Paper Blockchain?

[Micon]

paper wallets are a standard idea at this point. 

read about an earth-level EMP scenario.  What if we had a machine that printed out the entire blockchain?  just kept crankin' pages every 10 min or so.  seems worthwhile IMO, although I haven't slept much recently and have not calculated the scale of this in my head yet.

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[BkkCoins]

Isn't there some more feasible way besides paper? Couldn't the block chain be backed up on DVD-RW and then every ten minutes new blocks could be written out. Are DVD-RWs wiped by an EMP? I'm pretty sure not but I've never read up on this. This would be much less wasteful and easier to manage.

[payb.tc]

^yeah i was going to say, just burn to DVD/Blu-Ray.

you'll just need to find a working DVD/Blu-Ray drive to read it after the EMP has destroyed all the current ones.

[BkkCoins]

^yeah i was going to say, just burn to DVD/Blu-Ray.

you'll just need to find a working DVD/Blu-Ray drive to read it after the EMP has destroyed all the current ones.

If you can't find a DVD drive then where are you going to find a computer? And since there's so much power system automation I suspect there would problems just with electricity.

And what kind of EMP would wipe out the entire planet? I could see something hitting from space on one side but would it also affect the dark side?

[DannyHamilton]

I suspect that after an "earth-level" EMP, bitcoins, gold, paper fiat will all become useless as currency.  People will quickly revert to trade in the things they need to survive: weapons, ammunition, fresh water, food, building supplies, etc.

[franky1]

I suspect that after an "earth-level" EMP, bitcoins, gold, paper fiat will all become useless as currency.  People will quickly revert to trade in the things they need to survive: weapons, ammunition, fresh water, food, building supplies, etc.

+1

[mc_lovin]

DVDs only last so many years..

we need the blockchain etched in stone!

[Phinnaeus Gage]

DVDs only last so many years..

we need the blockchain etched in stone!

Or a RL Rain Man:

[BkkCoins]

Was just thinking of paper again and remembered that program called "paperback",

http://ollydbg.de/Paperbak/

Unfortunately it's Windows only but it prints a page size bitmap of data and can fit around 500K per page. So if you were going to print blocks as they were found then that would be the way to do it. Or something similar. I never found a linux version. Maybe there is something out there for this? I would prefer a cmd line tool that could be piped to lpr.

Anyway, that should use max 1 or 2 pages per block. Early blocks would be only 1 page. Even still that's around 212,000 pages. Quite a bit of paper. Maybe print multiple block per page by saving them up until a 500K size is met. Maybe you can fit 10 blocks/page then. In which case this shrinks down to 21,200 pages, or double sided about 20 packs of 500 sheets bond paper.

Not so bad. But then who's going to scan those back in after the EMP?

[Stephen Gornick]

What if we had a machine that printed out the entire blockchain?

What good does that do you if most everyone's private keys are wiped as well?

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Was just thinking of paper again and remembered that program called "paperback",

http://ollydbg.de/Paperbak/

Unfortunately it's Windows only but it prints a page size bitmap of data and can fit around 500K per page. So if you were going to print blocks as they were found then that would be the way to do it. Or something similar. I never found a linux version. Maybe there is something out there for this? I would prefer a cmd line tool that could be piped to lpr.

Anyway, that should use max 1 or 2 pages per block. Early blocks would be only 1 page. Even still that's around 212,00 pages. Quite a bit of paper. Maybe print multiple block per page by saving them up until a 500K size is met. Maybe you can fit 10 blocks/page then. In which case this shrinks down to 21,200 pages, or double sided about 20 packs of 500 sheets bond paper.

Not so bad. But then who's going to scan those back in after the EMP?

That EMP stuff is scary! http://marketdailynews.com/20descendants13/01/01/a-massive-electromagnetic-pulse-could-collapse-the-economy-in-a-single-moment/ I recall reading about it a while back. Thanks for bringing it forward.

~Bruno K~

[dennisn]

They[1] did it with our human genome, 3 billion base pairs, in 130 books. Sounds like a good idea to me.

[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-20520843
[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYEjU96QcX0

[dego]

Check out Bitsave: http://www.bitsave.ch/eng/products/products.html

They project digital data on long living film sheets (est. lifetime of 100 - 1000 years). The similarity of the name has nothing to do with bitcoins, but could be used for that...

A 35mm BW Film roll of 600meters length could save up to 21GB (~5x the current Blockchain), a color film roll of 600 meters could save 53GB (Source in German).


