[Texascavers] Help a caver
From TagNet this morning: I summon the help of all cavers! By: Ted Lord (Athens, Georgia) tedwi...@juno.com My name is Ted Lord. I am vice chair of A.S.S. (Athens, GA grotto) I play in a band called Joker. There is a nation-wide competition sponsored by a new Vodka brand called Boru. They have been accepting demos from unsigned bands around the nation for a while. Recently they reviewed them and narrowed them down to the top 15 bands. They then post the songs online and the public has to vote on them, narrowing it down to the top 4 bands. At that poing a panel of judges chooses the best, and the winning band gets $10,000 worth of musical gear and a record deal. My band was chosen to be in the top 15 bands from the nation. I need everyone to get on www.boru.com and vote for Joker. By voting you automatically register yourself to win $5,000 cash. You can vote everyday. If you love Mother Nature, caves, and all thats Holy, please, vote for Joker. Ted Lord PS...if you wanna hear our new demo, go to www.myspace.com/jokyr2007 - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Fwd: Informational: Texas Memorial Museum reopens Sunday, Sept. 30
Delivered-To: k.ar...@mail.utexas.edu Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:58:13 -0500 From: Margaret Fischer mfisc...@mail.utexas.edu Subject: Informational: Texas Memorial Museum reopens Sunday, Sept. 30 To: GroupMail distribution: A1481CCB8DA8C86A0E: ; -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- TEXAS MEMORIAL MUSEUM is reopening to the public after four months of life safety renovations. Please join us on Sunday, September 30th starting at 12:45 pm for an afternoon of family fun! Free admission! At 12:45 pm, we will unveil a larger-than-life sized cast-bronze sculpture of a saber-toothed cat. On hand will be its creator, Texas Natural Science Center's exhibit artist, John Maisano, who joins the handful of nationally renowned sculptors who have contributed to UT's impressive collection of public artworks. The sculpture was donated by Austinites Sarah and Ernest Butler. From 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, enjoy our Family Fossil Fun Day event with activities for the entire family. Ongoing: make crafts and see and touch real museum fossils Ongoing: dig for fossils in the mini Dino Pit - see how it feels to be a real paleontologist 1:30 pm: Tales from Our Family Tree, storytelling for the whole family 2:00 pm: The Case of the Missing Clam: You follow the forensic trail and gather evidence for the case 3:00 pm: Ice Age Mammals of Central Texas, a hands-on introduction to the mammals of the Pleistocene in Texas including saber-toothed cats, mammoths and giant ground sloths Also from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, don't miss the opening of our new interactive learning center, Explore Evolution, which gives visitors the opportunity to experience how scientists conduct their research on evolution and shows how evolution is fundamental to advances in science and medicine. ** Texas Memorial Museum is part of the Texas Natural Science Center at UT Austin. Regular museum hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Sunday, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. ALWAYS FREE ADMISSION. Located at 2400 Trinity Street (2 blocks north of the UT stadium). Learn more at TexasNaturalScienceCenter.org. -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBRvkYkZVDMk6jFuzBAQFiSgP/eac0KCDkgRJYaNsbS9xR0H+0ACp+LcMY Tn+oMJZa/CV4IFsbMB0FSQvqgt7Bm6Ao+oxeayKNf92KqVjcxsJdnZRiABRNs0Oz dNJquk9ycx4XL3w6itQVchgS2zDxND+kkNRmfHXzY4wYjAE3D6UyB+mnkzkEv26w avGHT5W7YUc= =zT6m -END PGP SIGNATURE- To unsubscribe from this type of University message, please go to the UT Direct page https://utdirect.utexas.edu/utdirect/customization/mc_custom.WBX. To determine the authenticity of this message, please see http://www.utexas.edu/computer/security/keys.html. -- Katherine Arens (Professor) Office: EPS 3.128; Phone: (512) 232-6363 Dept. of Germanic Studies Dept. Phone: (512)471-4123 1 University Station C3300 FAX (512) 471-4025 University of Texas at Austin Bldg.Location: E.P. Schoch 3.102 Austin, TX 78712-0304 k.ar...@mail.utexas.edu -. .- _..-'( )`-.._ ./'. '||\\.(\_/) .//||` .`\. ./'.|'.'\\|..)O O(..|//`.`|.`\. ./'..|'.|| |\`` '`'` ''/| ||.`|..`\. ./'.||'. . . .`||.`\. /'|||'.|| { } ||.`|||`\ '.|||'.||| { } |||.`|||.` '.||| | |/' ``\||`` ''||/'' `\| | |||.` |/' \./' `\./ \!|\ /|!/ \./' `\./ `\| V V V }' `\ /' `{ VV V ` ` `V' ' ' - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
Re: [Texascavers] RE: Above ground cavers
