Kane Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 15 minutes ago, mikeymig said: Sorry, I didnt read that in the rules. If I did I would have never posted. I thought I was having fun entering this contest. I like all the icons/awards I have won and I dont always win but I like playing when I can. Oh well. It's all good, Mikey! To avoid any disruption, and via some discussion in the background, we're going to let all the entries stand. Yours, Ralph's and John's entries are good for this month. As not everyone saw the suggestion (which was just that, and not a rule), it may have created some confusion. We are always looking at ways to ensure the contest remains fun and fair for everyone. 2 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 On 8/29/2018 at 9:25 PM, Nimravis said: YEAR CONCRETION WAS COLLECTED: 5-1998 DATE CONCRETION WAS OPENED: 8-29-2018 Why do concretions sit for so long? Is there a benefit to it? Always seemed strange. Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 Just now, MeargleSchmeargl said: Why do concretions sit for so long? Is there a benefit to it? Always seemed strange. You should definitely check out Ralph's awesome thread if you haven't already He has somewhere in the neighbourhood of 100 or so big buckets of concretions to go through. 2 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 16 hours ago, mikeymig said: Eldredgeops rana. Windom, Moscow formation. Middle Devonian. Livingston County, New York. Size - 41 mm. Found August 2016. Prepped August 29, 2018. My favorite trilobite is a classic species, Eldredgeops rana from the Middle Devonian of New York State. I've been collecting them from a number of different localities and formations in my area since I was a kid. I have found molts, babies, geriatrics, enrolled, multiples, and specimens with their original color patterns. Some localities I collect at, Eldredgeops are common and at other localities they are rare. The specimens from Livingston county tend to be bigger (some are downright huge at 4"), inflated, and in life position (like they are crawling off the matrix) when compared to well known NY Eldredgeops collecting sites. This 41mm (1.6") specimen was found a couple years ago in Livingston County and I intended to leave it unprepared to show how pretty they can be right out of the ground. I recently decided to have it prepped and sent the specimen to my friend Malcolm Thornley of Canada. Malcolm did a great job in bringing out the natural beauty of my bug and the molted pieces nearby that may be from this complete animal. Thank you, Mikeymig It looks like a happy family lived on that little plot of seabed. Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 I understand what the Admins are saying, but aren't we looking for the best of the best? The Fossil Of The Year may end up being a landslide victory. Personal i think losing gives most of us more drive or incentive to read about possible new spots, learn, make new connections and ultimately find GREAT specimens truly worthy of "praise". But this is just my opinion. 9 ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 3 minutes ago, fossilized6s said: I understand what the Admins are saying, but aren't we looking for the best of the best? The Fossil Of The Year may end up being a landslide victory. Personal i think losing gives most of us more drive or incentive to read about possible new spots, learn, make new connections and ultimately find GREAT specimens truly worthy of "praise". But this is just my opinion. Taken another way, there aren't really any "losers" in this contest. We all win in seeing such excellent finds, and even if one's entry doesn't get the nod for the month, one still has a prized fossil! 1 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 23 minutes ago, MeargleSchmeargl said: Why do concretions sit for so long? Is there a benefit to it? Always seemed strange. It is called procrastination, but the real reason was that I knew that concretions would be harder to find as time went on and some of the areas, due to construction, had a limited time for collecting, so I would collect non-stop and wanted to save the concretions for later years to open. In addition, I got out of fossils for a number number of years, so they just sat. I moved into climbing, which I would do 6 days a week after work and also backpacking- I still do both of these activities and actually climbed last night. Now that I am getting closer to pulling the plug on Work, I decided that I better go “whacking” on these since I would not want to transport them if we relocate, as each bucket weighs about 80 pounds. So with 74 buckets left, I hopefully will be don in 1 year, fingers crossed. Sorry for the long answer to your question. BTW- we are planning to move your way. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 Certainly there aren't any "losers" in this "contest". Every entry is special to the person who found and prepped that fossil. I have only entered a few times, and won last month. Although my "winner" last month is indeed a special fossil to me, it is probably not as rare as some I entered in the past that did not win. It all depends on what else happens to get entered alongside your specimen. I seriously doubt anyone has ever discarded a fossil because it was a "loser". I hope everyone will feel welcome to enter whenever they have something they know is special and would like people to see, even if it isn't likely to beat out that perfectly prepared dancing crab. Don 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 I, for one, if i ever entered this contest, which I hope will happen one day, would like to be up against the best, win or lose. 3 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 1 minute ago, Tidgy's Dad said: I, for one, if i ever entered this contest, which I hope will happen one day, would like to be up against the best, win or lose. But we've already established you are the best Adam, what more can you want?