Hi Reese,
Glad to help. Replies below.
On 5/29/2014 12:28 PM, Reese Johnson wrote:
Ron,
Thanks for reply and info about DC404 this looks like some good
reading. Thanks for the whitepaper link, very interesting. I was
thinking you where talking about DataCenter404 (facepalm). I was
excited also watching the live meetings with the gov't reguarding
Bitcoin. I have worked in the tax software industry for a few years
myself (glorified spreadsheets :-/ )
Regarding DC-404, here's some info on them. It's a group primarily
focused on security and hacking (in the good sense of the word).
http://dc404.kaos.to/index.html
-quote on-
The Defcon Groups were spawned from the annual Defcon security
conference in Las Vegas. The Defcon Groups (DCGs or DC-Groups) are a
gathering point for folks interested in the alternate applications of
modern technology, referred to properly as 'hacking'. DCGs are not
intended to compete with any other computer groups, such as 2600, but
rather to provide yet another gathering place for the discussion of
technology and security topics. DCG meetings are open to anyone,
regardless of their skill, age, job, gender, etc. DCGs are designed to
help you learn new things, meet new people, mentor others in areas you
may be strong in, and provide some cohesion within the hacker culture
and it's members.
-quote off-
Here is their email list:
http://lists.kaos.to/listinfo.cgi/dc404-chat-kaos.to
Regarding Bitcoin and taxes, you might find this interesting, or
frustrating.
https://bitcointaxes.info/
Here's the recent IRS notice:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-14-21.pdf
The law is subject to change. One senator has introduced a bill to
count virtual currency as foreign curency, rather than property. Also,
in the case of foreign currency, there's a reporting exemption for a
certain amount of personal usage. Of course, some people just don't
report, but there are stiff penalties if they catch you.
I like to keep up on the subject of Bitcoin via podcasts. Here are some
I like:
These podcasts are available via the letstalkbitcoin (LTB) network.
They have a cool blog and many different shows.
http://letstalkbitcoin.com/
Here's their overall rss feed, which I don't recommend if you want to
pick and choose your content. I don't like some of their shows.:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheDailyBitcoinShow
There's also this. I don't know what the difference is:
http://letstalkbitcoin.com/rss/feed/blog
That may not include the audio but I don't know.
Shows can be individually manually downloaded or played here:
https://soundcloud.com/mindtomatter
Here are some specific shows:
Mad Money Machine
http://madmoneymachine.com/
He has an itunes link (which I don't use) on his site.
The files can be downloaded from the letstalkbitcoins site from the
soundcloud.com link.
Here's their LTB show page:
http://letstalkbitcoin.com/blog/category/mad-money-machine
Here's a show specific rss feed:
http://madmoneymachine.com/feed/
Bitcoins and Gravy
http://www.bitcoinsandgravy.com/
The files can be downloaded from the letstalkbitcoins site from the
soundcloud.com link.
Here's their LTB show page:
http://letstalkbitcoin.com/blog/category/bitcoins-and-gravy-ltb-network-shows
Here's a show specific rss feed:
http://www.bitcoinsandgravy.com/feed/
Or this. Don't know what the difference is.:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ltb/BAG
Let's Talk Bitcoin
http://letstalkbitcoin.com/
The files can be downloaded from the letstalkbitcoins site from the
soundcloud.com link.
Here's their LTB show page:
http://letstalkbitcoin.com/blog/category/episodes
Here's a show specific rss feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ltb/ltb
Sovereign BTC (This guy gets radical at times.)
http://www.sovereignbtc.com/
http://www.sovereignbtc.com/podcast/ (I couldn't get this to display
correctly in Firefox.)
The files can be downloaded from the letstalkbitcoins site from the
soundcloud.com link.
Here's their LTB show page:
http://letstalkbitcoin.com/blog/category/sovereignbtc
Here's a show specific rss feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ltb/sov
Beyond Bitcoin
http://www.beyondbitcoinshow.com/
http://letstalkbitcoin.com/blog/post/beyond-bitcoin-1-nxt-asset-exchange-and-bitshares-technical-update
The files can be downloaded from the letstalkbitcoins site from the
soundcloud.com link.
Here's their LTB show page:
http://letstalkbitcoin.com/blog/category/beyond-bitcoin
Here's a show specific rss feed:
FEED Couldn't find it. I was able to manually download from soundcloud.
For news to read, coindesk.com is a good source.
I have seen you talk about being a engineer multiple times. Do you or
anyone else have tips about learning math? I have applied for my
bachelors and got accepted. I made it through the first two years
while having to take three math classes. Coming from just having a GED
I'm still nervous any info appreceated.
