William G. Pullin

Peter Robbins. A UFO celebrity that does not hold a scientific degree in any discipline, yet is viewed by many in the UFO subculture as an accomplished individual. Why?  Let's take another look at this particular little blot on the ufological landscape.  Mr. Robbins' biography, as it appears on his website http://peterrobbinsny.com/ is as follows. Be sure to pull up a chair for the ride, it is a long and self-aggrandizing journey. "Peter Robbins is an investigative writer, author and lecturer whose writing and research are focused on the subject of truly anomalous UFOs and their implications for humanity. He has appeared as a guest on and been consultant to numerous radio shows, television programs and documentaries. Lecture topics include but are not been limited to: Media, Ridicule and UFOs: The Origins of UFO Ridicule Politics, History and Human Nature: Roadblocks on the Path to Disclosure Comets, Cults and Fundamentalist Thinking: A UFO Related Cautionary Tale Little ...

Greetings. Known as the sloth bear, Melursus ursinus is the oldest species of bear to have appeared in the fossil record that is still in existence. The species is native to the Indian subcontinent and is the sole representative of the ancient genus Melursus.  Substantially slimmer than brown bears, sloth bears are omnivorous mammals, with characteristics similar to other insectivores. The species arose in the Pliocene, approximately 5.3 million years ago, and has survived various environmental changes during its time in existence, making it a tough and highly adaptable animal. Sloth bears have shaggy coats, a maned face, and impressively long sickle claws on their paws, particularly their forepaws. Remains of the species date back to the Pliocene Epoch, which supports an evolutionary divergence from other extinct species of bear prior to the appearance of modern bear species, some of which appeared during the Late Pleistocene. Adult males of the species weigh about 145 kilograms, ...

Greetings. The arguing for the reality of historical UFO cases, and for the legitimacy of witness testimonials, is often, at least within the UFO subculture, based on the standards applicable within a court of law. While such legal standards are essential when it comes to the defense and prosecution of cases, be it a civil or a criminal scenario, legal standards have no standing within the scientific community specifically, the scientific method. In a court of law, anecdotal information, witness testimonials, are acceptable forms of evidence, used to arrive at verdicts and legal decisions. Anecdotal information is not evidence in the eyes of the scientific community, for such information does not measure up to the standards that scientists adhere to. The scientific method relies on the long term collection of raw data, physical evidence, and observations conducted using instruments and technologies that take the human element out of the equation.  Human beings are fallible, subjec...

Greetings. The End-Triassic extinction, which occurred approximately 201.4 million years ago, marks the boundary between the Triassic and Jurassic periods. It is one of the major extinction events in the history of life on Earth, profoundly affecting life on land and in the oceans.  In the Earth's seas, about 23–34% of marine genera disappeared. On the land, all archosauromorph reptiles other than crocodylomorphs, the lineage leading to modern crocodilians, the majority of dinosaurs, and a somewhat smaller number of pterosaurs went extinct. Some of the groups that died out completely were previously diverse, abundant and highly successful, such as aetosaurs, phytosaurs, and rauisuchids. Plants, crocodylomorphs, dinosaurs, pterosaurs and mammals all suffered substantial losses, but the survivors allowed the dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and crocodylomorphs to become the dominant land animals for the next 135 million years. The specific cause of the End-Triassic extinction event may have be...

Greetings. Jeholornis is a genus of avialan dinosaurs that existed between 122 and 120 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period in what is now China. The genus was first discovered in the Jiufotang Formation in Hebei Province, with additional specimens having been found in the older Yixian Formation. The three species of Jeholornis had long tails and a few small teeth, and were approximately the size of modern-day turkeys, making them among the largest avialans known until the Late Cretaceous. Their diet included seeds of cycads and other similar plants. Jeholornis were relatively large, basal avialans, with a maximum adult length of up to 85 centimeters and an estimated weight of roughly 9 kilograms. Their skulls were short and high, similar to basal paravians like Epidexipteryx and to early oviraptorosaurs like Incisivosaurus. The lower jaws were short, stout, and curved downward, an evolutionary adaptation for eating seeds. Jeholornis prima lacked teeth in their upper jaws, an...

Greetings. An apex predator existed 520 million years ago, a wolf, a smilodon, a dimetrodon by any other name. Known as Anomalocaris, these extinct predators were members of an extinct genus of radiodont, an order of early-diverging stem-group marine arthropods. The genus' best known species is Anomalocaris canadensis, known from fossilized remains found in British Columbia, Canada.  Like other radiodonts, Anomalocaris canadensis had swimming flaps running along the entire length of its flexible body, large compound eyes, and a single pair of segmented, frontal appendages, which were used to grasp and dispatch prey. Estimated to reach 37.8 centimeters long excluding the frontal appendages and distinctive tail fan, A. canadensis was one of the largest animals of the Cambrian Period, and thought by paleontologists to be the earliest example of an apex predator.  Remains of Anomalocaris canadensis were first collected in 1886 by Richard G. McConnell of the Geological Survey of Ca...

Greetings. UFO investigations. Certainly a challenging job to tackle, pardon the football reference. The effort to explore possibilities that may or may not be supported by evidence, information that lies beyond the anecdotal. The effort to eliminate possibilities, to whittle down potential explanations, with the remaining options worthy of additional scrutinization. While admittedly a painstakingly slow and methodical process, it is absolutely essential to any legitimate investigative effort. No exceptions. No wiggle room to loosen the grip of the scientific method. None. Any potential moving of the goalposts places any and all investigative results firmly in doubt, not to mention the integrity of the investigators themselves, for even considering such an ill-advised course of action.  Why are investigative goalposts moved? There are several reasons:  1. Fame and notoriety. The lure of the sensational is strong, the lure of celebrity attention is strong indeed. Science doesn'...

Greetings. Genyornis newtoni. Often referred to as the Giga-Goose, this extinct species of large, flightless bird lived in Australia during the Pleistocene Epoch until approximately 50,000 years ago. It is the last known member of the extinct flightless bird family Dromornithidae which had been part of the fauna of the Australian continent for over 30 million years. The species was not closely related to ratites such as emus, with their closest extant relatives being modern-day ducks and geese. The species was first described in 1896 by Edward Charles Stirling and A. H. C. Zeitz, the authors giving the epithet newtoni for the Cambridge professor Alfred Newton. Genyornis newtoni was a medium-sized dromornithid, with adults measuring up to 2.15 meters tall and weighing a robust 250–350 kilograms. While larger than Ilbandornis, it did not attain the height and weight of Dromornis stirtoni or Dromornis planei. The fossils of the species have been found remaining in articulation, and no oth...