Firefox Crop Circles Prove Intelligent Alien Life

This past weekend, the OSU Linux Users Group descended on a field in Oregon to create a 45,000+ square foot crop circle of Firefox. The photos and write-up are worth checking out.

Bonus geek points for not using GPS

[XorNand]

Bonus geek points for using an HP graphing calculator and string instead of GPS. Though I'm not quite sure why the farmers would give permission for parts of their crop to be destroyed (even if he/she's an OSS advocate).

At least these make sense.

[Humming Frog]

It makes sense that geeks would be the ones making crop circles. Aliens surely have better things to do.

Re:Bonus geek points for not using GPS

[Rakshasa Taisab]

Probably something about getting the kids out of the basement, even for just a couple days.

Oregonian Entertainment

[NoData]

I guess that's how you amuse yourself when you live in Idaho's Portugal [youtube.com].

This proves what life?

[27,000]

It proves a collection of browser zealots have plenty of free time and not much else to do with it. I mean, cool advertising, but some extraterrestrial's gotta be laughing at us.

Bonus for getting permission from the farmer.

[Frumious Wombat]

Otherwise, I'd have to suggest the perpetrators be sentenced to muck-out a feedlot or two.

"Use Open-Source on My FARM!?! That's what did more damage to my oats than a hailstorm followed by locusts last year!"

Re:Bonus geek points for not using GPS

[LiquidCoooled]

A field of dos would be quite fertile, however you might have some trouble growing lotus flowers on it.

In related news ...

[eck011219]

... one Washington farmer reported a complete loss after IE enthusiasts recreated a blue screen of death across his soybean field.

trigger happy photographer

[binarybum]

man, talk about beating the magic out something - that's a hell of a lot of pictures.

    but I guess sometimes it's just really hard to decide between posting this shot [oregonstate.edu] or this one [oregonstate.edu] on your website.

Missing component

[Zildy]

Isn't the tail in the logo supposed to be on fire?

OMG!

[Anonymous Coward]

Look at the size of that thing! It's almost as big as Firefox' memory footprint!

Re:So much fun!

[Ponga]

Hey, which one are you in the photos? Also, there was a GIRL present? A REAL one??
Thanks,
--Ponga

P.S. - Nice work!!

Re:This is just way cool....

[kfg]

Great pics, especialy the good looking lil geek babe in pic #77. Bonus!

At the moment; viewed 98 times

Close up of tape measure; 73 times

Out of focus closeup of oats; 68 times

Geek guy; 47 times

Well, there you have it guys, you're less interesting than an out of focus picture of oats.

KFG

Raise your hand!...

[JustASlashDotGuy]

Will all virgins please raise their hands... http://lug.oregonstate.edu/gallery/firefox-crop-ci rcle/img_5374_1 [oregonstate.edu]

Re:WTF Are you talking about you fool?

[bellebouche]

I suspect an overabundance of sugar in your diet.

Re:So much fun!

[pennyher0]

me and gordonel!

*does the girl geek dance*

Re:In related news ...

[Kelson]

one Washington farmer reported a complete loss after IE enthusiasts recreated a blue screen of death across his soybean field.

Sure, anyone can flood a field with water!

Re:Bonus geek points for not using GPS

[bcat24]

I think a field DOS would run you about 640K.

Re:Google Satellite Image

[binarybum]

Google does not own a network of satellites

    Oh man, I think it's hilarious that you believe that. Sure... Google doesn't own a network of satellites, and they're not watching you right now either, and they're not building lasers on the moon either... Hey, whatever lets you sleep at night dude.

Re:Google Satellite Image

[Kelson]

and they're not building lasers on the moon either

I'd always wondered what they needed that moon base [google.com] for!

Re:WTF Are you talking about you fool?

[maxume]

Couldn't you get a cut of the profit if you only helped with the crops but stayed away from your grandpa's shit? He sounds like one cranky old dude.

Re:At least these make sense.

[smittyoneeach]

What do you mean? The aliens were in an adjacent field, doing work that Americans are too lazy/cool to do.

the girl geek dance?

[commodoresloat]

I think most of us here are only familiar with girls dancing when there is a pole involved.

Re:Enthusiastic users

[RealGrouchy]

I mean, you don't see MS Windows users arrive with big amounts of glass...

Well, no. They bring paperclips.

- RG>

Cool experiment. Aside from brand loyalty. . .

[Fantastic Lad]

This does little to suggest that genuine crop circles were made by a teams of prankster engineering students.

To create an authentic circle, the makers would have to. . .

1. Create the circle entirely at night without any lighting systems. (In none of the several thousand circles formed have pranksters been observed.)

2. Leave no impressions on the earth at all. (No foot prints or ladder or pole impressions on powder-dry or moist earth.)

3. Create a much more complex formation.

4. Make sure the flattened grains fall in mathematically precise overlapping weaves. (In authentic circles, the multi-layered pattern of the weave is one of the mystifying features.)

5. No plant stalks may be damaged during the process. (Real circles do not interrupt the life-process of the plants; In such formations, the plants eventfully spring back up entirely undamaged.)

6. Bend the stalks, never break them.

7. Create the formation in under 20 minutes. (Probably circles are formed instantaneously, but the only observed time lapse has been by a pilot and photographer flying over an a field without a circle only to see one twenty minutes later on a return flight path).

8. Witness unnumbered black helicopters coming to check things out.

9. Create the phenomenon of seeds from inside a formation growing in a peculiar manner as compared to control seed samples.

Do all of this, and the firefox logo would indeed be special.

-FL