[Texascavers] NSS Award
Congratulations, Orion, on your receipt of the Victor A. Schmidt Conservation Award! Well done and well-deserved. Jacqui - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] upcoming cave shows on TV
Caved In: Prehistoric Terror starring Christopher Atkins. Trapped cave guides and jewel thieves face a deadly swarm of prehistoric rhinoceros beetles. (NR) (2:00) SCI-FI: Sat. 1 P.M. filmed in 2006 ( ? )
[ot_caving] RE: LOOKS LIKE THE DREAM TEAM TO ME!
Chris, The Republicans would agree, but only if it was exposed before the election. But hey, Sleazy Slick Willie got away with it. Mandy, This is much funnier. Dad From: Chris Young Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 11:20 AM To: JON APPEL (all...@bellsouth.net); CLINE YOUNG (cyo...@youngfinancialgroup.com); 'Cary Damron Fyfe'; 'ned...@aol.com'; Fritz Holt; Bob Rathbun; 'Mark Davis' Subject: FW: LOOKS LIKE THE DREAM TEAM TO ME! From: Mark Strange [mailto:m...@jmstrange.com] Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 10:39 AM To: bud mason; Chris Young; Kim Strange Subject: FW: LOOKS LIKE THE DREAM TEAM TO ME! From: Ben Fry [mailto:ben@fryco.com] Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 10:35 AM Subject: FW: LOOKS LIKE THE DREAM TEAM TO ME! [cid:image001.jpg@01C90088.4323C620] pic21545[1] HILLARY FINALLY GETS EVEN WITH BILL! --- Scanned by eMail Protection Services---
Re: [Texascavers] FW: 2008 NSS Awards Recipients
New NSS Fellow, Kelly Jessop is my little brother. He lives in Georgia and is a (shudder) cave diver. Proudly, Sidney Formanek, GHG
[Texascavers] NSS Convention Report - part 4
I am home safe and back at work. I have several things to talk about and will be posting them over the next few days, so please just hit the delete button if you are not interested. First I would like to thank all the people that volunteered to put on the convention and do all the hard work. Among them were:Buford Pruitt, William Shrewsbury, Marianne Gamble, Emily Davis, Russ Kennedy, and Marsha Bush, but there were many others whose names I didn't learn. I am glad I went to the convention. On a personal level, I wish I could have done my itinerary different; but I feel in hindsight, that I did the best that I could under the circumstances. My trip could have been much worse, as I was not properly prepared for emergencies like a car breakdown. I took a gamble, and I lucked out this time around. I presume now that all the convention activities are over with. I guess with the tropical storm blowing in that the post-convention camp is packing up. I guess the organizers still have some loose ends to tie up? I think holding the NSS Convention in Lake City was fine. There were some good things about this location and quite a few things that were not as good as previous conventions. I think everybody who did the float trip down the Ichetucknee River is glad they went to the convention. The hotel zone was only about 20 minutes from the Ichetucknee River. This is the only convention I recall were the campground was within walking distance of a Walmart and several good restaurants. Zaxby's Restaurant was only about 1/4 mile from the big tree at the campground. This was a benefit to the 3 or 4 people who wanted to spend most of the convention relaxing under the big tree.The noise level in the campground of the city was much less than I expected. The roar of the highway traffic was about a mile away. The lights of the Walmart and other nearby buildings was the negative side effect of having everything convenient. It would have been great if the Mayor could have got everybody in town to dim their lights for the convention. But that is not realistic. In my opinion, the number one problem with the convention was the college campus was too far from the hotel zone and the campground. I think the regular convention attendees who have the schedule ingrained in their memory don't have a problem with this, but to attendees unfamiliar with how an NSS Convention operates, this distance seems inconvenient. I think the number 2 problem was the convention was put on by a small group of people. I believe they were under-staffed. It appeared to me like 3 or 4 people did the brunt of the work. I think the number 3 problem was the campground should have been mowed the week before the convention, at least around the big tree. The outhouses were new and saw little use. [ I want the NSS to require that all outhouses be placed under heavy duty tarps to provide shade and protection from the rain. ] I think there was an ant problem, but the only confirmation I have is that I had lots of ants inside my car, and I was sleeping in my car. I don't know if anybody took showers on campus, but I did. There was no hot water. I didn't mind, because the weather was hot and humid. Also, it took me a while to find the showers. The campground showers might have been adequate for the few number of people that decided to camp, but I only used them once, so I can't verify that. At other conventions, the NSS had sole use of the facilities ( for example, the high school in Indiana ). But there was college activity going on in the main building were many of the vendors and registration was. I thought the location of the self-viewing of the videos was poor. At future conventions, I would like to see this improved. Couches, popcorn, quiet, no traffic, no distractions, big tv, good sound, and someone to go to when the equipment fails. ( I will