I've just setup Raspibolt and am doing a dive into this.  I don't know what number of channels it can handle.

I'm curious as to how much resources having over 200 channels takes.  Would also like to know how many transactions pass through your node. If you don't mind sharing.

I think lightning is the way to go, but want to be a bit more comfortable with the technology before dumping large resources in.  I keep hearing the warnings about not committing coin you are not willing to lose.

If you are willing to commit to a small node this is my info: https://1ml.com/node/036ccd87044f0e6e1d115e67a5aec2440d56d498e8eb4b12c81fce7ac342ff8f20
I would be willing to allocate 600,000 to the channel.

I donated.

This is a small town with limited resources.  Every little bit helps.

Just remember, FEMA is a four letter word.

If you are using bitcoin for coffee then you are not getting cash.  Tax laws are complex and there are no experts, just people who claim to be.

If you have a capital gain on bitcoin and invest those gains in something else it is a different set of rules than if you cash out and take a trip to Vegas.  Tax law is aimed at protecting the wealthy and punishing the stupid.  Don't be stupid.

Every business should have a drug test kit to test cash for drug residue.  If it contains any they should not take it.  It could have been used in a crime.

Definitely over 60 crowd.

I am a bit of a gold bug.  I firmly believe that a third of your long term security should be held in precious metals.

Back in the 90's I started buying gold and silver.  When silver topped $50 I sold a bunch off.  That silver sold for about 9 times what I paid for it.  I took that and bought bitcoin.  At that time was about $30.  I consider myself extremely lucky.  I've since bought more silver after the price dropped below $25.

When I cashed in silver the generic rounds, eagles and maple leafs all brought the same amount.  Coin dealers will try to convince you that buying government mint coins are a better investment.  That is pure B.S. to get you to pay more.  If the SHTF nobody is going to give you a premium for them.  Ounces is ounces.

Gold has no current use as a currency.  Most people out there have no idea what a 1oz coin value in USD is.  Personally I think Platinum is a better long term buy.

I used to carry some Liberty coins around with me.  Several times I used those to purchase things and they were accepted at the $10 valuation that is on them.    I still have a few as a reminder of what subterfuge the US Government is capable of.

That fact that bitcoin does not have any central control is what attracted me to it.  I learned my lesson with E-Gold.

I kept waiting for the Amway pitch.

Any time some sales drone goes on for any length of time without telling you what he is pitching, it is a scam. 

If you have a webcam: http://webqr.com/

If you have a mac with a webcam Hive just added that feature.

To me the UI seems to be the place to do it.  Just need something that triggers the tip line to be active.

The whole idea is to make a bitcoin transaction more mainstream.  Most restaurants don't bring the credit card machine to your table.  Bringing a tablet over to the table tends to raise eyebrows unless the order was taken on a tablet. 

Credit card usage took off because of restaurant use.  Bitcoin needs that same acceptance in order to lock into the mainstream.  That process needs to be as simple as possible.

I was planning on having a chat with my local bar owner about accepting Bitcoin.  In putting together a little diagram on how it all works I found something that is lacking in request/payment system.  That is tips for service.

In a credit card transaction a slip is presented to the customer that includes a place for adding a tip amount.  While with credit cards the card is preauthorized an amount and then a tip can be added before final processing.

I know that tipping is primarily a U.S. custom, but it would be considered bad form to hand the bill back to a server and have them add a tip amount and bring you back a new bill.

A proper methodology would be to present a bill, possibly with a QR payment code already printed and in the customer wallet be able to have a line item for a service tip.  This would fall in line with what people are already used to doing.  The wallet application should allow the add on amount, but not allow the amount to be reduced prior to payment.

I would also suggest that the Bitcoin URI be expanded to include a tip field boolean to trigger that action in the wallet.

What do you guys think?

I registered this domain in the 90's for a group of us that were playing Quake online.  Yeah I know I just showed how old I am   There has not been a website setup on it in many years.

I setup a google apps account back when they were free for this domain so it is grandfathered with a 50 user limit.  Now they charge $50 a year per user!

If you are not aware, you can add domains the the account.  So if you want a google apps account for your business without paying out the nose this is the deal for you.

I would like to get 4 BTC for this domain.

Food stamps are done by grants to states.  Each state administers their own systems of redemption.  It is handled through a credit card system and merchants are responsible for ensuring that the credit is used for eligible food items.

The funds used for those are like credit cards in that they are dollars made up out of thin air.  Any credits not used just simply disappear.

With bitcoin those funds would have to exist in an escrow so that any credits not used would return to the pool.  So instead of a card holding a specified amount of btc that it would be authorized to draw a specified amount from the pool.  That part is manageable in software.

Currently the national budget for food stamps, actually called SNAP btw. is pushing 100 billion.  The exchange rate for the existing 12 million btc would have to skyrocket just cover snap.

As bitcoin grows in usage with merchants the exchange rate naturally align itself.  Using the force of Government to mainstream BTC would be the kiss of death. 

What I don't understand is why people keep talking about the mtgox exchange rate for bitcoin being so low.  It's like saying the price for a McLaren P1 is $20 and the only place you can buy it is closed.  Defies logic.

I have a few brain wallets setup.  Despite the doom and gloom naysayers I am confident the method I use is secure.

First off, I have a two part generation password.  The first part is a password that I know followed with a 2 digit sequence number.  The second part is generated by a yubikey in static password mode.  That puts my brain wallet generation around 75 characters long.  I don't see how that could possibly be hacked.

There is a document on the yubico.com website that is a tutorial on how to setup a yubikey for use with truecrypt.  The same tutorial works as a guide for how to do what I'm talking about.

Even if the yubikey gets confiscated the password is still required to generate the wallet information.  There is information in the document on how to backup the information for the yubikey if it gets lost.  Again, password + yubikey is required.

Easy for me to access wallets, hard for anyone else.

The domain is not currently in use, it only has email setup for inquiries.

I get about 4 or 5 inquiries a month asking if it is for sale.  When I ask what they want it for most respond they want it for some type of travel site.

I would like to get 4 btc for the name but am open to offers.

Just the opposite.  He only favors what he can control.