texascavers Digest 14 Mar 2011 23:22:22 -0000 Issue 1265
Topics (messages 17342 through 17354):
Re: OT - tsunami video
17342 by: tbsamsel.verizon.net
Robots that talk like cave-dwelling crickets :
17343 by: JerryAtkin.aol.com
Blair Pittman
17344 by: dirtdoc.comcast.net
17350 by: Fritz Holt
Re: Photo Submission for TSA Convention
17345 by: Don Arburn
Calling Marshall Enquist
17346 by: Denise P
Seeking NSS Webinar Volunteer
17347 by: Geary Schindel
OT - tsunami related
17348 by: David
UT Grotto Meeting - Wed March 16
17349 by: Gary Franklin
Re: Short loan
17351 by: Fritz Holt
Blair Pittman Update
17352 by: dirtdoc.comcast.net
Photo Salon Volunteer Judges
17353 by: Don Arburn
underwater video preview
17354 by: Mixon Bill
Administrivia:
To subscribe to the digest, e-mail:
<texascavers-digest-subscr...@texascavers.com>
To unsubscribe from the digest, e-mail:
<texascavers-digest-unsubscr...@texascavers.com>
To post to the list, e-mail:
<texascavers@texascavers.com>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--- Begin Message ---
In reference to the following.. (happened in 1700)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozette_Indian_Village_Archeological_Site
Mar 12, 2011 04:47:55 PM, dlocklea...@gmail.com wrote:
There are supposedly areas along
the coast of the states of Alaska, Oregon and Washington, and the
province of British Columbia that have potential for a similar catastrophe.
Imagine if thousands of years ago, our ancestors that crossed the Bering Strait
were living peaceful lives on the beaches of Washington State when a
tsunami of this
magnitude hit. There would be no trace of their existence. Tens
of thousands
could have been washed out to sea. I would bet something like that
happened in pre-historic times.
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
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Robots that talk like cave-dwelling crickets
Scientists have taught robots to communicate by firing rings of
pressurized air at each other
By Patrick Morgan
March 9, 2011
Ant trails, airborne chemicals, wood vibrations--scientists have a long
history of borrowing clever communication techniques from the animal kingdom.
Inspired by the odd social habits of a cave-dwelling cricket, scientists
have now taught robots to communicate by firing rings of pressurized air at
each other.
The cricket in question is the African cave cricket (Phaeophilacris
spectrum), which rapidly flicks its wings to launch donut-shaped air rings, a
_type of vortex_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex_ring) , to both
potential mates and enemies. Reduced to two kinds of messages, its "language"
is
pretty simple: It sends isolated vortices to threaten its rival, and a rapid
sequence of vortices to woo would-be lovers.
When Andy Russell, an engineer at Monash University in Australia, learned
about the cricket, he thought this technique would improve robots' ability
to communicate in noisy environments--but that wasn't the only benefit.
"Like the cave crickets, there may be times when a robot does not want its
communications intercepted," Russell _told New Scientist_
(http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928026.000-cave-crickets-trick-keeps-robot-chatter-confid
ential.html) . Researchers speculate that the cricket uses vortices to
communicate undetected by predators--so why not robots? As Chris Melhuish, a
researcher at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory in the UK _told New Scientist_
(http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928026.000-cave-crickets-trick-keep
s-robot-chatter-confidential.html) , "This could be a useful addition to
the communication armoury of future robotic systems."
The science of vortices reaches back to 1858, when _William Rogers first
described vortex rings_ (http://www.jstor.org/pss/78327) , and scientists
have been dazzled ever since by how far these rings can travel (underwater
ones have been clocked at over 65 feet). They form when a slug of air or
liquid is shot out of a small nozzle into a region of still air or liquid: As
the slug travels out of the nozzle, the low-pressure build-up on the outside
side of the slug causes the edge to curl, eventually forming a donut shape
that can then propagate quite a distance.
Russell co-opted cricket communications with the science of vortices by
_equipping a squat, roughly 6-inch tall, cylinder-shaped robot with eight air
disturbance sensors_
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V16-51FGT28-2&_user=10&_coverDate=02/28/2011&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gat
eway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&
_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=44cef2326bb5e0502fd5d1679ae677eb&searchtype=a)
, sending binary messages via a separate vortex generator, which isn't
quite as high-tech as it sounds: it's pretty much like a loudspeaker cone,
sending pulses of air outward through a less than one-inch aperture. Because
it's difficult to track an pulse of air--it is invisible, after all--the
engineers burned incense to see the air disturbances in progress.
