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Ever Get The Feeling You’ve Been Cheated?

You are here: Home / Archives for Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

Sunday Afternoon Open Thread: Goldbricking NFTs

by Anne Laurie|  November 21, 20213:06 pm| 126 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Excellent Links, Open Threads, Tech News and Issues, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

Just moved 3 cans of Peace Iced Tea from the top to the middle rack in my fridge. I sold $2.99 worth of beverages today. Never stop grinding

— Baseball Boy #1 (@LizRummy) October 14, 2021

But it’s not just self-delusion (or money laundering) — there’s also scamming the (other) marks! Best explanation of this I’ve seen so far:

How to scam people with NTFS and how the IRS is going to ruin it: a beginners guide

— foone (@Foone) November 8, 2021

Extracts from the longer thread:

Step 1: you draw or have an algorithm create 100 images. You pay to have these coolminted into NTFS. They are, of course, not very valuable and you’d be unlikely to make money selling them. What a shame.

Step 2: you take out a loan and go to Bob. You say “Can you buy this NTFS for me? You don’t need to pay for it, I’m gonna hand you 5100$ and you just turn it into ethernet points and buy it. It’s worth 5000$ so I’ll let you keep the extra 100$”

Bob, of course, agrees.

So Bob buys your NTFS and you get 5000$ back (minus some overhead) , which you turn back into cash, which is of course outside of the EthernetPoints ecosystem.

You now go to Alice, and make her the same offer, but on a different NTFS in your batch. You up it to 6000$ this time. She buys it, you get the money, and all that was lost was some overhead fees and some payment to Alice to do this.

So after doing this for a while, you approach Mark and say “hey look, I’m making these NTFS things and I’ve only got one left. If you look at how much they’ve sold for, it’s 5000-10000$, and prices are going up. You can resell them anytime to get your money back.”

But for you, I’ll give you a discount. You can have this mspaint squiggle for only 4000$. A bargain!

Mark isn’t sure. This doesn’t look like something that’s valuable.

But you can point mark at the transaction history, perfectly preserved in the borkchan: you NTFSes have sold for 5000$ each, 10000$ each, resold for even more!

You’ve got a “market cap” of 5 million dollars!

Because what the borkchan doesn’t know (and can’t know) , is that you used the same money over and over again to purchase EthernetPoints, transfer it around, then cash it back out…

This is an old type of scam, usually called a “gold brick scam”, where the mark is sold something they think is valuable, but turns out not to be. Often you have someone pretending to be an expert, who helps convince the mark that it’s valuable…

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Sunday Afternoon Open Thread: Goldbricking NFTsPost + Comments (126)

Coronacation – The New Normal

by ruemara|  March 29, 20206:39 pm| 53 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, All Too Normal, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

Hola, shelter in placers doing their civic duty and you folks out there on the frontlines, risking your health because we’ve got a malevolent mango at the helm of the ship of state.  From clerks to postalworkers to medical staff, you’re the real MVPs and I appreciate you. I’ve been busy getting trained up for my job, which has gone to waste because I’m now on-call. But you gotta make the best of things. No gym, no in office hours, so outside it has been. Happy to not see folks around. Here’s a few shots from the camera training intensive I used my week off on.

farmland panorama
The restful farm nearby
Local wildlife preserve, the quiet railways and my toy for camera practice

I have no real illusions about this time. I’m fairly lucky, I’m in a small town, my employer is not a science denier and I’ve made my health a priority since I fit the bill of at risk. More than likely, I’ll ride out the next few months with minimal issues. Others, too many others won’t. So, do the best you can to protect yourself and your family, then help others, then enjoy each moment as much as possible. It’s actually a luxury many don’t get.

Stay blessed and support each other. I have a long form post knocking around my brain, but I’m writing for a lot of different things with a goal of being stable & housed by 2022 Kwan Yin willing. In the mean time, here’s some shots of Odo & Hime feeling very pleased all the humans are home and available now.

Smug cat queen
Himesama, contemplating her place in the world (on top of mom).
adoring drooling cat
Supervisor Odoroki, failing to preserve social distancing if it means laps.

Coronacation – The New NormalPost + Comments (53)

Wheels Keep Turning

by ruemara|  March 1, 20202:36 am| 55 Comments

This post is in: Election 2020, Open Threads, Daydream Believers, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

I’m enjoying the heck out of the Biden win in SC. Based on current reporting, it seems to piss on a bunch of narratives. Like, “young black voters are VT Jesus’ base”. Nope, Joe won those. And, “turnout will be boosted because Bern is in the race”. Doesn’t seem to be happening in this reality. 

