Alien Invasion/Visit | Aliens Spotted in China

BINCHUAN, CHINA -  Aliens from Gootan have been spotted throughout Yunnan province in China. 
WWN continues to follow the landing of three large spaceships from Planet Gootan – that arrived on November 29th.  One ship landed in the Bali Sea, near Kangean Island and two ships landed in a field near Lijang, China.
Some readers continue to be skeptical of the landings – but WWN has been following the developments closely.  Is it an attack?  It is not clear yet, but three aliens ships from Planet Gootan are now on earth and experts from the U.N. Panel of Extraterrestrials estimate that between ten thousand and thirty thousand Gootans are now on Earth.
Aliens were spotted near Binchuan, China – a city that was devastated by an earthquake in 2008.

According to sources in China, there have been hundreds of reports of strange apparitions, beings, moving through towns in Yunnan Province:
– ANNING.  Three young girls (Qian Wang, Mei Yan and Ne Kuo) walking to school, saw five strange beings crossing a road.  The beings stopped to look at them.   The girls said that the beings seemed to have a ghost-like form and they emitted a pulsating glow.  The beings started at them for a minute and then moved away.  The girls said they felt “happy and calm” after seeing the beings.
The girls described the beings similar to this:

– FUYUAN.  A truck driver (Yan Du) pulled over to the side of the road to sleep and was awakened by a shaking of his truck.  He screamed when he realized his truck was in the air.  He looked down and saw “purplish, glowing beings” holding up the truck and shaking it.  He felt for sure that was going to die and then suddenly, the truck was put down on the road and the “beings” disappeared.
– YUTI – Two workers (Yan Tsih, and Andrew Yuo) at a grain mill took a smoke break and noticed strange lights moving through a nearby forest.  They walked closer to have a look and – were knocked out cold.  They woke up two hours later, lying on a soft bed of grass.  They felt “renewed and alive” – but they had lost their jobs.
“Strange” alien beings have been spotted in Guangnan, Mengzi, Luxi, near Erahi Lake, Mainri Snow Mountain and the Mekong River.   Many are talking about the sightings:

Dr. John Malley, the leader of the U.N. Panel on Extraterrestrials is in China monitoring the situation.  “The Gootans are here.  That is clear.  They have not, yet, attacked any citizens and we are hoping that remains the case.”  Dr. Malley is joined by his team, including Banesh Bannerjee, the world’s leading extraterrestrial expert and an alien doctor, Dr. Kelly McManus, who specializes in extraterrestrial medicine.
When asked why the Gootans have come, Malley said, “some speculated that they have come for our gold, or that they feel that humans are abusing the planet and want to take over, some speculate that they are here to do research on humans, others feel that they want to teach us, and there are some that believe they just want to destroy us.”

The area around Kangean Island in the Bali Sea has not been seen again.  “The ship could be anywhere,” said Malley.  “It will turn up soon.”
As always, WWN will continue following this developing story…  and please report any Gootan sightings in the comments section.

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ALIENS BALLS FALLING ON U.S. | COULD THIS BE ALIEN INVASION?

Large metallic balls dropping across the U.S. (and Africa).  NASA and the U.N. confirmed the alien balls are from Planet Zeeba.
The hollow balls with a circumference of between 4 an 10 feet have been found all across the U.S. in the last forty-eight hours, according to authorities with NASA and the United Nations Panel on Extraterrestrials.
With a diameter of 3 to 6 feet, the balls have a rough surface and appear to consist of “two halves welded together”.

Forensic scientists from the FBI said that the alien balls are made of a “metal alloy unknown to man.”  The balls weight between 10 and 20 pounds. Curiously many of the alien balls land softly on earth, though a few of them  have made  holes about two feet deep.
The FBI and NASA estimate that over 10,000 alien balls have dropped in the United States, with an additional 5,000 balls dropping in Africa, Australia and Latin America.  There are more alien balls spottings reported each and every hour across the United States.
The alien orbs, however, do not pose any danger.  “They are not explosive devices, they seem harmless,” said FBI agent, Lloyd Mowra.

