Irresponsible gambling is an attitudinal thing because if you find yourself gambling irresponsibly today it must be attached to your behavior one way or the other. I hear some people say they love gambling under the influence of alcoholic or drugs but when they fail woefully they try to justify their  failures to something else like lack of financial discipline and lack of luck in decision making. Sometimes good decisions bring about good luck so when you are gambling is not a game you want to play with alcohol because it is a game that is so sweet and can get you carried away just by mere playing without any influence.

Imagine you now want to gamble under influence and you expect for it not to get you into more financial crisis. Whatever adventure that you are looking for from gambling, you can get it without having to combine gambling with alcohol just to feel happy? That's the main reason why I said irresponsible gambling is an attitudinal thing and you need to work on it as a person or an individual if you truly wants to become a responsible gambler.

Gambling is a game that is meant to be enjoyable by gamblers and is a gamble that is actually enjoyed by some people but without control it can easily turn into an addiction and that’s why it is important to set for yourself clear limitations before you even start.

Here is my first tip, to those who still want to gamble but are scared of not falling into uncontrollable temptations and gambling addiction.

1. The very first simple tip I will give is, you should always decide how much you are willing to lose and never go beyond that same amount. Once you are gambling and the money you budgeted for gambling finishes, stop gambling for the day or week. Do not touch money that is meant for other bills such as food, your utility bills among other responsibilities because if you do so, that will be the fastest way for you to create seriously problems for yourself as a gambler.

2. The second tip is, you should avoid chasing losses because I’ve realized that many people lose control of their gambling plans and money due to chasing one lose or the other there by becoming an habit which easily leads to addiction when they try to recover the money they already lost by all means. For most people and in most cases, this even leads to bigger losses.

3. Gambling while on drugs. I wonder how some people feel so convenient to gamble while on drugs, some call it enjoyment, others call it adventure but to me, it is a terrible thing to do as far as gambling is concerned. You can’t gamble with your money when you are not in your right state of mind thinking that’s enjoyment. That is a total mess and bad behavior and that’s how one can easily get into gambling addictions without even knowing when and how. First, if you are a gambler, stop using drugs because that’s a double risks and should be avoided by all means.

I will stop at these tips while I await more from you all. Please the bottom line is, let’s gamble responsibly, if you must gamble and stay out of bad habits and practices that will lead to gambling addiction because it is easier to get to that stage but very difficult to leave.

Alot of gamblers talk about losses in bitcoin or crypto gambling here and there but we don’t really talk much about what happens after a big win because based on what I’ve seen, a big win can go two very different ways afterwards such as when some people hit the jackpots they become more careful and disciplined about their subsequent gambles while others become overconfident than necessary and begin to take risks they normally wouldn’t take earlier thinking that same luck that hit them earlier will hit them again.

I am asking this because sometimes it feels like wins can even be more dangerous than losses especially when they create false confidence in you. If you’ve been in this situation before where you made a decent win, I really want to know how your mindset reacted to it, whether it gave you the confidence to want to continue playing bigger and more frequently or whether you just wanted to protect what you already gained?

Good news is coming out from Niger State as 50 of the over 300 students that were kidnapped from St. Mary Secondary School in Papiri in Agwara local government of Niger State have been able to make it back home and reunite with their family. According to what the children said, they said the bandits were moving them in three Mitsubishi Canter trucks and luckily enough for the children one of the trucks broke down on the way. So while some of the gunmen stayed behind to fix it and the rest of the bandits rode ahead with the other two trucks on motorcycles and the older students saw their chance by jumping off the truck and bolted into the bush.

Thank God they ran into kind hearted people in the area who quickly helped and reunited them with their families. Sadly, the older children said the younger ones could not jump so the bandits took them away in the remaining trucks but the security personnels said rescue efforts are still ongoing for the rest. Let's thank God for the 50 that are back and keep praying for the safe return of every single child still in captivity.

