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It is possible to walk through walls.
It is possible to be in two places at once.
It is possible to be standing and moving at the same time.
It is possible to create life.
It is possible that we were created.
It is possible that we are not alone.
It is possible that we evolved.
It is possible to move mountains with our minds.
It is possible that there is no Ultimate Truth.
It is possible that there is Ultimate Truth.
There are infinite possibilities. And, they are all relative.
I’ve had several discussions with my friends about the death penalty. I found a site on the death penalty and its statistics. It seems that lethal injection is the execution method of choice, with alternatives if the death row inmate so chooses (Methods of Execution). Nebraska only executes by electrocution. Ouch. Burnt flesh. I remember watching Green Mile, and it was pretty horrific. There have been botched execution attempts as the prisoners needed multiple jolts to be killed. From the website, I noticed that lethal injection didn’t have a 100% quick kill rate either. Here is a site with Botched Executions since 1982. Scroll down to the recent ones. You would have thought they would have a fool-proof execution method by now. That’s not even the point.
For a forgiving religion, Christianity certainly makes a lot of exceptions. I’ve been given Genesis 9:6 (Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man) as an example. The current reasoning goes as “Eye for an Eye”. What the hell?! Are we freaking barbarians? I don’t know how “civilized” executions are. The same people who raise a storm about public executions in countries like Saudi Arabia, still condone executions in the US. What a friggin’ double standard.
People who support the death penalty use economics to counter life with no parole. They don’t want their tax payer’s money to be funding the survival of a murderer. It’s free food, free room, and free room to exercise. The prisoners are akin to animals in the zoo minus spectators. I guess it’s a valid argument, and it would seem economically favorable to execute the prisoners versus keeping him alive till they die a natural death. However, I have also been informed that it takes a decent amount of money for the process of execution. I need to verify that. Here is the website about the costs of death penalty.
Would starvation be a method of execution? Slow, painful. So, solitary confinement, without food. That’s inhumane, right? Inhumane compared to a quick death? How much of money would be spent in that chain of events?
Now to realistic alternative that would be developed eventually for maximal efficiency: Brainwashing, cognitive reprogramming, psychological reconditioning. I don’t think we have technology to achieve that now, but couldn’t a brutal person be made docile and useful by reprogramming? So, instead of execution, just change the person and put them to constructive use. Who knows, the diabolical genius could be a genius in other fronts too.. What’s future?
Anyway, what do you guys think?
Technorati Tags: Death, Executions, USA, Policy, Religion, Opinion, Crime, Prisons, Justice, Morality, Life, Death Penalty, Life Imprisonment
Go figure 
, I do have opinions about the usage of wars to eliminate macro-problems like terrorism. Hank’s post on Talks and Appeasement Bring War - War Brings Peace, but Liberals Never Learn That turned out to be a great spot for a discussion. To save time, I’m going to quote what started the debate, and then go on to list our thoughts and comments.
“The fact that native-born Muslim Europeans are committing terror acts within their own countries shows that this Islamist malignancy long predates Iraq, long predates Afghanistan and long predates 9/11. What Europe had incubated is an enemy within, a threat that for decades Europe simply refused to face.
I say:
I don’t think the EU is waiting out for the Islamic terrorist storm to pass over. This is a threat that needs to be eliminated now. Terrorism not only affects people’s lives, but it is bad for the economy. Until it is rooted out of existence, I wouldn’t want to invest in anything that is a potential terror target.
However that doesn’t mean full scale war on nations. It means a more pointed attack rather than brute force. It calls for finesse.
For my curiousity, could you point to one liberal, who says “Terrorism is inevitable, so I am going to sit back and let them get to me, and kill me?”. When you talk about Liberal appeasers, that question is what come to mind. If it were me, I would ask for more efficient anti-terrorism tactics than spend hundreds of billions of dollars, on wars.
Hank Dagny Says:
If you have a better solution for solving conflicts than war, Joy, the world would be all ears.
