Sorry guys. I have been drinking and I'm going back to school tomorrow. Forgive me for being on edge.
Here it goes. Where to start....
I guess I'll start here...I guess having seen a few things in my life which I consider a UFO, knowing and acknowledging the incredibly vague meaning
of the acronym. The Term UFO is so vague I can't even tell you properly. It is like you how you technically eat anything you encounter, but it isn't
necessarily food. I could eat aluminum siding, a rock, dirt, or a tree, and it still wouldn't be food.
After having seen "things" in the sky, I have been an avid participant and observer of sites such as this, and sites such as MUFON and NUFORC.
Subsequently, I have begun to categorize various "UFO Sightings."
But first how 'bout I explain who I am. I am a visual Journalism Major who has done photography as a hobby for the last five years. I am almost
obsessive compulsive, and because of that, I have tried every form of photography until I got it right at least once. Not perfect, just right.
The main focal point of this useless rant-post is MUFON, and I love MUFON. There are reports on there that by way of translation and lack of first
person experience, sound incredible, but only because we were not there. I am not talking about those. I am talking to the people that post supposed
evidence. 1/10 of that evidence that I have seen on MUFON is something unexplainable. The rest of it makes me slam my head on the desk out of sheer
disappointment and embarrassment.
Number one complaint = Sighting reports saying "I didn't notice this until after I looked at the picture." These are ALWAYS something completely
ordinary. Lens dust, light diffractions, and the ever-present LENS FLARE which is what makes most most of these, and still, THEY ARE VISIBLE WHEN YOU
TAKE THE PHOTOGRAPH. These people must be the worst photographers ever. My god.
Long exposure shots, or shots with a sorta slow exposure or limited Depth of Field also result in many UFO cases. Birds that look like triangles,
spheres, RODS even. Bugs too often produce this.
People with a lack of general knowledge on aircraft lights also piss me off. Some planes have lights that blink, some don't, some have a combo. Until
I see something moving in the sky with purple lights or something that I think could give me a seizure, I am not going to call that a UFO.
What the F is with people reporting IRIDESCENT CLOUDS as UFOs?
HOLY CRAP...Dust on windshields and windows. Wow.
Basically what I am saying, in order to salvage any coherence I had here in this post, is that you should NEVER say you saw a UFO or report a UFO
unless it it truly something awe inspiring or something you can say for certain is not a camera aberration, a trick of the light, an atmospheric
phenomena or whatever.
What I am also saying is that there is something seriously wrong with people when they see something they think is amazing, and don't do a single bit
of research to see what it was NOT. It is one thing to claim "ALIENS!!!!" but for the sake of yourself, and for the field of Ufology, for the people
that take this stuff seriously, PLEASE I BEG YOU, hold off on saying it was a UFO until you are absolutely certain it is not some common occurance
that you were not aware of regarding your life circumstances.
edit on 6-1-2012 by SubPop79 because: (no reason given)