https://www.bitmit.net/en/trade/i/7780-ubercollectable-copy-of-bitcoin-magazine-issue-1-authographed

On Bitcoin Confrence 2012 Bitcoin Magazine issue #1 with more than 20 autographs of many Bitcoin “celebrities” present on the conference was auctioned off. Unfortunately, the buyer has failed to pay and collect his copy. Bittalk Media Ltd, publisher of Bitcoin Magazine, has been holding the auctioned copy until now to allow the auction winner to contact us, to pay and to collect his purchase. Unfortunately, no one showed up claiming his purchase and we are auctioning it off again.

There were only 7 copies of Bitcoin Magazine issue #1 brought by us to the conference. They all were autographed by more than 20 Bitcoin Personalities, including (in no particular order): Max Keiser, Stacy Herbert, Nefario, Mike Hearn, Tony Gallippi of Bitpay, Mihai Alisie of Bitcoin Magazine, Molecular, Vladimir, Meni Rosenfeld, Roman of bitfloor, Josh of BFL, Ribuck and many others. 2 copies were transferred to private collectors, 1 copy is now looking for it’s owner and 4 copies remain in our storage with tentative plans to be eventually auctioned off on upcoming Bitcoin Conferences.

The magazine will be shipped to the winner of this auction from Bitcoin Magazine's office in UK. The proceeds of the auction will be used to pay marketing fees for promotion of Bitcoin Magazine all around the world.

Should there be any doubts in validity of this auction please contact support@bitcoinmagazine.com for confirmation.

Starting price is 7 BTC.

Rally thread brought to you by popular demand.

To add some content: I still think that buying BTC as long term investment beats mining investments hands down. At this time this opinion applies to CPU, GPU, FPGA and ASIC based mining. For what it worth.

The above opinion has not changed since I have expressed it privately and publicly in May-June 2012 when BTC was around 5$.

184.173.XXX.XXX - - [09/Sep/2012:03:28:45 +0000] "GET /?s=cd%20wallet HTTP/1.1" 200 62006

Try harder!

1/3 -> http://bitcoinmagazine.net/bob-the-teaser-13/

This is just me thinking aloud. You do know that it is possible to book ad space in Bitcoin Magazine, both print and web. There are significant discounts on offer for high volume buyers. If one forms a bitcoin centered ad agency, hires some artists to do ad design, buys wholesale ads in Bitcoin Magazine (and other publications too perhaps). There is some profit that is to be made.

Should Bitcoin Magazine recognize such company as an advertisement agency and that agency buys ad space up to 6 month in advance, there are up to 35% discount potentially is possible, plus whatever one earns on ad design services. It is quite viable business in fiat world, it could be such in Bitcoin Land too.

Steal this idea!

http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=241961,00.html
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4684.pdf

Silver lining and all that....

It appears that US residents can claim ponzi scheme losses as theft and get it written off taxes.

[AND]

This is based on my post on page 57 of some obscure thread and I am reposting it here as it was suggested in hope that someone will find it useful.

The level of discussion in this forum is appalling. It seems most people are either unable or unwilling to hold a civil and reasonable discussion. Let me give you some details and examples. Some of those are based on recent massive pirate related trolling campaign which I will use in my examples. Please note that even while my examples may refer mostly to the pirate affair (a popular topic at this time) the same low quality of argument is endemic. Perhaps we are indeed entering "eternal september" state.

Brief background is that user pirateat40 made an extraordinary claim that he has some kind of biz model that is producing >3400% APR AND that it is reasonable for him to buy capital at ~3400 APR% AND that his biz model is not a ponzi. Moreover he has taken deposits/money in rather significant amounts based on that claim directly and via intermediaries/partners/employees/etc.

The pirateat40's opponents have called this BS and reasonably  asserted that pirate is running a ponzi scheme based on logical reasoning and common sense.

Pirate and his shills, supporters, lieutenants and captives went on offensive employing every logical fallacy in the book (many of them anyway).

Let's just list some of fallacies that have been routinely used and/or likely will be used shortly by team "pirate, the miracle worker" (and by other community members on other topics too, of course):

Ad hoc:
  "pirate paid 1 account, hence he will pay all accounts", "pirate paid N weeks on time, hence he will continue paying on time" etc...

Anecdotal evidence:
  "we had a dinner with pirate, therefore he is not anonymous"

Argumentum ad baculum:
  "you say something against pirate, you get paid last"

Argumentum ad crumenam:
  "pirate has NNNNNN BTC, therefore he is right", "I bet NNNNNNN BTC, therefore I am right (or ballsy), you did not bet therefore you shut up"

Argumentum ad hominem:
  attacking opponents personally and on various unrelated matters, like their own businesses, bets they have or not have placed etc...

