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1938 sats \ 17 comments \ @jasonb 10 Jun bitcoin_Mining

Traveling with a miner...

I recently traveled over 13,000 kilometers to see a bitcoin circular economy of which I had developed some friendships and decided to bring a small miner to donate to one of the organizations spurring on this community. But every moment that thing was unplugged was a missed hash! So........

Let's first discuss, is mining in the terminal, using the airport's energy, ethical?

I would say that the answer is unequivocally yes. They provide the outlets there so that you can charge your devices. I feel like if I want to use that to verify the transactions of freedom fighters fleeing Myanmar and preserve the savings of merchants in Zimbabwe instead of playing Candy Crush or doomscrolling Facebook, that's my prerogative. Am I wrong?

Is it allowed?

Well...I guess this post may bring that to light...

But is is possible?

Short answer, yes, but I couldn't quite figure it out in time with the miner I was using. The hard problem is the way you sign in to Wifi at the airport. There's no password and instead you normally open up a browser and agree to the terms there. I couldn't figure out in time (across multiple airports) how to circumvent this, but I think I would have been able to do it with a different device.

How about at a bnb?

Easy-peasy! Oddly enough, I was a little more torn on the ethics here. It was in fact pretty cold, and this thing was functioning as a space heater while I was at that desk. Also, you can't see it, but that cord on the right was for a blow dryer that consumes almost ten times the energy of my miner. Alas, you don't use a blow dryer continuously throughout the night and I really didn't want to risk offending the owner. She had actually only charged me 26,000 sats for the night, and even though she was a bitcoiner, I didn't want to risk any chance that she might feel I was taking advantage of her business. I ran it for a little bit to warm my hands while I wrote and then unplugged it until it was time to present the gift.

Have you ever mined like this?

I kept reminding myself that I wasn't using someone else's electricity, but in fact, using electricity that I already paid for. Nevertheless, it's an odd feeling. Am I wrong? I definitely think bitcoiners that run rental spots should be heating them with miners. If nothing else, what a cool education opportunity for the renters. Anyone ever mine anywhere weirder than this? It seems that as solo miners become more prevalent, there will be more instances of people travel mining, mining at work, or mining using power that they don't necessarily "own" or have full control over.

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50 sats \ 1 reply \ @SevenOfNine 10 Jun

Love this. Curious if using your phone as a hotspot that is in turn connected to the airport wifi would have resolve the miner connectivity issue.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @jasonb OP 10 Jun

I was trying that actually as my last resort. I never got the miner to recognize the hotspot as a wifi network in the time I had to work on this. Thats part of why I’m sure someone more tech savvy could have figured it out though.

150 sats \ 2 replies \ @grayruby 10 Jun

I once got a hefty electrical bill in a condo I was living in because for some reason the electrical outlet in the hall outside my unit was tied to my electrical inside the unit and contractors had been doing renovations in the building and plugging their power tools/equipment etc into that outlet. I was none too pleased.

So I agree it probably wouldn't have been very kind to your host to plug in the miner but if it was replacing a heating source it is probably ok.

50 sats \ 1 reply \ @jasonb OP 10 Jun

Exactly, I think at that stop there were just too many unknown unknowns for me to really justify plugging it in for any period of time. I was hoping to show her the setup the next morning and discuss as she was an avid bitcoiner and probably would have considered heating the rooms like this, but I had to hit the road before that opportunity emerged.

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 10 Jun

Sounds like you had a good trip.

I often think back to the years where I was running my business and the unfettered access I had to electricity in numerous commercial buildings that I could have exploited. Of course I wouldn't have because I was a professional and I respected my clients, but it is interesting to think about.

50 sats \ 4 replies \ @kepford 10 Jun

Any strange looks from TSA?

43 sats \ 3 replies \ @jasonb OP 10 Jun

Oh!!! I forgot to share that part. I had a whole rap prepared to get past TSA. I was actually kind of excited to talk with them about it. Alas, they didn’t say boo-hoo. It was a very anti-climatic moment. I guess it’s good to know that they’re not too paranoid or dystopian on the electronic freedom device front.

50 sats \ 2 replies \ @kepford 10 Jun

You know... I've had many interesting encounters with TSA people. I'm guessing they just see it as a computer. Most of the TSA people aren't terrible but the even a small number of people can ruin your day.

5 sats \ 1 reply \ @jasonb OP 10 Jun

And they’re right to see it as one. That was actually going to be my whole explanation. It’s just a computer that only really does one thing.

I’ve never personally had an unpleasant encounter with a TSA agent. I’m really against the patriot act as a whole though. I’ve definitely traveled with some people who got pulled aside for quite some time, and they did always happen to have brown skin despite not being criminals… Might have always been a coincidence, but also might not have been one.

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 10 Jun

Yeah, I try to not poke the bear but regardless of whether they are public or private some security people let it go to their heads.

50 sats \ 1 reply \ @WeAreAllSatoshi 10 Jun

Yes, I have brought a miner to an AirBnB. It was not an industrial miner, so I wasn't too concerned about the ethical considerations, as it didn't draw that much power. I mostly brought it because my family didn't want it left on at home without supervision, so I brought it with so it could keep hashing under watch.

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @jasonb OP 10 Jun

Nice! Yeah, the one I was traveling with only drew 140 watts when it was blasting, so it wasn’t like plugging in an s9 or anything like that.

The last bnb I stayed at had a space heater that actually drew 1000watts, so I would have felt justified using even an industrial one (I mean an old one like an s9) to heat that room. By that point in time, I had given away the miner though, so it was a moot point.

50 sats \ 1 reply \ @kepford 10 Jun

What miner is in the photos?

65 sats \ 0 replies \ @jasonb OP 10 Jun

nano 3

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @rootmachine 10 Jun

When I see posts like this one I say.... wow! This is literally next level mining. For the record, I feel it has to be legit cause you are paying for the BNB. And if the airport put plugs for people to work while waiting for their flight, well... that's work for you. Keep stacking!

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 10 Jun

I think you’re fine on both counts. Like you said, electricity use is something already included in what you purchased.

If more people start travel mining, then either it will be explicitly prohibited in your terms of service or prices will adjust accordingly.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kurszusz 10h

Geniune description' Thank zou for sharing with us'