@ fa0165a0:03397073

Chef's notes

This recipe is for 48 buns. Total cooking time takes at least 90 minutes, but 60 minutes of that is letting the dough rest in between processing.

The baking is a simple three-step process. 1. Making the Wheat dough 2. Making and applying the filling 3. Garnishing and baking in the oven

When done: Enjoy during Fika!

PS;

• Can be frozen and thawed in microwave for later enjoyment as well.

• If you need unit conversion, this site may be of help: https://www.unitconverters.net/

• Traditionally we use something we call "Pearl sugar" which is optimal, but normal sugar or sprinkles is okay too. Pearl sugar (Pärlsocker) looks like this: https://search.brave.com/images?q=p%C3%A4rlsocker

Ingredients

• 150 g butter
• 5 dl milk
• 50 g baking yeast (normal or for sweet dough)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1 1/2 dl sugar
• (Optional) 2 teaspoons of crushed or grounded cardamom seeds.
• 1.4 liters of wheat flour
• Filling: 50-75 g butter, room temperature
• Filling: 1/2 - 1 dl sugar
• Filling: 1 teaspoons crushed or ground cardamom and 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon (or 2 teaspoons of cinnamon)
• Garnish: 1 egg, sugar or Almond Shavings

Directions

1. Melt the butter/margarine in a saucepan.
2. Pour in the milk and allow the mixture to warm reach body temperature (approx. + 37 ° C).
3. Dissolve the yeast in a dough bowl with the help of the salt.
4. Add the 37 ° C milk/butter mixture, sugar and if you choose to the optional cardamom. (I like this option!) and just over 2/3 of the flour.
5. Work the dough shiny and smooth, about 4 minutes with a machine or 8 minutes by hand.
6. Add if necessary. additional flour but save at least 1 dl for baking.
7. Let the dough rise covered (by a kitchen towel), about 30 minutes.
8. Work the dough into the bowl and then pick it up on a floured workbench. Knead the dough smoothly. Divide the dough into 2 parts. Roll out each piece into a rectangular cake.
9. Stir together the ingredients for the filling and spread it.
10. Roll up and cut each roll into 24 pieces.
11. Place them in paper molds or directly on baking paper with the cut surface facing up. Let them rise covered with a baking sheet, about 30 minutes.
12. Brush the buns with beaten egg and sprinkle your chosen topping.
13. Bake in the middle of the oven at 250 ° C, 5-8 minutes.
14. Allow to cool on a wire rack under a baking sheet.

@ 7cc328a0:2a247c0e

relay.tools quarterly report

October, 2024

Project Updates

Milestone: Relay.tools is celebrating 1 year of OpenSats! Cheers to everyone that made this possible.

Relays were very popular this quarter. Scaling efforts were prioritized! This is a good indicator for relay.tools as it means that it's healthily growing. Development was executed well, completing one project at a time across the whole stack.

Relay Discovery

I've been working with @sandwich from nostr.watch on NIP66.

NIP66 will be an ABSOLUTE GAMECHANGER for clients in finding of their relays. This was always a vision for relay.tools and I am honored to be working with @sandwich on what is a pretty amazing solution. We are now in a phase of client outreach, to gather client feedback and help them implement/understand the overall goal of the NIP.

TLDR: the goal is to create a distributed version of the nostr.watch data, using nostr events.

• [x] implemented NIP66 draft7 (the 'final' design) in monitorlizard
• [x] started shipping events to the monitor relay(s) in collab with nostr.watch backends and relay.tools backends.
• [x] fixed bugs and released new binaries for monitorlizard (a NIP66 data reporting tool)

Auth Proxy Rollout

The NIP42 Auth Proxy project went really well this quarter. It's now serving tons of traffic and most bugs with clients have been squashed and the proxy hardened. This has become a very popular feature on the relays, as AUTH has many benefits beyond protecting of DMs.

• [x] testing vs. NIP17 and bugs fixed
• [x] cluster operations (multiple proxies)

UI/UX

A huge milestone this quarter was the release of the settings wizard. This is a walkthrough for new (and current) users of all the available settings for different 'relay types'. A lot of work over the last year has gone into the culmination of these settings and the wizard was a major step forward to help users understand what their options are when running a relay.

Another major UI change was the introduction of a relay feed to the landing page for a relay. This is called the relay explorer. The idea was to move to a single page app, and re-do navigation for easy relay browsing and discovery.

• [x] settings wizard released
• [x] relay explorer v2

Installer

The installer had lots of good effort put in by me and some nice contributors. We did a couple iterations on documentation and facilitated in the creation of 2-3 new relay hubs that are using this installer infrastructure.

Some additions to the installer were:

• [x] docs for building self-hosted machine images and installing on a VPS
• [x] FULLY AUTOMATIC SSL certificate handling for multiple domains with certbot
• [x] self-hosted influxDB (for relay metrics)
• [x] fix bugs with auto-deploy upgrade

Billing/Invoicing/Support

The billing system had some improvements this quarter and many invoices were sent. :) It now has better super-admin tools to notify users of past-due balances via nostr (With NDK). This took a few iterations of deciding the best way to contact users of nostr and figuring out why they don't respond to messages. It's a learning experience all the way around and the billing system will evolve over time in ways that are conducive to remaining 100% nostr for user communication and support.

The support system also showed signs of life, and people were able to use it to contact me with their questions via the various help-desk methods that I've been rolling out. (A relay, a support npub, DMs, NIP17 DMs, simplex)

Scaling!

Relay.tools successfully completed the first scale-out event. This is HUGE. Relays take more and more bandwidth and resources as they establish themselves, while at the same time needing a reasonable low-cost environment to grow in. To meet their demands the horizontal scaling is important. This will scale on commodity hardware or VPSs with ZERO vendor lock-in.

• [x] multi-server clustering with ZERO cloud vendor lock-in
• [x] deployment pipeline and capacity planning
• [x] HAproxy and additional AUTH proxies fronting all services
• [x] internal/external network support

@ 7cc328a0:2a247c0e

relay.tools quarterly report

January, 2024

Project updates

UI design

Relay.tools spent quite a bit of time working on UI design this quarter. Since UI is time intensive and there are many other aspects of the project that need work, I time-boxed this work to 3-4 weeks total.

I engaged with @Daniel from #nostrdesign and a freelance UI developer @freecritter. We setup a penpot instance for relay.tools and practiced using that instead of closed-source figma. We learned that penpot is not as friendly as figma from a designers point of view, but is workable. From the perspective of a frontend engineer it is no different than figma and using penpot is a big opensource win.

The following designs were implemented this quarter. There is still much to do in this area and some aspects have been brainstormed but put on hold due to other priorities.

Relay branding and directory

I wanted to give the relays personality and branding, here is a list of improvements in this area:

• [x] The home page now prominently displays the public relays that have chosen to advertise.
• [x] Relay 'Badges' were re-designed to have better contrast and fit.

• [x] Relays have a custom direct landing page at their domain. eg. frogathon.nostr1.com

### 'Paid relay' support

Relays now support lightning payments to the relay.tools operator. This helps with combating spam and allowing the relay owners to subsidize their monthly cost.

Layout / theme

The frontend code has been modified so that it is responsive on mobile/desktop using columns. The menu was re-designed to be responsive on mobile and shows user hints for login as well as additional links (explore, FAQ). Theme switcher bugs for light/dark modes have been fixed. (Nextjs bleeding edge workaround was required).

Relay Explorer Alpha

The Relay Explorer Alpha is a mini-client for interacting with a single relay. The following improvements were made:

• [x] Moderation capabilities added: Mods can delete messages, block pubkeys, and delete+block directly from the explorer.
• [x] Image and Link parsing / optional loading.
• [x] Replies implemented.

Example screenshot showing these features:

Installer

Another main focus this quarter was to implement an installer for the relay.tools software so that anyone can easily self-host this on a generic VPS.

The installer will be a simple shell script that asks the user a few questions (like their domain name) and then automatically installs the entire stack.

A new code repository was created for this called relay-tools-images

• [x] Main architecture to match production (systemd and nspawn).
• [x] Common Base OS image builds (Debian).
• [x] Haproxy, Strfry, Relaycreator and Mysql image builds.
• [x] Auto-updating of application code (including database migrations).

This is still in-progress and will be part of next quarter's priorities to finish the first stage. (described in plans for next quarter)

Lightning Node

A decent amount of time was spent managing a Bitcoin+Lightning+LnBits node and building a second node for testing and standby purposes.

I had some node issues this quarter and have been learning, re-building the node, upgrading, and aquiring more inbound liquidity to support relay operations.

Relay Management / daily operations

Relay.tools growth last quarter exceeded expectations and lots of work in the ladder part of this quarter went into daily operations.

It grew so fast that I have paused any advertising so that I have time to implement some important growth related features (as described in the plans for next quarter).

• number of relays currently running: 63
• number of unique admins/mods: 207
• events processed in last 30d: 5,091,724
• gigabytes sent/received in last 30d: 1,651GB / 175GB

Monitoring

Daily operations include checking in on the relay activity to get a feel for what's going on. I've implemented an InfluxDB integration for the strfry plugin, which helps with daily operations and in the future will provide owners, mods, and users with stats showing relay performance and event counts. This greatly improves visibility into the relays and is the backbone of data analysis for the platform.

Events by Kind (7d)

Events by Relay (7d)

Data Explorer View (single relay, kind 3)

Moderation

Daily operations time is also spent ensuring relays meet our TOS. That includes browsing the relays content for anything that does not meet the TOS and performing mitigation when necessary. This can be time consuming. I will be adding super-moderator capability so that others can assist as we grow (as described in the plans for next quarter).

Training / Feedback / Community

I promoted the use of event specific relays for nostr community events. Feedback was very positive and showed that people enjoy having event specific relays even if client support is minimal. * Nostrasia * Frogathon

Plans for next Quarter

Finish the installer - [ ] SSL certificate management with certbot. - [ ] Nostr key generation for API credentials. - [ ] install.sh script for interactive -and- config file based one-shot installation. - [ ] Publish pre-built images and integrate their use with the installer.

Re-Occuring Billing (+ tools for interacting with community of relay runners) - [ ] Implement re-occuring billing using a credits system and lightning payments. - [ ] Implement user notification(s) for billing cycle notifications. - [ ] Implement user feedback / support channel.

Additional visibility and moderation tools - [ ] Implement super-moderator capability for TOS violations. - [ ] Engage with community to help support moderation

@ a95c6243:d345522c

Und plötzlich weißt du:
Es ist Zeit, etwas Neues zu beginnen
und dem Zauber des Anfangs zu vertrauen.
Meister Eckhart

Schwarz, rot, gold leuchtet es im Kopf des Newsletters der deutschen Bundesregierung, der mir freitags ins Postfach flattert. Rot, gelb und grün werden daneben sicher noch lange vielzitierte Farben sein, auch wenn diese nie geleuchtet haben. Die Ampel hat sich gerade selber den Stecker gezogen – und hinterlässt einen wirtschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Trümmerhaufen.

Mit einem bemerkenswerten Timing hat die deutsche Regierungskoalition am Tag des «Comebacks» von Donald Trump in den USA endlich ihr Scheitern besiegelt. Während der eine seinen Sieg bei den Präsidentschaftswahlen feierte, erwachten die anderen jäh aus ihrer Selbsthypnose rund um Harris-Hype und Trump-Panik – mit teils erschreckenden Auswüchsen. Seit Mittwoch werden die Geschicke Deutschlands nun von einer rot-grünen Minderheitsregierung «geleitet» und man steuert auf Neuwahlen zu.

Das Kindergarten-Gehabe um zwei konkurrierende Wirtschaftsgipfel letzte Woche war bereits bezeichnend. In einem Strategiepapier gestand Finanzminister Lindner außerdem den «Absturz Deutschlands» ein und offenbarte, dass die wirtschaftlichen Probleme teilweise von der Ampel-Politik «vorsätzlich herbeigeführt» worden seien.

Lindner und weitere FDP-Minister wurden also vom Bundeskanzler entlassen. Verkehrs- und Digitalminister Wissing trat flugs aus der FDP aus; deshalb darf er nicht nur im Amt bleiben, sondern hat zusätzlich noch das Justizministerium übernommen. Und mit Jörg Kukies habe Scholz «seinen Lieblingsbock zum Obergärtner», sprich: Finanzminister befördert, meint Norbert Häring.

Es gebe keine Vertrauensbasis für die weitere Zusammenarbeit mit der FDP, hatte der Kanzler erklärt, Lindner habe zu oft sein Vertrauen gebrochen. Am 15. Januar 2025 werde er daher im Bundestag die Vertrauensfrage stellen, was ggf. den Weg für vorgezogene Neuwahlen freimachen würde.

Apropos Vertrauen: Über die Hälfte der Bundesbürger glauben, dass sie ihre Meinung nicht frei sagen können. Das ging erst kürzlich aus dem diesjährigen «Freiheitsindex» hervor, einer Studie, die die Wechselwirkung zwischen Berichterstattung der Medien und subjektivem Freiheitsempfinden der Bürger misst. «Beim Vertrauen in Staat und Medien zerreißt es uns gerade», kommentierte dies der Leiter des Schweizer Unternehmens Media Tenor, das die Untersuchung zusammen mit dem Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach durchführt.

«Die absolute Mehrheit hat absolut die Nase voll», titelte die Bild angesichts des «Ampel-Showdowns». Die Mehrheit wolle Neuwahlen und die Grünen sollten zuerst gehen, lasen wir dort.

Dass «Insolvenzminister» Robert Habeck heute seine Kandidatur für das Kanzleramt verkündet hat, kann nur als Teil der politmedialen Realitätsverweigerung verstanden werden. Wer allerdings denke, schlimmer als in Zeiten der Ampel könne es nicht mehr werden, sei reichlich optimistisch, schrieb Uwe Froschauer bei Manova. Und er kenne Friedrich Merz schlecht, der sich schon jetzt rhetorisch auf seine Rolle als oberster Feldherr Deutschlands vorbereite.

Was also tun? Der Schweizer Verein «Losdemokratie» will eine Volksinitiative lancieren, um die Bestimmung von Parlamentsmitgliedern per Los einzuführen. Das Losverfahren sorge für mehr Demokratie, denn als Alternative zum Wahlverfahren garantiere es eine breitere Beteiligung und repräsentativere Parlamente. Ob das ein Weg ist, sei dahingestellt.

In jedem Fall wird es notwendig sein, unsere Bemühungen um Freiheit und Selbstbestimmung zu verstärken. Mehr Unabhängigkeit von staatlichen und zentralen Institutionen – also die Suche nach dezentralen Lösungsansätzen – gehört dabei sicher zu den Möglichkeiten. Das gilt sowohl für jede/n Einzelne/n als auch für Entitäten wie die alternativen Medien.

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Dieser Beitrag ist zuerst auf Transition News erschienen.

@ a95c6243:d345522c

Es ist besser, ein Licht zu entzünden, als auf die Dunkelheit zu schimpfen. Konfuzius

Die Bemühungen um Aufarbeitung der sogenannten Corona-Pandemie, um Aufklärung der Hintergründe, Benennung von Verantwortlichkeiten und das Ziehen von Konsequenzen sind durchaus nicht eingeschlafen. Das Interesse daran ist unter den gegebenen Umständen vielleicht nicht sonderlich groß, aber es ist vorhanden.

Der sächsische Landtag hat gestern die Einsetzung eines Untersuchungsausschusses zur Corona-Politik beschlossen. In einer Sondersitzung erhielt ein entsprechender Antrag der AfD-Fraktion die ausreichende Zustimmung, auch von einigen Abgeordneten des BSW.

In den Niederlanden wird Bill Gates vor Gericht erscheinen müssen. Sieben durch die Covid-«Impfstoffe» geschädigte Personen hatten Klage eingereicht. Sie werfen unter anderem Gates, Pfizer-Chef Bourla und dem niederländischen Staat vor, sie hätten gewusst, dass diese Präparate weder sicher noch wirksam sind.

Mit den mRNA-«Impfstoffen» von Pfizer/BioNTech befasst sich auch ein neues Buch. Darin werden die Erkenntnisse von Ärzten und Wissenschaftlern aus der Analyse interner Dokumente über die klinischen Studien der Covid-Injektion präsentiert. Es handelt sich um jene in den USA freigeklagten Papiere, die die Arzneimittelbehörde (Food and Drug Administration, FDA) 75 Jahre unter Verschluss halten wollte.

Ebenfalls Wissenschaftler und Ärzte, aber auch andere Experten organisieren als Verbundnetzwerk Corona-Solution kostenfreie Online-Konferenzen. Ihr Ziel ist es, «wissenschaftlich, demokratisch und friedlich» über Impfstoffe und Behandlungsprotokolle gegen SARS-CoV-2 aufzuklären und die Diskriminierung von Ungeimpften zu stoppen. Gestern fand eine weitere Konferenz statt. Ihr Thema: «Corona und modRNA: Von Toten, Lebenden und Physik lernen».

Aufgrund des Digital Services Acts (DSA) der Europäischen Union sei das Risiko groß, dass ihre Arbeit als «Fake-News» bezeichnet würde, so das Netzwerk. Staatlich unerwünschte wissenschaftliche Aufklärung müsse sich passende Kanäle zur Veröffentlichung suchen. Ihre Live-Streams seien deshalb zum Beispiel nicht auf YouTube zu finden.

Der vielfältige Einsatz für Aufklärung und Aufarbeitung wird sich nicht stummschalten lassen. Nicht einmal der Zensurmeister der EU, Deutschland, wird so etwas erreichen. Die frisch aktivierten «Trusted Flagger» dürften allerdings künftige Siege beim «Denunzianten-Wettbewerb» im Kontext des DSA zusätzlich absichern.

Wo sind die Grenzen der Meinungsfreiheit? Sicher gibt es sie. Aber die ideologische Gleichstellung von illegalen mit unerwünschten Äußerungen verfolgt offensichtlich eher das Ziel, ein derart elementares demokratisches Grundrecht möglichst weitgehend auszuhebeln. Vorwürfe wie «Hassrede», «Delegitimierung des Staates» oder «Volksverhetzung» werden heute inflationär verwendet, um Systemkritik zu unterbinden. Gegen solche Bestrebungen gilt es, sich zu wehren.

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Dieser Beitrag ist zuerst auf Transition News erschienen.

@ 00000000:0da46cec

The Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) is a collaborative effort launched by Adobe in 2019 in partnership with technology companies and media organizations like Twitter and The New York Times. Its goal is to combat misinformation and ensure that digital content can be trusted. By creating a system for global adoption, CAI aims to provide a standard for traceability and verification of digital content in a secure and accessible manner. This article dives into the technical underpinnings of this initiative, detailing the use of metadata, cryptography, and blockchain. We also reference official repositories and open-source resources available for implementing these technologies.

Content Authenticity Initiative Architecture

The architecture of CAI relies on a set of techniques and tools based on standardized metadata, cryptographic integrity mechanisms, and decentralized solutions to ensure content verifiability throughout its lifecycle. Below is an in-depth look at each core element of this architecture.

1. Generation of Authenticity Metadata

Content creation within CAI begins at the capture stage, whether through a camera or smartphone, where authenticity metadata is generated. This metadata records important details such as the author's information, timestamp, geolocation, and device used for content capture. The data is stored using standardized schemes like XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform), ensuring consistency for later verification. Developers can access the reference source code for XMP via Adobe's GitHub: XMP Toolkit SDK.

The metadata not only describes the creation context but also maintains an immutable history of modifications. Whenever content is edited, the changes are documented, ensuring a complete and traceable history of the content lifecycle.

2. Digital Content Signing

A key component of CAI is the use of digital signatures to certify the authenticity and integrity of the content. Each file (image, video, document) is signed with asymmetric cryptographic algorithms like ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) or RSA, depending on the desired level of security and computational resources.

These digital signatures generate a unique hash for each piece of content, linking it to the creator's private key. If even a single bit of the content is altered, the hash will change, which invalidates the original signature. This mechanism guarantees that unauthorized alterations are easily detected. Reference implementations for these cryptographic methods are available in the OpenSSL repository and the Bouncy Castle library for Java and C#: Bouncy Castle GitHub.

3. Timestamping and Blockchain

To further validate content authenticity, CAI also employs timestamping and, in some implementations, blockchain technology. Timestamping is handled by a Timestamp Authority (TSA), which certifies that the content existed in a particular state at a specific moment in time. TSAs utilize digital signatures to provide a secure record of when the content was created.

Blockchain technology provides an additional layer of transparency and security. By storing the hashes of metadata and digital signatures on a public blockchain (like Ethereum), an immutable, decentralized record is created, allowing any user to verify the content's authenticity. Structures like Merkle trees are commonly used for recording efficiently, ensuring that changes are tracked without bloating the blockchain. Examples of blockchain-based implementations can be explored in the Merkle Tree JavaScript Library and the official Ethereum repository: Ethereum GitHub.

4. Secure Metadata Storage

The metadata generated during content creation is embedded directly within the content file, using steganographic techniques or as readable attachments. This ensures that the metadata remains tied to the content and is resistant to malicious alteration.

To maintain metadata integrity during transfer, Transport Layer Security (TLS) is used, ensuring that content is securely exchanged without interference. Moreover, distributed storage systems such as IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) can be leveraged to provide redundant and long-term availability of metadata. The IPFS implementation is available on GitHub: IPFS GitHub.

Authentic Content Verification

One of CAI's primary goals is to enable anyone to easily verify the origin and edit history of content. To achieve this, open-source verification tools such as "Verify with CAI" have been developed, allowing users to inspect the content and access all associated metadata. These tools are available in the official CAI repository: Content Authenticity Initiative GitHub.

These verification tools leverage hashes and digital signatures embedded in the content, providing an easy way to determine if unauthorized changes have occurred. They also provide links to blockchain records, allowing third-party verification for an added level of security.

Guide for Photographers and Content Creators

The CAI's technology is particularly beneficial for photographers and content creators seeking to protect their work from misuse. Below is a practical guide to utilizing this technology effectively:

1. Compatible Equipment: Use a camera or device that supports the generation of authenticity metadata using XMP standards. Many modern devices and editing tools allow users to embed this metadata during capture.

2. Editing Software: Choose editing software that maintains authenticity metadata. Adobe Photoshop and similar tools now include features that preserve metadata throughout the editing process, ensuring the content remains verifiable.

3. Digital Signing: Use a digital signing tool like OpenSSL or libraries such as Bouncy Castle to digitally sign your files. This is critical for asserting the integrity and authenticity of your content. Tutorials and examples are available in the repositories mentioned.

4. Timestamping: Utilize a Timestamp Authority (TSA) to certify that the content existed at a specific point in time. This adds a temporal validation layer that proves when your content was created and that it hasn’t been altered since.

5. Blockchain Registration: To further reinforce content authenticity, consider recording metadata on a public blockchain. Services and smart contracts are available to help you register data without requiring deep blockchain expertise. Refer to repositories like Ethereum GitHub for guidance.

6. Content Verification: Use Verify with CAI to verify that your content is correctly registered and ensure that all metadata and digital signatures are intact. This tool is open source, allowing anyone to verify the content's authenticity.

7. Publishing Platforms: Share your content on platforms that support CAI standards. Platforms like Behance are starting to integrate these standards, helping distribute content while retaining its verified authenticity.

Technical Challenges and Barriers

CAI implementation faces several technical challenges. The most significant are:

1. Adoption: For CAI to succeed, stakeholders across the digital content ecosystem—camera manufacturers, software platforms, social networks, etc.—must adopt its standards.

2. Privacy Concerns: Providing detailed metadata about authorship may raise privacy issues. To address this, CAI offers options to encrypt sensitive metadata, ensuring it is only accessible when required.

3. Costs: The tools needed for digital signatures, blockchain registration, and timestamping can require significant resources, which may be a barrier for smaller creators or platforms.

4. Sophisticated Threats: While CAI improves digital security, sophisticated actors may still attempt to bypass authenticity checks or falsify metadata. Continuous improvement of cryptographic techniques and verification methods is required to counter these evolving threats.

Conclusion

The Content Authenticity Initiative provides a solid framework for protecting the integrity of digital content. By utilizing metadata standards, digital signatures, blockchain records, and open-source verification tools, CAI aims to establish a global standard for content transparency and authenticity. Despite some technical and logistical challenges, CAI represents a crucial step towards a trustworthy digital ecosystem. Developers and creators can access official repositories to implement these tools and contribute to a safer, more reliable environment for digital media.

References

• Adobe. (n.d.). XMP Toolkit SDK. Retrieved from https://github.com/adobe/XMP-Toolkit-SDK
• OpenSSL. (n.d.). OpenSSL Cryptography and SSL/TLS Toolkit. Retrieved from https://github.com/openssl/openssl
• Bouncy Castle. (n.d.). Bouncy Castle Libraries. Retrieved from https://github.com/bcgit
• Miguel Mota. (n.d.). Merkle Tree JavaScript Library. Retrieved from https://github.com/miguelmota/merkletreejs
• Ethereum Foundation. (n.d.). Ethereum. Retrieved from https://github.com/ethereum
• IPFS. (n.d.). InterPlanetary File System. Retrieved from https://github.com/ipfs
• Content Authenticity Initiative. (n.d.). Verify with CAI. Retrieved from https://github.com/contentauth/

@ 460c25e6:ef85065c

In the early days of Nostr, developers often competed to see who could implement the most NIPs. Although all were optional (except NIP-01), it became a point of pride and vital for the ecosystem's growth. Back then, there were only a few dozen relatively simple NIPs to implement. Fast forward to today, with nearly 100 NIPs, maintaining and implementing everything has become nearly impossible. Yet, the drive among developers to "code all things Nostr" remains as strong as ever.

nostr:nprofile1qqsrhuxx8l9ex335q7he0f09aej04zpazpl0ne2cgukyawd24mayt8gprfmhxue69uhhq7tjv9kkjepwve5kzar2v9nzucm0d5hszxmhwden5te0wfjkccte9emk2um5v4exucn5vvhxxmmd9uq3xamnwvaz7tmhda6zuat50phjummwv5hsx7c9z9 raised the point that everyone, even I, agrees:

nostr:nevent1qqsqqqp2zrs7836tyjlsfe7aj9c4d97zrxxqyayagkdwlcur96t4laspzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0wd68ytnsw43z7q3q80cvv07tjdrrgpa0j7j7tmnyl2yr6yr7l8j4s3evf6u64th6gkwsxpqqqqqqzgcrrrp

But how big is too big? How can we better understand the range of options available for devs out there?

I went out for a hunt in my own brain to figure out how to clarify the situation. I came up with the following 4 categories for Nostr Clients: - Super Clients: These apps merge vastly different domains into a single application, offering basic support for reading, writing, configuration, and data management for each use case within each domains. An example would be an app that combines a Marketplace and Live Streams under one roof.

• Clients: These apps provide comprehensive support for a single domain, handling all its use cases in a single home. They manage the complete set of reading, writing, configuration, and long-term data management within that domain. An example is a marketplace app that helps users manage product catalogs, process orders, collect payments, and handle fulfillment and reports.

• Mini Clients: These apps focus on read and write functionality for a single use case, including configuration management and any actions related to that specific task. For example, a fulfillment app that helps users view orders placed from another client to then pack and ship them.

• Micro Clients: These apps have a single interface and perform one specific action. Viewing and creating a record is handled by separate micro apps. An example is an app that simply scans an order's QR code and marks it as shipped.

Based on my made-up categories described at the end, this is how I would split our most known apps.

Super Clients - amethyst - nostrudel - coracle

Clients - damus - twitter - primal - twitter - snort - twitter - gossip - twitter - lume - twitter - ditto - twitter - rabbit - twitter - freefrom - twitter - nos - twitter - flycat - twitter - straylight - twitter - nostter - twitter - iris - twitter - nostur - twitter - nostrmo - twitter - yana - twitter - openvibe - twitter - freerse - twitter - 0xchat - chats - cornychat - chats - coop - chats - nostrchat - chats - blowater - chats - habla - blogs - yakihonne - blogs - highlighter - blogs - blogstack - blogs - stemstr - music - wavlake - music - fountain - podcasts - zap.stream - live streaming - shopstr - marketplace - plebeian.market - marketplace - flotilla - communities - satellite - communities - zapddit - communities - nostr.kiwi - communities - hivetalk - video calls - flare - long-form videos - nostrnests - audio spaces - wherostr - location - yondar - location - stacker.news - news - flockstr - events - nostrocket - issue tracker - docstr - docs - satshoot - freelance - wikifreedia - wiki - formstr - forms - chesstr - chess - memestr - meme feed - npub.cash - wallet - npub.pro - websites - gitworkshop - dev tools - onosendai - metaverse - degmods - games - turdsoup - prompts

Mini Clients - amber - signer - alby - signer - nos2x - signer - nsec.app - signer - keys.band - signer - nostrame - signer - nokakoi - anon - zap.cooking - recipes - anonostr - anon - getwired - anon - lowent - anon - creatr - exclusive content - lightning.video - exclusive content - zaplinks - slides - listr - lists - zap.store - app store - badges.page - badges - oddbean - news - dtan - torrents - nosta - user pages - pinstr - pinterest - pollerama - polls - swarmstr - trending - nostrapp - apps manager - noogle - search - ostrich.work - job postings - emojito - emoji manager - nostree - links - citrine - local relay - joinstr - coinjoins - heya - crowdfunding - zapplepay - zaps - nosbin - clipboard - shipyard - scheduler - tunestr - live streams - filestr - files - nostrcheck.me - media hosting - sheetstr - spreadsheets - crafters - curriculum vitae

Micro Clients - w3 - url shortener - nosdrive - backups - zaplife - zaps dashboard - zapper.fun - payments - nostrends - trends - zephyr - trends - wavman - music player - nostrrr - relay info - nosdump - relay info - notestack - blogs - nostr.build - media hosting - nostr.watch - relay info - nostr hours - use reports - lazereyes - vision prescriptions - snakestr - games - deletestr - deletion requests - 2048str - games - nostrqr - qr generator - notanostrclient - anon

Super apps will try to do everything, but can't really do most things super well. Regular-sized Clients will try to manage most of a given domain but are likely to centralize users on themselves, an unwanted effect inside of Nostr. If we want Nostr to grow in a decentralized fashion, we have to start betting on and using more Mini and Micro clients.

@ c631e267:c2b78d3e

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum dritten Geburtstag, liebe Denk Bar! Wieso zum dritten? Das war doch 2022 und jetzt sind wir im Jahr 2024, oder? Ja, das ist schon richtig, aber bei Geburtstagen erinnere ich mich immer auch an meinen Vater, und der behauptete oft, der erste sei ja schließlich der Tag der Geburt selber und den müsse man natürlich mitzählen. Wo er recht hat, hat er nunmal recht. Konsequenterweise wird also heute dieser Blog an seinem dritten Geburtstag zwei Jahre alt.

Das ist ein Grund zum Feiern, wie ich finde. Einerseits ganz einfach, weil es dafür gar nicht genug Gründe geben kann. «Das Leben sind zwei Tage», lautet ein gängiger Ausdruck hier in Andalusien. In der Tat könnte es so sein, auch wenn wir uns im Alltag oft genug von der Routine vereinnahmen lassen.

Seit dem Start der Denk Bar vor zwei Jahren ist unglaublich viel passiert. Ebenso wie die zweieinhalb Jahre davor, und all jenes war letztlich auch der Auslöser dafür, dass ich begann, öffentlich zu schreiben. Damals notierte ich:

«Seit einigen Jahren erscheint unser öffentliches Umfeld immer fragwürdiger, widersprüchlicher und manchmal schier unglaublich - jede Menge Anlass für eigene Recherchen und Gedanken, ganz einfach mit einer Portion gesundem Menschenverstand.»

Wir erleben den sogenannten «großen Umbruch», einen globalen Coup, den skrupellose Egoisten clever eingefädelt haben und seit ein paar Jahren knallhart – aber nett verpackt – durchziehen, um buchstäblich alles nach ihrem Gusto umzukrempeln. Die Gelegenheit ist ja angeblich günstig und muss genutzt werden.

Nie hätte ich mir träumen lassen, dass ich so etwas jemals miterleben müsste. Die Bosheit, mit der ganz offensichtlich gegen die eigene Bevölkerung gearbeitet wird, war früher für mich unvorstellbar. Mein (Rest-) Vertrauen in alle möglichen Bereiche wie Politik, Wissenschaft, Justiz, Medien oder Kirche ist praktisch komplett zerstört. Einen «inneren Totalschaden» hatte ich mal für unsere Gesellschaften diagnostiziert.

Was mich vielleicht am meisten erschreckt, ist zum einen das Niveau der Gleichschaltung, das weltweit erreicht werden konnte, und zum anderen die praktisch totale Spaltung der Gesellschaft. Haben wir das tatsächlich mit uns machen lassen?? Unfassbar! Aber das Werkzeug «Angst» ist sehr mächtig und funktioniert bis heute.

Zum Glück passieren auch positive Dinge und neue Perspektiven öffnen sich. Für viele Menschen waren und sind die Entwicklungen der letzten Jahre ein Augenöffner. Sie sehen «Querdenken» als das, was es ist: eine Tugend.

Auch die immer ernsteren Zensurbemühungen sind letztlich nur ein Zeichen der Schwäche, wo Argumente fehlen. Sie werden nicht verhindern, dass wir unsere Meinung äußern, unbequeme Fragen stellen und dass die Wahrheit peu à peu ans Licht kommt. Es gibt immer Mittel und Wege, auch für uns.

---

Danke, dass du diesen Weg mit mir weitergehst!

@ a95c6243:d345522c

Ein Lämmchen löschte an einem Bache seinen Durst. Fern von ihm, aber näher der Quelle, tat ein Wolf das gleiche. Kaum erblickte er das Lämmchen, so schrie er:

"Warum trübst du mir das Wasser, das ich trinken will?"

"Wie wäre das möglich", erwiderte schüchtern das Lämmchen, "ich stehe hier unten und du so weit oben; das Wasser fließt ja von dir zu mir; glaube mir, es kam mir nie in den Sinn, dir etwas Böses zu tun!"

"Ei, sieh doch! Du machst es gerade, wie dein Vater vor sechs Monaten; ich erinnere mich noch sehr wohl, daß auch du dabei warst, aber glücklich entkamst, als ich ihm für sein Schmähen das Fell abzog!"

"Ach, Herr!" flehte das zitternde Lämmchen, "ich bin ja erst vier Wochen alt und kannte meinen Vater gar nicht, so lange ist er schon tot; wie soll ich denn für ihn büßen."

"Du Unverschämter!" so endigt der Wolf mit erheuchelter Wut, indem er die Zähne fletschte. "Tot oder nicht tot, weiß ich doch, daß euer ganzes Geschlecht mich hasset, und dafür muß ich mich rächen."

Ohne weitere Umstände zu machen, zerriß er das Lämmchen und verschlang es.

Das Gewissen regt sich selbst bei dem größten Bösewichte; er sucht doch nach Vorwand, um dasselbe damit bei Begehung seiner Schlechtigkeiten zu beschwichtigen.

