The Rothschilds, the Vatican and the British Crown are at the top of the pyramid.

Aren't there splits in the family - this could cause the disintegration of the dynasty. Of course they may also believe that property prices are over inflated, and they need to switch into other assets such as countries.

I like Vod, and I think it is a shame he got mixed up in all the reputation stuff.

The only good thing about all the reputation bitching is that you get to know who to trust, and who is a worthwhile member. This seems to be independent of the trust system.

I've got a radical way to fix the climate problem. Just accept that the greatest problems come from war, attempted regime change, false flags, pollution, Big Pharma, over concentrated populations, and the weaponisation of weather changes. Lock the Washington, Westminster, bankers and other toy cupboards, and don't let the politicians have the keys.

I think people need to get used to the fact that there is no one perfect payment system. They need to continue with the ability to select from multiple options such as credit card, debit card, cash, online bank transfer, and the parasities like Ebay. Crypto currencies are another facility that has been added to the mix, and gold and silver coins are making a comeback as fiat currencies start to lose credibility. Choose the method that suits the product and the payment requirement. If you want to visit your neighbour across the street - do you get the Lambo out of the garage, or do you just walk across the road?

I hope this brings home to members that "a sig is for life, and not just for Christmas".

Now that the forum is becoming a cleaner and healthier place, lets all work together to attract some new healthy blood, and also perhaps we can persuade some of the former members to return and contribute to some of the discussions.

I love winter - it is part of the natural cycle. It kills off the weak and the diseased. and it allows the strong to regenerate and prepare themselves for the spring.  The next Bitcoin winter will provide another chance to accumulate and expand. There is a brilliant summer on the way, and you should make sure you have the crypto strength to take advantage of it.

I created a post about the merit system in my blog quite a while ago. You can read it here -
https://talkmerit.com/the-source/index.php/articles/the-bitcoin-talk-merit-system

I wrote it some time after I had become a merit source, and I haven't updated it since. Maybe it is time I reviewed it.

I used a faucet for a few weeks when I first started with Bitcoin. This was really just to test the wallet that was created when I set up a full node. It really is a waste of your time, and the "dust" that you earn will increase your transaction fee when you eventually spend your coins.

I started a thread about this in the Ivory Tower - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5132811.0

I pre-registered the JetCash name, but haven't heard anything since I paid my $10.

I gave you 10 merits for having licked the merit sauce (sic), and for not dropping a boob whilst doing it.

They've tried to make Cinnamon as close to Windows as possible. If you are used to a Windows desktop, then you should feel right at home. Of course you still get the Linux advantages such as using terminal instead of putty to maintain a VPS.

Right now the Internet is under attack, and I think Theymos is taking some very reasonable precautions to avoid falling foul of the new restrictive laws that are being imposed by some countries. It is especially relevant for a Bitcoin community - many of the lawmakers seem to think they should be silenced.

The project is going well, and it has expanded a bit, so I'll post a full update when I've decided on the final setup.

With regards to the advantages of Linux over Windows. I tend to think of it rather like this. Windows is similar to paying for a contract car. with a very limited choice of models. You never get to own it, and you have to let them check it over to see if you have changed or altered anything.. You also have to ensure that you have a facility for hitch hikers to climb aboard, even if you don't want them.  It's not very fuel efficient, and it doesn't always take the route you had planned. If a supermarket has paid Microsoft, then it will take you through their car park in the hope that you will stop and do some shopping. It loads a load of useless baggage in the boot. and it is difficult to get rid of it. In the end, you give up and junk the computer, and get a new one. This is great, because a guy like me can pick up the machine, install Linux on it, and have a nice efficient single function computer.

Linux is a different world, and it is free and open source. You can get almost anything from a bicycle, where you have to do all the work, and get lets of intellectual exercise, to a luxury sedan, where you just sit back, and enjoy a fast comfortable ride which takes you straight to your destination. There are 3 levels you need to consider - the core or engine, which is the actual Linux operating system, the implementation. which contains some tailoring and pre-configured packages, and GUI or skin. I decided to use Linux Mint with the Cinnamon GUI, as this is reputed to have the closest Windows feel, and contains Linux variants of most of the applications I use. It is based on Debian/Ubuntu, and that is a stable and popular Linux variant. I had a to make a few adjustments. For example, I've been using Irfanview for about 20 years, but that doesn't support Linux. I switched to Gimp, which wasn't very difficult to get used to, and it has several more advanced features.

The connectors I bought on line 4 days ago still haven't been delivered.The bits I'm now buying from Amazon are arriving in 24 hours or less. I've read that Jeff Bazos is building a moon lander that he is calling " Blue Moon". I bet he will be able to deliver to the moon before the "new" Royal Mail can deliver to Hampshire.

I wonder why he wants to deliver to the moon - I expect he has heard that Bitcoin is going to the moon this year, and he wants to start accepting it.

Do DT1 members need to borrow money?

The English is bad, and it doesn't fir the payment method I use with combase. I use Faster Payments, and that requires me to register a potential transfer, and obtain a reference number. I then transfer the funds to my coinbase account, and include the refernce number in the transaction details. Coinbase doesn't have a method of charging my debit card.

Sounds terrible if there is no moderation, and anyone can join with privacy.

How would it know which of my alts to use?

I've got the fingerprint app disabled on my phone, and a sticky over the camera lens on the phone and computers. I don't use near field identification or contactless cards either. I'm also a fan of cash payments, I'm such a luddite. Goodness only knows how I became a Bitcoin believer.

Wow! So many different opinions.

I believe that Washington's only interest in Venezuela is to preserve the heavy oil exports for the Koch brothers, and to prevent the profits being given to the people of Venezuela, and don't forget the gold mining potential . Gold will become more important as the current fiat system collapses.

Washington seems to be intent on attacking most of the countries in the world at the moment, and that includes the United States.

Well here we are with yet another exchange hacking. This time it is $40million from Binance, and it is well worth reminding Crypto owners of the oft repeated statement -
If you don't own your private keys, then you don't own your coins

I've made a small profit on CoinBase, and I'm going to move the coins into my Core wallet. I'm comfortable with using CoinBase, but I still think it is better to control my own money. I ws going to take the profit, as I think Bitcoin is due to pull back a bit, but I missed the start of the drop. I'm moving the coins into savings, as I think Bitcoin has a strong future, and I'll top up my account with some fiat. That way I can take advantage of the next rise in the price.

I'm also going to start using Bitcoin to buy a few things online. If I'm sensible with my CoinBase wallet management, I will be able to get a bit of a price reduction if I'm careful with my coin purchases.