[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: (meteorobs) Prairie Meteor Network
Ed Majden wrote:
>> I'm sure some of the computer wiz kids could come up with some sort of
>> automatic system to do this. I'm afraid many amateurs today want to buy
>> off the shelf equipment. What ever happend to the ATM's of the 1940's
>> and 50's where one used their imagination and built their own equipment.
>> Sorry, just had to get that off my chest: Ed
>> Edward Majden epmajden@mars.ark.com
Hi, Ed. Sorry to be way-way-off topic here, but I must repectfully say that
that attitude irks me... I revere skilled ATMs a great deal. But the idea
that only machinists and carpenters have the "spirit" of amateur astronomy,
and if computer programmers or firemen want to get into the field, then
they should have to MAKE themselves into machinists and carpenters, is silly.
I have ten thumbs, and if I was living in the "Golden Age" of astronomy in
the 40s and 50s, then I'd just simply NOT be able to be an amateur
astronomer: and that would be no fun at all! Of course, there'd always be
meteors...
Lew Gramer, 30something mech-challenged "computer wizz kid" :)