texascavers Digest 13 Nov 2008 19:46:05 -0000 Issue 642
Topics (messages 9356 through 9372):
NSS banquet in Kerrville
9356 by: Mixon Bill
NSS Fellow in Texas
9357 by: Jim Kennedy
9358 by: David
9359 by: Don Cooper
book review: Caves of Knoxville
9360 by: Mixon Bill
9361 by: Louise Power
CBSP Compass Found
9362 by: keith heuss
9363 by: Andy Zenker
pit safety
9364 by: David
9367 by: John Brooks
9368 by: Sheryl Rieck
UT Grotto visitor info?
9365 by: Mixon Bill
Sat. Nov 15th cleanup at Whirlpool Cave Preserve
9366 by: Jules Jenkins
TSA Fall Business Meeting Minutes
9369 by: mark.alman.l-3com.com
Re: Proofreading
9370 by: Minton, Mark
pit viper safety
9371 by: Gill Ediger
Re: Longhorn Caverns State Park offers concert series Nov.22
9372 by: Jim Kennedy
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--- Begin Message ---
That's a darn good idea. At $38 (!!!) extra, there would have been
hardly anybody there to see the NSS awards. I didn't pay it.
A reminder that the deadline for nominations for those awards is this
coming Saturday, Nov 15. See http://caves.org/committee/award/ and
then click on the individual award or see the October NSS News for
information on who should receive the nominations. -- Bill Mixon
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On 11 Nov, Bill Mixon said: "A reminder that the deadline for
nominations for those awards is this coming Saturday, Nov 15. See
http://caves.org/committee/award/ and then click on the individual award
or see the October NSS News for information on who should receive the
nominations."
I did some checking around. To date, the NSS lists 1111 Fellows. Texas
has 503 NSS members, 47 of which are NSS Fellows, or 9.3% of Texas NSS
members. There are a lot of dedicated Texas cavers who are also NSS
members who are conspicuously absent from that list, like John Moses,
Gary Napper, Sue Schindel, Paul Fambro, Jon Cradit, John Brooks, Allan
Cobb, Butch Fralia, Charley Savvas, Chris Thibodaux, Julie Jenkins, R.
D. Milhollin, Kenny McGee, Lee Jay Graves, Rafal Kedzierski, Walter
Feaster, Nico Hauwert, Michael Cicherski, Geoff Hoese, Becky Jones, John
Green, Philip Rykwalder, Chris Vreeland, Emily & Kevin McGowan, Mark
Alman, and so on. There are also other ex-Texas cavers that both are
and should be Fellows. Note that this list is not intended as an
endorsement for these fine folks, nor is it what I would consider an
exhaustive list of all potential Fellows. It is merely to point out
that we are doing ourselves a disservice by not having more Texas cavers
recognized by the NSS for our achievements. Are we just too lazy to go
through the simple nomination process?
Next year the NSS Convention is going to be in Texas, along with the ICS
in Kerrville. It sure would be nice to have more of our own recognized
there. Anybody feel like spearheading some nominations? It's not too
late!
-- Crash, NSS 26791FL
TEXAS NSS MEMBERS WITH FELLOW STATUS
NSS# Name City
2886 James F. Martin Marfa
4357 William H. Russell Austin
4569 Glen K. Merrill Houston
4603 Orion Knox, Jr. Austin
4897 James R. Reddell Austin
5566 Pete Lindsley Lucas
5728 William Mixon Austin
6154 Terry W. Raines Driftwood
6230 Carl E. Kunath San Angelo
6419 David W. McKenzie Austin
6516 Thomas R. Evans Livingston
6746 Doug Rhodes El Paso
7248 James F. Jasek Waco
7616 Ron Ralph Manchaca
7669 Ronald G. Fieseler Blanco
8072 C. William Steele Irving
8298 Peter C. Strickland Austin
9514 Donald L. Broussard Driftwood
9572 Eugene C. Hargrove Denton
9782 Walter Olenick Austin
10010 Gill Ediger Austin
10033 Robert E. Burnett Austin
11048 Charles W. Fromen Houston
11077 Mike Walsh Cedar Park
11274 Logan McNatt Austin
12611 Mike L. Warton Camp Wood
13020 Merlin Tuttle Austin
13138 Louise D. Hose Friendswood
13484 Ernest Garza Driftwood
13549 Paul S. Unger II Rockdale
14356 Jay R. Jorden Celina
14445 Peter Sprouse Buda
15667 Andy G. Grubbs San Marcos
15827 Geary M. Schindel San Antonio
16703 Thomas M. Iliffe Galveston
17323 Steve W. Boehm Seguin
21977 William T. Bentley Midland
22200 Kurt Menking San Antonio
22368 Gerald L. Atkinson Kingwood
23572 Keith E. Goggin Sugar Land
24695 Linda K. Palit San Antonio
26442 James G. Coke IV The Woodlands
26791 Jim "Crash" Kennedy Austin
30513 Corrine Schwartz San Marcos
32206 Benjamin Schwartz San Marcos
33083 Jean Krejca Austin
39894 Beverly Shade Austin
41852 Kevin W. Stafford Nacogdoches
I sincerely apologize if I left anyone out.
