Random News not worthy of own thread

[Morkonan]

This just in:

Giant Bloodsucking Mosquitos Large Enough to Carry Small Children About to Strike Florida

'Bloodsucking vampire' mosquitoes set to haunt Florida

By Tracy Jarrett, Staff Writer, NBC News

Brace yourself Florida, there is a “vampire” in your midst -- and this one is not afraid of the sun.

The giant psorophora ciliata mosquito, which is colloquially known as the gallinipper and is 20 times the size of your average mosquito, is set to plague south and central Florida this summer as the rainy season begins.

While these monsters don’t carry diseases, their intense bite can feel like a knife piercing your skin and leave you with an itchy welt for up to a week.

According to Deby Cassill, an Associate Professor of Biology at Florida State University, these hairy, long-legged pests, originally thought to be from the Mississippi Delta, made their way to Florida after Tropical Storm Debby brought heavy winds and dropped a bucket load of water on the state last year.
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The mosquitos, who migrated with the wind, laid eggs by the billions in the standing water left from the storm, and this year, they are ready to hatch.

“Just like every other mosquito, the females are bloodsucking vampires trying to be good moms and get enough nutrients to produce eggs and the next generation of mosquitos” said Cassill. ....

[ external image ]

It's about the size of a small 747 without the engines... You Floridians need to chain large tires to your children for the next few months, just in case. Oh, and use lots of mosquito repellent, 'cause if one of these starts sucking on your head, you'll probably forget everything you learned in Fourth Grade English class or something...

[burger1]

First 'StarCraft 2' player officially recognized as an athlete by U.S. government
http://www.dailydot.com/esports/kim-vio ... overnment/

Destiny to be released Sept 9 2014.
https://www.bungie.net/7_Destiny-Launch ... ?aid=11318


Free-to-Play MechWarrior Online Offends Players With $500 Golden Mechs
http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/ ... den-mechs/

[OmegaKnight]

Tunnel-boring machine grinds to a halt under Seattle by something called 'The Object'

[Rykuss]

Tunnel-boring machine grinds to a halt under Seattle by something called 'The Object'

The comments in that article are effin' golden!

[burger1]

LEGO Hot Rod: 500,000-Piece Working Replica Runs on Air and can go faster than 18 miles/29 km per hour.

http://weburbanist.com/2013/12/20/lego- ... ns-on-air/

[burger1]

US government sues sprint for overcharging on wire taps - not only are you paying people to spy on you but you are overpaying for it
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-576198 ... &tag=title


Flexcoin a Bitcoin Site Shuts Down After Being Robbed Of Every Single Coin It Held Online
http://www.businessinsider.com/flexcoin-2014-3

[brucewarren]

Now, see this is where I get confused.

How can something that doesn't actually exist get stolen? Surely all they'd have to do is make a few calls to find out who's owed what and reset the computers.

If they can't do that, then perhaps it's time to provide some sort of backup. If hackers can just make off with big piles of wonga just by altering the numbers they've got a serious problem that could render the whole bitcoin system worthless.

[red assassin]

Now, see this is where I get confused.

How can something that doesn't actually exist get stolen? Surely all they'd have to do is make a few calls to find out who's owed what and reset the computers.

If they can't do that, then perhaps it's time to provide some sort of backup. If hackers can just make off with big piles of wonga just by altering the numbers they've got a serious problem that could render the whole bitcoin system worthless.

Bitcoin transactions are cryptographically signed (using some of the same principles as SSL uses to ensure that when you talk to, for example, your bank, you know you're really talking to them). You can't just undo things; you'd need to gain access to the crypt keys belonging to the criminals and use those to return the money. (This is something that might be achievable by court order if the criminals are caught.) Bitcoin is actually more secure in this way than real money is; that a transaction has happened is publicly verified and provable, by being cryptographically signed into the block chain. (With real money you're basically reliant on your bank's word.)

What appears to have happened to FlexCoin is that attackers got hold of the crypt keys used for their bitcoin wallets and used those to transfer all the money out. Simple as that.
What happened recently to MtGOX was more complicated, and an attack analogous to exploiting people using money from cheques before the cheque's actually cleared.

