Dude I had one time where I started my session with a losing streak that got me right to zero, but normally there are a series of winning bets that make you feel confident that you'll beat the odds lol.

Yeah I learned the same.  I took some micro and macro but ended up specializing in finance.  There was no lecture on anything non-Keynesian.  There was also nothing on the history of money, how FIAT came about.  Where did you go to university if you don't mind me asking?  I'm assuming you're Canadian as well from your spelling

Last year I picked up a gold stock, as a bet against the USD with all the money printing.  I made a little bit of money, but spent a lot of time with a 50% god damn loss on the stock.  Meanwhile the USD rocketed upwards.  Just based on that experience I don't want to touch that shit anymore.  I've noticed Canadian banks and telecoms pretty much maintain a 4% dividend yield long term, and raise their dividends every year, plus they are heavily restricted industries.  I buy and sell based on the dividend yield.

I didn't invest for a few years, after getting burned in 2008, but interest rates are just too low to get anything out of a risk free investment.

Well the main challenge really is increasing the awareness of humans, but there are so many forces that benefit from having an ignorant population.  We have a bullshit education system that maintains that ignorance, where the values and grading system are almost upside down.  Look at a group of ultra successful people - it's interesting to see how many dropped out of school, likely because they didn't see value in it.  Even look at kids with ADHD.  They are usually totally obsessed with a few things in life, which are not mainstream, and that obsession allows them to be amazing at it.  Instead of seeing that talent, we start drugging them out at the age of 7 on ritalin and adderal because they don't give a shit about what their grade 2 teacher is writing on the blackboard??  That kid is the aware one.  Internet is helping a lot, as localized ignorance is being shed with exposure to other parts of the world that couldn't be accessed before.

With a conscious population, where humans are treated as humans and people don't segregate into national/racial/religious teams, there wouldn't be wars.  We're not there yet, but it's improving slowly.  Not too long ago, there were slaves and people were burned alive for "witchcraft".

Sociopaths are usually very charming.  But they lack the ability to feel or express genuine emotion.  People that communicate with emotion will feel a void there, and the rest won't suspect anything.

Decentralization just goes back to reducing the size and power of government.  It's amazing how much money and resources go to the government when it's well understood that any government entity will be the least productive.

I'm not sure how much an economics degree would even help in investing.  I studied economics as part of my degree, and I can't really say it helps me much in the market.  It's good to understand the theories, but even top economists are pretty bullshit.  None of them saw the 2008 financial crisis until it was too late.  Only the Austrian economists/some libertarians saw it, and they didn't teach that in university.  With trading, timing is key.  Investing in a shit stock with good timing will yield returns.  Investing in a great stock with bad timing won't.

Banking, telecom and technology is what I like.  I liked gold too, but the price of gold and how easily it's manipulated by paper contracts is something I don't like.

Just take the rich guy's stock - Berkshire.

Well when have we ever had a majority aware/conscious population?  It goes hand in hand.

I think there are many great leaders, but they don't end up in politics, nor should they.  Their talent would be wasted in politics.  Current politics is based on manipulating the population, and chronic dishonesty is a job suited for a sociopath.  So it's the sociopath that can look into the camera and blatantly lie to millions of people, and then sleep fine at night that ends up at the top of the political chain.

All of the current lobbying and large corporations that fund government campaigns will never side with a philosopher because the game would come to an end.

The awareness of the world is increasing, but still far from being a majority.

Sounds like you are looking for an anarchy type system.  I would prefer that as well, but it needs to happen one step at a time.  Big government and centralized planning is a few major steps from anarchy.

The voters do hold the power, but it's a power that goes unused because the awareness isn't there.  With a majority ignorant population, voting loses its power.  With a more aware/conscious population, you'd have more philosophers as leaders, rather than politicians.

Here's one of my favourite quotes, by a French philosopher whose name I forgot lol - "There are no political solutions, only technological ones; the rest is propaganda"  Until voters understand that, the right type of leader will never stand a chance against propaganda.

If it was easy to invest in the stock market, then everyone would be rich if they felt like being in the stock market.  With interest rates as low as they are, you could even lever up and multiply your returns.

I agree with you that the monetary expansion is pumping the stock market, but there are still many people that have negative returns.

I also agree that the economy will implode if the money printing stops, and I've thought that way for years.  But at the end of the day the Fed is a one trick pony.  The universal solution to any problem is keep that printing press going.  So while I understand there is a possibility of a crash, I still keep a certain % of funds hedged with the banksters and rich folks.

I think taxation is the key to government adoption.  The government would need to have access to sales transactions for taxing sales for the consumer and income for the seller.  Once that is in place, then it can be more widely accepted by large consumer goods/services companies.

