Women Feeds Herself Via Match.com, Woman Is a Genius

True story, I was once, twice, three times an online dater. I tried Match (and even appeared on a commercial), eHarmony (for one hot second but couldn’t finish that lengthy survey), even MySpace (when I was bored one night). Eventually, I met my match via OkCupid. I joke, he was free.

So, when I read this article on Business Insider about a woman who supplemented her income through dates (i.e. ate for free), I was not shocked or the least bit judgmental. The New Yorker turned to Match.com to find nightly suitors who will take her out for the typical dinner-and-drinks. You see, her $45k salary wasn't enough for her not-even-that-fancy Manhattan lifestyle. She paid $1,475 per month for a Murray Hill apartment, which many would consider a bargain, and needed an extra $500 to $1,000 to pay her credit card bills. (Clearly, she did not discover the Loehmann's on 7th Avenue.)

"Before I barely had enough money to pay for food," she told Business Insider. "After using Match.com I found I wasn’t going into debt anymore."

Dates were shelling out an average of $60-plus per night -- which, in Manhattan, is kind of on the low end for dinner and drinks, wouldn't you say? (Please don't hate-comment me.) The 23-year-old dating princess did the math and realized she was earning over $1,200 a month on her outings alone.

Comments of hate engulfed the post on Business Insider, many calling the serial dater a fraud, a gold digger and disgusting. And yes, there are so many other/better ways to make and save money, says one commenter. The site eventually had to disable comments because "they were getting out of control."

I have to admit, I'm torn on this issue. On the one hand, this woman is a freakin' genius (though she's also kind of a con). But then again, that would make almost every traditional girl I know who has tried online or offline dating a genius/con, too. On first dates, we do expect the guy to pay -- especially if he asked you out. It's the gentlemanly thing to do. On dates, two, three or four, okay, offer to pay, ladies, or at the very least fake-reach for the check.

On almost every first date I've had, I never paid -- and sometimes, I wouldn't even make the polite reach. But with my now-boyfriend, I did offer to pay on date one, we did go splitskies, and I didn’t mind one bit. After all, I really liked him.

So, men, that's probably how you can tell your date's not only in it for the free meal and beverage or just plain poor.

Photo: Flickr/Joe Shlabotnik

WiFi Is Nuking Your Guy's Little Swimmers

Oh noes (or yay?). It depends, I guess.

Argentinian researchers claim that WiFi-enabled laptops are nuking your guy’s sperm.

According to scientists, the electromagnetic radiation WiFi creates is the culprit. As reported in medical journal Fertility and Sterility, 29 men provided semen samples to Argentinian researchers, which were then placed under a laptop connected to the godly Internet via WiFi.

"Four hours later, the semen was, eh, well-done," reports Reuters. (Good one!) "A quarter of the sperm were no longer swimming around, for instance, compared to just 14 percent from semen samples stored at the same temperature away from the computer... And nine percent of the sperm showed DNA damage, three-fold more than the comparison samples."

There was also another test whereby semen was "exposed" to a laptop that wasn’t connected to WiFi. Researchers found "negligible EM radiation from the machine alone," Reuters says.

So does this mean if you're "trying," your main squeeze should use a desktop? Or perhaps, he should use one of those laptop trays that come with a cushion barrier? We remain skeptical -- everyone uses laptops these days and ladies are still becoming preggers, after all.

The president of the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology, Dr. Robert Oates, told Reuters Health laptops are not a significant enough threat to male reproductive health. He also mentions that while one in six couples struggle with getting pregnant and men are 50 percent of the time the root of the problem, trouble conceiving is usually an overall-health issue.

So from that, I deduce that if you eat good stuff, exercise on the reg' and don't smoke or do drugs, your laptop use won't stop you from reproducing. Surf away!

Photo: Flickr/justinbaeder

I Feel for This Incredible Stop-Motion Animation Short, "Address Is Approximate"

It's pretty incredible, isn't it? My friend, Anita, happened to share the viral video on Facebook last night, and I was instantly mesmerized.

Production company The Theory's short tells the story of a lonely toy robot who escapes from the sad confines of an office workspace. We're not desk toys, but surely we can all relate to being bored by our 9-to-5s and longing for adventure. Just the thought of a four-day weekend, even if it is just to stuff our faces with turkey and mashed potatoes, feels liberating enough. (Counting down now, BTW.)

Thanks to a toy car and Google Maps Street View, the desk bot goes on a journey of his own cross country in "Address Is Approximate." I can't help but pick apart that title -- approximate is not exact. The toy's pseudo trip is hauntingly sad. Not to mention, Google Maps Street View is no way to see the world. (Remember that naked lady from Florida? Ack!)

As of this morning, the Vimeo clip has gotten over 339,000 views and is still climbing.