Daily Trust news

Recently I've been noticing how bitcoin gambling sites are becoming increasingly popular among young people as these days you don't have to walk into a betting shop again or visit any casino games centres before you can gamble, now you can just get everything served to you on your smartphone while you're sitting at home and since the introduction of crytocurrency including bitcoin into gambling, it has even gone further to make gambling faster, easier sweeter and more enjoyable to many young people.

Now with these crypto based gambling sites you have easy access to playing gambling games and bets, borderless transactions through wallets and also get instant payouts as well as you don't have to pass through many traditional verifications or ID checks.

But as good as these new developments may sound, we have already started witnessing its side effects around increasing financial loss among the young ones since the process has been made easier than ever, growimg number of young gamblers becoming more attached and more addicted to gambling as they could do everything at home and more importantly making it more difficult for proper regulations among government institutions.

The big question for me now is, do we consider bitcoin gambling sites a big opportunity for the people or a big trap that will leave many young people addicted and financially broke?

Guys, I been dey reason this matter lately. As our country economy no wan kukuma dey stable, we all don see how young people particularly teenagers don dey flood the yahoo-yahoo industry every day sotey, the society don they almost dey ravaged by this plaque of illegality.

I want make una help me think about this wella, how can we introduce our younger ones at home (siblings) and within our community into the financial benefits of bitcoin among other cryptocurrency at their very tender age, so that they can start creating that ripple effect of financial awareness and opportunities to their friends and family, with the intention of building a grassroot financial freedom as well as take them off the influence of peers on financial illegality?



This thread is originally posted in (How we fit teach our younger ones the benefits of cryptocurrency?); I will like to hear other members opinion as regard to this discussion.

[What Is Bitcoin Difficulty?]

Before I begin, the most fundamental question for me is: Bitcoin is a living clock. Averagely every 10 minutes, it ticks. But what happens when that clock runs too fast or too slow?

Hi Bitcointalk community,

I thought I should share my little journey into the inner workings of the Bitcoin protocol. Thereby coming up with a step by step guide to one of Bitcoin’s most underrated mechanics: the difficulty adjustment system.

That system is what keeps Bitcoin ticking at a steady pace (one block averagely every 10 minutes) despite miners coming and going, and hashpower fluctuating wildly.

Let’s break it down (and I’ll try to make it as clear as possible).

What Is Bitcoin Difficulty?
Mining difficulty is how hard it is to find a valid block hash, this is attained by the hash been less than the target. The higher the difficulty the more computational work is required. That helps the network maintain its rhythm.

How Often Does Difficulty Adjust?
Every 2,016 blocks, about two weeks if blocks are spaced 10 minutes apart.

How Bitcoin Adjusts Difficulty?
1. Track the last 2,016 blocks. Those form a single “difficulty window.”
2. Check the time it took to mine them. I compare the timestamp of block 2,016 with that of block 1.
3. Calculate the actual time. The ideal time is 2 weeks, or 1,209,600 seconds. I then compare that to the actual time.
4. Now, apply the adjustment formula. New difficulty = old difficulty × (actual time / ideal time).
5. Respect the adjustment limits. Difficulty can only increase or decrease by a maximum of four times or a quarter over one retarget. That keeps things from getting too wild.

Why This Is So Awesome?
This mechanism makes Bitcoin self-regulating, stable and resistant to attacks. No central body adjusts the system. The average block time stays close to 10 minutes, no matter the hashpower.

Common Misconceptions
Bitcoin doesn’t adjust difficulty every block. It only does so every 2,016 blocks. Timestamps aren’t trusted blindly, we use MTP (Median Time Past) rules to validate them. Difficulty doesn’t depend on the number of miners – it’s based on time.

Timestamp Games?
Miners can manipulate timestamps slightly, but Bitcoin’s design resists it. We only use two timestamps (block 1 and block 2,016), and MTP and future limits apply. Difficulty changes are capped, no wild swings.

Why This Matters
Without this system Bitcoin would be a mess. Too much hashpower would mean blocks been mined in less than 10 minutes. Too little would mean blocks been mined in more than 10 minutes. Either way security, confirmations and economics would suffer.

