Understanding Bitcoin Addresses

 I tried to join 3, but ended up joining only 2, Discord servers to get answers to this, as Google was useless. I swear Google search is getting worse by the day... Anyhow...

My mom needed a Crypto Wallet that started with a number, not a letter. That is all the information I had. I posted this in the two Discord servers I tried, Cracking Crypto and Crypto Currency. They just ignored me at Cracking Crypto and were not helpful at all. Crypto Currency is THE WORSE DISCORD COMMUNITY IN THE WORLD, PERIOD!

Though I was clearly not spamming, simply asking a question, and did receive some help, I come back the next day, hopeful for more answers, only to be told that I was banned for spamming! It was BLATANTYLY CLEAR AND OBVIOUS I was NOT a spammer! I never posted links, never advertised anything, and only asked questions and sought advice.

But what is COMPLETELY UNFORGIVABLE of BOTH Discord Communities is that NOT A SINGLE FUCKING PERSON COULD or WOULD ANSWER MY SIMPLE QUESTION! I asked what Bitcoin/Crypto currency addresses that started with letters were called. THEY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT IMMEDIATELY!

Well YOU won't have to go through that BS, because I will tell you what you need to know, right here, right now! A Bitcoin address that starts with a letter is a, "Native Segwit Address (bech32)." The prefix of a Native Segwit Address is actually bc1.

A Bitcoin address that starts with the number 1 is called a, "Legacy Bitcoin Address (P2PKH)" and it WILL HAVE capital letters in it. In Exodus Wallet, I am not sure if you have to go into Settings and Enable Advanced Wallet Settings to see this, but after I did I noticed a toggle for Legacy Bitcoin Address, and this gives you an arrow initially to the right of your deposit address and QR code, that when clicked, provides your Legacy Bitcoin Address.

A Bitcoin address which starts with the number 3 is a, "Nested Segwit Address (P2SH)." If a site only seems to accept Bitcoin addresses that start with numbers, that means they likely work only with a Legacy Bitcoin Address or a Nested Segwit Bitcoin Address.

Here is a link to a page from the, so far excellent, Exodus Wallet, which details everything:
https://www.exodus.com/support/en/articles/8598629-bitcoin-faqs-learn-more-about-btc

It is so fucking simple, why couldn't anyone have told me this? Why couldn't Google have translated the search, "Bitcoin addresses that start with letters VS numbers" into that? I don't have a fucking clue! I apologize for the swearing, please don't let this distract you from the value of this information. I am not sure you are going to easily find it anywhere, without knowing the exact phrases to search for. It was truly a Hi-Tech Headache!

There are videos at that page I encourage you to watch, I will be going over the entire thing and watching the videos in the near future. I will update this post with anything else I learn that is relevant. Please comment below to let me know if this post helped you.

Do You Use NextDoor? If you do, or are considering it, there are some things you should know...

I have only done a little research, and have neither the time nor energy to dive more extensively into it, but there are some things about the NextDoor app of which you should be aware.

1. There is no way to report lead or moderator activity, and no way to identify which individual is doing which action. I did email support@nextdoor.com, but I suspect my email will either be ignored, or the address will prove to be invalid. You can not use NextDoor's Contact/Reporting tool, as that requires you to know the specific name of the individual you want to report. If you have no way of identifying who hid or deleted your post, then you have no way of reporting them with the current system. There is also no section in their limited contact form for reporting abuse of authority.

2. The information you are getting on NextDoor, when it comes to political or societal issues, will be heavily biased towards whatever those in charge of your community decide. Therefore, if you have a corrupt mayor allegedly colluding with a private citizen, as in my area, any attempts to expose or report such activity will be censored and your account will be deleted. In my neighborhood, somehow, this same private citizen is in contact with those in charge of our neighborhood, and they are working together to censor and silence many important matters in our community.

