texascavers Digest 15 Jun 2009 20:32:12 -0000 Issue 779
Topics (messages 10998 through 11005):
Houston bats
10998 by: David
OT - fun things to do this summer
10999 by: David
book review: lava tubes
11000 by: Mixon Bill
Ultracapacitor flashlight
11001 by: David
new Stenlight headlamp improvements
11002 by: David
11004 by: Nikki Green
Re: Honey Creek Cave tank haul trip
11003 by: Mark.Alman.l-3com.com
Re: Cave Book
11005 by: Louise Power
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Here is some interesting info about a bat viewing site
in Houston
http://community-2.webtv.net/masternaturalist/THEWAUGHBATMONITOR/
I went under the bridge once about 3 years ago, and there were quiet a few bats
jammed up in the tiny crevices of the bridge.
It is possible there are more bats in the city limits of Houston than there
are humans.
Here is a map to the bridge:
http://www.buffalobayou.org/documents/BatPDF.pdf
Here is the city gov't's official post:
http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/batpage.html
The boat tour is supposedly on July 11th. 35 $ for adults and $ 20 for kids.
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Here is something that looks like fun:
http://www.airshipventures.com/theship.php
I didn't know a blimp was different from a zeppelin.
I hope this catches on. Wouldn't it be great to
fly over scenic places in Texas in one of these ?
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"Understanding Lava Tubes and Lava Caves." Harry Shick. Trafford
Publishing, Victoria, British Columbia; 2008. ISBN 978-1-4251-8985-3.
6 by 9 inches, 125 pages, softbound. $15.
The advent of cheap digital book production has given a boost to
the vanity-press business, where an author pays the publisher instead
of the other way around. In the case of Trafford, the author pays from
$799 to $2999 for various packages of services, none of which appears
to include anyone at the publisher actually reading the book, although
they will "polish" the blurbs on the cover. The nice thing about this
business is that it makes it easy for anyone to publish his book
without having to deal with agents and editors and rejections. The bad
thing about this business is that it makes it easy for anyone to
publish his book.
I didn't have the patience to do more than dip into this awful
book, despite the fact that the whole thing could be read in an hour.
The type is large, and there are numerous drawings and black-and-white
photos about the genesis of and features within lava tubes. I just
started at random and read until I found something that was misleading
or wrong, which was never far away. The one sheet of color photos in
my copy is misprinted, with parts of the photos and captions trimmed
off.
Forget it. Dave Bunnell's "Caves of Fire: Inside America's Lava
Tubes," published by the NSS, has color photos on every page and
better explanatory text, and it doesn't cost that much more,
considering.--Bill Mixon
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benefactor the world has yet known. - Sir Richard Burton
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I believe that someone posted something about ultracapacitor
flashlights back in November, but it was about
a prototype that wasn't yet on the market.
http://www.chiefsupply.com/images/products/600/UC3400-511.jpg
The light was temporarily on the market for the past 3 weeks, but has
been recalled.
You can read about it at the link below:
http://www.511tactical.com/browse/Home/Law-Enforcement/Flashlights/Light-for-Life-Flashlight-UC3400/D/30100/P/1:100:10000:11300/I/53000
It is too big to be practical as a caving flashlight. The ability to
fully recharge in 90 seconds does not do you much good underground.
However, it would be ideal for cave tour guides, or maybe even
commercial wild tour trips that furnish gear.
Should work well for car-camping and off-road trips since it comes
with a DC charger.
Seems better suited for security guards than cavers. But since
this may be the first product of its
kind, it is too early to say whether this will lead to any good caving lights.
I presume it can be recharged by a portable solar panel ? If so,
that would make it more practical. Right ?
David Locklear
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Does anyone out there have the newest Stenlight headlamp ?
The so-called "09 version."
The 2 LED's have been replaced with more efficient and brighter LED's.
This means that on Low and Medium, you should have plenty of light, and
will not need to use the turbo or boost setting as often.
The price is going to keep a lot of cavers away.
Stenlight has ruled the headlamp market now for over 4 years.
Is this the Revision G of this headlamp ?
Here is a technical sketch:
http://www.philipslumileds.com/products/show.cfm?imgId=34
David Locklear
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I have the newest Sten. I got mine upgraded around Christmas time and I
think it was worth the extra money. You can easily use the second setting
for big caves without the need to use the higher settings. When you send in
your old Sten for the upgrade they change the reflector as well, making the
beam disperse more than before, which seems to be the main complaint among
Sten wearers in my experience. Hope that helps!
On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 2:18 PM, David <[email protected]> wrote:
> Does anyone out there have the newest Stenlight headlamp ?
