I joined the SETI @ home project because I fully intend to be eccentric when I grow up.
Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home
SETI @ home is more fun than a do-it-yourself appendectomy. Acutally, it's nice to be able to say that my computer is being used for something more useful than checking e-mail and writing the great American novel.
SETI@home and Astropulse are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and donations from SETI@home volunteers. AstroPulse is funded in part by the NSF through grant AST-0307956.