[Texascavers] Re: identity theft
I placed a roommate/ apartment ad on Craigslist recently, knowing full well from real first-hand experience that Craigslist is mostly scammers. So far, almost everyone that contacted me acted like a real person, but I could see that they were only interested in my identity and not the apartment. Many of the responses appeared similar in format with odd misspellings that were similar, as if the scammers were really the same person, or ring of crooks. On a related note, the presumed real people that responded seemed to be looking for first month free, and no deposit while they looked for a job. I wish that service had a nationwide search box, so I could search for caving related items. David Locklear
[Texascavers] 4x4 van for sale ( eBay )
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-E350-Econoline-Off-Road-4x4-21-Passenger-Shuttle-Van-Bus-Diesel-V8-7-3L-/161236603291 - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] To Cedar Park cavers
Any of you caving in Cedar Park on Saturday ? This is a very tentative request to help take my daughter caving on Saturday in Cedar Park. She will be in Cedar Park with her mom visiting a friend on Saturday. Please contact her mom if you can help. Magdalena Locklear Her email is: mlocklea...@gmail.com Telephone: 832-207-7810 ( text ok ) They will not have any caving gear, proper clothing or shoes or helmets, but I will try to send them with some flashlights, if I can. ( However, I may not see them before they leave Fort Bend County. ) I am certain that I can not make it to join them, but I will try. They will be on a very short visit, so a regular caving trip would not work, and it would need to be a super easy cave in Cedar Park. Thank you. Respectfully, David Locklear 281-995-8487 ( text ok )
[Texascavers] Austin ride needed tonite
This is David Locklear. If anyone is in the vicinity of FM 620 this evening and can give me a ride to the Greyhound station, it would save me $ on a taxi ride. David 281-995-8487 ( text-line )
[Texascavers] Re: earthquake near Galeana
If that is Galeana, south of Monterrey, that is where Pozo de Gavilan is. I would not want to be in there in an earthquake. P.S. I was in Austin yesterday, and tried unsuccessfully to get some cavers to dine with me at Bender Bar Grill. I am back in Houston now, but hitch-hiked all over west Austin yesterday, and rode several buses, and a Super-Shuttle and eventually ended up at the Travelodge next to the Greyhound bus station. I was on hopefully a high-paying solo mission to convince a rich mental patient hiding out in a motel to come to a rehab center in Houston, but the mission failed. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Important caves to purchase
Here is an opportunity for a caver with real estate knowledge, and some financial resources to make a signficant impact on caving in Texas, or just own some of my favorite caves. There are 2 significant caves for sale at these map coordinates #1 ) 29.849104, -101.554851 #2 ) 29.852752, -101.544781 Also, there is another significant cave nearby for sale at the coordinates below. #3 ) 29.815631, -101.573465 ( Disclaimer on # 3: I am not certain that is the exact spot, as the aerial view, I am looking at is kind of fuzzy ) But within a few hundred feet of that spot. Can you guess the name of these 3 caves ? Cave # 3 is on a 1,551 acre lot is listed on the web for sale for just 1 million. ( $ 650 per acre ) Ref. http://www.landwatch.com/default.aspx?ct=dpid=200432227utm_medium=datafeedutm_source=Gen#.U1YMj5dwQMo.gmail The other parcel with caves # 1 and # 2 is for sale for $ 800 per acre or 13 million. Ref: http://homes.trovit.com/index.php/cod.frame/url.http%253A%252F%252Fwww.landsofamerica.com%252Ftexas%252Fland-for-sale%252F17000-acres-in-Val-Verde-County-Texas%252Fid%252F526502/id_ad.k1W1R1grc1613/what_d.langtry%20cave/type.10/origin.2/section.1/section_type.1/pop.1 Cavers should snatch these 3 caves up if it all possible. David Locklear NSS # 27639 - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Re: caves to purchase
Jim Kennedy has correctly guessed #1 #2 The names of all 3 caves are all over the web on the real-estate ads for these 2 parcels. It would seem possible just to buy the entrances, then get some kind of easement, especially for #1, which should be a #1 priority for anyone in the U.S. considering a cave purchase, as it is so close to the main road for miles and miles, and super easy for locals to access. David Locklear
[Texascavers] napping in caves
A study was published today that indicates subtly that napping in caves is deadly. The scientist have no idea why, but that was the conclusion they reached after their research. Ref. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/04/22/naps-linked-with-higher-risk-death/ - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] more Texas caves for sale
I am guessing this may be old news, but the ranch where Palace Cave is located is for sale. http://www.jlockhartrealestate.com/FallingWatersRanch.html Also, According to the link below, this ranch near Carta Valley, has 2 caves The Name Cave and Fallen Stalagmite Cave. ( Stalagamite ?? ) http://homes.trovit.com/index.php/cod.frame/url.http%253A%252F%252Fwww.landwatch.com%252Fdefault.aspx%253Fct%253Dd%2526pid%253D200376585%2526utm_medium%253Ddatafeed%2526utm_source%253DGen/id_ad.1r1A1peK1E1h1n/what_d.carta%20valley%20ranch/type.1/origin.2/section.1/section_type.1/pop.1 All you have to do is type a cave name in one of these ranch for sale web-sites and surf around, and you might stumble on to something interesting. David Locklear
[Texascavers] for a caver in south Dallas
When I was a young kid in 1974, I found a limestone boulder in a creekbed in south Dallas, that had an interesting fossil of a fish in it.The fish was about 2 feet long, and the boulder about 4 feet in diameter, It resembled a barracuda. The coordinates of the boulder are: 32.715929, -96.889127 I haven't seen it in 40 years, and would bet it has been vandalized. It might have been my vivid imagination as a kid, but I have always wanted to return there and look for it. So if you are near there and bored, and looking for something to do, here is your chance. It was next to that creekbed, that I did my first sewerlunking. David Locklear P.S. I was in a truck stop the other day and found some good caving gloves made by Caterpillar.The were $ 10 and fit great on x-large hands. These are the type that are polyester and stretch and have a thick rubber coating on the palm and fingers. http://images.plumbersurplus.com/images/prod/6/Cat-Gloves-CAT017416L-rw-268582-373117.jpg They seemed to be a better quality than the kind you get at Harbor Freight Tools or Northern Tool Company. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Vertical related
Have you all watched the video of the recent circus accident ? Whatever attachment they had in place obviously was not designed by a competent person, nor installed by a competent person as OSHA requires. I am pretty sure OSHA does not allow the worker's PFAS to be installed to the equipment they are standing on., and the dancer below was not wearing a hard-hat, nor were any of the acrobats. It just seems so obvious, that there was no backup system in place in case of failure. I bet the circus act designer's emphasis on portability and reduction in weight were factors in the faulty design. It will be interesting to see if a pin came loose, or there was a fracture in the main link. Somewhere there is a personal injury attorney with a big smile on his face. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Re: Vertical related
According to the news reports today, the circus apparatus and the acrobats weighed 1,500 pounds and where held up by a single steel carabiner rated at 10,000 pounds. They allege the carabiner snapped.I want to see a photo of that. It must have had a fracture, because on a a tensile test machine those things don't just snap, but deform before snapping, and would still supported 1,500 pounds if stretched open, unless it somehow got rigged horizontally by getting tangled in something. The picture below shows the carabiner, but you have to squint to see it. http://i.cbc.ca/1.2631836.1399248145!/cpImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_300/circus-accident.jpg A 5/8 stainless-steel anchor shackle like the one pictured below has a rated breaking load of 26,000 pounds, and only cost about $ 40 plus tax, and could safely handle 9,750 pounds, and they are readily available in 3 larger sizes. The galvanized versions are stronger than the stainless-steel versions, but are given the same working load rating. http://www.e-rigging.com/assets/images/Drawings/SS_Bolt-Type_Shackle_Drawing.jpg My bet is their D-ring had not been properly cared for, and dropped hard on the concrete. 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
[Texascavers] Disposable caving boots
The product described below is mainly for wet walking caves where a caver might prefer the standard industrial rubber boot. Have you seen or worn the molded croc-style sandals, that are popular with kids ? A company has an industrial boot made out of this molded material. It has a nice lug sole, but I bet the sole would wear down after a few trips. The boots are almost as light as a pair of gloves. They are made in USA. They are about twice the price of rubber boots. There is an integrated plastic safety-toe sandwiched inside the molding. For more info go to: www.billybootsusa.com Disclaimer: I doubt my big foot would fit in their largest size. One idea would be to let all tourist wear these on the cave tours just for the fun of it. My theory is these could be worn with a thinner pair of socks than a standard industrial rubber boot, as the material seems to be soft and flexible. However, they appear to offer no ankle support, so a caver might want to wrap their ankles like athletes do with sport tape. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Sandstone caves
