Posted on 07/09/2009 2:44:17 PM PDT by TaraP
A 350ft crop circle of an ancient Mayan symbol, said to be a sign of an impending apocalypse, has appeared next to Silbury Hill in Wiltshire. The giant pattern - thought to represent a traditional Mayan head-dress - appeared next to the tallest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe last week. Members of the crop circle community believe the mystic symbol is a signal of the end of the 5,126-year Mayan 'Long Count' calendar on December 21, 2012 Karen Alexander, a crop circle enthusiast, said: "This is one of the most interesting crop circles I have ever seen. It is definitely a Mayan symbol and we are sure it is linked to the Mayan calendar, which ends in 2012. "It appears to be a warning about the world coming to an end when the calendar does. For the ancient Maya, reaching the end of a cycle was a momentous event, so we are taking this crop circle very seriously as an indicator of a possibly huge event in 2012." Last month a 400-foot crop circle depicting a phoenix rising from the flames appeared in a barley field in Yatesbury near Devizes, Wiltshire. Crop circle theorists believe the patterns are created by UFOs during nocturnal visits, or caused by natural phenomena such as unusual forms of lightning striking the earth.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
It’s a way-too-common misunderstanding that GPS is accurate. And it’s not. I’ve found that out a very long time ago. But, still that particular *myth* of GPS accuracy persists...
I’ll point this out (and there’s absolutely no end to this information about GPS inaccuracy — and — having nothing at all to do with crop circles...).
A consumer-grade GPS receiver is very unlikely to achieve the same high level of position accuracy as a survey-grade multi-frequency GPS receiver with post-processing capabilities, at least repeatably anyway. But the former is available for less than $200, while the latter can easily cost thousands of dollars. Sometimes you don’t need the sub-meter (even centimeter) accuracy of the more-expensive unit; sometimes, getting a position reliably within a few meters is good enough. And there are ways you can improve your chances of getting reasonably good and repeatable measurement accuracy even with an inexpensive unit (and some of these help with the more expensive units as well).
Note that the “key” here is in this phrase — “... position accuracy as a survey-grade multi-frequency GPS receiver with post-processing capabilities, at least repeatably anyway.”
And, as applied to “crop circles” — this is simply not possible (while accuracy is possible for other applications with a lot of money and time and “post-processing”). That simply does not lend itself to crop circles, though...
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You see..., accurate information “is your friend” — especially if you’re interested in the truth — instead of pure debunking for debunking’s sake... LOL...
So, once again, if you don’t mind being “off” by a possible 30 feet from one end of a variation to the other end... then, that’s fine (and that’s just *standing still* from one minute to the next minute). And for most people, it’s fine (just not for crop circles... :-)... )
Oh, and one more thing about that variation of 30-feet, from one side of the variation to the other side. That’s something that is for about 95% of the time. Now..., it’s possible that the remaining 5% of the time (which could be at any moment at any reading — the error could be a possible 100-foot error... LOL ... (again, possible while standing still).
For navigating on the streets and for finding a house, that’s no big deal. It works quite well (as I know, too, as I use it a lot). But, you don’t want it for crop circles, unless you want to introduce 30-foot errors into your crop circles, with an occasional 100-foot error now and again... :-)
You said — I’m not that conversant with GPS as I should be, but I do know PLS now use GPS with their Total Base Stations, and it when tied to a nearby reference may also provide mm to cm resolution.
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Yeah, I’ve tried to indicate in what I’ve said, so far, that one can achieve precise positions through expensive equipment, the time to do it, and the processing afterwards (after the measurements) to make it precise (with computers/computing algorithms).
So, yes, you can get it quite precise...
But, what I was trying to show is that you can’t do it for an application such as crop circles. That’s a different story, as by the time you made all those precise measurements, you would barely be beginning on your crop circle and the day would be over... LOL...
I haven’t tried to mislead anyone on that. And also, a person could spend, as I said, $500 or more and still not achieve any better accuracy than a possible 30-foot variance, from one side to the other, even while standing still. For huge volume of GPS equipment out there, that is sold in mass, a 30-foot error is no big deal and makes no difference at all to the buyer.
I’m going to be getting one of those models that sells for about $400 and will do a fine job by me, but I’m not fooling myself into thinking that I’m going to get any better accuracy with it than what I said. :-)
My current model ties into my computer and has WAAS and acquires as many satellites as possible and is extremely accurate for its price range. It’s about a $200 model. I’ve used it quite well to get my speedometer accurate, at various speeds and it works great that way. “Speed” in an automobile works great with GPS, because you can average it over a period of time, if you have a computer program which will take the signals and process them for you while you’re moving along. In that application, acquiring speed while traveling at freeway speeds, the 30-foot errors can be averaged out and computed out of the situation that you’re in.
Maybe Star Traveler has some wisdom. It is wise not to be naive and also wise not to be a know it all. The middle seems a wise place to be.
Ecclesiastes 7:13-18 (Contemporary English Version) Think of what God has done! If God makes something crooked, can you make it straight? When times are good, you should be cheerful; when times are bad, think what it means. God makes them both to keep us from knowing what will happen next. Some of Life’s Questions I have seen everything during this senseless life of mine. I have seen good citizens die for doing the right thing, and I have seen criminals live to a ripe old age. SO don’t destroy yourself by being too good or acting too smart! Don’t die before your time by being too evil or acting like a fool. Keep to the middle of the road. You can do this if you truly respect God.
