Posts by Enrique Arratia
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Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Gasoline Prices around the World
(Message 339336)
Posted 16 Jun 2006 by  Enrique Arratia
Post: Cincinnati, west of I-75: $2.96 on Winton Rd. at Kroger/Speedway/Shell/Marathon... all right next to each other. A little bit further north (2 or 3 miles) on that same street it's $2.69 (Kroger/Shell/Marathon), go figure. |
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Message boards :
Politics :
Religious Thread [7] - CLOSED
(Message 335916)
Posted 13 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post: Back to Buddhist Monks for just a quick second: (article at the Reuters web site is no longer available) -- You can watch it, but you can't like it... Mon 12 Jun, 2006 14:47:00 GMT PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Phnom Penh patriarch Non Nget has told Cambodia's 40,000 Buddhist monks to remain passive while watching World Cup soccer games or be defrocked. Non Nget said Monday monks should not watch the games in public, cheer or bet on matches as such actions were against Buddhism. "It is very difficult to ban them because new technology means the games can be aired live and seen everywhere," he said. "They may watch, but must be calm." "But if they make noise or cheer as they watch, they will lose their monkhoods," Non Nget told Reuters. -- Now back to your regular programing |
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Message boards :
SETI@home Science :
Gigantic fireball spotted on galactic rampage
(Message 334989)
Posted 12 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post: Hopefully this article hasn't been posted here before. Enjoy: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/12/great_balls_of_fire/ Gigantic fireball spotted on galactic rampage Goodness gracious... By Lucy Sherriff Published Monday 12th June 2006 15:31 GMT Astronomers have identified a massive comet-like structure - spanning a whopping three million light years - that is tearing through a distant galaxy cluster at more than 750 kilometres a second. Yes, you read that right. A great ball of fiery gas*, some five thousand million times the size of the solar system. Fortunately, it isn't anywhere near Earth. The flaming gas-ball is in the Abell 3266 galaxy cluster, even more millions of light years away from us than it is across. The fireball, which is the largest object of this kind ever identified, was spotted by stargazers using the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton X-Ray telescope. The researchers have produced an entropy map of the gas-ball, which allows them to pick out the relatively cold dense gas of the comet from the hotter gas of the galaxy cluster. Analysis of the data has revealed remarkable detail of the stripping of gas from the comet's core, ESA says, at a rate of about a Sun's mass, every hour. The scientists who discovered the object describe it as "truly fantastic". "In Abell 3266 we are seeing structure formation in action," said Professor Mark Henriksen, co-author of the results. "Dark matter is the gravitational glue holding the gas ball together. But as it races through the galaxy cluster, a tug-of-war ensues where the galaxy cluster eventually wins, stripping off and dispersing gas that perhaps one day will seed star and galaxy growth within the cluster." Zurich-based researcher Dr. Francesco Miniati commented: "What interests astronomers is not just the size of the gas ball but the role it plays in the formation and evolution of structure in the universe." ® *Please take note that considerable restraint has been exercised, and no references to 'great balls of fire' have been made in this article. |
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Message boards :
Politics :
Religious Thread [7] - CLOSED
(Message 333564)
Posted 11 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post:
For evolutionists, God is just not a factor. It is not that they question the existence of God, in all likelihood most of them believe in him (in one form or another); but he just doesn't factor in to their studies. Scientists of evolution try to explain the mechanics of the origin of the species: that is, how the primates, canines, etc came into being from earlier life forms. Evolution doesn't really try to explain how life began, Evolution per se is concerned with how plant A evolved from plant A'. Yes, at its root we have the origin of life (you have to start somewhere), but the origin itself is outside the field of study of Evolution. It is a common misconception when people think that evolutionists question the existence of a god (any god), or that they are trying to prove he doesn’t exist. But that’s simply not the case, they just want to find out how species evolve. |
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Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Myths? Legends? Reality maybe?