No one has found one yet. Winner dictates surrender to loser - then there is peace. Liberals who fail to learn this history lesson are basically sitting back hoping they get killed last. That is Winston’s point.
Appeasement, bribes, negotiating, talking, truces, treaties, resolutions, sanctions and threats of sanctions always produce nothing and just delay the inevitable - which now costs more as the time wasted on liberal attempts to prevent war, allowed the aggressor more time to get stronger.
The US military is playing ‘pinpoint attack’, which is why there is still pockets of resistance. Total and complete annihilaton of key areas would of ended all fighting months ago. Maybe even saved lives compared to now.
Now I understand your desire for a non-war solution to maniacs who want to kill all infidels. Heck, I would like one too. If you have one, let’s read it.
You want to eliminate it without war. Tell us how?
I say:
If I had a better idea, I would be in politics exercising those ideas. There is a reason why we elect people to run the administration. We think they are qualified to make sound decisions, without snap judgement. They are paid to think outside the box. War may not be easy on human life, but is the easy way out of a tough situation.
Speaking about wars being the best solution, do you suggest India and Pakistan solve their conflict with a war? Are you advocating a method of solving a problem that involves losses in millions of lives and billions of dollars?
The problem with fighting a war here is that we are not fighting a nation, but rather an organization. They don’t just quit after surrender. An example is the continued terrorism occuring even after the Afganisthan war. Do you see that solving terrorism problems? In the process, an entire nation was destroyed, by devastating their critical infrastructure. The same thing is happening in Iraq. How are they to run their economy when it is unsafe to invest it that economy?
I don’t think treaties cost more money. Would a peaceful negotiation cost in the hundreds of billions of dollars? I don’t think so. When politicians go for war, in my mind, they have failed at their jobs (diplomacy). If wars were the answer for every conflict, then the military should run the government, as politics is riddled with conflicts.
US military is not playing pinpoint attack. I don’t think the Afganisthan and Iraq wars were pin point. The collateral damage in your solution scenario is tremendous. That is just not acceptable. For a nation of life-loving people, pro-life supporters, that is a horrid double standard. Is the life of civilians there less worthy than life in the US?
There is a reason why intelligence gets money to do what they do. They are supposed to provide information, to facilitate isolating and nullifying threats.
While we are talking about terrorism, I can’t seem to understand why terrorists hate the West so much. Is it because of the lifestyle? Religion? I am more inclined to think of cultural imperialism and foreign policies that are detrimental to their people. There is no justification for killing people in name of terrorism. Terrorists are cowardly criminals on get some kind of rush out of killing innocent people. And then, there are those brainwashed, and incapable of thinking through their decisions.
I say, the best solution is evening the gap between economic classes. Poverty, and desperation is a primal cause to try to appease the conditions. People resort to violence to get their points across. I think our society with such powerful religious influences is inherently screwed up.
That would be a reason why I advocate for a secular society. That would eliminate terrorism based on religious values..
Hank Dagny Says:
You are a classic liberal who ignores human history, human behavior and therefore human mental illness. I say this not to be insulting - but as a point of fact.
You expect elected leaders to be smarter than everyone who ever lived. They are not.
You expect governments to fix all the world’s problems. They do not.
You expect treaties to bring about peace. They never have.
You expect fanatics - whether religious, facist, communist or dictatorial - to act civilized. They cannot.
And you expect the world and life to be fair, even and nice. It never will be.
You also blame religion, poverty and desperation for the world’s woes. The world’s woes are from oppression - whether it is religious or governmental. Individual and capitalistic freedom is at it’s greatest on the planet in the United States. That is why we are the world’s lone super power - because of individual and capitalistic freedom.
You want world socialism. Socialism spreads misery evenly - except for the ‘leaders’. Capitalism spreads happiness unevenly, but everyone has a chance to do the best they can.
