This is an archive of CompuServe forum messages from 1985 to 1995, as saved in transcripts by John Foust.
Search Results (51 messages)
Sorry Doug, this list is entirely snail mail addresses…
Howard… While I have no help with identification I saw your comment about not having access to a Geiger counter. I can't resist jumping in to mention I have a geiger counter obtained in a rockhound's garage sale. I was never able to get it to respond properly although I…
#Rock Clubs On-Line
Message #174414
Doug fwiw, I have about 150, maybe 200, club addresses in the database for the Opal Society. Got most of them out of Lapidary Journal and Rock & Gem. Nearly all are in the southwestern US. I set this list up for the purpose of contacting clubs when the AOS…
fwiw Bill… Being the newsletter editor for the American Opal Society I have the opportunity to see a few reciprocal club bulletins and have noticed a couple locally make refernce to accessing the Internet and emailing. I think Doug's suggestion of contacting the AFMS and getting them to work with…
Lanny I plan to put a note in the AOS newsletter using your file as a source… I appreciate that you posted it, thanks! -Russ
Hi Doug… The snail mail address of the AOS is: American Opal Society, Inc. P.O. Box 382 Anaheim, CA 92805 As for the internet (sorry but small "i" intended)…since you asked: (getting on soap box) Yes I know how to access inet and confess I use it occasionally to stay…
Hi Bill… As far as I know I'm the only online member of the American Opal Society and will be glad to be on the email address list with my CIS ID, sorry I don't have time to even consider the Inet or other services. -Russ
Glenn… How soon do you need the info, and where are you located. I'm in Long Beach, I could take a ride up there and pick up whatever they hand out in the way of pamphlets at the tar pits. Would a video tape walkthrough be any fun??? It would…
John, Ben… You guys are soooo skeptical… MeTeor craTer? La Brea Tar piTs? (yes Martha they are spelled with capital "T" as in "TourisT SiTes"). I've been to both several times since I came to the Land of Nutmeg and Honey in 1953. Tar Pit tidbits first… You've divined the…
Barney… You might try both the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies (CFMS) and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS)… There are a number of addresses and name contacts for the CFMS but I'm not coming up with same for the Program Aids Chairman, Marion Fowler who is the person…
Kamron… Thanks for the response, now I understand better what you're interested in. No I haven't studied gravels in the way you describe…they do sound quite spectacular but I must confess my plate is running over with opal-related interests and metalsmithing (which has somehow meandered to a back burner itself).…
Kamron… I'm not sure I understand where you're headed with your question… There are certainly considerable differences among polished stone surfaces; and I tend to "study" the surface of rocks anywhere I go (g). Be it the beach, stream beds, alluvial fans, chapparal (gravity tumbled surfaces?). There are surfaces that…
Alex… Silicon carbide in screened grits is the most common "grinding" compound…I most often used three: a combination 60/90 for initial grinding; 220 for a secondary grinding; and 500/600 for "prepolish". There are a great many polishing approaches depending on what you're tumbling. I've tumbled agate and jasper for the…
sure will Al! -Russ
Hi Harry… To locate clubs in your area, you might begin with the Lapidary Journal calendar of events, see if anything is happening near enough to visit and pick up club info. The April LJ "dealer" issue lists, among other things, all the clubs in the US. I'll be interested…
#Desert Prot. Act Talk
Message #160734
Land Use Talk by BLM Geologist… In case anyone is interested (and I sure hope so!) there will be a presentation by Mr. Rob Waiwood (BLM District Geologist in Riverside County) concerning the scope and explaining the effect of the California Desert Protection Act. Mr. Waiwood will be speaking at…
Lanny… Your comments about Street Atlas USA provide me a new perspective… I have DeLorme's maps of California and know for certain that they make little distinction between paved roads and goat trails. Not much help when we're trying to choose motorcycling routes for an ST1100 sport touring bike, thus…
