User:Thepiguy

Who am I?

Greetings to my fellow geohashers, both near and far! I'm currently a UBC physics and computer science student living in Richmond and will bike/bus to the ends of the earth for that perfect hash point!

Guten Tag to my fellow geohashers, both far and near! I'm currently a co-op student at Universität Würzburg and will bike/take a train to the ends of the earth for that perfect hash point!

I try and get to as many locations as possible, but school occasionally gets in the way. Me and my bike Josephine are willing to cycle any distance if it means one more awesome expedition.

I try and get to as many locations as possible, but work occasionally gets in the way. Me and my new bike Victoria are willing to cycle any distance if it means one more awesome expedition.

One quick note about my user name, if one were to add in the spaces it would be The Pi Guy. As in that mystical mathematical constant, and having nothing to do with the animal commonly known as bacon. If we ever meet at a geohash, ask me how I got the name Pi; it's a good 30 seconds worth of entertainment (Now also available in German!).

36 / m / 49,9

36 / m / 49,-123

The Plan

You'd better believe I have a plan...

Geohashes

My current count is 82 successful geohashes in 30 different graticules. (Posted most recent first)

2009-11-01 49 10 Bike geohash in the dark and fog :S

2009-11-01 48 10 Easy geohash in Aalen.

2009-10-31 49 10 Managed to find our way through a cold German forest!

2009-10-31 49 9 Hessen Hash in the Würzburg graticule.

2009-10-24 47 16 Failure in Austria.

2009-10-12 49 9 Late night Puten Tag hash. Mmmm... Pute...

2009-10-03 51 -1 Amazing geohash in Winchester!

2009-10-02 51 -0 Evening walk through the forest with new friends.

2009-09-30 52 -0 England hash with Ben!

2009-09-27 48 2 Drunken French Ambasador hash.

2009-09-20 49 9 Tram Geohash!

2009-09-19 49 9 Pirate geohash in Germany!

2009-09-18 49 9 Bike geohash into the forest after work. Almost ran into Danatar?!

2009-09-14 50 9 Geohashing after work with an unexpected guest.

2009-09-13 49 10 Bike geohash with the Würzburg crew and Hermann!

2009-09-06 51 14 Polish field/spider geohash.

2009-09-03 49 10 Bike geohash with the Würzburg crew.

2009-08-30 50 10 Stopped in another forrest on the way home from Berlin. Monster hash!

2009-08-30 50 11 Ambassador hash on the way home from Berlin.

2009-08-30 50 12 Stopped in another field on the way home from Berlin. In the Czech Republic!

2009-08-30 51 12 Stopped in a forrest on the way home from Berlin.

2009-08-30 51 13 Stopped in a field on the way home from Berlin.

2009-08-29 52 13 Meetup in Berlin! Forrest Frisbee and 11 other Geohashers!

2009-08-28 52 12 Stopped in yet another field on the way to Berlin. Found Ekorren markings!

2009-08-28 51 11 Stopped in another field on the way to Berlin.

2009-08-28 50 11 Stopped in a small forest on the way to Berlin.

2009-08-28 49 10 Stopped at the side of a field on the way to Berlin.

2009-08-22 52 5 No trespassing in the Netherlands, and no Arvid :(

2009-08-16 55 12 A Swedish detour Geohash.

2009-08-15 55 12 Danish Ambassador Geohash!

2009-08-05 49 10 Quick bike/field geohash after work.

2009-08-01 49 10 Another biketastic geohash.

2009-07-25 49 9 14km walk geohash.

2009-07-22 49 9 Another midnight field Geohash.

2009-07-18 49 14 Czech'ed out the Geohashing near Prague. (Get it?)

2009-07-17 49 9 Secret Agent Geohash in a field at midnight.

2009-07-11 47 19 Hungary Hash!

2009-07-05 49 10 Bike ride through the scorching heat.

2009-06-30 49 9 Found Danatars forest markings 11km from home.

2009-06-28 49 7 An easy hash only 5km from the airport I landed at.

2009-06-22 41 12 Geohashing in Rome!

2009-06-13 50 10 Bike geohash with Reinhard and Manu! Got stranded on the way home and spent the night in a hotel!

