Octopus Overlords

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Nov 23, 2018 11:55 pm Edward Snowden explains blockchains. It's the first explanation that made sense to me. I'm still fuzzy on the day-to-day mechanics of how bitcoins work as a medium of exchange -- that is, how and where would I convert my dollars into bitcoin and back, and why would an average schmuck like me ever actually want to do that? -- but at least I have a better idea of what they are and why they work.

The short of it is Bitcoins are for early adopters, and it may not actually go anywhere. Bitcoins are nearly mined out (total number of Bitcoins is set to 21 million hard limit) and 80% of that have already been mined as of April 2018.

You can exchange dollars to Bitcoins and back at the various exchanges either in the US, or abroad, online. There are exchanges that operate "Bitcoin ATMs" (which are actually exchange terminals, but use the term ATM for recognition)

There is no reason average Joe need to touch Bitcoin unless 1) they want to "invest" in Bitcoin, 2) they want to buy **** over the Darknet, or 3) They've been hit by ransomware and need to pay off the ransom which often wants to be paid in Bitcoins.

Gold is almost mined out too.

Since kraken isn't talking about mining, and limited quantities of valuable things tends to drive the price up, "early adopters" isn't necessary in this context.

I make no recommendations about bitcoin (or other crypto-currency) as an investment vehicle, I'm only noting the hard cap doesn't change anything for those not mining the coin itself.

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Nov 23, 2018 11:55 pm Edward Snowden explains blockchains. It's the first explanation that made sense to me. I'm still fuzzy on the day-to-day mechanics of how bitcoins work as a medium of exchange -- that is, how and where would I convert my dollars into bitcoin and back, and why would an average schmuck like me ever actually want to do that? -- but at least I have a better idea of what they are and why they work.

There was a 'bitcoin' booth (like an ATM) in the lobby of the building that I used to work at (Merchandise Mart, Chicago).
You could (I assumed, as I never did it) engage this machine and give it money and 'invest' in bitcoins... or (I assume) you could go against your 'bitcoin' account and take US dollars out.
A co-worker and I watched it for like a year and take note of it's exchange rate. We mocked it at first... but I'll be damned if that conversion rate didn't just continue to improve and improve...
It was weird and kinda tempting to take a part in. and then also not something either of us was about to do.

I took a bitcoin to the knee once..........................

Unagi wrote: ↑Sat Nov 24, 2018 1:43 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Nov 23, 2018 11:55 pm Edward Snowden explains blockchains. It's the first explanation that made sense to me. I'm still fuzzy on the day-to-day mechanics of how bitcoins work as a medium of exchange -- that is, how and where would I convert my dollars into bitcoin and back, and why would an average schmuck like me ever actually want to do that? -- but at least I have a better idea of what they are and why they work.

There was a 'bitcoin' booth (like an ATM) in the lobby of the building that I used to work at (Merchandise Mart, Chicago).
You could (I assumed, as I never did it) engage this machine and give it money and 'invest' in bitcoins... or (I assume) you could go against your 'bitcoin' account and take US dollars out.
A co-worker and I watched it for like a year and take note of it's exchange rate. We mocked it at first... but I'll be damned if that conversion rate didn't just continue to improve and improve...
It was weird and kinda tempting to take a part in. and then also not something either of us was about to do.

Say that I give this machine $100 in exchange for 0.001 bitcoin (or whatever). $100 gets deducted from my checking account. What do I get in exchange, a serial number? Where does my bitcoin go? Is there a bitcoin bank that I can access from any computer, or some kind of electronic wallet? If I owe you $100, how do I give you my bitcoin?

When bitcoin was brand new they briefly gave some away. I remember asking for and getting some tiny fraction of one for free. It had near-zero value then, but it's probably worth something now. Without knowing its number or having any proof of ownership, is there some way I can find and claim it? Presumably it "remembers" me way up near the top of the chain, but any username or password that I had back then is long-since forgotten.

Never understood it and never was interested. I actually figured it would crash and burn. But now I wish Id had something to invest in it at the start and got a few.

