Posts by Sparrow45

21) Message boards : Cafe SETI : Raccoon Update XXIII - All Are Welcome In The Critter Cafe (Message 1836521)
Posted 17 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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I had to start feeding the gray squirrels here corn. It's not the best food for them, but it's cheap, and it makes them lay off the black sunflower seeds I give the birds. They must have stashed quite a bit. There's snow on the ground and it's very cold now, and I haven't seen a squirrel in a week. But it's warming up in a couple of days and I'm sure they'll be back.
22) Message boards : Cafe SETI : Word Link # 90 (Message 1836062)
Posted 15 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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Pedal
23) Message boards : Cafe SETI : Word Link # 90 (Message 1835898)
Posted 14 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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Large
24) Message boards : Politics : US Elections 2016 (Message 1835657)
Posted 12 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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Not looking so good from here.


I certainly agree. Everything he's done and said disturbs me. I've gone from being a news junkie to barely paying attention. Not the most constructive response, but it beats walking around angry and worried all the time.
25) Message boards : Cafe SETI : Weather Forecasts IX Not Another Ice Age Please (Message 1835595)
Posted 12 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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I'm in Minnesota. Right now, at almost 11 am, it's bright and sunny, and the temp/windchill is 1F/-10F or -17C/-24C. This is about what the rest of the week is supposed to be like. We just got 7 inches of snow yesterday. It's a bit chilly, but there are benefits. A little snow isn't a weather emergency, as in some places. We know how to shovel it and drive in it. (Well, most of us do.) We don't have fire ants or termites. A lot of people who might otherwise move here don't do it. And what's not to love about ice fishing? I've been to both coasts and the South. If I had to move anywhere else, I'd pick Montana, but I'm happy right where I am.
26) Message boards : News : Are aliens talking to us? (Message 1835586)
Posted 12 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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Investigation of any past event, a crime for example, demands supporting physical evidence, circumstantial evidence or motive and witness testimony if the conclusions are to be well-founded. If one wanted to take anecdotal accounts of "alien encounters" seriously, how would one proceed? What is there to work with? If some sort of incident did actually occur, how would rule aliens in or out as a cause?

I'm troubled by the large number of reports by credible people such as working airline pilots. But how does one take an investigation further, absent more evidence? As ever, the claims are extraordinary but any extraordinary evidence always seems lacking.
27) Message boards : Cafe SETI : Caring for others - tips and hints, support and strategies, or just plain offloading (Message 1834792)
Posted 8 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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Sorry if it doesn't make much sense I just needed to "offload". And that is the most difficult part, being here on my own.
I think a glass or two of wine may well be in order.


Bernie, I encourage you to reach out for support in every way possible; counseling, support groups, family, friends... Getting old isn't for the faint of heart, but I think care-giving can sometimes be even harder. We're pulling for you!
28) Message boards : Cafe SETI : Word Link # 90 (Message 1834617)
Posted 7 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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Beg
29) Message boards : SETI@home Science : Fancy Math Can’t Make Aliens Real (Message 1834537)
Posted 7 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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As someone astutely noted, it depends on the assumptions that go into the model. I also believe that we here on Earth are a product of some very rare cataclysmic occurrences that are extremely uncommon.