By themselves, these air pulses don't say much--but when sent in a series
of binary coded pulses, they can be used to communicate with other robots.
In this study, for example, the scientists sent a sequence of 1,000 vortices
to relay the binary coded word for "vortex" over a distance of nearly 12
inches. In addition to sending messages through varied pulses, the sensors
could detect both the direction and range of the sender: The message
direction was gathered by sensing which of the eight sensors were triggered,
while
the robot calculated distance by analyzing the lag between the fast- and
slow-moving vortices.
Sensing air disturbances is all fine and dandy, but what happens when
you're in a breezy environment? The scientists equipped the robot with a
plastic
film attached at only one end to take care of that: When hooked up to an
optical sensor, the robot can detect the difference between laminar (typical
of breezes) and turbulent flow (typical of the vortices). But despite
their valiant efforts, the common error was still missed vortices: As the
rings
of air traveled, breezes from the room's ventilation system would
sometimes trigger a phantom vortex, sending unintentional messages.
While not perfect, the scientists nevertheless demonstrated that such
robot-to-robot communication is possible--and that's the big thing to take away
from this. In addition to fixing the errors, the researchers want to
construct a smaller vortex generator--one closer to the size of its
inspiration,
the wing-flick of the cave cricket.
Reprinted with permission from Discover.
_http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/09/scitech/main20041352.shtml_
(http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/09/scitech/main20041352.shtml)
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Blair rolled his vehicle Wednesday night and is currently in the hospital in
Odessa. Jean is with him and he is out of ICU. Although he has a cracked
C2, there appears to be no spinal cord damage and no other significant
injuries. He has been under heavy sedation and although still not speaking, he
is otherwise responding well.
He was headed home and about to turn into his "driveway" to the Villa de la
Mina west of Terlingua. It was approximately 10 PM. There is broken glass
and a dead deer shortly before the turnoff, a likely reason he lost control.
I'll post additional information later, but you may contact me or Ring Huggins
off-line.
DirtDoc
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Thanks, Dwight. Blair is a Texas icon and we all wish him a speedy recovery so
he can once again be on "The Back Porch". My daughters and I visited with Blair
the last time we were in the Big Bend area in April. 2008. He is a most
interesting character.
Fritz
________________________________
From: dirt...@comcast.net [mailto:dirt...@comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, March 13, 2011 10:53 AM
To: Cave NM; Cave Texas
Subject: [Texascavers] Blair Pittman
Blair rolled his vehicle Wednesday night and is currently in the hospital in
Odessa. Jean is with him and he is out of ICU. Although he has a cracked C2,
there appears to be no spinal cord damage and no other significant injuries. He
has been under heavy sedation and although still not speaking, he is otherwise
responding well.
He was headed home and about to turn into his "driveway" to the Villa de la
Mina west of Terlingua. It was approximately 10 PM. There is broken glass and
a dead deer shortly before the turnoff, a likely reason he lost control.
I'll post additional information later, but you may contact me or Ring Huggins
off-line.
DirtDoc
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I have my first submissions for the TSA Photo Salon!!
Get on the ball and get yours in also.
I have high expectations!
Don's iPhone.
Begin forwarded message:
> From: Travis Scott <tra...@oztotl.com>
> Date: March 13, 2011 1:16:45 PM CDT
> To: donarb...@mac.com
> Subject: Photo Submission for TSA Convention
>
> Don,
>
> Attached are some photos to be submitted to the competition. Hope they
> aren't too big for the server. Captions below:
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Hola Marshall Enquist-Please contact me off list about your TSA membership.
Thanks,
Denise
TSA Sec
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Folks,
The NSS is considering initiating a new webinar project to present topics of
regional and national interest to the membership. These might include updates
on White Nose Syndrome, subjects such as geology, biology, photography,
expedition reports, interviews with cavers, or any other subject of interest.
Ultimately, we would like to place these programs on our web site for use of
our members and as potential grotto programs. We are looking for a member who
is experienced in working with webinars (or would like to learn) and would like
to volunteer to work on this project. This can't happen without a volunteer.
