I hope each and every one of you had an enjoyable Christmas! For me, it was a day off which I took time to pray many thanks to so many who made 2017 really special. For this update, I'm not going into deep price details. Bitcoin and the alts are recovering, the former is over 15k USD again. I've opined to others on Twitter that a brief dip below 13k is again possible before a floor is set, but for now it looks promising that we're back on an upward pace again. Many of the alt coins seem to agree!

 In the latest crypto news: Don't blame the IRS! Congress drafted new laws specific to crypto investors you need to be aware of. Want to trade coin to coin?(such as BTC/LTC, etc.) Best do it NOW as this becomes no longer tax-free in the USA come New Year's, 2018 EXCEPT in real-estate, going forth. If you understand how to use it, Shapeshift doesn't require an account and you can trade various cryptos for others. They have a much better rate than before so watch for the dips between now and next Sunday. Be warned that some coins they usually trade are presently not available. Vergecoin (XVG) was 21 cents yesterday but 15 pennies today. I began coverage on it just days ago. It clearly has fans and touts a privacy which matches or exceeds Monero. Iota still has it's doubters but has gained over 5% to 3.65 USD. Litecoin is presently $277 and change with a gain over the past 12 hours. You can check worldcoinindex or coinmarketcap for the latest.

 Want to spend some time watching videos? Pop some corn or feast on whatever is left over and check these out. There's a free set of lectures from Princeton College on Bitcoin and how it functions. I happen to agree with the professors that Chapter One is extremely important, these cryptocurrency vegetables are an important part of the basic diet to build one's foundation for a truly deep understanding, although in my public non-credit course, I'd reserve this portion for the last. For the general public, these are way above some people's heads so the tasty stuff and security of Bitcoin comes first with me. Interesting side news: Beatle Ringo Starr get knighted to bring in 2018! This is awesome as he joins former bandmate Sir Paul McCartney. It's about time, as this drummer has historically gotten the most fan mail while in the Fab Four. He has a fairly new album out and I've not heard but one track from it, but it's good! To wash out one's brain this Christmas, sometimes LOVE has to go full-circle. Watch this video from Twitter and try not to shed a tear or two. This is utterly priceless! If that isn't enough, a mirror can be quite magical. Finally, Ali Spagnola shows the perfect egg nog recipe. For responsibility's sake, do this after you've put away the car keys, please!

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Welcome to the Holiday Season! At the suggestion of Twitter follower JC, I've increased the font size by one factor, so hopefully those of you on mobile devices find this easier to read. Your feedback is appreciated on this point, despite if on mobile or desktop to my twitter @windmechanic. Furthermore, when I rework my site for mobile-friendly users, they'll get an option to size up the font to what works best with them.
 Looks like the Bitcoin "Crash" was another moment for me to relax and watch the chips fall. I'm watching the floor build in which is still not indicative of a regular bubble, and I'm definitely in that camp of thinking. If this is the "crash" which keeps weak hands crying alligator tears, I'm way better in ignoring that very noise and encourage such people to stay away! Crypto is DIFFERENT yet I already understand this very well, having been early to the game. The Big Dance is being planned, but the game is still underway. The fight stage is still in progress with TPTB still wanting to control the game as they always have in the past, but judging by the activity in the overall crypto segments, it's not going the way the Bankers would like. Bankers want to control Blockchain in their favor, but the genie is out of the box! Watch the ICO's coming aboard via ICODrops to see the depth of prospective companies with solutions that put banks outside of the People's orbits. That and much more keeps the Jamie Dimon's of finance awake around the clock or he'd not be wasting time trying to trash it, spare if his institution or worker bees are already trying their damnest to game it. After all, it's just another fine, a cost of doing business for him, and he can easily afford it. Right? Where Senator Warren has this game wrong is that there's no JAIL TIME for these money freaks, the Big Fish directly in the Fed Res game itself. Until that is upended with a massive dollar cra$h with the public finally getting pissed off, this shit won't change! Exchanges still have a LOT of work to do on their security, especially the newbies! Cointelegraph's William Suberg has a juicy article on this subject as I kindly remind you again and again, DO NOT use exchanges as if they were a Bank! They have the private keys used for the BTC (or alts) immediately stored or the computer code to unlock the same which is not secured under cold storage. Use exchanges only for the time you must conduct a transaction then move the coins to your control, otherwise, you're a walking light bulb waiting to get screwed! Also, some Food For Thought this Christmas; Napkin-math on how long it'll take before it becomes economically feasible to crack a private key for it's funds.

 John McAfee is correct that the government won't ultimately be able to tax one's income from cryptocurrency if certain alts (alternative coins, those other than BTC) are used, especially Monero. Many believe that a VAT type sales tax would be logical to obtain revenue from crypto transactions. The fly in the ointment to States and Localities may well be that the Feds would have too much control if they collect a tax, meant for distribution to replace revenue to those under Tenth Amendment protections, although as I've experienced here in the Panhandle, our politicians are too quick to vote away the People's Tenth Amendment protections on our driver's licenses in regard to "Real ID", despite the Oath they took to protect and defend our Constitution! That's a very sore issue I won't forgive Casey Murdock for, especially in light that he deferred my direct question back in March to then-Senator Marlatt, and now Casey wants Marlatt's District 27 vacated seat. Worse yet, it likely leaves the Panhandle without state representative representation for a YEAR due to his seeking the Senate! Oklahoma voters in the Panhandle and Western Oklahoma within that district should bear that in mind, come February 13th with a special election. In all fairness, I will again give Casey a single opportunity to answer what he should have back in March, and I will willingly post it in a later edition of the Blog, unedited. Mr. Murdock, my email is [email protected] so fire away, buddy! Going back to McAfee, King Crypto encourages followers on YouTube in his latest video to follow John's tweets on Twitter for comments he makes regarding various alts. These have often gained significantly on John's recommendations for whatever reasons, although I recognize John often works out the math, his education and experiences coming in handy to gauge crypto trends. I may add some of McAfee's input as it applies to what I track now. Verge (XVN) is deserving of attention and I'll give it some love right here. It's presently 16.2 cents with a few opining that its' Wraith protocol give it real potential to upend Monero. I don't know enough of the differences between each, so I'll withhold comment and watch from the sidelines for the moment. Litecoin News (@Litecoin_News) who follows me on Twitter posted "I bet by Christmas prices will have bounced back. That's going to be the WORST present for a few people." which I'm bound to agree, especially if economic Breaking News of some sort upsets the collective Apple Cart. Litecoin is presently recovering to $280 after correcting to around $182 under 16 hours ago. When Litecoin corrects again to $250 or less, I see that as another buying opportunity. Congratulations for those whom heeded my earlier posts to back up the truck when it was well under $100. How's Roger's baby, Bitcoin Cash? It too, took a swan dive to under 2k and is 2,772 USD with change. Bitcoin Gold was sympathetic, diving to near $225 and is $281 with an apparent pennant triangle showing. Bitcoin Diamond (BCD) futures show $36.5, a gain over 5%. Not that surprising, considering the overall volatility. How's Dash? Recovering from a dip to $900 now at $1,190. Monero? My privacy favorite to track is recovering nicely after a dip to near $265, now at $353 and change. Ethereum? Swandiving to $550 hours ago, it's recovering to $685 and change, going up! In oddball news, an attorney wants to sue Big Oil for climate change. If he prevails, it's We The People whom will line his pocketbook, not the smokers or certain other parties. Pretty much, everyone will have to "Shell Up" and I'm not talking about that specific oil company!

 I'm not going anywhere this Christmas. Cards have already been sent out to those I've promised or thought about. It was a memorable year in so many ways, both good and bad. I'm getting many Thank You's and of course I say "You're Welcome!" My apologies for anyone whom I should've sent one to, that I didn't. 2018 should be exciting and interesting. I expect significant news to come with Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capitol of the Jewish State. Understandably, this puts much pressure on others in the Holy City who don't see this in their favor. As you likely know, 128 nations have voiced disapproval. We'll also see if the FCC reverses the ill-founded repeal of Net Neutrality. As I stated publicly on Twitter, if the Commission argues that nothing will change, why change it in the first place? The best sage advice Christmas Wish comes from Bitcoin Guru AA: "This is a good time to step away from screens. Decorate your Merkle Tree, Water your bloom filters, Celebrate Cryptmas with your family. It will all be waiting here next week." which I wholeheartedly agree. Happy Everything! I may be back for a Christmas update, but for now..

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Welcome to the first day of Winter (starting at 10:28 AM central time, USA)

 Yes, Bitcoin is going through a correction. Nasty to some, but actually HEALTHY for the next upswing. If you're not used to them, get used to 'em now or simply, leave! A few readers are taking this as an attack from Roger Ver and Bitcoin Cash. Some points Mr Ver and company make are indeed valid for now, and I emphasize now! as Lightning Network with SegWit are being implemented with testnets on both in operation. Certain mining groups have made Bitcoin too expensive to be useful in regard to single parties using the network directly. They're too greedy and I don't give a damn what any readers give as rebuttal! It'll still be months away, but if possible, please HODL as I do and await further developments. Expecting instantaneous results then dumping the baby with the bathwater won't get you anywhere but miserable when the uptrend resumes and you wish someone had slapped some sense into you. Some banks are resisting their customer's legal efforts to conduct business in regard to Bitcoin, despite IRS guidance 2014-21. With banks such as Lakestone giving customers these notices with no legal references, it indicates to me they are not interested in Mr. Spencer remaining as a customer in the first place and he may be prudent to move his banking away now, even if the efforts are time-consuming (so many people have PAC's in place with their funds for convenience, such as automatic payment of one's power bill, utilities, etc.) If you're an American, the best advice I can give you regarding regulation is to continue monitoring Senate Bill 1241 which has been heard in Committee. Numerous times on this humble blog, I've encouraged you to phone 202-225-3121 and tell your Senators "Hell No! I'm NOT a crook and I don't want you to treat me as one! Vote against Senate Bill 1241!!" Now, with cheaper taxes apparently on the way for Americans, such a thing may not be a big deal going forward, but Congress should absolutely step up with guidelines as the IRS hasn't been doing their job toward this wonderfully disruptive technology of value transfer.

 Japan may be a basket case with their economy, but they often recognize the future! In fact, can you believe this? I'm damned surprised it hasn't happened sooner! GMO Corporation in Japan is offering to pay their employees in Bitcoin. Of course, Japan recognizes BTC as a currency. I fully expect other nations to follow. And if THAT weren't enough, it appears the most infamous name with Bitcoin trading earlier in the decade could be resurrected! (I wish I could've made this up!) Japanese Mt. Gox might become whole again! There's even more in the brief you'll find. There's yet a posting which gives some definitions for newbies to Bitcoin in particular, although these terms are generally synonymous to other cryptos. Reading through the comments, most will disagree with the "fork" definition. It's emphasized that there's a hard and soft fork possible. BOTH have happened within Bitcoin at some point in time. Bitcoin is trading in the 16k range for now. The alts have taken it on the chin, but not badly overall. Bitcoin Cash has reportedly been confusing toward many who are new to cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin.com now gives significant information on Bitcoin Cash. Although BCH has rallied strongly over the past several days (many point their fingers at Coinbase, blaming "collusion") I'll say for the record that I'd rather mine Bitcoin Gold than touch Bitcoin Cash. BCH is trading in a pennant triangle, so a breakout is close at hand. It's at 3,484 USD as of this writing and peaked much higher before Coinbase suffered login issues. BTC supporters have reportedly been going to Gemini so I'll monitor this for further developments. Bitcoin Gold? The past 36 hours brought it a steep 20+% gain and trades now at $394 and change! How's Litecoin? A slight gain at $321 and change. Although more fairly valued, I see more gains to be made in the future. Dash? Since 12/16, it's been on a tear! Barely above $900 at that time, it's gained to 1,493 and change. A pennant triangle is being noticed and a breakout is coming in my opinion. Monero's gains were subtle between 12/16 and 12/19, which since the 19th is almost breathtaking! It was around $350 and today is near $470. WIth the holidays approaching, Congress could sneak in some aspect of cryptocurrency regulation in a Bill as they did over a century ago with creating the failure that the Federal Reserve has proven to be. We're effectively down to two pennies on the dollar's value at that time in 1913 and Congress hasn't shrunk government down at all. The Swamp remains deeply infested and deeply rooted, even with some of Trump's victories now and then. I hope he focuses more on this "ball", rather than the little white ones he loves to smack at his golf courses. That makes him look too much like Obama in that regard. Just Sayin!

 Because I'm extremely busy going into Christmas (most co-workers will be off starting tomorrow) sparing breaking news, I won't be back until just before Christmas. May you and yours have a safe and happy Holiday Season!

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Bitcoin peaked around the mid 17,000's earlier today and is settling in on 16,500 overnight in America, although Asian buying could change this. It'd be nice to give the coin a well-deserved break, but BCD (futures) could change some things. The Winklevoss Twins are telling Jamie Dimon to put his $$ where his mouth is by shorting Bitcoin, if it's such a fraud in the first place. Comments I've read in ZeroHedge span incredible extremes of thought, such as if the Winklevei were poking Satan themselves! Considering how so few on the street have any involvement in any crypto, spare knowing how to receive, spend, store, etc. - this wealth transfer is still very, very YOUNG! One article on ZeroHedge is very insightful that those who truly make the Big $$ are those who invested in means and systems which utilize cryptocurrency to further enhance how society conducts commerce and business in general. It's a very exciting time to be alive, y'all!

 Didn't I tell each of you on this humble blog (scroll down if you don't believe me!) that Litecoin was terribly undervalued?? I did more than a few times here! My eyes aren't deceiving me when I read $300 and change after a new ATH (All Time High) of $330, a gain of over 50% over the last 24 hours, now correcting a bit. Charlie Lee, I wrote on this blog that your work towards all crypto, including your coin, has been outstanding and your day to shine was coming. I'm watching the beautiful sunrise and am pleased I nailed this perfectly.

 Ethereum? ETH continues to put on a show! In sympathy with other alts, it peaked $664 and change, correcting to $605 as of this update. I'm predicting ETH at 1,000 USD sometime in January, provided there are no more significant news regarding security of the token or with executions of contracts as we've occasionally seen.

 Bitcoin Gold? Fairly stable at $260 and change. Bitcoin Cash? A gradual uprise to 1,517 and change. Bitcoin Diamond BCD futures? 32.16, down 7.84%

 Other alts I cover, such as Dash are doing swell! It's $836 and change, up 7.4%. Monero? Steady at $291. Iota? I'm watching a pennant TA formation building. It's steady at 4.23 but watch this for a potential breakout in either direction. I suspect upwards if you ask me.

Finally, I'm ignoring the bullshit FUD being given by many on the forums. If they choose to ignore the obvious opportunities of learning and participating in this wealth transfer, well, it's their choice! Now, is it stupid for some to bet the whole ranch on crypto? I think so, but a few people have already done this and are reaping profits. I'm curious to see how the ICO's fare out going forward as I've invested into a very promising one. Only a few in my inner orbit know of what it is, and I'll leave it at that. The team, technology and product are all transparent and decentralized, therefore, they met my criteria. I'll give this time to see what happens. That's it until the weekend, short of any Breaking News.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 The weekend is finally here! Bitcoin settled into a 14,500-16,000 USD trading range after hitting 16,666.66 on Bitstamp early yesterday, then suddenly dipped to 12,700 on Bitstamp and is recovering to nearly 14k as of this writing. There's plenty of Bitcoin talk going on with both bullishness and FUD. Personally, I'd be stupid if I didn't realize there's a chance the Crypto King could again correct significantly and that I should consider taking some BTC off the table, cashing out and awaiting for blood on the streets to collect unwanted coins, although my gut feeling doesn't sense this, especially with nothing unsustainably parabolic going on at the time of this writing. Nevertheless, demand for BTC remains very high and Bitcoin Futures are scheduled to appear 12/10. (previously, I had 12/18 noted - sorry for the mistake) With people on each side of the trade, this could get downright interesting! I'm still curious as to how it might affect BTC pricing going forth, but those getting involved have much stronger spleens and brass huevos for this which most of us may never understand. It's getting awful bloaty for Bitcoin's Mempool! Cointelegraph's Joseph Young notes for us what an analyst sees: The miners are doing a shitty job of handling transactions with a massive backlog and unreasonably high fees! Can anyone shout "LIGHTNING NETWORK!" at the top of their lungs? ZeroHedge noted today that Bulgaria's government is shocked to discover how well their Bitcoins are doing. (I'm wondering if the Feds still HODL any of Silk Road's Bitcoins!)Ran Neu-Ner on Twitter gives his brief analysis on Bitcoin. Worthy of some thought at least.
 James is BACK!! Remember the Welshman with 7,500 BTC on a hard drive that his girlfriend reportedly tossed in the rubbish and sits under several feet of the same today? He's bloody serious about getting those coins. This humble Blog prays Mr. Howells gets to dig it up! If the drive isn't breached, it's contents contain incredible wealth on the Private Key(s) his wallet harbors. His Twitter handle is @howelzy so you can keep up with his quest. Remember, I have .27 BTC I can't access because I don't have control over the address which I sent it to, nor does the company which had control as they're long out of business. Scroll down to the 5-25 listing on this very page to be reminded and get the details. I feel this guy's pain, but on a far lesser level. Damn! Losing that was a mere $12 to $15 bucks then, but today it's worth near $4000 USD. I could've bought a reliable, used second vehicle with that or paid for my next two vacations to Wyoming!
 Litecoin! What's there NOT to love? After peaking at $173 overnight, it backed down to $134 for now with a STEEP fall. If it receeds under $120, back up the truck! I've repeatedly told y'all it was extremely undervalued and I expect even more gains, albeit volatile for now. Got some? HODL or use it as you need. Charlie Lee; You're doing an awesome job promoting cryptocurrency overall. Your vision is bearing fruit and your day to truly shine is arriving. For now, I'm enjoying your interviews.
 Bitcoin Cash lost some ground and trades at 1383 and change, down over 6%. Bitcoin Gold also is sinking at $240, down over 8%. Bitcoin Diamond Futures is $32.51, a loss of nearly 5%. I'll be keeping an eye on BCD with the 18th arriving ever-so-soon!
 Privacy-minded Monero remains on a rally! $261 and change ain't so shabby, but at least one crypto expert expects more gains from it. How's Dash? Kicking ass at 727 and change, although down 3% now. Do you realize you can get your salary in Dash or Bitcoin? Check this story out. Iota is nearly 4 and a half bucks with a small gain. You'll likely appreciate why this coin is on my radar as CoinTelegraph has a decent interview giving those insight to the Internet of Things! Finally, Ethereum is nearing $482 with a gain of 11.5%

 The ICO scene is hopping! Many of these tokens require an ERC 20 compliant wallet! ERC means Etherum Request for Comments and is synonymous with the EIP or Ethereum Improvement Proposals. At this point in time, I have no specific recommendations for a wallet, although there are a few out there. Specific differences exist between these and conventional Ethereum wallets. At some point in the future, I'll go into more detail.
 Local News? The holiday season is hopping along, too! If you're in the Panhandle and enjoy cowboy stuff, I like what Walls Discount has done here in Guymon. They paid me nothing to mention them as I never expected the store to offer so much Western stuff as hats, some boots, saddles, various tack, although the selection of western shirts in my XL size ain't too good. Since I don't need jeans, I've not sized up their selection, although it appears decent. Getting a ream of quality copy paper for 6 bucks? Not bad. My printer is bueno again! That's it for now, enjoy the weekend.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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For this update, I'm not focusing on the other cryptos. If you want to compare prices and trends, you can visit CoinMarketCap and check out their Top 10.

Farming news? This should not be viewed if you've just had dinner! John Young had this very informative tweet he put out recently, especially for canola farmers.

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. In 1941, this occurrance was the reason the United States was drawn directly into World War II. My grandfather and others who fought in it were not the least bit apologetic as to their honorable service. Fortunately, I'm old enough to remember their emotions and a few of the stories regarding that time in history. It was hard enough, having gone through a huge depression just years before!

 That's it for now. Short of breaking news, I'll be back late Friday or early Saturday for a weekend update.

Gracias & Alles Liebe

Mark

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 An update on local news/sports: The Hooker (OK) Bulldogs lost to Crescent. It was a GOOD game at Alva as expected, but Hooker was on the losing end this time, 35-25 to wrap up their memorable season. Even at work (where no co-workers live in Hooker, literally between Guymon and Liberal) the upcoming playoff game was often discussed during breaktimes. One of the co-workers thought of getting off early and catching the bus. Alva is a long way from here, but damn near everything is a LONG way from No Man's Land. Remember, OKC is four and a half hours from here if the traffic flows good and you're speeding at times, which the majority of folks DO!

That's it for now. I'm off to bed as it's back to Work, Work, WORK tomorrow.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Unbelievable! It happened way before I predicted, but it busted through this evening in the USA, Wednesday morning for those in Asia doing much of the buying. Bitcoin has reached $10,000 USD with many rethinking how high this could go in the near term! Regulars here noted I predicted this to happen around Christmas, although in my heart of hearts, I suspected January or February to be when it occurred. To review, there's an ongoing transfer of wealth. Better yet, the bankster criminals have no control over these cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has had a target on it's back for years now, however, there are many stronger cryptos which are clearly worth one's consideration, especially Litecoin, Dash and Monero. I have to give Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold credit where it's due as both should give existing miner groups greater incentive to do their jobs of handling transactions better than they have!

 Other than mentioning Litecoin has again cracked $100 in sympathy with BTC's 10K accomplishment, I'm not doing a regular update on crypto prices. I've had a busy day at work and am ready for some beauty sleep. Before I depart, I want to give a shout to Bitcoinity.org for their disco ball display and playing Kool & The Gang's "Celebration" when it cracked 10 thousand on one of the exchanges it covers. That was extremely classy and timely, so my hat tip to Bitcoinity and to all you HODL'ers. Oh, and the Congre$$ Critter$ are trying to sneak in Senate Bill 1241 as it's introduced to Committee. It deserves File 13 and Americans reading this can make a difference NOW by calling 202-225-3121 to speak with your senator's offices. Tell them "NO!" on SB 1241. We're not crooks and even non-Americans shouldn't be subject to disclosing their crypto holdings. There are so many reasons for this which I won't go into tonight, but plan on revisiting in the not-distant future!

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Let's revisit Bitcoin Cash for a moment. Apparently, it's developers want Bitcoin Cash-based colored coins. These aren't physical, right? Overall, the Bitcoin picture remains sweet! Jacob J of Cointelegraph.com noted "Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash proponents may not see eye-to-eye on a scaling solution, but they share significant overlap among their user base. Most Bitcoin users, who didn't actively trade after the August hard fork, hold equal amounts of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. The combined value of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash has now crossed $10k. If we include the value of other forks like Bitcoin Gold and Bitcoin Diamond, the value would be even higher." To that, I'm trying to wrap my brain around these BCD Futures and admit these are exciting times!

