I still feel that Google and security/privacy are contradictory terms. Knowledge and safe working procedures still seem to be the best safeguards.

Interesting that it has dropped twice, and been picked up.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I've just discovered that BitBlocks has disabled PoW, and they only allow PoS. I need to do a bit more reading, and it may be better to run a masternode - it's fairly cheap at the moment. I used the faucet to test my wallet, and to see how fast a transfer was. I'm impressed with that bit, but the faucet is not a way to pick up coins. I made half a dozen claims, and I think it has only given me about a penny.

Actually it is the other way around, but it depends on how you define the UK and the US. The Committee 300 started by Cecil Rhodes is still in control of most of the Western World - Washington, The EU and the City of London are their control mechanisms. The British Crown still has power over some minor US statutes I believe, and this is the result of loans granted during the US civil war. The UK Intelligence Initiative seems to have been the organisation that was influencing American politics, and not the Russians. You may also reflect on where all the capital outflows from the US end up. It is in the tax havens that form the modern British Empire.

[UPDATE]

I gather that Bercow ( The Speaker ) has ruled that May can't resubmit the EU created "deal". With the comments about the reason Australia and Canada ordered the Type 26 frigates, it's looking as if my comment from months ago may have some substance. I suggested that they were going to shove the EU under the bus to get rid of the debts, and expand the British Commonwealth as an alternative.

You guys should be more concerned about Trump allocating a "further" $5million to the White Helmets. The White Helmets is a military organisation started by the UK, and it is alleged they were responsible for the chemical attacks that they tried to blame on Assad. Russia is forecasting another false flag chemical attack in the near future. I'm pleased to see that US residents are protesting about the use of their tax dollars to fund regime changes in countries not directly associated with the US.

There is also the ebola outbreak that some are saying is a deliberate attempt to seize the mineral wealth of the Congo.

I'm a bit miffed because I've decided to experiment with BitBlocks, and I think that needs a scrypt miner. I might try with the small computer that I revived, but I don't think I can change the graphics in that.

Brexit was only going to be the start. What it has done is to expose and publicise the activities of the Committee 300. They control Westminster, Washington and the British Civil Service. The Koch brothers are part of the Committee, and it is now apparent that they are the dynasty that is pushing Washington into war over Venezuela, The good news is that the people of the US are joining the groundswell that seeks to break the dominance of the Committee. If the UK does stay in the EU with voting rights it will be mayhem, and they will be active in seeking to destroy the EU, and it won't be difficult given the populist revolution. Greece is an example of the results of giving in to those who control the EU.

Wasn't this the result of a break in at a bank, and the thieves stole computers and other valuables, and didn't bother with the banknotes. It isn't the population that is discarding the currency, but the thieves who can't be bothered to transport it.

Well we are starting to see the protests over the delays, and there is a threat the lorry drivers will combine to block the main arterial roads if Brexit is delayed. It seems that Brexit has become the red herring to divert attention from the Italian banking crisis. Brexit won't bring down the Euro and the EU, but an Italian banking collapse could well be the beginning of the end.

It's an interesting concept. I'd like to make a couple of preliminary points - too much emphasis is being given to merits. Obtaining merits is not the main purpose of membership of the Bitcoin Talk forum. They have been around long enough now to have become just a part of the normal flow of the forum, and I think this is best. I'm not a fan of necro-bumping,and I think new threads with links should be created, rather than bumping an old topic. A change that some may consider warrants a bump, should be significant enough to warrant a new thread of ots own.

The suggestion in the OP would be ideal for forum projects. Very often worthwhile projects die because they are dependent on one member. Allowing a small group to maintain the project would enable it to be kept within the forum. My Fit to Talk project is one example of this.

Unless somebody else want s to start this, I'll try to plan it, and start a project thread here. At the moment I don't even know how to lay a genesis block. As it won't be a commercial project, it may need some changes to the core software. I wondered about smaller block rewards, but it may be more instructive if we could see what it is like to own a few hundred coins. I don't think people should have to mine 24/7, so a longer block interval might be a good idea - can anyone think of any other changes for a training project. It would also be important to change the name from Bitcoin, as I understand that some people have tried to sell coins from the testnet. Maybe they should be called TalkTokens or something. The default directories and port would need to be changed. This should allow it to be run alongside a genuine Bitcoin node.

