I think today you gotta go Bucks, Celtics and Suns for the wins over the Spurs, Warriors and Trail Blazers. I’m a bit hesitant to bet on Ja’s return in the Memphis Grizzlies vs New Orleans Pelicans. I’m tempted to bet the Pelicans but I’d keep that out of a parlay. Games are showing on TNT tonight, so it should be a fun one.

Everybody getting their tacos today? I’m proud to report that I had some delicious tacos today and for less than $4 for 2 of them it simply is the best deal I know of right now. The idea that this post can pay for me to eat tacos is wild. Anyway, I’m happy to report that after some disappointing tacos last week that were clearly made by someone different, my regular taco man is back at it and outdid himself today.

Most of the people who trade in and out of Bitcoin and talk about those who earn profits have a problem being patient. Bitcoin is very easy to make a lot of money as an investment and it is also very easy to lose a lot of money. The difference is whether you try to trade for profit or just buy and hold. People who buy and hold for years have traditionally done very well while traders inevitably go bankrupt.

I’d say I’m much better at managing a bankroll than selecting the right bet because I’m no stranger to that withdrawal button. I make very small bets and sometimes get lucky with a large parlay and big profits, but most of the time I’m withdrawing funds that build up in my account because in the end, withdrawing funds is what most people have as a goal when gambling online.

It is Bitcoin’s popularity that ironically forces people to use other chains. For example, right now it costs like $50 to send a Bitcoin transaction. What if you owe someone $5? Is Bitcoin the right tool to send that value? I would say no, it obviously isn’t. People doing actual business can’t stand around and wait for Bitcoin to be less used. They are forced to use other chains. This is a failing in the management of Bitcoin’s blockchain.

I love me some sports. Playing basketball or just tossing the football around. They’re pretty much the most fun thing you can do with your pants on.

Planks aren’t my friend but I do run stairs and do pull ups along with the usual bench press and curls. While I’ve never mastered eating right, I figure I should at least exercise to try and make sure I’m around to see Bitcoin hit $100K.

James Harden’s monster game yesterday showed what the Clippers could be capable of when they’re playing at their best. Paul George didn’t have his most efficient night but hands down this was the biggest game for the new Clippers squad. I don’t think anyone has ever seen Kawhi so happy. A big difference from a few weeks ago.

The prizes appear to be less than the cost of sending funds to an escrow, let alone escrow fees and then another transaction fee to send… Unfortunately, Bitcoin just isn’t going to be the right medium of prize for this amount at this time.

Nice to see BTC back above $42K as the week kicks off. Was looking like the price might keep sliding.

It would save everyone here a lot of time and troubles if they kept this thought in the back of their heads.

Just a reminder that Casascius coins were cracked back in 2013 with a method to remove the private key without compromising the integrity of the hologram.  Always make sure that you're buying your coins from someone reputable and if possible with a chain of ownership to avoid becoming a victim of this now decade old scam.

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2013/08/13/defcon-hackers-crack-physical-bitcoin-casascius-coins/

It is important to remember that tamper-proof holograms are like door locks, they keep honest people honest.  Criminals can still get around them.  Make sure you know who you're buying from.  Never participate in auctions unless you have this information. 

This is very interesting and something I didn't know until now.  Makes me wonder if I should be keeping old microwaves to be using as faraday cages.  Thanks for sharing this.  Learned my something new for today. 

If you left funds on Binance after the FTX & Gemini fiascos, you are beyond lucky to still have access to them.  If you left money in there after the settlement with regulators about their illegal behavior, you are tempting fate.  If you still have funds in Binance after seeing them boost their interest rates on stablecoins to try and get more customer money to shore up losses and keep themselves from being exposed or liquidated, you are literally begging to have your funds stolen from you. 

Remove your funds from Binance immediately if you want your funds to be safe.  They are certainly and most definitely not safe on Binance, in spite of whatever you're told.  Sure, they may get away with it and keep BNB afloat to avoid liquidation, but they're playing games with your money.  Don't for a second think they aren't.

Judging from the fact that this thread isn't bashing Lauda for being a failed extortionist and troll, I'd say many people aren't familiar with Lauda's antics here.  He wasn't a smart guy or knowledgeable about how Bitcoin worked (anyone who saw us argue technical issues in Slack chats should be very clear on that).  He was just a guy who harassed anyone here who tried to build anything.  He literally attacked me for being a reputable escrow agent, for making coins for the community, for donating free energy to a community Bitcoin mining project, and even safeguarding the forum's treasury funds.  If Lauda is significant for anything here, it's for chasing away more contributing members from this forum than any other single user.

I think this is what's currently holding back the Bitcoin rally.  The amount of transactions piling up in the mempool is indeed becoming a problem.  The average transaction today seems to be costing more than $50.  That's a lot of money to spend just to be able to spend money.  As a vendor who sells items that cost less than that for BTC I can tell you that there are indeed consequences in the Bitcoin economy when this happens.  It's typically something you see happen at the peak of cycles, so it's troublesome that outrageous fees are already hurting the blockchain.  Maybe someday people will break Bitcoin free from it's Blockstream chains and let it do what it was meant to.

I saw an interesting stat about the Lakers playing without their stars...  They are 0-2 now after the recent loss to San Antonio without Anthony Davis.  At the same time, they are 2-0 without LeBron James.  This certainly leads one to believe that Anthony Davis is important to the Lakers, maybe even moreso than LeBron James.  Interesting to note that in both scenarios they played the Spurs and even in the game they won (without LeBron James), they barely squeaked by with a win.  This makes me think the problems with the Lakers are less about talent, and more about motivation.  The win in the tournament also supports that.

That is completely understandable. I’ve had a lot of people lately tell me that they don’t want to spend Bitcoin to buy my goods because of high fees. I’ve started accepting pretty much any major altcoin as a result, which has left me with an interesting mix of coins, but it shows that high fees are most definitely punishing Bitcoin vendors and customers alike.

It’s hard to imagine that a team of professional athletes can win so few games and lose so badly. It’s like they’re not trying to win games…

I was bummed to see that Bradley Beal was injured again yesterday. Looks like he only got 4 minutes on the court with Durant and Booker. I hope he gets healthy soon and there was some silver lining as he shot 2-2 for 6 points while draining a 3 and a free throw for a 4 point play that left him injured.

It is the rarest among the brass Casascius coins because it was originally released with an error in the hologram. Once the holograms were corrected, the remaining stock was switched over to the new hologram but there weren’t many left compared to other releases. That makes it more rare than even the first error coin, which you might think would be the most sought after.

I have a few 1 BTC Casascius coins that I’d let go for the right price. If I’m setting the price it would be 1.35 BTC for the latest brass Casascius coin, but of course there’s always room to negotiate. Any idea what you’re willing to pay for the right specimen? I’d also require payment up front. Good luck with your hunt. They’re out there.