Liberty

I haven't yet, but I want to re-read 'Gödel, Escher, Bach' by Douglas Hofstadter at some point. That one was really challenging, but really rewarding too and I often think back on it fondly...

I think it's more important to find an investing style that works and that you're comfortable with through the cycle and that you'll stick with rather than bounce around between styles too much. Much of my biggest mistakes in investing came from trying to do things that didn't really feel natural to me, but I was trying to imitate the style of investors I admired at the time (deep value, cyclicals, etc)

I was starting to think that maybe they had had second thoughts about this bad decision, but now there's a new notice again on Google Finance: This is so stupid. Let's take down a working product that millions use, and replace it with something that doesn't do the same thing at all.

The value of the US dollar also changed during that period. Pretty big difference between changing that much over 40-50 year and that much in a year.

https://stratechery.com/2018/meltdown-spectre-and-the-state-of-technology/

Would you pay with a currency that could move 10 or 20% a day?

This is fine: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/04/cryptocurrency-dogecoin-now-has-a-market-value-of-more-than-1-billion.html

https://medium.com/@twobitidiot/i-see-you-xrp-fcf151feb96d

The advantage is it is much, much faster as you don't need to do mining. They do appear to have a custom set of validators, so you are trusting ripple to be honest about which validators they use. What's the advantage over a traditional database/ledger, I mean. I know it's faster than, say, Bitcoin, but if it's not decentralized, then the whole point of a "distributed trustless network" falls down. You're still having to trust an entity, just like with traditional banking, and their control of the currency means that they can change the rules/software down the line without external consensus.

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Majority_attack

https://www.coindesk.com/ripples-xrp-giving-third-largest-cryptocurrency-second-look/ https://twitter.com/prestonjbyrne/status/948636938088611841

If it's privately owned, how is it not centrally controlled by the owner? What are those advantages was my question.

Ripple sells a private block-chain that is used for very quick money transfers. Apparently transfers are just a few seconds to complete vs 10 minutes for bitcoin. Since it is private it has a mammoth advantage with energy efficiency / transaction capacity but you lose out on the robustness of a decentralized currency. If the ledger is centrally controlled, what's the benefit over a conventional database ledger? These are already fast and secure.

I'd buy about 80-90% of my groceries online if I could get them delivered home for about the same price it costs me to go into the store, and if I was confident enough in the seller to know that they'd keep problems to a minimum and food quality at least as high as in the store.

You're welcome!

The book is not out yet (comes out feb 8, 2018), but there's an excerpt here: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/01/brotopia-silicon-valley-secretive-orgiastic-inner-sanctum If interested, you can pre-order here: https://www.amazon.com/Brotopia-Breaking-Boys-Silicon-Valley/dp/0735213534/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-01/coal-power-s-pace-slows-in-india-as-glut-leaves-plants-unused "India added six times as much solar as coal in 2017. It's the least amount of coal added in more than a decade"

Don't beat yourself up, that's a good absolute result, and as long as your long-term results are competitive with indexes (which can mean many things, ie. If you hold more cash, take less risk, etc), then it's fine. A one year period is arbitrary, and you can't always beat indexes or others. A problem night be if you never best them with a strategy that doesn't have other benefits. Also don't assume this thread is representative. There's sample bias where those with good results are more likely to post than those with bad or even average results.

Best wishes to all y'all!

http://www.smh.com.au/business/bitcoin-tensions-rise-as-investors-claim-banks-freezing-their-accounts-20171229-p4yy3z.html

34% in CAD, 42% in USD.

https://medium.com/@preethikasireddy/fundamental-challenges-with-public-blockchains-253c800e9428

As far as I know, Bitcoin doesn't have the ability to perform smart contracts natively, not without layering a third party on top. You might be thinking of Ethereum.