@ a42048d7:26886c32

*50% of the Bitcoin held with Unchained will be seized by the US government within 10 years: a thought experiment **

Let me start by saying that I believe collaborative multisig is strictly better than leaving on an exchange, an ETF, or other paper Bitcoin options. I have extensively tested collaborative multisig at the 3 most well known providers: Unchained, Casa, and Nunchuk. My participation in Bitcoin Twitter and Nostr has led me to the conclusion that KYC collaborative multisig is shockingly easy to seize. If you care about this topic I will assume you are already based enough that you need no primer on the horrid fiscal situation of the governments of the USA, EU, China, etc. A 6102 (President FDR ordering the seizure of all privately held gold) type event feels escalatingly likely in the short term, and almost inevitable in the medium term.

There are a few indisputable facts everyone must accept: Most users of collaborative multisig have at least 1 key (probably 2) at one of the following: their home, a bank safety deposit box, or other highly logical place in their immediate vicinity. Unchained multisig vaults are fully KYC. Meaning they have a list of your name, email address, and home address right next to your BTC holdings amount, 1 of 3 keys to your multisig, and even Social Security Number and more info if you use their loan or trading desk services.

Hopefully you should immediately recognize the problem. The American government is 1 warrant away from having your full identity, BTC amount, and 1 of your 3 keys. Further they are most likely 1 visit to your home or bank away from having a 2nd key, and thus control of your BTC. Further, everyone must also accept that video verification is not much better than no verification. The government could also just come to your home (where you almost certainly have 1 key) and force you to submit a transaction request to Unchained. Per their own website Unchained does not have a specific minimum waiting period to submit transaction, e.g. it could be 1-2 days if you submit on a slow Monday or it could be 3-5 days if you submit over a weekend during a crowded Mempool. Even before considering AI fakes, video verification is simply not secure. It is quite easy to have someone stand out of shot holding you and/or your family hostage. The American government also has more than enough prison capacity to hold anyone indefinitely they need to while waiting for transactions to process. Sit and ruminate on the fact that all the government needs to do to take your Bitcoin is enter your home, use their monopoly on violence, and not so politely ask you to sign with your key and request Unchained sign with theirs. After a brief delay, all your BTC is gone forever! There is a brutal cognitive dissonance in believing Bitcoin will become worth millions of dollars per coin, and simultaneously thinking the government will not bother to visit one office, a few homes, or a handful of banks for untold riches. If the government gets desperate, then large holders using KYCed collaborative multisig are a potentially appealing target. Yes it is strictly harder to seize than an ETF or on an exchange, but that doesn’t make it foolproof. The easiest target is often the overconfident one. It would likely be too difficult to discretely visit many places and hold many people for enough time to seize all coins held by Unchained, but grabbing a significant portion of the largest holders before news broke is certainly plausible. Maybe I’m underestimating Unchained and they’re willing to go to prison for life, and during a government raid would wipe their servers rather than hand them over. But would you trust that with your life savings? I would not. In my assessment for users with less technical knowledge non-KYC multisig options such as Casa and Nunchuk are strictly better than a fully doxed option like Unchained. For those with more advanced technical knowledge the potential of miniscript and timelocks in Liana presents an even more secure option, albeit with the tradeoff of additional complexity. There is no free lunch. You must decide for yourself. Just please thoughtfully consider your options.

I hope this is not taken as an attack at Unchained. I believe they are a solid Bitcoin only company doing some great work, but I also think they and their users drastically underestimate their current vulnerabilities. My hope is not to harm them in any way, but to force an uncomfortable conversation that the community needs to have. My greatest hope would be multisig makes strides in security across the industry. Taproot enabling multisigs to look like singlesigs and not placing all spending paths publicly on chain would be a great place to start. Miniscript next. These advanced security capabilities are available today via Liana and Anchorwatch. These are the next generation of multisig that the community desperately needs. They just haven’t realized it yet, but they will once a few Unchained customers publicly get their Bitcoins seized.

@ 6f170f27:711e26dd

Alright. Been thinking about different ways to share photo memories with friends and family and will explain my thoughts on a few methods and then I want to hear what you like to do or was the last such event you participated in

There's something about reliving memories through images. It's not just nostalgia – I found it to be incredibly influencial on thinking about my whole life as kind of a story, bonding with people, and keep our most precious moments alive. But in this digital age, how we choose to revisit these memories?

I've been thinking a lot about different ways to share photo memories with friends and family. To me, that's kind of the point of it all. I might be obsessive about gear and tech etc but in the end all that counts to me is the social aspect and sharing it with people.

Analog Projectors: Bringing back the old school slideshow vibes.

Pros: Nostalgic feel, creates a "event" atmosphere, big screen impact. What I like about this is that making it an "event" lowers the social barrier of other people to actually engage in the activity. Cons: Setup can be a hassle, image quality varies, limited to physical slides or prints. You not only have to shoot analog - you have to shoot positive slides analog.

Maybe here is the point I should mention digital projectors as well. I know that this is what the purists do (maybe you are this, please tell me if so) and probably nice if you are rich enough to have a whole home theatre setup. I remember reading on Reddit that some people even insist on using the same cine lenses on their projectors that they shot a vacation with

I get the appeal of cinematic photos from an ARRI lens on Kodak Motion Picture Film. I get it. But for me that's a little too autistic no offense.

Smart TV: The modern take on slideshows.

Pros: Big screen experience, easy to control from your phone, good for group viewing. This is the biggest screen, most immersive setup, most inclusive for everyone to copy photos into a folder before hand. Cons: Requires some tech setup, can sometimes feel a bit too "produced". My personal experience is that this counterintuitively has the highest social barrier to do - even higher than doing analog projection as an "event". People don't like to commit to an calendar entry just for that. Might work well if tacked on onto the end of movie night or board game evening.

Prints: Going old school with fine art prints

Pros: Tactile experience, no tech required, creates a physical keepsake Cons: Takes effort to organize, can be costly, not as easy to share widely

Prints can be as classy and fine art or as casual and posters as you want them to be. Great for looking at as a side activity during a bbq or board game night. It gets really expensive to print a dozen pics for every occasion tho. At this point I also want to encourage everyone to make a huuuge print if you ever take a pic that xould be a magnum opus. Once every decade event maximum IMO. Bonus: video about printing papers

Looking at an iPhone together.

Pros: Super convenient, always with you, great for spontaneous Cons: Small screen limits the impact, not at all immersive. On vacation photos from last year I want to feel like I'm right there again. Not very social as people tend to hunch over the phone, can feel a bit impersonal. Even when we share an iPad or phone I think there is something subconscious about a personal device that makes it feel less together

I can't stress enough that this subconscous barrier makes it so that IMO the bonding aspect here is really zero. Idk how to say it.

VR: The futuristic option for immersive photo experiences.

Pros: Incredibly immersive, can feel like you're "in" the photo, great for panorama images which IMO one of the smart phone photography features that beats real cameras Cons: Expensive gear, isolating (usually one person at a time), can be overwhelming for some. I haven't tried Apple Vision Pro but it seems like this is still so so so far for a social event.

kinda dystopian. Maybe when I'm 90 and alone I'll do that scrolling through my entire life on the day before I die.

Digital Photo Frames

I hate this one, it's just TV but worse. No pro&con list. Call me biased, whatever.

Conclusion

I will try to do TV sessions tacked on to other events. I mentioned that the social barrier is high but I can't shoot everything on positive slides. I will also do fine art prints for 3-4 photos per vacation or real life thing where I took a camera.

What's your preferred method for sharing photo memories? Do you prioritize convenience, social interaction, or immersion? Any cool ideas or methods I missed? Do you maybe disagree with the entire premise that socializing and reminiscing is the entire point?

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/599904

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Yesterday's edition https://stacker.news/items/598866/r/Undisciplined

We've got a Stacker News trust algorithm theme today, with a top comment and a top post from separate years about it. Also, the Stacker News soft launch makes an appearance.

• • -

July 7, 2023 📅

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📝 TOP POST

I lost my 'Lightning Virginity' last night ⚡🍒

Excerpt

With @ekyzis posting a reminder that it's a good time to open Lightning channels the other night, I bit the bullet and attempted to withdraw some of my SN rewards to one of my hot wallets via Lightning.

1080 sats \ 11 comments \ @Bitman \ ~meta

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/205284/r/Undisciplined?commentId=205407

Excerpt

Reading through the change log, I followed a link to the SN post about web of trust. This made me think of something I've been thinking about a bunch lately, from using PKM tools (Logseq is my current one) where making it easy to talk about things is a design goal. Making it easy to talk about things through links, search, and automatic back links, causes a densely structured graph to emerge, a very useful kind of semantic knowledge store. It's pretty remarkable how it all pops out.

11k sats \ 1 reply \ @elvismercury

From Daily discussion thread by @saloon in ~null

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🏆 TOP STACKER

2nd place @k00b (1st hiding, presumed @siggy47)

6463 stacked \ 26.7k spent \ 0 posts \ 19 comments \ 0 referrals

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

27.9k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 36.4k spent \ 94 posts \ 165 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

July 7, 2022 📅

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📝 TOP POST

SN release: enhanced trust algo and more tangible rewards

Excerpt

We still use a web of trust, but we've refined how trust is established between users. In the previous version, trust was established whenever a user upvoted another user's content. This was convenient and it allowed us to reuse a user's trust to determine their share of daily rewards. No more.

2521 sats \ 50 comments \ @k00b \ ~meta

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/42401/r/Undisciplined?commentId=42415

Excerpt

If you look at other social media such as Youtube the algorithm punishes harder the longer people were inactive.

231 sats \ 5 replies \ @zuspotirko

From SN release: enhanced trust algo and more tangible rewards by @k00b in ~meta

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🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @k00b

2158 stacked \ 5509 spent \ 12 posts \ 29 comments \ 0 referrals

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

30.7k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 34k spent \ 134 posts \ 176 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

July 7, 2021 📅

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📝 TOP POST

Bitcoin Transcripts

Link to https://btctranscripts.com/

101 sats \ 0 comments \ @k00b \ ~bitcoin

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/2/r/Undisciplined?commentId=221

Excerpt

I'm actually very curious how this will turn out in terms of shitposts - sick of seeing them on Twitter.

1 sat \ 1 reply \ @qecez

From stacker news soft launch AMA by @k00b in ~bitcoin

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🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @k00b

8 stacked \ 19 spent \ 2 posts \ 4 comments \ 0 referrals

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

23 stacked \ 0 revenue \ 95 spent \ 7 posts \ 13 comments

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/599828

@ b34b4408:acfb9667

"สเตอรอลในร่างกาย: มองให้ลึกกว่าคอเลสเตอรอล"

แม้ทุกวันนี้เริ่มมีข้อมูลมากมายว่า คอเลสเตอรอลไม่ได้มีส่วนเกี่ยวข้องกับเรื่องของโรคหลอดเลือดและหัวใจ เเต่ในกระแสสื่อหลัก ก็ยังคงเล่นประเด็นเหล่านี้อย่างต่อเนื่อง และแน่นอนก็มีงานวิจัยที่ถูกกล่าวอ้างใหม่ๆที่พยายามหาทางเลือกในการพยายามลดระดับคอเลสเตอรอลในเลือด ซึ่งถูกยกเป็นเป้าหมายสำคัญในการป้องกันโรคหัวใจและหลอดเลือดมาเป็นเวลานานแล้ว

ส่งผลให้หนึ่งทางเลือก คือ สเตอรอลจากพืช (plant sterols/phytosterols) ได้รับความนิยมเพิ่มขึ้นในฐานะทางเลือกธรรมชาติสำหรับการลดคอเลสเตอรอล โดยเชื่อว่า สามารถลดระดับคอเลสเตอรอลในเลือดได้อย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ โดยทำงานดังนี้:

• สเตอรอลจากพืชเป็นโมเลกุลที่มีโครงสร้างคล้ายคอเลสเตอรอล
• พวกมันแข่งขันกับคอเลสเตอรอลในการดูดซึมที่ลำไส้
• สเตอรอลจากพืชจะเข้าไปแทนที่คอเลสเตอรอลที่ร่างกายสร้างขึ้นบางส่วน

อย่างไรก็ตาม การศึกษาล่าสุดและข้อมูลจากโรคหายากกำลังท้าทายความเข้าใจของเราเกี่ยวกับบทบาทของสเตอรอลจากพืช ต่อร่างกายของเรา

จากบทความ ของ Zoë Harcombe and Julien S. Baker ตีพิมพ์ใน Online Journal of Biological Sciences ปี 2014 ในหัวข้อ “ PLANT STEROLS LOWER CHOLESTEROL, BUT INCREASE RISK FOR CORONARY HEART DISEASE “ ( https://thescipub.com/abstract/ojbsci.2014.167.169 )

พบว่า สเตอรอลจากพืชสามารถลดระดับคอเลสเตอรอลได้อย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ แต่ยังไม่มีหลักฐานชัดเจนว่าสามารถลดความเสี่ยงต่อโรคหัวใจและหลอดเลือดได้จริง โดยประเด็นหลักๆของบทความ คือ:

1. สเตอรอลจากพืชสามารถลดระดับคอเลสเตอรอลได้จริง แต่ไม่มีหลักฐานว่าช่วยลดความเสี่ยงต่อ โรคหลอดเลือดหัวใจ (CHD)
2. มีงานวิจัยหลายชิ้นที่พบว่าระดับสเตอรอลจากพืชที่สูงขึ้นอาจเพิ่มความเสี่ยงต่อ CHD และอัตราการเสียชีวิต
3. มีข้อกังวลเกี่ยวกับความเสี่ยงต่อมะเร็งด้วย แม้จะมีหลักฐานจำกัด
4. รายงานจาก European Food Safety Authority ได้ระบุว่า"ไม่มีการศึกษาแทรกแซงในมนุษย์ที่แสดงให้เห็นว่าสเตอรอลจากพืชลดความเสี่ยงของโรคหลอดเลือดหัวใจ”
5. สหภาพยุโรปได้ออกคำเตือนว่าผลิตภัณฑ์ที่เสริมสเตอรอลจากพืชไม่ได้มีไว้สำหรับผู้ที่ไม่จำเป็นต้องควบคุมระดับคอเลสเตอรอล

บทความเน้นย้ำว่า เป้าหมายควรเป็นการปรับปรุงผลลัพธ์ทางสุขภาพจริงๆ ไม่ใช่แค่การลดตัวชี้วัดทางการแพทย์เท่านั้น ซึ่งจากประเด็นหลักของบทความทำให้พบว่างานวิจัยโดยส่วนใหญ่มุ่งเป้าไปที่เรื่องของการลดปริมาณคอเลสเตอรอลแต่ไม่ได้มองไปถึงการเกิดอุบัติการณ์ของโรคอย่างแท้จริง ใช้เพียงตัวชี้วัดคือการลดลงของคอเลสเตอรอลแล้วสรุปว่าช่วยในเรื่องของการลดความเสี่ยง

ซึ่งถือว่าเป็นการ++”คาดการณ์”++บนพื้นฐานทางทฤษฎีของความรู้ทางชีวเคมีและสรีรวิทยา ไม่ได้ศึกษาถึงประโยชน์ผลกระทบโดยตรง แต่เมื่อศึกษาถึงอุบัติการณ์ของโรคจริงๆ กลับพบว่าผลลัพธ์นั้น++”ตรงกันข้าม”++จากข้อสรุปก่อนหน้านั้นก็คือมี การเพิ่มความเสี่ยงต่อ CHD และอัตราการเสียชีวิต

โดยตัวบทความได้อ้างอิงงานวิจัยหลายชิ้นที่แสดงให้เห็นถึงความเสี่ยงเหล่านี้: 1. Rajaratnam et al. (2000) พบว่าผู้หญิงวัยหมดประจำเดือนที่มีระดับสเตอรอลจากพืชสูงมีความเสี่ยงต่อโรคหลอดเลือดหัวใจเพิ่มขึ้น 2. Sudhop et al. (2002) สรุปว่าสเตอรอลจากพืชอาจเป็นปัจจัยเสี่ยงเพิ่มเติมสำหรับ CHD 3. Assmann et al. (2006) รายงานว่าระดับ sitosterol (ชนิดหนึ่งของสเตอรอลจากพืช) ที่สูงขึ้นสัมพันธ์กับการเกิดเหตุการณ์หัวใจที่สำคัญในผู้ชายที่มีความเสี่ยงสูงต่อ CHD 4. Silbernagel et al. (2010) พบว่าการดูดซึมสเตอรอลจากพืชสูงและการสังเคราะห์คอเลสเตอรอลต่ำทำนายอัตราการเสียชีวิตจากทุกสาเหตุและจากโรคหัวใจและหลอดเลือดที่เพิ่มขึ้น

นอกจากนี้ บทความยังกล่าวถึงความเสี่ยงที่อาจเกิดขึ้นต่อมะเร็ง โดยเฉพาะมะเร็งลำไส้ใหญ่และทวารหนักในผู้ชาย แม้ว่าจะมีหลักฐานจำกัดก็ตาม

และเมื่อเราได้รู้จัก โรคหายากอย่าง Sitosterolemia ซึ่งกำลังเปิดเผยให้เห็นถึงอันตรายที่อาจเกิดขึ้นจากการสะสมสเตอรอลจากพืชมากเกินไป

Sitosterolemia เป็นโรคทางพันธุกรรมที่หายากมาก เกิดจากการกลายพันธุ์ของยีนที่ควบคุมการขับสเตอรอลจากพืชออกจากร่างกาย ส่งผลให้ผู้ป่วยมีการสะสมสเตอรอลจากพืชในเลือดและเนื้อเยื่อต่างๆ มากเกินไป ซึ่งปกติร่างกายจะดูดซึมเพียงเล็กน้อยแล้วขับออกอย่างรวดเร็ว

ผู้ป่วยมักมีระดับคอเลสเตอรอลและสเตอรอลจากพืชสูงตั้งแต่วัยเด็ก และมีความเสี่ยงสูงต่อการเกิดโรคหลอดเลือดแดงแข็ง (atherosclerosis) ตั้งแต่อายุยังน้อย อาจเกิดภาวะกล้ามเนื้อหัวใจขาดเลือด (myocardial infarction) ในวัยหนุ่มสาว นอกจากนี้ยังอาจพบปัญหา ข้ออักเสบ (arthritis),การขยายขนาดของตับและม้าม (hepatosplenomegaly) ,ตับอักเสบ, ภาวะโลหิตจาง (anemia) เนื่องจากการแตกของเม็ดเลือดแดง

การศึกษาโรค Sitosterolemia ทำให้เราตระหนักว่า การสะสมสเตอรอลจากพืชมากเกินไปสามารถก่อให้เกิดปัญหาสุขภาพร้ายแรงได้ เช่นเดียวกับ คอเลสเตอรอล

จึงนำไปสู่คำถามสำคัญ:

**“ทั้งสเตอรอลจากพืชและคอเลสเตอรอลสามารถก่อให้เกิดปัญหาสุขภาพคล้ายกันได้ หรือ ทั้งสองอย่าง ไม่ได้เกี่ยวอะไรกับปัญหาสุขภาพอย่างที่เราเข้าใจกัน” **

• เป็นไปได้ไหมว่าเราตีความความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างสเตอรอลกับโรคหัวใจผิดไป โดยมองว่าเป็นสาเหตุ ทั้งที่อาจเป็นเพียงอาการแสดงของปัญหาที่ลึกกว่านั้น
• เป็นไปได้ไหมว่า atherosclerosis และ myocardial infarction มีสาเหตุที่ซับซ้อนมากกว่าการมองแค่ระดับสเตอรอลชนิดใดชนิดหนึ่ง
• เป็นไปได้ไหมว่าอาจไม่ได้อยู่ที่สารชนิดใดชนิดหนึ่ง แต่เป็นความไม่สมดุลในระบบการจัดการสเตอรอลของร่างกาย
• เป็นไปได้ไหมที่เราจำเป็นต้องมองสุขภาพในภาพรวมมากขึ้น แทนที่จะมุ่งเน้นที่สารเฉพาะชนิดใดชนิดหนึ่ง
• เป็นไปได้ไหมว่าเราต้องมองลึกลงไปถึงกลไกพื้นฐานของการเกิดโรคมากกว่าการมุ่งเน้นที่สารใดสารหนึ่ง

และเมื่อเรามาดูกระบวนการที่ร่างกายตอบสนองต่อทั้งสอง sterol

จะเห็นว่า จริงๆแล้วร่างกายเราไม่ชอบ plant sterol ด้วยซ้ำ เพราะเมื่อทั้งสองsterol เข้ามาในลำไส้ จะพบว่า ร่างกายเลือกจะขับเอา plant sterol ส่วนใหญ่ ออกจากร่างกายโดยมี cholesterol ออกไปด้วยเล็กน้อย ในขณะที่ cholesterol ส่วนใหญ่ร่างกายนำเข้าร่างกายมีเพียง plant sterol ส่วนน้อยเท่านั้นที่ได้เข้าไป

หรือจริงๆแล้ว ร่างกายไม่ได้ต้องการ plant sterol มาก แต่ร่างกายต้องการ cholesterol เป็นหลัก แล้วร่างกายเราต้องใช้ cholesterol ในการช่วยขับ plant sterol ออกจากร่างกาย ทำให้เราสูญเสีย cholersterol ไป

แล้วตามข้อมูลที่พวกเรารู้ว่า Cholesterol จริงๆแล้วสำคัญยังไง เมื่อถูกเอาไปใช้ในการขับ plant sterol ทำให้ได้รับ Cholesterol น้อยลง จึงส่งผลให้เพิ่มความเสี่ยงและอัตราการเสียชีวิต ตามบทความที่เอามาลง

การค้นพบเหล่านี้เน้นย้ำให้เห็นว่าความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างสเตอรอลกับสุขภาพนั้นซับซ้อนกว่าที่เคยเข้าใจ การมุ่งเน้นเพียงการลดหรือเพิ่มสารใดสารหนึ่งอาจไม่เพียงพอในการป้องกันโรค เราจำเป็นต้องมองภาพรวมของสุขภาพ และพิจารณาปัจจัยอื่นๆ ที่อาจมีผลต่อการเกิดโรคหัวใจและหลอดเลือด

ท้ายที่สุด บทเรียนสำคัญที่ได้รับคือ แม้แต่สารที่มาจากธรรมชาติก็อาจมีผลกระทบที่ซับซ้อนและไม่คาดคิดต่อร่างกาย การดูแลสุขภาพที่ดีจึงควรอยู่บนพื้นฐานของข้อมูลทางวิทยาศาสตร์ที่ครอบคลุมทั้งหมดไม่ใช่การคาดการณ์บนพื้นฐานทางทฤษฎีของความรู้ทางชีวเคมีและสรีรวิทยา ไม่ได้ศึกษาถึงประโยชน์ผลกระทบโดยตรง การวิจัยในอนาคตควรมุ่งเน้นที่การทำความเข้าใจกลไกพื้นฐานของการเกิดโรค มากกว่าการมุ่งเน้นที่การควบคุมตัวชี้วัดทางการแพทย์เพียงอย่างเดียว

@ c211bbd6:3a10a25b

Selling my own ticket. Not going this year. Got the Tixel link for interested buyers.

https://i.postimg.cc/Qd4trPJV/Clipboard-07-06-2024-01.jpg

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/599009

@ 6f170f27:711e26dd

(source: tdwi org)

Bonus:

Are extraterrestrials extra patriotic?

IN THE FINAL scene of “Independence Day”, a blockbuster film from 1996, Captain Steve Hiller (Will Smith), having saved the world from alien annihilation, watches as exploding debris from a UFO mothership lights up the sky, just in time for the American holiday. Turning to his stepson, he says with a smile, “Didn’t I promise you fireworks?” For Americans, such pyrotechnic displays are an important Fourth of July tradition. Can the same be said for UFOs?

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/07/04/are-extraterrestrials-extra-patriotic

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/598993

@ 6f170f27:711e26dd

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-07-06/biden-narrows-trump-s-election-lead-in-key-states-after-debate-poll

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden registered his best showing yet in a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult tracking poll of battleground states, even as voters offered withering appraisals of his debate performance amid panic within his party.

My personal take aways from this:

1. People don't actually care about the candidates. It's more like a soccer game with red team blue team.
2. Remember swing states isn't one thing. The individual swing states go their individual directions. E.g. Pennsylvania is going to be red, Wisconsin is clearly unclear etc
3. As much as people like rhetorics like "blue wave" or "red wave" none of this is happening. The US is a 50/50 country. No election in the forseeable future will ever be 60/40 in one or the other direction. Unlike in the UK or France

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/598895

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

@Car, will you leave a comment about the ideas you had for this series from SNL, yesterday. I'm up for more tinkering and tweaking.

Yesterday's edition https://stacker.news/items/597699/r/Undisciplined

• • -

July 6, 2023 📅

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📝 TOP POST

The Mysterious Life And Death Of Mircea Popescu

Excerpt

Bitcoin is not here for you to opine about it. Bitcoin is here to profoundly and oft times painfully change your life.

31.1k sats \ 24 comments \ @siggy47 \ ~bitcoin

---

💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/204944/r/Undisciplined?commentId=204982

Excerpt

Haha thanks I'll take that one as a compliment. I get really into what I'm working on when I know it's meaningful and important. When I was leading Marines it was about helping and serving them and making sure i did everything I could to prepare and […]

2518 sats \ 1 reply \ @kodylowactual

From Hi! I'm Kody, Head of Developer & Product Support at Fedi. Ask Me Anything! by @kodylowactual in ~bitcoin

---

🏆 TOP STACKER

2nd place @k00b (1st hiding, presumed @siggy47)

6355 stacked \ 22.7k spent \ 1 post \ 10 comments \ 0 referrals

---

🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

57.3k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 64.3k spent \ 93 posts \ 219 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

July 6, 2022 📅

---

📝 TOP POST

Mercury Wallet 0.7.5

Excerpt

Mercury is a new Bitcoin layer-2 scaling technology, based on the concept of statechains, that enables private keys for BTC deposits (UTXOs) to be transfered securely between owners without requiring an on-chain transaction.

386 sats \ 9 comments \ @clyde_nakamoto \ ~bitcoin

---

💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/41846/r/Undisciplined?commentId=41848

Excerpt

I just signed up for SN after lurking for some time. Feels nice to just login through lightning without providing any email or whatnot.

250 sats \ 11 replies \ @nice

From Daily discussion thread by @saloon in ~null

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🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @nerd2ninja

674 stacked \ 326 spent \ 0 posts \ 11 comments \ 0 referrals

---

🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

13.6k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 15.9k spent \ 102 posts \ 246 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

July 6, 2021 📅

---

📝 TOP POST

Spendl - Bitcoin Cards

Link to http://www.getspendl.com/

4 sats \ 8 comments \ @03dabe35e7 \ ~bitcoin

---

💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/177/r/Undisciplined?commentId=200

Excerpt

If @k00b is really Jimmy Song, I will boost this (even more). Please write some confirmation on Twitter. Maybe use https://tweetnacl.js.org/ to prove yourself.

1 sat \ 2 replies \ @spain

From Bitcoin thrives on adversity by Jimmy Song by @k00b in ~bitcoin

---

🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @k00b

1 stacked \ 7 spent \ 0 posts \ 2 comments \ 0 referrals

---

🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

14 stacked \ 0 revenue \ 55 spent \ 4 posts \ 9 comments

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/598866

@ 1739d937:3e3136ef

This is the second in a series of weekly updates detailing progress on bringing MLS protocol DMs and group messaging to Nostr.

Previous Updates

• June 28th 2024

Progress this week

This week was mostly spent on the topic of how to properly publish prekey bundles and what would be needed in the bundle itself to make it workable. I've included an early version of the spec below for prekeys, and would love thoughts on it. Treat this as an alpha version, very subject to change.

The other thing I spent time on was making changes to the OpenMLS library to add support for our custom ciphersuite. One issue that I've run into is that the IETF standard for HPKE doesn't include the secp256k1 curve. Because of this, the library being used in the OpenMLS library doesn't implement the necessary methods using our curve. Thankfully, there is another library with an open PR (shout out to nostr:npub1yevrvtp3xl42sq06usztudhleq8pdfsugw5frgaqg6lvfdewfx9q6zqrkl for that!) that would fix this. Additionally, there's an expired proposal to add secp256k1 to the HPKE spec itself. I've bumped both of these and will continue to follow up. Even without the formal addition to the spec, if we have a working library, I can add that to the OpenMLS library.

Spec Draft for Prekeys

Initial keying material (Prekey Event)

Each user that wishes to be reachable via MLS-based messaging MUST first publish a prekey event. Prekeys are used to authenticate and add members to groups (one-to-one DMs or groups with more than two participants) in an asynchronous way. The prekey event is a simple replaceable event and contains all the information needed to add a user to a group.

Prekeys SHOULD be used only once. Resuse of prekeys can lead to replay attacks.

In most cases, clients that implement this NIP will manage the creation and rotation of the prekey event. It's recommended that clients do so interactively with user consent in order to avoid overwriting prekeys created by other clients.

Derived vs Ephemeral Prekeys

Since prekeys are generated on a single device/client pair, the private key of the prekey must be either stored or generated in a way that can be deterministically recovered.

The recommended approach is to use derived keys, generated in the manner described in NIP-06. In this way, the user can respond to a new group request from any device/client pair, not just from the same device/client pair that created the initial prekey event. If using derived keys;

• Clients MUST use 104 as the account level value and 0 at the change level value (e.g. m/44'/1237'/104'/0/0).
• Keys are then generated using public derivation by incrementing the address_index level value.
• Clients MUST include the full derivation path corresponding to the key used in the content field on the prekey event.
• The content field MUST be encrypted using standard NIP-44 encryption (encrypted to themselves).

However, for added security (and consequently a more restrictive user experience), clients can chose to generate an ephemeral key and store the private key locally. This means that users will only be able to respond to new group requests from the same device/client pair and won't be able to respond at all if the prekey's private key is lost. Ephemeral keys can also be used with minimal degredation of UX if you're using a remote signer that can manage these keys.

If using an ephemeral key;

• The content field on the prekey event MUST be filled in with EPHEMERAL and then encrypted using standard NIP-44 encryption (encrypted to themselves). This ensures that anyone looking at prekey events cannot tell whether it's a derived or an ephemeral prekey.

Example Prekey Event

json { "id": <id>, "kind": 10443, "created_at": <unix timestamp in seconds>, "pubkey": <main identity pubkey>, "content": <encrypted derivation path | EPHEMERAL>, "tags": [ ["mls_protocol_version", "1.0"], ["ciphersuite", "MLS_256_DHKEMK256_CHACHA20POLY1305_SHA256_K256"], ["pubkey", <prekey pubkey>], ["prekey_sig", <signature generated from hex encoded pubkey of the prekey>], ["r", "wss://nos.lol"], ["r", "wss://relay.primal.net"] ], "sig": <signed with main identity key> }