At any rate, neither of these are problems in any way confined to bitcoin - the first is like an attacker getting hold of your online banking password and other security data, and the second is similar to any number of real money scams involving people thinking a transaction has gone through before it's really been confirmed as going through.

[brucewarren]

Thanks for that.

It's still worrying though. You wouldn't expect crypt keys to be left lying around. Unless someone was overconfident and got lazy.

Also, I just found this-

We have taken every precaution to defend your bitcoins from hackers and/or intruders. However, Flexcoin Inc is not responsible for insuring any bitcoins stored in the Flexcoin system. You are entering into this agreement with Flexcoin Inc. You agree to not hold Flexcoin Inc, or Flexcoin Inc's stakeholders, or Flexcoin Inc's shareholders liable for any lost bitcoins.

High street banks can't do that.

EDIT:

Apparently Mt. Gov customers aren't going to take the collapse lying down. According to this in the Telegraph some sort of lawsuit is being planned. I've never heard of a Class Action suit being launched from the UK, but I suppose there's a first time for everything.

[red assassin]

Thanks for that.

It's still worrying though. You wouldn't expect crypt keys to be left lying around. Unless someone was overconfident and got lazy.

Also, I just found this-

We have taken every precaution to defend your bitcoins from hackers and/or intruders. However, Flexcoin Inc is not responsible for insuring any bitcoins stored in the Flexcoin system. You are entering into this agreement with Flexcoin Inc. You agree to not hold Flexcoin Inc, or Flexcoin Inc's stakeholders, or Flexcoin Inc's shareholders liable for any lost bitcoins.

High street banks can't do that.

EDIT:

Apparently Mt. Gov customers aren't going to take the collapse lying down. According to this in the Telegraph some sort of lawsuit is being planned. I've never heard of a Class Action suit being launched from the UK, but I suppose there's a first time for everything.

The application needs access to its own crypt keys in order to make transactions. That means the crypt keys have to be somewhere that is at some level accessible from the web (client makes withdrawal request -> some process happens -> something uses the crypt keys to issue the funds transfer). They shouldn't be just "lying around", as you put it, but they also can't be fully isolated, which means through some combination of sufficiently skilled attacker and/or sufficiently poor security, they can be accessed.

This isn't to say that FlexCoin didn't screw something up, mind, but it's hard to tell whether it was a minor screwup and a clever attacker, or a really big screwup.

I wouldn't like to speculate on the liability situation. What laws exactly might apply in any given jurisdiction is a complicated question. It's worth noting that anyone with any sense trading bitcoins doesn't leave their money with the exchanges, because there are far too many things that could go wrong - you move some in when you want to trade with it and return it to your own account asap afterwards.

[Morkonan]

...I wouldn't like to speculate on the liability situation. What laws exactly might apply in any given jurisdiction is a complicated question. It's worth noting that anyone with any sense trading bitcoins doesn't leave their money with the exchanges, because there are far too many things that could go wrong - you move some in when you want to trade with it and return it to your own account asap afterwards.

This raises an interesting question - How do you value a BitCoin in litigation?

Is there any financial entity that actually posts a legally defensible exchange rate for BitCoins?

Precedence might be found in past lawsuits regarding "in-game currency" cases. IIRC, there have been several of those in Japan and Korea, where "players", equitable to BitCoin exchange members, have sued over the loss of in-game currency, like "gold" in World of Warcraft, etc.

It may sound like a no-brainer, since there is a "recognized" exchange rate offered by those who accept BitCoins, I guess. But, legally, how do you form the necessary instruments to proceed with bringing a case. For instance, "My client has lost five-hundred thousand US Dollars worth of BitCoins due to the defendant's negligence." At that point, the first question out of the judge's mouth is likely to be "How do you substantiate the valuation of your defendant's losses?"

[red assassin]

This raises an interesting question - How do you value a BitCoin in litigation?

Is there any financial entity that actually posts a legally defensible exchange rate for BitCoins?