2009-06-11 49 9 Windy bike geohash with Danatar.

2009-06-07 47 10 Underwater Geohash with 8 others in lake Eibsee. Possibly the greatest day o my life.

2009-06-02 49 10 Cycling hashtastrophe on the way back from Dettelbach.

2009-05-30 48 9 Geohashing in Stuttgart... in the forest.

2009-05-29 49 10 In the middle of a road! A break from the forest!

2009-05-28 49 9 Yet another romp through the forest.

2009-05-27 49 9 Anniversary of my first Geohash! Too bad it was in the middle of a field.

2009-05-25 49 9 Towel Day in the bushes!

2009-05-23 49 9 Another bike ride into a forest.

2009-05-21 49 8 First Geohashiversary in Heidelberg!

2009-05-16 49 9 First big trip on my new bike!

2009-05-11 49 10 Tried to go cycling after work, but got lost at every turn and called it quits.

2009-05-10 49 9 A bushwacking-stravaganza in my new home graticule.

2009-05-09 49 10 First Germany hash! Met Danatar in the middle of a field!

2009-04-25 48 -123 Golf geohash in Victoria.

2009-04-18 49 -123 No trespassing on a chicken farm in Nanaimo.

2009-04-18 49 -122 Formal attire hash on the side of the highway. We had to be rescued!

2009-04-16 48 -122 Bicycle border hash with Robyn and Rhonda!

2009-03-29 49 -124 The craziest geohash and/or birthday I've ever had!

2009-03-09 49 -123 A 3 party snowmeghan geohash in Vancouver with dinner!

2009-03-05 49 -123 Picnic-twister-collision-hash in a Park!

2009-02-10 49 -123 Another transit geohash in Vancouver.

2009-01-17 49 -123 Fogtastic Vancouver geohash.

2008-12-21 49 -123 A frozen snow-man Richmond-hash in a blizzard.

2008-12-11 49 -123 Another Richmond hash! Located adjacent to the new Richmond Speed Skating Oval.

2008-12-07 49 -123 In Richmond again! On my way to work.

2008-12-03 49 -123 The usual intra-Vancouver geohash.

2008-11-08 49 -123 Evidence of previous geohashers found!

2008-10-26 48 -123 Another amazing bike ride on Vancouver Island. Greatest bike path evar!!1!

2008-10-19 43 -79 I don't think this even qualifies as an expedition, but I had a nice walk through Toronto.

2008-10-18 44 -79 Another bus ride followed by a 9km walk into the middle of nowhere.

2008-10-17 43 -79 500m off shore in Hamilton Ontario. Stopped by lake Ontario, of course.

2008-10-11 49 -123 Finally back on my bike, even if it was only for 13km.

2008-10-09 49 -123 My creepiest geohash location yet.

2008-09-25 49 -123 An irresistible Thursday morning Vancouver location.

2008-09-21 49 -124 8 hours and 1° of longitude west the doublehash is complete!

2008-09-21 49 -123 A sunrise water geohash. Part 1 of the multihash.

2008-09-19 49 -122 A midnight pirate geohash with Robyn!

2008-09-11 49 -123 Another urban geohash in sunny Vancouver!

2008-09-07 49 -123 A simple mid-morning Vancouver hash.

2008-09-01 49 -124 I went 237km by bike and 4km by kayak for a beautiful water geohahs!

2008-08-19 49 -123 Four in a row! I biked out to north east Richmond on my "way" to work.

2008-08-18 49 -123 For my third geohash in three days; I dragged a few friends out in the dark!

2008-08-17 49 -123 A mid-morning adventure through Vancouver.

2008-08-16 48 -123 An epic bike ride with a great view!

2008-08-09 49 -123 Transit geohash, all by my self, in the rain. =(

2008-07-19 49 -123 Ended up biking 109km and still has a great day!

2008-06-18 49 -123 Bike geohash, and an accidental geohash!

2008-05-31 49 -122 First Saturday Geohash meetup!

2008-05-27 49 -123 First Geohash! Land Geohash achieved!

