[Geysers] People on Minute Man

[Paul Strasser]

Dave G wrote, in part: 

>>> All of the old time geyser gazers with pictures of themselves off train,
standing on various geysers need to hide the evidence deeper in their attics
because we're holding public executions now.  It's worth noting that the
people pictured on Minute Man were actual National Park Service employees
and didn't even need a permit so they didn't have any written restrictions
on what they could do. <<<<

David, that's  actually my objection.  Quite simply, I expected more of NPS
employees.  The goal of the photos is purely one of scientific data - the
appearance and size of the feature, not something for the photo album back
home of "what I did in Yellowstone."  If their only instructions were "to
GPS locate, photograph, and take a water sample from every single hole in
the ground" then they were given instructions that were clear: to collect
scientific data.  Thus, they should have considered taking intelligent
photos.  In that sense, many of them are awful.

I still have a yard stick and meter stick somewhere, painted in alternate
blacks and whites, that I would place on the ground near features for
photographic work I did in the 80's and early 90's to measure changes in
vents and surrounding ground over several years. This was done with
permission of Rick Hutchinson, who I was VIP'ing for at the time.  You wanna
know how big vent X was in 1986?  Well, there's the meter stick next to it. 

I would have never considered having any part of a person in those photos.
Adidas are not data - especially if you don't know if he's wearing size 9's
or 12's. 

Yes, I know that off-trail work is necessary to measure off-trail features.
But count the feet around some of these vents!  Good lord.

I have absolutely no objection to NPS employees (and VIPs) downloading data
off trail, and have in fact photographed them doing it.  Quite simply, this
isn't about off-trail work.  It's about unprofessionalism, and occasionally
some behavior that makes us wince.  And to have these in a public forum
makes me extremely uncomfortable.  

Besides, if these aren't so bad, why is the Minute Man photo not there any
more?

Paul


-----Original Message-----
From: geysers-bounces at lists.wallawalla.edu
[mailto:geysers-bounces at lists.wallawalla.edu] On Behalf Of David Goldberg
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 4:03 PM
To: geysers at wwc.edu
Subject: [Geysers] People on Minute Man

     All of the old time geyser gazers with pictures of themselves off
train, standing on various geysers need to hide the evidence deeper in their
attics because we're holding public executions now.  It's worth noting that
the people pictured on Minute Man were actual National Park Service
employees and didn't even need a permit so they didn't have any written
restrictions on what they could do.  I volunteered for the GIS project in
1998 (around the time I believe the pictures were taken) providing names for
the features they were mapping.  I didn't always like there methods, but
admittedly the only instuctions they had were to GPS locate, photograph, and
take a water sample from every single hole in the ground.  Walking on a lot
of sinter was unavoidable.  After a while you just got used to it.  I agree
that they shouldn't have been on Minute Man's cone.  However the distinction
between that cone and all the other sinter they had to walk on to do their
job is something you probably have to be a geyser gazer to appreciate.
Incidentally, how do you think we download Lion Geyser these days.  Every
month someone has to walk all over the Lion Group sinter mound.  The GIS
data only had to be taken once ever.  So can we please get down off our soap
boxes and quit moaning about questionable proceedures used nine years ago
when we do the same thing all the time now.  Thank goodness noone
photographs the geyser downloads.
 
David Goldberg
 


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