This Geocaching looks like a really fun and exciting hobby for us old farts, it will keep us guys out of back alleys shooting craps, away from smoky pool halls and out of strip clubs. Well... putting it down on 'paper' maybe it isn't a good idea to completely change a lifestyle, the shock to out system can be traumatic, but we can do less of the above and more of the below.
I found some information we should have if we do venture into the unknown. Some Geo folks even don a construction reflective vest and carry a clipboard when in the city. I know by experience if you look like you belong somewhere, you can pretty much proceed with your bidness unobstructed. I would go into buildings with my tool pouch and walk anywhere I wanted. Carry a ladder and they will open doors for you.
Here is some of the stuff you need to learn:
Thanks to Jason and Shannon’s blog:
Acronyms / Short Codes / TXT Codes / Shorthand
TFTH: "Thanks For The Hide:" When a hide was extra special people will leave this in the log book.
TFTC: "Thanks For The Cache" I guess the only difference between this and TFTH is that the cache must be good.
TNLN: "Took Nothing Left Nothing" Usually it seems like noncommital geocachers use this term to prove they found the cache but didn't want to take anything out of it, possibly because they had nothing to replace it with. It is proper geocaching etiquette to always "SL" aka Sign Log so you can show others that you were there.
SL: "Signed Log" Every geocache item should have a paper log near it and geocachers will sign the log to show they found it. They typically sign their geocaching.com username instead of their real name which further frustrates the muggles (see below)
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BYOP: "Bring Your Own Pencil" (but if you sign a log you should use a water-insoluble ink pen since it won't be erased as easily - learned that in 10th grade chemistry with Dr. McCord)
CITO: "Cash In Trash Out" (on your way to find the geocache, pick up trash and clean up the area)
DNF: "Did Not Find" Shannon and I did not find 2 of the 5 caches we seeked yesterday.
D/T: "Difficulty and Terrain" Scales of 1 to 5 for each, one being the easiest.
FTF: "First To Find" First geocacher that finds the cache can post this in their log and get special bragging rights, I guess.
GPSr: "Global Position Satellite Receiver" Slang for a GPS device although I think adding the "r" to the end of it was not the best choice since many items ending in r are vowels.
GZ: "Ground Zero" The location where the cache is hidden, does not necessarily mean on the ground since many caches are hidden above or below the ground.
SWAG: "Stuff We All Get" This is not a Silly Wild A$$ Guess but is the cache items at a specific location find
Geocaching Words / Terms and Definitions
Muggle: A non-geocacher. Caches are often hidden at public parks and public places so many times there will be people there hanging out or going about their normal business and in Geocaching terminology they are referred to as Muggles. It's a Harry Potter term that means un-magical people.
Spoiler: A hint that tells of the exact location of a cache before someone finds it. Same as a movie spoiler but not the same as a car spoiler which is used to create downforce on the front end or rear end of the car in order to stabilize it at high speeds. Geocaching is so geeky I felt it important to put in some gear head terminology just to preserve my manhood