Confidentiality Note: This email and any attachment to it are
confidential and protected by law and intended for the use of the
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you
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I would like to informally nominate several Houston cavers:
1. Harry Walker
2. Jim McLane
3. Kevin McGowan
4. Emily McGowan
5. Kenny McGee
6. Carol McGee
7. George Sanders
8. Tommy Joe
9. Eddie Yonemoto
10. Carl Philip Fromen
11. Syd Formanek
12. Don Formanek
If anyone out there can confirm they are worthy, please feel free to
fill out the nomination request.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
David, are you an NSS member?
On Tue, Nov 11, 2008 at 9:02 PM, David <dlocklea...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I would like to informally nominate several Houston cavers:
>
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
"Caves of Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains." Larry E. Matthews.
National Speleological Society, Huntsville, Alabama; 2008. ISBN
978-1-879961-30-2. 8.5 by 11 inches, 295 pages, softbound. $24 (NSS
life members $20, other NSS members $22).
This in another book by speleo-historian Larry Matthews, similar to
his 2007 "Caves of Chattanooga," although considerably longer. It
contains detailed histories and descriptions of eight show caves in
the area, as well as five more caves that were open to the public at
one time and one popular rock shelter in the national park. There are
over three hundred illustrations, including modern and historic
photographs, cave maps, and reproductions of old postcards and
brochures. Much of the text is quoted from earlier sources. Like the
earlier book, this one was written with an eye toward sales to the
public at the show caves, so don't expect a critical review. For
example, the blatantly phony publicity photo of the lake in Lost Sea
(aka Craighead Caverns) that Roy Davis once prepared by combining
several shots of one boat, a photo of the cave ceiling, and a photo of
the surface of Lake Cumberland is reproduced in figure 10.18 without
comment. Nevertheless, there is a lot of good information here for
those interested in the histories of show caves.
The illustrations are well reproduced, but the typography is often
awkward. The text contains some redundancies. For example, a sentence
near the bottom of the first column on the first page of the first
chapter reads, "Crudgington bought 800 acres of farmland, including
the entrance to the cave, in 1866." Two sentences later: "The first
owner of the cave was Robert Crudgington, who purchased 800 acres of
land, including the cave, in 1866." Why does the NSS keep publishing
books that nobody has ever read?--Bill Mixon
(There is another review of this book, by Dave Hughes, in the October
"NSS News." My review has not been submitted to anyone for
publication; feel free to reproduce wherever.)
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You may "reply" to the address this message
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--- Begin Message ---
Bill,
You said: Why does the NSS keep publishing books that nobody has ever read?
As a proofreader/editor/writer myself, I think the question should be, why do
authors think they can publish a book without a proofreader and an editor? My
experience is that I am my own worst proofreader.
Louise> From: bmixon...@austin.rr.com> To: texascavers@texascavers.com> Date:
Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:11:50 -0600> CC: nss6...@bellsount.net; dwhug...@aol.com;
tom....@hughes.net> Subject: [Texascavers] book review: Caves of Knoxville> >
"Caves of Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains." Larry E. Matthews. >
National Speleological Society, Huntsville, Alabama; 2008. ISBN >
978-1-879961-30-2. 8.5 by 11 inches, 295 pages, softbound. $24 (NSS > life
members $20, other NSS members $22).> > This in another book by
speleo-historian Larry Matthews, similar to > his 2007 "Caves of Chattanooga,"
although considerably longer. It > contains detailed histories and descriptions
of eight show caves in > the area, as well as five more caves that were open to
the public at > one time and one popular rock shelter in the national park.
