Not to mention that most of those coffee houses serve absolute crap for coffee and overcharge for it. Hey, at least people get cute baristas once in awhile.
That's actually all a bit subjective. A lot of them typically serve a darker roast than most Americans usually go for; a dark roast is easier to produce a consistent experience for, which if coffee is your game, you want a cup to taste the same in every venue. Lighter roasts tend to vary batch to batch and are more dependent on bean quality.
Sure, the quality is not going to match what you make in your French press at home, but it's going to be on average better quality than your average fast food place like McDonalds or Burger King.
As for being overpriced... yeah it is, if you're going for coffee. If you're getting a take-out, you're being royally ripped off. I almost never go, because I don't want to pay that much. What you're really paying for is the experience... convenience to some degree, but you can get a cheaper cup at McDonalds or one of those other low quality food places.
Most Starbucks have a comfortable "living-room" like atmosphere. They're trying to attract people who want to have a home-like comfort away from home on neutral turf. Somewhere where friends can meet, sip, and talk. If, like me, you're friendless, alone-in the world, etc... there is no experience to be had... it's a rip off.
If you're June, Mum of 7 kids, wanting to escape your wretched life, you call up your buddy April, make a date on the calendar and go to starbucks where you over pay for coffee to rent a free living room to sit and talk in away from the kids.
As for cute baristas... that's just a myth perpetuated by TV shows. They're all ugly.
This for Apple is what the burning batteries was for Samsung.
You're pretty much guaranteed to make a major snafu every once in a while if you're a big tech company. The scary thing is when a snafu occurs when controlling a power plant, or a weapons system, or something that could be used as a weapon.
why would you want to criminalize someone for naming an access point?
Because they may name it "Armenian genocide" or "Kurdistan".
So, my good neighbors, the Turks -i am a Greek...!-, have laws to prosecute (/persecute) anyone mentioning such (and much more) "anti-Turkish things". One great example is that women can not wear cloths colored in a way that if combined may resemble the flag of Kurdistan! And please remember: you may not be a Turk, not ever being in Turkey, but, if you publicize something about the Armenian genocide, you may end up with an international arrest warrant...
The situation in Turkey is a real shame. At one point they were a democratic nation, knocking on the door to the EU, access to which would have ended up in being a firm democratic step into the middle east. Now they're held hostage by a tyrant and a one party state with more journalists in jail than any other country.
Turkey is a real craphole at the moment (and I say this as someone who is a little bit Turk myself).
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Get out now. This is pure bubble speculation. There is nothing holding BC up other than people's irrational behavior. If this isn't a sign that BC is in a bubble then nothing else is. The whole thing is going to come tumbling down hard and fast.
Even if it is "bubble speculation", those who got in when it was $2 could have been advised to get out when it hit $100, or $200, or $500, or $1,000, or $5,000, or $10,000. If you've "said it before" a year ago, those people are now 5 times richer if they ignored your advice. Since we avoided the psychological $10,000 barrier (which did show a big drop afterwards), the next big psychological barrier is $20k. If I had BTC myself now, I wouldn't sell until it got close to $20k now.
The truth is, we don't know when a correction will occur. The entrance of big banks and investment firms probably means the value will stabilize. It will still swing, but less wildly. A complete "burst" will probably never happen now... but it's also likely there won't be any "invest $1000 and become rich in a few years" stories anymore either.
It's too late to make money, and odds are, short term, if you invest now, you will lose money. The entrance of long-term players and less likely to panic players like banks means that the value will stabilize- even if there is nothing backing it up besides public perception. Public perception is all that makes any modern currency have any value.
so wall-street will now let you bet on the price of bitcoin as well as buy derivatives but isnt yet offering the actual product itself?
please tell me how this isnt gambling, heck, even the summary says that this might be a bubble. but hos does this make bitcoin more mainstream? there are not more people trading it, they are just betting on it and its performance.
the volatility and transaction time of the block chain is what will keep it from being a payment currency, but tip of the had to square for trying.
Trading stocks IS gambling. Starting a new company IS gambling.
It might pay off, it might flop; you never know.
The difference between stock trading, and investing in "bitcoin" or starting a new company is; you're investing your money with some knowledge and forethought. It's not based on rolling a dice, or what card comes off the deck next- it's based upon reading society.
It seems like everyone is buying into the Bitcoin hype these days.
Even non-techies are asking me why I didn't tell them to invest in bitcoin 5 years ago. I shrug and say I didn't receive payment in them for services rendered, nor have a high end graphics card and free electricity to mine, didn't want to end up on an ASIO watchlist and probably would have had my wallet hacked or coins stolen from an exchange.
