texascavers Digest 20 Jan 2013 21:59:27 -0000 Issue 1696
Topics (messages 21248 through 21256):
Re: Longhorn Caverns Project Weekend- Saturday, February 2nd!
21248 by: Julia Germany
Texas Caver
21249 by: Jill Orr
21250 by: Mimi Jasek
21251 by: Mark Alman
21254 by: Bill Bentley
book review: Catawba Murder Hole
21252 by: Mixon Bill
Gravity light update
21253 by: dirtdoc.comcast.net
this was also on Science Friday (thanks for reminding me, Dirtdoc..)
21255 by: Ted Samsel
Honey Creek: Missing Helmet
21256 by: Kyle Leonard
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I did this months ago - like the day the mandate came out. I specified LCSP as
well as volunteering to do grants for TPWD. Just took a few minutes. They did
not ask for fingerprints, hair or blood ;)
- from julia's cell
On Jan 17, 2013, at 14:13, mark.al...@l-3com.com wrote:
> Kyle brings up a good point and one that I neglected to mention.
>
> TPWD and the folks at Longhorn are requiring volunteers to register before
> coming out.
>
> (Don’t freak out! It’s not some “One World Order/Black Helicopter/Fluoride in
> your water” conspiracy!).
>
> It’s not that big of a deal!
>
> It’s just an easier way for them to track volunteer hours and for YOU to see
> what’s available and needed at parks across the state.
>
>
> Thanks for the “heads up”, Kyle!
>
>
> Mark
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Terry Rodgers [mailto:terry.rodg...@tpwd.state.tx.us]
> Sent: Friday, October 19, 2012 9:24 AM
> To: Alman, Mark @ SSG - WSG - EOS;
> Subject: RE: Longhorn Caverns trail supplies -
>
> Hi Mark! We have finally finished the paperwork to get volunteers at
> Longhorn!!! Here is the site to go to and apply:
>
> http://ec.volunteernow.com/custom/1353/
>
> All volunteers must apply, then select a location, easiest to plug in
> Longhorn’s zip code, 78611. The new system works faster than the older paper.
> Thanks Mark!
>
> Terry Rodgers
> Inks Lake State Park
> 3630 Park Road 4 W
> Burnet, Texas 78611
> cell 512-636-6206
>
> "just one more cast, dad" LIndsey Rodgers
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Kyle Leonard [mailto:kyl.leon...@gmail.com]
> Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2013 1:40 PM
> To: Alman, Mark @ ESG - WSS - IRP
> Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Longhorn Caverns Project Weekend- Saturday,
> February 2nd!
>
> Hi Mark,
>
> Is TPWD still requiring that all volunteers register online with the state?
> I plan on bringing a good amount of Aggies your way and hope we can be of
> useful service.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Kyle Leonard
> President
> Aggie Speleological Society
> On Thu, Jan 17, 2013 at 8:13 AM, <mark.al...@l-3com.com> wrote:
> Well, with the Holidays and the failed Mayan Apocalypse behind us, what
> better way to kick off 2013 than a Longhorn Caverns Project weekend?!
>
> We will meet at the parking lot up from the Visitor Center at around 9:30
> Saturday, February 2nd. If you can help out Friday night, please let me know.
>
> The TPWD has graciously followed through and approved funds and is assigning
> work crews to begin some long overdue trail improvements to quite a few areas
> throughout the cave.
>
> Other funds for several other projects in the cave are to follow.
>
> In the meantime, we will be trying to stay out of the way and work on a few
> other projects, both in the cave and above the cave.
>
> One of these we will have to perform after hours on Saturday night (after
> going into town to dine at the Bluebonnet Café!) and, if there’s enough
> interest, I’d like to do this on Friday night, as well.
>
>
>
> As a reward for helping out with this, the park is offering:
>
> · Free camping Friday and Saturday nights
>
> · Free use of The Basement for wild cave tours (the Crownover back
> entrance is still off limits).
