UFOs In Georgia

Out There Somewhere

UFO display in Sardis follows close encounter

by: George Eskola

Posted: Apr 28, 2023 / 06:32 PM EDT

SARDIS, Ga. (WJBF) – This is not a scene from a Sci-Fi movie…it’s Danny’s Nelson’s yard in Sardis, where he has his own Area 51.

“I put these things together…that was really similar to the ship that I saw,” he said.

Yes, Danny’s UFO display was inspired in part by what he saw in the sky back in the 1980’s…

“I had been coming from work in Waynesboro one day and something looked about the length of a big jet airplane but it was cigar shaped, “he said.

Now that could prompt one to create this UFO display, but Danny says he had a closer encounter a few years later in Sardis.

“I’ve been in there and I have been examined and they’re very nice to me. I was elevated from the truck out,” Danny said.
ALSO ON WJBF: 60’s era ‘fallout shelter’ signs still hang out in Warrenton

Danny says he had a face-to-face encounter with aliens.

They are gray, he says, not green. And they’re nice but curious.

“He said he’s not there to harm me. He wanted to do an examination, I was going to be probed,” Danny said.

Danny’s display is far out, the story seems far-fetched.

“This sounds crazy.”

“It does, it sounds crazy, but the crazy ones are going to be the ones who don’t believe,” he said.

Jack Johnson has known Danny for more than 40 years.

“Yes sir. I believe his story. He never lied to me, just because it does not sound real. It is real,” said Jack.

https://www.wjbf.com/news/out-there-somewhere/ufo-display-in-sardis-follows-close-encounter/

Area 51 in Sardis, Georgia.

“Yes sir, that’s exactly right. It sounds funny, it sounds crazy. People got to realize there’s something out there,” he said.

And this display qualifies.

Out There Somewhere in Sardis, George Eskola WJBF NewsChannel 6. (https://www.wjbf.com/news/out-there-somewhere/ufo-display-in-sardis-follows-close-encounter/)

In 1969, Jimmy Carter saw a UFO in Georgia. Here’s what happened.

By Shannen Sharpe
Published March 23, 2023

COLUMBUS, Ga. – President Jimmy Carter was convinced he saw an unidentified flying object (UFO) in 1969. He didn’t file a report until 1973 when an agency called the International UFO Bureau sent him a form to fill out.

According to the form on file at The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, President Carter filled it out by hand when he was serving as governor. A second agency, the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), had a similar form with typed responses dated the same as the one filled out by Mr. Carter on September 18, 1973.
Where did Jimmy Carter see a UFO?

The president wrote he made the observation in the small South Georgia town of Leary, about an hour and a half south of Columbus. In both forms, he wrote that 10 other members of the Leary Georgia Lions Club also saw the UFO. It was shortly after dark, around 7:15 p.m. he wrote they were waiting for a meeting that was set to begin at 7:30 p.m. when the bright object caught their attention.
What did he see?

In both sighting forms, the president didn’t provide a definitive answer as to what he believed he saw. He described an anomalous ball of light that changed size, brightness, and color over a period of 10–12 minutes. He didn’t hear anything coming from it, no whirl of a helicopter or buzz of an engine.

As for the location in the sky, he says stars were visible but not the sun and moon. The object was approximately 30° above the horizon. He wrote, “[it was] about the same as moon, maybe a little smaller. [The object] varied from brighter/larger than [a] planet to [the] apparent size of [the] moon.”

It was difficult for Mr. Carter to describe the proximity of the object, writing it was as close as 300 yards at times and as far as 1,000 yards at others. The UFO was self-luminous. In the president’s own words, “[The object] seemed to move toward us from a distance, stopped-moved partially away-returned, then departed. Bluish at first, then reddish, luminous, not solid.” After nearly 15 minutes, the president said the object “moved to a distance, then disappeared.”
2007 interview about UFO sighting

The president spoke about the UFO and what he learned while serving as Commander in Chief during a 2007 interview with the podcast “The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe.”

After nearly four decades at the time, Mr. Carter still wasn’t sure what he thought he saw. He did mention the large military base nearby at Fort Benning. He told the podcasters most of the witnesses that evening back in 1969 believed it to be some device being tested. However, the president said he’d never been able to assess exactly what it might’ve been.

Jimmy Carter Presidential Library
@CarterLibrary
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“I have never thought there was any extraterrestrial involvement but surmised that it was some kind of military balloon or other device from nearby Fort Benning … ” JC, A Full Life, p. 197
Snake Nation Press
@SnakeHandlers
In October of 1969, Jimmy Carter @CarterLibrary experienced a UFO sighting in Leary, Georgia. In this singular Dispatch by @JamesCalemine we travel back to that night.
http://snakenation.press/georgia-ufo-di

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/jimmy-carter-ufo-sighting

The podcasters asked the president whether he pursued the government’s knowledge of UFOs during his time in office. Mr. Carter said, “I can’t respond to that.”