 Finally, in local news; The Guymon Daily Herald, my local newspaper tweeted "The Hooker Bulldogs defeat the Hominy Bucks 35-18 in the Class A state quarterfinals and will advance to the state semifinals next week." which is good news for this area. It appears more and more that Hooker has THE team to git 'er dun this season. I hope each of you had a fantastic holiday weekend as this will be a BUSY week coming for me.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Per Britain's "The Independent" and ZeroHedge noting for the masses, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently called on all "large-scale enterprise" to be ready to "increase military production" on a moments notice should the need arise. Is Putin onto something which Americans aren't keen to? Could the same possibility occur with American industry (what's left of it anyhow) as was the case during WW II with so many today exclaiming that the recent stock highs shall continue upwards? Maybe Yours Truly is reading too much into it, but I put very damned little past the ESF and PPT. Our Fed wants desperately to avoid market crashes or social uprising which precipitates from such. Politicians are keen to protect their image, although too many in the male gender have been pathetically careless in their pasts. Some on social media, Twitter in particular, ponder when Trump gets called out for the reportedly "13 women" whom claim he harassed them in some manner. How many are from the pageants he's participated from the sidelines, years ago? Yes, I should've saved that tweet I encountered, but at 2AM, it's harder to concentrate on the Big Picture.

How are crypto prices while the turkeys have gobbled their final notes? CoinMarketCap gives us decent insight. Bitcoin is slightly lower in the low 8100 USD range. Ethereum is kickin' ass today, lighting up a Fat Boy for the holiday! Nearly 14% gain at $420. Bitcoin Ca$h? How about 1576 USD & change! Persistent rumors of BCH's death throes are indeed premature as it's up 20% in the last 24 hours. Dash is topping out around $577 and change. Monero is up a fraction at $165, Litecoin is steady at $75, Iota is noteably down to 85.3 cents, How's Bitcoin Gold? Not at all shabby, even with the crappy wallet news, at 288 and change, up nearly 19%!

 My quotable quotes section (updated as warranted) is now inaugurated, so enjoy! @JazzTrombonist on Twitter played a bunch of notes, accidentally texting these to his wife. So you thought butt-dialing was so bad? It's proof that such things as AI (artificial intelligence) still has a ways to go. @Steph93065 on Twitter was quoted on 11/22: "Its really obscene that most of the members of Congress are millionaires and still use our money to pay off their victims while we can't afford health coverage." Although true, Steph, it's worse to realize our tax money pays off their 5-star health coverage too, even though a lawyer in California stated to me that they pay some portion of the plan. Considering the speaking fees or lobbying or specialized law work (most of them are indeed lawyers) these Congress Critters obtain after office, that is mere peanuts!

 Have a great Thanksgiving (what's left of it), have a great Black Friday, and I should be back Saturday with another update as warranted. Gobble Gobble!!

Gracias & Alles Liebe, (that means "Thanks and All The Best" in Spanish and German, respectively)

Mark

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 Crypto news has that Tether noted nearly 31 million USD of tokens were stolen But, hold the presses! They have the capability of nullifying the stolen ones! If this were Bitcoin, they'd be Buh-Bye and either spent or moved, due to the manner in which they operate. You see, crypto has evolved toward greater overall security, even though in some cases are just baby steps. We'll watch those babies grow as Bitcoin is no longer the babbling toddler it once was. Prices, you ask? Mugabe is no longer dict, er President of Zimbabwe! I wanted to see Bitcoin correct a bit, yet it's holding strong in the 8100 range. Litecoin? Down a fraction to 70 and change (still undervalued, y'all!) Ethereum? 364 and change tonight, up a fraction. Some supporters note their 4500% gain versus Bitcoin's 800% over the last 12 months, but it's been a mixed bag. Bitcoin Ca$h? If dying, it's proving a tough bird to kill at 1,187 and change. Dash is kicking hard past $510 with a decent 8.6% gain! Monero? Essentially keeping up with Dash at greater than 8% gain to over $146. Iota is steady at 92.2 cents, yet a gain over the last 24 hours.

I'm watching the news trends and will jump in as necessary, although I expect few to check the news much until after the Holiday and Black Friday. May you and yours have a memorable one if I have no updates before Saturday.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 It happened! Charles Manson is reaching room temperature at age 83. Blamed for nine murders back in the 70's, in reality, he had "followers" do the dirty work, yet he was charged with Murder by Proxy. Can it be argued he was clearly a danger to society? Hell yeah! I say "Good Riddance!" Now to see what happens with Zimbabwe dictator Mugabe! The 93 year old wants his 52 year old wife to take over the reins. He had gotten rid of a Deputy which incensed his military, triggering a coup. He's now facing impeachment today, so let's pop some corn and see what happens!

 Now to cryptos! Mugabe's comments were the trigger which enabled my prediction to come true! We're over 8k USD per Bitcoin now, so there's plenty to be thankful this Thanksgiving. My 10k USD BTC prediction for either January/February 2018 remains on track. Litecoin? Still undervalued but I can't gripe with a gain to $71 bucks. Get some on the dips and HODL, but don't be surprised if it goes up more in the short term. Ethereum? Not bad at $358 and change. Dash? Holding strong at $443 and change. Monero? Not shabby at $134 and change. I'm starting to track Iota, up to 91.2 cents, it's in the Top 10 and up 12%. There's some very promising things that crypto can already do, so I'll likely start tracking it! How are ICO's? There's a lot going on. The one I invested in is still selling well, but time will tell.

 On the Pic of the Day portion of my website, I'm still putting up more Lazy L&B pics from my rides, but I'm not giving away all the details. Some I'm keeping secret so I don't spoil some of the discoveries that guests there will enjoy from horseback. Still, there's so much I've not yet revealed, so stay tuned through the Winter as there's more on the way. New pics through 12/5 are already queued up. I continue work on the East Fork, Arkansas River website, the true source of this great river which rarely has visitors, yet was one of the best hikes I've ever enjoyed! Some of the water I took back from that small spring-fed pond has a new Little Rock home. I visited Arkansas over the past week and am back in Guymon, having had a good time visiting with family and friends. Some more of this source water I may eventually pour at the river's mouth near Napoleon, the remains are underwater on the Arkansas River side. If I get to venture there, I'll get pictures and add them later. For now, work on this website continues as I get to it. That's it for now, sparing any breaking news, my next report should be Wednesday. To each of you, have an enjoyable and memorable Thanksgiving and be thankful for what you have! I certain do, and you in my audience are certainly an important piece of that!

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Plenty of news in the background that I need not rehash. A new Pic of the Week starts on 11/16 from that same day's ride. My Arkansas River source webpage of the East Fork, Arkansas River continues a slow progression and not ready for release. For now, it's mostly a crypto update since it's mid-week. Didn't I mention last time to buy the dip? We're approaching 7k after this latest "attack" on BTC. I agree this was an attack, yet I see where Roger Ver and friends are coming from. Bitcoin has become highly centralized in regard to control via miners and has gotten damned pricey on their transaction fees as of this past week in particular. This greed and slothfulness by the miners MUST end and I think this was a decent wake-up call. Bitcoin Ca$h (BCH) is an attempt to wrestle control back to the users by not allowing the type of mining which BTC utilizes, making it far easier for the Average Joe to get something for their energy used in mining, plus there are some decent mining pools developing for BCH. I'm watching Bitcoin Gold and am interested in them getting a Windows 32-bit app instead of the 64-bit they recently released. Nevertheless, I may mine some BTG if viable since my bandwidth here in the Panhandle is decent! With all that said, my prediction of 8k USD = BTC by Thanksgiving is still valid. I'm also viewing 10k sometime January, although February more likely. Ethereum? 336 and change as it's slow recovery progresses. How's Litecoin? Up over 4% to near $65, which I still consider undervalued. Bitcoin Cash is $1300 even as of this publication time. Bitcoin Gold is but 3 days on MainNet now, yet hashing has increased. We'll see where it goes! Dash? Not so shabby at $433 and change. Their community continues to gain more traction. Monero is steady at 123 bucks and change. I'm also watching BitConnect and Populous. Vertcoin gains more momentum in the background, too.

 Sparing any breaking news, watch for the next Blog over the weekend and thanks for spreading the word about it! :-)
Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 So, Bitcoin corrected to sub-6500? Meh!! If anything, this, in my opinion is a decent time to buy the dip. For those who bought recently, expecting the Moonshot and not getting it, I told 'ya so! With that said, I expect additional range-trading until later in the month around Thanksgiving and I remain steadfast with that forecast! Watch the alts as several are volatile. Bitcoin has much drama going for it right now, especially regarding Bitcoin Cash (BCH) which is hitting all-time highs just over 1,300 USD with a Party Dance of Joy 60% gain in 24 hours! Long-time HODLers whom haven't split their coins need do nothing more than HODL since you'll have equivalent BCH with your BTC, so give it time for exchanges to wake the hell up and finally realize BCH is FOR REAL! (Bitstamp, are you reading this? It's good I haven't split my coins after all.) My exception was with a specific ICO which continues to collect for their tokens. If it pans out, the BCH and BCG I didn't strip from my HODLings will easily be more than made up in due course as their team (not at all anonymous) continues to build in numbers and credibility. Ethereum shakes down 5% to $303 and change, remaining steady overnight: They're squarely in the news with proposed guidelines regarding new ICO's. Within this story, probably the best quote is that ICO's are the newer Wild West of crypto; "Some crypto investors see this as the beginning of a learning process. ICOs could still revolutionize corporate fundraising, they believe, the market just needs to work out the kinks first." of which I agree, still I'm chancing some of my $ta$h for the potential this technology offers in the not-so-distant future, certainly one of international scope. Ethereum Classic is rallying! Over 24% to near 18 bucks in the last 24 hours! Litecoin? Down near 2% to 60 and change. They apparently are correcting with BTC, so consider keeping some fiat at the ready for one of the few true cryptobargains. I maintain that this is a solid HODL for your future, for reasons already stated previously on this humble blog. Dash is living up to it's name lately with another 3% gain to $334. Monero slips over 6% to near $111 today.

 The weekend is here! Yet another of my Lazy L&B ride pics is shown on the Pic of the Week as I'm riding on a ridge with a decent view in the distance of Wyoming's highest point, having taken these images from the saddle. There's much more of those to come through at least early Winter. The Arkansas River Source webpage continues it's development in the background, but I'm not ready to release it. I'll spend part of this weekend working on it. When available, you'll get to view many more pics I didn't get to show during my fairly recent two-week daily series. That was one memorable hike I want to do again! I also would pray the weather again cooperates with the hikers, as it's often fickle in the midday to afternoon time frame, those afternoon thunderstorms with a real threat of lightning anywhere in that elevated region during that time in late Summer. That's it for now! I'll be back with breaking news if necessary.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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Did I read this correctly? What the hell??Facebook now wants your nude photos, according to ZeroHedge! They claim it's to test out anti-porn technology, that a hash will be made for any uploaded photo, that AI or Artificial Intelligence will be used in processing this hash, and once hashed, that the photo if later uploaded will not make it to Facebook. For those in my informed audience whom understand hashing, this is so damned easy to get around. Any modification to the image such as size, cropping, adding captions, even shading or tilting will change the hash. If Facebook can be trusted in the first place, this would work only on images not modified in any manner. I'm hitting the sack to get more rest.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 There's a lot of Bitcoin news! I predicted to several on Twitter and am watching a pullback and trading range on BTC between 7000 and 7600. Sparing any breaking news, it would be healthy to see Bitcoin settle down a few days. I'm looking at 8000 USD before Thanksgiving and 10k likely around Christmas. It would surprise me little if 13,800 as predicted by Clif High's Webbot analysis by Spring, 2018 comes to pass. There's still plenty of FUD to digest, especially with 2x hard fork to come. On the bullish side,Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak makes a compelling pitch that Bitcoin is better than Gold and the US Dollar! I agree, especially with the disgustingly blatant manipulation ongoing in the precious metals markets, most quality stocks unloved and their companies starving for money to continue, all with the blessings of those who run our government, and you already know exactly whom I refer to! Do any of you watch the Keiser Report on Russia's RT? It's available on YouTube. Among the latest offerings, Episode 1145 has on it's lead story, noting Russia may well embrace Bitcoin. Well, surprise, surprise, SURPRISE! Regulars to this blog may recall my predictions from 10-11-17 (just scroll down) as to the expected circle-jerking and China is no different, taking a serious look at crypto. No nation can really tackle Bitcoin without shutting down the internet. Even North Korea seems to dabble in crypto, some claim through ransomware, although only a few of their citizens have any access to the 'Net. Let's talk about a true trend-setter! Bjork is an Icelandic singer and stage performer. She's so way ahead of her time in how her music and visual performance is presented for her fans who appreciate her unique eclectic touches. Some say those not of high intelligence may never understand her music. Think of her as Enya on steriods. Now into her 50's, you look at her and swear she's not aged much if at all, despite numerous album releases since the early 90's. Not surprisingly, she may well be the first artist whose latest album, Utopia, will be available for purchase, solely through cryptocurrency! In a related story, she reportedly will be giving away crypto with this same album. Talk about a love affair with crypto! The giving back to her fans is way cool, too.

 How are crypto prices on Sunday evening in The States? Bitcoin is diving to 7k as I speak and I give this another "Meh!" treatment. There's no immediate news in Reddit's /Bitcoin telling me a thing about this correction. I'm expecting a trading range of 7000-7600 before it breaks out past 8k, I predict by Thanksgiving. Litecoin? I'm still openly stating how pathetically UNDERVALUED this crypto remains. It's still 52 bucks and change, down about a percent & half. It has nearly all the attractive attributes of Bitcoin and has a fantastic future in my opinion. Bitcoin Cash? WOW!! A very nice rally has it around 638 and change tonight. Dash? Down a fraction to 268 and change. It's a very hip crypto so I "get" why Max Keiser loves it, although I want him to wear a Dash lapel pen on a future Keiser Report! I now have a Dash wallet and it's amazing how quickly it loaded it's entire 3-plus years of it's blockchain in under 4 hours. I'm beginning to understand it more and awaiting for free Dash I was promised recently. Privacy-minded Monero is steady at $86 and change. For overall summaries of cryptos, visit CoinMarketCap. Bloomberg has an interesting article on Bitcoin and Blockchain being amongst the fastest-growing skillsets going forth. I hope my Bitcoin and Crypto course to come will encourage today's enthusiasts in my region with any serious curiousity to take the plunge and learn about it!

Have a good week! I should have another article by Wednesday unless breaking news warrants something sooner.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 It's been a short while, but news hasn't waited at all. We have extremists in this nation mowing over innocents and pulling triggers. Trump appears more vindicated to me over his desire to restrict open movement to America from certain nations, one particular Federal judge from Hawaii being at the other end of this elongated lightning rod. Hells Bells! Trump should send that waste of oxygen terrorist to Gitmo already! Too many still say "Meh!" because there's too damned many copycats! I know too little about the cab situation in London (multiple casualties), which authorities across the Big Pond exclaim terrorism isn't a factor, then a shooting in Colorado at a Wal-Mart with at least one dead. Mind you, the poo has still yet to hit the fan. I repeat, the poo has still yet to hit the fan! The Grand Reset is nowhere in sight, but bear in mind the worst part of a horror movie is when all is relatively calm, much like a severe thunderstorm spawning a tornado or being in the eye of that hurricane - believing all is Okay. Markets are sure hamming it up as it appears more likely another dovish Fed Chair is to emerge in Dammit Janet's shadow. Jerome Powell is expected to be named and the Wall Street Journal already says he's the pick! Somebody is going to take the firebranding the economy will inevitably mete out in due course. This ain't sustainable! Yet, I must remind readers that the Markets can remain more irrational than Pi (you know, 3.14159265359...) way longer than most would expect. Perhaps Hillary and those in banking will get their prison jumpsuits? I'm NOT holding my breath on these, although both smell so awful that the temptation is immense! For now, keep your pitchforks handy to raise Hell with, please! I'm popping some corn and relaxing between workdays. Because some of you have asked; The new job is going well! I'm getting a bit faster and learning more of the in's and out's of it without many errors, considering the sheer volume of material the warehouse moves to several states. I'm already on their forklifts although training for that starts next week, since I've had past experience on these. Best of all, there's much less of certain stresses I didn't need and the hours don't radically change. In fact, I routinely get more overtime than before. I'll also have to burn off at least 3 days of paid time off or risk losing it before year's end, therefore I'll be traveling back home at some point. Some of you already have an idea what window of time this will be. My neighbors will be notified so the house gets the Eagle Eye while I'm away.

 Bitcoin continues putting on a show! We're at new all-time highs at the $6800+ USD point where at least one technical analysis says is a pullback point, but who's counting? I'm bringing this up as reminder this remains on my radar and that a brief pullback now would be healthy for BTC, but the Markets are hungry. They remain pissed at the BLATANT, ongoing manipulation in Gold and Silver, so both the stocks and phyzz in PM's are getting shunned, including at least two holdings I have which eventually will do well, but fight for oxygen at this time. Bear in mind, another hard fork is still being contemplated for later this month, hopefully the last of those growing pains for the genesis (and still King!) of cryptocurrency to improve scalability. I've also been viewing several ICO's and have dived in on my first with some of my coins. Because the ICO is ongoing, I'm going to publicly withhold which one I've jumped on until it concludes over a month from this posting. Until it wraps up, only those who reach out to me by email via cxdomains ^at^ yahoo +dot+ com and using Subject Line "Blog ICO choice" will get a reply to know which one I chose and why. How are other cryptos I track? I can hardly believe the screaming bargain that Litecoin remains! It's 52 bucks and change now. Bitcoin Cash has been putting on a hell of a rally! Remember my last reports, it was languishing at over $300? How about $545 now, an over 19% gain in the last 24 hours! (I get my quote via Twitter's "bch_price" which is given hourly from Bulgaria) so for those hating it - it sure ain't dead yet, Jim! Bitcoin Gold, on the other hand, was hammered on 10/24 to a mere fraction and struggles for a floor, down over 6% at $141 and change. Dash is down around 10% over the last week to $266 and change. Monero remains in a mild downtrend at $83 and change.

 I'm still working on both the ride pictures from Mid-August for Pic of the Week and my Arkansas River source website. Weekends still get the lion's share of that time, yet progress is slowly being made. Thank You for your continued patience!

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Plenty of news to dish out from the last two or three days; The POTUS tweets again, but this one shall have a rocky ending, it's a matter of time; "Stock Market hits another all time high on Friday. 5.3 trillion dollars up since Election. Fake News doesn't spent much time on this!" Although true in the present, it's UNSUSTAINABLE, sir! At some point the Fed or the ESF has to stop buying up everything to keep this Ponzi going!! The government they support must also do the same as well, although they won't go down without wildly swinging, even if a War or other False Flags must be dreamt in pursuit of their Goldilocks Economy or Plateau of Prosperity they can't keep! How did it go Saturday night in America? I watched BTC take another roller coaster dump past 5800 and wasn't at all surprised watching more a dip with this imminent fork. I'm just HODL'ing forward.

 Interesting crypto developments from MIT: They're issuing Blockchain-based diplomas. I like the tamper-proof recording this will present and it will be easy to prove conclusively to prospective employers and associations that the person isn't lying, indeed, they earned it! This will speed up background checks by companies and corporations too. No doubt other universities will HAVE to follow suit, yet paperwork will be further reduced. So there's one less thing environmentalists need worry about going forth. The latest Big Name to slam and diss Bitcoin? Saudi Prince Al-Waleed apparently can't understand it, so he agrees with Our Hero Jamie Dimon that Bitcoin is "going to implode." Well, the petrodollar that his Royal Family has essentially relied on is quickly becoming less and less relevant. More telling, if he truly adores gold - where is the price action on it? Although the shiny yellow remains excellent insurance as a store of value, some of his "friends" in Big $$ continue to mercilessly hammer the precious metals markets. At some point, they will lose control of it to the point they can't regain control as the Strong Hands heeded their history lessons. Bitcoin, due to it's security and continued improvements will simply strengthen in the background, with or without the Prince's blessings. As the article notes, Dimon has doubled down with a prediction that governments will begin targeting cryptocurrencies, except of course for blockchain-related initiatives where he and his banker buddies whom rule Congre$$ today can gain back control they're losing due to Bitcoin and related cryptos which due to eliminating the "necessary middlemen" racket, will render the banking institution as the DimonSaur it's becoming. Let's continue with an RT story that Wall Street institutional investors choose to stay away from Bitcoin. Yes, it's volatile as the Blockchain threatens Wall Street itself, but Wall Street and other markets including Chicago has gone more and more digital with HFT (High Frequency Trading) taking away quite a bit of the panache which allowed "nobodys" to actually learn it and make $$ on it's trading floors as Max Keiser opined recently from Chicago on a recent Keiser Report. Although I strongly agree some ICO's are little more than scams (do your due diligence before even thinking of investing in these and ask plenty of questions!) don't these guys understand that change will envelope them, regardless if they're ready or not? Simply, it's THEIR LO$$ and the HODLer's gain. Finally, Coindesk has an article on Overstock's CEO to soon release a Blockchain product designed to curb naked short sales. Patrick was recently on RT's Keiser Report discussing Bitcoin as Overstock was amongst the first major businesses using it as a payment method. I love it! Can't this somehow be forced upon the LIBOR & COMEX? On JP Morgan/Chase? Imagine what Gold and Silver would do if their shackles were suddenly released, letting the Markets do what they do best! Equalize with real price versus supply/demand (and potential future supply, as in the case of Silver!)

 That's all I have for now, other than I'm making more progress putting together the Arkansas River source website and why this hike is so nice for less than a month out of the year. I consider the East Fork of the Arkansas River where it begins at a small pond on the east slope of Mount Arkansas as the true source, it having the most lofty beginning of it's watershed and the fact it's specifically named as the Arkansas River to it's beginning, unlike the Tennessee Creek which adds to it just north of Leadville, CO. Stay tuned to my Twitter feed as I'll announce when that site goes live in the days to come. I'm also watching the weather here as it should freeze up before the weekend. It snowed just before Halloween six years ago when i moved to Guymon.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 UPDATE: I'm now a Distribution Center Clerk. The entire annual inventory was completed Thursday. Already Friday, I'm pulling my first set of orders with limited supervision and getting a grasp of what this will truly be. I became the first person in the history of my employer, a Fortune 500 company, to have signed for an offered position, electronically! HR personnel were present to photograph and witness that moment Wednesday afternoon as overall paperwork in the corporation will be reduced going forth, starting with my name. That photo may go on the company's intranet soon and the biggest of the new system's bugs have been squashed. Since I appreciate much of what high-tech has to offer, I'm pleased it worked out as it did. My co-workers are great! I'm learning their names and how they perform their tasks. I've also been clued in that I'm not required to follow anyone's specific tips and tricks as long as I'm performing my job basics correctly and strive to keep the place clean. Other basic training will follow in due course. The place already looks better and we're prepared for all supply pickups for several days ahead. I'm glad to be back working! With that said, I remain interested in other opportunities in this immediate area, particularly in wind energy which may fit what I need and my new supervisor understands this from the start. I enjoy using that earned degree (I'm still paying it off) and still read up on Wind Industry trends. Remember too, if you follow me on Twitter (via @windmechanic) please let me know if you're in the industry and I'll ensure you're on my GoodGreen list. It contains some of Wind's critics as I also view and consider their opinions.

