Incidentally, now reconnecting to the mining pool at bitcoin.cz practically all of my messages come back "invalid or stale".  Hate to seem paranoid, but could this be some "man in the middle attack" over IRC?  Could somebody be submitting my generated blocks to bitcoin.cz or have otherwise seized my 50 bitcoins by taking my generated block and submitting it themselves to the server?  Strange for successful block generations resulting in no reward and rejections from the mining pool server.

My network is pretty reliable.  In fact I was on my internet phone when I found the block, so the internet did not drop out.  Below is some additional info from the log.  I could let the 50 bitcoins go and not worry about it, but I have successfully generated bitcoins for a mining pool and generated a real block for the pool.  I decided to do this on my own and after a few days (more than the average time to get a block, I finally get one and something fails in the fraction of a second I get it.)  Strange.  Should I reinstall the program, or poclbm?  What is the ProcessBlock ACCEPTED message?  And then Flushing Wallet.dat?  Could someone on IRC disconnect me between the time the block was accepted at the server and the time I received confirmation?

1/6/2011 06:47 generated 50.00
keypool keep 2
AddToWallet ca8473cab6  new
MainFrameRepaint
SetBestChain: new best=0000000000039d487513  height=101264  work=533984385095310048
ProcessBlock: ACCEPTED
sending: inv (37 bytes)
sending: inv (37 bytes)
sending: inv (37 bytes)
sending: inv (37 bytes)
sending: inv (37 bytes)
sending: inv (37 bytes)
sending: inv (37 bytes)
sending: inv (37 bytes)
DelayedRepaint
1/6/2011 06:47:08 Flushing wallet.dat
Flushed wallet.dat 120ms
keypool reserve 7
socket recv error 10053
disconnecting node

Hopefully I have no private keys in this log.  But here is the message and what follows after the hash in question:

BitcoinMiner:
proof-of-work found 
  hash: 0000000000039d4875136980d0530e739c9e0130cb2232802398c9a9567da334 
target: 00000000000404cb000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
CBlock(hash=0000000000039d487513, ver=1, hashPrevBlock=0000000000019592499d, hashMerkleRoot=77f14e4e72, nTime=1294296412, nBits=1b0404cb, nNonce=2805677112, vtx=7)
  CTransaction(hash=ca8473cab6, ver=1, vin.size=1, vout.size=1, nLockTime=0)
    CTxIn(COutPoint(0000000000, -1), coinbase 04cb04041b0144)
    CTxOut(nValue=50.00000000, scriptPubKey=048a9d2b4587e67450dd05fd53a754)
  CTransaction(hash=121f59470c, ver=1, vin.size=1, vout.size=2, nLockTime=0)
    CTxIn(COutPoint(5a1a13c5da, 0), scriptSig=304402207f7fdb1dbb997d8d)
    CTxOut(nValue=0.05000000, scriptPubKey=OP_DUP OP_HASH160 0ecfb38199e1)
    CTxOut(nValue=330.60000000, scriptPubKey=OP_DUP OP_HASH160 673282ff376e)
  CTransaction(hash=d6138ac345, ver=1, vin.size=1, vout.size=2, nLockTime=0)
    CTxIn(COutPoint(db6507c730, 0), scriptSig=3045022031d24dac31ab827d)
    CTxOut(nValue=0.05000000, scriptPubKey=OP_DUP OP_HASH160 2c0fc1281675)
    CTxOut(nValue=101.01000000, scriptPubKey=OP_DUP OP_HASH160 03aed3be01da)
  CTransaction(hash=867bd97731, ver=1, vin.size=1, vout.size=2, nLockTime=0)
    CTxIn(COutPoint(71921aabcd, 1), scriptSig=3045022100a810227e08cdc5)
    CTxOut(nValue=4.15000000, scriptPubKey=OP_DUP OP_HASH160 6000794d415e)
    CTxOut(nValue=0.05000000, scriptPubKey=OP_DUP OP_HASH160 d4ad0d9df193)
  CTransaction(hash=a69f0fc99f, ver=1, vin.size=1, vout.size=2, nLockTime=0)
    CTxIn(COutPoint(867bd97731, 0), scriptSig=30460221008c6f36cfd31df7)
    CTxOut(nValue=0.05000000, scriptPubKey=OP_DUP OP_HASH160 1f7995b575cb)
    CTxOut(nValue=4.10000000, scriptPubKey=OP_DUP OP_HASH160 99989a67caa8)
  CTransaction(hash=e11662207c, ver=1, vin.size=1, vout.size=2, nLockTime=0)
    CTxIn(COutPoint(a69f0fc99f, 1), scriptSig=304402201b2280e5b771d3d7)
    CTxOut(nValue=4.05000000, scriptPubKey=OP_DUP OP_HASH160 d488c87d2a5f)
    CTxOut(nValue=0.05000000, scriptPubKey=OP_DUP OP_HASH160 22c90093e682)
  CTransaction(hash=b8b3603bb0, ver=1, vin.size=1, vout.size=2, nLockTime=0)
    CTxIn(COutPoint(e11662207c, 0), scriptSig=3045022049b5c9d859e92bc8)
    CTxOut(nValue=4.00000000, scriptPubKey=OP_DUP OP_HASH160 dc3eeff5cdaa)
    CTxOut(nValue=0.05000000, scriptPubKey=OP_DUP OP_HASH160 836ab0e197bf)
  vMerkleTree: ca8473cab6 121f59470c d6138ac345 867bd97731 a69f0fc99f e11662207c b8b3603bb0 6e42d24eed 86f01b907b 73425c01d7 0a0a969414 0b3f0586f0 75d1dd69d8 77f14e4e72
1/6/2011 06:47 generated 50.00
keypool keep 2
AddToWallet ca8473cab6  new
MainFrameRepaint
SetBestChain: new best=0000000000039d487513  height=101264  work=533984385095310048