Other Geohashers Met

In order of first encounter:

• srs0. A fellow UBC student, we're in the same program, take all the same classes, and worked at the same co-op job. We spend... far to much time together. He's working at the computer next to me even as I type this.

• Some guy in his car at the 2008-05-31 geohash in Surrey. We never even got his name! Do you know who he is?

• Warren at the 2008-05-31 geohash in Surrey. He came all the way from Bellingham!

• Robyn at the 2008-09-19 geohash in Surrey dressed up like a pirate. It was about time!

• Wade also at the 2008-09-19 geohash (and also dressed up like a pirate!)

• MylSh is a UBC student that me and srs0 introduced to geohashing. We're also in most of the same classes.

• Arbron at the 2009-03-09 geohash in Vancouver. Got a good chance to know him over dinner and a bus ride back to UBC.

• Elbie and I also know each other from UBC.

• Rhonda on the way to the 2009-04-16 geohash at the Peace Arch border crossing.

• Xore at the 2009-04-18 geohash in Surrey. The second time, that is.

• Danatar at the 2009-05-09 geohash in... that German town... First international meetup!

• Koepfel at the 2009-05-21 geohash in Heidelberg on Geohashing Day!

• Ekorren in the München train station on the way to the 2009-06-07 47 10 goehash. Also followed him to several geocaches throughout the day!

• Zb in the München train station on the way to the 2009-06-07 47 10 goehash. He spent most of the train ride(s) teaching us about Germany!

• Baerenfell in the München train station on the way to the 2009-06-07 47 10 goehash. We also shared a paddle boat on the way to the hash.

• Dawidi in the München train station on the way to the 2009-06-07 47 10 goehash.

• Hans in the München train station on the way to the 2009-06-07 47 10 goehash.

• Tomcat in the München train station on the way to the 2009-06-07 47 10 goehash.

• Reinhard waiting for me at the train station to begin the 2009-06-13 50 10 geohash.

• Manu in... some town with a fountain on the way to the 2009-06-13 50 10 geohash.

• Tom at a Hungarian subway station on our way to the 2009-07-11 47 19 geohash.

• Davidc at the pre-designated coordinates outside the hauptbahnhof on the way to the 2009-08-29 52 13 geohash.

• Relet not at the pre-designated coordinates outside the hauptbahnhof on the way to the 2009-08-29 52 13 geohash.

• Lyx outside the hauptbahnhof on the way to the 2009-08-29 52 13 geohash. Although we didn't introduce ourselves until the train, sorry!

• Jerrome sauntering up to the group outside the hauptbahnhof on the way to the 2009-08-29 52 13 geohash.

• Pari when he somehow found us at the ticket machine on the way to the 2009-08-29 52 13 geohash.

• JUB waiting for a nonexistent bus on the way to the 2009-08-29 52 13 geohash.

• Hessophanes graciously giving me a ride to the 2009-08-29 52 13 geohash.

• Hermann outside the hbf on the way to the 2009-09-13 49 10 geohash, where I was waiting for him!

• NeThuS on the side of the road heading home from the 2009-09-27 48 2 geohash.

• Benjw when he picked us up in his car for the 2009-09-30 52 -0 geohash.

• Macronencer waiting outside the Reading train station on the way to the 2009-10-02 51 -0 geohash.

• Sermoa waiting to greet me with a hug also on the way to the 2009-10-02 51 -0 geohash.

• DavidMiller walking down the street in Winchester with his entire family on the way to the 2009-10-03 51 -1 geohash.

• Mapaholic wandering into a field at the 2009-10-03 51 -1 geohash.

