Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a new virtual currency designed by programmer Satoshi Nakamoto and released in 2009. The internet was abuzz after it's release and the virtual currency quickly gained a high value and continues to do so today. Although Bitcoin is primarily virtual, physical ones do exist. The virtual Bitcoins are nothing more than a number that is tied to a Bitcoin address. Since this is a new currency, it can be a little frightening to attempt to make an investment into it. Those early adopters have however made themselves a lot richer by doing so.

Projected Bitcoin mining in millions

So how do you go about acquiring Bitcoin? You will need to find a Bitcoin exchange site and go from there. The oldest running one is Mt.Gox and is very reliable. You can easily sell and buy bitcoin from there. There are of course many other alternatives and its simply a matter of research and preference. You can study the average of the Bitcoin value on these websites, so when the prices are low and when they are high. Bitcoin is pretty much like the stock market or any other currency really, its price can fluctuate but it remains to be a high value investment. Even if the price is high for one Bitcoin, you don't have to actually spend hundreds or a thousand dollars to own one, you can simply own a share of a coin.

You may also attempt to do some Bitcoin mining. This isn't for your average everyday person. To mine for Bitcoins means you need  to have some serious hardware dedicated for mining alone. Corporations are starting up slowly with extremely high end machines working on these. For one person it is more feasible to join a pool. This means your pc and other people's pc's are working together, trying to solve algorithms to create a new Bitcoin. Bitcoins are awarded by 50 at a time, and if you are mining alone, you will probably never be awarded a Bitcoin unless you are extremely lucky. Some Bitcoin mining machines can cost up to $13000.00, way more than what an average person is willing to get into. 

Bitcoin price chart on Mt.Gox

So why the hate from the government and fear of Bitcoin? For one, it's a virtual currency that isn't minted by the government and they have no control over it. Big banks also aren't very fond of this new currency since they have no way of getting their hands on your money. JPMorgan recently had a patent released to the public that shows they have been working on a Bitcoin killer and its safe to say other banks are going to attempt the same thing. The US Government accepts Bitcoins as legal money but still has their doubts to its validity and safety. Since Bitcoin is completely anonymous, you can't be tracked with it. This was a headache for law enforcement and the government with the SilkRoad, Bitcoins were used to buy drugs and also used for many other illegal activities. The IRS also has a keen interest in Bitcoin for obvious reasons, but so far will be unable to do anything.

A security concern for Bitcoin is the fact that is all online. Mt.Gox has been hit with DDoS attack along with other exchange websites. Some places have also been the victim of online theft, forcing the exchanges to return money to investors and then shut the doors on their exchange rate. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network have also stepped in, requiring Bitcoin business to provide authorities with information on Bitcoin payments that could have been used for illegal activities. It also requires Bitcoin miners to be more open with their activities in such a competitive market. After the SilkRoad, many agencies and the public were very skeptical about the legitimacy of Bitcoin. Not only could drugs be bought, money laundering was an issue as well as assassins for hire. With no way to track who spent the money and who recieved it, FinCEN wanted to put pressure on business that operated in the United States and have some transparncy for the public and authorities.

Bitcoin is a banker's worst fear and can be a treasury department's worst nightmare. A lot of that fear is simply because of their lack of control. For some people, their fear of Bitcoin is a legitimate one. What happens if there is another DDoS attack on their exchange site and find out the prices crash? Or another online theft? Much like playing the stock market, Bitcoin is a gamble but so far it's paid off quite well for all of it's early adopters. Before investing, it would be wise to watch the markets, download some apps on your phone or tablet to monitor it and make your own decisions. If you don't like or trust it, tough luck though. Bitcoin is obviously here to stay.

Spotify, Grooveshark, Slacker and Pandora

Spotify

Spotify has been around for a while and I have been using it since it first came out. It has gone through some changes throughout the time, but it remains the same. You have option of downloading it or using the web player which is always a plus, I hate downloading something unless I absolutely have to. Spotify gives you the ability to create playlists, share them, discover new artists and songs through your friends or through facebook. You can also check out what is popular in your area, and to my much welcomed surprised I was greeted by this.