 The Arkansas River Source website is coming along and about a third done. Just as I do with this humble Blog, it's hand-coded in Windows Notepad with NO cookies! Because I'm back at work now, I'll have even less time than before with fewer days off to work on it as I have, but I might get 'er done and online by Monday. I have to admit I'm spending quite a bit of nighttime viewing the stars from my backyard, we having so many rain-free days in a row, Friday night and much of the weekend not excepted. The pics are NOT the full-resolution ones I'll offer, so when the website comes active and you see one you wish to use for a non-commercial purpose, reach out and contact me.

 Crypto news is getting interesting! a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-19/worlds-largest-ico-imploding-after-just-3-months">This story on ZeroHedge contains a decent amount of FUD, yet I've consistently preached here to be very conservative and careful if considering Initial Coin Offerings. Some will prove epic and some will badly flop! I agree nations are right to crack down on ICO's, not due to their present lack of regulation, but there should be at least some regulation going forth. If too much "legislative creep" comes in, it may prove impossible for legitimate projects in the future to proceed. I see this issue from both sides. If this story balloons into a true shitshow AND you're seeking a great entry point of quality tokens already being traded on the exchanges, you might be realizing some real bargains! For me, I'm definitely not jumping on any ICO's until I see how this news plays out as my Bitcoins remain solid.

 Speaking of solid? Bitcoin is pulsing ahead past 6k into Saturday morning here in America, The States, The Empire or however you want to call it. King Crypto proves itself to be worthy of that title. Alts I continue to enjoy viewing include LTC at 58+ change, Monero at 87+ change, down a fraction, Dash has corrected to 287 and change, BCH hangs on solidly past $315 USD. I'm not interested in trying to trade BTC for LTC, especially with the SegWit2X fork looming. I don't need the money or buying anything with it for now. If anything, I might throw some $$ into LTC but intend to HODL through this fork, watching where the dust settles and expecting a decent correction.

 Finally, do some of you realize that certain websites could be using your computer to mine crypto for them? It generally is undetectable by most computer users since the number of hashes aren't significant to cause a slowdown with your system, this instead most useful for websites with high numbers of visitors. Many antivirus and antimalware definitions can detect and stomp these out, today. However, I'm curious if a website is willing to release valuable content to it's users with the understanding that the hashing is a payment? That might work until another app is made which caches the content into RAM, minimizing the hashes being utilized. A whack-the-mole game this might turn into, ya' reckon? Finally, for new Bitcoiners and HODL'ers, if you've not seen this, consider popping corn and watch this over-an-hour long documentary on Bitcoin!

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Vegas news? There's more waffles to the story and order of events regarding the October 1st massacre than the entire Waffle House chain has served. There continues to be more reports of multiple shooters. InfoWars notes that one of the survivors, a 28-year old woman died of "natural causes" five days after posting her detailed story, since removed from Facebook. Frankly, I don't see how a single shooter nailed as many people in that amount of time from his hotel windows. Of course the investigation continues, but there remains plenty of questions.

 Crypto Prices? This won't be a complete list. However, as predicted on my previous entry (scroll down and read it if you haven't), 5500 USD or just under has been THE latest support for Bitcoin. We're at that point as of this submission, although the Crypto King continues to battle the range up to 5800. Expect some volatility soon. YouTube videos reveal Clif High's prediction of just shy 7k with a significant pullback. Out of sympathy, many will withdraw and place their $$ into promising alts or ICO tokens. Be careful and do your homework before considering the latter!! I'd encourage you to consider getting at least some phyzz silver to stack. One popular alternative media YouTuber suggests in a written report that it's not the present supply/demand ratio which dictates the price going forth, but the actual supply of the metal which remains. He's NOT alone on his analysis as others see a real possibility of silver extinction. True, especially at these severely manipulated bargain basement prices as too few mines remain which can fetch silver and make any $$! Also, these same guys agree the existing metal is in strong hands. One predicts a very high taxation, such as windfall profits on metal sales, yet there are many who will seek to buy directly with the metal they hold. After all, looking at the future; if the other party finally learns of silver, it having made a moonshot in price, why not trade what they want and you get something you want? With that said, I'd rather pay a reasonable tax than not being on the profitable end as that time is getting closer and closer. Revisiting crypto prices; several events are coming up within the next 30 days or so which may truly change the path of this well-supported Genesis of future wealth storage and transfer. Ethereum could eventually overtake Bitcoin on a valuation basis, but for the LONG TERM, since the coin has no hard-set limit, I simply doubt it could maintain a consistent lead. Long term, due to scarcity, I'd give Litecoin the nod on a percentage ROI. It remains horribly undervalued. If you bought in at the $100 top, just HODL as I believe you'll be plesantly rewarded. Bitcoin Cash enjoys a bounce to $360 today. I continue liking Dash and Monero as both have strengths and deserve a place at the table.  Joe Light tweeted a hilarious-yet-true set of Jamie Dimon quotes. As Joe says, read these from the bottom up to get the true chronological effect. Eventually, the community will create Dimon-imaged toilet paper, labeled as the "ShittenFrauduh" Brand, best enjoyed when silver and Bitcoin break loose from their shackles, hopefully against Jamie's wishes. Maybe he'll finally spend quality time behind bars at Gitmo? One can only dream. BTC HODL'ers; are you needing a basic guide to dealing with the SegWit2X fork? This article says nothing about the previous BIP 148 (BCH or Bitcoin Cash) fork of 8/1, so don't lose track if you've held tight and not yet split your coins. By the way, BCH still exists and trades about 10 to 15% upward as of this submission. Here's yet another article on SegWit2X and this one explains "replay protection", certainly an important subject for anyone desiring to split BCH and BCG when available. Some of you might HODL with your coins, awaiting for the dust to settle, and I wouldn't blame any of you! From Reddit/r/Bitcoin, discussion is heating up in advance of this, specifically that SegWit2X is not a fork, but instead is a hostile takeover. There's plenty of FUD going both ways, enough that I don't want to chance splitting up coins, even if it means I won't make as much selling BCG for whatever alt, ETH, or LTC I'd want with the profits. The article does state that B2X won't necessarily be a coin one can split away from the legacy BTC. One of the better basic articles on replay protection and replay attacks can be found here. For now, your humble blogger is still parsing together so much and trying to separate the wheat from all this chaff! Soon, I'll likely have less time to spare on this as I'll work most days of the week without so many spare days I used to have. Yes, a replacement job is coming, but I have some paperwork to sign first. Details on the way.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Crypto prices are unreal! 16+% up in the last 24 hours as of yesterday, although they've corrected to under 6% in the last 24 as of this submission. I saw the peak over $5800 USD then retracement to under 5700 and just below 5600 now. Don't be the least bit surprised if 5500 or just lower becomes the new support level as there needs some cooling-off for now, IMHO. Rumors are rampant that China will restore crypto trading (after regulations made) according to ZeroHedge. It's fun to watch this upward volatility. Also, didn't I say what a bargain Litecoin was? If you followed my tip on 10/11, you'd be up 18% to $60 per LTC. In fact, it may have been the sole alt keeping up with BTC! These other prices are also from 10/12: Bitcoin Cash almost unchanged at $311 and change. Dash? Also little changed at $297. Monero is down a fraction to $86.

 Looking at crypto happenings , I like the SGTReport interview with David Dubyne on 10/10. It's the first convincing interview I've heard about ICO's and I may finally put some of my BTC into an ICO or two. I'll be doing my own due diligence well in advance of any buys and so should any of you considering an ICO! For Americans, most ICO pre-sales are not available, so don't be at all surprised, yet many of these tokens will be on exchanges in short order. The interview is truthful that some ICO's will fall flat on their face, yet some will have incredible gains as cryptos will replace more and more conventional trading in fiat. Combine these with a smart contract, such as with Ethereum (the fuel for that blockchain) and you've got a potential win-win! The interview is nearly 52 minutes so pop some corn and consider what David is saying. He sees China getting more aggressive in the crypto space, and mind you, China does what is good for China! This makes sense since crypto is NOWHERE near topping it's bubble. In fact, this may be the biggest bubble of our lifetime and the party is just getting started. His opinion is similar to Bill Holter in the manner that credit will be cut off at some point. If people can't grow food and it can't be transported to the stores due to no credit, (they'll empty in days or even hours) talk about chaos! People will kill over food, especially in the cities. Although he sells some stuff, there's a lot of info with it, too.

 There's plenty of other news to discuss. ObamaCare will likely die on the vine with no more subsidies going to the insurance companies. I opined either here or elsewhere that the Gravy Train in that regard would be derailed at some point. To understand what the previous administration did as illegal by providing these subsidies without implicit Congressional approval is going to put incredible pressure on those needing insurance with pre-existing conditions. You've NOT heard the last of this, I assure you! A federal judge or two might try and derail this, as they did with Trump's attempts at limiting visits from certain areas of the globe. I did clue my mother in that it was a matter of time before Trump opened up competition to other insurers to everyone wanting additional choices to their health insurance options. Where this leads to, there will be both winners and losers. That's it for now. I've got to get a new pair of safety footwear for what I'm going to start soon, they providing the rest.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 My series on the Arkansas River Headwaters Source hike continues through Saturday and automatically updates at midnight Central Time, USA with a new image. The one for today, 10/11 shows me at the very source grabbing a water sample of the purest portion of this great river. A related website, available from my Main Page on or after 10/15, will have all the pictures of this series and several more with a map and tips of what you'll need if you decide to do this hike in the future. I'd choose a narrow window from Mid-August through Labor Day weekend to do this one. Note too, the 2016 hike was cut short due to afternoon thunderstorms. Also, beginning 10/20, I'll have more of my Lazy L&B pics going in. This year's experience was better than last with the rides deep into the woods. I'm still struck with all the memories of the area, so a tip of the hat to Jason & Deb and their daughters, also their fantastic neighbors, the Finleys. Eclipse 2017 was spectacular and almost no one could make a cell call or access cell data for hours after the event. I'm looking forward to 2024. Arkansas will be first choice where I'll go if the weather cooperates early April of that year. Note though, that's also severe weather season so I may develop a Plan B for somewhere in west Texas. Stay Tuned if you wish to track and join me for the next great American total solar Eclipse.

 Texas County and Guymon news? "Agent Jonathan Wright" is a scamming asshat! Claiming to be from the IRS, he's calling people in the area on their landlines and wants gift cards or wire transfers right away or he might threaten to get a SWAT team at your doorsteps. Cuss him out if he calls you. If he's butthurt enough to keep trying, definitely run the *57 feature of your landline phone just seconds after Our Hero hangs up and follow up with a call to the Texas County Sheriffs Office to report him. They're the agency to receive the trace, according to PTCI. I've learned this feature is not yet a billable one here, but please be sparing in it's use! For PTCI customers outside Texas County, I didn't inquire what other agencies receive the traces, but I'd try your county sheriff's office FIRST. No doubt the IRS would enjoy taking someone as him into custody as has already been done in India months ago with a whole bunch of telescammers, their Big Boss included! The booty taken contained well over 100 Million bucks if memory serves me. Don't you be their next sucker! Much sadness to report that High School Science Teacher, Katelyn Lakin passed on 10/8. She taught 4 years here. I still have no word on funeral arrangements so monitor either the paper or Facebook if so inclined.

 Looking at the crypto news; Bitcoin has been fairly volatile, yet quickly recovering. There's plenty of Hard Fork talk in advance of the expected November event. The previous one was BIP 148 which created an identical chain, creating an equivalent amount of NEW coins for any HODL'ler - they being called Bitcoin Cash, this new hard fork to implement Seg2X or increasing the space per block in the blockchain from 1Mb to 2Mb, allowing Lightning Network the capability and "wiggle room" to operate, creating yet another identical chain, with it an equivalent amount of NEW coins to be called Bitcoin Gold. Confused yet? Most wallet apps still can't split between the first two chains. Many exchanges barely recognize BCH (a few call it BCC, although that's reserved for BitConnectCoin!) then the upcoming BCG coins will likely be sold off too for more BTC. I'm still hodl'ing through these growing pains and do not want to lose the "free money" these additional side chains to Bitcoin provide, regardless of the amount! The Private Key a Cold Storage holding uses will work with the first two, likely all three chains as I expect yet another identical chain to follow. Anyone who holds through both hard forks using their own wallet or cold storage will have all three coins from what they presently hold. Personally, if you use either a hardware wallet where you possess the Private Key or are utilizing Cold Storage, you're all set and should HODL tightly through the next hard fork, then await at least several days afterwards to let the dust settle. Most are expecting LN or Lightining Network to offer more privacy as using it takes one directly off the chain. It'll certainly be far more difficult for governments around the globe to parse together enough information to make strong enforcement of taxes, although resolving this point might make cryptos go mainstream much quicker. My opinion? They'll go mainstream regardless. Bitcoin's price is around the $4800 range. It bumped above 4900 and corrected to 4700 yesterday. Bitcoin Cash? Fairly steady around $312 USD. Litecoin? Bargain Basement Pricing again! 50 bucks and change USD for now. HODL for the long term. The coin's limited numbers with decent acceptability bodes well for LTC's future. Dash? After a brief flash crash, it's recovering to $291. Monero? The privacy lover's coin is down over 5% over the last 2 days to $86 today, a bargain for now.

 Russia wants to again ban Bitcoin. Reportedly, they've done this three times in the past year? Notice this go-round' it barely recorded a blip on MOST exchanges, not a noteable event to mention here in America. The Chinese still don't like Bitcoin, barely tolerating it. Both nations are effectively weaning themselves of the Yankee Dollar. The bottom line I've been preaching is the Genie has left the bottle and doesn't want to return, so I'm not at all concerned about their continued circle-jerking. Going a full-180 which includes the fact Japan has their first licensed exchange (you mean MtGox escaped?) this story expands into the tiny nation of Vanuatu. Simon Black informs his huge audience of this grouping of 80 islands in the South Pacific being the first to accept Bitcoin for citizenship! Using the present price of Bitcoin on Bitstamp (whipping out calculator) as of this submission, we're looking at 200,000 / 4,806 = 41.6+ BTC. For true HODL'ers, this might be the best way to give yourself greater freedoms. A second passport is fantastic in it's own right, but citizenship in a new nation is a "Plan B" being realized. Business Insider pointed out that citizenship to Vanuatu allows visa-free travel to 113 other countries as a member of the Commonwealth. Those who buy citizenship face low taxes and are not required to pay capital gain or income taxes. I predict we'll see more nations joining this bandwagon! Considering how few Americans presently use a passport as a form of identification with many states considered as non-compliant with the Real ID Act, I expect huge travel issues if DHS truly enforces it as they almost did by threatening Texas. By the way, do any of you reading this in Texas County and Guymon recall the massive stink I brought up in March with both former Senator Marlatt and Representative Murdock on this very subject at the Eggs & Issues breakfast? I didn't back down and let the people in the room realize how their Tenth Amendment was being bypassed with these legislators' Yes votes, to placate a bunch of unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats whose ability to safeguard what rightfully remains with Oklahoma, specifically the data they demand, as remaining in serious question, citing the Chinese hack of 2014 or 2015, and the fact that Oklahoma's bill allows for additional data to be collected, such as iris scans, handwriting samples, etc. to remain "in compliance." Even after all this rigamarole and whack-the-mole, DHS considers the Oklahoma driver's license as remaining not-compliant, despite the bill's passage.

 To conclude, it's time to wash out our brains with something epic! This touches me to my bone marrow as I attended an Iowa college, understanding quite a bit and gaining appreciation for their people in the process. A recent development for Hawkeye fans, the "Kinnick Wave" gives all Iowa football home game attendees (usually 70k+) to turn and wave at the nearby, towering Stead Children's Hospital at the end of the first quarter. Whoever thought of the timing did it right! You're not interfering with the momentum of the game or causing too much an issue at Halftime. If I move back there, I'll make it a point to attend at least one Hawkeye game at Kinnick in Iowa City and wave my big black hat toward their twelth floor with all the others Fighting Hawkeye fans and visitors. Shower those kids with LOVE, y'all! There are still 3 home games this season as of this submission. If there's no way you'll ever get to participate in something so awesome, at least keep in mind the Children's Hospitals in your area. These institutions do incredible things. As a ham radio operator, I used the Arkansas Children's Hospital 25/85 Little Rock repeater often as a late teen going into my 20's. The repeater, if even on the air today, is likely situated at UALR (University of Arkansas at Little Rock.) I'd get to see the repeater at the hospital from time to time and also see some of the kids and families there. ACH is still a busy place today and maintains one of the finest burn centers in all the Mid-South. Well, back to my job hunting. Twitter: @windmechanic Email: windmechanic *at* gmail -dot- com.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 At least there's no more wall-to-wall coverage of Vegas for now. I'll expand on the tragedy in the below paragraphs. For now, I have pictures, some of them fantastic, of my Arkansas River Headwaters hike on 9/2 available on my Pic of the Week link. It should be noted last year's hike was suddenly interrupted halfway due to afternoon thunderstorms. On this year's hike, they didn't materialize or affect our group of 13 total who trekked and made it to an area of sheer beauty on the eastern side of Mount Arkansas where this great river gets it's start and rarely entertains visitors. Today, the pictures actually began the hike and these continue daily through 10/14. After the series concludes, watch for a new website link from my Main Page which should include all these photos and more, with a map and additional commentary on how to visit this special place. Usually, August and September are the best months to visit, but the website will encourage those wanting to see this rarely-visited site to prepare accordingly! It was a 6.5 mile total round trip which began around 11,200' and wrapped up at the Arkansas River source, just above 12,500' AMSL. Almost everyone attending this hike had been in Colorado above 7,000' AMSL for at least 24 hours before going on the hike. I was an exception, but I've fared well on previous visits to even higher points in the Rockies, such as Pikes Peak, with no altitude sickness. A nagging headache due to hypoxia was my sole issue. You'll see one of the rare pictures of me wearing a cowboy hat and running shoes, both good to have in this environment as cowboy boots would've been murderous to my feet. Nobody suffered anything worse than a few bug bites and headaches as everyone seemed to heed using sunscreen at those lofty elevations. I'd gladly go back! Again, visit daily if you don't want to wait for the website, so you won't miss a thing. 10/15 and afterward, expect this year's Lazy L&B ride pics, some way better than last years due to a few of the rides being in the nearby Shoshoni National Forest. If you're a person serious about mountain rides where heights don't faze you much, THIS dude ranch gives you the best possible experience. Although it rained on the opening Sunday, I still went to ride. Lightning struck the roadside near where the ranch driveway went (which happened during the ride, knocking out power all down the road) but the electric cooperative came to the rescue and we were going fine later on. All other rides were outstanding and I made each and every ride offered to me as I had in 2016. I was the only guy (other the Wrangler who led the ride) going on the all-day Friday ride, which the scenery was at times, simply breathtaking. Two other ladies joined and we had a nice lunch in a scenic area which most vehicles can't make the journey. You'll get that and other stories from this exceptional visit. Other guests who opted out of that all-day ride can finally vent their jealousy at all they missed out! I'm so looking forward to getting you these images starting later in the month, and they won't be on a daily showing, but 5 days or maybe up to 7 per image, therefore these will likely last deep into Winter, except other events which come along as warranted where this may be interrupted. Even now, Wyoming remains on my mind. It exceeded my expectations. May God Bless it's scenery and especially it's people who make and keep it so special!

 Crypto prices? Bitcoin corrected to the $4200 range after a run past $4400 USD for a couple of days. Litecoin is nearing another dip and buying opportunity at 51 and change, I still love it's possibilities! Ethereum is decently steady at $292 USD. Monero? Down over 2% to 90 bucks and change. Dash has a decent publicity push going for it, not just through Max Keiser and friends. It's making either ad media or TV now!One tweet on Twitter regarding that got my attention so I say "Way Cool!" and I'll keep tracking it to see how it does. It's a matter of putting that thought into people's heads, then hopefully getting through with education as to how it's done. It's still a stretch to get people interested in crypto, thinking of it for the Long Run and using it for regular transactions. For those on the fence, I suggest Bitcoin for starters and either using a wallet on your own computer where you can obtain the Private Key to your holding(s), assuming you have your holdings in a single address, then keeping that Private Key offline and secure in a location only those who need to know, do know! Remember as I've taught back in May on this humble blog, entrusting an exchange is putting significant risk as THEY own the Private Key(s) to your coins, out of sheer necessity. Use them only as necessary when planning to buy, sell, transfer, or make a purchase with your coins. It's a function of the exposure you give, versus overall time. You'll shrink your risks heeding my advice. I was spared being Gox'xed and Cryptsy'ed. Many others lost literally thousands to hundreds of thousands of USD due to those issues in said exchanges, no longer existent. Be damned careful, please!

 Fall is slowly arriving here in the Panhandle. So far, the trees haven't really turned their Autumn colors, but that happens very soon with these shorter days. As promised, I got the backyard mowed, so that's out of the way - perhaps for the season? (crossing fingers.) Today is one of those rare, cloudy ones with below-normal temps. It also was my "overall final day" in the specific division of where I worked. I'm not at all worried since I've saved and prepared for this type of event and I want to thank each of you for your well wishes and prayers. Really, I do NOT need any $$ now. Many in this area have already reached out to me in little ways which are yet BIG to me with no freebie money involved whatsoever as other means being offered are more appreciated. You know who you are and I sincerely am thankful to each of you, even though that celebrated Holiday is still late next month! As long as I watch my expenses going forth, I may not have to sacrifice what I've saved. My Bitcoin HODL'ings are not at any risk although it'd be nice to see Gold and Silver start to catch some footing and rise to help those few stocks I have. So far, it appears the wise thing for me to consider doing is to cash in some of my BTC on an significant upswing, then buy some phyzz metals and put those in the vault. These metals will catch serious upwinds as there are simply too many Black Swans circling about. Back home, I'm not seeing the buzzards flying around the neighborhood as I did last week.

 News is so spread out once outside of Vegas, although things on The Strip are gradually getting back to normal. There's plenty of finger-pointing at the so-far-unconfirmed "second shooter" on the hotel's Fourth Floor (video sources from two angles and two sources claim catching additional shots) but I doubt this, despite the eerie feeling of 1963 and JFK's demise, Nine Eleven, and more stuff which conspiracy theorists claim come from our Deep State. A lack of bullet holes and the fact those windows don't open seem to kill that credibility. To this point, little truly adds up overall about this tragedy. Maybe the guy's girlfriend will give more insight about what may have set him off - his actions from the hotel's 32nd floor still with a heavy toll on the hearts and minds of Sin City, although I sense a dead lead here. Apparently he filmed himself unloading on the distant crowd. What about that note near the edge of a table? That was a gruesome suicide photo of him that got leaked which I won't link to. Some Vegas hotels are now security-screening everyone coming in, and frankly due to the possibility of nutcase copycats, I don't blame them at all! Although the shooter received Valium prescriptions, did he receive anything else which could have triggered anything to cause his meticulous planning of this horror? Yes, 2017 will have this as one of the true stories of the Year, if nothing else of the apparent enigmas firmly attached. Why hasn't the MSM jumped on this one? George Harrison's sitar, likely the one he played on "Norweigan Wood" back in '65, goes on the auction block soon. It comes with LOA's (Letters of Authenticity) from two parties. Hey! If nothing else, you can wash your brain with this wonderful story. Those on the low-tech or low-IQ end of poaching sea turtle eggs will miss out on this "heads-up" story of how authorities intend to cleverly track them down! Can you already shout "Schadenfreude!" Sure you can. Nyaa Nyaa NYAA!!