3. NextDoor does not care about the abuse of their system. I do not know what is driving the folks behind this app, but they have been approached and contact since at least 2018 with the same issues, again and again, but have chosen to do nothing about it. They should have a section in each neighborhood listing everyone in charge, and they should make sure a history of anyone taking action on a post is available to the poster. All messages to and from those in charge should be archived and saved for legal purposes. But none of these solutions have been provided. So as I said there is no way to know who to report and no accountability of those in charge. If we knew who they were and could report an improper action on a post or user, we could report them and perhaps have a change in leadership.

If you are considering using this app, I would advise that you not install it. Not unless you really need to start your own neighborhood group for something. If you have installed this app and are using it, you might consider uninstalling it. If you are in any way paying money to NextDoor, please consider cancelling all such payments, at least until they get their act together and clean up their system.

I am thinking about removing my account from the app, and then uninstalling it. I do have a group I started that I might want to see grow, but I am not sure that is a good enough reason to continue. I understand Facebook is considering similar features - if whatever Facebook does is as terrible as what NextDoor has done I'm definitely not using it.

If I decide to delete my account and uninstall the app, I will leave a review on Google Play warning others about this app.

DO NOT BUY A SAMSUNG NOTE9 FROM THE AMAZON RENEWED PROGRAM!!!

Either out of ignorance or on purpose, whoever is supposed to be certifying the Amazon Renewed devices has failed to catch the still-continuing display issues with the Samsung Note9. You can read some about this here:
https://insiderpaper.com/galaxy-note-9-display-issues-fix/
https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Galaxy-Note-Phones/Note-9-Screen-Discoloration-Flickering-Faded-Black-Display-Issue/td-p/1581579

Here is a screenshot:

The issue occurred with my first Amazon Renewed Note9 purchase, and the exact same issue occurred with its replacement! In both cases what happened is the screen dimmed, it took on a greenish tint, lines appeared and displayed items lagged on the screen. It happened when I was using the camera on my first device, and in the process of updating the second.

It gets worse... Samsung basically swept this under the rug, so when it first started occurring, about 2-years after the phone was released (and coincidentally out of warranty.) Enough users complained that Samsung eventually offered a free display replacement. But I can find nothing on the internet about this program, how to apply, or even if it is still in operation!

Furthermore I went to a certified Samsung Repair Center, and neither the guy behind the counter nor the guy behind a sheet of glass in another room (who the guy behind the counter kept deferring to) knew anything about this issue or the replacement program. These are certified technicians that are supposed to know their shit, and in reality, they don't know shit about the devices they are servicing!

I AM ADDRESSING THIS TO YOU, TECHNICIANS! It is YOUR FUCKING JOB to know EVERYTHING about EVERY DEVICE you service, PERIOD! That is what you are paid for. That is what you were trained for. It took me 5 minutes on Google to learn about the Note9, so what is your excuse?

When I went to college, just a few years back, I worked at a help desk. Basically I provided free technical support for the community as part of my training. I knew only the basics about the laptops and phones that came in to the center to be worked on. Yet I replaced an iPhone screen, looked up the quirks with HP Stream laptops, and fixed numerous laptops released over the last decade or so. I didn't get paid for this. But if a customer had come in with a Note9 who was experiencing this issue, I damn well would have done a better job helping them, either fixing the issue myself or pointing them in the right direction, than this paid technician did for me!

There is also no excuse for the technicians not catching this issue in the Amazon Renewed program. Because Comcast refuses to provide a detailed list of compatible devices, and has such a limited amount they accept in the first place, I had to give up using my LG G7 ThinQ and go looking for another phone. Because the techs at Amazon Renewed didn't catch this display issue during updating (which tells me they never updated and thoroughly tested these phones) I received not one but two bad units! And now I am back to square one, trying to find a phone that will actually meet my needs AND work with Xfinity's service! I am very disappointed with the lack of professionalism I have encountered and experienced here.

I have contacted two excellent, well-known technicians at YouTube and commented on their Note9 reviews about this issue, and I am hoping that either or both of them will look into this and do a video on it. I will make a video later, when I am not experiencing late 90-degree heat with no air conditioning and can use my computer a little more.