Another problem stays, which machine do you use to reactivate your saved coins?

[BkkCoins]

Check out Bitsave: http://www.bitsave.ch/eng/products/products.html

They project digital data on long living film sheets (est. lifetime of 100 - 1000 years). The similarity of the name has nothing to do with bitcoins, but could be used for that...

A 35mm BW Film roll of 600meters length could save up to 21GB (~5x the current Blockchain), a color film roll of 600 meters could save 53GB (Source in German).


Another problem stays, which machine do you use to reactivate your saved coins?

What would be a ball park cost for 600m of BW film? Is 200m available?

[MysteryMiner]

DVDs are proof from EMP. Computers in faraday cages also are safe. Even HDD drives are sturdy when powered down, they need quite huge magnetic field to damage the platters on 3.5" ones.

The many thousands or even tens of thousands copies of blockchain are going to survive. At least some of them.

[01BTC10]

Someone could run a Raspberry Pi node in a Faraday cage.

[dego]

I don't know exact cost of th Bits-to-Film-Process, but there are some hints. To explain how it works some words first (I am not an expert, but I know some things about it):

- There's a swiss company using this technology they call bits-on-film: http://www.fachlabor-gubler.ch/eng/archiving/bits-on-film.html

- A bitstream of data is converted in a pixel-code (like a barcode). That pixel code is made after an algorithm. They say that up to 30% of the code can be destroyed and data can still be retrieved to 100%, due to this algorithm.

- Data is then written with a laser recorder on standard micrographic film like Ilfochrome Colour Microfilm (Color) or Agfa Microfilm. Its possible to write it on 35mm film rollls or 105mm film sheets.

- The film or sheets can be read by any scanning machine with high resolution.

- Then the pixelcode can be reconverted into bits (or bitcoins hrhr..)

The price depends on a variety of factors:

- chosen film material
- Algorithm used to draw pixel-code/barcode
- chosen print density (bigger pixels make it easyer to read)

In a slideshow this company made they speak about a price from 7500 Euros to 80'000 Euros per Terabyte: http://www.dgph.de/content/sektionen/wissenschaft_technik/symposium08/Gubler-Vortrag.pdf Slide 10 ist about costs of different techniques (in english).


I think to bring bitcoins to microfilm you need:

1. An algorithm to encode and decode data into pixelcode
2. A laser recorder
3. some microfilm rolls
4. someone who knows how to bring these things together
5. Also don't forget that the film rolls have to be stored under perfect archival conditions.


More to read here:

[1] C. Voges: „‚Bits on Film‘ – Langzeitarchivierung digitaler Daten“, Fernseh- und Kino-
technik (FKT), Jahrgang 65, Ausgabe 3/2011, S. 80–84.
[2] C. Voges, T. Fingscheidt: „Technology and Applications of Digital Data Storage on Mi-
crofilm“, Journal of Imaging Science and Technology (JIST), Vol. 53, No. 6, Nov. 2009,
S. 060 505-1–060 505-8.
[3] C. Voges: „An Introduction to Long-Term Archiving of Digital Data on Film Material“,
Tagungsband der 26. Tonmeistertagung, Leipzig, Nov. 2010, S. 243–249.
[4] C. Voges, J. Fröhlich: „Applications of Data Storage on Cinematographic Film for
Long-Term Preservation of Digital Productions“, SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal,
Vol. 121, No. 1, Jan./Feb. 2012, S. 39–42.
[5] C. Voges, V. Märgner, T. Fingscheidt: „Investigations on Color Microfilm as a Medium
for Long-Term Storage of Digital Data“, Proceedings of IS&T Archiving Conference,
Den Haag, Niederlande, Juni 2010, S. 142–147.
[6] C. Voges, J. Fröhlich: „Long-Term Storage of Digital Data on Cinematographic Film“,
Proceedings of IS&T Archiving Conference, Salt Lake City, USA, UT, Mai 2011,
S. 158–161.

[MysteryMiner]

They say that up to 30% of the code can be destroyed and data can still be retrieved to 100%, due to this algorithm.

DVDs also contain built in error correction at physical layer. QuickPar can create parity files if more is needed.

Data is then written with a laser recorder on standard micrographic film like Ilfochrome Colour Microfilm (Color) or Agfa Microfilm. Its possible to write it on 35mm film rollls or 105mm film sheets.

Data is written with laser recorder on standard DVD+R discs. It is also possible to write on BD-R discs.

The film or sheets can be read by any scanning machine with high resolution.