My Questions
1. What other PoW chains have you seen this in?
2. Can timestamp manipulation still be used profitably in low-hash forks?
3. Would per block difficulty adjustment ever be worth considering?

Let me know your thoughts and corrections, especially if you were around for the early days.

In Nigeria, we are currently in the raining season which is the period when the nation experiences massive agricultural flourishes that comes with the rainfalls and fertile lands. Nigeria is a country that has a huge economic drive in agriculture as an alternative to the oil and gas sector, yet we have underutilized tapping into this huge investment opportunity due to some underlying issues that have truncated a smooth agricultural practice. The main issue is agricultural financing but some of these issues are as follows:

1. Lack of agricultural financing by the government such as injecting substantial funds as investments into the sector to bolster the food production significantly.

2.Governments negligence to creating access to loans and grants to smallholder farmers which will enable them to work efficiently and becomes a backing to their trades.

3. The neglected actions of government towards climate change and how that has affected our farming practices and results this season. For weeks, there was a low rainfall recorded in most part of the North where there are lots of agricultural practices and arable farmlands.

4. Insecurity within farming regions such as the farmers and herders clash in the food basket of the Nation (Benue State) amongst other parts of the country which have impacted negatively on the good availability in the country.

If we must improve our GDP and overall economy of the country, we must learn to make use of our natural resources to diversify our economy and bring about sustainability.

I always wonder how cryptocurrencies can be applied in community funding for Agricultural Financing and to curb insecurity in agriculture. Initiatives such as collective funding, rotating savings and credit associations as well as agricultural cooperatives?

I just came across a news of how the Kaduna State Police Command took some decisive moves to arrest 35 suspected phone snatchers in Kaduna including two females said to be found with Indian hemps and weapons. The news report accounted that raids were carried out within identified black spots in the Metropolitan area of the state. Here's the news: Police arrest 35 phone thieves in Kaduna.

Kudos to the Kaduna police but can we address the cases of smartphone robbery and theft in our society in this 21st century. Now, I'm talking about the individual measures a phone owner can take to prevent his mobile devices from phone theft and what are the effective technological ways to secure your phones in order to enable you identify the location of the phone and recover it without necessarily approaching the security agencies like the Nigerian Police.

My question is, are there no microchips implanted on our mobile phone panels that can help us recover our phones almost immediately when they're stolen or at least give us a lead? Imagine buying an iPhone 15 Pro Max or Samsung Z Fold 6 which are worth more than 3 million naira today.

Gone are those days you can easily decide to forfeit your stolen phone simply because you can afford a new one which is affordable but today, besides the data you're likely to lost, the phones are significantly more expensive now. And I can tell you many of the cases reported to the police are not yet the most effective way to recover your stolen phones especially if the thief had moved away from the crime scene.

What financial advice would you give to a young boy, probably, at the age of 18 who just received a whole lots of money from the inheritance of his late father who was a trader and multimillionaire in the textile industry?

The boy is the only child of the widower and does not seem to be interested in the same line of business and even when he does, he requires more maturity to be able to manage the business such as graduating from the college, etc.

Hey guys, abeg make una come help me out of this matter, because you guys are my surest paddies here and I can only share this with you because of its sensitivity to me. My only Aunty (paternal Aunty) and her daughter visited us since last year after a wedding of one of my cousins which happened during the ember periods, today makes it 4 months since November last year that they came in and they haven't leave up till now. With the current economic reality that is biting everyone of us, I don tire to they accommodate them already.

And that has made me pretty much uncomfortable because even my fiancé wey cover up for my expenses sometimes has not been comfortable with this lately too upon say na she happy pass when been first come, abeg how do I politely ask her and her daughter to vacate the house without offending her?

Hey guys!

I was so elated to receive a call from the SSG (Secretary to the State Government) of Niger State almost a week ago after we've all waited anxiously for a response from the state government following the letter we submitted two months ago about "Introducing The Bitcoin Technology Into Our Secondary Schools Curriculum as a Trade Subject".

Although I have traveled out of town and could not make it there physically, I sent my team members to represent me at the meeting with the SSG.

