Node Application 10540669826, submitted 2019-02-19 16:57:09

Respondent Id 10540669826
Application Date 2019-02-19 16:57:09
Application Language English
Applicant City Norwalk
Applicant State/Province Connecticut
Applicant Country United States
What languages do you speak? English, Proficient with Google Translate and the ability to google local syntax
What is your occupation? Captive Insurance Consultant (Sales Lead for digital asset / crypto companies)
How many years experience in your field? 4-7
What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed? Bachelor’s degree (for example: BA. BS)
Please describe your experience in the Crypto/Blockchain space, if any? I have been involved in the crypto space for the past two+ years. I am a former validator and consultant for POA Network, the first proof of authority/autonomy network using a decentralized governance model. I have run nodes for Bitcoin and Ethereum as well. In my day job, I have had discussions with multiple blockchain companies on how their products/platforms can impact the insurance industry and what the insurance industry can do for them. I have also worked directly with companies in the crypto/blockchain space on the feasibility of creating an insurance company for the purpose of insuring difficult/impossible to insure risks associated with the crypto/blockchain space. My proudest accomplishments in the crypto/blockchain space is my continuous efforts to teach insurance and risk management professionals on the value blockchain can bring, which I have been quoted on in several industry publications.
Are you an individual or a group? Individual
Node City Norwalk
Node State Connecticut
Node Country United States
For which networks Have you ever operated a node? Bitcoin (BTC, BCH, etc), Ethereum (ETH, ETC, etc), POA Network
What kind of improvements would you like to see in Elixxir nodes vs. previous the previous nodes you have supported? I would like (and be glad to assist with developing) clear guidelines for deploying instances of the node across multiple cloud platforms, large scale data servers, and small scale "at home" operations. As someone who's tech background and expertise is self taught, I have become very well versed in breaking things down into simple components that anyone can understand, which is something I believe is critical to achieving both true distribution and decentralization.
What are potential setbacks preventing you from operating an Elixxir node? Sudden death (no preexisting conditions), however the actuaries say that the odds are significantly in my favor.
What is a reasonable maximum connection speed on which you could operate a BetaNet node in your geographic region? (Where 0 = 10 Megabits/second, and 100 = 10 Gigabits/second) 60
What is a reasonable uptime estimate you can provide for your BetaNet node? (As a percentage) 100
Please estimate the cost of electricity in the geographic area where your BetaNet node will be running. . 10.413 ¢ / kWh
On a monthly basis, how much time can you publicly commit to dedicating toward governance if you were selected as a BetaNet node operator? (Where 0 = 1 hour/month, and 100 = 20 hours/month) 100
If you were selected to run a BetaNet node, would it run on your own hardware or be deployed to cloud-based servers? Both
In what type of environment would this server be located? Personal Home
Do you have past experience deploying hardware servers in a datacenter? No
Do you already own sufficient hardware to meet the published Elixxir BetaNet node specifications? Yes (Please list specs)
Yes (Please list specs) CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 Processor (16 cores), GPU: Nvidia Titan V, RAM: 32GB, SSD: 1 TB disk space
Do you have hardware you would like to use but does not meet the stated BetaNet node specs? If so, please provide specs on that hardware below: No, all of my hardware exceeds the requirements, but I am open for suggestions for improvements.
Do you have past experience deploying servers to cloud-based services? Yes (please specify)
Yes (please specify) I have deployed multiple mainnet and testnet nodes during my tenure as a validator for POA Network utilizing multiple platforms including but not limited to AWS, Azure, Digital Ocean, etc.
Why do you want to be a node? My experience as a node operator has connected me to the blockchain/crypto community and has given me considerable expertise in the space. This connection and the expertise I have built have both been instrumental in the strides that I am making to bring insurance to blockchain and crypto and to bring blockchain and crypto to insurance.
How did you originally hear about Elixxir? Coindesk
Which current Elixxir communities are you a member of? Telegram, Reddit, Discord, Medium, Twitter
Are you an active member of those communities? Yes
What specifically, interests you about the Elixxir platform? Elixxir's ability to offer speed, scalablity, and privacy while minimizing sacrifices in decentralization gives it enormous potential. I believe this potential could be leveraged by the insurance industry if it is properly realized, and I hope to participate to both help make sure this potential will be realized and to improve the insurance industry.
Outside of Elixxir communities, are you an active participant in other node or developer community groups? If so, which ones? POA Network. I was a very active participant in this community and I spent 20+ hours a month on governance and working towards building out a better governance structure. I am also low to moderately active in numerous other communities, including being an early contributor to projects like Hadron Cloud and others.
