A little rejoicing in our house today…. we read in the news that the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute (SETI Institute) will stop scanning the skies for alien life forms.
Apparently, their funding has been hit.
The Mountain View, California, Allen Telescope Array has been switched off and placed into hibernation, as of April 22, 2011.
SETI has always been the brunt of the most hilarious and brutal attacks in our household. I always thought it was the stupidest thing (especially because there is no evidence for extraterrestrial life) and was a taxpayer’s money pit.
According to the MercuryNews.com story:
“There is a huge irony,” said SETI Director Jill Tarter, “that a time when we discover so many planets to look at, we don’t have the operating funds to listen.”
SETI senior astronomer Seth Shostak compared the project’s suspension to “the Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria being put into dry dock. “… This is about exploration, and we want to keep the thing operational. It’s no good to have it sit idle.
“We have the radio antennae up, but we can’t run them without operating funds,” he added. “Honestly, if everybody contributed just 3 extra cents on their 1040 tax forms, we could find out if we have cosmic company.”
Oh BOO HOO!! :whyohwhy:
Here, leezard, leezard, leezard...
The problem isn’t that SETI wants 3 extra cents… it’s that EVERYBODY wants 3 extra cents to run their pet projects. If aliens are REALLY out there, let THEIR alien people pay through the snouts for SETI satellites. As for me, I’d rather NOT talk to an alien. Didn’t anybody see the 80’s TV series “V”?! :egads:
But most of all, we should be searching for intelligent life here ON EARTH, because it seems to be getting rarer and rarer…
Life is never dull, and exciting things just seem to always happen to me... why me... when I'm not running around the house fixing things, I'm a freelance writer for national media outlets like USAToday.com, Salon.com, and others. I've even been interviewed by TIME and The Wall Street Journal about blogging. Can you believe it?! Here is where I express my zany, creative, motherly side. 
May 18, 2011 at 11:47 am
Wow… what an interesting article! And yes, I have heard of that project — very, VERY interesting to study… :/
P.S. Love the emoticons! 😀
May 18, 2011 at 11:04 pm
Heard of that last thing. That is TOTALLY creepy. As far as aliens, apparently there is more likelihood of them existing then of God’s existence! (says an atheist.) 😛
Btw, is that a new background image? I love it! 🙂 It really adds to your site.
May 18, 2011 at 11:17 pm
Sorry to spoil the party.
http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/05/13/uc-berkeley-seti-survey-focuses-on-kepler%E2%80%99s-top-earth-like-planets/
May 19, 2011 at 10:41 am
Yes, I watched that 80s series V and the more recent version which tied into the earlier series. Loved them.
Government is doing way too much.