There are > over three hundred illustrations, including modern and historic >
photographs, cave maps, and reproductions of old postcards and > brochures.
Much of the text is quoted from earlier sources. Like the > earlier book, this
one was written with an eye toward sales to the > public at the show caves, so
don't expect a critical review. For > example, the blatantly phony publicity
photo of the lake in Lost Sea > (aka Craighead Caverns) that Roy Davis once
prepared by combining > several shots of one boat, a photo of the cave ceiling,
and a photo of > the surface of Lake Cumberland is reproduced in figure 10.18
without > comment. Nevertheless, there is a lot of good information here for >
those interested in the histories of show caves.> > The illustrations are well
reproduced, but the typography is often > awkward. The text contains some
redundancies. For example, a sentence > near the bottom of the first column on
the first page of the first > chapter reads, "Crudgington bought 800 acres of
farmland, including > the entrance to the cave, in 1866." Two sentences later:
"The first > owner of the cave was Robert Crudgington, who purchased 800 acres
of > land, including the cave, in 1866." Why does the NSS keep publishing >
books that nobody has ever read?--Bill Mixon> > (There is another review of
this book, by Dave Hughes, in the October > "NSS News." My review has not been
submitted to anyone for > publication; feel free to reproduce wherever.)>
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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>
> > > --------------------------------------------------------------------->
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--- Begin Message ---
If you or someone you know went with me to the McLarrin Fissure Karst last
weekend and I borrowed your compass, I have it. Let me know your name and
where you are and I can get it back to you.
Keith Heuss
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--- Begin Message ---
Probably belongs to one of those Aggies ... man, they proved every joke about
them to be true LOL
ROCKHUGGER
Andy Zenker
Texas Caver
--- On Wed, 11/12/08, keith heuss <caverke...@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: keith heuss <caverke...@yahoo.com>
Subject: [Texascavers] CBSP Compass Found
To: TexasCavers@TexasCavers.com
List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com
Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2008, 4:33 PM
If you or someone you know went with me to the McLarrin Fissure Karst last
weekend and I borrowed your compass, I have it. Let me know your name and
where you are and I can get it back to you.
Keith Heuss
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I am posting this here, because this could happen at the edge of a cave
if you are not careful:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/11/12/english.or.kid.falls.from.cliffs.katu
I once saw something like this happen at a cave.
I was at "Little Brehmer Cave" near New Braunfels in 1990.
The owner, an elder woman named Mrs. Stahls, was standing next to the
cave edge and was talking and the next thing I knew, she was tumbling backwards
head-first into the cave. She got right back up and laughed and
insisted she was
ok. Then the hard-headed old lady got in her old
rusty truck and shifted into 1st gear and drove home with a small gash
on her head
all by herself.
David Locklear
Fort Bend County Armchair Cavers Association ( FBCACA )
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--- Begin Message ---
I was involved in a similar incident years ago....I was urinating just before
entering an unmentioned cave in Oklahoma....when one of my companions screamed
"SNAKE!!!!!"....I thought he was complimenting me....but look down and realized
I was peeing on a very pissed off rattlesnake....I leapt backwards....right
into the sinkhole....fortunately, I only fell around 6 feet...but tumbled and
rolled another 6 feet or so....my wet suit provided a little padding....but I
was left with a couple of good "cheek" scrapes....since my farmer john was
pulled down for the activity.....
I am glad that no one had a video camera!
Sent from my iPhone
On Nov 12, 2008, at 8:37 PM, David <dlocklea...@gmail.com> wrote:
I am posting this here, because this could happen at the edge of a cave
if you are not careful:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/11/12/english.or.kid.falls.from.cliffs.katu
I once saw something like this happen at a cave.
I was at "Little Brehmer Cave" near New Braunfels in 1990.
The owner, an elder woman named Mrs. Stahls, was standing next to the
cave edge and was talking and the next thing I knew, she was tumbling backwards
head-first into the cave. She got right back up and laughed and
insisted she was
ok. Then the hard-headed old lady got in her old
rusty truck and shifted into 1st gear and drove home with a small gash
on her head
all by herself.