Hey, just read up on the technical data for GPS, which has nothing to do with crop circles. I’ve already supplied you with the reference points on it and they show that error. You must not look at the data that I give... :-)
In addition, I’ve verified the errors myself, in actual practice in trying to nail down positions accurately. We’re not talking about driving down the street, which doesn’t make any difference at all, if you have an error of that size.
If you’ve used mapping programs, with accurate mapping data and have tried to overlay GPS positioning on it — and you are driving — one can easily find (on that data from GPS) that you’re shown to be driving on the wrong side of the road (when you’re *not* actually driving on the wrong side of the road)... LOL...
And yes, customers are quite satisfied, because they’re not trying to get something closer than the margin of error that exists in GPS. Customers are happy to have trailheads mapped (on their GPS) within the distance of the error that exists on GPS. Drivers are happy to find “buildings” that are “there” within the error that exists on GPS.
Everyone is happy, even with the 30-foot errors that apply. No one said that they were unhappy...
I’m happing when I see on my computer and GPS system that I’ve just passed the turn-off for some road that is not marked but I know I’m supposed to go down it. When I’m traveling at 60-80 MPH down the highway and my GPS shows that I’ve just passed that road, I don’t care about the 30-foot error. I’m *more than happy* that I noticed the turnoff *at all* on my map program combined with my GPS... :-)
You said — How about accepting they’re human until other, truly substantial proof is done?
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For one thing, there are *problems* that exist with assuming that position, after all this period of time (with some of those crop circles). Now..., right off the bat, right with the first ones that ever existed, I would say that’s a good assumption. It makes perfect sense.
BUT..., now we’ve had decades of this stuff and yet, no one has been able to *reproduce* some of the kinds of things that are detected and measured — in a scientific way — simply by making one and reproducing all those effects and having the very same thing come out (in the one that they’ve created for a “test”) as the one that was “mysteriously created”....
However, there is *one thing* that is *very obvious* — these things are created by some “intelligence”. I think everyone can agree to that. The question remains as to what “intelligence” created it and how it was done. [... and mind you, as a side note, I’m not agreeing with the position of some that there are extra-terrestrial civilizations from distant galaxies which have come here in their space vehicles to create them here on earth, so don’t go down that trail... LOL...]
The hoaxes have been shown to be hoaxes, but the few that have not been shown to be that and they have “properties” that are inherent in them that can’t be reproduced by other means — that’s a real mystery.
And if simple and ordinary people are doing this — I would say that it’s about time that they show how they created some of these crop circles, after decades of them showing up, and having these particular measurable characteristics that no one has been able to reproduce, up to this point in time....
Why doesn’t someone “step up” and reproduce one with all these characteristics that have certain parameters that have been measured?
Well..., I’ve of the opinion that if something is scientifically possible to be reproduced, it can be figured out and done. Thus, I don’t hold to the theory that it’s so much of a secret (in terms of scientific principles that we know about) that this can be “hidden” from others who know science, too.
The fact that it’s not being reproduced by others (in a demonstrable way and by way of a “test example”), simply shows that the knowledge from a scientific standpoint doesn’t exist in a normal and conventional way — or else — after a few decades of this, anyone with “half a mind” would have been able to do it with the measurable characteristics that we find in some of those crop circles.
I don’t believe that “secret societies” exist (no matter what we’re talking about, crop circles, the Illuminati, Obama’s birth certificate or the Bilderbergers) in which normal people can’t figure out something and show it to the world.
And what about the crystal skulls?
I'll be "wise" and say I don't know if "secret societies" exist.
I could start off with this crop circle topic by going at it from a different starting point.
Do crop circles show “intelligence” or do they show “random natural processes” in them showing up and being there?
My answer is that it *definitely* is *not* some random natural process of nature going on that creates them. I would bet my life on that conclusion.
So, I’m left with the conclusion that they show intelligent creation.
Then, I have to ask if it’s human intelligence or some other kind of intelligence (”other than human”). If it’s human intelligence, then I want to see all of the measurable parameters that have been detected and measured in the past *demonstrated* by humans. If they can’t be demonstrated by humans in all that these have shown, then that throws into question the “human intelligence” part... (at least for part of them, as there are ones demonstrated from human intelligence).
Now, for the next part, one has to ask what other intelligence exists, other than human intelligence? Well, I’m going by a Biblical worldview, so I am going to conclude that the other intelligences that are mentioned in the Bible are the ones who exist, aside from humans.
I don’t believe in the existence of extra-terrestrial civilizations, reproducing, growing and expanding over eons of time, growing so advanced that they are now traveling in space vehicles, from distant galaxies to earth.
So, as a result, I’m left with a mystery of the only other intelligences who could have created these, are the ones the Bible mentions — but I have no clue why they would want to do this.
It’s still a mystery to me, and I haven’t seen that human intelligence can create all that has been shown to exist with all crop circles.
Well, that wasn’t worded just right, actually... :-)
I should have been a lot more precise and said that knowledge can’t be kept hidden by so-called secret societies to the point where no one will ever know, except those “special members” of those so-called secret societies...
Eventually others outside of any such group will also know any “hidden knowledge” too...
That’s what I meant by not believing in secret societies... (if you understand what I’m talking about now... I hope...).
Is this a preconceived notion?
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