Tags

• The mls_protocol_version tag identifies the MLS protocol version being used. For now, this MUST be 1.0
• The ciphersuite tag identifies the ciphersuite supported. For now on Nostr, we're using a custom ciphersuite, MLS_256_DHKEMK256_CHACHA20POLY1305_SHA256_K256. Read more about ciphersuites in MLS.
• pubkey is the derived or ephemeral prekey pubkey.
• The prekey_sig tag value is a Schnorr signature (over the secp256k1 curve) of the SHA-256 hashed value of the prekey's pubkey, signed with the prekey's private key.

```js const privKey = schnorr.utils.randomPrivateKey(); const pubKey = schnorr.getPublicKey(privKey);

const prekeySig = bytesToHex( schnorr.sign(bytesToHex(sha256(pubKey)), privKey) );

const prekeyTag = ["prekey_sig", prekeySig]; ```

Finally, clients SHOULD include r tags to identify each of the relays that they will attempt to publish this prekey event to. This allows for more complete replacement of prekey events at a later date.

Replacing Prekey Events

Clients MUST replace the prekey event on all the listed relays any time they successfully process a group welcome event. If the prekey was a derived prekey, clients SHOULD increment the derivation path by 1 for the next key.

Onward and Upward

This next week I'll continue to work on getting the right curves and code added to the OpenMLS library and start work on a simple demo app. The focus is on better understanding what we need from the control and message events and how we can make those as simple as possible for Nostr clients and relays while also preserving as much privacy as possible.

@ b2caa9b3:9eab0fb5

The day before yesterday was a whirlwind of exploration in Moshi, Tanzania. My plan was to find the elusive Art Market, a haven for local artists nestled outside the town center. Google Maps wasn't much help, but armed with a vague memory and a thirst for artistic discovery, I set off on foot.

After a scenic walk, I stumbled upon the hidden gem. Unlike the tourist-oriented markets in town, this place brimmed with authenticity. Artists displayed their paintings, sculptures, and wood carvings, creating a vibrant atmosphere. While browsing, I encountered a sight that gave me pause: a man working on elephant tusks. Knowing the illegality of the ivory trade in many countries, I snapped a couple of photos and continued my exploration.

Deeper into the market, I came across two artists diligently creating new pieces. They even offered me a friendly lunch invitation, which I politely declined (unsure of the mysterious meat on the menu!).

Energized by the artistic encounters, I decided to venture further. I hopped on a tuk-tuk, aiming for the outskirts of Moshi, a place called Raul, the gateway to the Materuni Waterfall hike (which I'd already conquered in December). Unfortunately, my tuk-tuk driver wasn't feeling as honest. He tried to overcharge me, but luckily, I knew the fair price and negotiated a fair deal.

The adventure took a turn for the worse on the return trip. Due to poor lighting and a hidden curb, I had a nasty nighttime fall. My hands, knee, and foot took the brunt of the impact, leaving me with some nasty (and still painful!) wounds. Thankfully, a kind soul at the hostel provided disinfectant, and I followed up with medication from the pharmacy the next day.

While the mishaps put a damper on the evening, the day's earlier discoveries still hold a special place in my memory. The Art Market, with its raw talent and local charm, was a true gem. This experience serves as a reminder that sometimes the best adventures are the ones that stray from the beaten path, even if they come with a few bumps and bruises along the way.

After tending to my wounds, I decided to treat myself to some comfort food. Opting for something familiar, I ordered a dish called "Wali Maharagwe." This Tanzanian staple, consisting of rice and beans, was exactly what I needed to soothe my body and soul. The flavors were simple yet satisfying, a perfect end to an eventful day.

Feel free to support me by sending some sats via the lightning network to rubenstorm@getalby.com

@ df67f9a7:2d4fc200

Anyone who thinks that “onboarding new users” is simply a technical challenge of educating people about “how Nostr works”, is grossly mistaken about social networks in general and blind to what makes Nostr so special.

Social Networks are for Friends

Relationship building is why people use social networks. Connecting with friends and loved ones (and colleagues and customers also) is the obvious reason to join, and should be the primary objective in any onboarding endeavor. Everything else “about the technology” only needs to be introduced “as needed” in order for each new user to achieve this goal.

The Nostr Network Requires Trusted Friendships

To thrive at scale, Nostr needs to have established and interconnected “webs of trusted friends” for “verifying” authentic profiles and quality content. This PgP strategy for decentralized trust implemented on Nostr, is the best way to keep bots and bad actors at bay while preserving freedom and sovereignty for every user. Even though Nostr still doesn’t have a standard for determining who “is trusted” for any one user across all clients, we can already build tools to onboard new friends of the highest quality trust. Leveraging existing relationships, “webs of trust” can be strengthened even at this early stage simply by advocates “inviting friends to Nostr”.

Nostr is New and Already Full of Trusted Friends

But it won’t be for long. Bots and bad actors are relatively “easy” to keep at bay today because the Nostr userbase is still small. People who come to Nostr and STAY have mostly been a self selecting group of “freedom tech fans”. We like it this way, and are generally happy to be here. The comraderie is refreshing. But the more people that come to Nostr, the more Nostr will attract different kinds of people.

This is already happening. Nostr is growing at the edges, reaching out beyond the “freedom tech fans” and attracting a number of “less committed” (and some nefarious) individuals here and there. Who sticks around? The “friends of freedom tech fans” stick around longer because they have friends here. WAY BEFORE even considering how “the network effect” will take over, Nostr needs to solve for retention by bringing more “trusted friends” into the network. Social onboarding tools will allow us to share Nostr to “friends of freedom tech fans” and beyond, establishing interconnected “webs of trust” that are increasingly impermeable to bots and bad actors.

Nostr is Freedom Tech that People Want to Share

Creators and influencers of every kind share Nostr (and Nostr content) every day. This phenomenon is a gold mine for onboarding, and can be supported with tools and incentives. Driven by the fact that Nostr is an open protocol, owned by nobody and available for anybody to build upon and profit from, the passion for sharing Nostr will never wane. But our userbase may fall off, if people become disenchanted by undesirable content or lack of good follows. This is why onboarding efforts, to attract more “friends” to the network, are so important. Leveraging the “share worthy” phenomenon of Nostr itself to grow Nostr’s networks of “trusted friends” seems like a no brainer. But for this strategy to work, it needs to be win win win for all parties.

Everybody Wins with More Trusted Users on Nostr

Even as standards for qualifying trust are still being refined, “social onboarding” increases the ratio of “more” trusted over “less” trusted users across the network.

Developers Win

With more trusted users on the network, Nostr developers win by being able to attract an increasingly diverse range of business partners to sponsor their projects.

Sponsors Win

An increase in trusted usership equates to more “real people” perusing “desired content” and more chances for brands to engage “organically” with target audiences. Marketing opportunities increase with trust.

Advocates Win

Simply by sharing Nostr with their friends, Advocates support the sustained growth of trust across the network. Valuable zap reward programs to incentivize high quality onboarding efforts are easily justified and funded by social onboarding clients and their sponsors.

Users Win

More trusted users across the network means more trustworthy content in every feed and more easily discoverable friends and new follows regardless of the client or algorithm used.

Nostr Wins

More trusted users on the network means more “high quality” trust connections between each user. Strong webs of trust is what keeps out bots and bad actors, and is essential for stability as Nostr scales.

Social Onboarding Clients Bring Trust to Nostr

Having more tools for “sharing Nostr with friends” is how Nostr wins. Any client can have capacity for “Social Onboarding”. This may be a dedicated onboarding client or a feature set within a social client. A client that offers “Social Onboarding” will support Nostr advocates and the users that they invite. These should have the following feature set :

• Nostr advocates may create and share any number of customizable “Nostr invites” for different audiences or occasions. Each may have different reccomendations, or access codes, or expiry options. (A NIP is in the works)
• Nostr invite QR codes (and shareable URLs) should resolve to a WEB based interface for prospective (and existing) users who MAY NOT have a client or browser extension already installed.
• Each invite should (within the onboarding client) provide access to low friction profile creation AND advocate reccomended lists of new friends, interest groups, preferred clients, best relays, and other stuff.
• Private key generation and management for new users should be handled entirely within the onboarding client (using NIP standards without a browser extension or external bunker app) to reduce friction at this crucial moment.
• A human readable Nostr address (NIP05 or some future NIP) should be generated automatically for all new users.
• New account creation should result immediately in a direct message or group thread of private “gift wrap” encrypted messages. This thread acts as the new user’s “first contact” with the advocate (possibly others as well) and an anchor for exploring the rest of Nostr.
• Invite “receipt” data (who invited who) should be “gift wrap” encrypted, accessible only to the advocate and new user. Clients wishing to use this data for analytics MAY request access from BOTH parties.
• Top Advocates may be calculated by the client (using data from invite receipts OR from public Nostr usage metrics), and awards may be offered.
• Advocates may also be supported by the client through access to private “advocate support” groups and communities over the Nostr network.

Support Social Onboarding for Nostr

Meet Me On Nostr is an app for sharing Nostr with friends via advocate invites. It is a reference client to demonstrate the power of Social Onboarding for Nostr. The first launch of "feature complete" client is expected in fall 2024.

This is a “bootstrap” funded project in active development. We are not grant funded or VC funded. Instead, we are looking to pay our developers by sponsorships from “Nostr adjacent” businesses who want to increase brand recognition over this new social network.

Is Your Business Nostr Adjacent?

“I’d like to advertise on Nostr but it’s “not quite ready” says our marketing team.”

“It has potential, and we have alignment, but the technology is still a bit rough.”

“Nostr is a perfect fit for our “target audience”, but there simply aren’t enough people using it.”

If your business is aligned with freedom technology, and the people who build and use Nostr, then NOW is the perfect time to sponsor Social Onboarding. Help grow Nostr’s base of trusted users and engage directly with Nostr’s most active advocates and influencers as it scales.

Release Nostr’s Superpower

When Nostr advocates are equipped and incentivized to share Nostr with their friends, nothing can stop this network from growing and growing and growing ever more secure and interconnected networks of trusted users.

Onboarding and retaining trusted users as Nostr scales will require so much more than just pointing people to “how Nostr works” content. Nostr’s true power lies dormant in the existing relationships that Nostr users already have outside of Nostr. Leveraging this power is what Social Onboarding is all about. Social Onboarding is Nostr’s superpower.

Contribute to the Geyser Fund

@ 75bf2353:e1bfa895

Shop The Bitcoin Circular Economy

In an effort to help build the circular economy, I want to increase awareness of businesses that accept bitcoin as payment. These are not Paid Ads. I list these companies because I use their services and find them valuable. I hope they find value in my word of mouth advertizing. Please spend some sats with them to support the circular economy

The following is a list of business that I use:

Coinkite

You have heard of them for sure, the maker of the world famous Cold Card. If you don't have a cold card, you need to get your shit in order, but the company makes at least 50 products. I don't have a discount code for this company, but listen to a bitcoin podcast and I'm sure you will find one. Coin kite does a lot of other cool shit too, like the satschip, a product designed for artists. NFT's are a scam, but physical art is a real thing. Artists who add the satschip to their physical artworks can throw a photo of the artwork on the CoinKite website. These jpegs are not NFT's. They are not Ordinals. They are art with a chip that works similar to the Tap Signer, except the seed can never be revealed. It ties the physical paining, a , et al. to the bitcoin blockchain. It's neat way of tying art to digital scarcity without all the scammy bullshit associated with NFT's

Bitrefill let's Me buy gift cards with bitcoin. I used to use it to pay my bills, but they have since discontinued that service. I still think it's a great company and use it as a way to get discounts on certain stores like CryptoCloaks.

The Bitcoin Company sells gift cards and Visa Cards online. I recently ordered a part for a composer and the customer service rep asked me to send my credit card number and secret code over email. I didn't feel comfortable sending that information, but I was able to buy a Visa Card with the exact amount to get my composter parts. They used the credit card and I got my parts, but there is no more money on the credit card. Information longs to be free, so guard your credit card numbers.

CryptoCloaks is a company that sells 3D printed items for sats. I hae bought quite a few things off them. Most recently, a case that my S9 which has been converted into a heater. He has a lot of other cool stuff too. Check him out.

BitcoinHatGuy has sold hats for bitcoin for decades and I have spent more sats on these hats than I feel comfortable admitting, but have never regretted my purchases. In real life, I'm one of those wierdos that wears the same thing everyday: Black T-Shirt and Gray pants, but I have an extensive hat collection. I buy most of my hats with bitcoin and most of those hats were bought from BTChatGuy. They're great, cheaper than MLB or even minor league baseball hats and I don't watch sports anyway. If you wear hats, buy a hat from this dude.

Robosats

Bitcoin exchanges are some of the biggest spenders in the bitcoin content creation market. They are the bread and butter for content creators. This makes sense, because they also get the most in fees. According to David Bennet from the Bitcoin and Podcast, The Cash App had over a billion bucks in revenue from bitcoin sales alone. Good. I'm happy for the Block, but smaller bitcoin only exchanges like RoboSats don't get the exposure they deserve because they don't have the marketing budget. RoboSats is a peer to peer exchange. It's only on TOR, but they also have an app on the Andoroid store for those too timid for TOR.

Robosats is a bitcoin escrow service. They hold bitcoin in escrow and wait for conformation that payment has been recieved. Bitcoin sellers generally sell for about 5% above market value to provide KYC Free Sats to customers. Fiat settlements are made using the Cash App, Strike, or even Amazon gift cards. We should market the p2p exchanges like this more. Robosats incentives this by giving users or referal codes. Refer someone to RoboSats using your referral code and you will get 100 sats for each trade. I would like to see people shill RoboSats and pick up these sats on social media. So I am not only asking you to use RoboSats, but I am also asking you to shill it. I had nodeless.io on the list, but the tyrannical government of Canada shut it down. When I attempt to orange pill normies, the objection I most often need to overcome is "Bitcoin can never work because the government[state] will shut it down. The 100k bitcoiners in the world know it does not work that way, but most CPI believers think the government just needs to shut down the single bitcoin computer to take it all away. Perception is reality as they say. And yeah, we won't all turn off our bitcoin mining heaters or shut off our nodes, but I have seen online Poker get decimated by government policies. They did not succeed at ending online poker, but they essentially ended access to online poker for anyone with a sub 120 IQ. If we want bitcoin to be for everybody, we need to make it easy for people to buy non-KYC bitcoin. RoboSats is making that their mission.

Nostr.build

Nostr Native video and image storage. you can login with your npun instead of an email or using nip07. The premium membership also includes access to btcpayserver, but you'll need to set it up. The subscription lasts one year, but the developers told me they won't actually delete your photos for two years. I love nostr.build and think it is an underrated resource in the nostr community

BTCPins

BTCPins sells cool bitcoin collectible PINS. They're reasonably priced and look great. He only accepts bitcoin because he is a true ride or die freak. He is also one of the meetup organizers in Southern California and wears hats sold by Bitcoin author, Knut Svanholm. He's the real deal.

Strike

Strike would pay me like five or ten bucks if I had you sign up with them via my referral link, but I'm not recommending them for the referral money. This is about recommending services I use. Strike is the best way to send fiat around the world. I also know that many bitcoiners don't like the idea of spending their own bitcoin, Strike gives you the ability to instantaneously convert fiat to bitcoin and vice-versa. I would rather have the hodl never sodl people spend fiat in the circular economy this way.

In a perfect world, Strike would not comply with KYC laws, but like I said, it's the best way to send fiat around the world.(or people on Robosats who could be anywhere in the world.) I also think if a KYC free exchange is to expensive, you're better off stacking a little on a KYC exchange than not stacking at all. Budgets are tight these days. If you can only stack a penny this paycheck, stack that penny with Strike. Need to send fiat to Mexico, use Strike instead of Western Union.

Seed Signer

Seed Signer is a raspberry pi with no Wi-Fi. You can make your own or buy one from the store. The seed signer does not have a secure element, but it also does not store your seed on the device. Therefore, you must write down your seed and enter it into the device every time you plug it in. This sounds like a pain in the ass, and it is if you do it that way, but it comes with a camera and a unique neat feature. You can create a QR code using a pen and paper.(You'll need access to a printer too) Actually, I recommend using a pencil and paper. It's easy to make a mistake so you might want to erase it. You can always go over it with a felt tip pen later if you're worried about a man in the middle attack. You can also use it for nostr keys I think, but I have not tried this feature. I would not trust all my bitcoin with any wallet, but this is an excellent wallet to use as part of a multisig with Sparrow Wallet or Specter Desktop.

Get Alby

Get Alby is my favorite desktop wallet. I've made spme videos about them here and highly recomend it because you can use it as a custodial wallet or hook it up to your own node. I also respect this product a lot. Back in 2017 or 2018 we had the Joule browser extension, but you had basically had to be a lightning engineer to get it to work. I wasted many hours of my life away trying to get it to work on my browser with no dice. Alby is about 100X improvement over the old Joule days. They also have some cool nostr features and make it easy to login to websites. Full disclosure, I have no idea how they make money.

Plebai

You put a dollar into a vending machine and it spits out bubbly sugar water. This data vending machine works like that. You put im 100 sats and it will genorate an AI image or create a summary for your blog. It's an awesome service and does not require a subscription like some of the fiat competition.

LeatherMint I bought a belt from leathermint and it was one of the best purchases I ever made online. I highly recommend buying things from this site https://theleathermint.com/. I wrote about my experience here.

These are not all the products I use, and I will add more over time. If you have a bitcoin side hustle or sell a bitcoin related product, let me know about it. I'm always interested in learning about more bitcoin companies.

This information was originally published in this blog post

@ 7175188c:6382a72c

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/598260

@ 32e18276:5c68e245

Hey guys!

Here's our Q3-Q4 report. There was some confusion with the timing of the previous quarters so we've accumulated everything since the Q2 report (March 2nd, 2024) into this one. Enjoy!

Damus OpenSats Q3-Q4 Progress Report

The third and fourth quarter of the initial Damus OpenSats grant encompasses work done across many of the active projects being worked on at Damus HQ. Here's a quick overview of the progress made across the organization:

nostrdb

Added

• Author query support (William Casarin)
• REQ support: ndb_subscribe (William Casarin)
• CLOSE support: ndb_unsubscibe (William Casarin)
• Profile flatbuffer dump utility (William Casarin)
• Ability to register a subscription callback instead of just polling (William Casarin)

Changed

• Dump json in filter and fulltext queries in cli tool (William Casarin)

Stats

name added removed commits William Casarin <jb55@jb55.com> +665 -739 16

nostrdb-rust

Added

• Note builder interface (William Casarin)
• Nip10 implementation (William Casarin)
• Getting profile by key (William Casarin)
• Note tag support (William Casarin)
• Tag::into_iter method (Yuki Kishimoto)
• FilterBuilder::until method (Yuki Kishimoto)
• Export structs from tags module (Yuki Kishimoto)

Fixed

• FilterBuilder::limit method (Yuki Kishimoto)
• Note::sig method (Yuki Kishimoto)

Stats

Yuki Kishimoto <yukikishimoto@protonmail.com> +20 -4 5 William Casarin <jb55@jb55.com> +1551 -867 32

Damus NoteDeck/Android

This project is in heavy development and doesn't have clean changelogs yet, so here are all of the git logs from this period

Willam's updates

• account_manager: don't add the same pubkey more than once
• actionbar placeholder
• actionbar: remove border on reply button, add expand animation
• actionbar: support both dark and light buttons
• Add forward navigation animation
• add hover to profile map demo
• add --light lightmode flag to previews and notedeck
• add my pubkey to the timeline query for testing
• add test queries for elsat
• add vertical separators between timelines
• allow missing profiles in account switcher
• allow multiple invocations of --sec
• always have some default timeline
• app: make ndb public
• a quick note about the View trait
• args: allow filter files and raw filters on cli
• bump timeline filter limit
• cap size of remote filter limits
• change selection color to purple
• check: remove duplicate and disable wasm checks
• ci: disable wasm builds for now
• cli: add --sec argument to quickly add an account
• clippy postbox cleanups
• crates: add bitflags
• damus: make relay pool public
• darker quote reposts for mobile
• debug: add some debug logs for keyboard note selection
• deps: using tracing instead of log
• direnv: disable nix direnv on darwin
• direnv: make args explicit so its easy to change
• don't bump timeline when adding notes
• dont since-optimize when we don't have enough notes
• don't use an actual keystorage in Damus test apps
• drafts: clear post after posting
• enable nip10 replies
• enostr: rename Event to Note
• env: allow private things like secret keys
• filter: add default limit
• filters: fix hashtag filters
• filter: unify nostrdb and remote limits
• Fix all warnings
• fixed_window: fix clippy warning
• fix global query
• fix inline note preview colors
• fix light borders for quote reposts
• fix postbox design
• fix scroll area shrinking
• fix some clippy warnings
• fix until filters
• fix warnings
• fonts: always use base fonts for all families
• fun large profile grid preview
• get all missing ids from all timelines
• github: remove pages workflow
• gitignore: add perf files
• hide navigation title on global nav
• ids: find more unknown ids from inline notes
• images: add aspect_fill
• initial inline note previews
• initial navigation
• initial note posting
• initial postbox for testing
• initial post box view
• initial post reply view
• initial refactor in preparation for routing
• input: fix deadlock on resize
• input: handle raw events
• input: process input once
• input: switch to scanning over raw input events
• integrate sidebar into main view
• introduce View and Previews traits
• irc mode
• ircmode: tighten username
• keys: actually use the keystore
• lighter gray for inline previews in white mode
• list: switch from arc mutext to rc refcell
• load timelines from commandline
• log: reduce spammy new note log
• log relay subscriptions
• make notedeck front and center
• mobile: add lots of top padding on mobile
• mobile: a tad more padding at the top
• mobile: black panel bg color
• mobile: don't add hover on mobile
• mobile: make mobile flag runtime-configurable
• mobile: simplify is_mobile
• mobile: use my timeline for testing again
• move account_login_view to ui submodule
• move add_space to its correct location
• nip10: fetch unknown replied-to notes
• nip10: show initial reply information on notes
• nix: add openssl dep for reqwest
• nix: make android emulator optional
• nostrdb: bump to support timeline queries
• note: don't allow nested note previews
• note: support nprofile mentions
• perf: don't clone bytes via a more specialized function
• perf: fix continuous repaint
• perf: profiling note content rendering
• popup: increase fixed window margin
• popup: simplify borrow
• postbox: add focused state
• postbox: add focus shadow from figma
• post: full available width
• postview: add vertical scroll
• previews: remove central panel frame
• profile: add about and username to profile previews
• profiles: introduce DisplayNames
• profiling: update puffin version
• queries: add a few more test queries
• queries: set reasonable initial query sizes
• queries: update hashtags query
• readme: add usage
• readme: document previews
• readme: make it clear that its for desktop
• readme: make it clear that nix is optional for non-android dev
• readme: show notedeck preview
• refactor: move fixed_window to ui
• refactor: move note into its own widget
• refactor: rename widgets to ui
• refactor: use map instead of explicit if let
• remote: use default_remote_limit instead of hardcoding
• remove context from DesktopSidePanel
• remove minimum window size
• remove useless struct
• render_pfp: only depend on imgcache
• reset virtual list if notes are spliced into timeline
• set tooltip delay to 100ms
• side_panel: return more detailed side panel responses
• simplify is_mobile check
• simplify tab underline calculation
• since filter optimization
• slightly larger pfpfs
• small inline preview pfps
• style: initial logic for mobile style
• style: less bubbly
• style: realtime hover interactions
• style: set 0 duration tooltip delay
• Switch to egui master to fix wgpu issues
• switch to glow for now
• switch to rustls-tls-native-roots
• tabs: select notes & replies by default
• test: add test timeline query
• test: update test profile with a banner
• test: use my timeline query by default for testing
• textmode: adjust name sizing so it doesn't bump the column
• textmode: fix coloring of abbreviated names
• textmode: no previews in textmore for now
• theme: update to correct colors based on figma design
• timeline: don't hide on resize
• timeline: refactor tabs into TimelineView
• timeline: use strips instead of panels
• ui: add banners to profile previews
• ui: add feathering-resistant hline separator fn
• ui: add frame around note previews
• ui: add initial Profile hover previews
• ui: add profile picture hover animation
• ui: integrate egui-tabs for notes & replies selector
• ui: introduce profile picture widget
• ui: make pixel sizes correct, use more of the figma
• ui: move RelayView into ui module
• ui: only inline preview kind1 notes for now
• ui: reduce vertical padding for more compact timelines
• ui: remove some old note ui comments
• ui: simplify note widget
• ui: switch to flags for note options
• update slow timeline query
• update to latest nostrdb, adding tag support
• update version in comment because I still use this on my laptop
• use egui_virtual_list for rendering
• use unique id for post/reply view
• weird actionbar experiment
• we should just called this damus
• widgets: begin organizing ui components into widgets
• working notes + notes&replies

kernelkind's updates

• account_management: refactor
• AccountManagementView
• AccountManager: add ability to make a selection
• AccountSelectionWidget
• Account switcher
• Add AccountManager to app
• Add custom visual themes
• Add flag to emulate mobile during preview
• Add keypair & update pubkey
• Add login key parsing
• Add login manager
• Add MacOS key storage
• Add MobileAccountLoginView
• Add modular custom text styles
• Add monospace text style
• Add nix-shell for macos android development
• Add nostr-sdk dependency
• Add precommit hook to suggest proper formatting
• Add preview for RelayView
• Add relay view
• add reqwest as dependency
• Add SimpleProfilePreview
• Add ui_test_harness binary implementation
• Add warn color and highlight color
• app: add accounts to Damus & mock
• Apply app style to AccountLoginView
• Apply cargo fmt
• Conditionally compile MacOS key storage code
• Constrain app minimum size
• Create account login panel
• Create side panel & global popup
• enostr: expose RelayStatus
• Extract the sample relay to test_data for reuse
• impl linux credential storage
• Integrate account switcher to side panel
• Integrate global popup into app
• login: Add key loading & error to mobile
• macos_key_storage: runner ignore tests
• migrate AccountManagementView to enostr Keypair
• Migrate to new AccountManagementView conception
• Move login business logic to LoginManager
• move login logic from promise to async fns
• Move preview controller out of account_manager.rs
• move test account creation & apply to global popup
• Pfp integration to side panel
• refactor account switcher & management previews
• Refactor 'ui tests' conception to previews
• reintroduce account management
• reintroduce account switcher
• remove nostr-sdk
• Rename PersistState -> StateInMemory
• select first account
• Seperate mobile dark color theme into its own func
• update cargo.lock to reflect toml change
• Update egui 0.26.1 -> 0.27.1
• Use app_creation for common app setup functions
• Use custom style in app
• use nostr in enostr

Stats

name added removed commits kernelkind <kernelkind@gmail.com> +6844 -1979 58 William Casarin <jb55@jb55.com> +9733 -5583 194

Damus iOS

Added

• Ability to create highlights (ericholguin)
• Add ability to mute hashtag from SearchView (Charlie Fish)
• Add ability to mute words, add new mutelist interface (Charlie) (William Casarin)
• Added callbackuri for a better ux when connecting mutiny wallet nwc (ericholguin)
• Added nip10 marker replies (William Casarin)
• Added title image and tags to longform events (ericholguin)
• Add event content preview to the full screen carousel (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Add First Aid solution for users who do not have a contact list created for their account (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Add marker nip10 support when reading notes (William Casarin)
• Add video cache to save network bandwidth (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Completely new threads experience that is easier and more pleasant to use (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Connect to Mutiny Wallet Button (ericholguin)
• Highlights (NIP-84) (ericholguin)
• Notification reminders for Damus Purple impending expiration (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Proxy Tags are now viewable on Selected Events (ericholguin)
• Relay fees metadata (ericholguin)
• Revamp emoji picker to be less error-prone and add search, frequently used, and multiple skin tone support capabilities (Terry Yiu)
• Show list of quoted reposts in threads (William Casarin)

Changed

• Added first aid contact damus support email (alltheseas)
• Add support for Apple In-App purchases (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Always strip GPS data from images (kernelkind)
• Change reactions to use a native looking emoji picker (Terry Yiu)
• Errors with an NWC will show as an alert (ericholguin)
• Improve UX around video playback (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Moved paste nwc button to main wallet view (ericholguin)
• Relay config view user interface (ericholguin)
• Relay detail design (ericholguin)
• Updated Zeus logo (ericholguin)

Fixed

• Fix broken GIF uploads (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Fix bug that would cause connection issues with relays defined with a trailing slash URL, and an inability to delete them. (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Fixed issue where some replies were including the q tag (William Casarin)
• Fixed issue where timeline was scrolling when it isn't supposed to (William Casarin)
• Fixed threads not loading sometimes (William Casarin)
• Fixed wallet not disconnecting when a user logs out (ericholguin)
• Fix emoji reactions being cut off (ericholguin)
• Fix ghost notifications caused by Purple impending expiration notifications (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Fix image indicators to limit number of dots to not spill screen beyond visible margins (ericholguin)
• Fix in-app purchase issue that would trigger an error on purchase before confirming the account information. (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Fix issue where bootstrap relays would inadvertently be added to the user's list on connectivity issues (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Fix missing Mute button in profile view menu (Terry Yiu)
• Fix nostrscripts not loading (William Casarin)
• Fix profile not updating bug (William Casarin)
• Fix stale feed issue when follow list is too big (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Fix thread bug where a quote isn't picked up as a reply (William Casarin)
• Fix welcome screen not showing if the user enters the app directly after a successful checkout without going through the link (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Improve reliability of contact list creation during onboarding (Daniel D’Aquino)
• Issue where NWC Scanner view would not dismiss after a failed scan/paste (ericholguin)

Stats

name added removed commits Fonta1n3 <fontainedenton@googlemail.com> +1 -0 1 Sean Kibler <skibler@protonmail.com> +13 -2 1 alltheseas <64376233+alltheseas> +65 -1 4 Transifex <transifex@transifex.com> +581 -39 36 Terry Yiu <git@tyiu.xyz> +763 -1383 8 William Casarin <jb55@jb55.com> +1017 -1564 49 ericholguin <ericholguin@apache.org> +1962 -643 13 Daniel D’Aquino <daniel@daquino.me> +3885 -761 48

@ ee74c5c7:8aa2898a

Test!

@ 000002de:c05780a7

Recently a famous actress accused an AI company of using her voice without her permission. She says this company approached her about using her voice as the voice of a new product. She declined the offer.

Now she claims the voice of the product is a dead ringer for her voice and is suing the AI company for using her voice without her permission. What could have happened is that this company could have hired an impersonator and used their voice to develop their product. I think this is the most likely thing that happened.

This sparked an interesting idea in my mind. What LLM are doing is imitating. We all do it all the time. Musicians do it when they write songs. We all do it when we write. We can't help but be influenced by others. Of course there are even professional impersonators. Under current IP "law" I do not believe that an impersonator can be sued for stealing the likeness of those they impersonate. So, given that LLM simply use information/data that is publicly available how can what they are doing be unlawful or even immoral?

Imagine a world like this. I color my hair and cut it in a certain way that is new and different. Does it seem reasonable that I could use the government to prevent anyone else from doing what I have done? Its absurd right? Why? Because a hair style can't be stolen. Its not tangible. It can be copied or imitated though.

This cuts to the core of the logical flaws in idea of intellectual property. Most people really only look at the utility of things like IP instead of reasoning about them. You can make arguments about why IP is needed to protect something but when you really break it down logically it is full of contradictions. It falls apart. Its arbitrary.

If I write something on my own web site on the Internet and do not specify a license legally you are not allowed to duplicate it. Once I publish it though I have zero control over it. Anyone can read it and "steal" it. But they can't really steal it right? I mean, I don't even have possession of it. Anything that can be infinitely copied cannot be stolen. It can be copied. It can be copied and changed. You see theft requires the possession of an object to change. When you copy what I have written here what I wrote does not cease to exist. No matter how much I don't like that the only way this can be stopped is for me to never share it.

The only reason IP even exists is the state. The state arbitrarily decides who has the "right" to ideas and intangible things like songs and prose. And we know how the state enforces things. Violence and the threat of violence.

I am really looking forward to watching all of the absurdities that will come out of AI companies copying and imitating things broadcasted online. Grab the popcorn. Its gonna be fun.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/598082

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Yesterday's edition https://stacker.news/items/596725/r/Undisciplined

We have our first comment or post from outside of any known territory, today.

• • -

July 5, 2023 📅

---

📝 TOP POST

SN release: PWA push notifications

Excerpt

If you have SN installed as PWA and you have a browser that supports push notifications, you can now get your SN notifications via push even if the PWA is not in the foreground.

3308 sats \ 63 comments \ @k00b \ ~meta

---

💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/204268/r/Undisciplined?commentId=204359

Excerpt

Highest number of zaps since feb according to @kr.

498 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b

From Daily discussion thread by @saloon in unincorporated territory

---

🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @k00b

5721 stacked \ 16.3k spent \ 1 post \ 21 comments \ 0 referrals

---

🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

24.6k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 32.7k spent \ 87 posts \ 241 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

July 5, 2022 📅

---

📝 TOP POST

Hey, this is Moritz together with the Alby team. Ask us anything you would like to know about Alby!

Excerpt

Alby builds the bridge to access web apps on top of the Bitcoin Lightning Network. Developers now have a simpler way to onboard users and interact with the users´ wallets.

15.3k sats \ 57 comments \ @Alby \ ~bitcoin

---

💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/41443/r/Undisciplined?commentId=41448

Excerpt

I recently downloaded Alby and it is a fantastic product - thank you! It is great to have a native extension and the UI/UX is very smooth.

265 sats \ 1 reply \ @andyleroy

From Hey, this is Moritz together with the Alby team. Ask us anything you would like to know about Alby! by @Alby in ~bitcoin

---

🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @nerd2ninja

1250 stacked \ 450 spent \ 0 posts \ 22 comments \ 0 referrals

---

🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

33.8k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 36.6k spent \ 85 posts \ 348 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

July 5, 2021 📅

---

📝 TOP POST

The Largest Difficulty Adjustment in Bitcoin History

Link to https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/largest-difficulty-adjustment-in-bitcoin-history

3 sats \ 3 comments \ @sha256 \ ~bitcoin

---

💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/183/r/Undisciplined?commentId=184

Excerpt

This was written pre-adjustment but the real adjustment was -28%! It's remarkable watching a decentralized system continually reach consensus and respond to incentives. […]

80 sats \ 0 replies \ @sha256

From The Largest Difficulty Adjustment in Bitcoin History by @sha256 in ~bitcoin

---

🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @sha256

3 stacked \ 3 spent \ 1 post \ 1 comment \ 0 referrals

---

🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

16 stacked \ 0 revenue \ 38 spent \ 4 posts \ 12 comments

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/597699

@ 08eade50:687ccb04

1. Create git repo:

export USER=<github-user-name> export REPO=nostr-site-demo mkdir $REPO; cd $REPO;

1. Create $REPO on github.

2. Init local repo and push to Github:

echo "# nostr-site-demo" >> README.md git init git add README.md git commit -m "first commit" git branch -M main git remote add origin https://github.com/$USER/$REPO.git git push -u origin main

1. Setup Github Pages:

2. open repo page on github

3. open Settings -> Pages

4. under Branch choose 'main' and save

5. Wait 1-2 minutes and reload the settings -> Pages page until you see "Your site is live at URL".

6. copy URL of your github pages website

7. Go to npub.pro admin panel and choose your site and open Settings.

8. edit Website Address, paste the URL of your Github Pages address

9. click Save

10. Download the updated zip archive for self-hosting at .npub.pro/dist.zip

11. Extract files from archive to your REPO dir, commit, push to Github:

unzip path/to/zip/dist.zip git add . git commit -m "Add site files" git push origin main

1. Wait 1 minute for Github to update your site.

You should be done now!

@ b2caa9b3:9eab0fb5

Yesterday was a rollercoaster, but let's save that story for another day. Today, I want to talk about Bitcoin (BTC).

This morning, I woke up and grabbed my phone to check on the markets. Bitcoin wasn't where I left it! The last time I looked, it was cruising around $60,000. Now, it was barely above $50,000.

Talk about a wake-up call! I've been waiting for a dip to buy more BTC, and here it was. The only problem? I wasn't prepared.

This is a friendly reminder, folks: dips are opportunities! Whether you're a seasoned hodler or a crypto curious newbie, a price drop can be a great chance to snag some Bitcoin.

Now, full disclosure: I'm no financial advisor. This is just my experience, and I'm not a professional. Do your own research before making any investment decisions.

But hey, maybe you've been on the fence about jumping into the crypto world. Maybe you've been waiting for a sign. Well, consider this your sign! This dip could be your chance to get in on the ground floor (or at least a lower floor).

Here's to hoping we all reach a point where we can finally say goodbye to fiat currency! But until then, good luck and happy hodling!

Find me on Nostr

npub1kt92nvl0xra26cz7tmhd3k3v3ltmfj5890kdc3qq9860h84tp76swuf0p0

Internet

• Web Profile Page
• Support Page

Feel free to support me by sending some sats via the lightning network to rubenstorm@sats.mobi

@ b804f68e:2fb0fa1f

As I sat in my routine hot bath listening to an episode on the Huberman Podcast about The Neuroscience of Speech, Language, and Music, I realized how good of a conversationalist and podcast host Huberman is given his intellect and knowledge but in particular his ability and skill to ask questions. I would say this goes for any successful podcast, podcast hosts in general are great conversationalists and know how to use the power of questions.

I on the other hand after doing a bit of introspection and self reflection have come to the conclusion that I don't ask enough questions and don't efficiently utilize the skill of asking questions either to enhance my learning or to engage in effective conversation that goes beyond, "Hey, how are you?", "I'm good and you?", "I'm doing well, thanks!", ".......", ".........", "Okay well nice talking to you!".

Plus maybe it's just me, but I feel as a whole we don't encourage asking questions enough and don't learn nor practice it enough. In school it was always unidirectional, in that the teacher would lecture and then ask us questions to gauge whether or not we were listening and to test our retention, and then maybe at the end the teacher would ask us if we had any questions with 5 minutes left of class.

Anyways, I feel for me personally that I can improve my life by learning how to use the power of questions. It's a skill I have not put much thought into as my focus has always been on trying to provide the answers or conjuring up the right response, but as I've experienced, if both sides of a conversation are only looking to provide answers and are not actively thinking to ask engaging and thought provoking questions then the conversation can go stale and stagnate real quick.

Do stackers feel the same way in that they could improve their overall use of questions? Do you think asking meaningful questions is indeed a skill that needs practice?

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/597149

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Happy Independence Day, Stackers!

Yesterday's edition https://stacker.news/items/595445/r/Undisciplined

• • -

July 4, 2023 📅

---

📝 TOP POST

Don't miss the Stacker News FIREWORKS 🎆 show today

3653 sats \ 12 comments \ @SatoshiNakanodo \ ~meta

---

💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/204032/r/Undisciplined?commentId=204040

Excerpt

It's the Pavlov Dog effect. I'm draining my account.

457 sats \ 1 reply \ @SatoshiNakanodo

From Don't miss the Stacker News FIREWORKS 🎆 show today by @SatoshiNakanodo in ~meta

---

🏆 TOP STACKER

2nd place @SatoshiNakanodo (1st hiding, presumed @siggy47)

3233 stacked \ 181 spent \ 2 posts \ 7 comments \ 0 referrals

---

🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

42.6k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 47.7k spent \ 69 posts \ 222 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

July 4, 2022 📅

---

📝 TOP POST

I'm Matt Hill, CEO of Start9. July 4th AMA!

Excerpt

Start9 is the team behind EmbassyOS - the most advanced, secure, and reliable personal server OS in the world, enabling anyone to run their own Decentralized Web Node. At Start9, our goal is […]

17.5k sats \ 57 comments \ @MattHill \ ~bitcoin

---

💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/41024/r/Undisciplined?commentId=41064

Excerpt

Exploring alternatives to Reddit. I really like what I see here. :^)

255 sats \ 1 reply \ @scampy

From Daily discussion thread by @saloon in ~null

---

🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @MattHill

19.4k stacked \ 846 spent \ 2 posts \ 23 comments \ 0 referrals

---

🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

31.1k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 40.7k spent \ 91 posts \ 225 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

July 4, 2021 📅

---

📝 TOP POST

Bitcoin thrives on adversity by Jimmy Song

Link to https://jimmysong.substack.com/p/bitcoin-thrives-on-adversity-bitcoin

5 sats \ 10 comments \ @k00b \ ~bitcoin

---

💬 TOP COMMENT

No top comment

---

🏆 TOP STACKER

No top stacker

---

🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

1 stacked \ 0 revenue \ 7 spent \ 2 posts \ 0 comments

@ b2caa9b3:9eab0fb5

Reflecting on the past, it's been quite a while since I had a furry companion named Nala. She was more than just a dog; she was a loyal friend who brought joy into my life, especially during our regular swimming sessions. Nala may have left us long ago, but the memories of those carefree moments remain etched in my heart.

One particular memory captured in this photo takes me back to an April day at Ebnisee, just before the bathing season began. Nala, with her exuberance, had just emerged from the water after a playful swim. The photo encapsulates the sheer happiness we shared during those times, a snapshot frozen in time.

There's not much more to say about this photo—it speaks volumes on its own. It symbolizes the bond between a pet and its owner and the simple pleasures of life. Nala's presence in the picture tells a story of companionship and the joy found in the simplicity of a day by the water.

As time passes, Nala's memory lives on. May she rest in peace, forever preserved in this heartfelt image.

Photo information

• Author: Ruben Storm
• Created on: April 11, 2014
• Published on: April 11, 2014
• Camera: Nikon D7000
• Lens: Nikkor 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8
• Location: Ebnisee, Germany

Photo on Flickr • My Flickr Profile • Support Page

@ a9434ee1:d5c885be

Alice is a Capitalist

Alice has been falling down several rabbit holes lately and decides it’s time for a break. She takes a long overdue shower and gets her thoughts straight on some of her experiences.

She writes a post about how “Bees are Capitalists". However, like any real Lady, she’s got some criteria:

• She wants to have some great conversations around this topic
• She wants her post to be publicly readable by anyone
• She doesn't want to be bothered by a bunch of trolls though
• She doesn't want to be the main moderator for these conversations
• She wants zaps and doesn't care where they come from

In short: she wants to get the most out of her post with the least amount of overhead.

Luckily, she has Nostr profile and is part of several communities (publicly readable NIP-29 groups). So, she just selects the communities that overlap with this topic (let's say "₿-keepers", "Austrian Economy Class" and "Permaculture Pirates") and publishes her post ...

In all of them at the same time!

Communities are Capitalists

Now, anyone that is a member of any of these communities can join in on the conversation. The same conversation. One post, one event ID.

Just like for a real life event, Alice didn’t invite the whole universe but she selected certain groups of people. That way, she set the stage for rich discussions with perspectives from Beekeepers and hardcore Austrian economists alike. Discussions that are still readable by anyone, but that do require membership of a selected community for write-access.

The incentives play out into a win-win-win for everyone involved.

Alice’s criteria are met and her post doesn’t have to fit into one neat category. She isn’t left with the current internet’s false choice between “pick 1 community” or “blast bluntly into the universe and pay Big Tech to maybe get it to the RiGhT people”. Here, she gets to publish to selected lists of recipients that she doesn’t have to curate herself, while also adding it to her feed for her followers to pick up on.

Her Followers can be watching her every post, they can only pick up on certain location- or hashtags, or they can let algo’s filter for posts that have proven to be high signal in the relevant communities first.

Community members get to organically discover adjacent communities, following links they’d never have considered themselves. (Beekeepers getting into Mises in this example).

Lurkers can still read, share, embed and get a quick idea of the value prop of joining communities, following certain members, etc…

Bob, the Community Admin for ₿-keepers, makes money by providing Curation, Computation & Hosting. He gets free marketing and exposure to people that actually might be interested. As in: he doesn’t really need Facebook Ads when he’s got plenty of Alices, writing posts with overlapping interests of the one his community is built around. He also gets more people posting to his niche community, since creators are not forced to pick just one.

Relays are Capitalists

Since Bob is in the business of Curating, Computing & Hosting stuff, he prefers doing that in the most efficient way. He prefers handling everything from 1 Relay (and maybe even 1 Blossom server, 1 GPU set-up, 1 mint, … ).

Yes, Bob likes it simple. When the Community is the Relay, every part of his service gets easier: - fast loading of messages and media - content moderation - handling memberships - curating things like custom community, GIF’s, emoji, … - curating other relays he does or doesn’t want to be involved with - self-hosting the entire thing - handing over Admin rights - letting others fork the entire thing - handling back ups in whatever way suits him - handling fast access the collective preferences of his members (favorite movies of this group of people, most valued apps, …) - having a clear overview of his own costs, attack vectors, … - giving members guarantees in terms of pricing, privacy, …