I’ll take a chance at the gold over a promise of misery. You have to be mentally defective to take the other option. But liberals do.
Hank Dagny Says:
Fourputt and Joy, I am calm and I said I was not being insulting. Liberals just don’t have a logic or common sense bone.
Let’s look at facts. All of Joy’s statements are wishes or failed policies - multiple centuries of failed policies. But liberals hang on to a fantasy - not real world.
Diplomacy has never worked. Name one time it did.
She, like all liberals, want to know why the terrorists hate us. Why worry about why? They want you and me dead. That is all I need to know. But if you want to know the reason we both have to die Joy, is because I am even having this discussion with you. You are a slut for talking to me and I am an infidel for not controlling women - penalty for both of us is death.
By the way Joy, I am not advocating for war. It is just what is needed to reach peace. The enemy wants to wipe out Israel and kill all infidels. You talk to them, pay ransom and live in fear and slavery. I choose to kill them before they kill me.
I say:
You bring up good points. Humans are by design, or evolution, a flawed species, in pursuit of living and surviving. That is a primal instinct. When that is messed with, it provokes a reaction. However, I don’t think we are that primal anymore. If we are, our intelligence is wasted. We should be able to exercise restraint to mollify conflicts. Yes, that’s a wish, but it is not an unreasonable one. When the fighting is restricted to military zones, and doesn’t involve major collateral damage, that’s a righteous war. However, when civilian casualities are not taken seriously, that’s callousness. Terrorists are cowards to use civilians as shields, but we are more evolved than them, and need to take the innocent civilians who will be killed into consideration.
If the elected leaders are not smart, why do we elect them? You mean to say that any ordinary person can become a politician without qualifications. If that is true, I feel sorry for what Politics has turned into.
Governments are created to solve problems on a macro scale. If they don’t, they are failures.
If we solve every problem with fighting, there won’t be much to live for. I, for one, don’t want to live in a world devastated by human primality. I have more faith in the human race than to think we are still barbarians.
To deal with barbarians and fanatics, do we turn into them too? Yes, terrorists are cowards and need to be eliminated to keep world peace, but at the current mode of dealing with them, more terrorists are being created.
I don’t except world to be fair, but I assume we have come a long way in our 3000 years of intelligent evolution. Disease is not fair. Death is not fair. Life isn’t fair. But we deal with it in civilized and logical manner. War is not civilized. It is utterly barbaric. If people want to stoop to that level, that’s their perojective.
About oppression, you made my point. And US will not be the lone superpower at the way the current global economy is playing out. China is set to become a global superpower, if it has not become one already.. Yeah, capitalism is the reason for the rise of China and India in the global economy.
I don’t want socialism but we need public welfare. It is not fair to us who earn our money, but it is the way the world is. That’s being realistic. We can’t let a significant portion of our population die while we live in luxury..
If diplomacy has never worked, why do all the countries still have diplomatic missions in other countries?
Hank Dagny Says:
Governments are not constructed to solve problems. They are constructed to protect it’s citizens.
World problems have only been solved by fighting. There has never been a cease-fire or treaty that has lasted.
A cease-fire is only granted by the good guys (US and Israel), asked for by the bad guys (the UN and our enemies), which allows the bad guys time to recover and re-arm, and then the bad guys break the cease-fire again.
This happens time and time again and only liberals and peaceniks ignore this FACT.
China will not be a super-power until their communist government falls. Then, as capitalists, why fight their best customer - the United States? Shooting your customer is just bad business.
You do want socialism if you want public welfare. They are the same pig except one sounds like it is in a dress. Churches and charities are more than capable of helping the truly needy - and I would be glad to give. People who want their government to hand out the goodies - and obviously want the government to have the power to take from citizens to be able to do it - are by definition socialists at the very least and communists in all probability.