>
> · A Free Vanishing Texas Bald Eagle Boat Cruise Sunday on beautiful
> Lake LBJ to observe bald eagles!
>
>
>
> If you have hand tools (shovels, hand saws, limb loppers, chainsaws,
> wheelbarrows), please feel free to bring them.
>
> Hope to see the old hands back at the project this month, as well as any new
> faces interested in helping out.
>
> This is a truly fun and enjoyable project and we try hard to keep it that way
> and we guarantee a great weekend!
>
> If you have any kids interested in getting into caving, volunteer service,
> camping, and just hanging out with some cool folks, bring ‘em along!
>
> Come out to a spectacular and historic cave and park, friendly park staff,
> and the always entertaining camaraderie of cavers!
>
>
> Hope to see you next month!
>
>
> Thanks!
>
> Mark
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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TSA members:
The Q4 issue of the Texas Caver is available on line.
Thanks to all who supported the magazine this issue with Stories, Photos and
Proofing.
If you have photos or stories for the next issue: Don't Wait! Send them in.
Happy Caving.
Jill
http://www.cavetexas.org/members/
<http://www.cavetexas.org/members/txcaver/index.php>
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As one of the proof reading staff, I apologize now for any mistakes left in
this issue. For some reason, my proof issue e-mail did not come in till last
night, and I am working to get my part done before the issue goes to print.
Since I sent no corrections in, Jill would have assumed all was well.
Technology is great when no glitches arise.
Again, my apologies to all, including all staff of the TC. I take my proof
reading very seriously, as those who know my past work can attest to.
Sincerely,
Mimi Jasek
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 17, 2013, at 9:10 PM, "Jill Orr" <jill...@swbell.net> wrote:
> TSA members:
> The Q4 issue of the Texas Caver is available on line.
> Thanks to all who supported the magazine this issue with Stories, Photos and
> Proofing.
> If you have photos or stories for the next issue: Don’t Wait! Send them in.
> Happy Caving.
> Jill
>
> http://www.cavetexas.org/members/
>
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Very, very nice job on this issue of the TC, Jill!
Enjoyed it immensely and Linda's interview with Pete Strickland was highly
entertaining!
For those of you who aren't TSA members, Jill's superb work on the TEXAS CAVER
is reason enough to join!
Keep up the great work!
Mark
________________________________
From: Jill Orr <jill...@swbell.net>
To: Texascavers@texascavers.com
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2013 9:10 PM
Subject: [Texascavers] Texas Caver
TSA members:
The Q4 issue of the Texas Caver is available on line.
Thanks to all who supported the magazine this issue with Stories, Photos and
Proofing.
If you have photos or stories for the next issue: Don’t Wait! Send them in.
Happy Caving.
Jill
http://www.cavetexas.org/members/txcaver/index.php
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I paid at TCR
Your Dues Expired: 0000-00-00. Please Join/Renew Online
If you believe this is an error, please e-mail: members...@cavetexas.org
----- Original Message -----
From: Jill Orr
To: Texascavers@texascavers.com
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2013 9:10 PM
Subject: [Texascavers] Texas Caver
TSA members:
The Q4 issue of the Texas Caver is available on line.
Thanks to all who supported the magazine this issue with Stories, Photos and
Proofing.
If you have photos or stories for the next issue: Don't Wait! Send them in.
Happy Caving.
Jill
http://www.cavetexas.org/members/
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Murder Hole: Catawba Murder Hole Cave. Marian McConnell. National
Speleological Society, Huntsville, 2012. ISBN 978-1-879961-46-3. 8.5
by 11 inches, 150 pages, softbound. $24 (discounts for NSS members).
Catawba Murder Hole is one of the better known wild caves in Virginia,
perhaps partly because of its memorable name. It is not large, but
goes fairly deep, including one drop that requires a rope and others
that are often rigged. Marian and Don McConnell bought the property in
1993, and Marian has gathered a lot of information about its history.
