My first thought was a sealed stainless steel box but then there would be the possibility
of excessive heat from the steel which could melt the plastics/acrylic so a consideration
would be a sealed waterproof fireproof box which are heavy and bulky.

It would have to be both fire and waterproof!

On the removal of the scratches I have some acrylic sheets which I have been
meaning to "scratch and remove" with the sand paper technique to post here but
I just cant get the time. maybe next week....

I wouldnt count my chickens just yet!

Its still the round of 64 and there are a lot of capable players still in the mix apart
from Alcaraz and Djokovic, Rune, Ruud, Tsitsipas? Medvedev? Rublev and Fritz.

Sinner - yes I would be nice to see him at least in the final but I think he still has a bit
more development to go before he can trouble consistently the above players.

The same with Musetti, I would like to see him get to the latter stages at least. He
plays fellow Italian Arnaldi today, that could be a close match.

Ah I cant see it happening at this stage, the current tournament in Rome was the last chance
to get some actual game play and fitness before RG. If he isnt fit and ready now and
when RG starts and he decides to enter he could be beaten in his first or second
match depending on why he gets drawn against.

If he does decide to play it could be interesting to bet on his opponents rather than
on Nadal himself, surely he will be at a disadvantage with no prior tournament
preparation done?

Yea massive win by the Panthers 48 - 4, I dont get it though, they win from the Warriors
last week in a low scoring game and the week before they they get beaten by the Wests Tigers,
real mixed bag of performances but they are second on the ladder all the same.

The Roosters to only score once, an unconverted try is really abysmal. TBH its a mixed
bag of performances by nearly all except for the Broncos.

It will be interesting to see how they go with their next 3 games against top 8 sides,
Panthers, Warriors and Sharks!

I didnt know anything about that tournament, I think it was a challenger tournament.
What is even more surprising is that he was playing and beat Paul in three sets.

No disrespect but its the challenger circuit which Murray would be better off playing
to win tournaments. He isnt going to do it anymore on the ATP tour. I think he could be
more successful outside the ATP tour but I really think his days are numbered. I'm not even
going to bet on him anymore if he plays first rounds in the ATP competitions.
 

Rabbitohs for the title this year? yea possibly, they seem to be the strongest of last years
finalists, at this stage with almost half of the regular season played to date.
Looking at the ladder there seems to be a pattern emerging, last years top 8 seem
to be slowly floating back into that half, apart from the Eels and Cowboys that is.

---

Union URC

Semi Final weekend and both games are on tomorrow.

My home team Connacht play away to the Stormers and are big underdogs. After their
terrible start to the season I havent really backed them much. Their last semi final
appearance was 2016, a game I was at against the Glasgow Warriors and being
underdogs then they won and went on to take the title that year.

I'm trying to find out the team sheets for tomorrow, if Connacht have a full first team
squad with the international players I will back them @ 5.8

Ouch, Broncos falter and the Storm is rising!

Currently 5 teams with 5 wins each and both the Panthers and the Roosters are in that group.
I really dont know which way to bet on this one, the Panthers have let me and a lot of
others down a lot this season so far. I'll probably go with the Panthers, their points for and
against are better.

Other considerations are Eels who are underdogs against the Raiders, they are $2.25.

After that they are difficult draws.

Yes I watched the third set of this one yesterday, that early break by Fognini was crucial
and better still he held onto it. Still a good few Italian players left in the draw (bitbollo
will be happy with that!)

Last match today sees Arnaldi v Schwartzman, this is a good chance for Arnaldi,
Diego has not been performing well lately. Arnaldi is a decent price too @ 1.59.

Hi All, I think its a very long time since I've been on the mining board, anyway I thought
I would share this exciting news...

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/05/09/marathon-digital-in-jv-for-immersion-cooling-bitcoin-mining-in-abu-dhabi/


The exciting aspect to this IMO is the fact that Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund
will be involved.

They obviously see the hugh potential which as they say in the article is opening up as the U.S
want to introduce taxes on mining.

Would be interesting to hear what the mining gang here think of this.

100% Mopar
I can understand the allure and novelty factor the likes of ChatGPT has but we need to
step back and think or a second as to the implications of engaging with it. AI is/will be
in ascendancy while Humans feed it and think they are gaining from it.

