How it goes down hill!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/farou...928161,00.html

Life on Mars

Mark Pilkington
Thursday August 11, 2005
The Guardian

No sooner had Nasa published images of an ice lake inside a crater on
the Martian plain Vastitas Borealis, than internet exo-archaeologists
were excitedly pointing out the crumbled ruins of a vast, ancient city
on the crater's banks.
Earthlings have been seeing things on Mars since at least 1877, when
Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli noted long, straight lines,
which he called canali, on the surface. Translated into English as
"canals", the markings led respected astronomer Percival Lowell to
propose the existence of an irrigation network, indicative of a
civilisation not unlike our own.

Ninety-nine years later Viking 1 beamed back images of Cydonia, what
may have been a coastal area in Mars' northern hemisphere. Among
several mountainous protrusions was what appeared to be a blank,
humanoid face wearing a hint of a smile and a crash helmet.

The image was singled out by Vince DiPietro and Greg Molenaar, who
cleaned it up and represented it to the world a few years later, this
time with the addition of a large pyramid. Their find drew the
attention of sometime Nasa consultant Richard Hoagland, who identified
more anomalies in the region, including walls, a "fort", several
smaller pyramids and something resembling the manmade mound Silbury
Hill. Through some fantastical over-interpretation by zealous
mytho-archaeologists, the Cydonian structures were soon being connected
to human sacred sites at Avebury in Wiltshire, and the pyramids and
sphinx at Giza, Egypt.

When Mars Global Surveyor was launched in 1996, Nasa agreed to settle
the debate by rephotographing the "face", once in 1998 and again in
2001, producing images 10 times sharper than Viking's originals. To the
dismay of its admirers, the images showed the face was actually a
raised plateau. While some diehards protested that Nasa's secret space
fleet had nuked the real face to prevent its exposure, most agreed that
the cyberman of Cydonia was a natural formation brought to life by a
trick of the light and 1970s digital imaging technology.

But, as Nasa continues to explore Mars, so do the armchair
exo-explorers, Arthur C Clarke included, who have added colossal sand
worms, beetles, numerous fossils and swaths of vegetation to the
increasingly crowded Martian environment

The Greys destroyed the Mars beings environment 8000 years ago and look
whats left - just a vast mess of red iron
oxide and red concreate dust with an occasional ice lake and shattered
city
ruins hither and yon. George W. Bush
(soon to be declared King Dubya the First)
ruler of planet Earth has obtained a quick deed to Mars and intends to
send a fleet
of space miners and drillers there to populate the planet and drill for
oil.

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 12:23:19 -0700, aozotor wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/farou...928161,00.html

Life on Mars

Mark Pilkington
Thursday August 11, 2005
The Guardian

No sooner had Nasa published images of an ice lake inside a crater on
the Martian plain Vastitas Borealis, than internet exo-archaeologists
were excitedly pointing out the crumbled ruins of a vast, ancient city
on the crater's banks.
Earthlings have been seeing things on Mars since at least 1877, when
Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli noted long, straight lines,
which he called canali, on the surface. Translated into English as
"canals", the markings led respected astronomer Percival Lowell to
propose the existence of an irrigation network, indicative of a
civilisation not unlike our own.

Ninety-nine years later Viking 1 beamed back images of Cydonia, what
may have been a coastal area in Mars' northern hemisphere. Among
several mountainous protrusions was what appeared to be a blank,
humanoid face wearing a hint of a smile and a crash helmet.

The image was singled out by Vince DiPietro and Greg Molenaar, who
cleaned it up and represented it to the world a few years later, this
time with the addition of a large pyramid. Their find drew the
attention of sometime Nasa consultant Richard Hoagland, who identified
more anomalies in the region, including walls, a "fort", several
smaller pyramids and something resembling the manmade mound Silbury
Hill. Through some fantastical over-interpretation by zealous
mytho-archaeologists, the Cydonian structures were soon being connected
to human sacred sites at Avebury in Wiltshire, and the pyramids and
sphinx at Giza, Egypt.