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 1 minute ago, caldigger said: But we've already established you are the best Adam, what more can you want?! The moon on a stick. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raggedy Man Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 8 hours ago, fossilcrazy said: Is this going to be like a beauty pageant, were the runner ups are eliminated and votes are for several or fewer contestants? Have we seen "hogging" awards in the past? Please eliminate my Shark from this month's contest, since the message tools don't allow me to do it myself. I don't want anymore icons by my name, it appears selfish. Selfish? I dont think so. To me your icons say..."I find amazing specimens". I enjoy your finds as im sure everyone else does to. Removing your entry is honorable and kind action. Its people like you that make the forum what it is. ...I'm back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raggedy Man Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 2 hours ago, Nimravis said: It is called procrastination, but the real reason was that I knew that concretions would be harder to find as time went on and some of the areas, due to construction, had a limited time for collecting, so I would collect non-stop and wanted to save the concretions for later years to open. In addition, I got out of fossils for a number number of years, so they just sat. I moved into climbing, which I would do 6 days a week after work and also backpacking- I still do both of these activities and actually climbed last night. Now that I am getting closer to pulling the plug on Work, I decided that I better go “whacking” on these since I would not want to transport them if we relocate, as each bucket weighs about 80 pounds. So with 74 buckets left, I hopefully will be don in 1 year, fingers crossed. Sorry for the long answer to your question. BTW- we are planning to move your way. Ha if you relocate id be happy nay honored to take a few off your hands! 1 ...I'm back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 3 minutes ago, Raggedy Man said: Selfish? I dont think so. To me your icons say..."I find amazing specimens". I enjoy your finds as im sure everyone else does to. Removing your entry is honorable and kind action. Its people like you that make the forum what it is. And, certainly, we have reconsidered our suggestion. The entries stand and they should not be withdrawn. We never stop learning from our membership and make adjustments on the basis of that to make our community an even better place (and it is already awesome). We've come a long way, and we continue to improve thanks to the input of our dedicated membership. Our member contributions here are in themselves the very best badge of honour, and one that requires no digital badge as it is implied and understood. 5 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 Why should the contest suddenly become watered down to satisfy some sense of fair play? FOTM has always been and should always remain a battle of the very best. After all, only 24 entries can win per year and only 2 can claim the illustrious FOTY. I recall many spectacular finds that I was certain were a cinch to win FOTM, only to see something more spectacular appear for the win. Limiting the entries may seem like a leveling of the playing field, but unfortunately it also limits the possibilities of other spectacular fossils not being able to compete among the best of the best. No one is winning too often, and sorry, everyone does not get a pony... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 I sort of agree with Scott. I know I have purposefully not submitted some amazing fossils because I got the sense that once you had won a few times you should give others the opportunity to showcase their fossils. I suspect many others have done the same. Unfortunately the world is not equally fossiliferous, some of us have access to potential great fossils and since we prep ourselves it is not costing us a small fortune to make them look their best. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 We hear you. We weren't twisting anyone's arms. It was a suggestion. But you don't want it that way, so be it. Let the fun and games continue. 3 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Ain’t no losing for me, I get to show off my best finds and see others! I try to put in at least one a month, I would’ve done one this month but I couldn’t take a nice enough picture of it. I have a feeling it’s gonna be a while before I find a FOTM. Keep the nice finds coming! “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 5 hours ago, Malcolmt said: Unfortunately the world is not equally fossiliferous, some of us have access to potential great fossils How true is that! Just a thought: If you don´t have access to optical really appealing fossils, you could try to make the entry a little bit educational, presenting the story the fossil tells. One could present fossils with e.g. pathologys or one species growing on another one etc. Time will tell, if they can be a FOTM. Just try it! Franz Bernhard 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 4 hours ago, FranzBernhard said: How true is that! Just a thought: If you don´t have access to optical really appealing fossils, you could try to make the entry a little bit educational, presenting the story the fossil tells. One could present fossils with e.g. pathologys or one species growing on another one etc. Time will tell, if they can be a FOTM. Just try it! Franz Bernhard Bravo! That's the Forum spirit! 'Tis not only the visual that kindles the sense of wonder. Fossils tell stories, but they need a good editor to coax it out. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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