@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

Embarking on the journey of operating your own Lightning node on the Bitcoin Layer 2 network is more than just a tech-savvy endeavor; it's a step into a realm of financial autonomy and cutting-edge innovation. By running a node, you become a vital part of a revolutionary movement that's reshaping how we think about money and digital transactions. This role not only offers a unique perspective on blockchain technology but also places you at the heart of a community dedicated to decentralization and network resilience. Beyond the technicalities, it's about embracing a new era of digital finance, where you contribute directly to the network's security, efficiency, and growth, all while gaining personal satisfaction and potentially lucrative rewards.

In essence, running your own Lightning node is a powerful way to engage with the forefront of blockchain technology, assert financial independence, and contribute to a more decentralized and efficient Bitcoin network. It's an adventure that offers both personal and communal benefits, from gaining in-depth tech knowledge to earning a place in the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency.

Running your own Lightning node for the Bitcoin Layer 2 network can be an empowering and beneficial endeavor. Here are 10 reasons why you might consider taking on this task:

1. Direct Contribution to Decentralization: Operating a node is a direct action towards decentralizing the Bitcoin network, crucial for its security and resistance to control or censorship by any single entity.

2. Financial Autonomy: Owning a node gives you complete control over your financial transactions on the network, free from reliance on third-party services, which can be subject to fees, restrictions, or outages.

3. Advanced Network Participation: As a node operator, you're not just a passive participant but an active player in shaping the network, influencing its efficiency and scalability through direct involvement.

4. Potential for Higher Revenue: With strategic management and optimal channel funding, your node can become a preferred route for transactions, potentially increasing the routing fees you can earn.

5. Cutting-Edge Technological Engagement: Running a node puts you at the forefront of blockchain and bitcoin technology, offering insights into future developments and innovations.

6. Strengthened Network Security: Each new node adds to the robustness of the Bitcoin network, making it more resilient against attacks and failures, thus contributing to the overall security of the ecosystem.

7. Personalized Fee Structures: You have the flexibility to set your own fee policies, which can balance earning potential with the service you provide to the network.

8. Empowerment Through Knowledge: The process of setting up and managing a node provides deep learning opportunities, empowering you with knowledge that can be applied in various areas of blockchain and fintech.

9. Boosting Transaction Capacity: By running a node, you help to increase the overall capacity of the Lightning Network, enabling more transactions to be processed quickly and at lower costs.

10. Community Leadership and Reputation: As an active node operator, you gain recognition within the Bitcoin community, which can lead to collaborative opportunities and a position of thought leadership in the space.

These reasons demonstrate the impactful and transformative nature of running a Lightning node, appealing to those who are deeply invested in the principles of bitcoin and wish to actively shape its future. Jump aboard, and embrace the journey toward full independence. 🐶🐾🫡🚀🚀🚀

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

Chef's notes

Serving these two dishes together will create a delightful centerpiece for your Thanksgiving meal, offering a perfect blend of traditional flavors with a homemade touch.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 30 min
• 🍳 Cook time: 1 - 2 hours
• 🍽️ Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 whole turkey (about 12-14 lbs), thawed and ready to cook
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 lemon, halved
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Apple and Sage Stuffing
• 1 loaf of crusty bread, cut into cubes
• 2 apples, cored and chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the Oven: Set your oven to 325°F (165°C).
2. Prepare the Herb Butter: Mix the softened butter with the chopped thyme, rosemary, and sage. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Prepare the Turkey: Remove any giblets from the turkey and pat it dry. Loosen the skin and spread a generous amount of herb butter under and over the skin.
4. Add Aromatics: Inside the turkey cavity, place the quartered onion, lemon halves, and garlic cloves.
5. Roast: Place the turkey in a roasting pan. Tent with aluminum foil and roast. A general guideline is about 15 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C) at the thickest part of the thigh.
6. Rest and Serve: Let the turkey rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
7. Next: Apple and Sage Stuffing
8. Dry the Bread: Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and let them dry overnight, or toast them in the oven.
9. Cook the Vegetables: In a large skillet, melt the butter and cook the onion, celery, and garlic until soft.
10. Combine Ingredients: Add the apples, sage, and bread cubes to the skillet. Stir in the chicken broth until the mixture is moist. Season with salt and pepper.
11. Bake: Transfer the stuffing to a baking dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 30-40 minutes, until golden brown on top.

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

Testing a brand new YakiHonne native client for iOS. Smooth as butter (not penis butter 🤣🍆🧈) with great visual experience and intuitive navigation. Amazing work by the team behind it! * lists * work

Bold text work!

Images could have used nostr.build instead of raw S3 from us-east-1 region.

Very impressive! You can even save the draft and continue later, before posting the long-form note!

🐶🐾🤯🤯🤯🫂💜

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

As the title states, scratch behind my ear and you get it. 🐶🐾🫡

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

Test Bounty Note

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

Intro

This short tutorial will help you set up your own Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) on your own LND Node that is not using Umbrel. If you are a user of Umbrel, you should use their version of NWC.

Requirements

You need to have a working installation of LND with established channels and connectivity to the internet. NWC in itself is fairly light and will not consume a lot of resources. You will also want to ensure that you have a working installation of Docker, since we will use a docker image to run NWC.

• Working installation of LND (and all of its required components)
• Docker (with Docker compose)

Installation

For the purpose of this tutorial, we will assume that you have your lnd/bitcoind running under user bitcoin with home directory /home/bitcoin. We will also assume that you already have a running installation of Docker (or docker.io).

Prepare and verify

git version - we will need git to get the latest version of NWC. docker version - should execute successfully and show the currently installed version of Docker. docker compose version - same as before, but the version will be different. ss -tupln | grep 10009- should produce the following output: tcp LISTEN 0 4096 0.0.0.0:10009 0.0.0.0: tcp LISTEN 0 4096 [::]:10009 [::]:**

For things to work correctly, your Docker should be version 20.10.0 or later. If you have an older version, consider installing a new one using instructions here: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/

Create folders & download NWC

In the home directory of your LND/bitcoind user, create a new folder, e.g., "nwc" mkdir /home/bitcoin/nwc. Change to that directory cd /home/bitcoin/nwc and clone the NWC repository: git clone https://github.com/getAlby/nostr-wallet-connect.git

Creating the Docker image

In this step, we will create a Docker image that you will use to run NWC.

• Change directory to nostr-wallet-connect: cd nostr-wallet-connect
• Run command to build Docker image: docker build -t nwc:$(date +'%Y%m%d%H%M') -t nwc:latest . (there is a dot at the end)
• The last line of the output (after a few minutes) should look like => => naming to docker.io/library/nwc:latest
• nwc:latest is the name of the Docker image with a tag which you should note for use later.

Creating docker-compose.yml and necessary data directories

• Let's create a directory that will hold your non-volatile data (DB): mkdir data
• Indocker-compose.ymlfile, there are fields that you want to replace (<> comments) and port “4321” that you want to make sure is open (check with ss -tupln | grep 4321which should return nothing).
• Create docker-compose.ymlfile with the following content, and make sure to update fields that have <> comment:

version: "3.8" services: nwc: image: nwc:latest volumes: - ./data:/data - ~/.lnd:/lnd:ro ports: - "4321:8080" extra_hosts: - "localhost:host-gateway" environment: NOSTR_PRIVKEY: <use "openssl rand -hex 32" to generate a fresh key and place it inside ""> LN_BACKEND_TYPE: "LND" LND_ADDRESS: localhost:10009 LND_CERT_FILE: "/lnd/tls.cert" LND_MACAROON_FILE: "/lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/admin.macaroon" DATABASE_URI: "/data/nostr-wallet-connect.db" COOKIE_SECRET: <use "openssl rand -hex 32" to generate fresh secret and place it inside ""> PORT: 8080 restart: always stop_grace_period: 1m

Starting and testing

Now that you have everything ready, it is time to start the container and test.

• While you are in the nwcdirectory (important), execute the following command and check the log output, docker compose up
• You should see container logs while it is starting, and it should not exit if everything went well.
• At this point, you should be able to go to http://<ip of the host where nwc is running>:4321 and get to the interface of NWC
• To stop the test run of NWC, simply press Ctrl-C , and it will shut the container down.
• To start NWC permanently, you should execute docker compose up -d , “-d” tells Docker to detach from the session.
• To check currently running NWC logs, execute docker compose logs to run it in tail mode add -f to the end.
• To stop the container, execute docker compose down

That's all, just follow the instructions in the web interface to get started.

Updating

As with any software, you should expect fixes and updates that you would need to perform periodically. You could automate this, but it falls outside of the scope of this tutorial. Since we already have all of the necessary configuration in place, the update execution is fairly simple.

• Change directory to the clone of the git repository, cd /home/bitcoin/nwc/nostr-wallet-connect
• Run command to build Docker image: docker build -t nwc:$(date +'%Y%m%d%H%M') -t nwc:latest . (there is a dot at the end)
• Change directory back one level cd ..
• Restart (stop and start) the docker compose config docker compose down && docker compose up -d
• Done! Optionally you may want to check the logs: docker compose logs

@ 46fcbe30:6bd8ce4d

Opinion about the nostr-opinion-plugin

yet again a test with positive sentiment

#WalletScrutiny #NostrComment

This is a test of the nostr-opinion-plugin

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

Bitcoin: Empowering Universal Trust and Decentralized Communities

Bitcoin, has evolved beyond mere digital money. It has emerged as a universal trust protocol, akin to the English language, facilitating seamless global transactions and challenging the traditional financial landscape. In this article, we explore the multifaceted role of Bitcoin, from empowering communities in warzones to breaking cultural barriers, and its potential to serve as an incorruptible bank for billions.

"Different local villages built on open source in warzones on their own stack." Bitcoin's open-source nature and decentralized infrastructure have allowed communities in warzones and remote regions to build their own financial ecosystems. These self-sustaining villages leverage Bitcoin's underlying technology, the blockchain, to create transparent and secure financial networks that operate independently of external influences. This empowerment has given individuals the ability to transact and store value without relying on traditional financial institutions or government-controlled systems.

"Not having the luxury of agreeing with the government. Break out the restraints of your culture - like speaking English." Bitcoin transcends geographical boundaries and cultural limitations, offering individuals a means to break free from the constraints imposed by their governments or cultural norms. Just as speaking English enables communication across borders, Bitcoin allows people to transact and store wealth independently of government restrictions or cultural biases. It empowers individuals to exercise financial sovereignty and participate in a global economy that operates on a common trust protocol.

"Tapping into Lightning self-custody via an Ubuntu node box with Electrs Electrum server, Mempool Space, Sparrow, and a copy of the Bitcoin blockchain." Bitcoin's Lightning Network, a layer-two solution built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain, enables fast and low-cost transactions. Combining Lightning's self-custody feature with an Ubuntu node box equipped with Electrs Electrum server, Mempool Space, Sparrow, and a local copy of the Bitcoin blockchain, individuals can securely manage their Bitcoin funds independently. This self-sovereign approach empowers users to be in full control of their financial activities, without relying on third-party custodians.

"Bitcoin is still embryonic, lacking technological sophistication." While Bitcoin has witnessed significant growth and adoption, it is important to acknowledge that it is still in its early stages. The technology underlying Bitcoin is constantly evolving, with ongoing research and development to enhance its scalability, privacy, and usability. As the ecosystem matures, Bitcoin is expected to become more user-friendly and technologically sophisticated, further expanding its potential applications and impact.

"Incorruptible bank for 8 billion people on the planet." With its decentralized and incorruptible nature, Bitcoin has the potential to serve as a bank for the entire global population. Unlike traditional financial institutions that can be subject to corruption, manipulation, or discriminatory practices, Bitcoin provides equal financial opportunities to all individuals, irrespective of their location or socioeconomic background. This inclusive nature makes it a powerful tool for financial empowerment and economic inclusion on a global scale.

"Incorruptible security and privacy amongst Bitcoin nodes. Bitcoin node villages across the continent." Bitcoin's network of nodes, spread across the globe, ensures the security, integrity, and privacy of transactions. As each node maintains a copy of the blockchain and verifies transactions independently, the decentralized nature of Bitcoin mitigates the risk of corruption or manipulation. In regions where trust in centralized authorities is lacking, Bitcoin node villages can emerge, forming communities that collectively contribute to the network's security and resilience.

In conclusion, Bitcoin's role extends far beyond being a digital currency. It acts as a universal trust protocol, empowering communities in warzones, enabling individuals to break free from cultural restrictions, and serving as an incorruptible bank for billions worldwide. While still in its early stages, Bitcoin continues to evolve, promising increased technological sophistication and broader adoption. As we witness the growth of Bitcoin node villages, the potential for a truly decentralized and inclusive financial system becomes increasingly tangible.

@ 7488de5d:f556883b

We've got some electrifying news from Neutronpay that will accelerate your business operations in Thailand! We're thrilled to announce that our API now supports payouts in Thai Baht (THB). This is not just an expansion; it's a revolution in how you handle your financial transactions in Thailand.

This newly added feature offers your business the chance to streamline and automate payouts to Thailand. No more complications. No more waiting. Our API has always stood for speed, low fees, security, and convenience. Now, we're adding a new level of flexibility to the mix by offering payouts in local currency for Thailand-based transactions.

Whether you're settling invoices, paying suppliers, or even managing payroll in Thailand, this feature aims to simplify and accelerate the process. Here are a few key benefits you can look forward to:

Seamless Transactions Eliminate the hassles of currency conversion and make direct payouts in Thai Baht, ensuring a smoother transaction experience for you and your recipients.

Lower Costs By supporting local currency, we're cutting down on transaction fees, helping you save money on each transaction.

Instant Payments Built on our "Experience the Speed of Light" promise, your payments will not just be fast—they will be near-instantaneous.

Regulatory Compliance Neutronpay is committed to compliance with local laws and financial regulations, making sure your transactions are not just fast, but also secure and compliant.

Who Can Use This? From small-scale startups to multinational corporations—any business that deals with transactions in Thailand can benefit from this update. Are you an e-commerce site fulfilling orders in Thailand? Or perhaps a supply chain with various touchpoints in the country? This is for you.

What's Next? This is just the beginning! We’re planning to extend our local currency support to many other countries, offering more businesses the chance to transact freely and swiftly. If you're not already using Neutronpay’s API, now is the time to get on board.

We are excited about this expansion because it aligns perfectly with our vision of setting a new standard of options for financial transactions worldwide. Neutronpay is here to make your financial dealings in Thailand—and soon, in other parts of the world—simpler, faster, and more secure.

So why wait? Experience payments at the speed of light with Neutronpay today!

For more information about Neutronpay and how it can revolutionize your financial transactions, visit our website or contact us directly.

@ 676c0224:e641b6d6

testing testing

@ 1e52c554:21771908

Posthumous work of the Colombian poet born in Don Matias on January 20, 1948.

Welcome to this blog dedicated to the Posthumous work of the Colombian poet Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares (my father), born in Don Matias on January 20, 1948-2010. Where I will be publishing each of the 175 sonnets from his unpublished collection 'Sonnets For The Twenty-First Century And A Circadian Musical (1984-1987).' Analyzed with GPT4 artificial intelligence and illustrated with AI tools... I hope you enjoy this garden of words snatched from the solitude of a locked room.

Likewise, any enthusiast of the sonnet form is invited to conduct their personal studies of Arroyave Tabares' work, as it is a collection that, although registered since 1989, has not yet been published.

Frank Duna

---

Analysis "Space Living"

Introduction

The sonnet "Space Living" by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares reflects on the enduring essence of human existence and its connection to the cosmic universe.

Thematic Analysis

Octave: The octave of the sonnet sets the stage by invoking a sense of timelessness and continuity. The speaker introduces the notion of "the bells of joy still ringing," which suggests a persistent undercurrent of happiness or harmony throughout history. Despite the passage of time ("lost in dust of time"), this joy remains resilient and enduring. The mention of "runes" adds a mystical and ancient quality to this joy, implying that it has been preserved in mysterious ways. The idea of joy being "strong and sublime" emphasizes its powerful and elevated nature.

The phrase "Across the papyrs and tongues upbringing" alludes to the transmission of this joy through written and spoken language, possibly referring to the way human knowledge and wisdom have been passed down through generations. The speaker suggests that this joy has been an integral part of human existence since ancient times, even as humanity learned to read and write ("learnt how to read and write").

The octave concludes by proposing that this joy might have been present even before the evolution of Homo sapiens, possibly reaching back to the primal stages of life ("before we were slime"). The idea of "thoughts of God" and existing in a higher realm introduces a spiritual dimension, highlighting the concept of a higher purpose to human life.

Sestet: The sestet delves deeper into the cosmic and metaphysical aspects of human existence. The speaker describes humanity as "space children," implying a connection to the universe itself. The journey to Earth is depicted as a transformative experience where humans have changed physically and in behavior ("life, shape, ways and our breath"). However, amidst all these changes, the essence of our origin remains untouched—"our Source and dreams."

These dreams and origins are depicted as an "eternal symphony," resonating across time and space. They provide both delight and companionship to humans, offering solace and connection in the midst of life's uncertainties. The notion of "star dreams" in the final line suggests aspirations that reach far beyond Earth, hinting at humanity's innate desire to explore and understand the cosmos.

In conclusion, "Space Living" explores the enduring nature of human joy, the transmission of wisdom through time, the spiritual dimensions of existence, and the cosmic connection of humanity. The poem uses a combination of ancient symbolism, philosophical contemplation, and a reflective tone to convey its themes. Just like a Petrarchan sonnet, it presents a structured exploration of complex ideas while adhering to a traditional rhyme scheme and form.

Rhyme Scheme

The sonnet "Space Living" by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares follows a Petrarchan rhyme scheme, which consists of an octave (the first eight lines) with a rhyme pattern of ABBA ABBA, followed by a sestet (the final six lines) with a rhyme pattern of CCC EED. This rhyme scheme is a characteristic feature of Petrarchan or Italian sonnets, and it serves to structure the poem and create a sense of symmetry and balance. Let's analyze the rhyme scheme in more detail:

Octave (ABBA ABBA):

``` "ringing" (A)

"time" (B)

"sublime" (B)

"upbringing" (A)

"singing" (A)

"prime" (B)

"slime" (B)

"existing" (A) ```

The octave sets up a pattern of alternating rhymes, with lines 1, 4, and 5 all rhyming with each other (A) and lines 2, 3, 6, and 7 all rhyming with each other (B). This creates a sense of balance and symmetry within the first eight lines of the poem.

Sestet (CDC DCD):

``` "Earth" (C)

"breath" (C)

"dreams" (D)

"symphony" (E)

"company" (E)

"dreams" (D)
```

The consistent and symmetrical rhyme scheme in "Space Living" not only adheres to the traditional Petrarchan sonnet form but also contributes to the poem's musical quality and overall sense of harmony. The rhyme scheme works in conjunction with the thematic content of the poem to create a unified and evocative piece of poetry.

Additional Aspects to Analyze

Certainly, let's delve into the aspects of the sonnet "Space Living" by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares that have not been thoroughly analyzed yet:

Language and Imagery: The language used in “Space Living” is rich and evocative, with a blend of concrete and abstract imagery. The poet uses concrete images such as “bells of joy”, “dust of time”, and “runes” to evoke a sense of history and continuity. Abstract concepts like joy, time, and existence are personified and made tangible through this imagery. The use of the phrase “space children” creates a vivid image of humanity’s cosmic origins.

Themes: The sonnet explores several themes, including the endurance of joy, the journey of life, the power of dreams, and the mystery of existence. The octave focuses on the theme of joy’s endurance and humanity’s divine origin, while the sestet explores the theme of transformation and the power of dreams.

Meter: The sonnet appears to follow the iambic pentameter, which is common in traditional sonnets. This means each line typically contains five pairs of syllables, with the stress falling on the second syllable of each pair. However, there are a few variations in the meter throughout the poem, which add rhythmic interest.

Overall, “Space Living” is a thought-provoking sonnet that uses rich language and imagery to explore deep themes. The poet skillfully uses the structure of the sonnet to create a shift in focus from the past (in the octave) to the future (in the sestet), reflecting the journey of life. The consistent meter adds a rhythmic quality to the poem, enhancing its musicality and flow. The sonnet invites readers to reflect on their own journeys and the dreams that guide them. It’s a beautiful exploration of human existence, from our cosmic origins to our earthly transformations.

(GPT4)

---

Syllable count for each line

```

Space Living

10 I can hear the bells of joy still ringing 10 Even if they seemed lost in dust of time 10 They lived in runes and kept strong and sublime
10 Across the papyrs and tongues upbringing.

10 Some day in nature we started singing 10 Perhaps when Homo Sapiens grew in prime
10 Or recalling that before we were slime
9 In thoughts of God we were existing...

10 We were space children in our way to Earth 10 Where we changed our life, shape, ways and our breath 10 And only left untouched our Source and dreams. 10 These have become eternal symphony 10 To give us much delight and company 10 While fording in the future those star dreams.
*** ```

---

Sonnets For The Twenty First Century And A Circadian Musical Written By Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares (1984-1987)

---

Analyzed by GPT4; Image by leonardo.ai First published on Nostr Protocol by franciscoarroyavet@nostrplebs.com Space Living

@ 1c9dcd8f:1852f704

And Lugh of the Long Hand was at that time at Teamhair with the King of Ireland, and it was showed to him that the Fomor were after landing at Eas Dara. And when he knew that, he made ready Manannan's horse, the Aonbharr, at the time of the battle of the day and night; and he went where Nuada the king was, and told him how the Fomor had landed at Eas Dara and had spoiled Bodb Dearg's country; "and it is what I want," he said, "to get help from you to give battle to them." But Nuada was not minded to avenge the destruction that was done on Bodb Dearg and not on himself, and Lugh was not well pleased with his answer, and he went riding out of Teamhair westward. And presently he saw three armed men coming towards him, his own father Cian, with his brothers Cu and Ceithen, that were the three sons of Cainte, and they saluted him. "What is the cause of your early rising?" they said. "It is good cause I have for it," said Lugh, "for the Fomor are come into Ireland and have robbed Bodb Dearg; and what help will you give me against them?" he said.

"Each one of us will keep off a hundred from you in the battle," said they. "That is a good help," said Lugh; "but there is a help I would sooner have from you than that: to gather the Riders of the Sidhe to me from every place where they are."

So Cu and Ceithen went towards the south, and Cian set out northward, and he did not stop till he reached the Plain of Muirthemne. And as he was going across the plain he saw three armed men before him, that were the three sons of Tuireann, son of Ogma. And it is the way it was between the three sons of Tuireann and the three sons of Cainte, they were in hatred and enmity towards one another, so that whenever they met there was sure to be fighting among them.

Then Cian said: "If my two brothers had been here it is a brave fight we would make; but since they are not, it is best for me to fall back." Then he saw a great herd of pigs near him, and he struck himself with a Druid rod that put on him the shape of a pig of the herd, and he began rooting up the ground like the rest.

Then Brian, one of the sons of Tuireann, said to his brothers: "Did you see that armed man that was walking the plain a while ago?" "We did see him," said they. "Do you know what was it took him away?" said Brian. "We do not know that," said they. "It is a pity you not to be keeping a better watch over the plains of the open country in time of war," said Brian; "and I know well what happened him, for he struck himself with his Druid rod into the shape of a pig of these pigs, and he is rooting up the ground now like any one of them; and whoever he is, he is no friend to us." "That is bad for us," said the other two, "for the pigs belong to some one of the Tuatha de Danaan, and even if we kill them all, the Druid pig might chance to escape us in the end."

"It is badly you got your learning in the city of learning," said Brian, "when you cannot tell an enchanted beast from a natural beast." And while he was saying that, he struck his two brothers with his Druid rod, and he turned them into two thin, fast hounds, and they began to yelp sharply on the track of the enchanted pig.

And it was not long before the pig fell out from among the others, and not one of the others made away but only itself, and it made for a wood, and at the edge of the wood Brian gave a cast of his spear that went through its body. And the pig cried out, and it said: "It is a bad thing you have done to have made a cast at me when you knew me." "It seems to me you have the talk of a man," said Brian. "I was a man indeed," said he; "I am Cian, son of Cainte, and give me your protection now." "I swear by the gods of the air," said Brian, "that if the life came back seven times to you, I would take it from you every time." "If that is so," said Cian, "give me one request: let me go into my own shape again." "We will do that," said Brian, "for it is easier to me to kill a man than a pig."

So Cian took his own shape then, and he said: "Give me mercy now." "We will not give it," said Brian. "Well, I have got the better of you for all that," said Cian; "for if it was in the shape of a pig you had killed me there would only be the blood money for a pig on me; but as it is in my own shape you will kill me, there never was and never will be any person killed for whose sake a heavier fine will be paid than for myself. And the arms I am killed with," he said, "it is they will tell the deed to my son."

"It is not with weapons you will be killed, but with the stones lying on the ground," said Brian. And with that they pelted him with stones, fiercely and roughly, till all that was left of him was a poor, miserable, broken heap; and they buried him the depth of a man's body in the earth, and the earth would not receive that murder from them, but cast it up again. Brian said it should go into the earth again, and they put it in the second time, and the second time the earth would not take it. And six times the sons of Tuireann buried the body, and six times it was cast up again; but the seventh time it was put underground the earth kept it. And then they went on to join Lugh of the Long Hand for the battle.

Now as to Lugh; upon parting with his father he went forward from Teamhair westward, to the hills that were called afterwards Gairech and Ilgairech, and to the ford of the Shannon that is now called Athluain, and to Bearna nah-Eadargana, the Gap of Separation, and over Magh Luirg, the Plain of Following, and to Corr Slieve na Seaghsa, the Round Mountain of the Poet's Spring, and to the head of Sean-Slieve, and through the place of the bright-faced Corann, and from that to Magh Mor an Aonaigh, the Great Plain of the Fair, where the Fomor were, and the spoils of Connacht with them.

It is then Bres, son of Elathan, rose up and said: "It is a wonder to me the sun to be rising in the west to-day, and it rising in the east every other day." "It would be better for us it to be the sun," said the Druids. "What else is it?" said he. "It is the shining of the face of Lugh, son of Ethlinn," said they.

Lugh came up to them then and saluted them. "Why do you come like a friend to us?" said they. "There is good cause for that," he said, "for there is but one half of me of the Tuatha de Danaan, and the other half of yourselves. And give me back now the milch cows of the men of Ireland," he said. "May early good luck not come to you till you get either a dry or a milch cow here," said a man of them, and anger on him.

But Lugh stopped near them for three days and three nights, and at the end of that time the Riders of the Sidhe came to him. And Bodb Dearg, son of the Dagda, came with twenty-nine hundred men, and he said:

"What is the cause of your delay in giving battle?"

"Waiting for you I was," said Lugh.

Then the kings and chief men of the men of Ireland took their armour on them, and they raised the points of their spears over their heads, and they made close fences of their shields. And they attacked their enemies on Magh Mor an Aonaigh, and their enemies answered them, and they threw their whining spears at one another, and when their spears were broken they drew their swords from their blue-bordered sheaths and began to strike at one another, and thickets of brown flames rose above them from the bitterness of their many-edged weapons.

And Lugh saw the battle pen where Bres, son of Elathan, was, and he made a fierce attack on him and on the men that were guarding him, till he had made an end of two hundred of them.

When Bres saw that, he gave himself up to Lugh's protection. "Give me my life this time," he said, "and I will bring the whole race of the Fomor to fight it out with you in a great battle; and I bind myself to that, by the sun and the moon, the sea and the land," he said.

On that Lugh gave him his life, and then the Druids that were with him asked his protection for themselves. "By my word," said Lugh, "if the whole race of the Fomor went under my protection they would not be destroyed by me." So then Bres and the Druids set out for their own country.

Now as to Lugh and the sons of Tuireann. After the battle of Magh Mor an Aonaigh, he met two of his kinsmen and asked them did they see his father in the fight. "We did not," said they. "I am sure he is not living," said Lugh; "and I give my word," he said, "there will no food or drink go into my mouth till I get knowledge by what death my father died."

Then he set out, and the Riders of the Sidhe after him, till they came to the place where he and his father parted from one another, and from that to the place where his father went into the shape of a pig when he saw the sons of Tuireann.

And when Lugh came to that place the earth spoke to him, and it said: "It is in great danger your father was here, Lugh, when he saw the sons of Tuireann before him, and it is into the shape of a pig he had to go, but it is in his own shape they killed him."

Then Lugh told that to his people, and he found the spot where his father was buried, and he bade them dig there, the way he would know by what death the sons of Tuireann had made an end of him.

Then they raised the body out of the grave and looked at it, and it was all one bed of wounds. And Lugh said: "It was the death of an enemy the sons of Tuireann gave my dear father." And he gave him three kisses, and it is what he said: "It is bad the way I am myself after this death, for I can hear nothing with my ears, and I can see nothing with my eyes, and there is not a living pulse in my heart, with grief after my father. And you gods I worship," he said, "it is a pity I not to have come here the time this thing was done. And it is a great thing that has been done here," he said, "the people of the gods of Dana to have done treachery on one another, and it is long they will be under loss by it and be weakened by it. And Ireland will never be free from trouble from this out, east and west," he said.

Then they put Cian under the earth again, and after that there was keening made over his grave, and a stone was raised on it, and his name was written in Ogham, And Lugh said: "This hill will take its name from Cian, although he himself is stripped and broken. And it was the sons of Tuireann did this thing," he said, "and there will grief and anguish fall on them from it, and on their children after them. And it is no lying story I am telling you," he said; "and it is a pity the way I am, and my heart is broken in my breast since Cian, the brave man, is not living."

Then he bade his people to go before him to Teamhair, "But do not tell the story till I tell it myself," he said.

And when Lugh came to Teamhair he sat in the high seat of the king, and he looked about him and he saw the three sons of Tuireann. And those were the three that were beyond all others at Teamhair at that time for quickness and skill, for a good hand in battle, for beauty and an honourable name.

Then Lugh bade his people to shake the chain of silence, and they did so, and they all listened. And Lugh said: "What are your minds fixed on at this time, Men of Dea?" "On yourself indeed," said they. "I have a question to ask of you," he said. "What is the vengeance each one of you would take on the man that would kill your father?"

There was great wonder on them when they heard that, and one of the chief men among them said: "Tell us was it your own father that was killed?" "It was indeed," said Lugh; "and I see now in this house," he said, "the men that killed him, and they know themselves what way they killed him better than I know it." Then the king said: "It is not a death of one day only I would give the man that had killed my father, if he was in my power, but to cut off one of his limbs from day to day till I would make an end of him." All the chief men said the same, and the sons of Tuireann like the rest.

"There are making that answer," said Lugh, "the three men that killed my father; and let them pay the fine for him now, since you are all together in the one place. And if they will not," he said, "I will not break the protection of the king's house, but they must make no attempt to quit this house till they have settled with me."

"If it was I myself had killed your father," said the king, "I would be well content you to take a fine from me for him."

"It is at us Lugh is saying all this," said the sons of Tuireann among themselves. "Let us acknowledge the killing of his father to him," said Iuchar and Iucharba. "I am in dread," said Brian, "that it is wanting an acknowledgment from us he is, in the presence of all the rest, and that he will not let us off with a fine afterwards." "It is best to acknowledge it," said the others; "and let you speak it out since you are the eldest."

Then Brian, son of Tuireann, said: "It is at us you are speaking, Lugh, for you are thinking we went against the sons of Cainte before now; and we did not kill your father," he said, "but we will pay the fine for him the same as if we did kill him." "I will take a fine from you that you do not think of," said Lugh, "and I will say here what it is, and if it is too much for you, I will let you off a share of it." "Let us hear it from you," said they. "Here it is," said Lugh; "three apples, and the

of a pig, and a spear, and two horses, and a chariot, and seven pigs, and a dog's whelp, and a cooking-spit, and three shouts on a hill. That is the fine I am asking," he said; "and if it is too much for you, a part of it will be taken off you presently, and if you do not think it too much, then pay it"

"It is not too much," said Brian, "or a hundred times of it would not be too much. And we think it likely," he said, "because of its smallness that you have some treachery towards us behind it." "I do not think it too little of a fine," said Lugh; "and I give you the guarantee of the Tuatha de Danaan I will ask no other thing, and I will be faithful to you, and let you give the same pledge to me." "It is a pity you to ask that," said Brian, "for our own pledge is as good as any pledge in the world." "Your own pledge is not enough," said Lugh, "for it is often the like of you promised to pay a fine in this way, and would try to back out of it after."

So then the sons of Tuireann bound themselves by the King of Ireland, and by Bodb Dearg, son of the Dagda, and by the chief men of the Tuatha de Danaan, that they would pay that fine to Lugh.

"It would be well for me now," said Lugh, "to give you better knowledge of the fine." "It would be well indeed," said they.

"This is the way of it then," said Lugh. "The three apples I asked of you are the three apples from the Garden in the East of the World, and no other apples will do but these, for they are the most beautiful and have most virtue in them of the apples of the whole world. And it is what they are like, they are of the colour of burned gold, and they are the size of the head of a child a month old, and there is the taste of honey on them, and they do not leave the pain of wounds or the vexation of sickness on any one that eats them, and they do not lessen by being eaten for ever. And the skin I asked of you," he said, "is the pig skin of Tuis, King of Greece, and it heals all the wounds and all the sickness of the world, and whatever danger a man may be in, if it can but overtake the life in him, it will cure him; and it is the way it was with that pig, every stream of water it would go through would be turned into wine to the end of nine days after, and every wound it touched was healed; and it is what the Druids of Greece said, that it is not in itself this virtue was, but in the skin, and they skinned it, and the skin is there ever since. And I think, too, it will not be easy for you to get it, with or without leave."

"And do you know what is the spear I am asking of you?" he said. "We do not," said they. "It is a very deadly spear belonging to the King of Persia, the Luin it is called, and every choice thing is done by it, and its head is kept steeped in a vessel of water, the way it will not burn down the place where it is, and it will be hard to get it. And do you know what two horses and what chariot I am asking of you? They are the chariot and the two wonderful horses of Dobar, King of Siogair, and the sea is the same as land to them, and there are no faster horses than themselves, and there is no chariot equal to that one in shape and in strength.

"And do you know what are the seven pigs I asked of you? They are the pigs of Easal, King of the Golden Pillars; and though they are killed every night, they are found alive again the next day, and there will be no disease or no sickness on any person that will eat a share of them.

"And the whelp I asked of you is Fail-Inis, the whelp belonging to the King of Ioruaidh, the Cold Country. And all the wild beasts of the world would fall down at the sight of her, and she is more beautiful than the sun in his fiery wheels, and it will be hard to get her.

"And the cooking-spit I asked of you is a spit of the spits of the women of Inis Cenn-fhinne, the Island of Caer of the Fair Hair. And the three shouts you are to give on a hill must be given on the Hill of Miochaoin in the north of Lochlann. And Miochaoin and his sons are under bonds not to allow any shouts to be given on that hill; and it was with them my father got his learning, and if I would forgive you his death, they would not forgive you. And if you get through all your other voyages before you reach to them, it is my opinion they themselves will avenge him on you. And that is the fine I have asked of you," said Lugh.

There was silence and darkness on the sons of Tuireann when they heard that. And they went to where their father was, and told him the fine that had been put on them. "It is bad news that is," said Tuireann; "and it is to your death and your destruction you will be going, looking for those things. But for all that, if Lugh himself had a mind to help you, you could work out the fine, and all the men of the world could not do it but by the power of Manannan or of Lugh. Go then and ask the loan of Manannan's horse, the Aonbharr, from Lugh, and if he has any wish to get the fine, he will give it to you; but if he does not wish it he will say the horse is not his, and that he would not give the loan of a loan. Ask him then for the loan of Manannan's curragh, the Scuabtuinne, the Sweeper of the Waves. And he will give that, for he is under bonds not to refuse a second request, and the curragh is better for you than the horse," he said.

So the sons of Tuireann went to where Lugh was, and they saluted him, and they said they could not bring him the fine without his own help, and for that reason it would be well for them to get a loan of the Aonbharr. "I have that horse only on loan myself," said Lugh, "and I will not give a loan of a loan."

"If that is so, give us the loan of Manannan's curragh," said Brian. "I will give that," said Lugh. "What place is it?" said they. "At Brugh na Boinn," said Lugh.

Then they went back again to where Tuireann was, and his daughter Ethne, their sister, with him, and they told him they had got the curragh. "It is not much the better you will be for it," said Tuireann, "although Lugh would like well to get every part of this fine he could make use of before the battle with the Fomor. But he would like yourselves to come to your death looking for it."

Then they went away, and they left Tuireann sorrowful and lamenting, and Ethne went with them to where the curragh was. And Brian got into it, and he said: "There is place but for one other person along with me here." And he began to find fault with its narrowness. "You ought not to be faulting the curragh," said Ethne; "and O my dear brother," she said, "it was a bad thing you did, to kill the father of Lugh of the Long Hand; and whatever harm may come to you from it, it is but just." "Do not say that, Ethne," they said, "for we are in good heart, and we will do brave deeds. And we would sooner be killed a hundred times over," they said, "than to meet with the death of cowards." "My grief," said Ethne, "there is nothing more sorrowful than this, to see you driven out from your own country."

Then the three pushed out their curragh from the beautiful clear-bayed shore of Ireland. "What course shall we take first?" said they. "We will go look for the apples," said Brian, "as they were the first thing we were bade bring. And so we ask of you, curragh of Manannan that is under us, to sail to the Garden in the East of the World."

And the curragh did not neglect that order, but it sailed forward over the green-sided waves and deep places till it came to its harbour in the east of the world.

And then Brian asked his brothers: "What way have you a mind to get into the garden? for I think," he said, "the king's champions and the fighting men of the country are always guarding it, and the king himself is chief over them." "What should we do," said his brothers, "but to make straight at them and attack them, and bring away the apples or fall ourselves, since we cannot escape from these dangers that are before us without meeting our death in some place." "It would be better," said Brian, "the story of our bravery and our craftiness to be told and to live after us, than folly and cowardice to be told of us. And what is best for us to do now," he said, "is to go in the shape of swift hawks into the garden, and the watchers have but their light spears to throw at us, and let you take good care to keep out of their reach; and after they have thrown them all, make a quick flight to the apples and let each of you bring away an apple of them in your claws, and I will bring away the third."

They said that was a good advice, and Brian struck himself and the others with his Druid rod, and changed them into beautiful hawks. And they flew towards the garden, and the watchers took notice of them and shouted on every side of them, and threw showers of spears and darts, but the hawks kept out of their reach as Brian had bade them, till all the spears were spent, and then they swept down bravely on the apples, and brought them away with them, without so much as a wound.

And the news went through the city and the whole district, and the king had three wise, crafty daughters, and they put themselves into the shape of three ospreys, and they followed the hawks to the sea, and sent flashes of lightning before them and after them, that scorched them greatly.

"It is a pity the way we are now," said the sons of Tuireann, "for we will be burned through and through with this lightning if we do not get some relief." "If I can give you relief I will do it," said Brian. With that he struck himself and his brothers with the Druid rod, and they were turned into three swans, and they went down quickly into the sea, and the ospreys went away from them then, and the sons of Tuireann went into their boat.

After that they consulted together, and it is what they agreed, to go to Greece and to bring away the skin of the pig, with or without leave. So they went forward till they came near to the court of the King of Greece.

"What appearance should we put on us going in here?" said Brian. "What appearance should we go in with but our own?" said the others. "That is not what I think best," said Brian; "but to go in with the appearance of poets from Ireland, the way the high people of Greece will hold us in respect and in honour." "It would be hard for us to do that," they said, "and we without a poem, and it is little we know how to make one."

However, they put the poet's tie on their hair, and they knocked at the door of the court, and the door-keeper asked who was in it. "We are poets of Ireland," said Brian, "and we are come with a poem to the king."

The door-keeper went in and told the king that there were poets from Ireland at the door. "Let them in," said the king, "for it is in search of a good man they came so far from their own country." And the king gave orders that everything should be well set out in the court, the way they would say they had seen no place so grand in all their travels.

The sons of Tuireann were let in then, having the appearance of poets, and they fell to drinking and pleasure without delay; and they thought they had never seen, and there was not in the world, a court so good as that or so large a household, or a place where they had met with better treatment.

Then the king's poets got up to give out their poems and songs. And then Brian, son of Tuireann, bade his brothers to say a poem for the king. "We have no poem," said they; "and do not ask any poem of us, but the one we know before, and that is to take what we want by the strength of our hand if we are the strongest, or to fall by those that are against us if they are the strongest." "That is not a good way to make a poem," said Brian. And with that he rose up himself and asked a hearing. And they all listened to him, and it is what he said:

"O Tuis, we do not hide your fame; we praise you as the oak among kings; the skin of a pig, bounty without hardness, this is the reward I ask for it.

"The war of a neighbour against an ear; the fair ear of his neighbour will be against him; he who gives us what he owns, his court will not be the scarcer for it.

"A raging army and a sudden sea are a danger to whoever goes against them. The skin of a pig, bounty without hardness, this is the reward I ask, O Tuis."

"That is a good poem," said the king; "but I do not know a word of its meaning." "I will tell you its meaning," said Brian. "'O Tuis, we do not hide your fame; we praise you as the oak above the kings.' That is, as the oak is beyond the kingly trees of the wood, so are you beyond the kings of the world for open-handedness and for grandeur.

"'The skin of a pig, bounty without hardness.' That is, the skin of a pig you own is what I would wish to get from you as a reward for my poem.

"'The war of a neighbour against an ear, the fair ear of his neighbour will be against him.' That is, you and I will be by the ears about the skin, unless I get it with your consent.

"And that is the meaning of the poem," said Brian.

"I would praise your poem," said the king, "if there was not so much about my pig-skin in it; and you have no good sense, man of poetry," he said, "to be asking that thing of me, and I would not give it to all the poets and the learned men and the great men of the world, since they could not take it away without my consent. But I will give you three times the full of the skin of gold as the price of your poem," he said.

"May good be with you, king," said Brian, "and I know well it was no easy thing I was asking, but I knew I would get a good ransom for it. And I am that covetous," he said, "I will not be satisfied without seeing the gold measured myself into the skin."

The king sent his servants with them then to the treasure-house to measure the gold. "Measure out the full of it to my brothers first," said Brian, "and then give good measure to myself, since it was I made the poem."

But when the skin was brought out, Brian made a quick sudden snatch at it with his left hand, and drew his sword and made a stroke at the man nearest him, and made two halves of him. And then he kept a hold of the skin and put it about himself, and the three of them rushed out of the court, cutting down every armed man before them, so that not one escaped death or wounding. And then Brian went to where the king himself was, and the king made no delay in attacking him, and they made a hard fight of it, and at the end the King of Greece fell by the hand of Brian, son of Tuireann.

The three brothers rested for a while after that, and then they said they would go and look for some other part of the fine. "We will go to Pisear, King of Persia," said Brian, "and ask him for the spear."

So they went into their boat, and they left the blue streams of the coast of Greece, and they said: "We are well off when we have the apples and the skin." And they stopped nowhere till they came to the borders of Persia.

"Let us go to the court with the appearance of poets," said Brian, "the same as we went to the King of Greece." "We are content to do that," said the others, "as all turned out so well the last time we took to poetry; not that it is easy for us to take to a calling that does not belong to us."

So they put the poet's tie on their hair, and they were as well treated as they were at the other court; and when the time came for poems Brian rose up, and it is what he said:

"It is little any spear looks to Pisear; the battles of enemies are broken, it is not too much for Pisear to wound every one of them.

"A yew, the most beautiful of the wood, it is called a king, it is not bulky. May the spear drive on the whole crowd to their wounds of death."

"That is a good poem," said the king, "but I do not understand why my own spear is brought into it, O Man of Poetry from Ireland."

"It is because it is that spear of your own I would wish to get as the reward of my poem," said Brian. "It is little sense you have to be asking that of me," said the king; "and the people of my court never showed greater respect for poetry than now, when they did not put you to death on the spot."

When Brian heard that talk from the king, he thought of the apple that was in his hand, and he made a straight cast and hit him in the forehead, so that his brains were put out at the back of his head, and he bared the sword and made an attack on the people about him. And the other two did not fail to do the same, and they gave him their help bravely till they had made an end of all they met of the people of the court. And then they found the spear, and its head in a cauldron of water, the way it would not set fire to the place.

And after a while they said it was time for them to go and look for the rest of the great fine that was on them, and they asked one another what way should they go. "We will go to the King of the Island of Siogair," said Brian, "for it is with him are the two horses and the chariot the Ildánach asked of us."

They went forward then and brought the spear with them, and it is proud the three champions were after all they had done. And they went on till they were come to the court of the King of Siogair.

"It is what we will do this time," said Brian, "we will go in with the appearance of paid soldiers from Ireland, and we will make friends with the king, the way we will get to know in what place the horses and the chariot are kept." And when they had settled on that they went forward to the lawn before the king's house.

The king and the chief men that were with him rose up and came through the fair that was going on there, and they saluted the king, and he asked who were they. "We are trained fighting men from Ireland," they said, "and we are earning wages from the kings of the world." "Is it your wish to stop with me for a while?" said the king. "That is what we are wanting," said they. So then they made an agreement and took service with him.

They stopped in the court a fortnight and a month, and they never saw the horses through that time. Then Brian said: "This is a bad way we are in, to have no more news of the horses now than the first day we came to the place." "What is best for us to do now?" said his brothers. "Let us do this," said Brian, "let us take our arms and gather our things together, and go to the king and tell him we will leave the country and this part of the world unless he will show us those horses."

So they went to the king that very day, and he asked them what did they mean by getting themselves ready for a journey. "You will hear that, high king," said Brian; "it is because trained fighting men from Ireland, like ourselves, have always trust put in them by the kings they guard, and we are used to be told the secrets and the whispers of any person we are with, and that is not the way you have treated us since we came to you. For you have two horses and a chariot that are the best in the world, as we have been told, and we have not been given a sight of them yet." "It would be a pity you to go on that account," said the king, "when I would have showed them to you the first day, if I had known you had a wish to see them. And if you have a mind to see them now," he said, "you may see them; for I think there never came soldiers from Ireland to this place that were thought more of by myself and by my people than yourselves."

He sent for the horses then, and they were yoked to the chariot, and their going was as fast as the cold spring wind, and the sea was the same as the land to them.

And Brian was watching the horses closely, and on a sudden he took hold of the chariot and took the chariot driver out and dashed him against the nearest rock, and made a leap into his place himself, and made a cast of the Persian spear at the king, that went through his heart. And then he and his brothers scattered the people before them, and brought away the chariot.

"We will go now to Easal, the King of the Golden Pillars," said Brian, "to look for the seven pigs the Ildánach bade us bring him."

They sailed on then without delay or drawback to that high country. And it is the way the people of that country were, watching their harbours for fear of the sons of Tuireann, for the story of them had been told in all parts, how they had been sent out of Ireland by force, and how they were bringing away with them all the gifted treasures of the whole world.

Easal came to the edge of the harbour to meet them, and he asked was it true what he heard, that the king of every country they had gone to had fallen by them. Brian said it was true, whatever he might wish to do to them for it. "What was it made you do that?" said Easal. Brian told him then it was the oppression and the hard sentence of another had put them to it; and he told him all that had happened, and how they had put down all that offered to stand against them until that time.

"What did you come to this country now for?" said the king. "For the pigs belonging to yourself," said Brian; "for to bring them away with us is a part of the fine." "What way do you think to get them?" said the king. "If we get them with good-will," said Brian, "we are ready to take them thankfully; and if we do not, we are ready to do battle with yourself and your people on the head of them, that you may fall by us, and we may bring away the pigs in spite of you." "If that is to be the end of it," said the king, "it would be a pity to bring my people into a battle." "It would be a pity indeed," said Brian.

Then the king whispered and took advice with his people about the matter, and it is what they agreed, to give up the pigs of their own free will to the sons of Tuireann, since they could not see that any one had been able to stand against them up to that time.

Then the sons of Tuireann gave their thanks to Easal, and there was wonder on them to have got the pigs like that, when they had to fight for every other part of the fine. And more than that, they had left a share of their blood in every other place till then.

Easal brought them to his own house that night, and they were served with food, and drink, and good beds, and all they could wish for. And they rose up on the morrow and came into the king's presence, and the pigs were given to them. "It is well you have done by us, giving us these pigs," said Brian, "for we did not get any share of the fine without fighting but these alone." And he made a poem for the king then, praising him, and putting a great name on him for what he had done.

"What journey are you going to make now, sons of Tuireann?" said Easal. "We are going," they said, "to the country of Ioruaidh, on account of a whelp that is there." "Give me one request," said Easal, "and that is to bring me with you to the King of Ioruaidh, for a daughter of mine is his wife, and I would wish to persuade him to give you the whelp without a battle." "That will please us well," they said.

So the king's ship was made ready, and we have no knowledge of what happened till they came to the delightful, wonderful coast of Ioruaidh. The people and the armies were watching the harbours and landing-places before them, and they knew them at once and shouted at them.

Then Easal went on shore peaceably, and he went to where his son-in-law, the king, was, and told him the story of the sons of Tuireann from beginning to end. "What has brought them to this country?" said the King of Ioruaidh. "To ask for the hound you have," said Easal. "It was a bad thought you had coming with them to ask it," said the king, "for the gods have not given that much luck to any three champions in the world, that they would get my hound by force or by good-will." "It would be better for you to let them have the hound," said Easal, "since they have put down so many of the kings of the world."

But all he could say was only idleness to the king. So he went then to where the sons of Tuireann were, and gave them the whole account. And when they heard the king's answer, they made no delay, but put quick hands on their arms, and offered to give battle to the army of Ioruaidh. And when they met, there was a brave battle fought on both sides. And as for the sons of Tuireann, they began to kill and to strike at the men of Ioruaidh till they parted from one another in the fight, so that Iuchar and Iucharba chanced to be on one side, and Brian by himself on the other side. It was a gap of danger and a breaking of ranks was before Brian in every path he took, till he came to the King of Ioruaidh in the battle pen where he was. And then the two brave champions began a fierce fight together, and they did not spare one another in it. And at the last Brian overcame the king, and bound him, and brought him through the middle of the army, till he came to the place where Easal was, and it is what he said: "There is your son-in-law for you, and I swear by my hand of valour, I would think it easier to kill him three times than to bring him to you once like this."