The SSG received my delegates at his office on Tuesday, 5th to give them a brief of the discussions they have with the governor and their resolution.


See Image Here

Prominent in all the discussions they had was the aspect where the SSG mentioned to them that although they are ambitious about the new evolution inbuilt in the digital world, the fintech and the digital currency, they are still xraying the advancement aspect and are desirous of the very positive results the state is interested in especially as it resonates with their agenda.

He then issued the letter dated December , 4th to to my delegates as an official reply to our demand on the adoption of bitcoin technology and request that we remain patient while the government employ the necessary human resources to acqualize this ambitious dream.

My delegates were very happy about this development while I requested that they scan the letter and send to me.

Below is a reciept of the scanned copy of the official response from the SSG.


Page 1


Page 2

I am most gracious right now to update the forum on this new development and hope to continue to push this project until there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you to the members of this forum that have kept on following up on my earlier thread for updates, I am glad that I have a response for you now.

I'd like to clarify that this topic is distinguished from businesses or entrepreneurs involved in gambling as businesses, such as casino companies, etc., but with a focus on gamblers. I know there are many people who regard themselves as professionals at playing gambling games, but do you ever think that one can make gambling a full-time job and career because of his or her deep knowledge of the games? Can someone bet with little or no loss because it is one of the most unpredictable games to play?

Gambling to my understanding, is a trial-and-error game with uncertain outcomes, unpredictability, and luck. Therefore, professional gamblers must exhibit a deeper than usual understanding of the games, the statistical probabilities, and a high level of risk management skills.

However, it is critical to realize the risks involved, which include unstable financial circumstances and potential addiction problems. So, pursuing a gambling career should be approached with serious caution, and gamblers ought to be well-informed about the accompanying problems. Furthermore, I believe that having various sources of income and taking calculated risks will be highly beneficial.

But, in a broader sense, can you make gambling a career path, abandoning all other sources of income to focus entirely on it?
If so, why?
If not, please advise!

The newly elected Argentina president Javier Milei have come to the air to announce his decision to shut down the Central Bank of Argentina as one of his new moves as the president of the country. He made mention of this yesterday on his official statement he released on the office’s X social media handle.


This is the image here.

I have tried to translate it to English using Google online translation tool
“PRESS RELEASE
 City of Buenos Aires, November 24, 2023.-

“The Office of the President Elect of the Argentine Republic communicates that the only official information about the future government, headed by Javier Milei, is that published by this medium.

“In that sense, the economist Osvaldo Giordano will be the head of ANSES and the engineer Horacio Marín will be in charge of YPF as of December 10.

“Regarding the President-elect's agenda, this afternoon he will have a telephone conversation with the president of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol.

“On the other hand, given the false rumors spread, we wish to clarify that the closure of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) is not a negotiable matter.”

From the reactions over the social to this humongous decision, a lot of bitcoin users have expressed gratitude and happiness over the decision including the first thread I highlighted here including this other forum thread whereas others have criticised his decision.

However, my question is, if he's going to be shutting down the central bank, what will be the instrument he will put in place of the bank or is he willing to establish a ‘Bitcoin Bank’ or what exactly?

We have read several information about how Bitcoiners should protect their private keys as your bitcoin security and protection remains the most imperative part of your Bitcoin life and assets.

It is not overemphasized to always sort for more knowledge on how you can protect your bitcoin private keys as they are the most delicate alphanumericals that you can ever protect.

Once someone is able to hack into your private key, it becomes easy to sweep your account within seconds. This is unlike the bank account passwords or Gmail passwords that will probably require some factor verifications.

Never store your private key in any centralized or decentralized online data storage, none can be 100% trusted but the most salient part of this post is to bring our minds into this topic especially why it is important for you never to say your recovery seed or private key aloud because spy devices could be planted near you and will steal your information ASAP. Trust me when I say this isn't a satire as it is possible for Bezos to pick your private keys by using Alexa to record your keys, lols.

Realize that self-serving voice activated services or microphone database such as Alexa and Siri amongst others can log everything and once someone is able to penetrate or hack into Amazon or Apple, your information could be shared into the Dark web or on Clearnet.