That idea was from a few years ago. These days he would have to be transgender, and I could not describe him as black. He would also need to be collecting carrots for leporine aid for rabbits living under oppressive farming regimes. Ar least he would be using an electric vehicle.

[note]
For anyone who doesn't use the word "leporine", I added it to the unusual words in the English language thread in the Fit to Talk English project.

There are quite a few gaps in my Bitcoin knowledge, and I'm considering trying to start a beginners blockchain so that I can learn about mining, including cpu, gpu and asic. Ir shouldn't require much time or storage, and it would gives us a chance to play with hard forks and other elements in the Bitcoin economy. I understand the purpose of the testnet, but I think that is designed for project development, than for beginners experimentation.

Well I won't be using it. I'm impressed with the Brave browser, which is another Chromium based browser like Chrome. It includes a Tor window as well.

I still refuse to use Facebook and Twitter, and all the recent publicity makes me realise that this decision is correct. I've sorted out quite a few things recently, so Windows is the next thing to go, and I'll replace it with Linux Mint. I've already bought a 2Tb SSD to install it.

Why do you call him the president interim? I thought his 30 days had expired.

Is there anybody who could run for president? Guaido has said he will sell off everything to Washington, and that can't be good for Venezuela. I would have thought that the assets should be used to rebuild your country, and not to feed the globalist war machine.

Yes, I'm in England, and I'm trying to understand the situation in Venezuela. I'm sure the situation is pretty bad, possibly almost as bad as some cities in the US. I'm not sure how easy it is to understand where Venezuela fits in one the global chessboard that is being played by the committee 300, but I doubt if it is even known within Venezuela. I'm concerned because the Committee is making a major play at the moment, and it affects the US, the UK and Venezuela as well as a large number of other countries. Venezuela is only important because of its mineral wealth, and I am sure you are aware that there are several other countries in a far worse condition, but they are ignored by Washington. You seem to be saying that my opinion that the people of Venezuela should be allowed to determine their own future is not a good idea.

I have a lot of sympathy for the people of Venezuela, but you are correct when you say their plight will have little effect on me. However, if Washington does engineer a war, then that will have a severe impact on the UK, and I think they need to create this war to enable them to bring down the dollar, and the other currencies with unsustainable debts. As usual, the seized assets will go to the City of London, and will not be used for the benefit of the people in any of the countries involved.

I haven't ever said that Maduro is good. I have said that Venezuela should be given the chance to elect its own government for recovery. Gauido will pillage Venezuela, and will be far worse than Maduro. Just look at the results of previous regime changes orchestrated by Washington. Theresa May is obviously taking orders from the Committee 300 which is based in the City of London. It was founded by Cecil Rhodes, and it is no coincidence that Clinton was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University.

It is a difficult problem for Venezuela. Maduro has obviously not been good for the people of Venezuela. Washington's control will be far worse, and China will claim land in payment for defaulted debts, and that will probably be used to set up military bases. I don't know what the answer is, but the removal of sanctions and military threats might enable some sort of basic stability to be restored.

I had hopes that Brexit ad the actions in Italy and France were going to give us a chance to regain a bit of control. However it looks as if the bankers are retrenching. The increases in defence spending, and financial changes such as the privatising of the Rothschild bank in Switzerland are indications of this. I was a supporter of Trump, but he seems to be becoming more bellicose, and turning his back on his election promises. It's becoming quite difficult to plan for the future.

I was relying to TMAN's comment that I was stealing WiFi. I've spent a few thousand pounds in McDonalds, mainly on coffee and breakfast, and I suspect they are not making a loss over me. Half a dozen kids can come in and buy one milkshake between the lot of them,and spens a couple of hours sending stupid images to each othe on their phones. It can lock up the WiFi. I appreciate that it is a service that McD offers, so my comment was more of an observation than a complaint.

I don't think referring to my comments as "infantile" is helpful. We know that Washington is determined to force regime change in many countries, and that Guaido was schooled in the George Washington school for regime change activists. We also have the comments from the Washington politicians who confirm their actions in the name of the US. It is also generally accepted that Maduro has not been the best president for Venezuela. The major factor in all this is that the sanctions by Washington, and their covert actions have made it very difficult for the population of Venezuela.

I've just received a brief message from my fiend in Venezuela, and it seems that she managed to leave the country before the power outage. I'll try to see if I can get some more information from here, although she has had some difficulties in contacting her family.