Whoa... pretty powerful... a bit scary

Wed, 25 May 2005 17:55:55 GMT

So Erika emailed me a link to a website http://www.zabasearch.com/ which enables you to search for anyone based on any state in which they lived in the past. I looked myself up and found every home for which I've had a lease since college, along with every phone number.

Here's the really cool thing about this search. I had a best friend when I was in kindergarten who lived across the street from me in Maryland. Every so often, I wonder what he's up to now, what he looks like, what he does for a living, if he still plays pacman on the atari. But I never had any idea how to locate him. Well, I looked him up in zabasearch and indicated that he once lived in Maryland and *BAM* there he was!!! I'm going to try and call him later this week.

Time Travel Anyone???

Fri, 13 May 2005 22:04:59 GMT

MIT kids are scary. Here's an article from the New York Times about a graduate student from MIT who organized the first and only convention for time travellers (he notes that his convention is the only one necessary because people from the future can travel to it anytime they want). Dorai invited present day humans who were asked to bring food and desserts, and time travellers who were asked to bring something that proves they were from a different timezone (e.g. cure for AIDS, stock tips, oddly shaped heads/bodies). Over 400 people attended, a few from different time zones but none from the past or future.

Here are some interesting points from this article:

Mr. Dorai has precisely calculated that "the odds of a time traveler showing up are between one in a million and one in a trillion"
In case their university does not exist forever, they have posted the latitude and longitude of the East Campus Courtyard (42:21:36.025 degrees north, 71:05:16.332 degrees west).
A roped-off area, including part of an improvised volleyball court, will create a landing pad so materializing time-travel machines will not crash into trees or dormitories.
Dorai urged people to publicize the event with methods likely to last. "Write the details down on a piece of acid-free paper," he directed, "and slip them into obscure books in academic libraries!"

When asked by the press how he knows if the convention was a success, Dorai responded ""You only need one to show up."

The funniest FAQ from the official convention website:

I'm from the present, and I'd like to attend, but I can't!

No worries! If time travel is invented in your lifetime, you can always come later. Even if it isn't, we'll have pictures and video up at this site within a week after the Convention.

Here is an article that recaps the event.

Richard's Reveries and Rantings: Scary Stuff

Whoa... pretty powerful... a bit scary

Time Travel Anyone???