Technorati Tags: China, History, Opinion, Peace, Politics, Terrorism, Diplomacy, Government, Poverty, Socialism, Capitalism, Charity, Taxes
Congress targets social-networking sites | CNET News.com
Most of this news piece deals with Congress deliberating about mandating records being stored about users by social networking sites and ISPs. The activity logs are supposed to help counter child pornography/abuse, and terrorism.
A couple of suggestions to counter the child abuse on social networking sites such as Myspace has been offered. However, I do not think that restricting access to such sites in libraries and schools are the answer. It’s is not a solution, it’s a work around that is bound to fail. If people in China can circumvent their national firewall (Golden Shield aka Great Firewall of China), what makes you think that can’t happen in the US? Computer technology enthusiasts hate road blocks like this, and are bound to retaliate.
I see one advantage of logging IP addresses of users during registration, and usage. It can be used to isolate addresses and then cross-reference those addresses to the sexual predators list of addresses. One kink I see in this, is the use of public internet access points, to circumvent this type of snooping.
It is practically impossible to know if the person is lying during registration. If I am mistaken, correct me with a detailed rebuke. It’s as easy for sexual predators to lie about their ages, as it is for a minor to lie about their age. Right now, short of loss of absolute privacy, there is no way to combat this problem comprehensively.
It is not the fault of the social networking sites that some of the users are depraved. One analogy to this issue I can think of are guns and people. Just because there is a massive illegal market for guns doesn’t stop the gun manufactures from selling guns. This is because people with licenses and right to own guns, create the demand. It’s the same case here. People who use the social networking site judiciously and ethically should not be penalized for the actions of depraved individuals. I would be mad if I was blocked from Facebook or Myspace due to the actions of someone else.
Technorati Tags: information, internet, Opinion, Policy, privacy, USA, social networking, myspace, facebook, china
From Wondermark
This strip is funny but I actually agree with it. I think they really want to inconvenience the western countries rather than kill people. That lives further than just mindless violence. The mere thought causes a paranoia that reigns supreme and squashes all logic and rationality.. They are winning, and we are letting them get the better of us. They play, we lose. We need to change the trend.
India and China have been on the news for their exponential growth in the past few years. With India’s economy growing at an unprecedented 8%, are we seeing any improvement on the country on a macro-scale? Perhaps, it’s too soon to see changes. Technology and out-sourcing is the primary cause for the boom in our economy. With such a narrow cause, we are providing opportunities for a slice of India’s work force. I suppose this is good because we do produce over a million technology/engineering related graduates a year. The cream of the crop is absorbed by elite companies to enrich their employee base with talented, skilled workers to increase their profit margin. In the recent years, we have also seen an influx of employment from the medical, law and business sector, to alleviate bloated costs of foreign companies, as we provide a cheaper, yet brilliant task force for routine jobs.
However, it seems like the improvements in standards of living are purely urban, and in the upper bourgeoisie. The rural parts are still impoverished, and people die unnecessarily from lack of basic amenities and food. Agriculture is still the largest source of our income, and that has not seen the necessary change to help the farmers from difficulties. I believe that the money needs to be allocated differently, and we need to make changes in our domestic policy to alleviate the conditions of the common man. For one, we spend an obscene amount of money on Defense. Also, we need to fix our foreign policy issues related to Pakistan. A lot of our problems stem from that dispute.
The plight of the common populace of the country has not changed, and till that happens, our progress is inconsequential. We do NOT want to further alienate the poor, and create a rift between the upper and lower economic classes. Right now, the rich are getting richer, and poor are staying poor. The only improvement has been in the standard of living of youth in technology, business, medical and law job sectors. That is not right. We need an overall positive change, not segmented.
The inspiration for this post is from Pankaj Mishra’s op-ed “The Myth of New India” in NY Times.
If the op-ed is unavailable on NYT, follow the link below for the full article.
This is from the Best of Craigslist in the San Francisco Bay area. I found this pretty humorous, and it asks girls to ponder a little bit more before our advances are spurned, or overlooked.. My thoughts are in italics .
