Thoughts On Cryptocurrency

by Frizzank

What does cryptocurrency have to do with hacking?

Well, it turns out, quite a bit.  I am quite proficient with computers, and my experience ranges from my first Apple SE computer (well, my parents') to my latest builds which heat my house in the winter and overheat it in the summer.  That's right.  I have free heating - and that is what got me into crypto in the first place.

This article is not about how to get rich, mine cryptocurrency, or even promote a viewpoint.  (I do have a website, which I suppose I can shamelessly plug in here: cryptominingtalk.com.  Feel free to go there and learn about how to heat your home like I do.)

No, this article is about what I have learned and how I regained a long lost love of life through the process of discovery and exploration (O.K., I'm exaggerating, but only a little bit).

First off, mining can be done with a GPU.  Although I was already good with computers, I had never built my own, by myself.  Taking the plunge a few years back, I ordered parts online, and built one - one with six graphics cards connected to one motherboard.  I learned to control and understand how voltage and clocks work on a GPU, as well as how to modify and flash a BIOS.  I learned how to modify memory timings.  I had all kinds of problems at first, and I went to sleep scratching my head a few times.  But I got through it, by trying and trying over and over.  I never gave up.  I learned about myself.  And I did it all over again.  I also learned about electricity and proper wiring.  How to be safe and up to code.  I learned about networking.

I just wanted to share that once I found that new hobby, I was hooked.  And I was happy.  It doesn't really matter what it is - shortwave radio, robotics or programming, whatever - as long as you find something that truly interests you and that stimulates your hacker spirit.  One that we are all born with.

Life today is quite often prepackaged and user-friendly, and opportunities to find new things that interest us as we grow older become hard to come by.  We have to search for them.  Boredom and routine is our enemy.  Go to conferences or meetings and interact with people.

Through my website, I get to interact and help people from all over the world, including places like Venezuela, where people want and need to learn about bitcoin and the general crypto technology.  They use that info to free themselves from oppressive government monetary policies and to survive.  Sure puts thing into perspective.

When you need U.S. dollars to import goods, but it is illegal for you to buy them, crypto can sure come in handy.  I just use it to heat my house and garage.  But it also heats my heart.

It's not about having a meaning in life.  It's simply finding meaning in the things you do.

My hacker spirit stayed dormant for too long - and finally it has awakened again.  I hope yours does too.

Stay Cheeki Breeki, my friends.