Dr. Susan Begley and Dr. Banesh Bannerjee of the U.N. Panel on Extraterrestrials have been working with NASA scientists over the last two days, examining the balls.  Dr. Begley told WWN that the balls are “clearly from spaceships from Planet Zeeba.  We recognize the markings on the balls, and they are clearly Zeeban.”
This was good news to Dr. Bannerjee.  “The Zeebans are part of an ongoing peaceful alien invasion that began in October of 2010 and they we estimate will continue until December of 2015.”

Some on the U.N . Panel, however, say that the Zeebans may be sending a message to the aliens from Planet Gootan, who landed on Earth (in China and the Indonesian Sea) on November 27th of this year. “The Gootan are hostile and are here to attack humans.  The Zeebans may be coming here to defend us against the Gootan attack.”
Could Earth be a battleground  between the Gootans and the Zeebans.
“We think so.  We are predicting an alien conflict on earth between the Gootans and the Zeebans throughout 2012.  In fact, we think it’s already begun.”
What should citizens do if they see the alien balls falling?
“There’s no reason for alarm.  The balls seem to be designed to avoid  striking any humans.  They are friendly balls.”

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MAC FOUNDER | STEVE JOBS DEAD!!!

Steve Jobs, the mastermind behind Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes, has died, Apple said. Jobs was 56.

Jobs died "peacefully" surrounded by family members, his family said in a statement.

Neither Jobs' family nor Apple revealed where Jobs died or from what cause, though in recent years he had fought a form of pancreatic cancer and had a liver transplant.

"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed awaytoday," read a statement by Apple's board of directors. "Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts."

The homepage of Apple's website switched to a full-page image of Jobs with the text, "Steve Jobs 1955-2011."

Clicking on the image revealed additional text, credited in a separate memo to Apple employees to current Apple CEO Tim Cook.

"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being," the text read. "Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

Reaction to Jobs' death came far and wide -- even from the White House.

"Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs," President Obama said in a written statement. "Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it."

Jobs co-founded Apple Computer in 1976 and, with his childhood friend Steve Wozniak, marketed what was considered the world's first personal computer, the Apple II.

Shortly after learning of Jobs' death, Wozniak told ABC News, "I'm shocked and disturbed."

Industry watchers called Jobs a master innovator -- perhaps on a par with Thomas Edison -- changing the worlds of computing, recorded music and communications.

Click Here for Pictures: Steve Jobs Through the Years

Jobs' rivals in the development of personal computers, Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen, immediately reacted to his death and highlighted his importance to their industry.

Allen called him "a unique tech pioneer and auteur who knew how to make amazingly great products."

Gates extended his condolences and noted in a written statement that he and Jobs "have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives."

"The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come," Gates added. "For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely."

A more recent rival, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, also weighed in with a statement on Jobs.

"Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend," it read. "Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you."

Click here for more reaction to Jobs' death.

Jobs continued to innovate in recent years even as he battled severe health problems that prompted leaves of absence from Apple.

In 2004, he beat back an unusual form of pancreatic cancer, and in 2009 he was forced to get a liver transplant. After several years of failing health, Jobs announced on Aug. 24, 2011 that he was stepping down as Apple's chief executive.

"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know," Jobs wrote in his letter of resignation. "Unfortunately, that day has come."

Nevertheless, he remained as chairman of the corporation, a new position created just for him.

Remembering a Tech Innovator

Upon his death today, Jobs' family released a statement thanking everyone who had expressed concern about the health of the tech innovator in the final year of his life, and noted, "a website will be provided for those who wish to offer tributes and memories."

"In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he cherished his family," the statement said. "We are grateful for the support and kindness of those who share our feelings for Steve. We know many of you will mourn with us, and we ask that you respect our privacy during our time of grief."

One of the world's most famous CEOs, Jobs remained stubbornly private about his personal life, refusing interviews and shielding his wife and their children from public view.

