From: Stedystate{at}aol.com
To: ATM{at}shore.net
Reply-To: Stedystate{at}aol.com


A project we have been involved in has recently been made public on the ATM
list and I wish to make a statement concerning it. Some time ago Zambuto
Optical Company approached James Lerch for the purpose of looking at his
automated
Foucault measuring device as a potential measuring tool. An optic was sent
to James to help in evaluating the system and possibly begin an effort to
calibrate it to our satisfaction. To date, results satisfactory to ZOC have
not been
obtained. I don't need to go into technical details, as on June 24 James
made a statement to the ATM list which covers that aspect sufficiently for
us:

"Previous attempts at quantifying Robo-Foucault's degree of accuracy have been

unsuccessful.  It is at this point that I shall implement a "Fresh
Start", no

longer commenting on previous efforts."

We're in agreement with the above statement and that previous efforts do
not warrant comment. In general terms I wish to add that we don't agree
with James' working hypotheses, nor with his general methodology. This was
originally a
private endeavor, as it was never intended by us that a public drama
("Battle Royal") would be displayed pitting one method of test
against another to determine which is "right" and which is
"wrong", or putting a singular optic up for
trial to determine its "perfection"
(http://astro.umsystem.edu/atm/ARCHIVES/MAY03/msg00266.html). No optic is
perfect, nor is any method of test as each has its strengths and
weaknesses. Rather each method requires a conscientious and workmanlike
application of effort to calibrate appropriately according to its intended
purpose. As a result of our disagreement we have decided to terminate our
involvement in the project. The optic that we had offered for potential
calibration is no longer available to James as it now resides in Rick
Singmaster's personal telescope.

For the record, although we once looked at the device as a potential tool,
we do not wish to necessarily imply any endorsement by ZOC for the use of
the automated device as an instrument for optical measurement. Furthermore
we do not
necessarily agree with any result or statement made publicly or privately
by James regarding the use of the device in the project as we were involved
in it, or the condition of the optic that was offered by ZOC for
calibration purposes. We  have no further plans at this time to work with
James in any capacity.

Carl Zambuto

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