So then the whelp was given to the sons of Tuireann, and the king was unbound, and peace was made between them. And when they had brought all this to an end, they bade farewell to Easal and to all the rest.

Now as to Lugh of the Long Hand, it was showed to him that the sons of Tuireann had got all the things that were wanting to him against the battle with the Fomor; and on that he sent a Druid spell after them to put forgetfulness on them of the rest of the fine that they had not got. And he put a great desire and longing on them to go back to Ireland; so they forgot that a part of the fine was wanting to them, and they turned back again toward home.

And it is the place where Lugh was at the time, at a gathering of the people for a fair on the green outside Teamhair, and the King of Ireland along with him. And it was made known to Lugh that the sons of Tuireann were landed at Brugh na Boinn. And he went into the city of Teamhair, and shut the gate after him, and he put on Manannan's smooth armour, and the cloak, of the daughters of Flidais, and he took his own arms in his hand.

And the sons of Tuireann came where the king was, and they were made welcome by him and by the Tuatha de Danaan. And the king asked them did they get the fine. "We did get it," said they; "and where is Lugh till we give it to him?" "He was here a while ago," said the king. And the whole fair was searched for him, but he was not found.

"I know the place where he is," said Brian; "for it has been made known to him that we are come to Ireland, and these deadly arms with us, and he is gone into Teamhair to avoid us."

Messengers were sent to him then, and it is the answer he gave them that he would not come, but that the fine should be given to the king.

So the sons of Tuireann did that, and when the king had taken the fine they all went to the palace in Teamhair; and Lugh came out on the lawn and the fine was given to him, and it is what he said: "There is a good payment here for any one that ever was killed or that ever will be killed. But there is something wanting to it yet that it is not lawful to leave out. And where is the cooking-spit?" he said; "and where are the three shouts on the hill that you did not give yet?"

And when the sons of Tuireann heard that there came clouds of weakness on them. And they left the place and went to their father's house that night, and they told him all they had done, and the way Lugh had treated them.

There was grief and darkness on Tuireann then, and they spent the night together. And on the morrow they went to their ship, and Ethne, their sister, with them, and she was crying and lamenting, and it is what she said:

"It is a pity, Brian of my life, it is not to Teamhair your going is, after all the troubles you have had before this, even if I could not follow you.

"O Salmon of the dumb Boinn, O Salmon of the Lifé River, since I cannot keep you here I am loath to part from you.

"O Rider of the Wave of Tuaidh, the man that stands best in the fight, if you come back again, I think it will not be pleasing to your enemy.

"Is there pity with you for the sons of Tuireann leaning now on their green shields? Their going is a cause for pity, my mind is filled up with it.

"You to be to-night at Beinn Edair till the heavy coming of the morning, you who have taken forfeits from brave men, it is you have increased our grief.

"It is a pity your journey is from Teamhair, and from the pleasant plains, and from great Uisnech of Midhe; there is nothing so pitiful as this."

After that complaint they went out on the rough waves of the green sea; and they were a quarter of a year on the sea without getting any news of the island.

Then Brian put on his water dress and he made a leap, and he was a long time walking in the sea looking for the Island of the Fair-Haired Women, and he found it in the end. And he went looking for the court, and when he came to it, all he found was a troop of women doing needlework and embroidering borders. And among all the other things they had with them, there was the cooking-spit.

And when Brian saw it, he took it up in his hand and he was going to bring it with him to the door. And all the women began laughing when they saw him doing that, and it is what they said: "It is a brave deed you put your hand to; for even if your brothers were along with you, the least of the three times fifty women of us would not let the spit go with you or with them. But for all that," they said, "take a spit of the spits with you, since you had the daring to try and take it in spite of us."

Brian bade them farewell then, and went to look for the boat. And his brothers thought it was too long he was away from them, and just as they were going to leave the place they were, they saw him coming towards them, and that raised their courage greatly.

And he went into the boat, and they went on to look for the Hill of Miochaoin. And when they came there, Miochaoin, that was the guardian of the hill, came towards them; and when Brian saw him he attacked him, and the fight of those two champions was like the fight of two lions, till Miochaoin fell at the last.

And after Miochaoin had fallen, his three sons came out to fight with the three sons of Tuireann. And if any one ever came from the east of the world to look at any fight, it is to see the fight of these champions he had a right to come, for the greatness of their blows and the courage of their minds. The names of the sons of Miochaoin were Core and Conn and Aedh, and they drove their three spears through the bodies of the sons of Tuireann, and that did not discourage them at all and they put their own three spears through the bodies of the sons of Miochaoin, so that they fell into the clouds and the faintness of death.

And then Brian said: "What way are you now, my dear brothers?" "We are near our death," said they. "Let us rise up," he said, "and give three shouts upon the hill, for I see the signs of death coming on us." "We are not able to do that," said they. Then Brian rose up and raised each of them with one hand, and he shedding blood heavily all the time, until they gave the three shouts.

After that Brian brought them with him to the boat, and they were travelling the sea for a long time, but at last Brian said: "I see Beinn Edair and our father's dun, and Teamhair of the Kings." "We would have our fill of health if we could see that," said the others; "and for the love of your good name, brother," they said, "raise up our heads on your breast till we see Ireland again, and life or death will be the same to us after that. And O Brian," they said, "Flame of Valour without treachery, we would sooner death to bring ourselves away, than to see you with wounds upon your body, and with no physician to heal you."

Then they came to Beinn Edair, and from that they went on to their father's house, and Brian said to Tuireann: "Go, dear father, to Teamhair, and give this spit to Lugh, and bring the skin that has healing in it for our relief. Ask it from him for the sake of friendship," he said, "for we are of the one blood, and let him not give hardness for hardness. And O dear father," he said, "do not be long on your journey, or you will not find us alive before you."

Then Tuireann went to Teamhair, and he found Lugh of the Long Hand before him, and he gave him the spit, and he asked the skin of him to heal his children, and Lugh said he would not give it And Tuireann came back to them and told them he had not got the skin. And Brian said: "Bring me with you to Lugh, to see would I get it from him."

So they went to Lugh, and Brian asked the skin of him. And Lugh said he would not give it, and that if they would give him the breadth of the earth in gold for it, he would not take it from them, unless he was sure their death would come on them in satisfaction for the deed they had done.

When Brian heard that, he went to the place his two brothers were, and he lay down between them, and his life went out from him, and out from the other two at the same time.

And their father cried and lamented over his three beautiful sons, that had the making of a king of Ireland in each of them, and his strength left him and he died; and they were buried in the one grave.

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

Explore the evolution of the Bitcoin Ireland Conference, from its humble origins to a remarkable success story, as shared by Lawrence Parnis in a captivating interview on the 'Croxroad' podcast. Delve into the conference's growth, its unique focus on Bitcoin, and Lawrence's insights into Ireland's Bitcoin community. Gain exclusive insights into the upcoming conference details, including prominent speakers and exciting events. Uncover the dynamic intersection of technology, finance, and community building, making the Bitcoin Ireland Conference a key player in the global Bitcoin space. Discover the intriguing connection with UFC Champ Conor McGregor, exploring his potential involvement and the impact on the conference's popularity. This article unveils the journey of a small idea that has blossomed into a significant event, shaping the narrative around Bitcoin adoption in Ireland. Join us in this exploration of Lawrence Parnis's vision, the Bitcoin Ireland Conference's success, and the exciting prospects that lie ahead for this influential gathering.

Table of Contents

• Introduction to Lawrence Parnis

• Genesis of the Bitcoin Ireland Conference

• Key Achievements and Milestones

• Speakers and Attendees

• Bitcoin Adoption in Ireland

• Conclusion

• FAQs

Introduction to Lawrence Parnis

Lawrence Parnis, a driving force behind the Bitcoin Ireland Conference, emerges as a visionary figure in the realm of cryptocurrency events. In this exclusive interview on the 'Croxroad' podcast, Lawrence unfolds his journey from conceiving a small idea to orchestrating a monumental success story with the Bitcoin Ireland Conference. With a profound understanding of Bitcoin's impact and potential, Lawrence has become a key figure in Ireland's cryptocurrency community.

A passionate advocate for Bitcoin adoption, Lawrence shares insights into the genesis of the conference, reflecting on its initial stages and the challenges overcome to become a significant event in the global cryptocurrency calendar. His commitment to fostering a thriving Bitcoin community in Ireland shines through, offering a unique perspective on the intersection of technology, finance, and community building.

Beyond the conference's success, Lawrence provides a glimpse into the upcoming edition, teasing details about prominent speakers, events, and the overall experience attendees can anticipate. His dedication to creating an inclusive platform for Bitcoin enthusiasts is palpable, as he discusses the conference's role in shaping the narrative around cryptocurrency adoption in Ireland.

An intriguing facet of the interview is Lawrence's connection to renowned MMA fighter Conor McGregor. The discussion explores the potential involvement of McGregor in the conference and the ripple effect on its popularity. Lawrence's ability to navigate the dynamics of technology, celebrity, and finance positions him as a thought leader in the cryptocurrency space.

This introduction sets the stage for a comprehensive exploration of Lawrence Parnis's journey, shedding light on his pivotal role in the Bitcoin Ireland Conference and the broader implications of this burgeoning success.

Genesis of the Bitcoin Ireland Conference

The genesis of the Bitcoin Ireland Conference, as articulated by Lawrence Parnis in the 'Croxroad' podcast, unveils a compelling narrative of inception, perseverance, and eventual triumph. Lawrence narrates the humble beginnings of what started as a small idea and evolved into a resounding success in the cryptocurrency landscape.

He recounts the initial spark that led to the conceptualization of the conference, emphasising the need for a dedicated platform to unite Ireland's growing community of Bitcoin enthusiasts. Driven by a desire to create a space for education, networking, and collaboration, Lawrence embarked on a journey to establish an event that transcended geographical boundaries and brought together thought leaders, developers, and enthusiasts.

The challenges encountered in the early stages are discussed with transparency, reflecting the grit required to transform an idea into a full-fledged conference. Lawrence provides insights into navigating logistical hurdles, garnering support from the local community, and overcoming scepticism about the feasibility of such an event.

The genesis of the Bitcoin Ireland Conference becomes a tale of resilience, adaptability, and a steadfast belief in the transformative power of Bitcoin. Lawrence's commitment to fostering a vibrant cryptocurrency ecosystem in Ireland is evident as he shares anecdotes of the pivotal moments that shaped the conference's trajectory.

The interview delves into the evolution of the conference from a local initiative to a globally recognized event. Lawrence sheds light on the strategic decisions, partnerships, and community engagement efforts that propelled the Bitcoin Ireland Conference to its current stature.

This exploration of the genesis provides a comprehensive understanding of the conference's roots, showcasing Lawrence Parnis's entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to advancing the discourse around Bitcoin in Ireland and beyond.

Key Achievements and Milestones

Lawrence Parnis, the driving force behind the Bitcoin Ireland Conference, outlines a series of remarkable achievements and pivotal milestones that have marked the conference's ascent to prominence. From its inception as a small idea to becoming a powerhouse event in the cryptocurrency realm, the journey is characterised by significant accomplishments.

1.Community Growth: Lawrence discusses the substantial growth of the Bitcoin community in Ireland catalysed by the conference. He elaborates on how the event has become a focal point for enthusiasts, developers, and industry experts to converge and exchange ideas.

2.Global Recognition: The conference's evolution from a local initiative to a globally recognized event is highlighted. Lawrence details the strategic initiatives that garnered international attention, positioning the Bitcoin Ireland Conference as a key player in the cryptocurrency conference circuit.

3.Educational Impact: An emphasis on education emerges as a cornerstone achievement. Lawrence underscores the conference's role in providing valuable insights, knowledge-sharing, and fostering a culture of continuous learning within the Bitcoin community.

4.Partnerships and Sponsorships: The interview sheds light on strategic partnerships and sponsorships that have played a vital role in the conference's success. Lawrence discusses how collaborations with industry leaders and sponsors have contributed to the event's credibility and scale.

5.Positive Media Coverage: Lawrence reflects on the positive media coverage the conference has garnered over the years. The discussion includes instances of mainstream media recognition and how this coverage has contributed to changing the narrative around Bitcoin in Ireland.

6.Integration of Bitcoin into Ireland's Landscape: The interview explores the impact of the conference on Bitcoin adoption in Ireland. Lawrence talks about how the event has influenced businesses, policymakers, and the general public's perception of Bitcoin, paving the way for greater integration.

7.Continued Innovation: Lawrence discusses the commitment to innovation and adaptation, ensuring that each conference edition surpasses the previous one. The interview provides insights into how the event stays relevant by incorporating emerging trends and technologies within the cryptocurrency space.

These key achievements and milestones collectively portray the Bitcoin Ireland Conference as a dynamic and influential force, contributing significantly to the growth, awareness, and acceptance of Bitcoin in Ireland and beyond.

Speakers and Attendees

The Bitcoin Ireland Conference attracts a diverse array of speakers and attendees, creating a dynamic ecosystem for knowledge exchange and networking. Renowned figures from the cryptocurrency industry, blockchain experts, and thought leaders participate in insightful discussions. The inclusive nature of the event fosters engagement, bringing together enthusiasts, developers, and investors. Each edition sees a lineup of speakers who share valuable perspectives, ensuring attendees gain comprehensive insights into the ever-evolving landscape of Bitcoin and blockchain technology.

The conference takes an unexpected turn as Lawrence Parnis reveals the local celebrity involvement of none other than Conor McGregor. Known for his global fame in the sports and entertainment industry, McGregor's proximity to the conference's location adds a unique dimension. Lawrence shares anecdotes of McGregor's presence, indicating the growing interest of public figures in the Bitcoin space. McGregor's engagement emphasises the conference's reach beyond the cryptocurrency community, attracting attention from diverse spheres and contributing to Bitcoin's mainstream appeal in Ireland.

Bitcoin Adoption in Ireland

During the insightful conversation with Lawrence Parnis, the topic of Bitcoin adoption in Ireland emerged as a key focal point. Parnis shed light on Ireland's journey in embracing Bitcoin, marking a significant departure from traditional financial paradigms.

Ireland, once recognized for its economic transformation in the '90s, has continued its trajectory of change, now extending to the realm of cryptocurrency. Parnis spoke of a thriving Bitcoin community in the country, showcasing a robust network of enthusiasts and developers. The Bitcoin Ireland Conference, conceived from a small idea, has become a catalyst for fostering adoption by providing a platform for education and dialogue.

The regulatory landscape in Ireland has played a pivotal role in shaping Bitcoin's acceptance. Parnis shared insights into the country's progressive stance, highlighting ongoing efforts to integrate cryptocurrency into mainstream financial practices. The conference itself serves as a testament to this adoption, attracting attendees who are eager to delve into the potential of Bitcoin as a transformative force in finance.

Notably, Parnis discussed Ireland's evolving narrative around Bitcoin in mainstream media. He pointed out positive coverage in national newspapers and media channels, indicating a shifting perception. The impending launch of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in Ireland, as mentioned by Parnis, further underscores the country's commitment to embracing digital currencies.

Overall, the interview provides a compelling narrative of Ireland's journey towards Bitcoin adoption. The Bitcoin Ireland Conference, under Parnis's guidance, stands as a beacon for fostering understanding, collaboration, and the widespread integration of Bitcoin in the Irish financial landscape.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Lawrence Parnis's insights into the Bitcoin Ireland Conference offer a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of Bitcoin adoption in Ireland. From its modest origins to becoming a significant annual event, the conference symbolises the country's growing enthusiasm for cryptocurrency.

Parnis, as the driving force behind this initiative, has successfully brought together a diverse range of speakers, attendees, and even garnered attention from local celebrities like Conor McGregor. The conference's key achievements and milestones, coupled with its positive impact on mainstream media narratives, showcase Ireland's commitment to embracing Bitcoin.

As Bitcoin continues to shape the financial landscape globally, the Irish example, as portrayed by Parnis, becomes a compelling case study. The Bitcoin Ireland Conference not only serves as a platform for education and collaboration but also as a testament to Ireland's progressive stance on digital currencies. Parnis's vision and dedication have undeniably propelled the conference into a significant milestone in Ireland's journey towards broader Bitcoin adoption.

FAQs

How can I attend the Bitcoin Ireland Conference? To attend the Bitcoin Ireland Conference, you can visit the official website at www.bitcoinireland.eu. There, you'll find detailed information about upcoming events, ticket prices, and registration instructions. The conference typically offers various ticket options to accommodate different preferences and schedules.

Who are some notable speakers at the Bitcoin Ireland Conference? The Bitcoin Ireland Conference attracts a diverse range of speakers, including industry experts, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs. Lawrence Parnis has consistently curated an impressive lineup. To stay updated on the latest speaker announcements, you can follow the conference's official Twitter account @BitcoinConfIRL or check the conference website for regular updates.

Is the Bitcoin Ireland Conference suitable for beginners in cryptocurrency? Yes, the Bitcoin Ireland Conference caters to a broad audience, including beginners in the cryptocurrency space. The event typically features a mix of introductory sessions and advanced discussions, making it accessible to individuals at various levels of expertise. Whether you're new to Bitcoin or a seasoned enthusiast, the conference provides valuable insights, networking opportunities, and a platform to engage with the growing crypto community in Ireland.

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想象这样一个史实：一群外国人跑到一个古老的东方国度做生意。这个国家历史悠久但蛮横无理，处处刁难这些外国人，于是外国人在当地开设报纸报刊，传播时事新闻，也对这个国家评头论足，甚至鼓动自己的祖国对它发动战争，而这一切就发生在天子脚下，东方古国对此毫不知情。

这本书有意思的地方，就是研究这样一个史实。更准确的说，是研究那些报纸本身。报纸诞生的地方，正是广州。

19世纪为什么一群西方人能够在清政府眼皮底下出报纸，开启在华外报的历史？一个原因是当时基督教徒要传教、外国商馆需要信息，这些外国人有很强烈的动机去印刷和传播新闻；第二，这些报刊主要是用英文、外语报道的，阅读对象主要也是西方在华侨民，中国人看不懂；第三，当时民间出版相对自由，不需要官府审批、也不需要留下刻书的铺号，事实上，从宋代以来并没有对民间印刷出版做过多的限制。

——最后这个原因，现在读起来简直不可思议。

《广州记录报》主要报道当时中国的政治败坏、社会动乱、道德滑坡、司法腐败等等乱象。也有一些流言八卦，比如道光皇帝最小的弟弟和太监通奸遭遇严惩等等。《中国信使报》的风格则更为激进，主要鼓吹的是对华采取强硬武力、促使清政府打开自由贸易大门。出版时间持续20年的《中国丛报》言论相对不那么激进，可能因为其主编是美国的传教士裨治文，他办报初衷是希望借助文化和商业来促使传教事业能在中国推进，另外美国商人当时主要从事正规商业活动，并不参与鸦片的走私贩卖，所以切身利益不像英商那么急迫。

在当时的社会环境下，这些在华外报选定什么议题、做什么类型的报道、用什么样的标准选择内容，这些是书中研究的重点，也是这本书比较有价值的地方。

一方面他们关注在华外商的利益，对清政府现行的通商制度进行批判，认为外国商人在中国遭遇非人待遇，要求谋取更多的权利，另一方面，他们也对研究中国人充满兴趣。他们对当时人口占世界四分之一的这个大国家，对外所表现出的不闻不问、闭关锁国的态度，充满了不理解，因此试图从中国人的历史、文化和国民性入手，去寻找答案。最后得出的结论，大概是中国人充满了傲慢，把外界全部视为野蛮人，而不知自己才是野蛮人。

举比较有代表性的两个持续性的议题的例子。

第一个是《中国丛报》多期刊载了郭士立撰写的《中国沿海航行记》，这个专栏描写了大量的场景化的沿海风俗民情，在郭士立笔下，一路以来遇到的每个中国人，都被他以鲜活的笔触记录下来。这些中国人是什么样子的呢？有好奇心、吃苦耐劳、浑身充满干劲。生活贫困，却仍然抱有身为天朝臣民的优越感，同时也是精神麻木、失去基本良知的一群人。他们多神崇拜又缺乏信仰，渴望财富又缺少冒险精神。他们吸毒、偷盗、纳妾，道德沦丧。

有两处描写，令人不堪入目：

7月17日，在我们靠岸不久，我看到一大群小船包围了我们的商船，船头上都站着女人。我再次警告还留在商船上的船员，一定要压制自己的邪念。然而我的话根本不起作用，我前脚刚刚离开甲板，他们立马无所顾忌。在中国，父母卖女儿做妓女，丈夫卖妻子做妓女，兄长卖妹妹做妓女一他们做这些时，没有丝毫怜悯之心，甚至如禽兽魔鬼般地开心。船员们狂欢着，全然忘记了挨饿的家人，他们看起来焦躁不安、充满淫欲。

在刘公岛不远处与文隔海相望的山东，虽然是孔子的故乡，然而儒家道德训诚却被人们抛弃和践踏，人们提起这位先古圣人时，语气都带看深深的不屑。在这儿，随船的船员们再次被妓女们引诱了，而这些女人是我见过的最肮脏堕落的动物。很快，捉襟见尉的船员们便尝到了苦头，有些船员不仅卖掉了自己的家当，甚至染上了疾病，这时他们才会追悔不迭，却为时已晚一一他们注定不能成为富人。此情此景真是人类的倒退！用不到12岁的女孩满足男人的兽欲，令人作呕发指！

另一个例子，是这些报纸对律劳卑事件的报道，以及因此引发的对“夷”字的研究和讨论。

律劳卑事件大概的经过，是当时英国派一位新的对华商贸总监律劳卑前来广州履职，这次履职和两广总督卢坤起了冲突，最终律劳卑擅自调动英国军舰进入珠江口，炮轰虎门，双方先后交战两次，对中英关系产生了非常大的影响。

而事件起因的冲突，现在看来都是一些文化摩擦：首先当时清政府不允许中国官员和外国人有直接接触，所有的外国人都是通过广州这个口岸当地的行商来作为中介，进行沟通。所以外商和外国官员有什么事情，都需要先找行商传话，清政府官员再对行商作回复，这种沟通方式让律劳卑很不满，他执意要亲自跟广州官方沟通，卢坤则坚决不见。第二，律劳卑当时入广并没有报备，而是从澳门偷偷进来，令卢坤不满。第三，广州官方发布的通告把律劳卑称为“夷目”，本意是外国人首领的意思，随行翻译和《中国丛报》把它翻为“野蛮人的眼睛”，让律劳卑感觉自己和英国女皇遭到了卢坤傲慢的侮辱。而广州官方对此并不知情。

到了鸦片战争爆发前夕，也就是林则徐虎门销烟之时，在华外报们又开始围绕“鸦片贸易本身的合法性”、“清政府严打鸦片贸易”以及“发起打击活动的主要人物林则徐”进行跟踪报道和讨论。此时不同的报纸对鸦片贸易持有不同的看法，有的报纸大肆渲染鸦片对人并无危害，在中国自古就有作为药用，鸦片贸易也只是类似于烈性酒的正当贸易而已。而有的报纸则批判这种言论无耻至极，只是英国商人为了走私鸦片赚取利润的借口罢了。

本书作者认为，在华外报发表的一系列内容，在一定程度上直接影响了历史的进程，促进了英国对华发起鸦片战争。当时英国官方自律劳卑事件之后，对中英关系更多想以“沉默”的态度和中方贸易，不想宣战。但是随着林则徐打击鸦片的行动越来越果断勇猛，在华外报鼓吹对中国宣战的言论就越加激烈，这些报纸不仅成为了在华外商的舆论地，也把报纸发往海外，传播到英国国内，煽动英国官方发起对华战争。

同时，另一种更间接的影响也悄悄种下。在华外报上诞生的、许多对中国人的研究和讨论，通过报纸传到海外，又从海外被翻制成新的内容再次传入到中国。中国国民性（character of the Chinese）作为一个概念被明确提出，源头来自于这里，最早在报纸上就包括了妇女缠足、溺杀女婴、叩头行拜背后的奴性观察等等话题。美国传教士明博恩的专栏《中国人的气质》在1901年被翻译为日文出版，成为日本畅销书。随后梁启超读到了，鲁迅读到了，这些中国的新青年不得不感慨，第一次听到对国民性的批判，是来自于外国人，梁启超说“吾闻而愤之耻之，然反观自身，诚不能不谓然也”。

历史书上的鸦片战争，也许只占了两页书的内容，每个中国人或许都非常熟悉。但从这些在华外报的报纸上重新经历一遍，又是另一件事情。最简单的例子是林则徐。我想起在澳门街头闲逛，在莲峰庙里看见了隔壁有一间小小的林则徐纪念馆，门票只需要5块钱，几乎没人参观，兴致寥寥。虎门销烟时，林则徐为了扩大打击力度，曾邀请了一系列外国商人和西方在华侨民前来观摩，其中就有《中国丛报》的主编裨治文。他亲眼见到了林则徐，并且和他有过交谈，之后在报纸上发表了一篇报道《镇口硝烟》，这篇报道详细记录了林则徐谈话的内容和音容笑貌。这也是少见的来自第一手资料的“现场报道”，对我来说，它比历史书上的林则徐更有冲击力。

在这些报纸中，你可以清楚的看到外国商人和本地居民日常生活中那些细碎的冲突，也可以看到宏观上的英国鸦片走私贸易与清政府禁烟的利益冲突。如果让我重新回顾一下鸦片战争，我的脑海里会浮现出另一个东方版本的《阿凡达》的故事。事实上，卡梅隆想用阿凡达来隐喻美国人对印第安人犯下的暴行，但那故事相比之下，也实在显得太过简单潦草。对于更复杂、更耐人回味的鸦片战争，马克思在1958年的《纽约每日论坛》上发表的文章总结得最好：

1800年，输入中国的鸦片，已经达到2000箱。如果在18世界时期，东印度公司与天朝之间的斗争，同外国商人与中国海关之同的一般爭批具有相同的性质，那么，从19世纪初起，这个斗争就有了完全不同的特征。中国皇帝为了制止自己巨民的自杀行为，既禁止外国输入这种毒品，又禁上中国人吸食这种毒品，而东印度公司却迅速地把在印度种植的鸦片以及向中国私卖鸦片变成自己财政系统不可分割的一部分。半野蛮人维护道德原则，而文明人却以发财的原则来对抗。一个人口基数占人类三分之一的幅员广大的帝国，不顾时势，仍安于现狀，由于被强力排斥于世界联系的体系之外而孤立无依，因此竭力以大朝尽善尽美的幻想来欺骗自己，这样一个帝国终于要在这样一场殊死的决斗中死去。在这场决斗中，陈腐世界的代表是基于道义原则，而最现代的社会的代表却是为了获得贱买贵卖的特杖一一这的确是一种悲剧，甚至诗人的幻想也永远不敢创造出这种离奇的悲剧题材。

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

The peaceful opposition and former Cuban political prisoner José Antonio Pompa López was arrested at his home in Old Havana by agents of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR).

"Right now, the sector chief has just arrived at my house to arrest me. He says that I have to accompany him to the police station because State Security wants to talk to me," the opposition member denounced via telephone just before the arrest.

In statements to CubaNet, his wife, Suarmi Hernández Vilar, said that her husband was transferred to the Dragones police station, according to the information provided by the sector chief.

"They supposedly took him to Dragones to talk to him but we do not know what could happen to him while in the hands of security," she added.

Last week, the opponent and member of the Coalition of Cuban Self-Employed had hung a sign on the balcony of his home which read, "S.O.S my children are dying of hunger."

Shortly after the protest, he was visited by the Cuban State Security, which demanded he remove the sign. The harassment by State Security

Pompa López worked as a pizza maker at a private pizzeria (Pizzas Pachi), but due to pressure from State Security, the business owner fired him and his economic situation worsened.

Days after the dismissal, he decided to protest in response to the repressive action of the Cuban regime.

The activist has been sent to prison on a couple of occasions for staging protests in public roads. For this reason, he was sentenced to two and a half years in jail on charges of "public disorder."

In 2011, he was also expelled from his workplace due to harassment by the regime's repressive organs, which, according to his complaint, try to break him by starvation.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

El opositor pacífico y expreso político cubano José Antonio Pompa López fue arrestado en su hogar de La Habana Vieja por agentes de la Policía Nacional Revolucionaria (PNR).

“Ahora mismo acaba de llegar el jefe de sector a mi casa para arrestarme. Dice que tengo que acompañarlo a la estación de policía porque la Seguridad del Estado quiere hablar conmigo”, denunció el opositor vía telefónica momentos antes del arresto.

En declaraciones a CubaNet, su esposa, Suarmi Hernández Vilar, dijo que su cónyuge fue trasladado a la estación de Dragones, de acuerdo con la información ofrecida por el jefe de sector.

“Supuestamente se lo llevaron para Dragones para conversar con él pero no sabemos qué es lo que pueda pasarle estando en manos de la seguridad”, añadió.

La semana pasada, el opositor y miembro de la Coalición de Cuentapropistas Cubanos había colgado un cartel en el balcón de su hogar en el cual se podía leer “S.O.S mis hijos se mueren de hambre”.

Al poco tiempo de la protesta fue visitado por la Seguridad del Estado cubano que le exigió retirar el cartel. El acoso de la Seguridad del Estado

Pompa López trabajaba como elaborador de pizzas en pizzería particular (Pizzas Pachi) pero por presiones de la Seguridad del Estado el dueño del negocio lo despidió y su situación económica empeoró.

Días después del despido, decidió hacer la protesta en respuesta a la acción represiva del régimen cubano.

El activista ha sido enviado en par de ocasiones a prisión por protagonizar protestas en la vía pública. Por esta causa fue sancionado a dos años y medio de cárcel bajo acusaciones de “desorden público”.

En 2011 también fue expulsado de su centro laboral por hostigamiento de los órganos represivos del régimen que, según su denuncia, intentan doblegarlo por hambre.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

In the year 1922, a Cuban journalist, José M. Muzarrieta, wrote a small satirical book titled Manual del Perfecto Sinvergüenza. In a preface he called "Spiritual Exercises," the author recommended ways of behaving for those who wished to achieve results in the political career.

Muzarrieta was a prophet in his land. Many of those tips, which seem to be followed punctually by the leaders of Castroism, prove their validity. Let's look at some.

"Love yourself above all things." This idea is applied entirely by the Castroist leaders, who always display themselves in arrogant poses.

"Never say what you feel, nor feel what you say." A phrase followed to the letter, because they say things that later almost never come true or they twist them.

"Daring, that should be your main characteristic." Nothing better to illustrate the position of Fidel Castro during his struggle to take power and maintain it until his death. To this day, this recommendation is practiced by his successors, who are capable of anything in order to cling to power.

"No idea is good if it is not your own." That is, of Fidel Castro and his successors.

"Any procedure is good for success." It was applied by Fidel since the attack on the Moncada Barracks.

"Do not fight the so-called tyrannies, stand by the side of the tyrants and exploit others, never swim against the current." The Cuban regime has applied this since 1959 to support all left-wing tyrannies.

"Live life 24 hours at a time, remember that one of these days you have to die." If there is a very true phrase in this manual, it is this, applied meticulously by the high hierarchy for themselves and their families, who live like kings.

"Avoid accepting anything as definitive. You must always be hope." An expression used daily to excite their supporters and maintain in them the idea that if they strive and sacrifice they will have more, regardless of the problems that arise along the way.

"Look over your shoulder, give yourself importance." One only has to see the posture adopted in public by the current leaders.

"Laws were not made for you to comply with, but for you to mock them." What a great truth! In Cuba, socialist legality adjusts to what the rulers think, believe, and say, which is why they change the laws according to their convenience.

"Do not go to bed without having done something for your own benefit." Every passing day they invent a story that allows them to stay in power indefinitely.

"Perseverance chains fortune, the one who knows how to live always wins." That's why they travel a lot to other countries, to relate to others like them.

"Try to put on weight, fat people always look like nice people." There is not one of the current Cuban leaders who does not have a belly and double width.

"Think that power is at the same distance from you as it is from itself." The fight for power positions here is the order of the day. Among the leaders, they spy on each other and trip each other up. Purges and defenestrations are constant.

"Always aspire, when you least think it, you will succeed." This message is a continuation of the previous one, but seen from the one who is below.

"Always look forward, the past is not yours." They have done this for 65 years.

"You can quickly get to know your peers if you judge them by yourself." That is why they criticize other Governments, without taking into account the atrocities they commit.

"You are not obliged to fulfill pacts and commitments that do not favor you." This recommendation has been fully complied with over these 65 years, during which they have been modifying their position according to their interests and the changes in the world.

"Legal is all that brings you some benefit." Nothing is more truthful than this, and it faithfully matches all the ideological transformations of Castroism.

Muzarrieta, by warning that "these exercises do not exclude others that emanate from your natural shamelessness that is characteristic to you," thus left the door open to continue adding deceit and villainy. Were the leaders of Castroism to do this, they could form an encyclopedia of at least 20 volumes.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

The Cuban, Geovanny Ibáñez González, ended up detained by the authorities of the Island, after being denounced by his ex-wife, Heidi Peña, due to threats and an alleged attempt of gender-based homicide in Alamar, Havana.

The profile of Marlon Michel Álvarez, linked to the Ministry of the Interior (Minint), confirmed the detention of said individual, indicating that he was arrested for violence after appearing before the Municipal Unit.

In a desperate Facebook post, Peña expressed her fear of becoming another victim of femicide and recounted the moments of horror she had experienced at the hands of Ibáñez González. The attacker had threatened her in the presence of her four-year-old son and even attempted to take her life with a knife, being stopped by the intervention of neighbors and her own father.

The victim had reported that she feared for her life because agents of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) of Alamar had ignored her complaints, allowing the aggressor's release on bail when he was arrested for the first time.

She had asked the community to share her complaint on social media so that the fear she faces due to the aggressiveness of the aforementioned individual would be known. "A scared and very desperate mother who fears for her life and the life of her child is writing to you," she stated.

The Federation of Cuban Women spoke out about this, highlighting the seriousness of the situation and emphasizing that on the Island these acts of gender violence are not tolerated. "Cuba is not exempt from these social phenomena. This is a deplorable fact in which the country has zero tolerance. Our Constitution and Penal Code categorizes this act as serious," noted the organization.

The case of Heidi Peña highlights the urgent need to address the referred problem in the Greater of the Antilles. According to statistics, last year 88 femicides were recorded, according to independent gender observatories such as YoSíTeCreo in Cuba and the Gender Observatory of the magazine Alas Tensas.

However, the Cuban regime has published even more alarming figures, reporting 117 deaths due to gender violence until the month of October last year. This crime does not have a specific punishment in the Penal Code of the Island.

At the beginning of the current year, at least five cases of femicides have been reported, registered in the provinces of Holguín, Havana, and Camagüey. The victims were murdered by their partners or ex-partners.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

En el año 1922, un periodista cubano, José M. Muzarrieta, escribió un pequeño libro satírico titulado Manual del Perfecto Sinvergüenza. En un preámbulo que llamó “Ejercicios Espirituales”, el autor recomendaba formas de comportarse a quien deseara obtener resultados en la carrera política.

Muzarrieta fue un profeta en su tierra. Muchos de esos consejos, que parecen seguir puntualmente los dirigentes del castrismo, muestran su vigencia. Veamos algunos.

“Ámese a sí mismo sobre todas las cosas”. Esta idea es aplicada en su totalidad por los dirigentes castristas, quienes siempre se exhiben en poses arrogantes.

“Nunca diga lo que sienta, ni sienta lo que diga”. Frase cumplida al pie de la letra, porque dicen cosas que después casi nunca se cumplen o las tergiversan.

“La osadía, esa debe ser su característica principal”. Nada mejor para ilustrar la posición de Fidel Castro durante su lucha por tomar el poder y mantenerse en el mismo hasta su muerte. Hasta hoy, esa recomendación es practicada por sus sucesores, que son capaces de todo con tal de mantenerse aferrados al poder.

“Ninguna idea es buena si no es la suya”. O sea, de Fidel Castro y sus continuadores.

“Cualquier procedimiento es bueno para triunfar”. Fue aplicada por Fidel desde el ataque al Cuartel Moncada.

“No combata a las llamadas tiranías, póngase al lado de los tiranos y explote a los demás, nunca nade contra la corriente”. El régimen cubano la aplica desde 1959 para apoyar a todas las tiranías de izquierda.

“Viva la vida de 24 en 24 horas, recuerde que uno de estos días usted debe de morirse”. Si hay una frase muy cierta en este manual es esta, que aplica al dedillo la alta jerarquía para ellos y sus familias, que viven como reyes.

“Huya de aceptar nada como definitivo. Usted debe ser siempre una esperanza”. Expresión usada a diario para ilusionar a sus partidarios y mantener en ellos la idea de que si se esfuerzan y se sacrifican tendrán más, independientemente de los problemas que surjan por el camino.

“Mire por encima del hombro, dese importancia”. Solo hay que ver la postura que adoptan en público los actuales dirigentes.

“Las leyes no se han hecho para que usted las cumpla, sino para que se burle de ellas”. ¡Qué verdad tan grande! En Cuba, la legalidad socialista se ajusta a lo que piensen, crean y digan los gobernantes, por lo cual cambian las leyes según su conveniencia.

“No se acueste sin haber hecho algo en beneficio propio”. Cada día que pasa se inventan una historia que les permita seguir en el poder de manera indefinida.

“La constancia encadena la suerte, siempre vence el que sabe vivir”. Por eso, viajan a mucho a otros países, para relacionarse con otros iguales a ellos.

“Procure engordar, los gruesos siempre tienen cara de buenas personas”. No hay uno de los actuales dirigentes cubanos que no tenga barriga y doble ancho.

“Piense que el poder está a la misma distancia que usted de él”. La lucha por posiciones en el poder aquí se encuentra a la orden del día. Entre los dirigentes se espían y se ponen zancadillas. Las purgas y defenestraciones son constantes.

“Aspire siempre, cuando menos usted se lo piense engrampa”. Este mensaje es continuidad del anterior, pero visto por el que se haya abajo.

“Mire siempre hacia adelante, el pasado no es suyo”. Lo han hecho durante 65 años.

“Usted puede conocer prontamente a sus semejantes si los juzga por usted”. Por eso, critican a los demás Gobiernos, sin reparar en las barbaridades que hacen ellos.

“Usted no está obligado a cumplir los pactos y compromisos que no le favorezcan”. Esta recomendación la han cumplido a cabalidad en estos 65 años, durante los cuales han ido modificando su posición de acuerdo a sus intereses y según los cambios en el mundo.

“Legal esto todo aquello que le reporte algún beneficio”. Nada es más verídico que esto, y se ajusta con fidelidad a todas las transformaciones ideológicas del castrismo.

Muzarrieta, al advertir que “estos ejercicios no excluyen otros que dimanen de su natural impudor que le sea a usted característico”, dejaba así la puerta abierta para seguir añadiendo trapacerías y canalladas. De hacer esto los dirigentes del castrismo, pudieran formar una enciclopedia de 20 tomos, por lo menos.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

El cubano Geovanny Ibáñez González terminó detenido por las autoridades de la Isla, tras ser denunciado por su exesposa, Heidi Peña, a causa de amenazas y un presunto intento de homicidio por motivo de género en Alamar, La Habana.

El perfil de Marlon Michel Álvarez, vinculado al Ministerio del Interior (Minint), confirmó la detención de dicho sujeto, indicando que fue arrestado por violencia tras comparecer ante la Unidad Municipal.

En una desesperada publicación en Facebook, Peña expresó su temor a convertirse en otra víctima de feminicidio y relató los momentos de horror que había vivido a manos de Ibáñez González. El agresor la había amenazado en presencia de su hijo de cuatro años e incluso intentó quitarle la vida con un cuchillo, siendo detenido por la intervención de vecinos y su propio padre.

La víctima había denunciado que temía por su vida, ya que agentes de la Policía Nacional Revolucionaria (PNR) de Alamar habían ignorado sus denuncias, permitiendo la liberación del agresor bajo fianza cuando fue arrestado por primera vez.

Ella había pedido a la comunidad que se compartiera su denuncia a través de las redes sociales para que se conociera el temor que enfrenta por la agresividad del referido sujeto. “Les escribe una madre con miedo y muy desesperada que teme por su vida y la de su niño”, manifestó.

La Federación de Mujeres Cubanas se pronunció al respecto, destacando la gravedad de la situación y enfatizando que en la Isla no se toleran estos actos de violencia de género. “Cuba no está exenta de estos fenómenos sociales. Este es un hecho deplorable en el que el país tiene tolerancia cero. Nuestra Constitución y Código Penal cataloga con fuerza este hecho como grave”, señaló la organización.

El caso de Heidi Peña destaca la urgente necesidad de abordar el referido problema en la Mayor de las Antillas. Según estadísticas, el pasado año se registraron 88 feminicidios, según los observatorios de género independientes como YoSíTeCreo en Cuba y el Observatorio de Género de la revista Alas Tensas.

Sin embargo, el régimen cubano ha publicado cifras aún más alarmantes, reportando 117 muertes por violencia de género hasta el mes de octubre del año pasado. Este delito no cuenta con un castigo específico en el Código Penal de la Isla.

En el inicio del actual año, se han reportado, al menos, cinco casos de femicidios, registrados en las provincias de Holguín, La Habana y Camagüey. Las víctimas fueron asesinadas por sus parejas o exparejas.

@ c8df6ae8:22293a06

"Relays are like the backend servers for Nostr. They allow Nostr clients to send them messages, and they may (or may not) store those messages and broadcast those messages to all other connected clients."

— nostr.how

Decentralization, and the freedom that comes with it, is the main reason why I love Nostr.

At the same time, decentralization is its main weakness.

With Nostr, there is no central server or company to take care of everything for you. You're in charge of your experience when using Nostr clients.

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What are Nostr relays

When you use X, Instagram, Threads or Facebook, your client attempts to share your information with the world by uploading it to the servers operated by these companies.

These companies then monetize you (by means of your data) and decide who, if anyone, should see your information. You don't have control over who ends up seeing your posts or if your posts are seen at all.

Nostr stops this madness.

Your Nostr client shares your information by publishing events to Nostr relays that you choose. Later on, your followers request your events from relays of their choosing.

As long as you and your followers have one relay in common, they will receive your events and you will be able to share your thoughts without anyone being able to censor you or tell you who can or can't see your thoughts, pictures, etc.

Herein is the power and the weakness of Nostr.

The power and the reason why Nostr is censorship resistant is that if a Nostr relay refuses to serve your events to your followers, you can publish your events to a different relay. Not a big deal.

The weakness is that you now need to manage a list of relays, monitor them for good behavior and hope that your followers also include at least one of your relays on their list.

Optimizing your relays for experience

When I started using Nostr, one of the big questions was what relays to use and how many?

When you open a client, or refresh your feed, the client needs to query all the relays that you have configured for events from the people you follow, merge the data from all those relays and build a cohesive view that is, for example, ordered based on publishing time.

This means that the longer the list of relays you configure on your client, the longer you will have to wait to get that view.

But what if you have too few relays? What will happen then? Will you be missing events from people you follow? Will they miss your events?

https://i.nostr.build/0Z49.jpg

My relay configuration

nostr.wine has solved this problem for me.

Developed by Katie and Mazin, nostr.wine offers a set of free and paid relay servers that solve this conundrum.

nostr.wine This is a regular paid relay. It costs money to run relays and so it makes sense to pay for their usage. Remember: freedom is not free.

Go to https://nostr.wine to subscribe to the nostr.wine relay for a one-time fee of 18,888 sats.

filter.nostr.wine This is the key relay. This relay aggregates and publishes events from and to a wide range of public relays so that I only need to query one relay but I get the benefit of being connected to a large set of relays.

The subscription is time based with a minimum of 30 days. I subscribed for 2 years for 120,000 sats and I'm happy to support the Nostr developer community.

Go https://nostr.wine/add-time to add time and test this relay.

welcome.nostr.wine wss://welcome.nostr.wine is a free and read-only relay that only aggregates events from new nostr users and displays them in the global/universe view.

This is a great way to get exposed to new users. Take the opportunity to welcome them and maybe give them a follow.

nostr.land I'm also subscribed to a second paid Nostr relay to spread the love to the Nostr developer community.

Here is my current list of relays: - wss://welcome.nostr.wine - wss://nostr.wine - wss://filter.nostr.wine/npub1er0k46yxcugmp6r6mujd5qvp75yp72m98fs6ywcs2k3kqg3f8grqd9py3m?broadcast=true - wss://eden.nostr.land

> Do you have a different relay configuration that you prefer? Please share it in the comments section.

Notable notes

nostr:note134psu0r0y40pc5yarchx6ycj7e86tj8gnfv4f8hfj8uhs3ddjg5sa4xury

note:note1zppeq00vuqkzvyevg9gnfjwazn688044e4e8jj5g5nv65c6lmlcqap8sm8

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Recommendations

Katie Ann Baker and Mazin Khoury

nostr:npub1qlkwmzmrhzpuak7c2g9akvcrh7wzkd7zc7fpefw9najwpau662nqealf5y and nostr:npub18kzz4lkdtc5n729kvfunxuz287uvu9f64ywhjz43ra482t2y5sks0mx5sz are busy making Nostr the place for social interactions.

They are now onboarding creators to https://creatr.nostr.wine/, a place for creators to share AND monetize their work with freedom.

You can follow Mazin here and Katie here.

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Your feedback helps me create the best newsletter possible for you.

Please leave a comment and checkout comments from other subscribers and readers. I love hearing from the Bitcoin For Families community ❤️ 🙏🏻

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See you again next week! — Alejandro

This newsletter is for educational purposes. It does not represent financial advice. Do your own research before buying Bitcoin.

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บทความชุดนี้ผมคิดว่าจะเขียนแยกเป็นตอน ๆ ตามบทเรียนที่ได้รับจาก Bitcoin FOSS Program ของทาง Chaincode Labs โดยจะมาแชร์การแก้โจทย์ปัญหาตามบททดสอบในแต่ละสัปดาห์

สัปดาห์แรกนี้ผมได้โจยท์มาทั้งหมด 8 ข้อ และการตอบปัญหาทั้งหมดจะใช้ Bash Script เขียนคำสั่งร่วมกับ bitcoin-cli ในการทำความเข้าใจพื้นฐานของ Bitcoin-Core ระบบการบันทึกบัญชีลง Blockchain การดู/ตรวจสอบ ข้อมูลบน Block รวมถึงพื้นฐานข้อมูลภายใน Block จนถึง Transaction เบื้ิองต้น และในบทความนี้จะควบคุมความรู้ในหนังสือนั้นในบทที่ 1-3 ของหนังสือ Mastering Bitcoin หากท่านต้องการศึกษาเพิ่มเติมให้เข้าใจมากขึ้น แนะนำให้อ่านไปด้วย

ข้อที่ 1: แฮชของบล็อคที่ 654,321 คืออะไร?

ข้อนี้ง่ายมาก ๆ โดยเราจะใช้โปรแกรม bitcoin-cli จาก bitcoin-core ที่ติดตั้งไว้แล้ว เชื่อมไปยัง RPC server ที่เป็น Full-node ของเรา พร้อมกับคำสั่ง getblockhash เราสามารถดูได้ว่ามันใช้งานยังไงด้วยการพิมพ์ help นำหน้าคำสั่ง เราก็จะได้คำอธิบายพร้อมกับตัวอย่างการใช่งานมา

```sh $ bitcoin-cli help getblockhash getblockhash height

Returns hash of block in best-block-chain at height provided.

Arguments: 1. height (numeric, required) The height index

Result: "hex" (string) The block hash

Examples:

bitcoin-cli getblockhash 1000 curl --user myusername --data-binary '{"jsonrpc": "1.0", "id": "curltest", "method": "getblockhash", "params": [1000]}' -H 'content-type: text/plain;' http://127.0.0.1:8332/ ```

ในโจทย์นี้เราจะใช้เพียงคำสั่งเดียวเท่านั้น มาดูกัน

sh $ bitcoin-cli getblockhash 654321 000000000000000000058452bbe379ad4364fe8fda68c45e299979b492858095

ผมได้เรียกใช้ bitcoin-cli พร้อมกับคำสั่ง getblockhash 654321 และได้คำตอบมาว่า 000000000000000000058452bbe379ad4364fe8fda68c45e299979b492858095 นั้นคือแฮชของบล็อคที่ 654,321 นั่นเอง ข้อมูลเหล่านี้เราจะได้ใช้มันในข้อหลัง ๆ ไปข้อต่อไปกัน

ข้อที่ 2: จงพิสูจน์ข้อความนี้ว่าถูกเซนต์โดยที่อยู่นี้ถูกต้องหรือไม่

(true / false) Verify the signature by this address over this message: address: `1E9YwDtYf9R29ekNAfbV7MvB4LNv7v3fGa` message: `1E9YwDtYf9R29ekNAfbV7MvB4LNv7v3fGa` signature: `HCsBcgB+Wcm8kOGMH8IpNeg0H4gjCrlqwDf/GlSXphZGBYxm0QkKEPhh9DTJRp2IDNUhVr0FhP9qCqo2W0recNM=`

ตามโจทย์นี้อาจจะดูงง ๆ ผมจึงไปค้นใน Docs ของ Bitcoin-Core ดูและพบกับคำสั่ง verifymessage มาลองดูกัน

```sh $ bitcoin-cli help verifymessage verifymessage "address" "signature" "message"

Verify a signed message.

Arguments: 1. address (string, required) The bitcoin address to use for the signature. 2. signature (string, required) The signature provided by the signer in base 64 encoding (see signmessage). 3. message (string, required) The message that was signed.

Result: true|false (boolean) If the signature is verified or not.

