Web Site for SCMM:
Jennifer Rohl is the web master for SCMM
Following is the link to the web site:
http://www.mineralsocal.org/micro/index.html
If you are receiving the e-mail version of
Micro-Bits, you should be able to click on the above url and go immediately to the
web site..
Sunshine
Corner
Juanita Curtis is on the mend, and we under-stand the cast will be off
in a week or so.
Our President, Paul Adams is suffering the pain and inconvenience of a
broken right hand.
Let us know of others of our members who need our support and loving
care.
J
Bureau
of Land Management
Newsbytes
Your Editor receives the BLM
NewsBytes. You can, too, great for Juniors. See the
current issue of NewsBytes online at
http://www.ca.blm.gov/news/newbytes/2004/144.html.
Here’s one headline, from
Feb. 4 BLM NewsBytes:
“Unearthing New Perspectives”
“Bakersfield, California, 02/01/20040. California desert
archeology is a somewhat thankless undertaking…nothing…will turn up that will
create a media frenzy.
Yet recent discoveries in this sunken, arid land near Ridgecrest may push
back by thousands of years when scientists say people settled southeastern California. In March, an archeological team contracted by
the U.S. Bureau of
Land Management will formally present its Searles Lake
findings…”
From Feb.
2004 CFMS Newsletter
April 24-25, Lancaster, CA
Antelope Valley Gem &
Mineral Club
Antelope Valley Fairgrounds
2551 W. Avenue
H
Hours: 9-5 both days
Olan Flick (661)
943-3882
May 15-16, Newbury Park, CA
Conejo Gem
& Mineral Club
Borchard Park Community
Center
190 Reino
Road
Hours: Sat., 9-5. Sun. 10-5
Don Pomerenke
(805) 492-4276
June 4-6, Glendora, CA
Glendora Gems
Goddard Middle
School
859 E. Sierra
Madre
Hours: Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4
Mark Thompson
(626) 335-3814
See a show
Well, Mama always told us
we should share………
Since our
last meeting, SCMM has provided speakers to other micromount societies.
President Paul
Adams was a featured speaker at the Arthur Roe Micromount Conference this year,
which is part of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.
Secretary
Sugar White was the speaker at the National Capital Micromount Group’s annual
meeting, April 2-4. The eastern groups
follow a slightly different format. We
like to have three talks at our annual conference, and have three
speakers. They like three talks also,
but enlist one speaker to give them all!
(Ed.
Note: With a name like Sugar, she no
doubt has all the energy needed for just such a task. Go, Sugar!)
Mark your Calendar: $
The date for next year’s Pacific Micromount Con-ference at the San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands has been confirmed:
Jan. 28-30, 2005.
Safety
HEY! DON'T GET LOST!!!!
You
drive out into the desert, into the mountains, into the forest. All alone. Maybe someone else is with you but only one
car. BAD IDEA. We’ve all done that. But listen carefully. That IS a bad idea.
You
are 150 miles from nowhere. Your car
stops. The motor won’t start. You kick the tires. Fiddle with the battery connection. Tinker with this, that and everything
else. No luck. You decide to walk
out. 150 MILES? Don’t you remember your safety rules?
·
STAY WITH YOUR
CAR!!
·
Your water
supply is good. You did bring water, right?
NO? I can't believe you forgot
water. There is plenty of water in your radiator. DON'T DRINK IT. With antifreeze, it is poisonous. DON'T DRINK
THE WATER FROM YOUR RADIATOR!!
·
But somebody
will come looking for you shortly because you told everybody where you were
going. Your friends, the forest service officers - - -ah- - - - Noooooo??? Forget it. You are history. Years
from now when someone stumbles on your remains; bleached bones scattered by
hungry animals and a few shreds of cloth, they will erect a small wooden cross
to mark your spot.
·
But let the rest
of us go on. We'll get out of our car and put our noses down into the dusty
trail with our eyes glued on the ground so we can see that fabulous find we are
looking for. We'll stagger this way and that for half an hour, an hour, or 2 or
3. Finally looking up we turn expectantly to look at our car. Our Car! Where is
it? It should be right over there! It is really amazing how far we can go when
we are just looking here and there.
·
If you are a
good Indian tracker, just follow your footprints. I'm more Indian than most of
you and even I probably can't do that.
·
SO? Now what????
SO! So far we haven't done very well in our
safety planning. Score about a fat round zero.
But there is something you could have done. Something you CAN do!
Besides bringing water (and other safety equipment),
telling others where and when you
are
going, getting others to drive with you, you can get a GPS. (Global Positioning
System). Realistically, I know
that very few of you will buy one. I
have one, Dick Pankey has one, and Joe Hafeli (also past Field Trip Chairman) have and use them. It
is a small, handheld device similar to a cell phone.
The military has installed a worldwide
coverage of satellites so that their airplanes and ships (and now individual
people also) can determine exactly where they are, anywhere in the world. To within about 15 feet, and that includes
elevation also. It is a system that uses
3 or more satellites which transmit signals down to the GPS device, which
mathematically triangulates the data to determine your location.
Some expensive cars now have built in a GPS
which also have transmitters to send a signal up to the satellite so its
location can be tracked. The handheld
GPSs only have receivers. Most GPSs track
your route and display it on a map, and they have a program by which you can
backtrack yourself.
BUT THIS THE REAL TRICK. Don’t get lost. Here is how.
At some point in your trip, stop and take a reading. Write it down on paper. Yes, the information is on your GPS and you
can enter it as a “Way Point.” WRITE IT
DOWN! The batteries in the GPS don’t
last very long. If you have to replace
your batteries (YES, YES, YES, take extra batteries) the information is
lost. If you have the coordinates written
down, after replacing your batteries you can re-enter them in your GPS. The route will not be there, but your
destination (where you came from) will be, and you can guide yourself safely
back. My GPS is about 15 years old and
not the best. Maybe the newer ones have
better programs.
My duty to you is to try to keep you safe. I’ve done my best to keep you alive. Try it, and I’ll see you down the road.
Chuck McKie,
CFMS Safety Chairman 2004
a a a a a a a a a a a a
May you experience all the joys of the Easter Season – from the
Resurrection to the Easter Bunny!
a a a a a a a a a a a a
April
2004