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(meteorobs) Re:Bill Gates and more
>Lew asked Aug 27:
>
>PS to Norman: I never met Bill, did I, Norm? Don't recall it if I did.
>
No, Lew, you didn't. Bill came to the Keys for observing in 1973, 1975, and
1977. After that, you joined in. Bill spent the school year 1979-80 very
ill with mononucleosis followed up with hepatitis. I last heard from him in
1981, after which he disappeared. He was in Albuquerque for almost all of
his meteor years. Until our first meeting, he attributed his enormous rates
to "great mountain skies" in New Mexico. (S&T sure thought so, see their
article on the 1972 Perseids.) He figured coming down to sea level would
then equalize our rates. But once he saw the routine 7.5 skies of the Keys
in those earlier days, it took only ten minutes for him to change his mind.
He saw 10 meteors in that first period, while none of the rest of us (five
others) had seen more than 2! This Bill Gates enjoyed long summers off to
loaf and travel (as I do) so he wouldn't have the ambition to found a large
corporation. I doubt if this is the same Bill Gates that has recent IMO
observations; if it is, he is resurfacing.
Bob's suggestion for everybody to record DCV's is good. I almost hate to
see another theoretical formula used for anything, re Peter's formula for
perception. I've always noted that the ZHR calculations give values fully
double what would make sense based upon what I actually see. These things
ought to be derived empirically from actual data. Any reports posted here
with individual rates or in print should always contain the raw rates as
well as the ZHR's. Large finished papers with composite reports, of course,
can't do this.
There must be a lot of skunks in Florida with the number of times I detect
their distinctive fragrance. But I just haven't been gifted with their
immediate presence. Got a kick out of Bob's friend's encounter. Plenty of
armadillos, however. Somebody let a few loose in Florida I guess around
1970, and it took only a few years for them to cover the entire peninsula.
Brought in from Texas. I understand an armadillo always births quadruplets.
Norman