texascavers Digest 1 Sep 2010 19:58:24 -0000 Issue 1143
Topics (messages 15914 through 15931):
Re: Purificacion related ( I think )
15914 by: Gill Edigar
15915 by: Frank Binney
Re: Cave Lighting Install
15916 by: Gerry and Cindy Geletzke
new book available from AMCS
15917 by: Mixon Bill
off topic - last night for Blue Monday on KUT after 29 years
15918 by: Logan McNatt
15920 by: Gill Edigar
for you kayakers
15919 by: David
Laguna de Sanchez road working trip
15921 by: Sheryl Rieck
15922 by: Mark.Alman.L-3com.com
15926 by: Nico Escamilla
White Nose Syndrome video prepared by Texas Parks and Wildlife
15923 by: Geary Schindel
Honeycreek trip Sept 18th
15924 by: Kurt L. Menking
Caving conferences down south
15925 by: George Veni
Forests and Deserts to UT Grotto meeting
15927 by: Mixon Bill
Bedbugs, bats and caves in Science (NY) Times
15928 by: caverarch.aol.com
a new LED flashlight review
15929 by: David
excellent compact caver car for sale (Austin)
15930 by: Saj Zappitello
Gary Franklin
15931 by: Nico Escamilla
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--- Begin Message ---
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 12:16 AM, David <dlocklea...@gmail.com> wrote:
> There is a town along the highway to Ciudad Victoria called Hidalgo.
> It is just northeast of the Purificacion area.
> The mayor of that town was found shot to death today.
Geography lesson for the day.
The city of Hidalgo is as you described it. It is also the seat of
government for the Municipio de Hidalgo (more or less the status of a
county in Texas) which, by chance, is the Municipio in which Conrado
Castillo exists politically, though in the farthest southwest corner.
The owners and inhabitants of Conrado Castillo have always been
treated like an orphan child out in the far reaches of the boondocks
by the perpetually corrupt government in Hidalgo.
I think this is not the first mayor that's been shot there in the
past 50 years. Being a local politician in Mexico is fraught with much
fear and uncertainty. The perceived rewards of office must make them
worth running for. After all, not everybody dies in office. Most walk
away rich--or richer, at least--than when they entered though not
without some ulcers.
--Ediger
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
One of my favorite films about the potential rewards and fatal pitfalls of
being a small town mayor in rural Mexico is La ley de Herodes (Herod's Law).
You can find it on Netflix if your local video store doesn't have it. It's a
very funny satirical look at political corruption that will be especially
relevant to those oldsters among us who remember when Mexico was essentially
a one-party system under PRI.
--Frank Binney
On 8/30/10 5:08 PM, "Gill Edigar" <gi...@att.net> wrote:
> On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 12:16 AM, David <dlocklea...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> There is a town along the highway to Ciudad Victoria called Hidalgo.
>> It is just northeast of the Purificacion area.
>> The mayor of that town was found shot to death today.
>
> Geography lesson for the day.
> The city of Hidalgo is as you described it. It is also the seat of
> government for the Municipio de Hidalgo (more or less the status of a
> county in Texas) which, by chance, is the Municipio in which Conrado
> Castillo exists politically, though in the farthest southwest corner.
> The owners and inhabitants of Conrado Castillo have always been
> treated like an orphan child out in the far reaches of the boondocks
> by the perpetually corrupt government in Hidalgo.
> I think this is not the first mayor that's been shot there in the
> past 50 years. Being a local politician in Mexico is fraught with much
> fear and uncertainty. The perceived rewards of office must make them
> worth running for. After all, not everybody dies in office. Most walk
> away rich--or richer, at least--than when they entered though not
> without some ulcers.
> --Ediger
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com
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>
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Charles,
James Brown, Lydia Hernandez, Scott Kyle and I hauled Jame's dive gear to the
sump. The film crew set up on the ledge overlooking the mud dome and on the
mud dome overlooking the sump. James was expecting somebody to bring tarps to
the cavern to cover a portion of the mud slope down to the sump but they did
not arrive. As a result, James made the decision to dive the pool at the sump
entrance with only his mask and fins but no tanks. He explored the perimeter
of the pool down to a depth of about fifteen feet or so and said that he would
like to return and dive it with his tanks. The film crew interviewed James and
filmed him entering and leaving the pool as well as climbing the steep mud
slope up to the base of the short climb, 10-15 feet, leading to the previously
mentioned ledge. The film crew also filmed one of their helpers making the
short climb up to the ledge next to a nice formation.