When the hosts pressed by asking whether the government is hiding information about UFOs, the president said, “So far as I know, they’re not hiding information.”
Carter’s credibility

Carter’s education lends further credibility to his reports. In his official bio on the Carter Center’s website, it says he attended Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology and received a B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. Mr. Carter took graduate work at Union College in reactor technology and nuclear physics in Schenectady, New York while on assignment for the Navy’s nuclear submarine program.
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/jimmy-carter-ufo-sighting

GM Timur Gareyev Lost In Space

The headline reads:

Delhi GM Open 2018: Walkover Shocker for the fourth-seed
Jan 11, 2018

“The games had begun, the top seeds were comfortably seated on their boards. For the professional star players, it was yet another day at work. 14-year-old Koustav Chatterjee, rated 2288, was the only player waiting anxiously for his opponent. American Timur Gareyev GM,

rated 2605, had ‘left’ the official car and had not reached the venue. He had decided that he will come to the venue on his own. The clock was ticking and the walkover time-limit of 30 minutes was fast approaching.
Timur Gareyev did reach the venue, but not on time. He was three minutes late. The chief arbiter Vasanth BH decided to award the point to the young Koustov Chatterjee.”
http://www.chessdom.com/delhi-gm-open-2018-walkover-shocker-for-the-fourth-seed/

The article reminded me of the time a few Chess players were talking about favorite sci-fi TV shows. After naming the original Star Trek

as my favorite, one self-proclaimed ‘legendary’ Georgia player named his.

Upon hearing the name of the show Dubious Dave erupted with, “That’s the difference between you two. Bacon boldly goes where no man has gone before while you (the legendary one) are Lost In Space!” This brought howls of laughter. The legendary one pouted all evening…

I met GM Timur Gareyev

at the 2012 Land of the Sky Chess tournament in the beautiful city of Asheville, in the Great State of North Carolina. It was hours before the first round and I had been talking with the organizer, Wilder Wadford, when Timur came up to speak with Wilder. He noticed the book held in my hand asking if he could look at it.

I gave him the book, he talked with Wilder, then turned abruptly and walked away. I followed, yelled, “Hey you,” or some such, and he turned to gaze at me. After catching up with him I said, “You have my book, sir.” Timur looked flummoxed before saying, “I would like to read it.”
“Who are you?” I inquired. It was then I learned his name. As he was returning the book I said, “It is customary to ask before taking off with someone’s book.” He said, “Yes, of course you are right,” before turning to walk away. Since I had finished reading the book I decided to let him read it, for which he was grateful. Later I noticed Timur sitting in the spectator section reading the book while playing on board one. Someone mentioned later that he had gotten into what looked like trouble against NM Richard Francisco, from my home state of Georgia, while reading the book, before extricating himself from difficulties. Timur went on to tie for first with GM Sergey Kudrin. I enjoyed the conversation we had after the tournament ended, as I have always derived enjoyment from getting into the mind of a top level Chess player. Timur walks to the beat of a different drummer, and I mean that in the best way possible. I liked him immensely. Nothing against “normal” people (whatever “normal” is), but they are not as interesting as we who are, shall we say, “slightly skewed.”

For those of you who do not know, Timur is known as the Blindfold King, and has the website to prove it. (http://www.blindfoldking.com/) One finds this applicable quote at the site: “I close my eyes so I can see.” – Paul Gauguin

Timur and I have something else in common; our brains have been studied. His brain was “loaned” to science before setting the blindfold Chess record.

Inside the brain of the man who would be ‘Blindfold King’ of chess

Next month, Timur Gareyev will play nearly 50 opponents at once – blindfolded. Can neuroscientists reveal how he performs such incredible mental feats?

I urge you to read the article: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/nov/03/inside-the-brain-of-the-man-who-would-be-blindfold-king-of-chess-timur-gareyev

Standard memory tests showed nothing exceptional. However, brain scans suggest that Gareyev’s visual network is more highly connected to other brain parts than usual Photograph: Jesse Rissman

The scans also found much greater than average communication between parts of Gareyev’s brain that make up what is called the frontoparietal control network – used in almost every complex task Photograph: Jesse Rissman

I have participated in several brain studies at places such as the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, and the Veterans Administration. All of these studies involved the memory. My brain:

These studies give one a new way of looking at yourself. Examples:

Does Playing Chess Make You Smarter?