Thank you.  Bitcoin block explorer indicates the current block is 101270.  My client has been running for days and indicates the same block number.  I can accept that there may be no indication in the Bitcoin program yet, but checking blockexplorer.com and seeing that the time has come an gone for my apparent generation leads me to believe there is something wrong.  Does it take time to show up there?  After I solve a hash, I was under the impression that it was submitted immediately and somehow the next hash was predicated on mine.  I will re-read the FAQ but something feels wrong here.

After days at over 500mhash/s one of my two dos windows finally says "05/01/2011 22:47, 00039d48, accepted"
Thought this meant I finally made 50 Bitcoins.  However, it my Bitcoins program nothing came through at my current address of 1NCVXUZAgECmHu85PKHxuj5CEMumvZUT8C.
Went to blockexplorer.com and do not see anything generated at or around the corresponding UTC, which would be 06/01/2011 06:47.
What gives?  Did I not generate anything?

Hey, aren't you the guy who got a permit to burn trees or something?  Seriously, though, the whole trapezoid thing was just my recollection of a Richard Pryor bit in the movie Bustin' Loose. Just a troll.  Kinda.  I did "invest" my own Bitcoin.

I was honest.  The site is not mine.  I'm just a member.  I paid nothing to join and I've only spent 1 Bitcoin which currently is about 30 cents.  I will never need to invest more than that to make a profit.  A Ponzi scheme is where the money from later "investors" is used to pay earlier ones and there is no underlying investment which is what people think they are investing in.  The guy running the Ponzi scheme, like Madoff, keeps the money.  Here there is no question that there is no underlying investment and that people who come in later at the bottom of the chain will not get as much, or anything, but that those at the top of the chain make more money.  This is typically called a Pyramid or Multi Level Marketing.  And, besides, this is a Trapezoid.  FOUR CORNERS.  And, my bad, I forgot to explain how it works.  First it doubles.  Then it splits.  Then this happens again.  And again.  That's what it means to be a trapezoid.  With this there appears to be not two, but a three pronged split.  Very well thought out by the programmer.  Instead of 1,2,4,8 we have 1,3,6,12 ... already a 50% increase by just the fourth step. WOW!