When Mars Global Surveyor was launched in 1996, Nasa agreed to settle
the debate by rephotographing the "face", once in 1998 and again in
2001, producing images 10 times sharper than Viking's originals. To the
dismay of its admirers, the images showed the face was actually a
raised plateau. While some diehards protested that Nasa's secret space
fleet had nuked the real face to prevent its exposure, most agreed that
the cyberman of Cydonia was a natural formation brought to life by a
trick of the light and 1970s digital imaging technology.

But, as Nasa continues to explore Mars, so do the armchair
exo-explorers, Arthur C Clarke included, who have added colossal sand
worms, beetles, numerous fossils and swaths of vegetation to the
increasingly crowded Martian environment

And your point exactly is?


--
mhm 27x12
smeeter #28
Usenet Valhalla Circle #19 & #21
Bartlo's hate lits #1:
CEO Alcatroll Labs Inc.

The Way of the Kook:
http://www.insurgent.org/~jhd/kookway.htm

in Message-ID:
Mark "Woody" Ferguson shows his mastery of the English language:
"With patients and practice you could be nominated next time around..."

in Message-MID:
Mark "The illiterate" Ferguson astonishes everybody saying:
"Oh, for ****s sake, Gary no matter how angery he thinks he makes there
are lines I will not cross unless I believe what I say is the true, I
know more then you."

in Message-ID:
Alexa "Tequila Titsz" Cameron explains world religions:
"The jews roots are islamic."

in Message-ID:
Alexa "dumbass" Cameron shows her knowledge of history:
"WRONGO. There was NO Bible before King James had it written."

in Message-ID:
Alexa "Word Salad" Cameron shows her knowledge of science:
"Einstein never found the double superimposed doubl 'equilateral' triangle."

in Message-ID:
Alexa "Kook of the year 2004" Cameron uses words she doesn't understand again:
"Why is the Pentagon killing American citizens with non-lethal technology?"

in Message-ID:
Alexa "Imnotalexadammit" Cameron has problems with that extra finger
on her hand:
"Why do the Jews use the Star of David as symbolic of the Pentagon, or
Pentagram?"

Why are all the alien and astronomy fans cross-posting to an OS.2
newsgroup?

This started about one month ago, didn't it?

Not that articles about life on Mars are not interesting, but why do you
guys assume that OS/2 users should read about them?


wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/farou...928161,00.html

Life on Mars

Mark Pilkington
Thursday August 11, 2005
The Guardian

No sooner had Nasa published images of an ice lake inside a crater on
the Martian plain Vastitas Borealis, than internet exo-archaeologists
were excitedly pointing out the crumbled ruins of a vast, ancient city
on the crater's banks.
Earthlings have been seeing things on Mars since at least 1877, when
Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli noted long, straight lines,
which he called canali, on the surface. Translated into English as
"canals", the markings led respected astronomer Percival Lowell to
propose the existence of an irrigation network, indicative of a
civilisation not unlike our own.

Ninety-nine years later Viking 1 beamed back images of Cydonia, what
may have been a coastal area in Mars' northern hemisphere. Among
several mountainous protrusions was what appeared to be a blank,
humanoid face wearing a hint of a smile and a crash helmet.

The image was singled out by Vince DiPietro and Greg Molenaar, who
cleaned it up and represented it to the world a few years later, this
time with the addition of a large pyramid. Their find drew the
attention of sometime Nasa consultant Richard Hoagland, who identified
more anomalies in the region, including walls, a "fort", several
smaller pyramids and something resembling the manmade mound Silbury
Hill. Through some fantastical over-interpretation by zealous
mytho-archaeologists, the Cydonian structures were soon being connected
to human sacred sites at Avebury in Wiltshire, and the pyramids and
sphinx at Giza, Egypt.