As I've postulated on another thread... the odds of bitcoin taking off like this were pretty unlikely. It's not the first digital currency, probably not even the best designed digital currency (although, you have to agree it's proven itself workable). The odds of Bitcoin taking off like it has would have looked (and did look) pretty remote to most people. Without the black market in the early years, it probably wouldn't have survived.
In hindsight, Bitcoin would have been a really smart investment (if you didn't lose you money from lost keys, theft, hacking, etc) however, rewind the clock, reroll the dice, etc... Bitcoin would probably still be a poor investment. It was more likely to fail than become the success story it has become.
Ladbrokes are also offering futures based on Bitcoin, making Bitcoin a totally legit currency. In Ladbrokes case they issue currency.... erm a slip, too.
"but bitcoin is probably here to stay, even if this is just a bubble"
Yeh right, bubbles that stay, got it. Can I buy a Windows phone in Second Life with my Bitcoins?
With serious banks and stock exchanges getting involved in Bitcoin, it's future does look more likely to be long term.
Of course, professionals getting involved probably means the days of rapid growth (and decline) may be about to come to an end. It's almost too late to get rich from bitcoin now. If you wanted to be a bitcoin millionaire the days for investing are gone.
We have seven cats. There is a wide range of intelligence among them. The social order is complex and the 'alpha' cat is actually physically the one of the smallest.
Male cats are usually larger than females; but females are usually the more aggressive and "alpha" in a group of cats. In every mixed gender cat-household I've known (including ours of 5 cats), it's always been a female cat that bosses all the others around. Our 20 year old 5.5lb female that is deaf, almost blind, and has arthritis and can barely walk still manages to instill fear into our 14lb Maine Coon female and 18lb Turkish Van male (and a 7lb male and a 6lb female shorthair).
She's tiny, but she's old and mean (to other cats... she loves people). Back when she was younger and went outside she used to chase dogs off our property.
They can't determine if a photo is unique unless they don't really delete the photo from their servers. (They probably keep a "fingerprint" of the photo, which would be the most valuable part for spying on people anyway.)
How difficult is it to slightly modify a picture of a face to make a new "fingerprint". This sounds less about security and more about personal invasion.
asking whether social media is "a net benefit to American society"
Arguably, most people's lives would probably be better off without social media creeping in like a drug. However, with that said, it's up to the individual if they cut off facebook or keep using it. The unwritten googolth amendment to the constitution is "the right to be a moron".
I'm surprised Blu is still around. Surely after the multiple spyware discoveries and all the other crap surrounding Blu, there isn't anyone left that doesn't know to avoid Blu.
Smartphone charges could probably last two weeks or more, IF they were not being used as personal video streaming devices. People demand a smartphone does everything for them now. Turn off features, cut out 90% of the extraneous bullshit, and (spoiler alert!) battery life would likely increase ten-fold.
I don't play videos on my phone. I surf the web a lot on my phone. Bluetooth off, location tracking off... etc. Have a pretty hefty battery (why I picked it). A year of use, and I can't make it through the day anymore without charging. I don't have too much crap installed either. I do use mine for the basics.
For not buying early on? Yeah, anyone could potentially have become a millionaire by buying a bunch when it was dirt cheap- on one hand, I regret not being a BTC millionaire now; however, I still think the odds of a scheme like this taking off was pretty low. BTC just beat the odds. If we rewound the clock to 2008 and rolled the dice again, BTC most likely wouldn't be the success it is now.
Bitcoin wasn't the first or last digital currency, it's the one that got the most attention without being completely flawed. There are hundreds of worthless cryptocurrencies and only one Bitcoin (BTC bitcoin).
Slashdot Mirror
So... you'd pay for a place to go and wait for someone while using the WiFi?
I think I just had an idea for a business.
Perhaps you could serve them coffee too.
Not to mention that most of those coffee houses serve absolute crap for coffee and overcharge for it. Hey, at least people get cute baristas once in awhile.
That's actually all a bit subjective. A lot of them typically serve a darker roast than most Americans usually go for; a dark roast is easier to produce a consistent experience for, which if coffee is your game, you want a cup to taste the same in every venue. Lighter roasts tend to vary batch to batch and are more dependent on bean quality.
Sure, the quality is not going to match what you make in your French press at home, but it's going to be on average better quality than your average fast food place like McDonalds or Burger King.