Achievements Earned

It's pretty obvious, but I'm sort of really obsessing about my achievements. I don't care how non-notable it is: if there's a ribbon, it's goin' up!

thepiguy earned the Consecutive Multihash Achievement by visiting four hashes in two days starting with the (49, 9) geohash on 2009-10-31.

thepiguy achieved level 6 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Würzburg, Germany and 6 of the surrounding graticules.

thepiguy earned the Reverse regional achievement by reaching hash points in all 3 regions of the Würzburg, Germany (49, 9) graticule on state level.

thepiguy earned the Puten Tag Geohash Achievement by cooking a Thanks Giving dinner and then going to the (49, 9) geohash on 2009-10-12.

thepiguy earned the Reverse Abduction achievement by abducting Danatar before the (49, 9) geohash on 2009-10-12.

thepiguy achieved level 2 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in London West, United Kingdom and 2 of the surrounding graticules.

thepiguy earned the Taxi geohash achievement by taking a taxi to the (51, -1) geohash on 2009-10-03.

thepiguy earned the Hashdog Ribbon by by finding a dog and stopping to pat it on the way to the (51, -0) geohash on 2009-10-02.

thepiguy earned the United Kingdom Geohash Achievement by Geohashing in England at the (52, -0) geohash on 2009-09-30.

thepiguy earned the International Inebriated Ambassador Achievement by obtaining permission from a drunk French man (in French!) to access the (52, -0) geohash on 2009-09-30.

thepiguy earned the France Geohash Achievement by Geohashing in France at the (48, 2) geohash on 2009-09-27.

thepiguy earned the Hashbutterfly Ribbon by finding a butterfly and trying really hard to pat it near the (49, 9) geohash on 2009-09-20.

thepiguy earned the Hashhorse Ribbon by finding a horse and stopping to pat it near the (50, 9) geohash on 2009-09-14.

thepiguy achieved level 5 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Würzburg, Germany and 5 of the surrounding graticules.

thepiguy earned the Polska Geohash Achievement by Geohashing in Poland at the (51, 14) geohash on 2009-09-06.

thepiguy achieved level 4 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Berlin, Germany and 4 of the surrounding graticules.

thepiguy earned the Multihash Achievement by reaching 5 hash points on 2009-08-30. It's a MONSTER Hash.

thepiguy earned the Multihash Achievement by reaching 4 hash points on 2009-08-28. It's an Ultra Hash.

thepiguy earned the Sverige Geohash Achievement by Geohashing in Sweden at the (55, 12) geohash on 2009-08-16.

thepiguy earned the Danmark Geohash Achievement by Geohashing in Denmark at the (55, 12) geohash on 2009-08-15.

thepiguy earned the Ambassador achievement by obtaining permission from Heidi to access the (55, 12) geohash on 2009-08-15.

thepiguy earned the Flughafen Hash Achievement by visiting a geohash at an airport and watching planes take off and land at the (49, 9) geohash on 2009-07-25.

thepiguy earned the Walk geohash Achievement by reaching the (49, 9) geohash on 2009-07-25 on foot, travelling a distance of 14km.

thepiguy earned the Česká Republika Geohash Achievement by Geohashing in the Czech Republic at the (49, 14) geohash on 2009-07-18.

thepiguy earned the Drowned Rat Geohash Achievement by reaching the (49, 14) geohash on 2009-07-18 despite being thoroughly wet from walking 2.5km in the rain.

thepiguy earned the Secret Agent Geohash Achievement by sneaking into a field at midnight dressed in all black with his awesome spy gear at the (49, 9) geohash on 2009-07-17.

thepiguy earned the Magyarország Geohash Achievement by Geohashing in Hungary at the (47, 19) geohash on 2009-07-11.

thepiguy earned the Thumbs Up Geohash Achievement by hitchhiking to the (47, 19) geohash on 2009-07-11, and withstanding the Vogon poetry of the driver.

thepiguy earned the XKCD-100 Achievement by voyaging 1000km to reach the (47, 19) geohash on 2009-07-11.

thepiguy earned the Italia Geohash Achievement by Geohashing in Italy at the (41, 12) geohash on 2009-06-22.

thepiguy earned the Really? You're a cyclist? Achievement by having to spend the night in a hotel after breaking his own bike on the way home from the (50, 10) geohash on 2009-06-13.

thepiguy achieved level 4 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Würzburg, Germany and 4 of the surrounding graticules.

thepiguy earned the Phonebooth stuffing achievement by helping stuff a phonebooth near the (47, 10) geohash on 2009-06-07.

thepiguy earned the Geoflashing Achievement by stripping off at the (47, 10) geohash on 2009-06-07.