Bowie. That is all.

 Spotify premium also gives you more bang for your buck, allowing you to listen to music while offline. It works great with mobile too. But let's be honest...you don't really expect me to pay for music, do you? Because that's not happening...EVER. There are ways around this whole RIAA issue and I hope people use PeerBlock more over this. It's not a safeguard but it's better than nothing.

Grooveshark

Grooveshark

Grooveshark is another good choice, it works wonders and doesn't seem as slow and clunky as Spotify can be at times. The interface is nice and I have stumbled across quite a few good radio stations out there. Spotify can also skip a bit due to my constant multitasking but Grooveshark has no trouble there at all. The quality is amazing as well. Best part about Grooveshark is I'm rarely home and it works fine with my phone.

Slacker

Gotta love some Tom Petty

Slacker also excels when it comes to radio. The stations are great and the genres match up very well. Sometimes I have issues with other streaming services, browsing by genre and finding a station only to realize the genre was way off. I haven't encountered that yet with slacker, but I'm sure it happens. I find myself using slacker for radio just to listen to random stations when I don't feel like making a new playlist or wanting to discover something new or forgotten.

Pandora

I feel like I'm back to my 56k days.

I don't like this at all, never have, never will. The audio quality is pure garbage compared to the others. On my pc I use a 7.1 headset while listening to music, I'm an audio whore when it comes to music and sound and damnit, I love high quality sound. I want to hear those instruments you don't always hear when listening to crappy speakers or in your car. So what happens when I turn on Pandora? I feel like I'm back to my dial up days listening through real player. It works fine for a few songs, then it happens. That horrible sound, a slight buzz, and the poor quality hits. Both on my phone and also on my pc it's issue after issue. 

Queen and Bowie? Yes please

With that being said, when it works, it does the job good. It has a very simplistic look, not very clunky or slow and also very fast. I have no problems with the buffering on my phone. I realize a lot of people use Pandora, it's probably the most popular when it comes to mobile phones, but I just can't seem to do it, not with all of the issues I have listed.

Grooveshark wins my heart and ears. I have no problems with it, it works damn good and the quality is great. I'm not locked out behind a paywall and I can use it to my heart's content. A big thank you to the people behind Grooveshark.

IT Costumes

This wouldn't be complete without some Star Wars.

 Facebook profile costume

 Keyboard fail costume

 If I had a child

 Just gives me a reason to run into people at full speed

 My future child WILL have this.

 Pretty good idea

 My dog wouldn't be very happy but yup..I would do that

 A Tron cat costume? YES

 Simple but effective

Google+, Myspace and Facebook. Which is the best?

Facebook

 

In this day and age, I can honestly say that I only know of a few people who don't use facebook. Virtually every person with a cell phone and or a pc uses it. It's popularity grows more and more each day but many people are unhappy with the direction it is taking us and I am one of those people. Facebook today vs the facebook of the past is very different. They have changed to style and layout, added new features and taken away many of the privacy options. Facebook's never ending quest to get you connected to others is just pushing your info out there for others to see.

My main gripe with facebook is how its turned many people into practically zombies, posting their whole life at all times. Facebook is not a diary, we don't care about your daily jog, your plans each day, nor do I want to know about your bowl movements, but yet I still see that from people. As the popularity of this social network grows, I honestly believe the stupidity does as well. Don't drink and facebook either, that always turns out WELL.

Not all things are bad with facebook. Event planning, catching up with old friends and family is always nice. Pictures and videos are easily shared as well as music. But I would still gladly take the old Facebook over the new.

Myspace

Well this place went through a major overhaul. I'm still on the fence about this one. It's nice to get away from Facebook, in fact I wish to hell something else would come along and take over the throne for a while. But I don't think myspace is it. The new myspace is totally redone and a little confusing at first, but over piddling around for a bit, you can get the hang of it. I miss the old myspace days of customizing layouts, not having one single layout forced down your throat. Myspace is also offering a better way to connect to artists and discover new music, which is a good thing.