>
> The so-called "09 version."
>
> The 2 LED's have been replaced with more efficient and brighter LED's.
>
> This means that on Low and Medium, you should have plenty of light, and
> will not need to use the turbo or boost setting as often.
>
> The price is going to keep a lot of cavers away.
>
> Stenlight has ruled the headlamp market now for over 4 years.
>
> Is this the Revision G of this headlamp ?
>
> Here is a technical sketch:
>
> http://www.philipslumileds.com/products/show.cfm?imgId=34
>
> David Locklear
>
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>
--
Cheers,
Nikki Green
(240)818-8367
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--- Begin Message ---
Looking forward to receiving your article, Bill!
If anyone else has articles, trip reports, etc. that they would like to see
published, send 'em my way!
After a painful process of going to a new printer, the TEXAS CAVER will be
going out later this week in the mail.
If you would like to read it online, go to www.cavetexas.org and become an
online member and/or join the TSA.
I would have responded sooner, but I just got back from Myrtle Beach for a week.
Nice tan, no caves, but, lots of great beaches, scenery (all kinds), bars, and
seafood!
Thanks,
Mark
________________________________
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Mon 6/8/2009 8:26 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Texascavers] Honey Creek Cave tank haul trip
Well, we did it. And it may well have been the Last Honey Creek Cave tank haul.
Or, at least, I think, the last one I organize.
I was among the last three to get out of the cave yesterday, coming out at 9:00
a.m. after a 23 hour trip. Nine hours of that was spent in one place, on a
not-so-comfortable rocky mud bank, waiting on the two divers, James Brown and
Jean "Creature" Krejca. I tried to sleep, didn't think I did, but found out
later that I snored and people laughed about it, so I must have slept some.
I'll write a more detailed report tonight and post it here. I'll also commit to
writing a detailed review of the push of the upstream HS sump for an upcoming
issue of the Texas Caver. The upstream HS sump project has been ongoing for the
past several years.
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Hey, Viv, after all it is fiction and you wouldn't want people to walk directly
to it. Louise
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
List-Post: [email protected]
Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:34:39 +0000
Subject: RE: [Texascavers] Cave Book
>>"Lechuguilla, the cave the action takes place in has been largely
>>fictionalized both for plot and because, to preserve it, the NPS has closed
>>the cave to visitors."<<
It's true the cave is closed to sport caving, nevertheless, Nevada Barr did
actually go there as prep for her book. Some of the characters are loosely
recognizable as some of the people who escorted her. You can tell exactly how
far she got if you know the cave. Her description is really accurate to a
specific point, then becomes totally fictional. (Spoiler Alert:..............
she got partway through The Rift) Donald G. Davis likes to point out that some
of her fictional rooms contain imposible combinations of evaporatonal and
condensational formations.
-Viv Loftin
-------------- Original message from Louise Power <[email protected]>:
--------------
Well, since we're talking cave books, I can recommend "Blind Descent" (1998) by
Nevada Barr. Barr is a longtime Park Service employee whose 15 Anna Pigeon
mysteries are set in National Parks. "Blind Descent" is set in Carlsbad Caverns
NP. Here's a synopsis:
Blind Descent, the sixth in the Anna Pigeon series, is set in Carlsbad Caverns
National Park. Lechuguilla, the cave the action takes place in has been largely
fictionalized both for plot and because, to preserve it, the NPS has closed the
cave to visitors. Blind Descent was nominated for an Anthony Award.
Her first book, "Track of the Cat" (1993), was set in Guadalupe Mts NP.
Track of the Cat, the first in the Anna Pigeon series and winner of both the
Anthony and the Agatha for best first novel, is set in Guadalupe Mountains
National Park in Texas.
"This is the book that gave Anna Pigeon life. Guadalupe Mountains was my second
duty station with NPS. There were a couple of folks in Texas who really needed
to be dead. I spent a lot of time wandering the back country wondering how I
could kill them and get away with it. Fortunately, Anna Pigeon came along;
otherwise I might be writing you this from the penitentiary." Nevada
Her most recent, "Borderline" (2009) is set in Big Bend NP. I've not read this
one, but if it lives up to all the others, it's very good. She's very
knowledgable about the Park Service and its facilities, and her books have a
very realistic quality.
Louise
> From: [email protected]
> To: [email protected]
> Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:52:30 -0500
> Subject: [Texascavers] Cave Book
>
> Since we have had movie reports, how about a book report ...
>
> Fiction: "Shibumi" by Trevanian, pseudonym for Rodney Whitaker
>
> This book contains a great cave adventure/chase sequence. Add
> this read to your summer 'round toit.
>
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