Have you ever attended a blockchain conference? If so, which one(s)? I have not, but I have been a speaker on the topic of blockchain adoption in the insurance industry in several insurance industry conferences. I believe this time was well spent, but it made it difficult to juggle the time for blockchain focused conferences. I hope to attend some this year.
As part of growing the Elixxir community, are you willing to create content as part of operating an Elixxir BetaNet node? Examples would be node setup & on-boarding review vlog post, bi-weekly twitter update, medium review of on-going node operational process, etc. Yes (how much content on a monthly basis?)
If yes, how much content on a monthly basis? Yes, as much as is necessary. I imagine that I will need to pick up slack for the other members who say they will in this survey but never do (the "group project" effect). I will gladly do this though.
What is the difference between decentralized networks and distributed networks, and where on the decentralization spectrum do you sit? A network can be decentralized but not distributed. A network can also be distributed but not decentralized. A network can be both or neither. In a decentralized network, there is no single controlling entity. In a distributed network, parts of the network exist in separate locations. Both are equally important in a blockchain network, but both come with trade-offs. It's important to recognize when distribution and decentralization begin to hinder the network rather than protect it. As technology improves (for example, Elixxir's breakthroughs), this trade-off will begin to disappear, but I would classify myself as a realist on the decentralization spectrum. The realist in me says that Elixxir has the potential to mitigate, if not eventually eliminate, these trade-offs.
As best as you can given currently available information, please describe the value proposition of the Elixxir platform and how it differs from other current blockchain solutions. The Elixxir platorm is unique in it's technological breakthroughs in its consensus protocol allows for speed and privacy without sacrificing decentralization or security. The executive summary of the technical brief sums up this value proposition perfectly: "Elixxir has been designed to realize the vision of a world in which digital sovereignty truly exists, a world in which users can protect themselves and control their privacy by revealing only the absolute minimum amount of information necessary to conduct transactions. Elixxir has been built for the user. "
Privacy by Default is a goal of the Elixxir Platform. In your opinion, why is Privacy by Default critical for the future of the internet? Vitalik Buterin, in his commentary on how his views of privacy have shifted over the years, describes a viewpoint that I agree with and that demonstrates why Privacy by Default is critical for the future of the internet: I'm considerably more pro-privacy than I was a few years ago. A few years ago, my position was closer to "in a well-running society it's probably optimal that everyone sees everything, the value for privacy tech for ordinary people is (i) to let them buy weed, put up beds so people can sleep over in offices, and otherwise circumvent silly regulations, and (ii) to maintain a healthy balance of power, because even if more transparency is good, the government only having the all-seeing eye and everyone else being in the dark would give too much power to the government". Things that changed my mind, and made me believe that even in a hypothetical perfectly equal and fair society people having some privacy is a good idea include: Reading Robin Hanson and others' literature on signalling, and seeing just how large a portion of our lives it still is. Basically, I see privacy as a way to prevent signalling concerns from encompassing all of our activity, and creating spheres where we are free to optimize for our own happiness and just our own happiness, and not what other people think about us. Having a deeper understanding of the ways that it's possible to make other people's lives suck even as a law-abiding private citizen, and realizing that privacy is an important self-defense tool for those situations. Realizing more deeply that "the people" are not always virtuous, and that social pressure as a mechanism for influencing people's behavior doesn't always lead to results I approve of (see: recent string of internet mobs leading to people getting fired for political views). Realizing how bad mainstream media is even today, which makes me more understanding of people's desire to protect themselves from them. Mass surveillance is problematic because (i) I don't trust governments and large corporations to have interests that are aligned with us, and (ii) it creates points of centralized data collection that could get hacked, leading to everyone getting that data even if that was never the original intention. That said, in the physical space it's pretty unavoidable, so we should at least work hard to make the internet a more privacy-preserving place.
Tags Individual, United States, English
3 Likes

good discourse, i can trust u, u have my vote .

1 Like

If you have no sudden death :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: you would be a good fit

2 Likes

Hello everyone! This is my application. Feel free to ask me any questions regarding the application and/or my ideas on how we can bring additional security to the network through insurance.