Google Turkey Doodle Changes Outfits

For your interactive pleasure, the latest Google doodle is a digital turkey that you can give a makeover. Just click the wing to switch up his/her feathers and accessories. You can click on the turkey's individual feathers and head to change things up, too. Oh what fun!

Google+ users can easily share the holiday doodle, which just came out today, via button or you can do it the old-fashioned way via link.

Happy almost-Thanksgiving, everyone!

Photo: Google

6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon No More, Facebook Says It's More Like 4.74 Now

In Facebook's largest social-networking study ever, it teamed up with researchers at the Universita degli Studi di Milano to reveal some really nifty graphs.

Their findings suggest many things, including:
• 10% of people have less than 10 friends
• 20% have less than 25 friends
• 50% (the median) has over 100 friends
• The average friend count is 190
• So if you have more than that, I guess you’re really cool

But by far, the most startling part... Using their infinite data, the social network discovered 4.74 people separate strangers from each other. That means, some stranger knows a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend who sort of knows some guy. In 2008, that number was more like 5.28. At this rate, within a handful of years everyone will know -- well -- everyone.

"We found that six degrees actually overstates the number of links between typical pairs of users: While 99.6% of all pairs of users are connected by paths with 5 degrees (6 hops), 92% are connected by only four degrees (5 hops)," the Facebook Data Team explains in the social network's blog. "And as Facebook has grown over the years, representing an ever larger fraction of the global population, it has become steadily more connected. The average distance in 2008 was 5.28 hops, while now it is 4.74."

Oh the horror! You can forget about telling those little white lies, like how you blew off a friend to go on a hot date. She will find out! And, when you want to have a quiet ride home on the train or plane, sorry, there's no such thing. The guy sitting next to you -- you know him, too. I'm uber private and borderline antisocial. The thought of this creeps the bejeezus out of me for that I appreciate anonymity.

What do you think? Cool or creepy?

Photo: Facebook

Jenny McCarthy Turns to Match.com

From Jim Carrey to Jason Toohey, actress Jenny McCarthy has dated some fine A-listers. Since the 39-year-old's split from Carrey back in April 2010, she dated on and off Toohey but has yet to truly settle down. "I mean, I don't know. It's so hard out here [in L.A.]. The guys are like chicks out here," she has told Radar Online. "There's no real guy guys, so maybe importing from somewhere will be smart. Anyone not from L.A. I think."

Now, McCarthy is taking matters into her own hands like many singletons in America. During the American Music Awards' red carpet pre-show, McCarthy told reporters her next main squeeze might come from dating site Match.com. She admits she signed up!

Ten years ago, many would gasp at the thought of a celebrity turning to the world wide web to find a boyfriend. But now, it's not so weird (though it did make headlines for ABC News and Radar Online). It has been rumored that "Friends" actor Matthew Perry, "The Hills" reality star Stephanie Pratt and even Weezer's Rivers Cuomo have, at one point or another, used an online dating service, in fact.

But, don't expect to find the McCarthy on the site that easily. The blonde beauty has said that her personal data -- like her real name, for starters -- is not mentioned in her profile.

At present, McCarthy is seeking men between ages 35 and 48. Know someone in that bracket? Among McCarthy's other criteria: "Just a nice guy, you know?"

We can relate.

Photo: Wikipedia

5 Ways to Make Yourself Famous Using the Internet

1. Be Rude
Two words: Perez Hilton. The super-blogger doodles inappropriately (although sometimes funny) on celeb photos. He has dubbed himself "The Queen of Mean," and everyone begrudgingly agrees. But the joke's on us -- the gossip monger has landed fame (and money) for his page views, and is often cited as a source on celebrity news by major outlets.


2. Ride Your Baby's Coattails
And by that, we mean exploit your kid (kind of). You can imagine how popular Jessica’s parents have become after putting their little girl’s daily affirmations on Youtube, which have streamed over 7.5 million views (and still growing). Got a cute kid? Roll tape.


3. Reveal You’re Mentally Ill
Although Charlie Sheen did, in fact, land more fans (errr, people who can’t help themselves) after revealing fits of madness on the Web, we can find a better example. Remember Britney Spears’ biggest fan? Yeah, she (he?) isn’t okay. Even still, you knew exactly who we were talking about when we said that. Success!

4. Make a Cheesy VideoIf you’re not getting married anytime soon, try another viral video whereby you and your cute friends sing to a Black Eyed Peas song. And oh, let the Today show find it so they can do it -- and do it better. 

5. Creep People Out
When we caught a glimpse of this Russian yoga guru practice "baby yoga" on Youtube, our jaws dropped. Is this woman for real? Time magazine says she is! So okay, we're not suggesting that you throw your kid around for the sake of fame, but she (and her poor infant) freaked us out so much, we shared the link with practically everyone we know.