 Finally, China wants even more and more PM's, especially Gold and they're very strategic in their long-term planning. Don't believe me? Why can't Silvercorp, a Canadian company mining in China, claim any metals outside the Far East? They're paid differently to my understanding. Can one buy Chinese gold? Perhaps through Shanghai's exchange, a physical one. I'm simply not hearing of robust buying, especially by the Sheeple. Many claim the bankers and large Central Banks are buying again, and they're doing so at a very strategic time if this is the case. Canada would be wise to start adding Gold to their treasury if the price continues to tank!! Why the physical PM's? This makes significant sense to me, considering how horribly manipulated the market continues to show. Blood is definitely in the streets even in regard to quality PM stocks as more are simply unloved and so many holders have capitulated. With awesome gains in Cryptocurrencies being realized by many, it's NOWHERE near bubble territory. Therefore, the sitting and waiting for the phyzz metals continues, yet I can use some of them to continue living if it truly comes down to it. At least JPM is sitting on the side after the CFTC finally did something other than twiddle their thumbs inside the Beltway. Some may ask me about Unemployment. For now, I'll keep that sore subject out of the Blog, considering the Raw Ass Deal that an horribly inept Arkansas agency handed me in 2008 (Oklahoma, you did me right! I can give you credit where it's due.) I still go back to visit family and friends who think of me. I'm thinking of them as well and may pay a visit again before I make another move.

Until next time - Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Before going on to other news, how are Bitcoin and other alts' prices? The price cratered just above 4k USD on Bitstamp back on the 28th. It kissed 4350 yesterday and trades around 4400 USD now. Yesterday in the alts: Litecoin? Down 2+% to 54 and change USD. Definitely a steal below $50 in my humble opinion. Ethereum holds nicely, shy of $302. Bitcoin Cash is $422+. Dash is down over 3% to under $319. Finally, Monero falls to 92 and a half USD.

 It's nice to see Bitcoin recovering after all the FUD'iness in the news. Provided other international bad news affecting cryptos doesn't come through, expect $5,000 USD per BTC to come and be exceeded! There's still division regarding SegWit2X vs NO2X where the former grants a 2Mb block, versus the present 1Mb. Personally, if another hard fork MUST come about to ensure 2X going into the future, why not get this overwith so implementation of even more improvements to Bitcoin can proceed? To play Devil's Advocate, a potential hard fork of BTC is planned later this month and would create BTG or Bitcoin Gold. By the way, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) hasn't died and excellent news from Bitstamp that those with current deposit (continuous before August 1st) can now lay claim to the BCH from those coins! (DISCLAIMER: I presently have a Bitstamp holding) I'll be pleased when I can deposit my BTC for a short time and claim the BCH from it, although there's rumblings that other startups plan to encourage more mining and usage of Bitcoin Cash. Where that goes could get exciting for those long-term HODL'ers as myself. Note too, Koinex, a recent newcomer to the Indian exchange scene, pairs up BCH with the rupee within two weeks! With an exchange it's size and growing, this bids well for BCH going forward. If BTG comes to pass, will Bitstamp again consider it too as an useless alt coin, or can I actually get a good pop from the coins to be spun off this upcoming fork? Damn! There's so much news just in crypto and there's plenty of new ICO's popping up as well, many representing different fields. Again, be certain to investigate and ask plenty of questions before investing a single satochi into anything!

 Some of the Black Swans I've expected to land, have indeed done so! From the 32nd story of a Vegas motel room, a scumbag shooter unloads from multiple weapons across the Strip into a huge country music concert crowd, killing at least 58 and injuring over 500 late Sunday night. The shooter reportedly committed suicide before cops smashed in the door. ISIS is claiming responsibility and that may not be so far-fetched, considering the white guy who did this had an Indonesian companion, that nation has a large Muslim population. Whether he converted to Islam and became radicalized is not known as of this submission, but in today's world of cognitive dissonance - damn near anything is possible! Trump already gave a statement earlier Monday and visits Vegas Wednesday. Isn't he to visit Puerto Rico Tuesday? So much going on! Texas and Florida, you're still not forgotten, although you're well on the way to recovery, more so than on Puerto Rico. No matter what San Juan's mayor says, it's going to take more people, supplies and time to get this disaster resolved. Maria and Irma both gave huge wallops to the region. OJ's release? No longer on the radar, even though he's still likely in Nevada. With the mass shooting, that becomes an afterthought. Likely more to come tomorrow!

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 I have warned some that any implementation of a mandatory crypto system in the United States, ditching our ca$h dollars entirely, won't be done tomorrow short of a False Flag event, yet there are crazies in this world which are being "egged on" to react. China and Russia have played this game very intelligently, but world elites are patient and hoping for that surgical strike, that magical Black Swan to land in the right spot. Meanwhile, we have the revivalism of Tebowing throughout the NFL, but for a sinister reason of protest against police brutality. If the League didn't fiddle around and gave Tim the chance he deserved then to demonstrate his skills with the football (his people skills remain outstanding) you'd be seeing him on so many TV shows and heard throughout the radio waves regarding these developments. His was a solemn show of prayer while everyone makes a mass statement. Does this mean the needed revolution in state and federal laws and regulations are at hand? Didn't Trump promise to rid at least two existing regulations for each new one introduced? At least taxes are again on the table, although there's not much to celebrate overall. The DEBT BUBBLE is continuing it's consistent, even greater expansion as all government programs are sancrosanct. Uncle Sam continues running naked with his Credit Card fully functional. Dammit Janet hasn't truly pulled away the punch bowl, either! Finally, a nutty professor via the Economist (owned by the Rothchilds, so what could go wrong?) is claiming that opening the floodgates for anyone from a third-world nation who is unskilled and wants to work, is a GOOD thing! GEFIRA, who brought the article up, notes the serious social consequences. Doesn't Professor Caplan realize there's the piper to pay? His "book smartness" won't ultimately pan out for several reasons and you don't have to be a mushroom to miss any of them! It's difficult enough under the NAFTA situation with the immigrants we've received and the aforementioned debt as mentioned earlier in this blog will come up to bite us where it hurts, although admittedly there are some good ones worthy of remaining who truly are doing the right things. Are you preparing for the economic collapse? Don't be the 90+% who winds up on the streets, desperate for even a crumb if the credit system freezes. The up to 10% whom are will be prepared to defend their cache, simply because they took the time to think through the absolute nonsense the next Nine Eleven event could present. That was one hell of a harrowing Tuesday, barely sixteen years ago - clearly NOT a sweet sixteen at that!

 Well, that's it for now. I have many things to do over the next few days. God willing, I will return with more fodder to think over.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Wow! China did ban exchanges after all. Of course, crypto got it on the chin, but it gives me no reason to worry. I'm still HODL'ing as if nothing happened. There's too much panic selling due to this development and the words of nonsense from the mouth of Jamie Dimon, one of those fiat-beholden buffoons worried about his future. He can already get over it! The overall trend remains upward, so notes McAfee on CNBC recently. He slammed Dimon as to what is truly a fraud that BTC is Proof of Work, requiring 1k USD electricity to produce, versus the thin air and specialized processes to print US currency. He further speculates with a bet that BTC = 500K USD within 3 years. I will wholeheartedly agree, especially if the dollar's value crashes badly, and that the trend may well exceed his prediction. After all, many of us still recall the 100 Trillion Zimbabwean Dollar notes, some are still available as collectibles, yet void of value. A disturbing story from ZeroHedge noted China being threatened by the US of possible cutoff from the SWIFT international monetary transfers or bankwires. Isn't this utterly ridiculous to even consider doing to our main creditor? China has been taking in as much gold as possible. GATA (Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee) makes a strong case that Western vaults have been pretty much emptied to support King Dollar via manipulation of the PM markets. China will likely show their hand at some point as to the gold horde they possess, then America responds with crickets or more chutzpah. Besides, China and Russia have already developed a workaround. SWIFT, having their security issues over the last year or so (can you say, "Bangladesh?" Yes, you can.)

 So how's Bitcoin? The tumble continued downward overnight in America.. I expected a floor to develop around 3200 USD, but it closed in on 3000 USD on Bitstamp before rebounding to near 3800, dived again, now knocking at 3800 USD again. It's simply.. Volatile!! Did any of you buy the dip? There's likely another to take place shortly. Other cryptos got it on the chin, too! Litecoin? Bargain basement pricing at $41 and change overnight, it's back over 45 USD now. Bitcoin Cash was $402 overnight, trading at 392 and change. Dash is up 9% to $277. Privacy-minded Monero is up a fraction to 95 bucks.

 What's going on with my Pic of the Day? 10/1 through 10/14 will have my Arkansas Headwaters hike photos on a DAILY basis, changed midnight Central Time, USA. After that series, I'll post most of those pics and a few others on a new site. For now, you'll likely see eclipse-related photos from my stay AFTER my Lazy L&B visit. Many thanks to John and Monna Finley down the road for their incredible hospitality. John's link is due on my external links as he's a true all-around artist. I've seen his works up-close in both the gallery setting and what he creates at home. He created unique jewelry for the eclipse event for a client who wanted it and I was impressed. His creative thinking and cowboy logic goes into many paintings and other works with puns intended! He's fantastic with designs you want on a knife and can sell you a quality knife for that matter. If visiting Dubois, stop by the lodge and visit the Western Knight sculpture he created, outside and not far from the front door. I'll be showing you a pic of him with the sculpture in the near future. Pictures can't do this sculpture justice. I love it as it's True Americana and True Wyoming.

Have an awesome weekend! The news is total insanity. Between the NORKS lobbing more missiles into the Ocean, PM May in the U.K. griping at Trump over details of the "Tube" bombing in London, and so much more, it won't be boring. I'll be adding more snippets to this Blog and hope to accomplish a lot during this coming week.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Did you heed my 9-3 view on China regarding Bitcoin? It's partially come true. China has NOT outlawed Bitcoin. I repeat, China has NOT outlawed Bitcoin! If anything, the Chinese are outlawing ICO's. Exchanges in China? Many report they're still in business as of this submission from what I've reviewed on Reddit. The Bitcoin price in USD has been taken down over 9% to around 4150 and may crater lower in the near-term. I fully expect a rally as HODL'ers have seen this before, again and again. This is not a bad time to buy the dip if you expect Bitcoin to continue advancing, especially in light of the recent improvements. How did other cryptos fare? Litecoin with a 16% correction IMHO is a STEAL, at 65 USD + change. Ethereum got hammered down nearly 12% to nearly 291 USD. Dash fared better, down 5.5% to 323 USD, yet Monero weathered best, down under 4% at 114.45 USD.

 More and more, Bitcoin is being seen as a means of storage of value. Now, it won't likely be equated to gold or silver (which I hold physical metal of both) but the Bitcoin market isn't being manipulated with naked shorts and useless paper redeemed in fiat as COMEX does. Young people and those with a functional cranium have awakened to the genie who escaped from the bottle. This movement from physical metal to cryptos may well continue until the blatant manipulation shows any sign of ceasing. Until then, the CFTC is utterly useless regarding their primary mission, largely a significant waste of taxpayer money. Think I'm shitting ya? I'm expecting some sort of smackdown in the $18+/Oz silver, and I'm not even considering the "overbought" RSI signal being flashed, with them not even lifting any digit except the middle one, vertically at the Sheeple. Y'all, Silver wants to RUN! The metals are sussing the gradual shunning of the Mighty Dollar, yet another reason to keep an Eagle Eye on the NORKS. ZeroHedge has given me enough fodder for thinking over these past several days. I've been in strong agreement with Simon Black and others who warn to take at least some of your fiat outside of the banking system, putting at least some of that into physical precious metals, also kept outside of your "safety deposit boxes" as a desperate government will do anything! As Simon said recently to paraphrase, there's little wonder why Bitcoin and other viable cryptos are gaining the attention!

 Equifax and other so-called credit scorers may finally be on the way out to File 13! With their massive data breach of 143 Million Americans, including a few in Canada and the UK, they've gotten a nightmare on their hands. Not even over the data breach, but the fact the Big Fish therein had ditched their stocks well before the breached was announced. Let's review this briefly, shall we? How many in this audience, a show of hands please, recall Martha Stewart and her Martha Stewart Living? She went to prison over WHAT?? Simon Black exhudes brilliance in his BBQ'ing of Equifax officials and I submit this to be a true test case if the government regulators in the SEC has even one shred of integrity remaining. They've in concert with the CFTC have done nothing about putting these criminal bankers in prison over Mexican drug money-laundering. Can they, will they do anything about Equifax? How might this affect the other two large information gatherers, whose accuracy may also be in question, even if they don't experience the hacks of the former?

 Now on to news from Florida. Irma, again reaching Category 5 as of this submission, will make landfall during the weekend onto the Florida peninsula as a major hurricane. Miami and vicinity will likely fare horribly. Some wind gusts there could exceed 175 MPH! The eye's forecast takes it near or across Orlando as a Category 2. The storm is so huge that nearly the entire state will experience signicant effects for up to months after this event. Even states outside Florida could experience torrential rains and damaging winds including tornadoes. I keenly recall how Rita affected much of my native Arkansas with many short-lived tornadoes after her rough landfall south of Lake Charles, LA. While I'm at it, I've not forgotten Houston and other Texas coastal locations affected by Harvey as I have relatives in both Crockett and Galveston. It made landfall on my birthday dispensing much pain, yet some of the cleanup has already begun. Fortunately, Katia may not give additional torrential rains to a region with a long time to even dry out. Jose is being watched. He's Category 4 but may not affect any American interests.

 Finally, sincerest condolences to all fans of both Don Williams and Troy Gentry. Williams, the Gentle Giant of country music, passed due to a brief illness. He was 78. Don was hugely influential to many coming to enjoy this genre. His trademark hat happened as a result of his appearance in "WW and the Dixie Dancekings" in 1977. Country radio, especially the classic stations still air his early works. He still performed on the road even into last year to my understanding and was a true class act! Much of the same could be said of Troy. A half of Montgomery Gentry, Troy helped progress country music back into it's roots. He died in a New Jersey helicopter crash which also killed the pilot. He was 50. Rest in peace, both of you!

 This wraps up my pondering for today. I have so much on my mind personally and thank those of you reaching out to me. HINT: I need no money! Keep it to email for now: windmechanic +at+ gmail d0t com.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 I just got back from Colorado, having experienced an amazing hike! There are books explaining that the Arkansas River starts from a spring and this proves true. With a lack of existing pictures and basically none searchable on the Internet, this was a difficult one to nail down until yesterday. Think of a tiny Lake Itasca (the lake where the Mississippi starts in Minnesota) and a few other intermittent, minor springs just up and downstream from it. There are two small ponds, the higher being where the Arkansas truly gets its start at almost 12,600' AMSL, among the highest ponds in the nation. Of the great US rivers, this one seems an enigma. A few consider the true start along the Tennessee gulch where this and Tennessee Creek empty, easy enough to access as much of it is along US 24 north of Leadville, yet the East Fork is longer and has a far more lofty origin, generally considered to be THE true source. Of those truly committed to learning the Arkansas, this hike is a must-do for your bucket list, yet is not for everybody. If you're unable to hike this, I plan a long series, perhaps a daily dose of pictures on it. Because I plan on starting a dedicated webpage toward the true Arkansas River source, the Start Date for this series isn't imminent, yet I'm working on it now with my thoughts still fresh. At this point, I plan on October 1st to be the start of the series, but this Blog and my Twitter feed will give official, likely short notice. Stick around and get ready to learn!

 So how's Bitcoin today? Meh! It dumped several hundred per coin yesterday and barely missed 5k USD on 9-1. Litecoin peaked over 91 USD on 9-2 and has corrected to 77 USD and change as of this posting (if correcting below 75 USD, I consider that a buying on the dip opportunity) and Ethereum peaked 386 USD on 9-2 has took it on the chin to around 342 USD today. Monero (XMR) spiked to 144 USD but corrected to 124, and Dash spiked 395 USD on 9-2 sunk to 330, smartly rising to 355 now. With this correction, we'll see how it recovers. DrJawn on Reddit mused to the Class of /r/Bitcoin "In ratio of supply, owning one bitcoin is equivalent to owning 17 pounds of gold. Once the world adopts the new gold standard, $4900 bucks will be a bullshit archaic sentiment." of which I essentially approve and agree. I'm curious if the good Doctor considered those "lost coins" in his formula? I've declared my specific case of .27 BTC lost on here back on 5-25 (scroll way down for that entry!)

 News, you ask? Some governments, apparently China in this group, are getting damned snarky at BTC and crypto in general. News Flash! There's no shoehorning the genie back into the bottle, and must I remind you the banksters are putting in their own ideas for their "compliant" crypto which they and the government can use as yet another attack vector toward We The People? This is important for everyone to remember. You want your ca$h? You want any anonymity? You desire any Liberty at all?? You're likely gonna have to FIGHT the powers that be to keep cash and anything else supposedly private as relevant! This means paying attention to the sneaky Congre$$ Critter$ whom both individually and collectively introduce nonsense, yet they have their hands out to be greased during Election! It's become an oversized Ponzi as I see it today. I thank each of you for spreading the word about my Blog and website in general. It's picking up more hits according to CloudFlare. Have a wonderful Labor Day Holiday, I'll return late Tuesday.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Welcome to September! What the... Harvey? Yes, if you watched my Twitter feed, I gave fair warning of gas price increases on both 8/23 & 8/24, before that buzzsaw made landfall! As of today, one local gas station has gone up nearly 20% and I fully expect more increases as drawdowns occur at Cushing, even with Washington releasing 500,000 to 700,000 barrels from the Strategic Patroleum Reserve (mind you, there's been talk of trimming that back strongly due to aging of equipment used in the SPR.) I had only the afternoon of the 23rd to get ready for work after returning from Wyoming and the withdrawal from both the Lazy L&B and their Finley neighbors was painful. I wish I were back there now! Did any of you see the "Wind River" movie? Thom Calandra recommended it to me and it was not at all disappointing. Plenty of action, tragedies, even some unique Poetic Justice quaintly and superbly dispensed! I won't spoil any of it except it's "R" Rated due to language, graphic images, a rape, and significant violence. If you can catch it on the Big Screen, please do before it vaporizes to streaming and DVD. Last night was the last gasp here in the Panhandle. Salutations to Northridge 8 for carrying it! I have The Snowman on my list to watch, come October. Well before then, on the horizon for fellow Weather Weenies is Hurricane Irma, now a major Atlantic storm heading into the Caribbean. Some forecast models indicate it could wind up in the Gulf, yet a few show a strong turn toward the Carolinas and make an East Coast strike. Of course it's too early to truly forecast that girl, but she's blossoming fast - certainly faster than my carnation rose bush next to the porch. It's nice to get a second set of blossoms this season, so it gets another watering over the weekend. Bear in mind, the peak of hurricane formation is still days away. September 10th typically marks the tip-top. SST's (sea surface temps) remain very high in the Gulf, so I expect further storms to wreak havoc. It requires only 77F (25C) to maintain one if the winds are favorable with little to no shear.

 So how's Bitcoin? Bitcoinity tells me what I'm looking for and Bitstamp's present quote is north of $4700 USD. It shouldn't be long before I win that bet of 5000 USD per BTC being obtained before year's end. Litecoin is putting on a rally! $72 and change for an 11% gain over the last 24 hours. Ethereum recovered nicely over my vacation and commands nearly $390 for a unit as of this posting. I still don't like the ICO's and suspect some will fail miserably. Badly, many equate ICO's with well-established cryptos such as Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum. I believe some ICO's will prosper over the long run and also believe many will bust! There's increasing attention giving to both Monero (a recent decent runup to nearly $140 now) and Dash (almost on-par with Ethereum) with Max Keiser jumping on the Dash bandwagon. I like both and am covering them now. For the record, I have just BTC in cold storage for the time being and taking a serious look at unloading at least some for physical metal for the vault. No solid decision on this just yet, but it's nearly Labor Day and the metals being hammered mercilessly is about to end for the year, IMHO.

How's my Old School Bulletin Board project? The phone line for it is scheduled Tuesday to be installed and I've decided where to put it. The serial cable wasn't exact, yet an adapter to make it usable is on the way and I should receive it Monday. Setup will proceed as I have time, and I have enough events going on that I won't have time to be bored! I've still not downloaded all the recent Wyoming pictures and videos. I have those visiting this humble blog, awaiting the links to view what I recorded. Three videos made the cut, yet I need to prepare captions so I need not cut any valuable audio while telling more of an understandable story. You're NOT forgotten, so please be patient and thanks for your interest.

 Finally, there's some developments with my present work which will be changing in the coming months. I have no reason to cry over any of it as God may well be telling me it's time to move on. I will relocate with the right opportunity due to experiencing a huge disappointment. It's too early to say exactly what will happen, except that change is imminent and your wise counsel and prayers are encouraged and welcomed. I'll fill those in my inner-circle of the "skinny" on this soon 'nuff AND I easily have the $$ for a complete move, including deposits if warranted. Just Sayin'. Until next time..
Gracias & Alles Liebe,

 Mark

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 Until next Wednesday or Thursday, expect little of me here unless Breaking News interrupts. For now, Hurricane Harvey slam-dunks the Texas coast on my 53rd birthday. My sincere prayers are for Texans affected by this gigantic buzzsaw which hit the coast as a Cat 4 storm as of this submission. Of course, the Eclipse on the 21st was my gift. Actually, God deserves the full credit for delivering it to me with the help of several people whom I appreciate even now and hope to make lifetime friendships with. Watch this blog for links to videos made during and after the eclipse in western Wyoming. It'll take time as I'm really very busy.

 How's Bitcoin doing? The rollercoaster is back in action with several good moves, but a few have been corrections, too! It's in a 4k - 4,400 range and I expect that will be overcome since SegWit has been activated. It's also hilarious that BCH, Bitcoin's bastard stepchild has continued to hang on! The way I see it, as long as BCH is worthy of at least some fiat, I'll not trade with an exchange unwilling to recognize it. I want the value it has, for what it's worth!

 That's really it for tonight. I have to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be better and I've already made an idea to resolve something which made my birthday at work a miserable affair by the afternoon. It'll take more people to approve and implement it, but it's simple, safe, and I'm convinced it'll be proven as effective as another method still used to improve yield. Just one incident saved by it will pay it completely and then some!

