Profile: Minglewood

Personal background
Greetings.


I was born in 1971 in Portland, Oregon, USA.
I am a Software Developer [doing mostly InstallScript and Perl] with one of the larger software firms.

Hobbies.

Complete audiophile--I have about 800 LPs [CD, Tape, Vinyl] and it'd be more, but they're just too expensive these days [praises to the independent record store and used CDs].

Movie nut--Love movies, love all kinds. Favourites: Wings [~1927], Casablanca, Dr. Strangelove, Raiders of the Lost Arc, Xenotropa, Wings of Desire, Fight Club, and about a dozen more [when asked my fav. film, the best I could narrow it down to was a 17-way tie. I think being pretentious about the art of movie-making is sad, though: '8' may be brilliant, but Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was great too].

Guitar. Used to be in a band, Stumble Yondur. Largest gig we played was about 600 folks. It lasted 18 months, we were broke the whole time, it was one of the best times of my life. I can also embarrass myself on the piano, bass, and drums as well.

Physics. I love it. I decided to change careers [from the movie industry], and make a hobby [computers] my new job. I returned to school to pick up a 2-year in CS and took physics as a requisite--fell in love and have never been the same. Though I am fully employed as a software developer, I'm going to school one class at a time and am getting a B.S. in Physics--I hope to be able to afford a PhD in physics, but haven't figured out how to pull it off, yet.



To all that, I must add Kirsten, Seraphina, and Keegan--who are my world, entire.
Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home
Started SETI on 180MHz PPC603ev with no L2 cache: 64MB/MacOs8.1 80hour units.

Then added: 550MHz P-III/512KB 256MB/NT5: 23 hour units

Then added: 333MHz PPC750/256KB 128MB MacOS9.2: 25 hour units

Then added: 533MHz PPC7410: 256MB/MacOS9.2: 10.5 hour units

ET Life Exists: Well, it's pratically impossible to disprove, but possible to prove--so why not try? Considering how short the time was from when life could spring up on Earth and when it did, and the preponderance of the necessary organic compounds we have found off of Earth--it seems possible that life is a result of the way physics is set up. Perhaps even a 'common' result. Of course, divine intervention/inspiriation is a possibility--but, I don't see that as precluding life elsewhere. Then add in probability and the sheer vastness of the universe?--very possible.

When/how discover: Depends a technolody, so it's largly unknown. By the numbers, I'd say 500-5000 years. However, my unscientific feeling is that it'll happen well before that. How? Most likely would be a reciprocal of our massive EM radio/tv broadcasts dispersing into space [so far, a sphere of exposure 70ly in radius: that's big, but so is space].

Benefits/dangers: The uncertainly of technology and of truly alien psychology make this impossible to predict. What if we're their first contact too? Most certainly, they will be nothing like us [physio/psycho/techno]-logically--meaning that all the possibilities we imagine are the ones most likely to discount. Thought/language from other, species on our own planet alone are strikingly different--imagine something truly alien.

Beacon: Earth is lit up like a Christmas tree already--so why not? Information: get across the idea that it's an artificial signal, and a return address ;)

Why run SETI: It's a noble project with an enormous time-span. Better start now. Corporations should let it run during idle time, the machines are on anyway!
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