Quelle: https://eden.one/fabeln-aesop-das-lamm-und-der-wolf

@ c6f7077f:ad5d48fd

“The more you learn about something, the more you realize you know nothing.” This saying resonates deeply with me. The truth is, no one really has all the big answers. Many in the scientific community seem to pretend they do. Let’s explore this further.

Consider the Most Fundamental Questions

1. The Origin of the Universe
2. The Origin of Life on Earth

The Origin of the Universe

You might think we have a solid answer: the Big Bang. However, this explanation has its limitations, and calling it a “start” can be misleading. In fact, this theory might be entirely wrong. New research challenges the Big Bang theory, and I highly recommend listening to Sir Roger Penrose for a deeper understanding.

The only substantial evidence we have is the universe's expansion. Penrose proposes a different hypothesis: the endless expansion and contraction of the universe. This idea doesn’t contradict our current understanding.

Thus, the evidence for the Big Bang and Penrose’s theory are both radically different, yet neither can be definitively proven over the other. This highlights the limitations of our current understanding.

The Origin of Life on Earth

The origin of life is even more complex. Life requires three essential components: - Proteins for basic functioning - RNA for storing and replicating genes - Lipids (cell walls) to create separation from the environment

Mathematical models suggest that while proteins and lipids have a reasonable probability of forming, the creation of RNA seems nearly impossible through random mutations in a short time frame. The best explanations indicate that we either lack crucial information or that these RNA molecules—and life as a whole—might have come from outside sources. Some scholars even question the entire random mutation model.

The Question of Certainty

If scientists don’t know the answers, why do they pretend they do? In my humble opinion, It seems they do this to distance science from religion and to close the discussion before the wealthiest can fit God into the narrative, Interestingly, I’m not alone in believing they closed the books too early.

Reclaiming Control of Science and Education

The best way to reclaim control of science and education is to learn. If you’re looking for a starting point, I highly recommend: - “A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking for physics - “Sapiens” or “The Selfish Gene” for evolutionary biology

All three are excellent starting points—densely packed with information and covering a wide range of topics in a concise and accessible manner.

@ 76c71aae:3e29cafa

On social media and in the Nostr space in particular, there’s been a lot of debate about the idea of supporting deletion and editing of notes.

Some people think they’re vital features to have, others believe that more honest and healthy social media will come from getting rid of these features. The discussion about these features quickly turns to the feasibility of completely deleting something on a decentralized protocol. We quickly get to the “We can’t really delete anything from the internet, or a decentralized network.” argument. This crowds out how Delete and Edit can mimic elements of offline interactions, how they can be used as social signals.

When it comes to issues of deletion and editing content, what matters more is if the creator can communicate their intentions around their content. Sure, on the internet, with decentralized protocols, there’s no way to be sure something’s deleted. It’s not like taking a piece of paper and burning it. Computers make copies of things all the time, computers don’t like deleting things. In particular, distributed systems tend to use a Kafka architecture with immutable logs, it’s just easier to keep everything around, as deleting and reindexing is hard. Even if the software could be made to delete something, there’s always screenshots, or even pictures of screens. We can’t provably make something disappear.

What we need to do in our software is clearly express intention. A delete is actually a kind of retraction. “I no longer want to associate myself with this content, please stop showing it to people as part of what I’ve published, stop highlighting it, stop sharing it.” Even if a relay or other server keeps a copy, and keeps sharing it, being able to clearly state “hello world, this thing I said, was a mistake, please get rid of it.” Just giving users the chance to say “I deleted this” is a way of showing intention. It’s also a way of signaling that feedback has been heard. Perhaps the post was factually incorrect or perhaps it was mean and the person wants to remove what they said. In an IRL conversation, for either of these scenarios there is some dialogue where the creator of the content is learning something and taking action based on what they’ve learned.

Without delete or edit, there is no option to signal to the rest of the community that you have learned something because of how the content is structured today. On most platforms a reply or response stating one’s learning will be lost often in a deluge of replies on the original post and subsequent posts are often not seen especially when the original goes viral. By providing tools like delete and edit we give people a chance to signal that they have heard the feedback and taken action.

The Nostr Protocol supports delete and expiring notes. It was one of the reasons we switched from secure scuttlebutt to build on Nostr. Our nos.social app offers delete and while we know that not all relays will honor this, we believe it’s important to provide social signaling tools as a means of making the internet more humane.

We believe that the power to learn from each other is more important than the need to police through moral outrage which is how the current platforms and even some Nostr clients work today.

It’s important that we don’t say Nostr doesn’t support delete. Not all apps need to support requesting a delete, some might want to call it a retraction. It is important that users know there is no way to enforce a delete and not all relays may honor their request.

Edit is similar, although not as widely supported as delete. It’s a creator making a clear statement that they’ve created a new version of their content. Maybe it’s a spelling error, or a new version of the content, or maybe they’re changing it altogether. Freedom online means freedom to retract a statement, freedom to update a statement, freedom to edit your own content. By building on these freedoms, we’ll make Nostr a space where people feel empowered and in control of their own media.

@ 0e8c41eb:95ff0faa

Chef's notes

Sprinkle a pinch of salt in a bowl. Sift 275 grams of flour above it. Make a well in the center of the flour and sprinkle the yeast into it. Add 50 grams of butter, 25 grams of sugar, and the egg. Pour in the milk and knead the dough with the mixer or by hand into a smooth dough. If necessary, add a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky. Form the dough into a ball. Let the dough rise covered with cling film at room temperature for 1 hour.

Peel the apples. Cut the apples and apricots into pieces. Cook the fruit with 150 grams of sugar and 50 ml of water in 15 minutes into a thick compote. Let this fruit filling cool.

Knead the dough again briefly and roll it out to a round sheet of about 28-30 cm in diameter, so that it fits well over the baking tin. Press the dough into the tin and press it well into the corners. Let the dough rise again for 10 minutes and cut off the excess edges.

Spread the fruit filling over the dough.

Mix the rest of the flour with the remaining 100 grams of butter and 100 grams of sugar and knead it with your fingers into a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle this crumble mixture over the fruit filling. Bake the tart in the preheated oven at 200°C for about 30 minutes until golden brown.

Variations: Only apple? Make this tart with 1 kilo of apples. High or low? You can also bake the crumble tart in a low tart tin of 30 cm diameter. If the fruit filling is a bit too voluminous, you can make double the crumble mixture and sprinkle it over the larger surface area.

Additional needs: Mixer with dough hooks or food processor Cling film Round baking tin with a diameter of 28-30 cm, greased

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 45 min + 1 hour Rising
• 🍳 Cook time: 30 minutes
• 🍽️ Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 375 grams flour
• 1 packet dried yeast (7 grams)
• 125 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 275 grams sugar
• 1 egg
• 100 ml milk, at room temperature
• 500 grams apples
• 500 grams apricots (fresh or from a can)

Directions

1. Sprinkle a pinch of salt in a bowl. Sift 275 grams of flour above it. Make a well in the center of the flour and sprinkle the yeast into it. Add 50 grams of butter, 25 grams of sugar, and the egg. Pour in the milk and knead the dough with the mixer or by hand into a smooth dough. If necessary, add a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky. Form the dough into a ball. Let the dough rise covered with cling film at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Peel the apples. Cut the apples and apricots into pieces. Cook the fruit with 150 grams of sugar and 50 ml of water in 15 minutes into a thick compote. Let this fruit filling cool.
3. Knead the dough again briefly and roll it out to a round sheet of about 28-30 cm in diameter, so that it fits well over the baking tin. Press the dough into the tin and press it well into the corners. Let the dough rise again for 10 minutes and cut off the excess edges.
4. Spread the fruit filling over the dough.

@ dd664d5e:5633d319

The new Great Library

We have all heard tales of Amazon or other booksellers banning customers from their bookstores or censoring/editing purchased books. The famous Project Gutenberg, and similar organizations, are performing a good work, to help protect many of our precious books from this fate, but it is merely a centralized website and therefore not censorship resistant. Also, it mostly posts books in English or German.

So, we at nostr:npub1s3ht77dq4zqnya8vjun5jp3p44pr794ru36d0ltxu65chljw8xjqd975wz have decided to move Project Gutenberg to Nostr and house it in the most distributed way possible: on relays. Specifically, our new, public Citadel relay for out-of-print books (and other documents), but also on any relay, anywhere.

And, because we are a very humble group, we're naming the effort "Alexandria". And the first book to be printed on Nostr is the Bible because obviously.

Why on relays?

Well, why not on relays? Relays are one of the few widely-distributed databases for documentation in existence. The relay database spans the entire globe and anyone can maintain their own relay on their personal computer or mobile phone.

That means that anyone can house their own books. Which books are their own? Any books they have in their own possession. Any books someone would have to physically pry out of their cold, dead, computer.

Notes are perfect for publishing

Once we begin generating eBooks from notes with an associated header (which will be quite easy to do, so long as they are written in markdown or similar), they will also be readable, downloadable, and storable in ePub format (see Pandoc). And it is, after all, only a matter of time until someone enterprising makes an ePaper Nostr client for calmer reading of notes, and then you can download and read them, without having to bother converting beforehand, which maintains their Nostr-navigation.

The new event kind 30040 allows us to take any sort of note containing any sort of characters and create a type of "note collection" or "book of notes", "journal of notes", "magazine of notes". And it can be nested or embedded in other notes, creating any sort of note-combination and note-hierarchy you can think of, only limited in size by the ability of your computer to processes the relationships.

Save the Zettels

The associated kind 30041 adds the prospect of breaking longer texts or articles up into sections or snippets (called "Zettel" in German). We can then collect or refer to particular bits of a longer text (like a chart, elegant paragraph or definition, data table), directly. Anyone can create such snippets, even of texts they didn't write, as they can add a reference to the original publication in the tags of the new event.

This means we no longer have to "copy-paste" or quote other people's works, we can simply tie them in. If we worry about them being deleted, we can fork them to create our own, digitally-linked version, and then tie that in. This means that source material can be tied to the new material, and you can trace back to the source easily (using Nostr IDs and tags, which are signed identifiers) and see who else is branching out from that source or discussing that source.

It's gonna be HUGE!

We are making a big, beautiful library... and you are going to build it for us. Anyone, anywhere can therefore publish or republish any document they wish, with Nostr, and store it wherever they have a relay, and view it on any client willing to display it.

You will own something and be happy.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Bitcoin transactions explained

A transaction is a piece of data that takes inputs and produces outputs. Forget about the blockchain thing, Bitcoin is actually just a big tree of transactions. The blockchain is just a way to keep transactions ordered.

Imagine you have 10 satoshis. That means you have them in an unspent transaction output (UTXO). You want to spend them, so you create a transaction. The transaction should reference unspent outputs as its inputs. Every transaction has an immutable id, so you use that id plus the index of the output (because transactions can have multiple outputs). Then you specify a script that unlocks that transaction and related signatures, then you specify outputs along with a script that locks these outputs.

As you can see, there's this lock/unlocking thing and there are inputs and outputs. Inputs must be unlocked by fulfilling the conditions specified by the person who created the transaction they're in. And outputs must be locked so anyone wanting to spend those outputs will need to unlock them.

For most of the cases locking and unlocking means specifying a public key whose controller (the person who has the corresponding private key) will be able to spend. Other fancy things are possible too, but we can ignore them for now.

Back to the 10 satoshis you want to spend. Since you've successfully referenced 10 satoshis and unlocked them, now you can specify the outputs (this is all done in a single step). You can specify one output of 10 satoshis, two of 5, one of 3 and one of 7, three of 3 and so on. The sum of outputs can't be more than 10. And if the sum of outputs is less than 10 the difference goes to fees. In the first days of Bitcoin you didn't need any fees, but now you do, otherwise your transaction won't be included in any block.

If you're still interested in transactions maybe you could take a look at this small chapter of that Andreas Antonopoulos book.

If you hate Andreas Antonopoulos because he is a communist shitcoiner or don't want to read more than half a page, go here: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Coin_analogy

@ 81dfd044:f1737ef9

Looking to invest in solar energy for your business? Aurora Energy offers high-quality commercial solar panels for sale, built to meet the energy needs of businesses both large and small. Our solar panels provide reliable, renewable energy that reduces operating costs and minimizes environmental impact. Let us help you choose the perfect system to power your business with clean energy and long-term financial benefits.

@ deab79da:88579e68

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 30 min
• 🍳 Cook time: 20-30 min
• 🍽️ Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb cod fillets
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup white flour
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper to taste
• 1 small onion
• 1 carrot
• 3 celery stalks
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup shredded old cheddar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Place cod in a greased baking dish.
2. Make the white sauce in a heavy saucepan. Melt the butter over medium heat and stir in the flour until smooth. Remove from heat and slowly stir in half of the milk, then return to heat and beat until smooth and shiny.
3. Gradually add the remaining milk, followed by salt, pepper, and your vegetables. Cook until sauce is smooth & thickened.
4. Pour sauce over the fish, and sprinkle breadcrumbs and cheese over the top.
5. Bake, uncovered for 20-30 minutes until sauce bubbles and the cheese begins to brown. Let rest 10 minutes after cooking completes.

@ 266815e0:6cd408a5

NOTE: this is just a quick technical guide. sorry for the lack of details

Install NodeJS

Download it from the official website https://nodejs.org/en/download

Or use nvm https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm?tab=readme-ov-file#install--update-script

bash wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash nvm install 20

Clone example config.yml

bash wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hzrd149/blossom-server/master/config.example.yml -O config.yml

Modify config.yml

```bash nano config.yml

or if your that type of person

vim config.yml ```

Run blossom-server

```bash npx blossom-server-ts

or install it locally and run using npm

npm install blossom-server-ts ./node_modules/.bin/blossom-server-ts ```

Now you can open http://localhost:3000 and see your blossom server

And if you set the dashboard.enabled option in the config.yml you can open http://localhost:3000/admin to see the admin dashboard

@ f977c464:32fcbe00

3724

Dürbününü yazı masasının çekmecesine koydu. O adamın bakışlarında bir şey vardı, tüylerini ürperten bir aşinalık.

Sağ tarafa kavislenen toprak yol, şehir merkezindeki idam platformuna doğru uzanırdı. On, on beş adım aralıkla, telefon ve radyo tellerini taşıyan, aynı zamanda geceleri yağ fenerlerinin asıldığı direkleri geçerdiniz. At arabalarının kaldırdığı toz ve yaydığı koku gözlerinizi yaşartırdı.

Ve darağacının önüne geldiğinizde, arkanızda bıraktığınız direklerin ne kadar güçsüz, acınası olduğu, öncesinde defalarca fark etmediyseniz bile, tam o anda, yüreğinize otururdu. Platformun üstünden gökyüzünü tehdit eden, ölüme mahkûm edilenleri kınayan gövdesi ve aniden yere eğdiği, acıyla çarpılmış boynuyla kaba tahtadan bir ucube!

Oysaki geçip geldiğiniz direklerin aksine, yanınızda uzanan, çoğunluğu iki katlı evler de tahtadan yapılmıştı ve çatıların, yağmur oluklarının, kapı çerçevelerinin, pencere kapaklarının üstündeki doğa tasviri süslemeleriyle öyle kibarlardı ki...

Dikkat etmemiş olacaksınız ama aralarında, soğuk elleriyle sizi yere bastıran, tasvirlerin yerini görkemli hayvanların -kartalların, aslanların, köpeklerin- aldığı taş evler sıralanırdı. Darağacının bedeni diğer evlerdense, ruhu kesinlikle bunlardan geliyordu.

Uzaktan kuş sesleri duyuluyordu. Bülbül. Buraya ait olmayan, dalgınlığını tamamlayan, kafese kapatılmış bir ses.

Çalışma masasının üzerine, pencereye doğru abandı. Artık ezberlediği bu hac yolculuğuna ihtiyacı yoktu. Evinden olanları az buçuk seçebiliyordu ve zaten görmeye katlanabileceğini görmüştü.

Adamın boynuna ilmeği çoktan geçirmişlerdi. Otuzlu yaşlarının başında gösteriyordu. Teni güneşten sertleşmişti. Çatlaklar gözlerinin yanından elmacık kemiklerine uzanıyordu. Saçı ve sakalı uzun, mat siyahtı.

Neredeyse kimse izlemiyordu. Sadece tek tük, aralarına mesafe koymuş ilgisiz kişiler...

Radyo her zamanki gibi celladın konuşmasını canlı olarak yayınlıyordu.

“...lece günahlarımızdan arınmış olacağız! Doğaya küfür olan tüm bu ucubeler, düzensizlikler...”

Bir kişiyi kurtarmak için ölen onlarca insan... Attıkları çığlıklar bilinçaltının derinliklerinde hafifçe kıvrandı.

İdamların başladığı o gün...

Erken saatlerde ortaya çıkıveren genci tanımıyorlardı. İnsanlara garip sorular sormuş ve kısa süre sonra ortadan kaybolmuştu. Öğlen vakti kucağındaki paketle geri dönmüştü.

“...lumumuz için büyük tehdit teşkil etmektedirler. Şüphesiz bundan birkaç yıl sonra yapacağı hareketleriyle sadece öldüreceği insanların değil, toplumun çökü...”

Darağacını hiç değiştirmediler. Yoksa bu da hafızasındaki bulanıklığın çarpıttığı anılardan mıydı? Hatırlamaya her çalıştığında başı ağrıyordu.

Gence üzülmüş ve apar topar alınan karar karşısında dehşete düşmüştü. Diğerlerinin arasına karışmak, sesini çıkarmak, hiç değilse bunların neden olduğunu öğrenmek istemişti.

“...esin iyiliğini gözetmek zorundayız. Bunu yapabilecek gücümüzün kalmış olduğu için şükretmeliyiz. Omzumuzdaki bu gö...”

Vazgeçmişti. Korkmuştu. Ellerini titreten ilkel dürtüden değil, uzun zamandır üzerinde çalıştığı romanının bittiğini görememe ihtimalinden. “Ertesi gün,” demişti, “ertesi gün orada olacağım.”

Odanın büyük bölümünü işgal eden radyoyu kapattı. İnsan boyu ve genişliğinde, üzerindeki kontrol düğmeleri dışında cilalı ahşaptandı. Güzel olsa da pili hızlı tükeniyordu. Yenisini alması gerekecekti.

Banyoya gitti. Evin her yerinde az eşya bulundurmayı severdi: içi temiz su dolu kova, küvet olarak kullandığı büyük varil ve ayna.

Şehirdeki diğerleri gibi hafif esmer tenli, kahverengiye çalan koyu saçlı ve gözlüydü. Onların aksine gözlerinin içinde hâlâ heyecan ateşi yanıyordu. Saçları bile daha canlıydı sanki. Ve ne kısa ne uzun ne yakışıklı ne çirkin... Olması gereken neyse o. Yüzünü yıkadı, gülümseyip çalışma odasına geri döndü.

Yeniden kâğıtlarının karşısına geçi. Romanını nihayet bitiriyordu. Son cümlelerini yazdı.

Her şeye geç kalmasına değmişti.

9386

Dürbününü pencerenin iç denizliğine, yaslandığı yerin kenarına bıraktı. O adamın bakışlarında açıklayamadığı bir şey vardı. Tüylerini ürperten bir aşinalık.

Adamın boynuna ilmeği çoktan geçirmişlerdi. Orta yaşlarındaydı. Beyazlaşmaya, griye dönmeye yeni yeni başlamış saçı ve sakalı, rengi atmış kıyafetleriyle oldukça hırpaniydi.

Kimdi o? Tanıyordu sanki..

Mutlaka yakından bakmalıydı.

“...felaketin eşiğinden döndüğümüz günün üzerinden uzun zaman geçmedi. Unutmayın! Unutmanız on...”

Radyoyu kapattı. Pili hızlı bitiyordu. Ne zaman değiştirmişti? Baş ağrısı geri geliyordu.

Merdivenlerden indi. En az dört basamağı gıcırdamıştı. Yenilenmelerinin zamanı geliyordu, temizlenmelerinin de. Parmak kalınlığında toz! Eski ve yeni ayak izleri üst üste binmişti.

Kulaklarındaki ince çınlama, ensesindeki ter... İçinden yükselip göğsünü ittiren, dengesini bozup neredeyse düşercesine aşağıya inmesine neden olan panik...

Holü geçerken diğer odalara kısaca göz attı. Hepsinin durumu aynıydı. Onu asıl şaşırtansa yatak odası oldu. Her gün uyuduğu yatağın, yanındaki bazanın, kirli çamaşır sepetinin ve etejerin üzeri... Nasıl fark etmemişti tüm bunları? Peki elbiselerinin böyle eskidiğini?

Dokunduğu elinde kalıyor veya kapalı kalmışlık kokusu yüzünden midesini bulandırıyordu. Eline geçen paçavraları apar topar giydi. Dokuması incelmiş bol beyaz keten gömleği, rengi griye yaklaşmış pantolonu -önceden? Belki siyah-, her tarafı çatlamış ve dikişleri atmış uzun deri çizmesi.

Neler oluyor neler oluyor neler oluyor neler oluyor...

Sokağa çıktı ve hava soluk borusunu temizlerken gözleri yaşardı. Hayır, kendimi kaptırmış olmalıyım. Kesin zamanın ucunu kaçırdım. Ev dün böyle değildi. Hayır hayır hayır hayır hayır...

Bulanık görüyordu ama hiç değilse burası normaldi.

İdam platformu şehir merkezindeydi. Oraya koştu.

Buranın o eğlenceli, panayır havasından eser kalmamıştı elbette. Kahveye girip çıkanlar, yan sokaktaki pazara gidip gelenler... Kimsenin olup bitenlere ilgisi yoktu. Dükkânların yarısı kapalıydı zaten. İnsanların burada oyalanmak için gittikçe daha az sebebi oluyordu.

“...lediğimiz kurtuluşumuz.”

Cellat, onun tam karşısında durduğunu görünce sustu. Herkes merakla onlara döndü.

Ve işte o anda, darağacındaki adamın bağırmasıyla celladın koşup kolu çekmesi ve zemindeki kapağı açması, infazı tamamlaması bir oldu.

“Koñrul! Onu...”

Çığlıkları ancak onu eve, yatağına taşıdıklarında biraz dindi. Sayıklamaya devam ediyordu: “Romanım romanım romanım romanım..."

Sakinleşmesi için yukarıdan kâğıtlarını ve kalemini getirdiler. Son cümlesini yazdı. Yarını göremeyecekti.

14796

Masanın üzerinde, koyduğu yerde durmayan, yuvarlanan ve düşüp merceği kırılan dürbünü fark etmedi. O adamın bakışlarında açıklayamadığı bir şey vardı. Tüylerini ürperten bir aşinalık.

Ve yine aynı gün, diğerlerinin aynı... İnsanlar bile gün geçtikçe birbirine benziyordu.

Adamın boynuna ilmeği çoktan geçirmişlerdi. Yaşlı sayılırdı veya yaşlanmaya başlıyordu. Saçı ve sakalı beyaz ama gösterdiği yaşa rağmen hâlâ gürdü. Istırap çekmenin, büyük yük taşımanın bezginliği her yerinden hissediliyordu.

“...rine inmemiz gerek. Bu insan müsveddeleri toplumumuz için büyük tehdit...”

Evet... evet. Demek bu adam da kimsenin anlamadığı haltlar yemek üzereydi.

Rahatı kaçanlar olacaktı, belki ölenler.

Adamı gerçekten tanıyor olabilir miydi?

Kendini aşırı zorlamıştı. Radyoyu kapatıp banyoya gitti. Yeni pili ne zaman takmıştı?

Aynada kendine baktı. Geceleri uyuyup uyumadığını bile bilmiyordu. Gözleri iyice yuvalarına kaçmış, etrafı kararırken akları sararmış, zayıf ve soluk, yüzünün üstüne bırakılıp unutulmuş çöplerden farksızdı. Saçlarını düzeltmeye çalıştı, her hareketiyle onlarca saç teli kopunca vazgeçti. Renkleri solmuştu.

Şehirde yiyecek kalmamıştı. Her gün stoklar azalıyordu. Tarlalardaki olgunlaşmamış meyve sebzelere düşmüşlerdi. Tüccarlar niye gelmiyordu ki? Diğer şehirlerde de mi durum kötüydü?

Kafasından aşağı su döküp geri döndü. Kâğıtlarını önüne çekti. Romanını bitirmeliydi, açlıktan ölmeden veya idam edilen sonraki kişi olmadan. Son cümlelerini yazdı:

“Dünya yine ölürken ve her şey baştan başlarken gidebileceği bir yer kalmamıştı. Eski çağların roketlerini düşündü. Gerçekten başka gezegenler var mıydı? O zamanlarda yaşasaydı Güneş’e giderdi! Şimdi hareket etmek için duracaktı. Sonraki güne kadar.”

20251

Dürbününü kapıdan çıkarken tuvalet kovasının içine attı. Yine bir idam. Saçları dökülüyordu. Alnının iki yanı geriye doğru açılmış, sakallarıyla birleşip yekpare olan tellerin arasından kafa derisi seçilebiliyordu.

Ne ilgi çekici... Bıraksalar kendisi ölecekti zaten. Pazara gidip ne bulabileceğine bakmayı tercih ederdi.

İnsanlar ayağını sürüyerek yürüyordu. Celladın konuşması dışında çıt çıkaran yoktu. Ne kuş ötüşü veya köpek havlaması ne çocuk gülüşmeleri... Konuşanları görebiliyordu, duyamıyordu. Fısıltıdan fazlasını çıkaracak istekleri yoktu.

“...hennemin böyleleriyle dolu olduğundan şüphesi olan var mı aranızda? Onları tekrar layık oldukları yere göndereceğiz. Bunun için yardı...”

Evet... evet. “Elma kaça?”

Pazarcı taburesinden kalkıp tezgâha geldi. O da aynıydı. Farklı bedende aynı sefalet. “Hangisi?”

“Fazla ham olmayanlardan.”

“Tanesi 600 lira.”

“Yarım ver. Şundan da...” Lafını tamamlayamadı. Biri bağırıyordu. Genç, on yedisinde bile göstermeyen biri. Yüzü etli, hareketleri canlı, kıyafetleri yeni ancak kendisine büyük gelmiş ve epey hırpalanmıştı. Hele o paltosu... İçi pamukla dolu olmalıydı. Kocamandı.

“Ya idam ne demek abi! Manyak mısınız lan siz? Kaçıncı yüzyıldasınız a...”

Küfrünün ortasında ağzını kapattılar. Koluna girmiş, kahveye geri sokuyorlardı.

Tezgâhtara “Kim bu?” diye sordu.

“Birinin torunuymuş, öyle diyor. Daha önce duyduysam n’olayım. Meczup herhalde,” dedi tezgâhtar.

“İsmi neymiş dedesinin?”

“Hakan mı, Hasan mı, öyle bi’şey.”

“Ekmekten çeyrek dilim, deri parçasını da ver. Çorbalık, değil mi?”

“Evet, çorbalık.”

Hakan... Şu saçma romanını bitirmek için evine döndü. Artık tozlar ayak bileğine geliyordu. Umursamadı. Son cümlelerini yazdı, kâğıt tomarını masanın yanından tertemiz yere bıraktı.

25803

Dürbünüyle ensesini kaşıdı. O adamın gözlerinde küçük cinler vardı. Neşeyle hoplayıp zıpladıklarını ta buradan seçebiliyordu! Ah, tatlılığa bak! Hahaha!Boynundaki ilmekle, gözlerinin içine bakan, hiç korkmayan ama bıkkın, ölümün bile hayatında olup bitenleri değiştirmeyeceğini kabullenmiş bir adamın duruşuna sahipti. Çok yaşlı, kafasında tel tel beyaz saçları, göbeğine uzanan sakallarıyla kurumuş bir ceset. Omuzları çökmek üzereydi, kamburunun ağırlığıyla ipi geriyordu.

Dürümü tekrar gözüne kaldırdı. Dürüm? Hahaha! Evet... evet! Radyoda cellat konuşuyordu.

“...endinizde değişiklik hissederseniz yakınınızdaki güvenlik güçleriyle ileti...”

Ah! Kendisine şöyle baktı. Yok... Aynı ben ya!

Sahneye -Tam bir gösteri! Gösteri!- doğru koşan adamı gördü. Üzerindeki puf puf paltosuyla, orta yaşlarında...

Masanın üzerine fırladı, dizlerinin üstüne çöküp içindeki safrayı pencereden dışarıya kustu. Eliyle ağzını silerken derisinin yapışarak etinden ayrıldığını hissedebiliyor ve o bant sökülürken çıkana benzeyen sesi duyabiliyordu. Cellat konuşmayı bırakmıştı. N’oldu? N’oulduuv?

Yaşlı adamı asmışlardı. Şimdi dik duruyordu, yükü hafiflemişti ama huzurlu olduğunu söyleyemezdiniz.

Diğer adam onları umursamadı, yere eğilip mikrofonun kablosunu tuttu ve ayaklığını devirerek kendisine çekti.

“Tabutun kapağını kaldırdığında yerin altına döne döne ilerleyen o kuyuyu... Tamam... tamam!”

Adamın şakağına inen ilk sopadan çıkan ses odayı doldurdu. Sonrası sessizlik ve ölüm. Ahhh... ahhh...

Hemen bağdaş kurup kaldığı sayfayı buldu. Ne ilham! NE İLHAM!

Son cümlelerini yazıp romanını bitirdi.

34125

Dürbünü öylece dışarıya bırakıverdi. Derisi kemiklerine yapışmış, kaşına kadar her tüyü dökülmüş bir ihtiyarı asıyorlardı. Açıktaki tüm bedeni yaşlılık lekeleriyle doluydu. Bembeyaz sakalı uzun ve temizdi. Dönecek! İpin ucunda! Sağa sola!_Tahta pencereleri kapadı ve -_Ha ha!- fenerin fitilini -Ha ha _ha!- yaktı. Duvardaki gölgeleri beğenmedi ama. Söndürdü. Püf füfüfüf ha ha _ha! Tekrar yaktı. Yine istediği gibi olmasa da iş görürdü.

Radyonun sesini açtı. Evet... Evet açtım! Tiz ve kalın, tanıdık ve yabancı... Burnu kanadı.

“...EN HİÇBİR ŞEYİN SONU YOKTUR! SONU OLAN HİÇBİR ŞEY BİTMİŞ DEĞİLDİR VE BİTEN HİÇBİR ŞEYİN SONU YOKTUR! SONU OLAN HİÇBİR ŞEY...”

Yüzüne döktüğü suyu alttaki tasla toplayıp içtikten sonra -Ha ha _ha! Hazırım, evet hazırım! Romanı bitirelim. Bundan iyisi olamaz! Olamaz! Ha ha!- masasına dönüp kâğıtlarını önüne çekti. Son cümleler ve sonrasında -Özgürüm! Özgürüm!” Radyo yayınına başka, yabancı biri karıştı. Öyle bağırıyordu ki duvarlar titriyordu. Çok yaşlıydı, çok...

“Geldiğimden beri, her gün! Asmayın artık şu adamı! Görmüyor mu...”

Sonra celladın sesi duyuldu. Cılız, uzaktan...

“Bunu da hazırlayın.”

“Evet... evet. Ne olacak, beni de her gün asın a...”

Not: Bu öykü ilk olarak 2019 yılında Esrarengiz Hikâyeler'de yayımlanmıştır.

@ f977c464:32fcbe00

Güneşin kaybolmasının üçüncü günü, saat öğlen on ikiyi yirmi geçiyordu. Trenin kalkmasına yaklaşık iki saat vardı. Hepimiz perondaydık. Valizlerimiz, kolilerimiz, renk renk ve biçimsiz çantalarımızla yan yana dizilmiş, kısa aralıklarla tepemizdeki devasa saati kontrol ediyorduk.

Ama ne kadar dik bakarsak bakalım zaman bir türlü istediğimiz hızla ilerlemiyordu. Herkes birkaç dakika sürmesi gereken alelade bir doğa olayına sıkışıp kalmış, karanlıktan sürünerek çıkmayı deniyordu.

Bekleme salonuna doğru döndüm. Nefesimden çıkan buharın arkasında, kalın taş duvarları ve camlarıyla morg kadar güvenli ve soğuk duruyordu. Cesetleri o yüzden bunun gibi yerlere taşımaya başlamışlardı. Demek insanların bütün iyiliği başkaları onları gördüğü içindi ki gündüzleri gecelerden daha karanlık olduğunda hemen birbirlerinin gırtlağına çökmüş, böğürlerinde delikler açmış, gözlerini oyup kafataslarını parçalamışlardı.

İstasyonun ışığı titrediğinde karanlığın enseme saplandığını hissettim. Eğer şimdi, böyle kalabalık bir yerde elektrik kesilse başımıza ne gelirdi?

İçerideki askerlerden biri bakışlarımı yakalayınca yeniden saate odaklanmış gibi yaptım. Sadece birkaç dakika geçmişti.

“Tarlalarım gitti. Böyle boyum kadar ayçiçeği doluydu. Ah, hepsi ölüp gidiyor. Afitap’ın çiçekleri de gi-”

“Dayı, Allah’ını seversen sus. Hepimizi yakacaksın şimdi.”

Karanlıkta durduğunda, görünmez olmayı istemeye başlıyordun. Kimse seni görmemeli, nefesini bile duymamalıydı. Kimsenin de ayağının altında dolaşmamalıydın; gelip kazayla sana çarpmamalılar, takılıp sendelememeliydiler. Yoksa aslında hedefi sen olmadığın bir öfke gürlemeye başlar, yaşadığın ilk şoku ve acıyı silerek üstünden geçerdi.

İlk konuşan, yaşlıca bir adam, kafasında kasketi, nasırlı ellerine hohluyordu. Gözleri ve burnu kızarmıştı. Güneşin kaybolması onun için kendi başına bir felaket değildi. Hayatına olan pratik yansımalarından korkuyordu olsa olsa. Bir anının kaybolması, bu yüzden çoktan kaybettiği birinin biraz daha eksilmesi. Hayatta kalmasını gerektiren sebepler azalırken, hayatta kalmasını sağlayacak kaynaklarını da kaybediyordu.

Onu susturan delikanlıysa atkısını bütün kafasına sarmış, sakalı ve yüzünün derinliklerine kaçmış gözleri dışında bedeninin bütün parçalarını gizlemeye çalışıyordu. İşte o, güneşin kaybolmasının tam olarak ne anlama geldiğini anlamamış olsa bile, dehşetini olduğu gibi hissedebilenlerdendi.

Güneşin onlardan alındıktan sonra kime verileceğini sormuyorlardı. En başta onlara verildiğinde de hiçbir soru sormamışlardı zaten.

İki saat ne zaman geçer?

Midemin üstünde, sağ tarafıma doğru keskin bir acı hissettim. Karaciğerim. Gözlerimi yumdum. Yanımda biri metal bir nesneyi yere bıraktı. Bir kafesti. İçerisindeki kartalın ıslak kokusu burnuma ulaşmadan önce bile biliyordum bunu.