Gerry Geletzke
----- Original Message -----
From: Charles Goldsmith
To: Cavetex
Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2010 11:43 AM
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Cave Lighting Install
I'll be at Cascade Caverns over labor day weekend working on the lights
again. If anyone is interested in helping out with the project, please let me
know.
This is a great way to get out of the heat and underground.
I know a few months ago that a film and dive crew went down to the lower cave
that is off-trail from the tours, but I never heard what came of the trip. Did
the sump go anywhere?
Charles
On Sat, Jul 3, 2010 at 11:41 AM, Scott Kyle <sk...@cascadecaverns.com> wrote:
We've got the rest of the Summer open to all who'd like to come and help
clean, install lighting and do a little exploring as well. It's really starting
to look good.
Go to: http://www.doodle.com/bah4t9d7r2657sw2 and sign up for mornings
and/or afternoons. Ideally two or more folks will be there at the same time -
and that can be designed through the scheduling tool linked above.
Scott Kyle (804)402-8985
Cascade Caverns
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
From Forests to Deserts: A Journey in the Caves of Mexico. Corrado
Conca, Antonio De Vivo, Leonardo Piccini, and Guiseppe Savino,
editors. La Venta Esplorazioni Geografiche, Tresivo, Italy; 2009. ISBN
978-88-95370-06-4. 8.5 by 8.5 inches, 155 pages, hardbound. €30.
The Italian group La Venta has been making trips to Mexico since 1990,
mainly caving or cave-related. Their principal project areas have been
the Río La Venta and Selva Ocate in Chiapas, the Río Juquila canyon
and adjacent highlands in Oaxaca, Cuatro Ciénegas and the surrounding
mountains in Coahuila, and the Cave of the Crystals in the mine at
Naica, Chihuahua. This book summarizes those projects in a handy,
compact form, except for Naica, which is the subject of another book
with similar format, if many fewer pages (see review in October 2009
NSS News). The book begins with a nice overall introduction to the
caves and karst of Mexico by Carlos Lazcano. There are cave or area
maps or color photographs on almost every page; many of the photos are
full-page or larger. There are also versions in Italian (available
from www.ecstore.it/default/cultura-generale/la-venta/index.html) and
Spanish. The English-language version is available in the U.S. from
the Association for Mexican Cave Studies (amcs-pubs.org) or other cave-
book sellers.—Bill Mixon
The La Venta group in Italy has published "From Forests to Deserts: A
Journey in the Caves of Mexico," edited by C. Conca, A. De Vivo, L.
Piccini, and G. Savino. It is similar in format to their recent book
on the Cave of the Crystals at Naica: 8.5 by 8.5 inches, 155 pages,
hardbound. ISBN 978-88-95370-06-4. Heavily illustrated with color
photos or cave or area maps on nearly every page, it summarizes La
Venta's cave-exploration projects at the Río La Venta in Chiapas, the
Río Juquila in Oaxaca, and Cuatro Ciénegas in Coahuila. There is an
introductory chapter on the caves and karst of Mexico by Carlos
Lazcano. List price €30, AMCS price $32 plus shipping charge ($3 to US
addresses).
We also have their "Crystal Giants in the Caves of Naica" for $20, as
well as their older, large-format volumes "Río La Venta, Treasure of
Chiapas" (1999, $65) and "Under the Desert: The Mysterious Waters of
Cuatro Ciénegas (2004, $75).
Details, including tables of contents, about these and all other
publications available from the AMCS are at amcs-pubs.org. Ordering
instructions are at http://www.amcs-pubs.org/finance/order.html.
----------------------------------------
Home is that place where, when you have to go there, they have to take
you in.
----------------------------------------
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 ---
--- Begin Message ---
Nothing to do with caving, other than the fact that a lot of cavers love
music, either making it, dancing with it, or listening to it.
This is for the many folks on this list who lived in Austin at one time
or another. Another long-time Austin tradition is biting the dust
tonight: Larry Monroe's "Blue Monday" show on KUT radio 90.5, after 29
years. If you're still up, you can listen to the last hour online.
To name just a few:
Frank Binney
Dale Pate
Bill Steele
Ted Samsell
Jerry Atkinson
Louise Power
Mark Minton
Preston & Shari Forsythe
Allan Cobb
and many more who still live in the central Texas area. . .
