Virgle Assessment for Mars Coloization

[jmichna]

I'm in... signed up the wife just now (she doesn't know it yet... will be an anniversary "present")...

For thousands of years,

the human race has spread out across the Earth, scaling mountains and plying the oceans, planting crops and building highways, raising skyscrapers and atmospheric CO2 levels, and observing, with tremendous and unflagging enthusiasm, the Biblical injunction to be fruitful and multiply across our world's every last nook, cranny and subdivision. An invitation.

Earth has issues, and it's time humanity got started on a Plan B. So, starting in 2014, Virgin founder Richard Branson and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will be leading hundreds of users on one of the grandest adventures in human history: Project Virgle, the first permanent human colony on Mars. The question is, do you want to join us?

Ever yearned to journey to the stars? You can learn how to become a Virgle Pioneer, test your Pioneering potential, or join the Mission Control community that will help develop the 100 Year Plan we've outlined here.

[jmichna]

More info and details:

Google and Virgin announce Mars expedition and colony

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and LONDON, England (April 1st, 2008 ) – Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Virgin Group today announced the launch of Virgle Inc., a jointly owned and operated venture dedicated to the establishment of a human settlement on Mars.

"Some people are calling Virgle an 'interplanetary Noah's Ark,'" said Virgin Group President and Founder Sir Richard Branson, who conceived the new venture. "I'm one of them. It's a potentially remarkable business, but more than that, it's a glorious adventure. For me, Virgle evokes the spirit of explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Marco Polo, who set sail looking for the New World. I do hope we'll be a bit more efficient about actually finding it, though."

The Virgle 100 Year Plan's milestones will include Virgle Pioneer selection (2008-2010), the first manned journey to Mars (2016), a Virgle Inc. initial public offering to capitalize on the first manned journey to Mars (2016), the founding of the first permanent Martian municipality, Virgle City (2050), and the achievement of a truly self-sustaining Martian civilization with a population exceeding 100,000 (2108 ).

“Virgle is the ultimate application of a principle we’ve always believed at Google: that you can do well by doing good,” said Google co-founder Larry Page, who plans to share leadership of the new Martian civilization with Branson and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

"We feel that ensuring the survival of the human race by helping it colonize a new planet is both a moral good in and of itself and also the most likely method of ensuring the survival of our best – okay, fine, only -- base of web search volume and advertising inventory,” Page added. “So, you know, it's, like, win-win."

The original contingent of Virgle Pioneers will be selected by numerous criteria, including an online questionnaire, video submission, personal accomplishments, expertise in scientific, artistic, sociological and/or political fields of endeavor, and inadequate Google and Virgin personal performance reviews.

About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top Web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall Web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit Google.

About the Virgin Group
Virgin, a leading branded venture capital organisation, is one of the world's most recognised and respected brands. Conceived in 1970 by Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Group has gone on to grow very successful businesses in sectors ranging from mobile telephony to transportation, travel, financial services, leisure, music, holidays, publishing and retailing. Virgin has created more than 200 branded companies worldwide, employing approximately 50,000 people, in 29 countries. Revenues around the world in 2007 exceeded £11.5 billion (approx. US$23 billion). For more information, visit Virgin.com - The global gateway to the Virgin Group.

Media Contacts:
Andrew Pederson
Google
650-450-9456
a.pederson@google.com
Virgin Group
Christine Choi
virgle@mail.virginusa.com

[nickb]

What day is today?

[nothingness]

Originally Posted by nickb

What day is today?

that's what i'm thinking.

[XDConvert9mm]

This was already outed on Barron's finance as a 4/1 prank.


April 1, 2008, 2:44 pm
It’s Not Nice To Fool With The Stock Market

Posted by Eric Savitz
So, today is April Fool’s Day, the traditional time to generate fake news.
Google (GOOG) has a nice prank today about its joint venture with Virgin Group to establish a colony on Mars. (The pretend company is called Virgle.) Google’s Australian operation has its own nifty prank, gDay with MATE, a new service to search content on the Internet before its created.

What’s not so funny is the InfoWorld story today that says Microsoft (MSFT) has agreed to acquire Yahoo (YHOO) for $33 a share. The story has been picked up the tech news aggregation site Techmeme, and now sits at the top of the page, right above the WSJ story that Microsoft won’t increase its bid for Yahoo. It’s not that hard to figure out that the story is a fake; the tail end of the URL is “april-fool-microsoft-yahoo_1.html.” But you could easily miss that. In short, the story not only isn’t funny; it is potentially misleading in a way that could actually cause people to act. Someone fooled by this story might go out and buy or sell some Yahoo shares for reasons that aren’t accurate. Nope, not funny.

Tech Trader Daily - Barron’s Online : It's Not Nice To Fool With The Stock Market

[jmichna]

Aw heck... little room for humor here... sigh... been pranking a few of my favorite sites... everybody kills the prank too soon. Next year, I'm doing April 1st on March 31st.

[XDConvert9mm]

Sorry JM. I had this story open in another tab when I read your post.

[nickb]

Originally Posted by jmichna

Aw heck... little room for humor here... sigh... been pranking a few of my favorite sites... everybody kills the prank too soon. Next year, I'm doing April 1st on March 31st.

I saw it at 6:30 this morning on MSNBC. One of the blond chicks fell for it.

I do wake up every 4-1 looking for stuff though.