Over the years my wild goose chases for meteorites can be counted on one hand. I just don’t seem to get a lot of the calls about grandpa’s meteorite that fell on the hill just over there. But, I got home from an early morning meeting one Saturday recently as the phone rang. It was a professor in the Physics
This month is going to be kind of a weird mix of topics. I may even disappoint a few people by doing something I rarely do and that is not revealing a secret. First, it came to my attention by an interested reader of a past article from a couple months ago that I had never written in Meteorite Times
Times change and they say that you can never go back to the way it was in the past. That is certainly true about meteorite collecting. There are a few of us out in the world that remember having to be on waiting lists with dealers. We would tell them what we wanted and hope in the next few months
Another Tucson Gem and Mineral Show is in the history book. What an exciting trip it was for Paul and I. We took an extra day this year and it made a big difference in the way the week went. It was a little more relaxed and we had a chance to find a few more great items that we
As I think about the Tucson Gem Show coming soon, I am trying to put together my short list of meteorites. Ones I would be interested in if I see them there. It has become increasingly apparent to me lately that I have made some real tactical errors over the years. Also I have never learned from my mistakes. This
Well, I am taking a month off from my article so that I can finish a book with the working title above. There was a recent discussion on the internet suggesting it would be great if there was a how to manual on cutting meteorites. It was mentioned that I had written articles in several different publication over the last
Tools and Techniques for Cutting and Finishing Meteorites Read Post »
Paul and I had a fantastic vacation again. Each year I do my article on what happens when we go out. We had decided that this year with all that was going on in our lives that we would take a break from the long days of hunting meteorites from morning to dusk. We had actually figured we would not
Paul and I are heading out for vacation in a couple days and with that on my mind I have been unable to think of anything really great to write about for this month. I thought , “go back and look at what you have written on before and see if that gives you any ideas.” Wow, I knew we
Anniversaries – Moon Landing This has been a summer of 40th anniversaries. It was my fortieth high school reunion, there are specials about Woodstock on TV. But, the Moon Landing was by far the most important for me. I actually met my wife the day of the Moon Landing. As Neil and Buzz walked on the Moon she and I
First, a couple of gratuitous pictures of chondrules are offered so that my article is more meteorite relevant. The Plane Crash Revisited Sometimes authors wonder if anyone really reads what they write. It is wonderful when you heard from a reader that they have enjoyed or learned something from what was written. Only occasionally does a reader contact
Last month in my Jim’s Fragments article I wrote about the dangers to a tektite specimen during the cutting process. It is obvious from the title of this month installment that those dangers were realized. At about the 40 % point in the cut the tektite exploded. Some pieces remained on the saw, with others spilling out into the air
This feature will be devoted to a different personality from the meteorite community each month. But, since this magazine is being seen world wide we thought we would introduce ourselves by retelling one of our meteorite hunting adventures. It is probably the best way to get a glimpse at who we are. As the months pass we hope you will
