texascavers Digest 8 Feb 2011 16:56:39 -0000 Issue 1241
Topics (messages 17067 through 17083):
Re: Monterrey safety update
17067 by: tbsamsel.verizon.net
Saw Sanctum
17068 by: Speleosteele.aol.com
17070 by: Amanda Scott
17071 by: Josh Rubinstein
17072 by: Tim Stich
17073 by: Diana Tomchick
17074 by: Mark.Alman.L-3com.com
PBSS Meeting
17069 by: J. LaRue Thomas
Re: Mexico updates
17075 by: James McLane
Re: fall factor
17076 by: James McLane
Photo salon volunteer needed
17077 by: Marvin & Lisa
Re: Sanctum
17078 by: David Ochel
17080 by: Karen Perry
Concerns over water-borne pollution in the Yucatan cave systems :
17079 by: JerryAtkin.aol.com
story behind Sanctum
17081 by: Mixon Bill
17083 by: Tim Stich
Custom Duo inserts
17082 by: Diana Tomchick
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--- Begin Message ---
The Pacific cartel is 3 sub-cartels. And former Guate special forces are amongst the Zetas. Caifanes?
It has been a known fact for some time, here along the border, that Monterrey isnow controlled by the "narcos". There are actually three cartels, Gulf Cartel, Zetas, Pactic Cartel. Throw in the Mexican Army and the Mexican Navy (Marines) and you have a five way mix. The cartels are actually out manuvering the Mexican miliatry. The mexican miliatry has just been effective enough to disrupt things so that now you have the robberies, protection and other crap.
Now the people in Monterrey with means no longer drive from Monterrey to the valley to shop but rather they hire private iarcraft to fly to them to the valley. If driving to Monterry from here, it is best to convoy during the day only, even if using the auot pista. Along the border no one goes into Mexcio at night if it all. The good restuarants are now moving from Mexico to the US side.
As Gill says it will be interesting although if a revolution were to occur now the Naros would probably win. Thye have too much money.
Bruce
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 3:10 AM
Subject: Re: Re: [Texascavers] Monterrey safety update
& for years, the Mexican constabulary/bureaucracy has been underpaid and individuals try to improve their financial status via versions of the mordida.
Feb 5, 2011 09:32:56 PM, [email protected] wrote:
What has happened, David, is that 3 factions (drug cartels, political
parties, independent bandits) have all been putting pressure on the
police & local governments to the point that the police are totally
ineffective and, perhaps, in cahoots with any and/or all of them. It
results in general lawlessness and promotes and encourages robberies
by bands of free-lance bandits--on all levels. What you have is chaos
and confusion as to what's really going on, where, when, why, and by
whom. The solution, when it comes, and the getting to it, is gonna be
interesting. And don't forget: Every 100 years there is a revolution
in Mexico.
--Ediger
On Sat, Feb 5, 2011 at 5:55 PM, David wrote:
> The U.S. State Department released this statement yesterday:
>
> "Recently, Monterrey has seen a significant increase of armed
> robberies in restaurants, coffee shops and
> convenience stores. The robberies follow a similar modus operandi: a
> small group of armed individuals enter
> their target location, guard the doors and take purses, wallets,
> phones and other valuables from the patrons
> inside. None of these robberies have resulted in violence or kidnapping."
>
>
> I saw somewhere else that they ordered their embassy and consulate
> staff to not be on the road at night
> around Monterrey, but haven't found confirmation of that.
>
>
> Anybody have any theories about how things got like this? I lived
> in Monterrey briefly during the summers
> of 1987 and 1988, and did all kinds of stuff at night, and I never
> felt or sensed danger. It seems to me these
> guys see expensive things they want, and they see that they can never
> have those things while working
> the kinds of jobs their parents worked.
>
>
>
>
> Not related below, but worth mentioning,
>
> The U.S. gov't recently posted to be careful around water at 2
> particular hotels in Cozumel,
> as there have been cases of Legionnaries disease, suggesting it is in
> the jacuzzi's or the bath water, or
> swimming pool.