Surprisingly the DVDs also can be read on any DVD-ROM drive. High resolution is not required. I don't know if DVD drives are more easily found than high-resolutions scanners supporting Microfilms in post-apocalyptic world.

In a slideshow this company made they speak about a price from 7500 Euros to 80'000 Euros per Terabyte

Blank DVD+R costs from about 1.5 USD so for 3 USD anyone can have complete copy of today's blockchain. Double it to 6 $ and have a possibility for 100% error correction because you will have two copies of blockchain. Hard drives cost about 200$ per TB. We have a challenger appearing!

[FTWbitcoinFTW]

Next tuesday on national geographic !

[runeks]

I suspect that after an "earth-level" EMP, bitcoins, gold, paper fiat will all become useless as currency.  People will quickly revert to trade in the things they need to survive: weapons, ammunition, fresh water, food, building supplies, etc.

I think you've forgotten why money appeared in the first place: because the guy with ammunition who wants fresh water can't trade with the guy who has ammunition unless that guy wants fresh water.

What if we had a machine that printed out the entire blockchain?

What good does that do you if most everyone's private keys are wiped as well?

Now there's a hole in this grand plan.

Someone has money at this address, but we don't know who.

The solution, of course, is to sign a random string with the private key of your savings address, and print the signature in an ad in the newspaper.

[GernMiester]

Print out of the blockchain. LOL.  If there is an issue with electricity BTC dies instantly and no one will give a damn about them when they can even find gas,food or water.


MP = DEATH lots and lots of death. The panic alone will make everyone and anyone in the area of effect either loot,move out fast or wait until the bad guys with guns come to take your food, water, life, etc.... In the first week alone do any of you have an idea of how many people will die because they cant refrigerate or get the medicine they need. Dialysis anyone?  It could and likely would take weeks for any help to arrive. NO ONE will give damn about funny money or the internet.

A little storm named Sandy came and took away a family friends house, like gone, poof, vanished, no trace, and power was  out for 12-14 days for almost every person I know including my home. No GASOLINE, NO WATER, NO REFRIGERATION. Not once did BTC cross my mind.  I drove past lines that were a mile or more long watching people hoping they could get gas. You could NOT get any cash, no ATM's.  It took over 24 hours for someone to come and deal with the live wire that was popping an hissing on the corner not 50 feet from homes and woods  near my home.  If you have not lived with no electricity for more than 8-10 days at least you have no clue what it will be like.
It was NOT like camping.

Athena ,a Nor'easter, came in just a few days after Sandy and took out even more power and trees.

I am now prepared for an event that lasts 20-30 days and have added 1000's of rounds to my stockpile. I am working on kevlar helmets and some body armor. After 1 day I will be starting to go out and get what I can before you cant get anything. I also have hundreds of various food crop seeds because they are so damn cheap and last years if stored properly. 

I would not even have a gun if the idiots in NJ did not pass a law that says BB and pellet guns are the same as handguns and rifles. I was forced to get a license in my 30's in order to NOT have illegal BB and Pellet guns that I had since I was like 13. Once I had the license I bought some guns I would have never gotten if the BB gun joke law wasn't pushed through.

[DeathAndTaxes]

DVDs only last so many years..

we need the blockchain etched in stone!

Little known fact the Pyramids are the blockchain from an even earlier genesis block. Trust me you didn't want to be a slave in Egypt when there was a blockchain re-org.  Brutal!

[DeathAndTaxes]

Print out of the blockchain. LOL.  If there is an issue with electricity BTC dies instantly and no one will give a damn about them when they can even find gas,food or water.
[E]MP = DEATH lots and lots of death. The panic alone will make everyone and anyone in the area of effect either loot,move out fast or wait until the bad guys with guns come to take your food, water, life, etc.... In the first week alone do any of you have an idea of how many people will die because they cant refrigerate or get the medicine they need. Dialysis anyone?  It could and likely would take weeks for any help to arrive. NO ONE will give damn about funny money or the internet.

This.  Bitcoin won't survive a global EMP, the internet won't, the modern world won't, hell even current nation states won't.  Integrated circuits are in everything.  A hundred million people will die almost instantly billions as society breaks down.  Some from the initial failure, lots more from starvation and disease, and violence and war.

Imagine an EMP powerful enough to warrant a paper blockchain hit globally right now.  The first thing is that the internet is toast.  Not just your PC but hundreds of billions of dollars in switches routers, network interconnects, datacenters, etc.  Gone.  Turned into scrap metal.  Rebuilding isn't going to be easy.  Guess what is used in semiconductors FABS?  Yup integrated circuits.  The FABS that build computer chips need computer chips which will also be destroyed.  

