Dear Far above,

I know a great resource for your question, a retired Parks Interpreter who now greets you on the boat at the Farmer's Market Dock on Tiohero Tours, leaving at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.   Tours will probably end later this month. Check out http://www.tioherotours.com/.

First Mate Tony tells me, off the top of his knowledgeable head, that Cayuga Lake is 38.1 miles long, 3-1/2 miles wide up around Aurora, about a mile wide down here near Ithaca.  Its average width is 1.75 miles. Its deepest point is 435 feet near King Ferry, or about 50 feet below sea level.  It holds more than 2.5 trillion gallons of water that takes more than ten years to fully replace itself through inflow from streams and outflow into the Seneca River and the Erie Canal in the north.  Cayuga Lake's waters join the water of Seneca, Keuka, Canandaigua, Owasco, Skaneteles and Otisco Lakes in the Seneca River/Erie Canal and flows north to Oswego (picking up Onondaga Lake water, not a Finger Lake, at Syracuse and Oneida Lake water) through the Oswego River and Canal.

At Oswego, Cayuga Lake water enters Lake Ontario, mixing with all the water that has poured into it from Niagara Falls and the upper four Great Lakes. The water mixes in Lake Ontario for another six years or so before straining through the Thousand Islands in the northeast corner of the lake to enter the St. Lawrence River, Ontario, Quebec, and soon the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Newfoundland.  Meanwhile, the waters from the smaller western Finger Lakes--Honeoye, Canadice, Hemlock, and Conesus--drain into the Genesee River which merges with Lake Ontario at Rochester.

So, the water that rushes under the Suspension Bridge over Fall Creek gorge on campus today will take at least sixteen years to reach the North Atlantic Ocean.

Cayuga Lake is the longest Finger Lake, but not the deepest.  That honor
goes to Seneca Lake 15-20 miles west of Cayuga Lake.  Seneca Lake looks very similar to Cayuga Lake and is three miles shorter, but it is about 650 feet deep and holds over four trillion gallons of water.  Its bottom is about 200 feet below sea level.

They are called the Finger Lakes because they spread out across the state
like long finger prints, eleven in all.  Geologically, finger lakes are long
river valleys gouged out by glaciers in a plateau and dammed up by glacial
moraine.  Chatauqua Lake in the western part of the state and Otsego Lake at Cooperstown are finger lakes, but they are not among the Finger Lakes.

A good reference for history is Cayuga Lake: Past Present and Future, by Carol Sisler. The tours website has additional info about Cayuga Lake, including links to the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network and other very informative sites. A good picture is at http://www.cayugalake.org/.

In the 1890's, Zinck's was a bar on Aurora Street where folks would gather to drink Bavarian beer and sing rousing songs and most likely relieve some stress and feel community.  The convivial owner drowned himself in Cayuga Lake after his only child died in a typhoid epidemic, and the bar closed. For more, and hopefully cheerful stories, take the boat tour and ask Tony!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear little sis,

If you go to http://www.rootsweb.com/~nytompki/Landmarks/contents.htm you will find several chapters at the end of the page that talk about Cornell.  There is a new book by Carol Kammen that your brothers might get for you when it comes out October 16 entitled  Cornell: Glorious to View. When you come to visit your brothers, you can visit the locations you have learned about!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Concerned,

Thanks for sharing your light strategy, and your concern for our community's safety. 

Cornell Police host a program called Rape Aggression Defense  (R.A.D.) training, which is a system of defense for women designed by police officers. It teaches carefully selected defensive tactics with helpful guidelines for continued personal growth.  A typical RAD class takes place on four different days, three hours a day for a total of twelve hours invested.  Interested women can visit their website http://www.rad-systems.com for more details about the class, and can call 255-2901 or Email adg23 to talk to Shura Gat, our RAD class coordinator to register for the class scheduled on Oct. 27, Oct. 29, Nov. 3 and Nov. 4 from 7 to 10:00 pm in the Balch Hall Unit One lounge.  The class costs only $20.00, and is open to women outside the Cornell community as well.

Regarding pepper spray, New York residents may only purchase defense sprays from licensed Firearms Dealers or licensed Pharmacists in that state. There are no restriction on strength, but typical defense sprays are 5 to 10% Oleo Capsicum (OC).  Classes in its use are found on the web
It is important to remember that as with any defensive weapon, there are limitations to and cautions regarding the use of Pepper Spray:
        
        1.  Pepper Spray does not work on everyone. Some people have a natural or drug induced tolerance to OC, and they will not react or might have a delayed (and therefore not helpful to you) reaction to its use on them.

        2.  Pepper Spray can be taken from you and used against you, or you may become contaminated with the spray yourself depending on contact with the sprayed person or wind direction.  This means you may become incapacitated as well (or alone- see #1).

