texascavers Digest 13 Sep 2009 14:36:46 -0000 Issue 852
Topics (messages 12070 through 12079):
Accused cavern shooter heads for retrial :
12070 by: JerryAtkin.aol.com
LED article in NSS News
12071 by: David
12075 by: mminton.caver.net
Please feel free to delete my last post
12072 by: David
Re: For those of you who are crossing the border...
12073 by: Fofo
Re: Cave Dog}
12074 by: Don Arburn
Re: [Restoration Field Camp] Restoration Camp on CNN
12076 by: Diana Tomchick
Hauling firewood to TCR
12077 by: Peter Strickland
Has anybody been here?
12078 by: Louise Power
Re: Low Altitude Photos of Mars
12079 by: Chris Vreeland
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[A misleading newspaper headline to be sure, but still a tale from the
Caver's Crackpot Chronicles]
Accused cavern shooter heads for retrial
_By Zeke MacCormack _
(http://www.mysanantonio.com/email_us?contentID=57804937) - Express-News
BOERNE — Suzzie Donofrio felt like she was having a flashback Tuesday,
watching jurors getting picked for the trial of Dario Acevedo.
She was in the same courtroom four years ago when Acevedo, then 27, was
convicted of murder in the 2005 shooting death of her brother Jeffery
Donofrio, 39, at Cascade Caverns.
Defenders of Acevedo, who worked and lived at the tourist attraction in
Kendall County, had pleaded for mercy from state District Judge Steve Ables,
calling the shooting an accident.
Unmoved, Ables had sentenced Acevedo to life in prison. But the conviction
was overturned last year because appellate judges said Ables abused his
discretion by allowing suspect testimony by an expert witness for the
prosecution.
So Donofrio returned from her Ohio home, dismayed at the prospect of
another trial but expressing confidence the outcome would be the same.
Acevedo family members, for their part, relish the second chance before a
new judge to obtain what they consider a fair verdict.
“We just thank God we have this opportunity to state our case again,”
Ramiro Acevedo, the defendant's father, said in the courthouse hallway. “I
don't think we got a fair shake at the last one.”
Defense attorney Jimmy Parks Jr., who didn't call any witnesses in the
guilt-innocence phase of the first trial, declined to comment. A jury should be
seated today.
The trial before state District Judge Keith Williams is expected to last
three days. If convicted, Acevedo has elected to be sentenced by the judge.
Donofrio and Acevedo were working together when Donofrio was shot once in
the back. A witness at the first trial who saw Acevedo carrying a firearm
and asked him about it said Acevedo responded: “I'm going to get me a couple
of cats,” records show.
Acevedo was romantically involved with Jill Beardsley, 55, who co-owned the
caverns with James Kyle.
Beardsley had died of an accidental aspirin overdose 17 days before the
shooting of Donofrio, who had traveled from Florida at Kyle's request to help
make repairs at the tourist attraction.
Ramiro Acevedo said his son had been prescribed medication to battle
depression over Beardsley's death, and it caused dramatic mood swings. Just
weeks after Donofrio's death, Dario Acevedo slashed the throat of an elderly
relative in Bexar County, an assault for which he is now serving a 25-year
prison term.
Wilke doesn't plan to recall psychiatrist Michael Arambula, whose testimony
led the state's 4th Court of Appeals to reverse Acevedo's conviction and
order a new trial.
Building on another witness' claim that Acevedo used speed the night before
the shooting, Arambula gave hypothetical testimony that the drug could
cause anxiety, instability, impulsiveness and aggressiveness.
The appellate judges said Arambula's testimony — which Parks had asked
Ables to strike — was “unsubstantiated ... (and) both unreliable and
irrelevant,” according to the Jan. 30 opinion written by Justice Rebecca
Simmons.
_http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/57804937.html_
(http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/57804937.html)
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Dear Pelican,
I am just forwarding this to you, so you know you have at least one
happy customer out there.
Below is a e-mail I sent that was read by about 200 cave explorers.
Don't read it, just scroll
down to the 6th line from the bottom:
________________________________________________________________________________
Can I do a review of a review ?
Page 25 of the latest NSS News features a 3/4 page article on LED headlamps.
The 1st light describe was reviewed on CaveTex three years ago. I
caved with it
in 3 caves at the Indiana 2007 Convention. It is still one of the
better retail lamps around,
but in my opinion, the main feature is that it is readily available at
Target and can often
be purchased on sale.
The 2nd light described was also mentioned on CaveTex at least a year
ago, if not more.
( He didn't even bother to take it out of the frickin package )
He mentioned that AAA batteries are an "obviously bad idea."
Then he briefly mentioned the Scurion light on display at ICS.