David Locklear
Fort Bend County Armchair Cavers Association ( FBCACA )
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--- Begin Message ---
I am sure this was not funny at the time, but this did make me laugh right
out loud!
Sheryl
-----Original Message-----
From: John Brooks [mailto:jpbrook...@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 8:22 AM
To: David
Cc: Texascavers Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] pit safety
I was involved in a similar incident years ago....I was urinating just
before entering an unmentioned cave in Oklahoma....when one of my companions
screamed "SNAKE!!!!!"....I thought he was complimenting me....but look down
and realized I was peeing on a very pissed off rattlesnake....I leapt
backwards....right into the sinkhole....fortunately, I only fell around 6
feet...but tumbled and rolled another 6 feet or so....my wet suit provided a
little padding....but I was left with a couple of good "cheek"
scrapes....since my farmer john was pulled down for the activity.....
I am glad that no one had a video camera!
Sent from my iPhone
On Nov 12, 2008, at 8:37 PM, David <dlocklea...@gmail.com> wrote:
I am posting this here, because this could happen at the edge of a cave
if you are not careful:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/11/12/english.or.kid.falls.from.cli
ffs.katu
I once saw something like this happen at a cave.
I was at "Little Brehmer Cave" near New Braunfels in 1990.
The owner, an elder woman named Mrs. Stahls, was standing next to the
cave edge and was talking and the next thing I knew, she was tumbling
backwards
head-first into the cave. She got right back up and laughed and
insisted she was
ok. Then the hard-headed old lady got in her old
rusty truck and shifted into 1st gear and drove home with a small gash
on her head
all by herself.
David Locklear
Fort Bend County Armchair Cavers Association ( FBCACA )
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--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Did anybody happen to get an e-mail address for that Saudi guy who was
at the last UTG meeting? -- Mixon
----------------------------------------------
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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--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
GIVE SOMETHING BACK TO YOUR LOCAL CAVING COMMUNITY.
WE JUST NEED YOUR HELP FOR A FEW HOURS! IF YOU CAVE AT WHIRLPOOL, IF
YOU HAVE CAVED AT WHIRLPOOL, IF YOU'RE A TCMA MEMBER, IF YOU'RE NOT....
COME ON OUT AND HELP US FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS.
Reminder for cavers who will be in Austin this Sat.
CLEANUP: WHIRLPOOL PRESERVE
TIME: 9-12
NEEDED: loppers and any type of tools that can cut small brush and weeds.
I'll bring trash bags, gloves, all the tools I can gather, we're meeting at the
preserve at 9. PLAN: Trash pickup and weed whacking. All trash will be hauled
off site on Sat. and ALL
brush will be stacked to increase the berm along the south end of the preserve
to hopefully reduce some of our tresspassing issues by off road vehicles.
In the past month or so, WP has been the unfortunate recipient of not only lots
of illegal dumping, littering from the hiway overhead but, has also been the
scene of numerous vandalism attempts to break into the cave. Measures have
been taken to beef up our current access system process.
With all this negative attention, we need to rally and spruce the
preserve up so we can keep a better eye on what's happening. After all, YOU
ALL are our eyes and ears on the karst.
Without you all, and without your support, all we have is a bunch of holes in
the ground. With you all and with your support, we have a community, we have
caves to visit, and new caves to discover. So, come on out and support one of
your local CAVES by helping us cleanup the preserve.
Thanks,
jules
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--- Begin Message ---
All,
The minutes to the historic 2008 TSA Fall Business Meeting held at TCR are now
online.
I use the term "historic", as this is the business meeting where it was decided
to transfer approximately $7500 from the Land Fund to the Texas Cave Management
Association to be put towards paying off the Deep/Punkin Cave Preserve
purchase.
This and other worthwhile information, can be accessed directly at:
http://cavetexas.org/PDF/TSA/Minutes-2008-10.pdf or from
http://cavetexas.org/TSA/meetingminutes.html, the page with all the minutes
links.
Thanks to Butch for posting them and maintaining our excellent website!
Mark Alman
TSA Secreatry
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Louise Power said:
>As a proofreader/editor/writer myself, I think the question should be, why do
>authors think they can publish a book without a proofreader and an editor? My
>experience is that I am my own worst proofreader.
