[meteorite-list] apology

From: Michael L Blood <mlblood_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 04:46:56 -0800
Message-ID: <C1AE70C0.31771%mlblood_at_cox.net>

Dear Thaddeus,
        Though you may be a master of sorts regarding the use
of "big words" (I had to look up two in your post below - and
I have a rather large comprehensive, if not usage vocabulary)
you seem not to be able to distinguish between the rather
savvy and certainly socially competent - and in my estimation,
exceptionally diplomatic, Steve Arnold the meteorite dealer,
finder, and recent "King of the Brenham Strewn Field"
from the remarkably dissimilar "Chicago Steve" Arnold.
        This, in my estimation, establishes clearly your limited
exposure to this list. Allow me to suggest you go to my
"Meteorite Friends" page at:

http://www.michaelbloodmeteorites.com/MeteoriteFriends.html

and scroll down to "Steve Arnold" (the entire page is arranged
alphabetically by first name). There you will see a visual difference
of significant magnitude between the two:
        Chicago Steve is the one who is standing on his front porch,
all 6 foot, 7 inches of him, in his classic slippers, shorts and sun
glasses.
        Steve Arnold on the other hand is a far less dapper individual,
seen in his photo in his usual T shirt and jeans looking like a
mellow biker who is having a spiritual vision. There is also
a "Chicago Steve" after the name of same individual, just for the
uninitiated.
        I tell you this, not so much as to help you recognize each of
them, for you likely will never encounter either unless you attend
the Tucson Show, rather because their differences in appearance is
not nearly as great as the differences in their personalities. However,
I suggest you burn their images into your mind (it will be easy if
you click on each image and see the large version) and reflect on
same when reading a post from either of them.
        I always refer to "Chicago Steve" when referring to Chicago
Steve and use "Steve Arnold" when I speak of Steve Arnold.
Unfortunately, these distinguishing references have not fully caught
on, yet, though I keep hoping.
        As a list "newbie" you can always distinguish the two when
they post by the repetitions of exclamation points used by Chicago
Steve!!! If that fails, said posts frequently include simple questions
that even casual research would answer. This is a dead give away,
as is offering meteorite gifts - especially exceptionally small ones of
common types of meteorites, with the offer repeated several times.
Other communications are, shall we say, less than diplomatic are not
exemplary of keen social skills. Chicago Steve has been collecting
meteorites for about 3 years.
        In contrast, Steve Arnold rarely posts to the list, and almost
always to provide, rather than ask for, information. Occasionally
he will offer meteoritic specimens, usually from Brenham, for sale,
but never, ever repeats said offerings. Steve Arnold has been a
meteorite dealer for over 20 years. Steve is also "partners" of sorts
with another of the meteoritic communities "classy" fellows, Geoff
Notkin and they co-founded the prestigious "Harvey Awards" which
are presented in Tucson every year at their wide open, rollickin'
"Birthday Bash" to which nearly everyone comes, as their birthdays
both fall within a week of the primary weekend of the Tucson Show.
        So, with just a little focus on the above facts, one can easily
avoid ever mistaking Chicago Steve for the original Steve Arnold.
        It should be added that many list members do NOT resent
Chicago Steve, and do, in fact, gleefully read his posts but mostly
in anticipation of the posts of those who hate him to be hysterically
humorous - like watching pin ball machines run amok in a giant
Greyhound bus station. Chicago Steve makes a couple of posts and
30 or 40 list members go entirely berserk. It never fails. Nothing on
the list has made many of us laugh so hard since old Proud Tom
disappeared.
        So, tall or short, master of fashion or just a good ol' boy jeans &
a T shirt, they both hold special places in the meteorite community.
However, it is a pity to mistake one for the other.
        Best wishes, Michael