Argumentum ad ignorantiam:
  "Of course the Bible is true. Nobody can prove otherwise.", "pirate is not a ponzi because nobody can prove otherwise", "there is a giant teapot orbiting the sun, because nobody can prove otherwise". This also includes "shifting the burden of proof", btw.

Argumentum ad misericordiam:
  "I did not murder my mother and father with an axe! Please don't find me guilty; I'm suffering enough through being an orphan.", "I lost so much money on ponzi and stupid bets, I am suffering enough, do not tell me that I am guilty of promoting and conspiring in a ponzi scheme and a scammer"

Argumentum ad nauseam:
  ohh yea repeat utter BS until any reasonable person tells you "nuff off, no point to talking to you", nauseating it is indeed.

Argumentum ad numerum:
  "so many people invested in that, they cannot be all wrong"

Argumentum ad verecundiam:
  (Appeal to authority, false authority in this case): "Pirates's lieutenants and shills say they know him, and he has a magical biz model and it is not a ponzi, it must be so then"

Bifurcation:
  "if pirate pays all accounts now, he is not running a ponzi" (That is an interesting one, think about it)

Fallacy of presupposition:
  demanding an explanation of something that is not true or has not been established

Ignoratio elenchi:
  illogically concluding that some set of usually fallacious arguments support the desired conclusion

Non causa pro causa:
  "pirate has defaulted because his opponents were posting that he is running a ponzi"

Non sequitur:
  "pirate pays 7%, therefore he has some miracle biz model making lots of money and it is totally possible"

Petitio principii:
  "pirate is not running a ponzi, because he pays dividends, and must have some underlying biz model, and therefore he is not running a ponzi"

Plurium interrogationum:
  demanding a simple answer to a complex question.

Red herring:
  "some copies of bitcoin magazine were delivered late, therefore pirate is not running a ponzi"

Shifting the burden of proof (again):
  "pirate has claimed that he is not running a ponzi and that he needs to buy capital at 3000% APR and that he has some underlying biz model other than paying capital back as dividend and asked and received lots of money, now you need to prove that he is not running a ponzi."

Straw man:
  (happens ~10 times in every thread.) miscquote your opponent than attack his, taken out of context or misrepresented, opinion. Works especially well with typos and grammar/spelling mistakes.

Tu quoque:
  "you attacked me ad hominem, I will respond with ad hominem too."

I might have misunderstood some logical fallacies, missed some or gave not reasonably good examples. You are more than welcome to post in this thread and improve on what I have said above.

Persistent and pervasive abuse of all the logical fallacies is so annoying that continuing any serious discussion amounts to utter waste of time, not intellectually stimulating and often simply aggravating.

May I respectfully suggest the community to gently ostracise any member who blatantly abuses logical fallacies either intentionally or due to ignorance. No need to do anything harsh but maybe ignoring such a member or replying by citing the logical fallacies that were abused and, if feeling generous, including an appropriate wikipedia link to educate ignorant ones. Or just place link to this thread in your reply and let em figure out on their own what went wrong.

There is no point whatsoever to continue any discussion with anyone after a logical fallacy has been deployed by this person. The argument is invalid and should be discarded simply because it is utter nonsense.

Some logical fallacies are considered to be more abusive than others, specifically such as ad hominem, tu quoque, ad baculum, straw man, red herring, ad nauseam. These ones probably deserve more harsh reaction than others.


For your reference:

Just google name of any logical fallacy and you will get plenty of resources explaining it in depth. Wikipedia is particularly great with this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_fallacies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_burden_of_proof
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_teapot
http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/

example of an excellent retort:

Argumentum ad ignorantiam: "Of course the Bible is true. Nobody can prove otherwise.", "pirate is not a ponzi because nobody can prove otherwise", "there is a giant teapot orbiting the sun, because nobody can prove otherwise". This also includes "shifting the burden of proof", btw.

No one is claiming he's not a Ponzi. All I see are a bunch of people claiming he is. Sounds like a logical fallacy on your part. "I believe in the Devil, and I'm going to make you prove to me that he doesn't exist or else I'm going to keep on believing and telling about he's the Devil because he's red and does parlor tricks".

Straw man fallacy. Try again. Try better.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man_fallacy
• http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html
• http://lesswrong.com/lw/85h/better_disagreement/

There are firm plans for Meetup/BBQ in Sheffield on 18th of September 2012. Time is tentatively 1pm till you beg us to stop serving food, but it may be shifted a few hours either way depending on weather.

This is a very informal event, just few bitcoiners sitting around a fire talking bitcoin and bussiness, drinking beer, eating out of this world BBQ  and generally having great time.

For those of us who are not UK based, and going to the London Sep 2012 conference this will mean 2 extra nights stay in UK and 2x 2 hour train ride London-Sheffield-Your Departure Airport. Most people, who are coming, booking 2 nights in Novotel, Sheffield. To avoid rip off prices it is best to book train rides well in advance.

