There was a skit in the great Kids in the Hall comedy series which had two ETI debating the merits of their experiments on abducted humans involving the insertion of anal probes.

"The only thing we've learned is that one out of ten likes it!"

One has to wonder if all those abduction reports involving sexual behaviors says more about the aliens or us?

As for predicting when we will find ETI, or even just alien life of any intelligence level, Seth Shostak's prediction of it happening around 2025 - while I hope it does happen soon - reminds me of Frank Drake's old prediction of it happening by the year 2000. Funny enough, he stopped using that date oh around 5 years ago.

The other question is, are we truly ready as a species and society to handle the knowledge of an actual ETI in the same galaxy with us? We say, act like, and think we are, but I wonder if the reality of a "better" species out there (I am assuming we cannot find a less advanced culture in the galaxy at this point, so any ways we come across them now, they will have to be able to either visit or signal us and that will involve technologies beyond ours, with the possible exception of radio) will just mess us up further?

I hope I am wrong, but when I see how our culture still conducts tribal warfare and cannot even handle members of our own species being even little different such as with skin color, I honestly have to wonder how well we would handle something far from human in appearance and behavior?

As for what advanced ETI might really be like - and why if they do come to visit us it probably won't be as big-headed almond-eyed aliens in saucer-shaped starships, see this Web site:

http://www.aeiveos.com/~bradbury/MatrioshkaBrains/index.html

Shaking off the old ETI - SETI paradigms bit by bit.