There is a small sandstone cave in Texas worth visiting once if you live within a 4 hour drive of it. The only reason cavers do not regularly visit it, is that it is about as remote as some of the caves in far west Texas. My theory about the cave, is that a natural water flow about that of a garden hose found its way upward vertically from the aquifer through the path of least resistance in the substrate, which appears to be a compacted mixture of clay and sandstone. Only a wild guess would say that after a few thousand years, a path was created big enough for small mammals to enter, and voids developed, as natural erosion took place. My guess is that in the early formation of the cave about 10,000 years ago, the cave was longer, probably 400 feet of stomach-crawling size passage, with only the exit of the tiny subterrenean stream as a entry point for small mammals. Then about 5,000 years ago, where the spring entered the void at the back of the cave, a small room or walking size passage collapsed creating a 30 foot deep sinkhole ( which can be rappelled into ). Thereafter, the collapsed material was washed downstream by floods, eventually forming a through passage, but not walking size passage. Sometime more recently, the passage became big enough for humans to enter. But I bet it was just crawling size passage. Maybe native-Americans entered the cave 1,000 years ago, as it was the only natural shelter for 100's of miles. But they had an abundant supply of trees and fur, ( to make better housing that the wife would have prefered ) So I doubt the early native-Americans ever lived in it. Maybe 500 years ago, and Indian stumbled onto it and used it like a hunter's camp, or his private vacation spot. European and American settlers ( cotton farmers and loggers and later oil drillers ), may have entered the cave in the mid 1800's and scraped the walls either for marking they were there, or for curiosity. That digging and the natural erosional forces from floods ( tropical storms or hurricane remnants ) had to have enlarged the cave in some capacity. Some dates from the late 1800's, can be seen in the etchings, but so much vandalism, has destroyed most of that. I bet the heyday of caving activity and fun was in the 1910's. ( My ancestors lived about 23 miles by buggy from the cave from 1900 to the 1950's. I do not think they ever travelled far from home, so going here would have been a big road-trip. ) The cave is heavily vandalized with deep etchings, done with wooden or metal stick. And later spray paint, which actually doesn't stick for very long, or gets rubbed off by locals spelunking. I am really surprised the cave has not changed much. I first saw it in 1987, and would have bet it would have washed away by now, but most of it seems nearly identical. I think that any cavers who attend SFASU in Nacodoches, should make an effort to visit it and publish a trip report, or write an article for the Texas Caver. I have always wanted to bottle the water into a fancy bottle and sell it at caving conventions. I doubt the water is drinkable, but I would bet it can be purified to be as good as some other bottled water products. There were about 3 bats in the cave in 1987, but I do not ever remember seeing bats on other visits. But I think there are scars on the ceiling of bat roost. The bat history at this cave is limited to the years is had accesible passage to them, which I think is just recently on a geologic timescale. So, I am saying for the million years or so that bats lived in east Texas, they did not have this cave or any others to permanently shelter in. The NSS felt the cave was important enough to mention it in Bulletin # 10. ( see post from yesterday ) I do not know who would be the authority on the cave. Caver Roger Moore knows as much about it as anybody I know of, and may have caving pictures. The TSS has a pamphlet on the topic, by Gerald Atkinson. The last I heard, ( about 2 or 3 years ago ) the same owner owns it and lives up on a small hill near the cave. He would be in his late 70's now, I would think. I could not find him anywhere recently on the internet. Unfortunately, the cave is in the middle of the property, and one would have to purchase probably 50 acres of prime timber harvesting land in order to buy it from him. He uses the water from the cave to maintain a large nasty pond on his lake. The cave is marked with a cave-symbol on the USGS topo map, about 7 miles due south of the town of Center. David Locklear NSS # 27639 Ref: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Preserve-Protect-Gunnels-Cave/111719558859888 http://texasspeleologicalsurvey.org/publications/images/EastTexas.jpg
[Texascavers] Another new LED headlamp
Academy Stores has a headlamp called the INOVA STS, by Nite-ize. I can not review it right now, but the specs look interesting. It cost $ 35 plus tax. It is black in color, but the lens ring comes in a choice of either, blue grey or orange. I would presume that this headlamp should be acceptable as a primary source of light in any Texas cave, and as a back-up to keep in the cavepack for expedition trips to the big caves, because INOVA has a reputation for durability. David Locklear
[Texascavers] a product for lighting caves
This post is for the cavers that like to make things themselves. Below is a product sold at Academy Stores in the boating section http://assets.academy.com/mgen/21/10329821.jpg?is=500,500 It is probably to heavy to rig as a primary light source on the front of the helmet.But could be rigged in some way for photography. You would have to design and build your own switch and battery pack. There are similar products in other stores, but this one comes with a bracket that would easily mount to a helmet or a tripod. I would think commercial cave tours could use such a product to light up remote areas of the tour, where they could use a 12 volt system. Cavers could also mount it to their vehicles in various places. 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
[Texascavers] A birthday invitation
If you can think of any reason to be in downtown Houston on June 28th, I am planning a potluck-style luncheon that Saturday for my 50th. I am tentatively hoping to rent an interesting old building with one of the only spots in Houston that you could exaggerate and call a scenic overlook. The lunch will be thrown together haphazardly at the last minute from KFC and a nearby taqueria. I am inviting cavers, friends, high school classmates, family, neighbors, co-workers, Craigslist Escorts ( just kidding ). So there should be at least 10 people there. Location: Leonel Castillo Community Center 2101 South Street Houston, TX. 77009 Please keep your own alcohol out of sight. None will be served. This all depends on how my job goes in June ( April was my worst month in my 30 year working career, and May was pretty bad. ). So I am being a little over optimistic. Most of the attendees will be Spanish speakers, so it will be an opportunity to brush up on your Spanish. David Locklear 281-995-8487 ( text-line )
[Texascavers] Pepcid radio commercial ?
I just heard a professional marketing radio commercial inviting everyone in the Greater Houston area to come see the bat flight each evening by the Waugh St. Bridge west of downtown. They made it sound like it was one of Houston's biggest attractions. It seem to be an event sponsored by the medicine company that markets Pepcid. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Re: Bustamante related
A caver could spend their lifetime in the Bustamante area looking for caves and mapping caves, and re-surveying and re-mapping, etc. In Bustamante Canyon, along the hike up to Precipicio, off to the right, and across a ravine, and about 2/3 of the way up the trail, is a walk-in cave entrance hidden by brush. It is walking passage for about 20 meters. It could be surveyed in less than 2 shots probably. Higher up near the top, a caver reported in a 1974 issue of the Texas caver, numerous shelter caves and leads, and published a rough sketch as to their location. Those could be relocated, GPS'd, sketched, etc. Has anyone tried to push the sump in Carrizal since Wayne Russell's attempt around 1985 ? I still have not seen a map of that. It would be nice to see a diving video of it in HD. Over at Minas Viejas are some of the great caves in the northern part of the state. I haven't heard of much going on there in years, except for some attempts at eco-tourist caving. A caver reported in the early 80's in one of the AMCS publications finding a blind pit on the side of Pico de Candela.Myself and 2 other cavers did some ridgewalking in the lower parts of the mountain near the town, and didn't find anything worth making a note of.There was a large shelter cave that looked like it had been mined once. David Locklear Ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfUuO0cnpd4 ( skip to 1:30 in the link above ) - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] another LED headlamp review
I received 2 new LED headlamps for my birthday this past weekend. 1 ) http://www.coastportland.com/hl44-led-headlamp.htm Purchased at a Walmart that caters to the wealthy folks.. I haven't seen it at any other store. The good is, the light pattern and settings are perfect for Texas caving, and the best I have ever seen in a lamp this inexpensive. The bad is, the build quality is cheezy, and it would not make a good caving lamp, for Texas caves.However, it would make an excellent backpacking headlamp. So it is suitable for a dry walking cave, where the lamp will not get muddy or wet, or banged up.Like Cueva del Abra, or Cueva La Boca, or Precipicio, Bustamante, Illusive Pit, etc. 2 ) I can't find a link anywhere on the web for the next one, but it is a new one at Home Depot under the brand Defiant. It is in the same category as the light in the link below: http://s7d4.scene7.com/is/image/witmerpublicsafety/61400_alt1?$Product%20Page$ It should survive 1 trip through Whirlpool.The light pattern and settings are terrible.It does seem to be water-resistant enough for caving, and maybe useful as maybe a back-up headlamp to throw in the pack.If I keep it, it will be my glove-box headlamp for changing flat-tires. However, of all the cheezy inexpensive lamps out there now, I would recommend this one to a newbie going on their first and only caving trip. Any cheap LED headlamp should be tried for several hours above ground, before using it on a real caving trip, to make sure it handle continuance use. On a related note, the Walmart that I was at, has the best selection of LED products I have ever seen.There were several new lanterns and flashlights, I had never seen before. It is in an area were the Houston pro athletes and many doctors live, so apparently not all Walmarts are the same. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] eBay related
There is someone selling 2 issues old UTG newletters: http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODA2WDcwMQ==/z/2GMAAOxyiOxR4KAX/$(KGrHqR,!lgFHPz9K!otBR4K!WoFI!~~60_57.JPG http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODc3WDY5MQ==/z/9V0AAOxycSdR4J0Z/$T2eC16JHJIcFHOc7+t(IBR4J0YffRg~~60_57.JPG - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] a new tent
If you are planning to buy a new tent, you might as well buy one called, THE CAVE. http://www.heimplanet.com/en/tents/ - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] future speleo-vehicle ??
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=ischsa=1q=eduardo+galvani+vanbtnG= - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Eastbound Sunday July 13 ??
