h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Also I remember the CoOp in London issuing blue stamps.
http://hardylane.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/co-op-stamps.html

Pink were the ones I was thinking of, but yes, I remember the Co-op ones. That was 'The Divi'. I have a Co-op membership card now - it does the same thing as all the other loyalty cards.

Although of course, the Co-op led the way. At least here in the UK.

PP.

Not to be left out, Pogo Possum and his friends had Puce Stamps.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WALT-KELLY-POGO-PUCE-STAMPS-BLOCK-GUARANTEED-WORTHLESS-BIG-ZERO-1962-ULTRA-RARE-/232604602417

Apparently bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are especially susceptible to manipulation.

http://techcrunch.com/2018/01/15/researchers-finds-that-one-person-likely-drove-bitcoin-from-150-to-1000/

Maybe the manipulators are in Norway instead of Somalia.

It's interesting to see the mainstream media crowing right now over bitcoin values taking a pounding since mid-December. "See!" they're saying, "we TOLD you it was a bubble."

They seem to be disregarding the fact that in its short history, one reliable and predictable behaviour of bitcoin value is that it tanks in January. It's almost as though there are people out there with large holdings deliberately manipulating the market so they can buy low and sell high, and it's odd that no mainstream financial journalist has suggested that this is happening. The narrative that it's a bubble and now it's burst is the one they're going with, invariably.

I saw a graph of bitcoin values over time and it definitely has a history of going two steps forward, one step back, repeatedly.



This morning I heard an interesting story about bitcoin on the radio.
Apparently it's rather easy to "lose" bitcoins. I'd heard before of a legendary lost hard drive in a landfill somewhere containing a fortune in bitcoin (current value over $100 million). But how can you lose something that "exists" in the public block-chain? While the bitcoins still "exist", they're effectively removed from circulation as the "digital wallet" containing the passkey code to retrieve them is lost. Apparently an estimated 20%, currently over $40 Billion worth of all bitcoins, are similarly "lost". It's a bit hard to know exactly how much is actually lost and how much is just being horded; the block-chain just shows that specific "bitcoins" haven't "moved" in a very long time. But those that are lost add to the scarcity of the 21 million total bitcoins that will ever be created. Fewer are being similarly lost now that they're worth more than a few ¢ each. Most were lost in the early days, but it's still a big chunk of the market.

You can listen to the full story from the Planet Money podcast in the link below. They explain a lot about what bitcoin really is, how it works, and how to attempt to recover it if you toss your digital wallet in the bin.

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/01/05/576087864/episode-816-bitcoin-losers

I didn't really understand that sentence but feel sure that it's worth looking down the back of the sofa.

PP.

Heh, the podcast uses that exact metaphor.


The block-chain is public and decentralized. It's kind of like there's a huge trading house and every time anyone transfers any bitcoins, the transfer is announced for everyone to update their ledger. The actual individuals in the trade are anonymized, but the transfers are recorded on every computer and device that contains a copy of the block-chain. So, while the transfer is still recorded, the keys to those particular bitcoins can be lost and the owner has no way to access it, therefore it's effectively lost behind the couch cushions.

The famous lost bitcoin collection is on a laptop in a landfill in Swansea. What's interesting is that if you google "bitcoin swansea landfill", you get a selection of stories.

Some are from November 2013, and have headlines like "Man's £4m bitcoin loss".

The rest are from December just gone, and usually either feature the figure £74m, or $100m.

The gentleman in question, James Howells, has apparently offered Newport council several million pounds for permission to dig in the landfill to find his laptop.

I have an older computer in my shed. Might it have some valuable bitcoins?

The Lattice o'Coincidence: http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2018/01/18

I love "Non sequitur"

As a philosophical matter, I wonder if people appreciate the obvious riches they have -- breathable air, rainwater, sunlight -- enough, let alone the fancy stuff that makes them feel wealthy. As soon as the novelty wears off of each new thing (indoor plumbing, electricity, central heating, etc.), new marvels are sought. Televisions, computers, portable phones, and now drones. The starter house seems less wonderful after a while, so a bigger house is sought....

Stocks, bonds, and cash seem too mundane? How about bitcoins?

Heh... Someone suggested calling Bitcoins "Dunning-Krugerrands".

If you live in a country that allows it, you can buy a physical bitcoin
http://coinoutletatm.com/bitcoin-is-completely-digital-but-physical-bitcoins-do-exist/

Not that I'm endorsing it.

Rapper 50 Cent "forgot" he had around 700 bitcoins from direct album sales.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/24/580259163/50-cent-i-forgot-taking-700-bitcoins-for-2014-album-stake-is-now-worth-millions

Oh, he remembers now, after his bankruptcy.

Exactly!

50 Cents is a name that doesn't evoke great wealth, does it?

You're right, it isn't. It's also, y'know, not his name. Not even his stage name.

/pedant