In the wide world of dating, there are many options. Do you go for the flashy guy with the smooth smile, or the dude in the corner typing away on his laptop? The following are reasons why I think my fellow females should pay more attention to the quiet geeks and nerds, and less attention to the flashy boys.
1.) While geeks and nerds may be awkward, they’re well-meaning 9 out of 10 times. That smooth dude with the sly grin and the spider hands? Wonder what HIS intentions are… plus, I’ve never had a geek guy not call me when he said he would. Score major points THERE.
Some are awkward, but some are very capable of handling themselves around the other sex. I have to agree with her when she says that geeks/nerds do what they tell you they will do. They keep their word.
2.) They’re useful. In this tech-savvy world, it’s great to have a b/f who can make your laptop, desktop, and just about anything else that plugs into a wall behave itself.
This is absolutely true. I am employed by most of my female friends to fix their technological issues. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been called to fix their computers, or help them with software. It is an incredible advantage to have a boyfriend who is on your beck and call to help you with technology. Sometimes, we can even recommend or automate things to make your life easier.
3.) They’re more romantic than they’re given credit for. Ok true, their idea of romance might be to make up a spiffy web-page with all the reasons why they love you, with links to pics of you and sonnets and such… but hey. It lasts longer than flowers, plus you can show your friends.
This is not always true. We do give flowers, chocolates and all those cliched romantic offerings. However, added onto that, we can also etch our love into something that is more permanent like the internet. I have come to realize that sometimes such details are not meant for the web, if the other person doesn’t appreciate it. I learnt that from experience. So, guys, watch out for that.
4.) Due to their neglected status, there are plenty to choose from. You like ‘em tall and slender? There are plenty of geeks/nerds who are. You like ‘em smaller with more meat on their bones? Got that too.
I must say that this is absolutely true. We are indeed overlooked for the sleeker, slicker models of the male sex. There is a lot of choice, but that being said, some geeks/nerds keep in shape. Point in case, was my room mate during the ORNL internship. He had a chiseled body because he was very active.
5.) They’ve got brains. Come on now, how can intelligence be a bad thing?
This is perhaps the most important thing that we have to offer to you. Our brains are what gives us this status in society. We offer more to the relationship beyond the carnal. Geeks/Nerds need mental stimulation, and often look for girls who can offer that. A relationships with differing levels of intelligence almost never works out, because one person or both, feel that the relationship is not fulfilling. I got to say that some of us are modest about our brains, and some are not. The cocky ones are often jerks. So, watch out.
6.) Most are quite good at remembering dates. Like birthdates and such, especially if they know it’ll make you happy. Due again to their neglected status, they’re more attentive than guys who “have more options”. Plus, with all that down time without a steady girlfriend, they’ll likely have mental lists of all the things they’d love to do once they GOT a girlfriend.
We take relationships seriously. We remember dates because we know it makes you feel special. Also, you know that we always have you on our mind, and never forget. We pay attention to show how much we care about you. I don’t know about that mental lists thing though. There are a few things that we think about, but it’s not like we have a master plan layed out.
7.) Sex. Yep. Sex. I’m not really familiar with this myself, but I’ve friends who’ve been intimate with geek guys and it’s raves all around. They say a virgin wrote the Kama Sutra… all that time thinking about sex, imagining sex, dreaming about sex, (they are male after all) coupled with a desire to make you happy? Use your imagination.
This is murky waters. I don’t really know what to say about it. The person who wrote the Kamasutra, was not a virgin, not by a long shot. He was one of the most sexually active sages in Hindu mythology.
8.) They’re relatively low-maintenance. Most can be fueled on pizza, Twinkies and Mt Dew. No complicated dinners needed here, so if you’re not the best cook, eh. Can you order a pizza?