This is a follow up to my last post about a tentative road-trip. Theoretically, I could leave Houston tonight ( in an hour ) [ as in, 8 p.m. on Sunday ], and drive and not have to be back in town for 24 hours. My prospects of reaching the NSS Convention in time for the Howdy Party look really grim, as it is allegedly, a 12 hour drive each way. I really need to be back at work by Wednesday, and missing Tuesday would be inconvenient. All of my chores that are on the backburner could be postponed till this coming weekend. I have been advised to face this reality and stay home. I think my best excuse for not going is that I do not have a driver to help take turns.All the rest of the excuses, like the poor condition of my car and lack of proper funds, seem like a lame reason to not at least try to go. Even if I did make it, I would be wiped out, and only get to socialize for 2 or 3 hours at best. David Locklear 281-995-8487 ( text-line ) ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/cavetex http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
[Texascavers] Caves in dreams
Do any of you ever have vivid dreams about a cave ? About every 3 or 4 months, I have one. The one I had today seemed to be realistic as real life, and I woke up with my heart racing, remembering most of the details of the dream. I have actually been caving quite a bit the past 6 year's, if you count my dreams. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Road-trip report
I am north of Meridian, Mississippi, driving back to Houston. It is all just a warm fuzzy memory now. All I can do is reminisce and ponder about what I could have done differently to make the road-trip more pleasant. There were at least 34 Texas cavers at the 2014 NSS Howdy Party, and a few former Texas Cavers. I will attempt to name some of them, in alphabetical order: Don Auburn, Bill Bentley, Gil Ediger, Galen Falgout, Ernie Garza, Mark Gee, Keith Lisa Goggin, Charles Goldsmith, Steve Gutting wife, Jay Jorden, Mallory Mayuex, Dave Papito McClung, Bill Mixon, Terry Raines with Mercy Raines, Ron Rutherford, Justin Shaw, Peter Sprouse, Bill Steele, Bill Stone, Peter Strickland, Evan Strickland, Ellie Thoen, Jacque LaRue Thomas husband, Heather Tucek, Mike Walsh, Matthew Saj Zapitelo and Walt ? with wife, and Roy ?, and Chris ?, and a Bexar Grotto caver whose name I should remember. Former Texas Cavers: Mark Minton, Josh Rubenstein, Sarah Gayle (?), Dr. George Veni. I probably left off quite a few, as I was not taking notes, I left off some spouses partners. Can someone please repost list with correct names, etc. ? Anyways, the Howdy Party venue was great, the food was satisfactory, the live band was good. The beverages were sufficient. The weather was warm and humid, but the AC almost was satisfactory. The attendance was very good. I think they ran out of food in the end. I got to see a few people that I knew from out of state. Sidenotes: Sprint Wireless is worthless in rural Alabama. The navigation app on my HTC M8 smartphone, was accurate and very helpful. However, the music in my car radio needs to go silent when navigation voice orders me to exit the road. A road-trip without a good sidekick/navigator is unpleasant, and not the safest way to go. Plan A should never rely on casino winnings to finance the expedition. Plan B should be better planned. To be continued David Locklear NSS # 27639 ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/cavetex http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
[Texascavers] Consumer tip - cellphones
I have been a Cricket wireless customer for several years, and found their mediocre service to fit my needs, but not my wants. In the past 2 months, their service has become drastically worse. The old Cricket way of doing business was secretly swept under the rug, and there is a new crappier company using the name Cricket. Every cellphone user needs to avoid this new Cricket Wireless at all cost. If you are an old customer, you need to find a new service by December, as your recently bought phone will not work. This company is disguised to look like a poor man's ATT, however, they have blocked tethering on all their phones, cut the # of Gb in half, charging outrageous fees for going over 5Gb, no more free music, no more financial options to pay bill, and a poor selection of new phones, no SIM-card phones, etc, etc. And the customer service is close to none. David Locklear
[Texascavers] NSS awards
Maybe it is worth mentioning that only 5 old-timers got awards at the convention. I think that the rest of the award recipients were young'uns under 55. Bill Mixon was awarded the NSS Certificate of Merit. The other old-timers were Ted Kayes, Roy Gold, and Philip Lucas. Feel free to correct me. Mark Minton was awarded the prestigious Fellow of the NSS award. I think everybodies definition of an old-timer is different. For me, it was anybody actively participating in organized caving in the early 70's. David Locklear NSS # 27639 ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/cavetex http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
[Texascavers] Kevlar related
In the news today, it was announced that the chemist credited with the discovery of Kevlar, has passed away. Stephanie Kwolek was her name. Sometime around 1986 or 87, I was taking a materials science course at AM and had access to a tensile-test machine.I asked the professor if I could test a piece of 5mm Kevlar cord. I put a figure 8 knot in each end. and tied each end to the steel bar connectors. I think I had about 15 inches between the knots. It broke in the middle of the upper knot at around 10,000 pounds. The professor was quite surprised. I used the cord in my Mitchell System, from my foot to an upper Jumar, several times over a 2 year period, on some pits that were under 200 feet. At the foot attachment, I tied the Kevlar cord into a chicken-loop rig, described by James Jasek ( I think ) in a Texas Caver in the late 70's or early 80's. So that the Kevlar cord was the only thing holding my foot to the Jumar. I did not tie the cord to the Jumar eye-hole, but wrapped it around the handle and tied it off. While I would not recommend doing that now, I would say the cord is light enough to throw in the cave-pack for an emergency or as a back-up. 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
[Texascavers] Internet related
If you are connected to numerous caving pages, it can be challenging to keep up with the latest post. I just started using BlinkFeed today on my new phone, and it seems to be worth taking a look at. The smartphone screen is filled with about 4 to 6 tiles that represent the latest post on each site you are connected to. Scroll down until you find a post of interest, and click on it. For example, several Karst-O-Rama announcements were there, along with other exciting news like yesterday's SpaceX launch. Now if I could just get it to weed out anything with words like: Kardashian, Bieber, Obama, Hillary, Romney, World Cup, global warming, Iraq, Iran, Cheney, Chelsea, Putin, Lewinsky, Tiger Woods, etc, then it would be a usable app. So instead, I just removed all my news apps.
[Texascavers] East Texas sandstone caves
If you know any cavers that live in Corsicana and are looking for something to do, here are the coordinates to Carey Lake Cave in Cherokee County which is about a 45 minute drive southeast of Corsicana. 31.957710, -95.435907 That is accurate to within a few feet. 31°57'27.8N 95°26'09.3W The entrance appears in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1NgnVXUbGo All the locals know about it. It only goes a few feet, but I think you could call it a real sandstone cave. I think it has been 27 years since I was there. 2 Houston cavers, went there about 10 years ago, and reported it was still there. Tom Warden ( a Texarkana caver back in the 70's ) reported it to the TSS, but the notes I saw that led me to the cave, mentioned it had lots of rumors of more passage. But it is hard to tell if that were ever the case. A logging road was built over the cave. This is the only cave in Texas where you might get bit by an alligator, but still highly unlikely. Disclaimer: Google Earth labels the lake ( actually a large pond ) as Cary Lake David Locklear ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/cavetex http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
[Texascavers] Correction
I left off at least one name on the list of Texas cavers at The NSS Howdy Party. That would be John Moses. As of early Wednesday morning, just after midnight, I crossed back into Texas. Now trying to nap in the back of my tiny car at the State of Texas rest-area, at the Sabine River and I-10. It is unpleasantly warm and humid, but it should cool down after a while. I should fall asleep once I cool off. I am only 2-1/2 hours from home, but can't go on. Unfortunately, I will have a hectic day to make up for missing work Tuesday. The irony is, that the main reason I attempt to work as a self-employed person, is so that I can choose my own vacation schedule. On this road-trip, Plans A,B, C failed and I did not have a Plan D. So here I am, winging Plan D, meaning I do not know how long I plan to nap or sleep here, or if I am heading straight to work from here, or to my apartment first. 4 cavers assisted me in small ways to make this road-trip less stressful. So I would like to tell them Thank You. Hopefully, not to be continuedas the remainder of the trip is a routine drive for me. David Locklear ___ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com Texascavers@texascavers.com | Archives: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/cavetex http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
[Texascavers] celebreties in the news
Please do not take this post too seriously. Esquire Magazine has voted Emily Ratajkowski Woman of the Year. Here are 2 photos of her in a sea cave: https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/305932_364459113665589_1963922218_n.jpg https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/26663_281515535293281_778168309_n.jpg - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] cavers in the news
Is this old news ? http://www.timeslive.co.za/scitech/2013/10/29/hi-tech-explorers-set-out-to-map-ancient-rome-s-aqueducts Sewerlunking finally getting some international recognition. 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
[Texascavers] Kiwi Sink again
Can anybody guess how many gallons of water entered Kiwi Sink and disappeared ? Where do you suppose most of that water went ? Did it recharge the aquifer or did it come out in various springs ? How many hours was the sump submerged with flowing water ? Anybody got videos of the waterfall yet ? I am tempted to drive from Houston tonight if there is still a waterfall. Is the mining equipment and the ladder ok ? Did anybody rappel down the 20 foot waterfall ? 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
[Texascavers] a sea-cave slideshow clip
This is just to give some ideas to the people that like animated-gifs https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_yzrIPplR9Y/UnWep3kbeXI/Oek/lmj3ogckmyU/w469-h624-no/IMG_20131102_171612-MOTION.gif - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] various topics, some very personal
The European Space Agency has sponsored several caving videos that are available on YouTube. Below is one of the latest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tcH3udQPug There was a fascinating newstory today about researchers finding a way to possibly freeze human organs. I do not know how to make that sound caving related. But in the future, cavers who have serious accidents might just luck out and have a nearby frozen organ available to save their life ? Or maybe we could freeze the beef for the 2025 TCR years in advance ? I purchased the flashlight below at Ross for $ 15 plus tax. http://lghttp.19110.nexcesscdn.net/8093B0/campingstation/media/catalog/product/cache/7/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/2/0/200733.jpg That is kind of expensive for a flashlight these days. It is the heaviest flashlight I have ever owned. The beam pattern is very odd, but somewhat practical. The light pattern has a bright spot in the center and almost no light above or below the center, yet to the left and right of the center there is usable light farther than any flashlight I have ever seen, which gives the flashlight its name, Coleman Widebeam. The hook on the end of the tail-cap is heavy duty and works like the curved part of a lock like you would put on a fence-gate, and seems to be designed to use hanging from a loop of 1 nylon webbing. It opens by turning the red ring on the tail-cap. That is some fancy engineering, but not sure how useful that feature is. It seems to me that several times a year a Texas caver in good standing finds themselves in some sort of pickle, and they need help from their caving friends. It would seem like there could be a more efficient way to spread the word or to help the caver in question. A caver could volunteer to manage some sort of fund, that is distributed privately when there is an emergency, as to keep the speleo-politics out of the equation. One way to do that is to use something like Chase QuickPay which allows deposits to be made using just an email address. My best banking experience has been with Frost Bank and my credit-union. But Bank of America now has ATMs that have live tellers available after-hours. ( get ready to see more of that and less human-tellers ) Some cultures have a concept used often by groups of people pooling their money together. It could work something like that, and not have to be anything too fancy or formal. I can offer a caver a sofa to sleep on for one night in an emergency if they have some reason to be near downtown Houston. Once the new light-rail service starts next month, the Houston Medical Center will be just minutes from my front door. I am not yet set up to have more than one guest for more than one night, but my plan is to have a guest room sometime in 2014. My wife and I have not reached an agreement on how our separation will work. My idea is to have more time for myself and zero time to the ex-wife, so in theory, I will have more time to get back into caving, I am guessing at the rate things are going that she has already consulted an attorney. This doesn't seem to bother me, but I am very worried about our 9 year old daughter. My parents divorced when I was 7, but it was a different situation, but it doesn't seem that long ago, even though it was 42 years ago. I now only get messages from my ex-wife thru my daughter, and have zero control over my visitation rights. In my present state of mind, I could not recommend marriage to anyone. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Crank-lights
I would like to see a savvy caver reverse-engineer a crank-light specifically designed to power a tiny LED headlamp as your 3rd source of light.