To me though, it’s amazing that Warren is not at least the close second. It makes no sense. She’s got the right combo of smarts with policies that means she’d be effective. Yet, no.  It’d be great if we dealt with misogyny & misogynoir on the left. Plus understood that pundits no longer report – they infect the left with doubt and elevate the loudest yet least effective voices in the room. Volume is not effectiveness. I am not a Warren supporter, for full disclosure. But I’m also not going to ignore a big, nasty elephant in the room.  We’re supposed to be better, more reasonable. Yet here we are. I won’t even remotely antagonize a Warren supporter for the disappointment they may feel right now. But I will say, there’s 1900+ delegates to be earned. We don’t know who will get them yet. Support who you think meets the criteria. Support the nom in the general. And get those downballot races worked out too. That’s where the real power is hiding. In honor of women running for office, here’s some  music to regroup to. There’s still a ton of delegates out there. Open thread for night owls. I’m going to try to get some sleep or something like it.

 

Wheels Keep TurningPost + Comments (55)

Repub Venality Open Thread: It’s Not Even “Quality” BS, These Days

by Anne Laurie|  January 7, 202012:43 am| 13 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, Republican Venality, Assholes, Blatant Liars and the Lies They Tell, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

This is a U.S. Congressman sharing a faked photo of Obama. Not a mystery why this guy's own family doesn't like him. (h/t @KFILE ) https://t.co/S6A2mhhsYX

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 6, 2020

When the highest-ranked elected official they can find to feed the right-wing puke funnel is someone “whose history of inflammatory social media posts has made him Internet infamous”… well, I guess the GOP Galaxy Brains are busy looking for reasons not to replace the Oval Office Occupant…

U.S. congressman sharing a fake photo. This photoshopped from Obama meeting India's prime minister. https://t.co/7UMjyPwFDQ pic.twitter.com/ckRZx3ktok

— andrew kaczynski? (@KFILE) January 6, 2020

99% of engagement with the fake Obama-Rouhani photoshop will be with people debunking it. 0% of the people who believe it will ever see those debunking efforts.

— Mig Greengard (@chessninja) January 6, 2020

Here are some undoctored images you can use instead of spreading the fake one of Obama and Rouhani. pic.twitter.com/gQPc8JHRMG

— Mig Greengard (@chessninja) January 6, 2020

ETA:
Four out of ten Repubs are lying (at least to themselves)…

Nearly 4-in-10 Republicans day they were familiar with Soleimani before his death; that group also overwhelmingly thinks the strike that killed him was carefully planned. https://t.co/Cs2hd1gIWb pic.twitter.com/EMG6uR1tTc

— Philip Bump (@pbump) January 7, 2020

pic.twitter.com/WIywqcBgjD

— ForeverBlue??? (@absolutelyenuff) January 7, 2020

Repub Venality Open Thread: It’s Not Even “Quality” BS, These DaysPost + Comments (13)

BREAKING: Impeachment Vote Postponed Till Morning

by Anne Laurie|  December 13, 201912:04 am| 60 Comments

This post is in: Impeachment Inquiry, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Stupidity, Republican Venality, Assholes, Blatant Liars and the Lies They Tell, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

BREAKING: House Judiciary panel pushes vote on articles of impeachment against President Trump to Friday. Follow our full coverage. https://t.co/I5t8PCsUD4

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 13, 2019

Abruptly?

Should Nadler have spoken more slowly? https://t.co/c5AMKHHHjO

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) December 13, 2019

BROKEN: The entire Republican Party…

This pretty much sums it up. pic.twitter.com/Z7VIdf4QYA

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) December 13, 2019

Collins is mad that, after a 14-hour day, they have to nap for 10 hours before voting. This performative outrage comes complete with arm flapping and vein popping, but bear in mind that he had previously scheduled this tantrum for 11:30 p.m. and it needed to be about something.

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) December 13, 2019

Louie Gohmert is crying… literally crying pic.twitter.com/6cWZ1CMiM1

— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) December 12, 2019

He’s annoyed because it takes away their “dark of night” vote

— Lisa Dudczyk (@Lisaonthebeach) December 13, 2019

After days of the Republicans on the committee engaging a whole variety of dilatory tactics, pranks, delays, bullshit show votes, grotesque contortions of the truth, stompy-foot temper tantrums, and spittle-flecked ranting, NOW Doug Collins demands the majority play by the rules.

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) December 13, 2019

Let’s draw this out all night they said. That will own the libs they said. pic.twitter.com/5kTivBlMmt

— Schooley (@Rschooley) December 13, 2019

Just hysterical that they had their Fox and Friends “middle of the night” speech all read to go and they have to be back at work instead.