Thank you Louise for defending disabled cavers - me for one. I would rather be crawling but sure can not do any more. I miss it very much and this list sure helps. Quinta Wilkinson - Original Message - From: Louise Power To: mmin...@nmhu.edu ; Texascavers@texascavers.com Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 5:05 PM Subject: RE: [Texascavers] RE: Above ground cavers Gee Mark, maybe we're just disabled cavers who would like to go but can't. Maybe we should just shoot ourselves since, apparently, if you can't go caving, life just isn't worth living. Louise Bill Steele said: It seems to me if you haven't been in a cave in the past year, and you're reading this, then you are an above-ground caver. Sometimes I call them surface-cavers. Those are more popularly known as armchair cavers. :-) Then there are those surface-cavers who haven't been in a cave in more than 20 years. They could be called the surface-cavers emeritus. In other words, non-cavers or ex-cavers. Sad. Mark Minton - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] RE: Above ground cavers
Gee Mark, maybe we're just disabled cavers who would like to go but can't. Maybe we should just shoot ourselves since, apparently, if you can't go caving, life just isn't worth living. Thank you Louise for defending disabled cavers - me for one. Sorry, I was not intending to discredit anyone. Maybe you're not really an ex-caver as long as you remain a caver at heart, especially if you have a physical limitation. That hadn't occurred to me. We all become arm-chair cavers someday, if we live that long. Mark Minton
Re: [Texascavers] RE: Above ground cavers
It is easy to say things with out thinking - I have and do it often myself. Sure would like to go back to Devils Sinkhole!!! sigh Quinta From: Minton, Mark To: Texascavers@texascavers.com Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 10:21 AM Subject: [Texascavers] RE: Above ground cavers Gee Mark, maybe we're just disabled cavers who would like to go but can't. Maybe we should just shoot ourselves since, apparently, if you can't go caving, life just isn't worth living. Thank you Louise for defending disabled cavers - me for one. Sorry, I was not intending to discredit anyone. Maybe you're not really an ex-caver as long as you remain a caver at heart, especially if you have a physical limitation. That hadn't occurred to me. We all become arm-chair cavers someday, if we live that long. Mark Minton
RE: [Texascavers] RE: Above ground cavers
SO WOULD I. Fritz _ From: Quinta [mailto:qui...@clearwire.net] Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 3:02 PM To: Minton, Mark; Texascavers@texascavers.com Subject: Re: [Texascavers] RE: Above ground cavers It is easy to say things with out thinking - I have and do it often myself. Sure would like to go back to Devils Sinkhole!!! sigh Quinta From: Minton, Mark mailto:mmin...@nmhu.edu To: Texascavers@texascavers.com Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 10:21 AM Subject: [Texascavers] RE: Above ground cavers Gee Mark, maybe we're just disabled cavers who would like to go but can't. Maybe we should just shoot ourselves since, apparently, if you can't go caving, life just isn't worth living. Thank you Louise for defending disabled cavers - me for one. Sorry, I was not intending to discredit anyone. Maybe you're not really an ex-caver as long as you remain a caver at heart, especially if you have a physical limitation. That hadn't occurred to me. We all become arm-chair cavers someday, if we live that long. Mark Minton
[Texascavers] above ground caving vs. virtual reality caving
All this talk about other-than-underground caving reminds me of an incident that occurred a few weeks ago. Will Harris, Bill Steele and I took a group of four young women from the Metroplex to Austin to introduce them to underground caving. BTW, many thanks to Julie Jenkins and the TCMA for providing access to Whirlpool and Maple Run Caves for our adventure. On the trip down to Austin on Saturday morning, the women had many questions about caving and cavers and we managed to spend the entire 3.5 hours regaling them with stories and assuring them that ceiling collapse was not a likely danger in most caves, and certainly not in the ones they would be visiting. On Sunday morning, after our visit to Maple Run, we loaded up the truck and headed north. This time the conversation waned, so I plugged my iPod into the sound system and played a few episodes of NPR's Science Friday podcast (www.sciencefriday.com). The first episode featured astronomers who had discovered