[Texascavers] Google+ for cavers
Please ignore this if you hate Google. Google+ now lets users have a custom URL. Mine is: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+DavidLocklearofTexas/about If a caver is managing a page for a caving organization, he or she can now add a new type of manager.This person has the power to help manage the post on the the page, but is not allowed to make changes to the page.That is a good idea, and further increases its lead over Facebook's version in functionality. I have not had time this year to follow all the new quirks of Google+. Google does not seem to be giving up on the idea, so there is maybe still hope for it yet. I am content to use both Facebook and Google+, but I do not think most people are willing to do that. I am clueless about the other social things going on on the web, meaning whatever the young people are supposedly doing. I can't find any use for Twitter, and haven't had time to explore the others. My 9 year old daughter loves her Android tablet, so my guess is that all that stuff will make sense to her in the very near future.I think I had to create a Google account for her so that she could access all the apps and YouTube stuff. I have not had a chance to see if that was such a good idea. https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/106745323215963190758/115224409657532359034/about Please email me privately, if you have any sound advice on that subject. 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
[Texascavers] a caver video
A caver related video was uploaded a few hours ago to YouTube. I am only posting this because it appears to be a fresh story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvcQcaj4MAU I will let someone else elaborate whether it is noteworthy or not, as I am not familiar with the story, and only skimmed through the video. 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
[Texascavers] A cave photo
I do not know anything about Instagram, but here is a new photo posted there taken by a well known cave photographer. http://instagram.com/p/gn3p8-RbaK/
[Texascavers] internet related
If you watch the video in the link below, you will see a caver trying to make a living putting caves on the internet so that anyone in the world can take a virtual tour of that cave from the comfort of their home. http://www.boston.com/business/2013/11/13/bringing-caving-the-masses/OmHRp3pkmmfGhXm2S5g1YO/story.html - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Caving in Mexico is fun
I love travelling in the Sierra Madres, and wish I could live there. Every Mexican and caver there that I once met were very amable y simpatica. I ended up marrying one, for those reasons. Our daughter embraces her Mexican heritage with lots of passion, and annually does a matachina performance. ( although I disapprove of anything related to the Virgin of Guadalupe, but that is another story ) The news media dwells on reporting crime stories. But the crime being reported seems different than the crime here in the states. Especially the alleged stories on unofficial news-sites like LaPoliciaca.com. These crimes like carjackings scare tourist that drive into Mexico. Especially, when the criminals are the transitos. ( traffic cops ). These incidents are sometimes near border crossings. I am currently living in a dangerous part of Houston. The criminals in this area are people rejected from Mexico, or their English-speaking children. Most of the crimes are fueled by cheap beer ( Cobra ), and involve domestic violence. Ironically, they all have the Virgin Of Guadalupe tattooed all over their body. They don't pay taxes, but find a way to get financial support from the government, while maintaining their chrome-plated Cadillac covered in the backyard, and have plenty of spare time to spray graffiti all over the neighborhood. I have had to befriend some of them, in order to blend in. One of the more scary ones, uses my newest LED headlamp each night to ride his bicycle to the local cantina to get drunk.Crimes here are not reported to the police. That is survival rule #1. This gives USA folks a distorted vision of latino people. I know many Norte-americanos that will never change their views on Mexico, and think people like me are gullible and naive and liberal. I hope to go caving in Mexico with my Mexican caving friends in 2014. To the best of my knowledge, there is not a cave with a warm-water rapidly-flowing creek north of Monterrey. And those are my favorite kind of caves. Respectfully, David Locklear
[Texascavers] Mars related
This is almost vaguely caving related if you consider that the Mars rover Curiosity, is ridgewalking over virgin rocky terrain. The rover has been on the planet 446 days now. I do not believe it is a kilometer from the landing site, but is pretty close to passing that in the next few drives. It has had to do a whole lot of zig-zagging to get to the current waypoint. I think it is safe to say that a human would have covered far more terrain in 446 days, especially if he was on a dirt-bike, or even a mountain-bike. Even better a small animal wearing a pressurized suit and a helmet cam. Any future caver on Mars will likely find plenty of building material to make a nice stone house.In my opinion, the first astronaut needs to be a good stone-mason, so he can set up the hut for future explorers. Supposedly, the rover will be camped out at this rock for the next few days: http://www.spaceflight101.com/uploads/6/4/0/6/6406961/8446456_orig.jpg Click on that photo to enlarge it. Check out those odd circles in the rocks to the left. It seems obvious to me that an erosional process took place here that took millions of years, and is most likely common throughout the universe. But there are millions of people that are convinced these rocks magically formed in a few seconds about 328,500 days ago in an event they refer to as Day 4. It would seem such an act that amazing would be celebrated in some festival, but they don't see it that way, or can even agree on exactly how many days ago it was. They feel their omnipotent creator did this on a whim, and interpret it as, backed by solid science. I am not saying that he or she did not do it, but only that it took millions of years, for the rocks to erode, and another billion years for the Martian surface to solidify, and another 20 billions years for the cosmic elements to form a spherical shape, and another 100 zillion years for the cosmic elements to bounce around our galaxy, and that they will do this all again in another cosmic event billions of years from now, and that that process will go on for an infinite number of cosmic events, and that we are no where near the beginning of that space-time equation, and certainly not 328,500 days into it. On a related note, the current news story about the Martian meteorite found in the Sahara Desert lacks credibility. I do not believe it could have escaped the gravitational pull of the planet in the manner which they are proposing. The Locklear Theory is that it came off of Deimos, and that explains the shape of Deimos. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Deimos-MRO.jpg David Locklear overly-opinionated guy, but less grumpy now that I am single - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] sinkhole related
Check out how excited people in Houston get when a sinkhole opens up here. http://www.click2houston.com/news/sinkhole-causing-problems-in-west-houston/-/1735978/23107834/-/qi4gr0z/-/index.html - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] The current weather related to Texas caves
I was thinking that this cold weather is a fine time to go down in places like Kiwi Sink and look for some warm blowing air.Right ? Would newly opened cracks in Kiwi Sink blow warm air this week ? David Locklear Ref: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110326191631AAHFotV - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Cave B ?
Hard to believe that was nearly 20 years ago. Was there not a pre-convention trip to Grutas de Carrizal ? On the subject of Emerald Sink, it is possible that cavers could visit the first level of the cave without worry, as I think 7 cavers went past the Junction Room in 94 to look down the drop in Emerald Sink and none of them reported being sick. They were probably underground less than 2 hours and would not have been doing anything too strenuous to be taking deep breaths. The pit is the kind of rappel you would only want to do, if you did not have access to any other 140 foot, or just wanted to bop it once so you would know what is down there. Meaning it is boring compared to other 140 foot pits. The question I have, is what would it take to pump the bat urine out of the sump and haul out the dirt and rocks and guano. That would make the cave at least a few deeper. There is probably several thousand years of guano in the sump, from a colony of 500 bats, very near the sump. Is there a good map of the sump ? Diving in bat urine sounds sporting, but I do not recall the diver mentioning anything about guano. While I am ranting about guano, does anyone know any aquarium hobbyist using a pinch of guano under the roots of their aquarium plants ? David Locklear
[Texascavers] Jacob's Well
The Houston Chronicle web-site published an article today that sounded like it was written by a middle-schooler making their first book report on their swimming trip to Jacob's Well. Describing the geology of the cave, it stated, the well was formed as part of an underground aquaflow system. The article came across as an interview with a diver, Don Dibble, who seemed to be familiar with only part of the cave. ( I presume this is the same person that owns The Dive Shop in San Marcos. ) The article read like an invitation for thrill-seekers to come out and swim in the cave and free dive down to the gate.Meaning there wasn't any information about conservation or cavers related to the article. There was no mention of where the water comes from, or where it goes, or the critters that live in the water. The article was about cave-diving, yet not a single photo or video attached to the article was about cave-diving. There was no map or sketch explaining to the a reader ( who you have to presume is aimed at people unfamiliar with underwater caves ) as to what the author means by one of the longest underwater systems in Texas. The Houston Chronicle has become a laughing stock of journalism and an embarassment to southeast Texas. I have given up hope of ever finding anything credible in its articles.. I have also become very disgruntled with the way the media overall is behaving.I am officially boycotting Time Magazine. For what it is worth, the AMCS Activies Newsletter is one of the best things to read on the planet. And the NSS News, is also high on my list of favorite things to read. I wish I had more spare time to enjoy them. David Locklear Ref: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/One-of-the-world-s-most-dangerous-dive-sites-is-5055541.php?cmpid=hpfc#photo-5585236 - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Virus ?