Of course I wish that all the time for lots of stuff from the 80s and 90s that ended up big..Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon...oh God Amazon above all else.

I don't have any practical reason to wonder about crypto currencies...just idle curiosity. I do think Snowden's explanation is pretty interesting, though.

It didn't die immediately, although that doesn't mean it's here to stay, and with so many different versions getting in on the action, I'm not sure where it will go in the future.

However, it's a thing, and it's money, so understanding it even if you aren't getting involved is a pretty good idea imo.

I have only the most basic understanding because I was not going to put money into it either. The time may come when it will be the most convenient/useful way to do a transaction. It can't hurt to know what the hell is going on when that time comes.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat Nov 24, 2018 2:50 pm Say that I give this machine $100 in exchange for 0.001 bitcoin (or whatever). $100 gets deducted from my checking account. What do I get in exchange, a serial number? Where does my bitcoin go? Is there a bitcoin bank that I can access from any computer, or some kind of electronic wallet? If I owe you $100, how do I give you my bitcoin?

Essensially correct, you have to create a bitcoin wallet, then the conversion goes into your wallet. Then you pay a particular address the specified amount with the said wallet. Wallet is protected by a long private key. If you lose it, you lose the entire wallet.

There is no 'recover lost private key' in Bitcoin. Quite a few had been lost and could be worth a fortune now.

Just spending an easy Sunday looking up movies and such from my childhood. I finally know how the shark in Jaws worked and also how they dragged that girl through the water like a shark had her. I always wondered that one. Then I looked up Orca The Killer Whale. I feel for the whale these days lol.

I had that Jaws shirt as a child...the one with the naked girl swimming and Jaws coming up from underneath. School wouldn't let me wear that because of her lol.

Talking to my wife is fucking exhausting.

Listening to my wife is exhausting.

Listening to my wife fucking is exhausting.

Are you sure you're not listening to my wife?

My wife is legit a fuckin' saint and I'm the asshole she has to listen to.

Z-Corn wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:07 pm My wife is legit a fuckin' saint and I'm the asshole she has to listen to.

That doesn't preclude my statement, because your statement applies to my wife and me as well.

It could be that very assholishness interacting with her sainthood that causes the exhaustion.

Well, my wife is a witch and I'm going straight to hell.

What if you're already there?

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 10:20 pm What if you're already there?

Have you met my saint of a wife? Have you tried talking to her?

For Brian:

I don't know what a Hollaback Girl is. All I know is that I want Gwen Stefani dead.

GreenGoo wrote:For Brian:

I don't know what a Hollaback Girl is. All I know is that I want Gwen Stefani dead.

That shit is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 10:20 pm What if you're already there?

I've been there. Looks a lot like Burbank.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 11:25 pm

GreenGoo wrote:For Brian:

I don't know what a Hollaback Girl is. All I know is that I want Gwen Stefani dead.

That shit is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Picked up my wife from the airport last night. Her flight was slated to come in at 11:45pm. They told her it was going to be early, so I left early. With the kids (7 and 10) in the back seat with their blankets and pillows.

The only catch was that it was snowing. What should have been an easy 15 minutes to the highway and 40 minutes to the airport turned into 30 minutes to the highway and 60 minutes to the airport. It was a tense, white-knuckle drive even at half the speed limit on the back roads. The snow was thick, heavy, and wet. The kind of stuff that makes great snowballs and turns into a sheet of ice when compressed. I only saw one car off the road - a work van, spun around 180º and buried deep in a ditch. Another full sized van that got tired of following me fishtailed and almost lost it when they passed me. Semis that passed me sprayed my car with blinding sheets of slush.

The drive back was equally awesome, but at least the north-bound highway had been plowed in the previous hour. We got home at 2:15am... and I had to be up at 5:00 to get ready for work.

Today has been a really painful mental slog.

Ouch. And I thought I was tired this morning. I'll stop complaining now. Glad to hear you made it safe.

Years ago I got to drive through the Texas panhandle during/after an ice storm. The entire road was covered in at least a couple inches of ice. Hours of white knuckle driving. Definitely NOT fun.