Bitcoins are in their infancy.  As more people use them, simple hardworking folks like yourself who have been in on the ground floor from the beginning deserve to be compensated for being the first to know.  There is a website . . . http://fxnet.co.cc/?ref=277 that I honestly have nothing to do with except that I have just become a member.  Membership is FREE and FUN!  Now, do you want to Dare to be Rich?  Right now, go to the exchange and buy a bitcoin.  It's only thirty cents or so!  Send that bitcoin to the website and wait.  As other people come in later down the chain, some of their Bitcoin goes to you.  As poplarity grows, the amount you get back goes up exponentially.  An example of exponential growth would be something like someone gives you 30 cents the first day.  The next day you have 60 cents, then $1.20 the next.  Doesn't sound like much, but at the end of the month you'd have over $150 million as a result of exponential growth just doubling your Bitcoin daily!  Now that's not going to happen.  But what about if it doubled every week, instead?  Now, be warned.  This is NOT a Pyramid Scheme.  It is based upon the trapezoid.  What is the difference?  A pyramid has three corners but a trapezoid has four corners which mathematically guarantees a profit.  What do you have to lose if I'm wrong?  30 cents.  If this is a scam, but Bitcoins are real, then how can you get ripped off?  Bitcoins are anonymous.  No one knows who you are.  The government will cannot tax you on the millions you could make if I'm right.  All you lose if I'm lying is 30 cents, but if I'm right . . . well . . . if you want to achieve anything in this lifetime you have to DARE TO BE RICH.

1) Go buy some Bitcoins now at http://mtgox.com/

2) Send ONE to http://fxnet.co.cc/?ref=277 

3) Your wildest dreams will come true.

Thank you master Yoda, I will. For my ally is the Bitcoin. And a powerful ally it is. Raw computing power creates it, makes it grow. Its utility as a digital currency surrounds us... and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this... crude matter! You must feel the Bitcoin around you. Here, between you, me, our computers, the internet... everywhere!  May the Bitcoin be with you all.

Seems an obvious question, no?  I am running 2 GPU's at about 275mhash/second each.  I am running Bitcoin in server mode.  I previously was involved in pooled mining at bitcoin.cz and made 20 bitcoins.  I was apparently one who did find a block in one round, so things are working.  However, running locally, I have not yet hit a block of 50 and I have now gone over the average time to find a block on my own.  I do not have "generate coins" on in the application, which I do not want to do, since use of the CPU only slows down my 2 GPU's by over an amount added by the CPU.  So it's not on and I haven't generated a block for myself and I'm hoping that is coincidence.  I don't want to find out a week down the line, "Hey stupid, you have to turn on "generate coins" in the app."  It would seem you don't since it is doing the hashes and therefore working.

Read this.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-gold  The US Dollar does not like competition.

After having said all of that, you all probably think I am against bitcoins or have no faith.  On the contrary, I am leaving now to speed up the processor on my 5850 video card to make a few more coins over time.  I think the utility of bitcoins is the greatest thing to come along since sliced bread.  No argument there.  But when I tell people about it as a currency they almost laugh.  "You run your computer 24 hours a day and pay a larger electric bill for what??? What can you buy???  Oh, so kind of like Microsoft points then, huh?"  Then I tell them you can get cash and they ask where they can buy a fast video card and get started.  When you take cash out of the equation, no one needs what bitcoins can buy.  If, in addition to being money, a bitcoin was a certificate to be exchanged in a Swiss bank for 1 grain of gold, then the bitcoin would have true value in addition to it's unique value as a currency.  Later.  And thanks for the replies.

Actually, I may buy from you.  But what do you do with the bitcoins?  Do you trade them for dollars, services, or hold bitcoins?  Are you not concerned that the US will do to bitcoins what they did to e-gold if bitcoins becomes as successful as e-gold?  With e-gold, at least people have shares in the gold, even though they can no longer use e-gold as money.  If the US governement says you are currency trading (you are) and you need to "know your customer" and you are breaking the law, you will likely stop offering gold for bitcoins. This is the crux of my original question.  The likelyhood the US will do anything to shut down bitcoins is directly in proportion to its success.  You are a credible agent, I'm sure, but you will likely close up shop if you are in the US and faced with federal prison time.  A credible agent outside of the US, like a Swiss Bank, might not be coerced into rescinding on a promise to uphold the contract and provide a fixed amount of gold for one bitcoin (which is, incidentally, completely different that buying and selling gold with bitcoins.)

Now that Wikileaks cannot accept payments via PayPal or Visa/Mastercard, Wikileaks could start accepting bitcoins tomorrow.  And that day the government says bitcoin supports terror would likely be tomorrow or the day after.  Then the US goverment would shut this site down and run the hosting out of the US.  Maybe Europe would join.  Your bitcoins would buy Web Hosting in Cuba, North Korea, and a few African nations.