As for being overpriced... yeah it is, if you're going for coffee. If you're getting a take-out, you're being royally ripped off. I almost never go, because I don't want to pay that much. What you're really paying for is the experience... convenience to some degree, but you can get a cheaper cup at McDonalds or one of those other low quality food places.
Most Starbucks have a comfortable "living-room" like atmosphere. They're trying to attract people who want to have a home-like comfort away from home on neutral turf. Somewhere where friends can meet, sip, and talk. If, like me, you're friendless, alone-in the world, etc... there is no experience to be had... it's a rip off.
If you're June, Mum of 7 kids, wanting to escape your wretched life, you call up your buddy April, make a date on the calendar and go to starbucks where you over pay for coffee to rent a free living room to sit and talk in away from the kids.
As for cute baristas... that's just a myth perpetuated by TV shows. They're all ugly.
This for Apple is what the burning batteries was for Samsung.
You're pretty much guaranteed to make a major snafu every once in a while if you're a big tech company. The scary thing is when a snafu occurs when controlling a power plant, or a weapons system, or something that could be used as a weapon.
As long as it's just phones and laptops we're OK.
Eventually winter will bring ice zombies from the frozen north and doom all of humanity.
Canadians aren't THAT bad.
Local governments don't control wireless comms.
They can block who can put up a tower.
why would you want to criminalize someone for naming an access point?
Because they may name it "Armenian genocide" or "Kurdistan".
So, my good neighbors, the Turks -i am a Greek...!-, have laws to prosecute (/persecute) anyone mentioning such (and much more) "anti-Turkish things". One great example is that women can not wear cloths colored in a way that if combined may resemble the flag of Kurdistan! And please remember: you may not be a Turk, not ever being in Turkey, but, if you publicize something about the Armenian genocide, you may end up with an international arrest warrant...
The situation in Turkey is a real shame. At one point they were a democratic nation, knocking on the door to the EU, access to which would have ended up in being a firm democratic step into the middle east. Now they're held hostage by a tyrant and a one party state with more journalists in jail than any other country.
Turkey is a real craphole at the moment (and I say this as someone who is a little bit Turk myself).
"Get out" how, exactly? Who will pay $10,000 US for a bitcoin?
People are paying $10,000. They're actually paying $11,000 now. That's why it is exchanging at that value. People ARE paying that much.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Get out now. This is pure bubble speculation. There is nothing holding BC up other than people's irrational behavior. If this isn't a sign that BC is in a bubble then nothing else is. The whole thing is going to come tumbling down hard and fast.
Even if it is "bubble speculation", those who got in when it was $2 could have been advised to get out when it hit $100, or $200, or $500, or $1,000, or $5,000, or $10,000. If you've "said it before" a year ago, those people are now 5 times richer if they ignored your advice. Since we avoided the psychological $10,000 barrier (which did show a big drop afterwards), the next big psychological barrier is $20k. If I had BTC myself now, I wouldn't sell until it got close to $20k now.
The truth is, we don't know when a correction will occur. The entrance of big banks and investment firms probably means the value will stabilize. It will still swing, but less wildly. A complete "burst" will probably never happen now... but it's also likely there won't be any "invest $1000 and become rich in a few years" stories anymore either.
It's too late to make money, and odds are, short term, if you invest now, you will lose money. The entrance of long-term players and less likely to panic players like banks means that the value will stabilize- even if there is nothing backing it up besides public perception. Public perception is all that makes any modern currency have any value.
so wall-street will now let you bet on the price of bitcoin as well as buy derivatives but isnt yet offering the actual product itself?
please tell me how this isnt gambling, heck, even the summary says that this might be a bubble. but hos does this make bitcoin more mainstream? there are not more people trading it, they are just betting on it and its performance.
the volatility and transaction time of the block chain is what will keep it from being a payment currency, but tip of the had to square for trying.
Trading stocks IS gambling. Starting a new company IS gambling.
It might pay off, it might flop; you never know.
The difference between stock trading, and investing in "bitcoin" or starting a new company is; you're investing your money with some knowledge and forethought. It's not based on rolling a dice, or what card comes off the deck next- it's based upon reading society.
American Airlines Accidentally Let Too Many Pilots Take Off The Holidays (npr.org)
Merry Xmas Delta.
It seems like everyone is buying into the Bitcoin hype these days.
Even non-techies are asking me why I didn't tell them to invest in bitcoin 5 years ago. I shrug and say I didn't receive payment in them for services rendered, nor have a high end graphics card and free electricity to mine, didn't want to end up on an ASIO watchlist and probably would have had my wallet hacked or coins stolen from an exchange.
