Pentagon Forms New Department To Watch and Study UFOs

Above, a display at the Roswell International UFO Museum. Phto by Armand Vaquer.

There are those who don't believe UFOs are real. As it turns out, the Pentagon does think they're real and potential threats.

They have formed a new department to watch and study them.

According to Motherboard:

The Pentagon announced the formation of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG), a successor to the U.S. Navy’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. The group study Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP), the U.S. military’s name for UFOs.

According to the Pentagon’s press release, “the AOIMSG will synchronize efforts across the Department and the broader U.S. government to detect, identify and attribute objects of interests in Special Use Airspace (SUA), and to assess and mitigate any associated threats to safety of flight and national security.”

To read more, go here.

Keep watching the skies!

Do Wi-Fi and Cell Service Belong In Our National Parks?

Above, the best cell and Wi-Fi service I found in Yosemite was at the former Ahwahnee Hotel. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Last year, I camped for a few days in Yosemite Valley at the North Pines Campground. While there, I noticed that cell service was spotty at best and no Wi-Fi. My cell phone was useless at the campground. The campground does have a pay phone booth.

The only place where I found usable cell service and Wi-Fi was at the Ahwahnee Hotel (now known as the Majestic due to the lawsuit with Delaware North).

Above, Wi-Fi and cell service were virtually nil at Yosemite's North Pines Campground. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Motherboard has an article that asks the question, "Do Wi-Fi and Cell Service Belong In Our National Parks?"

Of the two, I am on the side of cell service. With a reliable cell service in a national park, emergency calls can be sent and received. People can do without their laptops and tablets for a while, so I don't think that Wi-Fi is necessary.

Motherboard begins their article with:

Yellowstone National Park wants to go 4G, and environmentalists aren’t happy. 

On a road trip through Yosemite National Park, I once stopped at a particularly beautiful waterfall. Two dozen onlookers were already there; most Vine-ing, 'gramming, tweeting, or texting shots of the vista. Mildly distracted, I filmed some videos, and left. To this day, that remains my most vivid memory of California's most iconic national park. 

Plenty of people experience nature through a lens. So it's no surprise that Yellowstone National Park wants to expand cellular and Wi-Fi coverage throughout some of its 2.2 million acres. It would require serious infrastructure changes, including two new cellular towers at scenic points, and a bulky antennae platform on historic Mount Washburn.

To read more, go here.