Amber Listserv / Fw: Rock and flower

[TOM BUCKLEY]

By the way. Is that where the name for that root beer-like beverage originated? Sassafras   :-)
----- Original Message ----- 
From: TOM BUCKLEY 
To: Andy Ng 
Cc: amber group 
Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2007 8:38 AM
Subject: Re: Amber Listserv / Rock and flower


Andy,

    Has anyone else weighed in with a guess?

Tom
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Andy Ng 
  To: TOM BUCKLEY 
  Cc: amber group 
  Sent: Sunday, September 09, 2007 2:17 AM
  Subject: Re: Amber Listserv / Rock and flower


  Tom,

  I'm not too worried that some bug's gonna walk up to me and say "OI! Don't sass my frass!" :-p

  The thing is, insect poop was one of the first things that crossed my mind after I reached the 320 grit sanding stage. Unfortunately my simple digicam has no spot-focusing; it only has a Phd button (as in "Push here, dummy"), and throw into the equation those brown globules. All that makes for obscured details. 

  I've just sawn off a chunk off the back portion and am not sawing off any more, because those translucent brown globules extend to the rear of the piece. Thinning this piece is futile, as details will still be obscured. 

  Anyhoo, take a gander at the white arrow I've drawn on the attached photo. The arrow points to one rising stem of a 'V' shape. The stem rises under some translucent brown globules and differentiates into a fan of those pellet-like things. As far as I can tell, the stem is contiguous until it reaches the fan shape. This is the only reason that makes me discount the frass premise. It's too much like part of a flower or pith and seeds of some veggie. 

  The other stem of the V also is of the same nature, and differentiates into a fan under the first stem's fan. I seriously doubt any insect could be such an artistic pooper (and excrete V-shaped thingys). This one's a keeper! 

  Andy


  On 9/9/07, TOM BUCKLEY <tbuck22 at optonline.net> wrote: 
    Andy,

        In the field of entomology it's considered bad form to ridicule another species' excrement. LOL

        Seriously, I've seen this type of doo-doo laid down by slow moving critters such as snails and caterpillars.

    Tom
      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Andy Ng 
      To: TOM BUCKLEY 
      Cc: amber group 
      Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2007 3:31 PM
      Subject: Re: Amber Listserv / Rock and flower


      Tom,

      It's 3.13AM and I just got off a net conference with a customer from your side of the planet, so pardon me if my ramblings sound punch drunk.

      Insect poop you say? I'm smiling as I tiredly type, but nonetheless it's an interesting premise. Assuming that to be correct, the insect which dropped this load has a VERY accurate anal sphincter. The pellets are laid out in a row, insect makes a 180 degree turn, lays a splotch of diarrhoea and keeps laying 'em out and after that 'U' line is done, does another smaller 'U' within the first one. I bet there's a bunch of sanitation engineers who wish humans were that accurate! LOL! 

      I know my photos aren't the bee's knees. The piece was sanded down to within an estimated 2mm of the object within, and it's only half done. Gotta gingerly saw the bottom side and sand it for a 2-side view. Will post better pix next time round. 

      Andy


      On 9/8/07, TOM BUCKLEY <tbuck22 at optonline.net> wrote: 
        Andy,

            I think it looks like insect poop. Especially the way it appears to be a string of mashed-together pellets.

        Tom
          ----- Original Message ----- 
          From: Andy Ng 
          To: amber group 
          Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2007 2:21 AM
          Subject: Amber Listserv / Rock and flower


          Hi guys,

          The first photo is of the companion piece to my last post. Found in the same hole, it has some rock between the layers. 

          The other 2 photos are of a flower-like object I found in a piece today. At first glance I thought they were like seeds rather similar to the internals of a red chilli. Any botanist care to take a stab at it? 

          Andy



----------------------------------------------------------------------


          _______________________________________________
          Amber mailing list
          Amber at ambericawest.com
          http://ambericawest.com/mailman/listinfo/amber_ambericawest.com








--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


_______________________________________________
Amber mailing list
Amber at ambericawest.com
http://ambericawest.com/mailman/listinfo/amber_ambericawest.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://ambericawest.com/pipermail/amber_ambericawest.com/attachments/20070909/10ad9644/attachment.html