Thank you for reading. I hope this helps you to avoid the issue I have experienced.

PSA - #STOPDMCA and the Thom Tillis Amendment

Dev Journal - 3-2-2020

So I have returned to Morrowind after nearly a decade away. Adding the Morrowind Modders section here at this blog. Started playing the game again. Building an account at Nexus Mods.

Returned to Valenwood today, and I realized a few things... First of all the scale is too big. Way too big. These huge boards that make up each platform aren't really in scale with the size of the NPCs and the characters. And I vaguely recall someone taking issue with the fancy armor and clothes I put on the NPCs. They were right. As well as whoever told me that the scale was off, if that vague memory is correct.

Secondly not so much a realization but a question. Why did I stop playing Morrwoind? Why did I leave the modding scene? I think part of it was that I was going through some internal changes. I would find that book on Lucid Dreaming at my local library and soon renounce my former Christian faith, only to then experience a belief systems crash. I would then start my first blog, fall in love with an anthropomorphic chipmunk (long story) and begin my second blog. I would also start playing the new Unreal Tournament and trying to penetrate into the new UnrealED. I started to build or finished building a new computer around this time, and spent a lot of time playing Venetica.

I can't remember if it was a conscious decision, or if I was drawn away like a cat transfixed by the next position of a laser pointer. Whatever happened, Valenwood remains unfinished, and I am not happy with the work I have done. I know, kind of, what I need to do with it. But now that I am using Blender and not 3DS Max, I am hesitant.

Will I ever fix Valenwood? Will I start over, or fix what's there? Where did all those years go? I am not sure. I will submit Valenwood to Nexus Mods sometime in the next few weeks. You can see Amaya Lodge there now.

Confusion In Suburbia

Not far from where my parents and I currently live is a brand new development. It is full of big, fancy looking houses that likely have little or no craftsmanship in their builds. I think there are at least a dozen houses but there are likely more.

It is one of many new developments that have been built here in the Camas, WA area. There is one not far from here that makes me think of the Muggles houses in the Harry Potter movies - every house looks exactly the same.

As I was walking the extra-wide sidewalks of the development closest to me, I started doing the math in my head. $400,000 - $800,000 or more for each house. Few if any of these houses have been paid for in cash - it is most likely that loans were taken out to buy them.

Well things don't add up. In order to be approved for a house loan at your local bank or credit union you have to go through a bunch of hoops, you can't be hugely in debt and you must have some sort of collateral. I am pretty sure I am right about these general terms.

So that means each individual or family buying a house in the development would have had to have shown enough collateral or earning potential to get the initial loan for the first payment. Say 10% or so of the houses full cost. Likely it is far more. That means folks have at least $40,000 - $80,000 worth of whatever value is required.

Minimum wage is roughly $12.00 an hour. If you work 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, you earn $480 a week, $1,920 a month. You probably don't have 40k of assets lying around. That means anyone earning minimum wage can not afford these houses.

In fact, it is likely that the monthly payment for each house before interest is around $4,000. I can't imagine there are many folk who are earning $4,000 a month. They would have to be in the minority, wouldn't they? I don't think all these houses are owned by business owners, lawyers or doctors. Can't be that many in this area.

But here is what doesn't add up... If you drive around this area, you will find a LOT of traffic, from the early morning to midnight. All these people driving around, and certainly most of them live in these houses. That means they are not going to work, earning the money needed to build any assets or pay their monthly bills.

If you add up your house payment, utilities. internet, cell phone bills, health insurance, life insurance, housing insurance and car payments - that is a LOT of money that folks should be working hard somewhere to earn. Yet they are all driving around during the day!

How is it these people are earning money? And how is it they got approved for loans to live in these houses? And how could an average hard working minimum wager ever hope to get themselves into one of these houses? What is it these people are actually doing during the day, other than going out to shop, eat or spend more money to go on vacation or buy toys?

