DARPA "balloon hunt" could win you $40K cash

DARPA "balloon hunt" could win you $40K cash

www.networkworld.com

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) ... challenge: find and plot 10 red weather balloons scattered at undisclosed locations across the country. The first person to identify the location of all the balloons and enter them on the challenge Web site will win a $40,000
...the balloons will be in readily accessible locations, ...roadways and accompanied by DARPA representatives. All balloons are scheduled to go on display at all locations at 10:00AM(ET) until...4:00 PM on Sat Dec 5

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[edit: title to same as source]
Headline: Please use the original story headline from your source.

[edit on 2-11-2009 by 12m8keall2c]

In early December 2009, The Evil Clown, DARPA, will be hosting a "balloon hunt". Won't you join in? Now, really, what the heck is this? This smells like a cover-up or military/intelligence operation from a mile away. Other forums' members, who saw this article before me, suggested that this is an operation to detect how fast the American people can mobilize into a group to accomplish a mission and how the use of internet/telecommunication resources will play a role in that mission. What are your opinions, ATSers?

www.networkworld.com
(visit the link for the full news article)





[edit: title to same as source]
Headline: Please use the original story headline from your source.

[edit on 2-11-2009 by 12m8keall2c]

reply to post by Scorched_Ohio


I think I'm inclined to agree, but even beyond that i suspect they'll put one where we shouldn't find it.

Something about it smells of one of those free prize give-a ways where the cops are waiting to serve a warrant.

It could also be a deterrent, someone starts the operation of a False Flag attack while the members of the public blindly go looking for some 10 red balloons (1 of which probobally wont be there anyway so noone will win the prize.)

Going on record to predict that this is legit.

A group takes credit for finding the balloons, and says that they spent more money doing so than the prize was worth.

Also, no one stages any attacks on the country during the event.

www.youtube.com...

LOL!

Is it me- or is this too simple to make sense? I've read the rules, I've read the official website... And all I can do is go 'whuh?' How do you find the balloons? Trek thru the US? Look online? Consult your local Psychic?

[edit on 2-11-2009 by wylekat]

Why are $40,000.00 dollars being spent on such nonsense? They could be using the 40k to maybe do something worthwhile! I can see it now... "hey, lets throw some ballons around and give 40k to the first to find all ten" They actually get funding for this!?

The people who do find them are going to be very clever and think outside the box, I see employment opportunities for those people.

Originally posted by Scorched_Ohio

Other forums' members, who saw this article before me, suggested that this is an operation to detect how fast the American people can mobilize into a group to accomplish a mission and how the use of internet/telecommunication resources will play a role in that mission. What are your opinions, ATSers?

www.networkworld.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

DARPA Hypothisis:

While sites like Google Earth may currently seem like harmless consumer freindly applications, they do, in fact pose a potentially serious threat to national security by making extentisive, uncontrolled, near-realtime strategic surveillence of national assets with high terrorist value possible.


It is therefore argued that such sites be immediately placed under strict control, if not outlawed all together, for the sake of National Security.

Originally posted by prof-rabbit
The people who do find them are going to be very clever and think outside the box, I see employment opportunities for those people.

So people are urged to use the internet and any plain means available (social connections) in order to find 10 balloons and receive the prize of 40.k
Also if they appear to be extremely efficient in their quests maybe there will be employment opportunities for them?

Lets use the above analogy for something else. In a real case scenario, the employed persons are put in charge of a project and have to develop a method or a system where people shall use plain means to spot let us say ..10 dirty bombs scattered throughout the US.

Question: Is DARPA out of money?

reply to post by Bhadhidar


In the old days it seems that nobody was nuking the country where he could be a part of and have a bright future. Since the money started to slowly moving elsewhere, I guess enemies started to pop up from everywhere.
If the economy system changes, I expect lots of other things to change too. It is true that it is a very exposed country to the plain everyday peoples eyes but anyone who wants to buy information and peoples conscience will find no obstacle whatsoever even if the said country have been turned to a fortress of security.
Concealing wont work, better adopt a strategy of hiding in plain sight and have your people happy for you to have a vast mobilized force at the ready in case anything happens. Those people of course would need something real to believe in. Better place to hide your secrets is at Heart.
Maybe the US should get one.