Ok so we can live without computer right?  Well it goes way beyond computers.  Integrated circuits are a critical component of everything from communication systems, to the electrical grid, to transit systems, to the water supply.  They will all fail massively, catastrophically, and simultaneously.  Planes will literally fall out of the sky, and every major highway in the world will turn into a parking lot but not before killing tens of millions of people.  The electrical grid will acts as an giant antenna and huge amounts of current will cause it to tear itself apart.  If lucky, nuclear powerplants will SCRAM hard and be idle for a lifetime, and if unlucky will meltdown due to a combination of uncontrolled decay heat and widespread equipment failures which overwhelm even triple redudant systems.  The imbalanced grid will collapse and the world will go dark except for the electrical fires everywhere, from destroyed transformers, and powerplants.  Restarting it will be impossible without replacement parts on a scale never seen in the history of mankind.  

All that will happen almost instantly but the failure of society will take longer.  If you have any pressing medical condition more complex then setting a broken bone your fate is probably already sealed.  With the transit systems down hospital will run out of supplies quickly and then people will start dying like they did two hundred years ago. Once the fires start they will burn out of control.  What are fire departments going to do?  Send fire trucks down miles and miles of streets clogged with cars that won't start?  Get water out of fire hydrants with no functioning pumps.  Whole cities will burn to their foundations.

The big killers will be starvation and disease.  Cities will become graveyards in a matter of weeks.  The average urban area only has enough food to feed the population for a couple weeks.  That is everything, the food in homes, in stores, and in distribution centers. With transit, electrical and water systems in ruin the never ending stream of consumables into a city will stop, as will the never ending stream of waste out.   Without a functional water system,  lack of sanitation means age old killers like dysentery will burn through the populace (weakened by malnutrition and over reliance on antibiotics) like a biological weapon.  

Governments will try to restore order but it will require martial law.  I don't mean call out the national guard because there was a hurricane I mean executing "enemies of the state" by the tens of thousands in the street.  It won't be enough though at least not on any large scale, although pockets may maintain some level of order in a police state.  Modern nationstates with hundreds of millions of people can't survive on a pre-industrial technological base.  Troops and police will desert by the thousands to return home and protect their families.  

The strong will band together and take resources from the weak.  Our modern society can't survive significant supply disruptions so for the first time in a century there really won't be enough to go around.  Not enough food, not enough water, not enough scarce resources (medicine, shelter, good tools, etc).  The strong taking from the weak ensures some will die but some will survive.  The surviving people will abandon the urban areas (graveyards) that are a product of a technology base which no longer exists and move back into rural areas. The human race will survive and in time society will rebuild itself starting back at city states (a stable political structure which can operate at a minimal technological level).

If anyone finds a surviving printed copy of the blockchain (under the corpse of some nerd who's skull is caved in by a cinderblock) they will either use it to wipe their ass or burn it to stay warm.

Nope, Bitcoin won't survive a massive (and unlikely) global scale EMP or other end of the world type event.   Bitcoin can survive temporary outages but it is a product of a computer aged civilization and if that civilization dies so will Bitcoin.

I suspect that after an "earth-level" EMP, bitcoins, gold, paper fiat will all become useless as currency.  People will quickly revert to trade in the things they need to survive: weapons, ammunition, fresh water, food, building supplies, etc.

I think you've forgotten why money appeared in the first place: because the guy with ammunition who wants fresh water can't trade with the guy who has ammunition unless that guy wants fresh water.

Maybe in a couple decades or a century after the event.  In the short term your dilemma is easily solved.  The guy with the gun puts two rounds into the chest of the guy with the water and now the guy with the gun has a gun AND water.  

[runeks]

Print out of the blockchain. LOL.  If there is an issue with electricity BTC dies instantly and no one will give a damn about them when they can even find gas,food or water.
[E]MP = DEATH lots and lots of death. The panic alone will make everyone and anyone in the area of effect either loot,move out fast or wait until the bad guys with guns come to take your food, water, life, etc.... In the first week alone do any of you have an idea of how many people will die because they cant refrigerate or get the medicine they need. Dialysis anyone?  It could and likely would take weeks for any help to arrive. NO ONE will give damn about funny money or the internet.

This.  Bitcoin won't survive a global EMP, the internet won't, the modern world won't, hell even current nation states won't.