Feeling blue,
Logan
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I was listening from 8 o'clock and tried to stay up and listen to his
SignOff but couldn't stay awake. What did he say?
--Ediger
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 10:46 PM, Logan McNatt <lmcn...@austin.rr.com> wrote:
> Nothing to do with caving, other than the fact that a lot of cavers love
> music, either making it, dancing with it, or listening to it.
>
> This is for the many folks on this list who lived in Austin at one time or
> another. Another long-time Austin tradition is biting the dust tonight:
> Larry Monroe's "Blue Monday" show on KUT radio 90.5, after 29 years. If
> you're still up, you can listen to the last hour online.
>
> To name just a few:
>
> Frank Binney
> Dale Pate
> Bill Steele
> Ted Samsell
> Jerry Atkinson
> Louise Power
> Mark Minton
> Preston & Shari Forsythe
> Allan Cobb
>
> and many more who still live in the central Texas area. . .
>
> Feeling blue,
>
> Logan
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> 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 ---
I think the photo below is from the kayaking newsstory of the day:
http://videri.photoposts.org/index.php?showimage=61242#
There is also a video of the descent on some of the major
news channels.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Hey. Anyone have news of how the trip to work on the road at Laguna de
Sanchez went? The curious want to know.
Sheryl
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
and the Editor wants a trip report for The TEXAS CAVER! 8^)>
Couldn't resist!
Mark
________________________________
From: Sheryl Rieck [mailto:shri...@cableone.net]
Sent: Tue 8/31/2010 11:52 AM
To: 'TexasCavers'
Subject: [Texascavers] Laguna de Sanchez road working trip
Hey. Anyone have news of how the trip to work on the road at Laguna de Sanchez
went? The curious want to know.
Sheryl
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
it went pretty good, I was supposed to submit a report here but was out of
town
attending a work realted conference.. We managed to find a backhoe in the
town of
Laguna de Sanchez and until Sunday afternoon it was making pretty good
progress
with the worst still to come, most of us had to come back on Sunday but Gary
stayed
at Gerardo's house to supervise the work and said he'd call me when he made
it out.
I'll let someone else write a detailed report for the TC cause I really suck
at that.
Nico
On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 11:55 AM, <mark.al...@l-3com.com> wrote:
> and the Editor wants a trip report for *The TEXAS CAVER! 8^)>*
> **
> **
> **
> Couldn't resist!
>
> Mark
>
> **
> **
> **
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Sheryl Rieck [mailto:shri...@cableone.net]
> *Sent:* Tue 8/31/2010 11:52 AM
> *To:* 'TexasCavers'
> *Subject:* [Texascavers] Laguna de Sanchez road working trip
>
> Hey. Anyone have news of how the trip to work on the road at Laguna de
> Sanchez went? The curious want to know.
>
>
>
> Sheryl
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Here is a link the Texas Parks and Wildlife prepared regarding White Nose
Syndrome.
Thought you might like to see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YifcpmE53M0
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
A few cavers have asked me to set up another Honeycreek trip for this
fall, and the owner just got back to me with the approval. The trip is
planned for Sept 17-19 weekend. Camping is available Friday and
Saturday nights at the shaft entrance.
There is NO TANK HAUL scheduled so come out and have a good time. Those
that have only seen that part of the cave should come out and see the
good stuff.
Through trips will be available as well as all other parts of the cave.
Survey trips are encouraged if you want to pick up where you left off in
another lifetime.
Please let me know if you're coming so I'll know what to expect.
Kurt
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
For anyone interested in caving conferences south and WAY south of the
border:
10th National Speleological Congress of Mexico
Place: Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com
Date: 4-7 February 2011
Organization: Unión Mexicana de Agrupaciones Espeleológicas
Contacts: ponenc...@xcongresoespeleologia.org, congresopuebla2...@umae.org
Web: http://xcongresoespeleologia.org/default.aspx
Second Meeting of the Uruguay Speleological Center Mario Isola
Place: Zona de Arequita, Departamento de Lavalleja, Uruguay
List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com
Date: 25-26 September 2010
Organization: Uruguay Speleological Center Mario Isola
Contacts: ce...@hotmail.com, ce...@adinet.com.uy, +5982-509-4397
Web: http://www.redcamelot.com/ceumi_uruguay/
Feel free to share this information but dont ask me for details. All I know
is what is posted on the websites.
