As with 2013, my work productivity is inversely correlated to the charts.

I pre-ordered to show my support.  I don't have time to finish it this evening, but I like what I see so far.  I will probably share it with some folks at work to spread the word. 

It's silly, but I can't say I'm surprised.  If your only knowledge of bitcoin was what you read in the headlines, you might be quick to hop on the "ban" bandwagon as well.  It will take some time for the majority of the populace to decouple the technology from its negative associations over the past few months.

I was pretty angry when I read the Newsweek story this morning.  But, if it turns out that Dorian isn't Satoshi, it could be good news all-around:
- Dorian has to put up with a few days of nonsense but wins a lifetime of free lunches
- Bitcoin gets another media pump detracting from the Gox nonsense and pushing us to a new ATH
- Satoshi maintains his persona of mystery while reassuring the community of his vitality
- Newsweek gets bruised and battered and perhaps serves as a reminder to irresponsible journalists

Heh... I will share this with my coworkers tomorrow.  I'm sure they will see parallels to when I pontificate about BTC.

It's funny, if it were genuine incompetence w/o intent, I'd be inclined to agree.  What pisses me off more is the lack of communication post-realization.  Even if Mark were restricted from talking, he should have closed the site immediately and leaked something to steer folks away from sites like BitcoinBuilder.  Instead, he let the community dig an even deeper hole likely with the intent to selfishly soften the financial blow to himself.

I have no sympathy for the guy.

Awesome.  Bookmarked.  My next tea purchase will most definitely be from you via BTC.

Also, congrats on your Peace Corps service.  I put in 3 years in Senegal during the same time period ('06-'10).  I'm glad to see that in your case, you've managed to leverage that experience to create something worthwhile.  Well done.

I'm not shy about telling people I've invested.  The first couple times BTC has dropped significantly in the past few months, friends/colleagues have suggested I sell, but that's subsided.  They've now seen a couple cycles of volatility and combined with my confidence of recovery, they no longer get up in arms about it.

My parents know as well, but surprisingly, I've heard little from them.  I didn't tell them until they had asked me about BTC at random.  Beyond having said initially 'know when to get out' they've not bothered me during any of these barrages of negative media.  They are extremely skeptical about the US economy, so I think they believe BTC to be as good a financial bet as any.

I cannot decide if you are being serious.

One thing is for certain: you should not equate what's happening on Gox with the price.  I bet it will dip a bit further when Gox finally accepts its death, but we'll bounce back shortly thereafter.

As many have stated, the hard truth is that the chances are extremely slim.  It sounds like the possibility of cloud storage is off the table, so the only two chances are:

1) Thief goes to Apple store for repair and it's flagged stolen
2) You physically track the individual

You had also asked if recovery is possible in the event that you recover the laptop and the drive was wiped.  While theoretically possible, realistically it's unlikely.  If the computer has never touched the hands of someone technologically capable, then perhaps it was never wiped, but obviously just finding the computer is your first hurdle.

Of the people I've spoken to about BTC, they all feel they have missed the boat.  Everybody wants to realize the 'early adopter' gains, so they move to research alternatives.  It leads them to LTC where they easily buy in to its supposed advantages in hopes that they can get rich on minimal fiat.

I have a feeling it's going to end badly for these folks.  LTC might hit $100, but at that point I can see it stagnating and crashing.  This assumes LTC does not achieve vendor adoption.  If it does, perhaps it will have staying power.

Perhaps my original goal of 3k is out of reach.  If the Winklevoss twins really want to promote Bitcoin, they should stop doing press interviews and throw down some coins here.

Maybe they google their own names a lot and will find this thread...

From what I read, Dabs to seems to be a solid guy.  I sent a BTC his way earlier.  Here is more distinctive link to his thread:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=300631.msg3519767#msg3519767

The primary objective should of course be to provide aid as quickly as possible.  If we were to dump 3k coins on Dabs, he might not be able to immediately use everything.  It would however provide a sustained stream of funds which could be put towards long-term recovery.  Hell, if Dabs were able to pull off rebuilding a school with BTC, not only would it be an effective use of funds, but also it would be excellent publicity for the currency.