“Yeniden mi?” diye sordu bana kartal. Kanatları kanlı. Zamanın her bir parçası tüylerinin üstüne çöreklenmişti. Gagası bir şey, tahminen et parçası geveliyor gibi hareket ediyordu. Eski anılar kolay unutulmazmış. Şu anda kafesinin kalın parmaklıklarının ardında olsa da bunun bir aldatmaca olduğunu bir tek ben biliyordum. Her an kanatlarını iki yana uzatıverebilir, hava bu hareketiyle dalgalanarak kafesi esneterek hepimizi içine alacak kadar genişleyebilir, parmaklıklar önce ayaklarımızın altına serilir gibi gözükebilir ama aslında hepimizin üstünde yükselerek tepemize çökebilirdi.

Aşağıya baktım. Tahtalarla zapt edilmiş, hiçbir yere gidemeyen ama her yere uzanan tren rayları. Atlayıp koşsam… Çantam çok ağırdı. Daha birkaç adım atamadan, kartal, suratını bedenime gömerdi.

“Bu sefer farklı,” diye yanıtladım onu. “Yeniden diyemezsin. Tekrarladığım bir şey değil bu. Hatta bir hata yapıyormuşum gibi tonlayamazsın da. Bu sefer, insanların hak etmediğini biliyorum.”

“O zaman daha vahim. Süzme salaksın demektir.”

“İnsanların hak etmemesi, insanlığın hak etmediği anlamına gelmez ki.”

Az önce göz göze geldiğim genççe ama çökük asker hâlâ bana bakıyordu. Bir kartalla konuştuğumu anlamamıştı şüphesiz. Yanımdakilerden biriyle konuştuğumu sanmış olmalıydı. Ama konuştuğum kişiye bakmıyordum ona göre. Çekingence kafamı eğmiştim. Bir kez daha göz göze geldiğimizde içerideki diğer iki askere bir şeyler söyledi, onlar dönüp beni süzerken dışarı çıktı.

Yanımızdaki, az önce konuşan iki adam da şaşkınlıkla bir bana bir kartala bakıyordu.

“Yalnız bu sefer kalbin de kırılacak, Prometheus,” dedi kartal, bana. “Belki son olur. Biliyorsun, bir sürü soruna neden oluyor bu yaptıkların.”

Beni koruyordu sözde. En çok kanıma dokunan buydu. Kasıklarımın üstüne oturmuş, kanlı suratının ardında gözleri parlarken attığı çığlık kulaklarımda titremeye devam ediyordu. Bu tabloda kimsenin kimseyi düşündüğü yoktu. Kartalın, yanımızdaki adamların, artık arkama kadar gelmiş olması gereken askerin, tren raylarının, geçmeyen saatlerin…

Arkamı döndüğümde, asker sahiden oradaydı. Zaten öyle olması gerekiyordu; görmüştüm bunu, biliyordum. Kehanetler… Bir şeyler söylüyordu ama ağzı oynarken sesi çıkmıyordu. Yavaşlamış, kendisini saatin akışına uydurmuştu. Havada donan tükürüğünden anlaşılıyordu, sinirliydi. Korktuğu için olduğunu biliyordum. Her seferinde korkmuşlardı. Beni unutmuş olmaları işlerini kolaylaştırmıyordu. Sadece yeni bir isim vermelerine neden oluyordu. Bu seferkiyle beni lanetleyecekleri kesinleşmişti.

Olması gerekenle olanların farklı olması ne kadar acınasıydı. Olması gerekenlerin doğasının kötücül olmasıysa bir yerde buna dayanıyordu.

“Salaksın,” dedi kartal bana. Zamanı aşan bir çığlık. Hepimizin önüne geçmişti ama kimseyi durduramıyordu.

Sonsuzluğa kaç tane iki saat sıkıştırabilirsiniz?

Ben bir tane bile sıkıştıramadım.

Çantama uzanıyordum. Asker de sırtındaki tüfeğini indiriyordu. Benim acelem yoktu, onunsa eli ayağı birbirine dolaşıyordu. Oysaki her şey tam olması gerektiği anda olacaktı. Kehanet başkasının parmaklarının ucundaydı.

Güneş, bir tüfeğin patlamasıyla yeryüzüne doğdu.

Rayların üzerine serilmiş göğsümün ortasından, bir çantanın içinden.

Not: Bu öykü ilk olarak 2021 yılında Esrarengiz Hikâyeler'de yayımlanmıştır.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Pequenos problemas que o Estado cria para a sociedade e que não são sempre lembrados

- **vale-transporte**: transferir o custo com o transporte do funcionário para um terceiro o estimula a morar longe de onde trabalha, já que morar perto é normalmente mais caro e a economia com transporte é inexistente.
- **atestado médico**: o direito a faltar o trabalho com atestado médico cria a exigência desse atestado para todas as situações, substituindo o livre acordo entre patrão e empregado e sobrecarregando os médicos e postos de saúde com visitas desnecessárias de assalariados resfriados.
- **prisões**: com dinheiro mal-administrado, burocracia e péssima alocação de recursos -- problemas que empresas privadas em competição (ou mesmo sem qualquer competição) saberiam resolver muito melhor -- o Estado fica sem presídios, com os poucos existentes entupidos, muito acima de sua alocação máxima, e com isto, segundo a bizarra corrente de responsabilidades que culpa o juiz que condenou o criminoso por sua morte na cadeia, juízes deixam de condenar à prisão os bandidos, soltando-os na rua.
- **justiça**: entrar com processos é grátis e isto faz proliferar a atividade dos advogados que se dedicam a criar problemas judiciais onde não seria necessário e a entupir os tribunais, impedindo-os de fazer o que mais deveriam fazer.
- **justiça**: como a justiça só obedece às leis e ignora acordos pessoais, escritos ou não, as pessoas não fazem acordos, recorrem sempre à justiça estatal, e entopem-na de assuntos que seriam muito melhor resolvidos entre vizinhos.
- **leis civis**: as leis criadas pelos parlamentares ignoram os costumes da sociedade e são um incentivo a que as pessoas não respeitem nem criem normas sociais -- que seriam maneiras mais rápidas, baratas e satisfatórias de resolver problemas.
- **leis de trãnsito**: quanto mais leis de trânsito, mais serviço de fiscalização são delegados aos policiais, que deixam de combater crimes por isto (afinal de contas, eles não querem de fato arriscar suas vidas combatendo o crime, a fiscalização é uma excelente desculpa para se esquivarem a esta responsabilidade).
- **financiamento educacional**: é uma espécie de subsídio às faculdades privadas que faz com que se criem cursos e mais cursos que são cada vez menos recheados de algum conhecimento ou técnica útil e cada vez mais inúteis.
- **leis de tombamento**: são um incentivo a que o dono de qualquer área ou construção "histórica" destrua todo e qualquer vestígio de história que houver nele antes que as autoridades descubram, o que poderia não acontecer se ele pudesse, por exemplo, usar, mostrar e se beneficiar da história daquele local sem correr o risco de perder, de fato, a sua propriedade.
- **zoneamento urbano**: torna as cidades mais espalhadas, criando uma necessidade gigantesca de carros, ônibus e outros meios de transporte para as pessoas se locomoverem das zonas de moradia para as zonas de trabalho.
- **zoneamento urbano**: faz com que as pessoas percam horas no trânsito todos os dias, o que é, além de um desperdício, um atentado contra a sua saúde, que estaria muito melhor servida numa caminhada diária entre a casa e o trabalho.
- **zoneamento urbano**: torna ruas e as casas menos seguras criando zonas enormes, tanto de residências quanto de indústrias, onde não há movimento de gente alguma.
- **escola obrigatória + currículo escolar nacional**: emburrece todas as crianças.
- **leis contra trabalho infantil**: tira das crianças a oportunidade de aprender ofícios úteis e levar um dinheiro para ajudar a família.
- **licitações**: como não existem os critérios do mercado para decidir qual é o melhor prestador de serviço, criam-se comissões de pessoas que vão decidir coisas. isto incentiva os prestadores de serviço que estão concorrendo na licitação a tentar comprar os membros dessas comissões. isto, fora a corrupção, gera problemas reais: __(i)__ a escolha dos serviços acaba sendo a pior possível, já que a empresa prestadora que vence está claramente mais dedicada a comprar comissões do que a fazer um bom trabalho (este problema afeta tantas áreas, desde a construção de estradas até a qualidade da merenda escolar, que é impossível listar aqui); __(ii)__ o processo corruptor acaba, no longo prazo, eliminando as empresas que prestavam e deixando para competir apenas as corruptas, e a qualidade tende a piorar progressivamente.
- **cartéis**: o Estado em geral cria e depois fica refém de vários grupos de interesse. o caso dos taxistas contra o Uber é o que está na moda hoje (e o que mostra como os Estados se comportam da mesma forma no mundo todo).
- **multas**: quando algum indivíduo ou empresa comete uma fraude financeira, ou causa algum dano material involuntário, as vítimas do caso são as pessoas que sofreram o dano ou perderam dinheiro, mas o Estado tem sempre leis que prevêem multas para os responsáveis. A justiça estatal é sempre muito rígida e rápida na aplicação dessas multas, mas relapsa e vaga no que diz respeito à indenização das vítimas. O que em geral acontece é que o Estado aplica uma enorme multa ao responsável pelo mal, retirando deste os recursos que dispunha para indenizar as vítimas, e se retira do caso, deixando estas desamparadas.
- **desapropriação**: o Estado pode pegar qualquer propriedade de qualquer pessoa mediante uma indenização que é necessariamente inferior ao valor da propriedade para o seu presente dono (caso contrário ele a teria vendido voluntariamente).
- **seguro-desemprego**: se há, por exemplo, um prazo mínimo de 1 ano para o sujeito ter direito a receber seguro-desemprego, isto o incentiva a planejar ficar apenas 1 ano em cada emprego (ano este que será sucedido por um período de desemprego remunerado), matando todas as possibilidades de aprendizado ou aquisição de experiência naquela empresa específica ou ascensão hierárquica.
- **previdência**: a previdência social tem todos os defeitos de cálculo do mundo, e não importa muito ela ser uma forma horrível de poupar dinheiro, porque ela tem garantias bizarras de longevidade fornecidas pelo Estado, além de ser compulsória. Isso serve para criar no imaginário geral a idéia da __aposentadoria__, uma época mágica em que todos os dias serão finais de semana. A idéia da aposentadoria influencia o sujeito a não se preocupar em ter um emprego que faça sentido, mas sim em ter um trabalho qualquer, que o permita se aposentar.
- **regulamentação impossível**: milhares de coisas são proibidas, há regulamentações sobre os aspectos mais mínimos de cada empreendimento ou construção ou espaço. se todas essas regulamentações fossem exigidas não haveria condições de produção e todos morreriam. portanto, elas não são exigidas. porém, o Estado, ou um agente individual imbuído do poder estatal pode, se desejar, exigi-las todas de um cidadão inimigo seu. qualquer pessoa pode viver a vida inteira sem cumprir nem 10% das regulamentações estatais, mas viverá também todo esse tempo com medo de se tornar um alvo de sua exigência, num estado de terror psicológico.
- **perversão de critérios**: para muitas coisas sobre as quais a sociedade normalmente chegaria a um valor ou comportamento "razoável" espontaneamente, o Estado dita regras. estas regras muitas vezes não são obrigatórias, são mais "sugestões" ou limites, como o salário mínimo, ou as 44 horas semanais de trabalho. a sociedade, porém, passa a usar esses valores como se fossem o normal. são raras, por exemplo, as ofertas de emprego que fogem à regra das 44h semanais.
- **inflação**: subir os preços é difícil e constrangedor para as empresas, pedir aumento de salário é difícil e constrangedor para o funcionário. a inflação força as pessoas a fazer isso, mas o aumento não é automático, como alguns economistas podem pensar (enquanto alguns outros ficam muito satisfeitos de que esse processo seja demorado e difícil).
- **inflação**: a inflação destrói a capacidade das pessoas de julgar preços entre concorrentes usando a própria memória.
- **inflação**: a inflação destrói os cálculos de lucro/prejuízo das empresas e prejudica enormemente as decisões empresariais que seriam baseadas neles.
- **inflação**: a inflação redistribui a riqueza dos mais pobres e mais afastados do sistema financeiro para os mais ricos, os bancos e as megaempresas.
- **inflação**: a inflação estimula o endividamento e o consumismo.
- **lixo:** ao prover coleta e armazenamento de lixo "grátis para todos" o Estado incentiva a criação de lixo. se tivessem que pagar para que recolhessem o seu lixo, as pessoas (e conseqüentemente as empresas) se empenhariam mais em produzir coisas usando menos plástico, menos embalagens, menos sacolas.
- **leis contra crimes financeiros:** ao criar legislação para dificultar acesso ao sistema financeiro por parte de criminosos a dificuldade e os custos para acesso a esse mesmo sistema pelas pessoas de bem cresce absurdamente, levando a um percentual enorme de gente incapaz de usá-lo, para detrimento de todos -- e no final das contas os grandes criminosos ainda conseguem burlar tudo.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

IPFS problems: Community

I was an avid IPFS user until yesterday. Many many times I asked simple questions for which I couldn't find an answer on the internet in the #ipfs IRC channel on Freenode. Most of the times I didn't get an answer, and even when I got it was rarely by someone who knew IPFS deeply. I've had issues go unanswered on js-ipfs repositories for year – one of these was raising awareness of a problem that then got fixed some months later by a complete rewrite, I closed my own issue after realizing that by myself some couple of months later, I don't think the people responsible for the rewrite were ever acknowledge that he had fixed my issue.

Some days ago I asked some questions about how the IPFS protocol worked internally, sincerely trying to understand the inefficiencies in finding and fetching content over IPFS. I pointed it would be a good idea to have a drawing showing that so people would understand the difficulties (which I didn't) and wouldn't be pissed off by the slowness. I was told to read the whitepaper. I had already the whitepaper, but read again the relevant parts. The whitepaper doesn't explain anything about the DHT and how IPFS finds content. I said that in the room, was told to read again.

Before anyone misread this section, I want to say I understand it's a pain to keep answering people on IRC if you're busy developing stuff of interplanetary importance, and that I'm not paying anyone nor I have the right to be answered. On the other hand, if you're developing a super-important protocol, financed by many millions of dollars and a lot of people are hitting their heads against your software and there's no one to help them; you're always busy but never delivers anything that brings joy to your users, something is very wrong. I sincerely don't know what IPFS developers are working on, I wouldn't doubt they're working on important things if they said that, but what I see – and what many other users see (take a look at the IPFS Discourse forum) is bugs, bugs all over the place, confusing UX, and almost no help.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Castas hindus em nova chave

Shudras buscam o máximo bem para os seus próprios corpos; vaishyas o máximo bem para a sua própria vida terrena e a da sua família; kshatriyas o máximo bem para a sociedade e este mundo terreno; brâmanes buscam o máximo bem.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Thoughts on Nostr key management

On Why I don't like NIP-26 as a solution for key management I talked about multiple techniques that could be used to tackle the problem of key management on Nostr.

Here are some ideas that work in tandem:

• NIP-41 (stateless key invalidation)
• NIP-46 (Nostr Connect)
• NIP-07 (signer browser extension)
• Connected hardware signing devices
• other things like musig or frostr keys used in conjunction with a semi-trusted server; or other kinds of trusted software, like a dedicated signer on a mobile device that can sign on behalf of other apps; or even a separate protocol that some people decide to use as the source of truth for their keys, and some clients might decide to use that automatically
• there are probably many other ideas

Some premises I have in my mind (that may be flawed) that base my thoughts on these matters (and cause me to not worry too much) are that

• For the vast majority of people, Nostr keys aren't a target as valuable as Bitcoin keys, so they will probably be ok even without any solution;
• Even when you lose everything, identity can be recovered -- slowly and painfully, but still --, unlike money;
• Nostr is not trying to replace all other forms of online communication (even though when I think about this I can't imagine one thing that wouldn't be nice to replace with Nostr) or of offline communication, so there will always be ways.
• For the vast majority of people, losing keys and starting fresh isn't a big deal. It is a big deal when you have followers and an online persona and your life depends on that, but how many people are like that? In the real world I see people deleting social media accounts all the time and creating new ones, people losing their phone numbers or other accounts associated with their phone numbers, and not caring very much -- they just find a way to notify friends and family and move on.

We can probably come up with some specs to ease the "manual" recovery process, like social attestation and explicit signaling -- i.e., Alice, Bob and Carol are friends; Alice loses her key; Bob sends a new Nostr event kind to the network saying what is Alice's new key; depending on how much Carol trusts Bob, she can automatically start following that and remove the old key -- or something like that.

---

One nice thing about some of these proposals, like NIP-41, or the social-recovery method, or the external-source-of-truth-method, is that they don't have to be implemented in any client, they can live in standalone single-purpose microapps that users open or visit only every now and then, and these can then automatically update their follow lists with the latest news from keys that have changed according to multiple methods.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

IPFS problems: Shitcoinery

IPFS was advertised to the Ethereum community since the beggining as a way to "store" data for their "dApps". I don't think this is harmful in any way, but for some reason it may have led IPFS developers to focus too much on Ethereum stuff. Once I watched a talk showing libp2p developers – despite being ignored by the Ethereum team (that ended up creating their own agnostic p2p library) – dedicating an enourmous amount of work on getting a libp2p app running in the browser talking to a normal Ethereum node.

The always somewhat-abandoned "Awesome IPFS" site is a big repository of "dApps", some of which don't even have their landing page up anymore, useless Ethereum smart contracts that for some reason use IPFS to store whatever the useless data their users produce.

Again, per se it isn't a problem that Ethereum people are using IPFS, but it is at least confusing, maybe misleading, that when you search for IPFS most of the use-cases are actually Ethereum useless-cases.

See also

• Bitcoin, the only non-shitcoin

@ 00000000:0da46cec

Resumen

La Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) es una colaboración global iniciada por Adobe en 2019, junto con empresas tecnológicas y medios de comunicación, cuyo objetivo es combatir la desinformación digital mediante la creación de un sistema de autenticidad para contenidos digitales. Este artículo analiza en detalle los aspectos tecnológicos avanzados de la CAI, como el uso de metadatos, criptografía, blockchain y la verificación distribuida, además de incluir una guía para fotógrafos y creadores de contenido. Se ofrecen referencias a repositorios de código abierto para implementar estas tecnologías, proporcionando una base técnica robusta para proteger la autenticidad del contenido digital.

Palabras clave: Content Authenticity Initiative, CAI, autenticidad del contenido, metadatos, criptografía, blockchain, integridad digital, firma digital, sellado de tiempo.

---

La Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), traducida al español como Iniciativa de Autenticidad del Contenido, es un esfuerzo colaborativo iniciado por Adobe en 2019 en conjunto con empresas tecnológicas y medios de comunicación como Twitter y The New York Times. Su principal objetivo es combatir la desinformación digital mediante la creación de un sistema de autenticidad de contenidos que pueda ser adoptado globalmente, proporcionando trazabilidad y verificación de los contenidos digitales de una manera confiable y accesible. Este artículo detalla los aspectos tecnológicos más avanzados de esta iniciativa, que incluye el uso de metadatos, criptografía y blockchain. Además, se hace referencia a algunos de los repositorios oficiales y recursos de código fuente disponibles para implementar estas tecnologías.

Arquitectura de la Content Authenticity Initiative

La arquitectura de la CAI está compuesta por un conjunto de técnicas y herramientas basadas en metadatos estandarizados, mecanismos de integridad criptográfica, y soluciones descentralizadas para asegurar la verificabilidad del contenido en cada etapa de su ciclo de vida. A continuación se describe en detalle cada uno de los elementos clave de esta arquitectura.

1. Generación de Metadatos de Autenticidad

El proceso de generación de contenido dentro de la CAI comienza en el dispositivo de captura, como una cámara o un smartphone, donde se crean los metadatos de autenticidad. Estos metadatos incluyen información relevante sobre el autor del contenido, la fecha y hora de captura, la geolocalización y el dispositivo utilizado. Estos elementos se guardan utilizando esquemas estandarizados como XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform), que asegura una estructura coherente y legible para las aplicaciones de verificación posteriores. El código fuente de referencia para la implementación de XMP está disponible en el repositorio oficial de Adobe en GitHub: XMP Toolkit SDK.

Los metadatos de autenticidad no solo proporcionan datos sobre la creación, sino que también mantienen un registro inmutable de modificaciones del archivo. Cada vez que se realiza una edición, se documenta el cambio mediante un proceso de versionado, asegurando la trazabilidad completa de cualquier alteración.

2. Firma Criptográfica del Contenido

El siguiente nivel de protección que ofrece la CAI es el uso de firmas digitales para garantizar la autenticidad e integridad del contenido. Cada archivo multimedia (imagen, video, documento) se firma utilizando algoritmos de criptografía asimétrica como ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) o RSA, dependiendo del nivel de seguridad requerido y la capacidad de cálculo del dispositivo.

Estas firmas digitales generan un hash único para el contenido y lo vinculan con la clave privada del creador. Si el contenido es modificado de alguna manera, incluso un cambio de un solo bit, el hash cambiará, invalidando la firma digital original. De esta forma, cualquier alteración que no esté registrada y autorizada se puede detectar fácilmente, proporcionando garantía de que el archivo no ha sido comprometido desde su creación. Implementaciones de referencia para la generación y verificación de firmas digitales están disponibles en el repositorio OpenSSL y en la biblioteca Bouncy Castle para Java y C#: Bouncy Castle GitHub.

3. Sellado de Tiempo y Blockchain

Para reforzar la veracidad del contenido, la CAI también puede emplear sellado de tiempo (timestamping) y, en algunas implementaciones, blockchain para descentralizar y proteger el registro de autenticidad. El sellado de tiempo se realiza mediante una autoridad de sellado (“Timestamp Authority” o TSA), que certifica que el contenido existía en un estado particular a una fecha y hora específica. Las TSA utilizan firmas digitales para proporcionar un valor criptográficamente seguro que confirma la temporalidad del contenido.

La incorporación de blockchain aporta un nivel adicional de transparencia. Al registrar hashes de los metadatos y las firmas de autenticidad en una blockchain pública (como Ethereum o cualquier blockchain dedicada), se crea un registro inmutable y descentralizado que permite a cualquier usuario verificar la autenticidad del contenido. La estructura basada en árboles Merkle se usa comúnmente para optimizar el proceso de registro, asegurando que cada cambio en el contenido se documente con eficiencia y sin necesidad de almacenar grandes volúmenes de datos en la blockchain. Los desarrolladores pueden explorar ejemplos de implementación en el repositorio Merkle Tree JavaScript Library y consultar el repositorio oficial de Ethereum para interacciones con contratos inteligentes: Ethereum GitHub.

4. Almacenamiento Seguro de Metadatos

Los metadatos generados durante el proceso de creación se incrustan en el contenido utilizando técnicas de esteganografía o como datos adjuntos legibles por las herramientas de edición y verificación. Para evitar la eliminación o alteración maliciosa de estos metadatos, se emplean mecanismos de incrustación segura que vinculan los metadatos al contenido de manera criptográfica.

Para garantizar la integridad de los metadatos durante la transferencia, se emplean protocolos TLS (Transport Layer Security), que aseguran que cualquier intercambio de archivos mantenga la confidencialidad y la integridad. Además, se pueden usar sistemas de almacenamiento distribuido como IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) para replicar y almacenar estos metadatos de forma redundante, asegurando su disponibilidad a largo plazo. El código fuente para IPFS está disponible en el repositorio oficial: IPFS GitHub.

Verificación del Contenido Auténtico

Uno de los objetivos fundamentales de la CAI es que cualquier usuario pueda verificar la procedencia y el historial de ediciones de un contenido de manera sencilla y eficiente. Para ello, se han desarrollado herramientas de verificación basadas en código abierto, como “Verify with CAI”, que permiten al espectador analizar el contenido y ver todos los metadatos asociados. Estas herramientas se pueden encontrar en el repositorio oficial de la CAI: Content Authenticity Initiative GitHub.

Estas herramientas usan los hashes incrustados y las firmas digitales para comparar la información disponible y determinar si el contenido ha sido alterado sin autorización. Asimismo, permiten al usuario acceder a los registros de blockchain, si es aplicable, para confirmar la autenticidad desde una fuente independiente y descentralizada.

Guía para Fotógrafos y Creadores de Contenido

La adopción de la tecnología de la Content Authenticity Initiative puede ser extremadamente beneficiosa para los fotógrafos y creadores de contenido que deseen garantizar la autenticidad y proteger su trabajo contra el uso indebido. A continuación se presenta una guía paso a paso sobre cómo utilizar esta tecnología:

1. Equipamiento Compatible: Asegúrate de que utilizas una cámara o dispositivo que soporte la generación de metadatos de autenticidad según los estándares XMP. Muchas cámaras y aplicaciones de edición modernas permiten incluir estos metadatos durante la captura y la edición del contenido.

2. Software de Edición Compatible: Utiliza software de edición que mantenga los metadatos de autenticidad intactos. Adobe Photoshop y otras herramientas de edición avanzadas han comenzado a integrar estas funcionalidades para garantizar que cada cambio quede registrado. Al editar, asegúrate de mantener los registros de metadatos, de modo que se pueda trazar la autenticidad del contenido.

3. Firmado Digital del Contenido: Usa una herramienta de firma digital, como OpenSSL o bibliotecas como Bouncy Castle para generar firmas digitales de tus archivos. Esto proporciona una garantía de autenticidad. Estas herramientas se pueden usar para firmar imágenes y documentos multimedia y protegerlos contra cualquier alteración. Puedes encontrar tutoriales y ejemplos de uso en los repositorios mencionados previamente.

4. Sellado de Tiempo del Contenido: Implementa el sellado de tiempo utilizando una Timestamp Authority (TSA) reconocida. Esto permite certificar que el contenido existía en un estado específico en una fecha y hora determinadas, lo cual es esencial para demostrar la integridad temporal del contenido. Algunas plataformas ofrecen servicios de sellado de tiempo gratuitos o a bajo costo.

5. Uso de Blockchain para Registrar Metadatos: Si deseas una protección adicional y más transparencia, considera registrar los hashes de los metadatos en una blockchain pública. Existen servicios y contratos inteligentes que pueden ayudarte a registrar estos datos sin necesidad de un conocimiento profundo en programación blockchain. Puedes consultar repositorios como Ethereum GitHub para aprender cómo interactuar con contratos inteligentes.

6. Verificación del Contenido: Utiliza herramientas como Verify with CAI para asegurarte de que tus contenidos están adecuadamente registrados y que los metadatos y firmas digitales se mantienen intactos. Estas herramientas son de código abierto y están disponibles en GitHub, lo que permite a cualquier usuario comprobar la integridad y procedencia del contenido.

7. Publicación en Plataformas Compatibles: Publica tu contenido en plataformas que soporten la CAI y mantengan los metadatos intactos. Redes sociales y sitios web como Behance están comenzando a adoptar estos estándares, lo que te permitirá que tu contenido se distribuya con la verificación de autenticidad.

Desafíos Técnicos y Barreras

La implementación de la CAI no está exenta de desafíos. Algunos de los principales son:

1. Adopción Masiva: Para que la CAI sea efectiva, es necesario que todos los actores involucrados en la creación y distribución de contenido adopten sus estándares. Esto incluye a los fabricantes de cámaras, plataformas de edición, redes sociales y sitios web.

2. Privacidad de los Creadores: Al proporcionar información detallada sobre el autor y el origen del contenido, surgen preocupaciones relacionadas con la privacidad. Para mitigar esto, la CAI permite que algunos metadatos se almacenen de forma encriptada, y solo se revelen si es necesario.

3. Costos de Implementación: Las herramientas para firmar digitalmente, registrar en blockchain, y mantener el sellado de tiempo requieren recursos que podrían ser prohibitivos para algunos creadores o plataformas pequeñas.

4. Atacantes Sofisticados: Aunque la CAI mejora significativamente la seguridad, atacantes avanzados podrían intentar falsificar metadatos o burlar los procesos de firma digital. La combinación de técnicas criptográficas y blockchain mitiga este riesgo, pero siempre existirá la necesidad de evolucionar con las amenazas emergentes.

Conclusión

La Content Authenticity Initiative ofrece una arquitectura tecnológica sólida para proteger la autenticidad del contenido digital. A través del uso combinado de metadatos estandarizados, firmas digitales, blockchain y herramientas de verificación, la CAI busca establecer un estándar global para la transparencia y verificabilidad del contenido. Si bien existen desafíos técnicos y logísticos, la CAI representa un paso significativo hacia un ecosistema digital donde la confianza y la autenticidad sean la norma y no la excepción. Los interesados en profundizar más pueden acceder al código fuente disponible en los repositorios oficiales, como se ha indicado a lo largo del artículo, para implementar estas soluciones y contribuir al desarrollo de un entorno digital más seguro y confiable.

Bibliografía

• Adobe. (n.d.). XMP Toolkit SDK. Recuperado de https://github.com/adobe/XMP-Toolkit-SDK
• OpenSSL. (n.d.). OpenSSL Cryptography and SSL/TLS Toolkit. Recuperado de https://github.com/openssl/openssl
• Bouncy Castle. (n.d.). Bouncy Castle Libraries. Recuperado de https://github.com/bcgit
• Miguel Mota. (n.d.). Merkle Tree JavaScript Library. Recuperado de https://github.com/miguelmota/merkletreejs
• Ethereum Foundation. (n.d.). Ethereum. Recuperado de https://github.com/ethereum
• IPFS. (n.d.). InterPlanetary File System. Recuperado de https://github.com/ipfs
• Content Authenticity Initiative. (n.d.). Verify with CAI. Recuperado de https://github.com/contentauth/

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Economics

Just a bunch of somewhat-related notes.

• notes on "Economic Action Beyond the Extent of the Market", Per Bylund
• Mises' interest rate theory
• Profits, not wages, as the originary factor
• Reisman on opportunity cost
• Money Supply Measurement
• Per Bylund's insight
• Maybe a new approach to the Austrian Business Cycle Theory, some disorganized thoughts
• An argument according to which fractional-reserve banking is merely theft and nothing else
• Conjecture and criticism
• Qual é o economista? (piadas)
• UBI calculations
• Donations on the internet

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

Table Of Content

• Understanding Bitcoin Halving and its Significance

• JPMorgan Analysis Reveals Positive Indicators

• Increased Retail Investment: Driving Factors

• Anticipated Impact on Bitcoin Market

• Tips for Retail Investors to Leverage the Opportunity

• Conclusion

• FAQ

In recent years, Bitcoin has become a buzzword in the financial world, captivating both institutional and retail investors. As the cryptocurrency market continues to evolve, experts at JPMorgan have conducted a comprehensive analysis, revealing strong indications of increased retail interest in Bitcoin leading up to the next halving event. This blog post will explore the insights from JPMorgan's analysis and shed light on the potential impact of this anticipated surge in retail interest.

Understanding Bitcoin Halving and its Significance

The concept of Bitcoin halving is pivotal to understanding the potential surge in retail interest. Bitcoin operates on a controlled supply system, with a predetermined issuance rate. Approximately every four years, the number of new Bitcoins generated per block gets halved, reducing the rate at which new Bitcoins enter circulation. This scarcity mechanism has significant implications for the cryptocurrency's value and investor sentiment.

JPMorgan Analysis Reveals Positive Indicators

According to JPMorgan's analysis, there are several positive indicators suggesting a strong influx of retail investors in the period leading up to the next Bitcoin halving. The analysis takes into account various factors such as historical data, market trends, and investor behavior. JPMorgan's experts have identified patterns that align with previous halving events, indicating a potential surge in retail interest in Bitcoin.

Increased Retail Investment: Driving Factors

JPMorgan's analysis highlights key driving factors behind the expected increase in retail investment. One significant factor is the growing awareness and acceptance of Bitcoin among the general public. As more individuals recognize the potential of cryptocurrencies as an investment asset, they are likely to be drawn towards Bitcoin, especially during periods of heightened market activity like halving events.

Moreover, the influence of social media and digital platforms cannot be overlooked. The rise of social media communities, investment forums, and influencers has played a crucial role in amplifying discussions around Bitcoin. These platforms facilitate the spread of information, enabling retail investors to gain insights and make informed investment decisions.

Anticipated Impact on Bitcoin Market

The surge in retail interest preceding the halving event is expected to have a significant impact on the Bitcoin market. As more retail investors enter the market, the demand for Bitcoin is likely to increase, potentially driving up its price. This increased demand could lead to a period of heightened market volatility, offering both opportunities and risks for investors.

JPMorgan's analysis suggests that the impact of retail interest will extend beyond the halving event itself. Historically, Bitcoin has experienced price rallies following halvings, indicating the potential for substantial gains. However, it is important to note that the cryptocurrency market is highly unpredictable, and investors should exercise caution and conduct thorough research before making investment decisions.

Tips for Retail Investors to Leverage the Opportunity

For retail investors considering Bitcoin as an investment, it is essential to approach the market with a strategic mindset. Here are a few tips to help leverage the anticipated surge in retail interest:

1. Educate Yourself: Gain a deep understanding of Bitcoin, its underlying technology, and the factors that influence its price.

2. Diversify Your Portfolio: Consider allocating a portion of your investment portfolio to Bitcoin while maintaining a diverse range of assets.

3. Set Realistic Goals: Define your investment objectives and set realistic expectations, considering the volatility and risks associated with cryptocurrencies.

4. Stay Informed: Stay updated with the latest news, market trends, and regulatory developments that could impact the cryptocurrency market.

5. Seek Professional Advice: Consult with financial advisors or experts who specialize in cryptocurrencies to gain valuable insights and guidance.

Conclusion

JPMorgan's analysis reveals strong indications of increased retail interest in Bitcoin prior to the halving event. Retail investors, driven by factors such as growing awareness and the influence of digital platforms, are likely to play a significant role in shaping the cryptocurrency market. As retail interest surges, it is crucial for investors to approach the market with caution, conduct thorough research, and leverage the opportunities while managing the risks associated with cryptocurrencies.

FAQ

What is Bitcoin halving? Bitcoin halving is an event that occurs approximately every four years, where the number of new Bitcoins generated per block gets halved. It is a mechanism designed to control the supply of Bitcoin and has significant implications for its value and investor sentiment.

Why is there expected strong retail interest in Bitcoin prior to halving? JPMorgan's analysis indicates increased retail interest in Bitcoin before halving due to growing awareness, acceptance, and the influence of social media platforms. Retail investors are drawn towards Bitcoin during periods of heightened market activity like halving events.

What impact does retail interest have on the Bitcoin market? Retail interest can drive up the demand for Bitcoin, potentially impacting its price. The surge in retail interest preceding the halving event could lead to increased market volatility, offering opportunities and risks for investors.

How can retail investors leverage the anticipated surge in retail interest? Retail investors can leverage the opportunity by educating themselves about Bitcoin, diversifying their investment portfolio, setting realistic goals, staying informed about market trends, and seeking professional advice.

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.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

tempreites

My first library to get stars on GitHub, was a very stupid templating library that used just HTML and HTML attributes ("DSL-free"). I was inspired by http://microjs.com/ at the time and ended up not using the library. Probably no one ever did.