For example Bitcoin Magazine team's itinerary looks like:

- 13th morning we check into Imperial Hotel
- 17th morning we check out from Imperial Hotel
- 17th noon check into Novotel, Sheffield
- 19th morning check out from Novotel, Sheffield

Number of guests I am willing to accept (the BBQ is in my back yard) is very limited and anyone who wish to come must confirm this with me first.

So far about a handful of  people are expected to be here: Bitcoin Magazine team, Dr. Graziano, Dr. Ruzheinikov a few more people. Post in this thread if you want to confirm publicly that you will be here.

BTW Sheffield is undisputed Beer Capital of the world and we could have some activities organized like tour of the best pubs if someone is interested.

On BBQ a semi-professional chief (also the second largest bitcoin miner in Sheffield and UK, probably) will take care of the best BBQ of your life (optimistically). See some photos I'll post below, those made by me and I am just his humble student.

The food and beer is free, but chief accepts bitcoin tips, and knowing the food I am sure he will not go home empty-handed.

Risks: This is England, so weather is always a risk, as long as it is not a heavy and prolonged rain we should be fine, but if the worst happens we will come up with an alternative.

Hit me by email or skype for details.

http://dcao.org/?page_id=36 at the time of this writing still lists me as one of it's founding members, ignoring my request for that page to be updated.

I have resigned from DCAO on 23rd of Aug 2012 and I am not associated with that organisation and most of it's members anymore. In fact, I never was associated with most members of DCAO other than by being a member of the same informal organisation.

I will not make any further public comments on the matter.

BullShit Trust: It is the beginning of the end.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=101152.msg1105660#msg1105660

How innocent bystanders will be affected by this? How Bitcoin economy would react on "vaporation" of ~ 300 000 BTC or nearly 3% of all bitcoins out there?

I would guess that most damage has already been done and besides lots of stink, economic effects will be rather mild. Plus we will get lots of "bad" publicity. How exactly it will all unravel remains to be seen, however.

2 articles featuring Bitcoin on front page of slashdot.org . As Matthew told me privately "slahsdotters will be furious about this".

However, one of those articles features a link to an old article about MintChip on bitcoinmagazine website. I must note that I am very disappointed by "slashdot effect" I can observe. Direct link to http://bitcoinmagazine.net from front page of slashdot.org and we could easily handle 1000 and even 10000 times stronger slashdot effect.

It seems, that bunch of Bitcoin haters are getting rather irrelevant these days.

This is a quick update on status of Bitcoin Magazine.

We have firm date of release of DRM free digital edition of Bitcoin Magazine #1 to our subscribers. It will be done on 6th of August 2012.

We are also working on making Bitcoin Magazine issue #1 digital edition available on various mobile devices including at least iPad and Android marketplaces.

Release schedule for printed and digital issues was altered due to scheduling requirements of our distribution contract with B&N. This was unfortunate and should have been expected, but as mentioned earlier it was our first time releasing something to a distribution company.

We expect issue #2 to start shipping in the second half of August 2012.

We expect issue #3 to be available in some Barnes & Noble stores in September 2012. While we do not have firm data on B&N order yet we expect that issue #3 will have very limited availability in stores, 10 copies or less per store.

Negotiations are in progress to have Bitcoin Magazine on shelves of WH Smith (UK) and Walmart starting October - November 2012.

Thanks to the strong feedback from our subscribers on lost and delayed shipments and helpful feedback about print quality of Bitcoin Magazine issue #1 we have dramatically changed our print and logistics processes. Starting from issue #2 we print Bitcoin Magazine in UK with a very reputable partner and using significantly higher quality paper and print processes. We also have changed shipping process significantly. The changes made shall ensure quick and reliable magazine delivery to our subscribers, worldwide.

The pricing of the magazine has been changed. Starting with issue #2 the cover price for printed edition will be 8.88$ (USD) or local currency equivalent worldwide. This means price increase for US customers and slightly lower prices for the rest of the world. There will be discounts for bundles of 3, 6 and 12 month subscriptions.

Please note that due to distribution related print schedule shift, advertisers looking to place ads in issue #3 (the one that is scheduled to be sold via Barnes & Noble) should contact us immediately. There are still a few days to place ads in issues #2 and #3, but after August 6th this will not be possible.

As always, thank you for your support as a community. You have made Bitcoin Magazine a success!

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/biderman-most-damage-caused-those-who-are-not-smart-they-think-they-are

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/65-year-old-video-says-gold-good-money

they apparently a bit too optimistic about "the final stage"

With a reference to recent and continuing security breaches hitting various companies in Bitcoin Economy I am now offering the following service:

"Informal Information Security Training for Bitcoin Teams."

This can be done over skype as a group video conference.

This can be done in person in your office.

The training can be tailored for individuals as well.

