I didn't even VIEW the post again after it was specified until yesterday!

Imagine singing up with Mt. Gox, making a transaction under the premise that your commission rate is .56%.  Then, you go to bed.  2 weeks later, you go back on your account and you find, low and behold the commission rate for that transaction 2 weeks ago is 10%.  You become (naturally) pissed, because the rules of the game changed and you were not made aware of it.

A pm I sent to OldEngineer just now.

Hello,

Please, sir, with all due respect, I have met all the winning criteria of your bet post.  There is absolutely no doubt that not-only did I guess correctly according to the OP, but I also:  1.) Guessed before Goat and 2.)  I guessed before the suggestion/implementation of your new "rule."  Since I was not informed of this rule change, I could not have changed my guess.  The fact that the bet is of a guessing-nature does nothing to change the fact that your "rule" was unfair as it did not apply to everyone equally.  Some were aware of the rule before guessing...I was not.

Because of this, the game is demonstrated to have been played under false pretenses if you continue to maintain the validity of your "rule."  Not everyone playing played by the same rules, and thus your game was slanted.

I understand it is "only 5 BTC" but I would encourage you to follow through on being decent and honest in this matter.

Thank you.

-The Joint

All of that is irrelevant since I cast my guess before GMT was even mentioned.

As a result, I never viewed the thread again until yesterday.  So, I was completely made unaware of this rule.  Hence, the game was played under different rules by different players.

I don't even know what IIRC is.

Edit:  I do remember what you're talking about, I think.  I recall some matter where some exchange mistakenly sent some guy a bunch of BTC who didn't want to return it.  I think I remember questioning the legality of the exchange's complaint when they were talking about coming after the guy legally.

There is absolutely no doubt that I both:  1)  Cast my vote before Goat and 2) Cast my vote before the new "rule" was implemented.

Dude, I didn't even check the thread again until yesterday.

You can't seriously be claiming that your bogus "rule," which was enforced without making sure that every guesser knew about it, didn't change anything at all.  Clearly it DID change things and, as the hoster of the bet, you should have made sure that every guesser was informed of this rule change.

It's funny.  People like to bitch and complain when people running complex operations like exchanges or other BTC services fail to notify their customers UP FRONT about all the rules and stipulations that they can expect.  Well, I'm bitching and complaining because what you did is no different, making some random change, not telling anybody, assuming that all guessers would find this out for themselves.  How do you know that this new information wouldn't make me change my guess?

Somehow I have a feeling you're not in college.

Whether its failure to pay in a bet or failure to pay in a market transaction, scamming and dishonesty are not welcome on this forum.

I don't suppose you would care to, out of the goodness of your heart, give me 5 of your own BTC then, since its "only fucking 5 BTC."

First, allow me to direct you attention to this thread:  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=53888.0

According to the OP in this thread, a bet was set where OldEngineer would pay 5BTC to the person who correctly guessed the date that BTC would cross the $4 threshold.  In the event of a tie, the prize would go to the first guesser.

On Dec. 6th US central time, I guessed that the price would cross $4 on Dec. 19th.  This is exactly what happened.  It crossed $4 sometime around 10pm US central time on Dec. 19.

But, apparently, OldEngineer claims that Goat won.  Goat guessed Dec. 20th and was also correct since he was guessing according to Thai Time.  OldEngineer claims Goat won because a post on Dec. 7th made the clarification that GMT would be the deciding time.

But, this post, which clarified that GMT would be the deciding time, was made AFTER I cast my guess.  Why the hell should I, a person who uses US central time, make a guess based upon GMT?

OldEngineer, please send me BTC as, per the rules of your OP, I am clearly the winner.  It is not fair to go by some rule that was just "created" in the middle of the game when my guess was not cast according to those rules.

Edit:  I really would not like to make this a big deal if I don't have to.  Please fulfill your end of the agreement and there will be no problems.

UM WTF?!?!

I call absolute bullshit. 

GMT was specified in comment on Dec. 7th, but MY prediction was cast on Dec. 6th before that specification was made.

I was about to ask why you were fighting it.

And, the "other reason" u mention doesn't exist because it states in the event of a tie-break it goes to the first guesser...which was me.

Show me where that is implied in the OP and I will agree with you.

The bet was to make a guess what day the price would break $4, NOT what day according to GMT.

Um, GMT should NOT be the standard.  Why would I, someone who uses US central time, make a guess based upon GMT?

There is no statement in the OP clarifying that it is according to GMT.  If that chart link was based on Central time, then it would be unfair for the guy guessing on GMT time.

I commented first, I won, please pay.

Uh, I think it is assumed that the time goes to whatever time zone the first correct guesser is in.

I predicted first, and I live in Illinois in the US.  It's 10:42 pm currently on 12/19/2011.

Um, and what about me?

I think you can send MY prize winnings to the address in my Sig.

Hahaha nice.

bump

bump

I absolutely agree with RaggedMonk and Portnoy.

Strawmen, ad-homs, and other logical fallacies are fallacies, but they're also extremely effective.  And, given how often they are used mistakenly, you can imagine how much influence they have on a person's psychology.