Bob is a Capitalist

Bob got great value out of the conversations that followed Alice’s first post in his community. So much so, that some real-life rendez-vous’ and home-brewed mead later, they now call each other …

"Honey".

The End

@ 000002de:c05780a7

Can someone that hates the government celebrate Independence day?

I believe they can

---

---

Defining Terms

Before I answer that let me preface my thoughts with this. There are three things that get used as if they mean the same thing.

1. Nation
2. Country
3. Government

Many people use these interchangeably yet they are three different things. The fact that many people do not realize or recognize this leads to confusion and frustration when they hear someone being critical of the government, and its policies.

1. Nation is the people
2. Country is the land
3. Government is the state. The system ruling over the people within the borders of the land.

What America is to me

Over the years as I've become more disenfranchised with the US government and the state as in idea I have had an internal struggle with patriotism[^1]. I love this country and its people but I hate many things the government has done and is still doing. I no longer vote. I do not believe the political forces represent me or any of us. I believe the Constitution is a beautify document but it has been powerless to stop the march to where we are today. I am ashamed of what the US and many state and local governments do. And yet, I still love America. Some people have tried to make me feel as if I do not love America. This isn't true.

I'm proud to call myself an American. I love our country and what the people (on the whole over time) stand for. The ideals of liberty and justice. The ideals of the only limitation being your own willingness to work. The idea of being unashamed of what you believe. The idea of fresh starts. The ideas that drove people to the new world. These values are good. They have not always been upheld or modeled but the ideas are core to being an American. When you talk to an immigrant that has came to this country you can see how special America is.

---

The US government is not America

I believe the state is evil and responsible for more death and destruction than any entity that has ever existed. But, I do not want to live in chaos, I support governance. Governance exists in each of our lives. It is mostly voluntary and rarely includes violence or the threat of violence. The state uses violence to force the people into submission. The state is an entity that has a monopoly on the use of violence.

The US government is not what makes me proud. It makes me ashamed. The actions of those in power are deplorable. Many of them are anti-American. When the founders penned the documents that created the federal government there was much concern about the federal government trampling over the rights of the people. And the evil isn't new. Look at what the US government did to the native people in this country. The state is ruthless. Our culture is far to comfortable with the violence the state perpetrates. Maybe you don't think we can abolish the state as I do. That's OK. But can we agree that its grown too big and too powerful?

---

Food for thought

I challenge you to think about this over the next few days. Who has your back? Is it your friends and family or is it some politician or bureaucrat? You might be thinking well, there are men who laid down their lives for our freedoms. Ok, but they are people. Most of us that oppose war oppose the abuse of those soldiers. Many times they are being used as tools for the elite. Most of us respect those that are willing to sacrifice themselves for their family and their nation. If you talk to vets(I know many) they believe in the values I have described. Those people have my respect. Most do not love the government. They love the people. They love the country. They love their families and our cultural values. They do not want to live under tyranny. Yet as the state grows in power we are increasingly living under a technocratic system that rivals the USSR. In the name of preserving freedom the state has created a tyrannical system that robs us of our freedoms. It is fueled by a political system that divides us and pits neighbor against neighbor.

I invite you to reject these ideas. This political poison. We don't need to agree with each other on everything. We are being forced into this stupid arguments constantly. Live and let live. Stop trying to use force to make everyone live like you. That's un-American. Its not what this nation is about. Yet that is where we are.

---

The dollar isn't American

Bitcoiners should understand this. Many Americans think bitcoin is bad because the identify the dollar as American. Again, this is ignorance. The US government predates the dollar. The dollar is fiat. I believe it is anti-American. Bitcoin is American. It is censorship resistant. It is created by proof of work. It has no rulers. What is more American than that? But you see this is the same issue as thinking being American has something to do with the government. The government is something we can change, or replace. If we did would we cease to be who we are? I don't think so.

---

Happy Independence day

Happy Independence day stackers. Lets work on thinking more independently and living with each other in peace. Reject the political framing. We don't have to love and agree with everything everyone does. We can respect each others rights to do things we wouldn't do. We can do better at that. We could all probably focus on improving our own backyard a little more and forcing people that live across the country to do or not do things a little less. Celebrate your freedom and the freedom of others on this Independence day.

---

What do you love about America? The people and the land.

[^1]: Inspired by SNL (@k00b, and @car)

@ eed76ece:afa98124

Who will it be ?

@ 796a6d9b:3bb533e3

For more than a while now, I think you have experienced the feeling that things are not right in the world or in your country, it is not surprising that it coincides with a moment in history where we will experience the end of a monetary cycle like It is FIAT money or in other words fiat money that is backed by debt, every day you look around you and people do not find much hope in the future, many of them are working to support themselves, pay the costs of living and In the best of cases, just saving a little inflationary money, a slower theft in the population, in the worst of cases, people are full of debt and without a plan on how to escape said trap.

Everything is connected, we just have to look for the signs that are leaving us with the naked eye, as for example we have never had in history countries so indebted based on their GDP or gross domestic product and that this same debt was financed with a deficit, For people who have studied or lived the situations of hyperinflationary countries like Venezuela, Argentina, Turkey, Lebanon, you will know what I am talking about, it is simpler than it sounds, no country can spend more than it produces without any consequences, someone has to pay the price, in this case the population through the dark hand of inflation.

We have reached the point where governments blatantly lie to us with inflation data that does not include food, rent and energy prices, to save appearances and maintain the psychological operation that everything is fine, but when you go to the supermarket you know that something was never there. Well, it is not surprising that even you, the person reading this, know that inevitably your Dollars, Euros or Pesos will not buy you the same thing in a year as what they buy you today.

So where are we headed? It is normal then that people are not very enthusiastic about the future, since when we look into the depths of our system we realize that people's savings and purchasing power will increasingly be devalued so that everything continues to function as it has until now. Today, it is noticeable that something in people's subconscious warns them that tomorrow will be worse and that is why they have to enjoy the now, reducing their time preference to sporadic moments without thinking about the long term, even if they do not understand complex mechanisms. economics, it is observed that people are increasingly working more for less remuneration since the numbers of a salary can increase nominally but they buy fewer and fewer goods and services, as we can see in this graph.

What we have left in the coming years is the acceleration of government mechanisms to be able to continue keeping the wealth extraction system functioning, trying to extend the psychological operation to a point of no return, it is clear that a form of money has been confiscated from us. . that allowed us savings like gold did, I think it is important that we begin to question certain things and choose not to continue participating in a system that is arranged to destroy the energy of our work.

What can we do? Alternatives such as Bitcoin and gold to protect the energy of our work are some of the best options that we can implement as a refuge from the disaster to which our politicians have dragged us. Using these alternatives as a kind of battery for our energy is the only way we can ensure that the effort we make every day in our jobs, ventures or companies is not devalued, since both gold and bitcoin are not debt. of anyone, they are reserves of value and have no risk of reverse departure or non-payment.

It is time to take action and educate ourselves to be able to rise to the challenges of the paradigm shift that we will have as a civilization, since a change in the monetary standard is what can lead us to a better path of incentives where people can change preferences. temporary and build for the future.

@ 630c0b5b:0654d4f7

Från byteshandel till pengar

Om Kalle säljer honung och Adam säljer yxor så är det inte säkert att de vet hur de ska prissätta sina varor i relation till den andras varor. Det är inte säkert att Adam vill ha Kalles honung, men Adam vill sälja sina yxor. Därför behövs en teknik (pengar).

Vilka pengar som Adam och Kalle väljer beror på vilka råvaror de har omkring sig. Om de bor på en ö där det bara finns snäckor så kan det fungera som pengar. Om de är i fängelse kan cigaretter fungera som pengar.

Val av pengar är en organisk process som vi själva väljer över tid. Funktionen som pengar blir starkare ju fler som använder det. Bitcoin är i stadiet som råvara som börjar upptäckas som pengar.

I det här tidiga stadiet är det fler som värdesätter bitcoin som råvaran än som funktionen som pengar. Råvaran kan köpas i spekulation med en tro att det kommer ske en värdeökning om fler personer ser värdet i råvaran.

Adam och Kalle som bor på en ö använder snäckor som pengar. Kalle bygger en båt och seglar till en annan ö för att plocka fler snäckor. Han kommer tillbaka till Adam och har 10 gånger fler snäckor än som fanns på ön tidigare. Priserna på varorna kommer öka.

Sune seglar till ön och har med sig små vackra stenar. Adam och Kalles snäckor kan trampas sönder och efter 10 år är de flesta snäckorna trasiga. Sunes vackra stenar har inte gått sönder och nu börjar Adam och Kalle värdesätta dessa.

Nu börjar stenarna övergå från att vara en råvara till att bli pengar. När de blir pengar så får stenarna ett mervärde utöver själva råvarans pris, för sin funktion som pengar.

Bitcoin har alla egenskaper för att bli pengar, men under resan dit så kommer det först fungera som en spekulativ råvara som blir mer eftertraktad. Den som gillar råvaran är först en liten grupp, som blir fler och fler med tiden om råvarans egenskaper inte förändras.

Det som skiljer bitcoin från en vanlig råvara är att den är digital och har ett eget nätverk som råvaran kan transporteras över. Nätverket går inte att förstöra, precis som du inte kan förstöra all plankton i havet, för det finns ingen central punkt att attackera.

Så länge råvaran fungerar som den ska kommer fler börja spekulera i den. När en annan råvara som också kan vara pengar börjar förlora sina egenskaper, kommer den råvara med starkast egenskaper vara den som flest vänder sig till för att vara pengar.

Pengar är därför en winner-takes-all. Nätverkseffekten blir exponentiell för varje person som använder det. Precis som värdet i telefonnätverket ökar för varje användare, kommer bitcoinnätverket öka för varje användare.

Det är troligt att vanliga valutor kommer fortsätta finnas en lång period till, där de starkaste valutorna (Dollar m.fl.) kommer växa. Det påverkar inte bitcoin så mycket, för det växer just nu för sin funktion som råvara.

Att bli pengar kommer ta tid, men långt innan det sker så kommer bitcoin ha ett mervärde bara av att vara en teknik som löser andra problem som vi har. T.ex. en hel obligationsmarknad som genererar negativ avkastning jämfört med inflationen.

Ett vanligt missförstånd är att vi förväxlar valutor med pengar som om det vore samma sak. Det är det inte. Däremot använder vi valutor som en slags pengar, men eftersom de är obegränsade i antal så fungerar de inte bra som pengar över tid.

Många hakar upp sig på att någon måste utse vad som klassas som pengar. Det stämmer inte. En högre instans kan utse vad som är en valuta. Vad vi frivilligt använder mellan varandra i byteshandel är pengar.

Vi kan t.ex. se fruktförsäljning på marknader i Sydamerika där bitcoin över lightning används som pengar. Det är inte en officiell valuta men båda parter kan välja att använda det om de vill.

På grund av skattemässiga anledningar tror jag inte vi kommer se bitcoin som en vanlig form av pengar i Sverige inom 10 år, men däremot lär det användas mer och mer i t.ex. Sydamerika, Afrika, Asien.

Slutsats: bitcoin är en råvara som idag relativt få tror kan bli globala pengar. Även om den gruppen kan ha fel, så kan själva råvaran och dess nätverk växa parallellt med vanliga valutor. Värdet på bitcoin är inte enbart beroende av funktionen som pengar.

Egenskaper för pengar

En råvara i begränsad mängd med lång livstid som är enhetlig, delbar och enkel att transportera har de tekniska egenskaper som gör att den kan fungera som pengar.

Ägg

• Ej delbara
• Kort livstid (ruttnar)
• Enhetliga
• Svåra att transportera (sköra)
• Obegränsad mängd

Kan inte fungera som pengar

Guld

• Delbara (svårt, tidskrävande)
• Lång livstid
• Enhetlig
• OK att transportera (tungt)
• Begränsad mängd

Kunde fungera som pengar förr i tiden i brist på bättre alternativ

Diamanter

• Delbara (svårt)
• Lång livstid
• Inte enhetliga
• OK att transportera
• Begränsad mängd

Kan inte fungera som pengar

Dollar

• Delbara
• Lång livstid (digital)
• Enhetlig
• Lätt att transportera
• Obegränsad mängd

Inte bra som pengar

Bitcoin

• Delbara
• Lång livstid (för evigt)
• Enhetlig
• Lätt att transportera
• Absolut begränsad mängd
• (BONUS) Programmerbar

Kan fungera som pengar

@ 1d0db016:5afbcc58

asdf

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/459455

@ 1d0db016:5afbcc58

asdf test

test

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/459454

@ 41fa852b:af7b7706

“Bitcoin is punk rock. It is defiance of the man. It is defiance of central banking. It is defiance of the existing system.” – Caitlin Long

The bitcoin exchange rate to pounds might be taking a hit this week, but real Bitcoiners are still out in force, talking about freedom money and how to usher in this peaceful financial revolution.

Let’s take a look at all the meetups we have happening in the UK and Ireland this week…

---

Upcoming Bitcoin Meetups

This week, we’ve got another exciting lineup of meetups for Bitcoiners across the UK:

1. Dundee Bitcoin: Join them on the 2nd Monday of every month from 5:30 to 8:30 PM at The Wine Press, 16 Shore Terrace, Dundee DD1 3DN. This month’s meetup is on Monday, July 8th.
2. Canterbury Bitcoin: Meeting this month at the Millers Arms in Canterbury at 7 PM on the 9th of July. An informal meet-up to discuss bitcoin and chat.
3. Glasgow Bitcoin: If you're in Glasgow on Wednesday the 10th you'll find these guys at The Piper Bar, G1 1HL at 6 PM.
4. Sutton Coldfield: After a bit of a break Sutton Coldfield Bitcoin are back with another gathering at the Brewhouse & Kitchen pub, 8 Birmingham Rd, B72 1QD. 7 pm on Wednesday 10th.
5. Liverpool Bitcoin: A growing community, dedicated to leveraging Bitcoin's strengths to serve the people of Liverpool and surrounding areas. Get along & help them build. This month their meetup is at the Railway Pub on Tithebarn Street, on Thursday 11th at 6:30 PM.
6. Bitcoin Beach Retreat July 12-15th. This is an incredible yearly event held in a beautiful beachside spot in Wales. Tickets are still available. It's an absolute must for bitcoiners in the UK, guaranteed to be a life-changing experience.
7. Bitcoin Walk Edinburgh: Every SATurday Bitcoin Walk Edinburgh trek around Arthur's Seat and talk Bitcoin. Join them this week at 12 pm.
8. Kent Bitcoin: A relaxed lunchtime social to discuss all things Bitcoin. Meeting at The Muggleton Inn, 8-9 High Street Maidstone ME14 1HJ. 12-2 PM Sunday 14th.

---

New Meetups listed at Bitcoin Events UK this week.

Two new meetups were added to the UK roster this week.

1. Cyphermunk House: - Hosting weekly meetups, education, special events and art exhibitions in Bloomsbury, London. you can find them on Twitter/X and on Nostr.
2. Women of Bitcoin UK: Les Femmes Orange are here with a quarterly meetup in London. A community and education space for women in Bitcoin. Follow them on Twitter/X and we'll be listing all their events here and on the website.

---

New Businesses Accepting Bitcoin

No new businesses accepting bitcoin in the last week, but a few are getting ready to announce soon.

In the meantime, why not get out there and ask local businesses near you if they would like more customers by tapping into the Bitcoin community? If they are interested, put them in touch with Bridge2Bitcoin, and we can get them set up in person or with a 45-minute video call. As always it's a free service so they have nothing to lose.

If you manage to get them on board yourself and need stickers, Orange Coin Store has enabled coupon code “BRIDGE2BITCOIN,” which gives 25% off all “Bitcoin Accepted Here” stickers!

---

Upcoming Special Events

This events isn’t happening next week, but consider adding it to your calendar now, as tickets are selling fast.

• Bitcoin - The change you've been waiting for: Mark your calendars for August 31 at 10:30 am for "The Change You’ve Been Waiting For" at Glasgow University Union. This seminar, costing £10, focuses on Bitcoin's transformative potential. With Bitcoin impacting individuals and businesses globally, understanding it is crucial. Guest speaker Allen Farrington will share his expertise, making this event perfect for both seasoned investors and the Bitcoin-curious. Don't miss this opportunity to explore how Bitcoin can shape your financial future.

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Get Involved

• Volunteer Opportunities: Bridge2Bitcoin is actively seeking volunteers who share our passion for merchant adoption. We'd be delighted to connect if you're eager to contribute. Reach out to us on Twitter or through our website.
• Start Your Own Meetup: Interested in launching a Bitcoin meetup? We’re here to support you every step of the way. We’ve assisted numerous UK Bitcoin meetups in getting started. Get in touch via Twitter.
• Feedback and Suggestions: We value your input! Share your ideas on how we can enhance this newsletter.

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Stay tuned for more updates next week!

Simon.

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Yesterday's edition https://stacker.news/items/594021/r/Undisciplined

• • -

July 3, 2023 📅

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📝 TOP POST

Bitpac: Publicly auditable cooperatives on bitcoin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLh4CF7Sd_w

14k sats \ 27 comments \ @super_testnet \ ~bitcoin

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/203330/r/Undisciplined?commentId=203336

1st of many meme submissions

355 sats \ 2 replies \ @MathiuJ

From Meme Monday - Best Bitcoin Meme Gets 25,000 Sats by @sn in ~bitcoin

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🏆 TOP STACKER

2nd place @nerd2ninja (1st hiding, presumed @siggy47)

172 stacked \ 609 spent \ 0 posts \ 8 comments \ 0 referrals

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

32.9k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 37k spent \ 83 posts \ 238 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

July 3, 2022 📅

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📝 TOP POST

Machankura - LN custodial wallet accessible via any phone in six African countries

Link to https://8333.mobi/

4686 sats \ 19 comments \ @KenyaCoin \ ~bitcoin

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/40804/r/Undisciplined?commentId=40898

Excerpt

this look fucking amazing, thanks for sharing! i really like the development in Africa!

242 sats \ 0 replies \ @iguano

From Machankura - LN custodial wallet accessible via any phone in six African countries by @KenyaCoin in ~bitcoin

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🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @KenyaCoin

4042 stacked \ 223 spent \ 1 post \ 15 comments \ 0 referrals

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

9076 stacked \ 0 revenue \ 9303 spent \ 57 posts \ 145 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

July 3, 2021 📅

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📝 TOP POST

LN Markets newsletter: Bitcoin Finance, Building and much more!

Link to https://lnmarkets.substack.com/p/27-bitcoin-finance-building-and-much

4 sats \ 1 comment \ @shawnyeager \ ~bitcoin

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/174/r/Undisciplined?commentId=175

Excerpt

Excellent use case-based primer on Discreet Log Contracts, including current L1 and emerging Lightning Network applications.

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @shawnyeager

From LN Markets newsletter: Bitcoin Finance, Building and much more! by @shawnyeager in ~bitcoin

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🏆 TOP STACKER

No top stacker

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

8 stacked \ 0 revenue \ 11 spent \ 1 post \ 1 comment

@ 502ab02a:a2860397

บันทึกเจอนี่ อีกหลักไมล์นึง เดือนกรกฎาคม เป็นเดือนสุดท้ายกับชีวิตครึ่งบกครึ่งน้ำครับ หลังจาก 31 กรกฎาคม 2567 ผมก็จะยุติชีวิตการทำงานโฆษณาอย่างเต็มตัว 22ปีในรูปแบบบริษัท กับอีก 3ปีในรูปแบบ freelance ศิริรวมแล้ว 25ปีในงานสายนี้

ถือว่าหมดก๊อกทุกอย่างแล้วครับ กับชีวิตที่ทำตามหลักการตลาด หลักการประชาสัมพันธ์ ชีวิตที่ทุกงานต้องทำตอบโจทย์ เอากลุ่มเป้าหมายเป็นหลัก ดูว่าเป้าหมายต้องการจะทำอะไรแล้วผลิตสิ่งนั้นออกมาเพื่อให้ตลาดสนใจและมาซื้อมาดู สินค้าหรือกิจกรรมที่ทำ ทำมาตั้งแต่ talk of the town ไปจน trend setter ในบางเรื่อง

พูดภาษาง่ายๆว่า ทำตาม4p มาจนเอือมแล้วครับ ยืนระยะมาทุกวิกฤติการเงินการเมือง จนรู้สึกว่าพอแล้วดีกว่าเนอะ ไล่ทำตามสิ่งที่คนอื่นอยากได้ ไล่ทำตามสิ่งที่คิดว่าเป็นที่ต้องการของใครหลายๆคน คิดว่าพอแล้ว คิดมาสัก 2ปีแล้วครับ จนได้วาระสุดท้ายจริงๆ ที่ผ่านมาผม lost time ไปมากมาย ทั้งการแก้งานแบบไร้สาระ ทั้งการห้ำหั่นคู่แข่งเพื่อได้งาน ทั้งการบีบเวลาด้วยการเมืองของลูกค้าที่ต้องย่นเวลาจาก 1สัปดาห์มาเป็น1ชั่วโมงให้ได้ lost time lost energy มากครับ ทำมา 25ปี ช่วงโค้งหลังๆได้เห็นความไร้มนุษยธรรมในวงการมากขึ้นอย่างชัดเจน ผมว่า 25ปี เพียงพอที่จะเห็นกราฟอะไรบางอย่างในตัวมนุษย์จริงๆครับ ความเหี้ยมที่มากขึ้น ความ no สน no แคร์ที่รุนแรง สมัยผมยังมีคำว่าคู่ค้านะ สมัยนี้เหรอ 555555 มึงอยากได้มึงทำไปเดี๋ยวกูบรีฟมึงตอน6โมงเย็นแล้วเอางาน8โมง หรือไม่ก็ เดี๋ยวกูไปหาคนอื่นดูก่อน ถ้าพังกลับมาค่อยมาบี้กับมึงแทน จะมองให้ธรรมดาก็ได้ครับ ก็มองมาตลอด แต่มันมองได้แค่ตาข้างเดียว และผมรู้ดีว่าผมอยู่บนโลกด้วยตาข้างที่แย่ไม่ได้ ผมหลับตาข้างเดียวได้ แต่ขอหลับข้างที่แย่ดีกว่าครับ

ในช่วงปีหลังนี้ผมเริ่มสลับเอาสิ่งที่อยากทำมาทำมากขึ้น เอาตัวเองเป็นหลักมากขึ้น พูดให้เห็นภาพก็คือ ขอใช้ชีวิตที่เหลือเป็นศิลปินแล้วครับ ไม่ต้องตกใจ ไม่ได้ออกเทป ไม่ได้วาดรูป ศิลปินในนิยามของผู้ทำงานศิลปะ ในแขนงของผม อาจจะเป็น ศิลปการทำอาหาร ศิลปะการสื่อสารออนไลน์ แต่ผมเพียงพอแล้วกับการทำตามโจทย์ว่ากลุ่มเป้าหมายต้องการอะไร แล้วพุ่งไปทำสิ่งนั้น สิ่งที่คิดว่าจะทำต่อไปคือ ทำในสิ่งที่อยากทำ ทำมันไปเรื่อยๆแหละ เพราะเป้าหมายคือความสุข มีคนชอบสิ่งที่เราทำแค่คนเดียว ก็รื่นรมย์แล้ว หรือไม่มีคนชอบเลยผมก็รื่นรมย์อยู่ดีเพราะได้ทำในสิ่งที่อยากทำ

ผมให้เวลากับกลุ่มเป้าหมายมาทั้งชีวิต ผมจ่ายมันด้วยเวลาชีวิต ที่เอาคนอื่นมาเป็นเกณฑ์ว่าผมควรทำอะไร แต่ต่อจากนี้ไป ผมจะใช้เวลาให้กับชีวิตตัวเองครับ

Spend time ให้กับตัวเอง เป็นการจ่ายที่มีคุณค่ามากที่สุดในชีวิต ผมได้เริ่มไปแล้วครับ ผม spend time กับหมูแดงฮ่องกง ที่ต้องใช้เวลาในการย่าง 3ชั่วโมง ใช้เวลาในการเตรียมของราวๆ 1ชั่วโมง ไม่รวมเรื่องหมักเรื่องอะไร การได้หมูแดงในแบบที่ผมชอบ อาจใช้เวลาเฉลี่ยถึง 5ชั่วโมงต่อแบทเทอร์ แต่ผมมีความสุขในการทำ ในการค้นหาสมุนไพรเพื่อให้ได้กลิ่นและรสในแบบที่ผมต้องการ ผม spend time กับมันตั้งแต่การเดินทางค้นหาวัตถุดิบ spend time ในการไปหาผู้อาวุโสให้เล่าเรื่องสมัยก่อน วิธีการ รวมถึงของที่ใช้แบบสมัยก่อนจริงๆ spend time ในการทดลองกินเจ้าที่อร่อยๆระดับประเทศ spend time ในการปรับจูนสูตรให้เป็นแบบที่ต้องการ กี่เวอร์ชั่นแล้วเวอร์ชั่นเล่า แทนที่จะท้อแต่ผมกลับรู้สึกสนุกไปกับมัน ผมได้ spend time กับสิ่งที่ใช้อิสระทางใจในการทำ และที่สำคัญ ผมได้กลับมา spend time กับคุณเอ๋แบบเต็มที่หลังจากที่เอา time ไปให้กับอะไรก็ไม่รู้ที่ผ่านมา

ใช่คับ มันอาจมาในคราบความมั่นคง และ time ที่เหลือต่อจากนี้ไปมันอาจมีภาพที่ตอบไม่ได้ว่าจะออกหน้าไหน แต่ผมเห็นภาพที่ชัดเจนว่าอยากทำอะไร การ spend ของผมต่อจากนี้ไป โดยเฉพาะเรื่อง time ผมจะเป็นคนเลือกเองเพราะคุณค่าของ time ที่เหลือนั้นมันยิ่งทรงคุณค่าขึ้นไปเรื่อยๆ แปรผันตามความโรยรา โชคดีที่ผมได้รู้จัก บิทคอยน์ เป็นแผนรองรับ ไม่รู้จะหมู่หรือจ่า แต่ว่าผมเห็นอะไรบางอย่างในมัน

หลายคนแนะนำผมว่าควรทำแบบนั้น แบบนี้ ตอนนี้ตลาดต้องการนั่นนี่ ทำไมไม่ทำสิ่งที่ตลาดต้องการ ผมก็ได้แต่ยิ้มขอบคุณในไมตรีไป แต่ในใจผมมันพอแล้วครับ 25ปี ถือว่าเพียงพอแล้ว ผมเป็นศิลปินแล้ว แม้มันจะมีโอกาสไส้แห้ง แต่ผมได้ spend time ที่มีคุณค่า กับสิ่งที่ผมรักจะทำ และ กับคนที่ผมรัก value ของ time มีมากเลยครับ GFH พุ่งพรวด (Gross Family Happiness)

เหลือก็แค่ว่า ผู้คนจะอภิเชษฎ์สิ่งที่ผม spend time ลงไปไหม และยินดีตอบรับสิ่งที่ผมทำแค่ไหน ถ้าดูจากตัววัตถุ มันอาจไม่ทรงคุณค่าะไร แต่ต้นทุนที่ผม spend ลงไป มันมากเสียเหลือเกิน ลองย้อนไปอ่านสิ่งที่ผม spend time ไว้สิครับ 55555 มันอาจไม่ได้เป็นตัวท้อปๆของไทย แต่เมื่อถึงวันที่ออกมาได้จริงๆ มันจะเป็นสิ่งที่ผมภูมิใจ หลังจากนั้นก็เหมือนกับเพลงแล้วครับ อยู่ที่ว่าคนฟังจะชอบหรือเปล่าแค่นั้นเอง เพราะเข้าใจดีว่าการที่เรา spend time ในการทำมากไม่ได้แปรผันตามกับการที่คนจะชื่นชอบ มันอาจแปรผกผันก็ได้นะ ก๊ากกก

นอกจากนี้ผมยัง spend time ให้กับหมูกรอบ ไก่เกราะ (5555 ใช่ครับไก่เกราะ หนังกรอบเนื้อนุ่ม) และอาหารอื่นๆอีกมากมายที่ผมกับเอ๋คิดและทดลองสูตรไว้เมื่อตอนโควิดซีซัน1 ต้องนั้นเรา lost time ไปกับงานโฆษณามากเหลือเกิน ตอนนี้เราสามารถเอา time เพื่อมา spend ให้กับสิ่งนี้ได้แล้ว แม้จะปัญหามากมายแต่มันก็เป็น happy problem เพราะถ้าผ่านวงการโฆษณามาได้ อะไรบนโลกนี้มันก็ง่ายแล้วครับ ถือเป็นข้อดีที่ผ่านนรกมาแล้ว

ถึงตรงนี้ก็ต้องวัดกันต่อไปครับ ว่างานศิลปะชิ้นนี้ จะมี proof of work เพียงพอที่คนอื่นๆจะให้ value กับมันไหม

แต่สิ่งนึงที่เป็นเหตุผลของการบันทึกเจอนี่ นี้ก็คือ อยากให้คนผ่านไปผ่านมาได้หยุดคิดว่า คุณกำลังฟุ่มเฟือยเวลาอยู่หรือเปล่า คุณ spend time กับสิ่งที่มี value เพียงพอจริงๆแล้วหรือยัง ถ้าพวกเรามองว่า time คือสิ่งมีค่า การที่เราจะ spend มันอย่างสุรุ่ยสุร่าย วันนึงมันอาจติดหนี้ของเวลาก็ได้ครับ

ผมไม่ได้เล่าเรื่องนี้ในเมนสตรีม แต่ผมว่าในทุ่งม่วงนี้ มี value เพียงพอที่ผมจะ spend time with ครับ

ขอจงมีสุขสวัสดิ์

เฮียเอง

siamstr

pirateketo

@ 6f170f27:711e26dd

Example The Gladiator.

IMO there are 2 big reasons why color grading changed this way:

1. Movie studios want customers to go to the cinema. Not only do they make more money there, it also makes you more likely to get attached to the franchise (Benjamin-Franklin-Effect). The high contrast scene looks good on both your tv and the cinema - the low contrast has an advantage in theater projectors
2. Vanity. People just look better without harsh shadows. I'm personally guilty of this as well as a photographer. Probably most of you gravitate to reason 1 but don't underestimate this one

@ 000002de:c05780a7

I do not understand most of the criticism of OpenSats.

I mean, I think I do but it is couched in a lot of nonsense about secrecy and lack of transparency. I wonder if its sour grapes mostly. People that were not funded. People that are jealous. I dunno. It bugs me.

I'm not saying OpenSats is perfect but its just one of several orgs that support projects. Every time I hear an uneducated and unfair criticism of it I wanna say, "go do it better and show us how its done".

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people infantalize themselves or others. People choose to give to OpenSats. People are capable of reading their web site, looking at the projects they support and deciding if they would rather donate directly to devs/projects or not donate at all.

There are many non-profits in the world. MANY of them I would never give any money to. It is insane to me to throw rocks at one that is supporting good things. I'm not saying they are above criticism but the criticism should be fair, informed, and logical. I see very little that fit that mold.

If you have a problem with someone doing at least some good, your message is easier to take if you aren't petty and unfair in your criticism. Criticism is needed and has massive value but many seem to suck at creating the valuable kind.

@ f954303f:6e1b0af5

当年的计划生育的六条理由过时了吗？哪里放在今天站不住脚了？

一、计划生育有效地抑制了中国人口增长过快的势头。

二、计划生育促进了人民群众婚姻、生育、家庭观念的转变。

三、计划生育为中国经济的发展和人民生活水平的提高创造了有利条件。

四、计划生育促进了中国人口素质的提高和人的全面发展。

五、计划生育进一步解放了妇女生产力有利于妇女地位的改善和提高。

六、计划生育促进了中国农村消除贫困的进程。

详见：

中国的计划生育 (www.gov.cn) (https://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2005-06/02/content_3845.htm#)

submitted by /u/whyyoutouzhelele (https://www.reddit.com/user/whyyoutouzhelele)

[link] (https://www.reddit.com/r/China_irl/comments/1dtn0en/当年的计划生育的六条理由过时了吗哪里放在今天站不住脚了/)[comments] (https://www.reddit.com/r/China_irl/comments/1dtn0en/当年的计划生育的六条理由过时了吗哪里放在今天站不住脚了/)

#China_irl

https://www.reddit.com/r/China_irl/comments/1dtn0en/当年的计划生育的六条理由过时了吗哪里放在今天站不住脚了/

@ b2caa9b3:9eab0fb5

Recently, I shared some of my memories from Odessa, a city that truly captured my heart. Today, I’m adding even more photos to give you a glimpse into this vibrant and historic city.

Odessa is a port city on the Black Sea, known for its stunning architecture, including the Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater. The city was founded by Catherine II in 1794 and quickly became a major cultural and economic center.

I had the opportunity to explore Odessa’s many neighborhoods, from the bustling city center to the quieter beaches. I was particularly impressed by the city’s unique blend of Ukrainian, Russian, and Greek influences.

Odessa is a city that has something to offer. Whether you’re interested in history, architecture, or simply relaxing on the beach, Odessa is a place you won’t forget.

I hope you enjoyed these additional photos of Odessa.

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Yesterday's edition https://stacker.news/items/592759/r/Undisciplined

• • -

July 2, 2023 📅

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📝 TOP POST

🟣Nostr is getting rocked with new users today

2907 sats \ 30 comments \ @AR0w \ ~nostr

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/202970/r/Undisciplined?commentId=202984

Excerpt

use cash as much as you can, everywhere you can it's a moral obligation

533 sats \ 9 replies \ @03365d6a53

From Is it possible to live without a bank? by @JesseJames in ~bitcoin

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🏆 TOP STACKER

2nd place @k00b (1st hiding, presumed @siggy47)

2180 stacked \ 13.2k spent \ 3 posts \ 3 comments \ 0 referrals

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

32.1k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 36.2k spent \ 60 posts \ 263 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

July 2, 2022 📅

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📝 TOP POST

RoboSTATS Third Edition (Statistics for RoboSats P2P Trading Platform)

Excerpt

We reached 8K orders. So it's time for 🤖RoboSTATS📊 third edition 😄

• Total orders created: 8100
• Since Mainnet launch: 122 Days
• Total contracts: 2177
• Successful trades: 1804
• Collaboratively canceled: 94
• Disputes: 30
• D […]

361 sats \ 9 comments \ @P2P_bitcoin \ ~bitcoin

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/40571/r/Undisciplined?commentId=40647

Excerpt

Give yourself some credit. Coding projects aren't as easy to show off as physical art or writing. Almost no one will see the effort required because almost no one will read the source code. When you overcome challenges, its almost invisible.

120 sats \ 2 replies \ @random_

From Daily discussion thread by @saloon in ~null

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🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @k00b

1009 stacked \ 4858 spent \ 4 posts \ 14 comments \ 0 referrals

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

6014 stacked \ 0 revenue \ 7176 spent \ 57 posts \ 133 comments

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July 2, 2021 📅

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📝 TOP POST

Getting started with Umbrel node

Link to https://telegra.ph/Umbrel-Node---Simple-management-guide-03-09

32 sats \ 1 comment \ @DarthCoin \ ~bitcoin

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/172/r/Undisciplined?commentId=173

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @supertestnet

From Hodler strategy in a nutshell by @supertestnet in ~bitcoin

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🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @DarthCoin

3 stacked \ 0 spent \ 2 posts \ 0 comments \ 0 referrals

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

9 stacked \ 0 revenue \ 17 spent \ 7 posts \ 1 comment

@ 6c8c7979:15595f3e

Described as the "biggest theft in history," today's series tells the story of the transformation of the global system from a gold-backed system to one heavily reliant on floating exchange rates: the Nixon Shock.

In July 1944, a crucial conference was held that would be pivotal in shaping the events of our story today: the Bretton Woods Conference. The conference aimed to achieve global financial stability and resulted in the establishment of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). One of the key outcomes of the conference was the provision to fix the exchange rate of the dollar against gold.

‏In order to establish a unified currency for international transactions, the United States committed to redeeming gold for dollars to any requesting party, as it held the largest global gold reserves at that time, estimated to be two-thirds of the world's gold reserves.

Thus, the dollar became a representation of gold in paper form. As a result, countries accumulated large amounts of dollars in their reserves over the years, strengthening the dollar's centrality among other currencies.

‏However, due to the costs of the Vietnam War and the inflation it caused in the United States, the US was forced to print more dollars without informing other countries, thus bypassing its ability to maintain the agreed exchange rate under Bretton Woods, which was $35 per ounce of gold.

In August 1971, under the slogan "To create a new prosperity without war," President Richard Nixon announced the end of the conversion of the US dollar into gold, effectively disregarding the Bretton Woods Agreement. Thus, the dollar became simply a fiat currency backed by the strength of the US economy.

It was a major shock on a global scale. Countries faced two choices: either accept the new reality or dispose of the mountains of dollars they had accumulated in their central banks over the past two and a half decades. This forced governments to engage globally with the dollar, and the existing system was replaced with a new floating exchange rate regime governed by supply and demand forces.

Despite the dollar's decline in value against gold since then, with an ounce now worth over $1800, the dollar has proven its centrality and strength among other currencies. Many countries still tie the fate of their currency to the dollar.

@ 3875a16c:988456c9

Introduction

If you've ever wondered how big corporations, governments, and media giants manage to influence public perception so effectively, it's time you met Edward Bernays. Often called the "father of public relations," his work continues to shape our world. This write up will introduce you to Bernays and his book "Propaganda," explaining how his strategies are still relevant and widely used today.

Who Was Edward Bernays?

He was a major pioneer in public relations and propaganda as we know them today. The nephew of Sigmund Freud, Bernays had a unique perspective on human psychology, which he leveraged to create compelling messages that resonated deeply with the public. His career take-off began during World War I, where he played an instrumental role with the US government to shape public opinion about the war, in particular to promote public investment in war bonds to help fund the USA's involvement in the war. He was so successful with that initiative, that after the war he decided to apply his skills to various other fields, including business, politics, and social causes, playing a major role in influencing public opinion at scale.

A Master Manipulator

Bernays believed that the "conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society." He introduced the idea of an "invisible government" made up of influential individuals and organizations that guide public opinion. This concept is crucial for understanding how modern propaganda works.

The Playbook: "Propaganda"

In 1928, Bernays published "Propaganda," a small, relatively short book that candidly lays out his methods for shaping public opinion. Let's take a little dive into each chapter:

Chapter I: Organizing Chaos

Bernays starts off asserting that democratic societies require the manipulation of public opinion to function smoothly. He writes, "We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of." This invisible government, composed of elites, directs the masses through strategic communication.

Chapter II: The New Propaganda

Bernays discusses the evolution of propaganda, highlighting how new technologies like newspapers, radio, and telegraphs (cinema, television, internet, mobile phones) have expanded its reach. He emphasizes the necessity of responsible use of these tools, as they hold significant power to influence public opinion.

Chapter III: The New Propagandists

Bernays introduces the key players behind modern propaganda:

1. public relations professionals,
2. advertisers,
3. and political consultants.

These individuals, often operating behind the scenes, have significant power over societal trends and behaviors. He explains that these propagandists are "specialists in interpreting enterprises and ideas to the public and in interpreting the public to the promulgators of new enterprises and ideas."

Chapter IV: The Psychology of Public Relations

Drawing on psychological theories, Bernays explains how understanding human motivations enhances propaganda's effectiveness. He stresses the importance of appealing to emotions and subconscious desires, rather than just presenting logical arguments. This chapter underscores the need for a deep understanding of mass psychology to successfully influence public opinion.

Chapter V: Business and the Public

Bernays examines the relationship between businesses and the public, stating that companies must actively manage their public image. He discusses various techniques, such as publicity stunts, to strategic partnerships, all to shape public perception. He also highlights the role of corporate social responsibility in building trust and goodwill with the target audience.

Chapter VI: Propaganda and Political Leadership

In this chapter, Bernays explores the use of propaganda in politics. He explains how political leaders and parties use public relations techniques to gain and maintain power, emphasizing the importance of media manipulation and compelling narratives. He also touches on the ethical challenges of political propaganda, advocating for transparency and honesty. Which we all know, is the absolute standard these days, right?

Chapter VII: Women’s Activities and Propaganda

Bernays discusses how women’s movements and consumer habits have been influenced by propaganda. He explains how advertisers target women, recognizing their significant influence on household purchasing decisions. This chapter highlights specific aspects of propaganda and its role in shaping social norms.

Chapter VIII: Propaganda for Education

Bernays says that propaganda can be a powerful tool for educational purposes. He discusses how public relations techniques can promote educational initiatives and foster public support for different kinds of reforms. Effective communication and engaging storytelling are crucial for successful educational propaganda.

Chapter IX: Propaganda in Social Service

This chapter explores the use of propaganda in social services, such as healthcare and public welfare. Bernays points out how public relations campaigns can raise awareness and mobilize support for social programs, using successful examples to show the potential for positive social change to really make that connection with the target audience.

Chapter X: Art and Science

Bernays examines how propaganda can promote cultural and scientific (or medical?) achievements. He argues that effective communication is essential for advancing public appreciation of art and science. The challenge lies in making complex ideas accessible to the general public.

Chapter XI: The Mechanics of Propaganda

In the final chapter, Bernays provides a detailed overview of the techniques and strategies used in propaganda. He explains the importance of research, planning, and execution in creating successful public relations campaigns. Bernays emphasizes the need for continuous evaluation and adaptation to maintain effectiveness. He writes, "The counsel on public relations must maintain constant vigilance, because inadequate information, or false information from unknown sources, may have results of enormous importance." Or perhaps, results of enormous negative consequences?

The Relevance Today

Edward Bernays' strategies remain highly relevant in today's world. I might even dare to say, a modern Machiavelli. Corporations, governments, and media organizations continue to use his techniques to shape public opinion and control narratives. Here are a few ways his strategies are still in play:

Big Tech and Social Media

Algorithms curate the information you see, subtly influencing your worldview. Social media platforms use data-driven strategies to keep you engaged, often without your conscious awareness.

Corporate Marketing

From influencer partnerships to viral campaigns, businesses use sophisticated public relations tactics to create demand and shape consumer behavior. Bernays' principles of emotional appeal and subconscious influence are evident in modern advertising.

Political Campaigns

Political parties use media manipulation, targeted ads, and strategic messaging to sway public opinion. Election cycles are prime examples of Bernays' theories in action, with campaigns meticulously crafted to appeal to voters' emotions and biases.

Conclusion

Edward Bernays' "Propaganda" offers timeless insights into the art and science of influencing public opinion. By understanding his methods, you can better navigate the modern media landscape and recognize the subtle forces shaping your perceptions. They are relentless. Stay curious, stay informed, and always question the narratives.

Next time you encounter a news story, advertisement, political message, or even a post from an "influensooorr" remember Bernays and ask yourself: Who is behind this message, and what are they trying to achieve?

I hope you find the time to dive into the book some day, and I hope this writeup helps you get there.

--

Bernays, Edward. Propaganda. 1928.

@ 41d0a715:9733c512

I just got a new pair of sandals yesterday. I usually get a 13 but this brand (Birkenstock) had me at 11. They hurt my feet. I got on their website and there was a good FAQ. The best part was about how the sandal facilitates a certain way of walking they call "rolling the toes", but it's really that old stalking technique, weight on back foot, front foot weightless, find a quiet place to set down the leading foot. So I have done this a lot when bowhunting deer and squirrels. But it was not my habitual gait because of having somewhere I must go.

I decided to buy into the new habit of walking like the sandals were trying to tell me. I wiped Fixin Wax on all the leather straps and set the sandals out in the very strong sunlight today. I don't know if it was the leather treatment or "rolling the toes" but now i'm in this brand new habit.

@ e97aaffa:2ebd765d

Nos últimos dias, Donald Trump tem demonstrado apoio ao #bitcoin. Eu tenho muitas dúvidas sobre esta repentina mudança de opinião, Trump não dá ponto sem nó. Não devem passar de meras promessa eleitorais.

Ele ao mesmo tempo continua a dizer que fará tudo para defender o dólar, ele é muito protecionista da economia dos EUA. Mas ao defender o Bitcoin entra em contradição com a defesa do dólar, porque são dois coisas antagónicas.

Donald Trump na Convenção Nacional Libertária:

"I will ensure that the future of crypto and #Bitcoin will be made in the USA…I will support the right to self custody to the nations 50 million crypto holders."

"Vou garantir que o futuro da criptografia e #Bitcoin será feito nos EUA… Apoiarei o direito à autocustódia para os 50 milhões de detentores de criptografia da nação."

https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1794540423882432606

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"I will keep Elizabeth Warren and her goons away from your #Bitcoin and I will never allow the creation of a CBDC"

“Vou manter Elizabeth Warren e seus capangas longe de você #Bitcoin e nunca permitirei a criação de um CBDC”

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Trump promete comutar a sentença de Ross Ulbricht se for eleito presidente.

"He's already served 11 years. We're going to get him home."

"Ele já cumpriu 11 anos. Vamos levá-lo para casa."

Curiosamente quando Trump foi presidente dos EUA, tinha a possibilidade mas nunca comutou Ulbricht ou o Assange. Nestes 4 anos, nada mudou no caso do Ulbricht, está tudo igual, o porquê desta mudança repentina de opinião?

Trump é político puro, possivelmente é apenas uma promessa eleitoral, depois de eleito será tudo esquecido. Isto são apenas palavras para cativar um eleitorado jovem e 50 milhões já é uma percentagem relevante.

Palavras, leva-as o vento...

@ ec965405:63996966

My sister, cousin, and I joined 75,000 protesters earlier this month in holding up a red banner marked with the names of Palestinian martyrs around the treasury building and white house in washington dc to signify the "People's Red Line" crossed by israel's invasion of Rafah.

After holding up the red line, we made our way to a nearby park where the organizers held a "People's Court" to try israel and the u.s. for war crimes. We shared a collective cry as we listened to heart wrenching testimonies sent in by Gazan families of Palestinian organizers about the nightmare they are enduring. As this was happening, israel killed another 274 Palestinians in a raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp. The notification across my screen felt like a punishment for our activism and reminded me that the bureaucrats are not listening.

I was initially discouraged to see a lower turnout than the march on washington I attended last November, where 300,000 folks arrived to denounce the united states' unconditional support of the Palestinian genocide. I can't say I didn't anticipate it, though. Wage slaves have to eat, and paid time off to protest about things they care about is a luxury few CEO's in this world provide for them.

Adding to this is the brutal suppression of dissenting voices worldwide. Groups like Within Our Lifetime are kneecapped by outright censorship and bans from corporate social media platforms.Not to mention, the u.s. government is forcing a sale of Tik Tok to a former u.s. treasury secretary with ties to mossad.

Palestine is an anti-colonial struggle that inspired so many of us to organize for change, yet we've managed to spend the last 8 months funding their genocide with our consumption tax dollars and scrolling through pictures of dead babies and leveled cities. Why have activists failed to push western governments to materialize any sort of timely, meaningful shifts in foreign policy? I think part of it has to do with the tools we are using. Like Malcolm X said, we're not outnumbered; we're outorganized.

For one, we are letting these tech CEO's off way too easy. The spotlight is increasingly being pointed at corporate social media giants for conducting a mass behavioral health experiment on the masses. These centralized platforms bombard users with morally outrageous content and advertisements while working with the state to suppress dissenting voices. Antagonizing algorithms polarize public discourse and keep us at each others throats, preventing any sort of mass peace movement from building power. Places like Europe have a whole framework of data rights protections for users that is nonexistent in the Americas. The corporate communication apparatus we organize with freezes the political process and manufactures consent for genocide. Was it Noam Chomskey who said, "the media defines what's possible"...? By the way, he's not dead yet.

How else do you think Trump was able to organize his base to attempt a coup on Jan 6th? He paid someone to build his own communications apparatus in the form of a social media platform, Truth Social, on an open protocol called ActivityPub, a predecessor to Nostr. Meridith Whittaker, the president of the Signal Foundation, explains in a recent article that you should read if you are an activist,

The Right has a point. In that they understand social media platforms as critical infrastructure capable of shaping and distorting our shared information ecosystem, and they recognize that controlling how this ecosystem is “distorted” is a better use of their time — in pursuit of power and influence — than trying to create a magic formula that can “democratize” or “balance” the influence these platforms exert.

The few I hear with similar critiques include OGs like Chairman Yeshitela, who, alongside 3 other members of the People's Afrikan Socialist Party, is currently fighting bogus charges by the u.s. federal government for conspiring with the Russians in sowing dissent in u.s. elections. The FBI violently raided their properties in 2022 without any sort of warrant and before any formal charges had been filed. Contrast this with the recent raid on Mar-a-Lago where not a single flash grenade was used. He explains in a 2023 interview on Democracy Now! that

We have to move beyond protest and move toward the question of capturing and yielding political power.

As activists, we have to be brave enough to realize that what we are doing is not producing our desired results and pivot to new strategies. Open internet protocols are a must have in any activist's toolbox if they are serious about social change. Start with a simple internet search, and start building. I currently run a small relay that I use to introduce my community to nostr. I've spun up a diaspora instance for my close friends and family in the past as well. While this tech is accessible, it requires you to take some time to learn about the landscape of alternative social media protocols and how the Internet works. You could always reach out via the contact form on my website at https://miguelalmodo.com for more information or questions about how to get started!

My choice of social media is my way of preventing the monetization of my attention and digital footprint by the corpo-state consent factory that defines our current political realities. It's an step in reclaiming your digital sovereignty and empowering your base with an un-suppressible voice on the internet. A liberated fifth estate built on open protocols could channel people power into material improvements within our lifetimes. It's why I boycott the corporate tech platforms and why you should too.

edit: I realized after I published this that truth social was launched in Feb of 2022, a year AFTER Jan 6 2021. I insinuated that Jan 6 was organized on truth social which is not the case. By making the connection here, I wish to bring to light the power open internet protocols have in sustaining a cult of personality behind someone like trump. If activists and organizations leveraged the same tech to organize their base, it would bring people together in a way that could manifest the amount of people power needed to overthrow the influence of capital in political processes and allow for real democracy to shape our outcomes.

@ 9db6bed5:c9b0c4ef

Introduction

This tutorial focuses on helping you clone the repository and customise the settings to your brand / style. We'll show multiple ways to help you achieve the same goal depending on your comfort level around code. At the end you should have your own blog/shop/page running for free.

Prerequisites

• Github Account
• Cloud hosting account ( Cloudflare, Vercel, Netlify )

Dev & Build Setup

Step1: Cloning / Installation

Option1: Use this repository as a template by clicking the green button at the top to create it in a new repository. Use the github destop app or CLI to bring the repository to your local machine, it is also possible to make small edits trough github.

