There's got to be a joke in there somewhere.

In TNG, there was that one episode (1st Season) where life had evolved between two layers of soil (obviously not space travelers). Plus other random non-humanoid life forms that were scattered throughout the series (the insect race comes to mind, the Changelings in DS9).

In Cosmos, the great late Carl Sagan mentions extra-terrestrial life, and the many, many possibilities of intelligent life. I think to say "the most likely way that intelligent life capable of interstellar travel will evolve will be bipedal with eyes and aggressive tendencies" is a bit short-sighted.

In one of James Tiptree's short stories, she (James Tiptree was a pseudonym for Alice Bradley Sheldon) explores the concept of humans' innate desire to mate with aliens. But in the universe of the short story, our biology is incompatible with the various aliens we encounter. The human race is dying out because of this, even though many of those aliens are bipedal with eyes. It's an interesting concept.

I don't think the way we were designed is necessarily the most efficient possible, as many of the changes came about as a result of some sort of outside pressure. It's not as if our biology was designed first and then implemented; our DNA has been patched/amended numerous times over many generations. Who knows; maybe there is some other, more elegant and efficient way to transmit genetic data besides using DNA. We just don't know because we haven't encountered it yet.

Agreed.

Also in conversations I've had with interviewers (for myself and other people) have hobbies been discussed. They're much more worried about whether or not you drink too much or do "recreational" drugs.

I knew a woman once who had a high security clearance and was a stripper in college. I also knew a guy who knew a guy who had a high security clearance who frequented strip bars. Neither seemed to keep the government from issuing clearances. And these were issued before the 90-day deadline to clear people was enacted.

::shrug::

My first bf in high school was home schooled for quite a bit of his educational career. He did not graduate with his class and several years later got a GED through the local college. To my knowledge he has not gone to college nor has plans to.

My roommate in college was home schooled up to her last year or so of high school and had to get pass the GED exam to go to college. But she was an honors student and double-majored in chemistry and environmental engineering. She is now earning her PhD in chemistry.

So I think it can go both ways. (Both families were somewhat religious, btw)

However, my former roommate and her younger sister both got married young (early 20s). I don't know her sister's husband but his photos look sort of douchey. My former roommate's husband and I didn't quite seem eye-to-eye but I suppose he treats my friend just fine and that's what's important in their relationship. My former roommate was also a bit introverted and while not socially challenged, I don't think she was socially gifted either. In our conversations regarding home schooling she thought it was the best thing ever, and plans to home school her own kids when she has them.

I was raised in public schools (my parents couldn't afford to send me to private schools, and in the one community we lived in public school was the only option). I was considered a "gifted student" in one school district and probably could have skipped a grade. In the other school district they had no accommodations for gifted students (but plenty for "challenged" students) and I was quite bored out of my mind.

My personal opinion is that if a parent wants to homeschool their child, and can prove they would have some competence in the matter (like some certificate in education or child brain development), then let them do so as long as their child can perform average-or-better to the kids in their public school district. Otherwise put the kid in a school (public or private, it doesn't matter).

I think the deciding factor in how well a kid does in placement tests is not only how smart/clever the kid is, but how involved the parents are in raising him/her. Personally I'd probably put my kids (if/when I have them) through public schools and augment their education with trips to museums, lots of books, and educational videos (like History Channel stuff).

The book was by Robert Baer, and is called "See No Evil". I agree that it was very good.

SIGINT isn't just data mining. Wiki article.

James Bamford's "Body of Secrets" mentions SIGINT was used on naval vessels to determine what kinds of submarines, etc. they were up against, merely by the radio frequencies and signals received. It's really cool stuff.

Robert Baer's "See No Evil" is the perfect explanation of why our intel community, especially on the HUMINT side, is so fucked right now.

it's the height of irony.

that must have been a fun trail to take part in. . . . .

Yes, but there's that honor code to work around. . . . .

Montana Tech in Butte, MT used to support some linux workstations in their Computer Science department. Not sure if they still do. It was pretty easy to VPN in. Their Windows-based network accepted my computer when it was running SUSE with no problem, just don't tell their IT department that! ;)

University of Southern California currently has some SUN servers that supported Unix-flavored environments. I haven't spent too much time on campus or in campus computer labs to ascertain what environments they are running in. Navigating the VPN procedure, obtaining the accounts and setting everything up took me about an hour the first time. On subsequent log-ins it was a matter of double-clicking an icon.

I would not ask the college tour guide the Windows/Mac/Unix question unless he or she is majoring in computer science or information technology. You would be surprised the level of computer illiteracy in the general population, even among the young. I would save that question for a department head or professor in that particular department.