>
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--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Producer James Cameron should be embarrassed to have his name attached to
this movie. I'm embarrassed that I recommended people see it before I had
seen it. Once I finally got out of
theatre it didn't take me long to call my brother and tell him that I'd
changed my mind and to please
not take our elderly mother or his kids to see it
Can I say anything good about it? There are some nice looking visuals. They
recreated real caves
nicely. But my overriding feeling is one of offended sensibilities. Mercy
killing of fellow cavers?
Who does that, even in war or anywhere? Now cavers are seen to be doing
that because they're
in a remote spot? I believe that such acts are called second degree murder.
And I don't know about
you, but profanity is rarely heard underground where I go, but then again,
I haven't gone caving with Australians in many years. Maybe they're like
that these days.
I will be asked by both cavers and non-cavers if I recommend this film and
I will say no to both. They
show highly dangerous stunts such as standing backwards at the edge of a
deep pit with rack engaged
and just jumping backwards into it. And what about the guy struggling to
free climb up a waterfall right next to a traverse line into which he does not
clip his cowstail? Was their technical cave advisor not listened to, or did
they not even have one?
I give it one star out of a possible five. I'd rather have make-believe
monsters than for my fellow cavers
to be shown as monsters.
Bill Steele
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Hi Bill and Cavetex,
With much excitement Travis and I headed to the theater on Saturday night to
see Sanctum. But I left feeling the same way you did, and have already told
other friends and family to avoid seeing this movie.
I was hoping for a really great flick, but couldn't stomach the mercy
killings and other gruesome scenes.
Maybe one day there will be a main stream caving movie worth watching, but
this wasn't it.
Just my two cents,
Amanda
On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 6:04 AM, <[email protected]> wrote:
> Producer James Cameron should be embarrassed to have his name attached to
> this movie. I'm embarrassed that I recommended people see it before I had
> seen it. Once I finally got out of
> theatre it didn't take me long to call my brother and tell him that I'd
> changed my mind and to please
> not take our elderly mother or his kids to see it
>
> Can I say anything good about it? There are some nice looking visuals. They
> recreated real caves
> nicely. But my overriding feeling is one of offended sensibilities. Mercy
> killing of fellow cavers?
> Who does that, even in war or anywhere? Now cavers are seen to be doing
> that because they're
> in a remote spot? I believe that such acts are called second degree murder.
> And I don't know about
> you, but profanity is rarely heard underground where I go, but then again,
> I haven't gone caving with Australians in many years. Maybe they're like
> that these days.
>
> I will be asked by both cavers and non-cavers if I recommend this film
> and I will say no to both. They
> show highly dangerous stunts such as standing backwards at the edge of a
> deep pit with rack engaged
> and just jumping backwards into it. And what about the guy struggling to
> free climb up a waterfall right next to a traverse line into which he does
> not clip his cowstail? Was their technical cave advisor not listened to, or
> did they not even have one?
>
> I give it one star out of a possible five. I'd rather have make-believe
> monsters than for my fellow cavers
> to be shown as monsters.
>
> Bill Steele
>
--
Amanda Scott
979-229-9430
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Hey, Bill,
Maybe it is a new form of cave conservation. Better than a gate.
Better than the Great WNS Conspiracy. It's an educational video. You
cave. You die!
Josh
PS Did they use an ice axe for the mercy killing?
On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 6:04 AM, <[email protected]> wrote:
> Producer James Cameron should be embarrassed to have his name attached to
> this movie. I'm embarrassed that I recommended people see it before I had
> seen it. Once I finally got out of
> theatre it didn't take me long to call my brother and tell him that I'd
> changed my mind and to please
> not take our elderly mother or his kids to see it
>
> Can I say anything good about it? There are some nice looking visuals. They
> recreated real caves
> nicely. But my overriding feeling is one of offended sensibilities. Mercy
> killing of fellow cavers?
> Who does that, even in war or anywhere? Now cavers are seen to be doing that
> because they're
> in a remote spot? I believe that such acts are called second degree murder.
> And I don't know about
> you, but profanity is rarely heard underground where I go, but then again, I
> haven't gone caving with Australians in many years. Maybe they're like that
> these days.
>
> I will be asked by both cavers and non-cavers if I recommend this film and I
> will say no to both. They
> show highly dangerous stunts such as standing backwards at the edge of a
> deep pit with rack engaged
> and just jumping backwards into it. And what about the guy struggling to
> free climb up a waterfall right next to a traverse line into which he does
> not clip his cowstail? Was their technical cave advisor not listened to, or
> did they not even have one?
