I'm a self-employed, partly disabled sci-fi fan and former hippie MIT dropout. I get my kicks helping technophobes get along with their PCs. I like the idea of a world community working toward a common goal. It tells me that man isn't doomed to constant squabbling. Maybe someday the ETs will decide we're worth talking to.
Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home
I thought SETI@home was a natural idea for an old Sci-Fi lover like me. I am skeptical about evidence of alien visits to Earth but wish they were true anyway. I'll try not to get my hopes up so I will be pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed if something comes through. It's fun to tell folks that I connect to the fastest computer on the planet.
My home network consists of my last three or four Windows PC including some aging relics that keep pulling down my SETI@home average CPU hours per work-unit, even though they haven't had much to do since the kids moved out. I am saddened by the fact that BOINC-ClimatePredictor doesn't seem to think any old PC's can contribute to the project. Project Einstein seems happy with the mix, though.
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.