• https://github.com/fiatjaf/tempreites

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

nix

Pra instalar o neuron fui forçado a baixar e instalar o nix. Não consegui me lembrar por que não estava usando até hoje aquele maravilhoso sistema de instalar pacotes desde a primeira vez que tentei, anos atrás.

Que sofrimento pra fazer funcionar com o fish, mas até que bem menos sofrimento que da outra vez. Tive que instalar um tal de fish-foreign-environment (usando o próprio nix!, já que a outra opção era o oh-my-fish ou qualquer outra porcaria dessas) e aí usá-lo para aplicar as definições de shell para bash direto no fish.

E aí lembrei também que o /nix/store fica cheio demais, o negócio instala tudo que existe neste mundo a partir do zero. É só para computadores muito ricos, mas vamos ver como vai ser. Estou gostando do neuron (veja, estou usando como diário), então vou ter que deixar o nix aí.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

O Bitcoin como um sistema social humano

Afinal de contas, o que é o Bitcoin? Não vou responder a essa pergunta explicando o que é uma "blockchain" ou coisa que o valha, como todos fazem muito pessimamente. A melhor explicação em português que eu já vi está aqui, mas mesmo assim qualquer explicação jamais será definitiva.

A explicação apenas do protocolo, do que faz um programa bitcoind sendo executado em um computador e como ele se comunica com outros em outros computadores, e os incentivos que estão em jogo para garantir com razoável probabilidade que se chegará a um consenso sobre quem é dono de qual parte de qual transação, apesar de não ser complicada demais, exigirá do iniciante que seja compreendida muitas vezes antes que ele se possa se sentir confortável para dizer que entende um pouco.

E essa parte técnica, apesar de ter sido o insight fundamental que gerou o evento miraculoso chamado Bitcoin, não é a parte mais importante, hoje. Se fosse, várias dessas outras moedas seriam concorrentes do Bitcoin, mas não são, e jamais poderão ser, porque elas não estão nem próximas de ter os outros elementos que compõem o Bitcoin. São eles:

1. A estrutura

O Bitcoin é um sistema composto de partes independentes.

Existem programadores que trabalham no protocolo e aplicações, e dia após dia novos programadores chegam e outros saem, e eles trabalham às vezes em conjunto, às vezes sem que um se dê conta do outro, às vezes por conta própria, às vezes pagos por empresas interessadas.

Existem os usuários que realizam validação completa, isto é, estão rodando algum programa do Bitcoin e contribuindo para a difusão dos blocos, das transações, rejeitando usuários malignos e evitando ataques de mineradores mal-intencionados.

Existem os poupadores, acumuladores ou os proprietários de bitcoins, que conhecem as possibilidades que o mundo reserva para o Bitcoin, esperam o dia em que o padrão-Bitcoin será uma realidade mundial e por isso mesmo atributem aos seus bitcoins valores muito mais altos do que os preços atuais de mercado, agarrando-se a eles.

Especuladores de "criptomoedas" não fazem parte desse sistema, nem tampouco empresas que aceitam pagamento em bitcoins para imediatamente venderem tudo em troca de dinheiro estatal, e menos ainda gente que usa bitcoins e a própria marca Bitcoin para aplicar seus golpes e coisas parecidas.

1. A cultura

Mencionei que há empresas que pagam programadores para trabalharem no código aberto do BitcoinCore ou de outros programas relacionados à rede Bitcoin -- ou mesmo em aplicações não necessariamente ligadas à camada fundamental do protocolo. Nenhuma dessas empresas interessadas, porém, controla o Bitcoin, e isso é o elemento principal da cultura do Bitcoin.

O propósito do Bitcoin sempre foi ser uma rede aberta, sem chefes, sem política envolvida, sem necessidade de pedir autorização para participar. O fato do próprio Satoshi Nakamoto ter voluntariamente desaparecido das discussões foi fundamental para que o Bitcoin não fosse visto como um sistema dependente dele ou que ele fosse entendido como o chefe. Em outras "criptomoedas" nada disso aconteceu. O chefe supremo do Ethereum continua por aí mandando e desmandando e inventando novos elementos para o protocolo que são automaticamente aceitos por toda a comunidade, o mesmo vale para o Zcash, EOS, Ripple, Litecoin e até mesmo para o Bitcoin Cash. Pior ainda: Satoshi Nakamoto saiu sem nenhum dinheiro, nunca mexeu nos milhares de bitcoins que ele gerou nos primeiros blocos -- enquanto os líderes dessas porcarias supramencionadas cobraram uma fortuna pelo direito de uso dos seus primeiros usuários ou estão aí a até hoje receber dividendos.

Tudo isso e mais outras coisas -- a mentalidade anti-estatal e entusiasta de sistemas p2p abertos dos membros mais proeminentes da comunidade, por exemplo -- faz com que um ar de liberdade e suspeito de tentativas de centralização da moeda sejam percebidos e execrados.

1. A história

A noção de que o Bitcoin não pode ser controlado por ninguém passou em 2017 por dois testes e saiu deles muito reforçada: o primeiro foi a divisão entre Bitcoin (BTC) e Bitcoin Cash (BCH), uma obra de engenharia social que teve um sucesso mediano em roubar parte da marca e dos usuários do verdadeiro Bitcoin e depois a tentativa de tomada por completo do Bitcoin promovida por mais ou menos as mesmas partes interessadas chamada SegWit2x, que fracassou por completo, mas não sem antes atrapalhar e difundir mentiras para todos os lados. Esses dois fracassos provaram que o Bitcoin, mesmo sendo uma comunidade desorganizada, sem líderes claros, está imune à captura por grupos interessados, o que é mais um milagre -- ou, como dizem, um ponto de Schelling.

Esse período crucial na história do Bitcoin fez com ficasse claro que hard-forks são essencialmente incompatíveis com a natureza do protocolo, de modo que no futuro não haverá a possibilidade de uma sugestão como a de imprimir mais bitcoins do que o que estava programado sejam levadas a sério (mas, claro, sempre há a possibilidade da cultura toda se perder, as pessoas esquecerem a história e o Bitcoin ser cooptado, eis a importância da auto-educação e da difusão desses princípios).

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

My stupid introduction to Haskell

While I was writing my first small program on Haskell (really simple, but functional webapp) in December 2017 I only knew vaguely what was the style of things, some basic notions about functions, pure functions and so on (I've read about a third of LYAH).

An enourmous amount of questions began to appear in my head while I read tutorials and documentation. Here I present some of the questions and the insights I got that solved them. Technically, they may be wrong, but they helped me advance in the matter, so I'm writing them down while I still can -- If I keep working with Haskell I'll probably get to know more and so my new insights will replace the previous ones, and the new ones won't be useful for total begginers anymore.

---

Here we go:

• Why do modules have odd names?
• modules are the things you import, like Data.Time.Clock or Web.Scotty.
• packages are the things you install, like 'time' or 'scotty'
• packages can contain any number of modules they like
• a module is just a collection of functions
• a package is just a collection of modules
• a package is just name you choose to associate your collection of modules with when you're publishing it to Hackage or whatever
• the module names you choose when you're writing a package can be anything, and these are the names people will have to import when they want to use you functions
  • if you're from Javascript, Python or anything similar, you'll expect to be importing/writing the name of the package directly in your code, but in Haskell you'll actually be writing the name of the module, which may have nothing to do with the name of the package
  • people choose things that make sense, like for aeson instead of import Aeson you'll be doing import Data.Aeson, import Data.Aeson.Types etc. why the Data? because they thought it would be nice. dealing with JSON is a form of dealing with data, so be it.
  • you just have to check the package documentation to see which modules it exposes.
• What is data User = User { name :: Text }?
• a data type definition. means you'll have a function User that will take a Text parameter and output a User record or something like that.
• you can also have Animal = Giraffe { color :: Text } | Human { name :: Text }, so you'll have two functions, Giraffe and Human, each can take a different set of parameters, but they will both yield an Animal.
  • then, in the functions that take an Animal parameter you must typematch to see if the animal is a giraffe or a human.
• What is a monad?
• a monad is a context, an environment.
  • when you're in the context of a monad you can write imperative code.
  • you do that when you use the keyword do.
  • in the context of a monad, all values are prefixed by the monad type,
  • thus, in the IO monad all Text is IO Text and so on.
  • some monads have a relationship with others, so values from that monad can be turned into values from another monad and passed between context easily.
  • for exampĺe, scotty's ActionM and IO. ActionM is just a subtype of IO or something like that.
  • when you write imperative code inside a monad you can do assignments like varname <- func x y
  • in these situations some transformation is done by the <-, I believe it is that the pure value returned by func is being transformed into a monad value. so if func returns Text, now varname is of type IO Text (if we're in the IO monad).
    • so it will not work (and it can be confusing) if you try to concatenate functions like varname <- transform $ func x y, but you can somehow do
    • varname <- func x y
    • othervarname <- transform varname
    • or you can do other fancy things you'll get familiar with later, like varname <- fmap transform $ func x y
    • why? I don't know.
• How do I deal with Maybe, Either or other crazy stuff? "ok, I understand what is a Maybe: it is a value that could be something or nothing. but how do I use that in my program?"
• you don't! you turn it into other thing. for example, you use fromMaybe, a function that takes a default value and that's it. if your Maybe is Just x you get x, if it is Nothing you get the default value.
  • using only that function you can already do whatever there is to be done with Maybes.
  • you can also manipulate the values inside the Maybe, for example:
  • if you have a Maybe Person and Person has a name which is Text, you can apply a function that turns Maybe Person into Maybe Text AND ONLY THEN you apply the default value (which would be something like the "unnamed") and take the name from inside the Maybe.
• basically these things (Maybe, Either, IO also!) are just tags. they tag the value, and you can do things with the values inside them, or you can remove the values.
  • besides the example above with Maybes and the fromMaybe function, you can also remove the values by using case -- for example:
  • case x of
    • Left error -> error
    • Right success -> success
  • case y of
    • Nothing -> "nothing!"
    • Just value -> value
  • (in some cases I believe you can't remove the values, but in these cases you'll also don't need to)
  • for example, for values tagged with the IO, you can't remove the IO and turn these values into pure values, but you don't need that, you can just take the value from the outside world, so it's a IO Text, apply functions that modify that value inside IO, then output the result to the user -- this is enough to make a complete program, any complete program.
• JSON and interfaces (or instances?)
• using Aeson is easy, you just have to implement the ToJSON and FromJSON interfaces.
• "interface" is not the correct name, but I don't care.
• ToJSON, for example, requires a function named toJSON, so you do
  • instance ToJSON YourType where
  • toJSON (YourType your type values) = object [] ... etc.
• I believe lots of things require interface implementation like this and it can be confusing, but once you know the mystery of implementing functions for interfaces everything is solved.
• FromJSON is a little less intuitive at the beggining, and I don't know if I did it correctly, but it is working here. Anyway, if you're trying to do that, I can only tell you to follow the types, copy examples from other places on the internet and don't care about the meaning of symbols.

See also

• Haskell Monoids

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

O caso da Grêmio TV

enquanto vinha se conduzindo pela plataforma superior daquela arena que se pensava totalmente preenchida por adeptos da famosa equipe do Grêmio de Porto Alegre, viu-se, como por obra de algum nigromante - dos muitos que existem e estão a todo momento a fazer más obras e a colocar-se no caminhos dos que procuram, se não fazer o bem acima de todas as coisas, a pelo menos não fazer o mal no curso da realização dos seus interesses -, o discretíssimo jornalista a ser xingado e moído em palavras por uma horda de malandrinos a cinco ou seis passos dele surgida que cantavam e moviam seus braços em movimentos que não se pode classificar senão como bárbaros, e assim cantavam:

Grêmio TV pior que o SBT !

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

A list of things artificial intelligence is not doing

If AI is so good why can't it:

• write good glue code that wraps a documented HTTP API?
• make good translations using available books and respective published translations?
• extract meaningful and relevant numbers from news articles?
• write mathematical models that fit perfectly to available data better than any human?
• play videogames without cheating (i.e. simulating human vision, attention and click speed)?
• turn pure HTML pages into pretty designs by generating CSS
• predict the weather
• calculate building foundations
• determine stock values of companies from publicly available numbers
• smartly and automatically test software to uncover bugs before releases
• predict sports matches from the ball and the players' movement on the screen
• continuously improve niche/local search indexes based on user input and and reaction to results
• control traffic lights
• predict sports matches from news articles, and teams and players' history

This was posted first on Twitter.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

The "Drivechain will replace altcoins" argument

The argument that Drivechain will replace shitcoins is not that people will sell their shitcoins or that the existing shitcoins will instantly vanish. The argument is about a change at the margin that eventually ends up killing the shitcoins or reducing them to their original insignificance.

What does "at the margin" mean? For example, when the price of the coconut drops a little in relation to bananas, does that mean that everybody will stop buying bananas and will buy only coconuts now? No. Does it mean there will be zero increase in the amount of coconuts sold? Also no. What happens is that there is a small number of people who would have preferred to buy coconuts if only they were a little less expensive but end up buying bananas instead. When the price of coconut drops these people buy coconuts and don't buy bananas.

The argument is that the same thing will happen when Drivechain is activated: there are some people today (yes, believe me) that would have preferred to work within the Bitcoin ecosystem but end up working on shitcoins. In a world with Drivechain these people would be working on the Bitcoin ecosystem, for the benefit of Bitcoin and the Bitcoiners.

Why would they prefer Bitcoin? Because Bitcoin has a bigger network-effect. When these people come, they increase Bitocin's network-effect even more, and if they don't go to the shitcoins they reduce the shitcoins' network-effect. Those changes in network-effect contribute to bringing others who were a little further from the margin and the thing compounds until the shitcoins are worthless.

Who are these people at the margin? I don't know, but they certainly exist. I would guess the Stark people are one famous example, but there are many others. In the past, examples included Roger Ver, Zooko Wilcox, Riccardo Spagni and Vitalik Buterin. And before you start screaming that these people are shitcoiners (which they are) imagine how much bigger Bitcoin could have been today if they and their entire communities (yes, I know, of awful people) were using and working for Bitcoin today. Remember that phrase about Bitcoin being for enemies?

But everything that has been invented in the altcoin world is awful, we don't need any of that!

You and me should not be the ones judging what is good and what is not for others, but both you and me and others will benefit if these things can be done in a way that increases Bitcoin network-effect and pays fees to Bitcoin miners.

Also, there is a much stronger point you may have not considered: if you believe all altcoiners are scammers that means we have only seen the things that were invented by scammers, since all honest people that had good ideas decided to not implement them as the only way to do it would be to create a scammy shitcoin. One example is Bitcoin Hivemind.

If it is possible to do these ideas without creating shitcoins we may start to see new things that are actually good.

@ 05fcdfd8:fd31299f

Die Auswirkungen von Störsendern auf Reisen und wie Sie Ihre Privatsphäre und Sicherheit schützen können

In der modernen Gesellschaft ist Reisen zu einem integralen Bestandteil des Lebens der Menschen geworden. Mit zunehmender Reisehäufigkeit sind Informationssicherheit und Privatsphäre jedoch nach und nach zu wichtigen Themen geworden, die den Menschen Sorgen bereiten. An verschiedenen öffentlichen Orten, insbesondere in Flughäfen, Hotels und Touristenattraktionen, kann das Vorhandensein von Signal störsender eine potenzielle Bedrohung für die Sicherheit unserer persönlichen Geräte und Informationen darstellen. Aus diesem Grund ist es wichtig, die Auswirkungen von Störsendern zu verstehen und geeignete Sicherheitsmaßnahmen zu ergreifen.

1. Funktionsprinzip des Störsenders

Ein Störsender, oft auch „Signalstörsender“ genannt, ist ein Gerät, das Signale auf bestimmten Frequenzen aussendet, die die Kommunikation mit anderen drahtlosen Geräten stören oder verhindern können. Diese Geräte werden manchmal verwendet, um illegale drahtlose Kommunikation zu blockieren, beispielsweise in Gefängnissen, aber auch auf Reisen kommt es zu illegalem Einsatz. Hacker könnten beispielsweise Handyblocker verwenden, um die Mobiltelefonsignale von Menschen zu stören, um vertrauliche Informationen abzuhören oder zu stehlen.

2. Die Auswirkungen von Störsendern

1. Auswirkungen auf die Kommunikation: In Bereichen, in denen Störsender verwendet werden, kann es bei Mobiltelefonen und anderen drahtlosen Geräten zu Signalverlusten kommen, wodurch es unmöglich wird, Anrufe entgegenzunehmen oder Nachrichten zu senden. Dies kann im Ernstfall schwerwiegende Folgen haben.

2. Risiken für die Datensicherheit: Hacker können WLAN Jammer nutzen, um Funksignale abzufangen und die persönlichen Daten und Bankkontoinformationen der Benutzer zu stehlen. Wenn ein Gerät keine stabile Verbindung zum Netzwerk herstellen kann, neigen Benutzer dazu, die Sicherheit der Verbindung zu ignorieren, wodurch sich das Risiko eines Angriffs erhöht.

3. Datenschutzverlust: Wenn Benutzer gestört werden, nutzen sie möglicherweise unsichere Netzwerke oder Anwendungen, was das Risiko eines Datenschutzverlusts erhöht. Insbesondere in öffentlichen WLAN-Umgebungen können Hacker Interferenztechnologie nutzen, um Man-in-the-Middle-Angriffe durchzuführen und Benutzeraktivitäten zu überwachen.

3. So schützen Sie Privatsphäre und Sicherheit

1. Verwenden Sie ein virtuelles privates Netzwerk (VPN): Die Verwendung eines VPN verschlüsselt Ihren Internetverkehr und schützt Ihre Privatsphäre, insbesondere bei der Nutzung öffentlicher WLANs. Ein VPN erstellt einen sicheren Tunnel, sodass Ihre Daten während der Übertragung nicht gestohlen werden können.

https://www.jammermfg.com/de/alle-jammer.html

2. Vermeiden Sie Verbindungen zu ungesicherten Netzwerken: Versuchen Sie auf Reisen, Verbindungen zu WLAN-Netzwerken zu vermeiden, die nicht passwortgeschützt oder ungesichert sind. Wenn Sie es unbedingt nutzen müssen, stellen Sie sicher, dass Sie zusätzliche Sicherheitsmaßnahmen wie ein VPN oder mobile Daten ergreifen.

3. Aktualisieren Sie Ihre Geräte und Apps regelmäßig: Stellen Sie sicher, dass Ihr Telefon und Ihre Apps immer auf dem neuesten Stand sind, um Sicherheitslücken zu schließen. Hersteller veröffentlichen regelmäßig Updates, um potenzielle Sicherheitsprobleme zu beheben.

4. Verwenden Sie die Zwei-Faktor-Authentifizierung: Die Aktivierung der Zwei-Faktor-Authentifizierung erhöht die Sicherheit Ihrer Online-Konten. Auch wenn ein Hacker Ihr Passwort erhält, benötigt er noch einen zweiten Verifizierungsschritt, um auf Ihr Konto zuzugreifen.

5. Geben Sie Informationen sorgfältig weiter: Vermeiden Sie es, persönliche Informationen öffentlich preiszugeben, z. B. Kreditkarteninformationen oder private Inhalte in sozialen Medien. Achten Sie auf Ihre Umgebung und vermeiden Sie es, sensible Themen zu besprechen.

6. Verwenden Sie sichere Messaging-Tools: Verwenden Sie bei wichtigen Kommunikationen sichere Messaging-Apps wie Signal oder WhatsApp. Diese Apps bieten eine Ende-zu-Ende-Verschlüsselung, um Ihre Gespräche vor Abhörern zu schützen.

7. Sichern Sie Ihr Gerät: Stellen Sie sicher, dass Sie ein sicheres Passwort für Ihr Gerät festlegen und biometrische Daten (z. B. Fingerabdruck oder Gesichtserkennung) verwenden, um die Sicherheit zu erhöhen und zu verhindern, dass andere auf Ihr Gerät zugreifen, wenn Sie es nicht verwenden.

4. Zusammenfassung

Auf Reisen ist der Schutz Ihrer Privatsphäre und Sicherheit eine wichtige und notwendige Aufgabe. Auch wenn die Existenz von Störsendern und HF Detektor gewisse Auswirkungen auf die Kommunikation hat, können Sie durch die oben genannten Maßnahmen potenzielle Risiken wirksam reduzieren und sicherstellen, dass Ihre Daten nicht durchsickern oder verletzt werden. Während wir die Reise genießen, müssen wir wachsam bleiben und unsere persönlichen Daten und Privatsphäre schützen.

1. https://www.jammermfg.com/de/DE-W04-wlan-kamera-stoersender-fuer-drahtlose-audio-video-rekorder.html
2. https://www.jammermfg.com/de/56W-hochwertige-konferenzraum-handy-und-wlan-stoersender-kaufen.html

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Classless Templates

There are way too many hours being wasted in making themes for blogs. And then comes a new blog framework, it requires new themes. Old themes can't be used because they relied on different ways of rendering the website. Everything is a mess.

Classless was an attempt at solving it. It probably didn't work because I wasn't the best person to make themes and showcase the thing.

Basically everybody would agree on a simple HTML template that could fit blogs and simple websites very easily. Then other people would make pure-CSS themes expecting that template to be in place.

No classes were needed, only a fixed structure of header. main, article etc.

With flexbox and grid CSS was enough to make this happen.

The templates that were available were all ported by me from other templates I saw on the web, and there was a simple one I created for my old website.

• https://github.com/fiatjaf/classless
• https://classless.alhur.es/
• https://classless.alhur.es/themes/

@ 6aa0e5a8:f1677da5

In diesem hochentwickelten technologischen Zeitalter waren Einsamkeit und Isolation des Menschen noch nie so präsent wie heute. Das Aufkommen der love doll hat ein tieferes Nachdenken über Intimität und menschliche Bedürfnisse ausgelöst.

Blickt man auf die lange Geschichte der menschlichen Zivilisation zurück, so war der Wunsch nach Intimität und Liebe schon immer ein Teil der menschlichen Natur. In der heutigen schnelllebigen Gesellschaft entfernen sich die zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen jedoch immer mehr voneinander, und die Veränderungen in den Familienstrukturen haben dazu geführt, dass zu viele Menschen in geistige und körperliche Einsamkeit verfallen. Einigen Daten zufolge befindet sich etwa ein Viertel der Bevölkerung in einem Zustand der dauerhaften Einsamkeit.

Die Einsamkeit lässt die Nachfrage nach sexpuppe als „virtuelle Begleiter“ wachsen. Auch wenn Liebespuppe den Reichtum echter Intimität nicht vollständig wiedergeben können, so können sie doch für diejenigen, denen es lange Zeit an Intimität gefehlt hat, die körperliche und emotionale Leere zumindest bis zu einem gewissen Grad stillen. Auf der einen Seite zeigt dies, dass der Fortschritt von Wissenschaft und Technik uns mehr Wahlmöglichkeiten bietet, auf der anderen Seite spiegelt es aber auch einen Teil des Mangels an menschlicher Natur in der modernen Gesellschaft wider.

Davor können wir nicht die Augen verschließen. Wir sollten darüber nachdenken, was zu der Kälte in den intimen Beziehungen zwischen den Menschen geführt hat. Die Zunahme der Zahl der Singles, der Anstieg der Scheidungsrate, die niedrige Geburtenrate usw. sind allesamt Anzeichen dafür, dass der menschlichen Liebe und Intimität in unserer Gesellschaft nicht genügend Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt wird. Wir müssen darüber nachdenken, wie wir die menschliche Wärme wiederherstellen und die zwischenmenschliche Kommunikation stärken können, damit jeder ein Gefühl der Sicherheit und der Zugehörigkeit bekommt.

Gleichzeitig sollten wir auch darüber nachdenken, welche Art von intimer Beziehung wir anstreben. Ist die rein körperliche oder virtuelle Erfüllung nur eine unangebrachte Nachahmung wahrer Intimität? Der Kern einer intimen Beziehung besteht aus zwei Menschen aus Fleisch und Blut, die sich gegenseitig schätzen, verstehen, tolerieren und Verantwortung füreinander übernehmen. Vergessen wir langsam die guten Eigenschaften der Intimität?

Der Zweck der technologischen Entwicklung besteht darin, der Menschheit besser zu dienen, und nicht darin, sie zu entfremden und zu mechanisieren. real sex doll geben uns die Möglichkeit zum Nachdenken, es geht nicht um eine schwarz-weiße Entscheidung für richtig oder falsch, sondern wir sollten darüber nachdenken, wie wir Wohlwollen, Wärme und Verantwortungsbewusstsein nutzen können, um das humanistische Fundament intimer Beziehungen aufzubauen und die verlorene Temperatur der menschlichen Natur in dieser Ära des Hochgeschwindigkeitsbetriebs zurückzugewinnen.

1. https://mastodon.cloud/@wifesexdoll/113450628523233823
2. https://mytek.clicforum.com/t291856-Das-Zeitalter-der-Sexpuppen-Sublimierung-oder-Untergang-der.htm

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Um algoritmo imbecil da evolução

Suponha que você queira escrever a palavra BANANA partindo de OOOOOO e usando só alterações aleatórias das letras. As alterações se dão por meio da multiplicação da palavra original em várias outras, cada uma com uma mudança diferente.

No primeiro período, surgem BOOOOO e OOOOZO. E então o ambiente decide que todas as palavras que não começam com um B estão eliminadas. Sobra apenas BOOOOO e o algoritmo continua.

É fácil explicar conceber a evolução das espécies acontecendo dessa maneira, se você controlar sempre a parte em que o ambiente decide quem vai sobrar.

Porém, há apenas duas opções:

1. Se o ambiente decidir as coisas de maneira aleatória, a chance de você chegar na palavra correta usando esse método é tão pequena que pode ser considerada nula.
2. Se o ambiente decidir as coisas de maneira pensada, caímos no //design inteligente//.

Acredito que isso seja uma enunciação decente do argumento "no free lunch" aplicado à crítica do darwinismo por William Dembski.

A resposta darwinista consiste em dizer que não existe essa BANANA como objetivo final. Que as palavras podem ir se alterando aleatoriamente, e o que sobrar sobrou, não podemos dizer que um objetivo foi atingido ou deixou de sê-lo. E aí os defensores do design inteligente dirão que o resultado ao qual chegamos não pode ter sido fruto de um processo aleatório. BANANA é qualitativamente diferente de AYZOSO, e aí há várias maneiras de "provar" que sim usando modelos matemáticos e tal.

Fico com a impressão, porém, de que essa coisa só pode ser resolvida como sim ou não mediante uma discussão das premissas, e chega um ponto em que não há mais provas matemáticas possíveis, apenas subjetividade.

Daí eu me lembro da minha humilde solução ao problema do cão que aperta as teclas aleatoriamente de um teclado e escreve as obras completas de Shakespeare: mesmo que ele o faça, nada daquilo terá sentido sem uma inteligência de tipo humano ali para lê-las e perceber que não se trata de uma bagunça, mas sim de um texto com sentido para ele. O milagre se dá não no momento em que o cão tropeça no teclado, mas no momento em que o homem olha para a tela.

Se o algoritmo da evolução chegou à palavra BANANA ou UXJHTR não faz diferença pra ela, mas faz diferença para nós, que temos uma inteligência humana, e estamos observando aquilo. O homem também pensaria que há //algo// por trás daquele evento do cão que digita as obras de Shakespeare, e como seria possível alguém em sã consciência pensar que não?

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

OP_CHECKTEMPLATEVERIFY and the "covenants" drama

There are many ideas for "covenants" (I don't think this concept helps in the specific case of examining proposals, but fine). Some people think "we" (it's not obvious who is included in this group) should somehow examine them and come up with the perfect synthesis.

It is not clear what form this magic gathering of ideas will take and who (or which ideas) will be allowed to speak, but suppose it happens and there is intense research and conversations and people (ideas) really enjoy themselves in the process.

What are we left with at the end? Someone has to actually commit the time and put the effort and come up with a concrete proposal to be implemented on Bitcoin, and whatever the result is it will have trade-offs. Some great features will not make into this proposal, others will make in a worsened form, and some will be contemplated very nicely, there will be some extra costs related to maintenance or code complexity that will have to be taken. Someone, a concreate person, will decide upon these things using their own personal preferences and biases, and many people will not be pleased with their choices.

That has already happened. Jeremy Rubin has already conjured all the covenant ideas in a magic gathering that lasted more than 3 years and came up with a synthesis that has the best trade-offs he could find. CTV is the result of that operation.

---

The fate of CTV in the popular opinion illustrated by the thoughtless responses it has evoked such as "can we do better?" and "we need more review and research and more consideration of other ideas for covenants" is a preview of what would probably happen if these suggestions were followed again and someone spent the next 3 years again considering ideas, talking to other researchers and came up with a new synthesis. Again, that person would be faced with "can we do better?" responses from people that were not happy enough with the choices.

And unless some famous Bitcoin Core or retired Bitcoin Core developers were personally attracted by this synthesis then they would take some time to review and give their blessing to this new synthesis.

To summarize the argument of this article, the actual question in the current CTV drama is that there exists hidden criteria for proposals to be accepted by the general community into Bitcoin, and no one has these criteria clear in their minds. It is not as simple not as straightforward as "do research" nor it is as humanly impossible as "get consensus", it has a much bigger social element into it, but I also do not know what is the exact form of these hidden criteria.

This is said not to blame anyone -- except the ignorant people who are not aware of the existence of these things and just keep repeating completely false and unhelpful advice for Jeremy Rubin and are not self-conscious enough to ever realize what they're doing.

@ 9ff58691:0bf6c134

Курган - один из крупнейших городов Уральского региона, административный центр Курганской области. За последние двадцать лет этот город претерпел значительные изменения, превратившись из серого провинциального центра в современный, динамично развивающийся город. Об изменениях рассказал Олег Фролов – коренной житель города.

• Олег, расскажите, как за последние двадцать лет изменился ваш родной город Курган? Что именно изменилось в городе за это время?

• За эти годы Курган преобразился до неузнаваемости. Когда я был ребенком, город казался мне серым и унылым. Сейчас он стал более современным и привлекательным. Пожалуй, самые заметные изменения произошли в сфере образования и медицины. Многие школы и детские сады были капитально отремонтированы или построены заново. Появились современные учебные классы, оснащенные новейшим оборудованием, включая интерактивные доски, 3D-принтеры и системы искусственного интеллекта для помощи в обучении. Городские больницы и поликлиники были модернизированы, оснащены новейшей диагностической техникой: роботизированные хирургические системы и системы искусственного интеллекта для анализа медицинских данных. Качество и доступность медицинской помощи значительно возросли.

• А как изменилась культурная жизнь города?

• Был отреставрирован и значительно расширен городской драматический театр. Открылись новые концертные залы, музеи и выставочные пространства. Стало проводиться гораздо больше культурных мероприятий. Жителям других регионов выдалась возможность посетить каждое культурное место нашего города с помощью экскурсий дополненной вирутальной реальностью. Курган превратился в настоящий культурный центр региона.

• Как вы оцениваете эти изменения? Довольны ли вы тем, как развивается ваш родной город?

• Я очень рад тем преобразованиям, которые произошли в Кургане за последние годы. Город стал более комфортным и привлекательным для жизни. Конечно, есть еще над чем работать, но в целом я вижу, что Курган уверенно движется вперед, становясь современным и развитым.

• Олег, а есть ли у вас в Кургане любимое место, куда вы любите ходить?

• Безусловно. Мое любимое место - это Центральный парк культуры и отдыха. Это настоящее сердце нашего города. Парк преобразился до неузнаваемости - он стал мобильным, с большим экраном для проведения мероприятий, а голограммы проводят интересные экскурсии. Здесь созданы все удобства для людей с ограниченными возможностями.

• Что вам особенно нравится в этом парке?

• Парк очень красивый и ухоженный. Здесь высажено множество зеленых насаждений - деревьев, кустарников, цветов. Есть уютные аллеи для прогулок, детские площадки, спортивные зоны. Летом работают аттракционы, открыты кафе и летние веранды. Зимой заливают большой каток, который очень популярен среди жителей. Мне очень нравится культурная жизнь парка. Здесь регулярно проводятся различные фестивали, концерты, выставки. Летом часто организуют кинопоказы под открытым небом. Зимой работает резиденция Деда Мороза, куда приходят целыми семьями.

• Похоже, это действительно замечательное место. Спасибо, что поделились своими впечатлениями!

• Да, и правда замечательное. Я очень рад, что за последние годы он преобразился и стал настоящим центром притяжения для жителей города. Приглашаю всех приехать и лично убедиться в этом!

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Per Bylund's insight

The firm doesn't exist because, like Coase said, it is inefficient to operate in a fully open-market and production processes need some bubbles of central planning.

Instead, what happens is that a firm is created because an entrepreneur is doing a new thing (and here I imagine that doing an old thing in a new context also counts as doing a new thing, but I didn't read his book), and for that new thing there is no market, there are no specialized workers offering the services needed, nor other businesses offering the higher-order goods that entrepreneur wants, so he must do all by himself.

So the entrepreneur goes and hires workers and buys materials more generic than he wanted and commands these to build what he wants exactly. It is less efficient than if he could buy the precise services and goods he wanted and combine those to yield the product he envisaged, but it accomplishes the goal.

Later, when that specific market evolves, it's natural that specialized workers and producers of the specific factors begin to appear, and the market gets decentralized.

@ 9ff58691:0bf6c134

За последние 16 лет Курган претерпел значительные инфраструктурные изменения, направленные на повышение качества жизни горожан и развитие города. Ниже представлен обзор основных нововведений:

Новые здания и сооружения: - Построен современный многофункциональный спортивно-развлекательный комплекс "Курганская Арена" с ледовой ареной, бассейном и фитнес-центром. - Открыт новый корпус Курганского государственного университета, оснащенный по последнему слову техники лабораториями и аудиториями. - Возведен крупный торгово-развлекательный центр "Курган Молл" с магазинами, кинотеатром, ресторанами и зонами отдыха. - Построен современный медицинский центр "Курганская клиника", оказывающий широкий спектр высокотехнологичных услуг.

Транспортная инфраструктура: - Открыта новая скоростная автомагистраль, соединяющая центр города с аэропортом и федеральной трассой. - Запущено движение городского скоростного трамвая, связывающего отдаленные районы с центром. - Построены два новых транспортных кольца на основных развязках, значительно улучшившие дорожную ситуацию. - Обновлен автобусный парк, переведенный на экологичные электрические и гибридные модели.

Благоустройство и озеленение: - Реконструирован центральный городской парк с новыми пешеходными зонами, велодорожками и зонами отдыха. - Высажены тысячи новых деревьев и кустарников, создавшие "зеленые легкие" города. - Построены новые общественные пространства - набережная, пешеходные улицы и площади с современным дизайном. - Модернизирована система освещения улиц, переведенная на энергоэффективные светодиодные технологии.

В целом, Курган за последние 16 лет значительно преобразился, став более современным, комфортным и экологичным городом с развитой инфраструктурой. Эти изменения повысили качество жизни горожан и привлекательность Кургана для туристов и инвесторов.

@ 8f2fe968:0fbf4901

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

IPFS problems: Conceit

IPFS is trying to do many things. The IPFS leaders are revolutionaries who think they're smarter than the rest of the entire industry.

