Re: [Texascavers] I am impressed

[via Texascavers]

Hi David,

Don't despair. You always have friends out in the caving family.

The Bockbeerians are just having their fun. Not enough drama in the world I 
guess so they make it up for grins. 

Cheers !

Jerry Atkinson.

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 1, 2017, at 11:13 AM, David via Texascavers 
 wrote:

> I just received my copy of the NSS News - February 2017 issue
> by email.
> 
> I have not been paying attention, so I do not know if that is the
> first time this has ever happened.
> 
> But upon clicking on the provided graphical link, I was able to
> easily log on because I have my NSS # memorized.  That login
> procedure is a very good idea, and extremely well implemented.
> 
> The issue of the NSS News loaded in less than a second, I think.
> The graphics or image of the issue was beautiful.  ( I am using
> a FreeBSD computer and I had no problems ).
> 
> This issue features a very professional article by Bob Richards.
> 
> Bob was a member of the Greater Houston Grotto for several years,
> and was very active in the club.   I recall sometime around 1996, that
> GHG was not doing a whole lot of stuff, and along came Bob, who presented
> himself as a caver from California.  At that time from my perspective, the
> caving club ( due to the work nature in Houston ) would get a lot of 
> transient guest
> who were in town for a few months working. So my immediate impression
> of Bob, was he might be one of those. But the 2nd meeting, he brought an
> awesome slide show.  And he continued to do that or offer to do that at
> every meeting thereafter, for the next 10 years. He hosted at least one 
> party at his cool house
> where he had a real impressive library mostly devoted to caving topics, and 
> he showed
> everybody his computer and how he made his award-winning maps.We did
> not realize he was a famous speleo-cartographer. At that time, I had only
> been to the 94 NSS Convention.Anyways, after all that, I was extremely 
> impressed
> with Bob's dedication to caving. He was and still is one of my greatest 
> inspirations in life.His lovely
> wife ( R.I.P. ) also made the most beautiful little quilts that had a real 
> cave theme.   The
> quilts were very unique formed by tiny little pieces of cloth partially sewn 
> to the quilt, like
> feathers or leaves dangling from the quilt..   Bob left for greener pastures 
> somewhere 
> around Durango, Colorado about 10 years ago and he was sorely missed.  
> That was about 
> the same time, I stopped going to meetings, although I had not been a regular 
> full-time 
> active member since 1995.
> 
> I was very interested in cartography in high school, and made an impressive 
> drawing, my sophmore
> year in 1980.I placed 3rd place in the state UIL drafting competition as 
> a sophmore competing with
> about 30 juniors and seniors.  I was still working as a 
> contract-draftsman or had aspirations to be a 
> draftsman when I first met Bob, but after seeing Bob's work, I felt I would 
> never be that competent in
> cartography.   I changed careers in 1998, but I doubt that experience played 
> a role.I just could
> not find a stable job drafting, and was going to have to take a risk to 
> re-learn everything, and instead,
> I just said to heck with it.
> 
> But back to the NSS News, 
> 
> I think every member needs to get on-board with receiving
> their NSS News via email, or at least make some effort to reduce cost or 
> reduce wasting
> paper and ink. I have boxes full of old issues of NSS News, and I cherish 
> them, but I am not sure if I will ever
> find time to read any of them, unless I live a long time in a nursing home, 
> that will let me
> have my speleo-library.That seems unrealistic at this point.
> 
> On to another topic, not related to anything,
> 
> And if you are still reading this email, I would like to take a moment to 
> defend myself
> from the humorous attempts of the Bockbeerist.   I have no earthly idea 
> what their
> secret agenda really is.  I have no relation to this cartoon character.   
>  He does not look
> like me, and I don't drink beer, and Bock-flavored beers are my least 
> favorite.So if you
> see or hear them going on a tantrum, it is your prerogative whether or not to 
> give them
> any credibility.
> 
> As far as the topic goes of people using me for a punching bag, it started
> long before I got involved in caving.  I have lived like a gypsy since I 
> was born and I never
> lived anywhere more than a few months until just recently, and I still live 
> more like a 
> truck-driver. The point is I never lived in the Hill Country or made 
> friendly bonds with a
> lot of those people, so when I would go on a rant about caving, they had no 
> idea who I was
> or where I had been or what I had accomplished.I can sleep knowing I made 
> a minor contribution
> to caving, eventhough I had low 

[Texascavers] I am impressed

[David via Texascavers]

I just received my copy of the NSS News - February 2017 issue
by email.