>
> I give it one star out of a possible five. I'd rather have make-believe
> monsters than for my fellow cavers
> to be shown as monsters.
>
> Bill Steele
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
But did it have a scene where a choice had to be made to cut the rope
because a single cam was holding three people from their deaths? Then later,
another rope had to be cut because, well, another anchor (in snow this time)
was slowly failing and this time two people had to be sacrificed to save the
rest?
What was the nature of the mercy killings anyway? Did they joke about
"flatrocking" above ground and then later actually have to do it? Did anyone
say "FYBYOYO." Now that would have been funny. Instead of a caving technical
advisor telling them to do it correctly, someone should have suggested the
most outrageously stupid things that we could have enjoyed as in-jokes on
another level. I mean, if you are making a farce, do it right.
-Tim
On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 5:04 AM, <[email protected]> wrote:
> Producer James Cameron should be embarrassed to have his name attached to
> this movie. I'm embarrassed that I recommended people see it before I had
> seen it. Once I finally got out of
> theatre it didn't take me long to call my brother and tell him that I'd
> changed my mind and to please
> not take our elderly mother or his kids to see it
>
> Can I say anything good about it? There are some nice looking visuals. They
> recreated real caves
> nicely. But my overriding feeling is one of offended sensibilities. Mercy
> killing of fellow cavers?
> Who does that, even in war or anywhere? Now cavers are seen to be doing
> that because they're
> in a remote spot? I believe that such acts are called second degree murder.
> And I don't know about
> you, but profanity is rarely heard underground where I go, but then again,
> I haven't gone caving with Australians in many years. Maybe they're like
> that these days.
>
> I will be asked by both cavers and non-cavers if I recommend this film
> and I will say no to both. They
> show highly dangerous stunts such as standing backwards at the edge of a
> deep pit with rack engaged
> and just jumping backwards into it. And what about the guy struggling to
> free climb up a waterfall right next to a traverse line into which he does
> not clip his cowstail? Was their technical cave advisor not listened to, or
> did they not even have one?
>
> I give it one star out of a possible five. I'd rather have make-believe
> monsters than for my fellow cavers
> to be shown as monsters.
>
> Bill Steele
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
The person who should really be embarrassed about making this movie is the
Welsh actor that plays the American billionaire, Ioan Gruffudd. I guess he saw
this as his big movie breakthrough, but he should go back to playing Horatio
Hornblower in UK TV productions. Those movies were 10 times more entertaining.
I fell asleep at the beginning of Sanctum and didn't wake up until the first
death. It went downhill after that.
Diana
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana R. Tomchick
Associate Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Department of Biochemistry
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Rm. ND10.214B
Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A.
Email: [email protected]
214-645-6383 (phone)
214-645-6353 (fax)
On Feb 7, 2011, at 6:04 AM, <[email protected]>
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Producer James Cameron should be embarrassed to have his name attached to
> this movie. I'm embarrassed that I recommended people see it before I had
> seen it. Once I finally got out of
> theatre it didn't take me long to call my brother and tell him that I'd
> changed my mind and to please
> not take our elderly mother or his kids to see it
>
> Can I say anything good about it? There are some nice looking visuals. They
> recreated real caves
> nicely. But my overriding feeling is one of offended sensibilities. Mercy
> killing of fellow cavers?
> Who does that, even in war or anywhere? Now cavers are seen to be doing that
> because they're
> in a remote spot? I believe that such acts are called second degree murder.
> And I don't know about
> you, but profanity is rarely heard underground where I go, but then again, I
> haven't gone caving with Australians in many years. Maybe they're like that
> these days.
>
> I will be asked by both cavers and non-cavers if I recommend this film and I
> will say no to both. They
> show highly dangerous stunts such as standing backwards at the edge of a deep
> pit with rack engaged
> and just jumping backwards into it. And what about the guy struggling to free
> climb up a waterfall right next to a traverse line into which he does not
> clip his cowstail? Was their technical cave advisor not listened to, or did
> they not even have one?
>
> I give it one star out of a possible five. I'd rather have make-believe
> monsters than for my fellow cavers
> to be shown as monsters.