"He's never been a media person," said industry analyst Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, after Jobs resigned. "He's granted interviews in the context of product launches, when it benefits Apple, but you never see him talk about himself."

Upon Jobs' death, Apple said it was not planning any public events, though Cook's memo to Apple employees said the company was "planning a celebration of Steve's extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon."

At Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., tonight, people were hugging and crying. Candles were being lit around an iPad with a picture of Jobs on the screen, and people very quietly stood and looked at the memorial.

The highlights of Jobs's career trajectory are well-known: a prodigy who dropped out of Reed College in Oregon and, at 21, started Apple with Wozniak in his parents' garage. He was a multimillionaire by 25, appeared on the cover of Time magazine at 26, and was ousted at Apple at age 30, in 1984.

In the years that followed, he went into other businesses, founding NeXT computers and, in 1986, buying the computer graphics arm of Lucasfilm, Ltd., which became Pixar Animation Studios.

He was described as an exacting and sometimes fearsome leader, ordering up and rejecting multiple versions of new products until the final version was just right. He said the design and aesthetics of a device were as important as the hardware and software inside.

Click Here for Pictures: Apple's Iconic Products

In 1996, Apple, which had struggled without Jobs, brought him back by buying NeXT. He became CEO in 1997 and put the company on a remarkable upward path.

By 2001, the commercial music industry was on its knees because digital recordings, copied and shared online for free, made it unnecessary for millions of people to buy compact discs.

Jobs took advantage with the iPod -- essentially a pocket-sized computer hard drive with elegantly simple controls and a set of white earbuds so that one could listen to the hours of music one saved on it. He set up the iTunes online music store, and persuaded major recording labels to sell songs for 99 cents each. No longer did people have to go out and buy a CD if they liked one song from it. They bought a digital file and stored it in their iPod.

"Other companies sold digital music before Apple," said Bill Werde, editorial director of Billboard magazine. "Other companies made digital music available on computers and digital phones and used it in commercials. Apple's brilliance -- and I don't think anyone doubts that this was Steve Jobs' brilliance -- was that Apple made it exciting and simple and effortless and fun. Before Steve Jobs, digital music was math class. After, it was recess.

"Without a doubt," he added, "when you think of the Mount Rush more of the music business -- pioneers like Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, Clive Davis and Jimmy Iovine -- Steve Jobs has earned his prominent place."

In 2007, Jobs transformed the cell phone. Apple's iPhone, with its iconic touch screen, was a handheld computer, music player, messaging device, digital wallet and -- almost incidentally -- cell phone. Major competitors, such as BlackBerry, Nokia and Motorola, struggled after it appeared.

By 2010, Apple's new iPad began to cannibalize its original business, the personal computer. The iPad was a sleek tablet computer with a touch screen and almost no physical buttons. It could be used for almost anything software designers could conceive, from watching movies to taking pictures to leafing through a virtual book.

Steve Jobs' Personal Life

Jobs kept a close cadre of friends, Bajarin said, including John Lasseter of Pixar and Larry Ellison of Oracle, but beyond that, shared very little of his personal life with anyone.

But that personal life -- he was given up at birth for adoption, had an illegitimate child, was romantically linked with movie stars -- was full of intrigue for his fan base and Apple consumers.

Jobs and his wife, Laurene Powell, were married in a small ceremony in Yosemite National Park in 1991, lived in Woodside, Calif., and had three children: Reed Paul, Erin Sienna and Eve.

He admitted that when he was 23, he had a child out of wedlock with his high school girlfriend, Chris Ann Brennan. Their daughter, Lisa Brennan Jobs, was born in 1978.

He had a biological sister, Mona Simpson, the author of such well-known books as "Anywhere But Here." But he did not meet Simpson until they were adults and he was seeking out his birth parents. Simpson later wrote a book based on their relationship. She called it "A Regular Guy."

Fortune magazine reported that Jobs denied paternity of Lisa for years, at one point swearing in a court document that he was infertile and could not have children. According to the report, Chris Ann Brennan collected welfare for a time to support the child until Jobs later acknowledged Lisa as his daughter.