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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I've gotten back from Wyoming. What an ECLIPSE this was! Thankfully, everyone in the region was blessed with such a unique sight. Many thanks to both Lazy L&B and their neighbors, the Finleys for an excellent stay. I'll be processing at least a video or two, one which you can see John chatting with others enjoying the eclipse as totality had just wrapped up in western Fremont County. Watch in the future in this Blog for links to these videos and an external link being added in my External Links to John's website. He mentions it needs updating as he has many projects coming up. He was fairly busy with a few that had recent deadlines which I saw for myself were impressive! John has many fans of his work and does many artistic disciplines.

 I have so much to download and unpack for the 2 weeks I was away from the Panhandle, yet I'm back to work on the 24th and it's 12 hour Day Shift work. A lot is asked of me, so please be patient as I gradually reset everything, including catching up on so much news. Bitcoin was definitely on a roller coaster and continues zig-zagging! SegWit is reportedly in place. Max Keiser updates his outlook on Bitcoin to 10k USD, although I doubt it'll fill in that quickly until late in the year. To play Devil's Advocate, Max may well be spot-on as Clif High retains his 13,800 USD call on Bitcoin sometime in February or early Spring, 2018 from his WebBot data. I appreciate how Clif is trying to combat those manipulating his video content! He has my admiration for his efforts and I'll likely use some BTC to buy a future report or two as his data carries value.

I should be back in the evening with another Blog update.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 I've been busy with several things around here, but Bitcoin has been putting on a hell of a show the last 3 days! For those with full nodes which signal BIP148, keep these on at least through 0000 UTC 8/10 to ensure the proper block passes. The crypto made the $3400 level yesterday, a bit shy of 3500, then back above $3400 as of this post. Max Keiser predicts a $5000 USD level on BTC fairly soon. I agree, but I figure unless the economy takes a Black Swan Dive shortly, we'll see such levels late in the year. In fact, it would be healthy for BTC/BCH to take a correction, yet SegWit2x is the primary driver I see toward yet more good news and a spiky outcome. Chinese miners are still cited a source for the loftiness, yet ZeroHedge has an article from Tyler himself regarding a well-funded Bitcoin trader, "Spoofy," who seemingly controls pricing to an extent in at least Bitcoin itself. I'm also wary of the bot-driven manipulation and am pleased I'm just in a holding pattern. I'm already in a pissing contest with my favorite exchange who for now considers Bitcoin Cash (BCH), the ugly, smelly, bastard stepchild of this recent fork as an alt-coin and plans no support whatsoever with it, despite the fact they noted a balance for users having chosen to keep their balances within their exchange and the price has been back on the rise, nearly $80 higher USD to $350 USD as of this post. If any of you are after the real skinny concerning the BIP91/BIT148 information, this link is really informative, although I agree with the author that one must be careful if entrusting a new wallet regarding BCH. I'm already shopping around for another exchange which recognizes BCH and I'm ready to extend my middle finger of disgust at the predecessor. I'm just arrogant enough that once I leave an exchange, it's usually for good - as in "Good Riddance!" (and I won't turn back to look.) but I don't really need the $$ and am not yet to finalize a change yet. The way I see it is simple; If they're not willing to recognize and accomodate the literally 4-digit amount of free USD I hold due to this fork, then "Fork Them!" as I presently hold my coins outside of them in Cold Storage. I'm still trying to get a solid answer, so they're still mulling things over. They owe me nothing anyhow.

In lieu of my proposed Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency course (I'm adding more information to it all the time!) I'm also reviewing several others with courses. If you have over an hour, why not pop some corn and enjoy this brief Cryptocurrency 101 course from Ben Yu. I like the guy's perspective. There's also another cryptocurrency course which began yesterday and is available if you have broadband. Princeton University offers it. At first, it appeared only Facebook users could log in, but you can enter your email and choose a password. Just surf to Coursera, enter that information or sign in with Facebook, then look for the search box as one will be offered. Search for Cryptocurrency and choose the one from Princeton. I warn beginners, at the very first there's some decent mathematical veggies to eat before the meaty stuff. Some important background they give to help you understand the hashes, yet be patient! Remember too, computer science instructors put together this excellent course which will benefit students in that discipline. My course won't offer hashing instruction initially as it will be geared for the beginning user, but as it progresses, I'll offer more time to explain the nuts and bolts of HOW Bitcoin network functions under the hood.

 Ethereum has been gaining back some lost ground. Litecoin proudly sports a $46+ price point. Both should be bought on the dips, Litecoin in particular as it remains way undervalued.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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It's a new month, but for Bitcoiners - hopefully a NEW ERA! Block 478484 was the first mined under UASF which was apparently a big success for the Bitcoin network itself. So far, no moonshot (which I more or less expected) as the rollout from this had it's share of FUD. Additionally, a HARD FORK for Bitcoin was announced as well with SegWit2x yet to come, likely late in the year. Could these BOTH hurt or help? A new Bitcoin Cash coin was created as a result of this HARD FORK for hodl'ers and those who literally have their own Private Keys or personal wallets as myself are very happy. CoinBase announced on their blog they will have support for the new Bitcoin Cash coin, but won't allow withdrawals until 1/1/18. The UASF and Hard Fork should keep the miners from getting too greedy, yet this can still cause contentions and issues for bitcoiners entrusting third-party wallets and exchanges to their coins for whatever reason (which by the way, I still DON'T recommend!!) At this time, there are several symbols swimming around for the Classic and Cash bitcoins which most exchanges are already equipped and trading both now. The Bitcoin price flattened out in a narrow trading range around 2700 USD, yet has snuck upward and teasing 2800 USD now. On 7/29, the price of Litecoin went below $40 USD on most exchanges. I hope you took advantage of that dip I recommended here recently as you're in some more value today. I maintain that below $40 USD is still a BUY for Litecoin. In my opinion, Litecoin remains undervalued and a surprising number of merchants and BitATMs already recognize and handle this time-tested crypto. Since that dip, it spiked over $45 USD on Tuesday 8/1 and has formed a pennant. Where it breaks out is yet uncertain, so keep some powder dry and at the ready to buy m0Ar!

 Did anyone heed my post which essentially became the news? This is what your humble author strives for, y'all! Scroll down to the previous entry of 7-31, then the House Bill 3364 "Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act" or briefly, The Sanctions Bill if you doubt me, read what I noted, then click the link to see for yourselves that Public Law # 115-44 came of it with Trump's signing. He had no real chance to veto it since Congress could've easily overridden such! You're watching the Deep State sinking their claws deeper into the resistance and the chances of War becoming even greater, even if the SHTF with incredible force! You see, this will make some people way, way rich and most will become poorer than church mice if that's realized. Are you preparing NOW? The global collapse to come will make most nations very poor at the first as Harry Dent's prediction that gold will suffer a value drop will be realized, but I disagree on the duration of time this lasts. Harry says ca$h will be King, and at the first, he will be proven correct, as less actual cash becomes a deflationary event, especially due to the War on Cash which he doesn't mention, yet I predict shall be a factor for those of you keeping up with news trends! Some fiat secured away outside the banking system should be a part of your preparations!! Credit will likely become frozen and ATM's will likely run out of $$ with people lined up around the block to get out what little they may be allowed. Will that really be a good use of your time or that of your loved ones to spend in a line with edgy, desperate people as yourselves, or will you collectively cover your asses now?

 A closed-circuit message to learned, geeky Windows 10 users: Are any of you running out RAM, suffering computer crashes as of the latest update given under 2 weeks back? Advanced Users should first look at your Task Manager to see what's happening under the hood! For me, it was two things: Amazon has this browser search crap they installed on my system, so going to Control Panel and uninstalling it took care of it. More insidious is Cortana and her evil twin Cortana Background Task Host! She's totally intertwined with Windows' search function now, so unless you rename SearchUI.exe, you'll never get rid of her! On the flip side, your Windows Search function won't work either until it's renamed back. This is true even if you attack Cortana through the registry. I nipped that nonsense by going into Cortana, then into Settings, then going through each setting and unselecting the ones with no applicability. It took about 25 or so switches, but my computer is mas bueno! I figure the update dicked with my settings, that Microsoft isn't satisfied that more and more are figuring ways of keeping personal information from being leached by the excellent "hosts list" available through Major Geeks that essentially keeps certain URLs from connecting, yet you as a user won't notice a thing.

 I'll be away from work but heading back in a few days. Any news to suggest I cover and comment? Drop me a tweet via @windmechanic and I'll likely follow up.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 For now, Bitcoin is in a holding pattern. If you are running a node, you should immediately upgrade from the 0.3 to 1.0 version of the UASF.CO linked software. Instead of two or three peers, I got 28 connected to me! NICE JOB to the Devs on this software. It also is way, way better in parsing existing blocks than previous builds. I'm wondering what price action will happen in the days to come? SegWit BIP 148 isn't an overnight thing, but an exciting advancement in Bitcoin's future. As I learn more, I'll comment more as well.

 The weather here? It's Arkansas humid! Outside, it's thundering and raining while I type this late on the 30th, and NOBODY here complains about rain - we adore it! A monsoonal moisture plume has moved in and parked for several more days. I may as well be visiting with family and friends in the Natural State with these 60+ degree dewpoints and highs into the 90's. The good news is that the rains are increasing and highs will be tempered nicely going into next week with some forecast lows into the upper 50's! It won't be a typical August, at least at the start. Remember too, the solar eclipse is barely over 3 weeks away.

Finally, in the shitstorm of politics, it surprises me little that insanity rules the roost. When it was reported (I think last week?) on ZeroHedge that Americans would not be allowed to visit North Korea, that was a hint things were changing quickly! Ambassador Haley to the UN is also parroting that things are changing in regard to the Norks. Putin is tossing out well over 700 American diplomats from Russia, but we've been poking the Big Bear with a stick too much and pissing it off. Leave it to Congress to shoehorn some crap when nobody is watching! HB 3364 is such an example of just how fast our Congre$$ Critter$ act when it's in certain parties' interests. As you can see, it's already on Trump's desk. So much for the MSM reporting the real stuff, right??

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 In the past, many of you didn't hear too much about serious ride accidents at the numerous Fairs across the nation. Because of the pressure to go more extreme, as in more, MORE MOOARR!! The rides are more extreme today and so are the challenges to ensure they're safe are far more pressing than ever. The first night of the Ohio State Fair in Columbus was proof positive of this as you may have already seen on the news. Bystander video was deemed too graphic to continue airing on any TV outlet. That was probably wise in retrospect as I see some of the state's finest attorneys, conveniently based in the same county, jumping on this aftermath in a New York Second.

 Now to the lightning rod of American politics! There's too much to mention, yet the Boy Scouts and the fallout from Trump's speech continues to create plenty of fodder. The New Yorker magazine made this particular merit badge cartoon which the response depends on one's educated experiences regarding Scouting (I was part of and my mother was an assistant den mother of Cub Scout Troop 33 in Benton, AR where I spent those years.) It's both funny and repulsive, but my experience in media takes it all in stride. It does illustrate how polarized the nation as a whole, truly is. Expanding on that, Trump's tweets regarding transexuals having no place in the US Military is generating plenty of nasty responses, particularly in the LGBTQ community. There are also huge numbers of conservatives praising Trump's decision via Tweets that combat readiness "trumps" most of the points which critics readily tossed at it. I'm also noticing in both the UK and US of the interest of people wanting to bring in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as either UK Prime Minister or replacing Trump with him. What the hell, people? Trudeau isn't American or American-born. Do we teach American students that a President must be native born? Oh, but schools can't teach REAL history, lest it be considered some form of microaggression. Yes, we're becoming the Divided States of America, just in time for the economy to collapse and all Hades breaking loose, the way that certain Soros players and Deep State are licking their chops over so Congre$$ can become our Savior. It'll be extremely rough, no matter which political view you support. Are you and your loved ones preparing now for the insanity?

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 What's going on with PM's, especially gold? Perhaps you don't know WHERE that metal's been! Two women were caught with 4 kilos of the shiny stuff where the Sun rarely shines, but the metal detector sussed them out! That's all fine though.. Gold and Silver don't care where they've been. They'll remain valuable regardless, even if too many dump their hordes for cryptos. There have been idiotic statements in the past given by one high-level gold official trying to displace attention given that the metal could be "eaten by rats whilst in storage." This human rat has three long-term gold crowns in his mouth and has even worn out one in the past. I also insist on saving my crowns as they're literally 18 karat with enough alloy to make it equivalent to a human's natural hard enamel. Each weigh around a tenth-ounce so that adds up! Using that logic makes some officials either look stupid, or they're trying in vain to play internal politics for whatever convenient reason(s), the latter being far more likely.

 Krystyna Farley is 91 years young. She's just awesome! She's experienced way more than 99% of the rest of us, but she continues strong and with grace and charm to spare! The story was good to wash out my brain and it's proof there's certainly hope going forward if you seek it. Driving drunk is NEVER a good thing! Driving drunk in one's driveway, even to drive a few feet without leaving one's private property is still not o.k. in many jurisdictions. I'm surprised this made Michigan's Supreme Court, but there's powerful comments on both sides of this issue in a state with a liberal bent, so the fact it danced around smaller Courts doesn't surprise me. Still, one should ask "What if he was so impared he had an accident inside his garage or caused damage to property, including the home itself?" The homeowner's underwriter would have a challenge on their hands if the Court had ruled in the defendant's favor. He would've been charged here in Oklahoma, even if the motor vehicle was not running, as having a key in the ignition is considered as intent to operate the vehicle in my state. I'm certain other states have similar laws on their books, too. I'll have to concede that Property Rights were brought up and that was the primary reasoning for the dissenting opinions in the case. Finally, for the next several days, beginning today, you can learn more about how Amarillo's Cadillac Ranch is a social experiment as well as an implied exhibit of Art through my Pic of the Week link. So you won't miss the story, I'll change the pics DAILY at midnight Central Time, USA through the end of July, then the remainder of the pics will be randomly dispersed through the remainder of 2017.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Bitcoin was stuttering in a 2700 - 2850 range, although quite respectful it corrected further this morning into the 2600 range then back into the 2700's when posted. Joseph Young on Twitter (@iamjosephyoung) tweeted not long ago: "Rothschild bought #bitcoin today via Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC). Mainstream adoption is happening. Institutional investors are buying." I'm not yet impressed since I don't see a moonshot. No new 52 week high and it closed lower than the peak. Maybe I'm reading too much into it? Time will tell. There are quite a number of people trading away their PM's for Bitcoin, betting the whole damned ranch on it. Andy Hoffman mentioned in a recent interview of a client cashing in several million of metals, his whole stash, for crypto. I think that's a mistake as there's still risk involved and his impatience will come back to bite him in the balls when the metals he sold are no longer readily available. Worse yet, doing so gives shorts more available metal in which to cover. Sadly, our government has a serious issue of Lack of Rule of Law, except of course against us little people who actually work and pay ridiculously high taxes. I don't blame Trump, I blame the Congre$$ Critter$ and for those in either State or Fed legislatures who don't listen to me, I'm slamming down the Election Hammer at the Ballot Box come next election cycle, without exception! So should each American who shares my humble concerns in this regard. I agree with Bill Holter that Rule of Law must be respected and enforced or we'll no longer have an America worth either fighting for, or living in for that matter.

Now let's talk American health care! Got around 20 minutes? Consider watching this impressive interview Max Keiser did with Karl Dettinger (Ticker Guy) from Florida. Although I've been critical of some of Karl's viewpoints in the past, he's someone who truly understands the Bottom Line with Health Care in the USA and has done significant things in his own life to improve his future health. He's definitely no hypocrite and you'll likely take something from this, even if the Reality Check most get becomes hard to deposit or spend!

 Making Bitcoin Great Again (#MBGA) is something for us HODL'ers. E1099 of the Keiser Report from RT.com is a must-watch! Pop some corn, spare a half-hour, just ignore his strong accent, sit back, watch and learn! Enjoy what's left of the weekend. Part of mine was spent in Amarillo yesterday. Not everything I did worked out as expected, but I did catch a good friend and we had lunch after a brief visit to the Cadillac Ranch, a pic or two to make the Pic of the Week segment by 7-26..

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Crypto News is all over the place! Now you can see why I was so leery of ICO's as an ICO got hacked in a very clever manner! It wasn't the crypto itself which got hacked, but on the website advertising it. Many won't catch that important detail, but hack3rz have plenty of vectors to do their dirty work when $$ is involved!! To them, very well played - even if the sponsor makes good on making everyone whole again!

 Bitcoin is putting on a rally! As of this submission, it's exploded nearly 27% to over 2850 USD on Bitstamp over the last 24 hours. I'm curious if it breaks the 3k barrier when Asia gets into the act. As you can scroll down and view, I had this on my radar to buy on the dip, but I was working. Well, here I am with time to spare, but the fireworks of BIP 148, BIP 91 & SegWit are doing their thing. Although my Bitcoin node is signaling BIP 148, I'll download the new version shortly. This current build in my humble opinion is the best yet as it doesn't crash and hose my hard-earned downloaded blocks. Litecoin ain't too shabby! $44.67 USD and just shy of 12% gain. I noticed the recent downtrend in that was a hard $40 support, so my call of that (on 7-18) being a buy was spot-on. My speculation gut-feeling remains that $40 USD/LTC or below is still a good buy for now.

 Precious Metals? Silver has gained back some ground since the 7-7 hammering bitch-slap it took upside the head. If you bought 100 Oz that day, you've made an average of $80+ on that to this point in time. For many of you who ordered through a broker, ain't it nice to get something even more valuable than when you bought it? It's clearly Christmas in July, baby!!

 Finally, it does NOT surprise me that O.J. got his parole granted. It's still over 2 months before he's out of the lockup at Lovelock. Everyone is asking 1) Will O.J. get on reality TV? (give me a break!!) and 2) Will Obama join O.J. for some holes down in Florida? You got to admit, he was sharp enough to buy a home there since it couldn't be taken in a bankruptcy, something which likely came out of the huge real estate crash down in the Sunshine State over 90 years ago.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Political tempest becomes the weather! You think I'm kidding, right? Tropical Storm Don in the Atlantic churns westward, likely to affect the Windward Islands. Now a peek into the Pacific shows three systems, the third is Tropical Depression Eight-E on the verge of becoming (or already is) Hilary! Remember too, these names were chosen years in advance so don't go out blamin' nobody but Nature for pulling this one off. I wish I could've put this one together months back with a betting pool. Think it's an omen of things to come? We'll have to pop some corn and watch the show.

 Celeb news? Strange indeed! Celebrity tweeted yesterday "A bizarre photo caption featuring Swift reportedly being carried out of her New York home in a suitcase sent the internet into a mental tailspin, leading many to inquire if the singer has more, uh, baggage than she's letting on. After speculation by many, the photo caption was retracted." which brings me to ponder why this hasn't yet happened with Assange in London at the Ecuadorian Embassy.

 Finally, Bitcoin has again beat the Sting of Death! Yeah, it got battered to around $1850 USD but I'm still working and wasn't able to leave town to take advantage of those beaten-down, unwanted digital conch shells. Today, the cryptocurrency is north of $2350, a decent 24 hour gain of 8.2% on Bitstamp. With SegWit set in the wings for Litecoin, that too is a buy anywhere below $40, but the trend is upward at around $43 1/2 on most exchanges. These are the two I approve of at the moment, but do your own research and don't bet the whole damned ranch! That's it for now as it's getting time to ready myself for a half-day of work. A summer sizzler with near century-mark temps now into the weekend. Sorry, I didn't have enough time to link these today.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 From ZeroHedge; The War On Ca$h accelerates! Remember though, Bill Holter expects a collapse in credit when the next crisis comes, and it WILL! I'm in full agreement with his thesis as I keenly recall Bank of America shaving off a lot of credit line I had in the aftermath of '08, and at that time I never had over 2k in balance! What happens with these businesses who agree to these terms from Visa, then a credit crisis strikes? They can't accept cash because they agreed to a strictly plastic diet?? What if the credit networks themselves suffer a massive crash for whatever reason(s)? Will Visa compensate these businesses for their loss of income due to such an agreement? I have my doubts we'll see any underwriter with the brass huevos to take this sort of albatross on! It'd be a Ca$h C0W for Visa, I'd admit. Still, it could turn out ugly and if I owned a business, I wouldn't touch it! By the way, I wonder if there are any stipulations of these businesses having to turn down any payments with cryptocurrencies. If you know more in this regard, please reach out to me by email or Twitter and I'll update.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 UPDATE! Our HERO Buy Bitcoin sign guy scored nicely on his photobomb of Yellin's testimony yesterday before Congress. 11k USD ain't bad for a day in the office, not counting the BTC that well-wishers sent from around the globe. Dogecoin is well-known for tipping generousity, but to see this with Bitcoin, especially now before SegWit, is a sign that crypto is getting traction and the Genie ain't gonna be forced back into the bottle! My advice to him? Keep your taxes paid as you'll be an easy target for the well-connected bank$ters who never go to jail and have money printed up for their costs of doing business! Furthermore, consider taking out a prepaid legal plan now. Some of your opposition is rather ruthless as you may have observed, yet you played this out with surgical precision. Well done, sir!

 On Women@Forbes, Laura Shin wrote up a fantastic article which should be spread to the ends of the Globe! Hackers know that more and more apps are being used for convenience on one's phone and are targeting those with deep pockets. If you have crypto on your phone, you're at significant risk of losing it if they can steal your phone number, porting it to another location. How they know you have crypto on it in the first place is something every one of us should consider in our personal security. Loose lips sink ships, whether digitally or socially. This article is informative but a bit deep for those not familiar with 2FA or Second Factor Authorization. It goes a step further than a password to gain access, but you'll learn how hackers are thinking outside the box to beat that factor! This is an article I'm archiving for my proposed future crypto class as I see this trend accelerating!

 Canadian news has this interesting bone to toss. There's a battle over a vanity license plate which the Manitoba government has ruled offensive. The letter noted "ASIMIL8" meaning assimilate, has become closely associated with the harm occasioned by the Indian residential school system. Someone complained, but they're not a Star Trek fan. They don't "get" it! We'll see what happens in Winnipeg if it goes to Court. While reading it, I noticed a Nova Scotia man had his own battle over his surname "GRABHER" which the article notes is a common name in Austria, yet I understand why someone not familar would find offense, especially if they were not a male President of the Land of the Free, regardless of which side of the aisle they support. (You already know which two I'm pointing at!) When I rodeoed on the weekends back in the 80's, I was widely known for having "RIDE EM" on the back of my pickup truck and still keep the old plate today which expired in '93. I saw people snap pictures of the plate in more than one area. Rodeo people understood this! City folk had an innate way of switching the "EM to ME" on certain paper documents like oil change places, which if I didn't catch it right then, I'd later phone them and have them correct for their records. It's all about the dirty, dirty minds most of us have! Sadly, states don't recognize an apostrophe as a legal character on a license plate, although I've seen at least something creative of getting that point across in Missouri, their expiration tag decals being vertically placed. I never got any complaints filed about the tag as I wore my cowboy hats damned near everywhere I went, not caring in the least. That hat is essentially an ongoing trademark, strong enough that I could wear it with the bikers I knew. Besides, I place many of them among the most intelligent and cool people on the planet!

