Word for the Day, Thursday 11 January 2018: Cypherpunk

Cypherpunk - Cy-pher-punk (sī-fer-punk)

(Noun) - any activist advocating widespread use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies as a route to social and political change.

A New Focus of the 360 Horizon Blog: Cryptocurrencies, Altcoins & Blockchain

Hello again and welcome to a newly focused Rock Trueblood 360 Horizon Blog.

During and after Hurricane Irma, as refugees on the road, we spent many a night in hotels and motels until we were allowed back to our humble cottage in the Florida Keys.

During our time away from home, I started a trip down the Cryptocurrency Rabbit Hole and have been inside it ever since.

Several other things have happened since Hurricane Irma:

1. I quit Facebook altogether. That was the best move in my online life ever. Once free from the grip of that addiction, I realized the 3 years spent on "Wastebook" were a distraction from focusing on how to write the next chapter of my life.

2. I am about to post less - way less -  on Motley Fool where I've been an active participant since 2003. I just made that decision overnight after reading more negative responses and FUD about cryptocurrencies which 99% of Fools (as we call those of us who post on the forums) have no understanding. I may never post again there. We shall see.

3. I started trading for a living in stocks and have now spread that focus to cryptocurrencies. Last year, I made 125% gains in my wife's Roth IRA. And I finished the year with 100% gain in mine.

4. I have spent an inordinate amount of time reading everything I can find on cryptocurrencies, altcoins, blockchains and businesses spawned or helped by them. In 45 days, I have made 200% gains. At one point, those gains were 300%, but because of the violent volatility of cryptocurrencies, I am back down to "only" 200% gains.

5. Lastly, I have made friends with an old workmate of mine, from a Key West bar (he's a barback, I'm a DJ) and he and I plan to lunch regularly, at least once a month, to exchange ideas on crypto and stocks and ETFs.

With all this happening in the background at home, I also have been the "Rock" at work as a DJ in the busiest adult entertainment club in all of the Florida Keys. Tourism is off this year. That's to be expected when we've just gone through a hurricane, locals are not spending as freely, locals have moved away for good, and, the biggie: the most substantial tax increase ever for the lower and middle classes with there being threats right now about cutting social safety nets.

Out of necessity,  I've suddenly come into my own as a trader.

Watching these United States become a punchline to the world's jokes, I have talked to my wife about a five-year plan where we leave the USA for good. We have talked about moving to her native Canada or anywhere we might find civilization (Iceland? Norway? New Zealand?) where people are well read, where there is a decent socialized healthcare system and where there is far less income inequality than the USA.

That said, the new focus of this blog is going to surprise even me.

Onward!