[meteorite-list] Re: Treasure Hunters

[Notkin]

Dear Listees:

Greetings comrades.

Just returned late last night from our Brenham/Glorieta documentary 
shoot: sunburned, bruised, scratched, and battered, but what a great 
experience. Our Travel Channel host, the glamorous Becky Worley, jumped 
right into the action and was digging holes, riding ATVs, swinging 
metal detectors, and generally working her way through an intense 
meteorite-hunting apprenticeship in 48 hours flat. She's a knockout.

Thanks to Mark and Ruben for posting their photos of our expedition. 
I'll post my own as soon as I can. Mark Bostick and his bro came all 
the way down from Wichita for the dig on Thursday. It was good to see 
some friendly faces and I appreciate the nice web presentation he put 
together.


In other news: this Besednice character is a real corker isn't he? He's 
gotta be just a fake ID, or a troll right? With a name like that I'm 
putting my money on Jim Strope or Dave Andrews having some fun with us.

Thaddeus Besednice posted:

> Oh great - another glorification of looting (relic hunting)!

A relic is generally assumed to be a product of, or an item 
specifically associated with, human culture and history (i.e. an 
ancient religious relic), so it doesn't really work with a meteorite. 
Also, how can you be looting something when its owner (the landowner) 
has expressly asked you to excavate it from his own property? Answer me 
that, Mr. Moldavite.


> Do Any of the Brenham pits get at least a cursory record of their 
> possible prehistoric components?

They're not pits, silly. The Brenhams are completely buried, way, way 
underground, a bit like your conscience. An "impact pit" is a modest 
surface indentation made by a meteorite which is too small (or 
traveling too slowly) to produce an actual crater. I suggest reading 
Mr. Norton's "Rocks from Space" where you can learn some other helpful 
meteorite terms, and then use them at parties.

FYI, Steve meticulously records the depth, orientation, GPS 
coordinates, and other detailed info for every single find. A 
scientific study (in association with a prominent geologist on the 
List) is underway to determine the true age of the fall. I can't wait! 
IMO the Brenham fall took place more recently than many of us think.

In addition, valuable and detailed strewnfield data is being collected 
with each new find. The area around each excavated Brenham is carefully 
checked for meteorite fragments, as well as the flattened, fossilized 
carcass of an ancient Kansas plains camel, big sabre tooth kitty, or -- 
if we're super lucky -- Thaddeus Besednice himself. Steve is REALLY 
hoping that directly beneath one of the big irons he will discover a 
wafer-thin buffalo mummy. Imagine how much that would go for on eBay!


>  I'm justifiably and unassailably an enemy of the irresponsible, 
> counterscientific, hobbyist attitudes glorified by certain people and 
> uncritically tolerated by others (accomplices).

Good lord that's fabulous. A sentence worthy of Thomas Pynchon! Yes, 
that would be me, one of the accomplices. I know you're just jealous 
you big Moldavite.


> No, we don't need degrees to collect lumps of asteroids, planets, and 
> comets, but a bit of respect for irreplacable biological taxa and 
> cultural residues would make us more than drooling, avaricious 
> freebooters.

Unfortunately, most of the eminent scientists with degrees are too busy 
with classifications, new papers, and important lab work to go 
scurrying around in the mud with us, but we're happy to do our part. I 
do agree with you though -- think of all the "irreplacable biological 
taxa" that resides at the bottom of a hole in a field in a Kansas farm! 
If you want to come out and study it, I'll be happy to hand you a 
shovel.

Anyway, just to contradict you one more time, Steve has had recognized 
academics up to Brenham to inspect the work-in-progress, notably the 
excellent Dr. Art Ehlmann of the Oscar Monnig Gallery, TCU.

I know this guy Besednice is just a gag by someone, but replied for the 
sake of some List members who might think this clown is a real person.

Good joke though  : )


Yours in freebooting asteroids,

Geoff Notkin
(Arnold accomplice and part-time henchman)

www.aerolite.org
Rockin' Tucson