volunteer to help assist the organizer of this at ICS. I will post more on that later. ) The Bellingham Convention set the standard for the Fine Arts Salon.They put all the artwork in a gallery and had a party with food and drinks. In my opinion, Florida could have been better. [ ICS should challenge Bellingham and set a new standard for the Fine Arts Salon. ] I had trouble in the evenings finding an internet connection. Even with my wi-fi gadget, I had to hunt for a place to check my e-mail. However, this most likely was due to the fact that I was only at the convention 2 days, and never had time to learn were everything was. I only spoke to a few people about the NSS Salon. They seemed to have mixed feelings about it. I would like to commend the person who came up with the idea to put Chinese Olympic music to the slideshow of the award photos. This was ingenious, and is a much bigger improvement on the way it has been done in the past. Kudos to
[Texascavers] RE: NSS Convention Report - part 4
David Locklear said: I don't know if anybody took showers on campus, but I did. There was no hot water. I used the showers a couple of times, as did many other people, and there was always hot water. I never heard anyone say there was no hot water. Some of the showers were plumbed backwards, though, so in those you had to use the cold setting rather than the hot. I presume the Convention lost money. In fact, they announced at the banquet that the Convention broke even. Mark Minton
Re: [Texascavers] RE: NSS Convention Report - part 4
Hi David: Even if the convention were to lose money, the NSS has a special convention fund where they take the profits from other conventions to make up the short fall. This is done so that conventions will cut the budget tight to hold the registration costs down on conventions, but not draw from general funds if they take a loss. Gary Moss At 12:55 PM 8/18/2008, Minton, Mark wrote: David Locklear said: I don't know if anybody took showers on campus, but I did. There was no hot water. I used the showers a couple of times, as did many other people, and there was always hot water. I never heard anyone say there was no hot water. Some of the showers were plumbed backwards, though, so in those you had to use the cold setting rather than the hot. I presume the Convention lost money. In fact, they announced at the banquet that the Convention broke even. 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
[ot_caving] personal
It looks like I may be finding a new career much sooner than expected. I was only back at work 5 hours after my long vacation, and I handed my supervisor a letter of resignation. He is the best boss I have ever had. Unfortunately, there are other factors here that have pushed me over the edge. It is a good thing I don't drink. I would be drinking Jim Beam by the bottle right now. David Locklear
[Texascavers] sort of ICS related
I am sure someone out there is about to make a big announcement. Now that the 2008 NSS Convention, it is time to get excited about the 2009 Convention. I am certain everybody on Cavetex already knows better than me that in less than 12 months, the NSS Convention is coming to Kerrville. And not only that, it is held in conjunction with a much bigger event - the International Congress of Speleology. I will let others explain the importance of that. I will say that Dr. George Veni, spoke to the attendees of the NSS Photo Salon about the ICS. It would be safe to say that he emphasized that it was very important that every caver support and attend the ICS. He also mentioned that normal deadlines for things like presentation papers come much quicker for an ICS. Some of the deadlines are just 4 months away. On the subject of the NSS Convention part of the event, I would like to add the following: For me, I had wanted to join the NSS in 1984, but waited till 1987 in order to save up enough money to buy a life membership. my first real NSS introduction came at a BOG meeting in Houston in 1988 or so. ( Bellaire of all places ?? ) But it was the 1994 convention in Bracketville that made me want to go to more conventions. I decided then to make convention attendance a priority in my life. But recently my life has taken a different direction. I got married to someone who is not interested in caves, got a car payment, a house note, a toddler, and am experiencing employment problems, and an economic crisis with the rise in gas prices and the cost of living. So long range planning of convention attendance seems un-realistic. I hope to volunteer and provide some constructive support to ICS. I hope to attend the NSS Conventions in Colorado and Vermont. However, I am not sure what will happen after that.At the rate things are presently going, I can see that I will have to skip a few conventions. On the otherhand, I also want to attend Karst-o-rama, and OTR and other regional caving conventions across the country. I have not done any of those yet. Hopefully, I will someday land a good paying job where I can attend all these caving events. I can see that there are a handful of cavers who seem to have there entire life revolve around caving. I just don't see that in my destiny. David Locklear arm-chair caver in Fort Bend County
[ot_caving] contaminated e-cards
We got two messages today in our office e-mail telling us about two different viruses coming in e-card messages. So, unless it's your birthday, you probably don't want to click on the link.