I have not been paying attention, so I do not know if that is the
first time this has ever happened.

But upon clicking on the provided graphical link, I was able to
easily log on because I have my NSS # memorized.  That login
procedure is a very good idea, and extremely well implemented.

The issue of the NSS News loaded in less than a second, I think.
The graphics or image of the issue was beautiful.  ( I am using
a FreeBSD computer and I had no problems ).

This issue features a very professional article by Bob Richards.

Bob was a member of the Greater Houston Grotto for several years,
and was very active in the club.   I recall sometime around 1996, that
GHG was not doing a whole lot of stuff, and along came Bob, who presented
himself as a caver from California.  At that time from my perspective,
the
caving club ( due to the work nature in Houston ) would get a lot of
transient guest
who were in town for a few months working. So my immediate impression
of Bob, was he might be one of those. But the 2nd meeting, he brought an
awesome slide show.  And he continued to do that or offer to do that at
every meeting thereafter, for the next 10 years. He hosted at least one
party at his cool house
where he had a real impressive library mostly devoted to caving topics, and
he showed
everybody his computer and how he made his award-winning maps.We did
not realize he was a famous speleo-cartographer. At that time, I had
only
been to the 94 NSS Convention.Anyways, after all that, I was extremely
impressed
with Bob's dedication to caving. He was and still is one of my greatest
inspirations in life.His lovely
wife ( R.I.P. ) also made the most beautiful little quilts that had a real
cave theme.   The
quilts were very unique formed by tiny little pieces of cloth partially
sewn to the quilt, like
feathers or leaves dangling from the quilt..   Bob left for greener
pastures somewhere
around Durango, Colorado about 10 years ago and he was sorely missed.
That was about
the same time, I stopped going to meetings, although I had not been a
regular full-time
active member since 1995.

I was very interested in cartography in high school, and made an impressive
drawing, my sophmore
year in 1980.I placed 3rd place in the state UIL drafting competition
as a sophmore competing with
about 30 juniors and seniors.  I was still working as a
contract-draftsman or had aspirations to be a
draftsman when I first met Bob, but after seeing Bob's work, I felt I would
never be that competent in
cartography.   I changed careers in 1998, but I doubt that experience
played a role.I just could
not find a stable job drafting, and was going to have to take a risk to
re-learn everything, and instead,
I just said to heck with it.

But back to the NSS News,

I think every member needs to get on-board with receiving
their NSS News via email, or at least make some effort to reduce cost or
reduce wasting
paper and ink. I have boxes full of old issues of NSS News, and I
cherish them, but I am not sure if I will ever
find time to read any of them, unless I live a long time in a nursing home,
that will let me
have my speleo-library.That seems unrealistic at this point.

On to another topic, not related to anything,

And if you are still reading this email, I would like to take a moment to
defend myself
from the humorous attempts of the Bockbeerist.   I have no earthly idea
what their
secret agenda really is.  I have no relation to this cartoon
character.He does not look
like me, and I don't drink beer, and Bock-flavored beers are my least
favorite.So if you
see or hear them going on a tantrum, it is your prerogative whether or not
to give them
any credibility.

As far as the topic goes of people using me for a punching bag, it started
long before I got involved in caving.  I have lived like a gypsy since
I was born and I never
lived anywhere more than a few months until just recently, and I still live
more like a
truck-driver. The point is I never lived in the Hill Country or made
friendly bonds with a
lot of those people, so when I would go on a rant about caving, they had no
idea who I was
or where I had been or what I had accomplished.I can sleep knowing I
made a minor contribution
to caving, eventhough I had low financial resources and lived many hours
drive from
caves my entire life.I have never broken a bone in my entire life, and
except for a bad twisted
ankle, from an injury on the Texas A Bonfire in 1982, I have never been
clumsy.At the moment,
I am just too overweight and out of shape to take on a real caving trip.
I know I would be
an accident waiting to happen.But I still love caves, and hope to find
some caves I can
safely go in.

I do not have any friends or any real family, except for my mom and
daughter and a half-sister
in Mansfield.   My acquaintances in the