Saturday, September 24, 2005

A Little Rant on Conspiracy Theory…

My rant on Conspiracy Theory…

Today.. something a little different from me… a rant…

[rant]
I’ve never been one to follow the paranoia spouted by the conspiracy theorists among us.

Although, just because I’m not paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not out to get me!

However, just the other day, a friend sent me this link so I’d have a laugh for the day. It had the opposite effect; I found it troubling that anyone would spend this much time, attempting to tie the recent Katrina catastrophe as well as the pending effects of hurricane Rita, to this sort of conspiratorial babble.

The basis for all of this is something called the “Woodpecker Grid”, if you’re really interested click here for the results of a dogpile search on it. The thing I find so incredible, is that these folks seem to think it really is possible to do this!

If you’re familiar with even localized efforts at weather manipulation, like cloud seeding (if you’re not familiar with that there’s a good explaination here.). Then you probably already know that after nearly sixty years of study, attempts and funding, that the scientific community is still undecided as to the actual, measurable results.

So, if we can’t reliably, seed some clouds to make it rain, we’re (as in anyone, anywhere on the planet) somehow able to direct electromagnetic waves, to a specific point and generate an event like a hurricane?

When Rita was forecast to hit Galveston as a category 5+ hurricane, these same folks were claiming it was all a plot, to wipe out the oil refining/production facilities of the US.

Now that she’s spared most of the oil platforms, refineries and lessened to a category 2 before making landfall, I suppose they’ll claim that it was their (the conspiracy folks) reporting of the plot that caused the perpetrators to back down. Although, seeing how they were blaming everyone from Russia to Bin Laden, it’s difficult for me to imagine anyone with that type of power to back down…

There are a number of reasons why, I personally, don’t believe any of this is possible, but the number one reason is that it relies on EM waves. The amount of directed (even over an invisible 'grid') EM energy required to generate a storm the size of Katrina or Rita, would shut down all sorts of communications equipment worldwide.

I suppose there’ll be someone to say they’ve also discovered a means of transmitting these waves undetectably… That would be a pretty big deal, undetectable EM waves… you would have thought it would have made the papers, or CNN or something.

Maybe it’s just me. It’s possible I’m just so frightened by the possibility that someone could manipulate the weather this way I refuse to believe it could be done. But, then again, maybe if these all powerful terrorist types who can create hurricanes at will, would create one say in the North Atlantic, (where they rarely, if ever, start) and then steer it west into say Iceland, against the prevailing wind currents, I’d have to take a serious look at it.

It’s sort of like “Aliens from outer space”… I’m not convinced they don’t exist, as the universe is a pretty big place, and the odds of us being alone in it are fairly small (at least according to Carl Sagan). However, if they were visiting this planet, I think they’d do something more, ummmm, inventive, besides making circles in some farmers cornfield.

I’d be more impressed if they did something along the lines of what happened in Sagan’s book “Contact” (or the movie if you missed the book)… at least that showed some ingenuity.

Look, I know there are 'bad guys' out there. In fact, on some days I worry they outnumber the rest of us. Thankfully they don’t. In fact they make up a very small percentage of the humans on the planet. They just get all the press time.

The rest of us, going about our fairly mundane daily lives just aren’t deemed “News worthy”. Just once, I’d like to see an entire news cast that highlighted; the folks who cut out of work early to see their kid’s game. Those who come home after a rough day at work, and instead of dumping on the family, take them all out to dinner… those folks who despite many problems of their own; donate money to disaster victims, give blood to the Red Cross, spend the weekend painting their church instead of fishing, take time off from work to build houses for habitat for Humanity, take “Fresh Air” kids into their homes in the summer, or any of a 1,000 other generous acts performed each minute in this (and other) countries every single minute of every day.

I doubt I’ll ever see it.

Instead, I’ll hear about murderers, rapists, terrorists, burglars, robbers, serial killers, plane crashes, and on and on… I know that the 'good deeds' outnumber the bad, but, shouldn’t we at least get news shows that reflect that?

I somehow think, that if even one reporter, with one major cable network could back up any of this conspiritorial supposition, with fact, we’d have been subjected to hours and hours of it by now. They’d have full screen graphics, high-res photos with circles and arrows and a commentator explaining what each one means (sorry Arlo)… repeating it every fifteen (ok maybe 20) minutes 24 hours a day.

The fact is, there is no huge "out to get us" secret group out there… just the same old power hungry groups there’s always been.. and we’re watching them!!