Precedence might be found in past lawsuits regarding "in-game currency" cases. IIRC, there have been several of those in Japan and Korea, where "players", equitable to BitCoin exchange members, have sued over the loss of in-game currency, like "gold" in World of Warcraft, etc.

It may sound like a no-brainer, since there is a "recognized" exchange rate offered by those who accept BitCoins, I guess. But, legally, how do you form the necessary instruments to proceed with bringing a case. For instance, "My client has lost five-hundred thousand US Dollars worth of BitCoins due to the defendant's negligence." At that point, the first question out of the judge's mouth is likely to be "How do you substantiate the valuation of your defendant's losses?"

I honestly have no idea.

The closest thing I can think of to that is the current tax guidance from HMRC in the UK, which states that tax is assessed on BitCoin transactions based on "the sterling value of the cryptocurrency at the point the transaction takes place", but it doesn't go into more detail on how that should be calculated.

Regulation in this sort of area is definitely still evolving, however.

[Morkonan]

....The closest thing I can think of to that is the current tax guidance from HMRC in the UK, which states that tax is assessed on BitCoin transactions based on "the sterling value of the cryptocurrency at the point the transaction takes place", but it doesn't go into more detail on how that should be calculated.

Regulation in this sort of area is definitely still evolving, however.

And, even a government giving advice on taxes leaves it up to... a third party?

Isn't that nuts?

"Excuse me, but you must pay the taxes on 12,763 BitCoins."
"Sure, no problem. Let's see, the website "BitCoin Bay" say's that is worth exactly - 345,987 pounds, sterling. Gee, that's too bad for you, negative worth and all. Sorry about that. But, since I only take cash, cough it up right now, pencil-neck!"
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Yeah, to say that "regulation is developing" seems to be slightly understating what the problems might be. We've got people litigating it, people paying taxes on it, institutions exchanging real currency for it, but there's no legally accepted regulatory body that sets a legally defensible exchange rate?

There might be one, but if there is, someone is going to challenge it, soon, just as a matter of principle.

[red assassin]

And, even a government giving advice on taxes leaves it up to... a third party?

Isn't that nuts?

"Excuse me, but you must pay the taxes on 12,763 BitCoins."
"Sure, no problem. Let's see, the website "BitCoin Bay" say's that is worth exactly - 345,987 pounds, sterling. Gee, that's too bad for you, negative worth and all. Sorry about that. But, since I only take cash, cough it up right now, pencil-neck!"
"><"

Yeah, to say that "regulation is developing" seems to be slightly understating what the problems might be. We've got people litigating it, people paying taxes on it, institutions exchanging real currency for it, but there's no legally accepted regulatory body that sets a legally defensible exchange rate?

There might be one, but if there is, someone is going to challenge it, soon, just as a matter of principle.

"Real" currency exchange rates are just the currency values on the foreign exchange market, though, which is run by banks which are fundamentally third parties to any given government.

[brucewarren]

The thing is though, governments care about their own currency. Banks are expected to make good any losses to customers and there are all sorts of regulations.

If virtual currencies remain unregulated, I think people will lose confidence in the whole thing. I doesn't appear to have happened yet, but if nothing is done to reassure users that their investments are safe, how long before people say "screw this for a game of soldiers, I'm putting it all into Dollars" ? (or Euros or even Pounds Sterling)

[red assassin]

The thing is though, governments care about their own currency. Banks are expected to make good any losses to customers and there are all sorts of regulations.

If virtual currencies remain unregulated, I think people will lose confidence in the whole thing. I doesn't appear to have happened yet, but if nothing is done to reassure users that their investments are safe, how long before people say "screw this for a game of soldiers, I'm putting it all into Dollars" ? (or Euros or even Pounds Sterling)

As I say, as things stand at the moment, you have to be pretty daft to leave your money in an exchange account long-term, because there's too much risk of the exchange going under. But that's not a fundamental problem of the system, that's a problem with the rather jury-rigged early exchanges. Unlike with ordinary money, you don't have to rely on a third party to make long-distance transactions, which is one of the major attractions of cryptocurrencies. Store your money in your own Bitcoin wallet and you're reliant on nobody's security but your own, and you can transfer money to any other Bitcoin wallet. If you want to trade, then move the money you want to trade into an exchange, make the trade, and move it out again.