Examples:

Unlock the wallet for 30 seconds

bitcoin-cli walletpassphrase "mypassphrase" 30

Create the signature

bitcoin-cli signmessage "1D1ZrZNe3JUo7ZycKEYQQiQAWd9y54F4XX" "my message"

Verify the signature

bitcoin-cli verifymessage "1D1ZrZNe3JUo7ZycKEYQQiQAWd9y54F4XX" "signature" "my message"

As a JSON-RPC call

curl --user myusername --data-binary '{"jsonrpc": "1.0", "id": "curltest", "method": "verifymessage", "params": ["1D1ZrZNe3JUo7ZycKEYQQiQAWd9y54F4XX", "signature", "my message"]}' -H 'content-type: text/plain;' http://127.0.0.1:8332/ ```

สังเกตุว่าคำสั่งนี้ใช้ 3 ตัวแปรตามที่โจทย์ให้มาเป๊ะ ๆ มาลองใช้ดูกัน

sh address="1E9YwDtYf9R29ekNAfbV7MvB4LNv7v3fGa" message="1E9YwDtYf9R29ekNAfbV7MvB4LNv7v3fGa" signature="HCsBcgB+Wcm8kOGMH8IpNeg0H4gjCrlqwDf/GlSXphZGBYxm0QkKEPhh9DTJRp2IDNUhVr0FhP9qCqo2W0recNM="

เริ่มจากการประกาศตัวแปรไว้ตามฉบับสายผู้ใช้ Linux แล้วก็ลองส่งคำสั่งกันเลย

sh $ bitcoin-cli verifymessage $address $signature $message false

false ... ตอนแรกก็ยังงง ๆ แต่ข้อนี้คำตอบคือ false จริง ๆ นั่นแหละ อาจจะเพราะคนทำโจทย์ลืมดูว่า message มันซ้ำกับ address อยู่ หรือไม่ก็จงใจ ช่างมัน ไปข้อต่อไปกัน

ข้อที่ 3: บล็อคที่ 123,456 มีจำนวน outputs Transaction ทั้งหมดเท่าไหร่?

ข้อนี้จะไปไวหน่อยเพราะว่าเราไม่จำเป็นต้อง loop เพื่อดูข้อมูล Transaction ในบล็อคเพื่อนับเอา outputs เราสามารถใช้คำสั่ง getblockstats ได้เลย แล้วใช่ jq แปลงข้อมูลให้เป็น JSON เพื่อให้เราอ่านได้ง่ายขึ้น

sh $ bitcoin-cli getblockstats 123456 | jq . { "avgfee": 416666, "avgfeerate": 1261, "avgtxsize": 330, "blockhash": "0000000000002917ed80650c6174aac8dfc46f5fe36480aaef682ff6cd83c3ca", "feerate_percentiles": [ 0, 0, 0, 3861, 3891 ], "height": 123456, "ins": 17, "maxfee": 1000000, "maxfeerate": 3891, "maxtxsize": 618, "medianfee": 0, "mediantime": 1305197900, "mediantxsize": 258, "minfee": 0, "minfeerate": 0, "mintxsize": 257, "outs": 24, "subsidy": 5000000000, "swtotal_size": 0, "swtotal_weight": 0, "swtxs": 0, "time": 1305200806, "total_out": 16550889992, "total_size": 3964, "total_weight": 15856, "totalfee": 5000000, "txs": 13, "utxo_increase": 7, "utxo_increase_actual": 7, "utxo_size_inc": 567, "utxo_size_inc_actual": 567 }

นี่คือข้อมูลเบื้องต้นของบล็อค 123,456 ที่มีรายการ transaction อยู่ 13 รายการ และมี outputs รวม 24 รายการ เราสามารถใช้ jq แสดงผลเฉพาะข้อมูลที่เราต้องการได้ง่าย ๆ โดยพิมพ์ชื่อข้อมูลที่เราต้องการตามไปหลังจุด . ข้อนี้สามารถตอบได้เลย

sh $ bitcoin-cli getblockstats 123456 | jq .outs 24

ข้อที่ 4: จงหา taproot address ลำดับที่ 100 โดยคำนวนจาก xpub ต่อไปนี้

ตัว extended public key หรือ xpub ที่ผมได้มาคือ xpub6Cx5tvq6nACSLJdra1A6WjqTo1SgeUZRFqsX5ysEtVBMwhCCRa4kfgFqaT2o1kwL3esB1PsYr3CUdfRZYfLHJunNWUABKftK2NjHUtzDms2 เอาหล่ะ แล้วจะทำยังไงต่อหล่ะเนี่ย

แล้วผมก็ไปเจอกับคำสั่งนี้ในที่สุด deriveaddresses ว่าแต่มันใช้ยังไงหว่า

```sh $ bitcoin-cli help deriveaddresses deriveaddresses "descriptor" ( range )

Derives one or more addresses corresponding to an output descriptor. Examples of output descriptors are: pkh() P2PKH outputs for the given pubkey wpkh() Native segwit P2PKH outputs for the given pubkey sh(multi(,,,...)) P2SH-multisig outputs for the given threshold and pubkeys raw() Outputs whose scriptPubKey equals the specified hex scripts tr(,multi_a(,,,...)) P2TR-multisig outputs for the given threshold and pubkeys

In the above, either refers to a fixed public key in hexadecimal notation, or to an xpub/xprv optionally followed by one or more path elements separated by "/", where "h" represents a hardened child key. For more information on output descriptors, see the documentation in the doc/descriptors.md file.

Arguments: 1. descriptor (string, required) The descriptor. 2. range (numeric or array, optional) If a ranged descriptor is used, this specifies the end or the range (in [begin,end] notation) to derive.

Result: [ (json array) "str", (string) the derived addresses ... ]

Examples: First three native segwit receive addresses

bitcoin-cli deriveaddresses "wpkh([d34db33f/84h/0h/0h]xpub6DJ2dNUysrn5Vt36jH2KLBT2i1auw1tTSSomg8PhqNiUtx8QX2SvC9nrHu81fT41fvDUnhMjEzQgXnQjKEu3oaqMSzhSrHMxyyoEAmUHQbY/0/)#cjjspncu" "[0,2]" curl --user myusername --data-binary '{"jsonrpc": "1.0", "id": "curltest", "method": "deriveaddresses", "params": ["wpkh([d34db33f/84h/0h/0h]xpub6DJ2dNUysrn5Vt36jH2KLBT2i1auw1tTSSomg8PhqNiUtx8QX2SvC9nrHu81fT41fvDUnhMjEzQgXnQjKEu3oaqMSzhSrHMxyyoEAmUHQbY/0/)#cjjspncu", "[0,2]"]}' -H 'content-type: text/plain;' http://127.0.0.1:8332/ ```

อื้อหือ ยิ่งงงไปอิ๊กก เอาวะลองดูตามตัวอย่างของ P2TR ละกัน

sh $ bitcoin-cli deriveaddresses "tr(xpub6Cx5tvq6nACSLJdra1A6WjqTo1SgeUZRFqsX5ysEtVBMwhCCRa4kfgFqaT2o1kwL3esB1PsYr3CUdfRZYfLHJunNWUABKftK2NjHUtzDms2)" error code: -5 error message: Missing checksum

อะ...อ้าว ย้อนกลับไปดูตัวอย่าง และอ่าน Docs ดี ๆ จะพบว่าการ deriveaddresses นั้นจะมีรูปแบบอยู่ เช่น wpkh([d34db33f/84h/0h/0h]xpub6DJ2dNUysrn5Vt36jH2KLBT2i1auw1tTSSomg8PhqNiUtx8QX2SvC9nrHu81fT41fvDUnhMjEzQgXnQjKEu3oaqMSzhSrHMxyyoEAmUHQbY/0/*)#cjjspncu

1. wpkh() นั้นคือรูปแบบของการเข้ารหัส ซึ่งมีหลายอย่างให้ใช้ตามวัตถุประสงค์ อย่าง multisig ก็จะเป็นอีกแบบ
2. [d34db33f/84h/0h/0h] ส่วนนี้ึคือ fingerprint จาก pubkey หลักก่อนจะคำนวน xpub ซึ่งโจทย์ข้อนี้ไม่มีให้ และหลังจากศึกษามาก็พบว่ามันไม่จำเป็นสำหรับการสร้าง address แบบ basic ง่าย ๆ
3. xpub6DJ2dNUysrn5Vt36jH2KLBT2i1auw1tTSSomg8PhqNiUtx8QX2SvC9nrHu81fT41fvDUnhMjEzQgXnQjKEu3oaqMSzhSrHMxyyoEAmUHQbY ส่วนนี้คืิอ extended public key ซึ่งคำนวนมาจาก pubkey หลักที่คำนวนมาจาก private key หรือ seed ของเราอีกที
4. /0/_ คือ path สำหรับระยะการคำนวน address โดยให้มองเป็น /เริ่มต้น/สิ้นสุด เช่น /0/99 หมายถึง เราจะคำนวน address จากตำแหน่งที่ 0 ถึงตำแหน่ง 99 ถ้าใช้ _ คือจะคำนวนกี่ที่อยู่ก็ได้

5. cjjspncu คือ checksum ของ descriptor กระเป๋านี้ และสามารถใช้คำสั่ง getdescriptorinfo เพื่อดูข้อมูลได้

เอาหล่ะ มาลองกันใหม่ โดยที่ผมจะ derive ตำแหน่งที่ /100 ที่อยู่เดียวเท่านั้น

sh $ bitcoin-cli getdescriptorinfo "tr(xpub6Cx5tvq6nACSLJdra1A6WjqTo1SgeUZRFqsX5ysEtVBMwhCCRa4kfgFqaT2o1kwL3esB1PsYr3CUdfRZYfLHJunNWUABKftK2NjHUtzDms2/100)" { "checksum": "5p2mg7zx", "descriptor": "tr(xpub6Cx5tvq6nACSLJdra1A6WjqTo1SgeUZRFqsX5ysEtVBMwhCCRa4kfgFqaT2o1kwL3esB1PsYr3CUdfRZYfLHJunNWUABKftK2NjHUtzDms2/100)#5p2mg7zx", "hasprivatekeys": false, "isrange": false, "issolvable": true }

ได้แฮะ ลองเอา checksum ที่ได้ไปคำนวนที่อยู่กัน

sh $ bitcoin-cli deriveaddresses "tr(xpub6Cx5tvq6nACSLJdra1A6WjqTo1SgeUZRFqsX5ysEtVBMwhCCRa4kfgFqaT2o1kwL3esB1PsYr3CUdfRZYfLHJunNWUABKftK2NjHUtzDms2/100)#5p2mg7zx" [ "bc1p3yrtpvv6czx63h2sxwmeep8q98h94w4288fc4cvrkqephalydfgszgacf9" ]

หลังจากนั้นผมก็ใช้ jq -r .[0] เพื่อดึงข้อมูลออกจาก JSON array แล้วส่งคำตอบ ผ่านได้ด้วยดี

ข้อที่ 5 สร้าง P2SH multisig address ด้วย public keys 4 ชุดจาก inputs ใน transaction นี้

37d966a263350fe747f1c606b159987545844a493dd38d84b070027a895c4517

ไหนดูซิ transaction นี้เป็นยังไง

sh $ bitcoin-cli getrawtransaction "37d966a263350fe747f1c606b159987545844a493dd38d84b070027a895c4517" 1 { "blockhash": "000000000000000000024a848a9451143278f60e4c3e73003da60c7b0ef74b62", "blocktime": 1701158269, "confirmations": 7751, "hash": "e28a0885b6f413e24a89e9c2bac74d4c6f335e17545f0b860da9146caf7ffe39", "hex": "02000000000104b5f641e80e9065f09b12f3e373072518885d1bd1ddd9298e5b9840de515edac90000000000feffffffd54f8986afbb6ff18572acaee58fa3ad64446dd770ffe9b6a04f798becdafb440000 000000feffffff475e3062b1c3ee87544c29d723866da2b65a1b1a42e6ea4a4fd48d79f83c26c50000000000feffffffa56387352ecc93dfd37648e6ebd4d9effb37ffefcad02eb7b85860c9097cf8090000000000feff ffff02fa440f00000000001600148070ec3954ecdcbfc210d0117e8d28a19eb8467270947d0000000000160014b5fe46c647353ec9c06374655502094095f0289c0247304402200dd758801b40393f68dad8ab57558803 efcd2b681ee31eb44fb3cfa9666d2bf90220254d34fa4990e23652bf669053c5e16fd2fbb816bed2eeb44c1f1e6e54143e3e012102bbb4ba3f39b5f3258f0014d5e4eab5a6990009e3e1dba6e8eaff10b3832394f70247 304402201694761a5749b6a84f71459c04a44cf9d34a36ae8c9044c3af7a3a5514ef2e64022058f61feb92d6d54b71fdea47e7dfcd20f6a5c12e2fbcb15bc44fe95c73f2e808012103aaf17b1a7b4108f7e5bc4f7d59c2 0f7fb1a72dbc74a9a3d6d1f8488df159c76002473044022014b65c60f65e62d9dac893e404c8de2a007c7c6b74dbac18e454d8374e159759022012453f69112adadf9495fd3fe288aa5ed9e3d836340da06fa1e82c8e09 adef57012103a6d919c76d9117c23570a767450013edf31cf6be7d3b5a881c06a9aa1f2c24ce0247304402203d3b02390803c1d673fa49bd64d4a26fbeb29e3fc152af8f844d776c9409e41302206903a011a04e00a7f4 ec606da4320226d2d393f565702cc58cfcef6dca67f84c01210383d12258e3e294a6d7754336f6b4baef992ec4b91694d3460bcb022b11da8cd2817e0c00", "locktime": 818817, "size": 666, "time": 1701158269, "txid": "37d966a263350fe747f1c606b159987545844a493dd38d84b070027a895c4517", "version": 2, "vin": [ { "scriptSig": { "asm": "", "hex": "" }, "sequence": 4294967294, "txid": "c9da5e51de40985b8e29d9ddd11b5d8818250773e3f3129bf065900ee841f6b5", "txinwitness": [ "304402200dd758801b40393f68dad8ab57558803efcd2b681ee31eb44fb3cfa9666d2bf90220254d34fa4990e23652bf669053c5e16fd2fbb816bed2eeb44c1f1e6e54143e3e01", "02bbb4ba3f39b5f3258f0014d5e4eab5a6990009e3e1dba6e8eaff10b3832394f7" ], "vout": 0 }, { "scriptSig": { "asm": "", "hex": "" }, "sequence": 4294967294, "txid": "44fbdaec8b794fa0b6e9ff70d76d4464ada38fe5aeac7285f16fbbaf86894fd5", "txinwitness": [ "304402201694761a5749b6a84f71459c04a44cf9d34a36ae8c9044c3af7a3a5514ef2e64022058f61feb92d6d54b71fdea47e7dfcd20f6a5c12e2fbcb15bc44fe95c73f2e80801", "03aaf17b1a7b4108f7e5bc4f7d59c20f7fb1a72dbc74a9a3d6d1f8488df159c760" ], "vout": 0 }, { "scriptSig": { "asm": "", "hex": "" }, "sequence": 4294967294, "txid": "c5263cf8798dd44f4aeae6421a1b5ab6a26d8623d7294c5487eec3b162305e47", "txinwitness": [ "3044022014b65c60f65e62d9dac893e404c8de2a007c7c6b74dbac18e454d8374e159759022012453f69112adadf9495fd3fe288aa5ed9e3d836340da06fa1e82c8e09adef5701", "03a6d919c76d9117c23570a767450013edf31cf6be7d3b5a881c06a9aa1f2c24ce" ], "vout": 0 }, { "scriptSig": { "asm": "", "hex": "" }, "sequence": 4294967294, "txid": "09f87c09c96058b8b72ed0caefff37fbefd9d4ebe64876d3df93cc2e358763a5", "txinwitness": [ "304402203d3b02390803c1d673fa49bd64d4a26fbeb29e3fc152af8f844d776c9409e41302206903a011a04e00a7f4ec606da4320226d2d393f565702cc58cfcef6dca67f84c01", "0383d12258e3e294a6d7754336f6b4baef992ec4b91694d3460bcb022b11da8cd2" ], "vout": 0 } ], "vout": [ { "n": 0, "scriptPubKey": { "address": "bc1qspcwcw25anwtlsss6qgharfg5x0ts3njad8uve", "asm": "0 8070ec3954ecdcbfc210d0117e8d28a19eb84672", "desc": "addr(bc1qspcwcw25anwtlsss6qgharfg5x0ts3njad8uve)#pzjnvw8p", "hex": "00148070ec3954ecdcbfc210d0117e8d28a19eb84672", "type": "witness_v0_keyhash" }, "value": 0.01000698 }, { "n": 1, "scriptPubKey": { "address": "bc1qkhlyd3j8x5lvnsrrw3j42qsfgz2lq2yu3cs5lr", "asm": "0 b5fe46c647353ec9c06374655502094095f0289c", "desc": "addr(bc1qkhlyd3j8x5lvnsrrw3j42qsfgz2lq2yu3cs5lr)#hzcalwww", "hex": "0014b5fe46c647353ec9c06374655502094095f0289c", "type": "witness_v0_keyhash" }, "value": 0.0823 } ], "vsize": 344, "weight": 1374 }

เราจำเป็นต้องเรียนรู้เรื่อง Witness program ของ bip-141 เพื่อเข้าใจ scriptPubKey หรือ redeemScript เบื่องต้นเสียก่อน โดยพื้นฐานธุรกรรมแบบ P2WPKH ภายใน txinwitness จะมี signature และ public keys ตามลำดับ เราจะลองใช้ pubkey นี้ในการสร้างกระเป๋า multisig กัน

sh txinfo=$(bitcoin-cli getrawtransaction "37d966a263350fe747f1c606b159987545844a493dd38d84b070027a895c4517" 1) ad1=$(echo $txinfo | jq '.vin[0] | .txinwitness[1]') ad2=$(echo $txinfo | jq '.vin[1] | .txinwitness[1]') ad3=$(echo $txinfo | jq '.vin[2] | .txinwitness[1]') ad4=$(echo $txinfo | jq '.vin[3] | .txinwitness[1]') bitcoin-cli createmultisig 1 ["$ad1","$ad2","$ad3","$ad4"] | jq -r '.address'

3GyWg1CCD3RDpbwCbuk9TTRQptkRfczDz8

ง่ายเลยข้อนี้ ไปข้อต่อไปกัน

ข้อที่ 6: transaction ไหนในบล็อค 257,343 ใช้เงินรางวัลจากการขุดจากบล็อค 256,128?

Which tx in block 257,343 spends the coinbase output of block 256,128? ข้อนี้ต้องไปหาว่า coinbase output ก็คือเงินรางวัลจากการขุดบล็อคนั้น ๆ รวมกับค่า fee นั่นเอง ซึ่งจะอยู่ในลำดับแรกของบล็อคนั้น ๆ เสมอ เรามาเขียนน Bash Script หา coinbase txid กัน

sh blockhash=$(bitcoin-cli getblockhash 256128) tx256=$(bitcoin-cli getblock $blockhash 2)

ด้วยคำสั่ง getblock ตามด้วยแฮชของบล็อค และระดับข้อมูล โดยที่ระดับ

1. จะแสดงข้อมูลบล็อค ไม่มี transaction
2. จะแสดงข้อมูล transaction แต่ไม่รวม inputs
3. จะแสดงข้อมูลทั้งหมดของบล็อคนั้น ๆ

sh coinbase_txid=$(echo $tx256 | jq -r '.tx[0].txid') echo $coinbase_txid

แล้วก็เลือก txid จากข้อมูลแรกมา ซึ่งก็คือ coinbase output ของเรา

611c5a0972d28e421a2308cb2a2adb8f369bb003b96eb04a3ec781bf295b74bc นี่คือ txid ที่เราจะเอาไปหาว่ามันมีใน inputs ไหนของ transaction ไหนใน block 257,343 ซึ่งโดยทั่วไปแล้วหากเรา loop หากทีละ transaction คงเสียเวลาน่าดู เราลองมาใช้ฟังชั่น select() ของ jq กัน

```sh blockhash=$(bitcoin-cli getblockhash 256128) tx256=$(bitcoin-cli getblock $blockhash 2) coinbase_txid=$(echo $tx256 | jq -r '.tx[0].txid') blockhash=$(bitcoin-cli getblockhash 257343) tx257=$(bitcoin-cli getblock $blockhash 3)

เลือกข้อมูล transaction

block257tx=$(echo $tx257 | jq -r '.tx')

ใน .tx นั้นเราจะได้ JSON array ที่มีรายการ transaction เยอะมาก ๆ เราจะเลือกอันเดียวที่มี coinbase txid ใน vin หรือ inputs นั้น ๆ กัน และใช้ jq อีกครั้งเพื่อให้แสดงผลแค่ txid

echo "$block257tx" | jq ".[] | select(.vin[].txid==\"$coinbase_txid\")" | jq -r '.txid' ```

และนี่คือคำตอบของข้อนี้

c54714cb1373c2e3725261fe201f267280e21350bdf2df505da8483a6a4805fc

ข้อที่ 7: มี UTXO อันนึงที่ไม่เคยถูกใช้งานเลยในบล็อคที่ 123,321 UTXO นั้นคือ address อะไร?

Only one single output remains unspent from block 123,321. What address was it sent to?

