Hi Jack,

Nicole Tedesco mentioned you in a comment.

Nicole wrote: "Dan Rogers is correct: interstellar space should be seen as an isolation zone, not a highway. Jack Sarfatti is correct in that it will require technology even more bold than Icarus/Daedalus to make interstellar travel real.

I don't have Jack's kind of background and his panoply of contacts so I can't personally vouch for the veracity of first contact claims (I'll leave that in Jack's capable hands for continuing the gumshoe process there). However, he is correct--if interstellar travel is possible it will likely be using advanced technologies that would be a "big deal". The use of these technologies would make a "big splash" of some kind. An aspect I find interesting of Jack's work is the fact that he gets beyond SETI and asks the questions,

* If alien life is advanced, what kinds of science might they have mastered?

* What would be the technological signatures of associated advanced technologies?
- For instance, any alien life is using an Icarus/Daedalus approach, they would leave behind detectable fusion flashes in the path of their travels
- If warp drives were possible, what would be the characteristic signatures of its use?
- If wormhole travel were possible, what would be the characteristic signatures of its use?

* From a SETI approach, WHY ARE WE NOT LOOKING FOR THE SIGNATURES OF ADVANCED CIVILIZATIONS?"