The bad? Virtually nobody is using it. It's a dead zone in the social media world. A ghost town on the internet when compared to facebook. I can't say that I know of anybody who actively uses myspace. It holds promise, but I don't think it will ever come back to its glory days.

Google+

 I really don't have much negative to say about this. I wish more people used it rather than facebook. Google+ has some nice features such as hangouts and the video chat is awesome. I also like the ability to see other posts from random people and news, so you don't always have to see the same stuff each day. It's a refreshing take on the regular routine of facebook.

If only more people would use it, I could see this one overtaking facebook easily. The only problem is Google's attempts at forcing the network down people's throats, like the new comment system on youtube. If it's not broken, don't fix it. Many people cried afoul when they realized to comment on youtube you would have to create a Google+ account. And don't force me to make one when I create a youtube account either. This turns people off of your product.

Out of the big three, I enjoy Google+ more. I am guilty of not using it too much since most of the people I know use facebook, but I plan on it using it more often. They don't sell my information to marketing companies, they don't force me to give up some of my privacy (unless the NSA wants it), and the connectivity to other Google services is a plus. Facebook is one site, one company. Google is one massive company with many services and products which helps them with Google fans. But no matter what anybody chooses, I'm sure these three will be around for quite a while.

 

 

Tor and Darknet

It comes as no surprise that with the recent news of the NSA spying scandals, many people are flocking to find better ways to protect themselves and make their browsing more private. Tor has been around for quite a while and so had the darknet. Their numbers grow each day as more and more people learn about each one. The darknet or deep web shows the more the hideous side of the internet.

Tor is a simple to use tool to promote your privacy while browsing. It comes equipped with its own browser and a couple of other nifty features that many people may be interested in. So how does it work? Tor sends your data through the "onion relay" which consists of thousands of computers. Not stopping there, it constantly encrypts all data usage as well. These relays are all set up by volunteers and not surprisingly, used by law enforcement and certain branches of the government. The navy themselves use it for intelligence gathering while law enforcement uses it as well so they don't leave a government IP address.

Darknet is where things go south. These sites consist of black market items, drugs, bitcoin and bitcoin scams, and of course child porn. Darknet typically consists of websites that never show up in search engine and you must use Tor to connect to them. One of the more popular ones that was recently shutdown was Silkroad. Here you could purchase any drug you wanted. Gone were the days of finding or getting screwed over by your typical street dealer. With just a few clicks and a few days later, you were ready to take some LSD and blast some Jefferson Airplane. But no, the government found it and arrested the owner. Such a shame as now we'll all be back to getting screwed over by those street dealers. That is until another silk road website pops up.

Tor promotes safety and security, and it has its advantages. I, like many others, often use it for this purpose.  The Tor project was created with the best of intentions. But just because there's a few bad apples out there doesn't mean the whole thing is bad. People will take advantage of anything. But as long as the Tor project exists, it stays on my pc.

A Few Quick and Easy DIY's

 

This one is actually pretty cool. I'm not very artsy and not too savvy when it comes to this stuff, but its simple enough that even I can do it. And I'm sure it would look great around the house and have many people asking how in the world I managed to do it. Well I tell then? Probably not, I'll say somebody had it made for me.

This has been a tremendous help for me for years while fishing. Only have one light and with a few people? Problem solved. You don't have to worry about beaming the light in specific area anymore. Great for camping too! And, as the picture states, I'm sure its great for when the power goes out. The brighter the light source, the better the illumination. The illumination might surprise you as to how bright it truly is. Give it a shot, everybody has these items laying around somewhere.

Another picture DIY. As a wine drinker, I can really appreciate this one. Simple enough, you just glue the corks into frames and you're done, just start pinning the pictures. I guess it looks somewhat classy but has the bizzare collage appeal to it. I wouldn't mind hanging a few of these around the house. I guess I'll just have to start drinking more....

