[meteorite-list] Hammer fall term (this poor poor horse)

From: Michael Gilmer <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2012 23:53:47 -0400
Message-ID: <CAKBPJW__u2R+hJvMOQGS15dGXH9WQuOHh65aAO_bWSEkxMUMNQ_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Mike,

Welcome back from the new fall. Grab a cudgel and get a few licks in
on this pile of sad horse flesh...

Mike said - How do you come up with this? I was at the New Orleans
house 40 hours after
> t fell. While it was not seen to hit the house, the homeowner had gone to
> work at 7 am and returned home at 5 pm finding his house full of rocks and
> destruction.

Isn't that what I said? .....

Other Mike said - "When the New Orleans
meteorite fell, penetrated the house and left a path of minor
destruction (writing desk, etc), nobody was home. The owners were out
and did not come home to find the cosmic damage until later. "


Mike said - " The neighbors reported huge crashing noise like a car accident
> at ~4 pm I think, and several airline pilots reported a fireball."

I did not recall this information. Thanks for clarifying that.


Mike said - " I am pretty sure that the fact that the meteorite went
through 3 floors that
> day
> That the noncom had enough evidence to know that the New Orleans meteorite
> fell on that date between the hours of 7 am and 5 pm."

Isn't that what I said....?

Other Mike said - "The find was determined to be a fall based on - the freshness
>> of the material found, the testimony of the homeowners, and the
>> obvious damage caused by this material."


Thanks for paraphrasing what I said and correcting me on the
independent witness info.

> How can you guys take the simplest thing like fall and find and yap about it
> for days?

It's called beating a dead horse. It starts out as swatting the
flies, but escalates from there.

Best regards,

MikeG

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------
Galactic Stone & Ironworks - MikeG
Web: http://www.galactic-stone.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GalacticStone
RSS: http://www.galactic-stone.com/rss/126516
-----------------------------------------------------------
On 6/14/12, Michael Farmer <mike at meteoriteguy.com> wrote:
> How do you come up with this? I was at the New Orleans house 40 hours after
> t fell. While it was not seen to hit the house, the homeowner had gone to
> work at 7 am and returned home at 5 pm finding his house full of rocks and
> destruction. The neighbors reported huge crashing noise like a car accident
> at ~4  pm I think, and several airline pilots reported a fireball.
> I am pretty sure that the fact that the meteorite went through 3 floors that
> day
> That the noncom had enough evidence to know that the New Orleans meteorite
> fell on that date between the hours of 7 am and 5 pm.
>
> How can you guys take the simplest thing like fall and find and yap about it
> for days?
>
> Perhaps some people need to try knitting for a hobby, seems less
> controversial.
> Michael Farmer
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 14, 2012, at 9:09 PM, Michael Gilmer <meteoritemike at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi John and List,
>>
>> Good question.  Let me attempt to answer.  If I fail, perhaps Capt.
>> Blood will chime in or another hammerhead will jump to the rescue.
>>
>> All hammers are falls, because if a hammer falls and nobody is around
>> to notice it, it will never be discovered....and is therefore not a
>> hammer or a fall.
>>
>> Let me put it this way - New Orleans is a recent example of an
>> unwitnessed hammer that is considered a fall.  When the New Orleans
>> meteorite fell, penetrated the house and left a path of minor
>> destruction (writing desk, etc), nobody was home.  The owners were out
>> and did not come home to find the cosmic damage until later.  In this
>> particular case, nobody directly witnessed the fall or the damage
>> being done.  If I recall correctly, there were no indirect witnesses
>> as well - no radar track, no fireball video, no other witnesses on the
>> ground.  The find was determined to be a fall based on - the freshness
>> of the material found, the testimony of the homeowners, and the
>> obvious damage caused by this material.
>>
>> Met Bull states that the New Orleans meteorite is a fall, so it is
>> therefore a "observed fall" or "witnessed fall" in officially-approved
>> nomenclature and accepted use amongst the majority of collectors and
>> dealers.  Additionally, some hammerheads may refer to it as a "hammer
>> fall".  Also of note, New Orleans is a single stone fall, therefore
>> the New Orleans meteorite is a "hammer stone" because it struck a
>> house and manmade objects.
>>
>> Under different circumstances, the New Orleans meteorite may have gone
>> unnoticed and unreported.  The lower 9th Ward of New Orleans is
>> desolate today, as a result of lingering damage from hurricane
>> Katrina.  Large stretches of homes and businesses are vacant and
>> falling into disrepair.  There are squatters, homeless persons, gang
>> elements, and other transients that reside in the area.  The same is
>> true for other areas of New Orleans to varying degrees.  If the stone
>> had fallen in one of these houses, with no first-hand witnesses, it is
>> likely to lay undiscovered and be carted off to the landfill when the
>> city finally bulldozes the property.  In such a case, the fall and
>> damage were never noticed, it is never reported, no material is ever
>> recovered, and the meteorite is never officially recognized or named.
>>
>> Also keep in mind, the criteria for officially approving a meteorite
>> as a "fall" has changed to some degree over the years.  Or could say,
>> the criteria was more rigidly enforced in some publications than
>> others.  There are several cases of witnessed falls where the witness
>> reports are several years or more removed from recovery of specimens
>> on the ground.  Some fall dates have uncertain dates or just a date
>> range (summer of 18xx, etc).  Some finds could be regarded as falls
>> and there is some debate or uncertainty around the circumstances (or
>> find location) that resulted in a fall classification being rejected.
>>
>> So, what I am getting at in a rambling fashion is this - if it is a
>> hammer in the true and accepted sense, then it could be called a
>> "hammer fall" or "witnessed fall" or "observed fall" or just a "fall"
>> - depending on whether or not the term is being used officially or
>> just casually.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> MikeG
>>
>> PS - I think this horse is now officially pulverized beyond
>> recognition.  To continue this discussion line any further will
>> require someone to acquire a new horse for consideration and possible
>> flogging.
>>
>> --

Received on Thu 14 Jun 2012 11:53:47 PM PDT