D. Zachary Hambrick is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University. He received his Bachelors from Methodist College, Fayetteville, NC 1994; Masters at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 1997; and became a Ph.D. at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 2000, where I became acquainted with him by taking part in studies which led to his earning his Ph.D. Because of the kinds of things he studies I sought his answer to the question of what, exactly, is the state of knowledge pertaining to whether or not learning, and playing, chess can enhance intelligence. Zach emailed me a copy of Educational benefits of chess instruction: A critical review, by Fernand Gobet & Guillermo Campitelli, of University of Nottingham, which, unlike many other studies, can be found online. This study is considered by those in the academic world to be the “last word.”

The introduction begins, “Chess playing makes kids smarter.” “Chess increases mathematical abilities.” “Chess improves academic performance.” Numerous similar claims have been made about the efficacy of using chess to foster education.”

That it has…It used to be that chess was considered to be a lifetime “sport.” Now when a Chinese GM reaches the ripe old age of thirty he is forced to retire and become a “trainer,” or “coach.” The players have become ever younger, and now one sees a picture of the latest four year old “prodigy” at Chessbase. Check out, Moscow Open: The four-year-old veteran by by Albert Silver. (http://en.chessbase.com/post/moscow-open-the-four-year-old-veteran) The chess world is doing the age limbo; how low can it go?

The introduction continues, “Indeed, schools in various countries (e.g., USA, France, Argentina) offer chess as an optional subject, and some even propose compulsory classes. There is clearly a strong interest worldwide in the potential advantages of chess in education, and the conference from which this book stems is just another example of this interest. Implicit in all these activities is the belief that skills acquired playing chess can transfer to other domains. Is this belief based on well-substantiated evidence? Is the educational value of chess a well-established empirical fact? Or have chess players been blinded by their love of the game into thinking that it offers instructional advantages? In this chapter, we attempt, as objectively as possible, to tackle the question of whether chess is advantageous for general education. To do so, we subject research into the educational benefits of chess to the same rigorous criteria commonly used in academia for evaluating educational research.”

They begin with The question of transfer.

“The question addressed in this chapter can be summarized as follows: Can a set of skills acquired in a specific domain (in our case, chess) generalize to other domains (e.g., mathematics, reading) or to general abilities (e.g., reasoning, memory)?”

The question is simple enough. People have pondered the question for centuries. A well known and popular NM here in Georgia, a former State Champion, and Georgia State Senior Champion, and the only player to hold both titles simultaneously, the sui generis David Vest, has stated that the President of the Georgia Chess Association, Dr. Fun Fong, “is proof positive that expertise in one area does not translate into expertise in another area.” I wholeheartedly concur with his astute assessment of the situation in regard to the POTGCA. He may be a fine emergency room doctor at Emory University, but as POTGCA he leaves a great deal to be desired.

The authors continue, “This is an old question, which, for a long time, was answered positively; for example, for centuries, it was accepted without dispute that learning Latin or geometry would train the mind and prepare it to cope with other topics. However, when, for the first time at the beginning of the 20th century, the question was studied scientifically, the conclusions were rather different.”

Inquiring minds want to know, and not just accept that which is offered. The more highly educated the people the more questions asked, and the generations after the second world war are the most highly educated in history. There are more inquiring minds than ever before in the history of mankind. So when, for example, there are constant problems with the organization of the GCA; when there are problems with every tournament organized by the GCA; and when members of the GCA board resign and there is no accountability by the President of the GCA, who continues to stonewall in the same way as did US President Richard Nixon during what came to be known as “Watergate,” people begin to question. The two members who resigned have not answered my email entreaties and have chosen to remain silent. This has caused rumors of things like financial malfeasance, illegal stipends paid out, and hush money, to run rampant.

The paper continues, “A different view of transfer emerges from the psychological study of intelligence. Researchers in this field believe that one or a few transferable abilities form the basis of intelligence. These abilities are seen as general, at least within verbal or visuo-spatial domains, and are supposed to apply to a variety of domains (see Sternberg, 2000, for an overview). However, these basic abilities are also seen as innate, and thus not amenable to improvement through practice.”

“In spite of these disagreements about the nature of transfer, some results are clear. In particular, recent research into expertise has clearly indicated that, the higher the level of expertise in a domain, the more limited the transfer will be (Ericsson & Charness, 1994). Moreover, reaching a high level of skill in domains such as chess, music or mathematics requires large amounts of practice to acquire the domain specific knowledge which determines expert performance. Inevitably, the time spent in developing such skills will impair the acquisition of other skills.” (Emphasis is mine.)

Fortunately for Dr. Fong, he has already developed the skills needed to become a ER Doctor. The Georgia chess community can only hope the Doctor decides the time he is spending on chess will impair the acquisition of other skills he may need to become even better at his day job and leave the administration of chess in Georgia to those who have a clue as to what to do.