So this is the first blog. Probably the most difficult to write. I did consider doing some biographical stuff, who I am, why I’m writing etc but quite honestly I think that is better if it unfolds slowly over the blogs to come. I also have some ideas on regular sections of the blog etc but again I think I will just freewheel for a while and let the recurring themes start recurring before I tie myself into some format.
Mysteries
I’m fond of mysteries and here is one that may interest you. Its about UFOs and I should state my opinions on the subject before we start:
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I think it is highly likely that given the size of the universe, there will be life on other planets than just this one
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I think given the age of the universe it is highly likely that there are civilisations out there a percentage of which will be more advanced than our own
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However, despite taking a passing interest in the subject I have never yet seen convincing evidence that we have been visited by anyone or anything of extraterrestrial origin (excluding getting blasted by meteors every now and then).
So in this – as with many things - I am skeptical. OK on with the current mystery:
It all started on May 11, 2007, when a person called “Chad” contacted the US Radio show Coast to Coast reporting having seen and photographed a UFO near his home in California on May 6th. You can see this first report here:
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/gen/page2022.html?theme=light
Then, May 15th 2007, a further report – this time from Lake Tahoe , California was registered with MUFON (UFO investigation society) and a further picture sent in of the same or a very similar object.http://www.ufocasebook.com/strangecraftlaketahoe.html
Next, on May 18th 2007, a woman (Shirley P.) on sent in a mail to earthfiles.com stating that she had seen the same object a few years ago in Sequoia National Park but didnt take a picture.
http://www.ufocasebook.com/lettersstrangecraft.html
On May 21st 2007, someone calling himself rajman1977 posted on Flickr his account of a sighting in Capitola, California on May 16th http://www.flickr.com/photos/8418528@N06/. This object is similar but subtly different.
Since then there has been a lot of discussion on various boards and the pictures have been scrutinised for fakery. The general conclusion has been that there is no obvious evidence that the pictures have been faked but with present day CGI it would be easy to create images such as this from scratch. In fact someone has done just that. He reckons it took him 90 minutes to knock together the following image which is almost as convincing as the others. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8455761@N06/511283665/
While everyone else has been looking at the pictures, I have been looking at the written accounts that came with them. What I notice is remarkable similarities between each account. Not in what they are talking about but the way in which they express themselves.
Firstly, all the accounts are articulate, well constructed as four or five paragraphs of about 3 or 4 sentences each. This is itself is suspicious – I would expect at least one of them to have spelling mistakes or poor punctuation. There are other similarities:
1. Use of quotes to describe the thing:
Chad:
with me to take photos of this “craft”.
I’m worried is that this “craft” has got some kind of radiation
Shirley P:
what was described as “drones”
in regard to the “aerial drones” spotted
Rajman:
we noticed this “object” sort of hovering
2. Use of VERY in caps:
Chad:
Then it moves VERY quickly and is out of sight
It is VERY smooth and slow
Shirley P:
I read with keen interest the article(with VERY good photos)about
3. Use of colons
Chad:
Location: I would prefer not to say for now
Shirley P:
I joked:”So it’s NOT a UFO?
The above makes me think that rather than four witnesses we may well have only one or possibly two. So whats the conclusion? I would put my money on a couple of hoaxers with good CGI skills deciding to try and create a “flap”. But why? So far I cannot see anyone making any money out of this – or perhaps this is yet to happen. It has been suggested that this is the start of a viral marketing campaign for the forthcoming Transformers movie. Whatever the case I am sure there is more to come. So watch this space…
Good Games
Most of the web based games bore me but occasionally I find one sufficiently diverting to make me waste the precious little time I have. Here is one - Grain Strain - that amused me for a while recently. It requires no explanation except to say that when you reach level 8, the puzzles start again from the beginning but with a stiffer time limit. Have fun.
Today’s pet peeve
I have a difficult commute. Trains and tubes during the rush-hour crush. Crammed into unwillingly intimate contact with this unwashed sausage of squashed humanity, nose pressed into strangers armpits, grabbing and being grabbed to maintain balance with every lurch and swerve of the carriage. Long and difficult hikes up and down crowded stairways.
I dont like it . Not at all. I never get a seat. But sometimes, just sometimes if I’m very very lucky I might get a “perch”. These are little padded areas that are embedded into the walls of the carriage. Just at the height where you can lean back on them and with a bit of buttock adjustment take ther weight off your aching feet. It may seem trivial – I suppose it is – but that meagre little bit of semi-comfort can have a significant effect on reducing the torture of the journey. So now we come to the peeve. There is a kind of person that is increasingly beginning to annoy me – the perch blocker.
Perch blockers are people who stand in front of a perch – and dont sit on them! They deprive others (i.e. me) from using the perch but dont use them themselves. Imagine you are dying of thirst and in front of you stands a person hogging a bottle of water – they wont let you have a drink – but they dont drink it themselves! This is the feeling one gets watching the perch blocker. If you dont want to use it – move away so someone who needs it can, you ****!
OK, I feel better now.
Thats all for now…
I think that will do for my first blog. There are strangulation sounds coming from the kids’ rooms….