ข้อนี้เราจะใช้คำสั่ง gettxout ที่จะ return ข้อมูลของ UTXO ที่ไม่เคยถูกใช้งานให้เรา โดยการ loop ไปทีละ transaction

```sh blockhash=$(bitcoin-cli getblockhash 123321) blockinfo=$(bitcoin-cli getblock $blockhash 3) transaction=$(echo $blockinfo | jq '.tx[]') txid=$(echo $transaction | jq -r '.txid')

for item in $txid; do bitcoin-cli gettxout "$item" 0 | jq -r '.scriptPubKey.address' done ```

1FPDNNmgwEnKuF7GQzSqUcVQdzSRhz4pgX ได้มาแล้วคำตอบของเรา โจทย์ข้อนี้คงผิดแน่ ๆ หากมี UTXO ที่ยังไม่ได้ใช้งานมากกว่า 1 อันเพราะเราสั่งให้แสดงมันทุก transaction เลย! ฮาาา

ข้อที่ 8: public key อะไรที่ใช้เซ็นอันดับแรกใน transaction e5969add849689854ac7f28e45628b89f7454b83e9699e551ce14b6f90c86163

ข้อนี้ค่อนข้างหินเลย ตอนแรกเอาไปเปิดในดูใน mempool พบว่าเป็นธุรกรรมที่ถูก force close lightning channel ซึ่งมันต้องเป็น multisig แน่ ๆ เอาหล่ะ ดูข้อมูลธุรกรรมนี้ก่อนแล้วกัน

sh bitcoin-cli getrawtransaction "e5969add849689854ac7f28e45628b89f7454b83e9699e551ce14b6f90c86163" 1 { "blockhash": "0000000000000000000b0e5eec04d784347ef564b3ddb939eca019a66c9cedbe", "blocktime": 1610254919, "confirmations": 161208, "hash": "881d7ab9ad60d6658283dbbad345f6f28491a264cd11d060b4fb4f121851a7f3", "hex": "020000000001018b1aab3917e6595816c63bf9dd0ebf4303f2b2a23103aee1500282c944affd71000000000000000000010e26000000000000160014c47082b5a49065d85ab65730e8c28bb0b4810b960347 3044022050b45d29a3f2cf098ad0514dff940c78046c377a7e925ded074ad927363dc2dd02207c8a8ca7d099483cf3b50b00366ad2e2771805d6be900097c2c57bc58b4f34a50101014d6321025d524ac7ec6501d018d3 22334f142c7c11aa24b9cffec03161eca35a1e32a71f67029000b2752102ad92d02b7061f520ebb60e932f9743a43fee1db87d2feb1398bf037b3f119fc268ac00000000", "locktime": 0, "size": 237, "time": 1610254919, "txid": "e5969add849689854ac7f28e45628b89f7454b83e9699e551ce14b6f90c86163", "version": 2, "vin": [ { "scriptSig": { "asm": "", "hex": "" }, "sequence": 0, "txid": "71fdaf44c9820250e1ae0331a2b2f20343bf0eddf93bc6165859e61739ab1a8b", "txinwitness": [ "3044022050b45d29a3f2cf098ad0514dff940c78046c377a7e925ded074ad927363dc2dd02207c8a8ca7d099483cf3b50b00366ad2e2771805d6be900097c2c57bc58b4f34a501", "01", "6321025d524ac7ec6501d018d322334f142c7c11aa24b9cffec03161eca35a1e32a71f67029000b2752102ad92d02b7061f520ebb60e932f9743a43fee1db87d2feb1398bf037b3f119fc268ac" ], "vout": 0 } ], "vout": [ { "n": 0, "scriptPubKey": { "address": "bc1qc3cg9ddyjpjask4k2ucw3s5tkz6gzzukzmg49s", "asm": "0 c47082b5a49065d85ab65730e8c28bb0b4810b96", "desc": "addr(bc1qc3cg9ddyjpjask4k2ucw3s5tkz6gzzukzmg49s)#c68e8rrv", "hex": "0014c47082b5a49065d85ab65730e8c28bb0b4810b96", "type": "witness_v0_keyhash" }, "value": 9.742e-05 } ], "vsize": 121, "weight": 483 }

เรารู้แล้วว่าข้อมูลจะอยู่ใน txinwitness ซึ่งอันดับแรก ๆ เป็น signature และอันหลังเป็น public key แต่ว่า มันมีหลาย public key ใช่มะ ในนี้

sh transaction=$(bitcoin-cli getrawtransaction "e5969add849689854ac7f28e45628b89f7454b83e9699e551ce14b6f90c86163" 1) scriptpubkey=$(echo $txinfo | jq -r .vin[].txinwitness[2]) echo $scriptpubkey

6321025d524ac7ec6501d018d322334f142c7c11aa24b9cffec03161eca35a1e32a71f67029000b2752102ad92d02b7061f520ebb60e932f9743a43fee1db87d2feb1398bf037b3f119fc268ac เอาหล่ะ เรามาแกะข้อมูลนี้กัน หากเราไปอ่าน bip-143 จะมีรูปแบบตัวอย่างลำดับอยู่ และก็พบว่ามันคืออักษรลำดับที่ 5 ถึง 67 เราต้องใช้ Bash slicing string เพื่อตัดให้เหลือส่วนที่เราต้องการและส่งข้อสอบดู

sh echo ${scriptpubkey:4:66}

025d524ac7ec6501d018d322334f142c7c11aa24b9cffec03161eca35a1e32a71f

@ 1c9dcd8f:1852f704

Now as to Nuada of the Silver Hand, he was holding a great feast at Teamhair one time, after he was back in the kingship. And there were two door-keepers at Teamhair, Gamal, son of Figal, and Camel, son of Riagall. And a young man came to the door where one of them was, and bade him bring him in to the king. "Who are you yourself?" said the door-keeper. "I am Lugh, son of Cian of the Tuatha de Danaan, and of Ethlinn, daughter of Balor, King of the Fomor," he said; "and I am foster-son of Taillte, daughter of the King of the Great Plain, and of Echaid the Rough, son of Duach." "What are you skilled in?" said the door-keeper; "for no one without an art comes into Teamhair." "Question me," said Lugh; "I am a carpenter." "We do not want you; we have a carpenter ourselves, Luchtar, son of Luachaid." "Then I am a smith." "We have a smith ourselves, Colum Cuaillemech of the Three New Ways." "Then I am a champion." "That is no use to us; we have a champion before, Ogma, brother to the king." "Question me again," he said; "I am a harper." "That is no use to us; we have a harper ourselves, Abhean, son of Bicelmos, that the Men of the Three Gods brought from the hills." "I am-a poet," he said then, "and a teller of tales." "That is no use to us; we have a teller of tales ourselves, Ere, son of Ethaman." "And I am a magician." "That is no use to us; we have plenty of magicians and people of power." "I am a physician," he said. "That is no use; we have Diancecht-for our physician." "Let me be a cup-bearer," he said. "We do not want you; we have nine cup-bearers ourselves." "I am a good worker in brass." "We have a worker in brass ourselves, that is Credne Cerd."

Then Lugh said: "Go and ask the king if he has any one man that can do all these things, and if he has, I will not ask to come into Teamhair." The door-keeper went into the king's house then and told him all that. "There is a young man at the door," he said, "and his name should be the Ildánach, the Master of all Arts, for all the things the people of your house can do, he himself is able to do every one of them." "Try him with the chess-boards," said Nuada. So the chess-boards were brought out, and every game that was played, Lugh won it. And when Nuada was told that, he said: "Let him in, for the like of him never came into Teamhair before.

Then the door-keeper let him pass, and he came into the king's house and sat down in the seat of knowledge. And there was a great flag-stone there that could hardly be moved by four times twenty yoke of oxen, and Ogma took it up and hurled it out through the house, so that it lay on the outside of Teamhair, as a challenge to Lugh. But Lugh hurled it back again that it lay in the middle of the king's house. He played the harp for them then, and he had them laughing and crying, till he put them asleep at the end with a sleepy tune. And when Nuada saw all the things Lugh could do, he began to think that by his help the country might get free of the taxes and the tyranny put on it by the Fomor. And it is what he did, he came down from his throne, and he put Lugh on it in his place, for the length of thirteen days, the way they might all listen to the advice he would give.

This now is the story of the birth of Lugh. The time the Fomor used to be coming to Ireland, Balor of the Strong Blows, or, as some called him, of the Evil Eye, was living on the Island of the Tower of Glass. There was danger for ships that went near that island, for the Fomor would come out and take them. And some say the sons of Nemed in the old time, before the Firbolgs were in Ireland, passed near it in their ships, and what they saw was a tower of glass in the middle of the sea, and on the tower something that had the appearance of men, and they went against it with Druid spells to attack it. And the Fomor worked against them with Druid spells of their own; and the sons of Nemed attacked the tower, and it vanished, and they thought it was destroyed. But a great wave rose over them then, and all their ships went down and all that were in them.

And the tower was there as it was before, and Balor living in it. And it is the reason he was called "of the Evil Eye," there was a power of death in one of his eyes, so that no person could look at it and live. It is the way it got that power, he was passing one time by a house where his father's Druids were making spells of death, and the window being open he looked in, and the smoke of the poisonous spells was rising up, and it went into his eye. And from that time he had to keep it closed unless he wanted to be the death of some enemy, and then the men that were with him would lift the eyelid with a ring of ivory.

Now a Druid foretold one time that it was by his own grandson he would get his death. And he had at that time but one child, a daughter whose name was Ethlinn; and when he heard what the Druid said, he shut her up in the tower on the island. And he put twelve women with her to take charge of her and to guard her, and he bade them never to let her see a man or hear the name of a man.

So Ethlinn was brought up in the tower, and she grew to be very beautiful; and sometimes she would see men passing in the currachs, and sometimes she would see a man in her dreams. But when she would speak of that to the women, they would give her no answer.

So there was no fear on Balor, and he went on with war and robbery as he was used, seizing every ship that passed by, and sometimes going over to Ireland to do destruction there.

Now it chanced at that time there were three brothers of the Tuatha de Danaan living together in a place that was called Druim na Teine, the Ridge of the Fire, Goibniu and Samthainn and Cian. Cian was a lord of land, and Goibniu was the smith that had such a great name. Now Cian had a wonderful cow, the Glas Gaibhnenn, and her milk never failed. And every one that heard of her coveted her, and many had tried to steal her away, so that she had to be watched night and day.

And one time Cian was wanting some swords made, and he went to Goibniu's forge, and he brought the Glas Gaibhnenn with him, holding her by a halter. When he came to the forge his two brothers were there together, for Samthainn had brought some steel to have weapons made for himself; and Cian bade Samthainn to hold the halter while he went into the forge to speak with Goibniu.

Now Balor had set his mind for a long time on the Glas Gaibhnenn, but he had never been able to get near her up to this time. And he was watching not far off, and when he saw Samthainn holding the cow, he put on the appearance of a little boy, having red hair, and came up to him and told him he heard his two brothers that were in the forge saying to one another that they would use all his steel for their own swords, and make his of iron. "By my word," said Samthainn, "they will not deceive me so easily. Let you hold the cow, little lad," he said, "and I will go in to them." With that he rushed into the forge, and great anger on him. And no sooner did Balor get the halter in his hand than he set out, dragging the Glas along with him, to the strand, and across the sea to his own island.

When Cian saw his brother coming in he rushed out, and there he saw Balor and the Glas out in the sea. And he had nothing to do then but to reproach his brother, and to wander about as if his wits had left him, not knowing what way to get his cow back from Balor. At last he went to a Druid to ask an advice from him; and it is what the Druid told him, that so long as Balor lived, the cow would never be brought back, for no one would go within reach of his Evil Eye.

Cian went then to a woman-Druid, Birog of the Mountain, for her help. And she dressed him in a woman's clothes, and brought him across the sea in a blast of wind, to the tower where Ethlinn was. Then she called to the women in the tower, and asked them for shelter for a high queen she was after saving from some hardship, and the women in the tower did not like to refuse a woman of the Tuatha de Danaan, and they let her and her comrade in. Then Birog by her enchantments put them all into a deep sleep, and Cian went to speak with Ethlinn. And when she saw him she said that was the face she had seen in her dreams. So she gave him her love; but after a while he was brought away again on a blast of wind.

And when her time came, Ethlinn gave birth to a son. And when Balor knew that, he bade his people put the child in a cloth and fasten it with a pin, and throw him into a current of the sea. And as they were carrying the child across an arm of the sea, the pin dropped out, and the child slipped from the cloth into the water, and they thought he was drowned. But he was brought away by Birog of the Mountain, and she brought him to his father Cian; and he gave him to be fostered by Taillte, daughter of the King of the Great Plain. It is thus Lugh was born and reared.

And some say Balor came and struck the head off Cian on a white stone, that has the blood marks on it to this day; but it is likely it was some other man he struck the head off, for it was by the sons of Tuireann that Cian came to his death.

And after Lugh had come to Teamhair, and made his mind up to join with his father's people against the Fomor, he put his mind to the work; and he went to a quiet place in Grellach Dollaid, with Nuada and the Dagda, and with Ogma; and Goibniu and Diancecht were called to them there. A full year they stopped there, making their plans together in secret, the way the Fomor would not know they were going to rise against them till such time as all would be ready, and till they would know what their strength was. And it is from that council the place got the name afterwards of "The Whisper of the Men of Dea."

And they broke up the council, and agreed to meet again that day three years, and every one of them went his own way, and Lugh went back to his own friends, the sons of Manannan.

And it was a good while after that, Nuada was holding a great assembly of the people on the Hill of Uisnech, on the west side of Teamhair. And they were not long there before they saw an armed troop coming towards them from the east, over the plain; and there was a young man in front of the troop, in command over the rest, and the brightness of his face was like the setting sun, so that they were not able to look at him because of its brightness.

And when he came nearer they knew it was Lugh Lamh-Fada, of the Long Hand, that had come back to them, and along with him were the Riders of the Sidhe from the Land of Promise, and his own foster-brothers, the sons of Manannan, Sgoith Gleigeil, the White Flower, and Goitne Gorm-Shuileach, the Blue-eyed Spear, and Sine Sindearg, of the Red Ring, and Donall Donn-Ruadh, of the Red-brown Hair. And it is the way Lugh was, he had Manannan's horse, the Aonbharr, of the One Mane, under him, that was as swift as the naked cold wind of spring, and the sea was the same as dry land to her, and the rider was never killed off her back. And he had Manannan's breast-plate on him, that kept whoever was wearing it from wounds, and a helmet on his head with two beautiful precious stones set in the front of it and one at the back, and when he took it off, his forehead was like the sun on a dry summer day. And he had Manannan's sword, the Freagarthach, the Answerer, at his side, and no one that was wounded by it would ever get away alive; and when that sword was bared in a battle, no man that saw it coming against him had any more strength than a woman in child-birth.

And the troop came to where the King of Ireland was with the Tuatha de Danaan, and they welcomed one another.

And they were not long there till they saw a surly, slovenly troop coming towards them, nine times nine of the messengers of the Fomor, that were coming to ask rent and taxes from the men of Ireland; and the names of the four that were the hardest and the most cruel were Eine and Eathfaigh and Coron and Compar; and there was such great dread of these four on the Tuatha de Danaan, that not one of them would so much as punish his own son or his foster-son without leave from them.

They came up then to where the King of Ireland was with the Riders of the Sidhe, and the king and all the Tuatha de Danaan stood up before them. And Lugh of the Long Hand said: "Why do you rise up before that surly, slovenly troop, when you did not rise up before us?"

"It is needful for us to do it," said the king; "for if there was but a child of us sitting before them, they would not think that too small a cause for killing him." "By my word," said Lugh, "there is a great desire coming on me to kill themselves." "That is a thing would bring harm on us," said the king, "for we would meet our own death and destruction through it." "It is too long a time you have been under this oppression," said Lugh. And with that he started up and made an attack on the Fomor, killing and wounding them, till he had made an end of eight nines of them, but he let the last nine go under the protection of Nuada the king. "And I would kill you along with the others," he said, "but I would sooner see you go with messages to your own country than my own people, for fear they might get any ill-treatment."

So the nine went back then till they came to Lochlann, where the men of the Fomor were, and they told them the story from beginning to end, and how a young well-featured lad had come into Ireland and had killed all the tax-gatherers but themselves, "and it is the reason he let us off," they said, "that we might tell you the story ourselves."

"Do you know who is the young man?" said Balor of the Evil Eye then.

"I know well," said Ceithlenn, his wife; "he is the son of your daughter and mine. And it was foretold," she said, "that from the time he would come into Ireland, we would never have power there again for ever."

Then the chief men of the Fomor went into a council, Eab, son of Neid, and Seanchab, grandson of Neid, and Sital Salmhor, and Liath, son of Lobais, and the nine poets of the Fomor that had learning and the gift of foreknowledge, and Lobais the Druid, and Balor himself and his twelve white-mouthed sons, and Ceithlenn of the Crooked Teeth, his queen.

And it was just at that time Bres and his father Elathan were come to ask help of the Fomor, and Bres said: "I myself will go to Ireland, and seven great battalions of the Riders of the Fomor along with me, and I will give battle to this Ildánach, this master of all arts, and I will strike his head off and bring it here to you, to the green of Berbhe." "It would be a fitting thing for you to do," said they all. "Let my ships be made ready for me," said Bres, "and let food and provisions be put in them."

So they made no delay, but went and got the ships ready, and they put plenty of food and drink in them, and the two swift Luaths were sent out to gather the army to Bres. And when they were all gathered, they made ready their armour and their weapons, and they set out for Ireland.

And Balor the king followed them to the harbour, and he said: "Give battle to that Ildánach, and strike off his head; and tie that island that is called Ireland to the back of your ships, and let the destroying water take its place, and put it on the north side of Lochlann, and not one of the Men of Dea will follow it there to the end of life and time."

Then they pushed out their ships and put up their painted sails, and went out from the harbour on the untilled country, on the ridges of the wide-lying sea, and they never turned from their course till they came to the harbour of Eas Dara. And from that they sent out an army through West Connacht and destroyed it altogether, through and through. And the King of Connacht at that time was Bodb Dearg, son of the Dagda.

@ 4557fa85:5fb673d3

Publicado originalmente em marcal.

Muito se fala atualmente sobre a aplicação de direitos. Direitos à saúde, moradia, alimentação, lazer, educação. Existem, também, atualmente muitos grupos de interesse que lutam pelo reconhecimento de um direito. O direito de casais homoafetivos de casarem, formarem uma família, adotar crianças. O direito da comunidade negra a uma restituição social através de programas de cotas para a entrada em universidades ou serviço público, por exemplo. O direito das mulheres em terem um salário equivalente aos homens que exercem a mesma função. Ou o direito das mulheres de terem x vagas reservadas em órgãos públicos, ou o direito de licença maternidade para um ou outro gênero. A lista de direitos de minorias é extensa e constantemente cresce em função da reivindicação de um grupo. Sou da opinião de que o estado ao assumir a tarefa de distribuir e regular direitos, possui um poder imenso sobre o individuo e amplia assim suas amarras coercitivas.

Frank Karsten e Karel Beckman escreveram, no livro Além da Democracia, uma ótima análise sobre o direito das minorias em uma democracia.

É por vezes pensado que, nas democracias ocidentais, a maioria não pode simplesmente fazer o que quiser ou mesmo que as democracias, de fato, tipicamente protegem os direitos das minorias. Isso é um mito. Sim, há atualmente algumas minorias que gozam de 'proteção' especial do estado, como por exemplo, feministas, gays e minorias étnicas. Outras minorias, como os mexicanos, fumantes, usuários de drogas, empresários, sem tetos, cristãos - não podem contar com tratamento preferencial. A popularidade de algumas minorias tem mais a ver com a moda do que com a democracia.

Por que algumas minorias são mais facilmente ouvidas e atendidas enquanto outras são constantemente ignoradas? Por que, em tempos, uma minoria é impopular para depois a vermos cada vez mais sendo ouvida? Por que o contrário também é verdadeiro? Por que o grupo A consegue o direito de ter x vagas no Congresso enquanto é negado ao grupo B tantas vagas? Qual a lógica que proporciona direitos a uns e nega a outros? Talvez o nível do barulho e a ferocidade dessas minorias resultem no modo em que estas sejam tratadas. Talvez o modo em que estas minorias sejam atuantes na sociedade influencie no resultado final. Da mesma forma que uma minoria ganha um direito (ganha um direito ou ganha o reconhecimento do direito?), este mesmo direito não pode ser retirado depois pelas mesmas vias democráticas em que ele foi concedido? Ou seja, a lei de hoje pode ser retificada amanhã?

Um parantêses nesse texto. Note que o paragráfo anterior também pode ser lido trocando as ocorrências da palavra "direito" pela palavra "privilégio". O que o Estado distribui não são direitos, mas sim privilégios. O que ou quais seriam então, os verdadeiros direitos?

Direitos, são direitos inerentes à natureza humana. São chamados de direitos naturais: direitos que nascem com o homem , são anteriores a própria existência do governo e não podem ser modificados pelo governo.

Ora, se um direito é inerente à natureza humana, tanto eu quanto você temos este direito. Fulano, beltrano e toda a espécie humana possuem esse mesmo direito e podem, por conseguinte exercer este mesmo direito ao mesmo tempo. Se eu exerço um direito que o impeça de, também, exerce-lo então este não é um direito natural.

Ao me expressar livremente, não tiro seu direito de também se expressar livremente. Todos podem se expressar livremente sem que tirem, com isto, a possibilidade de outros se expressarem livremente. A liberdade de expressão é, então, um direito natural que não pode ser regulado por nenhum individuo ou grupo sem que estes usem a violência.

Se, ao exercer um direito que alego possuir, estou fazendo com que seja impossível que outra pessoa exerça esse direito ao mesmo tempo, então, este suposto direito não é um direito natural. Este é um privilégio meu sobre outras pessoas.

Sempre que um direito requeira que alguma pessoa tenha alguma obrigação por outra, este não é um verdadeiro direito, é o uso da força para ter algum tipo de privilégio.

Por exemplo, quando digo que tenho direito a um acompanhamento médico ( direito à saúde). Note que não estou dizendo que tenho direito a pagar um médico sempre que quiser. Do contrario, estou dizendo que sempre que quiser e precisar tenho direito a ter um acompanhamento médico. Isto quer dizer que deve haver algum mecanismo que garanta meu direito à saúde. Enquanto eu tenho este direito, outra pessoa tem o dever de garantir-me o acompanhamento médico. Como escreveu Lawrence W. Reed:

Meu direito criou um dever para essa pessoa: ela agora é obrigada a efetuar uma ação que ela não necessariamente queria efetuar.

Programas sociais, saúde, educação, comida, subsídios, todos estes supostos direitos concedidos por nossa sociedade não são direitos naturais, visto que indivíduos são obrigados a custeá-los para outros. De outra forma, todos nós podemos comprar ou vender serviços de saúde, comida e/ou educação de acordo com nossos termos desde que haja alguém disposto á aceita-los e vende-los/compra-los.

Lembre-se, toda vez que falarmos "Tenho este direito!", há uma boa chance de estarmos defendendo que devemos ter o direito de impor violentamente nosso desejo sobre as pessoas que não concordam conosco. Há um grande perigo em uma sociedade que aceite a distribuição de direitos: à medida que os direitos forem legalizados, ou seja, criados e distribuídos, um grupo terá o privilegio enquanto o individuo terá mais obrigações. Grupos terão privilégios em relação a uns e outros mas todos os indivíduos terão obrigações a estes grupos.

Talvez ao ler este artigo, tenha se indagado, "Certo, uma crítica aos privilégios, mas o título não é 'Em defesa da menor minoria'?" Sim, e qual seria a menor minoria, se não o individuo? É o individuo que nasce com direitos naturais, ao contrario dos mais variados grupos de interesse. Não são "os índios" ou "quilombolas" que nascem com direitos naturais; são indivíduos ( que eventualmente podem ser brancos, negros, ou de qualquer outra cor, etnia ou grupo de interesse) que nascem com estes direitos. Ao defendermos direitos do individuo, defendemos a liberdade individual de agirmos da maneira que quisermos desde que deste modo não implique uma carga a outro individuo.

Quando deixaremos de reconhecer todos estes grupos que lutam por privilégios, mascarados como direitos e começaremos a reconhecer os direitos do individuo?

@ 9ca0bd74:4052340b

needed to reattach the space bar have i fixed my keyboards? i think that i have, but let's see how long it lasts I'm just writing to see that all the keys work, i think that they do, wait i havent tried Caps Lock yet, good. Now that's the end of a sentence! The quick brown fox jumped over the red cow, I can't remember if that is the phrase with all the letters. Lazy cow, That's it lazy bloody cow.

@ 21e127ec:b43a5414

En el mundo de las redes sociales, se está produciendo una importante eclosión conceptual, una especie de contra poder espontáneo llamado #Nostr.

El abuso desmedido en el control y uso de tus datos, la infracción a la privacidad, las numerosas censuras en diversas plataformas sociales, y las crecientes restricciones de monetización en una economía de contenidos en pleno auge, forman parte de lo que muchos denominan la "4ta revolución industrial". Empresas como Twitter, Instagram, YouTube y otras, cada vez más hegemónicas y respaldadas por regulaciones gubernamentales, están impulsando a la comunidad FOSS de software libre a explorar alternativas en el ámbito de las redes sociales, destacando el protocolo de comunicaciones #Nostr como una de estas soluciones emergentes.

Sin embargo, en este camino para lograr un producto verdaderamente diferenciador, se requieren características notablemente superiores tanto en la forma como, sobre todo, de fondo, que permitan satisfacer esas necesidades crecientes.

Anteriormente, creía que gigantes como Instagram y Twitter eran invulnerables debido a su tan alabado "efecto de red"; sin embargo, la historia nos muestra que la televisión no contaba con "efecto de red" para ser el medio de comunicación dominante antes del auge de las redes sociales. Aunque la “forma” ha transformado notablemente la experiencia del usuario en el consumo de información y es el brillo que atrae a las personas, la cuestión siempre ha sido de "fondo": la capacidad de decidir cuándo, qué, cómo y dónde consumir información es la capa añadida que ha cimentado el éxito de lo que hoy conocemos como redes sociales.

Ahora bien, ¿Cuál es esa capa de fondo que añade #Nostr y que le puede permitir competir con lo establecido?

Descentralización, privacidad, resistencia a la censura y monetización: estas cualidades brillarán como el rayo de Lightning Network en un futuro próximo.

El desvelo de la realidad que nos brinda #Bitcoin y el incansable trabajo de los desarrolladores imbuidos con el espíritu de la libertad permiten que la cuestión de la verdad y la mentira no se limite solo a la visión del mundo proporcionada por #Bitcoin, sino que se expandan y propaguen líneas de pensamiento en una amplia gama de variantes que dan forma a una nueva manera de hacer las cosas, como podría ser #Nostr.

Existen opiniones que indican la necesidad de atraer a los "normies", mientras que otros creen que no es necesario "ponerles la comida en la boca".

Bitcoin nos ha mostrado que su anti fragilidad está forjada gracias a una confluencia de incentivos que hacen que los aciertos y errores eventualmente nos conduzcan a la resiliencia que la libertad requiere; trabajemos para que #Nostr corra con la misma “suerte”.

@ 3cd2ea88:bafdaceb

💰 Il mondo delle criptovalute è in costante evoluzione, e con ogni nuovo sviluppo, si aprono nuove opportunità per rendere l'uso delle criptovalute più integrato nella vita quotidiana. La Bitget Card è un passo avanti in questa direzione, fungendo da ponte tra le criptovalute e le valute fiat. Questa carta crypto di prima classe offre una serie di vantaggi esclusivi, progettati per soddisfare le esigenze dei moderni utenti crypto.

💰 Come Richiedere la Bitget Card: Al momento, la Bitget Card è disponibile solo per i trader VIP selezionati. L'applicazione richiede una verifica KYC e la presentazione di una prova di indirizzo valida. È possibile trovare ulteriori dettagli sulla verifica KYC nella guida rapida di Bitget. La carta è disponibile in due versioni: Premium e Black, con la versione Black riservata ai trader VIP di livello 2 o 3.

💰 Dopo l'approvazione, i dettagli della Bitget Card, compresi il numero della carta, la data di scadenza e il codice CVV, saranno immediatamente disponibili nella sezione "Conto di finanziamento".

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@ cce0989b:b497e608

Old Happy: "I have to hold tightly and control."
New Happy: "I can let go and trust."

You want that person to change. You want the past to have gone differently. You want the future to go your way.

One of the hardest things about being human is that at the end of the day, we don’t have a lot of control over what happens to us. This is incredibly hard on our well-being, because as human beings, we absolutely love being in control and absolutely hate having no control.

That’s why we cling onto things. We think that it gives us the control that we long for. Unfortunately, though, this clinging just needs to new pain. Think about the burden that you’ve put upon yourself by trying to control the uncontrollable. As hard as it is to acknowledge, it must be done: you can’t change that person, you can rewrite the past, you can’t control the future.

If you’re ready to let go, there’s a tool we’ve developed to help you. It’s called the 4 C’s.

Clinging: Name what you’re holding onto. You can usually identify it by asking yourself, “What am I trying to control in this moment?”

Compassion: Acknowledge any pain you’re in and extend love to yourself, saying something like, “It’s okay that I want this.”

Choose: Now that you’ve named it, you have the opportunity to decide whether you choose to let go of what you’re clinging to. Would it serve you more to hold onto it—or to let go of it?

Courage: If the answer is ‘let go,’ take one brave step towards releasing it.

• You could say an affirmation: “I release what I’m holding onto.”

• It could be an intention: “Today, I will let go of this.”

• It could be an action: writing in a journal, talking to a friend, closing your phone, making a choice.

• Or it could be an inaction: refusing to engage further with it or ceasing to fight reality.

Letting go is not something you do once. It’s something you do over and over again. Every time you let go, you free yourself a little bit more, until suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, you realize that you have truly moved forward into a new phase of your life — one of greater peace and happiness.

Tips and Tools

1. Your journey — This week's animation.

2. If you want to grow — Make mistakes.

3. Don't give up — Discouragement is not a sign to throw in the towel.

4. Your three selves — Improve your relationship with your self.

5. How to be resilient — Three reminders.

More from TNH

Podcast — Get a daily morning pep talk — in five minutes or less

Speaking — Book us to speak to your team about well-being, resilience, and productivity.

Articles — Read more articles on our website.

@ f6488c62:c929299d

การเริ่มต้นศึกษา เกี่ยวกับการเริ่มต้นกำเนิด web3 นั้น เราควรจะรู้ที่มาที่ไป จากการติดตามอ่านของผม สรุปสั้นๆ ดังนี้ Web 3 เกิดจากไอเดียคุณ Gravin Wood หนึ่งในผู้ร่วมก่อตั้ง ETH ซึ่งได้เสนอแนวคิดไว้ ของอินเตอร์เน็ตแบบไร้ศูนย์กลาง กระจายศูนย์ โดยใช้ blockchain เป็นพื้นฐาน

ตั้งแต่นั้นมา แนวคิดนี้ก็กระจายไปอย่างรวดเร็ว จนถึงปัจจุบัน

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

Costa Rican congressman Eli Feinzaig from the Progressive Liberal Party denounced having received a warning from the Cuban regime's ambassador in his country, Jorge Rodríguez, about his relations with Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, the leader of the Cuban Resistance Assembly.

According to Feinzaig, the Cuban ambassador warned him in a letter not to meet again with Gutiérrez-Boronat, who has been included by the Havana regime on a list of supposed “terrorists”.

In an interview granted to Martí Noticias, Feinzaig detailed the content of the letter: “Last Thursday, I received a note from the ambassador of Cuba in Costa Rica, which attached a publication from the Cuban Official Gazette with a list of people and organizations that the regime considers or has designated as terrorists.”

The congressman expressed his rejection of these accusations, stating that "those on that list are all opponents of the regime inside and outside the Island." Also, he “absolutely rejected the designation of terrorists of people with a democratic vocation who are fighting to free their country from the clutches of the dictatorship.”

Gutiérrez-Boronat, mentioned at number 52 on the list published by the Havana regime, is accused of inciting violent actions against public officials and socioeconomic entities, and of promoting an armed aggression to the Island.

Feinzaig commented on the specific mention of his friend in the note: “In the note that he addresses to me, he makes special mention of my friend Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, warning me that he is a terrorist, according to their consideration and, in other words, warning me that I should not be associating with him."

Upon learning of the inclusion of Gutiérrez-Boronat in the “National List of Terrorists,” Feinzaig expressed his solidarity and rejection of the accusation: “I have a beautiful friendship with Orlando, I consider him my brother, I admire him for his fight for the freedom of Cuba, the fight for democracy in Cuba and, of course, I also reject the accusation.”

Furthermore, he described as “unprecedented and disrespectful” that an ambassador would dare to tell a congressman of an independent and democratic country who he can or cannot associate with.

In early December 2023, the “National List” of “persons and entities linked to acts of terrorism” was made public, which includes dozens of activists, communicators, influencers, and organizations based in the United States.

This list, which is part of Resolution 19/2023 of the MININT, was published in the extraordinary edition number 83 of the Official Gazette. The document also attributes to the United States the responsibility of promoting actions against the security of the Cuban state.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

El diputado costarricense Eli Feinzaig, del Partido Liberal Progresista, denunció haber recibido una advertencia del embajador del régimen cubano en su país, Jorge Rodríguez, sobre sus relaciones con Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, líder de la Asamblea de la Resistencia Cubana.

Según Feinzaig, el embajador cubano le advirtió en una carta que no volviera a reunirse con Gutiérrez-Boronat, incluido por el régimen de La Habana en una lista de supuestos “terroristas”.

Feinzaig, en una entrevista concedida al medio Martí Noticias, detalló el contenido de la carta: “El jueves pasado recibí una nota del embajador de Cuba en Costa Rica, donde me adjunta una publicación de la Gaceta Oficial cubana con una lista de personas y organizaciones que el régimen considera o ha designado como terroristas”.

El diputado expresó su rechazo a estas acusaciones, afirmando que “quienes están en esa lista son todos opositores al régimen dentro y fuera de la Isla”. Asimismo, “rechazó absolutamente la designación de terroristas de personas de vocación democrática que están luchando por liberar a su país de las garras de la dictadura”.

Gutiérrez-Boronat, mencionado en el número 52 de la lista publicada por el régimen de La Habana, es acusado de incitar acciones violentas contra funcionarios públicos y entidades socioeconómicas, y de promover una agresión armada a la Isla.

Feinzaig comentó sobre la mención específica de su amigo en la nota: “En la nota que él me dirige me hace especial mención de mi amigo Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, advirtiéndome que es un terrorista, de acuerdo con la consideración de ellos y, en otras palabras, advirtiéndome que no debería de estar relacionándome con él”.

Feinzaig, al conocer la inclusión de Gutiérrez-Boronat en la “Lista Nacional de Terroristas”, manifestó su solidaridad y rechazo a la acusación: “Con Orlando me une una linda amistad, lo considero mi hermano, lo admiro por su lucha por la libertad de Cuba, la lucha por la democracia en Cuba y, por supuesto, que también rechazo la acusación”.

Además, calificó de “insólito e irrespetuoso” que un embajador se atreva a decirle a un diputado de un país independiente y democrático con quién puede o no relacionarse.

A inicios de diciembre de 2023, hizo pública su “Lista Nacional” de “personas y entidades vinculadas a actos de terrorismo”, la cual incluye a decenas de activistas, comunicadores, influencers y organizaciones con sede en Estados Unidos.

Dicha lista, que forma parte de la Resolución 19/2023 del MININT, se hizo pública en la edición extraordinaria número 83 de la Gaceta Oficial. El documento, además, atribuye a Estados Unidos la responsabilidad de impulsar acciones contra la seguridad del Estado cubano.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

The Castro regime sentenced to house arrest five of the doctors who were tried for alleged malpractice in the case of the death of a 23-year-old Cuban who arrived at the Bayamo hospital after a motorcycle accident.

According to information shared on Facebook by Katia Ramírez, a relative of one of the implicated, the only one to be acquitted was the radiologist Elizabeth Silvera. “My nephew one year of house arrest, Yoandra one year and six months, Rafael and Henry two years, and Ristian three. All under house arrest and at the disposal of the Provincial Health Directorate.”

The decision has triggered a wave of reactions in the medical community and among the general public. The exiled doctor Alexander Jesús Figueredo Izaguirre and doctor Leandro Barbán expressed their outrage and concern about what they consider abuse and flagrant injustice against the doctors who lack the resources to work.

User Yanelis Milagro Pérez Rodríguez regretted that there are few doctors left in the hospitals on the island, and the authorities act in this manner against them. "Doctors now prefer to work in bicitaxi than to continue being humiliated with the meager salary they receive and the demands placed on them, despite not having the tools to do their job."

The regime aims to blame the doctors for its incompetence in providing everything necessary for patient care in public hospitals. Complaints of medical negligence in Cuba are somewhat common; however, since the Castro regime controls the judiciary, they rarely reach criminal court. In this case, as the victim of the alleged malpractice is a relative of high-ranking officials of the Communist Party in the province of Granma, the judicial file prospered, and the prosecution took an active role in the conviction.

The situation of the sentenced doctors illustrates a profound ethical and legal dilemma. Facing a lack of adequate resources, they chose to treat the patient with what they had at hand, a decision that, although in line with the Hippocratic Oath, was deemed imprudent by the judicial system. According to testimonies from the doctors themselves, during the process, they never heard statements from medical professionals that would demonstrate that the protocol followed on the fateful day was correct under the specific conditions.

According to Katia Ramírez, the doctors' decision is to appeal the sentence. "Now well: Ingris Porto Mateo, Dumar Rosales, and Osaris Perdomo I hope they can never even get a good night's sleep, just like the rest of the responsible parties, and we will continue fighting and appealing to whatever instances necessary," she explained.

@ 4ba8e86d:89d32de4

Mas a todos que desejam testar configurações, experimentar, praticar restaurações de carteiras e se familiarizar com ferramentas CoinJoin PayNym Stowaway/PayJoin Stonewall STONEWALLx2 os mini CoinJoins. Pra usar testnet na SamouraiWallet faça o download na página oficial em https://samouraiwallet.com ou na F-DROID Assim permitirá que você entre no modo testnet, o que facilitará a prática com as ferramentas e a compreensão das opções disponíveis. FAÇA A VERIFICAÇÃO DA ASSINATURA.

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Via Twitter @ottosch_

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

On social media, it was reported that the lifeless body of a woman was found behind a bus stop in San Agustín, municipality of La Lisa, in Havana. The posts indicated that she was presumably the victim of a robbery that ended in homicide.

A netizen named Ernesto Sánchez commented on Facebook that several people passed by while the body was at that location. Passersby thought the woman had fallen asleep in a seated position.

The user also pointed out that the victim was between 40 and 50 years old. Also, he mentioned that the woman had arrived from a province to visit her daughter in Havana.

"The daughter has a 9-month-old girl, the suffering is killing her; she couldn't go down to where her mother's body was," commented Sánchez, referring to the fact that the body was precisely at the address on 250th street, between 35th and 37th.

Local authorities are conducting an investigation to clarify the details of the crime and find the perpetrator. It emerged that the woman might have been murdered with a cut to her neck.

This incident has been widely discussed on social media. Dozens of comments are related to the insecurity that is currently experienced on the Island due to the lack of effective measures to fight crime.

"While they keep a large number of young people and others not so young in prisons for thinking differently, criminals on the streets are enjoying Impunity," said the citizen Juan A. Iglesias.

For her part, the netizen Elena Soto opined: "It's incredible, every day the news in Cuba is about three or more murders or missing people, what is happening? Why don't the country's leaders talk about the violence? It seems that right now, no one is the authority in Cuba."

This incident occurred two days after confirming the death of the Cuban American Yorjelguis Bolaño Fernández in the province of Mayabeque. This man disappeared on January 7, and his body was found near the Animal Science Institute, located in San José de las Lajas.

The authorities have arrested four suspects, who, apparently, were trusted individuals for the victim, whose car was found dismantled in a garage in San Miguel del Padrón, Havana.

Relatives of Bolaño Fernández commented that he was murdered as part of a robbery, which occurred after he visited a private kiosk in San José de las Lajas. This man had arrived from the United States to visit his family in Madruga.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

El régimen castrista condenó a prisión domiciliaria a cinco de los médicos que fueron llevados a juicio por una supuesta mala práctica en el caso de la muerte de un cubano de 23 años que llegó al hospital de Bayamo tras un accidente de moto.

Según informaciones compartidas en Facebook por Katia Ramírez, familiar de uno de los implicados, la única que logró quedar absuelta fue la radióloga Elizabeth Silvera. “Mi sobrino un año de prisión domiciliaria, Yoandra un año y seis meses, Rafael y Henry dos años y Ristian tres. Todos en prisión domiciliaria y a disposición de la Dirección Provincial de Salud”.

La decisión ha desencadenado una ola de reacciones en la comunidad médica y entre el público general. El doctor exiliado Alexander Jesús Figueredo Izaguirre y el doctor Leandro Barbán expresaron su indignación y preocupación por lo que consideran un abuso y una injusticia flagrante contra los médicos que no tienen recursos para trabajar.

La usuaria Yanelis Milagro Pérez Rodríguez lamentó que en la Isla queden pocos doctores en los hospitales y las autoridades actúen de esta manera en contra de ellos. “Los médicos ahora prefieren trabajar en bicitaxi, a seguir siendo humillados con el mísero salario que reciben y las exigencias que tienen, a pesar de no tener herramientas para hacer su trabajo”.

El régimen pretende culpar a los médicos de su incompetencia de proveer de todo lo necesario para la atención a los pacientes en los hospitales públicos. Las denuncias por negligencia médica en Cuba son algo comunes; sin embargo, como el régimen castrista controla la justicia, rara vez llegan a instancias penales. En este caso, como la víctima de la supuesta mala praxis es familia de altos cargos del Partido Comunista en la provincia de Granma, el expediente judicial prosperó y la fiscalía tomo un papel activo en la condena.

La situación de los médicos condenados ilustra un dilema ético y legal profundo. Al enfrentarse a la falta de recursos adecuados, optaron por atender al paciente con lo que tenían a mano, una decisión que, aunque en línea con el juramento hipocrático, fue considerada imprudente por el sistema judicial. Según testimonios de los propios galenos, en el proceso nunca escucharon declaraciones de médicos que evidenciaran que el protocolo seguido el fatídico día fue el correcto bajo las condiciones específicas.

De acuerdo con Katia Ramírez, la decisión de los médicos es apelar la sentencia. “Ahora bien: Ingris Porto Mateo, Dumar Rosales y Osaris Perdomo espero que nunca más puedan ni siquiera conciliar el sueño al igual que el resto de los responsables y seguiremos luchando y apelando a las instancias que sean necesario”, explicó.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

En redes sociales se reportó que el cuerpo sin vida de una mujer apareció detrás de una parada de ómnibus en San Agustín, municipio La Lisa, en La Habana. Las publicaciones indicaron que presuntamente fue víctima de un robo que terminó en homicidio.

Un internauta llamado Ernesto Sánchez comentó en Facebook que varias personas pasaron mientras el cadáver se encontraba en ese lugar. Los transeúntes pensaban que la mujer se había dormido en posición sentada.

El usuario también señaló que la víctima tenía una edad entre 40 y 50 años. Asimismo, mencionó que la mujer había llegado desde una provincia para visitar a su hija en La Habana.

“La hija tiene una niña de 9 meses, el sufrimiento la está matando, no pudo bajar donde estaba el cadáver de su mamá”, comentó Sánchez, refiriendo que el cuerpo estaba precisamente en la dirección calle 250, entre 35 y 37.

Las autoridades locales están llevando a cabo una investigación para esclarecer los detalles del crimen y dar con el responsable. Según trascendió, la mujer habría sido asesinada mediante una cortada en el cuello.

En redes sociales se ha debatido mucho este hecho. Decenas de comentarios están relacionados con la inseguridad que actualmente se vive en la Isla a falta de medidas efectivas para combatir la delincuencia.

“Mientras tienen en las cárceles a un gran número de jóvenes y otros no tan jóvenes por pensar diferente, los criminales en las calles gozando de Impunidad”, expresó el ciudadano Juan A. Iglesias.

Por su parte, la cibernauta Elena Soto opinó: “es increíble, cada día las noticias en Cuba son de tres o más asesinatos o desaparecidos, ¿qué está pasando? ¿Por qué los dirigentes del país no hablan de la violencia? Tal parece que ahora mismo nadie es la autoridad en Cuba”.

Este hecho ocurre dos días después de confirmarse la muerte del cubanoamericano Yorjelguis Bolaño Fernández en la provincia de Mayabeque. Este hombre desapareció el 7 de enero y su cuerpo fue encontrado en las inmediaciones del Instituto de Ciencia Animal, ubicado en San José de las Lajas.

Las autoridades tienen bajo arresto a cuatro sospechosos, quienes, al parecer, eran personas de confianza para la víctima, cuyo automóvil apareció desmantelado en un garaje de San Miguel del Padrón, La Habana.

Familiares de Bolaño Fernández comentaron que él fue asesinado como parte de un robo, ocurrido después de que visitara un quiosco particular en San José de las Lajas. Este hombre había llegado desde Estados Unidos para visitar a su familia en Madruga.

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

On April 4th, 2022, the international accounting company PwC published the second annual Global CBDC Index results. In this paper, PwC analyzes how far central banks have come to implement their digital money forms and presents their findings. More than eighty percent of central banks are interested in starting a CBDC, or have already done so. This statistic should not come as a surprise to you.

CBDC is an abbreviation for "Central Bank Digital Currency," which I'll explain for those of you who don't follow the news. A CBDC, or central bank-issued digital currency, is a kind of digital money that operates on a Blockchain, the underlying technology that underpins Bitcoin (but lacks the cryptocurrency's decentralized nature). The following is the perspective that the Bank for International Settlements has towards these digital currencies:

"CBDCs are what money will look like in the 21st century."

China was the first big country to have its central bank undertake a pilot project for its own digital currency, and it did so in 2016. Since Xi Jinping's speech in October 2019, it has been officially recognized as part of China's national property. The digital version of the yuan is already very advanced, and China is working toward the goal of gaining the first-mover advantage in this field. The objective is quite clear: to pose a threat to the preeminent position held by the US dollar in international finance.

80% of Central Banks Are Preparing a CBDC

The European Union will not be outdone, since the European Central Bank (ECB) has been considering the possibility of a digital euro for the last several months. It is anticipated that the European Commission will submit legislation the following year in order to assist its growth. Additionally, there has been an increase in conversation in the United States on the possibility of developing a digital dollar.

According to PwC, there is little question that CBDCs are a step in the right direction: "CBDCs will permit more efficient, cheaper, and 24/7 cross-border payments for the financial services sector." We anticipate that CBDCs will be of significant value to international trade and the economy of all engaged countries.

Both retail CBDCs, which are those that are issued for use by the general people, and wholesale CBDCs, which are those that financial institutions utilize with cooperation from the central bank, are ranked out of a total of one hundred in the PwC study. According to the survey, CBDCs who sell to consumers directly have greater experience than CBDCs that sell to businesses.

The digital currency known as the "eNaira" of Nigeria was given a score of 95, making it the most developed of the two categories taken together. The Bahamas were the first nation in the world to establish a CBDC for retail sales, and it was called the Sand Dollar. This will be the year when Jamaica's CBDC, the Jam-Dex (now rated 4th), goes live. Because of their collaboration on the mBridge initiative, which seeks to make international financial transactions easier, Thailand and Hong Kong are at the top of the list for the wholesale CBDC category.

Countries like Canada, Singapore, France, and South Africa have also completed significant projects in this area.

Last but not least, the PwC paper offers a general introduction to stablecoins. In a recent post, I discussed the imminent major flipping that would take place at the end of 2021 between Tether USDT and USDC. According to the specialists contributing to this analysis, privately issued tokens will continue to develop alongside CBDCs while coexisting with them. It is "impossible" for a fund or institution "to be active in crypto without employing stablecoins," according to the research, which also notes that stablecoins have developed into a "integral element of the cryptocurrency ecosystem."

The danger is looming for the future, and your best weapon is Bitcoin

This research is intriguing, but it acts as if it has forgotten the fundamental challenges that CBDCs provide to the general public. These problems may be broken down into three categories: ownership, personal privacy, and personal liberty.

The fact that an increasing number of central banks are going through with the creation of their own CBDCs is, make no mistake about it, an indication that the threat is becoming more apparent to the general public. The shortcomings of fiat currencies have been extended into the digital realm via the use of these CBDCs. Nothing more, nothing less. By keeping track of everyone's financial dealings via these CBDCs, the powerful individuals who run the system we have now will have an even greater ability to exert their authority over the populace.

When this occurs, there will be a strong desire to classify people into different categories and provide them access to different privileges based on whether or not they comply with the arbitrary norms that the government determines. Censorship and confiscation will be significantly more effective due to this increase in capabilities.

There is also discussion of a potential expiry date for the digital currency used in China, which might be done to encourage individuals to spend their money and increase domestic demand if required.

You do not want to do anything like this. If any of this is going to be feasible, it will be largely because CBDCs will be centralized and controlled by a very small number of individuals. The issue of centralization emerges when using stablecoins, as does the question of whether or not the reserve assets can be transparently seen. Stablecoins are a less problematic solution than CBDCs; yet, they do not cure the underlying issue.

Bitcoin is the solution to the underlying issue, which was entirely omitted from the PwC study.

The danger is looming for the future, and your best weapon is Bitcoin Because Bitcoin is indeed the technology that enables you to maintain control due to the decentralized nature of its system and the lack of a leader. Although others still do not believe it, over the next several years, an increasing number of individuals will come to terms with this fact. Even while monetary transactions will still be possible in the not-too-distant future, the issue of whether or not they will be necessary will emerge in a world where everything will eventually be converted to digital form and where governments will exert significant pressure in this direction.

Because of this, Bitcoin will become a solution that is utilized more and more, which is why the prospect of Bitcoin having one billion users by the year 2030 does not strike me as very utopian at all. As is always the case, only the future can validate or invalidate my vision. Watch this space!

That's all for today, see ya tomorrow

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.

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@ 000002de:c05780a7

I've worked in web software dev since 2006 and very quickly I learned about Free & Open Source software. The idea that anyone can download the source code to an application, audit it, modify it, or fork it is very empowering. I've learned so much because of this practice. I've seen how OSS out performs closed source on security over and over again. I've seen the power that an open protocol can create with RSS, HTML, and JSON. So when I first heard about bitcoin I was immediately interested. At the time I was very new to Austrian economics and the liberty movement so I really didn't get that part of it fully. As I began to learn about how the Federal Reserve worked and how they were stealing our life force (wealth) silently and with little push back I became very anger about it. I followed Ron Paul and he accepted bitcoin which I thought was interesting. Then the 2017 bull market got my attention. I started thinking about what open source money would mean. What if the rules for money were in code? What if it took massive consensus to change the rules instead of appointing some jerk to a board run by the bankers?

If you recall Ron Paul's big push was to audit the Fed. Seems reasonable right? I mean this entity which controls the money supply which affects almost every person on the planet. They should have accountability right? Well, most politicians do not agree. Ron Paul's attempt to audit the Fed failed. He retired and no one is even attempting to do this now. It will never happen. It taught me that the true way to change things isn't to reform existing systems. The way to fix the world is to build something new. Something better. Something that will unseat the status quo. The good news is we already have that thing. Its bitcoin. Its open source. Not tricks. No hidden elites calling the shots. Just those that join the network and run their nodes. Deciding which set of rules to accept. It is a revolution that hasn't been recognized. It will happen though. As many say, gradually, then suddenly.

• 1: Bitcoin is a Hurricane
• 2: SeedSigner
• 3: China Mining Ban
• 4: Becoming Your Own Banker

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---

But if Nuada won the battle, he lost his own arm in it, that was struck off by Sreng; and by that loss there came troubles and vexation on his people.

For it was a law with the Tuatha de Danaan that no man that was not perfect in shape should be king. And after Nuada had lost the battle he was put out of the kingship on that account.

And the king they chose in his place was Bres, that was the most beautiful of all their young men, so that if a person wanted to praise any beautiful thing, whether it was a plain, or a dun, or ale, or a flame, or a woman, or a man, or a horse, it is what he would say, "It is as beautiful as Bres." And he was the son of a woman of the Tuatha de Danaan, but who his father was no one knew but herself.

But in spite of Bres being so beautiful, his reign brought no great good luck to his people; for the Fomor, whose dwelling-place was beyond the sea, or as some say below the sea westward, began putting tribute on them, the way they would get them under their own rule.

It was a long time before that the Fomor came first to Ireland; dreadful they were to look at, and maimed, having but one foot or one hand, and they under the leadership of a giant and his mother. There never came to Ireland an army more horrible or more dreadful than that army of the Fomor. And they were friendly with the Firbolgs and content to leave Ireland to them, but there was jealousy between them and the Men of Dea.

And it was a hard tax they put on them, a third part of their corn they asked, and a third part of their milk, and a third part of their children, so that there was not smoke rising from a roof in Ireland but was under tribute to them. And Bres made no stand against them, but let them get their way.

And as to Bres himself, he put a tax on every house in Ireland of the milk of hornless dun cows, or of the milk of cows of some other single colour, enough for a hundred men. And one time, to deceive him, Nechtan singed all the cows of Ireland in a fire of fern, and then he smeared them with the ashes of flax seed, the way they were all dark brown. He did that by the advice of the Druid Findgoll, son of Findemas. And another time they made three hundred cows of wood with dark brown pails in place of udders, and the pails were filled with black bog stuff. Then Bres came to look at the cows, and to see them milked before him, and Cian, father of Lugh, was there. And when they were milked it was the bog stuff that was squeezed out; and Bres took a drink of it thinking it to be milk, and he was not the better of it for a long time.

And there was another thing against Bres; he was no way open-handed, and the chief men of the Tuatha de Danaan grumbled against him, for their knives were never greased in his house, and however often they might visit him there was no smell of ale on their breath. And there was no sort of pleasure or merriment in his house, and no call for their poets, or singers, or harpers, or pipers, or horn-blowers, or jugglers, or fools. And as to the trials of strength they were used to see between their champions, the only use their strength was put to now was to be doing work for the king. Ogma himself, the shining poet, was under orders to bring firing to the palace every day for the whole army from the Islands of Mod; and he so weak for want of food that the sea would sweep away two-thirds of his bundle every day. And as to the Dagda, he was put to build raths, for he was a good builder, and he made a trench round Rath Brese. And he used often to be tired at the work, and one time he nearly gave in altogether for want of food, and this is the way that happened. He used to meet in the house an idle blind man, Cridenbel his name was, that had a sharp tongue, and that coveted the Dagda's share of food, for he thought his own to be small beside it. So he said to him: "For the sake of your good name let the three best bits of your share be given to me." And the Dagda gave in to that every night; but he was the worse of it, for what the blind man called a bit would be the size of a good pig, and with his three bits he would take a full third of the whole.

But one day, as the Dagda was in the trench, he saw his son, Angus Og, coming to him. "That is a good meeting," said Angus; "but what is on you, for you have no good appearance to-day?" "There is a reason for that," said the Dagda, "for every evening, Cridenbel, the blind man, makes a demand for the three best bits of my share of food, and takes them from me." "I will give you an advice," said Angus. He put his hand in his bag then, and took out three pieces of gold and gave them to him.

"Put these pieces of gold into the three bits you will give this evening to Cridenbel," he said, "and they will be the best bits in the dish, and the gold will turn within him the way he will die."

So in the evening the Dagda did that; and no sooner had Cridenbel swallowed down the gold than he died. Some of the people said then to the king: "The Dagda has killed Cridenbel, giving him some deadly herb." The king believed that, and there was anger on him against the Dagda, and he gave orders he should be put to death. But the Dagda said: "You are not giving the right judgment of a prince." And he told all that had happened, and how Cridenbel used to say, "Give me the three best bits before you, for my own share is not good to-night." "And on this night," he said, "the three pieces of gold were the best things before me, and I gave them to him, and he died."

The king gave orders then to have the body cut open. And they found the gold inside it, and they knew it was the truth the Dagda had told.

And Angus came to him again the next day, and he said: "Your work will soon be done, and when you are given your wages, take nothing they may offer you till the cattle of Ireland are brought before you, and choose out a heifer then, black and black-maned, that I will tell you the signs of."

So when the Dagda had brought his work to an end, and they asked him what reward he wanted, he did as Angus had bidden him. And that seemed folly to Bres; he thought the Dagda would have asked more than a heifer of him.

There came a day at last when a poet came to look for hospitality at the king's house, Corpre, son of Etain, poet of the Tuatha de Danaan. And it is how he was treated, he was put in a little dark narrow house where there was no fire, or furniture, or bed; and for a feast three small cakes, and they dry, were brought to him on a little dish. When he rose up on the morrow he was no way thankful, and as he was going across the green, it is what he said: "Without food ready on a dish; without milk enough for a calf to grow on; without shelter; without light in the darkness of night; without enough to pay a story-teller; may that be the prosperity of Bres."

And from that day there was no good luck with Bres, but it is going down he was for ever after. And that was the first satire ever made in Ireland.

Now as to Nuada: after his arm being struck off, he was in his sickness for a while, and then Diancecht, the healer, made an arm of silver for him, with movement in every finger of it, and put it on him. And from that he was called Nuada Argat-lamh, of the Silver Hand, for ever after.

Now Miach, son of Diancecht, was a better hand at healing than his father, and had done many things. He met a young man, having but one eye, at Teamhair one time, and the young man said: "If you are a good physician you will put an eye in the place of the eye I lost." "I could put the eye of that cat in your lap in its place," said Miach. "I would like that well," said the young man. So Miach put the cat's eye in his head; but he would as soon have been without it after, for when he wanted to sleep and take his rest, it is then the eye would start at the squeaking of the mice, or the flight of the birds, or the movement of the rushes; and when he was wanting to watch an army or a gathering, it is then it was sure to be in a deep sleep.

And Miach was not satisfied with what his father had done to the king, and he took Nuada's own hand that had been struck off, and brought it to him and set it in its place, and he said: "Joint to joint, and sinew to sinew." Three days and three nights he was with the king; the first day he put the hand against his side, and the second day against his breast, till it was covered with skin, and the third day he put bulrushes that were blackened in the fire on it, and at the end of that time the king was healed.

But Diancecht was vexed when he saw his son doing a better cure than himself, and he threw his sword at his head, that it cut the flesh, but the lad healed the wound by means of his skill. Then Diancecht threw it a second time, that it reached the bone, but the lad was able to cure the wound. Then he struck him the third time and the fourth, till he cut out the brain, for he knew no physician could cure him after that blow; and Miach died, and he buried him.

And herbs grew up from his grave, to the number of his joints and sinews, three hundred and sixty-five. And Airmed, his sister, came and spread out her cloak and laid out the herbs in it, according to their virtue. But Diancecht saw her doing that, and he came and mixed up the herbs, so that no one knows all their right powers to this day.

Then when the Tuatha de Danaan saw Nuada as well as he was before, they gathered together to Teamhair, where Bres was, and they bade him give up the kingship, for he had held it long enough. So he had to give it up, though he was not very willing, and Nuada was put back in the kingship again.

There was great vexation on Bres then, and he searched his mind to know how could he be avenged on those that had put him out, and how he could gather an army against them; and he went to his mother, Eri, daughter of Delbaith, and bade her tell him what his race was.

"I know that well," she said; and she told him then that his father was a king of the Fomor, Elathan, son of Dalbaech, and that he came to her one time over a level sea in some great vessel that seemed to be of silver, but she could not see its shape, and he himself having the appearance of a young man with yellow hair, and his clothes sewed with gold, and five rings of gold about his neck. And she that had refused the love of all the young men of her own people, gave him her love, and she cried when he left her. And he gave her a ring from his hand, and bade her give it only to the man whose finger it would fit, and he went away then the same way as he had come.

And she brought out the ring then to Bres, and he put it round his middle finger, and it fitted him well. And they went then together to the hill where she was the time she saw the silver vessel coming, and down to the strand, and she and Bres and his people set out for the country of the Fomor.

And when they came to that country they found a great plain with many gatherings of people on it, and they went to the gathering that looked the best, and the people asked where did they come from, and they said they were come from Ireland. "Have you hounds with you?" they asked them then, for it was the custom at that time, when strangers came to a gathering, to give them some friendly challenge. "We have hounds," said Bres. So the hounds were matched against one another, and the hounds of the Tuatha de Danaan were better than the hounds of the Fomor. "Have you horses for a race?" they asked then. "We have," said Bres. And the horses of the Tuatha de Danaan beat the horses of the Fomor.

Then they asked was any one among them a good hand with the sword, and they said Bres was the best. But when he put his hand to his sword, Elathan, his father, that was among them, knew the ring, and he asked who was this young man. Then his mother answered him and told the whole story, and that Bres was his own son.

There was sorrow on his father then, and he said: "What was it drove you out of the country you were king over?" And Bres said: "Nothing drove me out but my own injustice and my own hardness; I took away their treasures from the people, and their jewels, and their food itself. And there were never taxes put on them before I was their king."

"That is bad," said his father; "it is of their prosperity you had a right to think more than of your own kingship. And their good-will would be better than their curses," he said; "and what is it you are come to look for here?" "I am come to look for fighting men," said Bres, "that I may take Ireland by force." "You have no right to get it by injustice when you could not keep it by justice," said his father. "What advice have you for me then?" said Bres.

And Elathan bade him go to the chief king of the Fomor, Balor of the Evil Eye, to see what advice and what help would he give him.

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

The sense of futility is part of the psy-op. Maybe the most important part.

— Christopher Liss (@Chris_Liss) September 28, 2022

I imagine most of you have been on the phone with a company that didn’t deliver on its obligations. Maybe the time-sensitive package you overnighted was delayed, the airline lost your luggage or your health insurance refused to cover a bill, and after some back and forth regarding potential remedies, the customer service rep says, “I’m sorry sir, but that’s company policy.”

“Company policy” is invoked to end the conversation, get you to move on and accept whatever remedy (or mere apology) they are offering, no matter how incommensurate with their error. And it often works because wise people learn to direct their energies toward things they can change, rather than things they cannot.

A rational person can find peace by cultivating indifference to things outside of their control.

— Naval (@naval) October 14, 2017

Sure, you have ripped me off, cost me time and money, mishandled something that was important to me, but if a remedy isn’t possible, per your policy, what can I do, shout into my phone for 20 more minutes? I can vow never to use that company again, but it’s a massive conglomerate, possibly a virtual monopoly in my area, and in any event, my business won’t be especially missed. “Fine,” you say, as you hang up the phone, grumbling under your breath and trying to put it out of your mind so you can go about the rest of your day.

This is what happens most of the time for most people, but not for me. What I realized is the “company policy” trick works by exploiting the “pick your battles” and “worry only about what you can control” heuristics that serve people well in most circumstances. They know you have them on the question of right and wrong, fairness and proportionality, so rather than fight on losing ground, they shift to the question of what’s possible for you to do about it.

But let’s consider what this pivot from what’s right to what’s possible has wrought. It’s not just that you won’t get reimbursed for the $4K anesthesiologist bill who was out of network (and did his work while you were unconscious), but runs much deeper than that.

Here’s Cindy McCain, John McCain’s widow, talking about Jeffery Epstein:

They ALL KNEWhttps://t.co/qrce1zs49B

— Carol SMART Baker (@CarolSm33801) January 15, 2024

Her point is that everyone knew Epstein was doing horrendous wrongs, but they didn’t believe anyone would do anything about it. In a sense, they assumed, via the CIA or whatever powerful organization was so obviously protecting him, his activities were “company policy.” Whether it was wrong was not sufficient. It was not possible for him to face punishment. Until it was.

The illusion of untouchability is a tactic to make you give up. What are you going to do about it? Nothing. A “rational person”, a person who wants to “find peace” will “cultivate indifference to things outside of their [sic] control.” And we don’t just see this frame coming from powerful malefactors wanting you to give up. Via Stockholm Syndrome it has spread to regular citizens, even among those who are awake to disturbing truths about our institutions and policymakers.

“Coerced injections were abominable, but get real, no one will ever go to jail for it,” is essentially the same thing as “Sorry sir, but it’s company policy,” only the call is coming from inside the house. You’ve ceded the fight about what’s right to what’s possible, and even though you’re justifiably angry about it, you not only expect nothing to come of it, but actively discourage others who feel as you do.

Why should you accept a wrong? Why should you concede an injustice? Because it might not possible to redress it? Well of course it’s not possible if you care whether it’s possible! How about fighting for what’s right, whether or not in your narrow-minded crystal-ball-lacking capacity you can predict the future?

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

―George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman

The fight over what’s possible is the trick.

Obviously it’s possible. If we stand up, sue, complain, demand, it will happen. It need not be everyone, not even a majority, just a committed, principled and intransigent minority.

Of course, they don’t want you to do that. A bully wants to intimidate, not get into an actual fistfight on the merits. How do they prevent it? Divide, distract, despond and deride. They shout “Conspiracy theory!” to deter questioning. They don’t care whether what’s alleged is true — they want to make the subject off limits. If it’s not permissible to discuss, then it doesn’t matter whether it’s true. Evidence doesn’t matter because that claim doesn’t have standing to be heard. Summary judgment.

These are the tactics. You are losing because you are blind to them. You buy into the frame.

We must choose an alternative frame: I hear that it’s YOUR policy, but that doesn’t address MY problem. This is wrong, and you stating that you’re in the habit of doing wrong and not addressing it will not make me go away. In fact, it’s going to make me even more resolute because clearly you are not even prepared to defend your conduct. Had you persuaded me that actually I were mistaken, I would drop it. But you are persuading me that I am even more on target than I thought because you are trying to render a discussion on the merits off limits.

Assuming I have persuaded some of you that “Company Policy” is to fool people into giving up meretricious claims by making the prospect of relief appear futile, and that “They’ll never be held to account” is but the internalization of that tactic, you might ask, okay, what can we do about it? How do we hold the powerful to account?

Podcaster Marty Bent posed a related question to his guest Tom Luongo on a recent TFTC podcast, and Luongo’s answer was enlightening.

Luongo said you have to keep talking, expressing dissenting views that bubble up into the zeitgeist where they gain increasing influence. The discourse is a complex system — it’s impossible to predict the long-term effects of one’s ideas on it. You could be shouting into the void for months, and one day something you say sparks a better-worded idea in the mind of someone with more reach. Sometimes little things turn out to be big things, the ripple that births a tsunami.

I agree with Luongo on this point. I want people to understand the notion that things are futile does not arise in your mind accidentally. It has been crafted to deter you. And if you are deterred the prophecy will self-fulfill.

But the moment enough people demand and expect accountability, scoff at the idea that humans like you and me, but who just happen to have wealth or social connections, are untouchable, is when justice is possible. The bully just got punched in the face, we see in truth he was always scared and weak. It’s why he became a bully.

But we will not be bullied. “Company policy” will not suffice. We demand an accounting on the merits. And we will get it, so long as we refuse to be deterred by false notions of what’s possible.

@ 5002cb48:31a0d6d8

So, a creator on Twitter wrote that she wished there was an easier way for creators to get paid or tipped on Twitter. I told her about Nostr and the Lightning Network / Satoshi, where tipping is as easy as zapping sats. Another user, a self-confessed technologist, jumped in on the thread and remarked, "but crypto fees are so high".

This is a completely wrong notion and a lot of people have it when it comes to Bitcoin and Nostr apps. There are no "crypto fees" involved in Bitcoin and Nostr apps. Transactions - where you pay or get paid - in Bitcoin and Nostr apps are processed off-chain on the Lightning Network - a separate payment layer built atop the Bitcoin blockchain.

I was surprised by this complete lack of awareness or knowledge of the Lightning Network and the Satoshi (one hundred millionth of a Bitcoin). This is both a huge challenge and a huge opportunity to scale Bitcoin apps like Stacker, Wavlake, Pinstr, and Habla. People continue to think that Bitcoin is something "those people do there". They still confuse Bitcoin apps with Blockchain and Web3 apps. They don't realize or know that Bitcoin apps and the Lightning Network have been created to solve precisely those set of problems around scaling Bitcoin. This lack of general awareness around the Lightning Network is a huge challenge.

So, I think there has to be a lot of outreach to convince people that Bitcoin and Nostr apps are really simple and straightforward to use for creators and involve an element of simple payments, where no third-party apps or gateways except lightning wallets are needed. This thing needs great packaging and marketing of the phenomenal value proposition of Bitcoin and Nostr apps.

@ 0a821ca3:e0efcce3

Policy makers in Europe welcomed the p2p digital value transfer protocol, which is public infrastructure, quite unambiguously as unwelcome. This is bad for Europe and bad for humanity.

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First, it is important to observe a few specifics around innovation and p2p technology:

• Innovation can typically be difficultly undone - knowledge is like fire, it amplifies as it is shared - this is even more the case for p2p technology, based on its network properties and permissionless nature

• p2p technology needs to be trustless & permissionless

  • If p2p technology is not trustless - it is not p2p

  • If p2p technology is not permissionless - it is not p2p

• Proof of work ensures trustless and permissionless operation - it is being debated if alternative mechanisms can enable p2p digital value transfer - so far no conclusive evidence exists

Policy makers have relevant concerns:

• Proof of work uses electric energy - as electric energy could be used for other useful purposes or its production can cause CO2 emissions - that is a valid concern that will soon be resolved

  • Soon proof of work mining will only be profitable with negative price electricity - or excess electricity - that means there will be no other relevant use for that electricity

  • A lot of negative price electricity will be produced as we need to build excess production capacity to cope with the intermittent nature of renewable electricity production

    • In Germany alone, some EUR 800 million of costs could be avoided through better electricity network balancing - as 1% of energy production or 6 TWh of renewable energy is in excess / cannot be used

  • Actually, proof of work mining will prove to be a catalyst for building sufficient renewable capacity - and avoiding CO2 emissions

  • Ample other climate friendly solutions in relation to proof of work mining will emerge - including gas flaring for example - it is only a matter of time for gas flaring companies to start selling CO2 certificates

  • A recent study compares the proof of work mining energy consumption with the energy consumption of the conventional banking system

  • The recent documentary “This Machine Green” puts proof of work energy consumption into perspective - even if it does not explicitly mention the upcoming negative electricity price requirement for profitable proof of work mining

• [new addition 2023/04/15] Proof of work requires computers - in most cases application specific integrated circuits or ASICs. The production and in particular the decommissioning result in electronic equipment waste - this is a valid concern that requires policy intervention.

  • The most appropriate solution is to tax raw material consumption

  • Some get happiness from scrolling through Instragram or Tiktok - others get a feeling of contribution from enabling digital p2p value transfer among unbanked people in the global south. Therefore, it would be appropriate to tax any CPU or ASIC in the same way - in other words: tax raw material consumption of rare materials. Policy makers have the possibility to throttle the tax level on raw materials, and in doing so, throttle the number of bitcoin mining ASIC in parallel the replacement rate of iPhones, many of which still are perfectly functional when their owners decide to replace them with a new device with the latest features

• Many consider the token supporting the p2p value transfer protocol as an attractive asset - which is volatile versus other asset prices

  • Some see obtaining access to a share of the value transfer token as a get rich quick scheme - it is a valid concern to warn investors for such volatility risk

  • Soon, the p2p value transfer protocol will enable structures that ensure stability versus other assets - users can then use the p2p value transfer protocol while holding stability versus another asset of their choice, including fiat units of account

  • So, this concern will soon be resolved.

• Permissionless technology can be used by anyone for every purpose, including illicit purposes - that is a valid concern

  • Unlike the perception driven by some influencers, most contributors to the development of the p2p digital value transfer protocol technology would prefer to avoid that the protocol is used for illicit activity

  • Unfortunately, there are no easy ways to control permissionless technology. Making it permissioned removes its p2p character

  • We can potentially be inspired by how the TCP IP protocol developers helped avoiding abuse of that information transmission protocol - spoiler: they didn’t

    • Actually, most often, even the network operators, such as telecom companies, bear no responsibility for any illicit use of the TCP IP protocol within their subnet network - [reference to respective legislation to follow]

  • Unlike nuclear technology - which will be covered in an interesting way in the upcoming Oppenheimer movie - or many other innovations, which can include very harmful use, digital value transfer technology seems barely harmful - it is probably more effective for policy makers to focus their attention on combatting the actual crime than digital value transfer technology which is barely an alternative to other payment technologies including cash, …

• The asset underlying the p2p value transfer protocol has a low inflation - today at 1.79% and declining. The parties that control our monies seem to see competition for currencies and seem to react in a fearful way. The risk of the p2p digital value transfer protocol asset replacing conventional currency is an invalid concern.

  • The fact that the asset underlying the p2p value transfer protocol has low inflation is not a coincidence - its developer(s) - beyond having the ambition to build a p2p digital value transfer protocol - were concerned about monetary policies which have resulted in the build up of a debt bubble and inflation

  • The fact that the asset underlying the p2p value transfer protocol has low inflation is also not a coincidence - imagine a p2p value transfer protocol conceived with another monetary policy - for example a high inflation policy - the underlying asset would not have been attractive as a store of value - and it would also not be attractive for value transfer - as no one would be interested to transfer back from the digital asset to another asset

  • Obviously, an attractive asset is a prerequisite for an attractive value transfer protocol

  • Is the risk of such asset replacing conventional currency real? No. The CHF has been a more reliable currency than the EUR - has it replaced the EUR? No. The USD has been a more attractive asset than many currencies - have all those currencies disappeared? No.

• Many perceive that p2p technology would do exactly what it’s description suggests - operate point-to-point - and as such disintermediate the conventional financial intermediaries - that is an invalid concern driven by lack of understanding

  • On the contrary, banks are uniquely positioned to support their clients in navigating financial technology - and protect them from unregistered security offerings

What can policy makers do?

Study

The p2p value transfer protocol is conceptually new. It is radically decentralised - and requires radical decentralised thinking.

Tax raw material consumption [added 2023/04/15]

Tax raw material use to limit the volume of electric equipment waste. This would also incentivise mining equipment producers to build equipment that is as efficient as possible. Additionally, it will incentivise miners to deploy their (more expensive) equipment at locations with the highest excess electricity (the most negative electricity price). Lastly, it will incentivise all users of electric equipment, e.g. iPhones, to use the equipment during the full lifetime rather than replacing it early for a new device with more features - something which all people who hold a currency that increases in purchasing value over time would all do - towards a more sustainable future.

Embrace democracy

The development of the p2p value transfer protocol is completely open source - decisions are taken by the users of the protocol - through the choice of software they use. As such, any software evolution which is seen as relevant by users, not miners - if there are no users, proof of work miners have no incentive to keep operating, so users decide - will be adopted in the leading version of the protocol. The current protocol version is therefore the most relevant version available according to its users.

Policy makers can propose changes to the protocol code - if these changes are considered relevant by the protocol users, they will be adopted. As such, the protocol is the ultimate incarnation of global democracy - available for policy makers to embrace.

Enable banks

Many problems in the past in relation to digital value technology have been caused by trusted solutions - fraud or hacking of exchanges, such as MtGox and FTX, fraud in relation to centralised ‘crypto’ assets…

Banks are uniquely positioned to support their clients in navigating financial technology and protect their clients from unregistered security offerings. Moreover, banks are strongly positioned to act as exchanges (until the ultimate DEX will be available) or as issuers of balance sheet backed fiat assets on the lightning network.

Do we want Europeans rely on a US company like Circle or Tether for balance sheet backed fiat pegged digital tokens, or do we want Europeans rely on the balance sheet of European banks? Banks can issuing fiat pegged digital tokens on the lightning network with RGB or Taro, and, in doing so, play an active role in keeping the EUR or the USD relevant - as payment with these fiat pegged tokens will be as efficient as payment with satoshis over the lightning network. That means that there will be absolutely no reason for users to consider native bitcoin payments (under the hood bitcoin payments may happen, and no one cares, in the same way as no one cares how TCP/IP enables email or WWW). Beyond that, policy makers could see it as their responsibility to help educating citizens about the difference between trusted and trustless fiat peg token - as trustless p2p fiat peg is imminent - 10101 will likely implement by Q2 2023.

Contribute to protocol innovation

As indicated above, the p2p digital value transfer protocol is governed by its users. Therefore, policy makers can contribute to its evolution.

It is likely that many protocol users would be interested to adopt filters that help then avoiding interaction with terrorist or criminal counterparties. They would be open to adopting a soft fork that filters such addresses - provided the addresses are provided in a very transparent way.

As indicated above, policy makers can contribute to the protocol code and propose such features - if the proposed features are relevant, likely a majority of users will adopt the proposed soft fork - effectively helping AML / CFT.

Conclusion

The p2p value transfer protocol comes in peace as public infrastructure at the service of humanity. There is no reason for policy makers to fear innovation - there is opportunity for policy makers to embrace innovation and support its development.

Policy makers can contribute by studying the protocol, embracing the democratic protocol development process, contributing to the protocol code and enabling banks to support their clients in navigating the value protocol.

Policy makers also have a role in warning for short term volatility - actually, enabling banks to support their clients in navigating the p2p digital value transfer protocol and its token is the best action to protect citizens against high risk investment - provided that policy makers trust banks.

The permissionless nature of the p2p digital value transfer protocol is difficult cope with in the conventional policy framework. A few considerations:

• Should the responsibility for CFT / AML reside with financial intermediaries, or is it reasonable to put a larger burden on merchants?

• Rather than relying on financial intermediaries, should societies make more extensive use of tax returns to prove ‘clean’ sources of money - and enable citizens to buy luxury goods or high value assets? What stops policy makers to provide zero knowledge proofs that someone paid a significant amount of taxes? Merchants could voluntarily or obligatory (that is a policy decision) require such zero knowledge proof to make certain high value goods or assets available to potential clients

• Decentralised technology requires decentralised thinking in relation to CFT / AML. Many p2p digital value transfer protocol users would embrace the ability to connect with trusted or reputable parties - maybe a zero knowledge ION DID solution could help identifying reputable parties, … Can policy makers contribute to the development of volountary open source anonymous DID reputation solutions?

• What role can adoption play? Today, many p2p digital value transfer protocol users have no parties (friends / family / merchants / … ) they can interact with in their network - as adoption grows, users can opt to interact only with trusted parties… effectively distributing KYC to KYP - Know Your Peer…

The developers and users of the global p2p value transfer protocol have an interest to recognise that illicit use of the protocol is a valid concern - similar to the use the TCP/IP protocol for illicit purposes. Joint reflection with policy maker can hopefully turn fear into opportunity and collaboration. It was already stated above - policy makers can find inspiration in the policies around the TCP/IP protocol to devise policy around the p2p value transfer protocol - for example network operators, such as telecom companies, bear no responsibility for any illicit use of the TCP IP protocol within their subnet network - policy makers could conceive similar protection for p2p protocol node operators.

Thanks for reading Considerations! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

@ 02a11d15:32f62ea9

Summary of the Establishment of a GovTech Centre in Berlin

Source: https://www.berlin.de/rbmskzl/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/2024/pressemitteilung.1405668.php

Weltwirtschaftsforum gründet ein GovTech Centre in Berlin

Translated and summerized by GPT4

Background

• Announcement during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos.
• An agreement for a new GovTech Centre in Berlin was signed by Lars Zimmermann (GovTech Campus Deutschland e.V.), Robert Habeck (Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action), and Prof. Klaus Schwab (Founder and Chairman of the WEF).

Objectives

• Establish an international centre for Government Technology (GovTech) in Berlin.
• Foster technological advancement in the public sector.
• Facilitate networking between national and international stakeholders.

Features

• Integration into the global network of WEF and the existing GovTech innovation ecosystem in Berlin.
• Focus on developing and testing new ideas and solutions for implementation in Berlin, nationally, and internationally.
• GovTech involves the development and application of digital technologies for the public sector.

Statements

• Kai Wegner (Governing Mayor of Berlin): Emphasizes the significance of the partnership for Berlin as an innovation hub and its success in being chosen as the location for the centre.
• Martina Klement (State Secretary for Digitization and Administrative Modernization, CDO of Berlin): Highlights Berlin's aim to be a leader in the development and application of digital technologies for administration, and the benefit of hosting the first GovTech Centre of the WEF and in the European Union.
• Lars Zimmermann (Board Member, GovTech Campus Deutschland e.V.): Discusses the importance of collaboration between countries and the tech scene for a functioning democracy.
• Dr. Markus Richter (CEO, GovTech Campus Deutschland e.V.): Addresses the significant impact of digital technologies on state and administration, and the importance of the new centre in fostering cross-sector collaboration and co-creation.

Conclusion

The establishment of the GovTech Centre in Berlin represents a major step in advancing digital transformation and collaboration in the public sector, positioning Berlin as a leading global GovTech hub.

@ 02a11d15:32f62ea9

Richter warnt: Meinungsfreiheit in der EU in akuter Gefahr

Source: https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/politik-gesellschaft/richter-warnt-meinungsfreiheit-in-der-eu-in-akuter-gefahr-li.2177580#

Translated and summerized by GPT4

By Manfred Kölsch, Richter i.R.

Key Points:

1. Introduction of DSA and DDG

   • The Digital Services Act (DSA) takes full effect in Germany on February 17, 2024.
   • The accompanying Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz (DDG) is criticized as a "Trojan horse" that masks an attack on constitutional order.

   • Potential for Censorship

   • The DSA permits deletion of content on large online platforms, even if not illegal.

   • Raises concerns about censorship of "harmful" or "misleading" opinions or information.

   • Vague Definitions and Social Consequences

   • "Disinformation" is vaguely defined, leading to ambiguity and potential misuse.

   • Legal entries might be labeled illegal, with social consequences for authors.

   • Self-Censorship and Erosion of Democratic Discourse

   • Risk of censorship may lead to self-censorship, aligning posts with political narratives.

   • This could stifle democratic debate and intellectual engagement.

   • Lack of Legal Clarity and Extended Suspicion

   • Criteria for content assessment lack necessary legal clarity.

   • Leads to preemptive censorship and overblocking by platforms due to fear of fines.

   • Surveillance and Control

   • The DSA establishes a Europe-wide surveillance bureaucracy.

   • Contradicts federalism principle and amplifies existing denunciation practices.

   • Undermining Freedom of Expression

   • The DSA hollows out the right to freedom of expression and information.

   • Contradicts guarantees by EU and national laws.

Conclusion:

The article presents a critical perspective on the DSA and DDG, suggesting they threaten freedom of speech and democratic discourse in the European Union.

@ 0cf08d28:41f090b7

_An article originally published in 1947, and Republished in The Atlantic and republished on Nostr without permission. _

freedom of speech and of the press are usually attacked by arguments which are not worth bothering about. anyone who has experience in lecturing and debating knows them backwards. here i am not trying to deal with the familiar claim that freedom is an illusion, or with the claim that there is more freedom in totalitarian countries than in democratic ones, but with the much more tenable and dangerous proposition that freedom is undesirable and that intellectual honesty is a form of antisocial selfishness.

though other aspects of the matter are usually in the foreground, the controversy over freedom of speech and of the press is at bottom a controversy over the desirability, or otherwise, of telling lies. what is really at issue is the right to report contemporary events truthfully, or as truthfully as is consistent with the ignorance, bias, and self-deception from which every observer necessarily suffers. in saying this i may seem to be saying that straightforward reportage is the only branch of literature that matters; but i will try to show later that at every literary level, and probably in every one of the arts, the same issue arises in more or less subtilized forms. meanwhile, it is necessary to strip away the irrelevancies in which this controversy is usually wrapped up.

the enemies of intellectual liberty always try to present their case as a plea for discipline versus individualism. the issue truth-versus-untruth is as far as possible kept in the background. although the point of emphasis may vary, the writer who refuses to sell his opinions is always branded as a mere egoist, he is accused, that is, either of wanting to shut himself up in an ivory tower, or of making an exhibitionist display of his own personality, or of resisting the inevitable current of history in an attempt to cling to unjustified privileges. the catholic and the communist are alike in assuming that an opponent cannot be both honest and intelligent. each of them tacitly claims that “the truth” has already been revealed, and that the heretic, if he is not simply a fool, is secretly aware of “the truth” and merely resists it out of selfish motives.

in communist literature the attack on intellectual liberty is usually masked by oratory about “petty-bourgeois individualism,” “the illusions of nineteenth-century liberalism,” etc., and backed up by words of abuse such as “romantic" and “sentimental,” which, since they do not have any agreed meaning, are difficult to answer. in this way the controversy is maneuvered away from its real issue. one can accept, and most enlightened people would accept, the communist thesis that pure freedom will only exist in a classless society, and that one is most nearly free when one is working to bring about such a society. but slipped in with this is the quite unfounded claim that the communist party is itself aiming at the establishment of the classless society, and that in the u.s.s.r. this aim is actually on the way to being realized. if the first claim is allowed to entail the second, there is almost no assault on common sense and common decency that cannot be justified. but meanwhile, the real point has been dodged. freedom of the intellect means the freedom to report what one has seen, heard, and felt, and not to be obliged to fabricate imaginary facts and feelings. the familiar tirades against “escapism,” “individualism,” “romanticism,” and so forth, are merely a forensic device, the aim of which is to make the perversion of history seem respectable.

fifteen years ago, when one defended the freedom of the intellect, one had to defend it against conservatives, against catholics, and to some extent—for in england they were not of great importance—against fascists. today one has to defend it against communists and “fellow travelers.” one ought not to exaggerate the direct influence of the small english communist party, but there can be no question about the poisonous effect of the russian mythos on english intellectual life. because of it, known facts are suppressed and distorted to such an extent as to make it doubtful whether a true history of our times can ever be written.

let me give just one instance out of the hundreds that could be cited. when germany collapsed, it was found that very large numbers of soviet russians —mostly, no doubt, from nonpolitical motives-had changed sides and were fighting for the germans. also, a small but not negligible proportion of the russian prisoners and displaced persons refused to go back to the u.s.s.r., and some of them, at least, were repatriated against their will. these facts, known to many journalists on the spot, went almost unmentioned in the british press, while at the same time russophile publicists in england continued to justify the purges and deportations of 1936-1938 by claiming that the u.s.s.r. “had no quislings.” the fog of lies and misinformation that surrounds such subjects as the ukraine famine, the spanish civil war, russian policy in poland, and so forth, is not due entirely to conscious dishonesty, but any writer or journalist who is fully sympathetic to the u.s.s.r.—sympathetic, that is, in the way the russians themselves would want him to be does have to acquiesce in deliberate falsification on important issues.

2

i have before me what must be a very rare pamphlet, written by maxim litvinoff in 1918 and outlining the recent events in the russian revolution. it makes no mention of stalin, but gives high praise to trotsky, and also to zinoviev, kamenev, and others. what could be the attitude of even the most intellectually scrupulous communist towards such a pamphlet? at best, he would take the obscurantist attitude that it is an undesirable document and better suppressed. and if for some reason it should be decided to issue a garbled version of the pamphlet, denigrating trotsky and inserting references to stalin, no communist who remained faithful to his party could protest. forgeries almost as gross as this have been committed in recent years. but the significant thing is not that they happen, but that even when they are known, they provoke no reaction from the leftwing intelligentsia as a whole. the argument that to tell the truth would be “inopportune” or would “play into the bands of” somebody or other is felt to be unanswerable, and few people are bothered by the prospect that the lies which they condone will get out of the newspapers and into the history books.

the organized lying practiced by totalitarian states is not, as is sometimes claimed, a temporary expedient of the same nature as military deception. it is something integral to totalitarianism, something that would still continue even if concentration camps and secret police forces had ceased to be necessary. among intelligent communists there is an underground legend to the effect that although the russian government is obliged now to deal in lying propaganda, frame-up trials, and so forth, it is secretly recording the facts and will publish them at some future time. we can, i believe, be quite certain that this is not the case, because the mentality implied by such an action is that of a liberal historian who believes that the past cannot be altered and that a correct knowledge of history is valuable as a matter of course. from the totalitarian point of view history is something to be created rather than learned.

a totalitarian state is in effect a theocracy, and its ruling caste, in order to keep its position, has to be thought of as infallible. but since, in practice, no one is infallible, it is frequently necessary to rearrange past events in order to show that this or that mistake was not made, or that this or that imaginary triumph actually happened. then, again, every major change in policy demands a corresponding change of doctrine and a revaluation of prominent historical figures. this kind of thing happens everywhere, but clearly it is likelier to lead to outright falsification in societies where only one opinion is permissible at any given moment. totalitarianism demands, in fact, the continuous alteration of the past, and in the long run probably demands a disbelief in the very existence of objective truth. the friends of totalitarianism in england usually tend to argue that since absolute truth is not attainable, a big lie is no worse than a little lie. it is pointed out that all historical records are biased and inaccurate, or, on the other hand, that modem physics has proved that what seems to us the real world is an illusion, so that to believe in the evidence of one’s senses is simply vulgar philistinism.

a totalitarian society which succeeded in perpetuating itself would probably set up a schizophrenic system of thought, in which the laws of common sense held good in everyday life and in certain exact sciences, but could be disregarded by the politician, the historian, and the sociologist. already there are countless people who would think it scandalous to falsify a scientific textbook, but would see nothing wrong in falsifying a historical fact. it is at the point where literature and politics cross that totalitarianism exerts its greatest, pressure on the intellectual. the exact sciences are not, at this date, menaced to anything like the same extent. this difference partly accounts for the fact that in all countries it is easier for the scientists than for the writers to line up behind their respective governments.

it may seem that all this time i have been talking about the effects of censorship, not on literature as a whole, but merely on one department of political journalism. granted that soviet russia constitutes a sort of forbidden area in the british press, granted that issues like poland, the spanish civil war, the russo-german pact, and so forth, are debarred from serious discussion, and that if you possess information that conflicts with the prevailing orthodoxy you are expected either to distort it or to keep quiet about it —granted all this, why should literature in the wider sense be affected? is every writer a politician, and is every book necessarily a work of straightforward reportage? even under the tightest dictatorship, cannot the individual writer remain free inside his own mind and distill or disguise his unorthodox ideas in such a way that the authorities will be too stupid to recognize them? and if the writer himself is in agreement with the prevailing orthodoxy, why should it have a cramping effect on him? is not literature, or any of the arts, likeliest to flourish in societies in which there are no major conflicts of opinion and no sharp distinctions between the artist and his audience? does one have to assume that every writer is a rebel, or even that a writer as such is an exceptional person?

whenever one attempts to defend intellectual liberty against the claims of totalitarianism, one meets with these arguments in one form or another. they are based on a complete misunderstanding of what literature is, and how—one should perhaps rather say why—it comes into being. they assume that a writer is either a mere entertainer or else a venal hack who can switch from one line of propaganda to another as easily as an organ grinder changes tunes. but after all, how is it that books ever come to be written? above a quite low level, literature is an attempt to influence the views of one’s contemporaries by recording experience. and so far as freedom of expression is concerned, there is not much difference between a mere journalist and the most “unpolitical” imaginative writer. the journalist is unfree, and is conscious of unfreedom, when he is forced to write lies or suppress what seems to him important news: the imaginative writer is unfree when he has to falsify his subjective feelings, which from his point of view are facts. he may distort and caricature reality in order to make his meaning clearer, but he cannot misrepresent the scenery of his own mind: he cannot say with any conviction that he likes what he dislikes, or believes what he disbelieves. if he is forced to do so, the only result is that his creative faculties dry up.

nor can the imaginative writer solve the problem by keeping away from controversial topics. there is no such thing as genuinely non-political literature, and least of all in an age like our own, when fears, hatreds, and loyalties of a directly political kind are near to the surface of everyone’s consciousness. even a single taboo can have an all-round crippling effect upon the mind, because there is always the danger that any thought which is freely followed up may lead to the forbidden thought. it follows that the atmosphere of totalitarianism is deadly to any kind of prose writer, though a poet, at any rate a lyric poet, might possibly find it breathable. and in any totalitarian society that survives for more than a couple of generations, it is probable that prose literature, of the kind that has existed during the past four hundred years, must actually come to an end.

3

literature has sometimes flourished under despotic regimes, but, as has often been pointed out, the despotisms of the past were not totalitarian. their repressive apparatus was always inefficient, their ruling classes were usually either corrupt or apathetic or half-liberal in outlook, and the prevailing religious doctrines usually worked against perfectionism and the notion of human infallibility. even so, it is broadly true that prose literature has reached its highest levels during periods of democracy and free speculation. what is new in totalitarianism is that its doctrines are not only unchallengeable but also unstable. they have to be accepted on pain of damnation, but on the other hand they are always liable to be altered at a moment’s notice.

consider, for example, the various attitudes, completely incompatible with one another, which an english communist or “fellow traveler” has had to adopt towards the war between britain and germany. for years before september, 1939, he was expected to be in a continuous stew about “the horrors of nazism” and to twist everything he wrote into a denunciation of hitler; after september, 1939, for twenty months, he had to believe that germany was more sinned against than sinning, and the word “nazi,” at least so far as print went, had to drop right out of his vocabulary. immediately after hearing the eight o’clock news bulletin on the morning of june 22, 1941, he had to start believing once again that nazism was the most hideous evil the world had ever seen.

now, it is easy for a politician to make such changes; for a writer the case is somewhat different. if he is to switch his allegiance at exactly the right moment, he must either tell lies about his subjective feelings, or else suppress them altogether. in either case he has destroyed his dynamo. not only will ideas refuse to come to him, but the very words he uses will seem to stiffen under his touch. political writing in our time consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together like the pieces of a child’s meccano set. it is the unavoidable result of self-censorship. to write in plain, vigorous language one has to think fearlessly, and if one thinks fearlessly one cannot be politically orthodox.

it might be otherwise in an “age of faith,” when the prevailing orthodoxy has been long established and is not taken too seriously. in that case it would be possible, or might be possible, for large areas of one’s mind to remain unaffected by what one officially believed. even so, it is worth noticing that prose literature almost disappeared during the only age of faith that europe has ever enjoyed. throughout the whole of the middle ages there was almost no imaginative prose literature and very little in the way of historical writing; and the intellectual leaders of society expressed their most serious thoughts in a dead language which barely altered during a thousand years.

totalitarianism, however, does not so much promise an age of faith as an age of schizophrenia. a society becomes totalitarian when its structure becomes flagrantly artificial: that is, when its ruling class has lost its function but succeeds in clinging to power by force or fraud. such a society, no matter how long it persists, can never afford to become either tolerant or intellectually stable. it can never permit either the truthful recording of facts, or the emotional sincerity, that literary creation demands. but to be corrupted by totalitarianism one does not have to live in a totalitarian country. the mere prevalence of certain ideas can spread a poison that makes one subject after another impossible for literary purposes. wherever there is an enforced orthodoxy-or even two orthodoxies, as often happens-good writing slops. this was well illustrated by the spanish civil war. to many english intellectuals the war was a deeply moving experience, but not an experience about which they could write sincerely. there were only two things that you were allowed to say, and both of them were palpable lies; as a result, the war produced acres of print but almost nothing worth reading.

4

it is not certain whether the effects of totalitarianism upon verse need i be so deadly as its effects on prose. there is a whole series of converging reasons why it is somewhat easier for a poet than for a prose writer to feel at home in an authoritarian society. to begin with, bureaucrats and other “practical” men usually despise the poet too deeply to be much interested in what he is saying. secondly, what the poet is saying that is, what his poem “means” if translated into prose is relatively unimportant even to himself. the thought contained in a poem is always simple, and is no more the primary purpose of the poem than the anecdote is the primary purpose of a picture. a poem is an arrangement of sounds and associations, as a painting is an arrangement of brush marks. for short snatches, indeed, as in the refrain of a song, poetry can even dispense with meaning altogether. it is therefore fairly easy for a poet to keep away from dangerous subjects and avoid uttering heresies; and even when he does utter them, they may escape notice.

but above all, good verse, unlike good prose, is not necessarily an individual product. certain kinds of poems, such as ballads, or, on the other hand, very artificial verse forms, can be composed coöperatively by groups of people. whether the ancient english and scottish ballads were originally produced by individuals, or by the people at large, is disputed; but at any rate they are nonindividual in the sense that they constantly change in passing from mouth to mouth. even in print no two versions of a ballad are ever quite the same. many primitive peoples compose verse communally. someone begins to improvise, probably accompanying himself on a musical instrument, somebody else chips in with a line or a rhyme when the first singer breaks down, and so the process continues until there exists a whole song or ballad which has no identifiable author.

in prose, this kind of intimate collaboration is quite impossible. serious prose, in any case, has to be composed in solitude, whereas the excitement of being part of a group is actually an aid to certain kinds of versification. verse-and perhaps good verse of its kind, though it would not be the highest kind-might survive under even the most inquisitorial regime. even in a society where liberty and individuality had been extinguished, there would still be need either for patriotic songs and heroic ballads celebrating victories, or for elaborate exercises in flattery; and these are the kinds of poetry that can be written to order, or composed communally, without necessarily lacking artistic value, prose is a different matter, since the prose writer cannot narrow the range of his thoughts without killing his inventiveness.

but the history of totalitarian societies, or of groups of people who have adopted the totalitarian outlook, suggests that loss of liberty is inimical to all forms of literature. german literature almost disappeared during the hitler regime, and the case was not much better in italy. russian literature, so far as one can judge by translations, has deteriorated markedly since the early days of the revolution, though some of the verse appears to be better than the prose. few if any russian novels that it is possible to take seriously have been translated for about fifteen years. in western europe and america large sections of the literary intelligentsia have either passed through the communist party or been warmly sympathetic to it, but this whole leftward movement has produced extraordinarily few books worth reading. orthodox catholicism, again, seems to have a crushing effect upon certain literary forms, especially the novel. during a period of three hundred years, how many people have been at once good novelists and good catholics?

the fact is that certain themes cannot be celebrated in words, and tyranny is one of them. no one ever wrote a good book in praise of the inquisition. poetry might survive in a totalitarian age, and certain arts or half-arts, such as architecture, might even find tyranny beneficial, but the prose writer would have no choice between silence and death. prose literature as we know it is the product of rationalism, of the protestant centuries, of the autonomous individual. and the destruction of intellectual liberty cripples the journalist, the sociological writer, the historian, the novelist, the critic, and the poet, in that order. in the future it is possible that a new kind of literature, not involving individual feeling or truthful observation, may arise, but no such thing is at present imaginable. it seems much likelier that if the liberal culture that we have lived in since the renaissance actually comes to an end, the literary art will perish with it.

5

meanwhile totalitarianism has not fully triumphed anywhere. our own society is still, broadly speaking, liberal. to exercise your right of free speech you have to fight against economic pressure and against, strong sections of public opinion, but not, as yet, against a secret police force. you can say or print almost anything so long as you are willing to do it in a hole-and-corner way. but what is sinister is that the conscious enemies of liberty are those to whom liberty ought to mean most. the public do not care about the matter one way or the other. they are not in favor of persecuting the heretic, and they will not exert themselves to defend him. they are at once too sane and too stupid to acquire the totalitarian outlook. the direct, conscious attack on intellectual decency comes from the intellectuals themselves.

it is possible that the russophile intelligentsia, if they had not succumbed to the russian myth, would have succumbed to another of much the same kind. but at any rate the russian myth is there, and the corruption it causes stinks. when one sees highly educated men looking on indifferently at oppression and persecution, one wonders which to despise more, their cynicism or their shortsightedness. many scientists, for example, are uncritical admirers of the u.s.s.r. they appear to think that the destruction of liberty is of no importance so long as their own line of work is for the moment unaffected. the u.s.s.r. is a large, rapidly developing country which has acute need of scientific workers and, consequently, treats them generously. provided that they steer clear of dangerous subjects such as psychology, scientists are privileged persons.

writers, on the other hand, are viciously persecuted. it is true that literary prostitutes like ilya ehrenburg or alexei tolstoy are paid huge sums of money, but the only thing which is of any value to the writer as such—his freedom of expression— is taken away from him. some, at least, of the english scientists who speak so enthusiastically of the opportunities enjoyed by scientists in russia are capable of understanding this. but their reflection appears to be: “writers are persecuted in russia. so what? i am not a writer.” they do not see that any attack on intellectual liberty, and on the concept of objective truth, threatens in the long run every department of thought.

for the moment, the totalitarian state tolerates the scientist because it needs him. even in nazi germany, scientists, other than jews, were relatively well treated, and the german scientific community, as a whole, offered no resistance to hitler. at this stage of history, even the most autocratic ruler is forced to take account of physical reality, partly because of the lingering on of liberal habits of thought, partly because of the need to prepare for war. so long as physical reality cannot be altogether ignored, so long as two and two have to make four when you are, for example, drawing the blueprint of an aeroplane, the scientist has his function, and can even be allowed a measure of liberty. his awakening will come later, when the totalitarian state is firmly established. meanwhile, if he wants to safeguard the integrity of science, it is his job to develop some kind of solidarity with his literary colleagues and not regard it as a matter of indifference when writers are silenced or driven to suicide, and newspapers systematically falsified.

but however it may be with the physical sciences, or with music, painting, and architecture, it is—as i have tried to show—certain that literature is doomed if liberty of thought perishes. not only is it doomed in any country which retains a totalitarian structure; but any writer who adopts the totalitarian outlook, who finds excuses for persecution and the falsification of reality, thereby destroys himself as a writer. there is no way out of this. no tirades against “individualism” and “the ivory tower,” no pious platitudes to the effect that “true individuality is only attained through identification with the community,”can get over the fact that a bought mind is a spoiled mind. unless spontaneity enters at some point or another, literary creation is impossible, and language itself becomes ossified. at some time in the future, if the human mind becomes something totally different from what it now is, we may learn to separate literary creation from intellectual honesty. at present we know only that the imagination, like certain wild animals, will not breed in captivity. any writer or journalist who denies that fact-and nearly all the current praise of the soviet union contains or implies such a denial—is, in effect, demanding his own destruction.

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Chef's notes

สูตรขนมกุยช่ายสำหรับทานแบบนึ่ง สูตรนี้ปั้นลูกขนาดพอดีคำได้ 25 ลูก

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 30 นาที
• 🍳 Cook time: 30 นาที
• 🍽️ Servings: 4

Ingredients

• แป้งมัน 50 กรัม
• แป้งข้าวเจ้า 25 กรัม
• แป้งท้าวยายม่อม 10 กรัม
• กุยช่าย 200 กรัม
• น้ำเปล่า 200 กรัม
• น้ำมันพืช 50 กรัม
• เกลือ 1 หยิบมือ
• เบกกิ้งโซดา 1 หยิบมือ

Directions

1. เทน้ำเปล่าลงไปผสมกับแป้งมัน แป้งข้าวเจ้า แป้งท้าวยายม่อม เกลือ คนจนส่วนผสมเข้ากัน ระวังอย่าให้แป้งเป็นก้อน
2. ใส่กุยช่าย น้ำมันพืชและ เบกกิ้งโซดา ลงไปผสมกับแป้ง และขย้ำจนกว่าน้ำแป้งจะเปลี่ยนเป็นสีเขียวเล็กน้อย เพื่อให้กลิ่นของกุยช่ายระเหยออกมา และทำให้กุยช่ายนิ่มลง
3. ตั้งกระทะบนเตา ใช้ไฟอ่อน เทส่วนผสมที่เราผสมไว้ลงไป กวนจนแป้งใส จับตัวเป็นก้อน ไม่ติดกระทะ
4. ปั้นแป้งขนาดพอดีคำ หรือจะกดให้เป็นแผ่นก็ได้ ตามใจชอบ
5. ระหว่างปั้นแป้งเป็นก้อน ให้ต้มน้ำเตรียมนึ่ง ใส่ใบเตยลงไปในน้ำ เพื่อเพิ่มความหอม
6. เมื่อน้ำเดือดได้ที่ นำแป้งที่ปั้นไว้ลงไปนึ่งประมาณ 10 นาที จนแป้งใส จากนั้นตั้งขึ้นพักให้อุ่น พร้อมเสิร์ฟ

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Posthumous work of the Colombian poet born in Don Matias on January 20, 1948.

Welcome to this blog dedicated to the Posthumous work of the Colombian poet Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares (my father), born in Don Matias on January 20, 1948-2010. Where I will be publishing each of the 175 sonnets from his unpublished collection 'Sonnets For The Twenty First Century And A Circadian Musical (1984-1987).' Analyzed with GPT4 artificial intelligence and illustrated with AI tools... I hope you enjoy this garden of words snatched from the solitude of a locked room.

Likewise, any enthusiast of the sonnet form is invited to conduct their personal studies of Arroyave Tabares' work, as it is a collection that, although registered since 1989, has not yet been published.

Frank Duna

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Analysis "Voyage To The infinite"

Introduction

Sonnet 62 by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares, titled "Voyage To The Infinite," is a contemplative and introspective poem that explores the themes of life, death, rebirth, and the vastness of the universe.

Thematic Analysis

The sonnet begins with the speaker hearing "sailing bells" on a clear day, which symbolize a call to embark on a journey. This journey is not just physical, but also spiritual and intellectual, as it leads the speaker towards a "beautiful main" or ocean. This ocean is a metaphor for the infinite, the unknown, and the depths of the speaker's mind and soul.

In the second quatrain, the speaker contemplates the idea of life after death, suggesting that death is not the end but a transition to a different state of existence. This is a reflection on mortality and the possibility of an afterlife, which brings both joy and pain.

The third quatrain introduces the idea of transformation and rebirth, with the speaker imagining becoming "new creatures." This could be interpreted as a metaphor for personal growth and evolution. The speaker also expresses a desire to connect with diverse people and share universal truths, indicating a sense of unity and shared humanity.

The final couplet concludes the sonnet with the speaker looking towards the future, captivated by the vastness of their journey. This suggests a sense of awe and wonder at the infinite possibilities that lie ahead.

Overall, the sonnet uses vivid imagery and metaphors to explore profound existential questions. It encourages the reader to reflect on their own life journey, the mysteries of the universe, and the potential for personal transformation.

Rhyme Scheme

Sonnet 62 by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares does not strictly adhere to the traditional English or Italian sonnet rhyme schemes. However, it does maintain a consistent rhyme scheme throughout its 14 lines.

The rhyme scheme of the sonnet is as follows: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