The position offers no salary but promises fame and glory and the undying
gratitude of your fellow members.
Please contact Geary Schindel, Administrative Vice President at
gschin...@edwardsaquifer.org<mailto:gschin...@edwardsaquifer.org> or
210.326.1576 (cell) for more information.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
The link below appears to contain the quickest news updates:
http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_earthquake2
Also,
YouTube seems to post video news faster than any local news
channels, or even CNN. Just type "tsunami and 2011" in the YouTube
search bar.
For example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7crIPPhmVI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3_JZ7cnMR4
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
You are cordially invited to attend the Underground Texas Grotto meeting
on March 16, 2011
The meeting is on Wednesday from 7:45 P.M. - 9:00 P.M.
University of Texas Campus in 2.48 PAINTER HALL
NOTE: THE ROOM NUMBER CHANGE to 2.48 PAI
http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/pai.html
Jean Krejca will be presenting Sump Diving in Cascade Caverns. Jean
utilizes her diving skills to explore flooded cave passage searching for
connections to new caves. Sump diving adds a whole new dimension exploration
with hauling plenty of gear through the cave to the sump, and the
preparation to venture beyond the flooded zone in cave passage.
Lydia Hernandez will be sharing Adventures Acquired as a New Caver. Lydia
has been involved in all aspects that caving has to offer for the past
couple of years. Come out to visit with Texas Cavers in Austin Texas to
catch up and talk caves and caving.
For information on Underground Texas Grotto activities, please see
www.utgrotto.org All of our information including officer contact info,
trips reports, new caver training, event calendar, and posting links to
beginner trips or vertical rope training are available.
Before the meetings, some of us may meet at Sao Paulo
www.saopaulos.net for a happy hour special. This area is the best
place to park and meet
folks walking over to the meeting. Then after the official meeting, we
continue with the decades long tradition to reconvene for burgers, beer, and
tall tales of caving at Posse East. www.posse-east.com
THE UT GROTTO NEEDS YOU !!! Are you a caver with photos and a story to
share about your adventures, scientific research, or something else really
cool? The UT Grotto Program Organizer is currently booking upcoming
meetings where you can share your adventures.
Contact Gary
Sincerely,
Gary Franklin
UT Grotto Vice Chair & Program Organizer
v...@utgrotto.org
"Jean Krejca, Ph.D." <j...@zaraenvironmental.com>,
"Lydia Hernandez" <lh_...@yahoo.com>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Also known as a "comealong". You may also need a few short pieces of barbed
wire to splice into the cut ends. Sorry I'm not in your area.
Fritz (an old fence builder).
________________________________
From: Ron Ralph [mailto:ronra...@austin.rr.com]
Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2011 9:44 AM
To: 'CaveTex'
Subject: [Texascavers] Short loan
Cavers,
Three strands of barbed wire were found cut at the Lost Oasis cave preserve
last Sunday. I need to borrow a fence stretcher for a short while if anyone in
the caving community has access to one. Write me offline.
Ron Ralph
ronra...@austin.rr.com
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
You may send cards to:
Dean B. Pittman, ICU Patient
Medical Center Hospital
500 W. 4th St.
Odessa, TX 79761
There is a confusingly-named set of hospitals in Odessa-Midland area, this is
NOT the Odessa Regional Medical Center ! Additionally, there is M.D. named
Pittman on the staff in the regular part of the same hospital.
They are still keeping him heavily sedated today to avoid further injury, so he
is not awake most of the time. No serious damage to spine, despite a
fractured neck vertebra. Send a card and when he becomes alert again, it will
be there to greet him.
DirtDoc
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
This is a call for photo salon judges. If interested give me a shout.
Don's iPhone.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
There is a preview of a cave-diving video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ_tZcxRaek
. It was made at the Pit in Dos Ojos, Quintana Roo. The documentary
won a prize at an international underwater film festival in France. No
word on when or where the thing will be released in the US. -- Mixon
----------------------------------------
If a thing is not worth doing, it is not worth doing well.
----------------------------------------
You may "reply" to the address this message
came from, but for long-term use, save:
Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu
AMCS: edi...@amcs-pubs.org or sa...@amcs-pubs.org
--- End Message ---