I just got a message appearing to be from Google, that someone was using an address linked to my account suspiciously. The address was icscavers @ gmail and from Virginia. I followed the instructions to un-link it, but was concerned about opening the message and clicking on things. Does that sound legitimate ? David Locklear
[Texascavers] Santa Claus likes armchair cavers ?
Santa Claus came early to my house this year. About 6 years ago, maybe more, when I was ranting about LED headlamps, I posted something about an LED headlamp that was pictured on a Chinese wholesaler web-site, and that it looked interesting. I have been looking out for it in stores in my dozens of LED shopping sprees ever since, and was surprised to have never found it, or even anything similar to it. But today, I was in the clearance section of Over-Priced Books at Half-Price, picking out all my family a $ 1.00 book for their Christmas gift, and laying on the shelf was the mysterious headlamp and for only $ 2.00.It was a surreal moment like that old movie about the Miracle on 34th St. Here is the exact head-lamp: https://d3vjvsn2tynjug.cloudfront.net/v2/w_490,h_490/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Ftanga-images%2Fxz3z3zz6gvew.jpg This headlamp is the almost perfect newbie headlamp.It is good enough to take in any large Texas cave, and some of the smaller caves in the Guads.It has a bright smooth light pattern, and 2 dimmer settings, along with an emergency flash mode. I do not know if this is something the store has carried recently, or what the regular price is. Mine had a broke ring around the lens cap, which I will try to fix. Keep an eye out for this headlamp, and if you find one, buy it. I meets the Locklear Seal of Approval ( LSA ) for cheapo LED headlamps. On a related note, 2 very lucky cavers just received the test-models of LED products that I once reported about, as a token of appreciation for their contribution to Texas caving.This one though, I am keeping until a better one comes along. David Locklear NSS # 27639 P.S.For those of you who do not know me and think I am arrogant, I am just being corny in a truthful, but exaggerated sort of way. It is just my warped sense of nerdy humor. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] for speleo-gamers
I am not a gamer, but according to Google News, this is news. The video game, The Cave, is now free to download if you are using Android, and are willing to download it from the Amazon App page, http://www.amazon.com/Double-Fine-Productions-The-Cave/dp/B00H8WCPE2/ref=sr_1_1?s=mobile-appsie=UTF8qid=1388422841sr=1-1keywords=the+cave http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/A18mf-5CdQL.png - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Correction
Two of the Facebook pages that I criticized the most were pages that I created and mis-manage. I should have pointed that out. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Sitting Bull Falls Cave
Seeing all the photos of icicles today, made me recall a very fond memory of going inside Sitting Bull Falls Cave during a cold spell just like this one in 1992. All of the Falls had frozen solid. It was quite a sight to see, but unfortunately I did not have a wide-angle lens to capture it. I would recommend to any caver next time it gets cold like this to go see that.It would have to coincide when there is a good water flow, but I do not know how you would find that out. I found the photo link below, and pretty sure that is it. It looked just like this. http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6181/6144102731_99bc69e60a_z.jpg ( photo posted by a Jim Gumm ) 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
[Texascavers] an interesting new archaeology article
In a cave in Morocco, scientist find 52 buried bodies showing unusual tooth decay: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24332237 Other related ref: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/01/03/1318176111 http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_MAGAZINE/issues/2013/autumn/of_note/officehours.html http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/about-science/staff-directory/earth-sciences/l-humphrey/index.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Armelagos P.S. No reaction yet from the creationist scientist as to how cavities predated the origin of the universe, by about 3,000 years, or whether our ancestors in the Garden of Eden could have had cavities, or whether cavities were a divine creation or something diabolic, or both. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] robot related - not yet caving topic
9 years and 3 months ago, I posted something about how excited I was to witness the birth of my daughter and I nicknamed her Cavepearl. The link below shows her in a brown vest on a live tv news program broadcast this morning in Spanish throughout southeast Texas. https://db.tt/QlkX4RPZ What was exciting about this, is all of the studio cameraman had been replaced by real robots. I took this picture with my phone, while standing behind one of the robots in the studio of Univision. All 4 robots were tethered with a cord to a laptop operated by one geeky looking guy. I can see clearly now that robots are coming and they will be doing things we never imagined. While these robots could not go caving, I can see something similar to these robots at the NSS Banquet serving cavers their food, or video-taping the award ceremony, or serving as information kiosk in the hallways, or helping the vendors with gear sales. On a related note, the video in the link below is of today's tv segment, featuring Cavepearl. ( I could only find it on Facebook. ) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=760312710664416set=vb.239977856031240type=2theater David Locklear
[Texascavers] a video of a Mexican cave
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-7tto9-A7A This cave appears to be about a 2 hour drive north of the town that was in the news today, ( the story that the American networks picked up concerning an alleged raid against an alleged gang calling themselves the Knights Templar. ) ***I am only suggesting that there are interesting caves in the area.*** The aerial view looks igneous. approximate coordinates ( see note below ) 19.652934,-102.011847 I will let someone else with more info elaborate, but this La Cueva de Hurumutaro looks historically interesting at least, but I doubt it goes all the way to Uruapan, about 15 miles ( as the bird flies ) south of there, as the description by the YouTube uploader suggest. David Locklear Disclaimer: The YouTube description suggest it is near the ejido village in the hills above the town of Aranza which would put it a few kilometers southeast of that town, based on the aerial view - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] a vertical practice video
An Italian caver uploaded this video last week. Are your vertical practice sessions this much fun ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QoNlQ264cU - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] ATV's in caves
Here is a short video ( uploaded 4 months ago ) that is worthy of discussion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdISZnGMAdQ Skip the first 15 seconds and stop watching at 1:50 I can imagine there is some cave on earth where this would be legitimate fun, but I am guessing this cave is not one of those.But the exhaust gases could hurt the participants and would linger in the cave for a long time. Any critters on the floor or in the soil would be crushed. Since the guy has 3 empty seats, this seems to be be just for his personal thrill-seeking, which in my opinion, is the wrong message.I would not approve of this, unless it were on another planet, using an electric ATV. David Locklear NSS # 27639 - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Flashlight related
Costco store has a 3-pack that equates to $ 6.12 per flashlight. These are pocket-sized flashlights, but have a high lumen setting of 250, and one dimmer setting, which I would guess is 60 lumens. Also, has strobe setting. These appear to be rugged and compact enough as your 3rd source of light. Price includes quality batteries. The lights are only resistant to moisture and rain, so in a river cave, you would want to wrap them in something, or gerry-rig them with a sealant. See Duracell #739422 ( Disclaimer: I am only viewing the product through the packaging ) It would seem there is no reason to carry a bigger flashlight into a cave, unless you were in an easy cave with mostly walking passage, or were a tour guide. For that purpose, Costco offers a 2-pack that equates to $ 10.80 each. But even that one, is smaller than the flashlights I used to carry in my cave-pack back in the 20th century. I am certain there are experienced cavers that do not take a flashlight with them now, as they either only use 2 sources of light or carry small or tiny headlamps in their cave-pack. I think that has been going on for years. Feel free to correct me, as I have done zero caving in this new era of high-tech headlamps. David Locklear
[Texascavers] just for fun
Anthropologist have a sketch of a man they believe lived 7,000 years ago in cave in Spain. http://img5.tgdaily.com/sites/default/files/stock/la_brana_1_dark_skinned_blue_eyes.jpg He looks just like many cavers I know today. Which caver do you know that most resembles him ? I bet my ancestors in those days had much longer hair and a much longer beard. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Qesem Cave
There is a story in the news this week about an archealogical dig in Israel. These researcher's theory is that this spot proves humans cooked meats as far back as 300,000 years ago. This is interesting for several reasons. To me, the fact that we have a spot in a cave where something like 21,478 generations ago, my ancestors might have been in this cave sitting there roasting a pig, celebrating the solistice or the birth of a new baby, or something fun, is an exciting image to picture.I wonder what there names were, and how many of them sat around the fire, and how cold was it and were they happy or frightened. Was there danger lurking outside the cave such as large predators or war, or ghetto neighbors l like the ones that live next door to me.Imagine living your whole life near that cave, never having to have used your brain to calculate your taxes or to watch tv, or living in a world where the nearby population was probably only in the thousands, if not the hundreds. I am guessing their total vocabulary was only a few thousand words to memorize, and since they didn't have to memorize anything, their brains were free to daydream and count the millions of stars in the sky. I wonder if anyone is still related to these cave dwellers, or did their lineage become extinct ? My feeling is they spent a lot of time pondering whether the chicken came before the egg, or why the sun and moon are round, and other natural questions that we too talk about while sitting around the campfire. Surely, they had some kind of humor and told jokes, and sang songs and beat on something with sticks to make percussion sounds. I bet the old timers would say, back in the good ole days, we didn't have a wheel, you younguns got it made, etc. 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
[Texascavers] Mexico travel related
I have not been following any news at all in Mexico, since my last post on the subject did not go so well. So to my Mexican caving friends, I apoligize if this post sounds bias or negative towards your beautiful country, or if the news story is bogus. Today, I saw a news story that looked alarming. It is in an area that I used to love to go caving in. Gomez Farias near the Nacimiento del Rio Frio. http://www.horacero.com.mx/noticia/?id=NHCVL124028 Hopefully this is just another exaggerated narco-traffic story. It appears to be a recent news item. For those of you who have never been to Gomez Farias, it is a paradise for cavers, birders, swimmers, and hikers. I would love to spend a week there each year, when the butterflies are passing thru ( if there are any left that still do that ). Unfortunately, of about 3 road-trips I went to around there, we either never located the entrance or ran out of time, or the pits just were blind and not too exciting. Some of the best langostinos, I ever had was there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF84A4V0418 I miss Mexico. I married a woman from Mexico in 2001, and never went back. One of the ironic things about my life. 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