— Schooley (@Rschooley) December 13, 2019

Definitely complain that you have to work on a Friday guys. That’s the blue jeans and beer stuff.

— Schooley (@Rschooley) December 13, 2019

For once, I have to whole-heartedly agree with a Never Trumper.

For those of you who think impeachment should have waited, imagine three more months of hearings like this one. Every day. The Republicans were never going to do their duty to the Constitution, and would have turned every moment into a massive shitshow until we were worn out.

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) December 13, 2019

BREAKING: Impeachment Vote Postponed Till MorningPost + Comments (60)

Repub Failson Nepotism Open Thread: Jared Is ON It

by Anne Laurie|  November 26, 201910:46 pm| 94 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Trump Crime Cartel, All Too Normal, Assholes, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

Kushner has begun convening biweekly meetings on wall, getting involved in eminent domain and pushing officials to expedite construction ahead of November. That has concerned Army Corps officials and others who say he knows little & laws must be followed. https://t.co/LRBNhPIghC

— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) November 26, 2019

We’ve got a real self-esteem problem in this country. Specifically— the wrong people having too much of it.

— Amusing Username Pending (@cathylanski) November 25, 2019

President Trump has made his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the de facto project manager for constructing his border wall, frustrated with a lack of progress over one of his top priorities as he heads into a tough reelection campaign, according to current and former administration officials.

Kushner convenes biweekly meetings in the West Wing, where he questions an array of government officials about progress on the wall, including updates on contractor data, precisely where it will be built and how funding is being spent. He also shares and explains the president’s wishes with the group, according to the officials familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations.

The president’s son-in-law and senior adviser is pressing U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expedite the process of taking over private land needed for the project as the government seeks to meet Trump’s goal of erecting 450 miles of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border by the end of 2020. More than 800 filings to seize private property will need to be made in the coming months if the government is going to succeed, officials aid.

Kushner has told other West Wing officials that he is in charge of the wall, according to aides, and that it is paramount to Trump that at least 400 miles be built by Election Day…

… Kushner has clashed with the career officials who have questioned some of his ideas, such as installing web cameras to live-stream construction. He has blamed former chief of staff John F. Kelly and former homeland security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen for not focusing enough on the wall, senior administration officials said. For their part, former officials have said Kushner displays a lack of knowledge of the policy issues and politics involved in the immigration debate.

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Repub <del>Failson</del> Nepotism Open Thread: Jared Is ON ItPost + Comments (94)

Election 2020 Open Thread: Yearning for Their White Dude

by Anne Laurie|  November 26, 201912:17 am| 61 Comments

This post is in: A Woman's Place Is In The House, Election 2020, Open Threads, Post-racial America, Vote Like Your Country Depends On It, All Too Normal, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?, I'm Too Big To Cry/Hurts Too Much To Laugh

The way we live now…

Woman stood up in Creston & said it “really upsets me” that Bloomberg skipping Iowa. “It makes us Iowans look like nobodies." South Bend mayor response: "There are only so many tickets out of Iowa…not my place to tel any other campaign what to do." (transcript h/t @PriscillaWT) pic.twitter.com/uoSEQcnYyK

— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) November 25, 2019

In response to @DJJudd about the predominately white pops of Iowa & NH compared to NV & SC, Buttigieg says “certainly each early state has a unique role” & notes that a “strong candidate will be competitive with every different kind of state.” https://t.co/3fbGRrnjBn pic.twitter.com/tdh4fiW7K5

— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) November 25, 2019


They’re not racist-racist! It’s just that things have always been a certain way: Iowa was quadrenially important, and presidents were white. We tried experimenting with that last factor, and things went all to hell! Maybe America (not *them*, of course, but all those other voters) just isn’t ready for a(nother) President who isn’t white, and male!

Such a nice young man, that Mayor Pete…

"Among voters over 65 years of age, Biden dropped from 28 percent in August to 12 percent today, while Buttigieg has vaulted from 2 percent to 17 percent and now leads the field among seniors."https://t.co/9vokhnY7cq

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) November 26, 2019

Other candidates are gonna be less oblique, of course, because they’ve got their base locked down already:

In Salem NH, Bernie Sanders says “we need to accept” that a faction of Trump supporters are ‘racist and sexist’ and won’t be won over. But, he adds, “The majority of his supporters are probably people who are angry and disgusted at a system that has left them behind.”

— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) November 25, 2019

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Election 2020 Open Thread: Yearning for Their White DudePost + Comments (61)

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