PLATO's Bitcoin Road Trip Completed! [June 19-? Bonus round! SFO PDX SEA YVR]

[Anonymous]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0040702IE/ref=dp_olp_new_map?ie=UTF8&qid=1301618677&sr=8-4&condition=new
Flip are one of the best portable hd cams out there. If you have a laptop + mcdonalds+ free wifi+one of these would that be all you need ?

I have a few amazon gift vouchers I havent sold yet which came from people in the bitcoin community using my links to buy stuff. I would like to use them to purchase a cam and ship to you for the trip (courtesy of witcoin.com)

If anyone else wants to chip in an extra 50-70btc we could get the version with more storage but if not the basic one will be  sufficient. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0040702HK/ref=dp_olp_new_map?ie=UTF8&qid=1301618677&sr=8-3&condition=new is the one with more storage.



I will get someone from the US to organise it who I trust to buy it and get it there.


P.S.
I wish there was a way to track chip-ins with bitcoins  

[PLATO]

I'll be bringing a laptop and external hard drive so I can dump video as often as I need to.
This has image stabilization, 720p, 60fps and retails for $229.99: http://cgi.ebay.com/Flip-MinoHD-120-Minutes-Camcorder-8GB-Brushed-Metal-/330547682632

I'm going to set up a page tracking any bitcoins or contributions I get, anonymous or otherwise. My current bitcoin balance is about 350.

Is there any existing project to map out bitcoin users and cash exchanges? Maybe some of the pins on my map (or people I meet) would be interested in adding their own information.

e: noagendamarket - I realized that even using McD, Starbucks, etc for wifi might be tricky... I wouldn't buy anything from them with dollars

[jacroe]

I've got a Flip camcorder you can borrow if you want. I've put a pin on your map.

[PLATO]

jacroe - you are the shit - I'll PM you

[PLATO]

I'm starting my roadtrip this weekend!

I haven't gotten in touch with jacroe yet for his camcorder but something'll work out. Thanks to davidonpda for selling me a Nikon still camera, I can't wait to try it out. Buy the rest of his electronics!

As a sort of prequel to my roadtrip blog I stopped by an abandoned theme park in Waterbury, CT, called "Holy Land USA" yesterday. I took some pics and uploaded them - blog,permalink. I plan on posting stuff like this during my whole trip.

I just talked to my mechanic, he says I have a front sealed transmission leak due to a worn shaft and various small oil leaks, some of which might be getting into my antifreeze. He also says that if I keep my fluids topped off I will be fine - so we are go for launch this weekend.

Couple questions -
Is there a good way to access these forums via mobile?
Has anyone seen a mybitcoin.com widget that would let me show my current bitcoin balance on my website?

--
PLATO

[ribuck]

I'm starting my roadtrip this weekend!

Excellent! I can't remember whether I posted my pledge yet, but here are the details:

I pledge 200 bitcoins if you make it coast-to-coast. I'll pay the first 100 when you make it half way. My only requirement is that you document the journey. If you end up paying for some things with USD instead of BTC, I may proportionally reduce the pledge amount, but it won't invalidate the pledge as a whole.

Is there a good way to access these forums via mobile?

Just turn off "load images" in your browser, and these forums load fast with minimum bandwidth. I regularly browse the Bitcoin Forum on my phone. Even with image loading turned on, the pages are fast unless it's one of those few pages where people post big images.

[RodeoX]

I see you will be nowhere near Wisconsin. If you get lost and find yourself there anyway, I have a spare bedroom, and  can sell you some gas/food for almost nothing. Free if you want, I just thought you might want to buy as part of your project.
Happy travels.

[PLATO]

Thanks for the pledge. I'll be documenting everything through my site, www.therealplato.com. When I find time I want to add a live Mybitcoin balance and a live map (and live twitter feed ofc) onto that page.

My goal is to not spend any USD from this saturday until I arrive in LA. I will however work for USD along the way, and exchange the cash for bitcoins when possible. My bitcoin balance right now is about 350 bitcoins.

RodeoX: Maybe I'll stop by when I'm returning, who knows? Drop a pin on the map anyway!

[jacroe]

If you have an android or iPhone, check out Google Latitude. It'll track your position live and give you a map you can put on your site.

[NghtRppr]

I'm not sure if I'm too far off of your route to be useful but I have two houses in two different cities so I put two pins on the map, one in Montgomery, AL and the other in Huntsville, AL. I'll sell you gas for really cheap. I'll charge just enough so you can say you paid for your gas with BTC. Good luck!