[Texascavers] Re: Aggie Anniversary Party
I contacted about 20 old Ass'rs, or at least as many as my fuzzy repressed memories could dig up. I found most of them on various social sites and sent them a message. Here are some names of people I have lost contact with: Chris Sobin Tim Jones ( maybe in Austin ) Steve Tonneson ( maybe in Austin ) Pete Baron Travis Kitchen ( I think he stays in touch with other cavers ) Patricia Wise ( was on Facebook last year ) Cesar Koppel ( maybe Austin ) Audrey Wright ( Sulpher Springs in the late 80's ) The comments below are my personal observations of the A.S.S. from 1984 to 1993. Many of the former Ass'rs I sent a message have probably not been in a cave in 25 years. Back in the mid 80's, each fall semester there would be a handful of students that would get super enthusiastic about caving, and want to go every other weekend for about 2 months, but they usually backed out of the trip to study, so most of the gatherings were social gatherings at a food establishment near campus. But after those few months, they would just drop off the face of the earth. There was never anybody to keep track of who they all were. Some where in my storage building I might have some old members list, but I think I contacted everybody that was active in the club from 84 to 87. I doubt any of them show up, but one of them is still a hiker at least, and lives in the vicinity of the party location. I do not know any Ass'rs after 1993, or at least not that I know of. There were lots of girls in the A.S.S., in the mid-80's and many of them were very enthusiastic about the club, but the actual physical part of caving was something that they were only briefly interested in.Some of them were dating one of the guys in the club and appeared to be tagging along. For example, I can't help but remember in 1986 on a trip to Langtry Lead Cave, everybody had to wait at the entrance for Susan Shupak to get her make-up on.She got mad when her boyfriend abandoned her in the twilight zone, but I was able to guide her all the way down to the beginning of the crawl to the Hall of Unicorns, before she became claustrophobic. She and I were close friends till 1989, and then she married and disappeared. Another example, is Audrey Wright. She took the National Rescue Cave Class in New Mexico around 1987, and never went caving again, at least, as far as I know. There was one exception though.I won't mention her name, but she won numerous vertical contest at TCR, and had dedicated her life to the outdoors. Also, each semester there would be a grad student who was an experienced caver that would come to the meetings and a local non-student adult, but they were too busy to go on caving trips, and just attended meetings.They would often offer insight and suggestions, but the only one I remember has passed away. Also, a lot of the members in the club were just the roommates of someone who liked caving or considered themselves a caver.That roommate or friend, would attend meetings and help out, and might have gone to Enchanted Rock Cave or something like that, but by the end of the fall semester they had dissappeared. The spring semesters were really hard to get new members and to encourage members to go caving and by late April, it was almost hopeless.Each fall, the club started over from scratch, with almost zero input from any experienced caver, and equipment and stuff from the previous generation of cavers disappeared. And like any caving club, there would be people that attend who have no desire to go caving, but just want to be part of something.So the A.S.S. would sometimes have 75 members by the 2nd fall meeting, and the last spring meeting there would be about 4 people. So in a nutshell, I am almost no help. David Locklear 1987 A.S.S Vice-President ( Disclaimer:Appointed V.P. by outgoing 1986 president because there were only 2 people in the club ) - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Aggie caver related
I think I posted this last year, so this is just an update. The guy in the link below was one of the more active A.S.S. members in the fall of 87. He was a scrawny kid when he first joined the A.S.S. His activities were cut short by a rock-climbing accident at Enchanted Rock. He was very lucky that day. https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=45617003
[Texascavers] Re: Facebook Bigfoot
I had no intention of criticizing the Facebookers. I was unaware that the pages I noted kept non-members from seeing everything, as I was able to see the post and photos of that page. So I am saying I misspoke. I was only trying to share an observation that in 2013 Facebook played a role in caver communications in Texas, that some newbies might not know about. I was only suggesting there is something in that material worthy of discussion. So if someone wants to present the idea differently, they can use the links posted, or word it so that it is interesting to read. I did leave off the Devil's Sinkhole page. I was hoping someone would add to what I was trying to say. And, I would never criticize Bill Bentley, so if that is what I did, then I am sorry. It was just 5 years ago that a majority of cavers were hesitant to use Facebook as a tool for communication, so the jist of my article was the contrast in idealogy. I still feel like Facebook is a fad, as I reported when I first started posting on the topic several years ago. Also, The Bigfoot post was because it was not just in the news again, but specifically in the San Antonio news. I was just suggesting that for the hoax to even be legitimate, that Bigfoot had to have been hiding in a Bexar County cave. I had zero idea that it would start a bear discussion, but that turned out to be interesting, at least to me. I will not mention Facebook or Bigfoot again. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Houston related - a guest room
If any cavers find themselves in downtown Houston, looking for a place to sleep, then I might have an option for you. My slumlord has evicted my floormates in the old quadriplex where I live, and I have convinced him that he should consider renting the entire floor to me. Meanwhile, he says I can use the apartment for free until the March rent is due, or the next tenants move in. So I am house-sitting for 2 weeks, while I search for a way to fit this expansion into my budget. I need to find a roommate who needs to live near downtown Houston so bad, that they would live in sub-human standards. Then I could afford to rent it and clean the place up. The ideal person would be a student at University of Houston Downtown, or courthouse employee. The slumlord and I have settled on a price, but my budget is too unstable to shake his hand on the deal. This is a unique opportunity to visit a part of Texas few people would dare enter. It is the most dangerous place I have ever visited in my entire life. However, it will be much safer, if I can prevent more hoodrats from moving in next to me. David Locklear 2506 Keene St. Apt. # 1, Houston, TX, 77009 281-995-8487 ( text-line )
[Texascavers] Corvette incident, etc.
Warning: this email just contains inflated opinions and personal irrelevant stuff. I would bet more people would someday pay to see the wrecked Corvettes displayed as an attraction in a cave, than the museum would have ever made in the future, as it was probably not a profitable business, but relied heavily on donations and volunteers. Make lemonade when you have lots of extra lemons. The Hays County incident does not sound like a malicious stunt. Someone needs to store explosives somewhere safe, and they must have presumed wrong that their explosives would be found. I seriously doubt there are random caves with unattended explosives. It was probably a temporary storage for they were most likely to be used in the near future. I doubt it was a caver, but if it was, then there would only be only a handful of suspects. For example, name a caver that could even locate a cave in Hays County. Hopefully it was not placed by a teen fantasizing about a copycat-style terrorist attack. And for an update on my last personal post,, I am searching Craigslist for a roommate now. Unfortunatley, a few hours after I posted my CaveTex ad, one of the criminal associates of my evicted next door neighbor broke into the vacant apartment and I had to call the police again. So I put a new deadbolt on the door, and only I have a key. I am hoping to live there in 2 weeks, and use the old apartment across the hallway, as my office and storage space, but will need a roommate first. My estranged wife wants to celebrate our 13 year marriage on Valentine's Day. That item would never make it on to my to-do list. But I will have to suffer through it for the kid. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Food for caving trips
A really experienced caver should write a really good informative article on the best foods to take on different kinds of caving trips. Here is a new pizza that might someday become available: http://media1.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2014_07/187681/140214-pizza-everlasting-002_30a22e709f7fb97fb302cf6c77260614.nbcnews-ux-640-440.jpg Ref. http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/military-scientists-create-pizza-lasts-three-years-n30686 Muddy hands make it difficult to eat sandwiches. I think most cavers end up eating a little mud.I know one time just east of Slaughter Canyon, we had to eat our food ( at the picnic grounds ) during a sandstorm, and the gritty sand could not be kept out of the food. Beef jerky seems like a good idea, but I think my stomach has a hard time digesting it. On a related note, Cavers should try to take care of their BM, shortly before entering the cave. Right ? Or is that just a speleo-myth ? 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
[Texascavers] Joe's report
I would like to make a motion, that the last post by Joe and Evelyn Mitchell, be considered #5 in the Top 5 of all Cavetex post. Anybody second the motion ? Now, had one of the cavers dug the cave an inch deeper, then it might could have been #4, ( but to late now. ) I think a report of that quality should have the author's signature, rank and serial number on the bottom. To get the 4th place or higher (such as The Bronze Medal ) there has to be some really good humor, or a major new discovery, or get thrown in jail, etc. David Locklear NSS # 27639
[Texascavers] a new technology
The YouTube link below shows something interesting that has been around in research labs for 3 or 4 years, but is starting to make some progress in the presentation to real world applications. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOQQhdTKtq8 Theoretically, a caver or cave-tour guide would have a device mounted on his helmet or a tripod that could communicate with other devices as long as there was a line of sight. Since a 10 watt LED's can now project light more than the length of most cave passages, this technology could be used for something new and interesting. I am thinking maybe in a commercial cave application for cave tours. I think the key to the success of this is how much battery power it requires as opposed to using other forms of data transfer. Can anybody think of a cave related application ? 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
[Texascavers] Re: Mystery Cave of the Month
Jerry won the Mystery Cave of the Month. Travis comes in 2nd I first heard about that cave in the mid-80's and was told it was a fine cave. But yesterday, I saw the trip report posted on Oztotl from 2004, and enjoyed seeing the pictures of it. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Cavetex, etc.