Integrated circuits are in everything.  A hundred million people will die almost instantly billions as society breaks down.  Some from starvation and disease and more from violence as the strong take from the weak.

Imagine an EMP powerful enough to warrant a paper blockchain hit right now.  The first thing is that the internet is toast.  Not just your PC but hundreds of billions of dollars in switches routers, network interconnects, datacenters, etc.  Gone.  Turned into scrap metal.  Oh but it gets far worse.  Rebuilding isn't going to be easy.  Guess what is used in semiconductors FABS?  Yup integrated circuits.  The FABS that build computer chips will also be destroyed.  Ok so we can live without computer right?  Well it goes way beyond computers.  Integrated circuits are a critical component of everything from communication systems, to the electrical grid, to mass transist, to the water supply.  They will all fail massively and catastrophically at the same time.  Planes will literally fall out of the sky, every major highway in the world will turn into a parking lot (but not before killing tens of millions of people).  The electrical grid will acts as an giant antenna and the grid will tear itself apart.  Nuclear powerplants if you are lucky will SCRAM hard and be idle for a lifetime, and if unlucky will meltdown due to a combination of uncontrolled decay heat and widespread equipment failures.  The imbalanced grid will cause electrical fires everywhere, and destroyed transformers, and damaged powerplants.  Restarting it will be impossible without replacement parts on a massive scale.  If you have any pressing medical condition more complex then setting a broken bone your dead already.  With the transist systems down hospital will run out of supplies quickly and then people will start dying like they did two hundred years ago. Once the fires start they will burn out of control.  What are fire departments going to do?  Send fire trucks down miles and miles of streets clogged with cars that won't start?  Get water out of fire hydrants with no functioning pumps.  Whole cities will burn to their foundations.

The big killers will be starvation and disease.  Cities will become graveyards in a matter of weeks.  The average urban area only has enough food to feed the population for a couple weeks.  That is everything, the food in homes, in stores, and in distribution centers.  When the water stops flowing lack of sanitation means age old killers like dysentery will burn through the population like a biological weapon.  

Governments will try to restore order but it will require martial law.  I don't mean call out the national guard because there was a hurricane I mean executing "enemies of the state" by the tens of thousands in the street.  It won't be enough though.  Modern nationstates with hundreds of millions of people can't survive on a pre-industrial technological base.  Troops and police will desert by the thousands to return home and protect their families.  

The strong will band together and take resources from the weak.  Our modern society can't survive significant supply disruptions so for the first time in a century there really won't be enough to go around.  The strong taking from the weak ensures some will die but some will survive.  The surviving people will abandon the cities (graveyards) and move back into rural areas. The human race will survive and in time society will rebuild itself starting back at citiy states (a stable political structure which can operate at a minimal technological level).

If anyone finds a surviving printed copy of the blockchain (under the corpse of some nerd who's skull is caved in by a cinderblock) they will either use it to wipe their ass or burn it to stay warm.

Nope, Bitcoin won't survive a massive (and unlikely) global scale EMP or other end of the world type event.   Bitcoin can survive temporary outages but it is a product of a computer aged civilization and if that civilization dies so will Bitcoin.

Or we'd just shrug it off and go for a walk in the woods. Either thing could happen really.

[Elwar]

I have been tatooing the blockchain on my ass so if we ever get hit by an EMP we're good. Just find me and I'll let you know how many BTC you have.

[ralree]

I have been tatooing the blockchain on my ass so if we ever get hit by an EMP we're good. Just find me and I'll let you know how many BTC you have.

Is this you?  Because otherwise, that's going to have to be some small text...

[SgtSpike]

Print out of the blockchain. LOL.  If there is an issue with electricity BTC dies instantly and no one will give a damn about them when they can even find gas,food or water.
[E]MP = DEATH lots and lots of death. The panic alone will make everyone and anyone in the area of effect either loot,move out fast or wait until the bad guys with guns come to take your food, water, life, etc.... In the first week alone do any of you have an idea of how many people will die because they cant refrigerate or get the medicine they need. Dialysis anyone?  It could and likely would take weeks for any help to arrive. NO ONE will give damn about funny money or the internet.

This.  Bitcoin won't survive a global EMP, the internet won't, the modern world won't, hell even current nation states won't.

Integrated circuits are in everything.  A hundred million people will die almost instantly billions as society breaks down.  Some from starvation and disease and more from violence as the strong take from the weak.

