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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Search for extraterrestrials costs IT director his Earth-bound job
2009-12-03
A former school district employee is accused of using school computers in an experiment to find space aliens, costing the worker his job and the district more than $1 million.

School officials say that Brad Niesluchowski, who was Higley Unified School District's information technology director, downloaded free software on district computers in 2000. The program, known as SETI(at)home, uses Internet-connected computers worldwide to analyze radio telescope data in an experiment to find extraterrestrial intelligence.

But Superintendent Denise Birdwell told the East Valley Tribune that the program also bogged down the district's system and interfered with technology use in classrooms. Birdwell said it will take more than $1 million to fix the problem, including removal of the SETI software.
Posted by:Mike

#14  This will roll over in about 10 minutes, but anyway...

If I'm reading this article right, the school district hasn't replaced its computers since 2000. So the inevitable decline of those hard drives is being blamed on the SETI software, and this Brad guy has to pay for new computers. Brilliant.
Posted by: Plastic Snoopy   2009-12-03 23:49  

#13  TW - Aristotelian sloth's wool?
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2009-12-03 22:46  

#12  save us, please save us before they start the anal probes!!!!!!!!!!

I dunno..the last one was pretty gentle, almost loving, in a Greyman™ kinda way....
Posted by: Frank G   2009-12-03 20:44  

#11  Especially the cables. Look, d'you see those spiderweb-like thingies draped around them, and the ones that look like peripatetic dust bunnies? That's them! Eeeeek!!!! Steve ---- Richard ----- Perry ---- save us, please save us before they start the anal probes!!!!!!!!!!

/Whew. Now I need a second nap.
Posted by: trailing wife   2009-12-03 19:30  

#10  "We need all-new computers! And routers! And switches, And network cables - they're infected too!"
Posted by: Pappy   2009-12-03 19:04  

#9  My guess is that they are hoping this will be one of those 'shovel ready' jobs which Obumble can 'Stimulate' - hence the $1M pricetag.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2009-12-03 18:49  

#8  I have to wonder what genius diagnosed this "problem," whether it is the same one who wants a million bucks to fix it, and just whose cousin/in-law/side-business partner he or she might be.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2009-12-03 18:35  

#7  Birdwell said it will take more than $1 million to fix the problem, including removal of the SETI software.

LOL!
BS... Hell I could drop a new image on them suckers for 100K. No questions asked.
Posted by: Perry Stanford White   2009-12-03 18:18  

#6  oh fuck....
Posted by: Perry Stanford White   2009-12-03 18:15  

#5  Hey Steve, it's snowing outside here. I'd be happy to spend a couple of weeks in Mesa & I'd only charge them $49.50/ea.

The per diem is negotiable and I believe I could talk my wife into springing for the travel costs out of her 'mad money'.
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2009-12-03 16:29  

#4  Because I'm running SETI@Home on my computer right now and reading Rantburg at the same time, I'm getting a kick of these replies.
Posted by: Mizzou Mafia   2009-12-03 16:27  

#3  To clarify, SETI at Home is not a project of the SETI Institute but they do support it and vouch for its legitimacy.
Btw, this is not the first case I have heard of in which ignorant school officials have confused legitimate science with UFOolery and acted on that assumption to their regret.
They WILL regret this one, btw. SETI at Home is very popular among skeptics and science advocates.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2009-12-03 15:55  

#2  I agree, Steve.
Beyond that, the SETI Institute and its SETI at home program have NOTHING to do with UFOs, the UFO culture, or any other kind of pseudoscience. It is a scientifically legitimate and well-vetted project that analyzes radio telescope data for intelligent signals.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2009-12-03 15:40  

#1  What? What?

It's a program that runs as a SCREEN SAVER. Just delete the program from each computer and you're done.

Hell, I'll do it for them, $50 per computer plus per diem and travel. I'll make a mint and they'll be happy.
Posted by: Steve White   2009-12-03 15:33  

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