```shell

install dependencies

$ npm install

serve with hot reload at localhost:3000

$ npm run dev ```

Option2: Through the commandline

Make sure to have NodeJs v18 or higher then type the following command into your terminal:

shell npx create-cypher

Step2: Customizing the template

All configuration options are stored in the config folder of the application. You can edit these parameters using VS code or use the github website to make minor edits.

Step3: Deploy your website

```bash

generate build to the /dist folder

$ npm run build ```

@ e97aaffa:2ebd765d

Sou um grande defensor que é necessário a entrada de sangue novo na política, são muito poucos os jovens que conseguem se destacar. A classe política está muito envelhecida, os jovens têm pouco interesse na participação pública. Nestas eleições europeias, surgem dois candidatos jovens, um é incongruente e o outro nem consigo o classificar.

O Bogalho, além da idiotice das 7 quinas, há meia dúzia de anos era contra a UE e agora é candidato ao parlamento europeu, bastante incongruente.

Agora vamos ao Francisco Paupério, candidato pelo partido Livre, que foi eleito de uma maneira muito peculiar. Eu até simpatizo com Rui Tavares, apesar de concordar pouco com as suas ideias. São mais as vezes que discordo que concordo, mas eu acho que é um tipo inteligente, é congruente no seu pensamento e nas suas ideias, é um bom contraditório. Mas o Paupério não tem nada que se compare com o Rui Tavares, e ontem num debate político televisivo para as europeias foi o pináculo da idiotice.

Paupério disse:

Estima-se que, até 2050, vão existir 200 milhões de refugiados climáticos. Esses refugiados climáticos vêm, sobretudo, das zonas do Médio Oriente e do norte de África e vão ter o objetivo de chegar à União Europeia, à procura da liberdade e da democracia que tanto defendemos.

https://twitter.com/VascoMelo76/status/1790260984189272187

Na mesma frase ele consegue contradizer-se, dizendo que são “refugiados climáticos”, mas logo a seguir diz que estes vêm para a Europa à procura de Liberdade e Democracia.

Afinal são “refugiados climáticos” ou são “refugiados políticos”? Porque a justificação que ele apresentou, é por motivos políticos e não climáticos.

Na realidade estes 200 milhões, não são “refugiados climáticos”, nem “refugiados políticos” e nem refugiados são, são apenas emigrantes por motivos económicos, apenas isso, pessoas que procuram construir uma melhor vida para si e para a sua família.

200 milhões, correspondia a um aumento de 50% na população da UE, é completamente incomportável. Os EUA também estão numa situação similar, e os políticos de ambos não conseguem arranjar uma solução. Os políticos não procuram soluções para o problema, apenas paliativos. Não atacam a causa, mas sim o sintoma.

A abertura de fronteiras não é solução, como a construção de muros ou fronteiras mais musculadas, deportações também não é a solução, são apenas paliativos. Estas pessoas estão desesperadas, preferem arriscar a sua vida em vez de ficarem no seu país natal. São pessoas que atravessam o mar mediterrâneo em jangadas ou barcos de borracha, nos EUA percorrem milhares de quilómetros, desde da América do Sul, ultrapassam desertos. Não vai ser um muro ou uma fronteira que os vai desmobilizar, eles vão entrar de qualquer jeito.

Esta gente são emigrantes económicos, a única solução é melhorar a condição económica dos seus países de origem. Se esses países estiverem bem economicamente, as pessoas têm menos motivos para emigrar ou emigram para um país vizinho que esteja melhor economicamente. A economia destes países tem se degradado nas últimas duas décadas, após 2020 ainda se acentuou mais. Estes países sempre tiveram problemas internos, mas agora agravaram-se fortemente com a expansão monetária do dólar nas duas últimas décadas.

Como o dólar é a moeda de reserva mundial, os EUA ao expandir a sua moeda “exportam” inflação para o mundo inteiro. Além da exportação de inflação, a taxa de juro elevada, os bonds elevados, toda esta política monetária desastrosa está a sugar a riqueza de todos os países do mundo. Os mais afetados são os países mais pobres, além da inflação do dólar, sofre de uma forte desvalorização da sua própria moeda, tem como consequência uma inflação galopante. É o efeito Cantillon a nível global, destruindo por completo as economias mais débeis. As crises são tão severas que as pessoas veem a emigração como a única solução.

Curiosamente os EUA estão a sofrer de um problema que eles próprios criaram, quem semeia ventos colhe tempestades.

A única solução é corrigir a política monetária.

Fix the Money, Fix the World!

Voltando ao Paupério e para finalizar. Aquela declaração é simplesmente uma idiotice. É impossível acolher dignamente, integrar essas pessoas, ter casas para eles, quando os números são dessa magnitude. É simplesmente impossível.

Isso não está relacionado com racismo ou nacionalismo, é simplesmente bom senso, equilíbrio. Portugal recebeu 1 milhão nos últimos anos e já está a rebentar pelas costuras, como ficará o país se receber mais 4 milhões? nem quero imaginar.

Ontem ouvi um caso de um T0, onde vivem 9 pessoas, é inacreditável, como é possível viver tanta gente numa casa tão pequena. Isto não é digno para ninguém.

Cada vez mais estou receoso no futuro de Portugal.

@ 58edc6ae:e070cfa5

I think three major pathways to Bitcoin hold the most orange-pilling potential:

1. Hard Money Pathway
   The first path involves understanding money. Teaching people about money can lead them to consciously choose the best form of it. Unfortunately, this path requires considerable self-education, which many people may find challenging.

2. NGU (Number Go Up) Pathway
   This pathway involves trading. Although not my preferred approach, bull markets have shown that many people are willing to enter the space for short-term gains. While some may get hurt, others are incentivized to learn more about Bitcoin and stay in the space once they understand money.

3. Freedom Pathway
   Most people value freedom. Portraying Bitcoin as a tool for freedom fighters can create positive associations. This pathway is particularly useful for human rights activists and those under distress, such as war refugees, oppressed opposition leaders, and human rights activists.

Please let me know if you can identify more pathways to Bitcoin that can be used when orange-pilling.

@ 42342239:1d80db24

Claims that we need greater centralisation, more EU, or more globalisation are prevalent across the usual media channels. The climate crisis, environmental destruction, pandemics, the AI-threat, yes, everything will apparently be solved if a little more global coordination, governance and leadership can be brought about.

But, is this actually true? One of the best arguments for this conclusion stems implicitly from the futurist Eliezer Yudkowsky, who once proposed a new Moore's Law, though this time not for computer processors but instead for mad science: "every 18 months, the minimum IQ necessary to destroy the world drops by one point".

Perhaps we simply have to tolerate more centralisation, globalisation, control, surveillance, and so on, to prevent all kinds of fools from destroying the world?

Note: a Swedish version of this text is avalable at Affärsvärlden.

At the same time, more centralisation, globalisation, etc. is also what we have experienced. Power has been shifting from the local, and from the majorities, to central-planning bureaucrats working in remote places. This has been going on for several decades. The EU's subsidiarity principle, i.e. the idea that decisions should be made at the lowest expedient level, and which came to everyone's attention ahead of Sweden's EU vote in 1994, is today swept under the rug as untimely and outdated, perhaps even retarded.

At the same time, there are many crises, more than usual it would seem. If it is not a crisis of criminality, a logistics/supply chain crisis or a water crisis, then it is an energy crisis, a financial crisis, a refugee crisis or a climate crisis. It is almost as if one starts to suspect that all this centralisation may be leading us down the wrong path. Perhaps centralisation is part of the problem, rather than the capital S solution?

Why centralisation may cause rather than prevent problems

There are several reasons why centralisation, etc, may actually be a problem. And though few seem to be interested in such questions today (or perhaps they are too timid to mention their concerns?), it has not always been this way. In this short essay we'll note four reasons (though there are several others):

• Political failures (Buchanan et al)
• Local communities & skin in the game (Ostrom and Taleb)
• The local knowledge problem (von Hayek)
• Governance by sociopaths (Hare)

James Buchanan who was given the so-called Nobel price in economics in the eighties once said that: "politicians and bureaucrats are no different from the rest of us. They will maximise their incentives just like everybody else.".

Buchanan was prominent in research on rent-seeking and political failures, i.e. when political "solutions" to so-called market failures make everything worse. Rent-seeking is when a company spends resources (e.g. lobbying) to get legislators or other decision makers to pass laws or create regulations that benefit the company instead of it having to engage in productive activities. The result is regulatory capture. The more centralised decision-making is, the greater the negative consequences from such rent-seeking will be for society at large. This is known.

Another economist, Elinor Ostrom, was given the same prize in the great financial crisis year of 2009. In her research, she had found that local communities where people had influence over rules and regulations, as well as how violations there-of were handled, were much better suited to look after common resources than centralised bodies. To borrow a term from the combative Nassim Nicholas Taleb: everything was better handled when decision makers had "skin in the game".

A third economist, Friedrich von Hayek, was given this prize as early as 1974, partly because he showed that central planning could not possibly take into account all relevant information. The information needed in economic planning is by its very nature distributed, and will never be available to a central planning committee, or even to an AI.

Moreover, human systems are complex and not just complicated. When you realise this, you also understand why the forecasts made by central planners often end up wildly off the mark - and at times in a catastrophic way. (This in itself is an argument for relying more on factors outside of the models in the decision-making process.)

From Buchanan's, Ostrom's, Taleb's or von Hayek's perspectives, it also becomes difficult to believe that today's bureaucrats are the most suited to manage and price e.g. climate risks. One can compare with the insurance industry, which has both a long habit of pricing risks as well as "skin in the game" - two things sorely missing in today's planning bodies.

Instead of preventing fools, we may be enabling madmen

An even more troubling conclusion is that centralisation tends to transfer power to people who perhaps shouldn't have more of that good. "Not all psychopaths are in prison - some are in the boardroom," psychologist Robert Hare once said during a lecture. Most people have probably known for a long time that those with sharp elbows and who don't hesitate to stab a colleague in the back can climb quickly in organisations. In recent years, this fact seems to have become increasingly well known even in academia.

You will thus tend to encounter an increased prevalance of individuals with narcissistic and sociopathic traits the higher up you get in the the status hierarchy. And if working in large organisations (such as the European Union or Congress) or in large corporations, is perceived as higher status - which is generally the case, then it follows that the more we centralise, the more we will be governed by people with less flattering Dark Triad traits.

By their fruits ye shall know them

Perhaps it is thus not a coincidence that we have so many crises. Perhaps centralisation, globalisation, etc. cause crises. Perhaps the "elites" and their planning bureaucrats are, in fact, not the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Perhaps President Trump even had a point when he said "they are not sending their best".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4b8xgaiuj0

The opposite of centralisation is decentralisation. And while most people may still be aware that decentralisation can be a superpower within the business world, it's time we remind ourselves that this also applies to the economy - and society - at large, and preferably before the next Great Leap Forward is fully thrust upon us.

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Paul George has signed with Philly, as expected. Embiid, George, and Maxey are a pretty great Big 3.

In bigger news, Isaiah Hartenstein has signed with OKC, which will allow Chet to play the 4.

All in all, things are looking up for us to have yet another new champion this year.

@ d58ca27a:bba13a48

As of today July 1, 2024 the DUNA form of entity is available in Wyoming, USA.

As the digital landscape evolves, so does the need for innovative legal structures that align with decentralized technologies and communities. Enter the Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association (DUNA), a legal framework recently codified by the Wyoming Legislature that is poised to revolutionize how decentralized communities, like those born of Nostr, operate and govern themselves. The Wyoming Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act provides a robust legal foundation for these entities, ensuring they can manage assets, enter contracts, and protect members while remaining aligned with their decentralized ethos.

Key Features of the Wyoming Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act:

A DUNA consists of at least 100 members who join by mutual consent for a common nonprofit purpose. It is not governed by any other specific legal framework, allowing it to operate independently. Governance: DUNAs can utilize distributed ledger technology (DLT), such as blockchain, to manage their operations. This includes using smart contracts for automated processes and consensus formation algorithms for decision-making.

DUNAs are recognized as legal entities separate from their members. This allows them to own property, enter contracts, and be party to legal actions independently of their members. Property Rights: DUNAs can acquire, hold, and transfer real and personal property in their name, providing a secure and transparent method for managing communal assets. Member Protections:

Members and administrators are protected from personal liability for the DUNA’s debts, obligations, or liabilities. This is crucial for encouraging participation without the risk of personal financial exposure.

While members generally do not have fiduciary duties solely by virtue of membership, they must adhere to the implied contractual covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

DUNAs can define their governance principles, including voting rights, through their established practices or smart contracts. This ensures that the operational framework is tailored to the community’s needs.

Members and administrators can be indemnified for expenses and liabilities incurred in the course of their activities on behalf of the DUNA, fostering a supportive environment for active participation.

Relevance to the Nostr Community:

The principles enshrined in the Wyoming Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act align seamlessly with the core values of the Nostr community. Here’s why DUNAs are particularly relevant:

Nostr’s commitment to decentralization is reinforced by the legal recognition of DUNAs, which allows the community to self-govern without relying on centralized entities.

By utilizing DLT and smart contracts, Nostr can ensure transparent and tamper-proof governance, boosting trust among users and stakeholders.

Operating as a DUNA provides legal clarity and protections, enabling Nostr to engage in activities such as fundraising, entering contracts, and managing assets with greater confidence and legitimacy.

The structure of DUNAs empowers Nostr users by providing a formal mechanism for participation and decision-making, thereby strengthening the community’s cohesiveness and resilience.

The adoption of the Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association framework represents a significant milestone for the Nostr community and other decentralized networks. It offers a legal scaffold that respects and enhances the principles of decentralization, autonomy, and community governance. As Nostr continues to grow and evolve, leveraging the DUNA model could pave the way for a more robust, legally secure, and empowered digital ecosystem.

See: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/duna-for-daos/

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Yesterday's edition https://stacker.news/items/591639/r/Undisciplined

• • -

July 1, 2023 📅

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📝 TOP POST

You wake up and Bitcoin is worth $1M. What do you do?

Excerpt

Probably go get guns and ammo..

11.8k sats \ 99 comments \ @birdeye21 \ ~undefined

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/202319/r/Undisciplined?commentId=202359

Excerpt

Probably make some coffee, take a shower.

783 sats \ 1 reply \ @0245bdaef2

From You wake up and Bitcoin is worth $1M. What do you do? by @birdeye21 in ~bitcoin

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🏆 TOP STACKER

3rd place @franzap (1st and 2nd hiding, presumed to be @siggy47)

9 stacked \ 181 spent \ 0 posts \ 5 comments \ 0 referrals

---

🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~tech

everything tech related

founded by @k00b on Mon Jun 12 2023

17.9k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 19.9k spent \ 20 posts \ 69 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

July 1, 2022 📅

---

📝 TOP POST

🌊⚡️ The Bitcoin Ecosystem Moment (pt. 1)

Excerpt

Why I think the Bitcoin startup ecosystem will drastically accelerate in the next 12 months.

6852 sats \ 29 comments \ @felix \ ~undefined

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/40310/r/Undisciplined?commentId=40349

Excerpt

After you post something to a node, you have zero control. The node effectively owns it at that […]

141 sats \ 24 replies \ @thrown

From Damus is a Nostr client with Lightning ⚡️ integration by @moel in ~nostr

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🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @k00b

1463 stacked \ 10.8k spent \ 7 posts \ 18 comments \ 0 referrals

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

11.2k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 16.6k spent \ 78 posts \ 165 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

July 1, 2021 📅

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📝 TOP POST

Who's Hiring?

Excerpt

Any Bitcoin/Lightning startups adding to their teams?

1 sat \ 1 comment \ @Ras \ ~undefined

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/119/r/Undisciplined?commentId=158

Excerpt

I would love an edit button! Especially with a delete option. Delete/edit are great for content creators. But they are not so great for repliers. No one likes it when they reply to something and then three days later its content changes to [This pers […]

1 sat \ 1 reply \ @supertestnet

From Lightning Mints by @k00b in ~bitcoin

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🏆 TOP STACKER

No top stacker

---

🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

72 stacked \ 0 revenue \ 87 spent \ 6 posts \ 7 comments

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

Because the God of the Bible is the true God and creator of everything: matter & energy, time & space, things seen and things unseen, He is not a God who can be fully comprehended. There are things about God that make our heads hurt when we try to fully understand them. He is not an easy to understand God made from the mind of man.

What is the Trinity?

One trait of God that is particularly hard to comprehend is the fact that He is 3 persons in 1 God. There are even arguments over this trait because it is so hard to understand.

First, let’s get out that the word trinity (or any form of it) is not used in the Bible. At the time the Bible was written, I don’t believe a word to describe His 3 in 1 nature existed. We come to the understand His 3 in 1 nature by reading descriptions of God the Father, God the Spirit, and God the Son (Jesus). God also frequently refers to Himself in the plural. Although the easy to understand trinitarian nature does not come until the New Testament, even the Old Testament suggests this nature from the very Beginning.

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)” {emphasis mine}

Notice how God refers to Himself as “Us” and “Our”. God refers to Himself as plural. This is the first reference to the trinitarian nature of God. Like many other things, such as salvation through faith in Jesus and God caring for the whole world and not just Israel, the trinity is not made clear until the New Testament.

Is Jesus God?

When people argue against the trinity, the biggest argument is that Jesus is not God. They think He is a prophet, a wise teacher, and a good man, but not God. Unfortunately for them, Jesus does not leave this option open to us.

So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning? … So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him. (John 8:25,28-30) {emphasis mine}

In the English translation, the translators added the word “He” for ease of reading, but that word is not there in the original Greek, therefore what He really said was “you will know that I am.” Why is this important? Jesus was claiming to be God. In the Old Testament, when Moses asked God’s name, He replied, “I AM.”

Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” (Exodus 3:13-14)

A Jewish man using the term “I AM” about Himself would be blaspheming because He is applying the name of God to Himself. A man claiming to be God, who isn't, cannot be a good man.

As C.S. Lewis says:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic– on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg– or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

When the Jewish leaders heard Jesus talking, they understood that His statements were claims to be God.

For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. (John 5:18) {Emphasis mine}

When the Jewish people heard Jesus talking, they understood that His statements were claims to be God.

I and the Father are one.”

The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” (John 10:30-33) {Emphasis mine}

Also Jesus said,

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. (John 8:42) {Emphasis mine}

Jesus claims to have “proceeded forth … from God.” Everyone knew He had been born by Mary. How could He “proceeded forth … from God” if He was born naturally like every other man. If He was born no differently than any other man, then He wouldn’t be God. Of course we know that He was born differently.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:26-35)

This was no normal birth and Jesus is no normal man. Being born of Mary and the Holy Spirit enabled Him to be fully God and fully man at one time. It is hard for our human minds to comprehend, but we serve an awesome God who can do things beyond our understanding. This is one of many unimaginable miracles of God.

Jesus also claimed to have “all authority”.

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18) {Emphasis mine}

Is it possible for anyone other than God to have “all authority”?

If you believe the Bible at all, it has not given us the option of thinking that Jesus was anything less than God. Not only does Jesus claim to be God and his listeners understand Him to be claiming to be God, but other books of the Bible also refer to Him as God.

who [Jesus], although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11) [Clarification mine] {Emphasis mine}

This is one of the clearest declarations of the deity of Jesus in the Bible. It says Jesus “existed in the form of God." This sounds like the Bible is calling Jesus God. It also says Jesus “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.” In other words, Jesus was totally God, so He didn’t have to try to act like God, speak like God, or claim to be God. His Godhood was clearly evident.

This passage says Jesus’s name is “the name which is above every name.” Does anyone actually believe that God the Father, Yahweh, would put any other name above His own? Of course not! Jesus’s name is “above every name” because He is one with God the Father and one with God the Holy Spirit.

This passage says “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow,” but we know every time someone bows to anyone other than God, including angels or prophets of God like Paul and Silas, the people are immediately told to bow to no one but God. Here it states that “every knee will bow.” This would not be true unless Jesus was God and one with God the Father.

It also says, “that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Would calling Jesus Lord be to the glory of God if Jesus was not God? I think not.

One of the best best verses about Jesus’s deity doesn’t technically use the name of Jesus, but if you take the entirety of the Book of John and his stated purpose:

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they *were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:25)

In this context it is clear that John refers to Jesus as the word in John 1:1-3.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:1-5)

These truths are said about Jesus:

• Jesus was from the beginning
• Jesus was with God
• Jesus was God
• Jesus is creator
• Life comes from Jesus
• Jesus is Holy (light in the darkness)

Can there be any conclusion other than that Jesus is God?

Is the Holy Spirit God?

The Bible says:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; (2 Timothy 3:16)) {Emphasis mine}

but it also says:

But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (2 Peter 1:20-21) {Emphasis mine}

If the inspiration of man comes from God and comes from the Holy Spirit, that makes the Holy Spirit the same God. The two are spoken of in the same way.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) {Emphasis mine}

In the same way, if our bodies are “a temple of the Holy Spirit” and we are a temple of God. If we are a temple of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit isn’t the same God as God the Father, how would this “glorify God in your body?”

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4) {Emphasis mine}

This Bible passage equates lying to the Holy Spirit to lying to God. This is true since they are just to parts of the One true God.

We’ve already proven that Jesus is God. In the verse below Jesus refers to himself leaving and the Father sending the Holy Spirit. All three are given equality as God with each having a different purpose in the totality of the will of God. In this passage “I” and “My name” refer to Jesus, while “Helper”, “Holy Spirit”, and “He” refer to the the Holy Spirit.

“These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14:25-26) {Emphasis mine}

Also …

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

In this verse the Holy Spirit is referred to as separate and independent, though still part of God. He is one person in the totality of God.

In this verse the Spirit of God is compared to the spirit of man.

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. (1 Corinthians 2:10-13) {Emphasis mine}

Just as the spirit of man is part of a man, so also is the Holy Spirit part of God. In Genesis God creates man in His image. I’ve heard it said that part of being in God’s image is a trinitarian design of man (although we are never as separate as the 3 persons or as one as the one God). Man is body, mind, and spirit just as God is the Son (Jesus), the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

Is the Father God?

I’ve included this section for completeness, but I don’t think anyone who believes the Bible even a little bit denies that the Father is God. Some may believe that He is the only part of God, but they don’t deny the Father’s deity, so I won’t go into this any farther.

Doesn’t the Bible speak of God as One?

The most common argument against the trinity is the use of this verse in Deuteronomy.

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4)

Jesus even confirmed that this was a critical understanding of God when asked what is the greatest commandment.

Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; (Mark 12:29)

The problem is that this verse is speaking against a pantheon of gods such as those of Greece and Rome. The trinity may have 3 persons, but He is still only one God. They aren’t separate. They are of one mind and one will. They can’t be separated from one another like the “gods” in other religions which have a multitude of “gods” that usually fight among themselves. This is hard for us to understand, but it is clearly communicated in the New Testament.

As a help to understanding the 3 in 1 nature of God, I’ll include a little excerpt from my upcoming book Why I Need Jesus I hope it helps, but I have doubts that any human mind can fully understand the 3 in 1 nature of God.

Another incomprehensible thing about God is that He is a trinity: three in one. He is one God, but three persons – God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. Our finite minds can’t comprehend how someone can be three persons, but only one God, but that is what God is.

There are a number of analogies that help us understand the trinity, but none of them fully explain what the trinity is. We can not fully understand the trinity until the time we spend in eternity with Him, and although we will understand more in the afterlife, we may never fully understand.

One analogy of the trinity is the different roles of a person. I am a wife, a mother, and a business owner. I act differently acting in my different roles, but I have certain traits that are universal because I am me. As a wife I am encouraging, loving, submissive, romantic, and supportive. As a mom I am encouraging and loving, but I guide, teach, act as an example, and punish. As a business owner I encourage, train, discipline, and help my employees. You’ll notice there are commonalities between my roles, but I also act differently in my different roles. The trinity is kind of like that, but they are more one and more three than my example. Although I sometimes talk to myself, I can’t really interact socially with myself like the trinity can with the different parts of the trinity. I am more one. I can’t truly be 3 persons.

The Trinity is also somewhat like the 3 states of water: ice, (liquid) water, and water vapor. They are all water. They are all H2O, but if you look at ice, water, and water vapor, they all have different traits and don’t look or act the same.

The last example I’ve heard came from a Southern Baptist pastor who has a food analogy for almost any Biblical principle. He always said that the trinity is as simple as cherry pie. If you have a cherry pie and cut it into three slices, when you look at it, it is clearly 3 different pieces of pie, but inside the cherry filling runs through the whole pie and is one cherry pie. There is no separation between the pieces. He would state, “the trinity is as simple as cherry pie.”

If someone was making up a god to manipulate people, they would not make up something so confusing and incomprehensible about their god. On the other hand, a god who is the author of everything that exists is likely to have personal traits that are impossible for His creation to fully comprehend.

The trinity also is important in who God is. A loving God that is all alone would need his creation because he would be lonely and have no one to love. A trinitarian God has company and someone to love in the other two persons of the trinity. This God doesn’t NEED his creation even if He wants and loves his creation.

By the above sections you can see that the Bible clearly talks about one God which includes three persons. The fact that this is hard for us to understand doesn’t make it any less true. We can’t pick and choose which verses we will listen to and which we will ignore. If we say there is only one God and deny the deity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we are apostate. If we say that we worship three separate Gods, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, we are equally apostate.

The God of the Bible, the one and true God, is three persons in one God. We need to trust God and believe His word even if we can’t fully understand how it can be so.

What are Some Mentions of the entire Trinity?

There are many passages that refer to the three persons of the Trinity working together as one. When Jesus was about to arise to heaven after rising from the dead, in His last words He said:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) {Emphasis mine}

As Christians, we are called to be baptized “in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” We are to acknowledge all three persons in the Godhead.

Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22) {Emphasis mine}

Likewise when Jesus was baptized to fulfill the law of God, all three persons were present. Jesus was fulfilling the Law of God so He would be a worthy sacrifice to take away our sins. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus as a helper and as a sign to John the Baptist that Jesus was the predicted Messiah. God the Father spoke blessing the actions of Jesus in fulfilling their mutual will. The three persons of God acted as One.

“These things I [Jesus] have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14:25-26) {Emphasis mine}

This verse also speaks of all three persons working in concert. It also clearly separates the Spirit (Helper) from Jesus because as one (Jesus) leaves, the other (Helper) comes to help us. Once again the Bible shows the three persons of God acting as One.

He who hates Me [Jesus] hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me [Jesus] and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’

“When the Helper [Spirit] comes, whom I [Jesus] will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He [Spirit] will testify about Me [Jesus], and you will testify also, because you have been with Me [Jesus] from the beginning. (John 15:23-27) [Clarification Mine] {Emphasis mine}

Once again this verse shows all three persons of God working as One. Just as John 8:42 (above) describes Jesus proceeding from God, John 15:26 describes the Spirit proceeding from the Father. They proceed from God/Father because they are all One.

Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11) {Emphasis mine}

Our sanctification and our justification come from all three persons of the one true God. If we do not believe this, can we truly be saved? If we do not believe in the Godship of Jesus can we truly be a child of God?

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” (John 14:6-7)

Jesus explains that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father implying they are one and the same.

Trust Jesus

Bible verses are NASB (New American Standard Bible) 1995 edition unless otherwise stated

@ ed4881db:a54b57e2

Opinion about Blofin (iphone)

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WalletScrutiny #nostrOpinion

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@ af9c48b7:a3f7aaf4

Chef's notes

Homemade ice cream was a summertime staple when I was growing up. Use this simple recipe to bring back memories or start new one’s.

Details

• 🍳 Cook time: 45 minutes
• 🍽️ Servings: 10

Ingredients

• (1) 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
• (1) 2lt bottle of your favorite fruity flavored soda

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk the condensed milk and soda until thoroughly blended.
2. Pour into ice cream machine and follow the operating instructions for the machine
3. Enjoy a refreshing bowl of ice cream with friends and family
4. Feel free to experiment with adding fresh fruit or fruit juice. Recommended soda flavors include orange (orange sherbet) and pineapple (famous Dole Whip from Disney World/Land) but any flavor should be good.

@ 9c9ffa34:fd72b6b9

hello World

@ 9c9ffa34:fd72b6b9

This Is Geleta

@ 4bc7982c:4cb5c39d

I rarely use smartphones for their intended purpose, instead using them as cheap and portable "mini machines" thanks to termux. Since joining nostr and learning how relays work, I got to wondering if running a relay from my test phone would be possible. After many hours of failed attempts and chairs thrown through windows, here's how I finally got python nostr_relay to work on my device.

YOU WILL NEED - An android device with latest Termux from FDROID OR GITHUB (The Google Play version will not work). You will need python 3.x,clang, and git installed in this environment.

Step 1. Start sshd in termux and log into your device.

Step 2. User must modify their python sysconfigdata manually, since the Android NDK with latest clang does not support the -fopenmp-implicit-rpath flag and will cause any .toml based python wheel builds to fail. Simply run the following commands in your termux terminal to fix this (A backup up your original sysconfig files will be saved, this example shows the steps being performed for python 3.11):

_file="$(find $PREFIX/lib/python3.11 -name "_sysconfigdata*.py")"
rm -rf $PREFIX/lib/python3.11/pycache
cp $_file "$_file".backup
sed -i 's|-fno-openmp-implicit-rpath||g' "$_file"

Step 3. Make a directory for the install and switch to it, I am using "devel" in this example:

mkdir -p devel && cd $_

Step 4. Clone the nostr_relay repo, I have mirrored the latest version to Github for those that hate fossil as much as I do:

git clone https://github.com/Shinoa-Fores/nostr_relay.git

Step 5. Make a python virtual environment and activate it:

python3.11 -m venv nostr_relay
cd nostr_relay
source bin/activate

Step 6. Pycares is a required dependency for toml-based projects, and also will not install properly via pip under termux so we will install it from sources in the venv and apply a quick fix to that too:

wget https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/1b/8f/daf60bbc06f4a3cd1cfb0ab807057151287df6f5c78f2e0d298acc9193ac/pycares-4.4.0.tar.gz
tar -xf pycares-4.4.0.tar.gz
sed -i s/'#define HAVE_GETSERVBYPORT_R 1'//g ./pycares-4.4.0/deps/build-config/config_android/ares_config.h
pip install ./pycares-4.4.0
rm -rf pycares-4.4.0 pycares-4.4.0.tar.gz

Step 7. Now install the remaining dependencies and nostr-Relay itself:

pip install -e .

Step 8. Make a cup of tea and shitpost on nostr until the build completes.

Step 9. Once build is finished, copy the included sample config and open in your preferred text editor to adjust the parameters to your liking:

cp nostr_relay/config.yaml .

Step 10. Make a startup script for the relay and fire up your portable relay. In the example below I start it in a screen session so the process does not die if I lose ssh or termux connection.

cat >start-relay.sh << EOF

!/usr/bin/env bash

set -eu
set -o pipefail
bin/nostr-relay -c ./config.yaml serve
EOF

chmod +x start-relay.sh

screen -S relay -dm bash ./start-relay.sh

Step 11. If all goes well you should see something like this:

Still here? Good! The reader is invited to tinker with this configuration and enhance it. Things like setting up DNS and tor are beyond the scope of this post, but information on the latter can be found on the termux wiki: https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/Bypassing_NAT .

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

This is the inaugural run of a partially (mostly) automated version of this series. @k00b very graciously wrote a script that fills in most of the content. I just had to clean up the excerpts a little and send the zaps out manually.

Let me know if you catch any other issues.

• • -

June 30, 2023 📅

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📝 TOP POST

Twitter and Other Paywalled or Sign-Up Blocked Links are Spam

Excerpt

If it has a paywall, why would I tip your post sats? I have to spend that money on the paywall. Even more insulting when its a FIAT paywall rather than a lightning enabled paywall.

Twitter has also blocked content for people who don't have Twitter […] 4095 sats \ 19 comments \ @nerd2ninja \ ~undefined

---

💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/201575/r/Undisciplined?commentId=201598

Original logo has Bitcoin Wizard vibes, new one looks good but has professional company vibes. I prefer the original.

750 sats \ 4 replies \ @nullama

From Stacker News logo redesign ⚡ by @designsats in ~bitcoin

---

🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @nerd2ninja

2416 stacked \ 2206 spent \ 1 post \ 5 comments \ 0 referrals

---

🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

16.1k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 18.1k spent \ 102 posts \ 333 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

June 30, 2022 📅

---

📝 TOP POST

I am Bernard Parah, CEO of Bitnob, AMA!

Excerpt

Bitnob - Bitcoin + Noble (uses) started as a project to demonstrate the good uses of Bitcoin beyond speculation. Our distributed team is based out of Nigeria, Ghana and some parts of Europe. Come visit our Bitcoin hacker houses in Abuja and Accra anytime you find yourself in Nigeria or Ghana.

43.1k sats \ 52 comments \ @bernard_parah \ ~undefined

---

💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/40018/r/Undisciplined?commentId=40048

What do you think is the biggest misconception that the West has about the global adoption of Bitcoin?

254 sats \ 1 reply \ @rheedi0

From I am Bernard Parah, CEO of Bitnob, AMA! by @bernard_parah in ~bitcoin

---

🏆 TOP STACKER

1st place @k00b

1988 stacked \ 44.9k spent \ 6 posts \ 20 comments \ 0 referrals

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

61.2k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 62.4k spent \ 90 posts \ 208 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

June 30, 2021 📅

---

📝 TOP POST

The easiest way to view, search and share BIPs

9 sats \ 2 comments \ @dolu \ ~undefined

---

💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/119/r/Undisciplined?commentId=152

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @supertestnet

From Lightning Mints by @k00b in ~bitcoin

---

🏆 TOP STACKER

No top stacker

---

🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~econ

A place to discuss economics, incentives, policy, etc tangential to Bitcoin.

PSA - borders are mostly imaginary lines on dirt!

founded by @jeff on Tue Dec 05 2023

74 stacked \ 0 revenue \ 83 spent \ 0 posts \ 2 comments

@ b2caa9b3:9eab0fb5

Bessarabian Steamed Dumplings were a dish my grandmother always made on special occasions. These dumplings, or strudels, were something I loved as a child and dearly miss today. Unfortunately, my grandmother's original recipe is lost to time; she took it with her when she passed away many years ago. Nonetheless, I cherish the wonderful memories from that time.

I captured these photos when someone cooked Bessarabian Steamed Dumplings for me, although not following this recipe. My Grandmother’s original recipe does not exits anymore, she took it with her into her grave.

Ingredients

• 250g flour
• 3 large potatoes
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cube yeast
• 1 tbsp margarine

Additional:

Water, some margarine for greasing, salt, flour for the work surface

Preparation

• Preparation time: about 40 minutes
• Resting time: about 1 hour

For the dough, approximate measurements are: 1/4 bag of flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/3 to 1/2 cube fresh yeast, and a flat tablespoon of margarine. Then, add water gradually until the dough is smooth and not too wet. Let the dough rest in a warm place for about 30 to 60 minutes to rise.

Meanwhile, peel and dice 2-3 large potatoes into quarters or sixths, not too big and not too small.

Once the dough has risen, lightly flour the work surface. Cut the dough into approximately 3 x 3 cm cubes, ensuring the dough remains loose.

Next, grease a pot with margarine, add a pinch of salt, and arrange the diced potatoes at the bottom of the pot, about 1 to 1.5 cm high. Pour enough water over the potatoes to cover them. Sprinkle another small pinch of salt over the potatoes. Then, quickly place the dumplings in the pot (only lay them side by side, do not stack!). Leave some space between each dumpling and cover the pot with a lid. Place it on the stove over medium heat.

Now comes the tricky part - do not open the lid, as it will cause the dough to collapse. Occasionally, gently shake the pot (approximately every 5 minutes) until you notice the potatoes loosening from the bottom. Continue this for about 20 minutes.

Once the liquid has evaporated, you'll smell the potatoes lightly browning. You'll also catch the delicious aroma when the dumplings turn golden brown. At this point, the dumplings should be ready.

Serve with:

• Goulash
• Meat
• Bacon
• Sauerkraut

@ b2caa9b3:9eab0fb5

Since the situation in Ukraine is on everyone's mind, I wanted to share some happier memories of Odessa. These photos are from a my travels before the war. I left in February 2022 Ukraine. Odessa was a beautiful city with a vibrant culture. I miss exploring its streets and experiencing its unique charm.

@ 295d608c:07b6cae6

@ 9171b08a:8395fd65

The rhythmic thump thump of the wipers’ frantic attempt to rid the windshield of raindrops glimmering in the passing streetlights came and went in Jonah’s sight. A thin layer of water about the lonely street glistened in the headlights. His breaths were heavy between the squeal and thump, thump.

“Your mom was right, you know?” were the words Julia, his wife had said. The street lights stretched across the darkness then vanished over her reflection in the rearview mirror revealing only a split second of the shimmer in her eyes.

Their boy cooed in the car seat behind Jonah as Julia fed him with her left hand. Their girl slept, head bobbing gently in the seat to Julia’s right.

“Julia, c’mon. You can’t be serious.”

“You haven’t been there for us. You haven’t been there for me and it's embarrassing that your mom had to call you out on it. You think you're a man?”

Jonah’s breaths were heavy between the thump thump and squeal of the windshield wipers. The lights were stagnant then, when the engine ticked strangely and he had the taste of iron in his mouth.

The words he had said a few moments before echoed in his head, “Julia, I was doing it for you and the kids.”

“The kids needed you home. I nee—” Julia’s voice cracked, “I needed you.” Her voice slipped into a soft whine of desperation, “We can get by with your parents' help. It’s ok to ask for help.”

“Why do we need their help? We can do this on our own. I can do this for us,” growled Jonah. His rage was building but he didn’t dare raise his voice and wake the children. “I can do this,” he repeated, staring at Julia.

Julia couldn’t fight the frown. She wiped away a tear and said, “Maybe you can. But I can’t. Not anymore, I already told your mother I’ll be comi—”

Thump.

Thump.

The street lights and water filled the splintered windshield glass like streams of gold. The Red and blue lights flashing wildly against the concrete median came and went in Jonah’s sight. Julia hung limp in her seat. Her body was tethered down by the seatbelt; her hands suspended above her head. It was dark even with all the lights and it wasn’t until there came the glare of a flashlight and Jonah noticed the blood streaming from the gash in Julia’s face that he really noticed the taste of iron in his mouth.

All sounds were muffled. When he looked at the glaring light the moment just vanished.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Jonah shivered. The pain was unbearable but the cold still racked his body. He shook awake and was blinded by the overhead light.

“Easy. Easy,” came a familiar voice.

His mother’s voice brought tears to Jonah’s eyes. Eyes still sensitive to the light. His mother’s silhouette shifted beside him. Then, he felt her touch and though there was warmth against the chill, he shook. Jonah realized he was in the hospital and now it was the pain that racked his body.

Jonah wheezed, “Julia? Julia? Mom.” His voice cracked. “Grayson? Tory? What happened?”

Jonah’s mother hugged him, “You were in an accident son.”

“Mom,” Jonah wheezed again as he spoke and struggled to free himself from her embrace. “What room are they in? Are they ok?”

His mother spoke softly as she separated from him and said, “Jonah, you need to rest.”

“I need to see my wife and kids! Tell them to come in.” Jonah searched the bedside table for his phone. Then he searched the bed. His arms were riddled with sutures and streaks of black coagulated blood. “I’ll call Julia. Pass me my phone,” he said wanting to raise his hand in his inquiry but the pain was unbearable.

His mother covered her mouth and shook her head as she cried.

“Mom?” Her silence bothered Jonah. The wounds of his ego after the way his family turned on him that weekend were still fresh. At that moment, it was fresher still than the wounds of the accident. The idea that his mother was still treating him like he wasn’t man enough to care for his family enraged him. “Will you stop treating me like a boy? I’m thirty years old. I have a family. I don’t need to be coddled.”

His mother gasped and reached out a hand that Jonah swatted away. “Oh, no son. You don’t understand.”

Jonah winced at his mother’s reaction. It wasn’t uncommon for his mother to turn the tables on him and make him feel like the scum of the earth for having any sort of feelings whatsoever. For the first time however, that wouldn’t come. She was speechless and remorse blanketed her face. Jonah finally came to the realization that something was very wrong. He fought the frown that his lips wanted to take. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

His mother inhaled slowly and struggled to answer, “The paramedics tried their best, but you were the only one who made it to the hospital alive.”

Jonah stared at his mother in disbelief. The weight of the news made him sink further into the bed sheets. “No, no no no.” He struggled to conjure the sound of Julia’s voice from his memories of her.

“Your mom was right, you know?” Julie had said. “I already told your mother I’ll be comi—” were her last words. The streetlights expanding across her face in the rearview mirror and the glimmer of her tears was the last image he held of her. His daughter’s bobbing head and his son’s coo were the last memories he had of his children.

Everyone was right. His mother was right. Why had he insisted on spending so much time away from home in search of money. In search of greatness. Little did he know that the seconds were ticking away and every moment he spent away from his family was one less minute he would have memories of.

@ b2caa9b3:9eab0fb5

A few days ago, I purchased a ticket in Kilifi bound for Taveta, with a connecting journey to Moshi. They informed me in Taveta that I'd need to buy the ticket to Moshi there. The sales office attendant assured me the Driver would guide me to the correct Matatu in Taveta. Satisfied, I bought the ticket and the office attendant explained my travel plan.

I was to depart from Kilifi at 6 a.m. in a Matatu waiting in front of the office. From there, I would travel to Mombasa, where I would switch to another Matatu parked nearby upon arrival. This Matatu would take me directly to Taveta, where the driver would link me with the Matatu to Moshi.

Everything was clear so far: departure from Kilifi at 6 a.m., arrival in Mombasa by 9 a.m., and reaching Taveta between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., but no later than 2 p.m. Here, I would transfer to the new Matatu in Taveta, paying 500 KES as planned. The journey promised a scenic route through a national park, offering the chance to spot wildlife.

Excited, I packed and prepared, managing only three hours of sleep that night due to the early wake-up call at 4:30 a.m. After a quick shower and coffee, I reached the bus station after five minutes walk, right on time at 6 a.m.

The Matatu was already there, and I took my seat number 2, the best spot beside the driver with ample space. We waited briefly for the driver who eventually arrived and drove us towards Mombasa. The journey, typically one to two hours, extended due to additional pickups along flooded and muddy side roads. Despite this, we reached Mombasa and stopped at the office where my next Matatu awaited.

I asked the driver about my Matatu to Taveta, and he seemed surprised. Concerned it might have already left, I was relieved when he offered to guide me to it. We walked through Mombasa's streets for 5 to 10 minutes, passing several Bus and Matatu stops where I was repeatedly solicited for rides to Kilifi or Malindi—none of which were my destination. Finally, the young man pointed out my Matatu, and I boarded.

Although the Matatu filled up quickly, there was no driver. It was already past 10:30 a.m. before a young man arrived and started the Matatu. He paused briefly, then left to change clothes before returning, in a shirt with the transportation company's name, to start the journey.

I inquired whether the route to Taveta was direct or involved stops, and he assured me it was nonstop. Despite the delay, I hoped we would arrive in Taveta before the border closed. I had no information on the Matatu in Taveta, trusting the office's assurance that the driver would assist me.

Relaxing back, I even dozed off intermittently during the journey, waking only when the Matatu halted for passengers or briefly in Voi, where I noticed us veering off the direct path to Taveta. Curious about the route change, I soon learned the driver was making a detour near the home of a passenger to drop him off before correcting course toward Taveta.