The fact that they've first proposed a protocol for peer-to-peer distribution of immutable, content-addressed objects, then later tried to fix that same problem using their own half-baked solution (IPNS) is one example.

Other examples are their odd appeal to decentralization in a very non-specific way, their excessive flirtation with Ethereum and their never-to-be-finished can-never-work-as-advertised Filecoin project.

They could have focused on just making the infrastructure for distribution of objects through hashes (not saying this would actually be a good idea, but it had some potential) over a peer-to-peer network, but in trying to reinvent the entire internet they screwed everything up.

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

In Part 1, we got to see God’s initial promises to Adam, Eve, and all mankind with the proto Gospel:

“He shall bruise you on the head,\ And you shall bruise him on the heel.”(Genesis 3:15)

We saw God’s promises to Abraham:

• To have his name made great.

• To receive the land of Israel.

• To father many nations.

• That “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

We saw God’s reiterated promises to Jacob, Abraham’s grandson.

Now we will look at the partial fulfillment of these promises and new promises made.

The Promised Land (Quick Summary)

Jacob fathered 12 sons. His son Joseph was sold as a slave to Egypt where he became second to the Pharaoh and saved Jacob’s family and the rest of the Middle East from famine. The Israelites then spent around 400 years in Egypt before Moses was called by God to lead the Israelites to the promised land. God performed awe inspiring miracles through Moses to force Pharaoh to release the Israelites who had been made slaves by the Egyptians.

After crossing the desert, the Israelites reached the promised land, but instead of trusting the God who had rescued them with miracles never before seen, they were fearful and refused to obey God and to enter the promised land. God then had them wander 40 more years in the wilderness until the rebellious adults had all died. Then God miraculously aided this band of shepherds to conquer the land of Canaan and inhabit it, partially fulfilling His promise to give them this land.

After approximately 410 years of judges leading the people of Israel and them repeatedly going astray, God gave them the king they requested, Saul. God gave them a tall and handsome, but selfish and unfaithful king to show them the error of their ways. After showing them their error, God gave them a godly king, a man after God’s own heart.

David

When God spoke His promise (covenant) with David, He reiterated the promises given to Abraham and to Jacob, but added:

“When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:12-16) {emphasis mine}

The first part of this promise was fulfilled through David’s son, Solomon. Solomon sat on the throne. Solomon built a temple to worship God. Solomon was not cut off for his sins at the end of his life when he drifted away from God. Even though ten tribes were taken away from Solomon’s son Rehoboam, Rehoboam remained king of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin and therefore his throne remained.

The final promise, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever,” was also partially fulfilled through Jesus at His incarnation and will be fully fulfilled when He returns for His millennial reign.

“I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” Jesus is a descendant of David and His kingdom will be established at the end of the age — a kingdom of believers. “He shall build a house for My name.” Most of the time Israel is referred to as the house of God while the church is referred to as the body of Christ. In the millennial kingdom they will be united into one house, the adopted children which are the gentile church and the natural children which are the Jews who have finally accepted their Messiah. The final kingdom on this earth will be the millennial reign of Jesus (the promised heir of David), and then God will produce a new heaven and a new earth upon which Jesus will reign forever.

Once again, David did not get to experience the complete fulfillment of the promises made to him. It was partially fulfilled in his son, Solomon, but it has taken thousands of years to partially fulfill this promise and we don’t know for sure how long it will be until complete fulfillment.

Jeremiah

By the time of Jeremiah, the nation of Israel was gone and Judah was corrupted beyond recognition. The fulfillment of God’s promises seemed impossible, but God’s promises are faithful and true. God spoke to Jeremiah to remind him, that although Judah and Israel were being punished, ultimately, God would fulfill all His promises. He begins with these tender words:

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,\ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,\ And before you were born I consecrated you;\ I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”\ \ Then I said, “Alas, Lord God!\ Behold, I do not know how to speak,\ Because I am a youth.”\ \ But the Lord said to me,\ “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’\ Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,\ And all that I command you, you shall speak.\ Do not be afraid of them,\ For I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.\ \ Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,\ “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.\ See, I have appointed you this day …” (Jeremiah 1:4-10a)

First God tells Jeremiah that He loves him so much that He formed him in his mother’s womb for a special purpose, to speak His judgement and blessings on Israel. God comforts Jeremiah when Jeremiah fears he is unworthy of the great task God has for him. God promises to be with Jeremiah and to help Jeremiah fulfill His will.

As Christians we are similarly told that God created us for His purpose and His blessing and He will be with us, empowering us for whatever tasks He has called us to do.

God promises that despite Israel’s nonstop rebellion, He will be gracious and “not be angry forever.”

Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,\ ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord;\ ‘I will not look upon you in anger.\ For I am gracious,’ declares the Lord;\ ‘I will not be angry forever.\ Only acknowledge your iniquity,\ That you have transgressed against the Lord your God\ And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree,\ And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the Lord.\ ‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the Lord;\ ‘For I am a master to you,\ And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,\ And I will bring you to Zion.’ (Jeremiah 3:12-14)

God will always fulfill His promises even if that means calling His people home from the ends of the earth where they are scattered “one from a city and two from a family.”

God promises to call both Israel and Judah back to the land promised to them all of the way back in time of God’s promise to Abraham. There is a partial return, after Judah’s 70 year exile in Babylon, leading to a rebuilding of the temple for a second time. We are in the middle of another return to Israel that began when Israel was recreated in 1948 and is continuing today. Despite the fact that the people of Israel are being barraged with rockets, drones, and missiles daily and are at risk of being attacked by suicide bombers and terrorists, God is calling His people home for His big finale.

I believe these continuing verses refer to Jesus’s second coming and the millennial reign of Christ.

“Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,” declares the Lord, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance. (Jeremiah 3:15-18)

This passage isn’t just a call back to the promised land. This is another promise of God. “Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.” After Jesus’s first coming, He made things clear about His plan of redemption for Israel and for the gentiles. He made clear His promise to bless all nations through Himself, a descendant of David, Jacob, and Abraham, to whom the promises were given. He demonstrated how His laws for the Jews pointed them to God’s ultimate plan.

It is actually ironic that the “shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding” are most likely Christian believers who are returned to earth to reign with Christ during the millennial kingdom. Gentile Christians were enabled to have a relationship with God through the Jews and then God will use those gentile Christians to shepherd the Jews back to God, so we can all worship God together.

It won’t be until Jesus’s second coming and His thousand year reign that “they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the Lord.’” It won’t be until Jesus’s second coming and His thousand year reign that they will not “walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart.” God will finally make the full land of Israel a land of peace and prosperity for the Jews, but also to all the nations of the earth.

But at the time of Jeremiah’s prophecy, God is promising punishment and hardship now to teach His people to be faithful and to trust God’s faithfulness.

Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.

“It is an enduring nation,\ It is an ancient nation,\ A nation whose language you do not know,\ Nor can you understand what they say. (Jeremiah 5:15)

Due to Israel and Judah’s rebellion, both nations are taken away by a foreign nation into exile. Jeremiah, in particular, prophecies the 70 year exile of Judah in Babylon and their return to the promised land. God promised Abraham and Jacob (Israel) the land of Israel (previously Canaan) and He always keeps His promise, so He always brings them home in ways that are hard to comprehend.

Relatively near the end of the 70 year exile in Babylon, God had Persia conquer Babylon and then a Persian king, not only allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city, the walls, and the temple, but also he funded the return to Israel and returned the gold, silver, and bonze temple implements. What conquering nation does something like that? It was clearly all God.

God may delay His promises, but He never cancels them.

For this the earth shall mourn\ And the heavens above be dark,\ Because I have spoken, I have purposed,\ And I will not change My mind, \ nor will I turn from it.” (Jeremiah 4:28)

When God makes a promise, it is as good as done.

Trust Jesus.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

nostr - Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays

The simplest open protocol that is able to create a censorship-resistant global "social" network once and for all.

It doesn't rely on any trusted central server, hence it is resilient; it is based on cryptographic keys and signatures, so it is tamperproof; it does not rely on P2P techniques, therefore it works.

Very short summary of how it works, if you don't plan to read anything else:

Everybody runs a client. It can be a native client, a web client, etc. To publish something, you write a post, sign it with your key and send it to multiple relays (servers hosted by someone else, or yourself). To get updates from other people, you ask multiple relays if they know anything about these other people. Anyone can run a relay. A relay is very simple and dumb. It does nothing besides accepting posts from some people and forwarding to others. Relays don't have to be trusted. Signatures are verified on the client side.

This is needed because other solutions are broken:

The problem with Twitter

• Twitter has ads;
• Twitter uses bizarre techniques to keep you addicted;
• Twitter doesn't show an actual historical feed from people you follow;
• Twitter bans people;
• Twitter shadowbans people.
• Twitter has a lot of spam.

The problem with Mastodon and similar programs

• User identities are attached to domain names controlled by third-parties;
• Server owners can ban you, just like Twitter; Server owners can also block other servers;
• Migration between servers is an afterthought and can only be accomplished if servers cooperate. It doesn't work in an adversarial environment (all followers are lost);
• There are no clear incentives to run servers, therefore they tend to be run by enthusiasts and people who want to have their name attached to a cool domain. Then, users are subject to the despotism of a single person, which is often worse than that of a big company like Twitter, and they can't migrate out;
• Since servers tend to be run amateurishly, they are often abandoned after a while — which is effectively the same as banning everybody;
• It doesn't make sense to have a ton of servers if updates from every server will have to be painfully pushed (and saved!) to a ton of other servers. This point is exacerbated by the fact that servers tend to exist in huge numbers, therefore more data has to be passed to more places more often;
• For the specific example of video sharing, ActivityPub enthusiasts realized it would be completely impossible to transmit video from server to server the way text notes are, so they decided to keep the video hosted only from the single instance where it was posted to, which is similar to the Nostr approach.

The problem with SSB (Secure Scuttlebutt)

• It doesn't have many problems. I think it's great. In fact, I was going to use it as a basis for this, but
• its protocol is too complicated because it wasn't thought about being an open protocol at all. It was just written in JavaScript in probably a quick way to solve a specific problem and grew from that, therefore it has weird and unnecessary quirks like signing a JSON string which must strictly follow the rules of ECMA-262 6th Edition;
• It insists on having a chain of updates from a single user, which feels unnecessary to me and something that adds bloat and rigidity to the thing — each server/user needs to store all the chain of posts to be sure the new one is valid. Why? (Maybe they have a good reason);
• It is not as simple as Nostr, as it was primarily made for P2P syncing, with "pubs" being an afterthought;
• Still, it may be worth considering using SSB instead of this custom protocol and just adapting it to the client-relay server model, because reusing a standard is always better than trying to get people in a new one.

The problem with other solutions that require everybody to run their own server

• They require everybody to run their own server;
• Sometimes people can still be censored in these because domain names can be censored.

How does Nostr work?

• There are two components: clients and relays. Each user runs a client. Anyone can run a relay.
• Every user is identified by a public key. Every post is signed. Every client validates these signatures.
• Clients fetch data from relays of their choice and publish data to other relays of their choice. A relay doesn't talk to another relay, only directly to users.
• For example, to "follow" someone a user just instructs their client to query the relays it knows for posts from that public key.
• On startup, a client queries data from all relays it knows for all users it follows (for example, all updates from the last day), then displays that data to the user chronologically.
• A "post" can contain any kind of structured data, but the most used ones are going to find their way into the standard so all clients and relays can handle them seamlessly.

How does it solve the problems the networks above can't?

• Users getting banned and servers being closed
• A relay can block a user from publishing anything there, but that has no effect on them as they can still publish to other relays. Since users are identified by a public key, they don't lose their identities and their follower base when they get banned.
• Instead of requiring users to manually type new relay addresses (although this should also be supported), whenever someone you're following posts a server recommendation, the client should automatically add that to the list of relays it will query.
• If someone is using a relay to publish their data but wants to migrate to another one, they can publish a server recommendation to that previous relay and go;
• If someone gets banned from many relays such that they can't get their server recommendations broadcasted, they may still let some close friends know through other means with which relay they are publishing now. Then, these close friends can publish server recommendations to that new server, and slowly, the old follower base of the banned user will begin finding their posts again from the new relay.

• All of the above is valid too for when a relay ceases its operations.

• Censorship-resistance

• Each user can publish their updates to any number of relays.

• A relay can charge a fee (the negotiation of that fee is outside of the protocol for now) from users to publish there, which ensures censorship-resistance (there will always be some Russian server willing to take your money in exchange for serving your posts).

• Spam

• If spam is a concern for a relay, it can require payment for publication or some other form of authentication, such as an email address or phone, and associate these internally with a pubkey that then gets to publish to that relay — or other anti-spam techniques, like hashcash or captchas. If a relay is being used as a spam vector, it can easily be unlisted by clients, which can continue to fetch updates from other relays.

• Data storage

• For the network to stay healthy, there is no need for hundreds of active relays. In fact, it can work just fine with just a handful, given the fact that new relays can be created and spread through the network easily in case the existing relays start misbehaving. Therefore, the amount of data storage required, in general, is relatively less than Mastodon or similar software.

• Or considering a different outcome: one in which there exist hundreds of niche relays run by amateurs, each relaying updates from a small group of users. The architecture scales just as well: data is sent from users to a single server, and from that server directly to the users who will consume that. It doesn't have to be stored by anyone else. In this situation, it is not a big burden for any single server to process updates from others, and having amateur servers is not a problem.

• Video and other heavy content

• It's easy for a relay to reject large content, or to charge for accepting and hosting large content. When information and incentives are clear, it's easy for the market forces to solve the problem.

• Techniques to trick the user

• Each client can decide how to best show posts to users, so there is always the option of just consuming what you want in the manner you want — from using an AI to decide the order of the updates you'll see to just reading them in chronological order.

FAQ

• This is very simple. Why hasn't anyone done it before?

I don't know, but I imagine it has to do with the fact that people making social networks are either companies wanting to make money or P2P activists who want to make a thing completely without servers. They both fail to see the specific mix of both worlds that Nostr uses.

• How do I find people to follow?

First, you must know them and get their public key somehow, either by asking or by seeing it referenced somewhere. Once you're inside a Nostr social network you'll be able to see them interacting with other people and then you can also start following and interacting with these others.

• How do I find relays? What happens if I'm not connected to the same relays someone else is?

You won't be able to communicate with that person. But there are hints on events that can be used so that your client software (or you, manually) knows how to connect to the other person's relay and interact with them. There are other ideas on how to solve this too in the future but we can't ever promise perfect reachability, no protocol can.

• Can I know how many people are following me?

No, but you can get some estimates if relays cooperate in an extra-protocol way.

• What incentive is there for people to run relays?

The question is misleading. It assumes that relays are free dumb pipes that exist such that people can move data around through them. In this case yes, the incentives would not exist. This in fact could be said of DHT nodes in all other p2p network stacks: what incentive is there for people to run DHT nodes?

• Nostr enables you to move between server relays or use multiple relays but if these relays are just on AWS or Azure what’s the difference?

There are literally thousands of VPS providers scattered all around the globe today, there is not only AWS or Azure. AWS or Azure are exactly the providers used by single centralized service providers that need a lot of scale, and even then not just these two. For smaller relay servers any VPS will do the job very well.

@ 36bedab2:524acad4

1. Power ON

• Quando você liga o computador, ele inicia o processo de boot.
• Esse primeiro passo envia energia aos componentes do sistema e dispara o BIOS (ou firmware UEFI em sistemas mais recentes).

2. BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)

• O BIOS ou UEFI é o firmware inicial que roda logo após o computador ser ligado.
• Ele executa um conjunto de verificações no hardware (chamado POST - Power-On Self-Test) e inicializa os dispositivos básicos necessários para o boot, como o disco rígido, memória RAM e CPU.
• O BIOS então procura o dispositivo de boot (HD, SSD, USB, etc.) e carrega o MBR ou a partição EFI para dar continuidade ao processo de boot.

3. Master Boot Record (MBR) ou EFI Partition

• O MBR (Master Boot Record) ou a partição EFI (em sistemas com UEFI) é onde ficam armazenadas as informações sobre o carregamento do sistema operacional.
• Em sistemas antigos, o MBR continha o boot loader e as tabelas de partição. Nos sistemas modernos com UEFI, a partição EFI cumpre essa função.
• O MBR ou a partição EFI passa o controle para o boot loader, que é responsável por carregar o sistema operacional.

4. Boot Loader (e.g., GRUB)

• O Boot Loader (exemplo: GRUB) é um programa responsável por carregar o sistema operacional no momento do boot.
• Ele permite selecionar qual sistema operacional inicializar (em caso de dual boot) e passa o controle para o kernel do sistema.
• GRUB (Grand Unified Bootloader) é o boot loader mais comum em sistemas Linux.

5. Kernel

• O kernel é o núcleo do sistema operacional Linux.
• Ele é carregado na memória pelo boot loader e começa a configurar os recursos do sistema, como a CPU, a memória e os dispositivos de hardware.
• O kernel é responsável por gerenciar os recursos do sistema e permitir a comunicação entre o hardware e o software.

6. Initial RAM disk - initramfs

• O initramfs é um sistema de arquivos temporário carregado na memória logo após o kernel.
• Ele contém módulos e drivers essenciais para que o sistema possa iniciar corretamente e acessar o sistema de arquivos principal do disco.
• O initramfs é desmontado após o sistema principal estar carregado.

7. /sbin/init (parent process)

• Após o kernel inicializar o sistema, ele chama o processo /sbin/init, que é o primeiro processo a rodar no Linux e é o "pai" de todos os outros processos.
• O init é responsável por iniciar e gerenciar todos os outros processos do sistema.
• Em muitas distribuições modernas, o init foi substituído por outros sistemas de inicialização, como o systemd, que tem mais funcionalidades e permite um gerenciamento mais eficiente de processos.

8. Command Shell using getty

• Getty é o processo que configura e gerencia terminais para o login do usuário.
• Ele exibe a tela de login em sistemas baseados em linha de comando.
• Se o sistema tiver uma interface gráfica, o getty geralmente passa o controle para o gerenciador de login gráfico.

9. Graphical User Interface (X Window ou Wayland)

• Finalmente, o sistema carrega a interface gráfica usando o X Window System (X11) ou o Wayland (um sistema gráfico mais moderno).
• Esse é o ambiente visual onde o usuário pode interagir com o sistema usando janelas, ícones, menus, etc.
• X11 e Wayland são servidores gráficos que gerenciam como as janelas e aplicativos são exibidos e manipulados na tela.

---

Como esses processos se intercalam?

1. Hardware ligado → BIOS/UEFI realiza verificações básicas.
2. BIOS/UEFI encontra o dispositivo de boot e carrega o MBR ou partição EFI.
3. MBR/EFI localiza e executa o boot loader (GRUB).
4. GRUB permite que o usuário escolha o sistema operacional e carrega o kernel do Linux.
5. Kernel inicializa o sistema, configurando os recursos de hardware e carregando o initramfs.
6. Initramfs fornece drivers e módulos necessários para o kernel acessar o sistema de arquivos principal.
7. Kernel chama o processo /sbin/init (ou systemd), que inicia todos os serviços e processos do sistema.
8. Init executa o getty para configurar o terminal de login.
9. Getty chama o ambiente gráfico (X11 ou Wayland) se estiver presente, e o usuário pode então usar o sistema na interface gráfica.

@ bcea2b98:7ccef3c9

@chess a3

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/762161

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Replacing the web with something saner

This is a simplification, but let's say that basically there are just 3 kinds of websites:

1. Websites with content: text, images, videos;
2. Websites that run full apps that do a ton of interactive stuff;
3. Websites with some interactive content that uses JavaScript, or "mini-apps";

In a saner world we would have 3 different ways of serving and using these. 1 would be "the web" (and it was for a while, although I'm not claiming here that the past is always better and wanting to get back to the glorious old days).

1 would stay as "the web", just static sites, styled with CSS, no JavaScript whatsoever, but designers can still thrive and make they look pretty. Or it could also be something like Gemini. Maybe the two protocols could coexist.

2 would be downloadable native apps, much easier to write and maintain for developers (considering that multi-platform and cross-compilation is easy today and getting easier), faster, more polished experience for users, more powerful, integrates better with the computer.

(Remember that since no one would be striving to make the same app run both on browsers and natively no one would have any need for Electron or other inefficient bloated solutions, just pure native UI, like the Telegram app, have you seen that? It's fast.)

But 2 is mostly for apps that people use every day, something like Google Docs, email (although email is also broken technology), Netflix, Twitter, Trello and so on, and all those hundreds of niche SaaS that people pay monthly fees to use, each tailored to a different industry (although most of functions they all implement are the same everywhere). What do we do with dynamic open websites like StackOverflow, for example, where one needs to not only read, but also search and interact in multiple ways? What about that website that asks you a bunch of questions and then discovers the name of the person you're thinking about? What about that mini-app that calculates the hash of your provided content or shrinks your video, or that one that hosts your image without asking any questions?

All these and tons of others would fall into category 3, that of instantly loaded apps that you don't have to install, and yet they run in a sandbox.

The key for making category 3 worth investing time into is coming up with some solid grounds, simple enough that anyone can implement in multiple different ways, but not giving the app too much choices.

Telegram or Discord bots are super powerful platforms that can accomodate most kinds of app in them. They can't beat a native app specifically made with one purpose, but they allow anyone to provide instantly usable apps with very low overhead, and since the experience is so simple, intuitive and fast, users tend to like it and sometimes even pay for their services. There could exist a protocol that brings apps like that to the open world of (I won't say "web") domains and the websockets protocol -- with multiple different clients, each making their own decisions on how to display the content sent by the servers that are powering these apps.

Another idea is that of Alan Kay: to design a nice little OS/virtual machine that can load these apps and run them. Kinda like browsers are today, but providing a more well-thought, native-like experience and framework, but still sandboxed. And I add: abstracting away details about design, content disposition and so on.

---

These 3 kinds of programs could coexist peacefully. 2 are just standalone programs, they can do anything and each will be its own thing. 1 and 3, however, are still similar to browsers of today in the sense that you need clients to interact with servers and show to the user what they are asking. But by simplifying everything and separating the scopes properly these clients would be easy to write, efficient, small, the environment would be open and the internet would be saved.

See also

• On the state of programs and browsers

@ a901cbe4:bd85452f

Bitcoin under $100K? Let's be honest: it’s kind of like waiting for your favorite song to drop at a concert. The crowd's hyped, but you're still waiting for the real action to begin. Sure, $80K is cool — it's solid, it's impressive, but it’s not the headline act. The true show begins when Bitcoin crosses that $100K milestone, and until then, we’re in the “pre-game” phase.

Here's why Bitcoin under $100K is merely the warm-up, and why we’re all just biding our time for what’s coming next.

Bitcoin Under $100K: Just a Pre-Party Vibe

Right now, Bitcoin at $80K feels like that awkward moment at a party when everyone’s gathered in the kitchen, getting their drinks ready, and the music is almost turned up. Sure, you can feel the energy, but everyone’s really waiting for the DJ to hit play on that banger. Bitcoin at $80K is promising, but it’s just a preview of the real excitement that’s about to unfold.

This isn’t the time for victory laps. It’s the time to get ready, to watch and wait, because when Bitcoin hits $100K, that’s when the party really starts. The market will pop, the spotlight will shine brighter, and the world will be watching as Bitcoin climbs to new heights.

The $80K Milestone: A Solid Step, But Not The Destination

Let’s take a moment to appreciate $80K. It’s a big number in the world of crypto, and a milestone in its own right. But let’s not kid ourselves — it’s not the finish line. It’s like running a race, getting to the 80% mark, and looking ahead at the final stretch. You’re feeling good, but the best part is still coming.

Bitcoin’s at $80K and that’s a statement, no doubt. But $100K is the magic number. It’s the one that makes the headlines, the one that makes everyone say, “Okay, Bitcoin’s for real.” $80K is impressive, but it’s not the showstopper. So while the excitement is there, we all know Bitcoin’s best performance is still ahead.

Why $100K Is the Real Milestone We’ve All Been Waiting For

When Bitcoin finally crosses that $100K mark, it’s going to be a global event. It’ll be the moment that people who were skeptical finally start to take notice, the moment when Bitcoin becomes a household name, not just a niche investment. It's like watching a rising star finally step into the spotlight and own the stage.

And here's the thing: When Bitcoin hits $100K, it won’t be a “surprise.” It’s been in the works for years. But it’ll be the moment when everyone truly grasps the scale of what’s happening. The world will finally recognize that Bitcoin isn’t just a speculative asset — it’s a fundamental part of the financial landscape.

Bitcoin’s Resilience: Boring Until It’s Not

What makes $80K so intriguing isn’t just the number itself — it’s that Bitcoin’s still holding strong, despite all the FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) thrown at it. Critics have come and gone, but Bitcoin’s still here, solid as ever. It’s like the underdog story that just refuses to be over.

Bitcoin at $80K is doing its thing, even when people doubt it. It’s showing up every day, proving that it’s built to last. Sure, it may seem like “just another day in the crypto market,” but trust me — Bitcoin’s resilience is what makes this moment significant. It’s not a bubble; it’s an evolution. And that evolution is building toward something even bigger.

What’s Next: Bitcoin and Beyond $100K

Once Bitcoin hits $100K, everything changes. The narrative shifts. Bitcoin goes from "that risky bet" to "the future of finance." And that’s where things get wild. It’s not just about price anymore — it’s about the institutional and mainstream acceptance of Bitcoin. It’s about the fact that this isn’t a fad, it’s a global movement that’s not going anywhere.

After $100K? Who knows. Maybe $200K, $500K, or more. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’re still waiting for that first major milestone to break, and when it happens, it’s going to be like a flip of a switch. A whole new world will open up.

The Waiting Game: It’s Gonna Be Worth It

So, while Bitcoin under $100K might feel like a long wait, remember: it’s all part of the journey. Bitcoin at $80K is just the start of something bigger. It’s the calm before the storm, the deep breath before the final sprint.

When $100K hits, we’ll all be able to say we were here for it. And when it crosses that threshold, it’s going to be one of the biggest moments in the world of finance — one that we’ll all look back on and say, "We saw this coming." And for those of us who’ve been riding the wave since the early days? Well, we’ll be popping the champagne.

The real show starts at $100K. We’re just waiting for the curtain to rise. 🚀

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

"House" dos economistas e o Estado

Falta um gênio pra produzir um seriado tipo House só que com economistas. O House do seriado seria um austríaco é o "everybody lies" seria uma premissa segundo a qual o Estado é sempre a causa de todos os problemas.

Situações bem cabeludas poderiam ser apresentadas de maneira que parecesse muito que a causa era ganância ou o mau-caratismo dos agentes, mas na investigação quase sempre se descobriria que a causa era o Estado.

Parece ridículo, mas se eu descrevesse House assim aqui também pareceria. A execução é que importa.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

notes on "Economic Action Beyond the Extent of the Market", Per Bylund

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7St6pCipCB0

Markets work by dividing labour, but that's not as easy as it seems in the Adam Smith's example of a pin factory, because

1. a pin factory is not a market, so there is some guidance and orientation, some sort of central planning, inside there that a market doesn't have;
2. it is not clear how exactly the production process will be divided, it is not obvious as in "you cut the thread, I plug the head".

Dividing the labour may produce efficiency, but it also makes each independent worker in the process more fragile, as they become dependent on the others.

This is partially solved by having a lot of different workers, so you do not depend on only one.

If you have many, however, they must agree on where one part of the production process starts and where it ends, otherwise one's outputs will not necessarily coincide with other's inputs, and everything is more-or-less broken.

That means some level of standardization is needed. And indeed the market has constant incentives to standardization.

The statist economist discourse about standardization is that only when the government comes with a law that creates some sort of standardization then economic development can flourish, but in fact the market creates standardization all the time. Some examples of standardization include:

• programming languages, operating systems, internet protocols, CPU architectures;
• plates, forks, knifes, glasses, tables, chairs, beds, mattresses, bathrooms;
• building with concrete, brick and mortar;
• money;
• musical instruments;
• light bulbs;
• CD, DVD, VHS formats and others alike;
• services that go into every production process, like lunch services, restaurants, bakeries, cleaning services, security services, secretaries, attendants, porters;
• multipurpose steel bars;
• practically any tool that normal people use and require a little experience to get going, like a drilling machine or a sanding machine; etc.

Of course it is not that you find standardization in all places. Specially when the market is smaller or new, standardization may have not arrived.

There remains the truth, however, that division of labour has the potential of doing good.

More than that: every time there are more than one worker doing the same job in the same place of a division of labour chain, there's incentive to create a new subdivision of labour.

From the fact that there are at least more than one person doing the same job as another in our society we must conclude that someone must come up with an insight about an efficient way to divide the labour between these workers (and probably actually implement it), that hasn't happened for all kinds of jobs.

But to come up with division of labour outside of a factory, some market actors must come up with a way of dividing the labour, actually, determining where will one labour stop and other start (and that almost always needs some adjustments and in fact extra labour to hit the tips), and also these actors must bear the uncertainty and fragility that division of labour brings when there are not a lot of different workers and standardization and all that.

In fact, when an entrepreneur comes with a radical new service to the market, a service that does not fit in the current standard of division of labour, he must explain to his potential buyers what is the service and how the buyer can benefit from it and what he will have to do to adapt its current production process to bear with that new service. That's has happened not long ago with

• services that take food orders from the internet and relay these to the restaurants;
• hostels for cheap accommodation for young travellers;
• Uber, Airbnb, services that take orders and bring homemade food from homes to consumers and similars;
• all kinds of software-as-a-service;
• electronic monitoring service for power generators;
• mining planning and mining planning software; and many other industry-specific services.

See also

• Profits, not wages, as the originary factor
• Per Bylund's insight

@ df478568:2a951e67

*note: This version of the article uses some four-letter words some people may not like. If you prefer cartoon-like cussing, you can read it here.

It's that time, again--The bull market which happens every 4 years like the Winter Olympics. We've surpassed the previous USD/ATH. This is the 498th resurrection of our beloved bitcoin, but you know what really turns my crank? Bitcoin cybersecurity!

I love digging into the nitty-gritty of cryptography not CrYpTo and finding creative ways to use my toy collection. I mean, hardware wallet(a.k.a. signing devices) collection. Nah, they're toys. Yesterday, as I was playing with my toys, I was inspired to use my seed signer after a long hiatus. To be clear, I love the Seed Signer. It has some neat features: - Generate seeds with the entropy from a picture - Hand-drawn QR codes for easy seed backup - You can DIY

It looks cool too, but for the record, I wouldn't use it for a single sig wallet because it does not contain a secure element. According to NVK, there are zero days and supply chain attacks you can't really mitigate with the seed signer. Although I think this is a fair criticism, it can be useful: - As an educational tool - Part of a multi-sig backup. Michael Flaxman, in his 10X Your BTC Security Guide, suggests removing a Wi-Fi card and hard drive from a computer, boot up TAILS, plug your computer into an RJ45 port with an Ethernet cable for Internet access, navigate to https://seedpicker.net/ on the default TOR browser, unplug the Ethernet cable from the RJ45 port, and generate the seed for your paper wallet. That sentence is too damn long, but this is indicative of how cumbersome this method is.

This was necessary when he wrote it since we did not have as many hardware wallets back then as are on the market today. In my cybersecurity opinion, and I am not a certified cyber security expert, buying a seed signer requires less technical know-how than using Flaxman's guide. This is not a criticism of Flaxman, his guide is one of my favorite things ever written about bitoin because of it's educational value. If you want to learn about extreme cybersecurity, Flaxman's guide makes an excellent lab. We assume no network security model is 100% secure, so we never risk compromising our keys by ever connecting to an Internet-connected device. It's a hell of an education.

Seed Signer Is For Everybody

Say you work a full time job and didn't spend the majority of your free time learning this stuff during a pandemic. Or maybe you're like my wife. She think's Bitcoin is cool now, but this one time she walked in on me with my Cold Card plugged into a 9v battery and said, "See. I'm never using whatever the fuck that thing is. My wife is never removing a Wi-Fi card from a laptop. If you're like my wife, the Seed Signer is right for you, if you want to use multisig. It's also not imperative to use the 9v battery if you don't want to. You can just plug it into a wall outlet like everybody else.

I want to start bringing the Seed Signer to my local meetup, but it's at a brewery and I don't want to be a wallflower because I need to plug the damn thing into an outlet so I thought, “Why not try the Cold Power with my Seed Signer?”

I found one of my magnetic micro-USB adapters and plugged it into the Seed signer, Then I plugged the battery in. My switch is on because the flimsy plastic switch broke the first time I turned it on, but it still works. I just broke it with my fat thumbs.

It felt as if it took as long as a difficulty adjustment to boot-up, but in reality it was about the time it takes the Liquid Network to find a block. I proceeded to take a picture and write down a 12 word seed. I plan on using this with the Nunchuck testnet wallet to show people at my local Meetup how to create seeds and take self-custody of their Bitcoin. Again, I would not use this as a single sign because there are more secure options, but it is a great tool for teaching Bitcoin cybersecurity and can be a great wallet that can mitigate the risk of supply-chain and retirement attacks when used as part of a multi-sig quorum. I can also now use it in the middle of a brewery. I'll write about how this goes the next time I get down there.

Why We Use The Cold Power

I placed one of those magnetic adapters I bought on Amazon into one of the power holes. Power holes is a technical term for microUSB. This is because the Cold Power does hooks up to a cable that does not transmit data, only Power. Get it? It's like a cold wallet, but instead of a wallet, it's a power cable. You hook this cable up to a technology which was invented in 1836, a [battery]. 9V batteries contain no data. It is only Power, but most of us must trust Coinkite. Maybe they programmed the green part to be a bitcoin stealing script. I doubt this and think Coinkite is an honest company, but the awesome sauce thing is, the little magnet I bought on Amazon does not allow the transmittal of data. I don't need to plug in a charger that might be compromised.

This might sound paranoid, but in Tools of Titans, Samy Kamkar, malware has even been found in cigarette lighter chargers. Imagine a fix of nicotine costing you you entire life savings. That's not likely to happen, but why take a chance? It's better to spend several thousand sats on a charger and a 9v battery than lose your whole stack.

According to Wired Magazine, he can also learn the keystrokes you're typing on your laptop keyboard through a window. This means typing a seed onto a laptop might not be the best idea even if you are afraid of this. It is better to take a picture and use the entropy from the random picture.

Powering The Seed Signer With A Coinkite Product

Seed Signer and NVK, the CEO of Coinkite seem to have some beef on nostr, but it's none of my business. The part I find interesting is a product made by Coinkite works with a product made by Seed Signer. This was made for the Cold Card, but it works with a hardware wallet made from someone else. Too bad politics isn't more like that. It's nice to see two rival companies make products that are compatible with each other, but that's just the way free and open source software like bitcoin is. Seeds from Coinkite can be used with the Seed Signer. Maybe that's okay if it's only $1,000 worth of bitcoin on the Seed Signer. You don't need to go to Defcon 5 for every single sat. It's not practical. Sure, if the NSA was after you and wanted to steal your $1,000 worth of bitcoin from you, they could probably do it. Why would they spend ten thousand dollars to do this to you? This is not in most people's threat models.