How Social Media Has Changed Us

Whether you are an everyday user or simply just browse from time to time, odds are you use one or more social media websites and apps daily. Social media has paved the way for a new way of communication. Gone are the days of e-mail, the horrible ICQ messaging, and the screaming at Yahoo or MSN over their latest update on their messenger that took away some feature you used to love. Now we can simply connect with all of our friends, share pictures with ease, and easily plan events months away. Sounds good, right? It's not always a nice thing.

Facebook Stalking

It's probably happening to you right now.

This is one of my main gripes. Facebook is just getting worse and worse when it comes to this. And it seems with each new update to the massively popular social network, they are throwing more and more of your info out there and making it easier for those creepy people to find you. Whether it be from an ex or that creepy dude still living in his mom's basement, somebody will probably be snooping around on all of your stuff. Remember, a restraining order is just another way of saying I love you!

Annoying Youtubers

Your face, my fist. NOW

I use youtube for mostly music and music videos. Sometimes gaming videos and also the funny stuff people send me from time to time. So why was this...THING and his annoying helium voice popping up on my suggestions? And how in the hell did this spawn an actual movie? I lose faith in humanity. And this one isn't the only one. Even more annoying kids, annoying old people of all colors and creed, thinking they can tell me the news better than NBC, CNN, Fox? No, you're so much better at it, that's why you do it for free. And don't get me started on the people whispering to me each time I record something. "You gonna put that on youtube? Hey man, youtube? Youtube it?" 

Hashtags...

STOP.

 

 

This has got to stop. I can't tell you how many young people come into my store and while we're working, they're too busy typing hashtags about working or posting a picture on facebook with a large amount of these. Stop now, you're killing us all. I get it, that night of partying you did was probably epic. Judging from the pictures and the amount of alcohol I see, your next hashtags should read: #pregnant #free clinic #father #dontneedcollege

 

Social media has definitely changed things, but for the younger generation it seems to be for the worst. Yes, we are all more connected, but  as things become more connected and intertwined, I feel like society loses. We become lazy and the annoying people become even more annoying. I don't need a status update about your bowel movement, why you think Obama is the antichrist, nor will I like and share your pictures. Yes, that must mean I hate babies, Jesus, and all things good and innocent. But for the love of the god, when society spends their times on their phones or pc's and devote their time to this...God help us. Avoid it all.

Online Photo Editing With PicMonkey, PsykoPaint, SumoPaint and BeFunky

PicMonkey

PicMonkey is very easy to use and does the job good. It's basic touch ups are enough for anybody to use and definately beats the basic apps and software installed on your phone and pc. The website is very neat and organized and easy on the eyes but the drawback is most features I want to use are hidden behind a membership fee.

 First picture I chose was this for one simple fact. Upon trying fake mustaches and quickly snapping the picture, I realized my girlfriend's father looked like Adolf Hitler. So why not edit and make the pic look older and black and white? Sure, he'd probably kill me for this, but he won't ever see it...I hope.

PsykoPaint

This is by far, my favorite. PyskoPaint gives you many effects and is very easy to use. The best part is being able to "paint" your pictures in different styles. While doing this, I quickly realized that just like in school, my art skills are that of a two year old. I can still remember my middle school days when I told my art teacher I couldn't draw. "Quality over quantity, Mr. Whitt. Take your time and just draw something!" She didn't like the quality of my single drawings...

What? No Bob Ross? 

 I have only one solid complaint for PyskoPaint, it's the lack of Bob Ross abilities. I found myself brushing back and forth on the pretty little trees on the horizon. Happy little trees! But no, I can't do that because BOB ROSS ISN'T IN THIS LIST. HE'S A LEGEND!

BeFunky

This one is pretty good, especially with a vast amount of effects that aren't behind a membership option. BeFunky has been quite popular on the mobile market due to this fact. Most of the effects are as good as the other sites and doesn't require you to pay. It made touching up photos very simple and required no effort at all to use.                                                                        

The interface is sleek and very easy to use. Sometimes the other sites, especially PsykoPaint would glitch bad on me, the windows wouldn't disappear and some windows had no option to close at all. Yay...