>
> Bill Steele
________________________________
UT Southwestern Medical Center
The future of medicine, today.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I was wondering why you were so quiet, Diana!
Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: Diana Tomchick [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, February 07, 2011 10:00 AM
To: <[email protected]> <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Saw Sanctum
I fell asleep at the beginning of Sanctum and didn't wake up until the
first death. It went downhill after that.
Diana
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana R. Tomchick
Associate Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Department of Biochemistry
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Rm. ND10.214B
Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A.
Email: [email protected]
214-645-6383 (phone)
214-645-6353 (fax)
On Feb 7, 2011, at 6:04 AM, <[email protected]>
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Producer James Cameron should be embarrassed to have his name attached
to this movie. I'm embarrassed that I recommended people see it before I
had seen it. Once I finally got out of
> theatre it didn't take me long to call my brother and tell him that
I'd changed my mind and to please
> not take our elderly mother or his kids to see it
>
> Can I say anything good about it? There are some nice looking visuals.
They recreated real caves
> nicely. But my overriding feeling is one of offended sensibilities.
Mercy killing of fellow cavers?
> Who does that, even in war or anywhere? Now cavers are seen to be
doing that because they're
> in a remote spot? I believe that such acts are called second degree
murder. And I don't know about
> you, but profanity is rarely heard underground where I go, but then
again, I haven't gone caving with Australians in many years. Maybe
they're like that these days.
>
> I will be asked by both cavers and non-cavers if I recommend this film
and I will say no to both. They
> show highly dangerous stunts such as standing backwards at the edge of
a deep pit with rack engaged
> and just jumping backwards into it. And what about the guy struggling
to free climb up a waterfall right next to a traverse line into which he
does not clip his cowstail? Was their technical cave advisor not
listened to, or did they not even have one?
>
> I give it one star out of a possible five. I'd rather have
make-believe monsters than for my fellow cavers
> to be shown as monsters.
>
> Bill Steele
________________________________
UT Southwestern Medical Center
The future of medicine, today.
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Attention all PBSSers, curious, cavers, and wannabes:
The February meeting of the Permian Basin Speleological Society will take
place at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 8th, at Murray's Delicatessen in
Midland, Texas.
Murray's is is located at 3211 West Wadley in Midland. We meet in the back
room.
We will primarily be discussing caving in general but we have a dig in
Sonora coming up the 1st weekend in March.
Any and all are welcome! For further infomation about the Permian Basin
Speleological Society contact: Jacqui Thomas [email protected], or Bill
Bentley [email protected], or Patrick Ray [email protected]
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Is David a miscreant? Was he making money off the photo?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/miscreant
List-Post: [email protected]
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2011 03:18:25 -0600
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: [Texascavers] Mexico updates
The owner/agency has a webcrawler that does this so miscreants don't keep the
owner from making money off of their property.
T
Feb 6, 2011 01:26:15 AM, [email protected] wrote:
My attempt to move my comments about Mexico to Facebook hits its first snag
in less than 2 hours.
The profile picture I was temporarily using, ( that I randomly
selected off a world-wide link on the web )
was a copyrighted picture. The owner of which, quickly noticed it.
What do you think the chances are that out of the gazillion pictures
on the web, I could have selected
one owned by a CaveTex reader, and then one that would actually click
on my Facebook page ??
Has to be something like 1 in a million trillion!
Anyways, I immediately changed it, and put my own photo.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/News-Updates-Mexico-Edition/184577178248871
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[email protected] For additional commands, e-mail:
[email protected]
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Material tests on rope, cord, webbing and even tensile tests on metal are done
in tension machines that apply a relatively low rate of strain (displacement)
until the breaking point is reached. It is often the case that materials will
exhibit different ultimate strengths (often higher strengths) when the load is
applied very suddenly.
Jim McLane
> Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2011 14:07:12 -0500
> To: [email protected]
> From: [email protected]
> Subject: [Texascavers] Re: fall factor
>
> Seems like I heard somewhere that dead pig carcasses were
> used for just this sort of test somewhere, but the details elude
> me. That should give a pretty realistic assessment of the dynamics
> of the system, if you could get a pig into an appropriate harness.