Wait...Then why do you need to use the 9v battery thing-a-ma-jig? I technically don't need to , but we could also use this for a multi-signature quorum? What if you took your wallet to a safe deposit box, but the vault does not have a plug?

I created this key with no power outlet at all. This means I could do this in the middle of Alaska where there's no cell phones, where you only need to worry about bears stealing your seed phrase... That's a bit much, but it's possible.

I was not able to take a picture on the same battery charge so You might want to use a fresh battery if you ever try this yourself.

Thanks for reading.  - If you like this blogs with no swear words, send sats to marc26z@strike.me/ - If you like this blog with swear words, send sats to marc@npub.pro/

✌️

npub1marc26z8nh3xkj5rcx7ufkatvx6ueqhp5vfw9v5teq26z254renshtf3g0no

869,719

As Seen On TIR: http://p66dxywd2xpyyrdfxwilqcxmchmfw2ixmn2vm74q3atf22du7qmkihyd.onion/use-a-seed-signer-with-cold-power/

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

litepub

A Go library that abstracts all the burdensome ActivityPub things and provides just the right amount of helpers necessary to integrate an existing website into the "fediverse" (what an odious name). Made for the gravity integration.

• https://godoc.org/github.com/fiatjaf/litepub

See also

-

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Ripple and the problem of the decentralized commit

This is about Ryan Fugger's Ripple.

The summary is: unless everybody is good and well-connected at all times a transaction can always be left in a half-committed state, which creates confusion, erodes trust and benefits no one.

If you're unconvinced consider the following protocol flow:

1. A finds a route (A--B--C--D) between her and D somehow;
2. A "prepares" a payment to B, tells B to do the same with C and so on (to prepare means to give B a conditional IOU that will be valid as long as the full payment completes);
3. When the chain of prepared messages reaches D, D somehow "commits" the payment.
4. After the commit, A now really does owe B and so on, and D really knows it has been effectively paid by A (in the form of debt from C) so it can ship goods to A.

The most obvious (but wrong) way of structuring this would be for the entire payment chain to be dependent on the reveal of some secret. For example, the "prepare" messages could contain something like "I will pay you as long as you know p such that sha256(p) == h".

The payment flow then starts with D presenting A with an invoice that contains h, so D knows p, but no one else knows. A can then send the "prepare" message to B and B do the same until it reaches D.

When it reaches D, D can be sure that C will pay him because he knows p such that sha256(p) == h. He then reveals p to C, C now reveals it to B and B to A. When A gets it it has a proof that D has received his payment, therefore it is happy to settle it later with B and can prove to an external arbitrator that he has indeed paid D in case D doesn't deliver his products.

Issues with the naïve flow above

What if D never reveals p to C?

Then no one knows what happened. And then 10 years later he arrives at C's house (remember they are friends or have a trust relationship somehow) and demands his payment, and shows p to her in a piece of paper. Or worse: go directly to the court and shows C's message that says "I will pay you as long as you know p such that sha256(p) == h" (but with an actual number instead of "h") and the corresponding p. Now the judge has to decide in favor of D.

Now C was supposed to do the same with B, but C is not playing with this anymore, has lost all contact with B after they did their final settlement many years ago, no one was expecting this.

This clearly can't work. There must be a timeout for these payments.

What if we have a timeout?

Now what if we say the payment expires in one hour. D cannot hold the payment hostage and reveal p after 10 years. It must either reveal it before the timeout or conditional IOU will be void. Solves everything!

Except no, now it's the time we reach the most dark void of the protocol, the flaw that sucks its life into the abyss: subjectivity and ambiguity.

The big issue is that we don't have an independent judge to assert, for example, that D has indeed "revealed" p to C in time. C must acknowledge that voluntarily. C could do it using messages over the internet, but these messages are not reliable. C is not reliable. Clocks are not synchronized. Also if we now require C to confirm it has received p from D then the "prepare" message means nothing, as for D now just knowing p is not enough to claim before an arbitrator that C owes her -- because, again, D also must prove it has shown p to C before the timeout, therefore it needs a new signed acknowledgement from C, or from some other party.

Let's see a few examples.

Subjectivity and perverse incentives

D could send p to C, and C acknowledge it, but then when C goes to B and send it B will not acknowledge it, and claim it's past the time. Now C loses money.

Maybe C can not acknowledge it received anything from D before checking first with B? But B will have to check with A too! And it subverts the entire flow of the thing. And now A has a "proof of payment" (knowledge of p) without even having to acknowledge anything! In this case knowing p or not becomes meaningless as everybody knows p without acknowleding it to anyone else.

But even if A is honest and sends an "acknowledge" message to B, now B can just sit quiet and enjoy the credit it has just earned from A without ever acknowleding anything to C. It's perverted incentives in every step.

Ambiguity

But isn't this a protocol based on trust?, you ask, isn't C trusting that B will behave honestly already? Therefore if B is dishonest C just has to acknowledge his loss and break his chain of trust with B.

No, because C will not know what happened. B can say "I could have sent you an acknowledgement, but was waiting for A, and A didn't send anything" and C won't ever know if that was true. Or B could say "what? You didn't send me p at all", and that could be true. B could have been offline when A sent it, there could have been a broken connection or many other things, and B continues: "I was waiting for you to present me with p, but you didn't, therefore the payment timed out, you can't come here with p now, because now A won't accept it anymore from me". That could be true or could be false, who knows?

Therefore it is impossible for trust relationships and reputations to be maintained in such a system without "good fences".[^ln-solution][^ln-issue]

[^ln-solution]: The Lightning Network has a solution for the problem of the decentralized commit. [^ln-issue]: Ironically this same ambiguity problem is being faced by the Lightning Network community when trying to create a reputation/payment system to prevent routing abuses. It seems simple when you first think about it: "let each node manage its own trust", but in fact it is somewhat impossible.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Mises' interest rate theory

Inspired by Bob Murphy's thesis against the "pure time preference theory" (see also this series of podcasts) -- or blatantly copying it -- here are some thoughts on Mises' most wrong take:

• Mises asserts that the market rate of interest is not the originary rate of interest, because the market rate involves entrepreneurial decisions, risk, uncertainty etc. No one lends money with 100% guarantee that it will be paid back in the market and so. But if that is true, where can we see that originary interest? We're supposed to account for its existence and be sure that it is logically there in every trade between present and future, because it's a category of action. But then it seems odd to me that it has anything to do with the actual interest.
• Mises criticizes the notion of "profit" from classical economists because it mashed together gains deriving from speculation, risk, other stuff and originary interest -- but that's only because he assumes originary interest as a given (because it's a category of action and so on). If he didn't he could have just not cited originary interest in the list of things that give rise to "profit" and all would be fine.
• Mixing the two points above, it seems very odd to think that we should look for interest as a component of profit. It seems indeed to be very classifical-economist take. It would be still compatible with Mises'sworldview -- indeed more compatible -- that we looked for profit as a component of interest: when someone lends some 100 and is paid 110 that is profit. Plain simple. Why he did that and why the other person paid isn't for the economist to analyse, or to dissect the extra 10 into 9 interest, 1 risk remuneration or anything like that. If the borrower hadn't paid it would be a 100 loss or a 109 loss?
• In other moments, Mises talks about the originary rate of interest being the same for all things: apples and bicycles and anything else. But wasn't each person supposed to have its own valuation of each good -- including goods in the present and in the future? Is Mises going to say that it's impossible for someone to value an orange in the future more than a bycicle in the future in comparison with these same goods in the present? (The very "more" in the previous sentence shows us that Mises was incurring in cardinal value calculations when coming up with this theory -- and I hadn't noticed it until after I finished typing the phrase.) In other words: what if someone prefers orange, bycicle, bycicle in the future, orange in the future? That doesn't seem to fit. What is the rate of interest?
• Also, on the point above, what if someone has different rates of interest for goods in different timeframes? For example, someone may prefer a bycicle now a little more than a bycicle tomorrow, but very very much more than a bycicle in two days. That also breaks the notion of "originary interest" as an universal rate.
• Now maybe I misunderstood everything, maybe Mises was talking about originary interest as a rate defined by the market. And he clearly says that. That if the rate of interest is bigger on some market entrepreneurs will invest capital in that one until it equalizes with rates in other markets. But all that fits better with the plain notion of profit than with this poorly-crafted notion of originary interest. If you're up to defining and (Mises forbid?) measuring the neutral rate of interest you'll have to arbitrarily choose some businesses to be part of the "market" while excluding others.
• By the way, wasn't originary interest a category of action? How can a category of action be defined and ultimately fixed by entrepreneurial action in a market?

@ c0e4bd0b:1c5734af

Bitcoin Calendar Definition

Layer: Applications

Status: Draft

Bitcoin defines the halving cycle as 210,000 blocks, as defined in the file kernel/chainparams.cpp. This number was apparently chosen as an aesthetically pleasing number which equates almost exactly to 4 years, according to the ten-minute block schedule. This BIP proposes using this parameter of Bitcoin as the basis for reckoning calendar time, defined as follows.

nBlocksPerYear = 210000 / 4 // calculates to 52,500 nBlocksPerMonth = nBlocksPerYear / 12 // calculates to 4375

The calculations above produce integer results, making calendrical calculations based on block height extremely convenient. The zero-based year and month are calculated as follows, using integer division (/) and mudulo (%) based on block height h:

year = h / 52500 month = (h % 52500) / 12

Furthermore, we assume a bitcoin day length of 144 blocks. This is consistent with the target of 10-minutes per block and the 2016 blocks every two weeks for the difficulty adjustment period. This results in months of 30 days, with a small remainder:

nBlocksPerDay = 144 daysPerMonth = nBlocksPerMonth / nBlocksPerDay // calculates to 30.something

A human-friendly date can thus be displayed based upon block height, with familiar calendrical characteristics of 30 full days per month (with a partial day 31) and 12 months per year. As of this writing, the current bitcoin date is 7/24/17, 24-07-0017, or the twenty fourth day of the seventh month of the seventeenth year of Bitcoin.

This definition forms the basis for a culturally independent and socially universal calendar system which is easy to calculate, durable, and financially relevant.

Cross-referencing with other calendar systems:

Since this date will not synchronize exactly to extant calendar systems, a notation needs to be used in cases where ambiguity would result. Taking the solar day as the example, references that cross over between the solar day and the bitcoin date need to have a qualifier resolving the phase discrepancy (as is done when referring to dates in ancient calendar systems that do not align with the turn of the date at midnight). For example, the Bitcoin date of 7/24/17 would be written as November 9/10, 2024, making it clear that it touches both of those solar days. However, this format should only be used for dates in which the two calendar systems are more out of sync than in sync. For dates that are more in sync than out of sync, no overlap day should be given, because it would add ambiguity where there otherwise was none.

Bitcoin Calendar Synchronization

Layer: Consensus

Status: Draft

The Bitcoin calendar (referring to the prior definition) would be more economically relevant to earthlings if the Bitcoin year actually stayed synchronized with the growing seasons of the tropical year. Currently, the Bitcoin year begins in the springtime of the northern hemisphere, but it is offset one year and there is currently nothing to keep the bitcoin year from drifting further out of synchronization with the tropical year.

To keep the Bitcoin year in sync with the seasons, the bi-weekly proof-of-work difficulty adjustment could be tailored to aim toward better alignment during every difficulty adjustment. Normally, the difficulty is adjusted upward or downward a maximum factor of 4, as defined in the file pow.cpp. The determination of the value within that range is made solely on the basis of the rate of block discovery during the prior 2016-block (two-week) period.

The existing difficulty adjustment scheme has resulted in the Bitcoin calendar generally sliding earlier every year, presumably due to the fact that the global hash rate is generally increasing rather than decreasing. The historical dates for the year beginnings and the corresponding duration of the Bitcoin year are as follows:

|Year|Block|Date|Days| |-:|-:|--|-:| |0|0|01/03/09|| |1|52500|04/22/10|474| |2|105000|01/28/11|281| |3|157500|12/14/11|320| |4|210000|11/28/12|350| |5|262500|10/09/13|315| |6|315000|08/10/14|305| |7|367500|07/29/15|353| |8|420000|07/09/16|346| |9|472500|06/23/17|349| |10|525000|05/29/18|340| |11|577500|05/23/19|359| |12|630000|05/11/20|354| |13|682500|05/07/21|361| |14|735000|05/05/22|363| |15|787500|04/29/23|359| |16|840000|04/19/24|356|

As can be seen, the number of days in the actual Bitcoin year are consistently fewer than the number of days in the tropical year (365.2425). Assuming the hash rate will generally continue to increase, this trend should continue, which allows us to make a convenient simplifying assumption.

Conceptually this proposal seeks to add an additional, limited offset to the work requirement based on whether the Bitcoin calendar is ahead of schedule or behind schedule, in comparison to the tropical year. We can assume based on the trends, however, that we only need to "slow down" the block rate slightly to keep it in sync with the seasons. Therefore, this proposal aims to do only that.

If the Bitcoin block height is a certain amount ahead of the calendar synchronization goal (per the trend), the difficulty would be increased one notch more than required by the normal calculation, if not already at the limit of adjustment for that period. This would make it impossible for the proposed change to overpower the existing calculation, but would still provide a gentle enough push when needed to keep the calendar in sync, thus accomplishing the purpose.

Fork considerations by the author:

A consensus change to the proof of work calculation would normally result in a hard fork. However, in the case that we only potentially increase the difficulty and never decrease it relative to non-upgraded nodes in the network, this means that during the transition, only upgraded nodes would be at risk of rejecting blocks for not meeting the more stringent difficulty level necessary to synchronize the calendar.

The new nodes would therefore need to be programmed to yield to the non-upgraded difficulty criteria until most of the network has upgraded, at which point activation would occur (as explained below) and miners would be obliged to meet the tougher requirements demanded by all upgraded nodes. Nodes that still had not upgraded by that time would remain unaffected, since the post-activation blocks would only have more proof of work, and not less, than non-upgraded nodes require.

More importantly, an overwhelming majority of the hash rate should be fully upgraded to avoid a situation where non-upgraded, non-mining nodes are forked by a longer chain created by non-upgraded miners. A sufficient portion of the hash rate following the upgrade path would eliminate this possiblity, even for non-mining nodes that don't upgrade, because the longer chain will come from the greater hash power and there would be no financial incentive for miners to switch back to catering to a minority of non-upgraded nodes.

Proposed activation method:

Upgraded nodes would delay the relaying of blocks that do not meet the more stringent requirements. This would begin as a confirmation-time penalty to upgraded nodes, but as the upgrade expands to more nodes, the effect would shift to incentivizing miners to produce blocks that conform to the upgrade in order to build on the longest chain faster.

Optional second-phase activation:

For the longer term, it might be advisable to also implement the corresponding opposite influence on the proof of work adjustment for the case where the simplifying assumption taken above does not hold. In other words, if hash rate were to take on a trend of decreasing over a significant period of time at some point in the future leading to a Bitcoin year length greater than 365 days, the calendar drift would ideally be pushed in the other direction by a relaxing influence on the proof of work requirement instead of a tightening influence. Since this would definitely result in a hard fork relative to un-upgraded nodes, this feature, if implemented, would need to be kept inactive for much longer, and only activated if/when the number of non-upgraded nodes becomes so insignificant that a hard fork is no longer a concern.

Join the conversation on stacker.news.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Thafne venceu o Soletrando 2008.

As palavras que Thafne teve que soletrar: "ocioso", "hermético", "glossário", "argênteo", "morfossintaxe", "infra-hepático", "hagiológio". Enquanto isso Eder recebia: "intramuscular", "destilação", "inabitável", "subcutâneo", "homogeneidade", "predecessor", "displicência", "subconsciência", "psicroestesia" (isto segundo o site da folha, donde certamente faltam algumas palavras de Thafne). Sério, "argênteo"? Não é errado dizer que a Globo tentou promover o menino pobre da escola pública do sertão contra a riquinha de Curitiba.

O mais espetacular disto é que deu errado e o Brasil inteiro torceu pela Thafne, o que se verifica com uma simples busca no Google. Eis aqui alguns exemplos:

• O problema de Thafne traz comentários tentando incriminar o governo do Estado de Minas Gerais com a vitória forçada de Eder.
• este vídeo mostrando os erros do programa e a vitória triunfal, embora parcial, de Thafne, traz a brilhante descrição "globo de puleira quis complicar a vida da menina!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
• este vídeo, com o mesmo conteúdo,, porém chamado "Thafne versus Luciano Huck, o confronto do século", tem, além disto, vários comentários de francos torcedores de Thafne:
• "Nossa isso é burrice porq o doutor falou duas vezes como o luciano não prestou atenção logo thafine deu duas patadas no luciano... Proxima luciano presta atenção na pronuncia"
• "ele nao pronunciou errado porque é burro, isso foi pra manipular o resultado"
• "Gabriel o Bostador ficou pianinho. Babaca do krl"
• "Pena que ela perdeu :("
• "verdade... ela que ganhou, o outro só ficou com o título :S"
• "A menina deu um banho nesse que além de idiota é BURRO."
• e muitos, muitos outros.
• Globo Erra e Luciano Huck dá Vexame, um breve artigo descrevendo alguns dos pontos em que Eder foi favorecido.
• esta comunidade do Orkut, apenas a maior dentre várias que foram criadas.

O movimento de apoio a Thafne é um exemplo entre poucos de união total da nação em prol de uma causa.

@ c0e4bd0b:1c5734af

Bitcoin Calendar Definition

Layer: Applications

Status: Draft

Bitcoin defines the halving cycle as 210,000 blocks, as defined in the file kernel/chainparams.cpp. This number was apparently chosen as an aesthetically pleasing number which equates almost exactly to 4 years, according to the ten-minute block schedule. This BIP proposes using this parameter of Bitcoin as the basis for reckoning calendar time, defined as follows.

nBlocksPerYear = 210000 / 4 // calculates to 52,500 nBlocksPerMonth = nBlocksPerYear / 12 // calculates to 4375

The calculations above produce integer results, making calendrical calculations based on block height extremely convenient. The zero-based year and month are calculated as follows, using integer division (/) and mudulo (%) based on block height h:

year = h / 52500 month = (h % 52500) / 12

Furthermore, we assume a bitcoin day length of 144 blocks. This is consistent with the target of 10-minutes per block and the 2016 blocks every two weeks for the difficulty adjustment period. This results in months of 30 days, with a small remainder:

nBlocksPerDay = 144 daysPerMonth = nBlocksPerMonth / nBlocksPerDay // calculates to 30.something

A human-friendly date can thus be displayed based upon block height, with familiar calendrical characteristics of 30 full days per month (with a partial day 31) and 12 months per year. As of this writing, the current bitcoin date is 7/24/17, 24-07-0017, or the twenty fourth day of the seventh month of the seventeenth year of Bitcoin.

This definition forms the basis for a culturally independent and socially universal calendar system which is easy to calculate, durable, and financially relevant.

Cross-referencing with other calendar systems:

Since this date will not synchronize exactly to extant calendar systems, a notation needs to be used in cases where ambiguity would result. Taking the solar day as the example, references that cross over between the solar day and the bitcoin date need to have a qualifier resolving the phase discrepancy (as is done when referring to dates in ancient calendar systems that do not align with the turn of the date at midnight). For example, the Bitcoin date of 7/24/17 would be written as November 9/10, 2024, making it clear that it touches both of those solar days. However, this format should only be used for dates in which the two calendar systems are more out of sync than in sync. For dates that are more in sync than out of sync, no overlap day should be given, because it would add ambiguity where there otherwise was none.

Bitcoin Calendar Synchronization

Layer: Consensus

Status: Draft

The Bitcoin calendar (referring to the prior definition) would be more economically relevant to earthlings if the Bitcoin year actually stayed synchronized with the growing seasons of the tropical year. Currently, the Bitcoin year begins in the springtime of the northern hemisphere, but it is offset one year and there is currently nothing to keep the bitcoin year from drifting further out of synchronization with the tropical year.

To keep the Bitcoin year in sync with the seasons, the bi-weekly proof-of-work difficulty adjustment could be tailored to aim toward better alignment during every difficulty adjustment. Normally, the difficulty is adjusted upward or downward a maximum factor of 4, as defined in the file pow.cpp. The determination of the value within that range is made solely on the basis of the rate of block discovery during the prior 2016-block (two-week) period.

The existing difficulty adjustment scheme has resulted in the Bitcoin calendar generally sliding earlier every year, presumably due to the fact that the global hash rate is generally increasing rather than decreasing. The historical dates for the year beginnings and the corresponding duration of the Bitcoin year are as follows:

|Year|Block|Date|Days| |-:|-:|--|-:| |0|0|01/03/09|| |1|52500|04/22/10|474| |2|105000|01/28/11|281| |3|157500|12/14/11|320| |4|210000|11/28/12|350| |5|262500|10/09/13|315| |6|315000|08/10/14|305| |7|367500|07/29/15|353| |8|420000|07/09/16|346| |9|472500|06/23/17|349| |10|525000|05/29/18|340| |11|577500|05/23/19|359| |12|630000|05/11/20|354| |13|682500|05/07/21|361| |14|735000|05/05/22|363| |15|787500|04/29/23|359| |16|840000|04/19/24|356|

As can be seen, the number of days in the actual Bitcoin year are consistently fewer than the number of days in the tropical year (365.2425). Assuming the hash rate will generally continue to increase, this trend should continue, which allows us to make a convenient simplifying assumption.

Conceptually this proposal seeks to add an additional, limited offset to the work requirement based on whether the Bitcoin calendar is ahead of schedule or behind schedule, in comparison to the tropical year. We can assume based on the trends, however, that we only need to "slow down" the block rate slightly to keep it in sync with the seasons. Therefore, this proposal aims to do only that.

If the Bitcoin block height is a certain amount ahead of the calendar synchronization goal (per the trend), the difficulty would be increased one notch more than required by the normal calculation, if not already at the limit of adjustment for that period. This would make it impossible for the proposed change to overpower the existing calculation, but would still provide a gentle enough push when needed to keep the calendar in sync, thus accomplishing the purpose.

Fork considerations by the author:

A consensus change to the proof of work calculation would normally result in a hard fork. However, in the case that we only potentially increase the difficulty and never decrease it relative to non-upgraded nodes in the network, this means that during the transition, only upgraded nodes would be at risk of rejecting blocks for not meeting the more stringent difficulty level necessary to synchronize the calendar.

The new nodes would therefore need to be programmed to yield to the non-upgraded difficulty criteria until most of the network has upgraded, at which point activation would occur (as explained below) and miners would be obliged to meet the tougher requirements demanded by all upgraded nodes. Nodes that still had not upgraded by that time would remain unaffected, since the post-activation blocks would only have more proof of work, and not less, than non-upgraded nodes require.

More importantly, an overwhelming majority of the hash rate should be fully upgraded to avoid a situation where non-upgraded, non-mining nodes are forked by a longer chain created by non-upgraded miners. A sufficient portion of the hash rate following the upgrade path would eliminate this possiblity, even for non-mining nodes that don't upgrade, because the longer chain will come from the greater hash power and there would be no financial incentive for miners to switch back to catering to a minority of non-upgraded nodes.

Proposed activation method:

Upgraded nodes would delay the relaying of blocks that do not meet the more stringent requirements. This would begin as a confirmation-time penalty to upgraded nodes, but as the upgrade expands to more nodes, the effect would shift to incentivizing miners to produce blocks that conform to the upgrade in order to build on the longest chain faster.

Optional second-phase activation:

For the longer term, it might be advisable to also implement the corresponding opposite influence on the proof of work adjustment for the case where the simplifying assumption taken above does not hold. In other words, if hash rate were to take on a trend of decreasing over a significant period of time at some point in the future leading to a Bitcoin year length greater than 365 days, the calendar drift would ideally be pushed in the other direction by a relaxing influence on the proof of work requirement instead of a tightening influence. Since this would definitely result in a hard fork relative to un-upgraded nodes, this feature, if implemented, would need to be kept inactive for much longer, and only activated if/when the number of non-upgraded nodes becomes so insignificant that a hard fork is no longer a concern.

Join the conversation on stacker.news.

@ c0e4bd0b:1c5734af

Bitcoin Calendar Definition

Layer: Applications

Status: Draft

Bitcoin defines the halving cycle as 210,000 blocks, as defined in the file kernel/chainparams.cpp. This number was apparently chosen as an aesthetically pleasing number which equates almost exactly to 4 years, according to the ten-minute block schedule. This BIP proposes using this parameter of Bitcoin as the basis for reckoning calendar time, defined as follows.

nBlocksPerYear = 210000 / 4 // calculates to 52,500 nBlocksPerMonth = nBlocksPerYear / 12 // calculates to 4375

The calculations above produce integer results, making calendrical calculations based on block height extremely convenient. The zero-based year and month are calculated as follows, using integer division (/) and mudulo (%) based on block height h:

year = h / 52500 month = (h % 52500) / 12

Furthermore, we assume a bitcoin day length of 144 blocks. This is consistent with the target of 10-minutes per block and the 2016 blocks every two weeks for the difficulty adjustment period. This results in months of 30 days, with a small remainder:

nBlocksPerDay = 144 daysPerMonth = nBlocksPerMonth / nBlocksPerDay // calculates to 30.something

A human-friendly date can thus be displayed based upon block height, with familiar calendrical characteristics of 30 full days per month (with a partial day 31) and 12 months per year. As of this writing, the current bitcoin date is 7/24/17, 24-07-0017, or the twenty fourth day of the seventh month of the seventeenth year of Bitcoin.

This definition forms the basis for a culturally independent and socially universal calendar system which is easy to calculate, durable, and financially relevant.

Cross-referencing with other calendar systems:

Since this date will not synchronize exactly to extant calendar systems, a notation needs to be used in cases where ambiguity would result. Taking the solar day as the example, references that cross over between the solar day and the bitcoin date need to have a qualifier resolving the phase discrepancy (as is done when referring to dates in ancient calendar systems that do not align with the turn of the date at midnight). For example, the Bitcoin date of 7/24/17 would be written as November 9/10, 2024, making it clear that it touches both of those solar days. However, this format should only be used for dates in which the two calendar systems are more out of sync than in sync. For dates that are more in sync than out of sync, no overlap day should be given, because it would add ambiguity where there otherwise was none.

Bitcoin Calendar Synchronization

Layer: Consensus

Status: Draft

The Bitcoin calendar (referring to the prior definition) would be more economically relevant to earthlings if the Bitcoin year actually stayed synchronized with the growing seasons of the tropical year. Currently, the Bitcoin year begins in the springtime of the northern hemisphere, but it is offset one year and there is currently nothing to keep the bitcoin year from drifting further out of synchronization with the tropical year.

To keep the Bitcoin year in sync with the seasons, the bi-weekly proof-of-work difficulty adjustment could be tailored to aim toward better alignment during every difficulty adjustment. Normally, the difficulty is adjusted upward or downward a maximum factor of 4, as defined in the file pow.cpp. The determination of the value within that range is made solely on the basis of the rate of block discovery during the prior 2016-block (two-week) period.

The existing difficulty adjustment scheme has resulted in the Bitcoin calendar generally sliding earlier every year, presumably due to the fact that the global hash rate is generally increasing rather than decreasing. The historical dates for the year beginnings and the corresponding duration of the Bitcoin year are as follows:

|Year|Block|Date|Days| |-:|-:|--|-:| |0|0|01/03/09|| |1|52500|04/22/10|474| |2|105000|01/28/11|281| |3|157500|12/14/11|320| |4|210000|11/28/12|350| |5|262500|10/09/13|315| |6|315000|08/10/14|305| |7|367500|07/29/15|353| |8|420000|07/09/16|346| |9|472500|06/23/17|349| |10|525000|05/29/18|340| |11|577500|05/23/19|359| |12|630000|05/11/20|354| |13|682500|05/07/21|361| |14|735000|05/05/22|363| |15|787500|04/29/23|359| |16|840000|04/19/24|356|

As can be seen, the number of days in the actual Bitcoin year are consistently fewer than the number of days in the tropical year (365.2425). Assuming the hash rate will generally continue to increase, this trend should continue, which allows us to make a convenient simplifying assumption.

Conceptually this proposal seeks to add an additional, limited offset to the work requirement based on whether the Bitcoin calendar is ahead of schedule or behind schedule, in comparison to the tropical year. We can assume based on the trends, however, that we only need to "slow down" the block rate slightly to keep it in sync with the seasons. Therefore, this proposal aims to do only that.

If the Bitcoin block height is a certain amount ahead of the calendar synchronization goal (per the trend), the difficulty would be increased one notch more than required by the normal calculation, if not already at the limit of adjustment for that period. This would make it impossible for the proposed change to overpower the existing calculation, but would still provide a gentle enough push when needed to keep the calendar in sync, thus accomplishing the purpose.

Fork considerations by the author:

A consensus change to the proof of work calculation would normally result in a hard fork. However, in the case that we only potentially increase the difficulty and never decrease it relative to non-upgraded nodes in the network, this means that during the transition, only upgraded nodes would be at risk of rejecting blocks for not meeting the more stringent difficulty level necessary to synchronize the calendar.

The new nodes would therefore need to be programmed to yield to the non-upgraded difficulty criteria until most of the network has upgraded, at which point activation would occur (as explained below) and miners would be obliged to meet the tougher requirements demanded by all upgraded nodes. Nodes that still had not upgraded by that time would remain unaffected, since the post-activation blocks would only have more proof of work, and not less, than non-upgraded nodes require.

More importantly, an overwhelming majority of the hash rate should be fully upgraded to avoid a situation where non-upgraded, non-mining nodes are forked by a longer chain created by non-upgraded miners. A sufficient portion of the hash rate following the upgrade path would eliminate this possiblity, even for non-mining nodes that don't upgrade, because the longer chain will come from the greater hash power and there would be no financial incentive for miners to switch back to catering to a minority of non-upgraded nodes.

Proposed activation method:

Upgraded nodes would delay the relaying of blocks that do not meet the more stringent requirements. This would begin as a confirmation-time penalty to upgraded nodes, but as the upgrade expands to more nodes, the effect would shift to incentivizing miners to produce blocks that conform to the upgrade in order to build on the longest chain faster.

Optional second-phase activation:

For the longer term, it might be advisable to also implement the corresponding opposite influence on the proof of work adjustment for the case where the simplifying assumption taken above does not hold. In other words, if hash rate were to take on a trend of decreasing over a significant period of time at some point in the future leading to a Bitcoin year length greater than 365 days, the calendar drift would ideally be pushed in the other direction by a relaxing influence on the proof of work requirement instead of a tightening influence. Since this would definitely result in a hard fork relative to un-upgraded nodes, this feature, if implemented, would need to be kept inactive for much longer, and only activated if/when the number of non-upgraded nodes becomes so insignificant that a hard fork is no longer a concern.

Join the conversation on stacker.news.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Democracy as a failed open-network protocol

In the context of protocols for peer-to-peer open computer networks -- those in which new actors can freely enter and immediately start participating in the protocol --, without any central entity, specially without any central human mind judging things from the top --, it's common for decisions about the protocol to be thought taking in consideration all the possible ways a rogue peer can disrupt the entire network, abuse it, make the experience terrible for others. The protocol design must account for all incentives in play and how they will affect each participant, always having in mind that each participant may be acting in a purely egoistical self-interested manner, not caring at all about the health of the network (even though most participants won't be like that). So a protocol, to be successful, must have incentives aligned such that self-interested actors cannot profit by hurting others and will gain most by cooperating (whatever that means in the envisaged context), or there must be a way for other peers to detect attacks and other kinds of harm or attempted harm and neutralize these.

Since computers are very fast, protocols can be designed to be executed many times per day by peers involved, and since the internet is a very open place to which people of various natures are connected, many open-network protocols with varied goals have been tried in large scale and most of them failed and were shut down (or kept existing, but offering a bad experience and in a much more limited scope than they were expected to be). Often the failure of a protocol leads to knowledge about its shortcomings being more-or-less widespread and agreed upon, and these lead to the development of a better protocol the next time something with similar goals is tried.

Ideally democracies are supposed to be an open-entry network in the same sense as these computer networks, and although that is a noble goal, it's one full of shortcomings. Democracies are supposed to the governing protocol of States that have the power to do basically anything with the lives of millions of citizens.

One simple inference we may take from the history of computer peer-to-peer protocols is that the ones that work better are those that are simple and small in scope (Bitcoin, for example, is very simple; BitTorrent is also very simple and very limited in what it tries to do and the number of participants that get involved in each run of the protocol).

Democracies, as we said above, are the opposite of that. Besides being in a very hard position to achieve success as an open protocol, democracies also suffer from the fact that they take a long time to run, so it's hard to see where it is failing every time.

The fundamental incentives of democracy, i.e. the rules of the protocol, posed by the separation of powers and checks-and-balances are basically the same in every place and in every epoch since the XIII century, and even today most people who dedicate their lives to the subject still don't see how they're completely flawed.

The system of checks and balances was thought from the armchair of a couple of political theorists who had never done anything like that in their lives, didn't have any experience dealing with very adversarial environments like the internet -- and probably couldn't even imagine that the future users of their network were going to be creatures completely different than themselves and their fellow philosophers and aristocrats who all shared the same worldview (and how fast that future would come!).

Also

• The illusion of checks and balances

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Bolo

It seems that from 1987 to around 2000 there was a big community of people who played this game called "Bolo". It was a game in which people controlled a tank and killed others while trying to capture bases in team matches. Always 2 teams, from 2 to 16 total players, games could last from 10 minutes to 12 hours. I'm still trying to understand all this.

The game looks silly from some videos you can find today, but apparently it was very deep in strategy because people developed strategy guides and wrote extensively about it and Netscape even supported bolo: URLs out of the box.

The two most important elements on the map are pillboxes and bases. Pillboxes are originally neutral, meaning that they shoot at every tank that happens to get in its range. They shoot fast and with deadly accuracy. You can shoot the pillbox with your tank, and you can see how damaged it is by looking at it. Once the pillbox is subdued, you may run over it, which will pick it up. You may place the pillbox where you want to put it (where it is clear), if you've enough trees to build it back up. Trees are harvested by sending your man outside your tank to forest the trees. Your man (also called a builder) can also lay mines, build roads, and build walls. Once you have placed a pillbox, it will not shoot at you, but only your enemies. Therefore, pillboxes are often used to protect your bases.

That quote was taken from this "augmented FAQ" written by some user. Apparently there were many FAQs for this game. A FAQ is after all just a simple, clear and direct to the point way of writing about anything, previously known as summa[^summa-k], it doesn't have to be related to any actually frequently asked question.

More unexpected Bolo writings include an etiquette guide, an anthropology study and some wonderings on the reverse pill war tactic.

[^summa-k]: It's not the same thing, but I couldn't help but notice the similarity.

