Saturday, December 7, 2019

Questions for Richard Hoagland

         Hoagland's blogtalkradio show this coming Sunday night is billed as "Open Hailing Frequencies — RCH answers questions." I'm not going to be able to listen live, so I sent him these advance questions:
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You have stated that NASA has an “obsessive, relentless”note 1 preference for scheduling events such as launches only when certain astrological conditions are met. According to your "Ritual Alignment Model," any of five stars has to be at any of five elevations.

There were 135 Space Shuttle launches and, sadly, two fewer landings. Why is it that your published “Table of Coincidence” lists only ONE of these 268 events as coincident? Why is even that one event self-disqualified per your stated criteria?note 2

© Richard Hoagland

You cite four pseudo-coincidences for the launch of STS-88:

1] Encke at -33° seen from Phoenix, 12/4/98 03:36
2] Mars at -3.33° seen from Phoenix, 12/4/98 03:36
3] Encke at 0° seen from the Apollo 12 landing site, 12/4/98 03:36
4] Encke at -19.5° seen from the Viking 1 landing site, 12/4/98 03:36

Richard, there are seven  reasons why these observations do not support your contention that NASA likes to launch when your stated criteria are satisfied.
  • Encke is not one of the 5 stars you cite
  • Mars is not one of the 5 stars you cite
  • -3.33° is not one of the elevations you cite
  • Phoenix has no connection to the STS-88 mission
  • Apollo 12 has no connection to the STS-88 mission
  • Viking 1 has no connection to the STS-88 mission
STS-88 launched 12/4/98 03:35:34. However its originally intended launch was 12/3/98 03:58:19. You have stated that the time to consider for these coincidences is the planned launch time, not the actual. You called it the “birthing” time.note 3 Yet you have not cited any coincident star elevations for the planned launch time of STS-88. Why not?

In light of the above, do you think STS-88 should be eliminated from your tabulation, leaving NONE of the 268 Space Shuttle events qualified per your stated criteria? On further consideration, do you still believe that NASA is "obsessive, relentless" about this?

Update:
        The show was cancelled. For the second night in a row, RCH was unable to restore the electrical supply to his office. Pity, I'm sure he would have given a full answer to my questions if he had been able to find the right circuit-breaker..

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1] “Dark Mission” 2nd edn. caption to Fig. 5-10
2] “Dark Mission” 2nd edn. p.14. The stars are Sirius, Regulus, and the belt stars of Orion. The elevations are -33°, -19.5°, 0°, +19.5°, and +33°, as seen from the launch or mission control site. Note that this means you give yourself 50 chances of a coincidence every time.
3] Facebook, 19th April 2011

32 comments:

expat said...

Utterly irrelevant comment from Theadora disallowed

Chris Lopes said...

I'm not sure where the radio part of blogtalkradio show is. As far as I can tell, the show is streamed over the internet. That makes it a blog, not a radio show.

Anonymous said...

That must have hit "the Hoagy" like the Hammer of Thor.
What happened to him since the nineties?

Adrian

expat said...

Age. Bereavement.

Anonymous said...

Looks like he didn't pay his domain renewal either.
When I go to enterprisemission.com I get this:

NOTICE: This domain name expired on 12/3/2019 and is pending renewal or deletion.
Welcome to enterprisemission.com
This Web page is parked for FREE, courtesy of GoDaddy.com.

Chris Lopes said...

@Anonymous
It could be that it's one of those "behind on the payments" things. Hoagland has gone through that a couple of times over the years. Of course he had expectations of money coming in eventually back then. Not sure what his prospects are these days, but I doubt they're good without a regular gig for exposure.

expat said...

OTOH he hasn't updated that awful page for >2 years. He's lost interest in it, as he has in...

...His FB page
...His other FB page
...The Enterprise Newsletter
...The Enterprise Forum
...and, apparently, the new book that was "just recently completed" in November 2016

Chris Lopes said...

Yeah, Hoagie does have an attention span issue. Whenever something involves work but no immediate payoff, he tends to lose interest. Of course not staying too long on any one thing has the advantage not giving the marks enough time to see through the B.S.

Anonymous said...

Who mourns for Adonais?

Did Hoagland bring all this on himself? Sure.

But, remember. This was a man with just a high school degree who wound up at NASA.

Who had moderate success with his shtick. Lectured at the UN. Colleges. Wrote a succesful-ish book.

Never underestimate the power of groupies for the ego. And he clearly thought he would be famous and set up for life.

Now he's a 74 year old man. Lost his partner. Is probably alone and very possibly running out of money. Not the ending he thought no doubt. Understandable his bravado has just turned bitter. Sad really.

THE said...

I wonder if he ever worked enough to have paid in enough to Social Security in order to qualify for benefits? He might not even be getting a retirement pension. Maybe I'll have him put his name on my unpublished book. He can even edit it if he likes. With his name and my big idea, he can tour the country in his station wagon full of autographed copies, and guest on the morning talk shows, town by town.

expat said...

« I wonder if he ever worked enough to have paid in enough to Social Security in order to qualify for benefits? »

Almost certainly not. He's never actually had "a job" as such—everything he's ever done has been contract work or self-employment.

Chris Lopes said...

Things started going south for Hoagland when he hitched his wagon to Art Bell's come back. He alienated (no pun intended) Noory in the process of jumping ship, so when Art (once again) retired he had no place to go. What followed was a series of attempts at a come back that culminated with the subscription podcast. Betting on the wrong horse can be costly.

expat said...

Here's my version:
RCH and Noory got on fine, they even had a meet-up once when George went to ABQ for some reason. Robin was also present.

