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!

Will Soon To Be Hurricane Maria De-populate Other Leeward Islands In The Stream?

The National Hurricane Center projects Tropical Storm Maria will become a Hurricane Sunday, September 17, 2017.

Maria is projected to to strike Puerto Rico this coming Wednesday (20 Sep 17) as a major (M) hurricane. At this moment, somewhere between 20% to 30% of Puerto Rico is still without power from Irma's weak side wind and storm surge.

According to this model, after striking Puerto Rico, the wind speed will die down to a lesser (H) hurricane force before skirting the Northern side of Dominican Republic/Haiti.

Looking at last week's satellite imagery, Irma did not strike either Puerto Rico or Domican Republic/Haiti head on. Irma skirted to the North of both islands and damaged the two islands with weak side winds

Before hitting Puerto Rico later next week, Maria's hurriance winds will blast the newly denuded Leeward islands of Atingua, Anguilla, The British and US Virgin Islands, St. Barthelemy, St. Martin, and the newly un-populated Barbuda, where all humans have left for the first time in 300 years.

Imagine what islands of rubble will look like after a new Category 1 or 2 hurricane lifts the landbased flotsam and jetsam jettisoned from homes and businesses by Irma's force and flings it again like an Oracle throwing the bones.

Here's a thought: satellite imagery of these islands before Irma showed lush green vegetation. Post-Irma, the islands are brown from trees being stripped of fronds or being knocked down.

As I've just learned from Irma, the dense foilage of the 30,000 sq. acre nature preserve next to my house (the last house on a dirt road in Cudjoe Key, FL where Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys) dense vegetation acts somewhat as a wind break for houses where there is no overdevelopment.

As we've already seen, Barbuda is completely decimated. All humans evacuated after Irma hit because there is no place to live, no infrastructure remains.

Is the same thing about to happen to the more heavily populated Virgini Islands, St. Barthelemy, St. Martin and other former tropical paradises torn to bits during Irma? That is, will Maria add enough destruction to these tiny islands in the stream that their populations will also become refugees?

We will know the answer late next week.

Interesting Links and Reads for Wednesday, 31 January 2017: 98% Savings On Heart Surgery, Harley Davidson Slows Down & More

Harley Davidson sales slowing in the USA, inventory builds

In Bangalore, India, heart surgeons perform daily state-of-the-art heart surgery on adults and children at an average cost of $1,800

Word of the Day for Friday, 20 January 2017: Kakistocracy

Kakistocracy - kak·is·toc·ra·cy

noun
pl. kak·is·toc·ra·cies

1.
Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens.

2.
government by the worst persons; a form of government in which the worst persons are in power.

Interesting Reads and Links for Thursday, 19 January 2017:

Arctic expert, Jennifer Francis, describes a new, emerging feedback whereas the Arctic warms, it affects jet stream flow     (Youtube)

Drunken Alex Jones goes on air, discusses dinosaurs, makes fool of himself    (Mish)

12 advanced Google tricks that will help you change how you search      (Medium.com)


As caliphate crumbles, ISIS lashes out in Iraq
(Reuters) 

Large corporations are driving America's renewable energy boom
(Green Tech Media) 

Snapchat expanding: announces 50,000 sq.ft. office lease in Seattle         (Geek Wire)

The calm before the storm for China inflation 
(Asia Times) 

Yes, Donald Trump "lies". A lot. And news organizations should say so.     
(Plum blog Washington Post)