>
> Mark
>
> At 01:12 PM 2/4/2011, Mixon Bill wrote:
> >The concept of fall factor in assessing the load on belays can be
> >overdone. Yes, it is probably meaningful when one is talking about a
> >fall of 40 feet on 20 feet of rope (which would be fall factor 2, if I
> >understand it). But there is a problem when discussing very short
> >falls, like 2 feet on a 1-foot cowstail. No matter how static the
> >cowstail might be, there is enough give in your harness and your body
> >to prevent the sudden stop that is the basis of worrying about fall
> >factors. I'd like to see a figure for the peak stress put on a short
> >length of static rope (it could even be a steel cable for the
> >experiment) by a caver falling 2 or 3 feet in his harness--not a
> >theoretical figure, but rather a dynomometer reading. (But even that
> >would hurt....) It would be a lot different from that of a concrete
> >block of the same weight attacted rigidly to the cable. Basically, if
> >you fall 1 or 2 times the length of your cowstail, your harness and
> >your butt are the dynamic protection.
> >
> >For a long drop, like a fall of a lead climber from above his last
> >belay point, the slop available in harness stretch and body
> >compression is a lot smaller fraction of the fall distance and
> >provides less protection. In such a case, the stretch of the rope is
> >critical to avoid death. -- Mixon
>
> Please reply to [email protected]
> Permanent email address is [email protected]
>
>
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> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
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> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
>
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--- Begin Message ---
The TSA is in need of a volunteer to coordinate the photo salon at this
year's convention at Fort Clark Springs in Bracketville. Please contact
Marvin Miller ([email protected]) as soon as possible if you are able to
help out with this.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
So, Bill,
Is there anything on:
> Based on the true story of co-writer Andrew Wight. He once went cave
> diving and became trapped with fourteen other people in a cave for
> two days. Their entrance collapsed and they had to look for another
> way out.
>
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0881320/trivia
in your library?
Here is what Google found:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/sanctum-the-real-story-6322/blog
http://www.cavediving.com.au/cave-diving-articles/1988/12/4/13-hauled-to-safety-from-cave/
By the way, as opposed to others, I was reasonably entertained by the
movie... ;-)
Cheers,
David
On 1/27/11 6:48 PM, Mixon Bill wrote:
> They certainly do play fast and loose with geography. The original event
> on which the story was based was in Australia. The cave in the movie is
> said to be in Papua New Guinea, which is a great area for caves, but
> with its high relief, I wouldn't expect the very long, easy (except for
> length) sumps like in the original cave in Australia. And then of course
> some of the stuff appears to have been shot at Golondrinas in Mexico.
> Poetic license. -- Mixon
> ----------------------------------------
> A fearless man cannot be brave.
> ----------------------------------------
> You may "reply" to the address this message
> came from, but for long-term use, save:
> Personal: [email protected]
> AMCS: [email protected] or [email protected]
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
>
--
David Ochel, mailto:[email protected]
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
The only thing I found in common with Nullabor was both take place in a cave.
Nullabor wasn't a diving trip & was 13 people & no one died or was seriously
injured.
Karen
--- On Mon, 2/7/11, David Ochel <[email protected]> wrote:
From: David Ochel <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Sanctum
To: [email protected]
List-Post: [email protected]
Date: Monday, February 7, 2011, 10:57 PM
So, Bill,
Is there anything on:
> Based on the true story of co-writer Andrew Wight. He once went cave
> diving and became trapped with fourteen other people in a cave for
> two days. Their entrance collapsed and they had to look for another
> way out.
>
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0881320/trivia
in your library?
Here is what Google found:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/sanctum-the-real-story-6322/blog
http://www.cavediving.com.au/cave-diving-articles/1988/12/4/13-hauled-to-safety-from-cave/
By the way, as opposed to others, I was reasonably entertained by the
movie... ;-)
Cheers,
David
On 1/27/11 6:48 PM, Mixon Bill wrote:
> They certainly do play fast and loose with geography. The original event
> on which the story was based was in Australia. The cave in the movie is
> said to be in Papua New Guinea, which is a great area for caves, but
> with its high relief, I wouldn't expect the very long, easy (except for
> length) sumps like in the original cave in Australia. And then of course
> some of the stuff appears to have been shot at Golondrinas in Mexico.
> Poetic license. -- Mixon
> ----------------------------------------
> A fearless man cannot be brave.
