Searching for Alien Life Forms

Now, there are two ways in which you and your computer can help in the search for alien life from the comfort of your own home. The first way is to join the long-running SETI@home project that lets computer users sift through cosmic data for signs of intelligence. This project has been ongoing for several years and works by downloading and analyzing recorded data when you are not using your computer.

The second and newest method for finding aliens is the brainchild of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who announced plans to install hundreds of video surveillance cameras, equipped with night vision, along the border with Mexico. The cameras, to be located on the land of cooperating private property owners, will be in "very far reaches where it's hard to get to, where there are very few roads in but we know there is criminal activity, drug dealing and human trafficking," Perry said.

The camera feeds will be available on the Internet, where anyone with a computer will be able to put in a shift watching the scrub brush along the Rio Grande for illegal immigrants, with their fingers poised to dial the toll-free reporting number. The first cameras will begin operation in 30 days. Some will use wide-angle lenses, and all will be positioned so they won't reveal specific geographic landmarks.

The $5 million "virtual border watch program" is part of a much larger initiative he unveiled last week. The state will allocate another $20 million to expand "Operation Rio Grande," a program that began in February that sought to better coordinate local, state and federal agencies on the border, but also increased the presence of state law enforcement officers - among them DPS "strike" teams that quickly react to hot spots.

"I look at this as no different than the neighborhood watches that we've had in our communities for years and years," said Perry. Which makes you wonder what kind of neighborhood he lives in.