How have humans made it to 2023 without the use of AI? we were able to think for ourselves,
problem solve and learn.

The only exercise our brains will get in the future is trying to think of a question to ask AI
so we can instruct more AI to action for us.

@tread93 why not ask the community here what you want to know? a big part of finding
out your answers from your research is learning, dont hand that to AI.

This is interesting, Liechtenstein has been Bitcoin friendly for a while now and this move
is just another step possibly to accepting Bitcoin as legal tender, who knows...

Its a very small country but they are very welcoming to Bitcoin.

Binance and Kraken exchanges are based there and some banks in Liechtenstein have
been offering crypto services for a few years and now the government are taking a
positive and direct approach.

Good idea bitbollo, I have items with minerjones otherwise I would avail of the group buy.

@MoparMiningLLC I will take #50 please.

I'm guessing the scratches are fine enough from just general wear.

I know for sure with some patience you could erase the scratches with what we call
"wet and dry" sandpaper . . . What? I hear you ask!

Used wet this sandpaper is available in super super fine grades up to 7000 grit. I can
safely say this would work. When using wet the water helps to keep loose particles
free from the surface and the paper making for a superior finish.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Precision-Polishing-Sanding-Abrasive-Sandpaper/dp/B075L2D9HG

I would suggest using a sacrificial piece to test the result first though!

Italian Open - Rome

The rounds of 128 get under way today and I notice that there are a lot of Italian players
in action today, 5 today who have made it through the qualifiers, another 6 in action
tomorrow. I think tennis in Italy is becoming stronger and stronger.

Lets see how the top italians do this year, big things expected of Sonego, Musetti and
of course Sinner.

Eyes will be on Alcaraz of course, along with Djokovic but its really Alcaraz' tournament
to lose.

The monarchy in the UK seems  to me to be a massive luxury for the citizens to pay for.

It also seems to me that the Monarchy have positioned themselves into a very lucrative
position, they dont actually have to govern yet they have their lifestyle paid for along with
all their pomp, titles, properties and residencies.

I cannot see it being abolished or changed, so much would have to change along with the
whole aristocracy system.

Given the fact that no human has made it out of our solar system (apart from voyager)
and likely wont in the very near future its safe to say if some other species runs into us!


Will they accept us?
Will they accept ANYTHING we have created?
and as mk4 asks will they even understand the concept of currency?


What about them?

So yea overall a bizzare thread because how could anyone know the answers to the
OP's Q's

Rugby Union URC

Results from the weekends quarter finals sees 3 irish teams and one South African
progress to the semi's, goes to show the strength of the Irish sides following on from
the great Six Nations Campaign.

I think Connacht have the tougher draw, they are away to the Stormers and defending
champions in South Africa.

Leinster and Munster at least are playing at home.

I fancy a Leinster v Stormers final but would love if it was Connacht v Munster.

Thats not good and a bit worrying that its taking so long for that hip injury to heal
and for him to get back to fitness.


Yes good win by Alcaraz and Struff in fairness gave a very good account of himself,
managed to take a set from Alcaraz but in the end Alcaraz showed his class eventhough
Struff as suggested tried the serve and volley tactic.

Rugby League NRL Australia

Last 3 games of Round 10 played today with IMO 3 unlikely winners.

Wests Tigers 18 - 16 Dragons (ok so they are both bottom of the ladder)

Roosters 6 - 20 Cowboys (really fancied the Roosters for this draw and for
the Cowboys to be mediocre this round, thats my bet gone.)

Titans 26 - 24 (Titans continue their hold on the top half of the ladder, I was going
to go with the Eels thinking they have to start making a move to the top half...
not this round.)

So far the general consensus is that people will stay in their current country or location.

For countries which are relatively safe people generally will want to stay there where life
is familiar with culture, family and friends.

I live in Ireland, one of the safest places in the world so in terms of that I have no reason
to leave, my friends and family are here, its familiar but its quite expensive to live here.

Really the only other place I would consider is Portugal, again another safe country but
with fairly high weather extremes. They do have a very friendly "Crypto" tax regime which
is attractive.