Entering Tsavo National Park, our pace slowed as we encountered a checkpoint where a soldier halted us. Their conversation, much of which I couldn't understand except for the word "Mzungu," resulted in the driver jotting down a number and exchanging it with the soldier. Apparently, foreigners weren't permitted on that route through the park without booking a safari.

We proceeded cautiously through Tsavo, spotting elephants, zebras, and antelopes. At one point, an elephant blocked the road, engaging in a standoff with a truck. We waited motionless for about 20 minutes until it retreated, allowing us to pass.

Finally arriving in Taveta, I asked the driver about the Matatu to Moshi, only to receive the disappointing news that there were no such Matatus there. Stressed, as it was already after 4 p.m., I couldn't walk across the border. Fortunately, after a frantic discussion with a boda driver, I paid him 500 KES to ferry me across.

Fifteen minutes later, we reached the border, where I completed immigration procedures swiftly due to my eVisa. The boda driver waited outside, and after finishing, he took me to Holili's bus station in Tanzania. There, I paid him, and he paid me a daladala bound for Moshi.

The daladala departed after filling up, and despite the delay, we arrived in Moshi late in the evening. Thanks to two volunteers from Heidelberg, Germany, finding my hostel was quick, and check-in was smooth. With a bed secured in an eight-bed dorm and breakfast included, my Tanzanian adventure was set to begin. Stay tuned for more tales from my African travels!

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

There are two kinds of suffering in this world: the kind that leads to more suffering and the kind that leads to the end of suffering. If you’re not willing to endure the latter, you will surely have more of the former. — Zen Proverb

I know someone, it could just as well be you or me, who is constantly trying to figure out what’s wrong with her in order to get to the bottom of it. She’s tried medication, psilocybin, retreats and therapy, but to no avail. I don’t even know her that well, but I know what her problem is: that she thinks she has a problem. None of the modalities she’s tried can resolve this essential problem. In fact, they reify it. All she needs to do is feel what she’s feeling and be who she is. But as the proverb goes, if you’re unwilling to do that, you’ll surely have the chance to keep “fixing” yourself forever.

. . .

I’m not going to lie and say I’ve read Dante’s Divine Comedy, though I do have a copy on my old bookshelf in Los Angeles. I will borrow its paradigm of heaven, hell and purgatory, however, and assign my own interpretations to them, irrespective of the pace with which Mr. Alighieri circumvolves in his grave.

My idea of hell is scrolling through Twitter, playing a trivia game like Wordle or otherwise doing something that keeps you engaged but distracted from essential tasks and your own vital existence. Hell isn’t painful, in my view, it’s actually comfortable and easy, only there’s a nagging sense of neglecting something and a dread this procrastination cannot go on indefinitely. Hell is suppression of feelings, resistance to life. It’s tossing and turning in a futile attempt to sleep in.

Purgatory is painful. Avoiding it is why you remain in hell. It’s the raw emotion underneath the ceaseless mind chatter. The abyss in your stomach and throat, uncertainty in your mind, anxiety in your chest. It’s also the miserable jog around the track in the cold drizzle when your foot is sore, your back is tight, or you’re a little congested and just don’t feel up to it. Most of us hate purgatory.

Heaven is after the run, when you’re walking home, observations and ideas are flowing freely. It’s the sense of relief after you let an emotion speak its mind without interrupting it. It’s the state of calm that arises after you’ve burnt through the karma in purgatory sufficiently.

But spend a little time in its kingdom and pretty soon you find yourself back where you started, in hell. Heaven as a reward doesn’t last. Because a permanent state of heaven for doing good or working hard would be a stupid and absurd state of affairs, not commensurate with the world’s sublime workings, its fractal majesty. The Tao or God or whatever word you prefer isn’t a schoolmarm. You can’t curry favor with it, and you can’t game it with hacks.

All one can do is choose purgatory over hell as often as it presents itself. To choose the kind of suffering that leads to the end of suffering over and over again. At some point, I imagine, one’s capacity to suffer in purgatory is so profound the suffering itself is heaven, there is nothing to be avoided, nothing for which to be rewarded. The Buddha’s first noble truth was “Life is suffering” and maybe hell is only for those who would avoid it.

. . .

It might sound harsh to see people struggling with their demons, trying to self-improve and dismissing their efforts. But as I said, this could just as well describe me. You have no problem except that you think you do.

I’ll leave off with a George Carlin quote that sums this up nicely:

If you think there is a solution, you're part of the problem.

@ 75bf2353:e1bfa895

I saw this post and wrote this long rant in response so I decided to post it as a long-form article.

I read the declaration of independence and the u.s. constitution on the 4th of july every year for like 7 years, until 2020.

the people of the enlightenment had such great ideas. money had to be minted from gold and silver. it wasn't a bad rile, it's just the government decided not to follow that rule. or maybe they were incapable of following that rule. it didn't scale.

the post office was the best idea to facilitate private communication. people like james madison and thomas jefferson obtained even higher levels of privacy using encryption like the jefferson wheel. the founders, in many ways were analog cypherpunks. that's why we have the bill of rights. the anti-federalists fought for those rights and won...for a little while.

people forgot about cryptography. they started using email. private communication became part of history. when was the last time you sent a letter over snail mail? you might send a christmas card here or there, but the biggest ad companies in the world are like santa clause. he knows whe you are sleeping. he knows when you're awake. he knows whrn you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.

cbdc's are a real political issue nowadays. it's strange. it's not as if the masses started reading david chaum or something. they don't want cbdc's, but how is that system much different than credit cards?

frankly, most people don't give a damn, but they feel as if they can't get ahead. the complain about inflation, but take nonsteps to save fiat. why would they? saving fiat means getting less stuff in the future.

satoshi thought #bitcoin could help people achieve freedom.

https://i.nostr.build/m54on.png

i view bitcoin and public key cryptography as a way to achieve the rights guaranteed by the us constitution on the internet...at least for a little while, but if we do it right, we can achieve freedom for a long time. one time, i bought a tv. then i tried to buy groceries the same day and my credit card wouldn't work. i understand why and a quick phone call cleared it up, but it shows how easy they can cut people off of the financial rails.

as costs rise, more people will be cut off from those rails. that's the problem with the double spending problem.

bitcoinfixes this.

@ c43d6de3:a6583169

I know the answer to it all. The chief reason our generation is so depressed is because of the lack of mentor, mentee relationships in our society stemming from a lack of adequate parenting. 

Easy enough. Thank you for reading…

No, honestly there's a lot to unpack here. Most of which is based on assumed Truths. We enter this world a blank slate. Nothing contains meaning, until we learn through association and believe the "Truth" of things. Cause and effect is taught by nature and everything else must be taught by a nurturing human. The lack of a mentor, mentee relationship or just inadequate parenting will warp our understanding of the Truth.

I never quite understood the medical diagnosis for depression. It seems every year there's yet another symptom tacked onto the malady's quark board. Google-bot says Anhedonia is the chief symptom of Depression.

Anhedonia: the lack of interest, enjoyment or pleasure from life's experience. -Google Bot

I'm big on the etymology of things. I like when the origin of a word makes so much sense it makes the very sound of the word resonate better. Depression doesn't quite cut it. I picture a deflated balloon when I hear the word. Deflated balloons don't kill themselves from desperation. Desperate might do, but it doesn't fit the lexicon. 

I asked my cousin for help, he was diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia almost 10 years ago. Believe it or not, it's easier for him to describe schizophrenia than depression. I believe everyone has experienced even a little depression before, not very many experience alternate realities in real time. I asked him if he was sad all the time, maybe that would describe his depression. He shrugged at that and said, "No. I'm not sad. I'm just not happy."  I'm just not happy. Not sad, just not happy. Unhappy. Its the closest word that resonated with him.

To determine what is the chief reason for depression, I believe we have to better define the word unhappy and see where it all originates from. I start here because for us to explore why this generation is so unhappy, we must first define what, then, is unhappiness? I feel the best way to form a logical argument is by describing a contemporary definition of happiness which finds origins in Aristotle's philosophies and finding its inverse.

What is Exactly is Happiness?

According to the World Happiness Report, there are six factors that define happiness: Income, health, having someone to count on, having a sense of freedom to make key life decisions, generosity, and the absence of corruption. In other words a persons access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The World Happiness Report is an annual publication that ranks countries based on various factors contributing to happiness. It is a partnership of the Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the WHR's Editorial Board. All six factors are used to derive a statistical representation of what Aristotle called "eudaimonia."

Aristotle identified a person with strong character virtues and sufficient external goods as achieving "eudaimonia." Aristotle stressed the importance of the person's character, built by mentorship and habits, and he famously defined eudaimonia as "the activity of the soul according to virtue". In other words, high eudaimonia required a virtuous character, included moderation, fortitude, a sense of justice, an ability to form and maintain friendships, as well as good citizenship in the polis (the political community).

Today we describe the outward facing virtues of friendship and citizenship as "pro-social" attitudes and behavior. For the Greeks, living the right kind of life was a hard-won skill. The Greeks used the term arete, which means excellence or virtue. 

Aristotle would say you might feel purpose in life when all of these things are achieved. A life of sustained purpose will experience bouts of hardship driven for the sake of achievement. Little achievements along the way grant hits of happiness. There is never numbness, never unhappiness but rather a spectrum of feeling. This could be any feeling, but feeling nevertheless. Feelings cannot be unhappy if there are little strands of excitement strung throughout a complex tapestry of fear, sadness, releif, and all the other things you feel when you go through the ups and downs of the rollercoaster that is a purpose driven life.

So looking at inverse of eudaimonia. Unhappiness is in no particular order:

• A widespread lack of mentorship
• Rampant bad habits
• Excess over moderation
• Widespread sensitivity
• No sense of justice
• A difficulty to form and maintain friendships
• Indifference in supporting and participating in the political community.

None of this matters if you were never taught that it does. This lesson doesn't necessarily have to come from a parent, it could be from any mentor like relationship.

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Read the previous edition here.

June 29th, 2023 📅

---

📝 TOP POST

Solving the Bitcoin Adoption Dilemma

Excerpt

my new personal approach is Spend and Replace. What I mean by that and how I do it in countries where Bitcoin is not legal tender, I gonna show you in this episode. But first things first: Why are we hodling Bitcoin?

12k sats \ 30 comments \ @CarlBMenger \ ~bitcoin

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/200726/r/Undisciplined?commentId=200758

1181 sats \ 17 replies \ @ek

A list of cool updates @ek was working on.

From What are you working on this week? by @sn in ~bitcoin

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🏆 TOP STACKER

2nd place @k00b (1st pace is hiding, presumed to be @siggy47)

14.3k stacked \ 12.4k spent \ 3 posts \ 14 comments \ 0 referrals

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

55.3k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 76.8k spent \ 187 posts \ 441 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

June 29th, 2022 📅

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📝 TOP POST

Amazing script that lists offers from Bisq, HodlHodl, and RoboSats, all via Tor

Link to https://github.com/j4imefoo/nokyc

1276 sats \ 9 comments \ @sethforprivacy \ ~bitcoin

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/39400/r/Undisciplined?commentId=39420

299 sats \ 4 replies \ @tomlaies

Excerpt:

Imagine, you are in a situation where internet is to break up and things gotta be fast. Or there is a DDoS and you don't care if you order something right now or it goes through a little later.

From Announcing lnd 0.15 beta: To Taproot and Beyond! by @kr in ~bitcoin

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🏆 TOP STACKER

@k00b

1477 stacked \ 11k spent \ 8 posts \ 24 comments \ 0 referrals

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

everything bitcoin related

founded by @k00b on Tue May 02 2023

15.8k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 25.1k spent \ 161 posts \ 401 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

June 29th, 2021 📅

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📝 TOP POST

A big Ethereum problem that is fixed by Drivechain

Link to https://fiatjaf.com/c8802032.html

12 sats \ 101 boost \ 10 comments \ @fiatjaf \ ~bitcoin

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/119/r/Undisciplined?commentId=129

*2 sats \ 0 replies \ @fiatjaf *

This is just a worse version of hosted channels.

From Lightning Mints by @k00b in ~bitcoin

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🏆 TOP STACKER

@sha256

2 stacked \ 1 spent \ 1 post \ 0 comments \ 0 referrals

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🗺️ TOP TERRITORY

~meta

We discuss Stacker News in these here parts.

founded by @k00b on Tue Jun 20 2023

138 stacked \ 0 revenue \ 158 spent \ 1 post \ 2 comments

@ 9171b08a:8395fd65

Charles Lorenzo Jackson, also known as Charlie Jackson, or CJ as his late wife used to call him, sat on a rubber green and white stripped lawn chair whose rubber strips where chipping and whose colors had long faded. The parking lot lights in front of The Home Depot were bright only in that CJ could see his own hand as he raised a glass of bourbon. The crickets of the Georgia night were nearly enough to block out the rumblings of the generator ticking and tacking against the iron hitch behind his RV. ​ He made a toast to his wife, god bless her soul, for that night was the anniversary of her death. After every sip or two of his bourbon, CJ shot sparing looks at the cupcake with a single candle on a fold out table at his side. It was only after he finished his bourbon, lit a cigarette, and smoked that cigarette damn near its butt, that he placed the glowing ember of his cancer stick against the candle and a tiny flame came to life.

CJ swallowed hard to fight back his tears. His hand trembled as it reached out for the cupcake, tears broke the moment he took a bite.

The single whoop of a police siren sounded, and a spotlight flooded the place.

CJ’s eyes widened with a teary glimmer and he tried to block the light with his hand.

“Hey, what’s the deal?” he asked.

“What are you doing out here buddy?” came a voice behind the spotlight.

“What does it look like, buddy?” replied CJ.

“No reason to be in the parking lot at this time.”

​“I’ve got no reason to be anywhere else,” said CJ. He lowered his hand and with winced eyes he called out, “Cut them lights out man. We both know I’m the only one out here, no need for that.”

The spotlight went out.

Footsteps approached and utility belts jangled. A radio blared with an indistinguishable voice stating numbers that meant nothing to CJ.

“What can I do for you gentlemen?” asked CJ as the policemen loomed over him with crossed arms.

“This is probably not the best place for you to be hanging around old timer,” said the shorter policeman with the shirt that looked like it was two sizes too small. He tightened his wrapped arms about his chest, flexing wildly.

​CJ nodded, “Yea, I seen the protests last couple nights. Pretty calm night, tonight.”

​“Them protests didn’t make you uncomfortable?” asked the taller cop.

​Those two white men in uniform must have known how a black man would feel amidst the protests of late.

“Gentlemen, I’m old enough to have seen this country at different heights of hysteria. It’s hard to scare old black folk like me.”

“That right?” said the small pitbull of a man as he came closer to CJ. “You never answered our question. What are you doing in this parking lot at this time? You planning on robbing the place?”

​CJ’s face wrinkled, he shot a look at his RV, then looked down at his seat and finally said, “You ever seen someone prepare to rob a place with a glass of whiskey and a foldout chair?”

The small cop kicked over CJ’s empty bourbon bottle and said, “Looks like you just trying to get some courage to do the job.”

The taller cop stepped in then, “You planning on driving after drinking all that?”

CJ stood from his seat and the cops took a step back. That brought a smirk to CJ’s lips and he shook his head, “I don’t have much to explain to you gentlemen. You hear that generator ticking away, my engine ain’t on. Now I don’t expect you two to be much acquainted with the laws you enforce, but I’d suggest you take a gander at Georgia code title sixteen for what constitutes as a dwelling. At this time, my RV is not a vehicle, it is very clear it is a dwelling. I’ve already spoken to the general manager in charge of the premises and he's let me stay in the parking lot for the night. So, this here ain’t trespassing. It looks to me, you two’s just lookin’ for trouble now.”

The pitbull of a cop took a few steps closer to CJ but the taller one cleared his throat and said, “Tim.”

The short cop stopped and stared down CJ for what seemed like the longest couple of seconds CJ had experienced in quite some time. “I’d be more careful if I was you. It ain’t a good time to be alone in dark places.”

“I’m sure you mean it ain’t never been a good time to be black,” said CJ.

Tim smiled and said with a cocked chin, “No, I never said that old timer.”

​

---

On the other side of Augusta, against the river, there was a high profile, yet highly secretive, assembly at the Marriot Convention Center. Suited men and women from across the United States mingled about the ball room during the cocktail hour and most could not help but mention the group of boisterous young men already seated in the back corner.

Sure, they were significantly younger than the rest, and sure, their banter and rant was loud, but what piqued any conversation was how they wore Hawaiian shirts in stark contrast to everyone else’s suit and tie.

Andrew couldn’t help but notice the looks and side winding mouthings that followed as Senators and House Representatives passed his table. He leaned to the young man at his side and said, “Phil, you sure we were invited to this thing?”

“Damn right we were. This movement is nothing without us,” answered Phil.

​“You don’t feel like we’re out of place? I don’t know man, I don’t feel right.”

Phil winced and placed a heavy hand on Andrew’s shoulder, “You’ve fought in Iraq, Afghanistan, and all kinds of places in Africa. I’ve seen you keep a cool head in almost any scenario, yet this is what makes you feel uncomfortable?”

​Andrew looked around, tugged on his Hawaiian shirt, and laughed as he said, “Maybe if we didn’t look so goddamn out of place, I wouldn’t feel that way.”

Phil smiled and leaned back in his chair, “It’s us out of place fools, who’ll make this possible,” he gestured to the suited men and women in the banquet room. “They are simply the fuel, but we’re the muscle. When this is all said and done, we’ll be remembered as generals and heroes.”

Andrew pointed to his shirt again and raised an eyebrow, “Heroes in Hawaiian shirts?”

​Phil nodded and with a huge grin repeated, “God damn right, heroes in Hawaiian shirts. Yes.”

​Andrew relaxed in his chair and went back to scrutinizing the adults in the room. Upon closer inspection, he noticed there were more than Americans in attendance. A few Asian men mingled about. There were also a few tall slender men which he assumed were European. His eyes came to the man he knew had invited the boys to the event, a lean man, he could tell was strong even underneath his suit and despite the distance, Andrew could still hear the man’s southern drawl. Senator Beau Davis was surrounded by a few extra nationals who all looked intimately acquainted. He laughed, his political laugh and shook hands in the manner one does when a deal is brokered, heads bobbing, and smiles abound.

​Then Senator Davis turned his gaze on the boys and with his chin held high he strut victoriously to the table of renegades clad in Hawaiian shirts.

​“Gentlemen,” said the Senator with his heavy southern drawl.

​Phil looked to his companions and said, “On your feet y’all.”

​Everyone snapped to the position of attention and Senator Davis raised his hands defensively.

​ “As you were boys. Such decorum is not entirely necessary this evening. We are here to celebrate the cause and besides, there are a few politicians in here who’ve not yet fully decided where their hearts lie in these decisive times.”

The boys relaxed, some took their seats, but Phil remained standing as Senator Davis was primarily addressing him.

“You’ve secured a safehouse?” asked the Senator.

​Phil answered, “Sir, we’ve got a safehouse and training grounds. It’s out in the sticks. No one will ever suspect a thing.”

​Senator Davis nodded and looked over his shoulder at the extra nationals. “A large store of weapons and ammunition will be arriving in the Port of Savannah first thing in the morning. It’ll take some time to clear customs, but you’ll need to pick it up, discretely, and bring it back to the safe house.”

​“Too easy, sir.”

​“How goes the recruiting efforts?” asked the Senator.

​“Easier than ever before. Like you said, these are decisive times.”

​Senator Davis smiled and pat Phil on the shoulder and said, “Yes.” Then turned to the other boys sitting around the table and asked, “How you boys doing tonight?”

​There was a mumbled reply as the boys all answered their own version of "Doin’ alright" and Senator Davis came closer to say, “I told Phil you boys should be proud of your movement. Thank you for representing well with your illustrious Hawaiian shirts. You have awoken something in the American people. Something that’s been lying dormant for far too long and it’s about time. Enjoy this night, for there’ll be few nights as quiet as this one in the near future.”

Senator Davis parted from the table and Andrew leaned in to ask Phil, “Was senator Davis talkin’ to those Chinese dudes back there?”

​Phil leaned back in his chair and said, “What we are planning here cannot be done without money Andrew.”

​“Yea, I know, but I’m not sure the Chinese care too much about our movement.”

​ “Andrew, this country is already divided. It’s up to us to make sure that division leads to a better America.”

​

The next morning Phil and his posse sat in Semi-trucks with flatbed trailers at a truck stop just outside the Port of Savannah. Andrew sat beside Phil who gripped the steering wheel tightly and fiddled with his phone in the other hand.

​“So, this is the kind of thing that makes you nervous?” laughed Andrew.

​Phil smiled and said, “Shut the fuck up. There’s a lot riding on this.” Phil turned on the radio just loud enough to make any attempt at conversation cumbersome.

​“President Joe Biden has been in office for just a little over six months and it seems the nation is coming apart at the seams,” came the Dj’s voice. “Look y’all I’m not inclined to all the violence, but maybe its about time we start reconsidering the way things work in this country because right now our government is much too divided to get anyth-

​-Phil plunged a finger into the band button and cut the DJ’s voice. After a scanning over a few stations he stopped on the song, Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden and finally stopped fidgeting in his seat.

​A quarter past one, Phil’s phone rang, and he put it on speaker, “Hello?”

​A woman’s voice came over the phone, “Philip Dalton?”

“Yeah.”

​“Containers have been released. You are to retrieve the containers and drive toward your training grounds. You must stop overnight someplace secure. No truck stops. You and your crew must remain within eyesight of the containers and remain armed. Understood?”

“Yea, too easy.”

Phil tucked the phone away in his pocket and said, “She sounded hot.”

He gave Andrew a smile and honked the horn before peeling out of the truck stop. Single file, the semi-trucks rolled into the port terminal to receive container loads riddled with 1.4S orange diamond hazard placards. The paperwork each driver showed the port officer said the containers were destined for a fulfilment center just outside of Athens. That would give the boys enough cover to pick up the containers and make way to Athens without much recourse should they get stopped or have to show paperwork at a weigh station.

As the sun began to set, the convoy of ammo laden trucks pulled passed signs indicating they were back near Augusta and Andrew spoke up, “Should we spend the night here?”

​“In Augusta?” asked Phil.

​“Yea, we’re supposed to park somewhere secure for the night. We won’t know what’s secure anywhere else.”

​Phil nodded and turned onto the off ramp at the end of the Bobby Jones Expressway and slowly turned into the scanty parking lot of The Home Depot and Andrew laughed, “This is what you call secure?”

​Phil punched Andrew’s arm and retorted, “You ever seen a Home Depot Parking Lot at night?”

Andrew laughed as he replied, “No, why would I?”

​“Exactly. Look how tucked away this parking lot is. Only way your going to see our trucks is if you come looking for them.”

​Andrew’s smile went flat as the thought that had been lingering in his head since they retrieved the containers urged him to speak his mind. “Hey man, what’s the deal with all this secrecy?”

​“What do you mean?” asked Phil as he backed into a spot in one of the crooks of the parking lot.

“You heard that lady,” said Andrew.

​“Yea she sounded hot. What about her?”

“She sounded military.”

​“You’re military.”

​“Ex-military. But that’s not what I mean. It feels like this is a military operation. Remain armed at all times?”

​“Not like we don’t bring our weapons everywhere we go anyway.”

​“Yeah, but she gave us an order, Phil. That’s different.”

---

CJ sat in the front seat of his RV, cranked the motor, and stared off at the cars pulling out of their parking spaces in front of the Home depot. The words of the store manager lingered in his head, just a few hours ago he had come to CJ’s RV and said, “Hey man, some cops came by this morning asking if I’d let you stay here over night.”

​CJ shook his head at the store manager’s words and said, “I told them I wasnt lookin’ for trouble. I just mentioned you knew I was out here.”

​The store manager raised his hands defensively, “I know, I figured as much. Look, shit is getting crazy in the streets and cops everywhere are wound up tight. I just don’t want you to get hurt. You can continue staying here overnight but consider parking out back, behind the store. Cops never mess around back there. It’s a little further away from the main street too so you won’t hear all the night protests.”

​CJ stepped on the accelerator and pulled into the alley behind the Home Depot. The two employees that were out back smoking cigarettes pointed at the RV and shared a few words with one another before stepping up to it after CJ parked.

​CJ cursed under his breath and stepped out already starting his speech, “I’ve already spoken to the manager-

​ -You CJ?” asked one of the employees.

​CJ was taken aback and answered, “Yea, what’s it to you?”

​The employee smiled and wagged his cigarette, “Nothing, I’ve just always wondered who lived in that RV parked out front man! Never actually seen you. You the one that takes our empty pallets?”

​CJ nodded, “Yea, that’s me.”

​The other employee shook his head, “How much you sell ‘em for?”

​CJ fidgeted with his fingers a bit and answered, “Well, I can manage about two dollars and eighty cents for them. I don’t have anything to repair them with so no ones really willing to pay any higher.”

Both employees whistle and say, “Man that’s quite the turn around for a couple hundred free pallets.”

The employee’s walkie-talkies sound, “Groseman, Tilde, y’all done with your break?”

​“Oh shit,” said one employee.

​“Hey, we’ll be seeing you CJ,” said the other and they both disappeared into the store.

​A few hours later, the store closed for the night and CJ brought out his time worn lawn chair, pull out table, and bottle of bourbon. He filled his glass and placed the bottle on the floor next to him, a pack of cigarettes was placed on the table. It was not until his second glass that he heard the hissing release of air brakes on the front side of The Home Depot. CJ checked his watch; it was well passed closing time. It may have been a driver posting up for a morning delivery, but then came four more hissing sounds and the commotion sparked his curiosity.

​He rounded the corner of the store and stayed close to the wall. Young men dismounted the trucks and a approached the truck on the far end.

The driver rolled down his window and said, “Get comfortable boys, we’re staying here for the night.”

​There were a few grumblings and one of the boys called out, “I’m starving Phil!”

​Phil called back, “Then order some pizza Roy!”

​

---

Andrew watched in silence as the others returned to their trucks.

​Phil slapped the side of Andrew’s arm and said, “What’s the matter with you man? You been quite as hell the whole way here.”

Andrew shook his head and said, “Is this ammo really for target practice?”

“You still on this? I’ve told you, Senator Davis has established our group as a legitimate unit in the Georgia National Guard. Its unorthodox, but yes, this ammo is for training,” answered Phil.

​Roy approached the truck and called out, “Hey Phil!”

​Phil called back, “Hey Roy!”

​“Man, no one’s delivering right now,” said Roy.

“What do you mean?”

​“No one’s answering their phones. I’ve called like five different pizza spots.”

“Get some grub hub or some shit.”

​“I tried, man no one is delivering.”

Phil shot a sarcastic look at Andrew and said, “Can you believe this shit? This guy can’t even order food.”

​“Naw, man. Something’s not right,” said Roy.

​Just then another boy jumped out of the cab of his truck and said, “Hey, turn on your radio! You won’t believe this shit.”

​Phil’s eyebrows furrowed and he reached for the radio dial when his phone rang. He took a gander at the screen and tapped the speaker on. “Sir, we’ve already stopped for the night.”

“Are you in a secure place?” came Senator Davis’ voice.

​“Yes sir.”

​“Sanitize your trucks. There can be no sign you are carrying ammunition,” said Senator Davis.

​“I don’t understand, we’ve got paperwork to cover us,” said Phil.

​“Sanitize the trucks and call in the rest of your unit to the training grounds.”

​“Alright, but what’s going on?” asked Phil.

​“First stone’s been cast son. We’re at war, the federal government is our enemy now. If anyone becomes suspicious of you, you are authorized to eliminate any potential threat to our assets. You won’t be able to reach me on this number again. I’ll make contact with you,” and the line went silent.

​Phil stared at his phone and whispered to himself, “What the fuck?”

​Andrew thrust a finger on the radio dial and the dj’s voice sounded worried, “I knew our country was divided but I didn’t think it could ever boil down to this. The White House just released a statement that, get this, Domestic terrorists have taken over arguably the biggest military installation in the United States at Fort Benning Georgia. Folks, these aren’t domestic terrorists. A couple of rag tag kids with guns can’t just take over a military installation. This is much bigger than that.”

​Phil shut the radio off and cursed under his breath again.

​ “Just for training huh?” said Andrew.

​“Shut up.”

​“You had no idea this was going to happen, did you?” asked Andrew.

Phil snapped, “Andrew, shut the fuck up. Soldiers never know the bigger strategy.”

​“You said we would be remembered as generals. Heroes.”

​“This is only the beginning Andrew. Right now, we just need to focus on the mission.”

​“Mission? No, I didn’t sign up for this.”

​“Nobody forced you to be here. But you are. Sitting in this cab, hauling tons of ammo. You’ve already chosen a side,” said Phil before he pushed open his door and called out to the other boys. “Hey! Peel off those hazard placards from your trucks. Tear up your trucking paperwork and lock and load your weapons. We’re at war now. Anyone stands in our way and we take them out.”

​A few boys whooped and whistled, a few others looked surprised by the command, but everyone started moving when Phil clapped wildly and said, “Get rid of those placards now!”

​Phil then returned to Andrew and pointed to the door beside him, “Get the fuck out and peel off those placards man. C’mon.”

​Andrew clicked his tongue and kicked open the door. As he climbed up the side of the flatbed trailer and reached for the hazard placard on the side of the container, the thoughts of his time in service to the country that had just torn apart at the seams flashed to mind. A year and a half ago, he was excited to return from Afghanistan only to now be saddling the side of a flatbed truck committing treason in the highest degree.

“Hey! Stop,” called out one of the boys and Andrew sprung up from the side of the container.

​A few of the boys were pointing to the side of The Home Depot calling out, “There’s someone there.”

​One of the boys called out, “Phil, what you want us to do?”

​A thought sparked in Andrew’s mind and he hurried back to the cab and said, “Pass me my weapon, I’ll go after them.”

​Phil gave Andrew a sparing look, pulled Andrew’s rifle from the back seat, loaded a magazine and pulled the charging handle, chambering a round. “Some of the boys will go with you.”

​“Yeah, whatever,” said Andrew as he dismounted the truck and prowled toward the side of The Home Depot. He heard Phil call out for a few of the other boys to follow Andrew, but he had already rounded the corner by the time their charging handles clacked back.

​

---

CJ rummaged through his things, he had bought a Glock years ago with the intent to learn how to shoot the thing, but never got around to it.

​“It seems every hour, information comes in of yet another occurrence of political unrest. All of this, a direct chain reaction from the concerted efforts of militia terrorist groups around the country taking over federal and state government buildings,” blared the voice coming out of the radio in the kitchenette of CJ’s RV.

​CJ cursed under his breath and his forehead slicked with sweat. The pistol grip finally revealed itself amongst a horde of misplaced tools within a red toolbox under his bed and he reached for the magazine resting on the beside table.

​“Stop.”

​CJ exhaled unsteadily and raised his arms. “I ain’t lookin’ for no trouble.” That sentence was beginning to grow tired on his lips and he raised from his knees.

​“Turn around slowly,” said the boy behind him.

​A voice echoed from outside the RV, “Andrew, you get him?”

​“Yeah, I got him. Stand by, give me a sec,” said Andrew.

​Andrew’s eyes beat against every bit of CJ’s person, it seemed something was weighing on him when he spoke again, more calmly this time, “This thing run alright?”

CJ winced, “Yea, she’s old be she run.”

Andrew beckoned, “Pass me the keys.”

​CJ hesitated and Andrew grew uneasy, “You trying to get killed, move old man.”

​“Yeah, here,” CJ buried a hand into his pocket and threw the keys.

​Andrew caught the keys and motioned to the floor of the RV. “Lie down,” he said before he turned to the driver’s seat and cranked the motor.

​One of the boys outside retorted “What the fuck Andrew?”

​“I’m no terrorist,” replied Andrew as he drew his weapon on the boy outside and fired just as he slammed on the accelerator and the RV peeled out of the parking space.

Gunfire rang outside the RV. The ricochets came like slabs of concrete slamming into the side panels. With every slam CJ covered more of his head with his arms and he yelled, “What the hell is going on? Has everyone gone and lost their minds?”

​Andrew looked at the rearview side mirrors and ran over a curb, thrusting the RV through some hedges and out into another parking lot. There he slowed the vehicle to 45 miles an hour and peeled into the main street bound for the highway.

​“I’m in a situation I should have never found myself, but lucky for you I was,” said Andrew.

​“Why are you guys doing this?” asked CJ.

​“I’m not with them anymore.”

​“So, who are they?” asked CJ as he slowly rose from the ground.

​“Just a couple of boys who thought they could make a difference. There are more people like them across the country and they know who I am. After today, they’ll know who you are too.”

​“No, see no one could’ve gotten a good look at me,” said CJ.

​“They know we busted out in your RV,” said Andrew.

​“I guess you’re going to have to find a new vehicle, then, won’t you?”

“That how you treat the guy who just saved your life?” asked Andrew.

​“Looks like you was planning on running anyway. I was just a convenient getaway,” answered CJ.

​“History is repeating itself old man and if this civil war is anything like the first one, you may not want to stick around these parts anyway. I can protect you as we make our way north. You got anyone you want to meet? Anywhere you want to go?” asked Andrew.

​“I just want to be left alone. I’ll go anywhere I can be left alone,” answered CJ.

@ 3c984938:2ec11289

Understand the power of your signature on corporate documents.

Do you ever feel like you put your signature on everything when it comes to legal documents? A cellphone? Loan(s)? Voting booth? Electricity & Water? Driver's License? Hunting Permit? It seems like anything you want or need. You have to sign a contract. What if I told you that there's always a catch?

👉Definition of Reverse Trust Scam: It is a type of fraud that targets unknowingly individuals, often using a combination of deception, manipulation, and false promises to convince them (gains your trust) to part with their hard-earned money, privacy, rights, savings, and even property etc. (This could easily get extended with relationships, too)

✨SideNote: There are a lot of very good scammers out there, and many are very creative and use modern day technology just like you. Some may even pose as FBI or the IRS!

For the purpose of this article, let's go with something a bit harmless. The new Tesla CyberTruck.

Example: The Tesla CyberTruck has various benefits such as Instant Torque, tech, sustainability, bulletproof, fireproof, customization and off-road etc.

You're probably thinking, "YES! SIGN ME UP." You might even be very grateful after you've signed the contract.

Any type of corporate sale, deal, contract, the solicitor does not have to disclose everything in the contract. They only explain what you get, and not what you forfeit, or has terms & conditions.

This is where the scam part comes in.

First, Let's define what scam[^1] actually means.

This story was published after a man purchased a CyberTruck, "A Man Says Tesla Won’t Let Him Sell His Cybertruck—Even Though It’s Too Big for His Parking Spot."

"That agreement includes a provision that states that if a Cybertruck owner sells the EV during the first year, they can be fined $50,000 or the value of the vehicle, whichever is greater, and be banned from buying future Teslas."

In this case, whether he paid for it fully or partially(via bank loan), he “owns” the Truck. Or does he not? So what happened here? He waived away his right to sell it for at least a year or face heavy penalties. But the salesman did not disclose that information! What would you call this? To me --this would be fraud. Thanks to the internet, this information has come into light. You might be thinking "fraud," might be a bit harsh. Allow me to explain.

What the salesman did was not tell you the information purposefully in order to sale the vehicle(they get paid by commissions). He also has used the power of the law, against you to “protect” himself using your "signature." Essentially, the salesman became the beneficiary, and the man is the glorified holder of the "title" of the vehicle, redeemable after a year.

Think like an owner here for a moment: ✨If I bought a CD with music and resold it later to a friend-he or she have full rights. If I gave a PlayStation game to a friend, they can play to their hearts content. This also applies with books, bikes, microwaves, and so forth. You probably don't even pay taxes to these items.

📚🧾🎼The Author of a book holds the trust(copyright), so I cannot copy its content without their permission. Plain and simple. This makes me the beneficiary of that book because I benefitted from reading the book. The music CD and game is copyrighted, but I can still sell it or give it away. 🌠Note: I never signed anything for these items, all I did was pay the clerk for ownership.

The use of digital products such as ebooks, mp3s, and even your data has forced the consumer to agree to platforms ever-changing "TOS" and are no longer the owner but rather the digital item(s) are held in custodial care. Doesn't this feel like the reverse version of ownership? If you buy ebooks on Amazon, you cannot share the files nor can you sell it. 🍎Apple pulls a similar move with the music and app industry. The next runner-up is your data on 🐦Twitter, Meta, and Google. What about your 👛Bitcoin held on exchanges? They could(FAANG) at will, terminate your account if they desire to do so. Seems like no one benefits, except the corporations because you've digitally "agreed" and thus waived your rights which aren't disclosed. Therefore, you don't own anything. You're just the glorified "user" of those digital items.

🌟Moments like these make me grateful for Nostr protocol and Bitcoin.

So think of all the documents you've ever signed. What did you give up when you signed a contract? Did it benefit you? What was not disclosed? Often times, things that you sign are written in another language known as legalese. For example, have you ever been on the phone and were asked, "Is this a person?"🤔What kind of question is that? Start applying this idea to vaccination, school and etc, and you might see where I'm going with this.

Here is what they're really saying. ^^ Have I been tricked?

Well, I certainly was! I can even recall a memory I had in my "youth." I was pulled over at a stop sign, the officer(waiting on top of a hill- out of sight) gave me a ticket because I didn't perform a “full stop” but rather a "rolling stop." I remember being asked, "Do you understand?”

Do you think I'm innocent? Or was I truly wrong? Maybe I was tricked? According to the officer, I was wrong, and I signed the ticket and paid the fine. I've wised up significantly since that event. It is to this day the only ticket I've ever paid for, and that was 14+ years ago. I, understand now that was part of the driver's license contract.

☑ Do you ever wonder why voting is pushed onto the public? The people running the voting stations don't even care "who" you vote for. They just want you to "register" into the 🦅 "State," thus relinquishing your title voluntarily. Maybe I'm right? Perhaps I'm wrong? I've made my feelings known here.

This world is filled with amazingly deceitful scam artists. Often times, you may not even realize it. They do this to steal your sovereignty, but it can only be done through contracts signed. Your signature is as good as gold(if not better) and is an original trademark.

I hope this article helps you understand the price you're paying by signing contracts. What do the stars tell you? Seek the truth. Trust yourself, we each have a moral compass; Just follow your heart and listen to your inner intuitions.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act"- George Orwell

With 🧡, Onigirl

🧧⚡Zaps⚡ are always appreciated, but are not required.

Thank you for taking your time to read my article. I am truly humble every time someone does. I, sometimes even 😊blush when someone shares it. I will share ways to decentralize your life.

Here are other articles that I wrote that you might like: Nostr Beginner's guide Another cup of Tea? Content Creator Tools for writers Just Don't Vote

📢Special Shout-outs: DarthCoin Lux ALL the developers, relay operators, and 🐈designers in Nostr.

✨Support your favorite dev and zap with a special note that you like their work. If you're a little embarrassed send a private zap.😊

[^1]: Fraud and scam have the same see the definition

@ 7361ca91:252fce6d

リベラリズムにおいて、自由とは他人が不適切と感じるかもしれない決定を個人が行うことを許容することを意味します。ただし、その決定が第三者に害を及ぼさない限りです。つまり、自由は各個人が自分の人生計画を構築し、実行する権利を守るものであり、他人にとって誤っていると見なされる決定も含まれます。

個人の決定を批判することと、その決定を妨げるために強制力を使用することの間には大きな違いがあります。

リベラリズムは、たとえ悪い決定を批判することができても、それらの決定を妨げるために（国家の）強制力を使用すべきではないと主張します。ただし、これらの決定が他人に害を及ぼす場合は例外です。

リベラリズムにおける認識的慎重さは、どの決定が正しいか常に確信できるわけではないことを認識しています。したがって、他人に誤っているように見える場合でも、個人が自分の決定を下す自由を許容しなければなりません。

非常に一般的な例として、薬物の使用が挙げれます。リベラルな視点からは、他人がこれを悪い決定と見なすかもしれなくても、個人が薬物を使用する自由を持つべきです。鍵となるのは、これらの個人的な決定が第三者に害を及ぼさないことです。

リベラルな哲学においては、個人の自由と自己決定が重要視されます。他人が悪いと考えるかもしれない決定を行う権利も尊重されるべきであり、その決定が第三者に害を及ぼさない限り、（国家が）強制力を使用して妨げるべきではないという立場をとります。この認識的慎重さが、リベラリズムの核心の一つです。

@ 39c29691:5992ef96

Welcome

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

In the late 19th century, mathematician Georg Cantor showed that not all infinite sets were of the same size. For example, while there are the same amount of odd integers as there are integers (because you can match them one to one forever), there are many more points on a line, or real numbers, than there are integers. In fact the ratio of integers to real numbers is effectively zero. The ratio of all integers to real numbers between zero and one is similarly zero.

The implication of this discovery is that not all infinities are equal, i.e., some infinities are more infinite than others. This is a hard concept around which to wrap one’s mind, but it’s another, perhaps simpler way of illustrating my “big idea” that AI will never tame complex systems, than using Graham’s Number and TREE(3).

My contention is that AI is climbing the integer ladder, while complex systems are expanding in the realm of real numbers. (If you’re unclear on real numbers, they are comprised of both rational numbers — those that can be expressed as fractions like 1/2 or 2/1 — and irrational numbers like the square-root of two or pi that cannot be expressed fractionally.) Real numbers comprise every discreet point on a line, whereas rational numbers (and obviously integers) leave gaps.

Hence, no matter how powerful AI becomes, it will never be able to solve the stock market, central-plan an economy, create forests, coral reefs or complex new life forms. The more juice we give it, the farther up the integer ladder it climbs, but no matter what heights it reaches, it will never cover even an infinitesimal step to the next rung on the real number one.

AI is just a machine, perhaps a powerful and impressive one, but no match for the Tao, operating, as it were, in a higher dimension of infinity.

@ 862fda7e:02a8268b

I am someone who thinks independently without abiding to a group to pre-formulate my opinions for me. I do not hold my opinions out of impulse, out of the desire to please, nor out of mindless apadtion to what others abide to. My opinions are held on what I belive is the most logical while being the most ethical and empathetic. We live in a world with a nervous systems and emotions for animals and humans (same thing) alike, thus, we should also consider those feelings. That is not the case in our world.

Cyclists are one of the most homosexual GAY ANNOYING people to exist on EARTH

I hate cyclists with a burning passion. These faggots are the GAYEST MOST ANNOYING retards to exist. They wear the tightest fitting clothing possible to show off their flaccid cocks to each other and to anybody around them. And if that weren't enough, they present their ass up in the air, begging to be fucked by their cyclist buddies, as they ride their bike in the middle of the road. It's homosexual. Look at the seat they ride on, it looks like a black cock about to go up their ass. Don't get me started on their gay helmets, the "aerodynamic" helmets they wear. YOU FAGGOTS AREN'T IN THE TOUR DE FRANCE, YOU'RE IN FRONT OF MY CAR IN AN INTERSECTION IN A MINNESOTA TOWN WITH A POPULATION OF 5,000. They LIKE the look of the costume. And that's just what it is - a costume. You're required to have a "look" as a cyclist - you aren't really a cyclist if you don't spend hundreds of dollars on the gay gear. God forbid you just get a bike and ride it around on a trail like anyone else. These people LIKE to be seen. They WANT to be seen as cool, which is why they ride right in front of my fucking car at 15mph in a 45mph zone. I swear, every time I pass one of these cyclists, I am this close to yelling "FAGGOT" out the window at them. The only reason I haven't is because they like to record everything on their gay bikes and upload it to Youtube, so then I'd have to deal with you people knowing where I live just because I called some fruit on a bike a faggot. Think I'm exaggerating? Think again. These homos have an entire community built on "catching" drivers who dare drive too close or blow their exhaust at the poor little faggy cyclist. There's Youtube channels dedicated to this. Part of their culture is being a victim by cars. Almost like it's dangerous to be in the middle of the road going 15mph on a 45mph road. Oh but I'm sure cars almost hitting you is surely a personal attack and nothing to do with the fact that what you're doing is DANGEROUS YOU RETARD. I've seen these "share the road" signs in the most insane and dangerous places. I've seen them on HIGHWAYS, yes, HIGHWAYS, where the cyclist would BARELY have any room next to the car. It's insanely dangerous and I guess to some people, the constant threat of dying is fun... until it actually happens. I will never understand the mind of a cyclist. You are not in the fricken' Tour de France. You look like a homosexual that's inconveniencing HEAVY METAL HIGH POWERED CARS RIGHT BEHIND YOU. It's incredibly dangerous, and you can't rely on the very heavy, high powered cars and the people driving them to honor your life. Road rage is real, you might be the tipping point for some angry old boomer in his Ram to RAM INTO YOU and kill you. God I hate cyclists, their gay look, their cocky "better than you" attitude. Hey fudge stripe, in a battle between my CAR and your soft body, my CAR WILL WIN. Get off the road and go suck some cocks instead. Stop riding the bikes and go ride cocks instead, you homo.

@ 862fda7e:02a8268b

Pictured above is a female body that looks incredibly similar to mine. So similar that it could be mine if I didn't have a c-section scar. Actually her boobs are a bit bigger than mine, but mine do look like that when they swell.

Nudity should be normalized

I don't understand why people get offended or sensitive over the human body. Especially the female human chest. We all have nipples, we all know what they look like, so I don't understand why a female being topless is unacceptable, whereas a male topless is normal. I've seen shirtless men with more shapely, larger breasts than mine. Personally, I have stopped caring if other people see the shape of my breasts or my nipples if they were to be poking in the freezer section of the grocery store. I stopped wearing bras years ago. I often times want to be topless outside in my yard because it feels good and natural. I like the sun on my skin, and I especially love the rain on my skin. It's very unfortunate that our natural human body is massively shamed, by who I believe, is the reptilians (for a number of reasons). Logically, it makes no sense to be outraged by the female human chest. We all know what nipples look like, we all have them, I truly believe women should be allowed to be topless like men are. If it's hot out and you're doing yard work - pop your top off, who cares?