[/rant]

I’ll be back soon (as myself), after the proper application of welding fumes, bondo dust, primer overspray, loud obnoxious power tools and carefully measured amounts of a cold, fermented, yeast, barley and hops mixture!!

Until then… what’s your favorite conspiracy??


Technorati Tags: >

12 comments:

Sleeping Mommy said...

Oh my goodness, that site is just crazy Bill. I can't believe I had never heard of this. Thanks for the information and the perspective. It's easy to get sucked into some of these conspiracy theories sometimes.

Bill said...

It is isn't it? It was the first I'd heard of it too... but it's obvious it's a 'big deal' for some of those folks.

Yeah, I know what you mean, but I've always ben too much of a logical thinker to get drawn in too far... the theories always seem to fall apart when you drag them into the light!

Thanks for stopping by... always good to see you!

Beth said...

Some conspiracy theories, I totally buy, but this one is off-the-wall nuts!

A couple I buy into are the JFK assassination. I don't believe Lee Harvey Oswald did it. I also believe the USA never landed on the moon. Now I sound nuts. Haha!

Bill said...

Hi Beth, I have trouble with conspiracy theories for one simple reason... and that's the old saying:

"Three can keep a secret... if two are dead."

There are far too many people that would have been involved, for it to stay a 'secret' this long. (If in fact there was proof that any of it was true)...

That said, I've been wrong before, and I have no doubt I'll be wrong again!!

Thanks for stopping by.

Lois Lane said...

You rant really well, and so grownup like! You didn't chew anyone too hard and I didn't see the F word once!
Lois Lane

Patrick M. Tracy said...

Bill,

There are some amazing goofballs on the net, man. Whenver something sounds a little too strange, I wait and check it out. Generally, if a lot of these things they purport to have happened really had, they'd be on the national news. The idea of manipulating storms is great for a James Bond story or something like that, but the real fact is that we don't have any source of power strong enough to have that effect. I just saw a news segment on the idea of "stopping a hurricane", and a scientist said that even hitting an incipient hurricane with a nuclear weapon would be insufficient, and if the energy was misapplied, it would simply make the situation worse. If a nuke won't slow it down, I can't think of much that would create it from nothing. Unless there was a technology that could superheat millions of gallons of water over the space of many miles, there would be no way to "make a storm"-- and that's just a normal one, not a CAT 5 hurricane!

Anyway, the net is a haven for whack-a-loons, so it's always better to check facts before sending things along. It's no good to be part of the problem.

Bill said...

Lois - I try to save "Fuck" for those places I really need it.. like the garage... or really annoying business meetings! Thanks for stopping by!

Firhawk... There's nuts in them there hills... I swear there is!!

I didn't see the show you mentioned.. but I'd had a similar thought.. but... even if a nuke would disperse the energy... the fallout would be over a huge area!

We humans are strange.. we seem to think we can control everything...yet it seems just often enough we get reminded we're in control of very little!!

As for the "whack-a-loons" (I think you should copyright that!)... Someone needs to give them a real job... they've got way too much time on their hands!!

Patrick M. Tracy said...

Bill,

Wish I could copyright the term, but I just stole it from George Carlin. Glad it struck you funny, though. A borrowed laugh is almost as good as one created whole.

Bill said...

Firehawk - At least you stole it from "the source"... I'm a big Carlin fan... nothing is out of bounds.. and he's totally irreverent about absolutely everything!!

A laugh, is a laugh... borrowed or not! :)

Nina said...

They use weather manipulation, like cloud seeding, here all the time. Most of the ski resorts have decided that making their own snow is cheaper and more effective then trying to seed the clouds.

I am sure there are just as many true conspiracies out there as there are false. The weather however is just something we don't have control over.

It takes all kind to make the world go around, I guess.

Unknown said...

Bill,

I'm with you on the news. I'd like to see the stories that you mention as well as things that people are really concerned about handled in an intelligent way. Instead, I see dueling news actors jerking my chain with fires and murders.

I have my own theory about those who go for conspiracy theories. Many of these people are looking for meaning in their lives and, especially, an explanation of why things have not gone better. I think that they would be better off directing their energies toward more productive ends but that's just me.

Bill said...

Nanina - Trying to influence the weather, is as old a mankind... I wonder if we humans will ever accept that there are things we simply can not control? :)

CA - That's why, for the most part, while my wife watches the cable news, I'll come back to the 'office' and write, or blog... it's just too damn depressing for me.

I'm with you on the more productive use of their energies, it's obvious they have passion, if it was turned toward a positive outlet there's no telling what they could achieve.