#asciilifeform | 2021-04-06

watchglass: Polling 15 nodes...

watchglass: 185.85.38.54:8333 : Could not connect!

watchglass: 205.134.172.4:8333 : (172-4.core.ai.net) Alive: (0.022s) V=70001 (/therealbitcoin.org:0.7.0.1/) Jumpers=0x1 (TRB-Compat.) Blocks=678026

watchglass: 185.163.46.29:8333 : Could not connect!

watchglass: 205.134.172.6:8333 : (172-6.core.ai.net) Alive: (0.082s) V=99999 (/therealbitcoin.org:0.9.99.99/) Jumpers=0x1 (TRB-Compat.) Return Addr=0.0.0.0:8333 Blocks=677931

watchglass: 205.134.172.26:8333 : Alive: (0.083s) V=99999 (/therealbitcoin.org:0.9.99.99/) Jumpers=0x1 (TRB-Compat.) Blocks=678026

watchglass: 54.39.156.171:8333 : (ns562940.ip-54-39-156.net) Alive: (0.164s) V=99999 (/therealbitcoin.org:0.9.99.99/) Jumpers=0x1 (TRB-Compat.) Blocks=678026

watchglass: 205.134.172.28:8333 : Alive: (0.083s) V=99999 (/therealbitcoin.org:0.9.99.99/) Jumpers=0x1 (TRB-Compat.) Return Addr=0.0.0.0:8333 Blocks=678005 (Operator: whaack)

watchglass: 208.94.240.42:8333 : Alive: (0.161s) V=99999 (/therealbitcoin.org:0.9.99.99/) Jumpers=0x1 (TRB-Compat.) Blocks=678026

watchglass: 143.202.160.10:8333 : Alive: (0.283s) V=70001 (/therealbitcoin.org:0.7.0.1/) Jumpers=0x1 (TRB-Compat.) Blocks=678026

watchglass: 176.9.59.199:8333 : (static.199.59.9.176.clients.your-server.de) Alive: (0.335s) V=99999 (/therealbitcoin.org:0.9.99.99/) Jumpers=0x1 (TRB-Compat.) Blocks=412036 (Operator: jurov)

watchglass: 213.109.238.156:8333 : Alive: (0.331s) V=99999 (/therealbitcoin.org:0.9.99.99/) Jumpers=0x1 (TRB-Compat.) Blocks=677931

watchglass: 108.31.170.100:8333 : (pool-108-31-170-100.washdc.fios.verizon.net) Alive: (0.545s) V=99999 (/therealbitcoin.org:0.9.99.99/) Jumpers=0x1 (TRB-Compat.) Blocks=677872 (Operator: asciilifeform)

asciilifeform: $ticker btc usd

btcinfobot: Current BTC price in USD: $57921.43

watchglass: 84.16.46.130:8333 : Violated BTC Protocol: Bad header length!

asciilifeform: http://logs.nosuchlabs.com/log/asciilifeform/2021-04-05#1033855 << good idea. recall, i did this w/ 'microwriter'. looking forward to seeing.

snsabot: Logged on 2021-04-05 23:04:51 verisimilitude: I think measuring speed may be best done by making a brief video.

asciilifeform: meanwhile, in lulz.

asciilifeform: ( and variously interesting from same author. )

asciilifeform: 'Bitcoin is not trying to damage or sabotage its opponents, because it isn’t trying anything and it knows no opponents. It has no awareness whatsoever of who might oppose it or why. It is simply an alternative; an exit valve; an opt-out. It is competing only insofar as it is proving to be a far superior alternative. It is not a sword for Theseus to fight the Minotaur, but a thread to follow

asciilifeform: to exit the labyrinth. Bitcoin is Ariadne.'

asciilifeform: 'There will be tremendous value in normalizing this rhetoric amidst the likely growing chorus of opposition desperate to smear Bitcoin as inherently nefarious, or hostile, even. Opponents must be forced to explain what is wrong with people interacting freely, and why true goodness can only follow from coercion, in their understanding. Should those who have found a way out of the unbearable

asciilifeform: labyrinth of capital strip mining not take it? What do they owe the Minotaur?

asciilifeform: '

thimbronion: asciilifeform: I've been following that guy on twitter. Had a spat with one of the dork web dweebs.

asciilifeform: thimbronion: clicked by accident, then thought 'hey, not complete moron!'

verisimilitude: The MicroWriter video is what I'd in mind, yes.

verisimilitude: I really hate seeing anything about these startups being given billions while unprofitable, because it reminds me of how the Lisp machine companies were allowed to die.

verisimilitude: It's awful to read an ARM press release about partial-memory safety in hardware and know they're a band of liars poorly-reimplementing the past.

asciilifeform: verisimilitude: i rec to read the history re e.g. symbolics inc. arguably died ~of~ 'easy billions' (built expensive factories, then 'star wars' closed, buyers ~evaporated)

verisimilitude: I've read some papers about it.

verisimilitude: ``Symbolics: A Failure of Heterogeneous Engineering''

verisimilitude: Still, MicroSoft doesn't face punishment when its software fails; no, the FBI attacks the ``criminals'' instead.

