Recent Posts

3601

Living Room / Re: Bitfloor - 4th largest bitcoin exchange shutting down indefinitely?

« Last post by 40hz on April 19, 2013, 07:57 AM »

If anybody cares to read a real Libertarian wet dream novel about an economic revolution succeeding, take a gander at Schulman's book Alongside Night.

The story is set in United States experiencing economic collapse, with inflation increasing rapidly and the government struggling to keep its power. Trading in foreign currency has become illegal and many shops are subject to rationing. As a result there is a black market for most goods. The setting represents the world as Samuel Edward Konkin III conceived it would be just prior to a successful agorist revolution.

The story begins with Elliot Vreeland, son of Nobel Laureate economist Dr Martin Vreeland (an economist of the Austrian school) hearing of his father's apparent death and being rushed home from school. He discovers quickly that the death is fake, a plot concocted by his father (after receiving a tip-off) to escape arrest by the FBI who are collecting "radicals" accused by the government of worsening the economic crisis...

It's a fun read that fits right into the long tradition of picaresque storytelling. It's also less likely to get you put on a government 'watch list' than online purchases of old Loompanics titles probably will.
 

I understand they're also making a movie which is due out in July of this year. Be interesting to see where you'll be able to catch it. I'm guessing it will end up going straight to DVD.

3602

Living Room / Re: Bitfloor - 4th largest bitcoin exchange shutting down indefinitely?

« Last post by 40hz on April 19, 2013, 07:23 AM »

Ask anybody who's tried minting their own stable-resource-backed money, like the banks used to do in the good/bad old days.  

-Edvard (April 18, 2013, 09:57 PM)

Uh-huh. Back in the late counter-culture/commune days (1969-1975) it was tried fairly often. I had...um...a friend...who was involved with some folks who made a very serious attempt at doing just that.

The only result was a rather sharp lesson in realpolitik, the mind-bogglingly awesome power of government, and what sort of response you can expect from 'authority challenged.'

That's when I lost my girlish laughter and romantic illusions about social activism. Bringing about social change is not a polite parlor game. It's a tough, often ugly, and very very real struggle at the best of times. And when it succeeds, it invariably comes with a pretty steep price tag attached.

That hasn't stopped me from still getting involved from time to time. But when I do, I no longer have any illusions about the other side playing fair or being constrained either by its own laws or constitutional limits. When sufficiently questioned and challenged, virtually every government goes into "wounded rhino" mode and viciously attacks everything in sight.

That's why I thought that the bitcoin revolutionaries and Libertarians had no idea of what they were getting themselves into if they planned on pursuing a "pirate" agenda when it came to money. Anything which might destabilize national currencies simply won't be tolerated. Period.

When I first heard of BitCoins, I said to myself that this was eventually going to happen.
It always does...

Yep. Always.

Something my...uh...friend learned first hand some years ago.

3603

Living Room / Re: Does anyone here use Bitcoins?

« Last post by 40hz on April 19, 2013, 07:01 AM »

much the same way it once outlawed individual possession of gold coins and bullion.

-40hz (April 18, 2013, 08:37 PM)

wait...what?  You guys can't own gold?!  Since when? o.0

-Stephen66515 (April 19, 2013, 06:13 AM)

@Stephen - we can now. Couldn't for a good number of years starting in 1933 and ending in 1975. See here.

Remember, this is the land of the "free" and the home of the brave.

3604

Living Room / Re: How to open a can with a spoon

« Last post by 40hz on April 18, 2013, 09:00 PM »

Wonder how many metal filings you might be getting from that back and forth move he used to make the initial puncture. 

3605

Living Room / Re: Bitfloor - 4th largest bitcoin exchange shutting down indefinitely?

« Last post by 40hz on April 18, 2013, 08:53 PM »

^Taxes are the least of your worries if there's concerns about possible money laundering or wire fraud. Which opens you up to such fun things as racketeering charges and RICO. And visits from nicely dressed (and sometimes heavily armed) postal inspectors and federal marshals.

That sort of legal heat makes an IRS tax enforcement action seem like a love tap.

3606

Living Room / Re: Bitfloor - 4th largest bitcoin exchange shutting down indefinitely?

« Last post by 40hz on April 18, 2013, 08:42 PM »

I'm still wondering about that cryptic remark about how their US bank account is "scheduled to be closed."

