[Lvas] Sawmill Trailhead

Fri Aug 14 21:01:24 PDT 2009

Fred,

I look forward to meeting you some day, as I am very much impressed with your achievements in astronomy and the related support activities that you have conducted or participated in. Having read your response to my concern, it shows that you missed my point or chose to skirt it. I'll take it upon myself to ask you to please consider refraining from sending out an invitation addressed to "All", particularly when the leadership of the LVAS has made request for support. Therein lies the conflict. Here's hoping that you will remain an active contributor to the LVAS.

Respectfully,

Billy

In a message dated 08/14/09 20:38:45 Pacific Daylight Time, rayworth1969 at hotmail.com writes:
Billy,

Though I'm not particularly offended with your comments, I DO want to set the record straight about why I do what I do.

I am an observer first, a club member second. Always have been, always will be. That's just the hard cold facts.

However, I am a club member and as such, I DO support the club in my own way, the best way I can. Because I don't come to a specific event does not make me disrespectful, and I find that comment ludicrous. However, since you used to be the education outreach coordinator, I'm sure you've dealt with the frustration of trying to get people to participate.

I support the club in many ways. I have done two presentations in the two years I've been a member, plus I am working on a couple of more I may do if Rob lets me. I participate almost daily on this forum in an effort to get people to chime in and get interested. I and Rover Ivester started an observer's challenge program to spur interest in visual observing and Rob has been our biggest supporter, along with many other club members.

When I was in the smaller club in town, I used to go to every Astronomy Day event where we'd set up at the Galleria Mall in Henderson and show the Moon and Jupiter for hours on end.

I even did one of my presentations at Red Rocks last year.

I use photos of me with a telescope on Classmates, FaceBook, MySpace, and even the writer's forum I'm a member of. I have astronomy calenders at work and photos of my and my telescopes on the wall. Every time I go to a meeting or go out to observer, I post it on FaceBook.

I've written dozens of articles about amateur astronomy.

I have done presentations with other clubs including several at the Okie-Tex Star Parties in the mid-nineties.

Being a visual observer, I have to go out and actually look through an eyepiece, which means, I am totally dependent on observing conditions. There are only two Saturdays a month where there is no moon, which is about 24 days a year that I'm able to attempt to go out. So far this year, I've been out four times since January because of weather. That's not a very good track record. So, my dark nights are precious and few. When the club schedules a public event on a dark night, as this Saturday is, I just cannot justify wasting a potential dark night in an area where the sky glows so much you can practially read without a light. As I told Rob in an earlier e-mail, if he can get the Red Rocks nights changed to when the moon is up, I'd gladly participate when I can.

So, though I respect your opinion, I think it is a bit misguided. If not showing up to Red Rocks this Saturday makes me a bad club member, I'll be glad to resign my membership. However, I don't believe that, and I don't think anyone else in the club does either (at least I hope not!).

I appreciate you expressing your feelings. I've done that myself here and got some flack for it.

One more thing. I've made it very clear to Rob and anyone that will listen that my priority is observing. I've mentioned it many times that our public events should be on moon weekends. However, the schedule just didn't work out that way this year, but I'm not complaining. It's just the way it worked out.

Fred

Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:05:46 -0700
From: b1outdoors at aol.com
To: lvas at lvlug.org; lvas at lvlug.org
Subject: Re: [Lvas] Sawmill Trailhead

Rob, I would certainly join you and other faithful club members in support of the Public Star Party and Education Outreach at Red rock tomorrow night, but as you know, I have been hampered with cataracts.
Night time driving is a real challenge for me, and seeing faint objects is practically impossible. But, I remain hopeful that I will rejoin the LVAS group early next year, after my next surgery (left eye) sometime in November or December. By the way, I have never met or communicated directly with the gentleman, Fred, who posted an announcement to go to Sawmill on the same night as the Red Rock event. This was a circumstance when I served as the Education Outreach Coordinator; that is, having individual club members to "splinter off" when there was a need to support a previously announced club sanctioned event. If I make it out to the next LVAS general meeting on September 3rd, I plan to voice my opinion regarding this matter. In other words, club members or associates need to show some respect for the mission and goals of the LVAS objectives to reach out to the public. Please pardon me, if my expressions have offended anyone. Have a great night at Red Rock.

Billy

In a message dated 08/14/09 14:52:56 Pacific Daylight Time, scopegeek at gmail.com writes:
Sorry Fred.  I'll be at Red Rock tomorrow night for the public star 
party.  I'll try to schedule them in the future for 1st quarter moon 
evenings instead of 3rd quarter.  Maybe that way you'll be able to join 
us at the Red Rock and I'll be able to join you at either Redstone or 
Sawmill. 

Rob 

Fred Rayworth wrote: 
> All, 
>   
> I was considering Redstone Saturday night, but some of my friends are 
> going to Sawmill so I guess I'll take a chance on the winds and try 
> there again up on the mountain. 
>   
> Does anyone else want to try it? 
>   
> Fred 
>   
> 
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Get back to school stuff for them and cashback for you. Try Bing now. = 
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