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Entering and escaping the Bitcoin universe

I am filled with self-loathing when I catch ownself reading things I have no right to consume.

I am filled with self-loathing when I catch ownself reading things I have no right to consume. 

No, no, no dear diary, I’m not talking pornography, I’m talking about spending very precious time reading and learning a bunch of stuff in which I have no interest, or shouldn’t have any interest. But, sometimes, curiosity just gets the best of me. It’s a hazard in this trade. 

So there I was, in the middle of a busy day, spending time with online reporter Shelly Palmer of the Verge who had written about the growing problems within the Bitcoin universe. 

Bitcoins, are the sort-of legal tender within the cyberworld, and not unlike those of us who still insist on working with our polyester Botox bills as well as cheques, credit and debit cards, they undergo challenges. 

In my world of cash as I know it, the threats come from unscrupulous commodity and stock traders, the Bernie Madoffs of the world and unfair banking practices and guys with guns and knives who take money from cash registers. 

Our real world money is supposed to be backed by our country’s ability to produce and sell things and then buy things. It used to be based on gold, but that was long ago. In fact Canada doesn’t even have any gold in storage now, so you’re on our own dear diary. 

But here I was reading about Bitcoins and how their core software codes were heading for trouble. Transactions involving Bitcoins were now taking more than 43 minutes in the online world compared with the normal 10 minutes. 

It seemed Bitcoin “miners” were creating blocks with 1MB of information because there is a battle being waged between Core and Classic, which are providers with Core apparently being the original. Maybe it’s like Coke and Pepsi, I’m not sure. 

So, to add to the fun, Bitcoin users (I think) can vote for a preferred code by running a Bitcoin node. But the nodes, or maybe that’s the miners, provide the computing power that will decode the winning code. 

Just an aside here … the Chinese are the most frequent users of this stuff. 

So if you’re still with me, and I don’t know why you are, there are accusations flying about the use of dirty tactics with one team preferring one code plugging the other system with small transactions that eat up time and cyberspace, or whatever it is that ‘puters use to do their business before flushing. 

Advocates are spamming the network with low transitions that miners are now not bothering to accept, because, as we stated, they’re just plugging the system. 

Counter claims of users who attempt to run nodes or miner blocks with their software have come up against DDoS attacks that cripple the computer networks. 

It was at that point in Shelly’s missive, I began to admonish ownself. 

Here I was, a doofus who can’t even do a decent Google search and is no longer an honourary Facebook or Linkedin member, reading all this battle of Bitcoins-junkie stuff, thinking I was, maybe, going to learn something. 

Well, I did. 

I won’t be transacting nothin’ to nobody using Bitcoins. I have enough trouble tracking loonies and toonies in my pocket. I don’t need to be chasing coins in Star Wars land.

There are no miners, nodes, codes, advocates or DDoS attacks on my Canadian Tire money … yet.  

One question still remains. Can you flip a Bitcoin to see who kicks off and who receives, or who is going to pay for coffee?