I'm Dan Q (he/him). I've spent the last 26+ years creating and writing online.
I work as a software engineer, and I volunteer with Three Rings. I live with my partner, her husband, two kids and a dog. I can sometimes be found geo*ing, performing magic, or recording the most pointless podcast.
I believe in open source, open relationships, and opening doors to marginalised groups. Black lives matter. Trans
rights are human rights.
Be nice to humans, human.
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Geocaching.com Can't Count? (my 1000+ geocache finds!)
After finding over a thousand geocaches, I wanted to check my total with the largest of the geocache listing sites I use, and discovered that you can't get the same answer twice from it even if you ask it three times for an answer. Wot? Read more →
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Casa Ventola
I'm spending the week on the East coast of Spain, hoping to see the imminent solar eclipse. And in the meantime, I've been finding local geocaches (including my thousandth!) and exploring the local sights with my family. Read more →
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BeepAlive - keeping my soundbar from going to sleep
My dog ate the remote for the soundbar on my TV/media centre, and it keeps going into 'sleep mode'. So I wrote a software tool that periodically makes an inaudible noise to trick the soundbar into staying 'awake'. That's how a hacky engineer like me fixes a hardware problem with a software solution! Read more →
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(Feeling Fucking) Fabulous in Blackpool
This year, MEEK's Fabulous has been stuck on a loop in my head, but I only just got around to watching the music video. Which, to my delight, is shot in the region of what I reckon is Britain's gayest pub crawl. Let's take a tour together... Read more →
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Contactless Transport in London vs Paris
Paris is rolling-out contactless tap-in payments for its transport network. Sounds like London's... except that Paris's includes a "convenience tax" that seems to disproportionately target short-term visitors. What might this say about each city's relationship with tourism? Read more →
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"You saved my life!" (or: how my kids briefly thought I was a superhero)
A misunderstanding by my kids this weekend briefly made them think that I'd pulled a stranger from a burning building... when in reality I only lent him a mobile phone charger. Read more →
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Hashcard #2
I received my tenth "postcard from the Internet", which also happens to be my second geohashing "hashcard". How lovely! Read more →
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The secret API I used to tell LeShuttle about different outbound and return passengers
Channel Tunnel operator LeShuttle's website wouldn't provide a working UI to specify that I'd have different passengers in my car for the outbound and return journeys. So, obviously, I reverse-engineered their API and pushed the information to their database directly. Read more →
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How I (Don't) Collect Blog Statistics
I used to collect analytics information about visitors to my website, and I've tried a lot of different ways of doing it over the course of a couple of decades. But nowadays I don't collect any at all, and I think that's better. Read more →
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More articles →
(articles are traditional long-form blog posts) -
Found GCAYFMG Més enllà de la via II (13) - Granja Fortuny
Retreived the cache from beneath its insect guardian (pictured). TFTC! Read more →
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Found GCBBYYH Més ellà de la via II - (12) Caçar entre pedres
Coordinates spot on! Exactly where it should be. From the right angle, the cache can quickly be spotted. TFTC! Read more →
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Found GCAY62F Més enllà de la via II (11) - Quina pila
Quick find in the second place I looked while walking this trail as a shortcut back to town from the Passejant amb la Boira caches. TFTC, and greetings from Oxfordshire, UK! Read more →
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Wrote note for GCAY628 Més enllà de la via II (10) - Em sento penjat
Not attempted. Lots of litter around the GZ, didn’t feel like walking, let alone poking, through it. 😢 Read more →
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Found GCB0EGT Passejant amb la Boira - Un altre túnel?
Found in the fourth place I looked. Nice container size, like the last letterbox hybrid.This is where we’ll part ways. As much as I’ve loved this series so far and would enjoy exploring more of it, I need to get back to my accommodation where, apparently, my kids are waking up and ready for another […] Read more →
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Did not find GCB0EGN Passejant amb la Boira - Senglars?
Had to give up after an extended search.I approached the GZ with two solid (different) ideas about the kind of thing I would be looking for. But a good explore of many candidates for each didn’t reveal this cache.I’m sure it’s there somewhere! But not for me to find today.Saw a lot of high speed […] Read more →
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Found GCB048F Passejant amb la Boira - Sota el pont de l'AVE
Didn’t much fancy my chances of GPS signal in the tunnel, but the spoiler photo made it very obvious where to look! Hung around to enjoy the cool for a few minutes… and also the acoustics: what an echo! TFTC. Read more →
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Found GCB043C Passejant amb la Boira - muntanya de pedres
A nice large cache! I wish I’d brought a TB or two over from the UK. TFTC. I’m looking forward to the tunnel ahead and the temporary shade that it will offer! Read more →
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Found GCB03K2 Passejant amb la Boira - Ni fu, ni fa...
Started out by touching, then followed the hint. Walking backwards and forwards I soon spotted something out of place and seconds later the cache was in my hand. Tranquil spot, but I’m hoping for some shade soon. TFTC. Read more →
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Found GCB03JW Passejant amb la Boira - Roques, pedres, pedretes
Had to poke a few places before I found the cache. I was almost expecting a larger one! Enjoyed the view of the farms below. Once again, TFTC and greetings from the UK!× Read more →
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Found GCATCV0 Passejant amb la Boira - El gos electricista
A sneaky hide; very nice. I put my fingers into lots of places before I spotted somewhere that I hadn’t yet touched. (Should I touch, I thought? Is it dangerous? 😂) Soon the cache was in hand. TFTC! Read more →
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Did not find GCB04GA Passejant amb la Boira - Avistament de conills
I could be wrong, but based on the coordinates and the spoiler photo I think I know exactly where this cache should be… and it’s not there.Is it possible that the container was affected by tbt hot weather and might have fallen down deep inside its host?That’s my guess. In any case, I need to […] Read more →
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Found GCB7V16 Bye bye, arreveure!
My family and I are on holiday, staying a couple of villages away. I came out this morning to see if I could find a couple of local caches before the day’s activities. This was the first.A great container in good condition. I love it when a cache can be hidden “in sight”. FP awarded. […] Read more →
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Found GCA1006 BALCÓ DEL MEDITERRANI
QEF while exploring Tarragona with the family. TFTC! Read more →
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Did not find GC79TJF Benvinguts a la Secuita. Camí de sortida.
Despite a long (and sweaty) search up here, I’m going to have to give up!× Read more →
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More posts →
(of all kinds:
articles, 
checkins, 
notes, 
reposts...)