As I've postulated on another thread... the odds of bitcoin taking off like this were pretty unlikely. It's not the first digital currency, probably not even the best designed digital currency (although, you have to agree it's proven itself workable). The odds of Bitcoin taking off like it has would have looked (and did look) pretty remote to most people. Without the black market in the early years, it probably wouldn't have survived.
In hindsight, Bitcoin would have been a really smart investment (if you didn't lose you money from lost keys, theft, hacking, etc) however, rewind the clock, reroll the dice, etc... Bitcoin would probably still be a poor investment. It was more likely to fail than become the success story it has become.
Ladbrokes are also offering futures based on Bitcoin, making Bitcoin a totally legit currency. In Ladbrokes case they issue currency.... erm a slip, too.
"but bitcoin is probably here to stay, even if this is just a bubble"
Yeh right, bubbles that stay, got it. Can I buy a Windows phone in Second Life with my Bitcoins?
With serious banks and stock exchanges getting involved in Bitcoin, it's future does look more likely to be long term.
Of course, professionals getting involved probably means the days of rapid growth (and decline) may be about to come to an end. It's almost too late to get rich from bitcoin now. If you wanted to be a bitcoin millionaire the days for investing are gone.
We have seven cats. There is a wide range of intelligence among them. The social order is complex and the 'alpha' cat is actually physically the one of the smallest.
Male cats are usually larger than females; but females are usually the more aggressive and "alpha" in a group of cats. In every mixed gender cat-household I've known (including ours of 5 cats), it's always been a female cat that bosses all the others around. Our 20 year old 5.5lb female that is deaf, almost blind, and has arthritis and can barely walk still manages to instill fear into our 14lb Maine Coon female and 18lb Turkish Van male (and a 7lb male and a 6lb female shorthair).
She's tiny, but she's old and mean (to other cats... she loves people). Back when she was younger and went outside she used to chase dogs off our property.
Sightings of bigfoot are also probably sightings of bears walking upright.
I disagree.
Sightings of bears are really yetis walking on all four.
It would be pretty funny if people started all using a slightly munged photo of Mark Zuckerberg.
I'm tempted to create a facebook account just to do this!
Call Myself: Berg Zuckermark
It would be pretty funny if people started all using a slightly munged photo of Mark Zuckerberg.
I'm tempted to create a facebook account just to do this!
They can't determine if a photo is unique unless they don't really delete the photo from their servers. (They probably keep a "fingerprint" of the photo, which would be the most valuable part for spying on people anyway.)
How difficult is it to slightly modify a picture of a face to make a new "fingerprint". This sounds less about security and more about personal invasion.
I know a lot of people that have deleted their facebook account. A few go back after a short while, the rest say they're happier without it.
asking whether social media is "a net benefit to American society"
Arguably, most people's lives would probably be better off without social media creeping in like a drug. However, with that said, it's up to the individual if they cut off facebook or keep using it. The unwritten googolth amendment to the constitution is "the right to be a moron".
Were you expecting to reboot and get a free bonus life?
I'm waiting for the hashtag #blulivesmatter
I'm surprised Blu is still around. Surely after the multiple spyware discoveries and all the other crap surrounding Blu, there isn't anyone left that doesn't know to avoid Blu.
Smartphone charges could probably last two weeks or more, IF they were not being used as personal video streaming devices. People demand a smartphone does everything for them now. Turn off features, cut out 90% of the extraneous bullshit, and (spoiler alert!) battery life would likely increase ten-fold.
I don't play videos on my phone. I surf the web a lot on my phone. Bluetooth off, location tracking off... etc. Have a pretty hefty battery (why I picked it). A year of use, and I can't make it through the day anymore without charging. I don't have too much crap installed either. I do use mine for the basics.
How many Lindsay Lohan's can I buy with 1 BTC?
One more than anyone could possibly ever want.
I'm still kicking myself.
For not buying early on? Yeah, anyone could potentially have become a millionaire by buying a bunch when it was dirt cheap- on one hand, I regret not being a BTC millionaire now; however, I still think the odds of a scheme like this taking off was pretty low. BTC just beat the odds. If we rewound the clock to 2008 and rolled the dice again, BTC most likely wouldn't be the success it is now.
Bitcoin wasn't the first or last digital currency, it's the one that got the most attention without being completely flawed. There are hundreds of worthless cryptocurrencies and only one Bitcoin (BTC bitcoin).
... I don't give a shit about BTC.
I do however, wonder if Lindsay Lohan is in rehab or if Pokemon Go is still a thing.
You can use BTC to buy both Pokémon Go and Lindsay Lohan.