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Another hot, century mark temperature Summer day graces the Panhandle. Bitcoin gets a NEW HERO! Did any of you have the luxury of watching Janet Yellin's testimony before Congress on the 12th? It was a fleeting moment when a young guy hatched something quite epic; He flashed a yellow legal pad in the background behind Yellin, it had the simple message "Buy Bitcoin" scrawled and broadcast for maybe two seconds before the director switched cameras. I must warn that a profane rap tune cues up about 3 minutes into this clip from the Dollar Vigilante in Mexico (less than 2 minutes after you start it from the cue I provided.) He's gotten plenty of BTC and there's reportedly a bidding war underway for that very sheet of paper. If Bitcoin reigns supreme, his fame shall endure! There's more from a day or two back.. I came across a strong, compelling article from Marketslant.com regarding us Bitcoin hodlers. Fay Dress makes a point, but it falls short with me. Can Bitcoin be a substitute for Gold? Fay never asks why hodlers in the understanding as Yours Truly considers it so.. It comes down to proof of something to make it so! With Bitcoin, Proof of Work through solving of mathematical hashes by miners who are responsible for handling of transactions renders a reward when an optimal hash is solved. There's a lot of electricity involved nowdays and the rewards are one-fourth what they were when Bitcoin started, with a difficulty factor to land that hash well into the billions. That factor alone should lend thought as to why Bitcoin must have some means of scalability going forth! BIP 148 SegWit is likely the answer. If you scroll down to Steve Wilson's article, you'll learn quite a bit, although I'm in disagreement with the latter part; "If we can�t get away from administrators then the idealistic peer-to-peer consensus algorithm of blockchain is academic, and simply too much to bear." and my response? "Steve, if this is indeed the case, why even allow government to undertake a blockchain which arguably will never be publicly transparent as Bitcoin, nor can it possibly be immutable since authorities, bankers, even the Courts could change it without any offered protections to those lending faith to it. So far there's practically no talk of this, so I must think of it as electronic Civil Asset Forfeiture with little if any recourse!" Remember too, our Congre$$ Critter$ want to bring up and consider Senate Bill 1241, which ironically includes Civil Asset Forfeiture as one of the many punishments, despite Nelson v Colorado having been decided recently by the SCOTUS in favor of the People. At this point, it's still in Committee and any American of voting age should call 202-225-3121 to be connected to their Senators and have them vote "Hell No!" to this potential rape of our Liberty, and it's certainly NOT just, even though the Justice Committee Chair sponsored this waste of our time and resources. It doesn't have to be this way unless Apathy rules the roost. I've called one of my two senators and this isn't close to being voted on, so now is a decent time to start putting on the pressure that you're aware! Even if they're bought out by these scared banker$, we can absolutely remember them on Election Day. Stop reelecting these parasites if they won't listen to We The Taxpayers!!

 My work starts again soon, so watch later on for more on this Blog and Breaking News as warranted when I can access the keyboard.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Welcome to July! The Fourth arrived and the fireworks display here in the Panhandle was the best ever! The hot summer continues, but I'm looking forward to some extended off-time. Inside Hackernoon, there's an article from Daniel Jeffries whose resume is extensive and offers quite a bit of sage advice in Eight Simple Rules for Protecting Your Cryptocurrency. I'm in total agreement with this article, even when it flies against allowing exchanges to hold your crypto, and for two reasons; Exchanges are more robust with their security today (a necessity for survival, since hacking is THAT bad) and primarily he uses two-factor authentication! For those used to simplicity of a single password, this takes some getting used to. I used this with the Danish group I entrusted with my bitcoin horde during 2013 and believe it was time well spent. It is, particularly when you're talking about thousands and thousands of dollars, still I'm very itchy of entrusting any exchange of holding my coins for too long a time.

The Twitter World can be pretty bizarre, but you'll realize with perhaps a twinge of jealousy "Hey, I wish I'd thought of that!" Now I think I can say I've seen it all! An effective jerry-rig to keep your weiner dawg from being the Escape Artist he was bred to be! and a brief video of why Aaron Lee hates fidget spinners, such a twenty-teenish thing, but at least they don't require batteries or a Wi-Fi/smartphone connection. There are a number of school districts banning these things except for those with the disorder they're intended to help.

 Hilarity ensues when it comes to students whom realize they CAN cleverly beat The System, so I expect this article in airlive.net to spur efforts by TPTB to throw a monkey hammer into this loophole, because the little people with their glasses and zits can't be allowed to enjoy such tasty perks as this guy! He may not look like much, but you have to admire his brain and the fact it functions better than 99% of many of us. If I were Trump and he were American, I'd have hired him on-the-spot for the Comptroller position! If there were enough of his type, certain tax schemes in the UK would've been bloody well doomed to File 13 scores ago - In fact, quicker if it were here in America. Get that, Senator Grassley?

 Now back to my computing. I've added yet another link or two to the external links.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Over the past 36 hours or so, Bitcoin corrected to around $2300. WHY couldn't it have stayed there? I packed up my truck yesterday for a trip to the nearest BitATM, but am glad I cancelled after watching the next spike. It went back north of $2500 just hours later. THAT'S Bitcoin! How's Litecoin? Correcting nicely for now. Note how it was north of $46 per LTC but found support near $34 yesterday and dangling under $41 as of this submission. Ethereum? It found support @ $220 but up sharply, just shy of $260 USD as of yesterday.

 Dateline, China.. Can you believe this? From Twitter: A woman throws coins in a turboprop jet engine as a token of "good luck." Already, comments are hilarious if not outright serious. One guy wants "the same drugs she's taking" but why was she allowed to get that close to the craft in the first place? China may need to improve their security of aircraft, ya think? At least they should look into it. To be fair, I need to look in my own backyard. I feel for Emily and her infant son, Owen. Although the airline tried several measures to help them, Owen had to be evacuated from a United flight, delayed on the tarmac in Denver due to bad weather and taking on additional fuel. The aircraft was very hot in the back and the baby suffered overheating. Consider what happens to a parent who leaves their infant in a hot vehicle at this time of year! They're usually returning to a child who suffered severe heat exhaustion at best, the child could suffer brain damage or may die in emergency care, or die before the parent returns. More often, the parent gets arrested and could serve prison time. The State handles these charges, but what happens with a situation as this, handled under Federal law? I've opined on Twitter that both the FAA and United need to address this NOW, before a tragedy occurs. It's bad enough United gets additional scrutiny over something as this, especially when the flight crew tried to assist. Some who commented stated that the Captain couldn't violate Federal law, without being specific of the infraction in the first place! Under my understanding of these matters, the Captain has FINAL SAY while in control of the craft and could well overrule almost anyone, which I totally agree with! I simply won't drink such Kool-Aid Commentary. I'm pleased to hear Owen is doing better and that the airline wants to reach out. A review and actions of how to deal with medical conditions where heat is a factor would be a good start! Keep yourselves cool. Summer has arrived and it'll be the Century Mark here Thursday before another blessed cold front crosses late in the day.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 I hope you're enjoying the weekend. Today, Bitcoin is correcting nicely towards 2,500 USD but I'm not even yawning about it. In fact, if it drops much further, I'm tempted to travel and buy some more! You see, I'm not working at all during this stretch of time-off and getting some important things caught up here. The front and side lawns got mowed but I'm leaving the backyard as-is for the honeybees feasting on the wild petunias in bloom. Not much happened yesterday and today but pure bliss! Enjoyed near 80 degree temps. I was tempted to take out my telescope yesterday for a view of Jupiter and the stars, but clouds moved in last night and I'm glad I held off. Stan Higgins authored an article on Coindesk regarding how SB 1241 (essentially the Digital Currency Bill) is counterproductive, and I totally agree with that assessment! It's defintely worth reading for perspective and it's up to each American to voice WHY this is a horrible piece of legislation to their Senators and to do it NOW! Their phone is (202) 224-3121 with a switchboard operator connecting you to the Senate office you request. Your voice makes a difference if enough of you make the call. Don't waste any postage mailing them as all mail gets delayed going into the Inner Beltway. It's a necessary security thing!

(RANT MODE /ON) You gotta love our caring "Feddle Guvmint" and how they waste money, dicking with everything you can imagine. After you read this article from Tiffani Grey in Conservative Trubune, ask yourself "Will these servants of We The Taxpayers care enough to warn the Sheeple as Tiffani just did?" For TL;DR'ers (too long so I didn't read) out there, a recent Atlanta conference contained Cyber Charging Stations which an agency actually hacked "limited information" from devices whose owners entrusted to charge. I believe it's a Trial Balloon and that too many will remain woefully clueless with any sexting and controversial material on their phone to come back and bite them badly in the future, yet it's a damned good wakeup call! This nonsense is being openly done at some of our border crossings today, so there's really no reason to think people aren't already being conditioned to accept without question, especially with the laws our Congress Critters and more state legislators think are good because some group of unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats dreamt it up, as was the Patriot Act, ObamaCare, etc. Anyone with a shred of intelligence will have anything potentially damaging or embarassing materials deleted from your phone well before international travel! Consider too, what's to keep such a device from infecting your phone with other people's viruses and garbage which could cause you significant harm, both personal and legal? What's to keep someone in any alphabet agency from putting kiddy pR0n on your phone, either intentionally or not, after obtaining your "cooperation" to allow them access in the name of "National Security?" Some of you may quickly retort that such occurances can happen wirelessly, but that can be thwarted if you put your phone on Airplane Mode while around any of these minions. Warn your contacts in advance that you'll be doing such a thing for your own security and clue them in to watch out in the future as well! Bitcoin hodlers, if your wallet ain't encrypted and on your phone, I've put this on to clue you in, too! Don't whine to nobody that I didn't "say shit" about it!! RANT MODE /OFF

 Finally, I'm adding some additional links later today to my external links page on my website, especially for Bitcoin which I've promised to amend and more is on the way. With Litecoin gaining momentum and ETH pretty much back to where it was before the recent flash-crash, I think it's a good time to add additional links. Remember, these links are not necessarily an endorsement from me of any products or services offered, I do not receive any money from these links since I use them for my convenience from any computer hooked to the internet, nor am I responsible for any issues you encounter from using my external links.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 It's been a long workweek, hot at times as Summer has arrived, yet the Panhandle has been blessed with afternoon rains lately. As I write, lightning and thunder grace this setting and I'm thankful for each drop of "liquid sunshine" this area receives. To get a cold front when the highs were 100+ was in itself a blessing, but more average to below-average temps for highs are expected for the next several days, saving me much on my air conditioning. Also, as of this Blog submission, we're coming upon 2 months away from the first USA coast-to-coast total solar eclipse since 1918. Hopefully, if you've been planning for that sultry Monday in late August, others and yourself will be rewarded with an amazing view which is said you'll never forget, and inspires more than a few to chase down future eclipses! There are a few sites on the internet showing the path of totality. So many states and towns have been touting their luck in being inside the path of totality. Casper, WY is among those places with a decent number of accomodations (they're on one of the Yellowstone Park routes), yet they've likely run out of rooms, except for the right price! Even though Denver isn't on the totality path, they and other true international airports will receive and send back their share of international shadow chasers whom will arrive for their moment in the moon shade. Of the many eclipse websites out there, I think this is amongst the best of them. I would encourage readers to bear in mind, another total eclipse is coming to America in April, 2024, under 7 years from now. That eclipse will cross my native Arkansas and I'm praying ahead for outstanding weather, although early April can be fickle with severe storm season usually in full-swing. We'll see!

 So how is Bitcoin doing? It took a brief spike when India reportedly legalized or otherwise legitimized it's use. Ethereum took a huge beating, yet I agree with many that it's recent rally will resume. Eventually, the demand will be satisfied enough that the price will stabilize, so unless you're looking at hodling for smart contract buyers, I'd be careful regarding long-term. Asia is a power buyer, but there are many speculators. For those who didn't freak out and crashed various exchanges trying to get out, you'll likely be rewarded for hodling your ETH at least medium-term. Many are buying ETH on this dip, but the recent volatility isn't for the faint of heart!
 Let there be Litecoin! Litecoin is again gaining traction as Bitstamp now allows trading of LTC on their exchange and there are exciting developments. SegWit and Lightning Network are on the verge of implementation with Charlie Lee's coin. I'm very likely to add Litecoin to my hodl'ings. Litecoin is much like Bitcoin, hard-coded to 84MM coins (thus a holding of value), 4 times the total coinage of BTC. It's also easier to mine, but their mining has been combined with Dogecoin and this we call "merged mining." Bear in mind, you could receive either Dogecoin or Litecoin if you're expecting just Litecoin. Dogecoin is inflationary, continuing to allow for more coins. There are exchanges for both, although rumor has it that Amazon has been petitioned to allow payment in both BTC & LTC. I'm expecting both to gain nicely, but there's room for Litecoin to run over the Summer and into Autumn. At one point, I used my tablet to mine Dogecoin (it's a tough little hombre!) and it's getting a new screen installed today. At least I have the luxury to buy LTC on the dip.

 Also, in ZeroHedge today, a new article from Valentin Schmid via The Epoch Times asks "Is Bitcoin Money?" and I have to say the jury is far closer to ruling, YES! By the way, I hope Americans reading this have contacted their Senators regarding SB 1241. It's additional outright rape of our liberties and you can read more about it on the previous entry by scrolling downward. It's still in Committee as of this submission. Even if you hate crypto, you should truly despise the insidious nature of Civil Asset Forfeiture, which this braindead piece of legislation encourages! That's it for now as I continue recovering from a week of work, and the thunder rolls.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 Bitcoin and Cash are under legislative attack as the Swamp Creatures in the District of Criminals are getting more desperate in stealing our freedoms. After all, we can expect more resistance when the mighty Dollar is no longer as mighty, so please keep that in mind! One of the more slimy of these critters, Senator Grassley of Iowa, is sponsoring some of the biggest waste of taxpayer print I've read in months! Chuck goes out on the road, selling himself to appear relevant to Iowans, yet it would've been way better to have had him voted out and put into pasture years ago! I'm very disappointed in the man as he's turned into the Midwest equivalent of colleague McCain; He talks good, then stabs constituents (and the nation) in the back, even if he truly doesn't intend to! Thanks to Simon Black for clueing us in. Simon also notes how 1) Criminal penalties are enhanced from 5 years presently to 10 years under this bill (which portion I've reviewed), and 2) Civil Asset Forfeiture is added, including any contents you have in a U.S. bank safety deposit box. Didn't the Nelson vs Colorado case, recently decided by the SCOTUS in favor of the People, finally settle such matters? Note the threshold is $10,000 USD on this bill, but I strongly predict if not squished in Committee or made into Law, that it shall be loosely redefined - whittled further downward as banks routinely do nowdays. You see, Simon and I are correct in stating that banks are unpaid government spies, as they have no choice in the matter! They can lose access to the Fed and their charter if they don't comply with Suspicous Activity Report submissions. Furthermore, it is apparently illegal for banks to warn customers of the present regulations, and although I've not fully reviewed the proposed bill, it would surprise me none if there's a related provision elsewhere which prevents them from disclosure to the voter Sheeple, whom entrust every last cent and dime to these institutions, eventually to be bailed out at the Sheeple's expense. So much for "transparent" law or an administration for that matter! For most snared up in any dragnet, it'll be a ridiculously costly legal lesson which will require enough victims to finally get a sea-change due to the same pernicious apathy which magically makes its way into nearly everything, either on a Federal or State level, sometimes on both! Talk about a damned racket, yet apathy truly rules the roost, until a revolution takes place! Even with the changes coming about due to the War on Drugs, it's still a huge battle, marijuana remaining illegal under Federal law.

 Bitcoin hodler citizens of the United States must take action NOW in contacting their Senators, demanding SB 1241, Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2017, be removed from consideration by the Judiciary Committee where it's been referred to, or if referred for vote, to vote AGAINST it! "Reasons?", their minions may ask you? Simon correctly concludes this proposed law does nothing to improve the safety of Americans, it imposes a new layer of paperwork requiring more government bureaucracy to go through it, it is excessive in legislative reach and imposes on Due Process due to it's Civil Asset Forfeiture provisions just for starters, then further rapes what little precious Liberty remains. Even if Congress states the disclosure of crypto above $10,000 is strictly for those entering the United States, a video on Smaulgld.com effectively argues that compliance may be impossible, since non-US citizens entering the USA with cryptocurrency will likely not have their information on file, enabling a confirmation in the first place, therefore this bill will have turned out to be extreme overreach, even if it can be debated and argued that one's crypto goes with them, regardless! Furthermore, it can likely be disproven since few if any can memorize a complex Private Key, which must be recited correctly in order for a transfer to work, since I believe each and every owner of a digital device will have their contents completely copied at any border crossing. Yet if this bill becomes law, any US Citizen would be legally required to disclose their crypto holdings if exceeding $10k USD (perhaps less, going into the future) upon return to the USA, irregardless if Homeland Insecurity can actually detect possession or not, according to the bill. Can Americans, even those with no clue to Bitcoin or other cryptos, already see the Catch 22? I fully expect abuses to come from this on grounds of "suspicion" alone, since this is an accepted cornerstone of Civil Asset Forfeiture in the first place! Are you starting to "get" this?? Of course, Chucky Cheesy Cheeto Grassley and his buddies on the Democratic side of the aisle don't have to worry about these things as these matters are so petty to each of them! He's part of the Big Big Club that Carlin joked, (actually warned us) about so many years ago, as Iowans already realize. His cushy pension is likely immune from any such requirements of the hoops the rest of us must jump through! Until these golden pensions and sterling health care plans are taken away from our Green, Green Grassley rulers, etc. - you can never expect any lasting improvement in Social Security or other agencies supposedly serving the People, whatsoever. Just more can-kicking down the road, until the road finally runs out! Chuck, No thanks for being the RINO you've proven yourself to be.

 How's the Bitcoin market? This is a reasonable time to buy the dip! Earlier in the day, it was $2750 USD then corrected below $2350 and trying to settle in on $2450 as of this writing. It could correct further! if it does, a buy of more BTC becomes even more prudent in my opinion! As mentioned previously, Bitcoin has scarcity going for it. It also has a long track record of recoveries. People are also forgetting SegWit and the User Activated Soft Fork is coming up soon as there are simply too many fickle speculators, after the fast buck as Jihan and Bitmain are trying to game it however they can in their favor. My node is among those signaling support for BIP 148, and I salute the Devs for getting the latest copy of Core as nicely stable for my computer, plus it reset after a recent computer hangup! In the past, such incidents freezing this computer would've forced me to reindex the entire Blockchain, requiring weeks to accomplish. I'm very close to getting it synchronized due to these improvements. There are other articles elsewhere who are seeing the same thing as I opined not long ago, that Ethereum will top out. Some predict the pullback could be severe! Keep some powder dry if you want to buy that dip. One analyst sees $450 - $480 being the top, but that's hard for me to say.

It's back to getting chores done. I head back to work very soon and was happy for the highs today in the upper 80's. Still, there's a lot of things I have to get finished. I'll give more entries as I have time (or have to make time) to do, so either check back daily or watch for my notifications of new entries on Twitter under @windmechanic. If you follow me, I'll normally do the same. If you track Bitcoin in particular, let me know and I'll add you to that list.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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The Bitcoin market is taking a minor correction as of this morning. It was nearing $3,000 USD on Bitstamp, but wound up shy and backed down in the $2,725-$2,800 USD range and could correct further. That I consider as usual with this still-young technology. Ethereum, on the other hand, continues rocketing with significant demand! Read on as I'll give you my take on both short-term and long-term thinking regarding both. It's fairly straightforward, but bear in mind my disclaimer: Things can go wrong in this sector as any other. There's no such thing as a Goldilocks Economy or Plateau of Prosperity. Invest only what you can afford to lose. I've done such and don't worry at night. I am an investor and not an investment advisor in any legal sense. Especially due to the fact I do not personally know your investment situation or what goals you seek, I am not responsible for any losses you may incur. However, if you succeed, consider naming your first-born son after me, as he may well thank you if all this works out and the stars and planets happen to align with His incredible Grace, of course.

It's been ten days since my last entry, so what am I thinking? In regard to Bitcoin and cryptos in general, some continue to argue that the Internet has a Kill Switch which shall be invoked if the Greenback or other powerful fiat currencies are severely threatened. I've also seen where bankers and various high-money folk are wanting badly to obtain Bitcoin for their holdings, yet for various regulatory reasons cannot "hodl" (remember, hodl is a purposely-misspelled word for 'hold' and a few define it as 'HOld for Dear Life') Bitcoin or other cryptos right now. What I'm watching and expecting is regulatory relief due to increasing pressure by these entities - these parties being granted at least some allowance of Bitcoins, et al, in their holdings. What is that saying,"Follow the money trail?" From that point forward, I say all bets are off!! Well-connected parties with Real Money and already significant power to rule the D.C. Swamp will put their feet down solidly, not allowing any internet Kill Switch to kill their crypto investment(s), they being among the extremely few asset classes appreciating in value. I for one won't worry one iota after that point. Why? I have the Private Key to my stash, not depending on any online wallet, exchange, even a hardware wallet to entrust and secure my coins. It's working fantastic for me and I sleep good. Consider too, the incredible happenings in the world of Ethereum. Ameer Rosic has a compelling video, in Black and White, about Ethereum hitting $1,000. To me, the most important thing revealed in it, is the fact Ethereum has no hard-coded set limit as Bitcoin does. For now, Ethereum is RED HOT today but as you'll realize, the demand for entire unit tokens will eventually wane. Does that make it a bad investment for now? That depends if you're fiddle-farting around for an "entry point" you chose. If you go in NOW, you'll likely gain with the rest of the Herd, as the trend is upward. The caveat they give in the video is that Ethereum, with no set limit, will at least plateau and correct. With that said, would you be wise to keep at least some of your Ethereum? Hell yeah! This is a very powerful technology and tokens are the "gas" or fuel for Ethereum's specialized Blockchain. The market I expect will remain robust going forth, yet there will be a topping. Don't be that guy buying at that moment! Bitcoin, on the other hand has scarcity on it's side. No matter if SegWit or BIP 148 comes through, your BTC holdings will continue to possess value. The scary thing in the interim is for those hodlers who hold "dust" or tiny amounts of BTC. My advice? Do not lose your wallet or Private Keys with this dust, or you'll likely wish you had! The transaction rate of BTC remains primarily controlled by Jihan and Bitmain. Both receive significant fees and do not see SegWit in their best interests! Consider though, such actions on their part delaying transactions because a large-enough fee wasn't given will continue hurting Bitcoin in the short-term. There are some Troll Masters appearing on Reddit, opining these present fees are "reasonable" (to WHOM??) and I want to puke on the screen. This is no way to promote cryptos to newbies who know of just Bitcoin, and I warn them of an continuing exodus if these fees can't become more reasonable. I expect SegWit to finally enforce some degree of resistance, if nothing else. Heaven will return to Earth when those with BTC dust can pay themselves in an address they control (in the same wallet) with no fee, as I did in the past.