> ----------------------------------------
> You may "reply" to the address this message
> came from, but for long-term use, save:
> Personal: [email protected]
> AMCS: [email protected] or [email protected]
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
>
--
David Ochel, mailto:[email protected]
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Pollution Threatening Mexico's Riviera Maya Region
Posted on: Monday, 7 February 2011, 09:05 CST
Illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, highway chemicals and other
substances have polluted the large aquifer beneath the "Riviera Maya" in
Mexico, researchers reported in Sunday's edition of the journal Environmental
Pollution.
Water-filled caves resting below the popular tourist destination in the
Yucatan Peninsula have been contaminated, and the polluted water flows through
those caverns and into the Caribbean Sea, according to a press release
from United Nation's University (UNU).
That pollution, combined with overfishing, disease, and climate change, has
resulted in the loss of as much as 50% of the coral reefs off the region's
coast since 1990.
Furthermore, with the area's population expected to increase tenfold over
the next two decades, the problems will likely become much worse by 2030,
according to research was conducted by Chris D. Metcalfe, a professor at
Trent University and a senior research fellow at the UNU's Institute for
Water,
Environment and Health (INWEH) in Canada.
"These findings clearly underline the need for monitoring systems to
pin-point where these aquifer pollutants are coming from," Metcalfe said in a
statement on Sunday. "As well, prevention and mitigation measures are needed
to ensure that expanding development does not damage the marine environment
and human health and, in turn, the region's tourism-based economy."
Among the substances discovered in the waters were pesticides, cocaine,
caffeine, metabolized nicotine, painkillers such as acetaminophen and
ibuprofen, ingredients common to deodorants and perfumes, and triclosan, an
anti-bacterial agent used in toothpastes, hand sanitizers, and cleansers.
While water treatment systems are commonly used in the Riviera Maya region,
they are "unlikely to remove all micro-contaminants," according to the UNU
study. In their paper, the authors recommend installing impermeable liners
beneath golf courses and similar areas; creating drainage canals,
retention ponds, and treatment systems to deal with runoff in certain areas;
and
improved wastewater treatment procedures.
The study, which was funded by the World Bank, was part of the UNU-INWEH
Caribbean Coastal Pollution Project (CCPP), which was launched in 2007 in
order to help build improved assessment, monitoring and management of
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Persistent Toxic Substances (PTS) in
Caribbean coastal ecosystems.
_http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1991897/pollution_threatening_mexicos_
riviera_maya_region/_
(http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1991897/pollution_threatening_mexicos_riviera_maya_region/)
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Here's another link:
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2011/s3127282.htm
I think I quoted something about the true story some months ago. Here
it is again, from Martyn Farr's The Darkness Beckons:
The expedition was a major success, but undoubtedly the most exciting
event took place during the final retreat from the cave. It was 4:30
pm in the afternoon when virtually the full team assembled on the
subterranean lakeside and started unloading the equipment which had
just arrived from the depths of the system. On the surface a freak
cyclone hit the area, destroying the camp and, within a period of
twenty-five minutes, depositing more than twice the area's annual
rainfall. Before those underground became aware of the event a torrent
of water poured into the vertical shaft, causing a massive landslide
and collapse. Miraculously, despite a hail of boulders crasing into
the chamber at the bottom, no one was injured. The exit route was
completely blocked and thirteen of the team were effecively entombed.
With an air of quiet resignation, they set about organizing themselves
for survival for an unknown length of time. [Doesn't sound much like
that awful new movie, does it?]
Fortunately radio communication was established within hours of
the disaster. An escape route through the chaos of boulders was
pioneered the next day, and all arrived safely on the sufrace bu 8 pm
on Saturday. Their equipment, valued at over Australian $200,000, had
to be left where it lay, to await retrieval after a suitable period of
natural stabilization.
I know I've got something more about this, including some article that
shows the approaching storm, but I can't turn it up right now. There
was a documentary film made of the expedition, for which the late Wes
Skiles was a cinematographer (trivia: "megachiropteran,"" an old-world
fruit bat, is an anagram of "cinematographer"). The film is called
"Nullarbor Dreaming." Somebody who is hooked up on one of the
"torrent" outfits can probably download it. Don't know how much of the
film concerns the final incident of the long project.