I can't say I've ever heard of anything like that before. Closed or shutdown? Yes. That can happen for a variety of reasons. But scheduled to be closed? That's really odd. Almost sounds like they've been served with a 'cease & desist' order and have been given a short grace period to cash out their bitcoin account holders before shutting down.

Which sounds like the government has stepped in with an ultimatum to either stop or face prosecution.

3607

Living Room / Re: Does anyone here use Bitcoins?

« Last post by 40hz on April 18, 2013, 08:37 PM »

^Of course the US government could just outlaw bitcoins and cryptocurrencies for US citizens in much the same way it once outlawed individual possession of gold coins and bullion. That wouldn't be enough to stop some people - although it would certainly up the consequences rather drastically for those people unfortunate enough to get caught.


If things like bitcoins are going to succeed, they're going to have to make some attempt to reach an accommodation with current government backed currencies. If they're presented primarily as a way of evading regulation, or creating an underground economy, they're going to get stepped on pretty severely.

The one big problem with would-be Libertarian economic revolutionaries (from what I've seen) is their tendency to be overly romantic and somewhat naive. Direct confrontation is the one thing most global powers are well equipped to deal with. So while direct confrontation and nose thumbing may be cathartic, they don't do much to further social change - unless the target institution is already weakened and has lost the bulk of its own public's support. None of the major world governments are in that position yet - and likely won't be any time soon.

If cryptocurriencies are the wave of the future, those pushing for them are going to need to take a longer view, and play a much more mature political, economic, and social 'game' than they have so far.

I wish them well. But I don't hold out much hope because of the way so many of their advocates have been conducting themselves lately...
 

3608

Living Room / Re: What are your favorite movies?

« Last post by 40hz on April 18, 2013, 03:46 PM »

@App - Wow! That looks very cool. Can't believe I missed that when it came around.

Something I'd like to suggest is a weird little B&W 1966 movie by John Frankenheimer starring Rock Hudson called Seconds.



Suppose you received a message from a dead friend telling you there was a way to start your adult life over - except this time around you'd get to do it in style. How high a price tag would you be willing to to pay for a crack at something like that? And what would you do if it turned out you could afford it?



Seconds is one of those quietly chilling movies (like Videodrome) that doesn't hit you right away. It's only after a day or two when you find yourself still thinking about it that the creepiness of the story becomes fully manifest.

Skip IMDB if you don't want too much of a spoiler. Seconds is a much more eerie movie experience if you just go into it cold.

3609

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by 40hz on April 18, 2013, 03:38 PM »

 

(People in my musical role get no respect. )

3610

Living Room / Bitfloor - 4th largest bitcoin exchange shutting down indefinitely?

« Last post by 40hz on April 18, 2013, 01:10 PM »

Odd bit of news this morning.  Bitfloor, fourth largest of public bitcoin exchanges (but which represents only 4% of all bitcoins trading) has announced an immediate cessation of operation. Bitfloor has announced it will also be returning all funds to all it's account holders, which seems to indicate this won't be a temporary state of affairs.

Details as to exactly what happened are still sketchy so far. ArsTechnica covered it briefly.

Here's the announcement on Bitfloor's website:



Be interesting to see what went down that prompted this decision.

Some may remember that Bitfloor was the exchange that got taken for 25,000 bicoins last year in a theft that would be worth approximately $2 million at today's exchange rates.

3611

Living Room / Re: When it comes to EA, it just keeps getting better - or worse...

« Last post by 40hz on April 17, 2013, 04:24 PM »

Just in case you have no idea what disgruntled players look like...

https://www.facebook...osts/638679509479839

-app103 (April 17, 2013, 10:27 AM)

Care to summarize? Some of us don't have Facebook accounts. And never will.

3612

Found Deals and Discounts / Udacity partners with SJSU to offer online courses for college credit

« Last post by 40hz on April 17, 2013, 04:19 PM »

This may be of interest to some DoCo members who are looking to earn some college credits (or just take some courses) online.

Udacity, in cooperation with instructors form several universities, offers dozens of excellent courses - all for free. But one of the things many people have been wondering is if it would be possible for Udacity to eventually take the next step and also be able to offer 'for credit' courses too.

Well it's happened (look here):

Udacity is pleased to offer a select number of online courses in partnership with San Jose State University (SJSU). Students who enroll and successfully complete these courses will receive college credit from SJSU. Each class costs $150 and credit earned is transferable within the California State University (CSU) system and to most US colleges and universities.

