Father's Day + MORE Gliese 581

Well, today's Father's day and everybody's coming over again. I'd rather not go into yesterday... it was generally fun, with a few short bouts of idiocy from a certain relative. But, that's not really what I want to talk about.

Here's a thought I had:

In 1977, the Big Ear radio telescope picked up a signal of unknown origin on a frequency that is not used by any country or organization on Earth, nor does it match any other common signal that could be mistaken for extraterrestrial. As far as anyone can tell, this signal originates from outside the solar system. Also, no one has been able to pick up the signal again, making it a unique event.

Read more about it at the Wikipedia page, which has a link to a MUCH more detailed report on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow_signal

Now, the thought: what if this IS an alien broadcast? If so, where was the point of origin? As it stands, since we don't assume it's alien, we have no idea where. BUT, if it IS alien, I have an idea: let's assume that this signal is a response to Earth's space signals, the earliest I believe was a TV broadcast of the 1936 Olympics.

If our neighbors got the broadcast of the Olympics as soon as it reached them, simple math can deduce distance from Earth:

1977 - 1936 = 41 years

41 / 2 = 20.5 lightyears

Again, a quick Google search brings up a list of stars that are about that far. Guess which happens to top the list?

GLIESE 581!!

I may be seeing something that isn't there, but don't you think it's an amazing coincidence that the first potentially habitable system we've found (which apparently has TWO potentially habitable planets... according to Wiki, there's a thus-far unconfirmed Gliese 581 d which would be on the far end of the habitable zone) also happens to be at the right distance to receive our 1936 broadcast and then respond by 1977?

On another note, I'm participating at a DBWI (Double Blind What If) at alternatehistory.com where civil war has broken out in the "Christian Socialist States of America". The premise is simple: people are attempting to overthrow the theocratic government and restore the old United States. I like the idea a lot, and I've been presenting myself as, well, myself... only I've joined a pro-US militia and, after helping kick the socialists out of New Jersey, I've crossed over into Delaware to continue the fight. If you want to check it out, its over here.

Finally, I think I'm going to get a chance to play test Hard Power again today (my Mom convinced me not to bring it with me to PA yesterday. Of course, everybody wanted to play. ><#), but at the same time I know my cousin John is bringing over a bootleg of 28 Weeks Later to watch... gah. Well, we'll see what happens.