[Texascavers] cave videos - Hart Attack
I misspelled the name of the video I was describing in the previous post. It is called Hart Attack. I was told that it was filmed in the cave beneath Hart Springs, shown below. http://underwaterflorida.homestead.com/files/hart.jpg The video features a diver squeezing through a tight spot with full side-mounted tanks and other gear. The passage has a beautiful flow of white sand streaming thru the squeeze. Yet the passage is not silted and the cinematography looks like it was filmed in high def. ( I can't wait to watch it on a 65 inch flat screen ) The film doesn't show how the cameraman got thru the squeeze.It appears beyond the squeeze they found a vertical underwater borehole passage. How did they light up such a big passage? The filming of this must have been rather difficult.I would presume they spent many hours filming just to get this 5 minute video. My question is, If you were a hard-core underwater cave diver, would you squeeze thru spot, not knowing if you will have room to turn around. It seems like the chances of death in that squeeze suddenly go from 75 percent to 80 percent. I would classify that as extreme caving. I will never do that. But it is exciting to watch someone else do it, especially when it was filmed with such high quality. Has anybody out there seen this video yet, and if so, do you have any other comments to add? David Locklear
RE: [Texascavers] cave videos - Hart Attack
David, I must agree in part with your review of Hart Attack. It was filmed in beautiful water, well lit, and exciting. However, watching that movie I was thinking of Jacob's Well in Hays County and how many unqualified divers died trying that very maneuver. With the Jackass type shows so popular how many might try to imitate what they saw in that movie in a cave close to them. Would someone think the NSS is endorsing or approving this type of diving? Is there a disclaimer in the movie, I don't know. Jon -Original Message- From: David [mailto:dlocklea...@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 10:37 AM To: Cave Texas Subject: [Texascavers] cave videos - Hart Attack I misspelled the name of the video I was describing in the previous post. It is called Hart Attack. I was told that it was filmed in the cave beneath Hart Springs, shown below. http://underwaterflorida.homestead.com/files/hart.jpg The video features a diver squeezing through a tight spot with full side-mounted tanks and other gear. The passage has a beautiful flow of white sand streaming thru the squeeze. Yet the passage is not silted and the cinematography looks like it was filmed in high def. ( I can't wait to watch it on a 65 inch flat screen ) The film doesn't show how the cameraman got thru the squeeze.It appears beyond the squeeze they found a vertical underwater borehole passage. How did they light up such a big passage? The filming of this must have been rather difficult.I would presume they spent many hours filming just to get this 5 minute video. My question is, If you were a hard-core underwater cave diver, would you squeeze thru spot, not knowing if you will have room to turn around. It seems like the chances of death in that squeeze suddenly go from 75 percent to 80 percent. I would classify that as extreme caving. I will never do that. But it is exciting to watch someone else do it, especially when it was filmed with such high quality. Has anybody out there seen this video yet, and if so, do you have any other comments to add? David Locklear
[Texascavers] NSS Convention - Ichetucknee River
For me, the highlight of my summer vacation was floating down the Ichetucknee River in an inner tube. Jay Jorden took me on this trip. We accidentally met other cavers along the river, like Rita and Elvis from Missouri. This trip is somewhat like the San Marcos float trip. But imagine doing the San Marcos in the 1700's, when it was still pristine. The water in the Ichetucknee had a slight dark color to it, but was clear enough to see the bottom. In many spots in was several feet deep and covered with some sort of green plant growing vertical and swaying in the current. There were large fish to see. Birds like egrets were along the shore and seemed disinterested in the tubers.We heard an owl howling. Unfortunately, the weather was not ideal for tubing during most of the convention. But was great on Friday when Jay and I went. We only floated the last half of the tourist portion of the river, because we got there 20 minutes too late. The authorities confiscated my gatorade before entering the shuttle bus. I feel they should have warned us about that at the entrance to the park. You could possibly sneak a small flask of liquor if you had a fanny pack? The river was beautiful and free of signs of civilization, with only one over-head power line near the end of the trip. In my opinion, the park should set up some sort of free refreshment stands at the