thepiguy earned the Underwater geohash achievement by reaching the (47, 10) geohash on 2009-06-07 while underwater.

thepiguy earned the Water geohash achievement by reaching the (47, 10) geohash on 2009-06-07 by paddle boat.

thepiguy achieved level 3 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Würzburg, Germany and 3 of the surrounding graticules.

thepiguy earned the 1st Hashiversary achievement by attempting a hash point exactly on the 1st anniversary of his inaugural geohashing expedition.

thepiguy earned the Don't Panic! Achievement by geohashing with his towel on Towel Day 2009 at the (49, 9) geohash on 2009-05-25.

thepiguy earned the Calendar girl achievement by taking compromising photographs for public consumption at the (49, 9) geohash on 2009-05-25.

thepiguy earned the 2009 Mouse Over Day achievement by celebrating in the (49, 9) graticule on the Saturday following May 21st 2009.

thepiguy earned the Pub Geohash Achievement by visiting a pub visible from the (49, 8) geohash on 2009-05-21.

thepiguy earned the Police Geohash Achievement by being searched for drugs while attempting the (49, 8) geohash on 2009-05-21.

thepiguy achieved level 2 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Würzburg, Germany and 2 of the surrounding graticules.

thepiguy earned the 2009 Geohashing Day achievement by celebrating in the (49, 8) graticule on May 21st 2009.

thepiguy earned the Prize poultry Consolation Prize by chickening out on the (49, 10) geohash on 2009-05-11.

thepiguy achieved level 1 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Würzburg, Germany and 1 of the surrounding graticules.

thepiguy earned the Deutschland Geohash Achievement by Geohashing in Germany at the (49, 10) geohash on 2009-05-09.

thepiguy earned the Globetrotter achievement by visiting hashpoints on 2 continents.

thepiguy earned the Golf Geohash Achievement by reaching the (48, -123) geohash on 2009-04-25.

thepiguy earned the Formal attire achievement by looking good at the (49, -122) geohash on 2009-04-18.

thepiguy earned the Velociraptor Geohash Achievement by reaching the (48, -122) geohash for 2009-04-16 with highly visible raptor claw marks.

thepiguy earned the United States Geohash Achievement by Geohashing in United States at the (48, -122) geohash on 2009-04-16.

thepiguy earned the Border geohash achievement by crossing the Canada-USA border on 2009-04-16 to reach the (48, -122) geohash.

thepiguy achieved level 4 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Vancouver, British Columbia and 4 of the surrounding graticules.

thepiguy earned the Kayak Balancing Achievement by not having to pay the deductible on two kayaks en route to the (49, -124) geohash on 2009-03-29.

thepiguy earned the Train wreck consolation prize by failing to reach the (49, -124) geohash on 2009-03-29 because of a general transportation failure.

thepiguy earned the Birthday Geohash Achievement by reaching the (49, -124) geohash on his 21st birthday, 2009-03-29.

thepiguy earned the Twister Geohash Achievement by playing Twister at the (49, -123) geohash on 2009-03-05.

thepiguy earned the Picnic achievement by eating Nibs and Gingerale at the (49, -123) geohash on 2009-03-05.

thepiguy earned the Hash collision achievement by discovering the geocache GC1HTNJ 1 second of longitude from the (49, -123) geohash on 2009-03-05.

thepiguy earned the Déjà Vu Geohash Achievement by reaching the (49, -123) geohash on 2009-01-17, and previously on 2008-09-01.

thepiguy earned the Frozen Geohash Achievement by reaching the (49, -123) geohash on 2008-12-21 while the temperature was -1.0°C.

thepiguy earned the Snowman Geohash Achievement by building a snowman at the (49, -123) geohash on 2008-12-21.

thepiguy earned the Trail of blood consolation prize by being too injured to reach the (43, -79) geohash on 2008-10-19 ..

thepiguy achieved level 1 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Toronto, Ontario and 1 of the surrounding graticules.

thepiguy earned the Earliest geohasher achievement by arriving first at the (49, -123) geohash on 2008-09-25.

thepiguy earned the Speed racer achievement by passing through the (49, -124) geohash on 2008-09-21 at the maximum legal speed.