We have the good fortune of living 2 miles from an express bus station. Whenever there's heavy traffic or foul weather, the bus is the fastest way to get to/from the airport, and well worth the price. Wife hates buses in general but is willing to take the Logan Express for its ease and reliability.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Mon Nov 26, 2018 11:25 pm

GreenGoo wrote:For Brian:

I don't know what a Hollaback Girl is. All I know is that I want Gwen Stefani dead.

That shit is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S

I don't want to take anything away from you, but it's not actually a Stefani joke.

It could just as easily have been:

I don't know what she's shaking off. All I know is that I want Taylor Swift dead.

It's a something Brian's titular character says that I find extremely funny for some reason.

But others seem to have liked it, so hey, well done anyway.

And the attic is full of raccoons. Raccoons that seem to have built their nest directly above my bed. Raccoons that feel it is necessary to announce their presence - loudly - from 4:00 AM until 4:30 AM every night.

And I'm not going anywhere near the attic, as last time I bumped the hatch, a brown recluse scampered out.

An armadillo lives under the house directly under my bed. The keep me awake screaming all night.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 5:49 pm An armadillo lives under the house directly under my bed. The keep me awake screaming all night.

Are you sure that's not your wife?

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 5:49 pm An armadillo lives under the house directly under my bed. The keep me awake screaming all night.

Why are you screaming, exactly?

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 5:49 pm An armadillo lives under the house directly under my bed. The keep me awake screaming all night.

Karmadillo

Not bad.

Tell me of voltage. I know a miliamp will kill you. I was looking up voltages because the way movies show and from the stories I heard growing up a house wall outlet of 110 volts will knock the shit out of you. SO I looked up electric fences because I got zapped by those a bunch as a teenager crawling through them to fish. 2000 volts. Wait 2000v?? So why do they only hurt a little and tingle numb but a wall at 110v is supposed to be hell? Keep in mind Ive never been hit by a wall outlet.

So then I looked up electric chairs. 2000 volts. WTF!?? Same as a electric fence. So then Im thinking must be the amps or something. But from the quick look it says the 2000v stops the heart. And to beat all I see online stun batons that claim 4,000,000 volts. Ugh.

God I hate electricity. It should be ancient technology by now but I have a mental block about all but the most basic aspects. No electrical engineering for me thank you.

In any case, it's the current (amps) not the voltage that kills you, I think. Since i = V/r, it's actually the voltage resistance combination that kills you.

And that's all I'm gonna say about that before I expose even more of my ignorance.

Someone who isn't me can explain it better and in more detail.

At Griffith Park Observatory in LA we would put a key up close to a Van de Graff generator that put out like 10,000 volts and watch as a giant spark jumped from the generator to the key. But it put out next to nothing in amps.

I was an Electrician in the Navy - 1 mA is a tingle, 10mA will possibly clamp your muscles (you'll get "hung up" on it). 100mA can be lethal if it flows through your heart (heart has ventricular fibrillation at 100mA and completely stops around 200mA). AC is worse than DC because it can break down your body's resistance. Dry skin is fairly resistant (500K ohms). The issue is when resistance breaks down and the electrical flow goes into your highly conductive (100 ohm) blood and right through your heart.

Household voltage (110v AC in US) is very dangerous since its the amount that can clamp you onto the circuit (at 10mA) and then break down skin resistance. It also typically has a common ground which means that the electricity might flow through your body into another grounded object (and pass through your heart).

Higher voltages can actually be less lethal because the current can vaporize flesh at the contact point and the steam explosion (body is mostly water) can separate you from the contact point.

As for extremely high voltage (like a lightning strike) there is something called a corona effect that basically means the electricity flows over the surface of the skin and that's why people can survive it.

I once peed on an electric fence.

Once.

Cylus Maxii wrote: ↑Wed Nov 28, 2018 12:02 pmHigher voltages can actually be less lethal because the current can vaporize flesh at the contact point and the steam explosion (body is mostly water) can separate you from the contact point.