Re: Legalities of sidewalk astronomy

On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 09:05:10 -0700, Mean Mr Mustard wrote:

> The city bureaucrats are of course correct in their request for a policy
> and inspection. As a tax payer I certainly don't want any incident that
> can raise my taxes.

Me either however you are exaggerating the situation.


> I've always wondered why there is a segment of the amateur community that
> feels the need to "educate" the public. They risk theft, damage and even
> lawsuits if anything goes wrong ... "Your Plossl gave me pinkeye, I'm
> suing!!"

You are exaggerating again.
Christ(tm), nice attitude. Amateurs do a much better job of "teaching"
astronomy than teachers do. It's not only about teaching but to show
people things they may never have seen otherwize. Years ago I showed
several people a solar eclipse through my scope. They thought it was the
coolest thing. It's great hearing the "ooohs and Ahhhs".


> Course it's nice to introduce young eyes to the hobby, but the children
> who are interested already own their first scope. The rest of the public
> are flat-earthers.


I strongly disagree but that's o.k.


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