(Message 333191)
Posted 10 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post: At the risk of sounding too serious about this whole discussion, I'll venture that at least some of these paintings can be explained as artistic expression. I mean, today we have what, hundreds? thousands? of different ways in which you can paint the exact same thing (cubism, etc) and painters, just like writers, are free to take whatever artistic license they want to express themselves. The resemblance between the Aborigines paintings and the modern day concept of what a "gray" looks like is uncanny. However, it could have just been the artist's way of expressing spirits, or just fellow humans. But today it is us who say: "Hey look! They knew about extraterrestrials!". |
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Message boards :
Politics :
Religious Thread [7] - CLOSED
(Message 333188)
Posted 10 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post:
Haha!! Yes, I hear'ya. (about the show) We are all human and no matter how enlightened we are (if any of us is), now and then we sure can do things that go against what we believe in or proclaim. In their case (Buddhists) , it is perfectly understandable that they'll get into fights now and then. |
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Message boards :
Politics :
Religious Thread [7] - CLOSED
(Message 332321)
Posted 9 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post:
Well, on TV I've seen a few videos of Buddhist Monks fighting over temples or over interpretations of their beliefs. One show that had some of those videos was Max X (Maximum Exposure). But you are right, Buddhism does call for a greater inner peace and harmony that will facilitate enlightenment (well, this is my poor interpretation). |
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Message boards :
SETI@home Science :
Of Faith and Facts: Is SETI Religion?
(Message 332294)
Posted 9 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post: Thank GOD 4 our tenacity / convictions / beliefs and a willingness to assist in this endeavor . . . keep crunchin' folks Do tell us about the new system. What are you putting in it? |
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Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Myths? Legends? Reality maybe?
(Message 332277)
Posted 9 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post: My delusions don't result from Oxygen...lol The Aborigine paintings from Kimberley are awesome! I can see gray people! Thanks! |
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Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Myths? Legends? Reality maybe?
(Message 332209)
Posted 9 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post:
[Serious mode on] Just being facetious... as if pure oxygen made you delusional and cause pilots (high altitude, fighter jets, etc) to see things. [Serious mode off] |
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Message boards :
SETI@home Science :
Frezze up with 98 SE and XP Pro
(Message 331785)
Posted 9 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post: Not knowing more about your rig, I can only mention a few things that are common causes of computer lock up; but I can't really tell what your problem may be. 1) Power supply is insufficient. Consumer computers (and many times business machines) have a power supply that will just barely provide enough juice for the components in ships out with. If you add anything (more ram, better cup, more hard disks, etc), you start demanding more from the PSU (Power Supply Unit) and could overwhelm it. Also, keep in mind that Boinc puts stress on your machine, the CPU draws more power. 2) Your machine is overheating. This could be due to many factors: * Insufficient ventilation because of dust build up or insufficient or ineffective fans * Processor heat sink is not correctly seated on the CPUs heat spreader. * Thermal paste between the CPU and heat sink is of poor quality or has dried out completely * Computer case (chassis) does not allow for proper air flow Again, running Boinc stresses your machine, more power is consumed and thus, more waste heat is generated 3) Windows. Because of the OS design, windows machines will suffer from performance degradation. Regularly scheduling disk defrags helps, but only for so long. Drivers, DLL files and such will keep piling up and, possibly, start conflicting with each other. At some point a clean install is the best way to go. And by clean I mean backing up your data and doing a low lever disk formatting (repartitioning) and then reinstalling the OS 4) You are the victim of heavy spyware and/or malware infestation. The above are just possible causes, but in no way am I saying or implying that your problem is one of them. They are just things that you might look at. Any steps you take to fix the problem you take at your own risk. Best of luck. |
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Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Myths? Legends? Reality maybe?
(Message 331124)
Posted 8 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post: ok.. I agree... we are definitely earth bound, we obviously dont have the technology to even be a potential space-neighbour let alone any form of threat. We could bring the wrath of God onto them (since of late we seem to think more and more we are somehow God's favorites and we can call on him to justify our agendas)
aahh! The sweet, sweet taste of pure oxygen being fed to your lungs...
The mind is a delusion generator (see Adam's "Gods Debris")
Actually, it was their own version of the Sci-Fi channel (Ra-style)
Curiosity, fear of the unknown, fear of being all alone. Or... maybe we are just crazy baboons with delusions of "self awareness" and "intelligence". |
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Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Myths? Legends? Reality maybe?
