Please see subject.

It used to be that the big error of many scientists was to make studies of studies. Now, it appears that studies of news reports of studies are becoming acceptable. Are climate scientists the mysterious "they" that they're always talkiing about?

"My people are the people of the dessert," said T. E. Lawrence, picking up his fork.

"known as Sagittarius A* (pronounced 'Sagittarius A-Star')" Oh, horse puckey! I did radio astronomy for a lotta years. Most folks refer to that source as "Sag-A", although a few folks tried "Saj-A".

and this is a story because?

I agree that "clearing the BS" is one of the most important part of the job. Right up up there with that is paying attention when hiring new people. The old saying about marrying in haste could just as well be modified to "Hire in haste; repent at leisure."....

Sorry, but I haven't had time to read the entire thread. If what I'm writing is a rerun, then so be it. Fuller, like Frank Lloyd Wright, George Ellery Hale, and more than a few other greats of the 20th Century, was part genius, and part con man. His plan to design a revolutionary car was flawed by the fact that he assumed that his great intellect was a worthy substitute for experience in designing cars. Aside from the points about stability raised by others, I point out that there was a plenum in front of the radiator. It's purpose was to hold the DRY ICE that was necessary to keep the car cool. Yes, that's right, Fuller couldn't be bothered to actually design a working cooling system! Instead, every time the car was to be driven, an assistant dumped dry ice into the plenum! I'm having this fantasy about feet of clay being exposed to dry ice, and then shattering the first time somebody says a word....

Uh, any idea just how complex doing this would be, even supposing the laser could be funded and then built in a timely manner? Oh, and BTW, the Star Wars Missile Defense System had no chance of actually working, again, due to its excessive complexity. It was just designed to make the Russkies THINK it would work, and thereby bankrupt the USSR. In that sense, it worked very well!

I'll leave the theory to someone more qualified than I, or to those folks who begin their post with "Well this is way beyond my understanding of Physics, but, as I understand it....". Rather, I just want to comment that, as it is commonly used, the word "signal" connotes transmission of a message from a sentient sender to a sentient receiver. The definition given by TheFreeDictionary.com should suffice: "3. Electronics An impulse or a fluctuating electric quantity, such as voltage, current, or electric field strength, whose variations represent coded information." (I suppose that we could assume that the Universe herself, himself, or itself is sending "coded information" to us, but then we'd have to parse the word "assume", and we wouldn't want to make donkeys of ourselves, now, would we?) So, I suggest that this "signal" is really an "emission", the characteristics of which lead astronomers to conclude that there are spiraling magnetic fields in the region of space they were observing. They expected to find IR radiation accompanying those spiraling magnetic field, but they didn't. Hence their surprise. Now, despite the fact that I'm not qualified to form such a theory, I'll state mine: The Universe is actually like an onion, only the number of layers is infinite. Once we humans peel back one layer -- Eratosthenes did! -- another is revealed. Newton peeled that one, to reveal the one that Einstein peeled, and then Hugh Everett III peeled-back another, and so on, ad universium.... Do I have my layers labeled right? I don't rightly know. But you might ask the Mother Hen....

Only a little while after Gene Roddenberry passed, I attended the inaugural showing of Laserium's (exquisite) "The Wall" at Griffith Observatory in LA. Ms. Barrett-Roddenberry was also in attendance. After the show, I remained in my seat, because I wanted to let the show percolate a bit in my head before departing. As I sat there, Ms. Barrett-Roddenberry was approaching my aisle seat. She was alone, and her face showed the considerable strain of losing her life-long mate. (I learned later that she was one of a considerable number of folks associated with the Star-Trek franchise that do not travel with an entourage, but just do their normal business in public just like anyone else, a choice I find refreshing.) Everyone still in the hall was ignoring her, which might or might not have been appropriate. I'll never know. But I didn't ignore her. I stood up and said, "Ms. Roddenberry, you don't know me, but I was saddened by your husband's passing. I'm so sorry for your loss." With a slight smile, she replied, "Oh, thank you so much. It's been very hard to lose him, but many people have let me know how special he was to them, just as he was to me. That's helped a bit." With that, she bade me good evening, and went out of the hall. As I already mentioned, we didn't know one another, so I had no intention engaging her in a long, intrusive conversation. I just wanted her to know that I shared her loss and pain, even just a little bit. There's nothing earthshaking about this minor incident, except that many Hollywood stars would have either ignored me or been ungracious in the extreme. Instead, Ms. Barret-Roddenberry took my greeting for what it was, and replied graciously. Oh, sure, she was an actress, so the whole thing could have been "an act", but so what? If she chose to "act graciously", that, in itself, is an act of grace. I choose to believe that Majel Barrett-Roddenberry was a lovely, very-talented, and gracious woman. I'm betting that those who knew her well would agree. May she rest in peace.

Well, technology aside, I think this is a great idea! Think of it: Grannie and Gramps can get their fill of their grandkids without ever having to say "So, d'ya want me to change that or should we let it ripen a bit more?" I do note, however, that there's likely a "situation-comedy" hiding in the weeds! For those of you in the UK, a "situation-comedy" is what you folks call a "drawing-room-comedy". (And, yes, American TV tends to steal all your best examples of same.)