Some of the legends recounted here involve murders, but there's no
real evidence for them. There have been quite a few accidents and
rescues from the cave over the years, because it was both well known
locally and popular with cavers. Most of the accident reports in the
book are poorly written newspaper accounts that might well have been
summarized, accompanied by photographs so poorly reproduced that the
book would have been better off without them; perhaps they were taken
from microfilm records. But there is an interesting and authoritative
account of a fatal accident caused by chemical damage to a manila
rope. Four pages are wasted on an accident in a different cave,
included on a flimsy pretext.
A long section describes other visits to the cave over the years. The
"oldest reference" McConnell could find to the cave is its appearance
on a historical map of the county as it was in about 1800, but
actually the map was made in 1965. A long and interesting article by
Porte Crayon (pseudonym) about being lowered into a cave in 1834 is
included, but again this was a different cave entirely. Apparently a
lot of the material about local visitors was gotten by planting an
article in the local paper and asking to hear from people who had
visited it. This fetched a number of interesting accounts and a lot
that aren't interesting, such as the bare fact that somebody named
Gene Ferguson says he went into the cave in 1948 or 1949. There are a
lot of old and not so old black-and-white photos in this section.
There must be a lot of reports in grotto newsletters about visits to
this cave, and if they had been mined selectively this section might
have been a lot more interesting.
There is a very detailed plan of the cave, but the profile, which is
much more interesting from the sporting and accident point of view, is
represented only by two sketches. A narrative trip through the cave
clarifies some of the mysteries earlier in the book, but it is
apparently written for sixth-graders. I wonder whether the McConnells
really guide groups that young through their cave. The book includes
chapters on safety and conservation that won't be important for most
buyers, but might be good to have if Scouts and similar groups visit
the cave. All in all, I'd say about half of the content is worth the
space.
In common with all the recent books prepared for printing by the NSS
Special Publications Committee, the design of the book is annoying,
with gigantic type in columns too narrow to accommodate it gracefully,
especially next to photos printed needlessly large. In addition, the
actual layout of this book, from the redundant title on, was extremely
careless. Apparently the NSS sells at a profit anything it prints, but
that doesn't mean it should print just anything.—Bill Mixon
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I believe there are
15,747,724,136,275,002,577,605,653,961,
181,555,468,044,717,914,527,116,709,366,
231,425,076,185,631,031,296 protons in the
universe and the same number of electrons.
—Sir Arthur Eddington
If you must know, that's 17 x 2^259.
----------------------------------------
You may "reply" to the address this message
came from, but for long-term use, save:
Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
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Noon on Friday. There was just an interview with the creator on NPR on Science
Friday. http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=13994790
I just listened to it - interesting. There was more information than in the
video link earlier, especially talking about the efficiency curve of the LED in
relation to the generating system.
In the last few months, using Crowd Funding, they raised several hundred
thousand dollars in 40 days to do the initial tooling for production.
Figure $6.50 each actual production costs for the prototype of 1,000 units.
That is obviously going to become much less with economy of scale.
They are looking at a buy one for yourself and send one to a 3rd world country
program, like the shoe deal a few years ago. That may offer the first
opportunity for you to acquire one for your in-cave camp.
Spinoffs down the line include the possibility of a satellite download using
this battery-less power source.
FYI i...@gravitylight.org
DirtDoc
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You cave mappers should study up on Ed Tufte, if you haven't already. I
first heard of him when I did maps and graphics at the BEG in the 1980s.
He's a great thinker.
http://sciencefriday.com/segment/01/18/2013/edward-tufte-wants-you-to-see-better.html
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Howdy Cavers,
I think I left my helmet by the fire at the Honey Creek Trip this weekend.
It's a red ecrin roc with a black diamond head lamp. If anyone has seen it
please let me know. I will not be on the return haul trip next weekend,
but my aggie associate Damien will be on the trip. If someone find's it
they can just give it to him when they see him next weekend.
Thanks,
Kyle Leonard
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