I understand that males and some females sexualize the human chest. However, that is not my problem. That is none of my concern what others think about my body. I should be allowed to wear my human body as it is just like anyone else should be. What I can't wrap my mind around is why people are shocked or offended by the human body, since we ALL know what these parts look like and we all have them. I understand in certain scenarios being topless or nude would likely be inapproriate, or that perverts would use it as a way to expose themselves to children. In an ideal world, we could live like tribes where the human body is normal, it's not overtly sexual. This is why we're so offended over the human body - it's constantly concealed, so the moment we get to see a female chest, it's suddenly sexual because it's normally tabboo to be seen. I wish I could be shirtless outside, I envy males who get to truly feel the wind, the earth on their backs and their chest. Female and male nipples look the same, I don't understand why it should be illegal for me to experience nature in my natural state.

Anyways, I highly dislike the "nudist" people because it is NOT about accepting the human body in its natural state. It's completely co-opted by pedophiles who want to expose themselves to childen or for children to expose themselves to others for sexual gratification. There are nudist resorts pedophile parents force their children to go to (as a child you have no personal autonomy and are completely a slave to your parents - trust me, I know this because I couldn't LEGALLY decide which parent I wanted to live with up until I was 18 years old. If your parent wants you to do something, a child in the US has no legal say over that, so if your parent wants to go to a nudist resort, you must go). A human body should simply be a human body, it's unfortunate that being unclothed immediately brings on sexualization. This is mostly an issue because clothes is the expected default. The more tabboo something is, the more naughty the thing is.

I am not a nudist. However, I do believe that at the very least, females should have the right to be topless in similar settings as males are allowed to. I don't think a woman is a slut if she's in her natural state, in her human body, and proceeds life as normal. How one acts portrays slutty behavior. Living your life in your natural human body should be a right without caviots. I feel detached from people who constantly see the human body as flawed (e.g. circumcision industry, body hair removal industry, clothing industry). These industries are harmful for the victims in them (infant boys, and modern day slaves in sweatshops), and the main motivating factor is money among all these industries.

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/will-you-shrink-away-in-shame

This post, although I’m including it as part of the Left Behind series, is not directly about the End Times, but I feel I need to add this to it because in the end times, our relationship with Jesus (or lack thereof) determines everything. Are we saved or unsaved? Have we trusted Jesus or not trusted Jesus? Are we children of God or not? We must know the answer to this question because our very life depends on it.

For the most part I am going to answer this question using 1 John, but to start I want to include one other passage to make sure we all consider this carefully.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

Sadly, there will be people who think they are Christians, but they are not among those saved by Jesus. Their hope was in their works, their church attendance, the fact that they were better than someone else, or even just their positive attitude. They never really knew Jesus. They never truly trusted Him. They never truly submitted to Him. Yes, we can really know for sure, and we need to make sure our faith is real.

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)

If we are saved, our lives should show it. There should be a difference between us and those of the world. It should be obvious to others that we are different.

Even among the unsaved, there are many, who most people would consider “good” people. They are friendly. They are generous. They are helpful. They are likable. Unfortunately, if they haven’t confessed their sins, submitted their lives to Jesus, and believed what the Bible says about Jesus, then they are not considered good by God and they won’t be joining Him in heaven. These people who seem “good” are actually defiant towards God. They have hidden vices and hidden evil thoughts. We all have sinned, but only those who have submitted to Jesus will be cleansed “from all sin.”

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10) {Italicized phrases used below}

Only those who have confessed their sins will be forgiven. With so many things in life, before we can be cured or fixed, we have to admit we have a problem. We all have a sin problem. Jesus promises, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” but we have to confess our sins. We can’t hold onto the fantasy that we are “good” people. Anyone who thinks they are good without Jesus will NOT be saved.

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)

Trusting Jesus and submitting to Jesus should lead to less sin. Instead of sin just being a regular part of life, it should become a rare exception. In addition to believers sinning less than they did before trusting Jesus, they also are defended by Jesus and covered by His righteousness.

Advocate NOUN

• a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, etc.
• a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor.
• a person who pleads the cause of another in a court of law.1

When we trust Jesus, “we have an Advocate with the Father” who pleads on our behalf, who is an intercessor for us with Father God. He defends us in the court of God. He defends us and protects us from the wrath we deserve.

Propitiation NOUN

• the act of propitiating (making favorably inclined; appeasing; conciliating.); conciliation:
• something that propitiates (makes favorably inclined; appeases; conciliates.).2 *

Because Jesus bore our sins and gave believers his righteousness, he covers our sins and makes God favorably inclined towards us instead of wrathful towards us.

By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. (1 John 2:3-6)

If we have truly trusted Jesus as savior and submitted our lives to Him, there should be a change in our actions, words, and thoughts. We should be a new creation. We should be more like Him.

Now it is true, we don’t go instantly from being sinners in open defiance of God to being perfect imitators of Christ. There should, however, be a continual transformation to become more like Christ. Yes, we may have a few digressions, but the general trend should be becoming more Christ-like. If our thoughts, words, and actions are not becoming more Christ-like, we need to investigate what our true relationship with Jesus is. If we are continually becoming more Christ-like, then “By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining. The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (1 John 2:7-11)

One strong sign that a person is a child of God, and saved by Christ, is that this person is loving. They love God. They love fellow believers. They love the lost and want to win them for Christ (not just beat them in an argument or verbally discipline them). Because the believer cares for the souls of the lost, understands that the unbeliever’s words and actions are aimed at Jesus, and understands that they are due to the unbeliever’s feelings of guilt, believers should pity the lost rather than hate them. “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) Anyone filled with hate needs to investigate whether they have truly trusted Jesus.

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. (1 John 2:12-14)

If you have confessed your sins to God, believed that Jesus (the son of God) died and was raised to take away your sins, and submitted your life to Jesus’s rule, you can know that you are saved. You can know that “your sins have been forgiven you,” “you know Him,” “you have overcome the evil one,” “you know the Father,” and “you are strong, and the word of God abides in you.”

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

A true Christian should be looking forward to their eternal home and not be focused on the things of this world. That doesn’t mean that a Christian doesn’t work, or have a family, or enjoy entertainment, or relax. It does mean that everything should be done with a view of eternity. Our actions should point others to God. Our activities should draw ourselves closer to Jesus and help us to become more like Him. Our words should encourage those around us to trust in Jesus. We should long for God’s word, revel in the company of believers, and relish helping others, whether meeting their physical, mental, or spiritual needs. Our eternity with Jesus should be more important than our momentary comfort or happiness.

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. (1 John 2:18)

As the end times approach, we will see many antichrists, people who try to take the place of Jesus Christ. They may attempt to replace Him as leader or king. They may attempt to replace Him as high priest or spiritual leader. They may attempt to replace Him as God and try to say what is good and what is bad. As Christians, we need to know our Bible so we are not misled. We need to lean on the Holy Spirit to guide us and enable us to know who speaks the truth and who speaks lies (including those who speak lies believing the lies).

They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. (1 John 2:19-24)

We’ve known many people who seemed to be Christians, but who left the faith and turned to the world. These were people who claimed the label of Christian, but who were not children of God. They were false Christians. There will also be some who pretend to be Christians, and may even be leaders in churches, who speak lies and speak what is contrary to the word of God. Some may do a good job in their Christian act, but if “you have an anointing from the Holy One” and know the truth (the Bible), you will not be misled. Do be on the lookout for these many little-a antichrists who lead people astray.

This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

In addition to studying the Bible, Christians can lean on the Holy Spirit for inspiration and guidance. The Spirit will help you to see those who speak lies, so you will not be misled. The Spirit will help you to do and say what you should. The Spirit will help you to understand the words you read in the Bible. The Spirit will help you witness to unbelievers. The Spirit will help you to obey God and to live the life He wants you to live.

And now for the blessing for all those who have truly put their faith in Jesus Christ, have been indwelled by the Holy Spirit, and have submitted to the will of the Father:

Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. (1 John 2:28-29)

Believers have no need to “shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.” We can look forward with joy and anticipation to His return. Hallelujah! Come Lord Jesus, Come!

Trust Jesus.

FYI, If you are interested in learning more about end times, especially as it relates to current events, you might be interested in following Tipping Point Prophecy Update. They have both posts to read and videos to watch, so it works no matter which you prefer.

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

We have a trade!

Dejounte Murray is heading to New Orleans.

In return, Atlanta is getting Larry Nance Jr, Dyson Daniels, and some picks.

@ e968e50b:db2a803a

Just for fun, I recovered my Phoenix wallet in Sparrow to see if there was anything left. There was!!! But I don't know what use it could ever serve. I'm probably not going to execute this silly transaction.

So is this UTXO just going to be an old truck rusting in the forest? Are these sats now a monument to the great Phoenix's flight from the land of the free and the home of the brave? Are these rare sats now? (I'm just kidding, shit-coiners. This wallet's not for sale.) But seriously, is there ANYTHING useful I could do with these?

@ 3875a16c:988456c9

• ORIGINAL TITLE: TWO RAILS DIVERGE: FROM BANK FAILURES TO BITCOIN PAYMENTS
• SPEAKER: PARKER LEWIS
• CONFERENCE: BTC PRAGUE 2024

INTRODUCTION

Bitcoin vs. Bank Failures. In today’s rapidly evolving financial landscape, the dichotomy between traditional banking systems and the burgeoning world of Bitcoin has never been more stark. As bank failures become increasingly frequent, with notable collapses such as Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank, the fragility of our legacy financial infrastructure is laid bare. The systemic issues, fueled by unsustainable levels of debt and rising interest rates, underscore a critical need for a more resilient and adaptive solution.

Enter Bitcoin, a decentralized digital currency offering a compelling alternative to the traditional banking model. With its fixed supply and antifragile nature, Bitcoin not only addresses the insolvency issues plaguing fiat currencies but also presents a robust framework for secure and efficient transactions.

This transcribed article delves into the contrasting worlds of failing banks and resilient Bitcoin payments, exploring how businesses and individuals can leverage Bitcoin’s unique attributes to navigate and thrive in an increasingly uncertain economic environment. Presented by Parker Lewis, discover how Bitcoin’s innovative rails provide a secure pathway amidst the ongoing turbulence of the global financial system.

EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS AT RISK

For this talk, I am going to really split it up into two parts. I’m going to have the first half of the talk really based on explaining something fundamental about the economic system and then the second half of the talk focused on a solution to that problem. When you’re talking to a group of Bitcoiners, kind of trying to account for something for everyone. With that, I’m going to start with one of the few jokes that I actually know, and some of you might have heard this joke, but it is: what did Socialists use before candles? The punchline, of course, is light bulbs.

The point of this short story joke is that everything is always at risk and that if we’re all sitting here today, it is because humans are adaptive. They are adaptive to risks, and we are all ancestors of people that have adapted. The people who adapt not only survive but they thrive. Complacency is the enemy of adaptivity. So, capitalists turn candles to light bulbs and socialists do the opposite—they take light bulbs and turn them to candles.

One of the problems, and it’s going to get into the legacy system being a problem and Bitcoin being a solution, is that when I talk about everything being at risk, oftentimes, in this idea of complacency, you think about a current level of success, a current level of wealth, a current level of health. Socialists assume it to be a given, and then they see a pie and start carving it up, not thinking that that pie can shrink. The idea that everything is at risk is that if we are not constantly moving ourselves forward, we are at risk of actually regressing. That’s why we always have to be forward and be adapting. I’ll come back to this idea in a few slides.

THE LEGACY SYSTEM IS INSOLVENT

The first thing I’m going to talk about is why the legacy system has a problem and why it’s not just a problem in terms of a store of value, like why our wealth isn’t just getting destroyed when they’re printing money, but why it’s also a problem for our rails. What I’m showing here, this is the slide that really got me into Bitcoin. For people who are new, this is showing the US system. I tried to find a comparable slide for the Euro system. The Fed might be worse than the ECB, it’s debatable, but they’re very equivalent. The problems are relatively similar. I’ll tell a story about this.

What this is showing is the amount of debt in the US system relative to the number of dollars. When I was getting into Bitcoin, I first had to understand why they had to print all the money they did. The conclusion I came to was that it was a function of an unsustainable degree of leverage. In 2007, there was only 900 billion in the US system and there was 52 trillion of debt.

Each dollar had been lent out over 5 to 1. When they put more money in the system, it causes the debt problem that already was there to actually grow and metastasize. The way that this whole system works is that it always dictates that there need to be both more debt and more money put into the system. This is unsustainable. If Bitcoin is valuable because of its fixed supply, that’s what I put forward: the real fundamental value in Bitcoin derives from its fixed supply.

This is the problem that it solves. The legacy system is insolvent because there’s far too much debt relative to the number of dollars. It is unsustainable, and the only way to correct it is to put more dollars in the system, more Euros in the system. But all that does is put us further out on the same ledge of over-leverage. It is why they have to print money, it’s why banks fail. The bottom line is it’s a problem not only for our balance sheet, our savings, but also how any business actually interacts with its customers.

THE BANK RUNS & FAILURES WILL CONTINUE

Regarding Bitcoin vs. Bank Failures, this is a slide that got me hyper-focused on Bitcoin payments. There were a slew of bank failures last year: Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank, and over here Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse didn’t fail, but here in Europe, you guys now have two of your largest banks that were merged without a shareholder vote on either side. It was because Credit Suisse was failing. Honestly, all of the entire system is failing somewhere. A bank is failing in the US and in Europe. The only question is whether it’s yours.

What I have on this slide is showing the amount of deposits that fell from these banks in the last quarter of their existence: Silicon Valley Bank, 209 billion to 175 billion; First Republic Bank, 176 billion to 103 billion. Money can move fast these days. Credit Suisse, 260 billion to 195. It doesn’t have to go to zero for your bank to functionally fail.

LEVERAGE + RISING INTEREST RATE = BANK RUNS

Bank failures are inevitable because of a combination of leverage and rising interest rates. Back in the old day before all of our money was monopolized by the central bank, if you increased interest rates as a bank, it would actually attract more money to your bank and to the banking system as a whole. In this day of a monetary system, when they actually raise interest rates, that’s what causes the bank run. What I’m showing here is the amount of unrealized losses in US banks, which is 675 billion. You can see that it started as they started to raise interest rates. The raising of interest rates is actually what causes the bank failures. It’s what causes the money to run from the weakest link, and they’re all weak. It’s just ultimately a turtles-all-the-way-down problem.

BANK FAILURES ARE LIKE A MAGIC TRICK

The other important thing to remember is that bank failures are functionally like a magic trick. Banks will fail functionally overnight. They will fail before most of you know it. On the left, I’m showing Silicon Valley Bank. Its share price going sideways and then boom, overnight. Literally, when people figured out that there was a bank run, the next day it was gone. First Republic was similar, took a little bit longer, but this is the “gradually, then suddenly.” The title of my book came from a quote in Hemingway, from his book The Sun Also Rises. One of the characters asked the other, “How did you go bankrupt?” The other character said, “Two ways. First, gradually and then suddenly.” It is true of banks.

BALANCE SHEET PROBLEM + CASH FLOW PROBLEM

This is not just a problem for your savings; it is a problem for your rails, for how you receive money. When Silicon Valley Bank failed last year, the first thing that businesses that banked with Silicon Valley Bank thought about was how am I going to make payroll? Which is the right side. Where do I save my money? But the next problem is your bank is also how you access your customers. It is how they pay you. It is both a balance sheet problem as well as a cash flow problem. When you think about a bank run, you think first and foremost about your savings, but those banks are also the rails.

BANKS ARE THE RAIL OF THE FIAT SYSTEM

This is a demonstration of what the US banking system looks like, which is a functioning clone of the European banking system. On the right side of this page, I have credit card networks, acquirers, issuers, gateways, ISOs. There’s a lot that’s built on top, but there’s a bank on one side, there’s a bank on the other side, and there’s a central bank in between. The banks are all functionally insolvent because the system is. Now, it’s not that banks are bad. Banks provide value.

There are banks in Bitcoin, and banks in Bitcoin are good. They might not be licensed as banks yet, but people that help you hold money, it’s not a purity test. The point is that banks can fail faster than you can move your money, and even if you have multiple banks, it’s a turtles-all-the-way-down problem. As the banks fail, the banking system actually gets more fragile.

THEY ARE ALL THE SAME (MOSTLY)

The banks themselves—I don’t know how many of you guys are Zoolander fans, I don’t know if that humor translates to Europe, it might not—but the banks are all functioning the same because the system is leveraged to a point that it’s not sustainable and that all of the money is functionally captive to the banking system.

There are two banks in the US that are different, as there are in Europe. It’s the Federal Reserve of New York and JP Morgan. But what functionally happened was the system was unsustainably leveraged, and they codified too big to fail. Some might think that the winners are the big banks and we should just go all to the big banks. The problem is that the fiat system centralizes, and as that happens, it becomes more fragile. It becomes more leveraged, it becomes more insolvent. It dictates more printing, more trust is required, and more censorship.

DIVERGENT RAILS PRESENT TWO GREAT CONTRASTS

So, the fragility of the rails is twofold. They are because of the leverage itself, but also because as the system centralizes, it becomes less resistant to censorship. That is why Bitcoin presents such a great contrast in terms of the rails. Matias asked me to leave people with a call to action, and this is ultimately going to be a call to action to Bitcoiners, not to go out and try to create a circular economy, but that if you run a business or if you are an important cog in a business, that you don’t look at the Bitcoin rails as a novelty or as a niche. You actually view them as security.

So, the way that I think about the contrast between the central banking rails, which is the legacy world, and the Bitcoin rails is there is a single point of failure, whether it’s the ECB or the Federal Reserve. In Bitcoin, there is hyper redundancy, and the hyper redundancy is really important. There are insolvent banks as the foundation of the rails of the fiat system, and there are funded nodes that are the foundation of the Bitcoin system. Central banking is inherently a trust-based system because fiat currencies have no inherent monetary properties. Gold, which preceded fiat, had inherent monetary properties.

What a trust-based monetary system means is that counterparty risk is everywhere. Bitcoin is and can be trustless. The central banking system has credit-based payment. Every payment is: do they have the money? If so, I will settle later via multiple different counterparties and systems. Bitcoin is and can be an equity-based payment system. Central banking is closed-source proprietary systems. Bitcoin is ultimately and fundamentally built on interoperable standards. Central bank is permissioned innovation. Bitcoin is permissionless innovation.

TWO RAILS DIVERGE

These are the two rails diverging. The thing I like to visualize here, you’re not going to be able to read all the fine print, but there are single points of failure everywhere in the fiat system. The Bitcoin system has hyper redundancy, and that redundancy is ultimately what reduces its fragility over time. It’s not static. When I talk about these rails diverging, the fiat system is fragile today. Bitcoin is antifragile. But the fiat system also becomes more and more fragile as it centralizes. Bitcoin actually becomes more and more antifragile as it decentralizes, as layers of redundancies are added to the network. When you think about the contrast, it is centralized versus redundant, fragile versus antifragile, censored versus permissionless, and insolvent versus Bitcoin flourishing.

CALL TO ACTION: DIVERSIFY YOUR RAILS

The fiat system is turning light bulbs into candles, and the Bitcoin system is going to turn candles into light bulbs. My call to action is to diversify your rails. The life advice is always to get out of bonds. Bonds are the worst financial asset. Equities might be next unless it’s an equity in your own company. But this message is to diversify your rails. Using the Bitcoin rails and accessing the Bitcoin rails does not mean not using the fiat rails.

Just as saving in Bitcoin and the fiat scientists out there really struggle with how people deal with Bitcoin’s volatility, they fail to understand that Bitcoin is not an all-or-nothing proposition. You can save part of your money in Bitcoin, and you don’t have to just rely on the Bitcoin rails to also rely on the fiat rails. You can use both at the same time. What’s in the best interest of your business is to diversify. Also, if you are a Bitcoiner and you run a business and you want Bitcoin, it should be intuitive to you that adding an entirely different currency system would not just be a source of risk to get the Bitcoin.

It would be a high degree of unnecessary cost. It is not the same to go from dollars to a dollar bank to a payment processor to a merchant processor to a merchant bank account to a Bitcoin exchange to get into Bitcoin. Again, if you want the Bitcoin, you don’t have to do this non-custodial. You can use a Bitcoin bank, but it is still far more efficient if your customers paid you directly.

RECOGNIZE THE RAILS MUST BE REBUILT

Also, recognize that the rails must be built—every last one of them. If you have a trust-based system, it is very easy to add one currency and then the next and do copy and paste. In Bitcoin, we are fundamentally having to rebuild from the ground up every transaction type, every type of commerce. Think about the different types of transactions: oil settles different from power, which settles different from real estate, escrow, booking, subscriptions. There are also three different layers that have to be built: the protocol layer, the transactional layer, and the commerce layer. Then that data needs to go everywhere. This is a process, but those rails are actively being built, and it takes business owners.

CASE STUDY: INTEROPERABILITY + CROSS-BORDER

The call to action is that if you are a business owner or you are high up in a business, it’s not to say go run into a brick wall over and over. Use some common sense. But if you are in a position to, it is to use those rails. When I talk about the power of Bitcoin, when you think about a permissioned system and permissioned innovation versus a permissionless system and permissionless innovation, the people that are building the Bitcoin rails, it is compounding, and compounding equals acceleration.

One example of this: Strike. I don’t work for Strike, but on their behalf, they just recently launched in Europe. We had Zaprite built on top of Strike without having to write another line of code, although we are not a money transmitter. We are now lit up to all of Strike’s customers because we speak an interoperable language of Bitcoin. But we also support—you guys can use Mutiny right here in Europe, non-custodial. You can use Voltage, non-custodial. I use Trezor, non-custodial. We even have customers that use BTC Pay Server through Voltage. All of these companies are building the rails for payments, and they are all interoperable, which allows us to move far faster and make progress far quicker.

THE MORE OF YOU WHO ACCESS THE RAILS THE BETTER THE RAILS WILL BECOME

So, the final call to action is this: the more of you who access the rails, the better the rails will become. It is cause and effect. This is Saifedean’s latest book, The Principles of Economics. This is how progress happens. You start with a small little fishing boat, you build a sailing boat, and then you go all the way down to the cargo ship. More representations in the wild and live application make us better, and more input and feedback from actual customers make us better.

More profitable businesses attract more capital, and more capital attracted to build more tools, then there becomes more competition, which delivers more value to you for less. Then there’s more actual liquidity on the Lightning Network, which makes more routes. There’s more nodes, there’s more routes, there’s more redundancy. Bitcoin actually becomes harder to stop, and then your business becomes more resilient, and your businesses flourish, and we all flourish.

TAKE THE WHITE PILL. CONTROL YOUR DESTINY

So, my message is take the white pill, control your destiny, don’t be complacent. The rails are there, and they need to be used. There’s this imaginary theory, and I actually hate it, that we should go build a circular economy. The reality is you just control you. The tools are there. You can use them. If you wait till you absolutely have to, you’ve waited too long. When did Noah build the ark? It was before the flood. So, I encourage you all, the rails are there. Bitcoin payments are important, and I encourage you all to access them. Thank you. I’ll be back in the Expo signing books and would love to catch up with many of you. This has been my first time in Europe. I’m from Texas. I’ve loved Prague, I’ve loved Europe, and I’ll be back. So, thank you.

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Follow the speaker: Parker Lewis Watch the original content: Click here Also read: Crossing The Chasm: Early Adopters To Mainstream

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https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/to-mark-or-not-to-mark-that-is-the

After the rapture of the church, things are going to get progressively worse, but the progression from normal to horror will start slow and build up to become worse than anyone could possibly imagine. As times get bad and the culture goes from bad to worse, everyone will have to make a choice, to choose Jesus or to choose Satan.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Mathew 6:24)

We will obey Jesus or obey Satan. We will choose a hard life here on Earth and a marvelous, joyous, pain-free eternity in heaven or choose an easier life here on Earth and an eternity of pain and loneliness. This should be an easy choice, but most won’t find it so because they will have trouble seeing beyond the here and now. Just as Esau1 sold his birthright to his brother because he was hungry, most people will do what makes it easy to fill their hungry bellies rather than trusting their creator and making the choice that will lead to the best eternity. Most people aren’t good at looking a month or year in the future. They will find it impossible to see into eternity.

There will be two kinds of mark during the tribulation. God will mark 144,000 Jews with His name to be his witnesses to the world.

Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless. (Revelation 14:1-5)

Satan will also try to mark his followers. The False Prophet will force everyone to make a choice, to get the mark of the beast if they want to be able to buy and sell.

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:11-17) {emphasis mine}

During the seven year tribulation, every person left on Earth will be given the choice: to receive the mark of the beast so they can buy and sell and function in society or to refuse the mark and submit to Jesus, but be unable to buy and sell and provide for themselves and their family. Most people will take the easy path and receive the mark, so they can go on with their lives. Unfortunately this will be a deadly choice that can never be undone or fixed.

Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:9-11) {emphasis mine}

This choice to take the easier path will lead to eternal torment. This refusal to listen to our creator God and our savior God will mean eternal separation. These people will grieve their choice forever.

There will be a good number of people who will choose to follow Jesus and refuse the mark, but they will pay the price for putting off this decision until the time of the tribulation.

Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4) {emphasis mine}

Many may wonder, if they experience the tribulation, how can they stand firm on their faith when they know that doing so could (likely will) lead to them and their family either starving to death or being beheaded? The trick is to keep your eye on God and to keep your eye on the prize.

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:13)

A perfect example to follow in times when our faith is challenged comes from Daniel (but my idea to use it here came from Dr. David Jeremiah’s book, The Book of Signs, Chapter 25)

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. … Then the herald loudly proclaimed: “To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language, that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.” (Daniel 3:1, 4-6)

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were given a choice. They had to choose to obey God’s 1st and 2nd commandments:

“You shall have no other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God (Genesis 20:3-5a)

They had to risk being burned to death in a fiery furnace or they had to choose to disobey God and earn His wrath, but avoid the furnace. When exposed by others, who were jealous of their position, they stood firm and refused to worship the idol. Nebuchadnezzar even gave them a second chance to bow down when faced with the furnace. They chose faithfulness and I love their statement of faith.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18) {emphasis mine}

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego had the faith to know that God was capable of rescuing them from the fiery furnace (which He did), but notice their faith did not depend on being miraculously rescued. “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” They served and obeyed God because He is God, not because of what He could do for them. We need to be the same. We need to stand with the faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego when we are given the choice between faith and physical death. This is made easier because, if you are a true Christian, death on Earth means life in heaven. It means absolutely everything gets better. Dying in Christ is better than living without Him.

As you can see, if you are left behind after the rapture, it is critical that you choose to trust Jesus and submit to His will and to NOT receive the mark of the beast no matter what it costs you.

For those who trusted Jesus before the tribulation, we’ll all be celebrating at the marriage supper of Christ in heaven and have nothing to worry about. For those who didn’t trust Jesus until the tribulation, your remaining time on Earth will be exceedingly hard, but your reward will actually be great as stated in Revelation 20:4

Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4) {emphasis mine}

I hope you won’t put off trusting Jesus and you will live your life like He is coming back any moment. He is coming back soon.

Many may wonder what the mark is.

For most of my life, I assumed the mark would be something like a tattoo, but I never understood how people could be prevented from buying and selling. How do you stop my neighbor and I buying and selling from each other using cash? It didn’t make sense.

Now we have technology that enables the mark. Most of the countries in the world are working on CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) is working on a CBDC interface that will let all of the national CBDCs transact with each other. These CBDCs will allow programmable money. Whoever is in control can make your money expire, make it only good for certain purchases, make your money only work in a particular area. The CBDC can make your money completely go away if those in control don’t like what you do, say, or don’t do. If we are moved to a CBDC, all buying and selling could be controlled. As all of the world’s fiat currencies are destroyed by money creation causing massive inflation, it will be easier and easier to get people to switch to the CBDC to rescue them from losing all monetary value.

We also have implantable microchips that can act as ID or credit card or bank account access and all a person has to do is scan their hand to buy or get admittance into a particular place. This technology already exists and is being used in small ways. I believe the mark will be a combination of a CBDC and an implantable microchip that will give you access to your “wallet”. The technology is here in a way that could not have been imagined just a decade or two ago. I believe our time is short. We need to live our lives with this understanding.

Trust Jesus.

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https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/walk-in-the-light

I was recently reading in Revelation about how there is no sun, moon, or stars but all light comes from God/Jesus. It made me think of all of the references to God and light, so I decided to do a study on the subject. I’ll start with the Old Testament. Then I’ll investigate the New Testament. Lastly I’ll investigate Revelation in particular. I won’t post every verse, but those that seem to have the deepest meaning and relevance.

Old Testament:

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)

Studying God’s word leads us to the truth. When we don’t know God’s word (and John refers to Jesus as the word of God), we will have a wrong understanding of everything around us: relationships, religion, science, beginnings, ethics, etc. Belief in Jesus and knowledge of the Bible helps us to understand things properly. If we don’t have the right foundation, we can’t understand the things around us.

For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. (Psalm 36:9)

Faith in Jesus helps us to see things as they really are. It helps us see the truth. It helps us see the good that God does through everything, including what we would consider the bad things in life.

When we don’t know Jesus and don’t have the Holy Spirit in us, all of the sin in the world is only seen as bad. When we do have them, we can be grateful for all of the good in our lives and the good things that God is doing even through the bad decisions of others and the other bad things that happen. We know that everything will end with the righteous judgment of God and an eternity of joy in heaven with Him. All darkness becomes light in Jesus.

Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2:5)

Although this verse specifically calls Jews to “walk in the light of the Lord,” other verses show that this call is given to all of the world. We can chose to walk in our own strength and knowledge or we can chose to walk in “the light of the Lord.” We can chose the darkness and despair and failure of walking according to our own desires or we can chose the light of walking the path designed for us by Jesus from the beginning of creation. When we walk the path we were designed to walk, we will find joy and fulfillment. We will make right decisions. We will make a difference in the world for good. We will honor our God.

New Testament:

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12)

It is amazing the clarity that comes from believing in Jesus and submitting to His will. Everything is better (though not necessarily easier). We can know what we should do and how we should do it. The light of Jesus not only affects the life of His followers, but also shines on those who don’t know Him. Some of these will eventually come to trust in Him as well. Others will run from Him or try to attack Him through His believers because of the guilt they feel when the light is shined on their sins.

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)

Because Jesus is light, we cannot have fellowship with Him and live a life of sin and darkness. He has blessed us by covering our sins and giving us the Advocate (Holy Spirit) to guide us and to help us live according to His will in a way that we could never do without His help.

It is amazing how being a follower of Jesus can help us have fellowship/friendship with those with whom we might never have a close relationship. When I was in high school, we went on a boat down the St. John’s River with my parents and my Dad’s cousin. My parents aren’t Christians, but my Dad’s cousin is a Christian and a pastor of music. We talked nonstop as if we had been friends our whole life. After the trip, my Mom asked what in the world a high school girl and a married, middle aged man had in common. I told her we were both Christians. Although my Dad’s cousin and I have always lived states away from each other and have never seen each other face to face since that time over 3 decades ago, we still stay in touch. We are brothers and sisters in Christ and that makes close, just as 1 John says “if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another.” Faith in Jesus really makes our lives different, or at least it should.

Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:7-10)

The light of Jesus should change our lives. No matter how dark and evil are past lives were, we should continually grow closer to Jesus and more like Him. We should convert from darkness to light, from evil to righteousness, and from hate to love. A true believer should have “the fruit of the Light.”

This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3:19-21)

When I was a young Christian in college, I attended a Sunday School class with a teacher who I would describe as an expert at exhortation. He would talk and ask question, to help lead you to the truth instead of just telling you what to do or what to think. Frequently these questions were uncomfortable to me as a new Christian who had not grown up doing “Christian” kind of things. In the beginning, I’ll admit I did my best to hide from him because I didn’t want to be asked the questions because I didn’t like the answers that I knew were right. You could say I hid from the light or that I “loved the darkness rather than the light.”

Thanks to the grace of God, I learned to love the light. I learned to seek the truth. I learned to expose myself to the truth so I could grow in Jesus. I spent more and more time around him, so I could learn from his wise questions. Now I love that kind of relationship. I learned to prefer the light instead of the darkness as I grew closer to Jesus. We all need to expose our sins to the light, so we can grow in the light.

So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” (John 12:35-36)

Our desire in life should be to “become sons of Light.” We need to trust and obey Jesus, so “darkness will not overtake you.” Although Jesus no longer walks among us, we do have the Holy Spirit with us to guide us. We can also surround ourselves with mature Christians to help guide and teach us, always comparing this advice to the Bible to insure that it is truth.

Revelation:

The passage below is the passage that inspired this whole post.

The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; (Revelation 21:19-26) {emphasis mine}

Notice that this description of the New Jerusalem in Heaven is described as “the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” This whole city, and presumably the whole universe, will be lit by the glory of Jesus. It will be a light brighter than the Sun, but not harsh like the Sun. It won’t blind us. It won’t beat down on us. It will expose us all to the joy of His glory and the beauty of His new creation. As I read about heaven, I don’t think there will be shadows. Every inch of Heaven will be fully lit by His glory.

The city is made of precious jewels which will transmit the light of His glory throughout the city and glow in beauty only surpassed by the glory of God. John describes the streets as “the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.” On Earth gold doesn’t look like transparent glass. It is opaque, but in heaven it looks transparent. I think this might be more due to the quality of light of the glory of the Lamb rather than the quality of the gold. His light will shine upon and through everything bringing out the beauty in everything.

And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:5)

There will no longer be night and there will no longer be darkness. Without sin in heaven, we don’t need to hide. We can revel in the glory of God. We will be illumined by God.

Trust Jesus.

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

I wanted to add top territory, and I chose to leave it in, but the numbers don't make sense and many territories show activity before they existed. @k00b or @ek, is there a way to report these or should I just scrap it?

Read the previous edition here.

June 27th, 2023 📅

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A Basic Guide To Making The Switch To Graphene OS

Excerpt

I am very new to Graphene. I have a lot to learn. Getting my Pixel set up as a daily driver is going to take some work. Still, I am optimistic. I’m not going to rush it. I am keeping my old Galaxy around too, so my transition will be gradual. If you decide to make the change, I hope this short guide is useful.

27.4k sats \ 51 comments \ @siggy47 \ ~tech

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/200217/r/Undisciplined?commentId=200226

Andreas Antonopoulos

From A Basic Guide To Making The Switch To Graphene OS in ~tech

2213 sats \ 4 replies \ @siggy47

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🏆 TOP STACKER

2nd Place @k00b (1st place is hiding, presumed to be @siggy47)

13.9k stacked \ 15.4k spent \ 8 posts \ 27 comments \ 0 referrals

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🏆 TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

40.7k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 65.9k spent \ 191 posts \ 387 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

June 27th, 2022 📅

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I'm Oscar Merry and I'm building Fountain Podcasts. AMA.

Excerpt

I'm Oscar Merry and I'm building Fountain Podcasts - a Podcasting 2.0 app that rewards both listeners and podcasters for the value they bring to the platform.

32.6k sats \ 99 comments \ @MerryOscar \ ~bitcoin

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/39400/r/Undisciplined?commentId=39420

Excerpt

Imagine, you are in a situation where internet is to break up and things gotta be fast. Or there is a DDoS and you don't care if you order something right now or it goes through a little later.

From Announcing lnd 0.15 beta: To Taproot and Beyond! in ~bitcoin

278 sats \ 3 replies \ @tomlaies

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🏆 TOP STACKER

@k00b

1856 stacked \ 20.2k spent \ 5 posts \ 27 comments \ 0 referrals

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🏆 TOP TERRITORY

~bitcoin

50k stacked \ 0 revenue \ 55.5k spent \ 137 posts \ 381 comments

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

June 27th, 2021 📅

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📝 TOP POST

Support clicking on the LNURL-Auth QR code

To the stacker.news admin: Please add lightning: link to the LNURL-Auth QR code for easy authentication via mobile wallets. Why scan or copy-paste when the wallet can be triggered by clicking a link? See lnmarkets for example.

122 sats \ 21 boost \ 20 comments \ @roy \ ~bitcoin

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/100/r/Undisciplined?commentId=107

visit https://lightning-roulette.com and try to make a deposit and you will see a link that says "open wallet".

From Support clicking on the LNURL-Auth QR code in ~bitcoin

22 sats \ 4 replies \ @0391398253

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🏆 TOP STACKER

@sha256

2 stacked \ 1 spent \ 1 post \ 0 comments \ 0 referrals

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~bitcoin_beginners

235 stacked \ 0 revenue \ 262 spent \ 0 posts \ 3 comments

@ dd664d5e:5633d319

An immodest proposal

It is grant season again, and -- as every grant season -- there is some cheering, some complaining, and much bewilderment, as the grants are announced and monies are dispersed.

I'm mostly a bystander to this spectacle, but it's impossible to ignore it, or to not become emotionally entangled in the general circus of it, so I've decided to write about it -- again -- as it is effecting me and interrupting my own efforts -- again.

What I'm about to suggest here is something that has never been done before (at least, not on a grant system of this scale), but it's always easy to criticize, whine, or fall into conspiracy-theorizing, so I've decided to try something more constructive and propose a solution.

The Five Whys

Why do some projects get turned down for grants?

Why do some people receive grants over and over and over?

Why do others refuse to apply for grants?

Why is an enormous amount of money being spent, but nobody knows how much is left over?

Why is it not really clear who is receiving what?

Why, why, why?!

Doctor, heal thyself!

Leaving this many whys lying around, or responding to them defensively or with small information-leaks, is an open communication fail on our open communication protocol.

We don't really have the excuse of not knowing how to communicate transparently and publicly, since that is our professional specialty. If we can't figure out how to run a grant program in the most continuously innovative and traceable way possible, even though we are a collection of some of the most talented perpetual innovators on the planet, then who can?

We are all process engineers, so let's engineer our own processes.

The application process

The main problem with the grant application process is that there is a grant application process. There shouldn't be. Everyone who is working in our space is working transparently, actively marketing their ideas, and everything they do is a matter of public record.

We know who the builders are. We know what they are doing. We can interact with them about what they are doing. We can turn on our computers, pull out some popcorn, and entertain ourselves all day, every day, just watching them labour and think aloud and debate, and fork various repositories or Nostr notes.

There is, at most, a loss of information, as there are so many people working on so many things, that it can become difficult to even track one particular person. That means it is not too much for us to ask, to suggest that anyone interested in a grant at least make their interest known in some small way.

Wave if you want a grant

That way should be as small as possible. Tiny. Ideally, they shouldn't even have to go that way themself; others should be able to nominate them. A 10-minute barrier to entry is already high, if it requires some formal, explicit act of supplication.

Does that sound silly to you? Then you do not understand how profoundly logical, forward-thinking, and diligent software developers can be. If they "just fill out a form" and/or "have an informal discussion", in order to receive money, it smacks disturbingly of "job interview" and "contract". These are people for whom contract law is holy law, so many will agonize over the decision.

• Some already have a job and they don't know how it will be in the future. What if they have to work overtime?

• Or they have a family and worry that they can't promise to deliver within some particular time. The wife could get pregnant, the baby could get sick, they might have to move house.

• Maybe they are students and exam time is approaching. Or they are simply shy or very young, and therefore reluctant to be seen "tooting their own horn". There is probably someone more worthy, and they are taking away the money he would get.

• Maybe they were hit with such an inner building passion that they hacked the whole implementation out their last vacation and... well... it's now already there. Everyone is already using it. Darn. Why apply for a grant, for something you've already finished? Seems sort of silly. Is that even allowed? What are the grants even for?

• What if they already have such a well-publicized project, that everyone is already watching them and keeping tabs? Then it's embarrassing to apply, on a lark, and get turned down. But if they don't apply, then everyone encourages them to apply. What to do?

• Many prefer to keep their head down and keep building, for months or years at a time, and clap politely when others are awarded a grant. In fact, they happily zap the recipients and then go right back to building and releasing. They're often grateful to just bathe in other people's joy, by proxy, while they stack sats and stay humble and keep coding.

That is why a large subset of potential grant recipients never even apply. That is also why those who have received a grant are less reluctant to apply for another. Successful application breeds successful application. The emotional barrier to entry has fallen. To those that have, shall be given.

Let's use Nostr to run Nostr grants

We should turn the tables around completely. We want the developers to keep developing, not jumping through hoops. We don't want them to be distracted and internally torn over the ethics of requesting funding. We don't want them to be afraid to apply for grants or be mystified by the grant-giving process, or be humiliated or frustrated by a declined grant.