There were other personal details that emerged over the years, as well.

At Reed, Jobs became romantically involved with the singer Joan Baez, according to Elizabeth Holmes, a friend and classmate. In "The Second Coming of Steve Jobs," Holmes tells biographer Alan Deutschman that Jobs broke up with his serious girlfriend to "begin an affair with the charismatic singer-activist." Holmes confirmed the details to ABC News.

Jobs' Health and Apple's Health

Enigmatic and charismatic, Jobs said little about himself. But then his body began to fail him.

In 2004, he was forced to say publicly he had a rare form of pancreatic cancer. In 2009, it was revealed that he had quietly gone to a Memphis hospital for a liver transplant.

He took three medical leaves from Apple. He did not share details.

In 2009, sources said, members of Apple's board of directors had to persuade him to disclose more about his health as "a fiduciary issue," interwoven with the health of the company.

He was listed in March as 109th on the Forbes list of the world's billionaires, with a net worth of about $8.3 billion. After selling Pixar animation studios to The Walt Disney Company in 2006, he became a Disney board member and the company's largest shareholder. Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Analysts said Apple performed well during Jobs' absence, partly because he was available for big decisions and partly because his chief lieutenant, Tim Cook, was the hands-on manager even when Jobs was there.

The company has a history of bouncing back. In January 2009, after he announced his second medical leave, Apple stock dropped to $78.20 per share. But it quickly recovered and became one of the most successful stocks on Wall Street. On one day in the summer of 2011, with the stock hitting the $400 level, Apple briefly passed ExxonMobil as the world's most valuable company.

ABC News' Alex Stone and Catherine McKenzie contributed to this report.

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World Mysteries - The Bermuda Triangle

A large triangle-shaped area of the North Atlantic Ocean where unusual events are said to take place. The unusual events consist primarily of the disappearance of planes, ships, and people. The triangle's three corners are made up of (1) the island of Bermuda, (2) Miami, Florida, and (3) San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Bermuda Triangle is sometimes also known as the Devil's Triangle.

The first to report strange occurrences in the Triangle was Christopher Columbus. In his 1492 journey Christopher Columbus reported strange compass readings in the Bermuda Triangle. He and his crew then saw a mysterious light and a "flame of fire" in the sky.

The most famous Bermuda Triangle incident is "Flight 19." On December 5th, 1945, five U.S. Navy Avenger Torpedo Bombers were lost in the Triangle. The five aircraft left from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on a training mission. The flight was led by Lieutenant Charles Taylor. Early into the flight, Lieutenant Taylor's compass failed. A Florida native, Lieutenant Taylor tried to guide the planes home using only landmarks. The final words heard from Flight 19 were "Everything is wrong.....ocean doesn't look as it should". Did flight 19 simply get lost and crash into the Atlantic never to be seen again, or did something more mysterious happen?

On October 28th, 1943, the U.S.S. Eldridge is said by the U.S. Navy to have been located in the Bermuda Triangle. This is when the famous Philadelphia Experiment is said to have occurred. Was the U.S.S. Eldridge in the Triangle or in Philadelphia on that day - or was it in both places?

The Triangle itself may be an underwater UFO. Reports have been made of strange disc like objects hovering over the water in this area or plunging into the sea. It is believed that because of the types of engines they have, gravity drives or electro-magnetic powered, that they have adverse effects on equipment, explaining the strange compass readings.

Other people hypothesize that the Bermuda Triangle contains a high concentration of vortexes. These vortexes could be gateways transporting the lost planes and ships to other times and places. The unstable and temporary nature alleged in certain vortexes could account for their presence one moment, and disappearance the next.

The skeptics point out that the area of the Bermuda Triangle is quite large. There are strong currents and heavy traffic in the deep waters - some ships are bound to be lost. This may be true, but one certain region of the sea that has continued disappearances over the history of sea and air travel is a bit odd.