(Message 329004)
Posted 6 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post:
Well, not exactly pick-a-boo in this instance (baboons). Zoologists must remain completely hidden in order not to alter the normal behavior of the subject being studied. If they see you, they alter their behavior and you must start over. In other instances (butterflies) we study in plain sight of the subject. If you were an advanced civilisation with inter-galactic travel and the ability to harness a virtually unlimited supply of power what would you do?? Sit at home and watch TV? Yes!!!! You earthlings have some great shows... whoops! Did I say that out loud? I meant to say... they must have equally advanced and engaging entertainment. |
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Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
666: A Bust...Closed.
(Message 328911)
Posted 6 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post: Happy birthday, Testuji! If you run over to the side where it has already happened, will you be safe? |
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Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Myths? Legends? Reality maybe?
(Message 328861)
Posted 6 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post: Now.....I REPOSTED this for the benefit of those of you who have decided to either completely ignore it or just didn't happen to see it in the first place. If you want to talk about philosophy, fine, do it in the OTHER THREAD. THAT is what it is there for. I did not make THIS thread to be a TWIN of the other. THIS thread is an ALTERNATIVE for the people who wanted to get away from all the arrogance of those who feel we are inferior for not thinking the way they do. Let me see if I can capture some of the "light hearted-ness" here. This is my totally un-scientific personal >opinion< of why I don't think UFOs are of Alien Intelligence origin: Why the heck would a space faring species travel half way across the galaxy (or half of that, or half of half of that) to play a big game of hide and seek with us? Now you see me, now you don't! When we advance sufficiently enough to travel to other stars, would we do the same thing to whatever "lower" life forms we encounter? Would we go: "I'm Mr. Smith from Earth, I come in peace, pleased to meet you and take me to your leader" or would we go: pick-a-boo!! I do hope you get at least a small chuckle from the above stated opinion. Regards. |
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Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
666: A Bust...Closed.
(Message 328826)
Posted 6 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post:
My money is on this thing being selective. If you make it past midnight you are safe. Other time zones might not be so lucky (or will they be the lucky ones I wonder!?). |
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Message boards :
SETI@home Science :
Intelligent Aliens all don't contact us for a reason...what is theirs?
(Message 327803)
Posted 5 Jun 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post: As the Calvin & Hobbes cartoon said: "The surest sign that there is intelligent alien life is that it hasn't tried to contact US." Indeed. That's very smart on their part. I don't blame them. |
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Message boards :
SETI@home Science :
Gospel according to Seti?????
(Message 310583)
Posted 19 May 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post: Well, I don't consider this search Faith based or even belief based. At least not insofar as I'm concerned, I really can’t speak for others. The way I see it, we currently don’t have a better or more practical way of finding whether there’s other intelligent life out there. Maybe when we have interstellar and intergalactic ships we will go and find out… for now, this is what we’ve got. Forget about faith or belief, this is about curiosity. This is the first time in human history when we have the science (mathematics, wave physics, astrophysics, chemistry) and the technology (radio, telescopes, radio-telescopes, computers in almost every house) to find out. Being that by nature we are curious, we want to know. |
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Message boards :
SETI@home Science :
Human Evolution
(Message 310533)
Posted 19 May 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post: http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70924-0.html?tw=wn_technology_5 You Can Make a Monkey Out of Me Associated Press 10:00 AM May, 18, 2006 Humans and chimps diverged from a single ancestral population through a complex process that took 4 million years, according to a new study comparing DNA from the two species. By analyzing about 800 times more DNA than previous studies of the human-chimp split, researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard were able to learn not just when, but a little bit about how the sister species arose. "For the first time we're able to see the details written out in the DNA," said Eric Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute. "What they tell us at the least is that the human-chimp speciation was very unusual." The researchers hypothesize that an ancestral ape species split into two isolated populations about 10 million years ago, then got back together after a few thousand millennia. At that time the two groups, though somewhat genetically different, would have mated to form a third, hybrid population. That population could have interbred with one or both of its parent populations. Then, at some point after 6.3 million years ago, two distinct lines arose. Some experts in human evolution are