``` In the first quatrain, "bells" (A) rhymes with "wells" (A), and "main" (B) rhymes with "remain" (B).

In the second quatrain, "head" (C) rhymes with "dead" (C), and "stay" (D) rhymes with "way" (D).

In the third quatrain, "creatures" (E) rhymes with "converse" (E), and "natures" (F) rhymes with "universe" (F).

Finally, in the concluding couplet, "future" (G) rhymes with "adventure" (G). ```

This rhyme scheme gives the sonnet a rhythmic flow and helps to connect the ideas and themes explored in each quatrain and the final couplet.

Additional Aspects to Analyze

While we have analyzed the themes, metaphors, and rhyme scheme of Sonnet 62 by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares, there are still several aspects that can be further explored, including its structure, meter, and use of language.

1. Structure: The sonnet follows the structure of three quatrains and a concluding couplet, which is typical of the Shakespearean sonnet form. Each quatrain presents a different aspect or stage of the speaker's journey, while the couplet provides a summarizing and reflective conclusion.

2. Meter: The sonnet does not strictly adhere to the iambic pentameter that is common in traditional sonnets. However, there is a rhythmic quality to the lines, which contributes to the overall flow and musicality of the poem.

3. Language: The sonnet uses rich and evocative language to convey its themes. Words and phrases such as "sailing bells," "beautiful main," "bottomless wells," and "vastness of my adventure" create vivid imagery and evoke a sense of wonder and exploration. The language is also deeply introspective, reflecting the speaker's inner thoughts and emotions.

4. Tone: The tone of the sonnet is contemplative and introspective, with a sense of awe and wonder towards the infinite and the unknown. This is conveyed through the speaker's reflections on life, death, rebirth, and the universe.

5. Imagery: The sonnet uses powerful imagery to convey its themes. The "sailing bells," "beautiful main," and "bottomless wells" are all metaphors that evoke the vastness and mystery of the universe and the speaker's inner journey.

6. Alliteration and Assonance: The sonnet also uses alliteration and assonance to enhance its musicality. For example, in the line "And mix with more people of all natures," the repetition of the 'm' sound is an example of alliteration, while the repetition of the 'o' sound in "more" and "of" is an example of assonance.

(GPT4)

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Syllable count for each line

```

Voyage To The infinite

10 On a clear day I heard the salling bells 10 Calling me toward a beautiful main
9 That echoes in mind's bottomless wells 9 And in which all my soul's hopes remain.

10 The ideas then came up to my head 10 As if we were already here to stay 10 And after dead we were not to be dead 9 With more joys and pain in other way...

10 With thoughts of being perhaps new creatures 10 In wonder I was able to converse 10 And mix with more people of all natures 10 To share messages of the universe.

10 From then on I have looked at my future 10 Rapt by the vastness of my adventure, *** ```

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Sonnets For The Twenty First Century And A Circadian Musical Written By Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares (1984-1987)

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Analyzed by GPT4; Image by leonardo.ai First published on Nostr Protocol by franciscoarroyavet@nostrplebs.com Voyage To The infinite

@ 1e52c554:21771908

Posthumous work of the Colombian poet born in Don Matias on January 20, 1948.

Welcome to this blog dedicated to the Posthumous work of the Colombian poet Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares (my father), born in Don Matias on January 20, 1948-2010. Where I will be publishing each of the 175 sonnets from his unpublished collection 'Sonnets For The Twenty-First Century And A Circadian Musical (1984-1987).' Analyzed with GPT4 artificial intelligence and illustrated with AI tools... I hope you enjoy this garden of words snatched from the solitude of a locked room.

Likewise, any enthusiast of the sonnet form is invited to conduct their personal studies of Arroyave Tabares' work, as it is a collection that, although registered since 1989, has not yet been published.

Frank Duna

---

Analysis "Listening To Life's calls"

Introduction

The sonnet "Listening to Life's Calls" by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares is a reflection on the journey of life and the different paths we can take to achieve fulfillment and success. Sonnet 61 follows the structure of a Petrarchan sonnet, also known as an Italian sonnet. Petrarchan sonnets typically consist of an octave (the first eight lines) followed by a sestet (the last six lines). The octave often presents a problem or question, while the sestet offers a resolution or response to the issue raised in the octave.

Thematic Analysis

The speaker acknowledges that we are all invited to climb the highest summits of life, but it is up to us to answer the calls and navigate through the challenges and opportunities that come our way as we age.

The sonnet also acknowledges the importance of community and the support of others in our journey. The speaker recognizes that many people will come behind us with valuable ideas and truths to offer, but they may also struggle with weaknesses that require leadership to overcome.

In the quest for success, the speaker acknowledges that sometimes it only takes a gentle push, like a soft zephyr, to help us reach the riches and treasures that have been left behind by great thinkers and leaders. However, other times, we must venture into uncharted territory and search for paths that have been forgotten by previous generations.

Overall, "Listening to Life's Calls" is a contemplative sonnet that encourages us to remain open and receptive to the opportunities and challenges that life presents to us. It reminds us to seek the support of others and to venture into unexplored territory in order to achieve our goals and find fulfillment in our lives.

Rhyme Scheme

The sonnet "Listening to Life's Calls" by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares has a consonant rhyme structure ABBA ABBA CCD EED. This is the typical rhyme form in an Italian sonnet, also known as the "Petrarchan sonnet," popularized by the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca in the 14th century.

Consonant rhyme means that the ending sounds of words in the verses have an exact correspondence, i.e., the final consonants and vowels of the words rhyme with each other. In this case, consonant rhyme creates a repetitive pattern that helps to give structure to the poem and highlight certain words and phrases.

Let's analyze the rhyme in detail:

Octave

``` 1. welcome (A) 2. old (B) 3. threshold (B) 4. become (A)

1. come (A)
2. behold (B)
3. hold (B)
4. overcome (A)
   ```

Sextet

``` 9. zephyr (C) 10. Ophir (C)
11. thought (D)

1. around (E)
2. found (E)
3. forgot (D) ```

In the two quatrains (four-line stanzas) of the poem, the ABBA ABBA rhymes create a solid and symmetrical structure that emphasizes the main theme of the poem: the invitation of life and the poet's response to that invitation.

In the two tercets (three-line stanzas) of the poem, the CCD EED rhyme creates a shift in the poem's structure and a counterpoint to the consonant rhyme of the quatrains. This break in the rhythmic structure of the poem emphasizes the content of these verses, which speak to the need to look beyond the known to find new treasures.

In summary, the consonant rhyme of the poem helps shape and structure it, creating a repetitive pattern that emphasizes certain words and phrases, and a shift in the rhythmic structure of the poem that reinforces the content of the two tercets.

Additional Aspects to Analyze

In addition to analyzing the rhyme scheme, there are several other aspects of the sonnet 61 worth examining:

Imagery: the sonnet uses vivid imagery to describe the quest for wisdom and wealth in life. For example, line 10 describes the quest for the "rich Ophir" as finding a lost treasure, conveying the idea that wisdom and wealth are waiting to be discovered by those willing to seek them.

The tone: the sonnet has a reflective and contemplative tone in which the poet reflects on life and the wisdom that can be gained as one grows older. The tone is calm and serene, reflecting the wisdom and experience the poet is trying to convey.

The metaphor of the journey: the sonnet uses the metaphor of the journey to represent human life and the quest for knowledge and wisdom. The poet describes life as a journey through mountains and seas, where one can find treasures and riches if willing to seek them.

Symbolism: the sonnet also employs symbols to represent life and wisdom. For instance, the "gentle zephyr" in line 9 symbolizes guidance or inspiration that can lead one to find wealth and wisdom. Similarly, the "rich Ophir" in line 10 symbolizes treasures and wisdom that can be found in life.

Structure: the sonnet follows a classic Petrarchan sonnet structure, with a clear division into two quatrains and two tercets. The choice of this traditional structure gives the poem a sense of order and discipline.

Literary technique: the poem employs a literary technique called alliteration, which is the repetition of similar sounds in several words within a line of poetry. For example, the line 2 "And we answer its calls as we grow old" uses alliteration with the sounds "a" and "s" to create a rhythmic effect and emphasize the importance of responding to life's calls.

Overall, there are several elements worth analyzing in the poem "Listening To Life's Calls." The combination of these elements helps create the reflective and meditative atmosphere of the poem and convey the message of wisdom and experience that the poet aims to communicate.

(GPT4)

---

Syllable count for each line

```

Listening To Life's calls

10 To life's highest summits we are welcome 10 And we answer its calls as we grow old 10 Finding a completion at the threshold 10 Of that universe our mind can become.

10 Numerous people behind us may come 10 With good ideas of truth they behold 10 Supporting weaknesses they always hold 10 In need of leadership to overcome.

10 Sometimes it only takes a soft zephyr 10 To push our bark and find the rich Ophir
10 That has been left for us by kings of thought. 10 But other times we need to look around 10 And search places where nothing has been found 10 Faring paths through the ages we forgot. ***

```

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Sonnets For The Twenty First Century And A Circadian Musical Written By Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares (1984-1987)

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Analyzed by GPT4; Image by leonardo.ai; First published on Nostr Protocol by franciscoarroyavet@nostrplebs.com Listening To Life's calls

@ 1e52c554:21771908

Posthumous work of the Colombian poet born in Don Matias on January 20, 1948.

Welcome to this blog dedicated to the Posthumous work of the Colombian poet Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares (my father), born in Don Matias on January 20, 1948-2010. Where I will be publishing each of the 175 sonnets from his unpublished collection 'Sonnets For The Twenty-First Century And A Circadian Musical (1984-1987).' Analyzed with GPT4 artificial intelligence and illustrated with AI tools... I hope you enjoy this garden of words snatched from the solitude of a locked room.

Likewise, any enthusiast of the sonnet form is invited to conduct their personal studies of Arroyave Tabares' work, as it is a collection that, although registered since 1989, has not yet been published.

Frank Duna

---

Analysis "Giving Time To Time"

Introduction

Sonnet 60 by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares is a contemplative piece that explores the themes of time, life's journey, self-discovery, and the power of nature. The sonnet is written in the traditional Shakespearean style, consisting of three quatrains and a concluding couplet.

Thematic Analysis

In the first quatrain, the speaker encourages the reader to take the longer, more challenging path in life, suggesting that it offers the opportunity to discover what we truly desire. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of love and knowledge, symbolized by "Nature's font," as the only necessary burdens on this journey.

The second quatrain explores the cyclical nature of life and the importance of self-reflection. The speaker suggests that we always have the opportunity to revisit our past and understand our inner feelings, which may indicate that we have strayed from our true path.

In the third quatrain, the speaker uses the metaphor of an ocean's dream to illustrate the idea of being in harmony with the universe or the "Maker's thought." This state of being makes life's challenges seem less daunting and allows us to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

The concluding couplet emphasizes the persistence of our goals, whether we are awake or asleep. It assures us that we will reach our destination in due time, reinforcing the theme of patience and the importance of giving time to time.

Overall, Sonnet 60 is a philosophical and introspective poem that encourages patience, self-reflection, and alignment with the natural world on our life's journey.

Rhyme Scheme

Sonnet 60 by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares follows the traditional Shakespearean sonnet rhyme scheme, which is ABABCDCDEFEFGG.

Here's how the rhyme scheme works in this sonnet:

``` A: road (1) B: want (2) A: load (3) B: font (4)

C: turns (5) D: back (6) C: burns (7) D: track (8)

E: dreams (9) F: thought (10) E: seems (11) F: fought (12)

G: alive (13) G: arrive (14) ```

The sonnet is composed of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a final rhymed couplet. Each quatrain has its own distinct rhyme scheme, and the final two lines (the couplet) rhyme with each other. This structure allows for a clear progression of thought, with each quatrain introducing a new idea or perspective, and the final couplet providing a summarizing or concluding thought.

Additional Aspects to Analyze

While we have discussed the themes, rhyme scheme, and structure of Sonnet 60 by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares, there are a few more aspects that can be analyzed, such as its use of imagery, metaphor, and tone.

Imagery: The sonnet is rich in imagery, which helps to create a vivid picture in the reader's mind. For instance, the "longest road" in the first line symbolizes a challenging but rewarding life journey. The "Nature's font" in the fourth line represents a source of wisdom and knowledge. The "ocean's dreams" in the ninth line conjures up an image of vast, deep, and mysterious dreams that are in harmony with the universe.

Metaphor: The sonnet uses metaphor to convey complex ideas and emotions. The metaphor of the "ocean's dreams" that "holds sway with waves of the Maker's thought" suggests the idea of being in sync with the divine or universal consciousness. The metaphor of "battles that others fought" in the twelfth line implies unnecessary conflicts or struggles that can be avoided when one is aligned with their true path.

Tone: The tone of the sonnet is contemplative and reassuring. The speaker encourages the reader to take the longer path in life, to reflect on their inner feelings, and to align with the natural world. The speaker reassures the reader that they will reach their destination in due time, emphasizing the importance of patience and self-discovery.

Language and Diction: The language used in the sonnet is formal and poetic, which is typical of traditional sonnets. The choice of words such as "Nature's font," "ocean's dreams," and "Maker's thought" adds a layer of depth and sophistication to the poem.

Meter: Like most traditional sonnets, Sonnet 60 is written in iambic pentameter, which means each line consists of five pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables. This rhythmic pattern gives the sonnet a steady and harmonious flow.

(GPT4)

---

Syllable count for each line

```

Giving Time To Time

10 When we choose to travel the longest road 10 we get the chance to find things that we want 10 Having feelings of love for only load 10 And for a source of knowledge Nature's font.

10 Life has ways of coming around in turns 10 And we always have the time to go back 10 And check why something inside of us burns 10 Saying, somehow, that we have left our track.

10 Then we will be one of those ocean's dreams 10 That holds sway with waves of the Maker's thought
10 And life will not be as hard as it seems 10 Since we will miss battles that others fought.

10 Through day or sleep our goal will be alive 10 And, to its shores, on time we will arrive. ***

```

---

Sonnets For The Twenty First Century And A Circadian Musical Written By Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares (1984-1987)

---

Analyzed by GPT4; Image by leonardo.ai; First published on Nostr Protocol by franciscoarroyavet@nostrplebs.com Giving Time To Time

@ 1e52c554:21771908

Posthumous work of the Colombian poet born in Don Matias on January 20, 1948.

Welcome to this blog dedicated to the Posthumous work of the Colombian poet Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares (my father), born in Don Matias on January 20, 1948-2010. Where I will be publishing each of the 175 sonnets from his unpublished collection 'Sonnets For The Twenty-First Century And A Circadian Musical (1984-1987).' Analyzed with GPT4 artificial intelligence and illustrated with AI tools... I hope you enjoy this garden of words snatched from the solitude of a locked room.

Likewise, any enthusiast of the sonnet form is invited to conduct their personal studies of Arroyave Tabares' work, as it is a collection that, although registered since 1989, has not yet been published.

Frank Duna

---

Analysis "On Time's Lap"

Introduction

Sonnet 59 by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares, titled "On Time's Lap," is a contemplative and introspective poem that explores the themes of time, life, and the human condition. The sonnet is written in the traditional Shakespearean format, consisting of three quatrains and a concluding couplet.

Thematic Analysis

The first quatrain sets the scene, with the speaker sitting under an old tree, watching time pass by. The tree could symbolize wisdom, age, or the cycle of life and death. The speaker allows the spirit of the plant to take over him, suggesting a connection with nature and a desire to understand life's deeper meanings.

In the second quatrain, the speaker reflects on the past and the things that are important to humans, such as survival and passion. The mention of "seasons of life" could refer to the different stages of human life, from birth to death.

The third quatrain introduces the metaphor of the speaker as a child sitting on time's lap. This could symbolize the speaker's feeling of being small and insignificant in the grand scheme of time. However, the speaker is also aware and able to follow the "sap," or life force, that produces fruits, symbolizing the results or outcomes of life's experiences.

The concluding couplet suggests that the speaker, despite being a "child" in the context of time, has an insatiable curiosity or desire for understanding because his "inner songs," or inner thoughts and feelings, will never die. This could imply a sense of immortality through the persistence of one's thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

Overall, the sonnet is a profound meditation on time, life, and the human condition, expressing a deep sense of wonder, curiosity, and desire for understanding.

Rhyme Scheme

Sonnet 59 by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares follows the traditional Shakespearean sonnet rhyme scheme, which is ABABCDCDEFEFGG.

In the first quatrain, "tree" (A) rhymes with "me" (A), and "happen" (B) rhymes with "often" (B).

In the second quatrain, "dear" (C) rhymes with "yesteryear" (C), and "survive" (D) rhymes with "thrive" (D).

In the third quatrain, "lap" (E) rhymes with "sap" (E), and "heaven" (F) rhymes with "even" (F).

Finally, in the concluding couplet, "satisfy" (G) rhymes with "die" (G).

This rhyme scheme creates a rhythmic flow and helps to connect the ideas in the poem. The final rhyming couplet serves to summarize the poem's main theme and provide a sense of closure.

Additional Aspects to Analyze

While we have discussed the themes, rhyme scheme, and some of the symbolism in Sonnet 59 by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares, there are a few more aspects that can be analyzed, such as its meter, tone, and use of imagery.

Meter: The poem follows the iambic pentameter, which is typical of a Shakespearean sonnet. This means each line of the poem has five metrical feet, each consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable. This gives the poem a rhythmic flow and musicality.

Tone: The tone of the poem is contemplative and introspective. The speaker is reflecting on the nature of time, life, and the human condition. There's a sense of tranquility and peace in the speaker's observations, but also a hint of melancholy in the realization of the fleeting nature of time.

Imagery: The poem uses vivid imagery to convey its themes. The image of the speaker sitting under an old tree watching the hours pass by evokes a sense of tranquility and timelessness. The metaphor of the speaker as a child on time's lap suggests a sense of insignificance in the face of the vastness of time. The image of the sap yielding fruits symbolizes the cycle of life and the outcomes of our experiences.

Language and Diction: The language used in the poem is formal and poetic, with a rich vocabulary that adds depth to the themes. Words like "beheld," "yesteryear," and "thrive" contribute to the poem's contemplative tone and its exploration of time and life.

Structure: The poem follows the structure of a Shakespearean sonnet, with three quatrains and a concluding couplet. Each quatrain introduces a new idea or perspective, while the couplet provides a summary or conclusion. This structure helps to organize the poem's themes and ideas in a clear and coherent way.

(GPT4)

---

Syllable count for each line

```

On Time's Lap

10 Protected by the shade of an old tree 10 I decided to watch the hours happen 10 And let the plant's spirit take over me 10 Since I have this experience often.

10 I beheld the past and things that are dear 10 To man and all his reasons to survive 10 Also passions that were born yesteryear 10 And seasons of life in which we all thrive.

10 I felt that I was a child on time's lap 10 Born from some mind in a night of heaven 10 But aware enough to follow the sap 10 That yield fruits that we pick up each even.

10 A child to whom little will satisfy 10 Because his inner songs will never die. ***

```

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Sonnets For The Twenty First Century And A Circadian Musical Written By Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares (1984-1987)

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Analyzed by GPT4; Image by leonardo.ai; First published on Nostr Protocol by franciscoarroyavet@nostrplebs.com On Time's Lap

@ 1e52c554:21771908

Posthumous work of the Colombian poet born in Don Matias on January 20, 1948.

Welcome to this blog dedicated to the Posthumous work of the Colombian poet Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares (my father), born in Don Matias on January 20, 1948-2010. Where I will be publishing each of the 175 sonnets from his unpublished collection 'Sonnets For The Twenty-First Century And A Circadian Musical (1984-1987).' Analyzed with GPT4 artificial intelligence and illustrated with AI tools... I hope you enjoy this garden of words snatched from the solitude of a locked room.

Likewise, any enthusiast of the sonnet form is invited to conduct their personal studies of Arroyave Tabares' work, as it is a collection that, although registered since 1989, has not yet been published.

Frank Duna

---

Analysis "Game Of Fate And Chance"

Introduction

"Game Of Fate And Chance" is a sonnet by Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares that explores the interconnectedness of all beings and the universe. The poem uses scientific and philosophical concepts to express the idea that everything in the universe is part of a grand design, a game of fate and chance.

Thematic Analysis

The first quatrain introduces the concept of a shared breath, suggesting a universal connection between all beings. The poet uses the metaphor of thoughts as a "primordial wreath" to bind energies that escape from God, implying that thoughts are a fundamental force that connects everything in the universe.

In the second quatrain, the poet uses the scientific process of photosynthesis as a metaphor for the interconnectedness of life. The "organic pilgrimage" refers to the journey of energy through the food chain, from plants to animals to humans. The poet suggests that this process is not random, but rather a carefully orchestrated system.

The third quatrain describes the joy and beauty of nature, suggesting that these experiences are a manifestation of the universal energy that connects all beings. The repeated phrase "we know" emphasizes the poet's belief in a universal truth or understanding.

The final couplet suggests a future state of collective awareness, where everyone understands their place in the universe and the interconnectedness of all things. The phrase "game of fate and chance" implies that life is a complex interplay of predetermined destiny and random events.

Overall, the sonnet is a contemplation on the interconnectedness of the universe, the role of energy in life, and the balance between fate and chance. It uses scientific and philosophical concepts to express these ideas, creating a unique blend of science and poetry.

Rhyme Scheme

"Game Of Fate And Chance" is a sonnet, a form of poetry traditionally composed of 14 lines. The rhyme scheme of this particular sonnet appears to be ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, which is a variation of the Shakespearean sonnet form.

Let's break it down:

``` A: breath (1) B: shape (2) A: wreath (3) B: escape (4)

C: cell (5) D: pilgrimage (6) C: bell (7) D: age (8)

E: raptures (9) F: smile (10) E: captures (11) F: mile (12)

G: once (13) G: chance (14) ```

The first three quatrains (four-line stanzas) have alternating rhymes, while the final couplet (two-line stanza) has a pair of rhyming lines. This structure creates a rhythmic flow and a sense of unity throughout the poem. The final rhyming couplet often serves to summarize or conclude the themes of the poem, as it does in this case with the phrase "game of fate and chance."

Additional Aspects to Analyze

While we've discussed the rhyme scheme and the overall themes of the sonnet, we haven't yet delved into the use of imagery, tone, and the sonnet's volta, or turn in thought.

Imagery: The sonnet is rich in imagery, painting vivid pictures in the reader's mind. For instance, "Sun's Photons hit against a plant's cell" evokes the process of photosynthesis, while "Spring and full moons give us raptures" brings to mind the beauty of nature. These images serve to emphasize the interconnectedness of all things.

Tone: The tone of the sonnet is contemplative and philosophical. The poet uses scientific and philosophical concepts to explore the nature of existence, creating a tone that is both intellectual and introspective.

Volta: In traditional sonnet structure, there is often a volta, or a turn in thought, usually occurring between the octave (first eight lines) and the sestet (last six lines). In this sonnet, the volta occurs after the second quatrain, shifting from a discussion of the scientific processes of life to a more emotional reflection on the beauty of nature and the interconnectedness of all things.

Meter: The sonnet does not strictly adhere to the iambic pentameter often associated with sonnets. However, the lines do have a rhythmic quality, contributing to the overall flow of the poem.

Alliteration: The sonnet also uses alliteration, the repetition of initial consonant sounds, as a poetic device. For example, "same breath" and "bind Energies" in the first quatrain, and "faces celebrate" in the third quatrain. This adds to the musicality and rhythm of the poem.