When Mars Global Surveyor was launched in 1996, Nasa agreed to settle
the debate by rephotographing the "face", once in 1998 and again in
2001, producing images 10 times sharper than Viking's originals. To the
dismay of its admirers, the images showed the face was actually a
raised plateau. While some diehards protested that Nasa's secret space
fleet had nuked the real face to prevent its exposure, most agreed that
the cyberman of Cydonia was a natural formation brought to life by a
trick of the light and 1970s digital imaging technology.

But, as Nasa continues to explore Mars, so do the armchair
exo-explorers, Arthur C Clarke included, who have added colossal sand
worms, beetles, numerous fossils and swaths of vegetation to the
increasingly crowded Martian environment


--
Andrew J. Brehm
Marx Brothers Fan
PowerPC/Macintosh User
Supporter of Chicken Sandwiches

wrote:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/farou...928161,00.html

Life on Mars

Mark Pilkington
Thursday August 11, 2005
The Guardian

No sooner had Nasa published images of an ice lake inside a crater on
the Martian plain Vastitas Borealis, than internet exo-archaeologists
were excitedly pointing out the crumbled ruins of a vast, ancient city
on the crater's banks.
Earthlings have been seeing things on Mars since at least 1877, when
Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli noted long, straight lines,
which he called canali, on the surface. Translated into English as
"canals", the markings led respected astronomer Percival Lowell to
propose the existence of an irrigation network, indicative of a
civilisation not unlike our own.

Ninety-nine years later Viking 1 beamed back images of Cydonia, what
may have been a coastal area in Mars' northern hemisphere. Among
several mountainous protrusions was what appeared to be a blank,
humanoid face wearing a hint of a smile and a crash helmet.

The image was singled out by Vince DiPietro and Greg Molenaar, who
cleaned it up and represented it to the world a few years later, this
time with the addition of a large pyramid. Their find drew the
attention of sometime Nasa consultant Richard Hoagland, who identified
more anomalies in the region, including walls, a "fort", several
smaller pyramids and something resembling the manmade mound Silbury
Hill. Through some fantastical over-interpretation by zealous
mytho-archaeologists, the Cydonian structures were soon being connected
to human sacred sites at Avebury in Wiltshire, and the pyramids and
sphinx at Giza, Egypt.

When Mars Global Surveyor was launched in 1996, Nasa agreed to settle
the debate by rephotographing the "face", once in 1998 and again in
2001, producing images 10 times sharper than Viking's originals. To the
dismay of its admirers, the images showed the face was actually a
raised plateau. While some diehards protested that Nasa's secret space
fleet had nuked the real face to prevent its exposure, most agreed that
the cyberman of Cydonia was a natural formation brought to life by a
trick of the light and 1970s digital imaging technology.

But, as Nasa continues to explore Mars, so do the armchair
exo-explorers, Arthur C Clarke included, who have added colossal sand
worms, beetles, numerous fossils and swaths of vegetation to the
increasingly crowded Martian environment


NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory folks have never had any great
motivation to quickly dispel such speculations about life signs on
Mars. Letting people think there might be intriguing things on Mars is
good for keeping popular support for Mars mission funding.

Double-A

Dr. Flonkenstein wrote:

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 12:23:19 -0700, aozotor wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/farou...928161,00.html

Life on Mars

Mark Pilkington
Thursday August 11, 2005
The Guardian

No sooner had Nasa published images of an ice lake inside a crater on
the Martian plain Vastitas Borealis, than internet exo-archaeologists
were excitedly pointing out the crumbled ruins of a vast, ancient city
on the crater's banks.
Earthlings have been seeing things on Mars since at least 1877, when
Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli noted long, straight lines,
which he called canali, on the surface. Translated into English as
"canals", the markings led respected astronomer Percival Lowell to
propose the existence of an irrigation network, indicative of a
civilisation not unlike our own.

Ninety-nine years later Viking 1 beamed back images of Cydonia, what
may have been a coastal area in Mars' northern hemisphere. Among
several mountainous protrusions was what appeared to be a blank,
humanoid face wearing a hint of a smile and a crash helmet.