That too was mentioned
on Cavetex years ago ( but not the latest models at ICS )
I will give credit to the author, Mr. Walter Lipton, for taking the
time to write an article
that was overall an interesting read. However, I think he has been
underground in a cave for too long.
( Which may be a good thing. )
However, I would argue that in many Texas caves, such as Airmans, that
AAA batteries
are the preferred batteries. I would also argue that AAA batteries
are going to be more
common in future caving headlamps, at least until a good lithium-ion
model hits the cheap
retail market.
( Disclaimer: My current LED headlamp uses 8 AA batteries, but I
wouldn't take it in Airman's. )
I suspect that headlamps I see in stores in Houston, may not be
readily available in other
parts of the country or at least not as easy to find, or as in-expensive.
In summary,
I would have rather read a review of a light that just hit the market and was
fully tested in various caving conditions, for example:
http://www.pelican.com/lights_detail_specs.php?recordID=2690
or a head-lamp that has been used for years that just
keeps on ticking. Like:
http://www.pelican.com/lights_detail.php?recordID=2680
or my 2nd favorite el-cheapo lite:
http://images1.opticsplanet.com/1020-680-ffffff/opplanet-pelican-headsup-lite-2630-led-flashlight.jpg
( All 3 Pelican products by the way )
My personal opinions on reports for testing these new lights, is that
you got to be willing to drop it on
concrete from 3 feet off the ground and also to submerse it in water
overnight with the light
on with a fresh set of batteries. You have to try to disassemble it
into as many pieces as
possible and put it back together. You got to take it outside at
night or into a cave and examine
the beam pattern comparing it to a light that you like, side by side.
David Locklear
caver in Fort Bend County, Texas
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David Locklear said:
However, I would argue that in many Texas caves, such as Airmans,
that AAA batteries are the preferred batteries.
( Disclaimer: My current LED headlamp uses 8 AA batteries, but I
wouldn't take it in Airman's. )
Have you ever been in Airmen's Cave, David? I didn't think
you'd fit. ;-)
Mark Minton
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I accidentally hit the send button too soon.
Please feel free to delete my last post concerning
LED lites and I will resend it later.
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Rod Goke wrote, on 10/9/09 21:56:
> Have any of you had any experience with
> special passport envelopes or other packaging designed to prevent
> surreptitious detection and reading of RFID chips?
I remembered seeing one in plane catalogs, made with woven stainless steel:
http://www.hammacher.com/Product/wallet?promo=Home
But while I was looking for it for posting it here, I found a leather one:
http://www.redferret.net/?p=6673/
And a DIY project:
http://tinyurl.com/m33wde
And of course, there's the recent news that at the DefCon hacker
convention, the RFID tags of some federal agents were scanned without
their knowledge:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/08/fed-rfid/
- Fofo
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http://gmy.news.yahoo.com/vid/15492436
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On a rainy, dreary afternoon here in the Metroplex, I received this
email message about a good YouTube caving video. I have been reading a
lot about the work done by the Mammoth Cave Restoration Group on
removing the old Echo River boat ramp, it was delightful to see the
great footage in this video of the group in action.
Diana
Begin forwarded message:
From: "norm_rogers" <[email protected]>
Date: September 12, 2009 10:18:37 AM CDT
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Restoration Field Camp] Restoration Camp on CNN
Reply-To: [email protected]
I finally got around to digitizing the video of the CNN story of the
restoration camp. It's up on youtube now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx2qHHSBOV8
A funny side note: The story aired on a Saturday but got bumped
because of some other news that day. No one saw it. I emailed the
reporter that put the story together and chided him that they cut
all the footage with Chris in it. To get me back, he put her name on
the screen when Mark Webb is being interviewed. Funny guy.
Hope you enjoy the footage!
__._,_.___
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__,_._,___
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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)
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We need someone to haul a bunch of firewood to TCR. A rounded load in
an 8 foot long wide bed pickup might be enough. There is wood
available, There are trailers available. We need enough wood for four
fires,-for the hot tub heater, for the sauna heater, for a fire by
the hot tub and sauna, and for a main campfire, (Allan said we could
put the beer by the main campfire to make it a happening place.)
We also need someone to light and feed the main campfire.
If you can help, call me at 512-897-9235 Pete Strickland
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http://www.cmdrmark.com/devilspunchbowl.html
Devil's Punch Bowl (Diana's Punch Bowl)
GPS N39 01' 50.4" W116 40' 04.5"
36 miles north of Belmont off SSR82
Road factor/Accessability - pitted graded dirt/gravel
~301 miles from Las Vegas
Sounds like that in addition to the sinkhole, there's a cave. Probably have to
enter through the sinkhole which has a hot spring.
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Through trip!
On Sep 8, 2009, at 9:51 PM, David wrote:
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/images/2008/details/cut/PSP_009488_1745_cut_a.jpg
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