Smaller players who likely don't report any taxes from bitcoin wouldn't care, but there would be large legal implications for the larger companies.

First, you need to be comfortable with a few different outcomes, which will avoid the creepfactor.

1. You need to be comfortable with her knowing, and continuing to just be friends
2. You need to be comfortable with no longer being friends
3. You are already comfortable with being more than friends so that's no issue

If you have that attitude, and respect her decision no matter what it is, then you'll be just fine, and she'll probably respect you more as a person, which can only help.  Whether it becomes a romantic relationship or not depends on how she feels, so the only way to find out is to talk to her.

If you want to become possessive of her, and "need" her to be with you, then you may come off a bit creepy.

At the end of the day, it sounds like you have a crush on her, and you'll likely get a similar feeling to many more girls over the years, so don't take it too seriously

Also, don't take advice from a bitcoin forum about girls

The first 4 episodes leaked.  Might as well get them all while you're at it.

Yeah, the odds are against you with using martingale long term.

The problem with martingale is that when you hit the losing streak, you lose it all.  So something to consider is making periodic withdrawals, so that when you eventually lose (and you will), you will have withdrawn some funds before that time.  Even then, in the long-run it's a losing strategy and you need to "beat the odds" to win.

Interesting.  You've explained this in a way that isn't difficult to understand.

Would you be able to give a sample of what the number, hash of the block header and target would look like in an equation?

Bank stocks have pretty decent returns here (Canada) and make pretty good investments given the risk.  The banks are regulated, so there it doesn't allow for foreign competition.  It's pretty much an oligopoly.  They also pay out ~4% dividends, which usually increase every year.

Investing requires research and understanding, and maybe a bit of luck, and can be financially rewarding.  Depends what your goals are, but it would make sense to have a combination of investments and savings.

Agreed that this isn't a valid comparison.  The internet is an arena for communication, and much superior to what existed previously to share information.  It's faster, cheaper and more empowering.  Established industries like TV, newspapers, traditional mail, advertising, telephone, libraries, etc. are being replaced by the internet, and the potential to access eyeballs is insane compared to any previous form of telecommunications.

To think that bitcoin is going to come in and destroy FIAT currencies the way the internet is destroying any of the above industries doesn't make sense.  It may one day become a viable alternative if enough people choose to use it.  Internet on the other hand isn't an alternative, it's the primary method for communication and information.

I don't think many people would flock to bitcoin even if the US dollar was in trouble.  It needs to be a readily acceptable method for payment for it to be treated like a legitimate alternative to the dollar, and it's not that way yet.

If the dollar collapses, people usually go towards physical assets and in particular, precious metals and real estate.

No problem bud.

It's not bad; I mean any contribution at all is better than nothing at the end of the day, because I don't believe there is a legal obligation for employers to contribute anything.  My company does a 100% match on a maximum of 6% contribution on gross income.

The problem that I have is that this money is a form of forced savings and cannot be accessed until retirement.  For this reason I prefer stock plans.  The other problem is that it hasn't been taxed, so when you start withdrawing from the retirement fund, it will be taxable income.

With respect to the type of investments, there are usually some standard portfolios with a mix of equities and bonds depending on risk tolerance to choose from.  You can also select specific funds yourself, from the limited options available in the plan specific to your company.

At the same time as #3, also establish the petro dollar and global reserve currency status (significantly increasing the global demand for USD).

Probably the coolest movie for me that was a critique of today's society was the Matrix.  I didn't really understand the concepts too well when I first saw it.  It was more of a cool action movie to me.  But the second time I watched it, years later, I was really impressed with it.

The mainstream being heavily conditioned to believe whatever the authority/governing body puts forth, vs the smaller group of more conscious/aware people that see through the illusion.

I don't think I did a very good job of explaining anything, but I'm sure you've all seen the movie, and if you haven't, go watch it

It will be interesting to see if the day ever comes that the rest of the world wakes up and truly understands what trade is about.  The states have been in a trade deficit since 1975, meaning they export more than they import, with the gap being filled by printed USD.  They will likely never be in a trade surplus, meaning this is not really trade.  If the states decline and other countries wake up, then I think they will be positively impacted.  Perhaps they can consume more of the goods they produce, instead of sending it overseas for a printed note.

Yeah unless you are born into wealth and inheritance, most people require debt to spread the expenses of current consumption into the future.  Those that have assets that generate passive income, are the ones that benefit from the system.  That is, they are able to make income without having to invest their own time, or investing very little time.  An example of this would be a landlord that leases land or property.

Inflation also helps those with assets, and hinders those without, widening the gap and making it more difficult for the have-nots to become part of the haves.