Penetrating the Earth!

I had the opportunity today to take a tour of a part of our Earth that most people have never had the chance to see. I am currently in Texas and the local news had a story about the cave systems that dot the subterranean Texas landscape. The story focused on the large amount of rainfall during the last month and the fact that the caves are filling up with water. I knew that there were cowboys, longhorn steer and cacti in Texas but I did not know that there are caves. The story on the news described how most of the caves were now closed to the public and would be so until the water receded. I will only be here for a few more days, so we quickly made plans to head out and explore.

The cave we ended up going to is called "The Inner Space" cavern. It was discovered in 1963 when the Texas highway department was building Interstate 35. The crew was doing some ground core samples and came across a large airpocket. They drilled a larger hole and lowered one of their men down into a 40 foot high chamber.


Since that time the local family that owns the cave has turned it into a tourists attraction complete with a trolley that brings you down into the cavern and a snack bar full of all the best Texas meats. The tour guide was knowledgeable and some of the formations are incredible. The caverns were only partially open, as the rising water levels have made access impossible. The staff is predicting that they will be completely shutting down by the end of the week as the rest of the cave will soon be flooded. If you are ever in Texas, be sure to check out the caves. Just make sure that you avoid the meat at the snack bar.

Airplanes and Cookies

Allow me to drift from my normal education focused posts. Over the course of the summer, I usually try to relax, read and visit my friends and family. During the last few weeks I made some tentative plans to visit a friend in Buffalo, NY and then catch a ride to visit my family in Rochester, NY. My idea was to catch a one way flight into Buffalo and then another one way flight from Rochester back to Florida. While in the process of looking for tickets, I may have stumbled upon one of the airline's biggest secrets.

It all began when I looked up flights home my home computer while enjoying my morning coffee. I found a few relatively inexpensive one-ways into Buffalo and proceeded to call my buddy to see what time would be preferable. Due to his work schedule, I didn't hear back from my buddy until around 7pm. I then went back to my computer and tried to find the same flights. Unfortunately for my credit card, all the flights had somehow tripled in price. I called my friend and we swore about the airline industry for a while and ended the conversation with a "maybe later in the summer will be better."

The next morning I woke up checked up world events while enjoying my coffee and an Eggo Waffle. I decided to try to find tickets one last time. This time, however, I went into my browsers tools and deleted all my cookies. (For more info on cookies click here) I then proceeded to search for flights and to my amazement was able to find an amazingly cheap ticket. This may have been a coincidence; perhaps there was a cancellation and I was just lucky to be the first to get it. There also is the chance that the airlines tracked my flight queries and jacked up the price knowing that i would probably be back to buy my flight. Conspiracy or not, I will now be able to afford to take the flight to Sunny Buffalo, NY.

Timmon's Great Idea

PB Wiki

A teacher I work with had a great idea that i will let everyone know about. She built a Wiki for her class. A Wiki is kind of like a traditional web page, however, it can be edited by anyone who has the password. This helps to foster communication between the teacher, students and their parents. The PB Wiki that Timmon's created is easy to edit, simple to use and contains a wealth of information.

I have heard that imitation is one of the best forms of flattery. Well, I hope that Timmons is flattered because I will absolutely be stealing her idea of using a Wiki for my class as well. I am excited to keep the students of my parents up to date with the happenings of my classroom. This page will also serve as a kind of evolving syllabus for my class, as my students and I work together to shape my curriculum.

For a look at what I am talking about, click HERE