George
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I'll be taking a few copies of the book "From Forests to Deserts"
reviewed here recently to the UT Grotto meeting tomorrow night for
sale by the Association for Mexican Cave Studies. For this kick-off
sale, $30 will suffice (they're $32 in our catalog and €30=$38 list
price). -- Mixon
----------------------------------------
Home is that place where, when you have to go there, they have to take
you in.
----------------------------------------
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 ---
--- Begin Message ---
They Crawl, They Bite, They Baffle Scientists
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
Published: August 30, 2010
The bugs have probably been biting our ancestors since they moved from trees to
caves. The bugs are “nest parasites” that fed on bats and cave birds like
swallows before man moved in.
That makes their disease-free status even more baffling.
(The bites itch, and can cause anaphylactic shock in rare cases, and dust
containing feces and molted shells has triggered asthma attacks, but these are
all allergic reactions, not disease.)
Bats are sources of rabies, Ebola, SARS and Nipah virus. And other biting bugs
are disease carriers — mosquitoes formalaria and West Nile, ticks for Lyme and
babesiosis, lice for typhus, fleas for plague, tsetse flies for sleeping
sickness, kissing bugs for Chagas. Even nonbiting bugs like houseflies and
cockroaches transmit disease by carrying bacteria on their feet or in their
feces or vomit.
But bedbugs, despite the ick factor, are clean.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/science/31bedbug.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
They Crawl, They Bite, They Baffle Scientists
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Today I purchased a new flashlight at Walmart that I haven't yet seen.
I couldn't find anything about it on the web, so you hear about it first
here on CaveTex.
It is a large handheld flashlight suitable for the glovebox, or for carrying
in your hand while walking in a huge cave passage.
The name on the package is Coleman MAX Ultra High Power Flashlight.
The unique feature is that it uses 6 AA batteries, that load like shells in
a double barrel shotgun.
For its weight it puts out the brightest LED flashlight I have seen.
Meaning the
brighter ones are much heavier.
Cost is $ 25 which is steep by retail prices of LED flashlights now.
Switch feels solid, but difficult to locate in the dark. Screw on
tailcap seems
rugged, and battery compartment seems rugged. States that it is
water-resistant,
and probably dunkable.
The light pattern at 100 feet away has an annoying bright spot in the
center and is too
dim ever where else, but bright enough that I expect you would be able
to see the walls
of a large passage. ( Disclaimer: I don't have a large cave
passage to test that )
Overall, it is a good flashlight. Like all the other large LED
flashlights I have reviewed,
there are the same issues with room for improvement. There is no
collator lens or anything to
diffuse the light pattern, so the spot in the center blinds you at close range.
There is no dimmer switch. For a $ 25 light, it should now have at least
one low setting.
The handle needs a rubber grip.
I would compare the brightness to an old Princeton TEC Surge, or the
Black Ice Hero
by Browning, both of which weigh much more than this light and cost 3 times
as much.
Package does not have anything that appears to be an obvious model
number. Maybe
20100219.
It does state the flashlight meets ANSI FL1 standards:
http://www.nema.org/media/pr/20090928a.cfm
Specs: 26 hours of light, 248 meters of light beam.
Uses a CREE brand LED, and has lightweight ABS construction. The lens appears
heavy duty.
The package states in 3 places that it is Ultra Tough can survive a 3
meter drop test on
concrete. I doubt that. Should we find out?
It sort of looks like the flashlight pictured below, but has more
narrow lens cap:
http://www.metroplextrading.com/popup.aspx?src=images/product/large/7973_1_.jpg
David Locklear
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--- Begin Message ---
Howdy,
I am selling my 1994 Acura Integra. It is a 2-door hatchback, compact on the
outside, and with way more space on the inside than you would
expect--perfect for a caver looking for a compact car. I know we all love
our trucks, but sometimes a car is just more efficient. It had a new honda
engine put in by a mechanic that I trust just before I bought it a few years
ago, so it has a lot of life left in it. Black, manual transmission, AC
works, tinted windows, moonroof, drives great, some superficial dents to
exterior. $3000 firm.
I love this car and am sad to see it go. I would like to sell it to someone
who will enjoy it as much as I have.
Email me off list for pics and details sajar...@gmail.com.
~Saj
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
For those interested Gary called me, he made it out of Laguna de Sanchez
with the van and is on his way to Austin
might even get there in time to make the grotto meeting.
my advice to the owners of the other two vehicles still there would be to
come down and get them out as soon as possible
before it rains and the fragile road gets washed again.
Nico
--- End Message ---
