SETI Needs Your Help to Resume Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Honestly, watching this chokes me up a little bit. Watching the last shuttle flight, then seeing SETI have to realistically think about parking all of their listening equipment is just...sad.

Too many people get caught up in the "why" of this stuff. You're looking at it wrong. Look at space travel as an expression of humanity, and a really important one. Ancient people built Pyramids, or Stonehenge, or the Colosseum. I wonder how many Romans thought building the Colosseum was a waste of money.

The shuttle, or SETI are our Pyramids. It's disgusting that we can spend as many billions of dollars a year as we do on blowing each other up, but things like "Let's see what's on the other side of that proverbial mountain" get defunded because they're "pointless".

Re: SETI Needs Your Help to Resume Search for Extraterrestrial Life

#4

Post by tluyben2 » Wed, Aug 03, 2011, 5:01 PM UTC

blhack wrote: post #3

If you haven't yet seen the wonderful "Sagan Series" on youtube, start with this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHuve33yOVY or this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxsJeND_D-k&feature=relat... Honestly, watching this chokes me up a little bit. Watching the last shuttle flight, then seeing SETI have to realistically think about parking all of their listening equipment is just...sad. Too many people get caught…

Can I upvote more than once? Getting out beautiful soup and 1000 proxies

Re: SETI Needs Your Help to Resume Search for Extraterrestrial Life

#5

Post by kanamekun » Wed, Aug 03, 2011, 5:09 PM UTC

heyrhett wrote: post #2

Do they accept bitcoin?

I just went through the donation checkout process, and they only accept Visa and Mastercard.

Re: SETI Needs Your Help to Resume Search for Extraterrestrial Life

#6

Post by mkrecny » Wed, Aug 03, 2011, 5:09 PM UTC

blhack wrote: post #3

If you haven't yet seen the wonderful "Sagan Series" on youtube, start with this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHuve33yOVY or this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxsJeND_D-k&feature=relat... Honestly, watching this chokes me up a little bit. Watching the last shuttle flight, then seeing SETI have to realistically think about parking all of their listening equipment is just...sad. Too many people get caught…

Well said

Re: SETI Needs Your Help to Resume Search for Extraterrestrial Life

#7

Post by pavel_lishin » Wed, Aug 03, 2011, 5:10 PM UTC

heyrhett wrote: post #2

Do they accept bitcoin?

Can you buy anything with bitcoins other than drugs right now?

edit: I know someone will roll their eyes at this comment and proceed to defend bitcoin, but seriously - what can SETI buy with bitcoins that's useful to them? And "anything people are willing to sell, man, it's just a currency!" is a trivial answer.

Re: SETI Needs Your Help to Resume Search for Extraterrestrial Life

#8

Post by saturn7 » Wed, Aug 03, 2011, 5:12 PM UTC

Okay now only $1,933 after my donation. :) The Sooner we can get of this planet the better.

Re: SETI Needs Your Help to Resume Search for Extraterrestrial Life

#9

Post by farnsworth » Wed, Aug 03, 2011, 5:13 PM UTC

blhack wrote: post #3

If you haven't yet seen the wonderful "Sagan Series" on youtube, start with this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHuve33yOVY or this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxsJeND_D-k&feature=relat... Honestly, watching this chokes me up a little bit. Watching the last shuttle flight, then seeing SETI have to realistically think about parking all of their listening equipment is just...sad. Too many people get caught…

Weren't the Pyramids an expression of ego, and the Colosseum a sports arena? That said, I love the Sagan Series and agree with the spirit of your post.

Re: SETI Needs Your Help to Resume Search for Extraterrestrial Life

#10

Post by blhack » Wed, Aug 03, 2011, 5:14 PM UTC

saturn7 wrote: post #8

Okay now only $1,933 after my donation. :) The Sooner we can get of this planet the better.

Thank you. Seriously thank you.