The original thread was Mystery Cave of the Month - not Mystery Cave of the Hour. It was not my idea.I am certain this was something that once ran in the Texas Caver, or in some caver newsletter that I saw somewhere. I am trying hard to not post stuff.I had an interesting article about caver urination systems, but I never posted it. There is an exciting new $ 15 LED headlamp that needs to be reviewed, but I skipped it. I post-poned the 2014 East Texas Caver's Cookout till 2015, but did not tell anybody. I enjoyed the Mystery Cave pictures, but didn't say anything. And isn't it only the Austin cavers, that are always posting personal things like cars for sale, and pool parties, lost poodles, and other stuff that has nothing to do with caving ? My good friend, Don, calling me a troll, was unexpected.I do not feel like a troll, as I really don't believe that I post stuff for attention, or to create discord. 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
[Texascavers] safety related - dusty caves
This new thread will self-destruct in 48 hours There is an article on the web, suggesting that dust mask are ineffective at preventing the wearer ( caver ) from breathing in dust particles. http://news.discovery.com/human/health/face-masks-provide-false-hope-against-pollution-140228.htm It does seem like cavers visiting very dusty caves, should wear breathing respirators, that have a rubber seal around the nose and mouth and replacable canisters.Especially if you are going to be sturrying up the dust by digging. http://nsprod.blob.core.windows.net/material/204294/400.jpg Unfortunately, those mask appear cumbersome and uncomfortable, especially when exerting yourself, sweating, etc. 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
[Texascavers] Mallory update
I will let Mallory's mom post the good news of the day. Several cavers have visited Mallory, 3 today so far. I just briefly stuck my head in her room. She is doing the Ropewalker in her sleep. I saw her climb the equivalent of a 30 foot pit, gaining most of the rope with her right leg. My guess is, she has a bungee-cord ovet her shoulder by the technique she is using. Left hand maintaining her balance on rope with right arm just hanging free. You try doing that with a traech tube. I could not stay and her mom was way beyond exhausted.Mallory's aunt was there, so I quickly left. I parked at a parking meter in the Museum District and just road the MetroRail for one station. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Re: Edigar's concision
It is practised by a small sect of Judaism that believes Oztotl has not come yet, which makes almost no sense, as how could the caves maintain themselves without a spiritual keeper for these past 8,000 years. And why would Oztotl need to come later if the caves and cave-critters are doing fine without him or her?
[Texascavers] Re: Gill Edigar
Has he had a BM yet ?
[Texascavers] Re: Mallory
Early Friday evening, I visited with Mallory's mom for about 2 minutes in the waiting room. I didn't get to see Mallory, but another caver was there earlier. Mallory's dad will be with her this weekend. Mallory's mom is hopeful they will move her out of ICU by Monday, but just to a regular room until she gets transferred to the rehab center. That could all happen sooner. Mallory is not currently on any painkillers, or exotic meds. Since her mom is posting details, I will let her tell the rest of the good news David Locklear
[Texascavers] New emergency gadget
DeLorme has a new gadget that let's you send text messages from very remote areas. It is called inReach SE. It has other functions, and is rugged. Cost $ 300. Not sure if there is a monthly service fee. David Locklear
[Texascavers] convention newsletters
Here is a link to all of the daily newsletters of the convention: http://www.nssconvention.appspot.com/courier Each link listed is a PDF of that days newsletter. The NSS did have a link with some basic info on the site location of the convention: http://www.nssconvention.appspot.com/ I think that is an improvement over the way it was done at some other conventions, but back then cavers were not so wired to the internet.It certainly saves paper, or at least it should.It also allows for last minute corrections. So I say Kudos to the caver that put that link together. David Locklear
[Texascavers] convention update correction
I wrote that last post having not made any effort whatsoever to research the convention updates on the web. ( I have been too busy the past 2 weeks ). Here are some: http://cavingnews.com/20130806-2013-nss-convention-update-monday-kickoff http://cavingnews.com/20130807-ask-cavers-whats-your-favorite-thing-about-convention I see now that there were daily updates on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NSScaves I have a Twitter account and have that site listed as something I follow, but I have never used it.I guess I am going to have to take a closer look at Twitter, and this tweet-page, or what ever they call it. I also see now that there was lots of daily updates posted on the NSS Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/NationalSpeleologicalSociety I have not looked at that page in over a year, so I guess I will have to start following that too. ( I did a great job of staying off of Facebook for over a year. ) I couldn't find anything on YouTube, or on CaveChat.org. I did not see anything on Onlinecavers.com. ( I have not had time to follow that site. ) Did I miss any other web place where convention updates were posted ? David Locklear
[Texascavers] another convention update ( and correction )
There are a few photos of the convention on Facebook at the page below: https://www.facebook.com/events/139984606148326/ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151772767535935set=oa.501244989944005type=3theater I am very glad to see so many cavers using Facebook.I remember a time, when there was much resistance to Facebook. Correction: There has never been a convention with so many photos uploaded to the web. It is just a matter of finding where they are all posted.I am guessing that lots of cavers posted stuff privately on their own Facebook pages. So instead of email being the provider of convention updates, it appears Facebook is now the current trend. David Locklear
[Texascavers] New Fellows
Is this the Bill Stephens that was instrumental in helping with the cable-ladder contest at TCR back in the mid to late 80's ? I think that guy also won lots of cable-ladder contest, and taught lots of kids and newbie cavers how to properly climb a cable-ladder.
[Texascavers] jetpack for Golindrinas
In New Zealand, jetpack researchers have received permission to begin human test flights of the jetpack shown in the link here. It can hover up to 5,000 feet, but human test will be restricted to 20 feet. Military/Search Rescue will be able to purchase them in 2014 for $ 250,000. http://cdn.ndtv.com/tech/images/gadgets/jetpack-635.jpg
[Texascavers] Twitter related
Below are some observations I noted after spending about 4 hours on Twitter this past week. The 2014 NSS convention has a Twitter page @2014NSScon. That is a good way of quickly getting out an important announcement to the cavers on Twitter. The NSS, NCKRI, SCCi and a few grottos, have Twitter pages. At least 20 Texas cavers ( whose names I recognize ) have a Twitter account, but few are following the NSS. There are spammers on Twitter, that follow you. It seems ridiculous that the average Twitter user could follow more than a thousand pages. But I can see how someone who is heavily involved in caving organizations could be following 4,000 Twitter sites, and have even more followers. Obviously, few people have spare time to actually read all the tweets they are following. An example of a good tweet would be, virgin passage just now found in Kiwi Sink. Unfortunately, most of the tweets I see are just info re-posted from other sites and is old news. To many tweets are sarcastic immature post about something silly. I still do not feel like I have a grasp of Twitter, eventhough it is far simpler than other social media sites. The best site I know of is the Mars Curiosity page. David Locklear @dlocklear01
[Texascavers] Accident analysis ?
I presume an independent qualified caver is preparing an accident analysis for caver consumption. Could the severity of the accident been reduced ? In hindsight, what could have been improved ? It seems worth noting for a historical perspective that prior to the accident another nearby dig was postponed due to extreme summer heat and because local cavers were on summer vacations. Ironically, the victim was more aware of that than typical cavers. Age and experience do not appear to be factors, as the victim can easily find witnesses to his qualifications. Right ? What was the temperature in the cave ? How much water had the victim drank ? My personal experience, is that if a person is over-exerting themselves, and then decides to immediatly stop, that the heart freaks out. Is that the case here ? What kind of rest had the victim had in the hours before the event ? Was the victim feeling well in the hour prior to the fall ? What will the victim and other cavers do to improve safety ? Is an accident at a digging operation really a caving accident ? Should the Texas Caver publish the analysis once it is has been properly dissected ? How did the communications of responders differ from accidents in the past in central Texas ? Meaning did CaveTex help ? or Facebook ? Or phone-texting ? Did a phone with 3G help ? Did I Ieave out anything out ? Once the victim was out of the cave, everything with the treatment of the victim was uneventful. Right ? David Locklear NSS #27639
[Texascavers] a new caving video
Here is one of the latest caving videos uploaded to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2BcC9Zayjk It is the best one I have seen in a long time. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Re: accident analysis
I thought I would post some examples, but to my surprise, I could not find a good link to one on the internet.All of the analysis reports online that I found were cave-diving incidents, or just not posted as a separate link. Here is one from 1977, but you have to scroll down all the way to the bottom to see it, and there is no sketch and only a vague analysis. Meaning there are no photos, and no interviews with the participants, to collaborate the analysis authenticity. http://www.caves.org/commission/ncrc/ncrc-er/08287701.HTM The most detailed caving accident analysis that I am aware of online, is unfortunately the one many Texas cavers feel a very close connection to. I am posting the link as an example only, and not to discuss that trajedy. http://www.caves.org/section/vertical/nh/45/ivyaccrpt.html On a related note to the above link, We may all disagree on a few things, but one thing many of us have in common, ( that we don't share with the outside world ) is our common bond to lost caving friends. One thing I miss when I skip an NSS Convention is the toast at the banquet to lost caving friends. While I only vaguely knew some of the cavers that passed away in my time, I think about them often.It is sad that our lives are so hectic, that we can't remember when another year lapses since their passing. Maybe if I would sit around a caver campfire, I would hear a toast to one of them. David Locklear P.S. My next caving accident (which will be at least my 7th ) will most likely require hauling my 300 lbs. on a stretcher. After that, you can all poke fun at me and criticize/analyze whatever I did that I should have known better. My 6 accidents, do not include many other near accidents or errors that could have led to an accident. But I feel all of those made me a more cautious caver, and definitely more opinionated.