mid-point.Young kids could probably not go 3 1/2 hours in the hot sun without a beverage. Or did I miss a loophole in the rules?? I wish I had had my snorkeling gear. I did not find the water cold. But those that do would want some neoprene reef shoes. And maybe a neoprene shorts with a nylon shirt. If you do the trip early in the morning, the trees will hide the sun. They close the river entrance at 2:00 p.m. and the midpoint entrance at 4:00 p.m. If you can get there near the end of those times, then the evening sun will be behind the trees. I highly recommend this trip, and hope to do it again someday with my daughter. I heard Ginnie Springs had a similar float trip that was just as nice.I would like to return someday and do more float trips. I would like to learn how to dive, so I could at least check out the twilight zones of these caves. But that is an expensive hobby, and I have other priorities right now. David Locklear
RE: [Texascavers] NSS Convention - Ichetucknee River
Good report, David. If you weaned yourself from purchasing LED caving lights, since you say you never cave, or from driving to places to look at lights, you could afford to take dive lessons. But, that was when you still had gainful employment. Take care and keep us posted. Fritz From: David [mailto:dlocklea...@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 4:00 PM To: Cave Texas Subject: [Texascavers] NSS Convention - Ichetucknee River For me, the highlight of my summer vacation was floating down the Ichetucknee River in an inner tube. Jay Jorden took me on this trip. We accidentally met other cavers along the river, like Rita and Elvis from Missouri. This trip is somewhat like the San Marcos float trip. But imagine doing the San Marcos in the 1700's, when it was still pristine. The water in the Ichetucknee had a slight dark color to it, but was clear enough to see the bottom. In many spots in was several feet deep and covered with some sort of green plant growing vertical and swaying in the current. There were large fish to see. Birds like egrets were along the shore and seemed disinterested in the tubers.We heard an owl howling. Unfortunately, the weather was not ideal for tubing during most of the convention. But was great on Friday when Jay and I went. We only floated the last half of the tourist portion of the river, because we got there 20 minutes too late. The authorities confiscated my gatorade before entering the shuttle bus. I feel they should have warned us about that at the entrance to the park. You could possibly sneak a small flask of liquor if you had a fanny pack? The river was beautiful and free of signs of civilization, with only one over-head power line near the end of the trip. In my opinion, the park should set up some sort of free refreshment stands at the mid-point.Young kids could probably not go 3 1/2 hours in the hot sun without a beverage. Or did I miss a loophole in the rules?? I wish I had had my snorkeling gear. I did not find the water cold. But those that do would want some neoprene reef shoes. And maybe a neoprene shorts with a nylon shirt. If you do the trip early in the morning, the trees will hide the sun. They close the river entrance at 2:00 p.m. and the midpoint entrance at 4:00 p.m. If you can get there near the end of those times, then the evening sun will be behind the trees. I highly recommend this trip, and hope to do it again someday with my daughter. I heard Ginnie Springs had a similar float trip that was just as nice.I would like to return someday and do more float trips. I would like to learn how to dive, so I could at least check out the twilight zones of these caves. But that is an expensive hobby, and I have other priorities right now. David Locklear
[Texascavers] RE: NSS Convention - Ichetucknee River
David Locklear said: The authorities confiscated my gatorade before entering the shuttle bus. I feel they should have warned us about that at the entrance to the park. You could possibly sneak a small flask of liquor if you had a fanny pack? Young kids could probably not go 3 1/2 hours in the hot sun without a beverage. Or did I miss a loophole in the rules?? I also did the float trip (although the whole thing, starting at the north end), as did a large number of other cavers at the Convention. When we entered the park we were handed an information sheet about the float trips on which it clearly stated that any disposable items would not be allowed on the river. They are concerned about trash, and will not allow anything that might be thrown away or carelessly lost. Larger, more expensive items are okay since the owner has an incentive to hold onto them. Nalgene bottles with beverages were allowed. I took my Darren drum with all sorts of things in it, but they did look inside to be sure I had nothing disposable. We knew this was the case because we had asked people at Convention about the trip before setting out. Mark Minton
