Looking at all the wonderful people out there who geocache, something has to be done. Some are celebrities. Some are only celebrities in their own mind.
Regardless of fame or infamy I’d like to introduce them to you… or if you’ve already met them then perhaps you’ll learn a little something new. If they have a blog, it’s obviously encouraged that you go visit. Without further adieu, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to …
Meet Cecil, the Evil GeoCaching Monkey and alter-ego of a talented comic artist, teacher and humorist, Bruce Nelson.
Bruce maintains the blog My Geek Odyssey, covering the “continuing adventures of a man, a monkey and a mini”. And no adventure is complete without geocaching. Bruce draws delightful comics that record some of his geocaching experiences, and that’s what first caught my eye. It didn’t take long before I discovered he even used his art as a puzzle cache clue!
Paurian: You mentioned that the proudest moment in your geek life was finding “Get a Life” (GCZJZ5) all by yourself. That’s about as nerdy as they come. However, your log on Geocaching.com shows a sad “ook.” Is that your way of saying the cache at the final coordinates was highly illogical?
Cecil: ook… Actually this cache was originally found by Bruce when he shared the caching name “ProfessorZoom” with his wife, Sue, so it was considered a B.C. (Before Cecil) find. Cecil believes in transparency in caching so, while assisted by Bruce, he only logs caches that he has actually visited and signed the log… don’t you wish every cacher was that noble? Cecil went out to find “Get a Life” and discovered the cache was missing, hence the sad “ook.” He has spoken with CyBret and will return when the weather is better and hopefully return the cache to its former glory. Qapla’
Paurian: What was your first geocaching experience?
Cecil: Cecil’s first caching experience was GC44F2 “Rest in Peace” while plaguing Indiana cachers for a few years he finally decided to log a cache upon ProfessorZoom’s 1000th find. Cecil’s first actual appearance was at GC100CE “Indy’s Lamest Cache” this was where Cecil’s legend began.
Paurian: What are your experiences or thoughts on caching with the smaller services, such as Garmin’s new opencaching.com, terracaching.com or navicache.com?
Cecil: With world domination, being the inspiration for a webcomic, and controlling a network of minions, Cecil has not had time to explore the smaller services, but as the weather turns (being a fair weather cacher) he is bound to branch out a bit… anything to gain a better foothold in his constant struggle to make the world a better place with more bananas.
Paurian: What is the most helpful non GPSr geocaching tool that you take into the field?
Cecil: Lots of Minions so Cecil doesn’t have to walk to caches… he believes it’s better to be carried, especially when ProfessorZoom just had to get GC776E “Ten Mile Cache” when the road was closed he thought it was nice to be along for the hike.
Paurian: What is the coolest swag you’ve retrieved from a cache?
Cecil: ook… The silly thing is when minions find monkey related swag they tend to drop it off to Cecil… like paying tribute. Some of the really cool pathtags Cecil has found in the wild (shiny things) are great. He actually likes finding them better than trading, it really does show what a small world it is and how we cross paths all the time. Then again bananas aren’t allowed in caches.
Paurian: What geocache do you consider the coolest hide?
Cecil: So many people have put effort into some wonderful hides (& so many archived), the ones requiring monkey skills (climbing) are fun, but View Carre (GCE02C) in New Orleans is one of Cecil’s favorites.
Paurian: I noticed your blog has several comic strips based on geocaching. Are these generally based on your personal experiences, or mostly imagined?
Cecil: ook… I’ll let Bruce answer this one.
Bruce: While My Geek Odyssey is a comic, a great deal is based on my experiences. The ones dealing with “the Caching Curmudgeon” actually stem from things I have experienced while caching, either logs, or emails, or just varied caching personalities. As always cartoons tend to exaggerate, although some are pretty close to reality.
Paurian: What general advice would you like to give to newbie geocachers?
Cecil: Have fun! explore, be patient, send Cecil-EGCM any shiny things you find… If you want to hide a cache find a wide variety first (hit that 100 found milestone) so you have some idea of what makes a great hide.
Paurian: What excellent feature / element / idea … thing would you like added to the geocaching experience?
Cecil: ook… Cecil likes some of the changes going on to GC.com buy really would like to see more information in the statistics page. milestones, state county map (at least for your home state)… there were a number of things available at mygeocachingprofile.com that haven’t been brought over yet. Since Cecil uses a Mac (he’s that kind of monkey) GSAK hasn’t been a option. Then again he’s been playing around with a Chirp and is curious how that is going to work out once he removes it from his sock.
Paurian: I noticed that you showed some interest in creating a Dr. Who series. The tardis idea is awesome. Have you seen the Dr. Who. geocache (GCW6EM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19hCTky6S8w)?
Cecil: ook… Don’t remind me, due to social obligations while getting the triad last summer Cecil did not get a chance to visit Dr. Who or Voodoo Donuts. He will return and ring up goblindust along with few minions he has in the area. The cache containers for that series are in development and should be ready to release in the Spring.
A big “ook!” thanks to the ubercool Cecil and Bruce for taking time out for this interview!
You can reach Cecil and Bruce at their website: My Geek Odyssey and at Cecil’s Geocaching.com profile. You can support Cecil’s insatiable hunger for bananas through the modest purchase of exceptionally cool stuff! Oop!
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