We are low maintainance. A lot of us love cooking. We are happy to just spend time walking around, watching movies, and having a healthy conversation. Buying us memorable yet inexpensive gifts are enough to satisfy us. We don’t need designer brands, and expensive gifts. As long as the intention is pure, and invokes the right emotions, we are good.
9.) Most frequent bars as often as slugs frequent salt mines. You won’t have to worry much about your geek guy getting his “groove” on with club hotties because, frankly, he’ll be too busy rooting around under his computer wondering where that spare cable went. You won’t have to worry about him flirting with other women because, 9 out of 10 times, he’ll zip right by them in a perfect b-line towards the nearest electronics store. I’ve seen this happen.
Me: “Eww. Victoria Secret’s Models… They’re so skinny. How is that feminine? You can see her ribs!”
Geek Guy: “ooooooo…”
Me: “Hey!” *notices he is staring lustfully towards the computer store*
Geek Guy: “What?”
Me: “Never mind…”Once geeks/nerds have girlfriends, they becomes their entire world. We don’t pay attention to any other girls because we are satisfied. Although, there are situations where the geeks get their groove on, especially if they know social dance forms like swing, salsa and latin. I know, I do, even if I have a girlfriend. While I dated, I loved dancing with other girls who knew to dance well too..
10.) Although he may not want to go to every outing with you, you can arrange swaps, as in, you’ll go to his Gamer Con dressed as an elf princess if he’ll take you to the ballet. Plus, if he doesn’t want to go someplace with you, you won’t have to worry much about what he’s up to. You’ll probably come home to find him asleep on his keyboard in a sea of Mt. Dew cans with code blinking from the screen. It’s ok. He’s used to this. Just toss a blanket over him and turn out the light.
I used this with movies. However, in the process of going to musicals, and other shows during swaps, I started appreciately that form of entertainment. And, if we are left alone, we are completely trustworthy, and when you get back, probably find us doing the geeky thing we were doing before you left. Hehe. Sad, but true, because we don’t get bored very easily if it keeps us engaged.
11.) His friends aren’t jerks. I can’t stress this enough. You’ll more likely get “Omg! A GIRL!! Can I see?!” than “Hey hot stuff back that ass up here and let me get some grub on…” They’re awkward geeks too and will, 9 times out of 10, treat you with the utmost respect and, more than likely, a note of awe. A cute girl picked one of their clan to date? It could happen to them! Hope! Drag some of your single girlfriends over, open up a pack of Mt. Dew, crack open the DnD set and get working. Nothing impresses geek guys more than a girl who can hack-n-slash (well ok maybe if she can code… a geek can dream).
I can understand this, but can’t relate to it, because most of my friends are female. We do have utmost respect for women, and often are outspoken advocates for female causes such are abortions, and equal opportunities.
12.) They’re rarely if ever possessive. They trust you, so you can be yourself around them. You like to walk around the house in a ratty t-shirt for comfort? He won’t care. He does too! They won’t get pissy if you don’t wear make-up or don’t want to bother primping your hair. If you gain a few pounds, they won’t try their best to make you feel like crap.
We do trust implicitly often, but we do get jealous if provoked to. I am possessive, and don’t mind the girl being possessive, as long as it doesn’t cramp my style. Who ever I dates needs to understand that I make female friends easily and tend to have more female friends than male. However, they are often my best friends, and always platonic. I am, and most of geeks are infinitely faithful.
13.) They’re usually very well educated. Physics majors and the like. See #5. You won’t have to listen to him blathering on about his car (ok maybe a little), he’ll have loads of other interesting things to talk about. Politics, world events, how much the chicken burgers down at the local place rock, so long as you douse them in hot sauce…
I can’t stress this enough. This is a cornerstone, and an absolute requirement for me. I need intellectual stimulation in a relationship, and if I can’t find it, I have to look for it elsewhere. We are interested and keep abreast with major happenings influencing our world. I am interested in basically everything. I love talking about anything from religion, politics, economics, science, and philosophy. I am not very well versed in music or arts but love learning more about them, as I go. We are well educated, and often, in the top percentile of the elite population. Oh, also, I’m a physics and math double major, and a first year phd student at PSU for materials engg.