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Test confirms Roswell debris is not from Earth

MCapri | Jul 12, 2011

The artifact that has been analyzed. Specimen size about 10 mm long. End fragment clipped off for testing. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

A teacher at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell may have discovered the first scientific evidence of manufactured debris made on another planet. Furthermore, this debris was found near the location where pieces from an alleged flying saucer were discovered outside of Roswell in 1947.

Frank Kimbler (image credit: Alejandro Rojas)

Frank Kimbler teaches high school level Earth Sciences and college level Geology at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. He says he has always had an interest in UFOs, and actually had his own unusual sighting in his twenties. So when he moved to Roswell, he decided to put his expertise to the test and take a shot at investigating the most famous UFO incident of all time, the crash at Roswell.

He says his main goal was to find some physical evidence. He started by looking at some satellite imagery of the alleged “debris site.” This is where rancher, Mac Brazel, had told the Air Force he had found pieces of the crashed object. Kimbler used these images to enhance the infra-red in order to highlight areas where the ground was disturbed. He was surprised to find an area that was similar to what witnesses had described. It was about ¾ of a mile long and a few hundred feet wide, and facing the direction witnesses had reported. He also noticed this area had very straight edges, something unusual for a natural occurrence.

His next step was to get out there with a metal detector to see what he could find. He began making trips to the site in May 2010. Using a metal detector that could find a piece the size of a BB, three inches below the surface, he would be able to find small pieces, which was exactly his goal. In previous archeological digs in the area they had sifted dirt through screens with holes large enough for very small pieces to fall through. Kimbler figured that if there was anything left it would be very small and perhaps in animal burrows, or ant hills. An ant hill was actually where he found his first piece.

Landsat multi-spectral satellite image showing the debris field. The image clearly shows a burn (or disturbed area) covering the exact location of the debris field as described by witnesses. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

What he found was a silvery metal that looked aluminum. This was strange because there were no indications of any sort of aluminum objects in the area. He occasionally found tin, which would come from parts of tin roofs blowing around, and some nails. He eventually found more of these silvery pieces, and says they looked shredded. Some of the edges even appear melted. He also found some aluminum buttons that appear to be the type used on military fatigues in the later 40’s. If that is the case it demonstrates that the military was in the area.

The buttons. Tentatively identified as military fatigue buttons late 40's early 50's. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

Kimbler felt the small silvery pieces were interesting enough for further analysis. To get some help he went to theRoswell International UFO Museum and Research Center. Located in downtown Roswell, the museum is the main hub for Roswell UFO crash research. He showed the material to the museum’s director, Julie Shuster, and was able to meet with researcher Don Schmitt. They decided to fund the first test which was done by New Mexico Tech in Socorro. Using a micro-probe, they were able to determine the material’s composition. It turned out to be an aluminum, silicon, manganese, copper alloy. It is not unknown, but it is used in construction and not usually found in a foil form.

This further inspired Kimbler to get some isotope work done on the piece. Kimbler says the isotope work is so important because the ratios are “very much like our fingerprints.” Certain concentrations of elements on earth are unique to Earth. So if you know isotopic ratios for magnesium, it will be the same for anything on earth with magnesium, but if it is not from Earth, it will have a different ratio. For instance meteorites have different ratios because they are not from Earth. Isotopic analysis is necessary to determine if a material is from Earth or another world.

Some of the metal alloy fragments found buried and scattered over the debris field area. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

Kimbler went to the University of New Mexico Institute of Meteoritics, and talked to their expert on isotopes to get an analysis done. Kimbler had not told the expert anything about the samples. He looked Kimbler “square in the eye” and told him that the only reason he would want to get this sort of test done is because he suspected the material was from outer space. He wanted to know where the material was from, and when Kimbler told him he refused to do the test, stating that the idea of a spaceship crashing at Roswell was “a bunch of hooey.” One of the other scientists in the office actually argued the point that if it is something unusual, the importance of that possibility makes it worth taking a look at. However, the expert didn’t budge and refused to do the work. The second scientist was a micro-probe specialist at the University and although he could not do any isotope work, he was able to get more specific information about the material’s composition and confirm the early work that had been done.