[edit on 2-11-2009 by spacebot]

Balloon Boy PSYOPS. Test where the group conscience is at in this phase of transformation within society. PSYOPS is a funny thing..especially when it can be identified for what it is.

[edit on 2-11-2009 by superluminal11]

I predict this will be solved within 1 hour or less. Will need to use a flash mob type advertising event to get the word out.The people who do it will share equally. It will take a person who knows how to organize people via twitter instant messaging, and a site to all report to with codes to enter so the site remembers who found each balloon first. Easy really.

[edit on 2-11-2009 by skepticantiseptic]

Originally posted by Scorched_Ohio

In early December 2009, The Evil Clown, DARPA, will be hosting a "balloon hunt".

This statement almost made me spit coffee across the office. I think that it is hilarious that you use the internet to poke fun at DARPA. As I recall it was DARPA's predecessor ARPA that created the Internet.

The simplest way to win this is to grab the person at DARPA who planned it and then waterboard them until you get the answers.

[edit on 2-11-2009 by JIMC5499]

Originally posted by spacebot

Originally posted by prof-rabbit
The people who do find them are going to be very clever and think outside the box, I see employment opportunities for those people.

So people are urged to use the internet and any plain means available (social connections) in order to find 10 balloons and receive the prize of 40.k
Also if they appear to be extremely efficient in their quests maybe there will be employment opportunities for them?

Lets use the above analogy for something else. In a real case scenario, the employed persons are put in charge of a project and have to develop a method or a system where people shall use plain means to spot let us say ..10 dirty bombs scattered throughout the US.

I tend to think laterally, so here are some points.

$40k is not enough to make you want to share, so social networks are out, "you show me yours and I'll show you mine" is not going to work.

Optimum method would be to hack the DARPA site for the locations, too obvious.

Find a way to use satellites to do your search and use an algorithm to find them, perhaps, or there is a flaw already in use and they want to find it.

Real time search for TR3B/UFO/unknowns? perhaps.

Wiki quote
DARPA was established during 1958 (as ARPA) in response to the Soviet launching of Sputnik during 1957, with the mission of keeping U.S. military technology more sophisticated than that of the nation's potential enemies. From DARPA's own introduction,[2]

DARPA’s original mission, established in 1958, was to prevent technological surprise like the launch of Sputnik, which signaled that the Soviets had beaten the U.S. into space. The mission statement has evolved over time. Today, DARPA’s mission is still to prevent technological surprise to the US, but also to create technological surprise for our enemies.

There is much more to this than first thought.

Originally posted by skepticantiseptic
I predict this will be solved within 1 hour or less. Will need to use a flash mob type advertising event to get the word out.The people who do it will share equally. It will take a person who knows how to organize people via twitter instant messaging, and a site to all report to with codes to enter so the site remembers who found each balloon first. Easy really.

[edit on 2-11-2009 by skepticantiseptic]

$40k with 10 other people? in America? not likely!

All announced well before the start date, the dam leaks and everyone is looking for the cork, so why not get the cork to come to you?

The first thing that comes to my mind is that we will need to also find the other 89 balloons. I have already sent an e-mail to Nena to ask for her assistance in finding theses pesky red balloons.

"Ninety-nine red balloons
Floating in the summer sky
Panic bells, it's red alert
There's something here from somewhere else
The war machine springs to life
Opens up one eager eye
Focusing it on the sky
As ninety-nine red balloons go by "


I wonder if there are kids floating in these balloons?

reply to post by nepafogo


This song was about a group of balloons setting off the air missile defense systems during a heightened cold war. Are you trying to tell us something with your post?

Maybe I'm just overly paranoid.

and here is a red balloon, I think of you and let it go...

ATS as a community should all participate in this contest - and let the first person quick enough to submit the correct entries win the prize. It would be SO FUN to watch it unfold. You'd have to trust the people reporting the locations, trust their skills and trust they are truthful.

I think ATS is the best online community for this contest because that's what we do: WATCH THE SKY

I say ATS admins organize this effort and the winner (who ever that is) gets to keep the prize. No matter what, ATS would get HUGE press coverage if an ATS member won the contest based on our communities collected effort.

my 2 cents.