

Bitcoin and me (Hal Finney) (2013) - jc123
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=155054.0

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KhalPanda
I got curious when he said he mined block 70-something. Block #78 is the only
one (in the 70's) that was transferred to a wallet with any activity - I
followed said activity for a little bit, and it looks like he had 2,000 BTC
strewn across a bunch of wallets that he moved to one wallet in 2011. Not too
shabby for an accidental nest-egg! :-)

~~~
jebus989
Did you miss the poignant and moving story of the onset of a terminal illness,
christ.

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sspiff
Why does that make his comment less relevant or correct? Should we all just
comment "so sad, he's way to young/talented/... to die"? Illness and death are
just as ubiquitous and universal as they are sad. People get sick and die.
Young people die. Talented people die.

I fail to understand how people make such a big deal out of developers dieing.

~~~
jebus989
It makes it less pertinent, I didn't comment on its correctness. Reading the
post it starts off as standard HN bitcoin fodder and then takes a surprising
turn into, what I found to be, a personal and touching story. Hence my knee-
jerk response wouldn't be: "to the blockchain! :-)".

~~~
sspiff
I understand. I wasn't as touched by this plot twist of sorts (partly because
I read your comment prior to reading the article, so I knew what to expect).
I've seen quite a few dieing developer stories over the past few months, so
I've got a similar fealing towards "death of a developer" sob-stories as you
have to BC fodder: I've read it too often before :)

The "christ" at the end makes it seem like you pass judgement on the top
comment, while I thought it added some value to the discussion.

~~~
jnbiche
>I've seen quite a few dieing developer stories over the past few months, so
I've got a similar fealing towards "death of a developer" sob-stories as you
have to BC fodder: I've read it too often before :)

Jesus, what does it feel like to be you?

If you're hoping to add value to the discussion, I don't think telling the
world in a crude and thoughtless manner ("sob-stories") how jaded you are
about the tragic illness of a fellow human passes the bar.

Many of us _know_ this man, did you think about that before you wrote this
remark? But I'm doubting that would make a difference for you.

Man, I'm off the forums for a while, Reddit, HN, this whole bunch. This stuff
is getting to me (which I'm sure some rejoice in).

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sspiff
While I doubt many here really know the person in question personally (having
read about him doesn't qualify), I'm sorry if you do (for both his illness and
having offended you), and it's not as if I'm devoid of emotions.

I just don't think this is the forum to discuss such topics/stories, and I
don't get emotionally attached to every bad news story that comes around. If I
did, I'd be a very depressed person.

Regardless, we're getting way off track from the discussion now.

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nly
March 2013. Anyone know how Hal is doing now? Still coding?

~~~
KhalPanda
All I know is that his account on Bitcointalk was last active yesterday.

[https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=2436](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=2436)

~~~
nly
Good sign I guess, he hasn't posted in a long time though. Not that I can
blame him, the SNR on that forum is appalling.

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acjohnson55
Wow, really touching. It's amazing to read his optimism about life and the
Bitcoin project even after all he's going through. Here's hoping he continues
to defy the odds, like Stephen Hawking has.

Before yesterday, I thought Hal Finney was probably the leading candidate for
being Satoshi. Him, Nick Szabo, Wei Dai, or some combination thereof. But now
it seems far more likely that Satoshi is Satoshi.

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sillysaurus3
_now it seems far more likely that Satoshi is Satoshi._

Actually, Satoshi Nakamoto denied being Dorian Nakamoto.
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7358150](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7358150)

~~~
acjohnson55
That's why I said "far more likely" and not "certain". I commented on that
article, if you check my history.

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christiangenco
Wow, that ending hit me like a ton of bricks. I certainly have sympathy for
those who invested their life savings into the Mt Gox crash and lost
everything, but I doubt I could find a single one of them that could trade
places with Hal and have half of his positive attitude.

Really helps put things in perspective.

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verroq
Sorry all I got out was "I participated in a Ponzi scheme early and
benefited".

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clarkm
It has a lot more in common with "I was an early employee in a successful
startup" than "I participated in a Ponzi scheme early".

I like to think of the Bitcoin protocol as a transaction service and the coins
as shares of equity.

~~~
verroq
I disagree, when I invest on a start up, those shares have inherent value
because they are backed by a real company, not hype.

