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Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy asked MicroStrategy Inc MSTR Chairman Michael Saylor in a recent interview to explain Bitcoin BTC/USD to him in a way that he can understand. This was after Portnoy recently said he sold his Bitcoin after the Winklevoss twins confused him back in 2020. What Happened : When it comes to Bitcoin history and education, Saylor is one of the most popular names and one of the largest holders thanks to the balance sheet strategy of MicroStrategy, the software company he co-founded. "I want to know what I got wrong about Bitcoin," Portnoy asked Saylor during a recent interview. Saylor shared several sports metaphors to help explain Bitcoin and its future to Portnoy. "There's some games you can't play, but can watch," Saylor said. Saylor said there are some games you can't play, like if a team you watch in person wins a bunch, the season tickets might get more expensive. Some games you can play, but they might be rigged like casino games being in favor of the house, Saylor added. "Satoshi created a game that is rigged in favor of the individual. Satoshi gave us a game we can all win. Bitcoin is that game," Saylor said of the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. Saylor said with Bitcoin you could be winning the game over time. He then dropped an analogy of playing alongside two of the greatest NBA players of all time. "Wouldn't it be great if you had a basketball team, you had LeBron James, you had Michael Jordan , you had the digital version of them and they play forever. You can get on the court and play with them." Saylor said that James and Jordan might score 100 points and you might score only two, but you're "getting rich together." "Everyone gets to play. You don't just win the game, you get wealthy while you win the game." Read Also : Here’s How Much $100 In Bitcoin Could Be Worth In 2030 If Cathie Wood’s Price Target Is Reached Why It's Important : Portnoy recently said he bought $2 million worth of Bitcoin at $11,000 per coin, before selling the crypto after holding a discussion with Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. "I've been chasing it ever since. Dave is sad," Portnoy tweeted recently. Asking Saylor the question and listening to the sports analogies could help Portnoy and others understand the game of cryptocurrency. Saylor has a long-standing strategy of continuing to buy Bitcoin no matter the price. On Monday, it was revealed MicroStrategy purchased 21,550 Bitcoin for $2.1 billion in the first week of December. MicroStrategy now owns 423,650 Bitcoin worth an estimated $42 billion. "We have a simple strategy and our strategy is we just acquire Bitcoin, and we hold the Bitcoin," Saylor told Benzinga in a previous interview. Saylor said investors focus on scarce and desirable investments. "And of course we happen to think that Bitcoin is the highest-quality scarce desirable property." Saylor told Benzinga that Bitcoin is the "highest-quality, best asset in the world" at the time. "Everything else in the world is inferior to Bitcoin. So, if you give me $1 million and said what do you want to buy, I don't want to buy a sports tea, I don't want to buy a building, I don't want to buy a company ... all I want to buy is Bitcoin." Watch Benzinga's past interview with Saylor below. Read Next: Musk, Cuban, Or Saylor: Who’s The Biggest Crypto Influencer? Benzinga Readers Have An Overwhelming Favorite Photo: Shutterstock © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.Aaron Rodgers is feeling healthy and will be the New York Jets' starting quarterback as long as that remains the case. Whether he's in the huddle beyond this season is still to be decided — by the Jets and Rodgers. “Football life is interesting because there’s no guarantees,” Rodgers said Wednesday. "Even with injuries, obviously, with contract situations, with age, with coaching changes, new scheme possibly, new system. There’s a lot of unknowns, so that stuff is out of my control. “I’m just going to enjoy these times here and let the future take care of itself.” Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said Rodgers returned from the team's bye-week break appearing physically refreshed and ready to go. The quarterback was not on the Jets' injury report Wednesday for the first time since Week 4. “Definitely, as long as he’s healthy, my plan is to play him,” Ulbrich said. “And I know talking to him, that’s the way he wants to do it, too.” Rodgers, who turns 41 on Monday, has dealt with various injuries to his left leg, including a sore knee, sprained ankle and balky hamstring. And that’s after coming off a torn Achilles tendon in the same leg that limited him to just four snaps last season. “He’s doing better today than he has for quite a while now,” Ulbrich said. “After my conversations with him the last five or six weeks, he has felt healthier today than he’s felt in that time span.” That echoes what Rodgers said during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday, when he said he “feels good.” Rodgers said he's still contemplating whether he wants to play football next season, but would prefer it be with the Jets if he does return. He reiterated that Wednesday after practice and explained why his tone has changed a bit from a few weeks ago when he said “I think so, yeah,” when he was asked if he planned to play next year. “If you look at what transpired in those two weeks, Joe (Douglas) got axed,” Rodgers said, referring to the Jets' former general manager who was fired last week. "Joe brought me in here. There’s uncertainty with, you know, everybody on the staff, so I’m not naive to what the situation is. And if a new