Profile: lurch

Personal background
I have worked at a number of companies as both engineer and system/network admin. Most recently (up to Sept 14,2001) I have been doing consulting for a large software company selling middleware solutions. I am joining another company after that date to be an Unix Admin again.

I like to war game on the PC - MechWarrior (BattleTech), rts and role play. I also read a fair number of books and magazines, tending towards the Sci Fi and Fantasy realms.

I'm in my mid 40's (an old geezer to some - a brat to others)

I think you can say I grew up with the manned space program, but the most memorable event was actually meeting Jim Lovell a couple years ago (He was on Apollo 13 for those who don't know the history - look it up - amazing story in itself.)

Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home
1. I believe in the possibility of ET out there. If we do discover them (rather than them showing up and saying "take us to you leader - wait! - on second thought lets go to Burger King - your treat!") it could happen at any time - influenced by the intent of the contact - deliberately to us or accidently overhearing. The benefits could be enormous, and so could the dangers. Benefits of medicine, space travel, environmental sciences and a myriad of other things could happen. Dangers - Cultural Assimilation, extinction, anything from benign contact to outright war.

2. Posed with the benefits and dangers listed above - I say yes. Lets tell them we are here. Its a huge risk but hopefully any civilization advanced enough to reach us is both peaceful and friendly.

3. I run the seti@home program on my PC because I know that Governments have lost interest in funding this monster - not enough payback on expenditure I guess. I look at it a risk capitalist would assess a startup. I invest some time and money, knowing full well it may never pay off in my lifetime. I make the bet on the odds its the next microsoft to come along. The payoff possibility is huge!
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