Bitcoin mining

The early days of bitcoin mining were alot different than they are now.  Back then you had to have knowledge of hardware, Linux, and an assortment of other skillsets.  I practically learned Linux during this period and alot about hardware.  Here's my early miner, which took me about 2-3 months to finally get it running!  I had given up at one point.

Early Miner

Some of the readout from this miner:

Readout

As mining progressed along it has become more sophisticated and powerful.  Mining the coins themselves is also much more difficult and profitability is pretty low but still there.  Here's a recent setup.

Recent Miner

Along with the actual hardware the web interface is also more sophisticated even if my photo is not!  lol

Recent readout

Mt Charleston Burning!

Is RSS Dead?

I recently had switched over from using bookmarks for frequently visited websites to using a RSS news aggregator Feedly.  My bookmarks had really gotten out of control and I migrated everything to feedly.  Now I can quickly go to a website and I'm able to frequent other websites that maybe were bookmarked a long time ago.

This article on Makeusof.com, Is RSS Dead? does a good job summarizing how RSS has made something of a comeback in recent times with Feedly itself growing rapidly.  The crux of the issue lies with ad revenue and how RSS allows for ad-free content.  Companies from Google to Twitter to Mozilla have all dropped support for it for this very reason.  Most likely RSS will evolve into something different but similar.  We shall see!

Paper Wallets!

One of the misnomers about bitcoin is that it cannot be in physical form.  While it is true that bitcoin is purely digital there are convenient and easy ways to store bitcoin "offline" so to speak in a actual piece of paper with the corresponding private and public keys embedded in the QR codes.  Its a real fun and interesting way to get familiar with encryption and how bitcoin works but warning only start by using a small amount of bitcoin, say a dollars worth to familiarize yourself with it.  Here is an article to get you started, but you can also find many other resources online: Paper Wallets! 

Bitcoin speaker: Andreas Antonopoulos

Andreas Antonopoulos has been a vocal and highly effective proponent of bitcoin for years now.  If you've never listened to him I would recommend viewing a couple of these videos as an introduction to bitcoin and what the possibilities of it are especially for the younger generations(as I myself am older GenX'er:).

Here is an excellent introduction video:

Bitcoin in Casinos?

Another great article on the potential for bitcoin and other cryto-currencies to be used in casinos.  Currently there are alot of online bitcoin casinos but I would highly advise not getting involved with them(or any gambling for that matter!). But the hurdles and obstacles that Bitcoin would face at the moment seem to much.  The chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board put it in plain terms: 

 "We have looked at digital currencies and do not find them appropriate for use in casino gaming at this time"

So for now, bitcoin usage could be limited to purchasing hotel rooms, items, etc but probably won't enter into the actual gambling realm for years to come.  Although, one never knows...

Las Vegas Adult Entertainment: BTC

Well, I think its only a matter of time before the City of Sin fully embraces the future of crypto-currencies like Bitcoin.  Here we have an establishment catering to both gambling and "adult" activities which is going have BTC be the "go-to" payment for its services.  It isn't the first time the Las Vegas has been in the news for its attempts at adopting bitcoin.  Several bitcoin ATM's have been installed, so with success and others not so much.  I personally wouldn't recommend buying your bitcoin through this means though as they charge a hefty premium.  The above mentioned establishment is even talking about creating their own digital currency...things me so fast these days!