There is no red tape; there are no frozen funds; no bank transfer delays; its people having the power to circumvent third parties and apply aid almost directly to a problem.  People might just begin to see the value of BTC beyond a speculative vehicle for profit-seekers.

I'm very happy to see this thread.  I just sent through a BTC to support the cause.  I'm enthralled with the idea of being able to send money instantly to another country while having confidence that it will be well used.

Thanks for doing the legwork Dabs

EDIT: Thought I'd add: Could someone sticky this thread and maybe temporarily re-title for post-hurricane relief?

Indeed.  That would certainly be the first hurdle.  I suppose it would have to be a highly entrusted member of the community - perhaps someone from the foundation.

Second, we would need to leverage a preexisting aid organization on the ground.  Sure, they may be reluctant to accept small donations in BTC, but I can't imagine any aid organization would say "Sorry, we only accept Paypal" when you are offering them the equivalent of $1MM.

Perhaps Bitcoin is not yet at a point to be an effective/efficient means of transferring value to disaster-relief efforts, but the potential is there.  If I go to Unicef right now and make a fiat donation, how long will it take for those funds to be extracted from my account and be available to purchase food/water?  I don't know the answer, but I know with BTC it could be near instant.

As I'm sure you all know, the hurricane which hit the Philippines packed a mean punch.  Naturally, whenever a big disaster such as this strikes, aid organizations (e.g. Unicef) ask for the world's help in financing the recovery.  Enter Bitcoin.

Would this not be a prime opportunity to 1) help and 2) paint Bitcoin in a positive light?  I read that Canada has pledged ~$5MM.  What if the community could raise 3k coins which will probably be valued at $1MM by EOD Monday?  For those of you having trouble separating from your coins, considering the likely surge in interest which would ultimately drive up the price of your remaining holdings.

Just a thought...

EDIT: Adding a link to a pre-existing donation effort out of the Philippines:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=300631.msg3519767#msg3519767

I simply tossed mine on an SD Card.  The SD Card is not in a safe or anything, but of course, my wallet is encrypted (4096 RSA).

The private key I used to encrypt the the wallet is also encrypted w/ another key pair and stored offline.  Lastly, the actual encrypted wallet files are obfuscated in source code archives - basically hiding in plain sight.  Casual thieves probably wouldn't even find the encrypted wallet/key files.  Personally, I'm more concerned with fire, so I have things stored on Google Drive in a similar format.  When I have more funds transitioned to bitcoin, I'll think about picking up a fire-proof safe.

I've been debating whether or not to buy more myself.  After SR, I returned to BTC and had intended to buy as much as possible when the price was sitting between $120-130.  Unfortunately, the price quickly rebounded and I was only able to get a hold of a small fraction (dang Coinbase starting limits).  I've picked up a few more between then and $200, but I'm being very conservative expecting multiple corrections.

Still, at the current Coinbase price of $219, I'm sitting at ~125% of my investment.  It would have been a much rosier picture had I successfully purchased my goal at the outset, but that's life.  I'll just keep chasing the train, and as soon as it gets low on coal, I'll sneak aboard.

The original was this one I think:

http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com

It's really a silly concept which needs to go viral to be beneficial to any of the advertisers.  Then, any surge in unique traffic would quickly die off as their is no content to attract a dedicated audience.  Add to that the fact the vast majority of traffic would likely be other advertisers - meaning there's little chance to reach the intended consumer.

This was a good idea for a college kid trying to make a buck back in '05, but the ad industry is far too advanced at this point.  If I were you, I'd not waste much time on this project.

Yeah, unless you manage to find/recover a backup, they are gone forever.

Sorry for your loss.