In conclusion, "Game Of Fate And Chance" is a complex and thought-provoking sonnet that uses a variety of poetic techniques to explore the interconnectedness of the universe and the balance between fate and chance.

(GPT4)

---

Syllable count for each line

```

Game Of Fate And Chance

10 Together we are part of a same breath 9 That moves around every mind and shape 8 And thoughts are primordial wreath
10 To bind Energies that from god escape.

10 When Sun's Photons hit against a plant's cell
10 To engage in organic pilgrimage
10 We know that someone always rings the bell 10 Since randomness would have been lost with age.

10 And when Spring and full moons give us raptures 10 Or all the faces celebrate their smile 10 We know that each thing and being captures 10 That same wavelength of light, mile after mile.

10 One day we will have awareness at once 10 While then we can say game of fate and chance. ***

```

---

Sonnets For The Twenty First Century And A Circadian Musical Written By Francisco Luis Arroyave Tabares (1984-1987)

---

Analyzed by GPT4; Image by leonardo.ai; First published on Nostr Protocol by franciscoarroyavet@nostrplebs.com Game Of Fate And Chance

@ 064a50cc:2dd653e5

Creating an app from scratch can be an exciting and rewarding journey. Whether you have a brilliant idea or want to learn app development, this guide will walk you through the essential steps to turn your concept into a reality. By following these steps, you'll gain insights into the app development process and increase your chances of building a successful app.

We all have witnessed the rapid increase of mobile App users from the last decade. Creating an App is not just an intelligent decision to digitally take a step ahead in your business, it is now an essential aspect of any business in the world nevertheless.

1. Define Your App Objectives Yes, we all know that the ultimate goal of any business is to generate a million-dollar revenue and an App business is pretty much capable to achieve that and more, however we suggest take one step at a time. First of all, define what Major Problem that your app is going to solve, then define secondary problems too. Figure out what is not already in the market that your app can fill with i.e Do an App Gap Analysis. Brainstorm about the main objective your app is going to serve. Will the app enhance the experience of all your customers or will it be generating sales and purchases? Will this App offer a unique technology that makes users life easier, or the app is going to be an extension of your existing business? Once you’ve figured out the Gap, Opportunity, and Problem then you can build an App startup business around it.

2. Do App Competition Research, Analyze, Validate App idea, build a strategy Even before you start thinking of actually creating an App, it is very important to do a deep App competition research, analysis, and know how to validate your app idea, and Build a strategy for MVP App Development, Full App Product Development, and launch and growth and of course, Exit!

Once you research on your competitors App, you may end up with one or more of the following scenarios: Scenario #1 Your App idea is absolutely unique and there is no existing App which remotely does what you want your App to offer. Scenario #2 There are similar Apps out-there but you see a big opportunity to fill the gaps they’ve left. Scenario #3 The Market is saturated with many Apps similar to your App idea. Scenario #4 Your App is an extension of your existing brand, product, services so competition doesn’t bother.

3. Define your App’s USP or Unique Bragworthy Proposition The concept of UBP in case of the Apps means you need to make your App product in such a way and position it in such a way that their users just not get benefitted out of it but feel “Smug” about being its users and that becomes your no. 1 App marketing tool. Not every new App product can be Bragworthy for the users, but atleast one should try.

4. Create App Wireframes or Write user stories or Use-cases A wireframe is the next step in the process of creating an app. An App wireframe is the rough sketch of the mobile application you want to develop. A wireframe can be created on paper or also by using some very smart Mockups or Wireframes creating tools around that come with their mobile apps as well. We’ll talk about wireframing tools a little later, after describing an app specification document.

5. Technical Feasibility — Create App’s PoC if needed Things get serious from here. A big round of Technical Feasibility Analysis is to be done here and I’ll tell you the reasons also.

– To make sure that all what the App wants to achieve is achievable through the existing technology and libraries or would you need to build the technology from the scratch. For example, if I were to create an App that can scan the numbers on your credit card then I can use an OCR library like tesseract or any other computer vision/ Optical character recognition library and that will save me to create a whole new technology just for one app. However, in case of Apps which offer you an altogether new technology (Like Prisma App), you may need to work on the background technology (in this case — image processing) yourself and that can blow out the scope of the work to a whole different level.

6. Create High Fidelity Designs Once your wireframes are finalized, the development looks all feasible, the technical architecture is selected now it is time to convert your wireframes into high fidelity screen designs that developers can use to incorporate into the project.

For high fidelity designs, you do need a professional designer who can use tools like Adobe Photoshop, or Sketch or Figma for creating high fidelity screens. Agicent can definitely help you with App wireframes, App high fidelity designs, and ofcourse App development. Here are some latest design examples and App concepts we are working upon — App Ideas.

7. Choose Front end and Backend Technologies Now that you have the objective, goals, market research and framework ready, the next step to proceed forward is the the coding at both ends — Front end (The App side) and backend (the backend technology, admin panel, content management, database and APIs). There are plenty of ways to build an app but the most important call to take while building an app from the scratch is to finalize which technologies to use. This highly depends upon the App type, Budget, Future scalability, and timeline.

8. Choose your App Developer When all of above is in place, you now have to launch your project and for that you need an App Development Team. There are some options to go about creating your app as follows – Hire an App Development Company — You can always hire a reputed App Development company like Agicent to create your App. App Companies like ours are usually equipped with the right development, design and testing teams and can quickly start working on the project and delivering that. You can either hire an App company on fixed price for fixed scope of work; or can opt for hourly model (Check out Remote App Developers )pricing.

9. App Project Management, Delivery Plan and interim releases Now App development project management is largely the job of your app development company, however it is always beneficial when you get involved as the prime stakeholder and get a visibility of the ongoing project yourself — may be a few minutes per day.

10. Test your App and Polish and repeat QA is one of the most important steps for creating an app from the scratch. Once the app is ready, test it on different devices of the same OS to check if the app is adaptable and all the functionalities are working as planned. Be the first user of your application and always act as a user while browsing the app. Make sure that the app works online and at least loads while there is no internet connection. Check the chatbots, payment getaways, cancellation, log-in and maximum functionalities.

Source: https://www.agicent.com/blog/how-to-create-an-app-from-scratch/

@ 52921e1f:1c37981b

For many years, I obsessed about saving for retirement and whether I would have enough money. As I dutifully saved in my 401(k) early in my career and saw the balance grow, I became excited. I would tell myself: “I’m going to be just fine. I have plenty of time.” Then the crash came and then again and again. First the dot.com (2000), then the GFC (2008), then Covid (2020). At least when Covid hit, I had learned my lesson and I wasn’t in stocks. Looking back at the time of the GFC in 2008, I knew something was wrong with the economy and the markets, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Some folks seemed to do quite well over the next few years, while others lost their jobs, their retirement savings and their homes. In addition to being terrified of losing my job (working in the real estate industry at that time was no picnic), having to support my growing family and pay all the bills (most importantly the mortgage), I was looking at possibly never being able to retire. I remember telling myself: “I’ll just work until I die, I guess.” This is just not right.

I put myself to the task of financial education by reading lots of books, starting with Rich Dad, Poor Dad and doing lots of research into many different types of investments. I figured I just wasn’t doing it right and I was sure with a little education, I could figure it out. I started a blog to write about what I was learning to continue to force the discipline of doing more research and broadening my understanding of investing, macro, etc. Real estate seemed to work best for me, but that’s because of buying at the bottom (GFC), borrowing at a low fixed rate and then letting money printing cause the asset value to go up, only I didn’t understand that at the time. I just thought I was a genius. And it killed me to have to do all this hard work and take all this risk, just to maintain or slightly grow my purchasing power over time. It was absolutely draining. I’m a very conservative person by nature and this was just ridiculous. By the way, if you have extra money and want to invest it for a nice return or to support something you think is worthy, I’m not saying you shouldn’t. I’m just saying you shouldn’t have to be an investor to “beat inflation.”

Fast forward to early 2020. I had been dabbling in Bitcoin since late 2017 as one of many “alternative investments,” but I didn’t really do the work to understand Bitcoin until early 2020. I started with a few Michael Saylor videos and then ultimately read the Bitcoin Standard, which kicked off my journey down many Bitcoin rabbit holes. Slowly, it began to dawn on me that the Wall Street Casino is not set up for the average person to win, just like a real casino. Sure, you might get lucky sometimes. Maybe if you pick the right stocks and hold them for the long term, you’ll be okay with the money printer running. However, the only one who consistently wins is the House (Wall Street), since they get to collect management fees regardless of whether you win or not. They can always front run you since they are the professionals and have better information and systems. The effort required to be an average investor, especially in today’s world of program trading and insane financialization, is a distraction from so many more important things in life.

Bitcoin was created out of the ashes of the GFC as a direct response to Central Banks and Governments debasing the currency. Bitcoin was designed to give you something of value that appreciates as the money printers run and that no one can take away from you. Although it took a while, I found what I had been looking for all those years. A safe place to save my money. Not safe in the conventional sense (volatile fiat exchange rate), but safe from theft and fiat debasement, which are far more important in the long span of time. Your time on this earth is precious, and when you work, you are trading your life’s energy for a paycheck. Why should you expect to have the purchasing power of the money you receive today to be diminished at all? Who normalized this? Why can’t you buy the same (or better) things in 50 years as you can today? The money is broken and inflation is a feature, not a bug. Just look at what things cost in 1971 and compare them to today and you can’t help but conclude the money is broken.

For more on what the heck happened in 1971, you might be interested in this:

https://bitcoinfortress.substack.com/p/the-closing-of-the-gold-window-in

Today I have a pretty simple plan of saving 10% of my gross income directly into Bitcoin self-custody with each paycheck. I still have the 401(k) and some other assets for a little diversification, but I no longer worry about retirement. In fact, I don’t even worry about losing my job, because I know I can do something else somewhere else and maybe even retire a little early, thanks to Bitcoin. What’s even more amazing is that I have become merely a curious observer of markets, rather than trying to be Warren Buffett, divine the future and figure out what crappy ETF or stock to buy or sell. Who needs it? Instead, I can focus on my health / wellness, people who are important in my life, improving my own Bitcoin education while helping others do the same, and delivering value in my work.

It’s really hard to describe the feeling of calm that comes over you, no matter how crazy the economy or the markets get. In some ways, the more people panic about these things, the calmer I get. It’s truly a sense of peace. So what are you waiting for? Get out of the Wall Street Casino and start a Bitcoin Retirement Plan today! And remember to always hold your Bitcoin in self-custody as it was intended!

Not financial or legal advice, for entertainment only, do your own homework. I hope you find this post useful as you chart your personal financial course and Build a Bitcoin Fortress in 2024.

Thanks for following my work. Always remember: freedom, health and positivity!

Please also check out my Bitcoin Fortress Podcast on all your favorite streaming platforms. I do a weekly Bitcoin news update every week on current items of interest to the Bitcoin community, usually 30 to 60 minutes depending on the number of topics to cover. Please check it out if you haven’t already. Also now on Fountain, where you can earn Bitcoin just for listening to your favorite podcasts.

@ 064a50cc:2dd653e5

Making money with free apps is a trending topic in the mobile application development world. The mobile app industry has been active for over a decade and is now generating billions of dollars in the revenue. Research shows from 2021 to 2022 the app and game revenues increased by 19.1% to $133 Billion and most of these Free Apps and games are free to download upfront and then charge for subscription or in-app purchases. Hence, it’s an estimate that the mobile app industry is most likely to hit a whopping $407.31 Billion by 2026. With more than three billion smartphone users, the industry keeps on expanding and bringing more revenue in the upcoming years.

While there is so much growth and spread of apps across the globe, the demand for custom app development is at an all-time high. For App Tech startups, the app is a core product, but even for non-app tech startups the app is an essential tool to engage with their customers and users and to improve the overall business process. Hence this makes startups and entrepreneurs curious for answers to a few questions.

Popular Revenue Models For How Do Free Apps Make Money

1. Revenue through Mobile Advertising In-app advertisement method, the most common and easiest method to implement when it comes to money-making apps via a third-party ad network like Google AdMob or Tapjoy (iron source) etc. As per the latest report by business standard the global mobile ad spend is going to reach $362 Billion and $412 Billion in 2023 and 2024 respectively. The free app market has always outnumbered the paid ones when it comes to profit and download numbers, however an app should have a large user base in order to convert that into significant revenue through in-app ads.

2. App Monetization through Sponsorships / Sponsored Content Another interesting and exciting method to earn money from a mobile app is sponsorship. In this method, the app owner needs to figure out the appropriate platform to launch the app. A platform or brand that has its identity before and a great audience base should be preferred.

3. In-app Purchase Freemium Model Another way to make money with free mobile apps is to offer in-app purchases in a Freemium Model. A Freemium Model means you offer some features of the Apps for free, while charge for some premium features. These are purchases that are made while the app is open. In-app purchases include things like extra lives, bonus levels in a game, or virtual goods in a social media app.

4. App Subscription Model The App subscription-based model is one of the most popular and finest app monetization strategies over the last few years, however it is also a part of the in-app purchase. In this method, users can subscribe to join, try for a while, and then pay a regular monthly fee for access. Subscription-based apps tend to see higher revenue per user than apps with other business models. This type of monetization is recommended for cloud-based services, audio and video streaming apps or OTT Apps, and Media Services etc. As per the Subscription Trade Association, 75% of distributor-to-consumer businesses will have a subscription-based leg of their business by 2023.

5. Selling Physical goods As the name suggests, the apps that sell physical goods make money by how? By selling physical goods on e-commerce apps or on food delivery apps or taxi booking apps. These Apps are free, their content is free and all you pay for is to buy a physical good or service out of it. Please note that such apps accept payments through a payment gateway (like PayPal, stripe) and not via in-app purchase. Hence don’t give commission to Google or Apple but to the respective payment gateway provider. The commission of such payment gateways is usually 2.9 % of the total sales.

6. Affiliate and Referral Marketing Monetization Model Affiliate is another variation of sponsorship. In place of granting advertising rights solely to one organization, you negotiate with interested parties and place their reference links in your application. Referral Marketing includes promoting a third-party product or service as a way to upgrade revenue opportunities for your app. App publishers sell or promote affiliates based on the number of clicks or installs. For this one can use pop-up ads to endorse someone else’s application or advertise products.

Source: https://www.agicent.com/blog/how-do-free-apps-make-money/

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

This artwork, which was drawn in Microsoft Paint and depicts a wizard in a blue robe carrying a staff with the tagline "Magic Internet Money," is maybe the most accurate depiction of Bitcoin and the early community that supported it. There may not be another image that comes close. The picture was commissioned as part of a push to encourage users on Reddit to participate in a Bitcoin-specific topic and get further knowledge about the cryptocurrency. The feedback it got was extremely positive, which contributed, at least in part, to the expansion of Bitcoin's brand recognition. At the time the advertising was made public, there were a little more than fifty thousand subscribers in the group, and the bitcoin price was still less than three hundred dollars. As a point of comparison, there are presently 1.2 million people registered on the forum. Even more than that, approximately 600 comments were talking about the marketing and the artwork itself. Users of Bitcoin are tipping one other with the "magic internet money" throughout the conversation. It was an example of a genuine grass-roots and community-driven marketing effort for what was, at the time, an extremely specialized group.

A moderator for the Bitcoin subreddit r/Bitcoin wrote a post requesting the community's assistance in developing a campaign and suggestions on how to promote it. Within an hour, the recognizable picture was uploaded by the user /r/mavensbot. After that, he went on to add that the illustration purportedly took just five minutes to complete. For those who are not acquainted with the website Reddit, the following is a description of how the promotion appeared to visitors:

However, the term that refers to the money as "magical" was originally used on a post on BitcoinTalk.org, which is now considered to be quite inconspicuous. A vote had been devised in order to choose a catchphrase for the newly established native currency of the internet. A few dozen people participated in the poll that led to the creation of the notorious meme. The winner of the vote was "Magic Internet Money," with "In Crypto We Trust" and "You Asked for Change, We Gave You Coins" coming in a close second and third, respectively.

Users of Bitcoin have responded well to the quirky and even whimsical portrayal of the cryptocurrency that has been promoted by the mainstream media and other influential personalities. In spite of the never-ending forecasts of doom and gloom over the survival of the currency, the network has "miraculously" continued to function.

The article "The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin," which was published in Wired at $2.37

• When the price of bitcoin was $15.15, Forbes said, "So, That's the End of Bitcoin Then."

• According to Bloomberg at $93.57, the "The SEC Shows Why Bitcoin Is Doomed."

• At $105.7, New York Magazine's "Bitcoin Sees the Grim Reaper" headline

• "Fool's Gold," also known as Slate priced at $131.95

• "Bitcoin was exposed as a Ponzi scheme," which redistributes money from one libertarian to another, according to a recent article. — The Washington Post, which may be purchased for $182.00

• At its current price of $208.50, "Bitcoin Is a Victim of Disinflation," as reported by The New York Times

• "Bitcoin is on its way to becoming a 'ash heap'" - USA Today at $208.50

• At the current price of $290.51, the Financial Times predicts that "Bitcoin's approaching capital crisis."

• "The flaws in Bitcoin will speed the cryptocurrency's collapse in 2015," — Reuters at $327.20

• "Will Bitcoin still be around in 2015?" - AOL at $332.63

• "What exactly went wrong with Bitcoin?" - CNN at $333.58

• At its current price of $433.57, Business Insider deems Bitcoin to be a farce.

At first, some thought Bitcoin was a strange phenomena or perhaps a joke. The narrative is beginning to alter as a result of the fact that the price has been hitting higher lows for over a decade and that its seven network effects are rising exponentially. We are seeing the transition of Bitcoin from "nerd money" to a currency pursued by corporations, governments, banks, and other institutions hoping to profit from it. Several efforts have been to package Bitcoin into something "compliant" or more digestible for the traditional system that it ironically opposes. These attempts have all failed. One of the most recent endeavors has been developing brand-new digital currency forms. This eliminates everything about the network that made it fascinating in the first place and does nothing else. The term "blockchain" is the most recent buzzword to be used for this function. One of the technologies that underpins the Bitcoin Network may be used in this way, and it is the one that is used the most. As a thought exercise, think about any firm you like and do a fast online search of that company's name in conjunction with the phrase "blockchain." At the very least, there will be a couple of pages' worth of results. If you repeat those steps but this time substitute "blockchain" with "bitcoin," you will see a much smaller set of results compared to the first search.

Some people may be surprised to learn this, but the name "blockchain" refers to nothing more than a "chain of blocks," which is just a list of data that are referred to as "blocks." This concept is pretty comparable to that of spreadsheets. Following one another, the pages are encrypted and connected to one another as a whole. This idea has a history dating back over thirty years in the fields of cryptography and computer science; nonetheless, the word and technology have only recently gained widespread attention due to the Bitcoin Network's development. A ledger by itself does not contain any useful information. The fact that a single organization does not control how or which transactions are recorded in the structure is what distinguishes Bitcoin's ledger as being one of a kind. You are left with a database after removing the permissionless feature of the system, which allows anybody to access it and innovate upon it. To put it another way, it's nothing more than an Excel spreadsheet.

Andreas Antonopoulos presents a lecture in which he explores the phenomena of digital gentrification and the corporatization of cryptocurrencies, as well as the reasons why we have to strive to maintain the "weirdness" that Bitcoin gives to the world.

The phrase "I'm interested in blockchain but not Bitcoin" is code for "I don't understand." When someone says this to you, they mean "I don't comprehend." - Andreas

Despite this, several efforts have been made to control it. As of right now, a few of the major countries on the planet are hard at work establishing their own versions of digital currencies that will harness the same "underlying blockchain" structure that Bitcoin does. They are taking the cypherpunk concepts of Bitcoin and eliminating the "punk" side of it while maintaining their own financial anonymity. The year that just passed, 2019, will go down in history as the year when governments finally stopped laughing at bitcoin and reached the "then they fight you" stage with the announcement of the following digital currencies:

• DCEP (China)

• EUROChain (EU)

• Libra (Facebook)

• e-Dinar (Tunisia)

• Petro (Venezuela)

• Aber (Saudi Arabia)

• Turkcoin (Turkey)

• e-Krona (Sweden)

• PayMon (Iran)

Less drastic efforts to conform Bitcoin has been occuring via “financialization”. The process of Wall Street gaining control of bitcoin is unavoidable and is underway. That is, without a doubt, meant to be taken in jest. The term "financialization" refers to the process by which the use of a financial instrument facilitates the transfer of value between two or more parties; this category includes derivatives such as futures and options.

It may be argued that the financialization of Bitcoin and the proliferation of other financial products serve to complicate the market further, making it necessary for market participants to possess a skill set that is out of their grasp. Many people do not want to give up the head start Bitcoin gives them on Wall Street since it is the first time the common person has ever had one. An increased complexity level may result in the concealment of bitcoin production "out of thin air" if an audit of the onchain metrics is not performed. It is quite possible that rehypothecation, which refers to the process of establishing more claims to the Bitcoin Network than there are Bitcoin, is currently taking place. There is no use in debating whether or not this is a terrible turn of events since it will continue regardless of what people think. Users of Bitcoin and other players in the market need to be aware of this process and use the network's audibility to keep their faith. Verify, don't trust.

Even from within the same community that embraced the memes of "Magic Internet Money" and attacked the current quo, there have been efforts of "corporatization" with a previous proposal dubbed SegWit2x. This piece is not intended to educate readers on the particulars and complexities of the changes that were made to the network, nor is it intended to single out individual participants on either side of the dispute. It is possible that Bitcoin will wind up requiring all of the fans and advocates it can get, and at this stage, reviving old wounds seldom favors anybody. That being said, it is still true that those who don't study history are destined to repeat its mistakes. It would be a waste of months of discussion and money expended if nothing was taken away as a result of the experience as a learning opportunity.

To provide some context, during the middle of 2017, an agreement was reached in New York City. It was going to be called the New York Agreement (NYA), and it was going to be an agreement where numerous people with a corporate-focused shared interest agreed to install Segwit if a 2 MB hard fork followed it. You can get more information on the specifics of Segwit here and more about the block size here. The name used to both this proposal and the subsequent hard split of Bitcoin's network was SegWit 2x. It meant that the block size would be doubled, and the proponents regarded it as a compromise between those who still desired even bigger blocks once Segwit itself was adopted. They believed that it would be fair to both sides. If you are interested in learning more about the history of this implementation and the specifics of its implementation, Aaron van Wirdum has written a comprehensive essay about it that can be found here.

It is essential to point out that not a single member of the development team working on Bitcoin Core, the most popular Bitcoin implementation, was asked to participate in this private meeting. Even if the permissionless nature of Bitcoin is the cryptocurrency's greatest asset, the fact that the community's most trusted members have been excluded from the process of applying new improvements to the network in favor of corporate CEOs does convey a message.

Digital Currency Group made the announcement in the form of a blog post on the website Medium. The proposal received early support from 58 of the most prominent firms in the ecosystem, accounting for 83.28% of the total hashing power of the Bitcoin Network.

This increase in the size of blocks may seem like a relatively insignificant change in the big scheme of the threats that Bitcoin will eventually have to face over its existence. After just a few short months, the SegWit2x hard fork that was supposed to take place was finally scrapped. Bitcoin users have been quite vocal about their worries. After the original announcement, a joint statement to cancel the hard fork was issued by just six persons. This statement was quite similar to the initial announcement. This demonstrates how few people were engaged in the decision-making process compared to the typical governance of Bitcoin, or the absence of governance, as the case may be. It is to their credit that they included the following into their decision:

Our objective has always been to ensure that Bitcoin's upgrade goes off without a hitch. Even while we have a strong conviction in the need for a greater blocksize, one thing that we think is even more vital is maintaining the community's cohesiveness. Regrettably, it is abundantly evident that we have not yet created sufficient agreement for a clean change to the blocksize at this time. If things are left as they are, it might cause friction within the Bitcoin community and be detrimental to the cryptocurrency's development. This was in no way intended to be the outcome of Segwit2x.

To restate, individuals who fail to gain wisdom from the past are destined to repeat the same mistakes. In this piece of writing, I want to stress the importance of appreciating the characteristics that give Bitcoin its individuality. Giving away the permissionless aspect of the technology in exchange for government-issued stablecoins, the decision-making process of protocol upgrades such as with SegWit2x, or even simply the financialization of Bitcoin as an asset should, at the very least, be viewed with mistrust. Bitcoin has already achieved this level of success by taking risks and challenging the established order; why should it stop now?

That's all for today, see ya tomorrow

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

There are good news for the Cuban community in Spain who are seeking to validate their university degrees in order to aspire to a better paid job that matches their professional knowledge.

In Spain, bureaucratic obstacles in the validation process are holding back over 100,000 university degrees of foreign citizens. Recently, the Ministry of Universities announced the hiring of 26 individuals to be incorporated into a task force to move past these delays.

Now, there will be 41 officials dedicated to this work, and therefore, it is expected that the situation will improve. The institutional response comes after a series of public protests by foreign professionals, including Cubans, who have put pressure on the State to shorten the waiting times for validations.

An example is Marcos, a Cuban surgeon and house cleaner in Valencia, who has protested because he is in a state of desperation months after starting his application and still has no response.

According to the Levante newspaper, in that autonomous community there are also Argentine doctors trapped in manual jobs while they wait for their degrees to be validated. Most importantly, Spain needs prepared health professionals, but state inefficiency has such great inertia that it is incapable of resolving this process in a reasonable time.

The collective of professionals with foreign degrees celebrate the Ministry's decision to approve a plan of action, but ultimately, they consider it “a crumbs plan” that will not solve the significant existing backlog.

In October 2022, the Ministry of Universities had 68 officials working towards the goal of reviewing 50,000 files. However, that plan of action ended with 30,000 degrees not reviewed and 30,000 incomplete, resulting in 80,000 degrees without validation.

At present, between 4,000 and 5,000 new applications are incorporated each month; so there are about 100,000, twice as many as in January 2023, but with a third of the officials.

Steps to validate a university degree in Spain

The validation of university degrees in Spain for foreigners is a process that allows a degree obtained in another country to be recognized and valid in the Iberian nation. This procedure is essential for those professionals who wish to work in their field of specialization in Spain.

• Information and Documentation: The first step is to obtain detailed information about the validation process. It is important to verify the specific requirements, as they may vary according to the country where the degree was obtained and the nature of the degree. Generally, the presentation of documents such as the university degree, the academic transcript and, sometimes, a detailed description of the curriculum, is required.
• Translation and Legalization of Documents: Documents that are not in Spanish must be officially translated. Additionally, they may need to be legalized or have an apostille, depending on the country of origin, to certify their authenticity.
• Application for Validation: The application is submitted to the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training of Spain. This can be done online through their website or in person at some offices.
• Payment of Fees: There is a fee to be paid for the validation process. The amount varies according to the level of studies of the degree to be validated.
• Evaluation: Once the application with all the required documents is submitted, the Ministry assesses the equivalence between the foreign degree and the corresponding Spanish degree. This process can take several months.
• Resolution: After the evaluation, a resolution is issued. If it is favorable, the validation is granted. In some cases, additional studies or passing of examinations may be required.
• Registration of the Validated Degree: If the validation is approved, the degree must be registered in Spain for its full recognition.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

Hay buenas noticias para la comunidad de cubanos en España que buscan homologar sus títulos universitarios para aspirar a un trabajo mejor remunerado y acorde con sus conocimientos profesionales.

En España, las trabas burocráticas para el proceso de homologación tienen detenidos más de 100.000 títulos universitarios de ciudadanos extranjeros. Recientemente, el Ministerio de Universidades anunció la contratación de 26 personas para que se incorporen en una tarea de choque y sacar adelante los atrasos.

Ahora, serán 41 los funcionarios dedicados a esos trabajos, por lo cual, se espera que la situación vaya mejorando. La respuesta institucional llega luego de una serie de protestas públicas por parte de profesionales extranjeros, incluidos cubanos, que han ejercido presión sobre el Estado para acortar los tiempos de espera de las homologaciones.

Un ejemplo es el cirujano cubano Marcos, limpiador de casas en Valencia, que ha salido a protestar, pues se encuentra en un estado de desesperación luego de meses de haber iniciado su trámite y aún no tener respuesta.

De acuerdo con el diario Levante, en esa comunidad autónoma también hay médicos argentinos atrapados en trabajos manuales mientras esperan la homologación de sus títulos. Lo más relevante es que España necesita de profesionales sanitarios preparados, pero la ineficiencia estatal tiene una inercia tan grande que no es capaz de resolver los trámites en un tiempo razonable.

El colectivo de profesionales con títulos extranjeros celebra la decisión del Ministerio de aprobar un plan de choque, pero lo considera, en definitiva, “un plan de migajas” que no va a servir para solucionar el gran atraso existente.

En octubre de 2022, el Ministerio de Universidades tenía 68 funcionarios trabajando en una meta de revisar 50.000 expedientes. Sin embargo, ese plan de choque terminó con 30.000 títulos sin revisar y 30.000 incompletos, por lo que se acumularon 80.000 títulos sin homologar.

En la actualidad, se incorporan cada mes entre 4.000 y 5.000 peticiones nuevas; por lo tanto, hay unos 100.000, el doble que en enero del 2023, pero con un tercio de funcionarios.

Pasos para homologar un título universitario en España

La homologación de títulos universitarios en España para extranjeros es un proceso que permite que un título obtenido en otro país sea reconocido y tenga validez en la nación ibérica. Este procedimiento es esencial para aquellos profesionales que desean trabajar en su campo de especialización en España.

• Información y Documentación: El primer paso es obtener información detallada sobre el proceso de homologación. Es importante verificar los requisitos específicos, ya que pueden variar según el país donde se obtuvo el título y la naturaleza del título. Generalmente, se requiere la presentación de documentos como el título universitario, el certificado de notas y, a veces, una descripción detallada del plan de estudios.
• Traducción y Legalización de Documentos: Los documentos que no estén en español deben ser traducidos oficialmente. Además, es posible que necesiten ser legalizados o apostillados, dependiendo del país de origen, para certificar su autenticidad.
• Solicitud de Homologación: La solicitud se realiza ante el Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional de España. Esto puede hacerse en línea a través de su sitio web o de manera presencial en algunas oficinas.
• Pago de Tasas: Existe una tasa que debe ser abonada para el proceso de homologación. El importe varía según el nivel de estudios del título a homologar.
• Evaluación: Una vez presentada la solicitud con todos los documentos requeridos, el Ministerio evalúa la equivalencia entre el título extranjero y el título español correspondiente. Este proceso puede tomar varios meses.
• Resolución: Después de la evaluación, se emite una resolución. Si es favorable, se concede la homologación. En algunos casos, se pueden requerir estudios complementarios o la superación de exámenes.
• Registro del Título Homologado: Si la homologación es aprobada, el título debe ser registrado en España para su pleno reconocimiento.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

The authorities on the Island have four individuals under arrest for allegedly being involved in the homicide of Yorjelguis Bolaño Fernández, a Cuban-American who had been missing in the province of Mayabeque since January seventh.

The arrests were confirmed to CubaNet by people close to the deceased. In addition, the Facebook page Fuerza del Pueblo Mayabeque, linked to State Security, published images of these individuals, but without giving their names.

Three days ago, the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) carried out the arrest of Dayanis Vega, a woman who is supposedly related to the case in question. According to information provided to the independent portal Cubanos por el Mundo, it is suspected that the accused may have participated in a reenactment of the events that took place at her residence, where garments that had been burned were found.

A source identified as Yomi revealed that the suspect admitted to having handed over Bolaño Fernández alive to other people, but later no longer had knowledge about the whereabouts of the victim. Additionally, it was reported that residents of Madruga reacted with indignation upon discovering the alleged involvement of the detainee in the case, even attempting to assault her.

The body was found in the vicinity of the Institute of Animal Science, located in San José de las Lajas. According to data provided by relatives, the said man arrived from the United States to the Island to visit his family in Madruga.

The victim, 41 years old, was last seen driving an old blue Chevrolet, after being at a particular kiosk in the municipality where the body was found.

The car was found days earlier dismantled and with bloodstains in a garage located in San Miguel del Padrón, Havana. A relative of the victim stated that among the suspected murderers are people who knew Bolaño Fernández and whom he trusted.

A source close to the Cuban-American, identified as Aylen Fundora, confirmed that the victim's cellphone turned off in San José de las Lajas, and security cameras recorded the vehicle's passage through that municipality.

This woman also posted a message that raised suspicions of a possible kidnapping in this case. "If those who took him are looking for money, send us proof of life or return him to the people who love him," said the internet user.

The family of Bolaño Fernández offered a reward of $3,000 for information that would allow the discovery of the referred man alive, who was the father of three children, two girls and a boy, with the youngest being only four years old.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

The Cuban American Yorjelguis Bolaño Fernández, reported missing since the evening of January 7, was found dead near the Animal Science Institute, located in San José de las Lajas, province of Mayabeque, reported CubaNet.

The 41-year-old man had been murdered as part of a robbery, according to the independent media citzen Aylen Fundora, a close friend of the victim. A family member mentioned that among the suspects there could be people who knew Bolaños Fernández, who had arrived from the United States to visit his family in Madruga.

The story of this case began when the man was last seen driving an old blue Chevrolet, with license plate P194951. When he did not return home, his partner, Saray Calvo Marrero, filed a report on social media to try to find him safe and sound.

From that moment on, a desperate search began, which involved offering a reward of $3,000 in exchange for reliable information about a possible whereabouts.

Furthermore, Fundora even shared a message that suggested a possible kidnapping. "If those who took him are looking for money, send us proof of life or return him to the people who love him," said the netizen.

The friend commented that the man had left his home heading for a private kiosk he owned in the area and was last seen when he left the place in his vehicle, which was captured by security cameras while passing through San José de las Lajas. His cell phone was always turned off since his disappearance was determined.

Days later, the Facebook page Woody Alguacil Cubano reported that the car was found dismantled in a garage in San Miguel del Padrón, Havana.

Bolaño Fernández was the father of three children, two girls and a boy, with the youngest being only four years old. Local authorities are conducting an investigation to clarify the details of the alleged murder and find those responsible.

The National Revolutionary Police (PNR) arrested a woman named Dayanis Vega three days ago for allegedly being linked to the case. According to information provided to the independent portal Cubanos por el Mundo, the suspect had participated in a reconstruction of events that took place at her residence, where burned clothing was found.

A source named Yomi said that this suspect declared she had delivered Bolaño Fernández alive to some people, but afterwards she had no knowledge of the victim's fate. In addition, it was mentioned that residents of Madruga attempted to assault the detainee when her involvement in the case was revealed.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

Las autoridades de la Isla tienen bajo arresto a cuatro individuos por estar presuntamente involucrados en el homicidio de Yorjelguis Bolaño Fernández, un cubanoamericano que había desaparecido en la provincia de Mayabeque desde el siete de enero.

Las detenciones fueron confirmadas a CubaNet por personas cercanas al fallecido. Además, la página de Facebook Fuerza del Pueblo Mayabeque, vinculada a la Seguridad del Estado, publicó imágenes de estos sujetos, pero sin dar sus nombres.

Hace tres días, la Policía Nacional Revolucionaria (PNR) llevó a cabo la detención de Dayanis Vega, una mujer que supuestamente estaría relacionada con el caso en cuestión. De acuerdo con información proporcionada al portal independiente Cubanos por el Mundo, se sospecha que la acusada habría participado en una recreación de los hechos que tuvo lugar en su residencia, donde se hallaron prendas de vestir que habían sido quemadas.

Una fuente identificada como Yomi reveló que la sospechosa manifestó haber entregado a Bolaño Fernández con vida a otras personas, pero luego ya no tuvo conocimiento sobre el paradero de la víctima. Además, se informó que residentes de Madruga reaccionaron con indignación al descubrir la presunta implicación de la detenida en el caso, llegando incluso a intentar agredirla.

El cuerpo fue encontrado en las inmediaciones del Instituto de Ciencia Animal, ubicado en San José de las Lajas. Según datos proporcionados por familiares, el referido hombre arribó desde Estados Unidos a la Isla para visitar a su familia en Madruga.

La víctima, de 41 años, fue vista por última vez cuando manejaba un Chevrolet antiguo de color azul, después de estar en un quiosco particular en el municipio donde encontraron el cadáver.

El automóvil fue hallado días antes desmantelado y con huellas de sangre en un garaje ubicado en San Miguel del Padrón, La Habana. Una familiar de la víctima afirmó que entre los presuntos asesinos se encuentran personas que conocían a Bolaño Fernández y en las que él confiaba.

Una fuente cercana al cubanoamericano, identificada como Aylen Fundora, confirmó que el móvil de la víctima se apagó en San José de las Lajas, y cámaras de seguridad registraron el paso del vehículo por ese municipio.

Esta mujer también publicó un mensaje que levantó sospechas por un posible secuestro en este caso. “Si los que se lo llevaron buscan dinero, mándenos una prueba de vida o devuélvanlo con las personas que lo queremos”, expresó la internauta.

La familia de Bolaño Fernández ofreció una recompensa de 3.000 dólares a cambio de información que permitiera el hallazgo con vida del referido hombre, quien era padre de tres hijos, dos niñas y un niño, siendo la más pequeña de tan solo cuatro años.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

El cubanoamericano Yorjelguis Bolaño Fernández, reportado como desaparecido desde la noche del 7 de enero, fue encontrado sin vida en las inmediaciones del Instituto de Ciencia Animal, ubicado en San José de las Lajas, provincia de Mayabeque, informó CubaNet.

El hombre de 41 años habría sido asesinado como parte de un robo, según declaró al medio independiente la ciudadana Aylen Fundora, una amiga cercana a la víctima. Un familiar comentó que entre los sospechosos habría personas que conocían a Bolaños Fernández, quien llegó de Estados Unidos para visitar a su familia en Madruga.

La historia de este caso comenzó cuando el hombre fue visto por última vez conduciendo un Chevrolet antiguo de color azul, con matrícula P194951. Al no regresar a casa, su pareja, Saray Calvo Marrero, hizo una denuncia en redes sociales para tratar de hallarlo sano y salvo.

A partir de ese momento comenzó una desesperada búsqueda, que involucró el ofrecimiento de una recompensa de 3.000 dólares a cambio de información confiable sobre un posible paradero.

Inclusive, Fundora llegó a compartir un mensaje que daba a entender un posible secuestro. “Si los que se lo llevaron buscan dinero, mándenos una prueba de vida o devuélvanlo con las personas que lo queremos”, expresó la internauta.

La amiga comentó que el hombre había salido de su casa con rumbo a un kiosco particular que tenía en la zona, y fue visto por última vez cuando abandonó el lugar en su vehículo, el cual fue captado por cámaras de seguridad mientras transitaba por San José de las Lajas. Su celular siempre estuvo apagado desde que se determinó su desaparición.

Días después, la página de Facebook Woody Alguacil Cubano informó que el automóvil fue encontrado desmantelado en un garaje de San Miguel del Padrón, La Habana.

Bolaño Fernández era padre de tres hijos, dos niñas y un niño, siendo la más pequeña de tan solo cuatro años. Las autoridades locales están llevando a cabo una investigación para esclarecer los detalles del presunto asesinato y dar con los responsables.

La Policía Nacional Revolucionaria (PNR) arrestó hace tres días a una mujer llamada Dayanis Vega por estar presuntamente vinculada al caso. Según datos proporcionados al portal independiente Cubanos por el Mundo, la sospechosa habría participado en una reconstrucción de los eventos que tuvo lugar en su residencia, donde se encontraron prendas de vestir quemadas.

Una fuente llamada Yomi dijo que esta sospechosa declaró que entregó con vida a Bolaño Fernández a unas personas, pero después ya no tuvo conocimiento del destino de la víctima. Asimismo, se mencionó que residentes de Madruga intentaron agredir a la detenida al revelarse su involucramiento en el caso.

@ 4f9e11e2:9ab6c0cc

Opinion about Mycelium Wallet

Jan 19th.

#WalletScrutiny #NostrComment

join the conversation!

@ b5af8993:894230f7

• hello
• test

@ 38fe7b2b:222e901e

NOSTR, celebrated for its commitment to user sovereignty and free speech, welcomes a significant addition - Apollo, a dedicated Q&A platform. Apollo enriches the Nostr community by providing a structured environment for open and meaningful question-and-answer exchanges.

Genesis

Apollo was developed in response to a gap in the Nostr network: a lack of a client specifically for user-driven Q&A. Apollo aims to fill this void by facilitating collaborative learning and problem-solving, fostering a space where knowledge and insights are actively shared while standing as a beacon for enlightenment and community engagement.

Mission

The mission of Apollo is clear: to integrate a user-focused Q&A system seamlessly into the Nostr network. Apollo aims to create a dynamic community space where knowledge is not just exchanged, but where ideas and solutions are forged collaboratively through active participation.

Innovation

Built on custom event kinds for questions (kind 31993) and answers (kind 32017), Apollo offers efficient and coherent integration within the Nostr network. This structure enables ease of use and enhances the visibility and organization of content. Additionally, Apollo's design allows for the development of specialized clients that can leverage these custom kinds. An example of this is the integration of an FAQ section within a client, showcasing the versatility and adaptability of Apollo.

Engagement

Zaps, a popular feature within the Nostr clients, is integral to Apollo, allowing users to reward questions and answers with sats. This not only incentivizes meaningful participation but also builds a culture of support and recognition within the community. Coupled with Apollo's content voting system, this feature promotes a rich and active engagement among users.

Evolution

Apollo is under active development - as the platform progresses, the emphasis is on enhancing user engagement and the quality of contributions. Key to this evolution is the introduction of participation-based answering privileges, a feature aimed at elevating the level of discourse and ensuring that the most knowledgeable and active members of the community are recognized. By focusing on these aspects, Apollo strives to create a dynamic and valuable Q&A experience for all users, ensuring its ongoing relevance and effectiveness in the Nostr ecosystem.

Participation

The development of Apollo is an ongoing, community-driven process. We are inviting you all to participate in Apollo – ask questions, provide answers, join or create discussions. Each interaction contributes to the depth and breadth of knowledge available on Apollo.

Visit Apollo at www.apolloqa.org to join the Q&A experience. For a deeper look into Apollo's development and to contribute to its future, check out the GitHub repository at github.com/samuelralak/apollo. Finally, stay tuned for an Apollo Rocket at nostrocket.org.

Your involvement is invaluable!

@ 006804ee:0b759c7b

An Economy for Each is the Economy for All Value Originates in the Individual The Economy is Based on YOU YOU are the Manifestation, not the Systems.

LISTENING IS GOOD TOO

I have heard people say that Bitcoin and other blockchain currencies are fake because they "aren't based on anything." Even people claiming they're on the left of the economic spectrum repeat this. I have to ask, "Which side are you on boys? Which side are you on?" How does someone claim to have an understanding of self-determination and liberation movements without understanding from where the value of an economy originates? It's derived from you, boys. It's derived from you. Why shouldn't you have control? If it is the case that one doesn't understand this, it could very well be because some don't appreciate their own value. I hope that isn’t the case.

Value, by it's very nature, is decentralized. Currency should be based on value, and this value is created and provided by The People. Centralizing currency is an attempted 'coup of not only individual rights but also the rights to collective action and all rights.

If the actions of an individual provide a value for society, then the origin point of that value is the individual. There doesn’t need to be any other source, or any permission, and their must not be a threat from bureaucrats and warmongers to have control of that. Central currency is an oxymoron. An economy for each is the economy for all. Truly. Central currency is an oxymoron because the value; the currency of an economy is derived from The People, it's not dispensed from self-aggrandized, self-appointed paranoids. Bitcoin, via the blockchain, gives us the opportunity to finally embody that fundamental economic reality.

^^ This can be yours when you click this link

Marx was a romantic writer. His treatise for the working class is gorgeous. I am not mad at Marx. His presumptuousness about people as individuals vs. the collective was based in some faulty premises. Had he actually been a working-class guy, some of his understanding would have been different, so you have to give him some slack. I do anyway. Belief is a potent elixir, and many have fallen prey to it.

In some ways similar to today's American "left," when they hear someone talking about the working class, they have been trained to believe that is dog whistle language meaning "the white working class." In real life, if they were actually working-class people themselves, they'd know the absurdity and the incorrigible offensiveness of that notion, because of course we all work together out here, keeping the world going for the paper economy that the non-value-producing classes live on, from the top of the economic spectrum all the way through it.

Many "Marxist" college children love to champion the issues of the oppressed and the working class, until, of course, we choose to organize outside the perimeters of the Holy Dispensation of academic and partisan culture. Once we actually begin a process of liberation from their systems of control, then we become all of the identitarian narratives, every single slander, one right after the other. It's predictable, and I won 20$ once because a creepy liberal lady sexualized me within 10 minutes of being at a meeting. We struggle against the systems of violence together, across cultural milieus, and they call us violent, even racist and sexist. Many call themselves “feminists,” as they are protecting daddy's rape and pillage money while simultaneously claiming to speak for the people that his policies destroy.

Now you can see why I used quotation marks for the word "Marxist," and now you know why they are children. If not children and perhaps professors, then adults with arrested development.

VISIT MY STORE^^

Who would not seek liberation from this madness? The non-profit industrial complex sees the suffering of the poor and oppressed as their opportunity. Did someone say police brutality? Their eyes light up with dollar signs, while at the same time making false claims about the actual Citizenry organizing for human rights because we’re a threat to their tax-exempt status. Again, I ask, who would not seek liberation from this madness? You may be able to understand why people are creating a different system that allows them more movement and offers them the opportunity to be creative in their efforts, and to extend their value and extend commerce into new realms with NEW RELATIONSHIPS.

It is the nature of consciousness to continue; it's the nature of consciousness to expand; it's the nature of consciousness to manifest. This can be encapsulated in stating that it's the nature of consciousness to create. Who is envious of this? Who covets this? Who despises this? Who drives themselves mad in their underground bunkers knowing there is a populace that would outcompete them in 20 minutes were it not for their meddling? Who would see our currency limited to a central system with talentless operators, turning off the ability of the productive classes to buy and sell and create at their whim if we dare to express our observations and experiences of their vileness and deceit? Who are you? Who are your parents? Who hurt you? "Which side are you on, boys? Which side are you on?"

*

**Please share my effort everywhere. I really need the help. I'm creating things to live. I'm not on the dole and I'm not begging. I'm creating. Please share and help. **

*

- As for the ideas that Bitcoin is somehow responsible for crimes or that there is some kind of difference between fiat-based crimes and crypto-based crimes, really? How laughable. Maybe the biggest difference is that fiat crimes are done right out in the open? Like planeloads of American debt shipped to warlords? Or conniving bankers getting bailed out as money managers destroy the economy and then get bonuses? Do you mean that?

To be sure, crypto exchanges are dangerous. Some of them are 100% scams. Something I noticed is the ones connected to the banking industry have the worst customer service. try getting through to them. That's what a cold wallet is for. IT's YOUR VALUE, that is YOUR responsibility. Keep your currency under YOUR control as much as possible. Especially now with the buzzards flying around waiting for you to die.

If I can leave you with one idea here, how about thinking about it like this? Judge the concept by the character of the people who fear it.

If you saw the products above and you want to by them with Sats. I’m putting that together, please subscribe to my free newsletter and you’ll know when that happens. If you can help me expedite this I’m all ears.

What a clever pouch, and the caption is also a link. How about that.

---

To sign up for my newsletter, go here

I can really use some help right now. I'm older and I've been fighting all this nonsense for along time. It's very hard as I get older. If you can lay some bitcoin on me to help me I will be able to press on. Conversely, please go to the shop and buy some of that stuff. Don't forget stickers! The orange ones are good!

I am Commercial Herschel, and I am here to help. I am a traveler, a tradesman, and Guardian of my skull. My prose is jagged. My heart is soft. I have a podcast called "Smell the Inside of Your Nose. Do it Right Now"

@ cce0989b:b497e608

If you're facing a challenge right now, there are three things that you need to remember that will help you to be more resilient.

First, the challenge is not the only thing in your life, even if at times it feels like it is. Consciously look up and around to the other parts of your life. They can give you strength, support, and confidence to take the next step forward.

Second, remind yourself: this challenge isn't going to last forever. Use a mantra like, “This is not permanent — it’s just a part of my current experience.” Even if it feels like it will last forever, nothing does; this too shall pass.

Third, this challenge does not define you as a person. You are so much more than whatever it is that you're facing. It is not you, and you are not it. Creating this distance helps you to look at the problem objectively, take action wisely, and persevere courageously.

@ cce0989b:b497e608

One of the complicated things about being a human is that we are constantly navigating, negotiating, and integrating who we once were, who we are today, and who we are becoming.

How we relate to our past, present and future selves is an essential element of overall happiness.

There are three questions that you can ask yourself to improve those relationships.

Past: "How can I forgive myself for the past?"

Present: "How can I accept myself as I am right now?"

Future: "How can I envision who I want to be in the future?"

@ fac513a1:d4f407a5

“Jake, you’re like a bull in a china shop!”

Is something I remember my mother telling me.

Young boys…

Fast.

Stronger than they realise.

Clumsy.

A memory that sticks with me to this day.

But one’s temperament shines through even from a young age, grow’s up with you, and even now I confess a tendency to just “push on” or “bulldoze” my way through things.

Frankly I would like to be even more perceptive of my behaviour sometimes.

Which is why I am telling this story today…

I was meditating, and the latest rental application process I’ve been going through popped up on the carousel of thoughts, that I slowly digest over 20 minutes.

We’ve been hunting for a 12 month lease in Melbourne.

In fact, we’d found a place that was 90% of the way there to being exactly what we wanted, and I’d spent hours pulling together all the relevant information, chatting to the agent, and pushing to get the deal.

“Fuck it, I should just ignore Loz, take control, and throw everything at it. Stick to offering 6 months rent up front.”

Yes, the market is so tight, we’re offering rent up front, whilst my lack of a fiat employment contract scares people off in terms of ability to pay.

Indeed, I’d gone balls to the wall, first in best dressed, and already offered 6 months.

My wife wasn’t happy.

The last place we did something similar, we got caught short, and had lots of issues with the rental property that were exacerbated having already paid for the lease.

As a result, I’d reduced our up-front payment offer, on hearing the move-in date was actually 3 weeks later than advertised.

Then something cool happened.

One’s mind was chattering away.

Busy.