I will customise the content of talks/lessons/workshops for every specific company and your requirements, as appropriate.

This can be as simple as a quick run down over essential techniques or as complex as a series of talks following the process of establishing a sane Information Security Management System and relevant training.

This may include a brief practical no-nonsense workshop to get your team familiar with essential tools and techniques to dramatically reduce risks of information security compromises.

Could be a great start for taking information security seriously for any "Bitcoin Team" that enters this marketpace.

Please contact me to discuss your specific requirements.

skype: vladimir.marchenko.co.uk  (email is the same but @ instead of the leftmost dot)

Naturally, Bitcoin is accepted as one of possible payment methods.

["sounds too good to be true"]

The Inventor:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi


The Champion:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoff



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme

I know one thing, it
"sounds too good to be true"
It seems there are lots of experts on the topic around here.
 
Feel free to share with us what ponzi schemes look like.
How to recognise investments that have high probability to actually be a ponzi scheme.

Share your experience with ponzi schemes, whether it is
running it
or
losing lots of money
or
making lots of money
or
promoting it
or
suffering from a ponzi related stockholm syndrome

There are many resources dedicated to helping people to recognize and avoid scams:
http://www.sec.gov/answers/ponzi.htm
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/consumerinformation/scamsandswindles
http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/02597.html
http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/vwapj/Little-Black-Book-Scams-e.pdf
http://www.kpmg.com/ca/en/whatwedo/specialinterests/at-risk-magazine/pages/ponzischemes%E2%80%93howtorecognizethem.aspx
http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud/


There is some action that can be taken by people to protect themselves and others:
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/consumerinformation/if_things_go_wrong
http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/02801.html

This is a thread which maintains a list of startup companies that work mostly within Bitcoin economy. Bitcoin Startup List shall include only companies which are:
1. incorporated
2. potentially seeking venture funding or have already received venture funding

Discussion related to listed companies from investment angle is welcome.

There surely are threads out there listing all the GBLSE bonds and mining companies etc., this is not one of those threads.

Code:

  Company name,      Country,       profile,                  website,                       brief description
- BitInstant LLC,      USA, https://www.bitinstant.com/aboutus  ,                           Funds transfer
- BitPay Inc,          USA, https://bit-pay.com/investors.html , https://bit-pay.com ,      Payment Processor
- Bittalk Media Ltd,   UK,  http://angel.co/bitcoin-magazine , http://bitcoinmagazine.net , Bitcoin Magazine publisher
- Bit Services LLC,    USA, http://BitVPS.com,                                              VPS/dedicated server provider.
- Coinlab,             USA, http://angel.co/coinlab ,  http://www.CoinLab.com ,             Software Services 
- Prasos Oy,           Finland,  http://prasos.fi, https://bittiraha.fi                     Finnish Bitcoin portal
- Safebit Ltd,         UK,  http://angel.co/safebit , http://safeb.it/ ,                    eWallet operator
- Strike Sapphire S.A.,CR,  https://strikesapphire.com,                                     Gaming Software and Casino

- Kangas Bros Innovations Oy, Finland, http://localbitcoins.com, http://easywallet.org,     ewallet "local exchange"
- Tangible Cryptography LLC,  USA,     https://fastcash4bitcoins.com                        direct buyer of bitcoins 

pending:

Code:

- Satoshi Ltd,      no profile, no website
- Coinbase,         no incorporation details

More to come. You post them. But if you suggest to add a company to the list please give some details in format similar to the above.

I have lately provided managed colocation solution for a number of Bitcoin companies. Now I am in position to offer this to more clients. This is a managed solution and as such shall be discussed individually for every company. This can be as basic or as advanced as you want. It can be just a box that you control completely and I just advise on information security as needed. It could be completely managed solution where I manage your servers and you just get yourself as many VPS's as you need plus virtual networking to your specs.

If you are one of those rare people who prefers FreeBSD based servers and VPS you should definitely talk to me.

skype me vladimir.marchenko.co.uk  or email me vladimir@marchenko.co.uk to discuss details.

[PSA competition is discontinued due to lack of interest. Thank You.]

PSA competition is discontinued due to lack of interest. Thank You.

Selling only for BTC.

Have large amount of used hardware in excellent condition for sale, most boxed "almost as new" with all the original kit.

5870's XFX-587X-ZN
various 5970's
various 6990's
various 1200W PSU's
proper mining motherboard/cpu/memory bundles
low cost custom compact open air mining cases (up to 8 GPU's)
pci-x extenders, fans, etc..

skype: vladimir.marchenko.co.uk (text/audio/video)

Do not expect me to be very responsive on the forum and PM's.
Use skype, tell me what you want and how much you are prepared to pay.
Bitcoin payment upfront, this is not negotiable, will ship worldwide, will ship within 2 biz days.
Large orders will be given preference.