@ f462d21e:1390b6b1

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

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Lagoa Santa: como chegar -- partindo da rodoviária de Belo Horizonte

Ao descer de seu ônibus na rodoviária de Belo Horizonte às 4 e pouco da manhã, darás de frente para um caubói que toma cerveja em seus trajes típicos em um bar no setor mesmo de desembarque. Suba a escada à direita que dá no estacionamento da rodoviária. Vire à esquerda e caminhe por mais ou menos 400 metros, atravessando uma área onde pessoas suspeitas -- mas provavelmente dormindo em pé -- lhe observam, e então uma pracinha ocupada por um clã de mendigos. Ao avistar um enorme obelisco no meio de um cruzamento de duas avenidas, vire à esquerda e caminhe por mais 400 metros. Você verá uma enorme, antiga e bela estação com uma praça em frente, com belas fontes aqüáticas. Corra dali e dirija-se a um pedaço de rua à direita dessa praça. Um velho palco de antigos carnavais estará colocado mais ou menos no meio da simpática ruazinha de parelepípedos: é onde você pegará seu próximo ônibus.

Para entrar na estação é necessário ter um cartão com créditos recarregáveis. Um viajante prudente deixa sempre um pouco de créditos em seu cartão a fim de evitar filas e outros problemas de indisponibilidade quando chega cansado de viagem, com pressa ou em horários incomuns. Esse tipo de pessoa perceberá que foi totalmente ludibriado ao perceber que que os créditos do seu cartão, abastecido quando de sua última vinda a Belo Horizonte, há três meses, pereceram de prazo de validade e foram absorvidos pelos cofre públicos. Terá, portanto, que comprar mais créditos. O guichê onde os cartões são abastecidos abre às 5h, mas não se espante caso ele não tenha sido aberto ainda quando o primeiro ônibus chegar, às 5h10.

Com alguma sorte, um jovem de moletom, autorizado por dois ou três fiscais do sistema de ônibus que conversam alegremente, será o operador da catraca. Ele deixa entrar sem pagar os bêbados, os malandros, os pivetes. Bastante empático e perceptivo do desespero dos outros, esse bom rapaz provavelmente também lhe deixará entrar sem pagar.

Uma vez dentro do ônibus, não se intimide com os gritalhões e valentões que, ofendidíssimos com o motorista por ele ter parado nas estações, depois dos ônibus anteriores terem ignorado esses excelsos passageiros que nelas aguardavam, vão aos berros tirar satisfação.

O ponto final do ônibus, 40 minutos depois, é o terminal Morro Alto. Lá você verá, se procurar bem entre vários ônibus e pessoas que despertam a sua mais honesta suspeita, um veículo escuro, apagado, numerado 5882 e que abrigará em seu interior um motorista e um cobrador que descansam o sono dos justos.

Aguarde na porta por mais uns vinte minutos até que, repentinamente desperto, o motorista ligue o ônibus, abra as portas e já comece, de leve, a arrancar. Entre correndo, mas espere mais um tempo, enquanto as pessoas que têm o cartão carregado passem e peguem os melhores lugares, até que o cobrador acorde e resolva te cobrar a passagem nesse velho meio de pagamento, outrora o mais líqüído, o dinheiro.

Este último ônibus deverá levar-lhe, enfim, a Lagoa Santa.

@ 07907690:d4e015f6

Bitcoin diciptakan oleh Satoshi Nakamoto, (hampir pasti) sebuah nama samaran, yang hingga hari ini belum ada seorang pun yang dapat secara meyakinkan menghubungkannya dengan orang atau sekelompok orang yang sebenarnya. Nakamoto menghilang dari internet pada tahun 2011, meninggalkan sedikit petunjuk tentang siapa "mereka". Selama bertahun-tahun, banyak orang secara terbuka mengaku sebagai Satoshi, semuanya gagal mendukung pernyataan tersebut dengan fakta yang tidak dapat disangkal.

Dalam forum awal bitcointalk, Satoshi mengatakan bahwa mereka mulai mengerjakan Bitcoin pada tahun 2007, dua tahun sebelum blok pertama ditambang. Blok Genesis, atau blok pertama dalam blockchain Bitcoin, ditambang pada tanggal 3 Januari 2009. Nakamoto adalah penambang blok Genesis, menerima 50 bitcoin pertama yang pernah diedarkan. Namun, hadiah dari blok pertama ini tidak dapat digunakan karena keunikan dalam cara blok Genesis diekspresikan dalam kode. BitMEX Research telah menerbitkan analisis pada hari-hari awal penambangan Bitcoin dan menyimpulkan bahwa “seseorang” menambang 700,000 koin. Meskipun banyak yang berasumsi ini adalah Satoshi, secara resmi hal ini masih belum terbukti.

Kita hanya bisa membayangkan ketenaran yang akan diterima Satoshi Nakamoto jika identitas mereka terungkap, belum lagi kekayaan besar yang ingin mereka kumpulkan (meskipun Satoshi tampaknya tidak menghabiskan satu pun koin yang seharusnya mereka tambang). Seiring berjalannya waktu, ada banyak contoh orang yang mengaku sebagai Satoshi, dan ada pula yang diyakini sebagai Satoshi.

Klaim Palsu

Salah satu kasus paling terkenal tentang seseorang yang mengaku sebagai Satoshi adalah yang dilakukan oleh Craig S. Wright, seorang akademisi Australia. Wright, pada awal tahun 2015, telah mencoba berkali-kali untuk memberikan demonstrasi publik dengan bukti yang tidak dapat disangkal bahwa dia adalah penemu Bitcoin, namun dia belum berhasil hingga saat ini. Faktanya, “bukti”-nya terbukti palsu.

Dorian Nakamoto, seorang pria di California, pernah secara terbuka diberi gelar sebagai pencipta Bitcoin oleh seorang jurnalis surat kabar yang melihat beberapa kesamaan antara kedua Nakamoto, yang paling jelas adalah nama belakang mereka. Namun, dengan sangat cepat, klaim ini ditolak oleh Dorian dan juga dibantah.

Kelompok orang lain yang menarik perhatian seputar identitas Satoshi yang tidak diketahui adalah kriptografer dan ilmuwan komputer. Hal Finney, seorang kriptografer terkenal yang merupakan orang pertama yang menerima bitcoin dari Satoshi Nakamoto, adalah salah satu tersangka paling terkenal karena keterlibatan awalnya dalam bidang tersebut. Kurang dari setahun setelah Bitcoin diciptakan, Satoshi dan Hal Finney bertukar beberapa postingan di forum diskusi Bitcoin, membahas hal-hal seperti teknologi dan implikasinya di masa depan. Finney meninggal karena ALS pada tahun 2014, menyebabkan beberapa orang berspekulasi mengenai sejauh mana keterlibatannya dengan mata uang terdesentralisasi pertama di dunia. Nick Szabo adalah kriptografer terkenal lainnya yang menciptakan Bit Gold, mata uang digital yang ditemukan beberapa tahun sebelum Bitcoin. Fakta bahwa dia tampaknya tidak terlibat langsung dengan penciptaan Bitcoin, meskipun proyeknya sangat mirip dengan itu, telah membuat beberapa orang berspekulasi bahwa dia mungkin juga pencipta Bitcoin.

Mengapa Satoshi Harus Anonim?

Satoshi Nakamoto, pencipta mata uang terdesentralisasi pertama di dunia, harus tetap anonim karena sifat penciptaannya. Setelah membuat protokol tanpa titik utama kegagalan, Nakamoto mungkin menyadari bahwa mempertahankan anonimitasnya dapat menghilangkan titik utama kegagalan terakhir yang mungkin dimiliki Bitcoin: orang yang menciptakannya. Menghapus identitas tunggal yang dapat dikaitkan dengan kemunculan Bitcoin berarti menghilangkan segala wajah yang dapat mempengaruhi politik, aturan, atau pengambilan keputusan komunitas Bitcoin.

Siapa pun Satoshi, tidak dapat disangkal bahwa mereka adalah seorang jenius di zaman kita. Protokol Bitcoin memberikan insentif ekonomi di semua tempat yang tepat sehingga menghasilkan solusi luar biasa terhadap Masalah Jenderal Bizantium. Satoshi Nakamoto menerapkan konsep-konsep dari kriptografi, matematika, teori permainan, dan ekonomi untuk menciptakan aset digital langka yang dirancang dengan indah — dan pertama di dunia — yang disebut Bitcoin.

Sumber artikel: bitcoinmagazine.com Diterjemahkan oleh: Abengkris

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Liquidificador

A fragilidade da comunicação humana fica clara quando alguém liga o liquidificador.

@ e1d968f7:5d90f764

If there's one thing I know for sure, it's this: life is too short not to make the most of every moment. That’s why I don’t just walk through life—I own it. My name’s Rebecca Knight, and I’m the kind of woman who leaves a lasting impression, whether it’s with a wink across a crowded room or a conversation that lingers long after it’s over.

I’m not your average woman, and I’m certainly not afraid to show it. I’ve got that magnetic charm that draws people in, a little playful sparkle in my eye that says, “Come closer, if you dare.” I love making people feel seen, heard, and most of all—alive. There’s something about making someone smile or laugh that gives me the rush of a lifetime. Maybe it’s the thrill of connection or the way people react when they realize I’m exactly the kind of woman they didn’t know they needed in their lives.

When I meet someone, I don’t just show up—I make it memorable. Whether it’s in the way I laugh at a joke, the intensity of a conversation, or the way I give you my undivided attention, there’s no denying it: I know how to keep you on your toes. And when it comes to my work, it’s no different. I know exactly how to create a space where we both feel at ease, where the chemistry can spark and the tension can build. It’s all about the connection. The energy. The way we feed off each other.

But let’s be real: I don’t just give for the sake of giving. I believe in mutual enjoyment. I’m all about making sure both of us are having the time of our lives. Whether we’re sharing an intimate laugh, a heated conversation, or simply enjoying each other’s company in a way that feels… exciting, it’s always about balancing that electric pull with respect and mutual understanding.

Being bold is fun, but being respectful is key. I don’t believe in anything forced or out of alignment with what feels good. If I want something, you’ll know it, and if you want something, I’m always happy to listen. But here’s the thing: I’m not interested in anything halfway. I play for keeps, and I expect to have my energy matched in the best possible way.

So, if we ever find ourselves in the same space, be prepared for a little bit of magic. I’m the kind of woman who brings excitement, fun, and a healthy dose of mischief into every room I enter. I know how to turn the ordinary into extraordinary, and how to leave a lasting impression without breaking a sweat.

After all, life’s a game, and I’m very good at playing it. If you ever find yourself wondering if you’re the next lucky person I’ll take on that little adventure… let’s just say I’m sure you’ll know when it happens.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

An argument according to which fractional-reserve banking is merely theft and nothing else

Fractional-reserve banking isn't anything else besides transfer of money from the people at large to bankers.

It has been argued that fractional-reserve banking serves a purpose in making new funds available out of no one's pocket for lending and thus directing resources to productive borrowers. This financing method is preferrable to the more conservative way of borrowing funds directly from a saver and then using that to lend to others because it uses new money, money not tied to anyone else before, and thus it's cheaper and involves less friction.

Instead, what happens is that someone must at all times be the owner of each money. So when banks use their power of generating fractional-reserve funds, they are creating new money and they are the owners – at this point, a theft occurs from the public at large to them – and then they proceed to lend their own money. From this description it is clear that the fact that bank customers have previously deposited their own funds in the banks' vaults have no direct relation with the fact that banks created money afterwards, there's only a legal relation and the fact that banks may need cash deposited by its customers to redeem borrowers claims, but even that wouldn't be necessary if banks were allowed to print their own cash.

@ a10260a2:caa23e3e

nostr:npub1nkmta4dmsa7pj25762qxa6yqxvrhzn7ug0gz5frp9g7p3jdscnhsu049fn added support for classified listings (NIP-99) about a month ago and recently announced this update that allows for creating/editing listings and blog posts via the dashboard.

In other words, listings created on the website are also able to be viewed and edited on other Nostr apps like Amethyst and Shopstr. Interoperability FTW.

I took some screenshots to give you an idea of how things work.

The home page is clean with the ability to search for profiles by name, npub, or Nostr address (NIP-05).

Clicking login allows signing in with a browser extension.

The dashboard gives an overview of the amount of notes posted (both short and long form) and products listed.

Existing blog posts (i.e. long form notes) are synced.

Same for product listings. There’s a nice interface to create new ones and preview them before publishing.

That’s all for now. As you can see, super slick stuff!

Bullish on Cypher.

So much so I had to support the project and buy a subdomain. 😎

https://bullish.cypher.space

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/760592

@ 07e1bb93:f9523a3c

In the ever-shifting landscape of American politics, few partnerships have proven as effective in advancing the conservative agenda as the relationship between President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance. The alignment of their values, priorities, and vision for America has been a game-changer, not just for the Republican Party, but for the nation as a whole. Here’s why Trump needed JD Vance — and why this partnership is one for the history books.

1. A Shared Vision for America’s Working Class

Both President Trump and JD Vance have made it clear that their top priority is restoring the strength and prosperity of America's working class. Trump’s 2016 campaign reshaped the Republican Party into one that stands unapologetically with blue-collar Americans. Vance, in his bestselling book Hillbilly Elegy, captured the struggles of America’s heartland, painting a picture of a forgotten class that Trump understood and aimed to champion.

Vance’s personal experience of growing up in a working-class family in Appalachia allows him to connect with the very people Trump promised to fight for. When Trump needed someone who could speak authentically to the struggles of rural America — a place often left behind by both parties — JD Vance was the perfect ally. His commitment to restoring dignity to working families and fighting against globalist policies that shipped jobs overseas aligns perfectly with Trump’s America First agenda.

2. Fighting the Swamp Together

One of Trump’s most significant promises was to drain the swamp — to rid Washington of the establishment elites who have sold out America’s interests in favor of their own. JD Vance’s political career has been a direct response to this very problem. As someone who understands the dangers of big-money politics and the media’s influence, Vance has shown that he’s not afraid to take on the establishment — whether it’s Big Tech, Big Pharma, or the bureaucratic deep state.

Together, Trump and Vance make an unstoppable force in the fight against Washington corruption. Vance’s no-nonsense approach to tackling the elites, combined with Trump’s bold, take-no-prisoners attitude, sends a clear message to D.C. — the days of business as usual are over.

3. A Bold, Unapologetic Conservative Voice

Trump revolutionized the Republican Party by unapologetically embracing a bold, conservative agenda — one that emphasizes securing the border, standing strong against China, and advocating for American sovereignty. JD Vance has proven to be a fierce defender of these principles. His strong stance against illegal immigration, as well as his commitment to bringing American jobs back home from China, make him an invaluable ally in Trump’s fight to put America first.

In the face of global challenges and domestic strife, Trump needed someone like JD Vance who would stand firm in the face of leftist pressure, the mainstream media, and cancel culture. Vance’s resilience and courage in sticking to conservative principles make him an indispensable ally in Trump’s quest to reclaim American greatness.

4. Rural America’s Voice in Washington

Trump’s deep connection with rural America was one of the key factors in his 2016 victory. In JD Vance, Trump found a kindred spirit who understands the heartbeat of Middle America. Vance, who has firsthand knowledge of the hardships faced by families in small-town America, brings a fresh perspective to the Senate that Trump can rely on.

From advocating for policies that support American agriculture to pushing back against the cultural elites who are trying to rewrite America’s values, Vance is a powerful voice for the people who have long been overlooked by Washington politicians. With Vance in the Senate, Trump gained a strong advocate for rural communities, ensuring that their concerns are heard at the highest levels of government.

5. Fighting the Culture Wars

In addition to economic policies, Trump and Vance share a common commitment to fighting the culture wars. Vance, with his deep understanding of the impact of media, education, and corporate culture on America’s identity, has been an outspoken critic of the left’s radical agenda. He has voiced concerns about the erosion of traditional American values and the dangers of left-wing identity politics.

Trump needed someone who could not only challenge the left’s policies but also defend the cultural heritage of America. Vance’s intellectual and cultural insights make him an essential ally in this battle. Together, they form a powerful counterweight to the woke left’s attempt to undermine the very fabric of American society.

6. A Partnership for Victory

At its core, the Trump-Vance alliance is about winning — for the American people. It’s about rebuilding a nation that works for its citizens, standing up against forces that seek to weaken it, and ensuring that America remains a beacon of freedom, opportunity, and strength on the global stage.

Trump needed JD Vance because Vance’s voice is a reflection of the heart of America. Together, they represent the future of the Republican Party — a future that is grounded in traditional values, fierce independence, and a relentless pursuit of the American Dream.

Conclusion

In JD Vance, President Trump found an ally who shares his vision, his commitment to the working class, and his passion for restoring American greatness. As this partnership continues to grow, there’s no doubt that Trump and Vance will be a dynamic duo, leading the charge against the forces of globalization, corruption, and cultural decay.

For all the talk of division in American politics, the Trump-Vance partnership reminds us that unity is possible when leaders stand firm in their beliefs, fight for what’s right, and work together for the future of our nation. It’s a partnership built on trust, shared values, and an unyielding love for America — and that’s exactly why Trump needed JD Vance.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Thomas Kuhn sequer menciona o "método científico"

O que define uma ciência é o recorte de uma realidade a partir de um paradigma que todos os que entram no campo daquela ciência aceitam como verdade. Pronto.

O "método científico" não é nem necessário nem suficiente (apesar de que ele mesmo precisa pressupor uma série de axiomas para funcionar, do contrário a pessoa ficaria tendo que testar cada sílaba dos seus experimentos e cada um desses testes seria impossível de realizar pois eles necessariamente precisariam de outros conhecimentos prévios etc.).

Por isso - a física teórica pode ser uma ciência embora não faça experimentos; - e a economia pode ser uma ciência embora não faça experimentos (tá bom, existem pessoas que insistem em fazer "experimentos" em economia, mas que na verdade são só uma enorme perda de tempo baseada em estatísticas, mas isso não importa, até essas coisas podem ter algum valor desde que não se as entenda como sendo parte de um método científico); - e a história pode ser uma ciência, por mais estranho que isso pareça, bastando apenas que o historiador junte fatos de antigamente tendo como pressuposto um paradigma, por exemplo, de que existe um sentido da história, ou sei lá (não acho que exista essa ciência da história hoje em dia, me parece que cada historiador está fazendo uma coisa diferente, sem muitos paradigmas além do bom senso); - e a biologia pode ser uma ciência mesmo consistindo unicamente num longo esforço de classificação, e de fato é hoje, já que vê cada espécie e suas partes como frutos de um processo evolutivo cujas bases constituem um paradigma, e nega outras visões, como a teleologia.

• Método científico
• A estrutura paradigmática da ciência
• Um algoritmo imbecil da evolução

@ 4cec8c79:1511abda

Navigating Job Offers in Nigeria: Opportunities and Challenges

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, offers a dynamic job market that spans multiple industries. With its youthful population, growing tech sector, and diverse economy, job seekers face both opportunities and challenges. This article explores the job offer landscape in Nigeria, focusing on the key sectors, the job search process, and factors that both employers and potential employees must consider.

Key Sectors Offering Job Opportunities

1. Technology and ICT: Nigeria has been called the "Silicon Valley of Africa" due to its rapidly growing tech ecosystem. Cities like Lagos and Abuja are hubs for startups and innovation, with companies focusing on fintech, e-commerce, software development, and mobile technology. Tech giants like Andela, Paystack, and Flutterwave have made Nigeria a key player in the global tech space, offering high-paying jobs for software developers, data analysts, and cybersecurity experts.

2. Oil and Gas: The oil and gas industry remains one of the largest employers in Nigeria, contributing significantly to the country's GDP. Jobs in this sector range from engineering and project management to environmental science and logistics. Multinational companies like Shell, Chevron, and Total offer numerous positions, but the industry is also highly competitive and often requires specialized skills or experience.

3. Agriculture: With a large rural population and favorable climate, agriculture remains a vital sector for Nigeria's economy. The government has launched several initiatives aimed at promoting agribusiness and food security, which has led to job growth in areas like agritech, farming, supply chain management, and food processing.

4. Banking and Finance: The banking sector in Nigeria is robust, offering opportunities for those in finance, accounting, marketing, and management. In addition to traditional banking roles, Nigeria’s thriving fintech industry offers job opportunities in digital payments, lending, and financial inclusion platforms. Major players like GTBank, First Bank, and Zenith Bank are often on the lookout for skilled professionals.

5. Education and Health: Education and healthcare are both sectors that offer steady employment, especially in underserved areas. The rise of online learning platforms and private schools has boosted demand for teachers, while the healthcare sector, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, has underscored the need for medical professionals, public health workers, and researchers.

6. Entrepreneurship and Startups: Entrepreneurship is flourishing in Nigeria, with many young Nigerians turning to startups to solve local challenges. The rise of digital platforms and access to funding through venture capital and government grants has made it easier for entrepreneurs to grow businesses. From logistics and retail to food delivery and fintech, Nigerian startups are generating job opportunities for creative and tech-savvy individuals.

Challenges Faced by Job Seekers

1. Unemployment and Underemployment: Despite the booming sectors, Nigeria faces a high unemployment rate, especially among its youth. According to recent statistics, over 33% of the labor force is unemployed, with even more individuals underemployed, working in low-wage or part-time positions. This imbalance is one of the biggest challenges job seekers face, as they compete for a limited number of well-paying jobs.

2. Skill Mismatch: Many graduates in Nigeria find themselves in a situation where their education doesn't align with the demands of the job market. This skills mismatch is particularly evident in sectors like technology, where there's a demand for highly specialized skills in programming and data science. Upskilling

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@ b6424601:a11e4ff4

Personal Asset Architecture - Breaking Free from the Fiat-Driven Housing Market  

Subheading – How Individuals Can Opt Out of the Fiat-Driven System and Create Homes with long term value  

As a self-inflicted residential architect, I am passionate about creating new, renovated homes that matter to interesting people.  However, I've realized that the traditional housing market is built on a foundation of fiat currency, leading to several problems, including the potential devaluation of homes and, increasingly, the creation of empty stores of value.

The Fiat Death Spiral

Construction financing drives the most decisions in the housing market, which leads to a system where production homes are built to sell and create an initial profit rather than to provide a high-quality construction or a well-conceived living space.

The Choice: Custom vs. Fiat

When building or buying a home, you have two main options: a custom home built or renovated to your specifications or a production home pre-designed and pre-built by a builder.

Fiat-Driven Homes: The Short-Term Solution

Fiat-driven homes are built to sell quickly, often using materials that fit the deals proforma. Because of lower-quality materials and construction methods, Fiat homes depreciate more like cars than buildings.

Custom Homes: The Long-Term Solution

On the other hand, custom homes are typically built with higher quality and better design because the owner and designer are more invested in creating one-of-a-kind designs.

A New Approach: Personal Asset Architecture

As an architectural design firm owner focusing on homes, I've always known that the percentage of all homes architects design is low. I've used the low percentage as a filter for working with longer-term thinking clients, typically paying with cash. Clients who pay with cash have the flexibility to pay for what they want, allowing them to think about the total cost over the life of the house rather than just jumping through the hoops of a loan-to-value appraisal.

Bitcoin standard architectural practice and Bitcoin standard homes are the escape valves to continue the work we want for the individuals we want to work for. Our thesis is that Bitcoin can improve the housing market, both for our practice and for the clients we work with.  Our thesis is that Bitcoin changed the housing market for our practice and the people we work with to build a personal architecture that is as hard an asset as Bitcoin.  

Asset Architecture Benefits

Homes designed in a BTC standard have four big benefits for the individual to create personal asset architecture that holds value over time.

1. Allows owners to think in a longer time horizon – Decisions made when designing homes need to consider a longer time horizon to include the operating cost of the house in addition to the cost of construction.  Production homes are built to sell and create profit based on profit produced, netting profit by the sales price vs cost. Custom homes have more flexibility in spending more on quality and life cycle improvements.

2. Allows for a density of design thought -   Can you design a better-conceived home that considers how to use space more effectively to provide a denser space so the house can require less square footage?  Can the smaller square footage be planned to work as a lifetime home from a starter home, through offspring to empty nesting and multigenerational housing?  

3. Providing a return on investment beyond money – A home should produce a better quality of life. Can homes produce income, food, energy, resilience, conservation of resources, and interior air quality and become your favorite place to be?  Can the utility of needing a place to live be your family citadel?

4. Working with the system to minimize the power of the system to increase taxes on the asset - Can we design homes to reduce property taxes with a creative design to minimize bedrooms and the taxable house value?   Can we put more investment and design in outdoor space that helps owners maximize the use of properties for uses that are not taxed, like quality outdoor space or properties that produce food and energy?

The future of housing is uncertain, but one thing is evident from the trenches: the traditional fiat-driven system is not sustainable. Personal Asset Architecture offers a new approach to housing design that prioritizes long-term value, efficiency, and quality. By embracing this approach, we can create precious homes that produce a return on investment beyond money. The future of housing is in our hands, and it's time to create a new way of thinking about home design.

What is possible?

As individual owners and architects, we can build Stores of value buildings. By incorporating the goal of creating Personal Asset Architecture, we can create homes that produce a return on investment that goes beyond money and minimize the values of a banking system and the ability to increase taxes on the asset.

Stay humble, stack stakes, and when you are ready, choose to build stuff that holds actual value.**

HODL on

@ 2063cd79:57bd1320

Einer der großen Vorteile von Bitcoin ist, dass es relativ einfach ist Bitcoin selbst zu verwahren. Ich predige self-custody, also die Eigenverwahrung, von Bitcoin in fast jeder Ausgabe als einer der Hauptkomponenten der Formel für Freedom Money rauf und runter. Doch was genau bedeutet es seine bitcoins selbst zu verwahren? Denn schließlich verwaltet jeder mündige Bürger seine Finanzen, ob in Bitcoin oder nicht, in der Regel ja immer selbst. Es gibt einen großen Unterschied zwischen verwalten und verwahren. Denn das Verwahren übernehmen bei anderen Assets Dritte für uns, sei es die Bank, die unser Geld auf Konten, Hypotheken und Sparanlagen, manchmal sogar Wertsachen in Schließfächern, verwahrt, Finanzbroker oder Depotbanken, die Wertpapiere wie Aktien, Bonds oder ähnliches, verwahren, oder Versicherer, die Policen, Sparvermögen, usw. für uns verwahren. Immer sind Drittparteien mit der Verwahrung unseres Besitzes vertraut, oder haben sich uns aufgedrängt, weil es schlichtweg nicht anders möglich ist, diese Besitztümer völlig autark zu verwahren. Bei Bitcoin ist das anders. Bitcoin lässt sich ähnlich wie Bargeld, Gold oder Schmuck völlig autark und selbstbestimmt verwahren. Dabei gibt es, wie bei allem im Leben, sowohl einfache und bequeme, aber dadurch unsichere, als auch komplizierte und etwas aufwändigere, aber deshalb sehr sichere Verwahrungsmethoden. Eine sehr sichere Methode stellt die Verwahrung mit Hilfe von MultiSig (also Multi-Signature) dar. Dieses wollen wir uns diese Woche genauer anschauen.

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Eine der großen Errungenschaften von Bitcoin ist die Möglichkeit der Eigenverwahrung, sogenanntes self-custody. Es bietet jedem//jeder Hodler//in, Anleger//in und Investor//in eine völlig autarke und selbstbestimmte, Methode zur Verwahrung und Kontrolle seines Besitzes und damit einen Schutz vor Zensur, Kontrolle und Übergriffen. Ohne zu sehr ins Detail zu gehen, möchte ich kurz grundlegend die Sicherheitsstruktur von Bitcoin darlegen. Jede//r Nutzer//in sollte zunächst über eine Wallet verfügen. Eine Wallet ist kein Muss, um mit Bitcoin in Kontakt zu treten, jedoch versucht ja auch niemand das Internet ohne Browser zu verwenden. Eine Wallet ist, ähnlich wie der Internetbrowser, eine Software, die es dem Nutzenden ermöglicht Bitcoin zu erhalten, zu versenden oder zu verwahren (ohne Bitcoin direkt zu erhalten, zu versenden oder zu verwahren - kompliziert, ich weiß). Dabei gibt es ein weites Spektrum an verschiedenen Diensten. Es gibt Wallets, Börsen oder andere Verwahrungs-Services. Um das Thema MultiSig zu besprechen, fokussieren wir uns auf Wallets.

Im Grunde besitzt jede//r Halter//in von Bitcoin ein Schlüsselpaar - einen privaten Schlüssel (Private Key) und einen öffentlichen Schlüssel (PubKey). Vergleicht man das Konzept mit dem alten Finanzsystem würde man sagen, der öffentliche Schlüssel stellt die Kontonummer dar, also die Information, die öffentlich geteilt werden kann und der private Schlüssel stellt die PIN Nummer dar, also die Information, die nur die//der Besitzer//in haben sollte. Der private Schlüssel ist also die Information, die es zu schützen gilt, denn in Kombination erlauben mir die beiden Schlüssel Zugriff auf die sich dahinter befindenden bitcoins. Ein bitcoin lässt sich nicht aus der Blockchain extrahieren. Die einzelnen Coins existieren nur innerhalb der Chain (und nicht als ganze "Coins", sondern als Outputs/UTXOs). Lediglich der Besitzanspruch wird außerhalb gehandhabt. Das bedeutet, dass ich mit meinen beiden Schlüsseln den Zugriff oder Anspruch auf eine gewisse Anzahl bitcoins ausweisen kann. Habe ich Zugriff auf den privaten Schlüssel, kann ich also ohne weiteres komplett über alle damit verbundenen bitcoins verfügen, sie ausgeben, sie weiterversenden (oder akkurater formuliert: eine Nachricht signieren, die dem Empfänger die Kontrolle über diese bitcoins gewährt), oder sie sogar zerstören. Wallets übernehmen die Speicherung der Schlüssel, sowohl der öffentlichen, als auch der privaten, in einem für den Anwender benutzerfreundlichen Interface.

Sogenannte Hot Wallets, sind Apps, die mit dem Internet verbunden sind, und dadurch "hot" oder "live" sind, das heißt sie können im schlimmsten Fall gehackt werden. Cold Wallets sind offline Lösungen, die sich nicht online hacken lassen, aber z.B. im Falle eines Paper Wallets leicht verlieren, stehlen, oder zerstören lassen. Das Problem, wie oben erwähnt, ist je bequemer und nutzerfreundlich die Handhabung der Wallet, desto unsicherer ist sie in der Regel auch. Also jegliche Software Wallets, egal ob mobil oder auf dem Rechner daheim, stellen Sicherheitsrisiken dar, da sie wieder einen Drittanbieter in die Gleichung schleusen. Um volle Autarkie zu erlangen muss man sich von Drittanbietern, wie Wallet Anbietern, Börsen oder sonstigen Services, komplett lösen und die Schlüssel und damit seine bitcoins selbst verwahren. Denn die eiserne Regel gilt immer: Not your keys not your coins!

Wenn man einen Betrag von seiner Wallet senden möchte, wird eine Transaktion erstellt und signiert. Indem die Transaktion signiert wird, beglaubigt man in digitaler Form, dass man der Eigentümer des Betrages ist, dass man die Schlüssel besitzt, um es zu verwalten, und man die Transaktion genehmigt. Es wird also der Besitzanspruch signalisiert und weitergegeben, und kein bitcoin physisch bewegt. In einer Single-Signature Wallet benötigt man nur eine Signatur, um eine Transaktion zu signieren. Bei MultiSig (Multi-Signature) erfordert die Wallet mehrere Signaturen, um eine Transaktion zu signieren. Eine MultiSig-Wallet wird dabei von zwei oder mehreren Benutzern geteilt. Wird also eine Transaktion erstellt, muss die Anfrage zunächst von allen Teilnehmern bestätigt werden. MultiSig ist ein Aufbewahrungsmodell, bei dem eine Wallet mit mehreren Schlüsseln in einem m-von-n-Schema erstellt werden. Also beispielsweise eine 2-von-3-Wallet basierend auf drei Schlüsseln, von denen zwei zum Bestätigen einer Transaktion erforderlich sind. Es gibt auch andere Modelle wie 3-von-3, oder 3-von-5, etc. allerdings stellt 2-von-3 die gängigste Methode dar. Das Schöne an diesem Modell ist, dass es Single Points of Failure (SPOF) eliminiert. Das bedeutet, dass selbst sonst kritische Informationen, wie Seed-Phrase-Backups oder Hardware-Wallets, sogar von Angreifern gestohlen, oder durch einen Unfall verloren oder zerstört, werden können, ohne dass die Wallet kompromittiert wird. Es ist hilfreich, sich die MultiSig-Wallet als einen digitalen Safe vorzustellen. Man besitzt dabei verschiedene Schlüssel zu diesem Safe. Im Beispiel von der 2-von-3-Wallet hat der Tresor zwei Schlüssellöcher und drei Schlüssel. Zwei beliebige der drei Schlüssel können verwendet werden, um den Safe zu entriegeln, damit die darin gespeicherten bitcoins bewegt werden können.

https://x.com/cryptograffiti/status/1544763238721601537

Das bedeutet jedoch nicht, dass man mit einer MultiSig-Wallet unvorsichtiger umgehen sollte, denn trotz der Flexibilität, die MultiSig bietet, sollte man ein Seed-Phrase-Backup erstellen und vermeiden, Hardware-Wallets oder Seed-Phrasen gemeinsam aufzubewahren. Fast alle Anbieter von guten, sicheren und seriösen Wallet Software, sowie Hersteller von Hardware-Wallets bieten an MultiSig-Wallets innerhalb ihrer Apps anzulegen. Der Prozess ist ein wenig aufwändiger, als das Anlegen einfacher Single-Signature-Wallets, die Vorteile überwiegen den Aufwand aber deutlich. Ein MultiSig-Wallet schützt in der Regel, und wenn ordentlich gehandhabt, vor Phishing, Malware, Verlust der Schlüssel, Verlust von Hardware, wie Telefon, Laptop oder Hardware-Wallet, aber auch vor Diebstahl und Unfällen.

MultiSig-Wallets dienen nicht nur der Sicherheit, sondern können darüber hinaus auch weitere Nutzen haben. MultiSig kann auch als Zwei-Faktor-Authentifizierung für Bitcoin Transaktionen verstanden werden. Die vielfachen privaten Schlüssel können auf verschiedenen Geräten gespeichert und auf die im MultiSig-Wallet gespeicherten Coins nur zugegriffen werden, wenn alle Schlüssel vorhanden sind. bereitgestellt werden. Auch gibt es Szenarien, in denen ein MultiSig-Wallet als treuhänderischer Dienst funktionieren könnte. Zwei Parteien vereinbaren eine Zahlung für eine Dienstleistung oder einen Warenaustausch und setzen einen Treuhänder ein, der einen der Schlüssel erhält. Erst im Falle der erbrachten Leistung, übergibt dieser Treuhänder den Schlüssel und die Geldmittel können übertragen werden. Aber auch zukünftige Gesellschaftsformen könnten von einem solchen Modell profitieren. Gerade die aktuell diskutierte Gesellschaft mbH mit gebundenem Vermögen würde das gebundene Vermögen sichern können, indem jedes Vorstandsmitglied Zugriff auf einen privaten Schlüssel von vielen erhält. Kein einzelnes Vorstandsmitglied darf die Geldmittel missbräuchlich oder entgegen der Satzung verwenden. Somit könnten nur die von den Vorstandsmitgliedern mehrheitlich vereinbarten Entscheidungen ausgeführt und finanziert werden.