on 12/20/06 12:48 AM, Bruce Yankewitz at yankb04 at hotmail.com wrote:
> Well. That's easy for YOU to say. :)
> By the way, before (or maybe after) you delve too deeply into your
> Steve-analysis - and this point has been driven home frequently on the
> list, although apparently not frequently enough - the Steve Arnold of
> Brenham-fame (whom you mention below) and the Steve Arnold currently
> referenced are two entirely different people....possibly altering someone's
> proximity to the Ka'bah a smidge. :)
> B __________________________________________________
>> From: Thaddeus Besedin <endophasy at yahoo.com>
>> To: Bruce Yankewitz <yankb04 at hotmail.com>
>> CC: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] apology
>> Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 22:00:54 -0800 (PST)
>>
>> Steve is capable of distinguishing the objective case of the pronoun"who"
>> from its subjective function - this alone constitutes evidence that Steve
>> isn't incapable of commanding acrolectic communication. Orthography is the
>> possession of normative entities. Not all of us have the need to
>> communicate in a fashion exempting us from reproach by merit of formality
>> alone.
>> Steve is a meteorite dealer, and although I have reservations about the
>> possible loss of paleoenvironmental and archaeological information during
>> the course of deep excavation of Brenham specimens, he is obviously
>> successful at his hobby and livelihood - and I'm sure he thinks the same.
>> This permits us to hold him to high ethical standards, but not to publicly
>> ridicule quirks of his personality irrelevant to business. Offenses
>> committed as a result of exchanges are not unassailable, though.
>>
>> The commodification of meteoritic material is a catalyst for any deceit
>> or misdemeanor.
>>
>> Steve's grammar is fine if we understand what he is saying (I imagine).
>>
>> If I, as a qualified representative of a human in subjective grammatical
>> usage, were dyslexic, my indignation of your belittling patronization, if
>> expressed in language more asyntactic than you permit yourself to leak from
>> your head, would still warrant censorship in most contexts by most censors.
>>
>> We all have our motives for possessing extraterrestrial materials. In
>> the end, the reasons are perhaps tied to metaphysical concerns, even if our
>> positivism denies what is common to our humanity: empirical certainty and
>> faith are equivalent. Both approaches to the limits our experience arrive
>> at security. To be close to the Ka'bah, after all, is to be in the company
>> of the heavens - of the cosmos.
>>
>> -Thaddeus
>>
>> Bruce Yankewitz <yankb04 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>> steve arnold writes:
>>
>> << I really want to start gaining the respect of people of whom I know and
>> would like to
>> know on this list >>
>>
>> __________________________________________________________________
>>
>> Steve: Assuming you are getting tired of making endless apologies to the
>> list (and most listees are getting tired of reading them), how about giving
>> this a try: Stop doing things you will have to apologize FOR.
>>
>> Plus (aside from the seemingly self-evident solutions of obeying list-rules
>> and displaying higher ethical standards in buying, selling, and posting),
>> there are a couple of very simple changes you could make in your posts.
>> They couldn't hurt:
>>
>>
>> There is no such word (in English anyway) as "forsale". Same for "alot".
>>
>> You might introduce yourself to the space bar on your keyboard (it's the
>> long skinny one in the bottom row). Use between sentences and after
>> commas.
>>
>> While you're figuring out how to correct "forsale", give "stoney" a shot,
>> too.
>>
>> Ditto: Millibbilliee, Glorietta, viens, liesure, givaway, shrapnal,
>> mororroco, rediculous, siderlit, nininnger, allie, mes, "to" vs. "too" vs.
>> "two", et. al.
>>
>> A "fusion-crustless fragment"? Marks for originality.
>>
>> While familiarizing yourself with the space bar, spend a little
>> quality-time
>> with the key which says "Shift" on it. It Capitalizes things. Consider its
>> use with "texas", "monnig", "chicago", "usa", most everyone's
>> names....maybe
>> even "steve" and "arnold", too.
>>
>> Not everything you mention is particularly
>> exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>>
>> A discernible attempt at eliminating the linguistic laziness in your posts
>> would demonstrate that you have some respect for the listees who read them,
>> a prerequisite for your receiving their respect in return.
>>
>> At the very least, try to set your grammatical goal as high as listees for
>> whom English is a second, third, or fourth language. From a well-meaning
>> friend,
>>
>>
>> Bruce
>>
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--
It is difficult to get a man to understand something if his
salary depends on him not understanding it.
  - Upton Sinclair 
--
What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know.
It is what we know for sure that just ain't so.
   - Josh Billings (but oft credited to  Mark Twain)
  

Received on Wed 20 Dec 2006 07:46:56 AM PST