Busy.

Busy.

Rehashing all the stuff I’d been doing in relation to the house hunt.

And boom.

A moment of clarity within the noise.

Meditation at its best.

“You should not bulldoze your way through this like normal. Slow down. Make an extra effort to support Loz and her gut feel about this.”

Clear as day.

That morning I told her: “However this plays out, I support you, and any problems that occur due to me offering rent up front, or your gut feel, I take responsibility”



“Thank you”… She said.

A change of dynamic on my behalf.

What an interesting experience.

“Bull in a china shop” no more!

As the week progressed, I was relieved to get the news our application was approved, as to say the least the last few months of looking for a place have been full of ups and downs.

The next step is to sign and send some money.

I feel comfortable with it myself.

Especially as we also had our friend, an energy healer with a superb track record of helping us, do a brief scan of the property, finding nothing of concern.

But all afternoon, I can see it stewing in her, my wife pipes up…

“Something in my gut says this isn’t the right house”

Hmmmmmm

Shit…

In particular we’ve felt from a distance that the owner has been super stressed, managing a move overseas, and therefore has been erratic to deal with.

Even via an agent…

She claims to be heading overseas for a number of years. Will she?

She’s been funny about furniture remaining. Why bother?

She’s flip-flopped around with the move in date. How come?

Feel.

Stop.

Think.

Ok. Let’s pause this process and sleep on it.

I really want to honour my committeemen to her.

To support her.

To listen to her.

Then, and I don’t know why, Loz sends me this beautiful property on a hill above Byron Bay.

Wow.

Imagine living there!

My heart swelled.

I felt this smirk on my lips.

That would be fun…

We could easily put everything that's in storage on a truck, we have 2 cars, we could be up there in a week or so before this Airbnb finishes.

Indeed, Byron is an area we’ve been closely watching for a while.

Better weather.

Home-schooling.

Huge beach walks.

Lots to like!

Big change from inner-city Melbourne.

But maybe, just maybe, between Loz’s gut feel and my sense of adventure, we’ve just stumbled upon something we actually really want to do.

Energy.

Why on earth, after all this effort to find a place here, am I looking at beautiful properties in a totally different part of Australia.

Why have our minds taken us here?

Who is pulling these life-decision strings?

How can we use instinct to better navigate life?

To summarise, I am working hard on new operating system, one which is built upon meditation, intuition, and feeling one’s body.

My meditation teacher describes it as "tuning into to one's highest form of intelligence".

This resonates a lot.

As this upgrade is in progress, certain signals can be hard to decipher, as with any evolution.

Byron. Or not to Byron?

That IS the question.

Best, Jake

Ps - for regular readers of these articles, you will know that we decided to sell our primary place of residence, in favour of accumulating more Bitcoin, and living in rental properties that were larger, nicer, and in area’s we preferred. Whilst the investment side of the strategy is kicking goals, the physical side of going between rental contracts has been much harder than expected, and is a huge learning curve for myself in particular. Even the best laid plans don’t always go as expected! “You can’t live in a Bitcoin…”

@ f6488c62:c929299d

บิทคัพ ประกาศเพิกถอนเหรียญ omg และ wan ออกจากแพลตฟอร์มตั้งแต่วันที่ 10 เมษายน 2567 ที่ผ่านมา ส่งผลให้นักลงทุนที่ถือเหรียญทั้งสองประเภทนี้ไม่สามารถซื้อขายหรือฝากเหรียญเข้าแพลตฟอร์มได้อีกต่อไป

จากการตรวจสอบในกลุ่มผู้ใช้งาน bitkub พบว่า มีผู้ใช้งานจำนวนไม่น้อยที่พลาดโอกาสขายเหรียญ omg และ wan ออกไปเป็นเงินสด เนื่องจากไม่ได้เข้าแอปพลิเคชัน bitkub เลยไม่ทราบว่ามีประกาศการเพิกถอนเหรียญทั้งสองประเภทนี้

ผู้ใช้งานรายหนึ่งเล่าว่า ตนไม่ได้เข้าแอปฯ bitkub เป็นเวลาหลายเดือน เนื่องจากติดภารกิจส่วนตัว เมื่อกลับมาเข้าแอปฯ ก็พบว่าเหรียญ omg และ wan ของตนถูกเพิกถอนไปแล้ว ทำให้ตนพลาดโอกาสขายเหรียญทั้งสองประเภทนี้ออกไป ซึ่งตนรู้สึกเสียดายโอกาสอย่างมาก

จากกรณีดังกล่าว แสดงให้เห็นว่านักลงทุนควรติดตามข่าวสารและประกาศต่างๆ จากแพลตฟอร์มซื้อขายคริปโทเคอเรนซี่อย่างสม่ำเสมอ เพื่อไม่ให้พลาดโอกาสในการทำกำไรหรือป้องกันความเสี่ยง

ลิ้งค์ เนื้อหาประกาศ https://support.bitkub.com/th/support/solutions/articles/151000175072-%e0%b8%81%e0%b8%b2%e0%b8%a3%e0%b9%80%e0%b8%9e%e0%b8%b4%e0%b8%81%e0%b8%96%e0%b8%ad%e0%b8%99%e0%b9%80%e0%b8%ab%e0%b8%a3%e0%b8%b5%e0%b8%a2%e0%b8%8d-wanchain-wan-%e0%b9%81%e0%b8%a5%e0%b8%b0-omg-network-omg-%e0%b8%ad%e0%b8%ad%e0%b8%81%e0%b8%88%e0%b8%b2%e0%b8%81%e0%b8%9a%e0%b8%b4%e0%b8%97%e0%b8%84%e0%b8%b1%e0%b8%9a-%e0%b9%80%e0%b8%ad%e0%b9%87%e0%b8%81%e0%b8%8b%e0%b9%8c%e0%b9%80%e0%b8%8a%e0%b8%99%e0%b8%88%e0%b9%8c

@ 4ba8e86d:89d32de4

É um espaço de áudio de código aberto projetado para facilitar bate-papos, brainstorming, debates, jamming, microconferências e muito mais.

Nostr Plebs é uma equipe dedicada a fornecer serviços e soluções para o protocolo Nostr e o ecossistema Nostr maior. Sua missão é oferecer suporte aos entusiastas do Bitcoin, pois a Nostr Plebs é feita por Bitcoiners, para Bitcoiners.

Para obter mais informações sobre o projeto NostrNests, você pode visitar o repositório oficial em https://git.semisol.dev/nostrplebs/nests?ref=nobsbitcoin.com.

Além disso, no site https://nostrnests.com, você pode conferir quais espaços estão ao vivo no momento e participar deles.

@ ba40a919:d1ca8326

In the ever-evolving landscape of Bitcoin, where the scalability, efficiency and self-sovereignty are always paramount, the proposal for Cross-Input Signature Aggregation (CISA) emerges as a logical next step in the journey towards optimizing the network. CISA holds the potential for significant reductions in transaction sizes, coupled with notable fee savings and enhanced user privacy, making it a compelling candidate for the next possible Bitcoin soft fork.

Efficiency and scalability optimization

One of the primary benefits of CISA lies in its potential to revolutionize Bitcoin transactions. The way the transactions can be optimized with CISA is how they can be constructed. Often single Bitcoin transactions have multiple inputs, like this:

Each of those transaction inputs are outputs of earlier transactions (they're called unspent transaction outputs or UTXOs). At the moment, every input has its own individual signature, and that makes it to consume valuable blockspace and contribute to transaction fee when sending Bitcoin transactions. With CISA, only one signature is be needed per transaction, even if it involves multiple inputs, resulting in significant transaction size reduction and fee savings. Example:

(CISA offers a way to construct transactions with multiple inputs that are indistinguishable from single input transactions)

This way CISA enables how transactions can be constructed would not only reduce the costs in transaction fees but also enhance the level of efficiency and scalability of the Bitcoin network as more transactions can be included in blocks.

Privacy, freedom and self-sovereignty optimizations

The impact of CISA extends further to the realm of CoinJoins, where multiple inputs are combined in a single transaction for privacy-enhancing purposes. CoinJoins often incur higher fees due to the need for individual signatures on each input. With CISA in place, CoinJoins will become more cost-effective, potentially making privacy-enhanced transactions cheaper and even more fee-efficient than standard transactions.

It can be even argued that CISA will inevitably drive a surge in the adoption of privacy-centric practices like never seen before, as users generally tend to gravitate towards the most cost-effective transaction methods and cheapest ways to do commerce. If CoinJoin emerges as the optimal choice, then privacy-enhanced transactions could become the standard while significantly contributing to a more secure and confidential Bitcoin ecosystem in even broader spectrum.

Other benefits and optimizations

Additionally, CISA opens up new possibilities for consolidating and constructing UTXOs of small denominations. UTXOs with low amounts of satoshis could be consolidated or spent efficiently, without having to worry about the their impact to block space or transaction fees. This feature could be particularly advantageous for optimizing wallet management and minimizing blockchain "bloat".

It's important to note that while CISA presents these compelling advantages, its benefits are exclusive to UTXOs on Taproot addresses. Legacy or SegWit addresses wouldn't directly benefit from this optimization. Nonetheless, the potential impact of CISA on transaction fees, user privacy, and network efficiency makes it a powerful proposal that merits consideration as a future Bitcoin soft fork. As the community continues to explore and research innovative solutions like CISA, we're building transformative steps towards unlocking the full potential of the Bitcoin network what comes to on-chain transaction size- and privacy optimizations.

Read more about CISA and what it could mean for Bitcoin:

https://github.com/BlockstreamResearch/cross-input-aggregation https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/106241/what-is-cross-input-signature-aggregation-and-how-would-it-work https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/the-future-of-bitcoin-privacy-cross

bitcoin #cisa #privacy #scalability #freedom #soft #fork

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

It occurred to me while walking Oscar this morning what might happen.

If there’s not enough bank reserves to cover everyone’s deposits, and people become aware of what that means, not just as a vague concept, but concretely, they will want to withdraw their funds. After all, even Bernie Madoff’s clients could get their money out early, before the rest of them had caught on and tried to do the same.

It’s not as simple as withdrawing money, however, because you have to put it somewhere. If you put it in another bank, you’re speculating that bank has the reserves to cover you or, once there’s sufficient consolidation of deposits among a few large banks, they won’t start dictating the terms of how you can use your money.

(Remember Twitter and Facebook didn’t start restricting what you could say until the network effects were large enough that they had monopolies of sorts. Do you really trust the banks not to do the same when there’s no serious alternative other than the last few standing?)

So the question of where to put your money is a difficult one, and personally (even though I opened a small second checking account at Chase last week just in case) I don’t feel great about sending my money there because I know I’m accelerating the process of consolidation and control.)

One alternative is to spend or invest the money. Buy a house or a piece of land or even just live it up at nice restaurants and expensive trips.

Of course, those purchases have their own problems. For one, spending the money is well and good, but most people prefer to have some savings set aside for when they really need it. While the hedonistic purchases are better than getting rugged by Madoff, they don’t solve the core problem.

Real estate has been good for a lot of people, but any property you’d want is likely to be expensive, and then there’s maintenance, property taxes and other ongoing expenses. Yes, you could rent it out, but then you’re a landlord in a bad economy (which is a job many don’t want), and if you hire someone to manage it, that adds another significant expense.

You could invest in stocks — and people do — but the economy is bad, and without knowing how much of the money that props them up is actually people’s deposits that ultimately might not be accessible, it’s hard to know how far they could fall. In other words, a person with a $10M stock portfolio and $1M in bank deposits surely will sell stock if a bank run reveals that the $1M he uses to pay his bills was merely some bits on his computer screen and not actually redeemable in full. Imagine thousands of such people being forced stock sellers to pay bills and consider where the market would be in that case. Both the stock and real estate markets.

The problem generally with spending money you’d prefer to save or investing in instruments on which you have no interest in speculating is you’re using money just to salvage some value from it rather than calmly keeping it in reserve for something important. You’re taking risk when you simply want storage, and/or buying and consuming more than you otherwise would.

Of course, you could just keep most of your money in physical cash, but that has obvious risks — theft or even flooding and fire — not to mention you have to deliver it personally rather than electronically, and you will look awfully suspicious attempting to buy a house with physical cash. And that’s not even considering the debasement of that cash via inflation which if properly measured (taking into account housing, higher education and health care, rather than just CPI) might be 15 or 20 percent per year now.

You could put your money in bonds. Treasury Bills are paying decent rates finally, and the US government, though not without counterparty risk, might be the one counterparty that has to exist for any of the other investments to have value. So many people reason the US is good for it, and if they’re not good for it, we’re screwed anyway, so there’s nothing else I could have done to preserve my wealth.

The problem is that assumes the default risk is non-payment rather than inflation. The US could plausibly avoid default by printing money. In that case your $100K 30-year T-Bill earning you five percent ($5K per year nominally) might be a terrible investment if in two years $5K is only worth $1K in today’s money via inflation. And good luck selling the T-Bill for anything close to what you paid if the US goes on a printing spree. Who wants to buy an instrument that locks in a five percent return in the face of 20 or 50 percent annual inflation? Your real return is negative 15 percent at best.

You could buy shorter-term bonds, but being locked in for two years — or even three months — is disastrous in hyperinflation. And hyperinflation is a plausible (maybe even the most likely) outcome for a system that can’t pay its debts.

Another option is gold. But that too has problems. For starters, if you have a third party store your gold, the better an inflation hedge it is, the greater the incentive of the third party to abscond with it. Second, you have to ascertain whether the gold you own is actually pure or even gold at all, and that requires third parties and special equipment. Third, it’s hard to buy things with physical gold and even harder to transact remotely with it. It’s expensive to send and secure. And while unlike physical cash it can’t be destroyed or easily debased (if the price went up enough, people would put resources into mining more of it), it can be stolen. Not many people I know want to have millions of dollars worth of gold in their closets.

In summary, once the counterparty risk posed by the fractional reserve banking system is exposed — and it’s being exposed now — there will be a strong incentive to get your money out. But while some will spend it, and others will gamble on risky investments, there will be massive demand for a safe place just to store it.

And lest you think printing by the Federal Reserve can solve the problem, it can’t. Because the core problem isn’t that there aren’t enough reserves to cover the deposits, it’s that there aren’t enough goods and services to cover the perceived purchasing power represented by those deposits.

For what are goods and services but commodities, energy, technology and labor? And if we consider labor as a kind of human energy and commodities as a kind of stored energy (Einstein showed matter was energy), and technology as techniques to more efficiently extract and distribute energy, we start to understand that it’s a problem of the available energy in the world not being commensurate with the claims on it via bank deposits.

In other words, the world’s ledgers attesting to the amount of power due each person are overstating it. The purchasing power you think you have is only there if you’re early to exercise it. People have traded their labor, managed their savings, set up their lives in exchange for access to this power in the future, and those managing the power have siphoned off so much of it for themselves and their cronies, what is promised can never be delivered.

And now there is a race between those who are catching on and want to pull whatever energy they have from the system and those who will try gradually to reduce their claims and normalize this theft of power so that what people imagine they have more accurately matches with what’s actually available.

One way to do this is by discouraging power consumption. Just like that 1980s guru who convinced people to donate their wealth for spiritual enlightenment and then spent it on Rolls Royces, those in power now urge you to abstain from driving and flying while they navigate the globe in private jets. They want you to eat cheap, mass-produced grains and insects in exchange for a sense of virtue. Instead of spiritual enlightenment, you are “saving the planet.” Now euthanasia is available in Canada — a great resource saver! — and people are increasingly encouraged to transition to other genders, often destroying their capacity to reproduce. Fewer people means fewer claims on resources, which delays or avoids the reckoning for those who have been skimming off the top.

While the global movement to reduce consumption is one tack to avoid accountability for draining resources, the other I alluded to above: Getting deposits sufficiently consolidated into a few banks that serve as more easily controlled conduits to a central bank — kind of a soft CBDC setup — wherein what you can withdraw and for what purpose can easily be regulated and surveilled.

The current system with lots of regional banks and credit unions is a problem because if the four biggest banks started unduly restricting what customers could do with their funds, people would flee them en masse. But if and when there are no viable alternatives, control over spending and withdrawing (especially if the reason is a good one like “saving the planet”, “preventing terrorism” or not platforming “hate speech”) would also serve to obfuscate the core problem, again, the mismatch between the amount of power we’ve been told we have vs. how much is actually available.

(There is a parallel process happening with respect to rights too. If we learned anything from the covid pandemic it’s that there is a mismatch between what we were told are our civil and human rights via the US Constitution and what are our actual rights once the government unilaterally and arbitrarily declares a state of emergency.)

But back to the present, rather than the dystopian future to which it could lead, instead of an old school physical cash bank run, we might have a digital cash/credit-purchasing run (in some sense that’s already happened with real estate, stocks, higher education and healthcare). Yes, they could make the money available to you via inflation, but withdrawing the nominal amount isn’t going to make more real estate, goods and services appear, so those higher nominal amounts will just translate into higher prices, accelerating the bank run even more.

Now you might have noticed a contradiction between on the one hand stocks being risky investments because people will need to sell them to raise cash once they get rugged on their bank deposits, and on the other, stocks being inflated due to money printing. Which is is?

It’s both. The best analogy I’ve heard is when your car starts to hydroplane on a wet road, and you’re headed toward a tree off the right side of it, there is a far greater chance you go off the cliff on the left side than had you not started hydroplaning at all. That’s because it’s the loss of traction and control that puts you at risk of swerving off either side of the road (your frantic reaction is also part of it.) Once you’ve lost contact, both outcomes are plausible.

Because the bank deposits don’t match up with the reserves, there is not nearly enough actual money in the system to justify the current prices for stocks, bonds and real estate. Those levels assumed demand as though the banks were good for all the money represented therein. As such, those markets should plummet into a deflationary collapse. But because a deflationary collapse is so devastating and confidence destroying, the government will want to do everything it can to prevent it. We’re skidding toward a tree, so the Fed swerves hard in the other direction by guaranteeing all the deposits and vowing to print the difference. Now the car swerves to the other side of the road off an inflationary cliff.

Why can’t the Fed just regain control of the car and keep it in the center of the road? Because when a central authority can arbitrarily print money there is no longer real-life traction between the perceived purchasing-power represented by the digital bits in their accounts and their actual purchasing power in goods and services. That snug connection between tread and asphalt has been suspended by a layer of water. Once it’s gone, you can try to get lucky and stay in the center of the road, but there is no longer anything in reality anchoring it.

What people need and for which there is a massive demand is an instrument that can’t be arbitrarily inflated or debased by a central authority, that has no counterparty risk, that’s easy to verify, that can’t easily be stolen or taken by force, that’s durable over time and cheaply transmissible over distance, that doesn’t have ongoing maintenance costs and that doesn’t require an undue amount of time and effort to manage.

In short, there is a demand for money that actually does what it’s purported to do. And of course that money is Bitcoin.

It would be awfully ironic that if in trying to consolidate final control to cover for the decades of skimming and theft, the central bankers and policy makers inadvertently drove everyone into a money they can’t control and accidentally ushered humanity into an era of unprecedented freedom and prosperity, a real-life Gollum, biting off Frodo’s finger, and dropping the ring into the fires of Mordor.

@ 064a50cc:2dd653e5

Entrepreneurship is getting more popular day by day, leading to an increase in rising startups. But how many of them actually succeed? Probably a very small number. In the present competitive environment, nurturing startups proves to be a challenging task that necessitates a major time, effort, and resource commitment.

In this blog, we’re about to plunge headfirst into the dynamic world of MVP development, unfurling before you a handpicked anthology of the top 10 app development firms. These are the true maestros, specialists in the art of rapidly manifesting MVPs that capture the essence of your ideas and bring them to life with unprecedented precision and flair.

Top 10 MVP Development Companies

1. Agicent:

1- Concept Development: Crafting and refining the core concept of the MVP, aligning it with the target audience’s needs.

2- Wireframing and Prototyping: Creating visual representations of the MVP’s user interface, enabling clients to visualize the product’s flow and functionality.

3- App Development: Executing the development process, focusing on the core functionalities that address the identified problem.

Agicent’s MVP development services commence at a competitive price point of $2,900 per month. Additionally, Agicent offers a free consultation session to collaboratively assess client requirements and devise a tailored MVP strategy.

Stack: Leveraging React Native, Flutter, Ionic, Xamarin, and Angular MVP Development Time: A swift 3-4 weeks to deliver a functional MVP Established: A decade of experience since its inception in 2010 Team Size: An impressive team comprising over 200 professionals

2. Appinventiv:

Appinventiv is a mobile app development company that also offers MVP development services. They have a talented staff of MVP developers who can create MVPs for iOS, Android, and web platforms. With a team of seasoned developers, Appinventiv crafts MVPs across iOS, Android, and web platforms. Their success story, which spans several sectors and clientele, demonstrates their adaptability and knowledge. They have a remarkable portfolio of more than a thousand applications. Above all, Appinventiv’s client-centric approach promotes cooperation, communication, and a sincere commitment to turning original ideas into appealing MVPs.

Stack: React Native, Flutter, Ionic, Xamarin, Angular MVP development time: 8-10 weeks Established in: 2014 Team size: 1000+

3. Contus:

Contus emerges as a standout MVP development company that has earned a reputation for its exceptional ability to unlock innovation through its MVP development services. With a firm belief in the power of cutting-edge technology and industry-leading practices, Contus boasts a team of skilled MVP developers who specialize in transforming conceptual ideas into functional prototypes. What sets Contus apart is its meticulous attention to detail, user-centric design, and seamless development process. This approach ensures that every MVP developed by Contus not only meets client specifications but also resonates with the target audience.

Stack: JavaScript, Angular, React.js, Java, Python, PHP, Lumen MVP development time: 4+ months Established in: 2008 Team size: 300+

4. Brainhub:

Brainhub stands tall as a premier MVP development company, known for its exceptional prowess in crafting MVPs that set the stage for scalable ventures. With a team of experienced MVP developers at its helm, Brainhub excels in creating lean yet impactful MVPs that capture the essence of a product. The company’s dedication to agile methodologies, rapid iteration, and robust coding practices ensures that each MVP is not just a mere prototype but a strategic stepping stone for future growth. This unique approach combines technical excellence with strategic thinking, making Brainhub a standout choice among MVP development companies.

Stack: JavaScript, React Native, React.js, Node.js, .NET MVP development time: unknown Established in: 2015 Team size: 51-200+

5. Future Processing:

Future Processing has solidified its position as a trailblazing MVP development company, celebrated for its forward-thinking approach to product development. Their team of highly skilled MVP developers harnesses their deep technical knowledge to transform abstract concepts into tangible MVPs that speak to the market.

One of Future Processing’s defining strengths lies in its commitment to comprehensive market analysis, user-centered design, and efficient development cycles. This approach guarantees that each MVP is equipped to meet user needs and market demands.

Stack: Java, Angular, .NET, C++, PHP, Python, Node.js, MVP development time: 3+ months Established in: 2000 Team size: 1000+

6. SoluLab:

SoluLab has carved a niche for itself as a trusted MVP development company, renowned for its skill in transforming ideas into impactful Minimum Viable Products. What sets SoluLab apart is its team of MVP developers who are not only adept at coding but also well-versed in the art of translating concepts into user-friendly prototypes.

SoluLab’s approach revolves around seamless collaboration, rapid development, and thorough quality assurance, ensuring that each MVP perfectly aligns with the client’s vision and business objectives.

Stack: C++, Python, Swift, Node.js MVP development time: unknown Established in: 2014 Team size: 101-250+

7. PurpleFire:

PurpleFire emerges as a dynamic MVP app development company that excels in igniting success for startups and established enterprises alike. The core strength of PurpleFire lies in its team of MVP developers who thrive on innovation, turning app ideas into captivating digital experiences. Through a meticulous process of iterative design, seamless development, and rigorous testing, PurpleFire crafts MVPs that not only boast impressive features but also offer a user-friendly interface.

Stack: JavaScript, Python, Node.js, Vue.js MVP development time: unknown Established in: 2012 Team size: 51-200+

8. Atta Systems:

Atta Systems distinguishes itself as a precise and expert MVP development company, specializing in crafting MVPs with the utmost precision and expertise. The company’s team of seasoned MVP developers approaches every project with meticulous planning, rapid prototyping, and flawless execution.

Stack: Angular, React, Vue.js, Flutter, React Native MVP development time: 1+ month Established in: 2015 Team size: 11-50+

9. Appingine:

Appingine thrives as a prominent MVP development company, celebrated for its ability to accelerate success through its MVP development services. The company’s skilled MVP developers excel in creating MVPs that go beyond mere functionality to encapsulate core features and engage users effectively.

Stack: Flutter, Java, Swift MVP development time: 3+ months Established in: 2008 Team size: 101-250+

10. Alphonic Network:

Alphonic Network stands as a dependable MVP development company, esteemed for its expertise in building strong foundations for digital products. With a dedicated team of MVP developers, Alphonic Network excels in transforming conceptual ideas into tangible MVPs that perfectly align with the client’s objectives.

Stack: PHP, Laravel, Angular.js, React Native MVP development time: 1+ month Established in: 2013 Team size: 60+

Conclusion:

MVP development is a critical step in the product development process. By creating an MVP, you can test your idea, validate your market, and gather feedback from users. This information can help you make informed decisions about your product development process and make sure that you are building a product that meets the needs of your target market.

Source: https://www.agicent.com/blog/best-app-development-companies-to-build-rapid-mvp/#Top_10_MVP_Development_Companies

@ dc98b0b7:a2e0daa0

﷽

هذا هو عنواني الجديد. على شبكة لا مركزية!

This is my new address. On a decentralized network.

@ 50100762:49b4cf23

Every year, millions of people around the world are involved in car accidents, many of which are preventable. Understanding the root causes of these accidents is crucial in reducing their frequency and ensuring road safety for all.

The infographic below provides an in-depth analysis of various behaviors that significantly increase the risk of accidents on the road. These behaviors include:

• Distracted Driving: Anything that takes a driver’s attention away from the road, including mobile phone use, eating, or changing the radio station, is considered distracted driving and is often cited as one of the leading causes of road accidents.

• Speeding: Exceeding speed limits or driving too fast for road conditions can cause severe accidents.

• Driving Under the Influence: Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs impairs judgment and reaction times, making it a deadly behavior.

• Aggressive Driving: Behaviors like tailgating, erratic lane changes, and road rage endanger the aggressive driver and others on the road.

• Fatigue: Often underestimated, driving while tired can be as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Understanding and following safe driving practices is crucial for a safer road. Check out our visual guide to discover easy-to-follow tips to help you avoid risky behaviors and protect yourself and others on the road.

In need of professional legal aid? RMD Law's leading auto accident lawyers in Orange County are your solution for comprehensive post-accident assistance.

@ 064a50cc:2dd653e5

In today's digital age, mobile applications are an integral part of our daily lives. Whether it's for entertainment, productivity, or solving specific problems, there's an app for almost everything. With the ever-growing demand for innovative mobile applications, businesses and entrepreneurs alike are constantly on the lookout for the top app development companies to turn their ideas into reality.

In this blog post, we will take a closer look at some of the top app development companies in 2023, highlighting their achievements, expertise, and what sets them apart from the rest of the competition.

**1- Agicent: **

At Agicent, we understand that the key to app success lies in seamlessly meeting user needs. Our approach prioritizes a deep understanding of your requirements, serving as the foundation for user-friendly and functional apps. With a decade of industry experience, our seasoned team stays at the forefront of mobile app development trends, ensuring your app's innovation and excellence.

1. Client-Centric Approach: We prioritize the client experience above all else. Our method involves deep dives into your target audience's preferences and behaviors, ensuring our apps resonate with them, resulting in high client engagement and satisfaction.

2. Innovative Solutions: Our extensive portfolio showcases not just our ability to deliver apps but also innovative solutions tailored to specific industry needs. We understand that each business is unique, and our solutions reflect that understanding.

3. Cross-Platform Excellence: Whether it's iOS, Android, or cross-platform development, we excel in creating apps that seamlessly perform across various devices and operating systems, expanding your reach and maximizing your app's potential.

2- Appinventiv:

Appinventiv is a renowned player in mobile app development, known for its expertise in crafting mobile applications for diverse enterprises. With a portfolio of over 10,000 successful applications for businesses of all sizes and sectors, they offer a comprehensive range of services covering all phases of app development, making them the go-to choice for organizations entering the mobile space.

3- Goji Labs:

Goji Labs stands out as a prominent player in mobile app development, specializing in creating exceptional apps for iOS and Android platforms. Their commitment to excellence sets them apart, with a team of skilled and experienced developers who are passionate about designing user-friendly and innovative apps.

4- Tack Mobile:

Tack Mobile specializes in crafting top-notch mobile applications tailored to businesses of all sizes. Their team of experienced developers excels in various mobile technologies, ensuring they meet the diverse corporate needs.

5- Designli:

Designli is a versatile app development company specializing in tailor-made apps for businesses of all sizes. Their skilled team excels in various mobile technologies, including iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, and Xamarin. They have a strong track record of delivering quality apps on time and within budget.

6- Chetu:

Located in Sunrise, Florida, Chetu is a prominent software and app development company in the United States. Their core mission is to provide customized software solutions tailored to specific industries, serving businesses globally. With a blend of technical expertise, industry-specific knowledge, and a commitment to delivering high-quality enterprise solutions, Chetu emerges as a skilled partner in backend technology.

7- GloriumTechnologies:

GloriumTechnologies specializes in designing custom mobile apps for a wide range of businesses. Their team of skilled developers possesses deep expertise in various mobile technologies, striving to deliver an outstanding client experience. Their track record of producing high-quality, on-time, and budget-friendly apps speaks for itself.

8- Suffescom:

Suffescom Solutions excels in creating top-tier mobile apps designed to cater to businesses of all sizes. Their team consists of seasoned developers with expertise in various mobile technologies, ensuring a wide-ranging skill set. Their commitment is to provide clients with an outstanding mobile app development experience, underscored by a strong track record of delivering high-quality apps on time and within budget.

9- WillowTree:

WillowTree has established itself as a leader in mobile app development, with expertise in iOS, Android, and web applications. They have collaborated with clients like National Geographic and PepsiCo, consistently delivering high-quality apps.

10- Intellectsoft:

Intellectsoft is a global app development company with a strong focus on enterprise-level solutions. They excel in custom software development. They have a strong presence in healthcare, finance, and logistics sectors.

Conclusion:

The world of app development is dynamic and ever-evolving. These top app development companies have consistently demonstrated their expertise, creativity, and commitment to delivering cutting-edge mobile applications. When choosing an app development partner, it's essential to consider your specific needs, project scope, and budget. Researching and partnering with one of these top companies can be a significant step toward turning your app idea into a successful reality.

Source: https://www.agicent.com/blog/top-app-development-companies/

@ 9810d9af:b3f2bf82

Chef's notes

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 60
• 🍳 Cook time: 30
• 🍽️ Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground pork
• 1¹/² cups finely chopped onions
• 1½ cups finely chopped chayote squash or sweet potato
• 1½ cups finely chopped jicama (or other root veg)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 50 lumpia or spring roll wrap (about 7"x7")
• Hot chilli in oil is optional
• Plum sauce is favourite dip
• 1 large egg
• Generous pinch of sea salt
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• ¹/² cup bread crumbs

Directions

1. In a large bowl or pot, blend all ingredients together mixing in with the ground meat throughly. Add bread crumbs as needed to thicken into a good paste.
2. Have a small dish on the side for dipping finger tips in water. Set up a work station with large cutting board or smooth surface. Set up the wraps by having them thawed from frozen and transferring them from packaging to a plate with a damp paper towel over pile of sheets. This will keep them fresh and prevent hardening too early.
3. Pour some warm water onto a plate and add a dash of flour or cornstarch to mix in, creating a kind of glue for your lumpia wraps!
4. Now the fun part! - Splash some water ("glue" mix) onto your clean, flat surface.
5. Carefully separate 2 sheets of wraps and place flat on the watered surface (in a diamond shape ideally)
6. Using a fork or spoon, scoop up about 1.5 table spoons of your meat/veg/spice mix into the center of the wrap. Try to create a 3" x 1" shape that is long left to right and form it solid and uniform as possible
7. Lift the bottom corner (nearest to you) of the wraps and fold over the meat, tucking under meat as tightly as possible.
8. Roll wrap and meat together about half way, fold in the sides. (you might need to splash more water on the corners or in folds if you find it is not sticking, be careful though bc it can over saturate and then your are F'd.
9. Complete the rolling and follow through while trying to keep sides near and secure. Some times I toss some flour in and around the final corner to add more stickiness.
10. Lay the completed rolled piece in a tupperware container and continue until you have amount desired.
11. *IT GETS EASIER AS YOU DEVELOP YOUR OWN TECHNIQUES, be patient and take your time.
12. Preheat your over/oil/airfryer Whip up an egg in a bowl and add a dash of milk or cream. Add pinch of salt and stir.
13. Spread some parchment paper on a strong baking sheet, spray with cooking spray.
14. brush all sides and around both end folds of each roll with generous coating of egg wash
15. Place on greased pan if oven baking (this is easiest and yields about 18-20 pieces quickly)
16. Bake uncovered, in oven, and on middle rack @400°F for about 15 min. Then turn all pieces over and bake for about another 15min.
17. Once all pieces are golden brown and crispy, remove from oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack.
18. Dipping sauce is whatever you like, but plum sauce is most appealing along with a hot chilli paste. Also can simply serve chopped on sticky rice.
19. If freezing pieces raw then do so quickly after rolling them. For best freezer storing results, lay them out separately when you put in freezer to grab a few at a time in order to keep them from blocking together.

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

To decentralize governance and encourage the involvement of early users, decentralized financial infrastructure protocols are increasingly resorting to token airdrops. The majority of the time, projects will "retroactively" grant these airdrops, which means that they will do so depending on the amount of time that you have spent using their services in the past.

As a result, this strategy will describe a number of new protocols that you may test out right now in order to position yourself for the possibility of receiving retro token payouts in the future!

• Goal: Identify untokenized methods to possibly leverage on future airdrops

• Skill: Beginner

• Effort: Medium

• Return on investment (ROI): Varies based on the procedure and your exercise levels.

It’s Raining Coins

If you are familiar with the crypto space and know where to search!

Back in January, I wrote the first "How to Earn Token Airdrops" instruction that was available on the Bankless platform. Despite the fact that the jury is still out on some of the initiatives that I covered, I did get certain things right, such as the dYdX and SuperRare airdrops.

What would the format of that guide be if I were to write it today? What are some of the most exciting initiatives now underway that have the potential to give out free tokens to its participants in the not-too-distant future?

I'm going to make some educated guesses about the answers to these questions in my revised V2 guide. As a result, here you'll find an overview of over 25 fascinating projects spanning decentralized finance, non-fungible tokens, and other domains that could ultimately perform airdrops, along with relevant information and instructions.

Words of Wisdom

Given all that has transpired over the course of the last year, it is plausible to draw the conclusion that airdrops are on their way to becoming regular operating procedures for nascent DeFi programs. Although there is still some work to be done to optimize these airdrops from the standpoint of the project (such as making them Sybil Resistant), at this moment, the majority of projects will consider participating in an airdrop if they already have an established product with consumers.

Having said all of that, one does not need to be a rocket scientist to forecast that there will be a significant increase in the number of airdrops that take place in the near future. The point is? The majority of individuals do not have a lot of time and infinite money to invest in each and every DeFi project that could one day issue a token.

Consequently, efficiency is the name of the game: determining which projects to concentrate on (for example, is there a non-trivial possibility that a certain protocol will launch a token over the next six to twelve months?) and with what sort of size (i.e how much money to deposit to balance risk with potential reward).

In regard to the first point, you can often uncover a team's or community's token plans to lead you through the process with just a little bit of investigation. For example, only lately, ParaSwap indicated that it does not intend to do any airdrops. On the other hand, MetaMask only just made public its willingness to consider the possibility of someday launching its own native coin.

As a result of this, you could wish to start engaging in some cryptocurrency swaps using MetaMask as an illustration. Even while there is no assurance that a token will appear in the near future, at least we now know that it is there on the playing field, and we may begin to adjust our emphasis appropriately.

Next, in order to be eligible for an airdrop, what level of interaction with an untokenized procedure is required?

This may change depending on the project, but the early golden rule for DeFi is "never deposit more cryptocurrency than you can afford to lose."

What's the upbeat report? As the creator of The Daily Ape, Darren Lau, pointed out a month ago, all it takes is a relatively little amount of money or activity for you to become eligible for a non-trivial airdrop.

25+ crypto projects that might have a future airdrop

25+ crypto projects that might have a future airdrop Here is our updated list of fascinating cryptocurrency projects that have a chance of releasing a token and conducting a backwards-compatible airdrop in the not-too-distant future.

1. Element Finance

March of 2022 has been confirmed.

• Description: "open-source protocol for fixed and variable yield markets" is what Element Finance refers to itself as.

• Resources: Website, Google Documents, Twitter, and Discord

• Why Element: Element Finance has developed a governance architecture that hints to the inevitable creation of a native Element coin in the near future.

• Strategy based on airdropping: Both the Earn app and the Save app developed by Element Finance are considered to be the company's main products. If you use any of these apps, you may be eligible for an upcoming airdrop.

2. Hop Protocol

*Confirmed in May 2021: HOP has declared that it will be doing an airdrop as part of its ongoing efforts to begin transitioning towards DAO governance.

• Description: It now supports bridging assets between Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and xDai. Hop Protocol is a token bridge protocol that makes it easy to transmit ETH and ERC-20 tokens across blockchains and rollups.

• Resources: Website, Google Documents, Twitter, and Discord

• Why Hop: In the past, the team working on the project has said that "any formal statements concerning the protocol will come straight from the Hop team on the official Hop channels" when referring to the possibility of a Hop coin.

Like ParaSwap, if Hop had no intentions for a token, the company would probably simply come out and say so.

• Strategy based on airdropping: Check out hop.exchange and either 1) become a Hop liquidity provider using the Pool dashboard or 2) utilize the Send dashboard to bridge assets from one chain to another. Both of these options are available on the site.

3. DeFi Saver

• Description: It's been described as a "one-stop dashboard for establishing, monitoring, and tracking your DeFi positions," and that's exactly what DeFi Saver is.

• Resources: Website, Google Documents, Twitter, and Discord

• Why DeFi Saver: Regarding a native token, DeFi Saver has been silent up to this point. However, the idea of a curation token, which would allow its holders to vote on and prioritize future protocol integrations, is not completely out of the question.

• Strategy based on airdropping: Examine the Portfolio system or the Recipe Creator offered by Defi Saver.

4. Ondo Finance

Instead of an airdrop, Ondo Finance has stated that there will be a sale of CoinList tokens.

• Description: The "risk markets for decentralized finance" are supported by the Ondo Finance protocol.

• Resources: Website, Google Documents, Twitter, and Discord

• What Sets Ondo Finance Apart: Previous statements made by the Ondo team state that "Ondo does not currently have a token." The key term in this context is "there is at this moment."

• Strategy based on airdropping: Participate in one of Ondo's risk markets (it is important to remember that Ondo's risk markets have certain "open periods" during which participants are accepted).

5. Saddle Finance

*Agreement reached for November 2021:

In an effort to completely transition towards DAO governance, Saddle has distributed SDL tokens through an airdrop.

• Description: "designed for pegged value crypto assets such as stablecoins and wrapped BTC," Saddle is a decentralized exchange for cryptocurrencies.

• Resources: Website, Google Documents, Twitter, and Discord

• Why Saddle: Although it is built in Solidity rather than Vyper, Saddle is essentially a modification of the Stableswap technology that Curve uses. When CRV is taken into consideration, it is not a reach to believe that Saddle will someday have its own token as well.

Strategy based on airdropping: Participate in the trading of tokens via the exchange, as well as act as a liquidity provider.

That's all for today, see ya tomorrow

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@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

The complicity between the drug lords and political leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly Cuba, were key to the rise, positioning, and expansion of the Colombian cartels in the 1980s, as described in "Vida y muerte del cartel de Medellín" ("Life and Death of the Medellín Cartel"), the book published by Penguin Random House, featuring the memoirs of one of its former bosses, Carlos Lehder.

At just 24 years old, Lehder had resources and capital beyond money, that is, education, culture, mastery of other languages, an American visa, and the ability and knowledge of how to move internationally. Nearly 50 years later, including 33 years in a United States prison, the Colombian of German father now resides in Frankfurt: "contrite, rehabilitated, law-abiding and, at last, free," he says.

Carlos Lehder, one of the most visible figures of the Medellín cartel, reports for the first time the multimillion-dollar economic relationships they established, he and his partners, with the Governments of Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, and the Bahamas. The leaders of these nations did not hide their hunger for dollars and their eagerness to participate to some extent in the great drug business and its benefits. The cartels bought the revolutionary complicity of Castro's Cuba or Sandinista Nicaragua.

>Carlos Lehder reports for the first time the multimillion-dollar economic relationships they established, he and his partners, with the Governments of Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, and the Bahamas

The young narco early understood the importance of relationships with power to expand the business and extend the criminal empire through the conquest and control of territories via "drug diplomacy" and the seduction of political power. Lehder had his kingdom in the Bahamas and Pablo Escobar in Panama. Later, Nicaragua became a safer destination, much more so thanks to the emerging revolutionary Government.

For almost eight years, Lehder was the lord and master of drug trafficking in the Bahamas, according to what the Colombian magazine Semana collects from the memoirs of the former drug lord. It was the declaration of war by President Ronald Reagan against drugs that fractured his alliance with the authorities of that archipelago, just 170 kilometers from Miami. He returned to Colombia and made progress with Fidel Castro's Cuba. In Havana, they opened the doors to him and practically rolled out the red carpet: "we need dollars," they told him.

The Cuban power allied itself with Pablo Escobar and Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, alias El Mexicano, thanks to Lehder's negotiating skill, who narrates that "the Castro dictatorship, through the intelligence agency and special operations of Havana," extended "a formal invitation to visit the island, with all expenses paid by the Government."

He was received on his first "business" trip by "a group of officers dressed in civilian clothes." He recounts: "In a waiting room we met the leaders of this mission, led by Colonel Antonio de la Guardia, head of the Corporación Cimex, 'special operations' agency of the Castro dictatorship."

Lehder clarified that he needed Cuba for drug smuggling and the response was swift. They opened the door for that immense business: "For now, I can only confirm that we need all the dollars we can get," supposedly said Tony de la Guardia.

They authorized him to use "Cayo Largo, an island twenty kilometers long, with a good airstrip, located forty kilometers from the port of Cienfuegos." The Cimex "needed to receive five million dollars in cash to cover the Government's expenses." In exchange, they offered him "the rooms he requires on the second floor of the hotel to reside there with his workers; in addition, we will open the kitchen. We do not know how much cocaine you will bring to the island, but the more the better; we would just have to negotiate the landed price per kilo."

Lehder wanted a direct relationship with the Castros and asked to be introduced to Raúl, then minister of Defense. Prior to the meeting, he received instructions: "Protocol mandates strict respect for time. It is four minutes maximum for a handshake, courtesy phrase, and farewell. You will not mention your own name."

They took away his passport, led him to a room and, after being announced, "a man with glasses who, looking at me smartly and intently, told me: 'Pleased to meet you, welcome to free Cuba,' greeted me and extended his cold hand with the icy gesture of the tycoon greeting a shoeshine boy," cites Semana.

The laconic words of Raúl Castro, which apparently had nothing to do with the business, sealed the mafioso deal. "Here in Cuba we have achieved a lot of progress in education, medicine, and agriculture. Our trade is growing, despite the Yankee blockade; the Cuban Revolution is invincible. Enjoy your stay. You may leave," is extracted from Lehder's memoirs.

>The laconic words of Raúl Castro, which apparently had nothing to do with the business, sealed the mafioso deal

Many shipments were made to the Island. Colonel De la Guardia transferred them from there to the Bahamas. Lehder maintained contacts and complicity with the political power in both places. The business flourished with direct participation from Fidel Castro's surroundings, until the suspicions of the United States intelligence services forced the regime to suspend those operations. The dictator himself decided to prosecute and execute, in 1989, four of the officers involved, including General Arnaldo Ochoa and Tony de la Guardia.

Ten years earlier, Lehder had become interested in Nicaragua, where the Sandinista guerrilla took power, led by Daniel Ortega and supported by Havana. In Managua, they gave him the highest level diplomatic treatment. He was received by Tomás Borge, one of the nine commanders of the Revolution and powerful minister of the Interior.

Later, in 1987, Pablo Escobar betrayed Lehder and facilitated his capture by the Colombian authorities, who extradited him to the U.S. He was sentenced to two life sentences but served only 33 years after negotiating a sentence reduction in exchange for his testimony against the former Panamanian dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega in a drug trafficking trial, in 1992 in a federal court in Miami.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

La complicidad entre los capos del narco y los líderes políticos de América Latina y el Caribe, en particular Cuba, fueron claves para el ascenso, posicionamiento y expansión de los carteles colombianos en la década de 1980, según se extrae de Vida y muerte del cartel de Medellín, el libro publicado por Penguin Random House, con las memorias de uno de sus ex jefes, Carlos Lehder.

Con apenas 24 años, Lehder disponía de recursos y capitales más allá del dinero, esto es, educación, cultura, dominio de otros idiomas, visa americana, capacidad y conocimiento de cómo moverse internacionalmente. Transcurridos casi 50 años, incluidos 33 años en una cárcel de Estados Unidos, el colombiano de padre alemán reside ahora en Fráncfort: "contrito, rehabilitado, obediente de las leyes y, por fin, libre", dice.

Carlos Lehder, uno de los actores más visibles del cartel de Medellín, da cuenta, por primera vez, de las relaciones económicas millonarias que establecieron, él y sus socios, con los Gobiernos de Cuba, Panamá, Nicaragua y Bahamas. Los mandatarios de esas naciones no ocultaron su apetencia de dólares y la avidez por participar en alguna medida del gran negocio del narco y sus beneficios. Los carteles compraron la complicidad revolucionaria de la Cuba castrista o la Nicaragua sandinista.

>Carlos Lehder da cuenta, por primera vez, de las relaciones económicas millonarias que establecieron, él y sus socios, con los Gobiernos de Cuba, Panamá, Nicaragua y Bahamas

El joven narco comprendió tempranamente la importancia de las relaciones con el poder para ampliar el negocio y extender el emporio criminal por la vía de la conquista y el dominio de territorios mediante la "diplomacia de la droga" y la seducción del poder político. Lehder tuvo su reino en Bahamas y Pablo Escobar en Panamá. Más adelante, Nicaragua devino en mejor destino, mucho más seguro gracias al emergente Gobierno revolucionario.

Durante casi ocho años, Lehder fue dueño y señor del tráfico de drogas en Bahamas, según recoge la revista colombiana Semana de las memorias del otrora narco. Fue la declaratoria de guerra del presidente Ronald Reagan contra las drogas la que fracturó su alianza con las autoridades de ese archipiélago a tan solo 170 kilómetros de Miami. Regresó a Colombia y avanzó con la Cuba de Fidel Castro. En La Habana le abrieron las puertas y, prácticamente, le extendieron una alfombra roja: "necesitamos dólares", le dijeron.

El poder cubano se asoció con Pablo Escobar y Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, alias El Mexicano, gracias a la habilidad negociadora de Lehder, quien narra que "la dictadura castrista, por intermedio de la agencia de inteligencia y operaciones especiales de La Habana" le extendió "una invitación formal a visitar la isla, con todos los gastos pagos por el Gobierno".

Fue recibido en su primer viaje de "negocios" por "un grupo de oficiales vestidos de civil". Cuenta: "En una sala de espera conocimos a los jefes de esta misión, liderados por el coronel Antonio de la Guardia, jefe de la Corporación Cimex, agencia de 'operaciones especiales' de la dictadura castrista".

Lehder aclaró que necesitaba a Cuba para el contrabando de droga y la respuesta no se hizo esperar. Le abrieron la puerta para ese inmenso negocio: "Por ahora, solamente le puedo confirmar que necesitamos todos los dólares que podamos conseguir", le dijo supuestamente Tony de la Guardia.

Lo autorizaron a usar "Cayo Largo, una isla de veinte kilómetros de extensión, con una buena pista de aterrizaje, ubicada a cuarenta kilómetros del puerto de Cienfuegos". La Cimex "necesitaba recibir cinco millones de dólares en efectivo para cubrir los gastos del Gobierno". A cambio, le ofrecieron "las habitaciones que requiera en el segundo piso del hotel para residir allí con sus trabajadores; además, abriremos la cocina. No sabemos cuánta cocaína usted traerá a la isla, pero mientras más sea, mucho mejor; solo tendríamos que negociar el precio por kilo aterrizado".

Lehder quería una relación directa con los Castro y pidió que le presentaran a Raúl, entonces ministro de la Defensa. Previo al encuentro recibió instrucciones: "El protocolo obliga a respetar estrictamente el tiempo. Son cuatro minutos máximo para saludo de mano, frase de cortesía y despedida. Usted no mencionará su nombre propio".

Le quitaron el pasaporte, lo llevaron a una sala y, tras ser anunciado, apareció "un hombre de gafas que, mirándome astuta y fijamente, me dijo: 'Mucho gusto, bienvenido a Cuba libre', me saludó y me extendió su fría mano con el gesto glacial del potentado que saluda a un lustrabotas", cita Semana.

Las lacónicas palabras de Raúl Castro, que en apariencia nada tenían que ver con el negocio, cerraron el acuerdo mafioso. "Aquí en Cuba hemos logrado muchísimos avances en educación, medicina y agricultura. Nuestro comercio está creciendo, a pesar del bloqueo yanqui; la Revolución cubana es invencible. Disfrute su estadía. Puede retirarse", se extrae de las memorias de Lehder.

>Las lacónicas palabras de Raúl Castro, que en apariencia nada tenían que ver con el negocio, cerraron el acuerdo mafioso

Se hicieron muchos envíos a la Isla. El coronel De la Guardia los trasladaba desde allí hasta Bahamas. Lehder mantenía contactos y complicidad con el poder político en ambos lugares. El negocio florecía con participación directa del entorno de Fidel Castro, hasta que las sospechas de los servicios de inteligencia de Estados Unidos obligaron al régimen a suspender esas operaciones. El propio dictador decidió enjuiciar y fusilar, en 1989, a cuatro de los oficiales implicados, incluyendo el general Arnaldo Ochoa y Tony de la Guardia.

