to make in my essay is that even though all three stories end with the main character dying, the story as a whole is not entirely tragic. I believe that even though each story contains a tragic hero, the world in which they occupy becomes a better place upon their death. The characters in 300 and Sin City capture the two sides of Amelia's heroism, from the heroic defence of a nation to just plain insanity. I hope this helps clear up any confusion.

Because you can never be too prepared...

Well the last post about the UN preparing the planet for our contact with an alien race (a fake, sadly) made me think about this picture. I found it a while ago and it made me laugh, so I thought I would share it here.

Clicking the title will take you to an image providing a pretty detailed description of what you should do if YOU are the human to first make contact with the aliens. The image is pretty big, so I thought a link would be best. Enjoy.

First Contact

So the United Nations has announced its intentions to prepare for alien contact. It has placed Mazlan Othman as the head of a committee that will handle any "take me to your leader" situations. This action occurred after the discovery of several hundred more planets. So I'm wondering what everyone thinks on this matter. Does anyone think this is actually necessary, or is the UN taking this a step too far?

Hmmm

So I'm sitting here reading Andy's short story as my delicious home cooked chili simmers in the crock pot (yes I just said that to make all of you jealous)...anywho....

Observations: I can see the science fiction in it with the geocaching, but Andy claims he could not call his piece science fiction. Is it because this is science and not so much fiction? I know a portable GPS can be found just about anywhere, but I don't know if anybody actually does "geocaching" for fun. I am also noticing the same things I noticed about our earlier readings. Women women women. It's nice that we have the author easily accessible this time, so we can get clear answers to my seemingly repetitive questions: Why the female main character? Would a male character in this role work as well? And the slightly more disturbing question: why the lesbian love affairs? Would a gay male love affair be nearly as interesting?....probably not. Gross.

Also, has anyone else figured out exactly what we're supposed to do with the tor.com readings?