|
| Personal background |
|---|
| My online handle is LunarSpotlight, or Lunar for short. I live in St. Paul, MN. I'm currently a student enrolled at a Community College. My biggest hobby is digital videography, and I've been in the process of creating a website regarding that and my overall online presence at LunarSpotlight.com. |
| Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home |
|---|
About my Involvement in SETI
I've participated in SETI since 2004. I have 5 computers capable of running calculations. In the past, I've had just one computer running these calculations constantly, but I am actively working on maintaining at least 4 machienes simultaneously, with possibly the 5th machiene up and running after that.
Why I Run SET@Home
One of the things that I, and hopefully most people, have an interest in is space, or even the concept of exploration. As a point of interest, I've played EVE-Online, a game completely set in space, since about the same time I've run SETI@home. The game has the same feel of, perhaps not involving E.T. life, but of exploration and the unknown. Stepping back from that, when I look up at the stars at night, it's like seeing a large piece of cardboard with holes put into it, and the other side is a bright light. In reality though, those dots are stars, that make up a galaxy, and our galaxy is just one of very many. I'm not hugely invested in thinking this way all the time, but every now and then I think, considering that, it's hard to believe that, on this one planet out of all of those stars out of all of the galaxies, we're the only ones that are smart enough to progress the way we have.
My Views About the Project
SETI@Home is the only project of its kind that handles its data in the way it does through distributive analysis. The idea that people can help in this effort by volunteering their computer's idle time is something truly great. The concept is solid, the effort and resources are distributed, and all time is volunteered at a level of participation determined at the computer owner's discretion. There is zero obligation for me to participate. I can throw one or all of my systems at this effort, and, although I'm sure they appreciate all of their work units returned, there's nothing that says I must get through the tasks I've taken. It's open-ended, near-zero effort volunteering at its best to allow the project access to massive resources it would otherwise not have.
Suggestions
There's only one thing I can think of to improve the process. Being someone that has put multiple systems into this project, over the course of time, I've had to do things like reinstall the operating system, change hardware, or take the system offline altogether while the computer system in question is still in the middle of a work unit. I don't feel too great knowing that the distribution system won't know that its work isn't coming back to it until a month of more after I've completed the system work on my end. It's be great if I could notify the system that this work unit is in the middle and won't return, so that it may give the work unit to someone else.
Alternatively, it would be even better if I could give that work unit to another of my systems, or perhaps have access to a relatively easy method of unloading its current work (such as onto a USB drive or similar), do the maintenance on my system at home, then once it's back, stick the work units back into the queue. This would not only make it so that I'm able to recieve credit for the work that I've done, but it might also make the number of incompleted work units decrease.
I am not aware of what the ratio is for incomplete or lost work units, and frankly I don't see there being too much of a problem with said units, but perhaps it may be something worth looking into.
Above all else, keep the system as great as it already is. It's only up from here. |
| Your feedback on this profile |
|---|
| Recommend this profile for User of the Day: |
I like this profile |
| Alert administrators to an offensive profile: |
I do not like this profile |
|
|