Security worries aren't really an impediment to investment anyway; it's just part of the potential risk of trading (along with the market collapsing, etc). There are high risks but potentially also high rewards. The same applies to all manner of hedge funds and the like. If you want a relatively safe investment, you don't put your money in a startup or in Bitcoins, but you don't expect to make loads of money off it either.

Of course, cryptocurrency-focused regulation is inevitably going to happen, but the lack of it isn't going to kill it off.

[Morkonan]

..."Real" currency exchange rates are just the currency values on the foreign exchange market, though, which is run by banks which are fundamentally third parties to any given government.

Yes, banks trade in currency.

But, suppose I'm not a bank. Suppose I am, instead, a government? Suppose I say that no exchange shall take place within my borders, within any institution that requires license from my agencies in which to operate within my lands and that no form of your currency shall be recognized as legitimate as long as the stars are in the sky...

Well, then, if you're another nation, you say that if I do this thing, you will do the same to my currency and my people. Further, you say that you will not allow any trade from my nation to yours and none of your ships will carry goods to my lands. You will expel my people, take over their banks and businesses and close your borders to them.

But, if you're "BitCoin", you say nothing.

Money is worth what someone is willing to trade for it. BitCoin has an interesting model - It's worth is based on its use. That's neat, as it doesn't rely on assets or trade standards or even the general economic health of a Nation. In some ways, it's like the US Dollar. But, behind the US Dollar is the "full faith and credit of the United States." Behind BitCoin... Well, the more you spend, the more its worth. And, if you can't spend it?

I'm not saying it will happen. I'm saying that it's a very interesting situation.

[Usenko]

It's an interesting thing - we never really think much about what a currency IS. But it IS a percentage of the wealth of the country that issues it.

An Australian dollar is a tiny portion of Australia's wealth. We never really worry about that, because the wealth of Australia has been fairly consistant over the years (we haven't had any really major dramas with the dollar since the Great Depression, although we have the occasional fluctuation of its value). But the reason a dollar is able to buy goods and services from Australia's people is the tacit acceptance that it is backed by Australia.

Because that backing has remained rock solid for most of our lifetimes (and the same with British pounds, AMerican dollars, German deutschmarks, French Francs and now Euro), we've all but forgotten that there IS a backing. When things go well, you don't need to think about it.

Bitcoin's problem is that it HAS no backing. So when things go bad, there's no reason for someone to take bitcoins; no country is saying "It's okay, I'll pick up the tab".

[Morkonan]

...Bitcoin's problem is that it HAS no backing.

As I understand it, it is it's own backing - The more it is used, the more valuable it becomes. However, there are limits, especially if the bottom drops out. There's really no safety-net available for that. For instance, if people "lose faith" in it, it's value drops. It's not like losing faith in the Austrailan dollar - Australia is still there.

So when things go bad, there's no reason for someone to take bitcoins; no country is saying "It's okay, I'll pick up the tab".

Exactly so - There is no entity that can make "good" on a BitCoin. A bank can do it, sure. But, if the bank sees little or no value in it, they are not going to want to hold onto it. There's no national entity with a Federal Reserve for BitCoin out there. (Sort of like the argument for/against the old standard. But, at least that turned out fairly well... so far. )

I'm sure that my reasoning on the issue is simplistic, considering the possibly complexities of electronic currency. But, if I think like this, perhaps others think like this as well. And, if BitCoin's value is based on use and people start straying from it because of doubts like this, then it will decrease in value.

I'm sure there's a book someone has written on the subject. It may be worth looking up one, just to see what's really going on.

[OmegaKnight]

Waves on another world, possibly?
2cm ripples in a methane\ethane lake on Saturn's moon Titan.

sticking with the science stuff,

you can view the usage of NASA's Deep Space Network with this webpage that just went up.

And unfortunately this website looks like its about to be closed,
it lets you monitor real time data from the ISS,
go on, you know you want to feed your inner nerd