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(meteorobs) Ruminations on New Observers:By a new observer

Hi all,
First, Bob, you better be nice to George- - remember Rambo :-) Although as 
I recall, he's not exactly wild about George either.
	This discussion certainly has been a good one, if a bit testy at 
times. I think I qualify as a new observer, though probably not a typical 
one.I really jumped in with both feet. After I joined, the weather was very 
uncooperative for months, so I had a chance to spend many, many days and 
nights reading a massive amount of material. I read everything I could get 
my hands on, from ALPO to IMO, to NAMN and DMS, to Meteors (Bone), to Gary 
Kronks web material, discussions here, there, etc. I have more books 
backordered. (I am a reading addict, after all). So I had time to absorb 
the information, with a little observing thrown in here and there to start 
to learn the skills. Also, I'm a quality driven (deeds, not words) nut. I 
have quite a reputation among those in my niche of the electronics field as 
a real pain. The guy I work with and I go ballistic when we detect a 0.1% 
difference between our test bench instruments...even though they are spec'd 
at +/- 1%. We constantly discuss little things we learn, throw around ideas 
on how to improve things that little nth more. I'm sure that is the same 
kind of discussions that Georghe and Bob have with each other during those 
long nights. This maillist (pat on back to Lew) is a poor substitute for 
that kind of interaction, but it is better than nothing.
	Most people's first exposure to meteors is the Perseids. If you think 
about it, it's a very hard time to start doing real science! Meteors to the 
right of you, meteors to the left of you, Don't know magnitudes yet, where 
do I write that...dot it's a swirling mess. As I said, this was one benefit of 
my circumstances. After my initial exposure to the Lyrids, I had a lot of 
SLOW (!) meteor hours to learn the skills: Constellations, Magnitudes, 
Limiting Magnitude areas, how to record the data, how to plot. Many early 
hours were spent just trying to remember what I had to try and remember. 
	Now I find myself here, trying to guide a group of 10 new "observers" 
from an astronomy club. These are not the hanger on members, but people who 
are seriously interested. However, I don't think they can be expected to 
remember everything all at once. To force them to do so might scare away a 
potential long term meteor-ite. However, they have been exposed to it all!  
What I have done is based on the NAMN material, I've tried to help them 
prioritize what they should try and do first. And they will have the 
advantage of at least having me there to share my recent and current 
learning experiences, and answer their questions to the best of my ability, 
or at least knowing where to go for the answers. Most beginners don't have 
that, so they are in a much more difficult situation. I would guess most 
people would have been bored to death during those slow months. And yet, as 
I said, it's really the best time to learn.
	So in summary, for my first installment on this thread, personally, 
I'm with George as far as presenting the information on how to do it right. 
Yet Bob has a very valid point, too that people will progress up the 
ladders of both interest and science if their interest is sustained. But 
only at their own speed. As a facilitator at this point, for the folks at 
NJAA, I will ensure that they have the information available that they need 
to do the job right. I suspect for some, trying to record the Perseids may 
be too daunting. For them I'll say, OK keep YOUR count, your own way; but 
if you want to submit your observations for scientific analysis, these are 
the things you need to learn. So while you're doing your count, keep these 
things in mind, and practice doing them. Then we'll see who comes back for 
the first mass observing and teaching session we have AFTER the Perseids. 
Those people will have enough interest to come back, and hopefully enough 
curiosity to want to do it *right*. I'm optimistic, if not very bright :-)
	I'll post how things go as we move along. Perhaps, how this group 
responds might well provide some valuable insight on the very questions of 
which we speak.
	Sorry for running on so long, and I'm certainly not as elegant as some 
who have spoken here,
but I come from the front lines of Novice Observers, so I hope my opinions 
are appreciated.

Wayne