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People had assumed that the name of the secretive creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, was a pseudonym designed to protect his anonymity. Newsweek's Leah McGrath Goodman tracked down a man who could be the Bitcoin founder and discovered that his real name is...Satoshi Nakamoto.

Two police officers from the Temple City, Calif., sheriff's department flank him, looking puzzled. "So, what is it you want to ask this man about?" one of them asks me. "He thinks if he talks to you he's going to get into trouble."

"I don't think he's in any trouble," I say. "I would like to ask him about Bitcoin. This man is Satoshi Nakamoto."

"What?" The police officer balks. "This is the guy who created Bitcoin? It looks like he's living a pretty humble life."

I'd come here to try to find out more about Nakamoto and his humble life. It seemed ludicrous that the man credited with inventing Bitcoin - the world's most wildly successful digital currency, with transactions of nearly $500 million a day at its peak - would retreat to Los Angeles's San Bernardino foothills, hole up in the family home and leave his estimated $400 million of Bitcoin riches untouched. It seemed similarly implausible that Nakamoto's first response to my knocking at his door would be to call the cops. Now face to face, with two police officers as witnesses, Nakamoto's responses to my questions about Bitcoin were careful but revealing.

Tacitly acknowledging his role in the Bitcoin project, he looks down, staring at the pavement and categorically refuses to answer questions.

"I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it," he says, dismissing all further queries with a swat of his left hand. "It's been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection."

Nice bit of sleuthing by Goodman. But given the interest around Bitcoin, it's amazing that it took this long, even with Nakamoto's first name change.

Update: The subject of Newsweek's story now denies he was the creator of Bitcoin.

Tags: Bitcoin   currency   Leah McGrath Goodman   money   Satoshi Nakamoto

69-years later, Trinity College Dublin has finally seen it's first drop of tar pitch from an experiment started in 1944. As you may recall from the same experiment conducted at the University of Queensland, tar pitch is a viscoelastic polymer, meaning it appears hard and brittle, but is actually viscous and will flow given enough time. And this is a time-lapse video of Trinity College Dublin's first drip, which, let's not kid ourselves, can only be described as like watching an unhealthy turd drop in slow motion. The kind that'll leave a mark on a toilet bowl that can survive flushing. Hit the jump for the video. Thanks to Karsten, who waited almost a whole year for his dog's balls to drop. And no thanks to me, for not being smart enough to eat lunch BEFORE writing this post.

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Europe, Belgium, Budget Travel

Beyond beer and the European Parliament I wasn't sure what Brussels had to offer. Oh wait, waffles, there had to be waffles.

Brussels often gets a bad rap. Maybe it's because one of the iconic tourist symbols is a statue of a peeing boy, or maybe it's because in having the headquarters of several major IGOs, it has a very business feel, but either way, if you choose to skip Brussels you're missing out.

It may not have the quaint charm of Amsterdam or the romanticism of Paris, but spend a weekend in Brussels and there is plenty to do, even for those traveling on a budget.

Continue reading 48 Hours In Brussels: 5 Budget-Friendly Things Not To Miss

48 Hours In Brussels: 5 Budget-Friendly Things Not To Miss originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 10 Jul 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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