As a serious non-believer, most of those little streaks look to me like what they probably are; meteors. On the top and bottom of some of the segments are times codes, and a couple of those were very close to meteor showers (though not necessarily the peaks). However, that aside, even on an average night, the chances of seeing a meteor are pretty good, and the sensitivity of the cameras in question, even a regular "shooting star" would look spectacular (one segment clearly showed Orion, and you could see quite a bit of fuzziness around the "sword. That's the Orion Nebula, and if it was captured under those conditions, the camera is pretty doggone sensitive).
The slower lights were probably aircraft (them military jets is fast) and possibly satellites. Couldn't view the WMV file (run Mac and Ubuntu and refuse... err... don't have the correct codices for WMV's). My guess, though, is one of those spaceplanes El Ron mentions in his beliefs... a straggler, and a very late one at that...

I remember this cover. One of my best friends had this edition, mid-1970's (reckon I was 12). In fact, it was that edition that made me aware of the book at all...

Being admittedly naive, I decided to Google Mr. Townsend to see what sort of material he wrote. Suffice to say, uh... yeah...

Ironically, I was laid off yesterday... and here's this little ditty. I was one of those "drones" for a major financial company (rhymes with "Leryl Mensch"; I worked in technologies). My career of choice? Hell, no. That'd be the job I left to return to my hometown (dumbest move I ever made).
Going to see if I can locate a copy...

UPDATE -
Whiskey tango foxtrot? Make that not able to access EFF at all on this machine. Ruh ro! Romrast?!?
The irony...

First, I'm with MHTH... read Zittrain's book (and it's free on the web!).
Secondly, I'm on a friend's computer here, who uses a major ISP (in Scooby-speak, Romrast) and I simply cannot follow the link from EFF.
Coincidence? Or something... more?

"Then I'm walking in Memphis
Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
But do I really feel the way I feel..."

That feeling wouldn't happen to have included rampant paranoia, eh Marc?

Growing up in the 1970's, I had a fairly healthy appetite for science fiction television and to be honest it was all I'd watch. Then my stepfather introduced me to the joys of PBS, the evening news and "60 Minutes". By the time we got cable, I'd spend dozens of hours vegetating in front of the tube.
Since the 1990's, though, I started throttling back to the point where I barely watch television at all. I have absolutely no cultural reference points in day to day conversation at work, but my god how I write! I also paint, have my tech hobbies and most importantly I have my astronomy (yes, yes, my dear, sacred visual astronomy, how I love thee...). Yes, I think Clay is onto something there...

So, how's are favorite Internet Rorshach test today? Oh? Over 378 posts?
Nice, healthy Rorshach, indeed...

Wenn Sie nicht lesen, es ist nur in englischer Sprache

When you're not reading it, this post is in German...

I used to do some 8 and 16mm filmmaking in the late 1970's; had these glorious dreams for awhile. I remember when CineMagic had those contests (that was also when Starlog magazone was in its early years and littered with real science stories; those were the days). BTW, when did CineMagic fold?
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Wow!

Puts a whole new slant on Highliner... I meant Heighliner...

Damn you all... damn you all to hell... now I have that damned... song... stuck... right up HERE... in my cerebral cortex... like some parasitic fungus that's making me want to pick up my old Fender Malibu... and start... strummin'...

Funny, as this is exactly how the Internet operates

Has anyone tried moving a cursor over President Bush of late? I have this theory...

A parallel universe? You mean like one where Bush actually won the 2000 election?

I want to say that this is perhaps one of the most fascinating threads I've read in a long time (Zuzu, et al... wow).
Compliments aside, as someone who has never had a head for money or markets (I grew up on a farm, live off the salvage stream and do mostly cash-only transactions), I'm gravely concerned about all of this and how it will effect my family. As is always the case, it seems to me that when they choose to act it is always too late.
I agree - we're screwed.

Not just his science fiction inspired me but his non-fiction as well. As a tireless advocate of pushing human frontiers, he was without peer for many years.
Ad Astra, Sir Arthur.

There was sound in space in "Apollo 13"; as fond as I am of this movie, there was sound in space. Also, the scene during the last delta-v burn was totally overblown.
And yet they give "2001" two demerits? Who are these guys?

A polymer that goes floppy when wet, eh? Hmmm. Not sophisticated enough for a hard drive, I suppose. Also, switching between floppy and hard after receiving a shock is not a big deal, really; with the right setup, you can do it at boot by simply holding down the F8 ke...
Oh? You meant going from rigid to non-rigid. Sorry...

When they outlaw little Lego people guns, only little Lego outlaws will own them (or, "They can have my little plastic Lego gun when they can pry my cold little plastic fingers off of it..."

Sam, Sam, Sam, you impetuous lad...
You need to read a tad bit more on the war, me thinks. By July 1945, the Allies were in a position to begin pressuring Japan into capitulation. Regular bombimgs by American B-29s, loaded to the gills with high explosive and incenriary devices (which had also done an impressive number on a little German town known as Dresden, though Superforts weren't involved in that operation), had shown that they could strike the Japanese islands with relative impunity. The Japanese had been pushed back pretty much to their homeland and were now hurting. If Operation Downfall (the invasion of the Japanese homeland) had proceeded, I suspect that the number of American casualties might not have been as high as the 80,000 who died as a result of the bombings; General Groves was just aching to use his toy, and this was his opportunity.
((There are many folks out there who like to imagine what would have happened if the Japanese had allowed some of their little black projects to proceed; how might this have changed the war? Problem is, you need resources, and by summer 1945, the Japanese were sorely in need of them))
And Takuan is dead-on right. If terrorists are planning attacks on our soil, you can bet your sweet tuckus that the last thing they'll do is use our telecommunication backbone because they greatly increase the chances that they will be caught. I for one am utterly appalled at my own government's behavior.
We should be very concerned about this. All of us. Even you, Sam.

I keep looking at that image... it reminds me of something...
Wait... a thermal image of a digitized beaver with a beer belly and something slung over its shoulder. Heck of an overbite too...