I am confused by this. It seems to me that these people are living in some other reality than my own, even my parents and the lady they rent space from. How is it they found their way to jobs where they do not have to report to work somewhere, or even if they do, they are paid so hugely and well for whatever it is they do?

How do they pay all their bills, and at the same time managed to gather enough assets to use as collateral they can get a fancy new house? I heard children playing in one property. That's even more of an expense, a couple hundred more each year at least, and still more than that if their children have good medical and dental plans.

It doesn't made any sense! Going to college is not the solution either. A lot of influential people will tell you that going to college is how you get the higher paying jobs. But I am an honors graduate and I can't find any work at all, much less high paying work. I simply can not see how these folk somehow went from my position when they were younger and now have the kind of money to throw around to get these houses, without any equally great commitment to some workplace somewhere.

I know that somewhere in this development there are multiple families living together, sharing the load. Maybe they have connected friends who co-signed for them. And there have to be a few folk who work 80+ hour work weeks somewhere. But these are in the minority.

Most of those who live in these homes are a couple, some with children, most without. Usually they are middle-aged. Two-people in a sprawling, 4,000+ square foot house, 3-4 bedrooms including a master bed and bath with a walk-in closet. All that extra space they neither use nor need. Yet my parents couldn't even afford to rent a 1-bedroom apartment.

The worst thing about this is that nobody questions the system. Nobody spares a thought as to the ecological and economical impact these developments have. Nobody wonders how people are affording to live in these places. Nobody wonders why there is so much traffic during normal business house, when people should be at work. Everyone drives along, lost in their own little world, many trapped in a different reality than the one others seem to be living and thriving in. Why is that?

Save the Save The Internet Act!

It currently says this livestream is scheduled for March 26th:
https://player.vimeo.com/video/325672146

The source page is here, at Fight for the Future:
https://www.battleforthenet.com/#watch

OK, so what is going on here? Didn't we pass Net Neutrality laws over a year ago? Well, we did. The people spoke loud and clear, and our government passed the proposed bill. But a man named Ajit Pai, the Chairman of the FCC, basically reversed the decision. It has since come to light that he was working on behalf of what FFTF (Fight for the Future) calls Big Cable.

The end result is that the Net Neutrality laws we asked for and voted for were thrown out. Now there is a new bill called the, "Save The Internet Act" which will be voted on my congress in the next few days. Big Cable is trying to add some amendments to the bill that would ruin it, and we need to join together, in a, "The Internet is watching You" movement to be sure that the bill is passed unaltered.

Why is this important you ask? If you have Netflix look up a series called Adam Ruins Everything. In that series is an episode that broaches, lightly, on this subject. All backed up by legitimate research. Basically America has the slowest and most expensive internet of any developed country. This has occurred due to a variety of mistakes our government has made, including allowing cable companies to merge instead of promoting healthy competition.

Basically, in some areas of America, you only have Comcast to choose from, or Verizon. And these companies want to throttle your internet usage even more to give priority to businesses and companies that pay more. Comcast has already been monitoring its customers, as you may know. All these things that Big Cable have been doing, and want to do in the future, will serve only to slow down the internet even more, and, make it even more expensive.

You don't have to just accept things as they are. You don't have to resign yourself to slow internet speeds and high internet access prices. You don't have to just take it. You are the customer, and there are more of you than there are people working for Comcast, Verizon and other big cable companies. You have choices. You could boycott Big Cable. Or you could fight back in other ways, and showing your support for the Save The Internet Act is one way in which you can do this.

The details are on Fight for the Future's main page:
https://www.fightforthefuture.org/

Share the link to this livestream with your social media connections. Get the word out there. Donate even a dollar or two if you have that to spare. Whatever you can do to get the word out, and help the folks at FFTF get the word out, do it. And make it clear to your government - the folks representing the area where you live - that you want this bill to be passed, unaltered.

Here is a link to their social media materials:
https://www.battleforthenet.com/media/

More information here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13mf9BpKFS0Z-Z4hXZ9lvy8EG7qVqe2tOxwyhlirk6Sc/