Have a dandy weekend
I'm not a practicing engineer, per se. I've been unemployed for a
while. I do have a BS-EET (Electronics Engineering Technology) degree
and have worked on flight simulators in the past for General Electric
and Delta Air Lines. I've also taught electronics for DeVry. Math is
hard. I had to survive two calculus classes and trig and a few other
specialized things. I've forgotten most of it now. I can give you some
general tips. Use them for what they're worth. These are just my
opinions. Buy the textbook and keep it. Don't sell it or rent it.
Don't be afraid to mark it up, dog ear the pages, put tabs in it,
whatever it takes for you to find the info you need. Look in the book
for examples and follow through them. Make sure you know how they got
the answers. Look for problems to do which have the answers in the
back. Go through those and verify your work. Whether the teacher makes
you or not, get in the habit of showing all your intermediate steps.
That will help you find errors and might help you get partial credit on
grades if there are errors. Look for problems that you can relate to
the real world in some way, so they're not just esoteric exercises.
Making this up, for example, some trigonometry: A fire truck is parked
50 feet from a burning building. Someone needs to be rescued from a
window 60 feet in the air. How long does the ladder need to be to reach
the window? A basic find the length of the hypotenuse problem. But,
you can actually visualize this situation, and that helps you understand
the numbers, as opposed to here are the two sides of a triangle and find
the third, etc.
I can give you an acronym for remembering the basic trig formulas, which
I made up. (I didn't make up the letters to this acronym, I just
applied these words to the letters. There are many possibilities.)
Some Old Horse ... Caught Another Horse ... Taking Oats Away
Sine = Opposite / Hypotenuse
Cosine = Adjacent / Hypotenuse
Tangent = Opposite / Adjacent
You can also google trig acronym.
http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/act/chapter10section7.rhtml
Here's a tip for doing unit conversions. Always write everything out,
including the conversion factors. It helps me to write out a series of
fractions. Run through all the units and make sure the proper things
cancel out. If you expected inches, and you got mm^3 or something, you
did something wrong.
The following may not work on this forum depending on the text spacing.
Convert 4.2 inches to mm.
4.2 in * 25.4 mm = 106.68 mm
----------
in
When you multiply inches * (mm / inch), the inches cancel out and you're
left with mm, which is what you wanted. If you had multiplied by
(inches / mm), you would get inches^2/mm for the answer, which is
wrong. This can help you know you're getting the right answer when you
multiply by 25.4 rather than dividing.
Always, ALWAYS look at the display of your calculator when you punch
things in. This will help you know if you punched the wrong button,
missed a button, or forgot the decimal, etc.
Math is one of those things, for me, that you don't get it ... until you
GET IT! The only way I know to get it is to force your brain to go
through the exercises until you understand what they're doing and why.
Find one or more study partners. Go through homework, problems, and
exercises (without cheating) and help each other figure out what's going
on. This helps in any subject, not just math. If the teacher is cool,
don't hesitate to ask for help on difficult concepts, and don't be
afraid to ask questions in class. If the teacher is not cool, just try
to survive him / her and lean on other resources.
Barnes and Noble has a number of math books in their engineering
section, as does Amazon (of course). You may find some other topic
specific books helpful in addition to your textbook.
I've found Schaum's Outlines to be helpful:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/178-9546999-5996512?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=schaums&sprefix=schaums%2Caps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aschaums
Quick Study Guide fact sheets are handy:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_11?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=quick+study+guides&sprefix=quick+study%2Caps%2C144&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aquick+study+guides
Frys sells some:
http://www.frys.com/search?search_type=regular&sqxts=1&cat=&query_string=quick+study+guides
As does Barnes & Noble under their SparkNotes brand:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/?category_id=914421%2C914346&dref=1544
Regarding dealing with nervousness and such, if you're a Christian, the
Bible is a good place to spend regular time in. (Talking to myself too
here.) I've been enjoying Psalms lately, since they're easy to read in
short sessions. PS 34 is very cool.
I also recommend the book "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff". It has lots of
small chapters to help you avoid getting caught up in things that worry you.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=don%27t+sweat+the+small+stuff&sprefix=Don%27t+sw%2Caps%2C144&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Adon%27t+sweat+the+small+stuff
Barnes and Noble has had these on the clearance rack lately.
Definitely try to finish your Bachelor's degree. That should make it
possible to earn more money and open up opportunities. Do try to keep
up with new stuff in your field once you're out. That's really hard
with technology. If your knowledge gets out of date, and if you become
unemployed for some reason, it's really hard to get back in the groove.
Good luck, and you also have a good weekend.
Sincerely,
Ron
--
(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
call on the phone. I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
mailing lists and such. I don't always see new email messages very quickly.)
Ron Frazier
770-205-9422 (O) Leave a message.
linuxdude AT techstarship.com
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