        3. Pepper Spray is only as useful as it is available. If it is kept in your purse, backpack or pocket, you won't get it out in time to use it in a surprise situation.

        4. Pepper Spray's effectiveness diminishes with time.  Good suppliers put expiration dates on the canisters, and these dates should be strictly adhered to.  Sprays not identifying their concentration in either percent (above 8% is good) or Scoville Heat Units (1.5 million to 2 million
SHU is good) should be avoided. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), researchers at the University of Utah Center for Human Toxicology are evaluating the amount of oleoresin capsicum (OC, the active ingredient oil extracted from the cayenne pepper plant) in pepper sprays and then assessing just how well they live up to claims of effectiveness. An analysis of 10 commercial sprays revealed wide variations in OC content. The spray with the strongest OC concentration had about 40 times the amount in the weakest spray. 

        5. Sprayers can become clogged, even if never used, and can be unreliable in cold weather. Sprayers should be kept clean, and tested once a month or so to ensure their function. Of course, this means locating a safe place to spray a tiny amount, and means that you are using some of the spray up each time.  Smaller canisters (key chain size) will likely need replacement within a year if they are to remain effective and be tested monthly.

        6.Use of pepper spray for any purpose other than self-defense (for example, as a prank) -- or use of the spray against a police officer -- constitutes a criminal offense. Even lawful use of pepper spray may result in legal action against the user if a medical emergency results.

Current NY State law allows for the carry and use of Pepper Spray off campus, but the Campus Code of Conduct prohibits its carry on campus. In an excerpt from a 1997 letter to the community , the Judicial Administrator at the time wrote:
        
As of Nov. 1, 1996, New York state law authorizes people meeting certain criteria to carry pepper spray and to use it for purposes of self-defense. Members of the Cornell community may believe that it is now permissible to carry pepper spray at Cornell. This letter is to clarify that pepper spray is still not allowed on the Cornell campus. ...

...Pepper spray is still considered a "dangerous weapon" under New York state law. The recent legislative amendment simply makes clear that certain "self-defense spray devices" may be carried and used under specific circumstances.

Accordingly, pepper spray still falls within Campus Code of Conduct language which makes it a violation to "possess, carry, or use firearms, . . . ammunition, explosives, or other dangerous weapons, instruments, or substances in or upon University premises." Even though a person might possess a permit to carry a gun in the city of Ithaca, that person is not permitted to carry the gun at Cornell. Similarly, even though New York state law permits the carrying of pepper spray within the state in general, carrying this substance is not permitted on the Cornell campus...

That said, Cornell's recommendation is that you:

Walk in well-lit areas with a friend, or call for the Blue Light Escorts to accompany you.

Keep car, dorm and housing keys accessible at all times.

If you must walk alone, walk with a strong, confident stance, stay on main sidewalks and well lit paths, and constantly scan your surroundings for anything unusual.

Yell and run towards a public area or if confronted or attacked, and report the incident as soon as possible to police.

Educate yourself on self-defense techniques.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Grandparent,

Thank you for sharing your resources.  You are so right that we want to blame something, to find some cause for life's injustices, so unfairly meted out. I'm happy to hear that your children did not allow their pain to close the door on their hope. Your grandson will learn compassion at an early age.  And your granddaughter hopefully will have a support person in this world that sometimes responds unkindly to differences.

Research has changed the lives of so many who have suffered from previously poorly understood mental illnesses.  Let's hope for progress for those scientists who devote themselves to this work.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear obsessed,

Unhealthy in what way - in that it is detrimental to your well-being?  If you made it through four years or more here, you have had the kinds of experiences that create strong emotional bonds, and that is an important process in helping us all feel connected to something important beyond our individual selves and more intimate connections. It is the way we pass on to future generations the opportunities we found useful for our growth and development.

Of course, if you give all your money, such that you have none to eat with, or if you volunteer all your time, and have none for good friends and family, it could be termed an unhealthy obsession.  In that case, talk to someone to get some perspective, and make a plan to create some healthy boundaries in your activities.  For example, divide your money into two accounts, or save half your weekends for yourself.

It is healthy to feel a strong love for the groups to which you belong.  It is maturity to be able to let yourself feel it and find ways to express it appropriately, by contributing to the well-being of the group.  But please, no targeting in the umpire at the hockey games.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear surrounded by happy people,

Thank you for your kind words. I do pay attention to everyone, it is true, somehow I am one of those who sees the beauty even in complaints and problems.  There always will be problems with great endeavors, and the beauty is in the way we work together to solve them, or in the caring with which we respond to each person's feelings.  Each feeling has its special beauty, like the seasons of our hearts. Wishing you a warm one.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear broke and hungry,

Cornell Dining works to keep prices competitive on campus.  When they determine price, they take into consideration all of the costs to do business on campus.  That includes the food and paper costs of the product, the staff dollars to prepare and serve the food, the utilities, the location costs, the insurance costs, marketing expenses and their contribution back to the university.  Many students don't know that Cornell Dining contributes back into the general fund so that the day to day operating costs of running a major university can continue.

