Occasional Chair - Bitcoin Mining in the Clouds

I mean, how does Bitcoin mining work anyway? In my head it looks something like this. Granted I may have skipped a few sections from the White paper ;-). This design is a fun, and frankly silly, representation of the process of Bitcoin mining as a Heath Robinson / Rube Goldberg machine pumping Bitcoins out into the clouds. Honestly, read the Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System white paper - it's only 9 pages long - you won't regret it. Now you can watch Bitcoins appear on your wallpaper - easier than mining in real life, but not as profitable! Enjoy.