The NYT review of Sanctum is at
http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/02/04/movies/04sanctum.html
Reviewers bottom line: The director Alister Grierson, not grasping
that bad dialogue is sometimes best delivered quietly, encourages his
actors to shout and thrash about, and so they do, like fish out of
water and performers out of their depth.
--Mixon
----------------------------------------
A fearless man cannot be brave.
----------------------------------------
You may "reply" to the address this message
came from, but for long-term use, save:
Personal: [email protected]
AMCS: [email protected] or [email protected]
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
That's pretty cool, Bill. I read "The Darkness Beckons" years ago, but
forgot a lot of the stories in it unfortunately. Most of the hair-raising
tales seemed to concern Sheck Exley, like the lava tube dive in Hawaii.
On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 9:12 AM, Mixon Bill <[email protected]> wrote:
> Here's another link:
>
> http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2011/s3127282.htm
>
> I think I quoted something about the true story some months ago. Here it is
> again, from Martyn Farr's The Darkness Beckons:
>
> The expedition was a major success, but undoubtedly the most exciting event
> took place during the final retreat from the cave. It was 4:30 pm in the
> afternoon when virtually the full team assembled on the subterranean
> lakeside and started unloading the equipment which had just arrived from the
> depths of the system. On the surface a freak cyclone hit the area,
> destroying the camp and, within a period of twenty-five minutes, depositing
> more than twice the area's annual rainfall. Before those underground became
> aware of the event a torrent of water poured into the vertical shaft,
> causing a massive landslide and collapse. Miraculously, despite a hail of
> boulders crasing into the chamber at the bottom, no one was injured. The
> exit route was completely blocked and thirteen of the team were effecively
> entombed. With an air of quiet resignation, they set about organizing
> themselves for survival for an unknown length of time. [Doesn't sound much
> like that awful new movie, does it?]
> Fortunately radio communication was established within hours of the
> disaster. An escape route through the chaos of boulders was pioneered the
> next day, and all arrived safely on the sufrace bu 8 pm on Saturday. Their
> equipment, valued at over Australian $200,000, had to be left where it lay,
> to await retrieval after a suitable period of natural stabilization.
>
> I know I've got something more about this, including some article that
> shows the approaching storm, but I can't turn it up right now. There was a
> documentary film made of the expedition, for which the late Wes Skiles was a
> cinematographer (trivia: "megachiropteran,"" an old-world fruit bat, is an
> anagram of "cinematographer"). The film is called "Nullarbor Dreaming."
> Somebody who is hooked up on one of the "torrent" outfits can probably
> download it. Don't know how much of the film concerns the final incident of
> the long project.
>
> The NYT review of Sanctum is at
> http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/02/04/movies/04sanctum.html
> Reviewers bottom line: The director Alister Grierson, not grasping that bad
> dialogue is sometimes best delivered quietly, encourages his actors to shout
> and thrash about, and so they do, like fish out of water and performers out
> of their depth.
>
> --Mixon
> ----------------------------------------
> A fearless man cannot be brave.
> ----------------------------------------
> You may "reply" to the address this message
> came from, but for long-term use, save:
> Personal: [email protected]
> AMCS: [email protected] or [email protected]
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
This may be old news to those who religiously read the NSS Cave Forum ("Cave
Chat"), but there is an interesting new LED module being sold for the Petzl Duo
14- or 8-LED headlamps:
http://customduo.co.uk/customduo.aspx
These modules use Cree XPG LEDs (your choice of the R5 or R4), and you have a
choice of replacing just the side spot (the halogen bulb) or both the side spot
and the original LED module. Lumen ratings range from 110 to 280 depending upon
configuration. Prices range from 28 to 44 English pounds ($45 - 71),
international shipping is free (for now). Payment is via PayPal.
This may be an inexpensive way to upgrade your old Petzl Duo headlamp into
something much brighter (and a lot sturdier and more waterproof) than many of
the Princeton Tec headlamps currently available (such as the notoriously
finicky Apex).
Diana
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana R. Tomchick
Associate Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Department of Biochemistry
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Rm. ND10.214B
Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A.
Email: [email protected]
214-645-6383 (phone)
214-645-6353 (fax)
________________________________
UT Southwestern Medical Center
The future of medicine, today.
--- End Message ---