The image was singled out by Vince DiPietro and Greg Molenaar, who
cleaned it up and represented it to the world a few years later, this
time with the addition of a large pyramid. Their find drew the
attention of sometime Nasa consultant Richard Hoagland, who identified
more anomalies in the region, including walls, a "fort", several
smaller pyramids and something resembling the manmade mound Silbury
Hill. Through some fantastical over-interpretation by zealous
mytho-archaeologists, the Cydonian structures were soon being connected
to human sacred sites at Avebury in Wiltshire, and the pyramids and
sphinx at Giza, Egypt.

When Mars Global Surveyor was launched in 1996, Nasa agreed to settle
the debate by rephotographing the "face", once in 1998 and again in
2001, producing images 10 times sharper than Viking's originals. To the
dismay of its admirers, the images showed the face was actually a
raised plateau. While some diehards protested that Nasa's secret space
fleet had nuked the real face to prevent its exposure, most agreed that
the cyberman of Cydonia was a natural formation brought to life by a
trick of the light and 1970s digital imaging technology.

But, as Nasa continues to explore Mars, so do the armchair
exo-explorers, Arthur C Clarke included, who have added colossal sand
worms, beetles, numerous fossils and swaths of vegetation to the
increasingly crowded Martian environment

And your point exactly is?

The only point Protobrain ever has is the one on top of his head.

--
Official Associate AFA-B Vote Rustler

"Don't be too envious. Yes, I have got it all. I am rich, I
have a good education, and I am rather good looking .. so
where does that leave you?
C."
-- Charles D. "Chuckweasel" Bohne polishes his ego a bit

"That's what you expect from people who think that the
cyberworld isn't "RL"."
-- Dr. David Tholen, Psychic Astrologer

"The original human being was a female hermaphrodite with
both male and female genitalia."
-- Alexa Cameron, Kook of the Year 2004

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 19:42:58 -0600, Art Deco wrote:

Dr. Flonkenstein wrote:

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 12:23:19 -0700, aozotor wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/farou...928161,00.html

Life on Mars

Mark Pilkington
Thursday August 11, 2005
The Guardian

No sooner had Nasa published images of an ice lake inside a crater on
the Martian plain Vastitas Borealis, than internet exo-archaeologists
were excitedly pointing out the crumbled ruins of a vast, ancient city
on the crater's banks.
Earthlings have been seeing things on Mars since at least 1877, when
Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli noted long, straight lines,
which he called canali, on the surface. Translated into English as
"canals", the markings led respected astronomer Percival Lowell to
propose the existence of an irrigation network, indicative of a
civilisation not unlike our own.

Ninety-nine years later Viking 1 beamed back images of Cydonia, what
may have been a coastal area in Mars' northern hemisphere. Among
several mountainous protrusions was what appeared to be a blank,
humanoid face wearing a hint of a smile and a crash helmet.

The image was singled out by Vince DiPietro and Greg Molenaar, who
cleaned it up and represented it to the world a few years later, this
time with the addition of a large pyramid. Their find drew the
attention of sometime Nasa consultant Richard Hoagland, who identified
more anomalies in the region, including walls, a "fort", several
smaller pyramids and something resembling the manmade mound Silbury
Hill. Through some fantastical over-interpretation by zealous
mytho-archaeologists, the Cydonian structures were soon being connected
to human sacred sites at Avebury in Wiltshire, and the pyramids and
sphinx at Giza, Egypt.

When Mars Global Surveyor was launched in 1996, Nasa agreed to settle
the debate by rephotographing the "face", once in 1998 and again in
2001, producing images 10 times sharper than Viking's originals. To the
dismay of its admirers, the images showed the face was actually a
raised plateau. While some diehards protested that Nasa's secret space
fleet had nuked the real face to prevent its exposure, most agreed that
the cyberman of Cydonia was a natural formation brought to life by a
trick of the light and 1970s digital imaging technology.