Hi Kim… One way is to use a lapidary saw…I've also seen them cracked open by tapping around a circumference with a hammer much like opening a coconut. One guy had a special large settup somewhat like a pair of bolt cutters to clip them in half. Note that of…
Opal-Polishing the backs
Message #157496
Quickie note on the subject of why I polish the back of opals… When I cut glass I learned that any scratch on the glass' surface permits the beginning of a crack which can progress across an entire sheet of glass almost as if it is beign "unzipped" along the…
Opal coloration treatmnt
Message #157495
Frank…here we go again… About treating matrix opal…here's some guidelines from the Opal Society articles I've come accross…I must apologize, I'm not so sure any of my descriptions will suffice to proceed here but let's start with this much and see where we get. First there are a number of…
Frank… I think you're in the right forum…here's a few thoughts on tumblers. Lortone makes a 3# unit that I would recommend as a good quality starter. All tumblers make some noise but it ran as quiet as any I've tried or heard. I found that it helps deaden the…
Al… Since I began doing the Opal Society newsletter, I've been inundated with material. One item discussed using polarized light and/or viewing lenses to examine opal for stresses. I have no idea which source contained this article, it's been several months ago now, sorry…but I thought you might want to…
Al.. Tempering opal…I love it! Would that it were possible… As for tempering obsidian, sorry, I'm afraid I haven't a clue. I've done a small amount of glass blowing but never with a mind to learning about it's intricacies. As I recall from a roommate who worked in the plant…
Chris… You mention that this opal source was known for producing "fire" opal… Fire opal is a term generally used these days to describe opal which displays either a diffuse play of color or no play of color at all. Sometimes opal will appear to have shimmering colors with no…
opal-yield from rough
Message #155623
Frank… —> I have cut some pretty decent stuff but really wonder if I am doing it right and if I'm getting the best out of my rough. I have never talked to another opal cutter besides dealers. First off, I can sympathize (empathize?). It sounds like you've followed the…
Opal books
Message #151847
Steve… I was just perusing the current bibliography of books and videos produced by LJ…there are a couple of other potential opal books listed you might want to consider carrying. In addition to the Paul Downing and Len Cram books there's "A Field Guide To Australian Opals" by Barry O'Leary…
You quite welcome Elizabeth. Hope you are able to make it.
Thanks Guy… I have a severe schedule conflict with the show weekend but am hoping to be there on Sunday for a while…I'll keep a lookout for Bob. He is on the mailing list for dealers but I don't think he has a booth at the show this year. -Russ
Bill… Sounds like you've got a great show planned. Good luck! I'm making a note to try and visit. Also, thanks; you "inspired" me to post a note about the AOS Opal Show. -Russ
#28th Annual Opal Show
Message #150528
I've been thinking about posting a notice here and now that I see the message about the Mineralogical Society Show I realize it's OK and wish I'd done it sooner. Oh well, here it is with a rundown of what's happening. The American Opal Society's 28th annual OPAL SHOW is…
Steve… The books you listed are Paul Downing's works and are very good. Len Cram (who spoke twice to the Opal Society this spring and early summer while in the US & Canada researching opal sites) has produced a number of small, now out of print books on Australian opal.…
Bill… I'll email my address with my next pass. And Thank you with a capital "T"! What I've done in the past with the Opal Society Newsletter to get graphics (such as a photo of Herman's place) into .PCX format has been to fax them home from my wife's office…
Bill… You were out there in the 30's? Fascinating! I'd love to see a report on your impressions of how it's "changed" since then if you make it out to take a look around. Last time we were out Richard had some finished stones he's been working that are coffee-brown…
Hi Doug… Darn, we were out there today and I hadn't pulled the board before we left last night, I could have asked them. I don't think the opal flouresces, but a few weeks ago Richard Barnett mentioned teaching Boy Scout troops about the local geology and included a comment…