Registration and payment cover:

    Interactive online courses
    Access to realtime course help
    Direct communications with course instructors and staff
    Online proctored exams
    Credit on your official SJSU transcript for passing the course

All courses are available entirely online and you do not need to attend in person. Please see the FAQ on technical requirements to make sure your computer meets our classroom and proctoring requirements.

Enrollment is limited and ends May 24, 2013.

As mentioned earlier, Udacity courses are free, however, if you want to take one for credit, there is a fee involved. Udacity explains how this works in their FAQ:

All of our courses are available to take for free. However, there is a for-credit path for some of our courses, which is clearly indicated on each course overview page. You can learn more in this FAQ. The content of the class is the same for both options. The primary difference between for-credit and free classes are the support services and proctored exams that are part of the credit pathway.

There are also some tech requirements if you're taking a course for credit:

Technology Requirements

To participate in classes for college credit, please make sure your computer meets the following minimum requirements:

    

• Operating System: Windows XP or newer or Mac OS X 10.6 or higher.
•    Internet Connectivity: We recommend 2+ Mbps, but at a minimum you should have 0.768 Mbps or higher download speed, 0.384 Mbps upload speed.
•    We support the lastest versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer 9 and 10 (Desktop Version). At this time mobile browsers are not supported.
•    Plugins: Adobe Flash Player v11 or above.
•    Ability to watch YouTube videos is required. If YouTube is blocked on your network, please contact your IT support or internet provider.
•    For online proctoring: A webcam (640x480 or higher resolution) and microphone (built in with most webcams and laptops).

All in all an interesting opportunity for those who can make use of it. There's an additional FAQ posted by San Jose State University that gets into the nitty-gritty details of this program. Link here.

IMPORTANT: If you are planning on taking one of these courses for credit, be sure to check to ensure whatever institution you're attending will agree to the transfer credits. Many will, but some schools (like the one I got my degree from) have their own fussy rules and limits on credit transfers - or may require approval in advance - so be sure to ask your school about it.
 

3613

Living Room / Re: Does anyone here use Bitcoins?

« Last post by 40hz on April 17, 2013, 07:44 AM »

Investopedia has posted a good article on currency speculation and regulation (or lack thereof) which outlines some of the unique risks this investment strategy brings to the table.

In that 'investing' in bitcoins or any other form of cryptocurrency is essentially a form of foreign exchange speculation, what's in the article is worth reading if you're either curious or tempted to put a hand in the game.

One of the points in the article is that regulation (so often denounced by bitcoin and libertarian economics diehards) actually does have a point and a benefit. And some regulation is not necessarily the automatic evil (and government/Illuminati/freemason/UFO sponsored conspiracy  ) that a few people will argue any and every financial regulation must be.

It's a good read. Read it here.

Why It's Important To Regulate Foreign Exchange
April 16 2013| Filed Under » Forex Economics, Forex History, Government Regulation

The foreign exchange (forex) market is the world's biggest financial market by far. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)'s triennial survey, global forex turnover in April 2010 averaged a staggering $4.0 trillion daily, an increase of 20% from $3.3 trillion three years earlier. In an increasingly globalized economy, the significance of the foreign exchange marketplace to the average consumer cannot be underestimated. The rate at which our domestic currency can be exchanged in the global forex market determines the price we pay for an increasing number of products, the price-tag for our vacations, the rate of return on our investments (ROI), and even the interest rate on our loans and deposits.

And yet, despite the importance of this market, where currency gyrations can dictate the fortunes of everyone from the largest nation to the smallest consumer, foreign exchange remains a largely unregulated business. Although foreign exchange has traditionally been regarded as the exclusive domain of the biggest banks and corporations - recent trends have dispelled this notion, making it increasingly important for foreign exchange to come under the ambit of regulation...

3614

Living Room / Re: Does anyone here use Bitcoins?

« Last post by 40hz on April 16, 2013, 11:38 AM »

(oh... and something I always forget; remove the tracking crap from the urls if you remember... )

-wraith808 (April 16, 2013, 11:03 AM)

Apologies. Those links were because I went to them through my RSS reader.

Fixed now!

3615

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Aphelion Science Fiction Fantasy Horror Webzine 2013!

« Last post by 40hz on April 16, 2013, 11:31 AM »

^Fair enough!

If you do decide to push the retro concept, don't forget to throw in a few of these:



 

3616

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Aphelion Science Fiction Fantasy Horror Webzine 2013!