Bigelow Aerospace showed some interest in helping Kimbler with his analysis, but after spending months with little results, Kimbler had to go elsewhere. Kimbler was able to find another lab with multiple certifications willing to do the work. The UFO Museum put up the money, and the results were back in five days. Kimbler says he almost fell over when he saw the information. The ratios were off, and as he puts it there were only two answers to explain the results, “either the lab made an analytical error or the material is not from Earth.”

Magnesium isotope fractionation chart modified from the graph used by Dr. Peter Sturrock in his analysis of the Ubatuba UFO fragment. Magnesium bearing compounds, metals, and minerals should all plot on or very close to the line. A chondite is a type of meteorite and since it does not originate from Earth does not plot on the line. The Roswell AH-1 alloy plots way of the line. The AH-1 plot is an anomaly that is either an analytical error or the material is not from Earth. More testing is needed to verify the data to see if it is an error or its from another world. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

However, Kimbler’s work is not finished. He says, “Following good scientific method protocol one set of data is not going to cut it.” In order to prove the lab did not make a mistake he needs to get more work done. He says he does have two more certified labs lined up to do more isotopic testing to confirm the work done thus far, and that he may have this work done within the next few weeks. Kimbler says in order to confirm the material is not from Earth, it is necessary to have two or three labs showing the same results.

Another important aspect of the material being aluminum and showing unearthly origins is that aluminum must be manufactured. Unlike some natural elements, such as gold or silver that can be found as nuggets in its raw form, aluminum is not found in nature. If this proves to be material not of this earth, it means this was something that was manufactured elsewhere. Thus far humans are not manufacturing anything in space, let alone something that would fall out of space and land outside of Roswell in a location where an alleged spacecraft was found in 1947.

Kimbler says he is being careful before making any definitive claims, but he is “hopeful.” He says certified labs don’t normally make mistakes, and that these people who did the work are some of the best in the business.

The implications if Kimbler’s material turns out to be of extraterrestrial origins and manufacture are of course startling. Could he have the smoking gun to prove we are being visited by an intelligent civilization from another planet, and that they crashed outside of Roswell in 1947? Kimbler says he will keep us up to date, and has been gracious enough to provide us with pictures of the material and the analysis.

Listen to Frank Kimbler discussing his finding on Open Minds Radio.

Note: Most captions provided by Frank Kimbler.

New Mexico Tech microprobe data shows element composition of AH-1. Na and Cl values from small salt crystals embedded on the surface analysis shows AH-1 contains AL Si Mg Mn and Cu with small amounts of Fe. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

University of New Mexico microprobe data shows element composition. Verified the NMT data with analysis showing AL Si Mg Mn Cu with a some Fe. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

Magnesium isotope values from the certified lab that did the analysis. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

AH-1 alloy element composition from the same lab. Shows the AH-1 alloy is a AL-Mg-Mn-Si-Cu alloy. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

AH-1 under magnification shows banded or layered structures in AH-1. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

AH-1 under magnification shows more areas of banding. (image credit: Frank Kimbler)

Source 

Alejandro Rojas

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Dating site thinks it knows better than you

By MCapri

Source - Helen A.S. Popkin

Anyone who's been set up on a blind date with someone described as "perfect for you!" by a close friend or other sort of amateur matchmaker — only to spend an awkward couple of hours in the sixth through ninth circle of dating hell— will be instantly enraged to hear about the latest gimmick science of Match.com.

"Synapse," an algorithm project Match.com's been developing for the past two years, is designed to look past what you say you want in a potential mate, and suggest who you really want, the Financial Times reports:

So, if a woman says she doesn't want to date anyone older than 26, but often looks at profiles of thirty-somethings, Match will know she is in fact open to meeting older men. Synapse also uses "triangulation". That is, the algorithm looks at the behaviour of similar users and factors in that information, too.