GM comes in and they don’t retain Brick, I have to fit in those plans, so that’s kind of the first part. “Like I said, on ”The Pat McAfee Show," this is my first option. I’d love to play here if I end up deciding to play. But there’s got to be a want for them to want to bring me back, and for me to want to play. But ‘I think so’ was the truth, and ‘I’m not 100% sure’ is also the truth today." Rodgers, who is having a subpar season statistically, has been noticeably affected by his leg ailments — and that's something that could be much improved starting Sunday against Seattle. “I’m super excited about getting him going, whether it’s the keepers, the boots, a little bit more quarterback movement,” Ulbrich said. “Taking advantage of the stuff that he’s done at a Hall of Fame level his entire career. So, excited to see a healthier version of Aaron out there.” There was some speculation that the Jets, who are 3-8 and close to falling mathematically out of the playoff hunt, could opt to sit Rodgers in favor of Tyrod Taylor with his playing future uncertain. “He is a very prideful person,” Ulbrich said. “He wants to finish this thing off right. He wants to celebrate this team that we have and have a good taste in our mouths as we leave this season.” Rodgers has been very complimentary of Ulbrich as a leader, saying he's “definitely all-in” on the interim coach and would like to see him get the full-time job for next season. “Again, that’s out of my control,” Rodgers said. "I mean, I’m not going to say Brick or nothing. I need to see how I’m feeling. Obviously, I would love to play for Brick again. He’s a fantastic human being, but there’s a lot of things that can change in the next six weeks. “There could be some really good feelings coming out of this or there could be wholesale changes — and I might be a part of that.” Those changes could include two coaches Rodgers is closest with in offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and passing game coordinator Todd Downing. “Them not being here would not be a deal breaker for me,” Rodgers said, “although I obviously love them.” Owner Woody Johnson is using The 33rd Team, with former GMs Mike Tannenbaum and Rick Spielman leading the project, to identify and analyze candidates for the Jets' coach and GM searches. Rodgers is unsure if Johnson will seek his input on those decisions. “I’m always available if my opinion is wanted, but I’m going to focus on playing right now,” Rodgers said. “If I get drawn in those conversations, fantastic. If I don’t, that’s fantastic, too.” ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Dennis Waszak Jr., The Associated Press
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NoneIn 1859, an event as significant as the advent of the wheel took place in Etienne Lenoir's workshop. The Belgian inventor converted a steam engine to ignite a mix of air and coal gas via a two-stroke detonation cycle . The new internal combustion engine (ICE) found work as a power source driving low power requiring equipment in pumping stations and print shops. These were humble beginnings for the functional yet wildly inefficient setup. Few could imagine that this new wonder in an age of technological marvels would change the course of human history. In 1886, Karl Benz of Mannheim, Germany, patented a curious application for this new form of power generation. His "motorised (sic) velocipede," as one witness described it, employed a four-stroke , single-cylinder engine. While the adoption of his "benzine carriage" initially met with underwhelming support, by the turn of the century, over 1,700 were tootling and bumping along the roads of England, France, and the United States. Among his other considerable achievements, Benz developed a new ICE configuration in 1896. He named it the contra engine two for how the cylinders worked in contrast. The name didn't stick, but the engine did. The flat-twin, boxer, pancake, or horizontally opposed twin engine is still widely used in some of the most complex machines of our time. This is the unique history of the flat-twin engine. [Featured image by Johannes Maximillian via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 2.0 ] Most internal combustion engines generate power using the same principle: a controlled explosion inside a cylinder drives a piston. There are exceptions, such as the rotary engine, most often associated with Mazda , but the vast majority of ICE engines are piston-driven. The clue is usually in the name. A V8 utilizes eight cylinders arranged in a V-shape, while a straight six employs six vertical (or nearly vertical) cylinders lined up in a row. Connected by a crankshaft, the pistons within the cylinder alternate, firing in a delicately balanced dance. Each configuration offers advantages and disadvantages in terms of efficiency and power delivery. The flat twin offers certain advantages. Its configuration has a low center of gravity, and a well-engineered flat twin alleviates out much of its own vibration. In a transverse-mounted twin, each cylinder has equal access to air, reducing the need for liquid cooling. On the other hand, flat twins are wider than other twin engines and can cause torque reactions if installed longitudinally, and some jobs require more power than two cylinders can muster. From its inception with Benz in 1896 to its modern-day applications in BMW motorcycles, the flat-twin engine's unique advantages have made it a popular choice in everything from airplanes to lawn implements. [Featured image by Michael Frey via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 3.0 ] In the waning days of the 19th century, any number of automobile-producing firms sparked into existence. The Lanchester Motor