But, as Nasa continues to explore Mars, so do the armchair
exo-explorers, Arthur C Clarke included, who have added colossal sand
worms, beetles, numerous fossils and swaths of vegetation to the
increasingly crowded Martian environment

And your point exactly is?

The only point Protobrain ever has is the one on top of his head.

The one the clues always make near misses with?


--
mhm 27x12
smeeter #28
Usenet Valhalla Circle #19 & #21
Bartlo's hate lits #1:
CEO Alcatroll Labs Inc.

The Way of the Kook:
http://www.insurgent.org/~jhd/kookway.htm

in Message-ID:
Mark "Woody" Ferguson shows his mastery of the English language:
"With patients and practice you could be nominated next time around..."

in Message-MID:
Mark "The illiterate" Ferguson astonishes everybody saying:
"Oh, for ****s sake, Gary no matter how angery he thinks he makes there
are lines I will not cross unless I believe what I say is the true, I
know more then you."

in Message-ID:
Alexa "Tequila Titsz" Cameron explains world religions:
"The jews roots are islamic."

in Message-ID:
Alexa "dumbass" Cameron shows her knowledge of history:
"WRONGO. There was NO Bible before King James had it written."

in Message-ID:
Alexa "Word Salad" Cameron shows her knowledge of science:
"Einstein never found the double superimposed doubl 'equilateral' triangle."

in Message-ID:
Alexa "Kook of the year 2004" Cameron uses words she doesn't understand again:
"Why is the Pentagon killing American citizens with non-lethal technology?"

in Message-ID:
Alexa "Imnotalexadammit" Cameron has problems with that extra finger
on her hand:
"Why do the Jews use the Star of David as symbolic of the Pentagon, or
Pentagram?"

Dr. Flonkenstein wrote:

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 19:42:58 -0600, Art Deco wrote:

Dr. Flonkenstein wrote:

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 12:23:19 -0700, aozotor wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/farou...928161,00.html

Life on Mars

Mark Pilkington
Thursday August 11, 2005
The Guardian

No sooner had Nasa published images of an ice lake inside a crater on
the Martian plain Vastitas Borealis, than internet exo-archaeologists
were excitedly pointing out the crumbled ruins of a vast, ancient city
on the crater's banks.
Earthlings have been seeing things on Mars since at least 1877, when
Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli noted long, straight lines,
which he called canali, on the surface. Translated into English as
"canals", the markings led respected astronomer Percival Lowell to
propose the existence of an irrigation network, indicative of a
civilisation not unlike our own.

Ninety-nine years later Viking 1 beamed back images of Cydonia, what
may have been a coastal area in Mars' northern hemisphere. Among
several mountainous protrusions was what appeared to be a blank,
humanoid face wearing a hint of a smile and a crash helmet.

The image was singled out by Vince DiPietro and Greg Molenaar, who
cleaned it up and represented it to the world a few years later, this
time with the addition of a large pyramid. Their find drew the
attention of sometime Nasa consultant Richard Hoagland, who identified
more anomalies in the region, including walls, a "fort", several
smaller pyramids and something resembling the manmade mound Silbury
Hill. Through some fantastical over-interpretation by zealous
mytho-archaeologists, the Cydonian structures were soon being connected
to human sacred sites at Avebury in Wiltshire, and the pyramids and
sphinx at Giza, Egypt.

When Mars Global Surveyor was launched in 1996, Nasa agreed to settle
the debate by rephotographing the "face", once in 1998 and again in
2001, producing images 10 times sharper than Viking's originals. To the
dismay of its admirers, the images showed the face was actually a
raised plateau. While some diehards protested that Nasa's secret space
fleet had nuked the real face to prevent its exposure, most agreed that
the cyberman of Cydonia was a natural formation brought to life by a
trick of the light and 1970s digital imaging technology.