It sounds a lot like those personality tests that ask you the same question 30 different ways to trick you into answering truthfully.

Sure, you don't need an algorithm to know that what people say is very often different from what they do, but the new math seems to be working for Match.com. While it's unknown how many actual dates Synapse helped orchestrate, users are interacting more with the top 5 date suggestions they're asked to rate daily, according to the site.

"Secret sauce" is how Nick Paumgarten of the New Yorker described the various exercises and algorithms online dating sites tout to attract hopeful singles to their services.  "All these sites they all have an approach that they abide by," Paumgarten pointed out in an NPR interview about  "Looking for Someone," his July expose on online dating services. "But the approach is also their — sort of their selling point."

Indeed, some of the dissatisfied Match.com customers called out by the Financial Times piece echo what you might hear on any dating site — be it eHarmony or OKCupid.

"The Match algorithm should have figured out that I don't want a 45-year-old from New Jersey," one thirty-something professional woman from Manhattan told the Financial Times. "Every time I log on I feel faintly insulted."

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Computer officiates wedding, signals beginning of robot rule

By MCapri

Source - Helen A.S. Popkin

Any literate Luddite can write his own wedding vows — and not endanger the future of humankind. Instead, Miguel Hanson wrote his own minister.

Unable to get a friend to preside over Saturday's nuptials for him and fiance Diana Wesley, the Houston web developer and IT consultant went and coded a virtual minister named "Rev. Bit."

AP

Miguel Hanson, right, kisses his fiancee Diana Wesley by the computer that will soon rule us all.

"We're both friends of the computer. So it's kind of like our best friend is still marrying us,"Wesley told the Associated Press. "The computer is a huge part of our lives, so why not be a huge part of this?" 

Wesley, 30, a high school sign language teacher, and Hanson, 33, met on theSweet on Geeks dating site — which seems about right. (Why, it's as if a computer wanted them to meet ... )

The couple claim to have a shared interest over science fiction and fantasy, yet there is no mention of cyberpunk, which could explain why they figured a computer minister is perfectly safe. "That's kind of our thing," Wesley said. "In fact, my maid of honor, she's making my cake and she's making it with Nerds as the topping and not icing. That's kind of the theme, the geeked out wedding."

(Eat cakes made of colorful candy while you can, Houston lovebirds. Soon, our robot overlords will have us toiling in servo factories.)

With a voice reminiscent of one Dr. Stephen Hawking, Rev. Bit presided over the ceremony via 30-inch monitor — square face with oval glasses on one side of the screen, purportedly executing words written by Wesley and Hanson on the other. He's a bit less animated than Japan's "I-Fairy" robot which married a couple last year. But what he lacks in movement, he makes up for in danger-distracting humor.

"If anyone here has anything to say that might change their minds or has any objections, they do not want to hear it and I will not recognize your objections since Miguel has programmed me to only recognize his commands," Rev. Bit quipped to the approximately 30 wedding guests in Hanson's parents' back yard.

Leaving no room for Clippy to offer, "It looks like you're getting married..." the couple spoke their parts, reading from a smartphones, of course. Hanson prompted Rev. Bit to speak his parts via a wireless mouse in his pocket.

More ceremony than legally binding, Rev. Bit doesn't have the credentials to officially marry the couple — yet. Until the machines take over, the lovebirds must also to go to a human justice of the peace and sign some papers for that.

Going in, the couple had complete support from their friends over Rev. Bit — though not all family members were into it at first.  A couple members of the family were like, 'Really? A computer?'" Wesley said before the wedding. "I think once they see it. ... It's novel and so it's something they haven't seen."

Indeed. The video shows a glowing groom, a giggling bride standing before Rev. Bit's monitor — and your standard-issue teary-eyed guests — a must at any wedding. And who knows? Maybe all those wedding-presiding Elvis impersonators will be out of business as soon as someone programs that thing to sing.

Adorable? Sure, for now. But we all know how this ends.

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