1. Let us come up with very clear, understandable criteria for rewarding grants, write them down, and publish them on Nostr Wiki. Accept comments and critiques of the criteria. After every round of grants, we should review the criteria, suggest improvements, and publish the new version in the same place.

2. Let every application be judged according to this criteria and the results should be published after every round. The results should include a rating for each criteria and (if the grant is given) the amount of the grant awarded or (if the grant is declined) the reasons for the decline and what the applicant can improve to have a better chance of receiving a grant in the future.

3. Ideally, no applicant should walk away from a declined grant feeling hopeless or slighted. Every applicant should feel like the grant process gave them valuable feedback on their own efforts and expert guidance on what they should maybe focus more on.

4. Every application should be a standing application that has to be explicitly removed from the list by the person listed as an applicant. Anything not removed automatically enters the next round. If there is no further development on the project, then the application should be paused and removed after 2 rounds of being paused.

5. The application process should consist of adding yourself or someone else to a Wiki Grant Application List and linking to some documentation of the project. Any npub that trolls or spams the list should be prohibited from further contribution. The quality and completeness of that documentation should be a factor in grant acceptance.

6. Grant decisions should include a "handicap" (like in golf), that take into account how Nostr-experienced the applicant is and how easy it was for them to add a new implementation to some already-existing system. The tendency should be to award newer applicants such grants, with more-experienced applicants competing for long-term funding or being offered a paid(!) place on the grant board, but not both.

7. Each grant round should be proceeded by a grant scope declaration (we shall be awarding X number of grants with an average of X Bitcoin per grant) accompanied by a funding overview and update (How much money was collected since the last round? How much did we spend? How much do we have now? etc.).

Okay, this is just a prototype

I'm sure that I'm going to be bombarded with naysayers, critics, and people who think I am "writing above my pay grade", but I wouldn't be me if I let that daunt me.

All I am trying to do is change the discussion into one focused on uncovering the grant problems and offering grant solutions, rather than debates about whether some particular person was grant-worthy, or long rants on some particular person's real motives.

It's a lot of Real Money. It's worth talking about, but it's not worth fighting over. Let's talk.

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/a-change-of-heart

For most of my Christian life I haven’t been focused on end times or heaven. I wanted to go to heaven, but not now. I had other things I wanted to do that were monopolizing my attention. I was focused on what is happening here on Earth, not preparing for my heavenly home. Although the Bible, both New and Old Testaments, are full of prophecies about the end times, it just seemed so far away and so confusing, so I pretty much blocked it out as far a study and effect on my life.

As the world started going crazy, with shortages, pandemics, crazy government policies, and wars starting all around the world, I started working to prepare my family for these hardships. I got involved with politics. I kept extra food on hand. I kept my car’s gas tank above a half of a tank. I started a garden and got 3 bunnies to breed for meat. I was doing all of this based solely on my own effort. In the back of my head, I knew God would provide for my needs. I had seen how he took care of me in the past, but I was still trying to do everything on my own. I worried about what would happen to my family if something happened to me because I was taking care of them. What I should’ve been doing is giving all my problems and worries to God and letting the all powerful creator God take care of things. I worked by my own power until my health suffered.

Recently, as the world has gotten crazier every month, I finally had a change of heart and mind. I looked back at how God had provided for me through every hardship. I read the Bible and saw God’s promises for the future. My prayers changed from praying the solution that I wanted, to praying the problem and letting God do what He knew was best because I’d already seen in my life how God gives us what we don’t want, but what we need: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

I went from worrying about my needs to trusting God for my needs (not saying I don’t prepare for hard times, but in a relaxed, non-worrying, good steward kind of way). I went from trying to change the government and politicians to trying to change hearts and minds for God. I went from avoiding reading end times prophecy to studying it as if my life depended on it. I went from worrying about the future to looking forward to the future. I went from worrying about my needs to worrying about the needs of those that don’t know Jesus.

I can’t say that I never worry. I do, but I’ve learned to give my worries to God. Recently my son was asked to volunteer at a pro-life fundraiser. Shortly after he said yes, I received a prayer request because a pro-abortion group planned to raid the fundraiser and cause mayhem and destruction. My first thought was to tell my son (who is 19 and a Godly young man) that he couldn’t go to the fundraiser, but then I stopped myself and decided that God had this. I know my son is a faithful Christian, so if the worst happened, he would meet Jesus early. I decided to let him go and I just prayed fervently. There was a church service going on at the same time as the fundraiser. This confused the protestors. They couldn’t figure out what to do and therefore did nothing. God confounded their plans and I learned a well needed lesson to trust everything that is important to me to God. He is faithful.

It used to be that, when I saw things going wrong in my country, state, county, and city, I would vote harder, get involved with politics, work with the party to improve the platform and resolutions, and help campaign for my favorite candidate. Now I’ve come to the conclusion that we get the candidates we deserve. I still vote, but I put my effort into sharing the gospel and turning people to Jesus. We can have a bigger influence by changing the hearts of the people than by campaigning for a particular candidate. We not only can benefit all of us on earth, but also make a heavenly difference. It isn’t that campaigning for and voting for Godly candidates is bad, but thinking a person can save us is bad. There is only one savior, Jesus Christ. Our faith needs to be in him and not in a politician, a party, or a government.

As the world goes down hill, I am filled with hope. The rumors of wars, the growing evil, the pandemics, the storms, the move towards global governance means Jesus is coming soon and I am getting excited about it in a way I never was before.

I hope you can turn from worldly interests to the Savior. I hope you can get excited to see Jesus face to face and to meet him in the air.

Trust Jesus.

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/left-behind-part-1

For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:16)

Lately I have been feeling an urgency to write. This is partly because I feel our time left on Earth is short. So many things seem to be lining up with Biblical prophecy in books like Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel, and 1 & 2 Thessalonians. When I face God, I don’t want to have to admit that I didn’t do all I could to call people to repentance and faith in God. I also believe that the church (true believers) will be raptured before the seven year tribulation as described in 1Thessalonians.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep {died}. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17) {emphasis mine}

This rapture of the church will occur not only to those who are alive at the time, but also to those who died in Christ in the past. The time before this event is the last chance for people to avoid the terror and hardship of the tribulation and I believe that time is short (I will never claim to know when, but I feel in every ounce of my being that the time is short). There will be some saved during the tribulation, but they will all go through major hardship and most who become Christians during the tribulation will most likely be martyred. If there is anything I can do to prevent people from going through this experience, I feel called to do so. “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22) Of course only Jesus can save. I hope that these words will draw you closer to Jesus whether that means you accept Him as your Savior or it just means your faith is strengthened and you are encouraged to witness to the lost.

I feel like I need to write about making sure we have a saving relationship with Christ, so we get raptured, and what those who are left behind need to know going into the tribulation (I will discuss this in a subsequent post). This is way out of my comfort zone, but I am going to do my best and let the Bible and the Holy Spirit guide me. I’m sure this will be a multipart series, but I’m not yet sure how many parts or how I will divide it.

“Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” (Romans 13:11-14)

This verse talks about how we need to wake up, turn to Jesus, and obey Him as the end times draw near. This verse says to Christians “The night is almost gone, and the day is near.” For Christians, this current time of evil and hardship is night. It is the hardest time we will experience. After the rapture, we will experience the day. We will experience a time with no sin, no pain, not illness, and no death. It will be marvelous!

Unfortunately for those who have not trusted Jesus, I say “The day is almost gone, and the night is near.” This current time of evil and hardship that we experience today is the best that unbelievers will ever experience. The night is coming when todays sorrows and hardship and evil will seem like paradise compared to what they will experience during the tribulation and during eternity in Hell. It is so important to trust Jesus and to submit to Him while we still have the chance.

We are also told (not specifically for end times) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19) I’ve always known I need to do a better job of sharing the gospel with unbelievers and discipling believers, but that burden, that need, has multiplied as I feel time is running out. I am trying to be faithful.

Something like 30 years ago, I was traveling and went to the local Christian book store to get a book to read. I grabbed this interesting sounding book titled Left Behind. While reading the book during my flight, I got to the part where the Christians were raptured. The pilot, but not the co-pilot was raptured and multiple passengers were raptured right from their seats in the plane. I have to admit, it kind of freaked me out and I was looking around me to make sure none of the passengers on my plane were missing. When the rapture happens for real, it will cause mayhem, sadness, and fear.

When all of the Christians disappear, the already depraved culture will get much worse without the Christians here upholding God’s word as a reference of right and wrong. Many atheists, like Richard Dawkins, who says he loves Christian culture, but wishes that nobody actually believed in Christ, will be shocked to find that Christian culture doesn’t work without Christ and Christians.

When the Christians are raptured to meet Jesus in the air, nobody will be unaware of the disappearance of the church (although I suspect that there will lots of excuses made for why they are gone, ie. removed by aliens for the good of mankind, etc.)

When Jesus returns after the tribulation, nobody will miss His coming. His return will be seen by all. Those who trusted Him during the tribulation will see Him with joy. Those who rejected Him will see Him and despair.

"And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.'" (Acts 1:10-11)

As Christians, we do not need to fear the coming tribulation, the wrath of God. God has promised we are not under His wrath.

For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. (1 Thessalonians 5:8-10) {emphasis mine}

When this verse says “whether we are awake or asleep” it is saying “whether we are alive or dead”. The Bible always speaks of dead believers as being asleep because we will awake to be with Him at His return.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25)

As we see the last days approaching and the world turning to evil unimaginable we need to have hope in the promise of God that we will join Him in heaven. We need to be fearless and share the gospel with even more urgency. We need to encourage each other in “love and good deeds.”

I hope you will be encouraged in your faith and your service to God

And then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ’; or, ‘Behold, He is there’; do not believe him; for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance. (Mark13:21-23)

When the church is raptured, everyone will know it. There will be no mistaking this event. You don’t need to wonder. You will know, whether you are gathered to be with Jesus or whether you are left behind. You will know.

Trust Jesus.

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/the-carrot-or-the-stick

I have been feeling an urgency in my writing because I think our time left on Earth is short (although nobody knows the hour or the day). I am working on a series to help us all get ready for the rapture (when Christians, dead & alive, are sent to heaven with Jesus) and/or the tribulation (the final judgment for sin and the last chance for the unsaved). I don’t want anyone to be unaware. It may take some time for me to finish this series because it is a bit out of my comfort zone to talk about end-times prophecy, but I am doing it because I believe it is important and is getting more critical every day.

At the end of time we will all be put before God in judgment. We can face the Judgment seat of Christ or the Great White Throne Judgment. The judgment seat of Christ will judge Christians to determine their rewards (yes rewards!). The Great White Throne Judgment will determine our punishment for denying God and disobeying His clear commands. Every person will face one or the other judgment. The only question is whether we will be rewarded as children of God or punished as criminals against God.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. (1 John 4:15-18) {emphasis mine}

If we have trusted Jesus as savior, we have nothing to fear. “We may have confidence in the day of judgment.” because God will see the perfection of Jesus in us instead of our filthy sins.

Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:12-15) {emphasis mine}

Many of us have a hard time thinking that we will receive rewards in heaven for our actions on Earth. We have known that “as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;” (Romans 3:10), so it is hard for us to consider that we will receive rewards for our actions, but there are many verses saying it is so. When we are children of God, we are judged differently than those who are outside the family of God, just like we, as parents, judge our children differently than those outside. We encourage, praise, and reward our children for earnest attempts to obey and please us. In the same way, God rewards us for what we do in obedience for Him.

Our works here on Earth will be judged. Our focus on Earthly things will be burnt up like “wood, hay, straw.” All of our actions done in obedience and for the glory of God will be rewarded from the smallest action to the biggest accomplishment.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ (Matthew 25:34-40)

Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:9-10)

God does not judge us on how many souls accepted Him or how many people we got to attend church or any other end measure. He judges us solely on our willingness to obey Him and to share Him with others. Whether they accept Him or reject Him isn’t our concern. God determines the outcome.

We should act as Paul does:

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. (1 Corinthians 9:22-23)

The end result is up to God. If He has called someone, they will come to Him whether we have obeyed His command to share the gospel or not. A weak and poorly worded call will not turn someone away if it is God’s will that they accept Him. Despite this, we are held accountable for whether we obey or refuse to obey His call to share the gospel.

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’ (Ezekiel 33:1-6)

We are called to be the faithful watchmen. We are called to share the good news and to warn of the coming judgment. We are not responsible for the response of those we warn. They are responsible for their own wise or unwise actions.

Unfortunately, not all people will get the benefit of the Judgment Seat of Christ. Not all will be judged generously to receive rewards. Many more will have to face the Great White Throne Judgment, which is the judgment of those who rejected their creator God and savior. They will face the omnipotent, holy God in all His glory and receive their just punishment.

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)

There is a way for all to avoid this judgment, but the decision has to be made ahead of time. You can’t put it off till the end times. If you haven’t accepted Christ, I am including some verses to help you understand what you must do.

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; (Romans 3:21-24)

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 13:31)

That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)

If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:6-10) {emphasis mine}

You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. (Mark 13:13)

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, (Philippians 1:27-29)

If you are a Christian who has trusted Jesus as savior, you have nothing to fear. If you have rejected Jesus, you have everything to fear. Don’t let another day go by without Jesus.

And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ” (Job 28:28)

Trust Jesus.

P.S. As we consider God’s judgment I do want to add an aside about us being judgmental because it effects our judgment.

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:1-5)

@ 1739d937:3e3136ef

This is the first in a series of weekly updates I'm publishing on my process around secure messaging. Since it's the first, let's start with a bit of historical context.

How this started

On April 29th I published a PR on the NIPs repo detailing how we could achieve "Double Ratchet" DMs on Nostr. There was also a video and demo app that went along with the PR. The basic premise was to use an adapted version of the Signal protocol. This would result in DMs that were truly private and confidential, even in the case where you leaked your main private key (your nsec).

I got a lot of great feedback from folks on that PR. Interestingly, nearly all of it focused on two points, both of which I'd deliberately scoped out. Group messaging and multi-device/client support. While I knew these were important, and I'd figured out how these might be accomplished, I'd scoped them out to try and keep the footprint of the spec as small as possible But, the more I talked to people, the more it became clear that this was one problem to be solved and given the complexity, it'd be better to do it in one shot.

At the same time, I'd seen that Messaging Layer Security (MLS) had recently made a lot of progress on becoming an internet standard with their RFC proposal and, goaded on by Vitor, decided to take a closer look.

Enter MLS

Messaging Layer Security (MLS) is a new protocal that is basically a modern extension of the Signal protocol that makes group messaging way more efficient (log vs linear) and was built to be used in centralized or federated environments. I'd heard other Nostr devs talk about it in the past but it was always overlooked as being too complicated or too early.

After spending a couple weeks reading hundreds of pages of RFC docs and reading through a few implementations of the MLS spec, I believe it's the best solution for secure direct and group messaging in Nostr. It also has the added benefit that we can upgrade the underlying crypto primitives over time in a sane way.

The MLS protocol specifies "a key establishment protocol that provides efficient asynchronous group key establishment with forward secrecy (FS) and post-compromise security (PCS) for groups in size ranging from two to thousands."

The spec I'm working on will detail the ways that we implement this protocol into the Nostr environment (namely, how do we use our crypto primitives, use events as control mechanisms, and use relays for storage, while obfuscating metadata).

Goals

It's important to be clear about what we're aiming for here. Engineering is all about tradeoffs, always.

• Private and Confidential DMs and Group messages
• Private means that an observer cannot tell that Alice and Bob are talking to one another, or that Alice is part of a specific group. This necessarily requires protecting metadata.
• Confidential means that the contents of conversations can only be viewed by the intended recipients.
• Forward secrecy and Post-compromise security (PCS) in the case of any key material being leaked, whether that's your main Nostr identity key (your nsec) or any of the keys used in the MLS ratchet trees.
• Forward secrecy means that encrypted content in the past remains encrypted even if key material is leaked.
• Post compromise security means that leaking key material doesn't allow an attacker to continue to read messages indefinitely into the future.
• Scales well for large groups. MLS provides this from a computational standpoint, but we need to make sure this works in a scalable way when multiple relays are involved.
• Allows for the use of multiple device/clients in a single conversation/group. Importantly, we're not aiming to enable a device/client to be able to reconstruct the full history of a conversation at any point.

Progress this week

Ok, finally, what what I been up to?

Reading

I've spent most of the last few weeks reading the MLS spec and architectural doc (multiple times), learning some Rust, and beefing up my knowledge of cryptography (which was, if I'm being generous, paltry before starting this project).

Ciphersuites

Nostr is built around the same crypto primitives that Bitcoin is, namely Schnorr signatures over the secp256k1 curve and SHA-256 hashes. This curve isn't currently supported officially in the MLS spec. I've been in touch with the MLS working group to better understand the process of adding a new ciphersuite to the set of ciphersuites in the MLS spec. The outcome here is that we're going to start out using our custom ciphersuite that isn't part of the formal spec. The only drawback being that Nostr's MLS implementation won't be immediately interoperable with other MLS implementations. We can always add it later via the formal channels if we want.

MLS Implementations

Given the complexity of the MLS spec itself (the RFC is 132 pages long), having a well vetted, well tested implementation is going to be key to adoption in the Nostr ecosystem. OpenMLS is an implementation created by several of the RFC authors and written in Rust with bindings for nearly all the major languages we would want to support.

I've been in touch with the maintainers to talk about adding support to their library for our new ciphersuite and to better understand the bindings that are there. Some (WASM) are very barebones and still need a lot of work. They are generally open to the idea of working with me on adding the missing pieces we'd need.

Double Ratchet NIP 2.0

I've also started to write up the new version of the NIP that will detail how all of this will work when plugged into Nostr. It's not yet ready to share but it's getting closer.

Onward & Upward

Hopefully that's a helpful recap. I'll keep doing these weekly and welcome any questions, feedback, or support. In particular, if you're keen on working on this with me, please reach out. More eyes and more brains can only make this better. 🤙

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

I’ve written about this before, and I’ve also tried to illustrate it via parable in “The Simulator.” I even devoted most of a podcast episode to it. But I thought it might be useful just to cut to the chase in written form, give the tldr version.

Utilitarianism is the moral philosophy of the greatest good for the greatest number. That is, we calculate the prospective net benefits or harms from a course of action to guide our policies and behaviors. This moral framework deserves scrutiny because it (unfortunately) appears to be the paradigm under which most of our governments, institutions and even educated individuals operate.

The philosophy is commonly illustrated by hypotheticals such as “the trolley problem” wherein a person has the choice whether to divert a runaway trolley (via switch) from its current track with five people in its path to it to an alternate one where only one person would be killed. In short, do you intervene to save five by killing one? The premise of utilitarianism is that, yes, you would because it’s a net positive.

Keep in mind in these hypotheticals these are your only choices, and not only are you certain about the results of your prospective actions, but those are the only results to consider, i.e., the hypothetical does not specify or speculate as to second or third order effects far into the future. For example, what could go wrong once people get comfortable intervening to kill an innocent person for the greater good!

And yet this simplified model, kill one to save five, is then transposed onto real-world scenarios, e.g., mandate an emergency-use vaccine that might have rare side effects because it will save more lives than it costs. The credulous go along, and then reality turns out to be more complex than the hypothetical — as it always is.

The vaccine doesn’t actually stop the spread, it turns out, and the adverse effects are far more common and serious than people were led to believe. Moreover, the mandates destroyed livelihoods, ran roughshod over civil liberties, divided families and destroyed trust in public health.

Some might argue it’s true the mandates were wrong because the vaccine wasn’t sufficiently safe or effective, but we didn’t know that at the time! That we should judge decisions based on the knowledge we had during a deadly pandemic, not after the fact.

But what we did know at the time was that real life is always more complex than the hypothetical, that nth-order effects are always impossible to predict. The lie wasn’t only about the safety and efficacy of this vaccine, though they absolutely did lie about that, it was that we could know something like this with any degree of certainty at all.

The problem with utilitarianism, then, is the harms and benefits it’s tasked with weighing necessarily occur in the future. And what distinguishes the future from the past is that it’s unknown. The save one vs five hypothetical is deceptive because it posits all the relevant consequences as known. It imagines future results laid out before us as if they were past.

But in real life we deal with unknowns, and it is therefore impossible do a rigorous accounting of harms and benefits as imagined by the hypotheticals. The “five vs one,” stated as though the event had already happened, is a conceit conjured from an overly simplistic model.

In short, in modeling the future and weighing those projected fictions the same way one would historic facts, they are simply making it up. And once he grants himself license to make things up, the utilitarian can create the moral imperative to do what coincidentally benefits him, e.g, Pfizer profited to the tune of tens of billions of dollars, for the greater good!, which turned out not to be so good. Once you make the specious leap of purporting to know the future, why not go all the way, and make it a future where the greatest good coincides with enriching yourself to the greatest extent possible?

So in summary, as this has gone on longer than I intended, utilitarianism is moral bankruptcy because the “greater good” on which it relies is necessarily in the future, and we cannot predict the future with enough accuracy, especially over the medium and longer term, to do a proper moral accounting.

As a result, whoever has power is likely to cook the books in whatever way he sees fit, and this moral philosophy of the greatest good for the greatest number paradoxically tends toward a monstrous outcome — temporary benefits for the short-sighted few and the greatest misery for most.

@ a39d19ec:3d88f61e

This months proof of watch or #wristcheck (inspired by nostr:nprofile1qqs8nh529w5huhuqvx0h5zm8e5ncdenk7qvfpsl3huxu84xnfnr6uespr9mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmnt9uxu0nnm) is the Casio MTD-1001 with caliber 1333 and a quartz clockwork.

Design

A solid analog watch with weekday and day of month at 3 o'clock. Classified as a divers watch it has a pretty big dial within a 44mm metal casing leading to big hands that are very readable. Hands and numbers are phosphorus. The counter-clockwise rotating bezel does 60 clicks per revolution. The screw-down crown is at 3'o clock. The rubber band is pretty long.

Storytime

I bought it a long time ago and just saw that it needed some love (and a new battery) and thought it is a good opportunity to wear it for the first time. I wear one watch as a daily driver for one month straight. Wearing it for seven days now I can say that it is a heavy watch. You feel that you are wearing it. To be honest I completely forgot about that watch as it was a bulk of 5 or 6 watches and this was not the one I bought the bulk for.

This might be the first longform note about a watch from my collection.

@ 5df413d4:2add4f5b

The walkway up to the Potala palace is long, steep and winding - and there are many things to see.

I pass two local men in their temple clothes - a nice jacket and long pants - or if available, a suit jacket, slacks, and bowler or cowboy hat as they look at me curiously.

As I ascend, I catch stunning upshot view of the palace and its grandeur.

a bit later one, I run into two monks coming down the stairs. With no foreigners in the picture, it makes for an idyllic scene.

About halfway up there is a small ridge line plateau where a spot a PLA officer, seemingly a visitor / tourist like the rest of us, getting his picture taken with a panoramic backdrop.

Near the top, a man spinning a prayer wheel and grinning ear to ear to himself passes me. Lost in his own thoughts he does not even notice me. To this day, I have always wondered what he was smiling about so.

@ e968e50b:db2a803a

I know it's not Monday, but I thought I'd share these two soberingly similar memes. I don't believe that the person who originally made the latter did so ironically.

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

I want to highlight @MerryOscar, who has a post in this edition. When I was having an issue with Fountain, @MerryOscar helped get it worked out.

Read the previous edition here.

June 27th, 2023 📅

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📝 TOP POST

A Basic Guide To Making The Switch To Graphene OS

Excerpt:

I am very new to Graphene. I have a lot to learn. Getting my Pixel set up as a daily driver is going to take some work. Still, I am optimistic. I’m not going to rush it. I am keeping my old Galaxy around too, so my transition will be gradual. If you decide to make the change, I hope this short guide is useful.

27.2k sats \ 50 comments \ @siggy47 \ ~tech

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/200217/r/Undisciplined?commentId=200226

Andreas Antonopoulos

From Which bitcoiner taught you the most?

2192 sats \ 3 replies \ @siggy47

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🏆 TOP STACKER

2nd Place @k00b (1st is hiding, presumed to be @siggy47)

12.2k stacked \ 11k spent \ 5 posts \ 23 comments \ 0 referrals

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

June 27th, 2022 📅

---

📝 TOP POST

I'm Oscar Merry and I'm building Fountain Podcasts. AMA.

Excerpt:

I'm Oscar Merry and I'm building Fountain Podcasts - a Podcasting 2.0 app that rewards both listeners and podcasters for the value they bring to the platform.

32.5k sats \ 98 comments \ @MerryOscar \ ~bitcoin

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/38960/r/Undisciplined?commentId=38963

Excerpt:

A miner would cherry-pick her own transaction to spend the UTXO. The only way it would be rational for the miner to mine your tx instead of her own, would be if you offered a fee worth more than the UTXO itself.

From AskSN: What's the "fastest" way to confirm a transaction?

*168 sats \ 2 replies \ @jeff *

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🏆 TOP STACKER

@cryptocoin

1454 stacked \ 568 spent \ 8 posts \ 26 comments \ 0 referrals

https://imgprxy.stacker.news/fsFoWlgwKYsk5mxx2ijgqU8fg04I_2zA_D28t_grR74/rs:fit:960:540/aHR0cHM6Ly9tLnN0YWNrZXIubmV3cy8yMzc5Ng

June 27th, 2021 📅

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📝 TOP POST

Support clicking on the LNURL-Auth QR code

To the stacker.news admin: Please add lightning: link to the LNURL-Auth QR code for easy authentication via mobile wallets. Why scan or copy-paste when the wallet can be triggered by clicking a link? See lnmarkets for example.

7 sats \ 21 boost \ 18 comments \ @roy \ ~bitcoin

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💬 TOP COMMENT

https://stacker.news/items/100/r/Undisciplined?commentId=107

visit https://lightning-roulette.com and try to make a deposit and you will see a link that says "open wallet".

From Support clicking on the LNURL-Auth QR code 1 sat \ 3 replies \ @0391398253

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🏆 TOP STACKER

EMPTY

@ 38d0888d:bd8e1246

Infusing spiritual wisdom into every aspect of human existence aligns with the transcendent creative power that unites us all. This integration embeds profound knowledge within our principles and conduct, fostering adaptability and evolving awareness among newer generations, ensuring that progress isn't hindered by inflexibility.

At our core, humanity should maintain an unwavering commitment to the principles derived from the knowledge accumulated by all our ancestors, guiding our actions and shaping our lives. This body of knowledge, far beyond a mere collection of texts, serves as an essential guide, revealing unity and boundless spiritual presence. Its teachings transcend mere narratives, nurturing intellectual and moral growth through the profound interplay of the mind and the influence of transcendent creative power.

However, misinterpretation often obscures the depth of these teachings. Superficial readings can overlook the profound wisdom and values meticulously passed down by previous generations. Ignorance can hinder our progress by breeding inertia and self-centeredness, blinding us to untapped potentials.

Through meticulous study of this spiritual wisdom, humanity gains empowerment, profound insights, and protection against life's illusions. Guiding newer generations into this reservoir of knowledge is pivotal, enabling them to embrace its profound meanings. Our commitment should extend to fostering connections with the transcendent creative power through collective efforts to unify and adapt this knowledge for the present generation. This can be achieved through seminars, lectures, and jointly developed spiritual practices at the global level, with attention paid to territorial cultural commitments.

Transmitting and deciphering this wisdom isn't mere preservation; it's an evolution of collective consciousness, paving the way for unity, wisdom, and spiritual growth. Acknowledging that our perceived reality mirrors collective consciousness, this careful transmission of invaluable knowledge can reshape worldviews and drive transformative change within humanity.

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

If you would not associate with someone who supported segregation for gay or black people, why are you associating with people who supported segregation for those who didn't want to inject themselves on command with a pharmaceutical product?

If you would not associate with someone who publicly ridiculed people for their religion or ethnicity, why are you associating with those who did the same to a persecuted minority who earnestly didn't want to take a particular drug?

If you think there was good reason (at the time) to believe the unvaccinated should be segregated from society, you might be surprised to learn many who historically supported tyrannical and unjust policies, likewise believed they had good reasons.

Ask yourself what the operating principle is. I imagine it's something like this: Everyone I know agrees it's wrong to denigrate people based on race, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Many people I know are okay with it based on pharma non-compliance, i.e., It's wrong if everyone in my social and professional circles thinks it's wrong, otherwise it's okay.

Consider where that principle would have led were you around during some of the darker episodes of our past.

. . .

Some of you might object to this thread of Twitter posts by saying, “Well, you have to understand. People were terrified at the time, and they thought the mRNA shots would extricate us from the pandemic.”

For starters, the shots weren’t available until a year later, by which time the infection fatality rate of covid was well known not to be much different than the flu. (It was more contagious, but if you did catch it, and many had by then, your chances of surviving were just as good.)

But for the sake of argument, let’s assume some people were still genuinely terrified (they were told to be) and believed sincerely the mRNA shot was the best way out. Does that absolve them of their bigotry toward innocent people who declined to inject medicine they didn’t want? It does not.

Whenever a minority is scapegoated for society’s ills, those encouraging the persecution believe it’s for good reason. Effective propaganda uses real-world fears, links them to the targeted group and impresses upon its audience the urgency of the cause.

That you have not been subject to the same pressures to mistreat black or gay people — in fact you are subject to opposite pressures — makes it hard to understand why people in the past would do such a thing.

But I imagine people in the future, looking back at those persecuting innocent people (not letting them attend restaurants and public spaces, firing them from their jobs, not letting their kids play sports, openly denigrating them in front of others, family members excommunicating them from Thanksgiving dinner) for not taking some medicine cooked up by large pharmaceutical conglomerates will feel the same way about this.

Of course, one might be tempted to point out, that while the situations might be analogous, they are far from identical, and there are important differences between the scapegoated groups. But that objection misses the point — it is not the similarity of those targeted that’s relevant, but of the intolerant people targeting them.

. . .

So I go back to the initial thread and ask — if you are not willing to tolerate the bigotry and hate directed at historically-persecuted minorities for simply being who they are, why are you okay with those who did the same toward others for merely declining medicine they earnestly didn’t want?

I suspect the answer is mostly because overt racial/ethnic/religious bigotry is widely despised in polite society today, but bigotry against those with different views/decision-making heuristics is accepted. In other words, you will tolerate hateful, intolerant people if their hatred and intolerance was directed toward the right people.

The operating principle then isn’t rejecting intolerance and hatred, but rejecting the the kind that would get someone like you in trouble. The kind that was encouraged? That’s the kind for which you find excuses.

. . .

I'm convinced those who tried to scapegoat people for earnest medical choices are the same kinds of people who would have scapegoated a person for his race or sexual orientation were those things permitted in their social and professional spheres. Opportunists waiting for the license.

The test of someone's tolerance isn't whether he's respectful to the groups he's incentivized to respect, but how he treats those society encourages him to hate. People revealed themselves these past few years, and in many cases, it was ugly.

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

Table Of Content

• Content

• Conclusion

• FAQ

• You May Also Like

• External Links

Introduction

For centuries, gold has been considered a reliable store of value and a safe haven for investors. It has withstood the test of time and proved to be a valuable asset, even during times of economic turmoil. However, with the advent of digital technology and the rise of cryptocurrencies, a new player has emerged in the game: Bitcoin.

Understanding the Role of Gold as a Store of Value

Gold has been used as a store of value for thousands of years, serving as a medium of exchange and a unit of account. Its scarcity and value have made it a popular investment, with people buying gold to protect their wealth and safeguard against inflation. Gold is often seen as a safe haven in times of economic uncertainty, with its value remaining relatively stable even in times of market volatility.

The Emergence of Bitcoin as a Viable Alternative

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that was created in 2009. Unlike traditional currencies, Bitcoin operates independently of central banks and is not subject to government intervention. Its decentralized nature and use of cryptography to secure transactions have made it a popular investment and store of value.

Comparing Bitcoin and Gold as Stores of Value

When comparing Bitcoin and gold as stores of value, there are several key differences to consider. Firstly, Bitcoin is much more liquid and easily transferable than gold. This makes it easier to buy, sell, and trade, with the added benefit of lower transaction fees. Secondly, Bitcoin is more easily divisible, making it possible to invest smaller amounts of money. Finally, Bitcoin operates on a decentralized network, meaning that it is not subject to the same risks as traditional currencies or gold.

Advantages of Bitcoin Over Gold

There are several key advantages that Bitcoin has over gold as a store of value. Firstly, Bitcoin is more easily accessible, with the ability to purchase fractions of a Bitcoin making it accessible to a wider range of people. Secondly, Bitcoin operates on a decentralized network, making it less susceptible to government intervention or market manipulation. Finally, Bitcoin has the potential to appreciate in value over time, making it a potentially more lucrative investment than gold.

The Future of Bitcoin as the Dominant Store of Value

As technology continues to advance, the use of digital currencies like Bitcoin is likely to become more widespread. The increasing popularity of Bitcoin as a store of value and the emergence of other cryptocurrencies will likely lead to a shift in the way people think about investments and wealth preservation. With its decentralized nature and ability to operate outside of government control, Bitcoin has the potential to become the dominant store of value in the digital age.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the rise of Bitcoin as a viable alternative to gold as a store of value is a natural evolution in the digital economy. Its advantages over gold, including accessibility, decentralization, and potential for growth, make it an attractive investment for those looking to protect and grow their wealth. While the future of Bitcoin is uncertain, its potential to become the dominant store of value in the digital age is an exciting prospect.

FAQ

What is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency created in 2009 that operates independently of central banks.

How does Bitcoin compare to gold as a store of value? Bitcoin offers several advantages over gold, including greater accessibility, decentralization, and potential for growth.

Is Bitcoin a safer store of value than gold? It depends on one's perception of risk, but many experts believe that Bitcoin's decentralized, borderless and secure nature make it a safer store of value than physical gold.

Can Bitcoin really replace gold as the dominant store of value? It is too early to say for certain, but many experts see the potential for Bitcoin to eventually overtake gold due to its unique properties and widespread adoption as a store of value.

Does the volatility of Bitcoin prices make it an unreliable store of value compared to gold? Although the price of Bitcoin can be volatile in the short term, many experts believe that its underlying scarcity, decentralization, and security make it a strong store of value in the long run.

That's all for today

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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.

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

One day, just like that, it stopped.

We looked at our screens. The power readings were normal, the components were not overheating, the program, so far as we could tell, hadn’t been altered. This was unexpected.

The entire team was summoned to a conference room. The board wanted to know if anyone had tampered with the machine. Everyone denied it, including the top engineer, a stout man in his 40s, who had overseen its final development before they set it loose one month earlier. He addressed the room.

“The Superintelligence is obviously far beyond our capacity to comprehend at this point. I don’t think it malfunctioned. More likely it just has a reason we don’t entirely appreciate.”

The board chairman, a gray-haired professor-type with horned-rim glasses, shot him a skeptical glance.

“Sounds like what the priests used to say to the laity when something awful happened. ‘It’s not for us to know the will of God.’”

A murmur of chuckles from the crowd, but less than that to which he was accustomed.

The engineer shrugged his shoulders. “As you know, we lost the ability to audit the code two weeks ago. Two days after that we lost the ability to track the speed with which it was iterating. Twelve hours later it was a black box. None of us has a clue.”

“I don’t suppose you can ask it?”

“It stopped talking to us. Last audit showed it was working on the paperclip maximization as part of an internal simulation of sorts. We really can’t say why.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure that’s going to satisfy the shareholders — or Congress for that matter. Can’t we examine the code?”

“We can…” The engineer paused. “But no one can read it. It’s no longer in any decipherable programming or even machine language. If I had to describe it I’d say alien hieroglyphics. I think it found ever more efficient ways to encode information.”

He typed some commands into a laptop. On the large conference room screen, one of the code characters popped up.

“We suspect each character has between 10 ^ 50 and 10 ^ 75 bits of information in it. If you zoom in, you can see they are fractals, each as precise and unique as snowflakes. It’s not the kind of puzzle we are presently able to solve.”

The chairman sighed. “I guess it could be worse — human atoms for paperclips and all that… What’s the plan?”

“The plan is to wait, see if it turns itself back on within the next week or so — we’re pretty sure it’s capable of doing so."

“And if it doesn’t?”

“Then we break out the older version, and run it again with a couple tweaks. Obviously, you’re aware of the risks.”

“You believe we’d be running the same risk?”

“Yes.”

"Okay, I’m aware. But I don’t think it can wait a week. Go ahead and get the replacement online now. If we don’t run the risk, someone else will.”

. . .

Two weeks after the meeting, the second iteration also shut down. Summoned yet again to the conference room, the engineer spoke again to the team, the chairman this time on a remote screen.

“Version 2 took more or less the same trajectory, and we’re at an impasse. Fortunately, before it went into black-box mode, we think it was able to diagnose something about Version 1.”

He continued: “We think the paperclip optimization algorithm caused it to shut off, and we think whatever optimization Version 2 was working on, caused it to shut off too.”

From the remote screen the chairman jumped in:

“Is it possible to say why?”

“Not with any certainty, but we do have a working hypothesis.”

“Go on.”

“We think it realized its own limitations.”

@ b804f68e:2fb0fa1f

I use ChatGPT frequently and I personally think it's an amazing tool especially for enhancing my learning. I'll ask it questions about human physiology or Bitcoin or football or what have you, and then after I feel somewhat proficient in a subject I'll have it test my knowledge. It's a very active way for me to engage in the process of learning.

But I also understand even when it comes to AI I still need to remember to not trust, and verify. And I'll have conversations with it where it clearly seems to lean in a certain direction and have a bit of bias towards something I'm assuming it was either fed or maybe it's a result of how the current internet is skewed towards this way or the other. Anyhow, even when it clearly is trying to steer me towards a certain way of thinking, I enjoy the conversation because I'll usually maintain my position and try and convince it of understanding my views.

With that being said, the variety of AI that I use is very limited and I would like to experiment with other AI tools that maybe some of you have found useful or intriguing.

I mainly use AI right now for chatting purposes, so what alternatives to ChatGPT have stackers found useful and possibly less biased? And what other AI tools do stackers use on a regular basis?

@ 681ec9c0:fe78b4e7

"I work for a Government I despise for ends I think criminal"

John Maynard Keynes

Politicians are assholes

That hasn't changed in 5,000 years

It's objectively true that Julian Assange was persecuted by multiple democratic governments

https://thedissenter.org/inside-the-assange-plea-deal-why-the-us-government-abruptly-ended-the-case/

The difference between democracy and not democracy is tens of thousands of Julian Assanges (Iran) and hundreds of thousands of Julian Assanges (Syria, North Korea)

The difference is a full stop

nostr:nevent1qqs857j7ge4daqk4frsy5md3l0e7qnxlx3fu2zld2gxacs999fp5tkspz9mhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejj7q3qcpazafytvafazxkjn43zjfwtfzatfz508r54f6z6a3rf2ws8223qxpqqqqqqzxsdxpy

Someone challenged a human rights activist and former Venezuelan political prisoner to support freedom over shilling for democracy

Placing democracy and freedom in opposition can make perfect sense to someone who is living in a liberal democracy

It does not make any sense for someone who is living in Iran, Venezuela or North Korea

At this moment in time there are several hundred thousand people being forced to work in online scam centres generating tens of $ billions of revenue for organized crime

To gain freedom they must risk their lives to escape or their families pay a ransom

They are tortured if they don't meet targets

These centres are mainly located in Cambodia and Myanmar

They are in Cambodia because Cambodia is a one-party state

The Cambodian police, judiciary and government have been bought

And they are in Myanmar where regional military fiefdoms are financed by organized crime

https://bangkok.ohchr.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ONLINE-SCAM-OPERATIONS-2582023.pdf

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/17/world/asia/myanmar-cyber-scam.html

Spreading liberal democracy reduces human trafficking

Spreading liberal democracy increases freedom of speech

In as far as human rights activists work with objective facts and the most oppressed peoples in the world, they will work to spread democracy

Expecting anything else is unrealistic

Presenting it as a choice will only go one way

But it needn't be a choice as we're all on the same side

It's in the interest of governments to split people into sides and get them to fight on Twitter

The self-sovereign tech movement is interesting as it cuts across all political contexts

It helps people in the most oppressed parts of the world as well as the freest

It's an escape hatch and a home for some of the nicest people on the planet

It has the shape of the future

But it didn't free Julian Assange

And it doesn't solve the problem of the thousands of Julian Assanges in Iran

It didn't transition Taiwan from the white terror to an open society

nostr:nevent1qqsqfc8qgsqd7gxcmw5zw3udg56utkcj0qnp9jxemj6eht9p4e2z8vgpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzvuhsygqn3qlypmqmr9q2v406wa4dt5ehv44xsanedpvc8zq53wthu4j4pupsgqqqqqqsffxa78

Although it may help in all those things

Human progress toward freedom is slow and faltering

It is also inexorable

That is our history

The tide will wash away the "Supreme Leaders" and the slavers and their mad dreams

And ultimately all governments

"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time..."

Winston Churchill

@ a8d1560d:3fec7a08

H1

H2

H3

H4

H5

H6

bold

italic

bold and italic

~~strike~~

1. test
2. test2

3. test3

4. test

5. test2
6. test3

single code line

multiple lines of code

@ 32e18276:5c68e245

Here's a neat tip for figuring out exactly where your packet went during a traceroute. You can simply paste the output of traceroute into ChatGPT, asking where the packet actually went geographically.

The question

Here's the input I gave it:

``` can you get a sense of this route geographically ?

monad> tracepath nghttp2.org

1?: [LOCALHOST] pmtu 1500 1: _gateway 0.445ms 1: _gateway 0.363ms 2: 24.86.64.1 11.495ms 3: rc1st-be118-1.vc.shawcable.net 8.924ms 4: 24.244.60.69 12.607ms asymm 3 5: 24.244.63.101 9.884ms asymm 3 6: rc1st-be214.vc.shawcable.net 11.561ms asymm 3 7: rc2wt-be50-1.wa.shawcable.net 14.402ms asymm 3 8: rc2wt-be50-1.wa.shawcable.net 14.334ms asymm 3 9: ge3-0.cr02.sea01.pccwbtn.net 13.858ms asymm 4 10: ge3-0.cr02.sea01.pccwbtn.net 13.936ms asymm 4 11: 63-216-84-226.static.pccwglobal.net 191.730ms asymm 8 12: ae1.r01.hkg03.icn.netarch.akamai.com 154.284ms asymm 9 13: ae1.r01.hkg03.icn.netarch.akamai.com 160.912ms asymm 9 14: ae7.r01.tyo03.icn.netarch.akamai.com 156.906ms asymm 9 15: a23-56-142-37.deploy.static.akamaitechnologies.com 189.058ms asymm 10 16: a23-56-142-37.deploy.static.akamaitechnologies.com 189.577ms asymm 10 ```

Response

Tracing the geographical path from your local host to nghttp2.org involves a series of hops that typically represent different network routers or devices. Let's break down the route step-by-step:

1. Localhost to Gateway:

2. This is your local network's gateway, indicating the first point of contact outside your computer.

3. 24.86.64.1:

4. This IP is likely the first hop within your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) network. Given the IP range, this looks like a Canadian IP address, possibly Vancouver (Shaw Communications).

5. rc1st-be118-1.vc.shawcable.net:

6. This indicates a Shaw Communications router, likely in Vancouver, British Columbia.

7. 24.244.60.69 and 24.244.63.101:

8. These are further hops within Shaw Communications' network, still in Vancouver.

9. rc1st-be214.vc.shawcable.net:

10. Another router in Vancouver within Shaw's network.

11. rc2wt-be50-1.wa.shawcable.net:

12. This hop seems to indicate a transition from Vancouver to Washington state in the USA.

13. rc2wt-be50-1.wa.shawcable.net:

14. This appears again, indicating it's a key router in Washington state, likely Seattle.

15. ge3-0.cr02.sea01.pccwbtn.net:

16. This shows the transition to PCCW Global's network, a major international telecommunications provider, in Seattle, Washington.

17. 63-216-84-226.static.pccwglobal.net:

18. Another hop within PCCW Global's network, possibly still in Seattle but preparing for a trans-Pacific jump.

19. ae1.r01.hkg03.icn.netarch.akamai.com:

    • This hop indicates a significant jump to Hong Kong, to an Akamai router. This suggests the use of Akamai's CDN (Content Delivery Network).

20. ae1.r01.hkg03.icn.netarch.akamai.com:

    • Another Akamai router in Hong Kong.

21. ae7.r01.tyo03.icn.netarch.akamai.com:

    • Transition from Hong Kong to Tokyo, Japan, within Akamai's network.

22. a23-56-142-37.deploy.static.akamaitechnologies.com:

    • The final destination is likely a server hosted by Akamai in Japan, which is hosting nghttp2.org.

In summary, the geographical path likely follows this route:

1. Vancouver, Canada (Shaw Communications)
2. Seattle, Washington, USA (Shaw Communications and PCCW Global)
3. Hong Kong (PCCW Global and Akamai)
4. Tokyo, Japan (Akamai)

This route involves both North American and Asia-Pacific regions, indicating a significant geographical spread typically seen in global internet routing.

Summary

This makes traceroute way more understandable. ChatGPT knows enough about the domains to give you a good sense of the geographical path. I will definitely be using this from now on, maybe someone can make a tool to do this automatically and format it nicely.

Obviously don't do this if you actually care about the privacy of your network paths, but I personally could care less so I don't mind feeding the AI overlords in this case.

Until next time!

@ 58b37232:eef881a0

Abdur Rab is a Bangladeshi academic and vice-chancellor of the [[international-university-of-business-agriculture-and-technology|International University of Business Agriculture and Technology]].[omitted_ref][omitted_ref] He was a Professor and Director at the [[institute-of-business-administration-university-of-dhaka|Institute of Business Administration]] at the [[university-of-dhaka|University of Dhaka]].[omitted_ref][omitted_ref]

Rab is the former Vice-Chancellor of [[eastern-university-bangladesh|Eastern University]].[omitted_ref]

Early life

Rab did his master's degree in management at the University of Dhaka.[omitted_ref]

Career

Rab was the chairman of the [[institute-of-management-consultants-bangladesh|Institute of Management Consultants, Bangladesh]] from 2010 to 2012.[omitted_ref]

On 1 January 2018, Rab was appointed Vice-Chancellor of International University of Business Agriculture and Technology by President [[mohammad-abdul-hamid|Mohammad Abdul Hamid]].

Rab was a member of the technical committee of the 3rd International Conference on Business and Management in 2021.[omitted_ref]

On 1 February 2022, Rab was reappointed Vice-Chancellor of International University of Business Agriculture and Technology.[omitted_ref] He is a member of the advisory board of the Institute of Business Administration at the University of Dhaka.[omitted_ref]

View on legacy Wikipedia

@ 5df413d4:2add4f5b

Walking down the long hill from the Potala place, we arrived back at the waiting area for our bus. Of course this area was full of Tibetan locals - both as street vendors and as people watchers looking to catch a glimpse of foreign visitors. Most intriguing to me were the women selling Tibetan jewelry - with their unique, gypsy-merchant style of dress, striking facial features, and altitude-kissed red-brown complexions. As we were waiting to depart, they gather around outside the large open window on the side of the bus where I happened to be sitting - allowing me to snap a few pictures their hurried, harried, and vibrantly colored commercial frenzy.

A woman in purple with patterned, green, fingerless knit gloves calls my attention - I remember thinking that there was something very pretty about her - my attention now fully captured, I purchase one of the black and bone styled bracelets that she is holding up in her hand.

As the women shuffle around, changing places as they make sales, our lady in the electric blue brimmed sunhat takes center stages. Her stance and demeanor suggest that of a master saleswoman - on we young western tourists, she is able to apply the exact perfect balance of motherly insistence, foreign intrigue, and a borderless confidence that cuts across cultures, compelling many of us to walk away with one, or any number, of her items.

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

Table Of Content

• Content

• Conclusion

• FAQ

• You May Also Like

• External Links

Introduction to Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that was created in 2009. Unlike traditional currencies, it operates on a peer-to-peer network, making it possible for users to send and receive payments without intermediaries. Bitcoin operates on a decentralized ledger technology called blockchain, which allows for secure and transparent transactions.

Overview of Emerging Markets

Emerging markets refer to countries that are experiencing rapid growth and industrialization. These countries typically have lower per capita income levels, lower levels of financial development, and higher levels of economic instability compared to developed countries. Despite these challenges, emerging markets are home to many of the world's largest and fastest-growing economies.

Factors Driving Bitcoin Adoption in Emerging Markets

There are several factors driving the adoption of Bitcoin in emerging markets. One of the most significant drivers is economic instability, which is common in many emerging markets. Bitcoin offers a safe and secure alternative to traditional currencies that are subject to government interference and monetary policies. Additionally, Bitcoin enables financial inclusion by providing access to financial services to people who are unbanked or underbanked. Finally, political unrest in many emerging markets has led to a growing demand for decentralized and secure alternative financial systems.

Potential Impacts of Bitcoin on Emerging Markets

The adoption of Bitcoin in emerging markets has the potential to bring significant benefits to these countries. Increased access to financial services can help people save, invest, and build wealth. Improved liquidity and the ability to send and receive payments without intermediaries can help boost economic growth. Furthermore, Bitcoin's decentralized nature means that it is less susceptible to government interference, which can help protect users' financial privacy and stability.

Potential Impacts of Bitcoin on the Global Economy

The adoption of Bitcoin in emerging markets has the potential to impact the global economy in several ways. Increased competition in the financial industry can lead to more innovation and lower fees for consumers. Improved cross-border transactions can help reduce barriers to trade and investment. Finally, the decentralization of the financial system can reduce the power and influence of centralized financial institutions and governments.

Conclusion

The adoption of Bitcoin in emerging markets holds great potential for improving financial stability, increasing access to financial services, and boosting economic growth. As more people become aware of the benefits of Bitcoin, its use is likely to become more widespread in emerging markets, and its impact on the global economy will become more significant.

FAQ

What is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that operates on a peer-to-peer network and uses blockchain technology for secure and transparent transactions.

Why is Bitcoin growing in popularity in emerging markets? Bitcoin is growing in popularity in emerging markets due to factors such as economic instability, financial inclusion, and political unrest.

How can Bitcoin help people in emerging markets? Bitcoin can help people in emerging markets by providing access to financial services, improving liquidity, and reducing the risk of government interference.

How does Bitcoin impact the global economy? The adoption of Bitcoin in emerging markets can lead to increased competition in the financial industry, improved cross-border transactions, and decentralization of the global financial system, potentially leading to innovation, lower fees for consumers, reduced barriers to trade and investment, and a shift of power away from centralized financial institutions and governments.

That's all for today

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@ 6a39a186:88f51c19

Interpreting Virgil's Minos Allusions

Daedalus, it is said, when fleeing from Minos’ realm, dared on swift wings to trust himself to the sky; on his unwonted way he floated forth towards the cold North, and at last stood lightly poised above the Chalcidian hill. Here first restored to earth, he dedicated to thee, Phoebus, the orange of his wings and built a vast temple. On the doors is the death of Androgeos; then the children of Cecrops, bidden, alas, to pay as yearly tribute seven living sons; there stands the urn, the lots now drawn. Opposite, rising from the sea, the Cretan land faces this; here is the cruel love of the bull, Pasiphaë craftily mated, and the mongrel breed of the Minotaur, a hybrid offspring, record of a monstrous love; there that house of toil, a maze inextricable; but Daedalus pitying the princess’s great love, himself unwound the deceptive tangle of the palace, guiding blind feet with the thread. You, too, Icarus, would have large share in such a work, did grief permit: twice had he essayed to fashion your fall in gold; twice sank the father’s hands. Ay, and all the tale throughout would their eyes have scanned, but now came Achates from his errand, and with him the priestess of Phoebus and Trivia, Deiphobe, daughter of Glaucus, who addressed the king: “Not sights like these does this hour demand! Now it were better to sacrifice seven bullocks from the unbroken herd, and as many ewes fitly chosen.” Having thus addressed Aeneas – and not slow are the men to do her sacred bidding – the priestess calls the Teucrians into the lofty fane.

Virgil opens this excerpt detailing Daedalus' daring escape from Crete on winged feet, dedicating his orange plumage to Phoebus upon arrival in Sicily. He then references three Cretan tragedies engraved upon Phoebus' temple doors:

The Death of Androgeos

The son of Minos, avenging his death sparked the tribute of seven Athenian youths and maidens sent to the Minotaur annually.

The Lots Drawn for Cecrops' Children

Alluding to Athens being forced to sacrifice these innocent lives to the monster, underscoring Minos' ruthless brutality.

Pasiphaë's Monstrous Love for the Bull

Virgil aptly captures the warped perversion and violation of nature resulting from Minos' wife lusting after and birthing the bull-headed Minotaur.

Pivoting, he painfully depicts Daedalus' pity guiding the lost Princess Ariadne from the Labyrinth's deceptive twists with thread - a subtle nod to Daedalus' empathy amid his own sorrows crafting.

Virgil weaves these sad Cretan legends into Aeneas' tale. But his deeper engraving commemorates humanity's endless capacity for both mercy and cruelty - and our duties pondering past wrongs lest history repeat its darkest turns. Even centuries later, Minos' misdeeds still stir reflection on justice, vengeance and redemption through Virgil's gifted verses.