Additionally, their costs may sometimes be slightly more than off-campus because of their commitment to pay our staff a living wage and benefits package.  This means that their employees are paid, on average, four to six dollars more per hour than say the employee at a Taco Bell or Subway.  When you factor in benefits, the difference is even greater.  Cornell Dining has found that once students understand this, they are very supportive of the living wage commitment and have a better understanding of why we charge what they do.  They continue to believe however, that their prices are competitive and would be happy to meet with or talk directly to students about the issue. Contact Colleen Wright-Riva at cw223.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Nephew from '97,

Great minds think in the same direction. Anyone who remembers the vibrancy of Collegetown in the last decades of the 1900's (now doesn't that sound like ancient history?) knows how important that portal to our world can be. Cornell does want the Sheldon Court first floor space to be utilized productively, and has some longer range goals for the space.  Naturally, some procedural issues need to be worked through before any long range plans are enacted.  Meanwhile, they are exploring short term options, with the complicating factor being that many commercial business tenants require or prefer a 10 year lease.  Hmm. They anticipate that they can work through the procedural issues within the next three years so they are connecting with Cornell Real Estate and investigating other short term solutions to find productive uses of the space and make the Collegetown store fronts more appealing for the next few years.  Entrepreneurs - where are you? 

Uncle Ezra   

Dear nephew,

Thanks you ery much, I did pass your letter on to Gannett. Gannett always appreciates suggestions like the one you offer. Clearly you are a conscientious individual who is taking great responsibility regarding your sexual intimacy with your girlfriend. You deserve great commendation for your concern and care regarding your girlfriend's health and well being.

Your concern about women taking the pill at the same time each day is right on. Women who choose this type of birth control method, must understand that it one of the important features related to effectiveness. This information is clearly conveyed to patients at Gannett who are considering their birth control options.

Folks at Gannett are aware of the alarm card and have certainly considered its use as a reminder tool. There are a few important issues that have been considered related to this kind of gimmick:

First, there are probably 20-30 different kinds of birth control pills on the market in the U..S. Gannett's dispensary stocks 8-10. Prescriptions are written depending on the individual patients dosage needs as well as contraindications.

To Gannett's knowledge, Mircette is the only company that included these cards. They were a part of the sample, starter packets that Mircette used to promote its product initially. Here at Gannett, the last order of pills that arrived from Mircette did not include the cards because their promotion efforts are over. It is not unusual for pharmaceutical companies to include all kinds of gimmicks to promote products; sometimes bc pills come in cosmetic cases, sometimes a toothbrush and comb are included, etc.


Second , on the surface the cards appear a good idea but their practicality is questioned. Since most women routinely take the pill in the morning or evening, they would need to consider where they'll keep the card to "hear" it each day.

For example, if she decides to spend the night at your house, she now needs to not only remember her pill packet but also to bring the card and put it somewhere she'll hear it (e.g. NOT buried in her backpack).

Third, while the reality is that the pill is most effective when taken the same time every day, if a woman has difficulty remembering that, there are many other birth control options available to her that do not require the daily demand.

There are barrier methods (e.g. diaphrams, cervical caps, condoms (male and female) and other hormonal methods (e.g. Depo Provera) including the newest ones: Nuvaring and Ortho Evra ("the patch"). Gannett carries all of these. Students interested in learning about different methods can make an appointment with one of Gannett's clinical counselors (255-5155). Staff will take the time to help each patient decide what method is right for them.

Finally, as one of our clinicians said about the reminder alarm cards: And God help the young woman who goes home for fall break who has it in her purse and it goes off in front of a not-so-understanding mom or dad. Or inquisitive little sibling.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Gap,

I'm sorry for the trouble this has caused you.  Orthodontists often must deal with teeth moving back into their original positions, so yours would be apt to do so, too. I would suggest you have a talk with the dentist about your concerns.  Perhaps he or she will see you free of charge to look at your teeth, and can hopefully reassure you that no damage was done. 

It's surprising how much pressure dental hygenists can use with hard instruments, without damaging our teeth. If the dentist has received other complaints about this hygenist, then he or she can take apppropriate action. At the very least, you can comment on the professional's lack of courteous chairside manner, and the dentist may be able to offer some remedial training to help her communicate more gently. I hope that you feel your concerns are heard and responded to by your dentist. 

Uncle Ezra