SumoPaint

Where to start with this one. It's robust, has a lot of potential and is very confusing to a first time user like me. I know NOTHING about photo editing and this looked like chinese algebra to me. With that being said, I'm sure these awesome features are very much appreciated by people who are into photo editing and don't have the money to pay for big company apps. I couldn't figure out how to use many of these features, but I did figure out how to blur images even more. Yay for me?

Blurry kitty is blurry.

With all of those compared, I prefer BeFunky for when it comes to editing things. It's simple to use for an amateur like me and doesn't have confusing options and menus. For general fun, I love PyskoPaint. But next time I go there I had damn well better be able to do some Bob Ross stuff or heads are gonna roll.

Photo Sharing Websites

In this post I'll cover a few photo sharing websites using random pictures. These websites are all free to use and very simple once you get the hang of it all. If you can use Facebook, you can use these so there is no sense in not figuring them out.

Photobucket: Photobucket is very easy to use and makes linking even easier. To the right of each image you can view the direct link, HTML, and also IM links to the pictures. Simply clicking on each one will automatically copy the link to your clipboard which is nice. Photobucket's privacy settings are also nice, ensuring that albums or pictures or either public or private. That's always a plus. This is a photo of Dorian, the coolest cat to grace this earth, on top of his throne. While attempting to pick his name I remembered one of my favorite books, The Picture of Dorian Gray. The named seemed fitting for him.

Flicker: I despise anything and everything having to do with Yahoo. I could bitch about this place all day. There was time when Flickr was good, then Yahoo butchered it as they always do. But enough of that. Just like Photobucket, Flickr is easy to use, though it does seem to take a while longer to adjust.. Upon joining Flickr, you will be greeted with others you can follow. Flickr is in a way it's own social network, giving you recommendations of other users to follow and comment on. As always, you can also manage your photos and albums, setting them to either public or private. A few minutes of exploring Flickr and you can find some nice pictures in your brand new social network. YAY!

The hoveround takes me where I wanna go. Where will it send me?

Imageshack: Imageshack has been around for quite a while. It's simple and effective and extremely to use. Much like Photobucket, Imageshack will give you the direct link of your photo right next to it. It doesn't get any easier than this, it's practically showing you how to share the image. A little explanation about this photo. That's me in a Hoveround. And yes, they are as awesome as they look on television. But what makes this one special? Well it has a light for nighttime driving, a very comfy chair, and it has a horn so you can also beep while you back up. Yes, you just read that right. The good people at Hoveround made getting old awesome, and I can't wait to see what they can offer me when I'm old and decrepit. Be jealous...

How Google Changed The World

What started as a project in 1996 quickly blew up and revolutionized the way people communicate, perform everyday tasks, and research. Google started off as a small company but managed to quickly take on all other tech giants and establish themselves in the tech world. This, however was not enough and Google reached out further, entwining  the company into everyday life for all people.

First Google server.

Google's first task in dominance was to create a better search engine than the existing engines. To do this, they had to improve in areas where others were seemingly good at the time, but could do better. Companies such as Yahoo!, AltaVista, Dogpile, AskJeeves, and Excite had already established themselves as the giants. Google did something these others companies did not. They were able to create a simple looking page but catalog and index the web at a must faster pace. Google also displayed much better results for each search than the other companies.Google skyrocketed to fame in a very small amount of time.

Google Earth

 

One of the many famous tools Google employs, Google Earth allows people to zoom in on various locations in the world. This tool was applauded by many and also became a favorite of many people. Favorites included the many bizarre finds people discovered. Crop circle pictures floated across websites and forums, pictures of half naked or fully naked people in their yards surfaced, and of course, the bizarre and explainable pictures made their rounds on many conspiracy theory websites. People everywhere began sharing Google Earth locations.

Google maps also made waves very quickly. It's design was simple, easy to use for any user, and highly accurate for the most part. It did contain it's share of glitches and amusing directions, but the tech giant quickly worked on improving their maps. Google was able to reign supreme in this area and recently Google's rival Apple unveiled their own map application. This was met with much resistance, as Apple's version featured terrible and incorrect directions and was filled full of bugs.