[Texascavers] twitter related
An apology to anyone receiving unwanted Twitter invites by email from me. I have no idea how Twitter works, or how to turn the fr*ckin emails off. Anyone new to Twitter should not let Twitter send out invitations automatically. One thing I left off of my 1st Twitter post, is that Twitter is integrated in some way to Linkedin. You have to be careful that what you post on Linkedin, so that it does not end up on Twitter. On a related note, I think Linkedin is a great service, but I do not know if it has helped my business, as my customers are all computer illiterate, and they do not have the spare time to mess with it. They just get someone else, like their office staff, to manage the page. I haven't found any use for Linkedin related to caving, except to let my friends know what it is that I do for a living. Lots of cavers use it more than I do, so feel free to correct me on that. It seems like a professional way to brag about your accomplishments though. Right ? David Locklear
[Texascavers] An olive branch ?
It seems like a good time to extend an olive branch, and put the past behind me and those that have deep negative opinions of me. I really just want to go in a fun cave and have some good times. I do hope to make a Kiwi Dig in November.That is the only caving related thing on my calendar for 2013. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Cave related earthquake
Deep in east Texas there was an earthquake today directly centered under Cave Spring. I have been to this place. It is a small but scenic rock shelter with a tiny stream flowing out of it. It is worth sending a student from SFASU to go check it out. It would be interesting to test the water, and write a report for the Texas Caver. A nice color photo of the entrance is on the cover of SpeleoSpace around 1994 or 95. David Locklear homeless quicker than I thought
[Texascavers] Cave Spring update
Some of you asked about the rock shelter formation near Timpson, Texas. I found one web-site mentioning it, http://batsoftexas.com/species/perimyotis-subflavus/ cave between Timpson and Gary, 1 (SFASU); 3 mi N Timpson on Rose Hill Rd., Cave Springs That is about a mile east of where my fuzzy memory tells me it was located. I looked at Google satelite imagery and couldn't find anything that looked familiar. map coordinates of 31.945899,-94.396453 would be a wild guess only, as it has been 20 years since I was there. That should be within 2 miles of it though.The locals know about it, but I don't know if they have a name for it, or even if it is still there. I would guess that it is more of an interest to biologist, than cavers, as I am guessing there are microscopic organisms in the water. I missed a good photo of a deer drinking in the entrance, when I first arrived there around 1987. However, it is a scenic spot and nothing that scenic for many miles. The water trickled out of a passage that was about 1 foot long and 6 inches high and a 1 foot wide. That may be an exaggeration. The cave was on private property about 100 feet north of a clay road that dead ended and that road ran westward. Only 2 or 3 roads in that area match my memory of that. I bet there are similar features all over that part of Texas, and I have seen 4 of them, and looked for many others that were rumored. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1141context=sinkhole_2013 The best cave by far is Gunnel's Cave, which some of you have been in. The picture link below was taken 2 years ago, of the resurgence entrance of Gunnels's Cave. http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6079/6110260428_5496c7fa50_b.jpg I took a nearly identical picture in 1987. Since the formation is a sandstone-clay material, one might speculate there would be lots of erosion. If the angle of the photo is the same, then the gravel bed was not there before.It is too bad the locals didn't keep a recorded history of rumored events at this cave, such as sorority hazing making the new girls spend the night in the cave, or a hobo that lived in the the cave most of his life, or 2 teens that died driving their truck off into the sinkhole, or arrowheads that were found in the cave, etc. I would guess that I have taken about 9 people to the cave, not counting a caving trip around 1998, that several GHG'rs attended.It is 176 miles from Houston, and 174 miles to College Station, meaning it is easier and more fun to go caving in the Hill Country. I would like to point out that old-timer Tom Warden of Texarkana was the one that turned me on to all of the caves in east Texas, but his notes that he left were quite vague, and it took some effort to find the 4 that I located, the 2 others being Carey Lake Cave, and a really tiny insignificant cave in the town of Lone Star. It appears there is a lack of info on the web related to these pseudo-caves. But the TSS does have a respectable publication available on the subject, thanks to Jerry Atkinson. http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/sponsored_sites/tss/publications/images/EastTexas.jpg An enthusiatic caver using the web, could probably discover a new pseudo-cave in east Texas. David Locklear P.S. My new ex-girlfriend is offering me temporary shelter while she is out of town. No idea how long that will last, as she is bi-polar. Fortunately for me, she plans to be gone at least 3 weeks.
[Texascavers] NSS News - September issue
That one issue is worth the annual membership fee. I want that cover photo life size hanging on the wall in my house someday. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Caver-robot future related
The Mars rover Curiosity has traveled 150 meters in one day. My question is, what is the cave distance record for a remotely controlled device, or what are some of the significant records in speleo-robotics ? I think Don Cooper holds the Texas record at Kiwi Cave with his semi-indestructible speleo-copter. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Caving question tip
How many of you take a wallet into a cave ? And if so, what do you have in it. Do you put it in your cave pack or in your pants pocket ? If you are concerrned your car will be broken into or stolen, then you should take precautions. I would bury my wallet keys near the cave entrance under a rock. Using decoy boxes in the car might be a good idea, as in a box nobody would ever want. I think ladies should leave their Gucci purse at home, and just put their stuff in a bag nobody would steal. Cars left in a remote area need to be secured better. If there is no chance of rain, it is better to leave a window slightly open.Leave the doors unlocked. Pull the EFI fuse out of the fuse box. It is better to leave a car with low value. Leave the thief a note, sending him on a goose chase looking for your valuables. Any better ideas ?
[Texascavers] cave in a new Hollywood movie
The sequel movie in the story of Riddick has a few references to caves. http://geek-news.mtv.com//wp-content/uploads/geek/2013/08/Vin-Diesel-The-Chronicles-Of-Riddick.jpg At first, Riddick battles a large water-scorpion that is guarding the entrance of a slot canyon that is dark, wet and muddy. Later, he finds a petroglyph of the water-scorpion. And then he is hunted by bounty hunters into a large cavern with limestone-like formations. The bounty hunters have a 3D view of the cavern system and mountain range topography on a hologram table that is pinchable by moving the hands in and out over the table. Yet none of them have decent headlamps. I think most 8 year old boys are going to like this movie.I think the script must have looked good on paper, but the final result was typical of movies that substitue action for the lame parts of the plot. I don't mean to spoil it, but there are a hundred-thousand very large water scorpions in the vicinity of Riddick's location, and nothing for them to eat but a few scrawny desert dogs, and those dogs seem to know how to avoid getting eaten by the water-scorpion. And Riddick is so manly, that he can stay under water in a hot sulfuric-acid spring for 5 minutes with his eyes open, having just manually adjusted a calf-bone sticking out of his leg. Tickets for this movie were $ 17.50 in Houston per ticket ( on the IMAX screen ). I can't believe so many people are stupid enough to pay that. David Locklear
[Texascavers] Re: Solo caving
This is a valid question, that can be discussed from a new perspective. Cavers have all sorts of information readily available now at the entrance of even the most remote caves.If a caver felt secure without being over-confident, they could easily text all their caving friends from say the entrance of, Langtry Lead Cave, and write that they are only going into the cave to check something out and that they plan to be out of the cave in specific number of hours. They could easily carry enough light in their pack to last several days.In this scenario, an experienced caver would most likely only have to worry about not being able to leave the cave, because there is a rattlesnake blocking the exit. Another scenario, would be a heart attack.Since that particular cave is a 4 hour drive from San Antonio, it would be very inconvenient for a rescue team to respond to such a call,I would discourage solo caving there below the Hall of Unicorns. I would discourage anyone from solo digging, especially in the summertime. I can't see any reason why a caver would want to do a cave like Devil's Sinkhole by themselves, or Grutas del Precipicio in Bustamante Canyon. Over-confidence is the danger in solo caving. Cavers who are physically out of shape should never ever go solo caving.Taking more water than expected, is a good idea in Texas. Part of the fun in caving is going with friends, but it can be exhilarating to be in a passage several hundred feet or more from them, especially in a vertical tropical stream cave. It would be really embarrassing to an experienced caver to need help getting out of Amazing Maze Cave, while solo caving because their light sources fizzled out, or that they were stuck in Kiwi Sink for 2 days, because nobody knew they were down there. Solo cavers could wear a helmet-cam, so that when the rescuers drag their body out, they can sort of resort to it as if it were a black-box. Or you could just use a pocket camcorder to record your final moments. There is a camcorder now smaller than a pinky finger, for sale, at Fry's store, for around $ 60 plus tax. David Locklear
[Texascavers] A personal story
The attached photo link shows the next rail station that is going to open up in Houston. This one is about a mile north of the northern boundary of downtown Houston. It should be open by the end of the year. http://db.tt/7vbzqfjZ I rented an apartment today that is about 300 meters north of this station. Address: 2506 Keene St., Apt. # 1 It is a hundred year old quadraplex. My room needs repairs before it will be livable, but I think most cavers would call it comfortable. I am guessing it will be 2 weeks before I actually move in and have electricity. To be continued ... David Locklear
[Texascavers] a 23 year old issue of the Texas Caver
http://www.karstportal.org/FileStorage/Texas_Caver/1990-v35-n01.pdf
[Texascavers] wing-suit guy checks for caves ?
The photo-link below shows wing-suit pioneer, Jeb Corliss, about to check out some cave entrances ( rock shelters ? ) in the side of a cliff: https://scontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/598632_613259112050379_395002478_n.jpg ( click on that photo to enlarge it ) If you freeze this video below at 3:50 and 4:11, you can see passing the potential cave entrances in the gap between the 2 large rock pinnacles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWyATL-G_xc#t=138 Somebody needs to send some drones up there to check those out. Ref: https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/1381431_611769475532676_984633115_n.jpg There is some kind of building on top, so maybe there is already a walkway up there ? This is in eastern China, and the stunt took place a few days ago.
[Texascavers] Phone tips for cavers
Some of the new Android phones come included with a notification sound option called, stalactite. It sounds like a tiny water drop splashing in a cave, as there is a subtle echo. You can choose this sound for when someone sends you a text or email, or for a date reminder, etc. David Locklear