a hole in the universe--a region nearly a billion light-years across that is empty (no stars, no dust, no gas, no dark matter, nothing). That was kind of neat, thinking about exploring a giant hole in the universe, rather than a giant hole in the ground. The second episode featured a panel of guests who talked about on-line virtual worlds such as Second Life and World of Warcraft (see http://www.sciencefriday.com/ pages/2007/Aug/hour2_083107.html for this particular podcast). This sparked a brief discussion in the truck, as one of the young women has been an active participant in Second Life for many years. One of the guests in the podcast pointed out that many handicapped people find it therapeutic to participate in these on-line virtual reality worlds, as they are able to design avatars that aren't limited in their physical abilities. So...does anyone out there know if there's a lot of caving going on in any of these on-line virtual reality worlds? Imagine the possibilities! Your avatar could look like Floyd Collins, or the Geico caveman, or just a really buff version of yourself. Think of the things you could discover while caving! Chupacabras, dragons, pirate booty, lost cities, wormholes to Mars, the connection between Carlsbad and Mammoth, the list goes on... Diana * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Diana R. Tomchick Associate Professor University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Department of Biochemistry 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Rm. ND10.214B Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A. Email: diana.tomch...@utsouthwestern.edu 214-645-6383 (phone) 214-645-6353 (fax) - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
Re: [Texascavers] above ground caving vs. virtual reality caving
They started a bookcrossing group on second life so start a caving group. I did not join the bookcrossing second life as I spend the time reading. Quinta - Original Message - From: Diana Tomchick diana.tomch...@utsouthwestern.edu To: CaveTex texascavers@texascavers.com Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 3:16 PM Subject: [Texascavers] above ground caving vs. virtual reality caving All this talk about other-than-underground caving reminds me of an incident that occurred a few weeks ago. Will Harris, Bill Steele and I took a group of four young women from the Metroplex to Austin to introduce them to underground caving. BTW, many thanks to Julie Jenkins and the TCMA for providing access to Whirlpool and Maple Run Caves for our adventure. On the trip down to Austin on Saturday morning, the women had many questions about caving and cavers and we managed to spend the entire 3.5 hours regaling them with stories and assuring them that ceiling collapse was not a likely danger in most caves, and certainly not in the ones they would be visiting. On Sunday morning, after our visit to Maple Run, we loaded up the truck and headed north. This time the conversation waned, so I plugged my iPod into the sound system and played a few episodes of NPR's Science Friday podcast (www.sciencefriday.com). The first episode featured astronomers who had discovered a hole in the universe--a region nearly a billion light-years across that is empty (no stars, no dust, no gas, no dark matter, nothing). That was kind of neat, thinking about exploring a giant hole in the universe, rather than a giant hole in the ground. The second episode featured a panel of guests who talked about on-line virtual worlds such as Second Life and World of Warcraft (see http://www.sciencefriday.com/ pages/2007/Aug/hour2_083107.html for this particular podcast). This sparked a brief discussion in the truck, as one of the young women has been an active participant in Second Life for many years. One of the guests in the podcast pointed out that many handicapped people find it therapeutic to participate in these on-line virtual reality worlds, as they are able to design avatars that aren't limited in their physical abilities. So...does anyone out there know if there's a lot of caving going on in any of these on-line virtual reality worlds? Imagine the possibilities! Your avatar could look like Floyd Collins, or the Geico caveman, or just a really buff version of yourself. Think of the things you could discover while caving! Chupacabras, dragons, pirate booty, lost cities, wormholes to Mars, the connection between Carlsbad and Mammoth, the list goes on... Diana * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Diana R. Tomchick Associate Professor University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Department of Biochemistry 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Rm. ND10.214B Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A. Email: diana.tomch...@utsouthwestern.edu 214-645-6383 (phone) 214-645-6353 (fax) - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Robber Baron Workday - Sat, Oct 6