I agree. And while I'm not a fan of the Intelligent Design argument, this does give me pause.
30) Message boards : Cafe SETI : Word Link # 90 (Message 1834524)
Posted 7 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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Source
31) Message boards : SETI@home Science : Fancy Math Can’t Make Aliens Real (Message 1834342)
Posted 5 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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I think it's important to remember that any number, no matter who comes up with it, depends on assumptions. What we need for any valid estimate is more data. Personally, I hope the number of habitable planets is very big. I hope instances of life and the number of intelligent species is large. I hope everyone out there is friendly and peaceful. But I'll stay open to all possibilities. Right now we simply can't know. I don't think we should stop speculating and considering the possibilities, though.
32) Message boards : SETI@home Science : Fancy Math Can’t Make Aliens Real (Message 1834151)
Posted 4 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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I would rhetorically ask how we define "earth-like". For instance, imagine a wet, rocky world with primitive life, but also with an orbit that causes severe climate swings regularly, of sufficient severity to cause mass extinctions. Is this an earth-like planet? Perhaps yes, but could it ever evolve a tech-capable species? When we say "earth-like" I suspect this is what we really mean--capable of evolving and supporting complex life. The irony, of course, is that the earth is what it is today because of catastrophic events, from the formation of the moon to the end of the dinosaurs that opened a niche for mammals and us. Would dinosaurs ever have evolved into builders of computers and spacecraft? Maybe. Who can say?
33) Message boards : SETI@home Science : Proxima B (Message 1834075)
Posted 4 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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Hi Bernard. We humans have only had radio communications for a little over 100 years, and the ability to detect any signals from space, let alone weak signals, for much less time. I don't think we should draw any conclusions at all based on hearing nothing from Proxima B. I would agree that this star system is a good candidate for a probe, or probably several probes. But this would be a major project for anyone but a science fiction writer. It would require lots of technology that doesn't exist today, and lots of money. And as always, the real barriers are political, not technical. Namaste.
34) Message boards : SETI@home Science : Fancy Math Can’t Make Aliens Real (Message 1834073)
Posted 4 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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Thanks for posting this. Personally, I find the title of the article unfortunate and misleading. Real SETI efforts like ours always generate a certain amount of eye-rolling in some circles, and the title of this piece seems like another effort to cash in on that. Or am I taking it wrong?
35) Message boards : SETI@home Science : Are Galactic Civilizations Possible? (Message 1833927)
Posted 3 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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Thanks for the welcome, Michael, and I agree with you completely. As a charter member of POEM (Professional Organization of English Majors), I tend to parse things a little too much and use yes-but too often. So when I hear things described as "impossible" my knee jerks, and sometimes I even start drooling a little. And of course speculation is always fun, at the very least. Namaste.
36) Message boards : SETI@home Science : Are Galactic Civilizations Possible? (Message 1833913)
Posted 3 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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I'm reminded of another era, when most people thought the Big Book of Physics was all but written. All they really had to do was figure out that pesky thing called the ether. Fast-forward... Anyone see my cup of dark matter? I'm sure I left it right here...

I'd gently suggest that we be very careful about what we "know" is or isn't possible. [/i]
37) Message boards : Science (non-SETI) : quality of planet earth (Message 1833910)
Posted 3 Dec 2016 by Profile Sparrow45
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The other day I watched something on the Science Channel about the formation of our moon and how critical it is to life on earth, especially in terms of stabilizing earth's axis and hence its climate. I got to thinking... We've had 5 major extinction events on earth that we know about. So far, none of them have killed the planet completely, but that could happen in a number of ways. And it can be argued that we're now in the early stages of no. 6, and it may well include the extinction of humans. So I'm thinking that life is probably pretty common in the galaxy, but how long does it last on the average planet? How many planets are stable enough to really give life and social adaptation a good run at evolution? We can't even guess without much more information about other star systems, of course. (Or until a friendly ET sends us a copy of Wiki Galactica.) But it may be that, while life is common enough, long-lasting technical civilizations are exceedingly rare.

As to possible interstellar relations, Star Trek obviously presents a very optimistic view of our future, and one that would seem to require some significant changes in human nature. Our history seems to indicate that really draconian human cultures (e.g. the Roman Empire, the Nazies, or the various dynasties of China) don't persist through time any better than others. It would be nice to believe that our future points towards stability and social justice, at least most of the time, but who can say? And if another star-faring species finds us before we get out there, would they arrive with respect for other species, or with all the racism and arrogance or our own European explorers in the New World? I don't think we can know in advance.


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