Imagine an EMP powerful enough to warrant a paper blockchain hit right now.  The first thing is that the internet is toast.  Not just your PC but hundreds of billions of dollars in switches routers, network interconnects, datacenters, etc.  Gone.  Turned into scrap metal.  Oh but it gets far worse.  Rebuilding isn't going to be easy.  Guess what is used in semiconductors FABS?  Yup integrated circuits.  The FABS that build computer chips will also be destroyed.  Ok so we can live without computer right?  Well it goes way beyond computers.  Integrated circuits are a critical component of everything from communication systems, to the electrical grid, to mass transist, to the water supply.  They will all fail massively and catastrophically at the same time.  Planes will literally fall out of the sky, every major highway in the world will turn into a parking lot (but not before killing tens of millions of people).  The electrical grid will acts as an giant antenna and the grid will tear itself apart.  Nuclear powerplants if you are lucky will SCRAM hard and be idle for a lifetime, and if unlucky will meltdown due to a combination of uncontrolled decay heat and widespread equipment failures.  The imbalanced grid will cause electrical fires everywhere, and destroyed transformers, and damaged powerplants.  Restarting it will be impossible without replacement parts on a massive scale.  If you have any pressing medical condition more complex then setting a broken bone your dead already.  With the transist systems down hospital will run out of supplies quickly and then people will start dying like they did two hundred years ago. Once the fires start they will burn out of control.  What are fire departments going to do?  Send fire trucks down miles and miles of streets clogged with cars that won't start?  Get water out of fire hydrants with no functioning pumps.  Whole cities will burn to their foundations.

The big killers will be starvation and disease.  Cities will become graveyards in a matter of weeks.  The average urban area only has enough food to feed the population for a couple weeks.  That is everything, the food in homes, in stores, and in distribution centers.  When the water stops flowing lack of sanitation means age old killers like dysentery will burn through the population like a biological weapon.  

Governments will try to restore order but it will require martial law.  I don't mean call out the national guard because there was a hurricane I mean executing "enemies of the state" by the tens of thousands in the street.  It won't be enough though.  Modern nationstates with hundreds of millions of people can't survive on a pre-industrial technological base.  Troops and police will desert by the thousands to return home and protect their families.  

The strong will band together and take resources from the weak.  Our modern society can't survive significant supply disruptions so for the first time in a century there really won't be enough to go around.  The strong taking from the weak ensures some will die but some will survive.  The surviving people will abandon the cities (graveyards) and move back into rural areas. The human race will survive and in time society will rebuild itself starting back at citiy states (a stable political structure which can operate at a minimal technological level).

If anyone finds a surviving printed copy of the blockchain (under the corpse of some nerd who's skull is caved in by a cinderblock) they will either use it to wipe their ass or burn it to stay warm.

Nope, Bitcoin won't survive a massive (and unlikely) global scale EMP or other end of the world type event.   Bitcoin can survive temporary outages but it is a product of a computer aged civilization and if that civilization dies so will Bitcoin.

I suspect that after an "earth-level" EMP, bitcoins, gold, paper fiat will all become useless as currency.  People will quickly revert to trade in the things they need to survive: weapons, ammunition, fresh water, food, building supplies, etc.

I think you've forgotten why money appeared in the first place: because the guy with ammunition who wants fresh water can't trade with the guy who has ammunition unless that guy wants fresh water.

Maybe in a couple decades or a century.  No your dilemma is easily solved.  The guy with the guy puts two bullets into the chest of the guy with the water and now the guy with the guy has a gun AND water.  

Hah, nice narrative.  Makes me want to stock up on canned foods or something. 

[Stephen Gornick]

Not once did BTC cross my mind.  I drove past lines that were a mile or more long watching people hoping they could get gas. You could NOT get any cash, no ATM's.

So now let's say someone arrives from a couple towns away with a truck holding a bunch of filled jerry cans and are selling them where the gas costs about $15 per gallon.   You don't have cash (no ATMs remember), but they take bitcoin.

Would BTC cross your mind then?

[Monster Tent]

DVDs only last so many years..

we need the blockchain etched in stone!

Little known fact the Pyramids are the blockchain from an even earlier genesis block. Trust me you didn't want to be a slave in Egypt when there was a blockchain re-org.  Brutal!

I figured that was the idea for stonehenge.

[lophie]

Hey guys. Thanks for this interesting discussion. It was a fun read  . I was wondering why everyone is discussing the continuation of Bitcoin and not the restart of Bitcoin. A world with a fresh start opportunity having ideas like Bitcoin around?  .