That's definitely true. The author already knows what (s)he want to say,
so it is way too easy to slide right past an error or confusing passage and
never see it. It helps to let a document rest for a few days and then reread
it after it's less clear in your mind, but even then some errors go unnoticed.
In the last year I have noticed a dramatic increase in typos and spelling
mistakes in all kinds of online and published documents, including
professionally published scientific reports, etc. The mistakes are usually of
the type that wouldn't get caught by a spell checker, such as using a singular
noun or verb where plural is required. A human proofreader would see that
immediately. My guess is that either due to time constraints or budget
limitations, editors and proofreaders are going by the wayside. :-(
Mark Minton
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
At 08:22 AM 11/13/2008, John Brooks wrote:
I was involved in a similar incident years ago....I was urinating
just before entering an unmentioned cave in Oklahoma....when one of
my companions screamed "SNAKE!!!!!"....I thought he was
complimenting me....but look down and realized I was peeing on a
very pissed off rattlesnake....
You really gotta be careful here John--those peeing on a rattlesnake
stories will destroy your credibility.
I am glad that no one had a video camera!
Had there been a camera your credibility would have been increased.
Now expect some creative caver to go out and make a fake 'peeing on a
rattlesnake' video.
And,
At 08:41 AM 11/13/2008, Sheryl wrote:
I am sure this was not funny at the time, but this did make me laugh right
out loud!
Sheryl
Count on it, Sheryl; it woulda been funny even then--way funny.
--Ediger
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
-----Original Message-----
From: Samantha Peek [mailto:sam.p...@tpwd.state.tx.us]
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 12:25 PM
To: Jim Kennedy
Subject: Longhorn Caverns State Park offers concert series Nov.22
Hi,
This event is coming up November 22nd in Longhorn Caverns State Park. Could
you possibly share this event with your audience? If not, could you possibly
include it in a calendar listing? Thanks!
Nov.13, 2008
Media Contact: Tom Harvey, (512) 389-4533, tom.har...@tpwd.state.tx.us
Longhorn Caverns State Park offers concert series
BURNET, Texas—A piano concert in an underground cavern? That is what’s planned
Nov. 22 at Longhorn Caverns State Park, when local pianist Joe Cordi will offer
a jazz concert as part of the Simple Sounds Cavern Concert Series.
A live entertainment series in the cave, "Simple Sounds," is exactly that, just
the musicians, their instruments, and the acoustics of the cavern; a truly
"unplugged" performance. On November 22, Joe Cordi, a composer, jazz pianist,
guitarist, accordionist and singer of Austin, will release his new album, “When
the Pianoman Plays the Blues”, in accordance with a concert performance deep
within the Longhorn Caverns State Park caves. A grand piano will be brought
into the cave for the event.
Simple Sounds is scheduled one to three times per month from 5:45 p.m. to 8:30
p.m. A concert schedule can be viewed online at the Web site address listed
below. Concert tickets can be purchased for adults for $17 and seniors and
teens ages 13 to 19 for $16. If guests wish to participate in the dinner
offered before the concert at 5 p.m., tickets are $27 for adults and $26 for
seniors and teens. No one under age 13 is allowed. Shoes and socks as well as
a blanket or light jacket are recommended. Guests are allowed to bring
flashlights, video cameras, and ice chests but food is prohibited.
Longhorn Cavern State Park, south of Burnet in Burnet County, is 645.62 acres
classified as a scenic park in the rugged Hill Country. The cave was first
formed when the ground levels of water began to drop. As this downward movement
occurred, the water began to dissolve the limestone. This downward drainage
continued until great underground stream beds were cut out of solid rock. It is
this unusual combination of dissolving and cutting by water that makes Longhorn
Cavern one of the most unique caves of the world.
The cave is 68 degrees year round. The park offers guided tours that last
approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes. For guest safety and comfort, low-heeled
shoes with rubber soles are recommended. Open every day except Christmas Eve
and Christmas Day.
Longhorn Cavern State Park is located approximately 6 miles west and 6 miles
south of Burnet, Texas on Park Road 4, off US Highway 281.
…
On the Net:
http://www.josephcordi.com/
http://www.longhorncaverns.com/schedule.html
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/longhorn_cavern/
______________________
Texas Parks & Wildlife, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744 United States
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