So it is very important never to say your recovery seed out loud since you just can't figure out in this age, who's listening or watching you whilst you're alone in your bedroom with your gadgets. Don't mention your recovery seed in a phone conversation with a friend or family,  even when you're calling through end-to-end encrypted applications such as WhatsApp.

Your gadgets could be the spy agents too.

Lastly, whenever you work on your recovery seed, put your mobile phones in another room, put a tape over your webcams as an added security measures and never do anything with your Bitcoin in a public space like McDonald's or Chicken Republic that is full of listening devices. Don't be carried away.


A photo of Mark Zuckerberg's computer Webcam covered with a masking tape will go a long way to solidify my claims.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/mark-zuckerberg-puts-tape-webcam/story?id=40040340

This one na good news o. Make una help the Nigerians celebrate. At least, it shows our efforts out there and how the world continues to scout out for us regardless of the disparities and differences flaunt out there.


Source

American President Joe Biden has selected two Nigerians to join his Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement.

Biden’s 12-person council will now include two Nigerian-Americans; Osagie Imasogie and Chinenye Joy Ogwumike.

Reacting to the development, executive chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, congratulated the duo on their nomination, according to a statement by the Commission’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Abdur-Rahman Balogun.

Dabiri-Erewa wey be Chairman for Nigerians in Diaspora Commission talk am today, that the nomination of the two great Nigerians into the advisory council was a welcome development, adding that their recognition and appointment into the 12-member advisory council is a motivation for other Nigerians and Africans in general.

31-year-old Chinenye Ogwumike is a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star and ESPN basketball analyst.

In 2014, she and her sister, WNBA star Nneka Ogwumike, launched a UNICEF fundraiser following the kidnapping of Chibok girls by Boko Haram.
She is one of the only full-time professional athletes to also currently hold a full-time regular national sports media broadcast position.

In August 2020, she became the first Black woman to host a national, daily sports talk radio show.

However, Osagie Imasogie is a serial entrepreneur and Chairman of the Investment Bank and SEC/FINRA registered Broker-Dealer, Quoin Capital, and Quoin Advisors.

In addition, Osagie is a co-founder of PIPV Capital, a private equity firm that is focused on the life sciences vertical and has invested over $1 billion into that industry.

Prior to co-founding PIPV Capital, he established GlaxoSmithKline Ventures and was its founding Vice President.

Source: The White House

Hi mates, hope say una dey fine.

Who else have noticed the new User Interface of Binance app on both iOS and Android devices?


New Binance interface


Source

Wetin you like about this new looks?

[Submission of Proposal Letter and My Visit to the Governor's Office]

Niger State where I come from, one of Nigeria's nineteen northern states and known for its vast landmass, is not isolated from the challenges facing the region.

According to statistics, the unemployment rate in Nigeria is on the rise as shown in the statistical diagram below. The northern part of Nigeria also contribute to the rate of unemployment and a significant lack of skills among young people.


Source

Following the 2023 general elections, Niger State formed a new government with a clear agenda and manifesto to promote and support technology hubs across the state. This commitment was later extended to encompass the financial technology (Fintech) sector.


Source

Since I joined this forum, I have been encouraged to take the knowledge I have gathered over here and in life to my people especially to my younger ones back home having recognized the global adoption of Bitcoin technology, I took the initiative to propose to the state Governor the introduction of Bitcoin technology into our secondary school system as a core entrepreneurship subject.

By introducing Bitcoin technology, it will benefit our students in so many ways. Firstly, it will equips them with essential skills for the future. In an increasingly digital world, understanding cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology is becoming crucial. If the government can implement my initiative of providing this knowledge at the secondary school level, we will empower our students to be more competitive and prepared for the evolving market.

Submission of Proposal Letter and My Visit to the Governor's Office

On September 12, 2023, at around 11 AM, I submitted my letter of proposal to the Governor and with the help of the Chief of Staff and through our cordial relationship, we were invited to meet with the Governor on September 13, 2023.