« Last post by 40hz on April 16, 2013, 10:04 AM »

@Tao - please try to convince them to redo their landing page! That is so 90s seeing nothing other than a piece of cover art with a hard to read "enter" link on it. Even I find it mildly annoying. And the Next-Genners definitely don't have the patience for somebody trying to be playful.

Much as it bugs me to say it (since I too like to do things my way) unless you have compelling content on your landing page you're going to lose at least half of your first time visitors right then and there.

I'd also strongly suggest they update their entire site design to something a little more...um...contemporary looking? (As in easier and more inviting to read.)

Just my

---------------------

On a positive note, I did take a look around and have since added Aphelion to my bookmarks. It's a very decent webzine and well worth visiting IMO.

3617

Living Room / Re: Does anyone here use Bitcoins?

« Last post by 40hz on April 16, 2013, 09:49 AM »

I wouldn't say it's more of an "environmental disaster" than the combo of Flash and Facebook games.

-app103 (April 15, 2013, 04:20 PM)

This.  I'd say its more of a sensationalist headline than anything else.  

-wraith808 (April 16, 2013, 08:56 AM)

Agree. Looks like someone late to the party is looking to "break" a new angle on a story everybody is already getting tired of. Especially now that the recent bubble on bitcoins has burst.

Articles like the above remind me of the maliciously petty city prosecutor who couldn't but help adding a charge of 'littering' against an Occupy Wall Street protester originally only charged with "disturbing the peace."

Apparently when the police grabbed this protester from behind (without warning) he was so startled he dropped the pile of information leaflets he was carrying - and the police video footage of his arrest showed him dropping them.
 

3618

Living Room / Re: Does anyone here use Bitcoins?

« Last post by 40hz on April 16, 2013, 06:38 AM »

^maybe we can actually use it as a currency now (if it's stabilises)

-tomos (April 16, 2013, 03:23 AM)

Some could. I wouldn't willingly. Would you? 

3619

Living Room / Re: Does anyone here use Bitcoins?

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2013, 11:37 PM »

It would seem that reality has finally raised her pretty but unwelcome little head in the investment world...



Bitcoin drops below $70 on April 15th 2013. Chart here.

Gold is not doing much better as a "safe haven." Story here.

What a surprise!

3620

General Software Discussion / Re: File history (time machine) in win 8: worth exploring?

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2013, 03:03 PM »

No ofense, but version control by changing the file name is a really bad practice. Pervasive, but not practical.

-urlwolf (April 15, 2013, 01:24 PM)

No offense taken. All I can say is that it works splendidly for me. And has been doing so for quite some time - as it has for several other musicians I know. And it's not so much changing the file names as my adding a number at the end of it. (ex: SongOutremer0001, SongOutremer0002, SectionOutremerViolins0001, etc.) But we routinely memorize and employ elaborate chord and melodic sequences - and tend to see and use patterns for everything. Maybe it has something to do with the musical mindset?

This is a known practice in science, and the messes it leaves behind are legendary:

Can't speak for science, not being a scientist. (Closest I come to that is maybe being somewhat of an engineer.) But I'm not talking about doing science here. I'm speaking about doing art.

In the end, it's definitely whatever works best for you. I grew up before personal computers and digital assistants were the norm and possibly are now necessary for some people. So my synapses are probably wired differently than the next generation, which provides for different mental strengths, preferences - and weaknesses - as a result.
 

3621

General Software Discussion / Re: File history (time machine) in win 8: worth exploring?

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2013, 11:51 AM »

T'was a time when I was big on version control for music files. But I was coordinating with several dispersed people in those days.

Nowadays, I find it faster and easier to just get in the habit of being better organized. I use nested folders and am careful about naming files. I have a workflow and naming convention when I do any sort of creative work and have found it works far better (for me at least) than any VC software.

The trick to using a system like this is to forget you have a SAVE option after you create your initial project files. Once the original project files are created you use SAVE AS for everything that follows.

My organization is a series of folders by project, with files named meaningfully. My schema is kept simple by choice. You can go wild with hierarchies, but it's really not necessary or advisable.

Mine (based on how I work) is:

Project:
  Song
  Section/Part
  Track  
------------------
Status flag:
  Draft
  Final
  Alternate Take
------------------
Assets: (can either be part of a global resource library or specific to an individual project)
  Sequence/Pattern/Loop
  Sample/Patch/Instrument
  Audio
  
At the end of a session, I'll do a final "save as' to the project directory.