I'm thankful I'm away from work for a few days. It was worth working Saturday and that'll come in handy later in the year for vacation. Since there's a significant amount of talk regarding a potential market crash later in the year, I would implore each of you to keep at least some fiat money in a secure spot OUTSIDE of your bank, and of course, a supply of non-perishable foods. You'll not want to fight for a spot in line or wait hours to access an ATM due to no planning (they could run out of cash before you make it, so keep that in mind) nor will you want to fight crowds for basics which you should be buying NOW! I'm prepared with both, and so should you.

It's a hot day here in the Panhandle with century-mark temps expected, but I have some bills paid up by the time most of you read this. Take care!

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

 Mark

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For Part 7, some have asked me when valuable assets will be backed by crypto. It's beginning to happen in regard to oil with Bilur. This is very new and has it's share of skeptics, so I can't really give you much detail. The same goes with LNK, purporting to link silver with crypto. As of this writing, they're in an ICO or Initial Coin Offering and according to another list, is not available for the crowdsale for US and Hong Kong citizens. As you can read, there's some BTC going into it. If the price of silver finally breaks the clutches of the CRIMEX and LIEBOR and other bankers with the implicit blessings of the utterly useful idiots inside TPTB, then this too could be a sweet moonshot if it's actually backed with the Real Deal. With this one, I know too little, other than the ICO goes on for only a few days longer. Definitely with either of these, ask and research! I'm NOT recommending either.

 Why should one own Bitcoin in the first place? Of course there are so many wanting to make more fiat currency from speculating on it. It's admittedly a huge part of the present Bitcoin economy, but if those same people look past that, there are compelling reasons to become a hodler! Simon Black of Sovereign Man gives his educated perspective into why, and remember, Simon owned two banks in the past! I think it's a worthy read.

Finally, I've researched Coinomia for mining, since I've gotten a request about being able to easily mine from one's keyboard. They look good but offer too few details and I've yet to see any online hoo-rahs given. In fact, others have reported loss of payment(s) from Coinomia. Since they tout solar power, does it die when the sun sets, or did they actually invest in any battery storage to keep their farms going around the clock? Folks, that's a critical question to give with such an energy source for this purpose as that alone could cut an average of half-off your profits. The latter would clearly add to their costs, but their website doesn't tell their story at all well. My college education in renewables tells me there's some BIG holes here. Furthermore, I left a message to Coinomia and their support staff have yet to reply. I figure it's been perhaps 36 hours, yet they should have at least personally acknowledged my query by now, if truly professional with the track record they claim. Furthermore, I can get over bad grammar if there's enough meat on the bones, but I just don't see it, and if they're true and valid to begin with, their $100 "affiliate fee" I read about from another site is something which should have been disclosed earlier! Sorry, but I'll likely pass. If you're going to truly mine coins, why not go ahead and invest in mining equipment designed for the crypto you want to mine and have peace of mind that YOU hold the priceless Private Key to your efforts? Better yet, invest in both solar and battery storage if you want to mine off the grid. It then keeps a snooping government from asking you too many questions of what you're using that extra electricity you're purchasing toward, which could result in an unwelcomed warrant to search your premises! After all, whatever you're doing with the grid energy you're not "usually" spending on things they approve must be going to things illegal in their minds, right?? Their thinking is you may have an illegal "grow room" when such is becoming far more commonplace where marijuana is considered legal for personal use, medicinal in particular, yet remains illegal under Federal law.

My Bottom Line? When it comes to any Bitcoin investments, my coins are way too valuable to risk on either nonsense or lack of transparency, and each of you would be extremely wise to think this way, too! It's YOUR money!!

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

 Mark

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Part 6 for this last day in May doesn't have much. I may well wrap up this Bitcoin series for that matter, but I appreciate the word getting out about this blog. I've gotten a few more Twitter followers recently, but I do little with it nowdays. I'm spending more time putting together a proposed Bitcoin course, so what you've seen here is an unorganized taste of what I hope to present to the public. I'll be getting back to work soon and you'll see not as much of me on The Blog for maybe a week. It's refreshing to note I'm not the only one who noticed Mike Adams'es video and spoke out in contrast. Jeff Berwick of The Dollar Vigilante posted this YouTube video with his own perspective, many of them what I mentioned here on the 28th. Yes, YouTube shows he released it on the 26th, but I didn't even know of it until earlier today. The Dollar Vigilante isn't yet in my links, nor have I visited it regularly. I'll add his site shortly.

These two terms are for more-advanced Bitcoiners:

 * Merkle Tree - Also known as a hash tree, Wikipedia defines it "A tree in which every non-leaf node is labelled with the hash of the labels or values (in case of leaves) of its child nodes. Hash trees allow efficient and secure verification of the contents of large data structures. Hash trees are a generalization of hash lists and hash chains."

 * Nonce - Wikipedia defines it in regard to cryptography: "A nonce is an arbitrary number used only once in a cryptographic communication, in the spirit of a nonce word. They are often random or pseudo-random numbers." Their use helps prevents a Replay Attack, so the Bitcoin network is more secure due to their usage.

 How is Bitcoin doing in the Markets? In terms of USD, it jumped about $100 to +/- $2300 earlier today and is for now holding it's new trading range. It wouldn't surprise me for it to give up these gains and drop even more in the short term, so if you're waiting for an opportunity to buy some on the dip, you may get that chance soon. A dip to 2000 or lower would be decent for me to buy some more. I'm also eyeing Ethereum (notice I got the spelling correct) as it continues to prove it's case. Even so, Bitcoin is in no danger of becoming outdated. I love trashing trolls in forums who spread incredible FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) wanting to scare people out of their coins, especially when the FUD includes easily-discredited statements that Bitcoin may suddenly increase their limits of minted coins. That ain't gonna happen. If anything, before such an event would occur, I would be willing to wager that lost or orphaned coins would be given the opportunity to be reminted. Don't laugh, as others have discussed this before! Since so many coins have been lost, especially in Bitcoin's early days due to lost wallets and loss through exchange errors such as Bitomat some six years back, it would bring such contention to say the least, considering what those coins are worth today! Just to get BIP 148 going by August has taken this long and it's turned out to be a huge pissing contest to some. In my proposed course, I'll bring up FUD and this example or two as hodlers don't need this unwarranted nonsense. One MUST keep up with happenings in Bitcoin, rather than act with emotions on a whim. The same applies to a stock market where you're not exposed to ubiquitous HFT (High Frequency Trading) algos and a seemingly-flat Goldilocks Economy. She's gotten hammered down, not by the Wolf, but the Bears before. Hopefully she has nine-one-one memorized on her phone as she won't escape. The ESF/PPT will lose control and she will be damned lucky to survive, if you see what I see in the tea leaves. Are you preparing NOW? If you already have non-perishable foods which can be readily eaten and some water in a bug out bag or backpack, you're already better off. Bonus Points if you hoard some fiat cash away for this. ATM's could run empty! Even if they don't, do you want to stand in line for hours around the block? Bill Holter and a few others, myself included, believe credit will be immediately ratcheted back, if not halted altogether. Bill adds that transportation to keep store shelves stocked will likely grind to a halt if credit is denied at any point in their chain. Truckers live on credit by necessity! They become targets if carrying significant amouts of cash. Consider too, the long-haul ones often travel through unfriendly jurisdictions in regard to either concealed carry or possession of a handgun for that matter, especially in New York State where one must be a resident of the Empire State to legally hold a NY pistol permit. Although I'm not a lawyer, I have reviewed the statutes regarding this. To legally transport a gun in NY without a permit, essentially you must have it unloaded, it must be in a sturdy case - securely closed or locked, and this point is what gets so many slapped with an expensive felony charge: The ammo CANNOT, I repeat, CANNOT be with the weapon, even if separate. The ammo must be stored away in a separate location where one cannot gain quick access to it. If you fail to pay attention to these little hair-splitting points, don't whine if you get pulled over there and get your vehicle searched, then get cuffed and booked 'cause you didn't know. With some jobs or a decent apartment, even a felony charge on a background could prevent you from landing it, and there's little if any regulation of these public databases being used. But you thought this was America, innocent before being proven guilty? There is hope, though! Not long ago, the Supreme Court actually got something right! Civil Asset Forfeiture could be on it's way out, thanks to Nelson v Colorado, settled earlier this month. Sometimes when all seems so raw and hopeless, we're lifted through the SCOTUS. I admit, it's a love/hate relationship. Sometimes the IRS is easier to deal with! Justice Ginsburg may be irrational in her despising Trump, yet she proved she still possesses a functional cranium in regard to this ruling!

 Despite a few rumbles of thunder this afternoon, I didn't have to switch off this computer. I did some things today and hope you're enjoying this week. Catch y'all after 'while.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

 Mark

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 And a memorable Memorial Day 2017 to all in America. Talk about timing! On Part 3 (5-27 entry if you scroll down) I mentioned Overstock as amongst the increasing number of companies accepting Bitcoin as payment. Jonas Chokun, via 99Bitcoin.com has a growing list of these companies which is featured today on ZeroHedge. I promised Thom as a service to him and the entire TCR Family that I will update my external links page and this remains on my agenda, so give it a day or two before Bitcoin-related links begin showing. It won't be complete by any means, so check back often. I don't go back to work just yet, but it was finally dry enough today that I mowed the entire lawn, big enough that I had to top off the tank to git 'er dun. Now to ponder why some people love this cryptocurrency stuff so much! Compare it against the gold and silver markets. Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog fame interviewed Chris Martenson and released it earlier today. Chris isn't the only analyst or investor stating the obvious, to paraphrase that the Cryptos are acting like gold and silver USED TO! No manipulation or obvious government intervention going on because trying to is futile, at least for now. On the flip side, I've read opinions that the government is allowing cryptos to flourish due to something nefarious they're planning. I don't buy that at all and stand by my opinion with others as Clif High who see this as a very, very young market, despite all the crashes along the way, even if a scenario should come about that one must turn in all crypto for something government-approved. Hey, these ups and downs happens to gold and silver throughout history, although silver is becoming far more scarce than before. I'm also in with Jim Sinclair's thinking there's really no goldilocks investments or Plateau of Prosperity. At some point, the cryptos may well become manipulated, with Bitcoin having the biggest target on it's back. Even with government intervention around the globe, it won't be easy to pull off due to its' decentralized nature, but the Genie is out there and I expect with so many Black Swans flying about, we'll see plenty more value flow into Cryptos, both viable and not-so-viable! I agree some cryptos will crash badly. One should be damned careful with alt coins as there is already a track record of various scam coins and I expect the scams to increase exponentially with the increasing price and interest. This ALWAYS happens, so don't be the next "mugu" (fool) to a "Nigerian Prince." It's all about Due Diligence, y'all. Read and research these carefully before investing. There are exchanges where you can keep your cryptos for trades, but again let me reinterate that you should not entrust them as you would a Bank, having your crypto in there just long enough to execute your trade to minimize your risk! They have control over wallets you send coin(s) to, so if a hacker comes in and steals the exchange's wallet(s) or the exchange itself crashes their systems with no backups (as was the case with Polish exchange Bitomat in 2011), you may lose whatever you had in there, even if bankruptcy is called! Look how long it took Mt. Gox to get settled.

 Bitcoin is trying to put on a mini-rally, making the next "crocodile tooth" as Clif states on one of his latest video releases. BTC was north of 2325 USD as of Monday afternoon as I wrote this, with the Asian market not yet awoke. I expect American markets will have another ESF/PPT buyfest Tuesday as the can is collectively kicked further down the road. I want that road to run out, the can surrounded by palm trees then a sandy beach where the road runs out into ocean. I bet those screwball politicos or their bureaucratic minions will find some beach rubbish, like a milk carton to make a little boat out of so they can just float that can away, hoping it'll be forgotten. They forgot the elephant still inside the room that nobody wants to clean up after, but it has to be fed, the beast that it is! I'm talking about the massive Derivative exposure, eventually breaking it's chain, but this time, expect no government bailout. It simply can't be done this time! The pain will be excruciating to so many worldwide. Jim Rickards and others like-minded shall be vindicated that a Global Collapse will happen. Only those whom have prepared will get through this with any decency. The government will either start a War (what's new there??) or act like the Savior having returned, or both. It likely won't work well, especially not if any confiscation of monetary metals takes place as that alone will indicate the ultimate desperation. Leave it to the media and other propagandists to hammer that this time it's different and give up your valuables for the "good of the country!" and maybe they'll mention or substitute "children" in the same sentence for extra effect. Yes, for the same country which allowed this stupidity to occur in the first place with government blessings and lack of enforcement from the useless CFTC, always benefitting the Upper Crust and the megabanks, but desperate, hungry people without two nickels to rub together, willfully ignorant or utterly brainwashed, won't care - even if their government checks are worth less and less and smaller! Think I didn't experience this? Remember the government sequester which took place in early 2013?? I was on Federal unemployment then, having to do with 10% less than I was entitled. Later in the year, Bitcoin became such a blessing that continues giving to this day, then Dogecoin was born. Going forth, this is one instance where one's crypto allows a mobility that gold and silver in one's direct possession may not. On the other hand, gold and silver don't require an internet connection if you have a reputable metals trader you already know. Having several sources you can call upon to sustain you through this rotten quagmire is often wise! As Simon Black of Sovereign Man asks, "What's your 'Plan B?'"

Shouts out to Matt K. who emailed me a link; Gary Savage opines in a new YouTube video that a Dollar Bear is beginning. My jury is still out since the ESF/PPT still is buying everything in sight, even if Gary is correct, so I expect the effect to be delayed, yet sudden when it finally hits the fan. Gary admits it's an early call, but the charts for now back up his case. I agree a Dead Cat Bounce is very likely in the cards if this occurs sooner. I don't want to pin that tail on the donkey, yet. It's something extra to keep an Eagle Eye on! Part 6 arrives either Tuesday or Wednesday. I still have more to do around here and hopefully get things caught up.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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Part 4 begins with a rebuttal I made to Bill Holter of JSMineset.com on the morning of 5-27 for a Bitcoin article from Mike Adams that he linked to. I'm posting this in the open, Bill has already responded below, and I am willing to accept any rebuttals from Mr. Adams if he should wish to contact me through windmechanic *at* gmail (dot) com which will be shown unedited. If I need to be set straight, I'll accept that. I'm not the ultimate expert in this and frankly, this is difficult to keep up with. There's been a boatload of infighting within Reddit's /r/Bitcoin which I witness regularly, but I'm also seeing some SegWit light making it down that long, long tunnel! I'm also in agreement with Clif High that we're not really in a true bubble regarding Bitcoin or other alts, since there are so, so many who haven't heard of it, spare having any significant understanding of it, and will become very desperate to place value in something outside of the US Dollar, as the status-quo, even if we go to War, is unsustainable! Furthermore, the present Market in precious metals according to Bill Murphy of GATA has reached such bearishness in attitude with gloominess all around. Will many readily jump into metals when they've witnessed what Bitcoin has just done, despite the correction it recently made? Think about that!! As you'll read, I'm not combative with everything Mike put in his article. There are clearly some things one should be wary of, and it may be his perspective is very different from mine. I respect his excellent works, especially toward exposing vaccine research fraud as I despise the Vaccine Court and the economic incentives for potentially harmful medicines to ooze through the cracks, due to it. To this day, I still can't get a good answer from anyone of why in Hades, these vaccine makers insist on placing a mercury-based derivative as a "preservative" in what should be good for me! I'm one of those rare hell-raisers who routinely insists on getting the special "insert" sheet which is required under Federal law in the USA to be placed inside with each vial. Since I know this (and so do you now!) nurses can't deny me the information as I won't accept any lies! We the People would have a much greater effect on that if EVERYONE took heed and began doing that, but I realize that's just too much to ask.

Bill,
  I'm finding it hard not to consider Mike Adams'es article on Bitcoin much more than a Hit Piece, despite his contention to the contrary! Why?

 1) He cites the chaos if everyone were to cash in their BTC to the exits. I'm NOT hearing that through much of the community. In fact, Bitcoin is correcting below $1900 this morning (5-27) and I don't yet see such an exodus, even though it's a holiday weekend. It's a mobile-connected world and many whom are connected will take whatever actions they deem necessary, even if not at all prudent! I'm just going "Meh!!" Most whom I watch on the forums want to keep "hodling"(a purposefully-misspelled word representing a Bitcoin holder) and I'm still a hodler. He's still a hodler himself, claiming he has 0.25 BTC. I have a larger stash as I've been in this a pretty long time. Furthermore, Mike claims to be a Bitcoin supporter, yet he doesn't disclaim if he will be buying on today's dip. At least I'm man-enough to admit I may travel out-of-state with fiat to buy more BTC on the cheap. I'm betting I'll easily make that back, likely this year.
 2) Mike cites the current slowed pace in Bitcoin. Admittedly, the network operates slow, yet developers within Bitcoin already SEE this and are aggressively pushing for a side chain, a third party which can accept many transactions and smaller fees, bunch these transactions into a large one, then pay the miner's fee which will be far more reasonable to each of the individuals. Not only that, but these lumped transactions will place so much less burden on Bitcoin the network. It's clearly a win-win because even if the miners are denied receiving as much income from previous individual transactions, they won't be as burdened about cherry-picking which transactions go through a network which has been clogging up! What is this magical sidechain to be called? BIP (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal) 148 envisions SegWit or Segregated Witness. With it in place, the Lightning Network can finally exist and do essentially as I've outlined. Consider too, this new sidechain will have the incentive to do what Bitcoin hasn't to this day; making an app which isn't so geeky, that Granny can understand! I've openly complained about this in the past, so I'm not just blowing smoke..
 3) Although Mike has reportedly criticized the central banks, he may well not comprehend that the majority of banking is indeed based on credit, as you've so eloquently outlined for us CIGAs (Comrades In Golden Arms.) He's thinking correctly that Metals is certainly part of the answer. I agree they will be where the economy rebuilds and already have stacked toward this.

 4) Mike has calcuated that the average Bitcoin transaction fee is $16. Bull****! 16 Yuan, perhaps! Let's view the latest from bitcoinfees.21.co and do the math ourselves! I won't even count the correction, instead using the $2,500 he cited when he wrote this. The suggested fee is 88,140 satochis for a median transaction size, so I suspect he's being awful generous. (More inputs or addresses with smaller amounts to equal a larger number would increase the fee!) so let's multiply .00088140 x 2500 = 2.20 USD.

 Let's revisit point #2 regarding the Lightning Network. His choke point which exists now will likely not be as problematic later on if a "run for the exits" takes place and certainly not as costly as he cites. Furthermore, won't the exchanges be the ones on the hook for these redemptions in the first place? Most of them simply place received coin in their own wallets. I believe he's not considering all possibilities. I'll admit there are many hodlers speculating for that fiat. I agree and join with Mike that caution is warranted going forth, but I don't believe we're at a true Bubble Stage, especially long term. If he's concentrating on short-term trades, it's already too late for some. I'm NOT in that group, but I believe if they don't freak out, they'll be richly rewarded after SegWit comes into existence. Due to Bitcoin's scarcity, I'm not losing any sleep over this! This cowboy was around and was a part of the insanity of MtGox as they peaked, then crashed big. Fortunately, I moved my coins out of there and wasn't Gox'ed as so many were. I accidentally transmitted a part of a bitcoin to an address which nobody had any control over. It proves I was working with Bitcoin at the time. I also paid taxes in profits on what I made, and it was in the thousands!

 To conclude, I hold the trifecta and love all three! BTC, Au & Ag. Etherium is also on my radar as it has awesome capabilities, yet there are those within the Bitcoin sphere looking into integrating smart contracts of some sort with it. If anything, I do sense there is a fantastic time to rid of my coins for metals as it will do me the most good, likely late this year or early 2018. For now, the good times rollercoaster will likely go back up as SegWit is likely implemented around or after August. Mike hasn't talked about how Bitcoin is already making a huge difference where banking is scarce. M-Pesa is such an example throughout Kenya, Tanzania and at least two other African nations. People hardly have money to spend, but they all have mobile phones! M-Pesa gives each interested user a wallet where micropayments can be received. The Genie is already out of the bottle, Mike. Even if Bitcoin fails, there are other alts drawing significant attention, Etherium in particular. Litecoin stands a decent chance of gaining further ground as SegWit is on their radar and as Bitcoin, Litecoin is hard-coded limited. 84M coins is LTC's eventual limit, 4x that of BTC.

Mark James Mullins / CIGA Double-N in No Man's Land

Bill Holter did reply that he has serious reservations about crypto. I replied that I don't blame him at all. After all, I possess all three and I may decide to cash out the Bitcoin and buy metals, but I'm not disclosing my timing on that or how much.. Watch the news and decide for yourselves if you're into this. I'm not a financial analyst and am not responsible for any losses, Sorry! But, please consider naming your first born son after me if you do wind up really rich through it. :-)

 With all that, I'm moving on to what kind of wallet may be good for you. I'm not using one on my phone at this time, not planning on that until SegWit is in place. Electrum is what I use today. It's easier to use than Bitcoin-QT (Core) and doesn't require I maintain and update the entire Blockchain copy to run the thing! I'm also cheering the latest Core which signals support for SegWit. It actually runs stable on my machine and presently catching up on blocks, but I operate it when not actively using my computer. Past versions after 0.9 were crashing it intermittently. I'm proud to operate a Node for this network, even if I can't do it continuously or consistently. It's not for everyone, yet it proves one's sincerity in making a real difference in keeping up its' integrity, lending some actual "skin in the game" or "street cred" so to speak. Doing so will give you a real voice if someone bitches and moans how a "51% attack" could cause control of the network to be relinquished. Your node is your VOTE within Bitcoin to hopefully keep that from happening. A 51% attack in Bitcoin has never occurred, but has with certain alt coins in the past. Control of a crypto network or other Blockchain can be lost if enough nodes with nefarious intentions happen to engineer an event, where for example a double-spend could take place, placing serious doubt as to the ongoing security and viability of that crypto going forth. Back to Electrum.. If installing Electrum, consider having a sheet of paper ready to secure and write down the "seed" it gives you! Give it the same security as you would to a Cold Storage Private Key. If you encrypt your wallet and forget the password OR the wallet happens to become digitally fragmented in some manner, the seed should reconstruct your wallet information for you. I don't have my Electrum seed as I already back up wallet copies as needed. I admit, on some things I live dangerously. It's NOT my first rodeo, figuratively or literally! If you get really comfy with Bitcoin, Armory may be THE power app for you! It's not for beginners but gets the job done very securely. What will Part 5 have in it? Maybe not a whole lot, but I'll hunt around through my notes tonight. Enjoy Memorial Day, 2017!