The images above shows the written proposed letter, when it was submitted and the final acknowledge copy.


The Governor's Commendation

Yesterday being the September 13, 2023, I had the privilege of meeting with the Governor himself. During my meeting with His Excellency, the Governor expressed keen interest in my innovative idea and commended my efforts. He called it a laudable effort that will bring about a monumental technological advancement to the state.

He assured me that he would consider my proposal and pledged to include technological advancements like this in his future policies. As a sign of his support and encouragement, the Governor extended an executive handshake.


Taking Executive handshake with my State Governor

My plan on how to make this a reality should the governor gives a call back for implementation

1. We would organize a retreat with the relevant government and non governmental stakeholders

Aim: To enlighten the governor and other stakeholders on the fundamental knowledge they need to know about the Bitcoin technology.

Process: We will invite Bitcoin experts within and outside the state to attend this retreat programme as panelists as we pick and discuss the relevant topics.

2. Upon the success of the retreat programme, we will organize a Train-the-Trainer bootcamp programme.

Aim: From the independent research  I've been able to gather that there are about 500 secondary schools in Niger state. To get at least 2 teachers per school trained on how the Bitcoin technology operate wherein the secondary school teachers captured to carry out the trade subject across various schools will be trained on the basic knowledge of the Bitcoin technology. This is similar to the CISCO Networking Academy Program implemented in various unity schools.

Process: Invite resource persons to the state to train the trainers who are in turn the teachers that will go into the classes.

These are the plans i have mapped out should the governor gives a call back for implementation. I am open to more suggestions on this forum to commiserates my ideas in actualizing this.
In conclusion, my proposal to integrate Bitcoin technology into secondary school education in Niger State has received a positive response from the state government.

I am optimistic that this initiative will not only provide valuable skills to our youth but also contribute to the broader goal of promoting technology and entrepreneurship in our region. As I eagerly await further developments, I remain committed to working towards a brighter and more technologically advanced future for my state and my country at large.

I was driving to the office this afternoon and found a crowd gathered on the flyover bridge in the city bypass. Because of the nature of the location, it will be ordinarily bewildering to find a chunk number of people gathered in that location.

Well, it was the case of a beggar who purportedly disappeared with a child at a shanty house located in a closed range beneath the flyover bridge. I was extremely shocked and scared to witness the incident live at the scene. As described by one of the police men there, the culprit was a woman who was escorted with an old tattered looking man. The beggar woman disappeared with the child that was better described as a girl. I be like mogbe, this thing dey really, really happen be that?

Before e happen for my kororo eye today, honestly, I been no wan believe say these things are real. For instance, day before yesterday, we been dey discuss these issues for office and I still maintained that I don't believe in it.
Like my colleague at office mentioned another incident that he claimed happened in his koro-koro eye too, where a guy's pr*ck was stolen and they had to travel in several kilometers to recover it back.

As we are faced with the current inflation in Nigeria, scarcity of food amongst other hardships alias current realities that are ushered by the effect of the fuel subsidy removal, many unbelievable sad stories and events continue to trend over the social media platforms.

Everything put together is scary right now.

What's actually going on in this our country?

Source: https://x.com/cz_binance/status/1701309635074875772?s=46&t=6Rd1Jmm5aGDS_Ll7ou2Sng

It is exciting to receive this humanitarian assistance from Binance, which provided $3,000,000 in BNB to its users who were affected by the unfortunate 'Morocco earthquake' tragedy.

According to the Binance founder and CEO CZ, he said: “The impact of the earthquake on the Moroccan people is devastating. We hope we can bring some support to those affected. For Moroccan users who receive these donations but are unimpacted by the earthquake, we ask them to pass the funds on to those most in need.”

To my esteemed forum friends and family, this is indeed a one-of-a-kind. Let's celebrate the Binance company while we continue to mourn and show our kind support to the affected citizens of Morocco.


https://www.binance.com/en/blog/charity/binance-to-airdrop-up-to-$3-million-in-bnb-to-users-in-the-morocco-earthquake-region-6962526806416134014