Company of Birmingham, England, was one such. Founded by aviation and automotive pioneer Frederick William Lanchester, who built the first British automobile in 1896, the company used a flat-twin in its 1900 model Lanchester Ten. The car employed a 4.0-liter engine with a unique design. One of the cylinders was positioned higher than the other but remained horizontally opposed. The engine used two crankshafts and six connecting rods. Each piston was connected to one crankshaft by two light rods and to the other crankshaft by a heavy rod. The two crankshafts rotated in opposite directions, resulting in a complex yet elegant flat-twin engine that delivered 10.5 hp at 1,250 rpm. As the automobile industry blossomed, automakers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean began using the engine. Henry Ford used them in some early cars, including the 1903 to 1904 Model A, Model C, and Model F. The Jowett car company used them in every model it sold between 1906 and 1936. Toyota launched the Publica in 1961 with a 700 cubic centimeter (cc) flat-twin that made 28 horsepower. The Publica was inspired by Citroen's flat-twin 2CV, often compared to the classic Volkswagen Beetle , produced from 1948 to 1990. Though enjoying a surprisingly long career as car pushers, flat twins also achieved distinction as the powerplant of the sky. [Featured image by Constructionicecream via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 3.0 ] Large, powerful piston and jet engines take aircraft into the sky today, but in the infancy of flight, the lighter, the better. Aircraft made of wood required a lightweight engine producing enough power to get airborne and stay there. With its relative simplicity, the flat-twin played a significant role in aviation history. New Zealand hobbyist and bicycle inventor Richard Pearse, for instance, developed his own flat-twin in 1902 for use in a homemade monoplane. Records are thin, but Pearse may have achieved a 50-yard flight in 1903, the same year as the Wright brothers' flight. Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, who had experimented with lighter-than-air craft, was significantly influenced by the news of the Wright brothers' flight. He utilized a variety of flat-twin engines to achieve numerous aviation firsts, including the first powered flight with a winged aircraft in Europe and the development of the Demoiselle, a high-wing monoplane. The flat-twin engine continued to be used in aircraft as late as the 1930s. The Aeronca C-2, C-3, E-107, and E-113, as well as the Czech-built Praga B2 and British Bristol Cherub, all employed flat-twin engines. While the power requirements and weight of flat-twin engines precluded their use in the warplanes of the Second World War, ground crews often used them in auxiliary power units, including those used to start some of the earliest jet prototypes. [Featured image by Fletcher6 via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 3.0 ] Flat twin engines have had the most enduring application in motorcycles. Their low center of gravity, combined with motorcycles' open nature and low-power requirements, made them an incredibly effective configuration. A flat-twin could be installed along or perpendicular to the motorcycle's axis. Each setup had its own advantages. If installed with one cylinder behind the other, the bike would enjoy a lower center of gravity, improving stability and handling but reducing air cooling efficacy. Transverse-mounted engines were more effectively cooled and provided a simpler mounting for belt or chain drives, but they had a higher center of gravity and created a wider motorcycle. The Fée, produced by the Light Motors Company between 1905 and 1907, was among the first adopters. While the Fée, renamed the Fairy, didn't last, plenty of others did. Harley-Davidson produced a flat-twin bike called the XA. It was based on the designs of the Second World War-era German BMW R71 and Soviet Dneper IMZ M-72M. BMW has been using the boxer engine, a type of flat-twin, in its motorcycles since 1923, when it debuted the original BMW motorcycle, the R 32 . The German automaker still uses it in the bulk of its lineup today. One of its most modern iterations is a 1,254 cc that makes 130 hp to power its R1250 GS adventure bike. The R 12, recently announced as a new bike in the 2025 BMW lineup , indicates that BMW sees a place for the flat-twin in its future. Aside from applications in major machinery, the flat twin engine has proven its versatility in several appliances and other ICE-requiring gadgets. Maytag used a proprietary flat twin of its own design to power the Model 72 washing machine beginning in 1937. This washing machine, a testament to the versatility of the flat twin, was one of the time-saving decisions that changed the shape of domestic life in the Western world. Enfield built 250 cc and 350 cc engines to power generators and other military uses, later developing diesel-powered flat twins for use in agriculture and marine applications. The smooth operation of the flat-twin engine was a great boon in outboard boat engines compared to the uneven power delivery of a single-cylinder engine, which causes vibration and noise until straight-twin configurations usurped them. Since Karl Benz patented his contra motor in 1896, the flat-twin engine has been used in virtually every device that requires internal combustion engines. Its continued development and advancement in some of the most sophisticated performance machines of the modern day speaks volumes about its reliability. The flat twin engine, a symbol of dependability, has stood the test of time.Green and Jamiel score long TDs and Lehigh rallies to defeat Richmond 20-16 in FCS playoff opener