skeptical of that precise scenario, but nevertheless impressed with the study. "It's a totally cool and extremely clever analysis," said Daniel Lieberman, a professor of biological anthropology at Harvard. "My problem is imagining what it would be like to have a bipedal hominid and a chimpanzee viewing each other as appropriate mates, not to put it too crudely." Past studies that compared human and chimp DNA could only offer a point estimate of how long ago the two species split by averaging the amount of divergence in their genes. Generally, those studies come up with a figure of about 7 million years ago. But since the completion of the chimpanzee genome project in September it is possible to look at how specific sections of the genetic code have evolved. The Broad Institute study, which will be published in a future issue of the journal Nature, is one of the first to do that. "There are a lot of big surprises here," Lander said. For one thing, the new data suggest the human-chimp split was much closer to the present than the 7 million year date that fossils and previous studies indicate  certainly no earlier than 6.3 million years ago, and more likely in the neighborhood of 5.4 million. The data also show that the human-chimp split probably took millions of years. That's because in some parts of the DNA sequence the genetic difference between humans and chimps is so large that those genes must have been isolated from each other nearly 10 million years ago. But in other places the human and chimp lines are so close that they appear to have still been swapping genetic material at least until 6.3 million years ago. One of those areas is the X-chromosome, which is intriguing. "The genes that are a barrier to speciation tend to be on the X-chromosome," said David Reich, the main author of the study. |
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Message boards :
Politics :
Political Thread [15] - CLOSED
(Message 310382)
Posted 19 May 2006 by Enrique Arratia
Post:
Tom, I don't think Enigma's comment was questioning your intelligence. But rather, you seem to have a strong sense of naivete in the trust you place in our government. There ain't a single trustworthy government out there. Be it Republican or Democrat, left or right, American or Canadian (or Elbonian!). All governments are a necessary evil. Knowing this, the founding fathers created a system of checks and balances which has been made better and more robust over time. It is these checks and balances that are being weakened and bypassed (FISA for example). Where's the evidence? Well, Enigma did give you at least one: the government's requests for search data. Did they issue a subpoena or a warrant? No! Your friendly neighborhood NSA or Secret Service agent just showed up one day and said: "hand them over and keep it hush hush", and Yahoo and MSN did. Where's the check and balance in that? Same goes for the NSA wire tapping, or the phone records being handed over. Where's the check and balance? Today it might be honorable enough: "We want to stop child pornography" or "We want to protect the American people". But without the check and balance, what's standing between them and the private communications of political rivals? Nothing! What's standing between them and the private communications of private citizens with different points of view from their own or the press? Nothing! A web address allows anyone to go to that page. Look at the address bar at the top of this page--if you type it in you are there. What's private about that? If anyone can navigate there, then there is no intrusion on privacy. You still haven't given any examples of private communications that the government is getting without a warrant, because they do not. There's a difference between true privacy, and a reasonable sense of privacy. When you are in your own bathroom or inside your home, that's a clear cut definition of privacy. When you are in a locker room, that's a reasonable sense of privacy (people can't take your picture with their camera phone and then state that it is fair game because you are in a "public locker room"). Now, in reference to your specific address bar example. Yes, the browser records the addresses and anyone can see what addresses you have visited. If it was a public computer (school, cybercafe, etc.) then your statement makes sense. But what about your own personal computer (inside your home), what business do I have looking at the addresses recorded there? None! You have, at the very least, a reasonable sense that not a single soul is going to spy on what addresses you've visited by looking them up on your computer's address bar. The lack of understanding in this area (technologically and otherwise) is scary.I agree, and you still haven't given any examples of how the government violated anything private in a criminal investigation, nor that NSA is investigating anything but enemy activities, nor that police don't get wiretap orders or warrants before getting information that contains a private communication. I agree with Enigma. I say that there are not enough checks and balances on government power in the realm of IP communications. Tom, like I stated before, today they might very well just be investigating true enemy activities. But what about tomorrow? What's keeping them from "expanding their search criteria"? Nothing. Since they always state Executive Privilege and National Security, it's difficult to know what the hell they are doing and hold them accountable if they ever cross the line. For a government that likes to keep their secrets secret, they sure don't like not to know what we are doing. |
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