We need to learn quickly to keep up with the massive change around us so we don't get run over. We need to outrun change.
Two federal law enforcement officers have now entered guilty pleas to charges they stole bitcoins from the Silk Road site while they were part of the investigation of the site. Other articles on Silk Road and the we-don’t-have-to-say-allegedly corrupt federal agents can be seen on the tag worlds far away I will never visit. The … Continue reading “Second federal agent pleads guilty to stealing bitcoins from Silk Road”
The Wall Street Journal features a brief debate today asking Do Cryptocurrencies Such as Bitcoin Have a Future? If you haven’t thought about the idea of Bitcoins much and don’t know what cryptocurrencies are, the Yes and No positions will provide a lot of brain expanding ideas. If you have pondered the issue enough to sorta’ kinda’ … Continue reading “Primer on Bitcoins and Cryptocurrencies”
While looking at the sentencing of former Secret Service agent Shaun W. Bridges I learned a few more details of what he was up to while looting hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bitcoins. His sentencing is one of the loose ends on my posts about the Silk Road dark web site where you … Continue reading “Additional follow-up on former Secret Service agent’s theft from Silk Road dark web site”
One more loose end on my reporting of the drug/body parts/contract hit/weapons/fake ID/explosives dark web site Silk Road: sentencing for Shaun W. Bridges. Update: After getting ready for followup to this post, I realized those are actually separate discussions. Thus, there will be no ‘part 2’ for this post. He is the former Secret Service … Continue reading “More sentencing details on Silk Road dark web site – part 1”
Several recent articles provide more background on Bitcoin and other blockchain tools. For your daily brain stretching: Blockchain as a possible tool for fast and cheap international payments China is working to restrict blockchain transactions Central banks ponder issuing of their own virtual currencies Tax status of blockchain transactions and the IRS is out fishing … Continue reading “More explanations of virtual currencies and possible applications”
This page gathers together a series of posts written over a period of several years describing the dark net world of Silk Road, a place where you could by any drugs, weapons, explosives, or body parts you might be interested in. This venture did not end well for the founder/operator of the site. He now … Continue reading “Articles on Silk Road – drug peddling site in the ‘dark web’ – part 1”
This series of posts from my blog address the Silk Road drug peddling site. Particular focus is on what happens when someone has no frame of reference for making moral decisions other that what is in one’s own mind. How do you make moral decisions if you have no frame of reference other than … Continue reading “On the lack of moral framework – Silk Road part 2”
Two of the feds working on the Silk Road investigation went rogue. That did not turn out well for them. This is part 7 of a discussion of Silk Road, as described in, American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road, written by Nick Bilton. Check out parts one, two, … Continue reading “It didn’t end well for two of the feds investigating Silk Road. The tale of Silk Road, part 7.”
Let’s see where he ended up with this Be-Your-Own-God routine. The feds busted one recipient of a pound of cocaine. He was a moderator on the Silk Road site. The feds kept this guy under wraps. Dread Pirate Roberts, who also went by DPR, concluded that this person, who worked for Silk Road, had absconded … Continue reading “How do you make moral decisions if you have no frame of reference other than your own opinion? The tale of Silk Road, part 3.”
Haven’t had an update on regulatory oversight of the recreational marijuana market in a while. With Nevada now allowing the sale of recreational marijuana, it is time to check out the regulatory world. As readers of this blog already know, I am watching developments in Colorado and Oregon for the newly state-legal recreational use of … Continue reading “Nevada joins the list of states allowing sales of recreational marijuana with heavy taxes on sales – #29”
Just like technology is constantly being used in ever more exciting ways, technology is also being used in ever more scary ways. A few articles illustrating the downside: Hotel hacked by ransomware, locking guests in rooms Police surveillance cameras hacked with ransomware Software to help plagiarists evade plagiarism detection software Cloning voice patterns to create … Continue reading “More on the downside of technology innovation”
This post continues the coverage of worlds far away I’ll never visit. It is also in the you can’t make this stuff up category. I previously discussed a federal DEA agent investigating Silk Road who allegedly got $100K from Dread Pirate Roberts for information about the investigation the agent was conducting and allegedly stole $297K … Continue reading “We can change alleged to confessed when talking about the corrupt DEA investigator of Silk Road”
One thread of discussions on this blog are worlds far away that I’ll never approach within distance of a light year. The only way I can get a glimpse of those places is with the super long distance telescope of the Internet. Oh yeah, in case you were wondering what direction to aim your spaceship … Continue reading “More weird stories from worlds far away I’ll never visit”
The frontiers of private space travel, technology innovations, and the education revolution are amazing to watch. Here are a few articles that caught my eye that I thought are worth a mention of the frontiers that are wide open today: Space 4/14 – Popular Mechanics – Elon Musk: Falcon 9 Landed “Too Hard for … Continue reading “More good stuff on open frontiers – 4/17”