Re: [ATM] Stone observatory folly

[Aplanatic@aol.com]

fol·ly   n. pl. fol·lies 
    1.  A lack of good sense, understanding, or foresight.  
    2.      1.  An act or instance of foolishness: regretted the follies of  
his youth.  
    2.  A costly undertaking having an absurd or ruinous outcome.  

In some sense much of life seems foolish, and certainly has an absurd and  
ruinous outcome, it being only a matter of how far out we look in its  
evaluation.
 
I think a large stone-tower observatory taking years to complete is an  
absolutely wonderful idea.  If not prematurely abandoned, the process  of 
completing it will surely overshadow the act of using it, in the  end. 
 
-- Dave
 
In a message dated 3/28/2005 8:41:10 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
mtburr@msn.com writes:

Greetings:

Thanks to everyone who replied to my post re: a stone  observatory 
foundation. I'm grateful for the many helpful and thoughtful  posts.

As an update, I think a stone foundation will work. I am even  toying with 
the idea of building a "tower" like structure, as much of stone as  possible, to 
raise the observatory up off the ground and thus improve seeing  as well as 
horizon. (Truth be told, I'm attracted to the idea of building a  stone tower 
for its own sake, and making it an observatory sweetens the deal.)  Here you 
will find a quickie web page devoted to this project:  www.mtburr.com/observatory

However, after looking into the logistics  and materials requirements for 
building a stone tower, I think I'll be scaling  back those plans. It would take 
me at least several years to build the tower I  have in mind, and I don't want 
to wait that long to get an observatory  planted. I haven't decided how to 
proceed -- whether to scrap the tower idea  altogether (i.e., it may be utter 
folly) or to build a temporary observatory  right away and pursue a stone tower 
on a long-term plan. 

I'd welcome  comments, especially from those with stone-masonry experience. 
The rocks  around here are mostly granite, which complicates matters because 
it's much  more difficult to break than sandstone or limestone. I probably have 
300-400  rocks of the size that I can lift, and another 300-500 larger rocks 
and  boulders available onsite. I can get other material locally but with more  
hassle and expense.

Anyway, thanks again, ...

Clear  Skies,
MTB
www.mtburr.com/binoscopes
www.mtburr.com/observatory
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