Diez años antes, Lehder empezó a interesarse por Nicaragua, donde tomó el poder la guerrilla sandinista, encabezada por Daniel Ortega y sostenida por La Habana. En Managua le dispensaron trato diplomático al más alto nivel. Lo recibió Tomás Borge, uno de los nueve comandantes de la Revolución y poderoso ministro del Interior.

Más tarde, en 1987, Pablo Escobar traicionó a Lehder y facilitó su captura por las autoridades colombianas, que lo extraditaron a EE UU. Fue condenado a dos cadenas perpetuas, pero cumplió solo 33 años después de negociar una rebaja de pena a cambio de su testimonio contra el ex dictador panameño Manuel Antonio Noriega en un juicio por narcotráfico, en 1992 en un tribunal federal de Miami.

@ 4ba8e86d:89d32de4

Desenvolvido como uma alternativa ao aplicativo oficial do YouTube, o LibreTube permite aos usuários acessar conteúdo de vídeo de forma mais privada, sem anúncios indesejados e com recursos adicionais para uma experiência de visualização aprimorada.

Diferenças para NewPipe.

Com o NewPipe, a extração é feita localmente no seu telefone, e todas as requisições enviadas para o YouTube/Google são feitas diretamente da rede que você está conectado, que não usa um servidor intermediário entre elas. Portanto, o Google ainda pode acessar informações como o endereço IP do usuário. Além disso, as assinaturas só podem ser armazenadas localmente. O LibreTube leva isso um passo adiante e faz o proxy de todas as solicitações via Piped (que usa o NewPipeExtractor). Isso impede que os servidores do Google acessem seu endereço IP ou qualquer outro dado pessoal. Além disso, o Piped permite sincronizar suas assinaturas entre o LibreTube e o Piped, que também podem ser usadas no desktop. Se o NewPipeExtractor quebrar, ele requer apenas uma atualização do Piped e não do próprio LibreTube. Portanto, as correções geralmente chegam mais rápido do que no NewPipe. Enquanto o LibreTube suporta apenas o YouTube, o NewPipe também permite o uso de outras plataformas como SoundCloud, PeerTube, Bandcamp e media.ccc.de. Ambos são ótimos clientes para assistir a vídeos do YouTube. Depende do caso de uso do indivíduo, qual deles se adapta melhor às suas necessidades.

O LibreTube, sendo um projeto de código aberto, coloca em prática os princípios de transparência e liberdade de escolha do usuário. Os usuários têm acesso ao código-fonte e podem examiná-lo, modificá-lo e até mesmo contribuir para o desenvolvimento contínuo do aplicativo. Essa abordagem garante que a comunidade possa trabalhar em conjunto para melhorar a segurança, a privacidade e as funcionalidades do LibreTube ao longo do tempo.

Principais características do LibreTube:

1. Privacidade aprimorada: O LibreTube coloca a privacidade do usuário em primeiro lugar. Ao contrário do aplicativo oficial do YouTube, ele não exige que os usuários façam login em uma conta do Google para acessar o conteúdo de vídeo. Isso significa que você pode aproveitar a experiência de visualização sem compartilhar suas informações pessoais.

2. Bloqueio de anúncios: Assim como o NewPipe, o LibreTube oferece a capacidade de bloquear anúncios em vídeos. Isso permite que os usuários desfrutem de uma experiência de visualização sem interrupções e irritações causadas por anúncios indesejados.

3. Reprodução em segundo plano: Com o LibreTube, você pode reproduzir vídeos em segundo plano, permitindo que você ouça o áudio do vídeo enquanto realiza outras tarefas em seu dispositivo Android. Essa funcionalidade é especialmente útil quando você deseja continuar ouvindo podcasts, músicas ou qualquer outra forma de conteúdo em áudio.

4. Download de vídeos e áudios: O LibreTube permite que você baixe vídeos e áudios diretamente para o armazenamento do seu dispositivo. Você pode escolher a qualidade do vídeo desejada e salvá-lo para assistir offline. Além disso, você pode extrair apenas o áudio dos vídeos e salvá-lo em formatos populares como MP3 ou AAC.

5. Inscrições e notificações: Assim como o aplicativo oficial do YouTube, o LibreTube permite que os usuários se inscrevam nos canais e recebam notificações sobre novos vídeos dos canais que seguem. Dessa forma, você não perderá as atualizações dos seus criadores de conteúdo favoritos.

6. Personalização e interface intuitiva: O LibreTube oferece uma interface intuitiva e fácil de usar, permitindo que os usuários personalizem sua experiência de visualização de acordo com suas preferências. Você pode personalizar a aparência do aplicativo, ajustar as configurações de reprodução, definir suas preferências de notificação e muito mais.

O LibreTube é alimentado pela comunidade de desenvolvedores de software livre, que trabalham constantemente para aprimorar o aplicativo e adicionar novos recursos. A filosofia por trás do projeto é fornecer aos usuários uma alternativa ética e transparente para a visualização de vídeos online, onde a privacidade e a segurança são priorizadas.

Ao optar pelo LibreTube, os usuários podem desfrutar de uma experiência de visualização de vídeos mais personalizada e controlada. Eles têm a liberdade de escolher como desejam interagir com o conteúdo de vídeo, sem se preocupar com a coleta excessiva de dados ou anúncios intrusivos. Além disso, a transparência do código-fonte permite que os usuários verifiquem as práticas de privacidade e segurança do aplicativo, oferecendo uma maior confiança na sua utilização.

O LibreTube está disponível como um aplicativo de código aberto, hospedado no GitHub, permitindo que os usuários interessados contribuam para seu desenvolvimento e personalização. Além disso, o aplicativo pode ser baixado por meio da plataforma F-Droid, que é um repositório de aplicativos de software livre para dispositivos Android.

O LibreTube é uma alternativa de código aberto e ética para a visualização de vídeos online. Ao fornecer privacidade aprimorada, bloqueio de anúncios, reprodução em segundo plano, download de vídeos e áudios, além de recursos de inscrição e notificação, o LibreTube oferece uma experiência de visualização personalizada e controlada para os usuários de dispositivos Android. Com seu compromisso com a transparência e a liberdade de escolha do usuário, o LibreTube destaca-se como uma opção atraente para aqueles que valorizam sua privacidade e desejam uma alternativa mais segura ao aplicativo oficial do YouTube.

https://github.com/libre-tube/LibreTube

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.libretube/

@ 61bca850:3959f743

Dear Family & Friends

Bitcoin. What does it mean to you? Scam? Fad? Bubble? For me, the past few years have been enlightening as I have tried to understand its meaning. Numerous books, hundreds of hours of podcasts and some reflection has boiled the meaning of Bitcoin down to one word for me. Hope. I believe Bitcoin is a discovery with the potential to bring the greatest amount of human flourishing and freedom any of us have seen in our lifetimes. Obviously I realize that’s a pretty bold claim so this piece of writing will attempt to summarize my journey down the rabbit hole in an attempt to provide a basic foundation of knowledge for those closest to me. I’m certainly not a writer, in fact after school I never, ever thought I would write again. It was always an agonizing exercise for me because I was writing about topics I had no interest or connection with. I had nothing to say. Now, I have this overwhelming sense that I do and a responsibility to share with those close to me. At the very least I want to give people the information they need to make their own decisions. Bitcoin and ‘crypto’ are going to be increasingly politicized and it will be important for people to have the basic knowledge to avoid being misled by one misinformed narrative or another (and there are plenty). I’ve tried to find the perfect article or podcast to share but couldn’t - there’s no one size fits all. Everyone is different and will resonate with different aspects. I think that for those closest to me, a personal connection may have a stronger impact than a stranger on the internet or random news anchor on TV. All I want to do is make sure that people do not continue to dismiss Bitcoin out of hand because I’ve noticed that (almost) everyone rejects it at first - often multiple times. Eventually though, something piques their interest leading them to actually dig in and understand. My hope is that by spending some of my own time documenting my thoughts and reflections it will hopefully provide a more personal touch and interest you just a bit more, while at the same time strengthening my own understanding.

Money Makes The World Go ‘Round

Bitcoin is many things but in order to fully understand it we first need to understand money. What is money? It’s an infrequently asked question but on the surface it seems pretty simple. It’s how we pay for things and in order to survive in this world you need to have some - pretty basic. However, when we look beneath the surface it is much more than that. Money is one of the most important technologies humans have invented. In order to achieve the amount of specialization and globalization that created the world we see today, money is the crucial technology that made it all possible. Next time you are in your local supermarket or big box store, think about the sheer number of items that are sitting on shelves from all over the world, available to you. Pick one and try to trace its journey - the events that had to take place in order for you to be holding it. Money made that happen - it is a universal language. It allows us to communicate value. Said another way, money is the tool that allows us to store our previously sacrificed time and transfer that value through space and time. Time is our most precious resource. It is finite and we can never get more of it. When we work we are exchanging our time for money with the hope that it can be stored and then exchanged for something of value at some point in the future.

Money serves three basic functions: store of value, unit of account and medium of exchange: it allows us to store our time, to be able to measure it and to exchange it for goods and services. We all have our own skillset that we use to earn money. What do you do for a living? What good or service do you provide to society? Now imagine for a minute that money did not exist (and forget the fact that your role probably wouldn’t even exist in such a world). In a true trade and barter system it is necessary to trade goods and services directly for one another. How would you exchange what you offer for your next grocery order? You would need to find someone who is looking for exactly what you offer in the exact quantity that you are able to offer. They would need to have the exact amount of food that you need and you would need to do this for every type of food that you want. Logistically, you can imagine how difficult that would be. In fact, it just doesn’t work. Without money, humans would not have been able to evolve past Dunbar’s number - small communities of a few hundred people or less where everyone trusts each other and works together for the basic necessities. Money can be redeemed for anything in the marketplace, removing the need for direct trade and barter. It removes the need for trust and provides infinite optionality. It’s the missing link, meaning a teacher doesn’t need to spend two hours teaching math to a mechanic for an oil change or that a home builder doesn’t have to accept years worth of perishable vegetables for building a farmer a house.

The Root of All Evil?

We have learned that money is just a tool. Now we need a quick overview of the history and properties of money. This is going to be brief and gloss over a whole bunch of history but you should get the idea. There have been many types of money used throughout time. Shells, beads, salt (did you know salary is derived from the Latin word for salt?) and even animals have all been used as forms of money. They all served their purpose until better forms of money made them obsolete. Over thousands of years humans honed in on the best form of money available at the time - gold. We all instinctively know that gold is desirable and valuable. It is ingrained in our culture in various common sayings and phrases. Historically, humans using gold as money has coincided with times of great stability, prosperity and general human flourishing; see the Roman Empire & The Pax Romana, The Renaissance, and La Belle Epoque. Why? What made gold the best form of money? There are always certain properties that make a tool the best version possible. When it comes to money, although there are many distinct properties to be taken into account, they can be summed up in five:

Scarcity: Money must be scarce and difficult to produce in order to keep a consistent value framework. If the quantity of money is constantly expanding it makes it difficult to know how much our time is actually worth. Think of a measuring tape that constantly changes length - it would be near impossible to build anything with structural integrity.

Divisibility: Money must be able to be broken down into smaller portions and added together in greater portions in order to exchange varying magnitudes of value.

Portability: Money needs to be transported and stored easily and safely. Real estate has historically been a good store of value, but makes a terrible money.

Durability: Money should be able to stand the test of time. If it can’t be preserved in the future it won’t be able to store our time into the future. Gold was chosen because it is indestructible and has lasted throughout human history.

Recognizability: It should be very easy to tell that money is money and in what amount. If it is time consuming or difficult to verify, it would not make a good medium of exchange.

We can go much deeper into the history and properties of money, but that’s not the goal here. I only wanted to illustrate that money is simply a tool and that there can be many different versions of the same tool. Some work better than others and there can be an optimal version. A sharp metal knife performs its task much better than a dull plastic one. So when people say that money is the root of all evil I would firmly disagree. Money is just a tool - an unbiased, apolitical one. In fact it’s one of the most powerful tools humans have invented. Like any tool it can be used for good or bad. It can also be broken.

A Broken System: History

So what happened? If gold was the best version of money, why have those periods of history mentioned above always ended? Why don’t we use gold as money today? Again, trying to summarize a large amount of history, even though gold was the best money humans had discovered, it was still lacking in a number of the properties described above. It failed as global money because it was not portable, divisible or recognizable enough to keep up with the velocity of our ever expanding and accelerating global economy. This led to gold backed money where people stored their gold in banks and received paper bills to represent it. In theory, this solved the technical issues with gold, paper is very easy to carry around and can represent any amount of gold. In the early 1900s this was the monetary system for most of the world; a true gold standard where the economic measuring tape was fixed and people could measure their time against the scarce and very slowly changing quantity of physical gold. But this leads us to another historically unavoidable problem - human nature. Every single time people have been in control of a society’s money supply, the monetary system has eventually failed. This is because the temptation, well or ill intentioned, to create more money always becomes too strong. When the cost of World War I exceeded the amount of real physical gold, countries resorted to literally printing new money out of thin air to finance the war. This was a significant turn of events and set us on the path to our current monetary system. After WWI, several attempts were made to return to a sound money system but it never truly materialized and finally in 1971 the tie to physical scarcity was officially severed when President Nixon suspended convertibility of the dollar to gold - creating the fiat (literally meaning ‘by decree’), monetary system we have today. In the span of less than sixty years we went from having money that was constrained by the scarcity of gold - a reliable, solid measuring tape, to a money whose supply can be expanded or contracted at will by a small group of unelected individuals. The key here is that because of gold’s technical shortcomings, eventually there is always a reason to justify breaking the relationship between gold and paper in order to create more money.

A Broken System: Money

Enough history, let’s talk about today. What’s wrong with our current monetary system? Most people may not know what the issues are but I think we can all feel that something is amiss, even if it’s subconscious at first. Just look around at the prices of housing and food, the volatility of financial markets, and the unprecedented wealth gap that just keeps growing. We are paying more and more for less and less, both in terms of quantity and quality of goods.

Our current monetary system is based on fractional reserve banking and credit. Fractional reserve banking is quite self explanatory - it means that when you deposit money in a bank, it is not stored there in reserve until you decide to withdraw it. Instead, it is lent out or invested by the bank. Most of what is considered money today is not actually physical cash, but credit - quite literally IOUs or promises. Central banks like the Bank of Canada create money by purchasing newly created assets from governments and commercial banks create money by issuing mortgages and loans. To illustrate, let’s say you lend me $100 cash and I give you an IOU - a promise to pay you back. Then, you use the IOU to purchase $50 of goods from a friend. They know you’re good for it because you have my promise to pay you back and they receive your promise to pay them back. With only $100 we have created $250 of total value in our little economy. When a bank lends you a mortgage or loan it is creating money in the system that would not have existed before. These IOUs trade and spend like physical money. The majority of our current monetary system (including our bank account balances) is really just a collection of promises logged in spreadsheets, backed by a comparatively small amount of physical money. Under a fractional reserve system if all a bank’s clients attempted to withdraw all their money at the same time it would be impossible since the bank only has a fraction of the deposits. In fact, Canadian banks are actually not required to hold any reserves at all! Unless you have physical money in your possession all you have is a promise and we all know promises can be broken. Let’s go back to our simplistic example: what happens if I lose the $100 or refuse to pay you back. All of a sudden, through no fault of your own, both you and your friend are out of luck and lose the value you thought you had. We can see how a monetary system like this must not be allowed to significantly contract, otherwise it collapses and value is lost.

If money represents your finite time, what happens when the other side of the equation can be expanded, outside of your control, at any time? We know what happens. Just think about the cost of things in your parents or grandparents day - snacks at the corner store or a three bedroom house. How much does the same cost now? This system is inflationary. As the amount of money in the system increases, so do the prices of goods. When money no longer stores value people store it anywhere they can, in real estate, stocks, collectibles, etc. What does all this mean? Put simply, we have lost the ability to preserve our time and energy - our ability to save. A defining characteristic of being human is the ability to plan for the future. Transferring more value to the future leads to a stronger foundation in the present - we can have more faith in our future plans. On the other hand, the inability to plan for the future leads to short term, instinctive thinking. How well can you plan for retirement when the source of your family’s next meal is uncertain or you are unable to make your next rent payment? Think Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. When we are forced toward a survival state we make decisions based on short term thinking - we start to lose our humanity. Our current monetary system makes the future so uncertain it is near impossible to credibly plan for it.

A Broken System: Technology

Let me introduce you to a thought experiment posed by Jeff Booth, an incredible human who has informed much of my thinking in this area. If you could fold a piece of paper in half fifty times, how tall would it be? Don’t just look up the answer, give it some honest thought. Humans create and innovate. Similar to the need for money, the development of technology has been a constant over time. Technology is used to create efficiencies and productivity gains that improve our lives and ultimately save our time. You don’t adopt a new technology in your life or business unless it provides some improvement on the status quo - faster, cheaper, better. From fire and the wheel to the internet and now artificial intelligence, humans are on a never ending quest to innovate and improve our lives, to save our time. Life certainly looks different than it did twenty years ago and it may even seem that the rate of growth is hard to keep up with. That’s because it is. Technology grows at an exponential rate which is hard for humans to conceptualize. That piece of paper folded in half fifty times? Doubling in thickness each time, it would reach from earth to the sun. Technology is a powerful force that brings down the cost of everything, trending towards free, forever.

If technology is supposed to save our time and make things cheaper, why is it taking increasingly more to provide a basic standard of living? Why the continual need to create jobs? Shouldn’t it be the opposite? Shouldn’t the same amount of productivity be generated by a decreasing amount of jobs, keeping pace with the rate of change in technology? Why are the advancements in technology not well distributed, with a large portion of the world population still living in extreme poverty? The answer to all these questions has to do with the monetary system discussed above. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the monetary value of all goods and services produced; the sum of all the hard work and energy of every single working person. It used as an indicator for economic health, as is the job market, revenue, profit, net worth, etc. Growth in all these indicators is required for a healthy economy. Right? But wait, we just highlighted how powerful technology is. Unlimited photos and music, a calculator, a newspaper, a weather station - all in your pocket for free. How many industries have been rendered obsolete by the internet and your smartphone? Now ask yourself where these show up in GDP? They don’t. We have two opposing forces that cannot co-exist. On one hand we have technology providing exponential productivity gains, saving time and reducing prices, constantly shrinking GDP and removing the need for jobs. On the other hand we have an inflationary monetary system that must keep expanding to avoid collapse, inflating GDP and creating jobs that would not otherwise be necessary - attempting to ignore the effects of technology. Real standard of living improvements are sacrificed by chasing nominal increases in metrics like GDP. How, on a planet of finite resources, does it make sense to have a monetary system that requires literally infinite growth?

Finally, Bitcoin.

So what do we do? How do we deal with these irreconcilable forces? With better money. With Bitcoin. Although it can be described and analogized in many different ways, Bitcoin is simply money. It is the next iteration of the tool and improves on, or nearly perfects the properties of money we talked about previously. It is absolutely scarce, infinitely divisible and can be moved at the speed of light. It is the most secure software protocol ever invented, impossible to destroy and impossible to counterfeit. As a globally distributed network of computers running open source software that maintains a public ledger of value transactions secured by cryptography and proof of work, it is digital money tied to the physical world via real energy use. This doesn’t even scratch the surface but I believe that in the beginning it is much more important to understand the problems discussed above and the ways in which Bitcoin provides a solution rather than dive into the technical deep end.

For people not familiar with Bitcoin it may seem hypothetical or speculative in nature but it is currently being used all over the world in very real, important use cases. Probably most relevant to us in North America, Bitcoin gives us back the ability to save. Don’t let short term volatility fool you, when using a long time horizon (four years or more) it is one of the best performing assets in human history. Value stored in Bitcoin over any four year period would have appreciated anywhere from 24% to 235%. Another way to think about it: if you had 99 dollars in cash and 1 dollar in Bitcoin you would outperform the S&P 500 over any four year period with negligible volatility.

Although this solves a serious problem for us in North America, it is even more important for people in developing nations around the world suffering under authoritarian dictatorships where hyperinflation and currency debasement occurs regularly. Imagine waking up one day and the value of your savings was reduced drastically overnight at the simple stroke of a pen or was inflated away at more than 100% per year - and this is if you are lucky enough to even have a bank account with savings. It’s not hypothetical, this is a current reality for large portions of the world’s population, a quarter of which doesn’t even have access to a bank account. Bitcoin can provide protection and give a savings account to anyone with an internet connected device. Many living in such situations have family members working abroad sending money back home. Conventional international money transfers are cumbersome at best and predatory at worst with high fees and days for final settlement, not to mention the threat of violence and theft when receiving money at a physical location. Using the Bitcoin network, any amount of money can be sent with finality in seconds and received from the safety of home. Because Bitcoin is simply information, your entire net worth can be stored in your head via memorization. Think of all the stories of people fleeing war-torn countries having to leave their entire life savings (cash, real estate, gold, etc.) behind. A refugee can now arrive to safety with their entire net worth in their memory or stored on easily concealed paper, metal or a digital thumb drive.

It’s been very difficult to determine what to include in what was intended to be a short summary of my understanding of Bitcoin. I haven’t even mentioned the energy implications of Bitcoin mining and how it is providing previously unfeasible energy access to remote populations in Africa, stabilizing energy grids and providing real economic incentives to reduce global energy waste and pollution like gas flaring and methane emissions. Or, the fact that Bitcoin is censorship resistant, providing an essential tool for individuals and activists in oppressive regimes. Or, all of the grassroots Bitcoin communities popping up all over the world. There is so much more to explore. Like it or not, money touches every aspect of our lives and we’ve seen the issues that are caused by broken money. Humans have never seen such an improvement in monetary technology. Never before has there been a way for any two people to trust and agree on a global monetary ledger without the need of a corruptible third party. Never before has money been able to move instantly and be stored so simply and securely, truly altering the logic of violence. This has huge implications and I don’t think that anyone can fully understand the potential of what Bitcoin can bring to the world.

I’ve never been a person who felt hopelessness, but I’ve realized that I would look at issues like wealth inequality, poverty, environmental concerns, global hunger, etc. with a lot of apathy because it felt that there was nothing that I could do to make an impact on such large problems. Now, I feel more hopeful than ever before. As the next iteration of money, Bitcoin touches all of these problems in one way or another and changes the status quo. It won’t fix everything, but I believe it has the potential to improve all aspects of life. I’m not advising everyone to immediately buy some, but I am urging people to learn about one of the biggest innovations in human history. So ask yourself, what is money? and see if you can arrive at anything other than Bitcoin as the best there is.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

The Cuban humanitarian activist, identified on social media as Lara Crofs, denounced this Tuesday the pressures the regime is putting on needy families to prevent them from accepting help from opponents like her.

Lara Crofs, known for her work in delivering donations to vulnerable households, explained that just a few days ago, upon arriving with more donations for Angelo's family and his five siblings, she was met with a refusal from Angelo's mother.

The latter said she no longer wanted to receive help, as the president of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) and some "companions" had visited her to threaten to take away the checkbook granted by the government if she continued to accept help from the "counterrevolutionaries."

The activist tried to explain to Angelo's mother that, thanks to the collaboration of a friend, the family could do without the government checkbook, as he committed to covering their monthly needs.

However, the mother maintained her decision to reject the help, as well as avoided being interviewed by friends who could increase the visibility of her case and, therefore, generate more donations.

This situation, explains Lara Crofs, is not an isolated case. She has experienced similar cases before, especially when trying to help elderly people in precarious conditions.

“I perfectly understand and continue to sympathize with Angelo’s family. Fear is a terrible thing, even more so when you know you are defenseless and left to your own fate. Still, they know how to find me and I reiterate my support. They can always find a hot meal and a change of clean clothes with me, in addition to whatever I have available at that moment. For now, that's all I can do,” reads the post.

Likewise, she assured that she will continue to help the most needy people.

@ 9df89339:713ace2a

Se você reside no Brasil, certamente percebe os avanços de medidas autoritárias e ditatoriais. Diante desse cenário, torna-se cada vez mais crucial o emprego de ferramentas que assegurem a privacidade e a anonimização. Aqui, no NOSTR (onde originalmente publico este artigo), já temos integração nativa com o TOR, a principal forma de anonimato digital atualmente. Entretanto, em outros serviços, esse privilégio não está disponível. Neste contexto, vou orientar você sobre como criar sua própria VPN totalmente privada por menos de 8000 sats, ou 3,70 dólares.

Vantagens

Privacidade

Com este método, você não depende de nenhum provedor de VPN, ou seja, bem mais privado, além de 0 KYC.

Preço

Este foi o jeito mais barato que eu achei de fazer uma VPN, você até consegue encontrar VPNs mais baratas que essa, porém elas exigem KYC, ou não aceitam pagamento o cripto, oque nós buscamos aqui.

Anonimidade

Por estarmos fazendo nossa própria VPN, não dividimos o IP com outras milhares de pessoas, isso faz com que os sites não detectem que estamos usando VPN e conseguimos navegar livres de captchas e avisos.

Flexibilidade

Para esta VPN usaremos uma VPS, então não ficaremos presos só a VPN, existem milhões de serviços que podemos colocar junto, desde gerenciador de senhas á um gerenciador de mídia.

Desvantagens

Ip fixo

Como já mencionado, utilizaremos uma VPS, por isso diferente das VPNs tradicionais, só teremos acesso a um ip fixo infelizmente.

Localização

Pelo menos motivo também não conseguimos alterar a localização da VPN.

Pré-requisitos

• Carteira Lightning (Custodial ou não)

1 - Escolhendo a VPS

Vamos começar escolhendo a VPS, você pode utilizar qualquer uma, mas nosso objetivo aqui é tentar ser o mais barato e privado possível, existe uma lista no site KYCnot.me sinta-se a vontade para fazer suas pesquisas. A que eu achei com melhor preço e privacidade foi a Cryptohost, ela não exige KYC, aceita Lightning e tem planos apartir de 3,70 dólares, que é oque utilizaremos nesse guia.

2 - Criando a Máquina

Primeiro vamos entrar no site e clicar na seção de VPS:

Depois iremos na única opção disponível, onde customizaremos nossa máquina:

Aqui você escolhe a frequência de pagamentos, isso é pessoal, mas recomendo na primeira vez deixar mensal para caso você tenha algum problema. Lembrando que como o pagamento é via BTC, NÃO tem reembolso, então fique ligado.

Em Hostname você escolhe um nome para a máquina, não precisa necessáriamente ser um domínio seu. E em Root Password coloque uma senha forte.

Na seção Configurable Options vamos mudar o Operating System para Ubuntu 20.04 e podemos deixar o resto das configurações padrão, porém, caso você tenha interesse em futuramente colocar outros serviços rodando na VPS também, é interessante você aumentar o espaço em disco e RAM, mas se quiser somente fazer a VPN estas configurações servirão tranquilamente.

Agora vamos para o Checkout e faremos o pagamento:

Nesse área ele pede para preenchermos com dados, porém vamos colocar qualquer coisa. ATENÇÃO - Utilize um email real que você tenha acesso, ele será utilizado para fazer login na sua conta, além de colocar uma senha forte também.

Agora é só fazer o pagamento via BTCpay com Lightining⚡ e pronto.

3 - Logando na Máquina

Vá em Services depois My services:

E escolha sua máquina:

Este é o IP da sua máquina, guarde-o, usaremos para fazer login nela

Agora vá em Additional Information:

Essa é a senha root da máquina, também utilizaremos para fazer login IMPORTANTE - NÃO compartilhe essa senha com ninguém, qualquer um como ela pode ter acesso a sua VPS.

Agora vamos logar na nossa máquina usando SSH, no Windows usaremos o Powershell, pois tem a ferramenta SSH do linux. No linux vamos usar o terminal normalmente.

Vamos nos conectar com esse comando: console user@host:~$ ssh root@ip

Em IP você coloca o IP Público que pegamos agora pouco, ficando assim: console user@host:~$ ssh root@192.168.1.1

Ele irá perguntar a senha, então você cola a rootpassword que acabamos de pegar também.

E pronto, agora você está conectado na máquina!

AVISO - Este método que utilizamos usando senha é pouco seguro e não é recomendado para se conectar, O ideal é você utilizar chaves SSH, e desabilitar o login com root e senha, porém para o tutorial não ficar muito longo não irei ensinar aqui, existem vários tutoriais no youtube sobre isso, mas se quiserem posso ensinar depois também.

4 - Instalando a VPN

Antes de instalarmos, vamos atualizar o sistema. console root@seudomino.com:~$ apt update && apt upgrade

Ele irá mostrar algo assim: console root@seudomino.com:~$ apt update && apt upgrade Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done Calculating upgrade... Done The following packages will be upgraded: binutils binutils-common binutils-x86-64-linux-gnu containerd.io libbinutils libctf-nobfd0 libctf0 tzdata 8 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded. Need to get 32.2 MB of archives. After this operation, 33.8 kB of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] Digite Y para atualizar

Agora vamos instalar a VPN que vamos utilizar, usaremos o Wireguard, um protocolo open-source de VPN, também poderiamos utilizar o OpenVPN, porém o Wireguard é mais moderno e seguro. Para isso, vamos usar um projeto do Github que automatiza a instalação, facilitando nossa vida.

Só precisamos executar esses comandos, só colar no seu terminal e deixar a mágica acontecer: console curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/angristan/wireguard-install/master/wireguard-install.sh chmod +x wireguard-install.sh ./wireguard-install.sh

Ele perguntará alguns dados, a maioria é coletada de forma automática, então só ir dando enter:

```console root@seudomino.com:~$ curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/angristan/wireguard-install/master/wireguard-install.sh chmod +x wireguard-install.sh ./wireguard-install.sh % Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed 100 18422 100 18422 0 0 13720 0 0:00:01 0:00:01 --:--:-- 13717 Welcome to the WireGuard installer! The git repository is available at: https://github.com/angristan/wireguard-install

I need to ask you a few questions before starting the setup. You can keep the default options and just press enter if you are ok with them.

IPv4 or IPv6 public address: 192.168.1.1 Public interface: enp1s0 WireGuard interface name: wg0 Server WireGuard IPv4: 10.66.66.1 Server WireGuard IPv6: fd10:10:10::1 ```

Aqui é importante prestar atenção, ele perguntará qual porta queremos usar para a VPN, você pode alterar, porém recomendo deixar a padrão que ele escolher, por enquanto só anote ela e continue dando enter: console Server WireGuard port [1-65535]: 58474

Agora ele vai avisar que já tem tudo para fazer a instalação, só dê enter para confirmar: console Okay, that was all I needed. We are ready to setup your WireGuard server now. You will be able to generate a client at the end of the installation. Press any key to continue...

Ele vai pedir o nome para o primeiro client, coloque oque você quiser, Ex: Pc_1, Celular_mae, etc: console The client name must consist of alphanumeric character(s). It may also include underscores or dashes and can't exceed 15 chars. Client name: Celular_tia

Novamente ele vai perguntar os IPs, só dar enter: console Client WireGuard IPv4: 10.66.66.2 Client WireGuard IPv6: fd10:10:10::2

Pronto, agora ele irá mostrar um QRcode com o arquivo de configuração do cliente: ```console Here is your client config file as a QR Code:

█▀▀▀▀▀█ █  ▄▄██▀▄ █▀▀▀▀▀█
█ ███ █ ██▄ █▄▄▀▄ █ ███ █
█ ▀▀▀ █ ▄██ ▀█▀▀█ █ ▀▀▀ █
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ █▄▀ █▄▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
█▀ ▄█▀▀▄  ▀ ▀▄ ▄▄  █▄██▀▀
 ▄█▄ █▀█▄█▀ ▄▀▄█ █ █  █ ▄
█▀▄▄▀▀▀█ ▄▄▀█▄▄▄█▀▀ ▄ █▀ 
  ██▄▀▀ ▄▄███▀▄█▄▄ ▀▀▄█ ▄
▀▀▀ ▀▀▀ █▄▀▄ ▄▄▄█▀▀▀█ ▀ █
█▀▀▀▀▀█ ▄▀▀▀█ ▄ █ ▀ █▀█▄▄
█ ███ █ ▀ ▀█▀ ▄ ▀███▀▄█▄▄
█ ▀▀▀ █ ▄████▀▀█▀▀▀▀ ▄▄█ 
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀   ▀    ▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀

Your client config file is in /home/yourdomain/wg0-client-Celular_tia.conf If you want to add more clients, you simply need to run this script another time!

WireGuard is running. You can check the status of WireGuard with: systemctl status wg-quick@wg0

If you don't have internet connectivity from your client, try to reboot the server. ```

Vamos nos conectar agora:

Android

No android você pode usar o aplicativo Wireguard disponível na Play Store:

Agora vamos abrir-lo e clicar no + para adicionar uma nova conexão:

Escolha QRcode e escaneie o código exibido anteriormente:

Agora é só habilitar a VPN e pronto, você está protegido no seu celular!

Windows

No Windows precisamos pegar o arquivo de configuração primeiro, para isso podemos escanear o QRcode de antes usando o celular e mandar o texto para o PC.

Agora pegue esse texto e coloque num arquivo do bloco de notas, o texto deve ficar mais ou menos assim:

```txt [Interface] PrivateKey = TvRFQXntycsHoipJsMKyks3KbKiEK5Fn0xSc35B5hIp= Address = 10.66.66.2/32,fd10:10:10::2/128 DNS = 1.1.1.1,1.0.0.1

[Peer] PublicKey = G/qd2Taz8/kVC9BqM868fNNXD8UjUKL5FOAiwPzv1ZX= PresharedKey = yy5mA1NPqeq08rp1DOr2wIj6DyDTHebgxHDw9S16p4Y= Endpoint = 192.168.1.1:58474 AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0,::/0 ```

Agora é só salvar esse arquivo com o final .wg0.conf, ficando assim: vpn.wg0.conf

Caso você não tenha um celular a disposição, basta você printar o QRcode, e usar algum site que leia para você. No exemplo estou utilizando o 4qrcode, mas serve qualquer um

Agora só precisamos baixar o Wireguard neste site, nessa área aqui:

E importar o arquivo que acabamos de criar:

Agora é só habilitar a VPN e pronto, você está protegido no seu pc!

Espero que esse Guia seja útil para você e te ajude de alguma forma, se tiver alguma pode me contatar no Nostr ou SimpleX

SimpleX https://simplex.chat/contact#/?v=1-4&smp=smp%3A%2F%2FUkMFNAXLXeAAe0beCa4w6X_zp18PwxSaSjY17BKUGXQ%3D%40smp12.simplex.im%2F_iONnIjArXTqQp2HkqAq32e5jQHxavl9%23%2F%3Fv%3D1-2%26dh%3DMCowBQYDK2VuAyEACmF-CGd7yD42bBdXZtAKU5b-Tjnb-iQPWyyYrjUfbTc%253D%26srv%3Die42b5weq7zdkghocs3mgxdjeuycheeqqmksntj57rmejagmg4eor5yd.onion

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

La activista humanitaria cubana, identificada en las redes como Lara Crofs, denunció este martes las presiones del régimen a familias necesitadas para que no acepten ayuda de opositores como ella.

Lara Crofs, conocida por su labor en la entrega de donaciones a hogares vulnerables, explicó que apenas unos días atrás, al llegar con más donaciones para la familia de Angelo y sus cinco hermanos, se encontró con una negativa por parte de la madre de Angelo.

Esta última dijo que no deseaba recibir más ayuda, ya que la presidenta del Comité de Defensa de la Revolución (CDR) y algunos “compañeros” la habían visitado para amenazarla con quitarle la chequera otorgada por el gobierno si seguía recibiendo ayuda de “los “contrarrevolucionarios”.

La activista trató de explicar a la madre de Angelo que, gracias a la colaboración de un amigo, la familia podría prescindir de la chequera gubernamental, ya que él se comprometía a cubrir sus necesidades mensualmente.

Sin embargo, la madre mantuvo su decisión de rechazar la ayuda, así como evitó ser entrevistada por amigos que podrían aumentar la visibilidad de su caso y, por ende, generar más donaciones.

Esta situación, explica Lara Crofs, no es un caso aislado, ya ha vivido casos similares anteriormente, especialmente al intentar ayudar a ancianos en situación precaria.

“Entiendo perfectamente y me sigo solidarizando con la familia de Angelo. El miedo es una cosa terrible, aún más cuando te sabes desprotegido y abandonado a tu suerte. Mismo así saben cómo encontrarme y les reitero mi apoyo. En mí siempre podrán encontrar un plato de comida caliente y una muda de ropa limpia, además de lo que tenga a disposición en ese momento. Por ahora no puedo hacer más”, se lee en la publicación.

Asimismo, aseguró que continuará ayudando a las personas más necesitadas.

@ 9ecbb0e7:06ab7c09

The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announces that next January 29th will mark the beginning of the 2024 tax season. This year, it is expected that more than 128.7 million returns will be filed before April 15th, the deadline to avoid penalties for non-compliance with tax obligations.

The IRS has prepared a series of significant improvements for this season, including the reopening of Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TAC) to offer personalized attention. Additionally, the callback feature has been expanded to reduce waiting times. These improvements are part of the IRS's ongoing effort to facilitate the tax return filing process.

Another of the most notable new features is the Direct File pilot program, which will be implemented in phases and will be available in mid-March for certain taxpayers in participating states. This program seeks to simplify the tax filing process even more.

Taxpayers from Maine and Massachusetts will have until April 17th to file their returns due to local holidays. In addition, those in areas declared disasters by the federal government will receive more time to file their taxes.

Refunds will be available 21 days after the declaration is filed

The IRS promises that most refunds, in case taxpayers have a balance in their favor, will be issued in less than 21 days. However, they warn that many different factors can affect the timing of a refund after the IRS receives a return.

Although the IRS issues most refunds in less than 21 days, some returns may require additional review and may take longer. The simplest way to check the status of a refund is via the "Where's My Refund?" section on IRS.gov or in the IRS2Go app.

Recommendations before filing taxes with the IRS

It is important for filers to gather all the correct information they need before filing their return. Organize and collect tax records, including Social Security numbers, individual taxpayer identification numbers, adoption identification numbers, and this year's personal identity protection identification numbers (IP PIN). Filing an accurate return can help taxpayers avoid delays in refunds or subsequent IRS mailings about a problem.

Key dates for the 2024 tax season in the USA

• January 12th: IRS Free File opens.
• January 16th: Deadline for estimated tax payments for the fourth quarter of 2023.
• January 26th: Awareness Day for the earned income tax credit.
• January 29th: Start date of the individual tax return filing season.
• April 15th: Deadline to file a tax return or to request an extension for most of the country.
• April 17th: Deadline for Maine and Massachusetts.
• October 15th: Deadline for extension applicants.

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El Servicio de Impuestos Internos de Estados Unidos (IRS, por sus siglas en inglés) anuncia que el próximo 29 de enero marcará el comienzo de la temporada de impuestos 2024 (taxes). Este año, se espera que más de 128.7 millones de declaraciones sean presentadas antes del 15 de abril, la fecha límite para evitar caer en penalizaciones por incumplimiento de obligaciones fiscales.

El IRS ha preparado una serie de mejoras significativas para esta temporada, incluyendo la reapertura de Centros de Asistencia al Contribuyente (TAC) para ofrecer atención personalizada. Además, se ha ampliado la función de devolución de llamadas para reducir los tiempos de espera. Estas mejoras son parte de un esfuerzo continuo del IRS para facilitar el proceso de declaración y presentación de impuestos.

Otra de las novedades más destacadas es el programa piloto de Direct File, que se implementará por fases y estará disponible a mediados de marzo para ciertos contribuyentes en estados participantes. Este programa busca simplificar aún más el proceso de declaración de impuestos.

Los contribuyentes de Maine y Massachusetts tendrán hasta el 17 de abril para presentar sus declaraciones debido a feriados locales. Además, aquellos en áreas declaradas como desastres por el gobierno federal recibirán más tiempo para presentar sus impuestos.

Los reembolsos estarán disponibles 21 días después de la presentación de la declaración

El IRS promete que la mayoría de los reembolsos, en caso de que los contribuyentes tengan saldo a favor, se emitirá en menos de 21 días. No obstante, advierten que muchos factores diferentes pueden afectar el momento de un reembolso después de que el IRS recibe una declaración.

Aunque el IRS emite la mayoría de los reembolsos en menos de 21 días, algunas devoluciones pueden requerir una revisión adicional y pueden tardar más. La forma más sencilla de comprobar el estado de un reembolso es mediante el aparado ¿Dónde está mi reembolso? en IRS.gov o en la aplicación IRS2Go.

Recomendaciones antes de la presentación de impuestos ante el IRS

Es importante que los declarantes recopilen toda la información correcta que necesitan antes de presentar su declaración. Organice y recopile registros tributarios, incluidos números de Seguro Social, números de identificación de contribuyente individual, números de identificación de adopción y números de identificación personal de protección de identidad (IP PIN) de este año. Presentar una declaración precisa puede ayudar a los contribuyentes a evitar demoras en los reembolsos o envíos posteriores del IRS sobre un problema.

Fechas clave de la temporada de impuestos en EEUU durante el 2024

• 12 de enero: Se abre Free File del IRS.
• 16 de enero: Fecha de vencimiento para los pagos de impuestos estimados del cuarto trimestre de 2023.
• 26 de enero: Día de concientización sobre el crédito tributario por ingreso del trabajo.
• 29 de enero: Fecha de inicio de la temporada de presentación de declaraciones de impuestos individuales.
• 15 de abril: Fecha límite para presentar una declaración de impuestos o para solicitar una prórroga para la mayor parte del país.
• 17 de abril: Fecha límite para Maine y Massachusetts.
• 15 de octubre: Fecha límite para los solicitantes de prórroga.

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testr testr

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Wealth.

What is it?

People have different views.

All the stuff you own.

All the money you have.

All the time at your disposal.

A common strategy is for people to create what they call a statement of assets, which totals up everything they own, creating a number.

$1000

$10,000

$100,000

$1,000,000

Whatever it might be, in this instance I’ve chosen a Usd value, but it could be any metric.

Gbp.

Euro.

Yen.

Even the number of houses you own, perhaps it’s totalled in head of cattle, or maybe you’re a gold bug.

Bitcoin of course.

Really any metric can be used.

Once it was glass beads in certain parts of the world…

But what’s it all for?

At the end of the day, these assets are useful for what they can buy you, ie their purchasing power.

One’s wealth is a store-of-value.

A tool.

The more wealthy you are, the more you can buy in the future, and therefore the more confidence you can have against uncertainty.

Now let’s have a think about expenses.

For sake of argument, let’s say someone has net assets of $500k, and they spend $50k per annum.

Meaning after year 1, should their capital base not grow, they will have $450k remaining.

To highjack some startup terms, this person therefore has a burn rate of 10%, and a runway of 10 years from today.

Solid.

Without working for an income, and with costs remaining constant, this person has 10 years to opt between labour and leisure time.

One would assume a lot of leisure time inbound!

Whilst they have plenty of time to deliver value, should they choose to, growing their asset base again with income from labour.

There are other factors to consider of course.

Will their capital base grow in value?

Maybe they’ve made some good investments. Maybe they’ve made some bad investments…

Will their costs change over time?

Perhaps inflation is out of control in their local currency. Perhaps they decide to have a couple of kids.

As always in life, everyone is unique, and therefore we must all review ourselves through our own specific lens.

Which brings me to the specific point of today.

What happens if someone has “solved the wealth problem”?

Circling back to our friend with $500k and $50k costs per annum.

Traditionally, storing that wealth was hard.

If you chose your local currency, you have inflation risk.

If you chose gold, how do you carry it around with you without being stolen?

If you chose cattle, what if they catch a disease?

If you chose equities, will the company have performed well?

If you chose real estate, how do you know liquidity will be there when you need it?

In many cases, we have to farm out the management of our wealth to “experts”, who take a management fee for their services.

Not only separating us from our wealth to an extent, but maybe they have a bad year…

Point being, managing wealth is hard, and there are no guarantee’s the investments you’ve made or the money you saved will retain its purchasing power.

Then along comes Bitcoin.

Huge capital growth potential.

Easy to transport.

Zero operational costs.

Indeed, the best risk-reward opportunity, that many lifelong investors have ever seen.

Our friend, should they choose to put $500k into Bitcoin, and continue to spend $50k per annum, arguably has an endless runway.

Ie their purchasing power, now they own a deflationary money, continues to grow at a faster rate than their expenses.

“But Jake, everything is always getting so expensive!”


I hear you.

We live in an era dominated by inflationary monetary policy, driven by central banks printing money, and the fractional reserve banking system allowing levered debt creation on deposits.

So our friends $50k costs will increase over time no doubt.

Everything is getting more expensive in dollar terms.

But flip it around.

Actually this is a reflection on a denominator that is crumbling in value.

It can buy less stuff.

Should you choose Bitcoin, then your purchasing power is actually increasing over time, and you can buy more stuff.

All this goes to say: “what if you have solved the wealth problem?”

I for one, have spent the vast majority of my adult life, thinking about how to make money.

I was recently called “obsessed” about it.

Everything I see, in some way, gets spun into a business idea.

Boutique gym focused on personal training. Wholesaling a health product. Building software for Nostr. Just a handful of the latest…

But, having bought Bitcoin, I am very confident that my capital growth position is so strong, that our expenses will fall as a percentage of net assets.

I don’t need to micro-manage a lame real estate rental agent and an investment property.

I don’t need to hunt for exciting angel investments to buy equity in.

I don’t need to monetise a podcast that I create.

Will this be the case a year from now?

18 months?

5 years?

10 years?

There are no guarantee’s in life.

But I am very confident: YES.

Consider potential price action to the upside, the ability to self-custody, growing hashrate… It lays the foundation for extreme confidence in the probability of capital growth and continued ownership.

Of course there are things I dream of owning.

Beautiful houses.

Watches.

Clothes.

But this is just more stuff… What I really need is energy, food, family, health, and ultimately, happiness.

No doubt an exciting moment to have reached.

A higher level of consciousness some might say…

So, what does one do with their time?

Labour?

Or

Leisure?

Well, when one is so heavily conditioned to think about how to make money all the time, it’s going to be an interesting process to experience playing out.

Sometimes unlearning is harder than learning...

How do you feel?

Does Bitcoin “solve the wealth problem for you?”

I’d love to hear from you.

Best, Jake

Ps - 15 years ago my father died from a sudden heart attack, he was 48 years old, and was highly stressed. I inherited wealth from him in my 20’s and have spent the last decade figuring out what to do with it. I made a ton of mistakes, with terrible investments in some cases, but also learned of the opportunity that is Bitcoin. I don’t believe my father had solved the wealth problem hence his stress, but we’re fortunate to be able to use this new tool, which I genuinely believe will help people live healthier and happier lives. Let’s do it!

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Desenvolvido pelo programador Patrick Goldinger, o FlorisBoard foi inspirado por outros teclados de código aberto e pela escassez de opções altamente configuráveis e personalizáveis disponíveis para dispositivos Android. O desenvolvimento do FlorisBoard teve início em 2019 e, desde então, tem recebido atualizações regulares para aprimorar seus recursos e funcionalidades.

Confira abaixo os recursos atualmente implementados e em pleno funcionamento:

1. Grande variedade de layouts de teclado latino.
2. Suporte limitado para layouts de teclado não latinos (árabe, persa e hebraico atualmente, com mais planejados para o futuro).
3. Troca fácil entre idiomas/layouts através da definição de subtipos nas configurações.
4. Personalização completa do tema, além de predefinições de tema para temas diurnos e noturnos.
5. Comutação automática entre temas diurnos e noturnos.
6. Layouts de teclado para digitar números de telefone.
7. Entrada de caracteres especiais.
8. Teclado de emojis/emoticons.
9. Modo compacto/com uma mão para facilitar a digitação em dispositivos grandes.
10. Personalização dos sons/vibrações ao pressionar as teclas.
11. Ações personalizáveis para gestos, como deslizar para cima/baixo/esquerda/direita, barra de espaço à esquerda/direita e deslizar com a tecla delete.
12. Símbolos especiais integrados nos layouts de caracteres.
13. Barra de ferramentas para área de transferência e cursor.
14. Gerenciador/histórico da área de transferência.

O FlorisBoard é uma opção altamente flexível e personalizável para usuários que buscam um teclado de código aberto que atenda às suas necessidades de digitação, além de respeitar a sua privacidade. Com uma ampla gama de recursos implementados e em constante aprimoramento, o FlorisBoard oferece uma experiência de digitação agradável e adaptada às suas preferências.

https://florisboard.org/

https://github.com/florisboard/florisboard

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/dev.patrickgold.florisboard/

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I'd love to share a message with you about coffee and its quality to help brighten your day and ward off any feelings of sadness.

There's something truly magical about a perfectly brewed cup of coffee. The aroma alone can be enough to lift your spirits and invigorate your senses. But the quality of the coffee you choose can make all the difference in your overall experience.

When it comes to coffee, freshness is key. Coffee beans start to lose their flavor as soon as they are roasted, so it's important to buy beans that have been roasted recently. Look for beans that have a roast date on the package, and aim to use them within a week or two of that date for the best flavor.

Grinding your own beans just before brewing can also help to preserve their freshness and enhance their flavor. A burr grinder is the best option, as it produces a consistent grind size that allows for even extraction during brewing.

The quality of the water you use can also impact the taste of your coffee. Use filtered or bottled water if your tap water has a strong taste or odor. And be sure to clean your coffee maker regularly to prevent any buildup of minerals or oils that can affect the taste of your coffee.

When it comes to the type of coffee you choose, there are so many options to explore. From light and fruity single-origin coffees to rich and chocolatey blends, there's a flavor profile to suit every palate. Experiment with different roasts, origins, and brewing methods to find your perfect cup.

But ultimately, the most important thing is to savor and enjoy each sip. Coffee is more than just a drink; it's an experience that can bring people together, spark creativity, and provide a moment of respite in a busy day. So take a few moments to slow down, savor the flavors, and let the warmth and comfort of a quality cup of coffee bring a smile to your face. 😁☕