Joe, I am sorry you took offense. None was intended. This medium we use is much less than perfect, and I also personally suffer from being an imperfect communicator. I'll take your response as being a result of that imperfect communication. So, please, let's take the high road and assume that neither of us is trying to insult. As far as the number of books I have given away, it is at least 350, and more likely 450 to 500. Most of those are my Bright Object books, but not all. I have also given away more than 350 telescopes. If SLAS wants a good model to use, look at the summer astronomy program Wayne Sumner does at Northridge High School. He gives away telesscopes and provides training to use them. It is a great program. From: Joe Bauman <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Monday, December 2, 2013 8:58 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] FW: Re: Opions please Brent, That's a ridiculous mischaracterization but what can we expect, given the source? Of course we give away astronomy books. How many have you held up to give to children? Not nearly as many as I have, I'd bet. Don't you pay attention at star shows? But to say we'd only give away telescopes after 10 or 15 hours of training makes it a chore, not an enjoyable introduction. Saying it's good to get telescopes out among people who use them is hardly the same as saying we should give away telescopes as trinkets. Maybe you can't quite see the distinction, sadly. And if I said it was night you'd probably say it's day, so I won't argue any further. -- Joe