Monday 5 April 2004

Life, Or Something Like It

Y'know what? Today I've got nothing I want to share. I could talk about television I watched last night, or how my new PC is coming along nicely, or even about the borderline-inappropriate discussions last night at supper after church, but I won't. And I don't have much to offer in the way of introspection, either. The continuing slow building of my Tazo collection is hardly news or exciting, and I have no software design thoughts to offer yet. Maybe I'll try to get some inspiration from Slashdot. Be right back.

Okay, it seems there's some lake under Antarctica that's completely cut off from the rest of the Earth, and scientists hope to dig into it to prove there is life there. Which there very likely is, considering what they've found in the ice above it. This will allow them once again to crow that extra-terrestrial life is possible, and probably fund a robotic excursion to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons. But of course there's life in a lake on Earth. It's EARTH - you know, where the life comes from? You live there? I'm sick of scientists wasting their time looking for aliens. The main reason they think it's possible is that they assume life is evolving from nothing all over the universe. I disagree, and I'm willing to wait for time to prove me right.

This opinion of mine is one of the reasons I like Red Dwarf. In the Red Dwarf books and television series, Earth is the one planet on which life existed to begin with. Genetically-engineered lifeforms, robots and so forth are widespread, but every single one can be traced back to Earth. It is phrased most poignantly in the books. I highly recommend them.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - In space, no-one can hear you scream.
PPS - Mostly because there is no-one else there.

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