[meteorite-list] Fredericksburg meteorite and politics of science

From: Michael Farmer <meteoriteguy_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 22:28:53 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <762056.57092.qm_at_web33113.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Actually, you threatened in your post that if I did
not answer you in time, it would be posted.
That it is paired with Richland, that is great news, I
see the date on it is 2007, so Dr Wasson has ignored
my emails for years, and finally finished the job,
still without emailing me back.
At least the question has been answered once and for
all.
Jason, please do not write me privately and demand a
response in a given time. I work for a living, I can't
jump at my keyboard to meet your time demands.
There was nothing in my email, but a history of the
controversy about Fredericksburg, not exactly a
private discussion, which I will not post.
Michael Farmer

--- Jason Utas <meteoritekid at gmail.com> wrote:

> Ahh, well, I guess it wasn't to be....off list that
> is.
> I'll start by letting Mike have a good look at the
> quote he just put down.
> Note "approved meteorite."
> You suggest that I said that it wasn't a meteorite.
> I, as you can
> clearly see, stated that it was merely not approved.
> Read it if you
> don't believe me...
>
> I responded to every issue brought up in your third
> paragraph
> privately. Read it.
> As you can see, I pretty much agree with you....way
> to wait for a
> response before posting again.
>
> The issues in the fourth paragraph I addressed as
> well - privately, a
> good few minutes ago.
>
> Furthermore, it seems clear to me now that it was
> merely not submitted
> because it was a paired piece of Richland. If it's
> not a new
> meteorite, it shouldn't get a new name; we all know
> that.
>
> Please don't do this again next time I respond
> privately to you.
> After I clearly did not publicly post my initial
> off-list response to
> the list, there was no reason for you to respond to
> everyone.
>
> Annoyed,
> Jason
>
>
>
> On 3/19/07, Michael Farmer <meteoriteguy at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
> > List members.
> > I must express my disappointment with Jason for
> > quipping that the fact that the Fredericksburg
> > meteorite has not been classified, thus is not a
> > meteorite. Jason, here are you exact words "It
> would
> > be something like calling
> > Fredericksburg (remember that Hexahedrite from a
> few
> > years ago?) an approved meteorite - it's never
> been
> > mentioned in the bulletin or elsewhere, so how can
> > you?"
> >
> > Jason, you know it is a meteorite, and you know
> why it
> > has not been approved. Politics and personal
> grudge
> > has turned science into a farce. John Wasson at
> UCLA
> > (the top iron meteorite scientist in the world"
> > refuses to submit it since I bought it. He
> classified
> > it, confirmed with the owner that it was a
> Hexahedrite
> > that was not paired to any other known meteorite,
> and
> > tried to buy it. He did not try very hard, as he
> had
> > several years head-start on me. The owner sent
> many
> > faxes and emails to Dr. Wasson, who did not
> respond
> > for more than one year. Tired of waiting, the
> owner
> > found me on eBay, called me, and we made a price.
> I
> > was in Alaska only days later, cash in hand and
> saw
> > the copies of emails. He told me he needed money
> and
> > could no longer wait on UCLA, which did not return
> his
> > emails/faxes and phone calls. The emails I saw
> were
> > very clear, asking Dr. Wasson to get in touch with
> him
> > and finalize a price and purchase agreement. Those
> > phone calls, faxes, and emails all went unanswered
> for
> > nearly a year.
> >
> > Only days after announcing that I had bought the
> > meteorite, I received a rather terse and abrupt
> email
> > from Dr. Wasson, angry that I had bought "his
> > meteorite" and he demanded a large piece for UCLA
> > since they had done the work on the meteorite. I
> sent
> > them an end cut weighing more than 500 grams
> (Perhaps
> > as much as 800 grams, I can't remember because
> that
> > was more than seven years ago). I never heard one
> more
> > word from Dr. Wasson, not a "thank you" or
> anything. I
> > emailed him numerous times requesting the
> > classification data, with no response. I heard
> through
> > other scientists that he was quite angry with me
> for
> > buying what he felt was his meteorite.
> > It has now been more than seven years since I
> bought
> > Fredericksburg, I don't even remember the exact
> year,
> > but in that time, it has all been sold off.
> >
> > Did I leave anything out? Do you know more about
> this?
> > Can I ask what you are calling me on? If UCLA
> could
> > not make a decision or raise the funds years after
> > knowing about this meteorite, then I think the
> loss
> > was due to their own lack of interest and
> > follow-through and ignoring the repeated requests
> of
> > the man trying to sell them the meteorite. The
> owner
> > needed money, and years
> > after asking UCLA for it, decided to sell to
> myself.
> > So actually, more than seven years after I bought
> the
> > meteorite, and provided more than 500 grams to
> UCLA,
> > Dr Wasson refuses to finish the job he started
> years
> > before I ever heard of the meteorite. I guess
> politics
> > triumphs over science in this case.
> > Pieces of the Fredericksburg meteorite are in
> > collections and museums around the world. Mr
> Wasson
> > has the data, so perhaps people who have bought
> this
> > meteorite should start emailing Dr. Wasson, and
> ask
> > him why he will not submit it a decade after doing
> the
> > classification. My emails to him have gone
> unanswered,
> > so I have to assume that any further attempts by
> me to
> > get the data will meet the same fate.
> > Michael Farmer
> >
> >
> > This is a simple and complete history of the
> > Fredericksburg meteorite from Texas.
> >
> >
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> >
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> >
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Received on Tue 20 Mar 2007 01:28:53 AM PDT