Its fall and will hopefully be cooling off soon which means its time to start up the monthly Robber Baron work days again! A great deal has been accomplished by many, many volunteers over the last few years and now I think the end of the project can be glimpsed off in the distance ... but there is still a ways to go. A big thanks to everyone who has helped out so far! The agenda for this work day has not yet been set, but may involve mowing the grounds, staining the fence posts of the new fence around the sinkhole, dirt hauling to grade the surface of the property, gate and fence work, and/or rock work at the bottom of the sinkhole around the entrance. More details about items needed will be forthcoming. List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com Date: Saturday, October 6th, 9:00 am Lunch will be provided to everyone who helps out! The cave will be open to visits in the afternoon, so bring gear if you are interested in going in (some extra gear will be available if you don't) If you're coming from out of town, accommodations can be arranged. -Joe Mitchell - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] OT - LED's in projection TV's
This post is caving related because cavers are eventually going to want to watch their HD caving videos on a big high-definition screen. I saw a Samsung TV in the store today that uses LED's for its projection source. The advantage being longer lasting bulbs, no moving parts, and less electricity. Personally, I thought the picture was only viewable from dead-center and it wasn't near as sharp as the HD flat panel models. ( They may not have had it plugged into a HD source. ) And it was much more expensive than the others. It is alleged to produce the best picture of the DLP models. It should because it cost twice as much. Rumor is that the TV uses 230 watts of power, while a plasma screen can use from 500 to 575 watts. Meaning you are helping the environment by using the LED-DLP for your HD viewing. Also, rumor is the LED-DLP will last more years than a LCD or plasma screen. So maybe once the price drops, this could be a good investment. One blogger claims the TV uses 3 high-power LED's. http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/brands/samsung/led-engine.gif The DLP chips are probably manufactured over-seas, but at least some of the profit should come back home to Dallas where Texas Instruments is located? If so, that could be a reason for some to consider the LED-DLP. versus a model made over the Pacific. At least 3 owners give it a 5 star review. http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/reviews/457391566 One DLP web-site alledges that the DLP tv's weigh 1/2 what a plasma TV weighs. It appears that the other DLP designs currently on the market, are going to become extinct. I would have bought one a few weeks ago, had I had the money.Now I am glad I waited. David Locklear - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Government Canyon Karst Project
The dates for the rest of the year for the Government Canyon Karst Survey Project are as follows: October 28 November 17, 18 December 16 Ridgewalking, digging leads, and surveying caves are all on the agenda. Camping is available. Contact me for details. Directions to the gate of GCSNA. Find the intersection of U.S. 16 and Loop 1604 in northwest Bexar County (clearly shown on any state highway map). Drive 2 miles north on U.S. 16 to the third traffic light and turn left onto FM 1560 (there is a Shell station on the corner). Follow 1560 for 3 miles till you see a sign for Government Canyon State Natural Area. Turn right following the sign and drive 2 miles to the gate of GCSNA. Enter at the gate and then take the first right. There is an unlocked gate that will need to be opened and then closed behind you. Continue to the Volunteer/Research Station, where we will meet. We will meet at 9:00 each morning -Marvin Miller (830) 885-5631
[Texascavers] TCMA Members Meeting
Greetings, Cavers, I would like to announce that a TCMA members meeting will be held at TCR on Sunday morning, tentatively at 9:30 am. TCMA is anxious to pay off the Deep and Punkin Preserve, and to find new properties for development and management. More details to follow! It will be a great TCR! Linda