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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Overstock is one such company gladly accepting bitcoins, so is Alex Jones'es InfoWars Store with all those supplements, water purifiers and such. More are coming along with greater acceptance by the public, here in America and abroad as Bitcoin is truly international.One thing to consider before either a purchase or gift of Bitcoin is made; Ensure you have some extra coin to cover your transaction fee to miners! All wallets have the capability of including a miner's fee, since they're responsible for transferring coin from one address to another. A few wallets have that dynamic capability built in, but if time is of the essence to get those coins where they're going without either a massive delay of days or possibly denied, then visit or bookmark this website which gives you a good idea of how much to include as a fee. Technically, if you have made many transactions and have not grouped your coins back into a single address, this will likely cost a bit more, since each input address with small amounts adds costs to your transaction. How is this? If you've already reviewed yesterday's entry, clicking the link "Five ways to lose money with Bitcoin change addresses", then you can gain understanding of why this is. The light should come on when you connect that with the fact IF you made several transactions and the change comes back in on several of your wallet addresses and in small amounts, then it could require several of those addresses or inputs with a balance to pay out what you must spend. As mentioned previously, expect Bitcoin fees to become far more reasonable when SegWit or Segregated Witness with the Lightning Network, a sidechain network working with Bitcoin to improve scalability, very likely coming into existence later in the year. For now, everything has to go through Bitcoin the network and you're at the mercy of how the miners pick the transactions. As long as there's a fee included, it'll go through eventually, but you shouldn't be too generous, either! As of this submission, under 90,000 satochis or under a mili-Bitcoin (mBTC) is the fee which gets it through reasonably quick without spending too, too much. It's close to $2 USD, so you'll see many more hodlers for now. At least you understand that Bitcoin is becoming much more acceptable than before. You can even buy it from someone on the street via LocalBitcoins or at any Bitcoin event in major cities where some may have coin for sale. In the small town where I live, the nearest BitATM is several hours away. In yesterday's entry, I mentioned what an encrypted Private Key using BIP 38 looks like, it always begins with "6P" and a password or passphrase must be provided to decrypt it for use, whether at the time you spend it (if your wallet has multiple addresses and does not receive expected "change" from your spending to the address where you spent from, the change should've been received through another of your wallet's addresses.) I'm surprised I overlooked this until now:
 * A Public Key or address can be given to anyone! If they use Bitcoin and you have control over the address, they can send you coin(s) through it and they cannot spend your coins using it. It begins with either a "1" (WIF or Wallet Information Format) or a "3" if script-generated and usually has 33 or 34 numeric and mixed-cased Romanized (A-Z) characters. There is an application called vanitygen in which you can generate vanity addresses for Bitcoin or other alt coins, with Bitcoin the default. If using it to generate an address, it's strongly recommended you are offline. The longer sequence you use, the longer it will require for a vanity address to hash the way you expect. One I generated required 3 days, but I was away on vacation.
 * A Private Key in unencrypted form usually begins with a "5" (there are compressed versions beginning with either "L" or "K" and these are all equal in security,) contain a greater amount of numbers and characters and should be afforded protection as if it were jewels or money! This is your electronic signature which if properly entered into a wallet will 1) Hash into the Public Key which it associates with, and 2) Gives you the ability to spend whatever balance is contained in that address! Therefore, do not allow others to view it without being aware if they memorize it or photograph it, that party could import it into a wallet, stealing it by simply moving the balance to another address. Since "loose lips sink ships", it's also critical to keep such secure locations a strongly-guarded secret, yet include to them of HOW to use that information that Private Key contains. Without the Private Key, NOBODY can use the coins. They shall remain frozen, orphaned in fact.

Let me emphasize these addresses, both Public and Private, are case-sensitive! Entering the wrong case won't allow your transaction to proceed. What are the chances that a wrong-case character could transmit to an address which you have no control over, thus losing your coins? Very, very tiny! It's been calculated 2*32^ or one chance in 4,294,967,296. If you take my proposed crypto class, I'll teach you how to communicate a private key over the telephone, involving several steps. Doing so correctly is critical, especially if time is of the essence.

Part 4 could be a real lightning rod! I'm already openly rebutting a bitcoin article with several points and you won't want to miss it. I'll also publish any rebuttals received from that author, or comments from the person linking to the author's article either with that article or in the days to come.

 Gracias & Alles Liebe,

 Mark

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 Yesterday, I started mentioning some basics about Bitcoin, how I mined some while in college, why mining isn't really for most people nowdays, and some specific experiences I've had, particularly why it's an awful idea to entrust any online wallet (which you don't have control over the Private Key) and exchanges to keep your coins safe, as if either are a bank. Both are targets for hackers. Hang onto that thought as I'll address security a bit later. For now, more basics on what Bitcoin is.. Lesson question: Is there a difference between Bitcoin and bitcoin? You bet!! Bitcoin is the collective peer-to-peer Bitcoin network, while bitcoin is what you use to transact in the Bitcoin network. I mentioned that a bitcoin can be split into 100 million pieces. A bitcoin value can appear as 1.00000000 BTC or simply 1 BTC. Because transferring any value using Bitcoin requires a fee, at least for now, that fee is equivalent to almost $2 USD. It's still a bargain if you consider wire transfers via Western Union or MoneyGram, but for mainstream usage, it's getting way too pricey with significant competition coming in from alt coins such as Etherium and Litecoin. Does that mean Bitcoin is doomed? Not at all. SegWit is likely around the corner. Segregated Witness allows for a sidechain or secondary network as the proposed Lightning Network which essentially takes many smaller transactions and fees, lumping both into larger ones, resulting in an adequate fee for the miners who handle the Bitcoin transactions, and helps Bitcoin in how efficiently it operates, not choking it down with excessive transactions. This is truly a win-win for all concerned and is what scalability with Bitcoin refers to. Furthermore, every BitATM to my knowledge handles Bitcoin, it was the first and still the best, and I expect it will evolve somewhat into a smart contract environment, similar to Etherium. I'm already hearing more rumblings of this through Reddit. I predict the high fee to become way more reasonable later this year in light of these developments. It's important I emphasize that we're nowhere close to becoming mainstream in America, even with Japanese media warming up to it so quickly. For those catching up, the Japanese economy has been such a basket case for a long time. Anybody remotely involved with economic happenings already understands this, especially the ZIRP USD/YEN carry trades of years ago. Let me also give a plug to Liberty Blitzkrieg with an excellent article from Mike Krieger, linked via ZeroHedge regarding ICOs, or Initial Coin Offerings. Personally, unless I really KNOW the people whom are creating these ICOs, I will play it safe and stay away for now. What I don't want is to be victimized by someone within who pulls a scam, and due to how early these ICOs are, the field is still ripe for abuses until some learn their lessons, as was the case with too many entrusting MtGox with their coins as if they were a bank. If you viewed my entry from yesterday, I got suspicious as I saw more of the forest. This doesn't mean I inherently distrust ICO investments, but one should be damned careful - especially at this stage of development. Once your coins are in the hands of another, you may never get them back! Speculate with an amount you won't cry over if you wanna play it, but I'll play John D. Rockefeller in this regard for now.

 Now for more Bitcoin terms. A "hodler" is a purposely-misspelled word for any Bitcoin holder, regardless if they hold for investment, speculation, or simply buying some. It was a misspelling in a forum which prompted the newly-coined word.

 How should you consider securing your newly-bought or traded coins? If you're hodling for the long term, Cold Storage is the easy peasy way of getting it done! I must warn that most wallets have literally a hundred addresses or more, many of them holding scattered amounts of coins if you have already done several transactions on them! What few Bitcoin articles mention is that wallet apps work in a not-so-efficient manner, but security was the focus of the reasoning behind handling change in such a manner. Check out Five ways to lose money with Bitcoin change addresses to get the "true skinny" on this. Now if you review the article, already using a single-address wallet and are absolutely certain your entire balance is contained in a single address (through Blockchain.info) and want to store it long term, you're ready to go with Cold Storage of that balance by fetching the Private Key from the wallet application, then writing it down carefully, triple-checking everything on it, that all characters are indeed legible and in the proper upper-case or lower-case, then storing it securely. For those planning on spending shorter-term, be careful with that wallet. Encrypting your wallet, then decrypting it before you spend is very wise. In the earliest days of Bitcoin when I started, the app was Bitcoin 1.0 and had no security built in. It didn't take long for some criminal creep to develop theftware which simply searched for one's wallet.dat file, then using simple File Transfer Protocol or FTP, sent a copy of your unencrypted wallet to them for prompt stealing. I used 7Zip's encryption to keep mine safe, so my original mined coins were spared such a fate. After all, if the bad guys can't get your Private Key, they can't steal it in the first place. Now, I'll throw in that you can encrypt your Private Key in such a manner where you can display it safely, but it involved using a password or passphrase. Some wallet apps use "BIP 38" to make this new key which always begins with "6P" and cannot be either decrypted or used in a transaction until that password or passphrase is supplied. If you use it and forget it, you've just locked up your coins! Personally, I don't use it, yet I see its usefulness for many, but understand it first! Use with care is what I preach. Next lesson: BIP is Bitcoin Improvement Proposal. It has BIP, followed by a number. Bitcoin Wiki defines it: "A Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) is a design document for introducing features or information to Bitcoin. This is the standard way of communicating ideas since Bitcoin has no formal structure." Another example? BIP 148 refers to the SegWit or Segregated Witness mentioned earlier in this entry. Remember too, I'm open to your Bitcoin-related questions via windmechanic =at= gmail ^dot^ com, then include Bitcoin Question in the Subject Line. I'll feature them and not mention your name if you so request, along with the answer if I know it. Enjoy your holiday and get ready to pop more corn. Part 3 of this series on my Blog regarding Bitcoin continues soon!

 Gracias & Alles Liebe,

 Mark

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Especially to Thom Calandra of the TCR Report. I've been part of the extended TCR Family since he brought it back years ago. I've learned a lot and continue learning of opportunities through it, making a three-bagger from GSV (Gold Standard Ventures) earlier in the year as an example of his insights. Since today is my first day off for a whole week, I should begin a series of entries regarding Bitcoin, what it is, how it functions and how it could well transform the global economy going forth. Firstly, let me wish each and every one of you a happy and safe Memorial Day holiday in the USA as Markets will be closed Monday 5-29. I wlll likely remain here through much of it so I welcome your Bitcoin questions, especially from fellow TCR Family, as I was early into cryptocurrency. My email is windmechanic _at_ gmail +dot+ com and please include "Bitcoin Question" in the subject line. Your questions may be featured here, included with the answer in a future blog entry, and your name won't be disclosed if you so request. As you can imagine, Bitcoin will be the primary focus of these entries for a few days. Pop some corn and get ready to learn some things about this cowboy-hatted hi-tech redneck in the Oklahoma Panhandle and gain some Bitcoin lessons, useful for anyone new to it! DISCLAIMER: I'm simply an investor and holder of bitcoin. This is presented freely as information which is true to the best of my knowledge, yet I don't guarantee full accuracy, nor can I assure any of you that Bitcoin as a network will remain viable into the future, therefore you could incure losses. If investing, do so with caution and consider some means of security I present in these entries for your consideration and protection. Furthermore, do not invest or speculate more than you can afford to lose! Cryptocurrency is still very young and there's been many cryptoscams appearing, especially in the "alt coins." Therefore, I'm not responsible if you lose your money, your shirt, or even your name if you bet that away on coins! Enjoy.

I'm hand-coding html in this entire blog, so until I improve it, please excuse the rough look. The diamond will eventually appear, I promise that. You're encouraged to bookmark and visit this site again and again. So how did this Biodiesel Technician get involved with the most insanely-appreciating investment of 2017, thus far?

 I wanted to radically change my career from broadcasting and moved to Iowa in 2009 to learn wind turbines, graduating with Honors in 2011. I worked as a turbine technician and plan on reshowing some of those pictures taken from 80 meters high on my "Pic of the Week" portion of this website. During classes, I kept my computer on constantly at the house I rented. I had heard of Bitcoin and learned of a website where I could go and mine some coin while I was away. I earned less than a coin, but the first lesson here is you do not require a single coin to buy, receive, hold, or spend it. A bitcoin is divisible to the eighth decimal point, or 100,000,000 bits, also called Satochis, after the cryptocurrency's creator or creators. Another lesson to learn is that it's far more difficult to mine for coins today for two reasons; 1) Bitcoin, the network has a difficulty factor built in which does a decent job of keeping blocks coming at around every 10 minutes, no matter how much computing power is thrown at it, and 2) Coins to be mined are far fewer than before, each block mined netting a reward to a lucky mining group of 12.5 BTC versus the 50 BTC at the start of Bitcoin. This will continue shrinking about every 3 and 1/2 years until a mere 21,000,000 coins are mined, estimated to be in year 2140, Bitcoiners call that "The Halvening." It's my humble opinion that mining will be far more difficult going forward with 16+ million already mined.

 I moved to Oklahoma to work my first turbine job. I was a technician working turbines in the Texas Panhandle, then transitioned to Parts Manager. I was let go around Halloween, 2012 and wasn't the only one as I learned later. While out of work, Bitcoin started to gain traction into the $30-$50 USD range during Spring, 2013. I took about $700 of my tax refund and bought a number of Bitcoins through money transfers I bought at Wal-Mart through MtGox. I could then buy when the price looked good. I lost a lot of sleep watching that Japanese website do incredible things with Bitcoin trading. Even through many disruptions such as Denial of Service attacks, the price was volatile and I could sometimes trade the coins for ca$h, then buy coins when the price dipped. Those first coins gained a lot of value and I claimed those thousands of profits when I filed my taxes. What did I do with the coins I bought? I had the motherlode horde of a two-digit number of them stored outside of MtGox. I simply didn't trust any website being attacked as it was, it being a target for hackers. Guess what happened later on? I was spared loss of my coins while over 800,000 BTC was lost, causing MtGox to shut down into bankruptcy. Next lesson: NEVER, I repeat, NEVER entrust either an online wallet or exchange as MtGox to act as a bank for your coins! If you do not possess the Private Key for your coins, technically, they're not your own any longer and could be lost either in a hack or loss of Private Key on their side. Instead, I used a Danish company, WalletBit, who stored my coins safely. They didn't have enough users to remain profitable, so I had to collect what I owned, or I'd have lost what they had! After withdrawing the entire horde, encrypting and backing up my wallet to keep it safe, I still needed to spend some of what I already had which was not part of that horde. Instead of where it needed to go, I mistakenly had the old address entry on my original wallet and transmitted barely over a quarter BTC to it, long after they were closed. Another lesson: Since I had no control over the address and WalletBit was already out of business, nobody could help me! This is rarely an issue nowdays, but be careful of where you send any coins to, as transactions once transmitted cannot be undone. I lost it to address 1HMqjWDbFsEdrVjsgaM12bw77JYikUoze so if you are super, super savvy and can hack it away, you're a way, way better geek than I'll ever be. It's proof-positive of how secure Bitcoin truly is, so I dare you to hack away and I won't cry if you can take it. In fact, I'll cheer at the top of my Rebel Yell lungs! Please realize that amount of bitcoin is enough I could pay an entire month rent where I live. Part of the lesson here is to keep track of your addresses on your wallet. At the time I did this, BTC was maybe $50 or so per coin, so the loss wasn't earth-shattering. This amount though is a life-changer in some foreign countries and is part of the orphaned or lost coins of Bitcoin. Yes, with these lost coins, the actual valuation of Bitcoin is far greater as there's a deflationary effect. The inflationary effect of mining coins is way less with smaller amounts awarded to miners now.

 Part 2 is coming tomorrow, but you won't have to miss anything as long as you bookmark and come back. Just scroll down to find any and all entries you've missed on this simple text page.

Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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 First off, Shouts out to Ryan Wrecker, the Overnight America host on Saint Louis'es iconic powerhouse, 1120 KMOX! I'm clueless as to how he found me, but he's among the newest of my followers and being a former broadcaster, I'm pleased he's now watching my tweets. He's no phony as he's got the Twitter badge. Welcome, Ryan and I hope you'll ponder over this Blog from time to time to gather my thoughts here in No Man's Land. There are 4 others, including more wind and solar who continue to discover me. I'm still adding them to my Goodgreen list on Twitter, some of these are critics of the Wind industry so I want to gather their viewpoint.

 The latest sucking sound is that Oklahoma is cutting off new turbines from the state tax production credit as of either June or July! No doubt the few projects still under construction are busting their asses to meet that deadline, and I know first-hand what they're going through as I've commissioned turbines in this area for the same reason, back in early 2012. I'm surprised Gov. Mary in OKC actually got something right in cutting off some of the Oil/Gas subsidies, so the budget is truly awful for the legislature to capitulate so badly! Bear in mind, it could've been worse. Wyoming has a $1/1Mw production TAX, the only state with such nonsense, yet some lawmakers want to increase it! Maybe they're doing it to defer additional construction to keep the state more enjoyable for tourists? Nevertheless, here's my take on it, for what it's worth: Campbell County and Gillette has the high-quality coal, but fewer plants may pick up the demand for it since natural gas is very inexpensive and plentiful due to all the fracking. There's quite a bit of natural gas in the Cowboy State to be harvested, but the overall energy profile I think will start sinking again. WTI is around $50/barrel and many articles on ZeroHedge mention this is the minimum for some projects to break even. The Trib newspaper given to me close to Labor Day weekend last year warned that Wyoming couldn't depend solely on tourism income to pay its bills! Instead, if I were a Wyomingite and politically active enough to be voted to represent at Cheyenne, I would carefully consider a mix of ALL these sources. If done right, there would be no need for stupid production taxes on the plentiful wind. Does Wyoming charge a production tax on solar installations? I'm not aware of any large solar in place there, yet I live near Oklahoma's only community solar installation and am eligible to purchase one or more panels to reduce my monthly bill. If I decide to make my residency here as permanent, then I'd be wise to take advantage of this, even with my wind knowledge. After all, TCEC does not presently charge customers any customer charges as allowed under Oklahoma law for excess renewable resource generation being introduced into the cooperative's grid. If they should, I'll fight that! It is utter insanity and designed to discourage independence of Oklahomans desiring to protect their lives and property with additional sources of energy separate from the grid, invaluable in occurances such as the recent 4/30 blizzard. One of my co-workers just north of town was out of power for 8 days! Some in more remote regions fared even worse.

 Perhaps there's additional taxes being imposed or not being imposed which I've failed to consider in regard with Wyoming versus other states concerning wind production, so this is your opportunity to clue me in - lest I start emailing AWEA for clarification, and their WindConference is still very fresh on minds of attendees. I pray I get to go to another as 2010 in Dallas was awesome! I again thank AWEA for their scholarship gift. It was an excellent experience and did help me getting into the field. Now I'm going back outside and viewing Jupiter and it's four Galilean moons. If Saturn's position isn't too close to the rising Sun, I'll have to check that out as well. Severe weather is expected in this region late Thursday, with much of the same setup as was experienced recently. A brief touchdown north of Balko in Beaver County didn't surprise me at all! It's called the Dryline and most tornadic weather here depends on how sharp it becomes, plus the amount of CAPE or potential energy these storms can feed off. Other factors go into this, such as lift from low pressure systems or cold fronts, including how discrete these storms remain, but these are the primary ingredients.

 Finally, I'm watching the Stock Market taking a dive. It may mean something, and it may mean little of anything for now. Many people still Sell in May and go away, then come back in by Labor Day. I sense some awful events to take place if the ESF & PPT can't bottle up the genie. Jim Willie, an analyst in Costa Rica, opines that JPM/Chase doesn't have the physical silver that most believe they do. If that's indeed true, then the takedown of the paper garbage CRIMEX is coming sooner than later. With it, credit will likely freeze if the economy as a whole is affected. We live in interesting times, so prepare accordingly! Gracias & Alles Liebe,

Mark

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Greetings, y'all,

 Welcome to my first installment of a Blog. Firstly, I promise I won't try to make this a daily thing! I have entirely too much going on to maintain it on such a basis. It's difficult enough for me to find time to keep the Pic of the Week kept up, but I find creative ways. This Blog is very simple in form for now and will likely be replaced with something far more appealing for the eyes. This first one will scroll down to the bottom as I add more to them, therefore the latest will be on top each time you access it. Each will be prefaced with a date. The quality I put into it is what I consider of value anyhow. Also, it's important to bear in mind that I could become profane from time to time here. I do so to emphasize strong points, not to attack people with sheer abandon. This ain't Facebook, so they can't censor me! I pay all the hosting. I have people ask me all the time why I've refused Facebook, and trust me - I have so many reasons to hate the cesspool that it, and their forums, have morphed into. Just don't be surprised if I get controversial here. Expect it!

 WannaCrypt is still creating massive headaches for computer users in many areas of the world as of this submission. What it does? If infected, your system's files get encrypted with a special key being phoned back to the crooks. If you didn't keep any backups or had your backup media connected into your network when the infection occurred, then almost all your files become encrypted with a very powerful hash. The crooks then want a payment in difficult-to-trace Bitcoin to email you the key to release the files. Note though, there's no guarantee you'll get everything back the way it was! There are additional variants of this malware making its way into the internet. Being the expert in Bitcoin that I profess, it's no surprise that most affected haven't heard of Bitcoin (or cryptocurrency for that matter) before the attack. Do I sense a business opportunity? ONLY if risks of chargebacks on credit cards can be thwarted, as once a Bitcoin has exchanged hands through a transfer, there's no getting it back! This is why you see so few PayPal trades for Bitcoin. There's too many crooks abusing PayPal which screws the Bitcoin seller! Perhaps changes are on the way with the increasing visibility of BTC and other cryptos, especially Etherium gaining as it has.

 This ransomware is problematic only for Windows users who didn't receive the critical patch sent to users during March, although Microsoft did cave in and release specific patches for older versions they no longer support routinely, offering custom services instead. You can click here to review Microsoft's guidance and download these newly-released patches for legacy systems.

 So how did the criminals do? I did some research:

The wallet addresses for ransoms and amounts in BTC paid so far:

12t9YDPgwueZ9NyMgw519p7AA8isjr6SMw 11.83101346
1QAc9S5EmycqjzzWDc1yiWzr9jJLC8sLiY 3.25249956
115p7UMMngoj1pMvkpHijcRdfJNXj6LrLn 8.74393075
13AM4VW2dhxYgXeQepoHkHSQuy6NgaEb94 12.06016818
15zGqZCTcys6eCjDkE3DypCjXi6QWRV6V1 1.09469717

 As of high noon Central Time USA, 5/15 - it totals 36.98230912 BTC. Doing the math in terms of Bitstamp & USD, they've netted a measly $63,626.58 .. If this is a Black Swan, it netted an awesome amount of news coverage for the amount invested. It comes down to KEEPING BACKUPS of your most important stuff! What if Microsoft had not given critical security updates in advance of this event? It'd be far worse! It also shines a strong spotlight at the UK's National Health Service that they should decide to finally ditch Windows XP and upgrade their systems.

 To play Devil's Advocate, it's sad that an OS which is finally tuned out of most of the bugs becomes unwieldy, but the money trail continues and the crooks follow it. Computers aren't perfect. In fact, they're the most stupid machines ever invented as they do only as they're programmed to do. This, among other reasons, is why I expect robotics won't completely replace humans. In fact, I don't even suspect that the body of Law has truly faced what liabilities occur when a robot kills a person. Warfare will be changed forever when robotics dominates this field, and hackers will be in such demand to find what weaknesses can be exploited. Others have stated no less, and I'm in very strong agreement.

 Have a subject you want me to ponder on this Blog? email cxdomains at yahoo dot com and mention "Blog" on the Subject Line, please. Gracias & Alles Liebe,