Hi List, I'm forwarding a reply I received today from a post I had made earlier (11/11/02) regarding the Boggy Creek meteorite. Apparently Mr. Cutler sees myself and a few others as possible members of the "fringe". The only reason I'm forwarding this, is that the author has included a number of other list members in his diatribe. No further comment is needed, as one must consider the source.
Best to All, Steven L. Sachs IMCA #9210
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Dear Mr. Sachs:
My name is Bill Cutler and I would like to take this opportunity to comment on what you posted about me and bccmeteorites.com First of all thank you for the publicity I could really use it being in the education business. You mention the price for BCC9601 is $50,000.00 per gram. You mentioned this as if it is off putting or too high. I think Michael Casper was selling lunar material at one time for $2000.00 per microgram. (A microgram I believe is one-thousandth of a gram.) That means that an entire gram will cost you 2 million dollars. If this is not a rip off or misleading I do not know what is. Granted there is probably not very much of this sample to go around, but BCC9601 is a much better deal.
Mr. DeRusse has sent lunar material around the world and he has not had any complaints as to what it is. And in fact people are very happy and they should be. And Mr. Shoner has received stellar grain material (I approved it and I checked it before it was sent) as a trade with Mr. DeRusse and Mr. Shoner has not complained. And in fact he should be very happy because no one else on the planet has this material in the form of a slide and slices but him.
I suspect that a lot of what I have been reading from your members has more to do with professional or in this case unprofessional jealousy than anything.
The members have been chastised by Art Jones for violating List policies. I think you violated several policies, especially notable is policies number 2,3, and 7. Make sure you can back up statements with facts and references. Your post does not complain about anything. You just make general attacks and innuendo characteristic of a disgruntled person. Perhaps Mr. Jones can send a clear message and ban a few of you off the list especially the fringe element.
I did some research on the Frass meteorite. Every time that issue dies down someone on the list digs it back up, a few of you gather around to kick it again to make sure it is dead. Dead is dead Mr. Sachs quit digging it up and move on OK? Do you need a death certificate to quit exhuming that issue? Incidentally I read the unnecessarily lengthy report written by the JSC on the analysis of this and there are some contradictory statements found on it. I am sure if Mr. DeRusse were to examine a piece of the sample he could put the issue to rest one way or the other just as he did on the Takysie Lake sample and several other samples sent to him.
Just as in any web page we have both frequent and occasional browsers. Among our visitors are anl.gov (Argonne National Laboratory), lanl.gov (Los Alamos National Laboratory), llnl.gov (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) and many many Institutions, Corporations, and Laboratories. Surely, Mr. Sachs, you do not think they visit us because they have nothing better to do?
If you would like to test any of our samples just do the following. Have your lab technician jot down what they would like to do with the understanding that the chemical analysis must be nondestructive, preserve the sample for us. Its not very difficult is it Mr. Sachs. You pay for the test and choose any competent lab you want. Unless of course you're afraid to find out you are wrong. Or if you are too lazy to do that tell me what kind of test you want and I'll do the rest, you pay for the test and have it sent directly to you. Or come up with some formula that is suitable for you.
Educators here in my District tell me from what they're seeing unfold with the Meteorite List is quite simply and I quote, "some people don't know when their act is over and have to be drug off the stage kicking and screaming." And I think some members on the list are suffering from a bad case of this. While I am sure there are many many fine members, several of you have gone off the deep end.
I just read an appalling report from the National Geographic Society on the state of knowledge of 18-24 yr. olds familiarity with Geography. Now I see why, an entrenched elitist scientific community propped up by and worshipped by blind, chronic underachieving wacko nuts. --- End Message ---
