indigopete
17th July 2012, 16:23
Thought some of you might like these . . . http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&cp=13&gs_id=1c&xhr=t&q=lenticular+clouds&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1323&bih=1061&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=UIgFUIfKJMrRhAee_pzFBw
They are formed when "kinks" occur in a stable airmass due to the air climbing over a mountain top or similar. If the air is near saturated, the small temperature change due to the ascending air is enough to condense it's "humidity payload" into a light cloud and the wave becomes visible.
I was prompted to post this because periodically people attribute unusual looking phenomena (notably on the current Project Camelot blog) to UFO 'cloaks', HAARP and all sorts of stuff. Respected blogs (well, PC *was* respected - I don't know if it is any more) then pass on this perspective to their readers without even checking with anybody to see if the alternative interpretation sounds reasonable or not. i.e. it's just "put out there". You hear this all the time . . . "hey, I'm just putting this out there".
I mean, in many ways, the alternative media is far worse than the mainstream for promoting disinfo and mindless propaganda. It didn't used to be like that because there was a genuine agenda to be uncovered (e.g. back in them days of early PC) so almost anything at all was worthwhile news because it had the role of revealing the agenda. The detail was not so important.
But now that that agenda has become popular, anything goes. People can report or speculate on any old perspective (like aliens managing forest fires and storms in Denver) and there's a captive, un-discerning audience. This kind of "NLM" (New Lazy Media) is just going to drown out the small amounts of genuine developments that do emerge and are worthy of in-depth investigation.
I sometimes (like above) find myself in the uncomfortable position of turning myself into a reluctant "JREF-er" to counter this stuff which is a most horrendous thought. There can be no more distasteful role in comment threads than that of the internet Gestapo who deploy all kinds of dry academic factoids to antagonistically counter legitimate speculation.
However, some of the stuff that people pick up on in the alternative community is just beyond the pale. The discernment level is pegged at absolute zero in many cases - mostly because people can't tell the difference between their own creativity and legitimate enquiry. There is a need for people to get a bit more real - as an exercise, try a small test on yourself. Before you promote or believe in anything, imagine if your life - or the life of a close relative who has nothing to do with the subject matter - depended on the it being true. Small mental exercises like that sure help concentrate the mind and can help you get a handle on your own discernment tools.
Pete
They are formed when "kinks" occur in a stable airmass due to the air climbing over a mountain top or similar. If the air is near saturated, the small temperature change due to the ascending air is enough to condense it's "humidity payload" into a light cloud and the wave becomes visible.
I was prompted to post this because periodically people attribute unusual looking phenomena (notably on the current Project Camelot blog) to UFO 'cloaks', HAARP and all sorts of stuff. Respected blogs (well, PC *was* respected - I don't know if it is any more) then pass on this perspective to their readers without even checking with anybody to see if the alternative interpretation sounds reasonable or not. i.e. it's just "put out there". You hear this all the time . . . "hey, I'm just putting this out there".
I mean, in many ways, the alternative media is far worse than the mainstream for promoting disinfo and mindless propaganda. It didn't used to be like that because there was a genuine agenda to be uncovered (e.g. back in them days of early PC) so almost anything at all was worthwhile news because it had the role of revealing the agenda. The detail was not so important.
But now that that agenda has become popular, anything goes. People can report or speculate on any old perspective (like aliens managing forest fires and storms in Denver) and there's a captive, un-discerning audience. This kind of "NLM" (New Lazy Media) is just going to drown out the small amounts of genuine developments that do emerge and are worthy of in-depth investigation.
I sometimes (like above) find myself in the uncomfortable position of turning myself into a reluctant "JREF-er" to counter this stuff which is a most horrendous thought. There can be no more distasteful role in comment threads than that of the internet Gestapo who deploy all kinds of dry academic factoids to antagonistically counter legitimate speculation.
However, some of the stuff that people pick up on in the alternative community is just beyond the pale. The discernment level is pegged at absolute zero in many cases - mostly because people can't tell the difference between their own creativity and legitimate enquiry. There is a need for people to get a bit more real - as an exercise, try a small test on yourself. Before you promote or believe in anything, imagine if your life - or the life of a close relative who has nothing to do with the subject matter - depended on the it being true. Small mental exercises like that sure help concentrate the mind and can help you get a handle on your own discernment tools.
Pete