thepiguy earned the Multihash Achievement by reaching the 2008-09-19 49 -123 and 2008-09-19 49 -124 geohashes on 2008-09-19.

thepiguy earned the Sunrise Geohash Achievement by reaching the (49, -123) geohash on 2008-09-21 to smile at the first rays of sun to cross the horizon.

thepiguy earned the Water geohash achievement by reaching the (49, -123) geohash on 2008-09-21 by inflatable raft.

thepiguy earned the Buccaneer Geohash Achievement by swashing his buckle at the (49, -122) geohash on 2008-09-19.

thepiguy earned the Midnight Geohash achievement by reaching the (49, -122) geohash on 2008-09-19 in the middle of the night.

thepiguy earned the First Sip GeoSquishy Achievement by enjoying a slushy carbonated beverage at the (49, -123) geohash on 2008-09-07.

thepiguy achieved level 3 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Vancouver, British Columbia and 3 of the surrounding graticules.

thepiguy earned the Water geohash achievement by reaching the (49, -124) geohash on 2008-09-01 by kayak.

thepiguy earned the Consecutive geohash achievement by reaching 4 consecutive hash points starting on 2008-08-16.

thepiguy earned the Drag-along achievement by dragging Lauren, Taryn and Josh to the (49, -123) geohash on 2008-08-18.

thepiguy achieved level 2 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Vancouver, British Columbia and 2 of the surrounding graticules.

thepiguy earned the GeoTrash Geohash Achievement by cleaning up the (48, -123) geohash on 2008-08-16.

thepiguy earned the No trespassing consolation prize by almost reaching the (48, -123) geohash on 2008-08-16.

thepiguy earned the Public transport geohash achievement by reaching the (49, -123) geohash on 2008-08-09 via 410 Railway and 404 Ladner buses.

thepiguy earned the Media Attention Geohash Achievement by being immortalized in the hearts of others during the (49, -123) geohash on 2008-07-19 For whining about the ferry system to the Vancouver Sun.

thepiguy has visited an Easy Geohash by reaching the (49, -123) geohash on 2008-06-18 without really trying.

thepiguy earned the Bicycle geohash achievement by cycling to the (49, -123) geohash on 2008-06-18.

thepiguy earned the Meet-up achievement by meeting Warren at the (49, -122) geohash on 2008-05-31.

thepiguy achieved level 1 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Vancouver, British Columbia and 1 of the surrounding graticules.

thepiguy earned the Regional geohashing achievement by reaching a hash point in all possible GVRD graticules.

thepiguy earned the Canada Geohash Achievement by Geohashing in Canada at the (49, -123) geohash on 2008-05-27.

thepiguy earned the Land geohash achievement by reaching the (49, -123) geohash on 2008-05-27.

Geohashing Check Lists

Items in bold are things I have forgotten at one point or another.

The very basics

• Keys
• Wallet
• Phone
• iPod (for those solo-hashes)
• Coat (So I don't have to sit in the cold)

The geohashing basics

• GPS (with coordinates!)
• Camera
• Google map of area
• Geohashing signs
• xkcd shirt
• Nibs (Gotta' love Nibs!)
• Extra batteries for the electronics
• Sidewalk chalk (For when I don't have a sign)
• Flashlight (Because I can't see in the dark)

For any bicycle geohashes

• Bike (!)
• Helmet
• Gloves
• Sun glasses (more for bugs than for sun)
• Bike lock (with keys)
• Bike repair kit
• Bike lights and reflectors (never know how long a geohash might take)
• Lots of water
• Extra snacks/lunch
• Spare tube (Because you can't patch a broken valve!)

Water geohashes (I can't believe I even have this list)

• Change of clothes
• Waterproof GPS bag
• Pelican cases for camera and other valuables
• Seafaring vessel (be it raft or reservation)

Picture Gallery

I was flipping through my pictures, and thought it might be neat to create a few collections of pictures from multiple expeditions. The result (or lack thereof) can be found here!

Video Gallery

I recently compiled my expedition photos into one gigantic geohashing montage that can be found on youtube

Map Gallery

Time to make me some maps!