Nathan… In case it's any help, I've discoverd that a version of Wordstar I have for DOS puts special codes for soft hyphens and soft spaces for justified text. When I strip the file to ASCII I've learned the hard way that the soft hyphens retain *special code* status. -Russ
—> file formats. I'd blame the uploader Yeah, sue him! 😎 I use Wordstar 2.0 for Windows which has proven pretty adept at converting most other wordprocessor's files. I figure to wait a few days while Nathan has a chance to re-upload before we lynch him…er I mean before I…
#Release Me, Let Me Go
Message #148502
Nathan… Thank you! I haven't DLed it yet though, seeing what has been mentioned about wordprocessing codes. I'll wait a couple days to see if you are able to get a pure ASCII version up the flag pole. I'm sure the folks at the Barnett Opal Mine out here would…
Might this be the wulfenite crystals from the Red Cloud mine in Arizona? The September issue of Rock & Gem has a nice article about them. -Russ
#Program on CNB
Message #139404
We saw a two part program concerning the Calif. Desert Protection Act (of all places on the Christian Broadcasting Network-CBN) last week (Wed and Thurs nites I believe). I knew this legislation was a joke and was being railroaded but I was still taken aback by what this program revealed.…
Doug… You may be right about that plan to go commercial at Crater of Diamonds, I heard about the exploratory work probably 1 1/2 years ago. At that time the commercial interests were expected to close a portion of the pipe but it sounded like less that 20% while testing.…
Joe We just got back from a visit to Carlsbad Caverns two weeks ago. In addition to points already mentioned, a couple of things the rangers emphasized. Carry in water to drink, it can be hard work, and bring three INDEPEDANT light sources (matches, candle, flashlite etc). Ranger told an…
Doug Lapidary Journal has been covering this issue to some extent for several issues, most recently making the point that amateur collectors in some cases are the only viable source of manpower to locate and preserve fossils erroding out and being destroyed by exposure to the elements. The corollary issue…
Doug The lamp is on it's way to Vegas tomorrow afternoon and I won't be able to check the orange and orange/green multi. I guess this shows how much a novice I am at this. I looked at them and put them back in the flower bed without looking with…
Flourescents, wow!
Message #119289
The UV lamp I had on order arrived yesterday afternoon. It's the tiny one that runs on 4 AA batteries with the slider window for sw/lw. Jane says we have to hurry up and mail it to our mother in law before I wear it out or break it (g).…
—> Patience! FWIW, we have a portable lw/sw UV on order from Griegers. I placed the order in early December to make a Christmas present. I called again last Tuesday to check on the back order status and found out it may be quite a while longer. Don't have the…
John… —> Why would they exempt this from the Freedom of Information Act? Sorry, I have no idea. The article was very brief, I presented everything it mentioned. -Russ
#117004-
Amer. Land Access Assoc
Message #117393
Thank you Doug! I've pretty much quit but I used to ride dirt bikes (in designated off-road riding areas only) and am still in touch with the land use issue from a recreational standpoint which certainly includes rockhounding. I was out to the opal canyon north of Redrock a few…
#116995-
#Fossil dino embryos?
Message #117392
Anne…about thread creep… I'm on the other side of the thread creep issue…I agree that it costs a little and results in an occasional meaningless DL and perhaps here where the message traffic is slow it could even work for the sysops to change headers. In the Motorcycle section of…
#116927-
CD-Rom Mineralogy
Message #117391
Doug I just installed NDOS.COM from Norton Utils 7.0, it has another feature you "missed" (g)…hit a key, pop open a window of all previously selected items during the current session, jump to anything without having to backtrack item by item. A small but worhtwhile sub-dream me thinks. 😎 -Russ
So far, like a dummy I cranked everything up and got started without checking the belt alignment. As a result, I'm picking up a new belt tomorrow afternoon. 8-( I did get time to run a chunk of agate across the wheels. Bill said to break the dots on the…
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