14.) You’ll almost never have to hear, “Yaw dawg whazzap!!” plop out of their mouths. Unless it’s in jest. They spell properly, use correct punctuation, and are able to tell the difference between the toilet and the floor. They almost never get “wasted”, so you won’t have to worry about coming home to find him and his friends passed out on the floor amidst a pile of beer bottles. Mt. Dew cans, perhaps…
I have never slipped to slang in language. I pride myself in speaking and writing proper English, with correct grammer and spelling. We do get drunk, and pass out. Everyone does. I haven’t passed out or puked ever, but I know a geek fraternity at Coe that drinks like a school of fish.
15.) And the final reason why geeks and nerds make great boyfriends: They actually give a damn about you. Not how you look (though that’s a plus), not how skinny you are, not how much make-up you primp yourself up with, but they like you for you. That kind of thing lasts longer than “DaMN baby you got a fine ass!!!” Believe me.
If you can accept us for all of our imperfections, we can accept you for all your shortcomings and quirks. We like you for what you are. We like the person inside. Superficial romances are fleeting. We compliment you, and make you feel special. We often care more about you that you could possibly fathom.
So, yeah, we make excellent partners in life and love. We also make wonderful friends.
Open Trackbacks: Open Trackback Weekend, OTB Weekend #2, Woman Honor Thyself
Technorati Tags: Relationships, Geeks, Nerds, Love, Dating
Slashdot | Is Distributed Computing Being Distributed Badly?
Before I start, I want to impress upon you, that what you run on your computer, is your choice. You can choose to run a certain program versus another. That being said, why are people getting agitated about the SETI@Home using idle CPU cycles? If you don’t like it, run something else. We know what the chances of isolating an alien signal are. We know that the odds are low. However, this is data that has to be processed somewhere. I know that the funding for this project is not sufficient to buy high computing power. Why would tax payers want to pay for SETI if the returns are practically non-existent? I know I wouldn’t want to pay for such a programme. Although, I would gladly donate idle cycles on my CPU for that because it doesn’t cost me as much.
Let me also remind you, that this program brought on the concept of mainstream distributed computing. It is a trend setter which surprisingly is still popular. Since then, there have been other distributed computing projects which more altruistic purposes such as drug molecular modeling for diseases like cancer, and AIDS, run by academic institutions. Now, I might be more likely to run such programs over SETI’s as it has an impact in medicine. These projects are firmly placed on the ground, and we can see useful instantaneous results.
Speaking about funding projects which are expensive and potentially wasteful, are we forgetting DoD’s black hole? Can you imagine how much of our tax-payers’ money goes to projects that are classified, and if it fails, how would be know that it failed? There have been so many reports of billions of dollars going wasted on failed projects. I know it is part of science, but science is about streamlining. If we don’t know something has failed, how would we learn from the mistakes?
Before most of you start spouting increased global warming from used idle cycle, I bet that it pales before any other source. I’m saying that the effect is insignificant. Air-conditioning, and heat from housing probably absorbs majority of the electricity rather than computers. People who say computers running all the time is a waste, look at the cost figures, it’s not a substantial waste.
Distributed computing is ushering in a new era for crunching data. There are bound to be more and more project which use this means, and the projects may get more esoteric as well. For example, astrophysics enthusiasts may rather donate computer cycles to model supernovae, rather than cancer drug model ling. People concerned with national security could donate idle cycles to social network analysis (Wikipedia) of data pooled by intelligence agencies, if there was such a program. The possibilities are endless, and in the end, is totally up to you to choose which one to promote. If there are multiple ones you are interested in, then BOINC is for you.
Technorati Tags: computers, information, Opinion, Research, Science, distributed computing, SETI@Home, BOINC
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