Not always the first to the punch, Apple had became a leader in the cell phone business with it's legion of loyal fans. Google entered the market with similar hardware but at a more affordable price. Google was also more open to users which quickly caught on and Apple's role as the leader in the market diminished. Google's Android phones quickly became leader in the cell phone market.

From everyday computer use, to cell phones and even T.V., Google has fully integrated itself into the world and connected everybody. They have successfully tackled tech giants in new and existing areas. Their e-mail service is the most popular now. Google T.V.'s and Google Tablets and PC's are now selling well and gaining more traction. The company's simplistic but open design has made it a major attraction for their services and hardware. Not only is their hardware fast and aesthetically pleasing, it always comes at an affordable price. This is another area which helps Google truly shine and connect to more individuals each day. There may come a time when an existing company or a new one will truly rival them and maybe even overtake the market but that day is far away.   

Three Awesome Apps

If one thing bothers me, its when people get a pc and make no effort to jazz things up a bit. There's thousands of free alternatives to paid versions of programs out there. Some are just aesthetically pleasing. Others are much more helpful. Here's my list for the top three.

1. Peer Block

What is Peer Block? Peer Block is a software firewall designed to protect you various organizations such as the RIAA and MPAA. When somebody is caught, they are usually sent a letter which contains some IP address. These addresses are that of the organizations who try to ruin your life for downloading a simple item. Peer Block takes the known IP address and adds them to a black list.

Remember to allow http.

Annnnnd it's working.

Peer Block is free and simple to use and might just save your butt. I used to install it on all pc's in my household. I made the mistake of not doing that and suffice to say, I got a nice letter from the good people at the MPAA wanting to send to prison for downloading The Other Guys, which somebody else downloaded in my household. It's now back on all computers. 

Twp warnings though. Upon install, make sure you select "Always allow http" due to the fact that it can cause issues with certain websites. I have noticed lots of glitches with blogger while having http blocked. Also note that this in no way will keep them at bay at all times. This blocks the KNOWN IP addresses of the companies. So don't think you won't get caught simply by using this and downloading every movie and song you want.

2. Recuva

Recuva is one my favorites when it comes to working on computers. There are countless times where you encounter somebody who deleted important stuff or simply lost them due to some strange issue.

Oh my god I lost the very important random picture of roses. Oh wait...

It's quite simple to use and you don't need to be advanced in pc skills to use it. Recuva will show you the files that have been deleted and in many cases, will often show you a screenshot of the files to make it easier. For best results, always recover the files by moving them on to a flash drive, then place them back on the pc or keep it on the drive for safekeeping.

Please remember that no matter what, there are times where Recuva or any other program like this will not recover the specific file you are looking for. Once something is deleted, it's still there but data can be written over it, making it impossible to recover. Once the new data is written, say goodbye to the original file.

3. Rainmeter

My must have for all computers. I'm no fan of Windows at all. It always seems bulky, filled full of trashy programs that I don't want prepackaged on to my pc, and it looks like crap. The widgets are terrible and in some cases, the manufacture of your pc puts in even worse ones. Enter Rainmeter to save me from that hell. It can certainly spruce up any desktop.

Before rainmeter. Boring and just blah. This is after a fresh install of Windows 7.

This is so much better

You can see the difference. The widgets are all customizable. The notes on the right are also useful in reminding me of daily tasks. I have crack baby memory enough as it is so this is an improvement. Everything is customizable and this is just one of many skins and layouts you can use. The best part about Rainmeter is there are hundreds of websites devoted to skins and layouts for it, with thousands for you to pick from. Rainmeter is one of the first things I install when I get a fresh pc. 

That's three damn good apps I use often. Hope you enjoy them.

Nature Is Scary

Random finds around the house.

  

 

The Walking Dead Is Near!!!

The Christopher Walken Dead? I would watch that as well. 1,000 internets to the person who makes this happen.