But, as Nasa continues to explore Mars, so do the armchair
exo-explorers, Arthur C Clarke included, who have added colossal sand
worms, beetles, numerous fossils and swaths of vegetation to the
increasingly crowded Martian environment

And your point exactly is?

The only point Protobrain ever has is the one on top of his head.

The one the clues always make near misses with?

The one he uses to construct word salads?

--
Official Associate AFA-B Vote Rustler

"Don't be too envious. Yes, I have got it all. I am rich, I
have a good education, and I am rather good looking .. so
where does that leave you?
C."
-- Charles D. "Chuckweasel" Bohne polishes his ego a bit

"That's what you expect from people who think that the
cyberworld isn't "RL"."
-- Dr. David Tholen, Psychic Astrologer

"The original human being was a female hermaphrodite with
both male and female genitalia."
-- Alexa Cameron, Kook of the Year 2004

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 20:07:42 -0600, Art Deco wrote:

Dr. Flonkenstein wrote:

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 19:42:58 -0600, Art Deco wrote:

Dr. Flonkenstein wrote:

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 12:23:19 -0700, aozotor wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/farou...928161,00.html

Life on Mars

Mark Pilkington
Thursday August 11, 2005
The Guardian

No sooner had Nasa published images of an ice lake inside a crater on
the Martian plain Vastitas Borealis, than internet exo-archaeologists
were excitedly pointing out the crumbled ruins of a vast, ancient city
on the crater's banks.
Earthlings have been seeing things on Mars since at least 1877, when
Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli noted long, straight lines,
which he called canali, on the surface. Translated into English as
"canals", the markings led respected astronomer Percival Lowell to
propose the existence of an irrigation network, indicative of a
civilisation not unlike our own.

Ninety-nine years later Viking 1 beamed back images of Cydonia, what
may have been a coastal area in Mars' northern hemisphere. Among
several mountainous protrusions was what appeared to be a blank,
humanoid face wearing a hint of a smile and a crash helmet.

The image was singled out by Vince DiPietro and Greg Molenaar, who
cleaned it up and represented it to the world a few years later, this
time with the addition of a large pyramid. Their find drew the
attention of sometime Nasa consultant Richard Hoagland, who identified
more anomalies in the region, including walls, a "fort", several
smaller pyramids and something resembling the manmade mound Silbury
Hill. Through some fantastical over-interpretation by zealous
mytho-archaeologists, the Cydonian structures were soon being connected
to human sacred sites at Avebury in Wiltshire, and the pyramids and
sphinx at Giza, Egypt.

When Mars Global Surveyor was launched in 1996, Nasa agreed to settle
the debate by rephotographing the "face", once in 1998 and again in
2001, producing images 10 times sharper than Viking's originals. To the
dismay of its admirers, the images showed the face was actually a
raised plateau. While some diehards protested that Nasa's secret space
fleet had nuked the real face to prevent its exposure, most agreed that
the cyberman of Cydonia was a natural formation brought to life by a
trick of the light and 1970s digital imaging technology.

But, as Nasa continues to explore Mars, so do the armchair
exo-explorers, Arthur C Clarke included, who have added colossal sand
worms, beetles, numerous fossils and swaths of vegetation to the
increasingly crowded Martian environment

And your point exactly is?

The only point Protobrain ever has is the one on top of his head.

The one the clues always make near misses with?

The one he uses to construct word salads?

The one he uses to wrap his finfoil cone around?


--
mhm 27x12
smeeter #28
Usenet Valhalla Circle #19 & #21
Bartlo's hate lits #1:
CEO Alcatroll Labs Inc.