[llama]

+1 Plato!

He just stayed with me Sunday night into Monday morning, and he's a great guy. Plato, good luck on the rest of your journey!

[PLATO]

Hey thanks Llama!

My online updates have been minimal so far because a community member convinced me to use Arch Linux and I'm like 10% along the learning curve.

I'm in Schenectady NY now. I'm going to be here until Thursday, when I'll talk about Bitcoins at Union College. I'm heading down to NYC after that.

Tonight and tomorrow I'll be working on therealplato.com; I'll be adding a new post or two, and (eventually) a map showing my location and route, my current bitcoin balance, and a ledger of stuff that I bought with Bitcoins.

[spenvo]

Keep it up man!  Can't wait for you to get to middle america!

[praxeologist]

If you can't get on IRC some places you can PM me here too. Just tell me when/where you want some ejuice sent

[ne1]

Plato,

I'm assuming since you're destination is L.A., that you have someone here to house you, but I'm in L.A. and I got your back on a couch, gas stop, food etc. if need be.  If nothing else let me buy you lunch.  PM me if you're interested.  I was thinking also, would it defeat the purpose to have a refillable gas card
http://www.shell.us/home/content/usa/products_services/shell_cards/refillable/
that could somehow be exchanged for btc?  I mean you have to exchange btc for dollars at somepoint to pay for the gas, unless the point is to pay someone in bitcoin. 

sent you 10 BTC

-N

[PLATO]

Thanks for the coins, ne1watching and anonymous donor! ne1 - I don't know anyone in LA, I've just always wanted to go to the west coast. I will definitely take you up on the lunch - drop a pin on my map.
The gas card idea is a good one, it would be really helpful if when I get stranded. I wonder if mndrix could integrate it into Coincard...

Here's the blurb I wrote up for my Thursday talk. It'll go on advertisement posters around campus.

Bitcoin: The Money Of The Future?

Today's networked world works in dollars. If Alice wants to pay Bob for a service, but they're geographically separated, they have to use a third party like Paypal, Visa, or a bank to move dollars around. Unfortunately, each of these intermediaries charges fees and has strings attached - remember a few months back when VISA, Amazon, and Paypal blocked donations to Wikileaks?

Bitcoin is a novel cryptocurrency that removes these intermediaries. If Bob is willing to accept Bitcoins instead of dollars, Alice can send him some directly. The transaction doesn't go through any central authority; instead, the peer to peer network of Bitcoin users agree on a set of rules. These rules govern stuff like generating new coins, moving coins around, and preventing cheating.

Want to learn how it works and why it's so cool? Come to PLACE at TIME. <food will be served?>

2010 alum Isaac Rogers, a.k.a. @TheRealPlato, has just begun the first cross-country Bitcoin Roadtrip. He is spending no dollars, only Bitcoins, from Hartford to Los Angeles. His motivation is primarily an overdeveloped sense of adventure; but he hopes to evangelize Bitcoin along the way.

btw I'm now like 12% along the Arch Linux learning curve. I have managed to connect to the internet and install links and ftp. \m/ edit: next stop, X and Firefox

[S3052]

wow.
this is epic.

Shouldn't we find a journalist to join Plato for a bit and report about bitcoins and Platos great courage?
who knows a journalist in the us who could be interested?

[PLATO]

Hah that would be awesome! At the moment it's just me, but I'm certainly willing to bring someone along.

I just uploaded a new post testing the camcorder Jacroe lent me (blog, permalink). Video quality is awesome, I'm going to definitely use this extensively. Ideally I can cut the footage into a documentary at the end of the trip.

Also, pasting this line from my last blog entry -
"Incidentally, anyone want to proxy buy this data cable for me so I can get pics off [my camera]?"

[EPiSKiNG]

Just caught the tail end of the show you were on... planning to watch the whole thing when it's on YouTube.   Hit me up if you're in or near Bakersfield or Santa Cruz, Ca.  I might be able to get you an opportunity to speak to an introductory computer class at UCSC of about 300 people.

-EP

[PLATO]

Update -
I'm in Raleigh, NC. I met up with Jake Parrish and Dave Parrish to proxy buy some gas and talk about bitcoin politics. Tonight I'm meeting up with a couchsurfer in the area who uses Bitcoins, I'm hoping that we can set up a small meetup this Friday somewhere around Raleigh.

I still need this data cable so I can start uploading the pictures I'm taking. Let me know if you're willing to proxy buy it for me.

Also, I'm running out of music to listen to along the way. Send me mp3's or recommendations!