They had a bet on the 2012 election—RCH bet that Obama would be re-elected, and the deal was that if he won, Noory would give him C2C-AM for a whole evening as host.

So, he won, and the two of them joked about RCH's winnings for quite a while. It wasn't until July 2015 that the Great Evening was scheduled, marking New Horizons' close approach to Pluto. All was set.

That's when Hoagland really put a foot wrong. Both feet, actually. Not content with what he had won, he demanded that the occasion was so important that the show should be extended to FIVE HOURS. Just making that demand shows, firstly, that his arrogance is on a par with Everest, and secondly, that he had no grasp of the complexities of scheduling a show that is syndicated over at least one satellite channel to hundreds of affiliates.

I seem to remember Noory, in final exasperation, saying "Go and cry in a corner somewhere" as he abruptly cancelled the deal.

That's when Hoagland persuaded Dark Matter Digital Network to take him on as host of a rival show. He then proceded to alienate and piss off everyone he worked with and the show spiraled down to its current almost-dead state.

THE said...

Richard C Hoagland was Art Bell's best guest. There were a few great ones, but the relationship between Hoagland and Bell was unique. Art would pitch softball to most other guests, in order to make them look as good as possible, while letting the audience call in with the tough questions, and saving one zinger of his own for the end of the show. While Art would try to help Hoagland to present his case as clearly and strong as possible, Bell wouldn't hesitate to express exasperation at Hoagland, who would invariably have an answer for everything.

Noory must have been a major wet blanket as far as Hoagland was concerned, having been so spoiled by Art, but Noory held Hoagland in most high esteem. Even though Noory decimated Bell's audience of twenty million, Noory still managed about five million listeners.

Even with a paltry five million, Hoagland was better off with ten minutes per week or month on Coast, than to have his own little podcast.

Chris Lopes said...

@Expat
I had forgotten about the bet and Hoagland's push to collect. That certainly didn't help matters. Not even nice guy Noory could deal with that crap.

THE said...

Noory still owes Hoagland. Hoagland tried to parlay the bet into a bigger payoff, but that doesn't legitimately kill the actual deal. Hoagland has grounds to litigate, and I would encourage him to do so. It wasn't an illegal bet, either, so don't try and make that argument. It wasn't about money, but it was Hoagland's chance to debut, and it might well have made a significant difference in his career.

Art Bell said that: "I always thought that George Noory was a nice guy, but it turns out he's not."

THE said...


Richard C Hoagland and Gary Leggiere, enjoy civil discourse:

THE MARTIAN REVELATION Show Live Stream GUEST: DR. JOYE PUGH
https://youtu.be/xDMD-rLQnQA

Chris Lopes said...

It was a gentlemen's bet that has no legal standing. Hoagland tried to push it, Noory said no, so Hoagie jumped ship and tried to join Art Bell. In the process, he very publicly dumped on Noory. I think that absolves George of any obligation he had to Hoagland. You don't get a do over when you bet on the wrong horse.

THE said...

A deal's a deal, Topher.
Obviously, you and George Noory are no, gentlemen.
I say Hoagland ought to file suit, and let a jury decide Noory's fate.

expat said...

Misti/Theadora/Orbs/THE:
Not a chance. Even if he could find a lawyer willing to take the case, do you think he could afford the retainer?

THE said...

Filing a lawsuit isn't rocket science. Now, actually to litigate can be extremely time consuming, and can be quite challenging, even for experienced lawyers, but the Sword of Justice is double edged. Once Hoagland files suit himself, Noory and his producers would be the ones to have to pony up the dough for the big-assed, retainer. Coast's attorneys would advise him that to settle would be cheaper than paying them. It would be cheaper yet, simply to let Hoagland guest host an entire five hour show, Patterick.

expat said...

« Filing a lawsuit isn't rocket science. »

Well, that's a relief. He's no good at rocket science—witness the utter dog's bollocks he made of the Tsiolkovsky equation.

Chris Lopes said...

Hoagland tried to change the terms of the bet after the fact. He actually insisted on it. Noory couldn't give him what he wanted, and eventually stopped trying. A deal is a deal until the 2 parties can no longer agree on the terms. Hoagland wouldn't take what was offered, Noory couldn't give what was being asked for. Walking away was the only option.

THE said...

Topher, that sounds great. You can be Noory's mouthpiece in court, if Noory fails to pay up.

You're welcome for the straight line, Patterick. Don't say I never gave you anything.

Chris Lopes said...

Don't hold your breath while waiting for either the lawsuit or Hoagland's triumphant return to Coast to Coast. Neither is likely to happen before the heat death of the universe.

THE said...

You gentlemen might be rather incredulous, but it just may be that Richard C Hoagland has too, much class to sue George Noory, or he would have done so, already.

expat said...

See, this is how completely phoney information gets started. Someone like Theadora starts with a totally speculative and improbable idea, then uses it AS IF IT WERE TRUE to prove something they wish were the case.

I reject the notion that RCH has class utterly. You have to understand, Theadora, that your "evidence" for that is not evidence at all--it's just something you invented.

THE said...

Hypothetically speaking, Patrick, hypothetically speaking, but he has mended fences with Gary Leggiere.

Chris Lopes said...

That's just a sign of desperation, not class. He's been reduced to podcaster status, so he'll take any attention he can get. Noory is not likely to be as forgiving as Gary.

THE said...

Noory is a welcher. It sure is funny to see how petty you impotent little creeps are; so afraid that Hoagland won't starve to death.

expat said...

...and with that, I declare this topic CLOSED.

Chris Lopes said...

Epilogue: Hoagland has apparently found enough cash to bring his website back.