Chrutil is going for a ride. And not a short one, he's going all the way to
Outer Space. I am a member of Encounter
2001, a project where a photograph, a personal message and a biological
signature (a DNA sample) from each participant is launched into space on an
interstellar spacecraft.
The Team Encounter Deep Space Probe will carry this payload, like a
"cosmic message in a bottle," out of the solar system as an
"archive of humanity" for whomever or whatever might discover the
spacecraft in the years to come.
After launch, the deep space probe will unfurl its "solar sail,"
becoming the first spacecraft in history to travel through space using the
"solar wind" - particles of energy emitted by the sun - just as the
wind pushes a sailboat!
The sailcraft will take 13.5 years to fly past the orbit of Pluto -- the
solar system's outermost planet. Ground controllers will not aim the sailcraft
toward any particular star. Rather, like a message in a bottle cast into the
sea, the sailcraft will be cast into the depths of space. It will be the fifth
spacecraft to leave our solar system.
In addition to The Encounter Deep Space Probe, you are also included in the
Cosmic Call II
project - A deep space radio transmission to the outer reaches of space.
Chrutil's message is translated into code and transmitted as a high-powered
beam by a world class radio astronomy dish. Dude - we're there.
Why don't you join me?
Join Chrutil in the search for Extraterrestrial Intelligences (or even
extraterrestrial morons). As of April 2001 I have processed over 14.000
work units - that's over 16 years of CPU time. Your computer is mostly
idle, so why not put it to use and sign up for Seti@Home?
Fans of Chrutil (oh yeah... right) will have noticed that my work unit progress has slowed
down considerably, and you can blame that on PG&E, since most of my
machines are now turned off unless I work on them. Power crisis, my ass. Bad
power management is more like it.
Okay, it's got little to do with outer space, but I've got to pitch a
little for the other thing my computers are doing when they are idle.
I've got one machine full time pushing tasks for the United Devices
"THINK" project. Their own description reads: "THINK is a
computer-aided drug design program that models interaction between potential
drug molecules and a target protein that is involved in the growth of cancer.
Finding positive interactions between molecule and protein could lead to a
cure". Sounds good to me, so I put a full time workstation on the task. I
also started the "Autodesk" group.