asciilifeform: verisimilitude: see also.

verisimilitude: Yes; it occured to me lately that Cloudflare, et al, have just centralized a distributed system; what a shame this is enough to cut off oxygen to the real thing.

asciilifeform: verisimilitude: making things Actually Permanently Work aint profitable. is the basic idea.

snsabot: Logged on 2020-12-16 14:53:05 asciilifeform: verisimilitude: upstack -- imho it is worth understanding why well-designed, simple, and functional systems remain obscure, while perl/cpp/microshit 'wins'. if more sane folx understood the basics of the underlying civilizational decay which powers this process, would die of cirrosis less often and overall happier imho

asciilifeform: see also.

snsabot: Logged on 2020-08-20 19:16:49 asciilifeform: Aerthean: related reading. it is ~very~ difficult to profit by 'actually Do Right Thing' in engineering, vs. 'convincingly pretend to Do Right Thing' , 'i can't believe it's not butter!' atrocities.

verisimilitude: Yes, I know.

verisimilitude: When I first began my computing journey, I didn't know the extent of the vile rot.

Aerthean: I've found asciilifeform's notion of "the bottle" waiting for every honest engineering type a very real fear. Most days seem spent tilting at windmills, fighting intransigent bureaucracies, sitting in pointless meetings that waste inordinate amounts of time, and dealing with broken artifacts.

verisimilitude: I'm unfamiliar with this, but presume this bottle holds soothing spirits.

verisimilitude: Also, hello, Aerthean; I don't recall if we've had a discussion before.

verisimilitude: My prime struggle is with the machine and its terrible software, not yet others.

Aerthean: @verisimilitude Hi Verisimilitude, I've followed the log but haven't said much recently, life etc.

Aerthean: I've been in the work->gym->home or gym->work->home loop, and it's an uphill battle to do more technical work at home. As you mentioned earlier about failing self-imposed schedules.

verisimilitude: I just exercise at home.

Aerthean: Unfortunately I currently live in an apartment.

verisimilitude: It's been days or weeks since I've had a good hacking session, but I know what I'll do once I get around to it.

verisimilitude: I mean push ups and the like.

Aerthean: Ah, I do a fair amount of different stuff, usually alternating between more olympic lifts / other barbell work and gymnastics.

verisimilitude: Say, have a website, Aerthean?

Aerthean: @verisimilitude Technically yes. I bought a domain via nearly free speech and have it hosted at Linode.

Aerthean: There's nothing there, I use it more for hosting files for myself.

verisimilitude: Oh; that's a tad boring, then.

Aerthean: Sadly yes. When I leave my current technical job in Academia I might start posting.

Aerthean: I've got to run, and won't get a chance to reply to anything until later this evening.

verisimilitude: Say, asciilifeform, I may purchase a new machine, likely a laptop, soon; be there any recommendations for me?

asciilifeform: verisimilitude: x60

asciilifeform: subj.

asciilifeform: that's if you want 'hygienic' box. if not, then just about anyffing you happen to like the shape of, will do.

asciilifeform brb

shinohai: Meanwhile, PR devs making decisions on whether or not to activate "Taproot" via coinflip it seems: https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/bitcoin-dev/2021-April/018742.html

verisimilitude: What's Taproot?

shinohai: verisimilitude: an attempt to add mETHereum features to Bitcoin.

asciilifeform: shinohai: asciilifeform does not historically read this maculature, and doesn't think he missed much thereby

asciilifeform: as pointed out in the linked qntra -- softforkisms are harmless to trb users.

shinohai: What's hilarious to me is 2+ years on and thing is basically still in the vaporware phase.

shinohai: (I'm not entirely convinced what is available now would actually work for 'em)

Aerthean: So is it more of a "marketing" press release? "We're going to do this thing, really, honest! Now give us money!"

Aerthean: Then proceed to the "I'm sorry for your loss" playbook when it doesn't work out

shinohai: Likely sumthin similar

verisimilitude: I wonder if I should consider buying a Chromebook, and if I could meaningully

verisimilitude: I wonder if I should consider buying a Chromebook, and if I could meaningfully disconnect one from the Internet.

asciilifeform: verisimilitude: i rec against. the current intel-infested variants iirc even worse.

verisimilitude: I've never considered such before, but I just want a machine which will actually work.

verisimilitude: Every Thinkpad I've owned has developed serious hardware issues.

verisimilitude: It's exhausting; I want a machine without a fan that can fail, for one.

asciilifeform: verisimilitude: i also want. may want to try 'pinebook' (somewhat kludgy arm64 box, i have one here, tho no civilized linux for it quite yet)

verisimilitude: What's the website for those?

asciilifeform: verisimilitude: https://www.pine64.org/pinebook-pro/

verisimilitude: I appreciate it.

asciilifeform: verisimilitude: may be cheaper (and less wait) 2ndhand

asciilifeform: afaik is closest thing to a terraformable fanless portable box currently made.

asciilifeform bbl