Yes, you two have made my point that we are talking about money.  I was responding, tongue in cheek, the the guy who said bitcoins ARE the commodity to which bitcoins (the money) is linked.  Nonsense.  As you say, bitcoins are money.  Money is only as good as the promise backing the money.  If some guy in the Czech Republic promises me VPN or Web Hosting, and that's it, well, that's not much of a promise.  If the Pope promises me a bar of gold in writing for my bitcoins, they will have that value as long as the Pope can be trusted.  And, no you cannot trade shells on the internet.  If I did not see the great promise of bitcoins as money I would not even be here.  I like the concept and as more people accept bitcoins, the more people will use them.  But they could die if that does not happen.  If you back them with a commodity somehow (regarless of my lame example) people will buy and use them until the backing dies.

In other words, sure, there is always some trust there that someone is going to deliver, the bank or entity holding the commodity is not going to get robbed or explode.  But pick the safest alternative reasonably possible and go with MAYBE getting your gold or coffee for your bitcoin in the worst case scenario, rather than getting nothing if 15 people stop accepting bitcoins.  As to the Hunter Brothers and silver, yes, I remember that.  But it is one hell of alot easier to buy up all of the bitcoins that all the gold or silver in the world.  Simply put, I think bitcoins would have wider acceptance if someone gave something for them that people want.  Right now, people are not quoting the price of bitcoins in terms of VPN service or Web Hosting (or the other 3 or four tangible things you can actually buy).  They quote the price in US Dollars.  Fine, great.  But the US is poised to kill that in a hot second just like e-gold if people start using bitcoins.  They won't like the anonymity and they will say bitcoins supports terrorism.  When the US does that, and MTGox says Bitcons are worth x days of VPN service, instead of 30 US cents, the bitcoin will be dead.  If it is backed by a promise of a credible entity for a tangible good that can be sold somewhere, the bitcoin will live on regardless of what the US does, unless the us can get to the holder of the goods in some way.

grondilu and cavaden, good answer.  And food for thought.  But is a currency that is backed by something worse than one backed by nothing, simply because someone can take the backing away? 

Okay, I just got 100 sand dollars off of my beach that each have a really unique pattern.  In fact, they just washed in with a rare tide that happens every 100,000 years and I think I got them all.  The local kids will sell you lemonade for 1 sand dollar a cup.  I bought five cups, so the kids have five of them.  My maid really likes the shells and she cleaned my house for 5 of them.  I'm not going to tell you what my girlfriend did for the other 40, but she want's more and there just aren't any.  Oh, wait, here's the other 50.  Does anyone want to buy them.  They are not currency.  They ARE the commodity because I had to work real hard to find them and they shine up really nicely.  You can get lemonade, your dishes done, and god knows what my slut girlfriend will do for 50 shells, given what she did for 40 shells.  We are all out here in California, so all of the 3 services are available locally.  Any takers?  I heard the kids want a billion dollars for the last shell though.

FreeMoney, I understand the hyperbole.  But you would sell your bitcoin for a Billion Dollars.  You would likely sell a bitcoin for $1000, probably even $100.  You seem to imply that the last bitcoin is worth some outrageous sum of money.  Or that the price will rise astronomically if someone tries to buy them all.  Why?  Regardless, whether someone buys all of the bitcoins is not the issue.  One would not even need to buy them all to back them by a contract for gold.  True, the backing is only as good as the contract.  That is why even if you completely trusted e-gold, it still doesn't matter because the US Government destroyed the contractual relationship.  So I picked a Swiss Bank for my example, but it could be any entity that people trust to deliver an amount of a given commodity like coffee for one bitcoin.  It is the difference between a currency backed by something, and a currency like the dollar backed by nothing.

sturle, I don't understand the response.  Why could any person with a few million dollars not buy all of the bitcoins in existance?  Is your last bitcoin worth more than Bill Gates can offer you?  Are you really going to hold out for a state in Rome?  Would you not settle for a new XBOX 360 for that last bitcoin?  How about a lapdance?  I do not know whether it is impossible to back a currency after it has been issued, as you say it is.  That is, after all, my question.  The posters on here may realize the value of a bitcoin.  I do.  I think it is a great currency for quick, easy, secure anonymous transactions.  But try explaining to any of your friends how you will loan them bitcoins or give them as a gift and see how fast people tell you to shove it.  Tell them they can cash them in for dollars and they'll snatch them right back.  Tell them they can be arrested by the US Government if they spend them anywhere and they will be hesitant.  But if they may be able to trade them for gold somewhere, they may just keep them somewhere on their computer for a rainy day, regardless of what Uncle Sam tells them they can and cannot do.