From what I have read about Bruce, I don't even want him USING Bitcoin.  He HAS committed fraud, he HAS discussed the prostitution of underage boys, so at this point I don't even care about whether my reasoning is fallacious or not.  My INTUITION tells me this guy is absolutely no good.

NOTE:  If you are interested in this service, do NOT state your interest in this thread!!!  All interest must remain 100% confidential through private message (pm).

Hello!  I wanted to make the community aware of a new humanitarian service that I am offering.  Mental Health is applicable to everyone, early adopters and newbies alike

I recently posted another thread (which I closed) in which I questioned the ethics and legality of offering counseling without a license.  According to the Illinois (where I live) Professional Counselor and Clinical Professional Counselor Licensing Act, no one may solicit counseling services as being "professional" or "clinical" without a license.  Additionally, one cannot present his self as a professional if he is not licensed.

Before you read further, please note that I am NOT in any way a professional counselor and I do NOT hold any clinical or professional counseling license of any kind.

I would like to offer you, the community, an outlet to talk about your troubles and to help you to release and relieve your stress. Hopefully, in the process, you may stand to gain increased insight into your problems and gain a renewed sense of hope and strength.  The medium through which we can communicate is up to you; some may feel comfortable only talking via typing, others may be more comfortable in front of a web cam.  I personally believe there are advantages and disadvantages to each.

These services will be available for BTC only.  Rates will only be discussed through private message (pm) for many reasons, but especially because of confidentiality and because of individual need.  BTC should be sent at the end of each discussion.

100% Satisfaction Guarantee -- If, at the end of each discussion, you feel as though you are not satisfied with your experience for any reason, you may decline to send BTC.  I will understand.  Happiness can't be bought, sadness shouldn't be bought.

My philosophy/approach -- Students, like myself, are taught a wide range of therapeutic approaches ranging from cognitive-behavioral therapy to psychodynamic approaches to existential ones.  While I do not limit myself to one particular genre due to the contrasting needs of clients, I do have some very general beliefs that you may or may not resonate with:  

1.)  I believe in balance.  I believe balance brings enrichment, and I can't help but see evidence of this everywhere in nature.  In nature, all systems require perfect balance (what they call homeostasis) otherwise they will deteriorate according to entropy.  Human beings are systems, too.
2.)  I believe in "meeting you where you are".  By this, I mean trying to understand your problem through your eyes, emotionally and cognitively.  There is no one-size-fits-all helping technique, and that's because each person is in a unique situation and at a unique place on their road to happiness.  Some may be more ready to move forward than others.  We're simply not all the same.
3.)  I believe hope is essential to moving forward.  Without hope, the idea of a future can seem unbearable.  Creating hope where there was none is, in itself, a huge achievement.   But, it also helps build the motivation to achieve even more.
4.)  I believe the human mind is a very powerful thing, and that beliefs and associations help form our cognitive and emotional image of the world.  If we can form more rational beliefs and integrate more positive associations in our lives, we will be wiser and happier.
5.)  I believe people are creatures of habit.  Are you a pessimist?  Maybe you're a really GOOD pessimist!  What a talent!  After all, you've been practicing pessimism for...2 years?  5 years?  10 years?  Imagine if you spent that much time getting good at optimism!  It's hard to change a pattern of behavior or thought overnight if we've been doing it for so long.  The bad news about this is that now is the hardest time to change.  The good news is once you start, it keeps getting easier.


A little about me
I am a 2nd year grauate student at one of the finest social work institutions in the country.  I am active in all classes and maintained a 4.0 GPA all last year.  I have over 900 hours of internship experience in three different settings.  First, I interned at my county's juvenile probation department conducting interviews with juveniles and their families and prepping case paperwork.  Second, I interned as a counselor within a disadvantaged school district providing individual and group counseling to middle- and high-school students, most of whom were minority students.  Currently, I intern as a counselor in the adult psychiatric unit in a local hospital.  My current duties include conducting intake assessments, discharging patients, providing individual and group counseling, and connecting hospital patients with other community resources for aftercare treatment (e.g. residential care facilities or drug rehabilitation programs). I estimate that half of my total hours (~450) have been spent working face-to-face with clients.

As an undergrad, I was the president of Psi Chi, the national honors society in psychology, at my college.  I presided over an organization of nearly 50 students and my tasks were to conduct meetings, delegate tasks to other Psi Chi officers, give speeches when necessary, and connect with other college clubs and community agencies to benefit the community.  For example, I helped to coordinate with another club and a local church to provide a "reading club" where we helped teach K-5 refugee students how to read English.

I also consider myself particularly well-versed in East-Asian spiritual traditions (especially Hinduism and Buddhism) but have an interest in religion and spirituality in general.  For those of you that have a deep spiritual side and consider this an essential healing element, I may be able to help.  I have many years of experience in meditation (though I do not claim to meditate every day) and feel particularly comfortable imparting this skill as a coping mechanism for stress upon those who are genuinely interested.

On a final note, I encourage anyone that is interested in speaking with me to skim through my previous posts, especially if you are skeptical.  I have posted many thoughtful, thoughtless, mature, immature, and some downright crude and childish posts.  If it is hard to trust, respect, or like me, then it is doubtful that a therapeutic relationship will form.

I wish you all the best