The Way of the Kook:
http://www.insurgent.org/~jhd/kookway.htm

in Message-ID:
Mark "Woody" Ferguson shows his mastery of the English language:
"With patients and practice you could be nominated next time around..."

in Message-MID:
Mark "The illiterate" Ferguson astonishes everybody saying:
"Oh, for ****s sake, Gary no matter how angery he thinks he makes there
are lines I will not cross unless I believe what I say is the true, I
know more then you."

in Message-ID:
Alexa "Tequila Titsz" Cameron explains world religions:
"The jews roots are islamic."

in Message-ID:
Alexa "dumbass" Cameron shows her knowledge of history:
"WRONGO. There was NO Bible before King James had it written."

in Message-ID:
Alexa "Word Salad" Cameron shows her knowledge of science:
"Einstein never found the double superimposed doubl 'equilateral' triangle."

in Message-ID:
Alexa "Kook of the year 2004" Cameron uses words she doesn't understand again:
"Why is the Pentagon killing American citizens with non-lethal technology?"

in Message-ID:
Alexa "Imnotalexadammit" Cameron has problems with that extra finger
on her hand:
"Why do the Jews use the Star of David as symbolic of the Pentagon, or
Pentagram?"

Dr. Flonkenstein wrote:

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 20:07:42 -0600, Art Deco wrote:

Dr. Flonkenstein wrote:

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 19:42:58 -0600, Art Deco wrote:

Dr. Flonkenstein wrote:

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 12:23:19 -0700, aozotor wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/farou...928161,00.html

Life on Mars

Mark Pilkington
Thursday August 11, 2005
The Guardian

No sooner had Nasa published images of an ice lake inside a crater on
the Martian plain Vastitas Borealis, than internet exo-archaeologists
were excitedly pointing out the crumbled ruins of a vast, ancient city
on the crater's banks.
Earthlings have been seeing things on Mars since at least 1877, when
Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli noted long, straight lines,
which he called canali, on the surface. Translated into English as
"canals", the markings led respected astronomer Percival Lowell to
propose the existence of an irrigation network, indicative of a
civilisation not unlike our own.

Ninety-nine years later Viking 1 beamed back images of Cydonia, what
may have been a coastal area in Mars' northern hemisphere. Among
several mountainous protrusions was what appeared to be a blank,
humanoid face wearing a hint of a smile and a crash helmet.

The image was singled out by Vince DiPietro and Greg Molenaar, who
cleaned it up and represented it to the world a few years later, this
time with the addition of a large pyramid. Their find drew the
attention of sometime Nasa consultant Richard Hoagland, who identified
more anomalies in the region, including walls, a "fort", several
smaller pyramids and something resembling the manmade mound Silbury
Hill. Through some fantastical over-interpretation by zealous
mytho-archaeologists, the Cydonian structures were soon being connected
to human sacred sites at Avebury in Wiltshire, and the pyramids and
sphinx at Giza, Egypt.

When Mars Global Surveyor was launched in 1996, Nasa agreed to settle
the debate by rephotographing the "face", once in 1998 and again in
2001, producing images 10 times sharper than Viking's originals. To the
dismay of its admirers, the images showed the face was actually a
raised plateau. While some diehards protested that Nasa's secret space
fleet had nuked the real face to prevent its exposure, most agreed that
the cyberman of Cydonia was a natural formation brought to life by a
trick of the light and 1970s digital imaging technology.

But, as Nasa continues to explore Mars, so do the armchair
exo-explorers, Arthur C Clarke included, who have added colossal sand
worms, beetles, numerous fossils and swaths of vegetation to the
increasingly crowded Martian environment

And your point exactly is?

The only point Protobrain ever has is the one on top of his head.

The one the clues always make near misses with?

The one he uses to construct word salads?

The one he uses to wrap his finfoil cone around?

The one he uses to abuse equals signs?

--
Official Associate AFA-B Vote Rustler

"Don't be too envious. Yes, I have got it all. I am rich, I
have a good education, and I am rather good looking .. so
where does that leave you?
C."
-- Charles D. "Chuckweasel" Bohne polishes his ego a bit

"That's what you expect from people who think that the
cyberworld isn't "RL"."
-- Dr. David Tholen, Psychic Astrologer

"The original human being was a female hermaphrodite with
both male and female genitalia."
-- Alexa Cameron, Kook of the Year 2004