Project directories are sorted with most recent file on top since I'm usually most interested in (or working off) the last saved version.

The entire project directory gets synchronized to a backup directory least once per day as well as at the end of every work session.

This requires a little bit of discipline up front. But it soon becomes habit.

Maybe it's not fancy or automated. But when you're basically working by yourself, there isn't any good reason for allowing any more complexity than what you personally need. Because organizing and "getting ready"  can easily turn into an endless cycle of superfluous preparations to be creative, rather than something which facilitates creativity.

The thing to remember is that routines can be liberating - but only if you allow them to become routine. If you're constantly thinking about them (and tweaking them) then they're no longer routines - they're projects!

Just my anyway.

And that's about it. Works for me.

3622

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Xara Xtreme 5 Giveaway

« Last post by 40hz on April 15, 2013, 07:34 AM »

It's a decent product. I've been using one version or another (Starting with X1 and currently P&Gv7) and I've been quite happy with Xara. The 'Pro' edition can get a little pricey ($299) - but if you're not doing print and don't need separations or Pantone matching, you won't miss anything in it except maybe multi-core support.

If you don't have a draw/paint hybrid app like Canvas - or you tried GIMP and Inkscape and didn't care for them, Xara will do ya!

Can't beat the price. And it qualifies you for upgrade pricing down the road. They do send occasional marketing e-mails. But they're good about it (once every 4-6 weeks) so it doesn't hammer your inbox.

Worth downloading if you need this sort of app.

3623

General Software Discussion / Re: File history (time machine) in win 8: worth exploring?

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2013, 09:01 PM »

A lot depends on what kind of music you do and what level you want to operate at. Also what instrument(s) you play and whether you're primarily midi/electronic - or you need real world analogue and vocals too. (Don't rule out vocals if you have commercial aspirations. Straight instrumentals - especially electronic - are a hard sell unless you're a real prodigy IMO. Add a good vocalist and some finely crafted lyrics and your job gets easier since people are more likely to remember songs with lyrics than tunes without.)

I just had a friend pick up one of these. It's pretty awesome what you can do with it and it costs about $250 on the street. (I recommend Sweetwater.com btw. Great selection, knowledgeable staff, superb service and very good prices. And I'm in no way affiliated with them. I'm just a very happy customer for about four years now.)

But in your case I'd definitely give Reaper a try before anything else. It's a fine piece of software. Easily as good as anything in the sub $500 price range. And probably as good as some of the stuff in the higher price brackets as well. If you want to spend money, and you're really a VST afficianado who is into loop-based composition techniques, take a look at Abelton Live. That's a DAW hybrid that's made for that sort of thing.

Some resources:

Good sites to check out for reviews and free music software: Synthtopia and KVR Audio

A good site for home recording techniques and tutorials: The Recording Revolution

Good Lord! There's sooooo much good stuff out there to investigate and talk about. Where to begin?

(We could do a whole sub-board on just music and recording without even trying. )

3624

General Software Discussion / Re: File history (time machine) in win 8: worth exploring?

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2013, 02:19 PM »

No, the host (win 7) is the daw, and the guest (linux) is the day-to-day machine (browsing etc). It'll all live on a laptop, i7 8 cores, 16gb ram, 2SSDs. So I hope this would work out fine. NO lowlatency kernel on linux, linux is for work.

-urlwolf (April 14, 2013, 02:11 PM)

hmm...

maybe put your linux /home and swap on the laptop HD - but install and run linux off a bootable USB key? You can get a good quality 16Gb key for under $20 these days. And 16Gb would be more space for a Linux OS than you'd ever need. Even 8Gb would be a lot if you're not storing /home on it.

You'd need to reboot to use Linux if you did it this way, but it shouldn't be too inconvenient since a USB bootup is very fast.

3625

General Software Discussion / Re: File history (time machine) in win 8: worth exploring?

« Last post by 40hz on April 14, 2013, 02:12 PM »

Any recommendations on learning how to set up and keep a DAW would be welcome too

-urlwolf (April 14, 2013, 01:27 PM)

There are musicians here at DoCo who should be able to help with that.  

I'd suggest starting a new thread asking that question since it's going to get lost in here.  

(Sorry for the brief note.  Had to run out - and typing on this iPhone is not fun.)