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MultiSig erhöht die Sicherheit von selbst verwahrtem Vermögen um ein vielfaches. Doch auch über den eigenen Sicherheitsaspekt hinaus, hat MultiSig die Möglichkeit das Thema digitaler Zahlungen in weiteren Bereichen interessant zu machen - Beispiele wie Escrow oder das Finanzplanning bei Gesellschaftsformen mit Vermögensbindung ergeben sich vielfach. Doch darüber hinaus, ist self-custody einer der wichtigsten Bausteine auf dem Weg zu einem Bitcoin Standard. Es soll nicht bedeuten, dass man sich mit seinem Eigentum verstecken und vergraben und der Gesellschaft nichts zurück geben soll, denn auch eigenständig verwahrte Bitcoins müssen zumindest steuerlich berücksichtigt werden. Jedoch bedeutet es, dass mir niemand meine bitcoins entreißen kann. Es gibt keine Bank, die mein Konto einfrieren oder pfänden könnte. Man kann auf seine bitcoins problemlos überall zugreifen, solange die Blockchain läuft, egal wo man sich auf der Welt befindet und egal zu welcher Tages- und Uhrzeit. Die Idee, dass Regierungen den Bankensektor, den sie regulieren, zwingen können Finanzdienstleistungen als Waffen einzusetzen sollte spätestens seit dem Freedom Convoy in Kanada keine Dystopie mehr sein. Es besteht kein Zweifel, dass die zunehmende Übergriffigkeit der Staaten, wie zuletzt in Kanada, eines der einzigartigen Wertversprechen von Bitcoin hervorgehoben hat: Jeder kann über seinen Besitz frei verfügen und Menschen können sich vor finanziellem "Cancelling" schützen. Es gibt Bitcoin eine weitere Bedeutung in seinem Narrativ als monetäre Revolution.

🫳🎤

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In diesem Sinne, 2... 1... Risiko!‌

@ eac63075:b4988b48

Based on a recent paper that included collaboration from renowned experts such as Lynn Alden, Steve Lee, and Ren Crypto Fish, we discuss in depth how Bitcoin's consensus is built, the main risks, and the complex dynamics of protocol upgrades.

PT-BR version

Podcast https://www.fountain.fm/episode/wbjD6ntQuvX5u2G5BccC

Presentation https://gamma.app/docs/Analyzing-Bitcoin-Consensus-Risks-in-Protocol-Upgrades-p66axxjwaa37ksn

1. Introduction to Consensus in Bitcoin

Consensus in Bitcoin is the foundation that keeps the network secure and functional, allowing users worldwide to perform transactions in a decentralized manner without the need for intermediaries. Since its launch in 2009, Bitcoin is often described as an "immutable" system designed to resist changes, and it is precisely this resistance that ensures its security and stability.

The central idea behind consensus in Bitcoin is to create a set of acceptance rules for blocks and transactions, ensuring that all network participants agree on the transaction history. This prevents "double-spending," where the same bitcoin could be used in two simultaneous transactions, something that would compromise trust in the network.

Evolution of Consensus in Bitcoin

Over the years, consensus in Bitcoin has undergone several adaptations, and the way participants agree on changes remains a delicate process. Unlike traditional systems, where changes can be imposed from the top down, Bitcoin operates in a decentralized model where any significant change needs the support of various groups of stakeholders, including miners, developers, users, and large node operators.

Moreover, the update process is extremely cautious, as hasty changes can compromise the network's security. As a result, the philosophy of "don't fix what isn't broken" prevails, with improvements happening incrementally and only after broad consensus among those involved. This model can make progress seem slow but ensures that Bitcoin remains faithful to the principles of security and decentralization.

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2. Technical Components of Consensus

Bitcoin's consensus is supported by a set of technical rules that determine what is considered a valid transaction and a valid block on the network. These technical aspects ensure that all nodes—the computers that participate in the Bitcoin network—agree on the current state of the blockchain. Below are the main technical components that form the basis of the consensus.

Validation of Blocks and Transactions

The validation of blocks and transactions is the central point of consensus in Bitcoin. A block is only considered valid if it meets certain criteria, such as maximum size, transaction structure, and the solving of the "Proof of Work" problem. The proof of work, required for a block to be included in the blockchain, is a computational process that ensures the block contains significant computational effort—protecting the network against manipulation attempts.

Transactions, in turn, need to follow specific input and output rules. Each transaction includes cryptographic signatures that prove the ownership of the bitcoins sent, as well as validation scripts that verify if the transaction conditions are met. This validation system is essential for network nodes to autonomously confirm that each transaction follows the rules.

Chain Selection

Another fundamental technical issue for Bitcoin's consensus is chain selection, which becomes especially important in cases where multiple versions of the blockchain coexist, such as after a network split (fork). To decide which chain is the "true" one and should be followed, the network adopts the criterion of the highest accumulated proof of work. In other words, the chain with the highest number of valid blocks, built with the greatest computational effort, is chosen by the network as the official one.

This criterion avoids permanent splits because it encourages all nodes to follow the same main chain, reinforcing consensus.

Soft Forks vs. Hard Forks

In the consensus process, protocol changes can happen in two ways: through soft forks or hard forks. These variations affect not only the protocol update but also the implications for network users:

• Soft Forks: These are changes that are backward compatible. Only nodes that adopt the new update will follow the new rules, but old nodes will still recognize the blocks produced with these rules as valid. This compatibility makes soft forks a safer option for updates, as it minimizes the risk of network division.

• Hard Forks: These are updates that are not backward compatible, requiring all nodes to update to the new version or risk being separated from the main chain. Hard forks can result in the creation of a new coin, as occurred with the split between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash in 2017. While hard forks allow for deeper changes, they also bring significant risks of network fragmentation.

These technical components form the base of Bitcoin's security and resilience, allowing the system to remain functional and immutable without losing the necessary flexibility to evolve over time.

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3. Stakeholders in Bitcoin's Consensus

Consensus in Bitcoin is not decided centrally. On the contrary, it depends on the interaction between different groups of stakeholders, each with their motivations, interests, and levels of influence. These groups play fundamental roles in how changes are implemented or rejected on the network. Below, we explore the six main stakeholders in Bitcoin's consensus.

1. Economic Nodes

Economic nodes, usually operated by exchanges, custody providers, and large companies that accept Bitcoin, exert significant influence over consensus. Because they handle large volumes of transactions and act as a connection point between the Bitcoin ecosystem and the traditional financial system, these nodes have the power to validate or reject blocks and to define which version of the software to follow in case of a fork.

Their influence is proportional to the volume of transactions they handle, and they can directly affect which chain will be seen as the main one. Their incentive is to maintain the network's stability and security to preserve its functionality and meet regulatory requirements.

2. Investors

Investors, including large institutional funds and individual Bitcoin holders, influence consensus indirectly through their impact on the asset's price. Their buying and selling actions can affect Bitcoin's value, which in turn influences the motivation of miners and other stakeholders to continue investing in the network's security and development.

Some institutional investors have agreements with custodians that may limit their ability to act in network split situations. Thus, the impact of each investor on consensus can vary based on their ownership structure and how quickly they can react to a network change.

3. Media Influencers

Media influencers, including journalists, analysts, and popular personalities on social media, have a powerful role in shaping public opinion about Bitcoin and possible updates. These influencers can help educate the public, promote debates, and bring transparency to the consensus process.

On the other hand, the impact of influencers can be double-edged: while they can clarify complex topics, they can also distort perceptions by amplifying or minimizing change proposals. This makes them a force both of support and resistance to consensus.

4. Miners

Miners are responsible for validating transactions and including blocks in the blockchain. Through computational power (hashrate), they also exert significant influence over consensus decisions. In update processes, miners often signal their support for a proposal, indicating that the new version is safe to use. However, this signaling is not always definitive, and miners can change their position if they deem it necessary.

Their incentive is to maximize returns from block rewards and transaction fees, as well as to maintain the value of investments in their specialized equipment, which are only profitable if the network remains stable.

5. Protocol Developers

Protocol developers, often called "Core Developers," are responsible for writing and maintaining Bitcoin's code. Although they do not have direct power over consensus, they possess an informal veto power since they decide which changes are included in the main client (Bitcoin Core). This group also serves as an important source of technical knowledge, helping guide decisions and inform other stakeholders.

Their incentive lies in the continuous improvement of the network, ensuring security and decentralization. Many developers are funded by grants and sponsorships, but their motivations generally include a strong ideological commitment to Bitcoin's principles.

6. Users and Application Developers

This group includes people who use Bitcoin in their daily transactions and developers who build solutions based on the network, such as wallets, exchanges, and payment platforms. Although their power in consensus is less than that of miners or economic nodes, they play an important role because they are responsible for popularizing Bitcoin's use and expanding the ecosystem.

If application developers decide not to adopt an update, this can affect compatibility and widespread acceptance. Thus, they indirectly influence consensus by deciding which version of the protocol to follow in their applications.

These stakeholders are vital to the consensus process, and each group exerts influence according to their involvement, incentives, and ability to act in situations of change. Understanding the role of each makes it clearer how consensus is formed and why it is so difficult to make significant changes to Bitcoin.

---

4. Mechanisms for Activating Updates in Bitcoin

For Bitcoin to evolve without compromising security and consensus, different mechanisms for activating updates have been developed over the years. These mechanisms help coordinate changes among network nodes to minimize the risk of fragmentation and ensure that updates are implemented in an orderly manner. Here, we explore some of the main methods used in Bitcoin, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as historical examples of significant updates.

Flag Day

The Flag Day mechanism is one of the simplest forms of activating changes. In it, a specific date or block is determined as the activation moment, and all nodes must be updated by that point. This method does not involve prior signaling; participants simply need to update to the new software version by the established day or block.

• Advantages: Simplicity and predictability are the main benefits of Flag Day, as everyone knows the exact activation date.

• Disadvantages: Inflexibility can be a problem because there is no way to adjust the schedule if a significant part of the network has not updated. This can result in network splits if a significant number of nodes are not ready for the update.

An example of Flag Day was the Pay to Script Hash (P2SH) update in 2012, which required all nodes to adopt the change to avoid compatibility issues.

BIP34 and BIP9

BIP34 introduced a more dynamic process, in which miners increase the version number in block headers to signal the update. When a predetermined percentage of the last blocks is mined with this new version, the update is automatically activated. This model later evolved with BIP9, which allowed multiple updates to be signaled simultaneously through "version bits," each corresponding to a specific change.

• Advantages: Allows the network to activate updates gradually, giving more time for participants to adapt.

• Disadvantages: These methods rely heavily on miner support, which means that if a sufficient number of miners do not signal the update, it can be delayed or not implemented.

BIP9 was used in the activation of SegWit (BIP141) but faced challenges because some miners did not signal their intent to activate, leading to the development of new mechanisms.

User Activated Soft Forks (UASF) and User Resisted Soft Forks (URSF)

To increase the decision-making power of ordinary users, the concept of User Activated Soft Fork (UASF) was introduced, allowing node operators, not just miners, to determine consensus for a change. In this model, nodes set a date to start rejecting blocks that are not in compliance with the new update, forcing miners to adapt or risk having their blocks rejected by the network.

URSF, in turn, is a model where nodes reject blocks that attempt to adopt a specific update, functioning as resistance against proposed changes.

• Advantages: UASF returns decision-making power to node operators, ensuring that changes do not depend solely on miners.

• Disadvantages: Both UASF and URSF can generate network splits, especially in cases of strong opposition among different stakeholders.

An example of UASF was the activation of SegWit in 2017, where users supported activation independently of miner signaling, which ended up forcing its adoption.

BIP8 (LOT=True)

BIP8 is an evolution of BIP9, designed to prevent miners from indefinitely blocking a change desired by the majority of users and developers. BIP8 allows setting a parameter called "lockinontimeout" (LOT) as true, which means that if the update has not been fully signaled by a certain point, it is automatically activated.

• Advantages: Ensures that changes with broad support among users are not blocked by miners who wish to maintain the status quo.

• Disadvantages: Can lead to network splits if miners or other important stakeholders do not support the update.

Although BIP8 with LOT=True has not yet been used in Bitcoin, it is a proposal that can be applied in future updates if necessary.

These activation mechanisms have been essential for Bitcoin's development, allowing updates that keep the network secure and functional. Each method brings its own advantages and challenges, but all share the goal of preserving consensus and network cohesion.

---

5. Risks and Considerations in Consensus Updates

Consensus updates in Bitcoin are complex processes that involve not only technical aspects but also political, economic, and social considerations. Due to the network's decentralized nature, each change brings with it a set of risks that need to be carefully assessed. Below, we explore some of the main challenges and future scenarios, as well as the possible impacts on stakeholders.

Network Fragility with Alternative Implementations

One of the main risks associated with consensus updates is the possibility of network fragmentation when there are alternative software implementations. If an update is implemented by a significant group of nodes but rejected by others, a network split (fork) can occur. This creates two competing chains, each with a different version of the transaction history, leading to unpredictable consequences for users and investors.

Such fragmentation weakens Bitcoin because, by dividing hashing power (computing) and coin value, it reduces network security and investor confidence. A notable example of this risk was the fork that gave rise to Bitcoin Cash in 2017 when disagreements over block size resulted in a new chain and a new asset.

Chain Splits and Impact on Stakeholders

Chain splits are a significant risk in update processes, especially in hard forks. During a hard fork, the network is split into two separate chains, each with its own set of rules. This results in the creation of a new coin and leaves users with duplicated assets on both chains. While this may seem advantageous, in the long run, these splits weaken the network and create uncertainties for investors.

Each group of stakeholders reacts differently to a chain split:

• Institutional Investors and ETFs: Face regulatory and compliance challenges because many of these assets are managed under strict regulations. The creation of a new coin requires decisions to be made quickly to avoid potential losses, which may be hampered by regulatory constraints.

• Miners: May be incentivized to shift their computing power to the chain that offers higher profitability, which can weaken one of the networks.

• Economic Nodes: Such as major exchanges and custody providers, have to quickly choose which chain to support, influencing the perceived value of each network.

Such divisions can generate uncertainties and loss of value, especially for institutional investors and those who use Bitcoin as a store of value.

Regulatory Impacts and Institutional Investors

With the growing presence of institutional investors in Bitcoin, consensus changes face new compliance challenges. Bitcoin ETFs, for example, are required to follow strict rules about which assets they can include and how chain split events should be handled. The creation of a new asset or migration to a new chain can complicate these processes, creating pressure for large financial players to quickly choose a chain, affecting the stability of consensus.

Moreover, decisions regarding forks can influence the Bitcoin futures and derivatives market, affecting perception and adoption by new investors. Therefore, the need to avoid splits and maintain cohesion is crucial to attract and preserve the confidence of these investors.

Security Considerations in Soft Forks and Hard Forks

While soft forks are generally preferred in Bitcoin for their backward compatibility, they are not without risks. Soft forks can create different classes of nodes on the network (updated and non-updated), which increases operational complexity and can ultimately weaken consensus cohesion. In a network scenario with fragmentation of node classes, Bitcoin's security can be affected, as some nodes may lose part of the visibility over updated transactions or rules.

In hard forks, the security risk is even more evident because all nodes need to adopt the new update to avoid network division. Experience shows that abrupt changes can create temporary vulnerabilities, in which malicious agents try to exploit the transition to attack the network.

Bounty Claim Risks and Attack Scenarios

Another risk in consensus updates are so-called "bounty claims"—accumulated rewards that can be obtained if an attacker manages to split or deceive a part of the network. In a conflict scenario, a group of miners or nodes could be incentivized to support a new update or create an alternative version of the software to benefit from these rewards.

These risks require stakeholders to carefully assess each update and the potential vulnerabilities it may introduce. The possibility of "bounty claims" adds a layer of complexity to consensus because each interest group may see a financial opportunity in a change that, in the long term, may harm network stability.

The risks discussed above show the complexity of consensus in Bitcoin and the importance of approaching it gradually and deliberately. Updates need to consider not only technical aspects but also economic and social implications, in order to preserve Bitcoin's integrity and maintain trust among stakeholders.

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6. Recommendations for the Consensus Process in Bitcoin

To ensure that protocol changes in Bitcoin are implemented safely and with broad support, it is essential that all stakeholders adopt a careful and coordinated approach. Here are strategic recommendations for evaluating, supporting, or rejecting consensus updates, considering the risks and challenges discussed earlier, along with best practices for successful implementation.

1. Careful Evaluation of Proposal Maturity

Stakeholders should rigorously assess the maturity level of a proposal before supporting its implementation. Updates that are still experimental or lack a robust technical foundation can expose the network to unnecessary risks. Ideally, change proposals should go through an extensive testing phase, have security audits, and receive review and feedback from various developers and experts.

2. Extensive Testing in Secure and Compatible Networks

Before an update is activated on the mainnet, it is essential to test it on networks like testnet and signet, and whenever possible, on other compatible networks that offer a safe and controlled environment to identify potential issues. Testing on networks like Litecoin was fundamental for the safe launch of innovations like SegWit and the Lightning Network, allowing functionalities to be validated on a lower-impact network before being implemented on Bitcoin.

The Liquid Network, developed by Blockstream, also plays an important role as an experimental network for new proposals, such as OP_CAT. By adopting these testing environments, stakeholders can mitigate risks and ensure that the update is reliable and secure before being adopted by the main network.

3. Importance of Stakeholder Engagement

The success of a consensus update strongly depends on the active participation of all stakeholders. This includes economic nodes, miners, protocol developers, investors, and end users. Lack of participation can lead to inadequate decisions or even future network splits, which would compromise Bitcoin's security and stability.

4. Key Questions for Evaluating Consensus Proposals

To assist in decision-making, each group of stakeholders should consider some key questions before supporting a consensus change:

• Does the proposal offer tangible benefits for Bitcoin's security, scalability, or usability?
• Does it maintain backward compatibility or introduce the risk of network split?
• Are the implementation requirements clear and feasible for each group involved?
• Are there clear and aligned incentives for all stakeholder groups to accept the change?

5. Coordination and Timing in Implementations

Timing is crucial. Updates with short activation windows can force a split because not all nodes and miners can update simultaneously. Changes should be planned with ample deadlines to allow all stakeholders to adjust their systems, avoiding surprises that could lead to fragmentation.

Mechanisms like soft forks are generally preferable to hard forks because they allow a smoother transition. Opting for backward-compatible updates when possible facilitates the process and ensures that nodes and miners can adapt without pressure.

6. Continuous Monitoring and Re-evaluation

After an update, it's essential to monitor the network to identify problems or side effects. This continuous process helps ensure cohesion and trust among all participants, keeping Bitcoin as a secure and robust network.

These recommendations, including the use of secure networks for extensive testing, promote a collaborative and secure environment for Bitcoin's consensus process. By adopting a deliberate and strategic approach, stakeholders can preserve Bitcoin's value as a decentralized and censorship-resistant network.

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7. Conclusion

Consensus in Bitcoin is more than a set of rules; it's the foundation that sustains the network as a decentralized, secure, and reliable system. Unlike centralized systems, where decisions can be made quickly, Bitcoin requires a much more deliberate and cooperative approach, where the interests of miners, economic nodes, developers, investors, and users must be considered and harmonized. This governance model may seem slow, but it is fundamental to preserving the resilience and trust that make Bitcoin a global store of value and censorship-resistant.

Consensus updates in Bitcoin must balance the need for innovation with the preservation of the network's core principles. The development process of a proposal needs to be detailed and rigorous, going through several testing stages, such as in testnet, signet, and compatible networks like Litecoin and Liquid Network. These networks offer safe environments for proposals to be analyzed and improved before being launched on the main network.

Each proposed change must be carefully evaluated regarding its maturity, impact, backward compatibility, and support among stakeholders. The recommended key questions and appropriate timing are critical to ensure that an update is adopted without compromising network cohesion. It's also essential that the implementation process is continuously monitored and re-evaluated, allowing adjustments as necessary and minimizing the risk of instability.

By following these guidelines, Bitcoin's stakeholders can ensure that the network continues to evolve safely and robustly, maintaining user trust and further solidifying its role as one of the most resilient and innovative digital assets in the world. Ultimately, consensus in Bitcoin is not just a technical issue but a reflection of its community and the values it represents: security, decentralization, and resilience.

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8. Links

Whitepaper: https://github.com/bitcoin-cap/bcap

Youtube (pt-br): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rARycAibl9o&list=PL-qnhF0qlSPkfhorqsREuIu4UTbF0h4zb

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Drivechain comparison with Ethereum

Ethereum and other "smart contract platforms" capable of running turing-complete code and "developer-friendly" mindset and community have been running for years and they were able to produce a very low number of potentially useful "contracts".

What are these contracts, actually? (Considering Ethereum, but others are similar:) they are sidechains that run inside the Ethereum blockchain (and thus their verification and data storage are forced upon all Ethereum nodes). Users can peg-in to a contract by depositing money on it and peg-out by making a contract operation that sends money to a normal Ethereum address.

Now be generous and imagine these platforms are able to produce 3 really cool, useful ideas (out of many thousands of attempts): Bitcoin can copy these, turn them into 3 different sidechains, each running fixed, specific, optimized code. Bitcoin users can now opt to use these platforms by transferring coins to it – all that without damaging the nodes or the consensus protocol that has been running for years, and without forcing anyone to be aware of these chains.

The process of turning a useful idea into a sidechain doesn't come spontaneously, and can't be done by a single company (like often happens in Ethereum-land), it must be acknowledge by a rough consensus in the Bitcoin community that that specific sidechain with that specific design is a desirable thing, and ultimately approved by miners, as they're the ones that are going to be in charge of that.

@ 35f3a26c:92ddf231

The FUD injection

Many cyber security advisors and CEOs of companies that offer security products will tell you that the battle is lost, that, for example, if you don't buy an air gap device your private keys are not secure.... That, if you used your computer instead to write the seed words in a piece of paper and then put them in a piece of metal, you will be hacked and most probably you are doomed....

IMO and experience, it is an exaggeration...

If all the fear mongering being pedaled by the cyber security enthusiasts and experts was true, oh well, with very few exceptions, we all will be drained of our funds in banks (most neither have a decent 2FA - still working with SMS for crying out-loud...), self custody wallets, etc... Even the Bitcoin blockchain encryption will be broken by "quantum computers"... oh and AI will be used by hackers to hack you as well... Just ignore the noise...

The unpopular opinion

IMO, basic IT hygiene is enough to keep the malware, viruses and therefore, the cyber criminals away.

And the tools they tell you that are not enough and therefore, you are powerless, actually are quite helpful, keep using them, firewalls, VPNs, TOR, Linux Whirpool, etc.

Sugestions

Do your homework, acquiring cyber security skills needs reading, get on it, few tips:

1. Learn how to verify a software security key or SHA256 before running it in your laptop or mobile if an apk. If on Microsoft, if the software you want to install does not have a .msi version (already signed by Microsoft), the .exe extension file needs to be verified, learn how, this is paramount, no matter the application, same with Linux. If the app does not offer it, do not install it, contact the developer and demand it, if no dice, forget it, look for an alternative.
2. Use a VPN on your home router, yes, even if you acquire cyber security knowledge and apply it to your mobile and laptop, if you do not live alone, every other member of your family is a weak link that can affect you. Acquire a router that supports a VPN that does not require to know your identity to pay for the service and accepts Bitcoin as payment (otherwise do not use it, no matter how good you think it is, if free avoid, you are the product and therefore, you are better without one that with one free). As an additional measure, keep your laptop, PC and mobile with another VPN, a different service, you will be with a double VPN while at home and with one while in the road. In the past the throughput will be considerably reduced to a point of being too slow, nowadays, you will be fine.
3. Use a router with a decent firewall and advertising guard like features, Adguard or Pi-Hole (learn to configure and to add community supported lists) , that will keep your home browsing experience safer and faster.
4. If you do banking and Bitcoin with your mobile phone, consider having two mobiles, one left at home secured. Carry with you a mobile for your social needs and small payments in fiat or Bitcoin, if you loose your phone or you get robed, you will sleep better....
5. If you insist on using debit cards instead of credit cards, keep the account with the debit card limited to your needs when you go out. A bit of a pain but do not use your savings account, if you lose the wallet you are screwed and there is no recurse with a debit card.... (or use credit cards and you have the option to recover the funds in case is needed)
6. If you have stacked a considerable amount in Bitcoin and want to be sufficiently safe, consider an air gap seed signer, if you do not trust yourself, consider a service with no KYC, contrary to what many believe, there are some, recently I learn that CASA is one of them, probably there are others, do your homework. You keep one or two private keys and the company keeps another one, to remove the funds you need 2 of 3 and it has built in time locks you can set up.
7. Avoid Microsoft and Google and Apple clouds, those are honey pots often targeted, if they get hacked the companies most probably will neither inform the clients or if they do it would be much after the incident, use other private services highly encrypted end to end, preferably FOSS, and do not upload your data unencrypted, yes, encrypt it before uploading if it is valuable information, it is a backup of data and you want it safe, if it is not in your hands, best to encrypt it, even if the company claim it is E2E encrypted, you can't be sure....

Summary

Each person is different, you need to sleep good at night knowing your cyber security is sufficient and therefore your data and funds are safe. Do the homework, read, study, acquire the skills and tools and use them properly, cyber security is not convenient, but in the age of information, it is a must to protect your family and your wealth.

If you like my work and would like to support me:

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Lightning and its fake HTLCs

Lightning is terrible but can be very good with two tweaks.

How Lightning would work without HTLCs

In a world in which HTLCs didn't exist, Lightning channels would consist only of balances. Each commitment transaction would have two outputs: one for peer A, the other for peer B, according to the current state of the channel.

When a payment was being attempted to go through the channel, peers would just trust each other to update the state when necessary. For example:

1. Channel AB's balances are A[10:10]B (in sats);
2. A sends a 3sat payment through B to C;
3. A asks B to route the payment. Channel AB doesn't change at all;
4. B sends the payment to C, C accepts it;
5. Channel BC changes from B[20:5]C to B[17:8]C;
6. B notifies A the payment was successful, A acknowledges that;
7. Channel AB changes from A[10:10]B to A[7:13]B.

This in the case of a success, everything is fine, no glitches, no dishonesty.

But notice that A could have refused to acknowledge that the payment went through, either because of a bug, or because it went offline forever, or because it is malicious. Then the channel AB would stay as A[10:10]B and B would have lost 3 satoshis.

How Lightning would work with HTLCs

HTLCs are introduced to remedy that situation. Now instead of commitment transactions having always only two outputs, one to each peer, now they can have HTLC outputs too. These HTLC outputs could go to either side dependending on the circumstance.

Specifically, the peer that is sending the payment can redeem the HTLC after a number of blocks have passed. The peer that is receiving the payment can redeem the HTLC if they are able to provide the preimage to the hash specified in the HTLC.

Now the flow is something like this:

1. Channel AB's balances are A[10:10]B;
2. A sends a 3sat payment through B to C:
3. A asks B to route the payment. Their channel changes to A[7:3:10]B (the middle number is the HTLC).
4. B offers a payment to C. Their channel changes from B[20:5]C to B[17:3:5]C.
5. C tells B the preimage for that HTLC. Their channel changes from B[17:3:5]C to B[17:8]C.
6. B tells A the preimage for that HTLC. Their channel changes from A[7:3:10]B to A[7:13]B.

Now if A wants to trick B and stop responding B doesn't lose money, because B knows the preimage, B just needs to publish the commitment transaction A[7:3:10]B, which gives him 10sat and then redeem the HTLC using the preimage he got from C, which gives him 3 sats more. B is fine now.

In the same way, if B stops responding for any reason, A won't lose the money it put in that HTLC, it can publish the commitment transaction, get 7 back, then redeem the HTLC after the certain number of blocks have passed and get the other 3 sats back.

How Lightning doesn't really work

The example above about how the HTLCs work is very elegant but has a fatal flaw on it: transaction fees. Each new HTLC added increases the size of the commitment transaction and it requires yet another transaction to be redeemed. If we consider fees of 10000 satoshis that means any HTLC below that is as if it didn't existed because we can't ever redeem it anyway. In fact the Lightning protocol explicitly dictates that if HTLC output amounts are below the fee necessary to redeem them they shouldn't be created.

What happens in these cases then? Nothing, the amounts that should be in HTLCs are moved to the commitment transaction miner fee instead.

So considering a transaction fee of 10000sat for these HTLCs if one is sending Lightning payments below 10000sat that means they operate according to the unsafe protocol described in the first section above.

It is actually worse, because consider what happens in the case a channel in the middle of a route has a glitch or one of the peers is unresponsive. The other node, thinking they are operating in the trustless protocol, will proceed to publish the commitment transaction, i.e. close the channel, so they can redeem the HTLC -- only then they find out they are actually in the unsafe protocol realm and there is no HTLC to be redeemed at all and they lose not only the money, but also the channel (which costed a lot of money to open and close, in overall transaction fees).

One of the biggest features of the trustless protocol are the payment proofs. Every payment is identified by a hash and whenever the payee releases the preimage relative to that hash that means the payment was complete. The incentives are in place so all nodes in the path pass the preimage back until it reaches the payer, which can then use it as the proof he has sent the payment and the payee has received it. This feature is also lost in the unsafe protocol: if a glitch happens or someone goes offline on the preimage's way back then there is no way the preimage will reach the payer because no HTLCs are published and redeemed on the chain. The payee may have received the money but the payer will not know -- but the payee will lose the money sent anyway.

The end of HTLCs

So considering the points above you may be sad because in some cases Lightning doesn't use these magic HTLCs that give meaning to it all. But the fact is that no matter what anyone thinks, HTLCs are destined to be used less and less as time passes.

The fact that over time Bitcoin transaction fees tend to rise, and also the fact that multipart payment (MPP) are increasedly being used on Lightning for good, we can expect that soon no HTLC will ever be big enough to be actually worth redeeming and we will be at a point in which not a single HTLC is real and they're all fake.

Another thing to note is that the current unsafe protocol kicks out whenever the HTLC amount is below the Bitcoin transaction fee would be to redeem it, but this is not a reasonable algorithm. It is not reasonable to lose a channel and then pay 10000sat in fees to redeem a 10001sat HTLC. At which point does it become reasonable to do it? Probably in an amount many times above that, so it would be reasonable to even increase the threshold above which real HTLCs are made -- thus making their existence more and more rare.

These are good things, because we don't actually need HTLCs to make a functional Lightning Network.

We must embrace the unsafe protocol and make it better

So the unsafe protocol is not necessarily very bad, but the way it is being done now is, because it suffers from two big problems:

1. Channels are lost all the time for no reason;
2. No guarantees of the proof-of-payment ever reaching the payer exist.

The first problem we fix by just stopping the current practice of closing channels when there are no real HTLCs in them.

That, however, creates a new problem -- or actually it exarcebates the second: now that we're not closing channels, what do we do with the expired payments in them? These payments should have either been canceled or fulfilled before some block x, now we're in block x+1, our peer has returned from its offline period and one of us will have to lose the money from that payment.

That's fine because it's only 3sat and it's better to just lose 3sat than to lose both the 3sat and the channel anyway, so either one would be happy to eat the loss. Maybe we'll even split it 50/50! No, that doesn't work, because it creates an attack vector with peers becoming unresponsive on purpose on one side of the route and actually failing/fulfilling the payment on the other side and making a profit with that.

So we actually need to know who is to blame on these payments, even if we are not going to act on that imediatelly: we need some kind of arbiter that both peers can trust, such that if one peer is trying to send the preimage or the cancellation to the other and the other is unresponsive, when the unresponsive peer comes back, the arbiter can tell them they are to blame, so they can willfully eat the loss and the channel can continue. Both peers are happy this way.

If the unresponsive peer doesn't accept what the arbiter says then the peer that was operating correctly can assume the unresponsive peer is malicious and close the channel, and then blacklist it and never again open a channel with a peer they know is malicious.

Again, the differences between this scheme and the current Lightning Network are that:

a. In the current Lightning we always close channels, in this scheme we only close channels in case someone is malicious or in other worst case scenarios (the arbiter is unresponsive, for example). b. In the current Lightning we close the channels without having any clue on who is to blame for that, then we just proceed to reopen a channel with that same peer even in the case they were actively trying to harm us before.

What is missing? An arbiter.

The Bitcoin blockchain is the ideal arbiter, it works in the best possible way if we follow the trustless protocol, but as we've seen we can't use the Bitcoin blockchain because it is expensive.

Therefore we need a new arbiter. That is the hard part, but not unsolvable. Notice that we don't need an absolutely perfect arbiter, anything is better than nothing, really, even an unreliable arbiter that is offline half of the day is better than what we have today, or an arbiter that lies, an arbiter that charges some satoshis for each resolution, anything.

Here are some suggestions:

• random nodes from the network selected by an algorithm that both peers agree to, so they can't cheat by selecting themselves. The only thing these nodes have to do is to store data from one peer, try to retransmit it to the other peer and record the results for some time.
• a set of nodes preselected by the two peers when the channel is being opened -- same as above, but with more handpicked-trust involved.
• some third-party cloud storage or notification provider with guarantees of having open data in it and some public log-keeping, like Twitter, GitHub or a Nostr relay;
• peers that get paid to do the job, selected by the fact that they own some token (I know this is stepping too close to the shitcoin territory, but could be an idea) issued in a Spacechain;
• a Spacechain itself, serving only as the storage for a bunch of OP_RETURNs that are published and tracked by these Lightning peers whenever there is an issue (this looks wrong, but could work).

Key points

1. Lightning with HTLC-based routing was a cool idea, but it wasn't ever really feasible.
2. HTLCs are going to be abandoned and that's the natural course of things.
3. It is actually good that HTLCs are being abandoned, but
4. We must change the protocol to account for the existence of fake HTLCs and thus make the bulk of the Lightning Network usage viable again.

See also

• Ripple and the problem of the decentralized commit
• The Lightning Network solves the problem of the decentralized commit

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

contratos.alhur.es

A website that allowed people to fill a form and get a standard Contrato de Locação.

Better than all the other "templates" that float around the internet, which are badly formatted .doc files.

It was fully programmable so other templates could be added later, but I never did. This website made maybe one dollar in Google Ads (and Google has probably stolen these like so many other dollars they did with their bizarre requirements).

• https://github.com/fiatjaf/contratos
• http://contratos.alhur.es

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Gold is not useless

If there's something all common people believe about gold is that it is useless[^1]. Austrian economists and libertarians in general that argue against central banks or defend a primitive gold standard are often charged with that accusation: that gold is useless, it has no use in the industry, it serves no purpose besides ornamental, so it is a silly commodity, a luxurious one, and that it would be almost immoral to have such a thing in a so central position in an economy such as the position of money.

I've seen libertarians in general argue such things as: "it is used in some dental operations", which means people make dental prosthesis of gold, something that fits in same category of jewelry, I would say.

There's also the argument of electronic connectors. That's something that appears to be true, but wouldn't suffice the anti-gold arguments. The fact remains that, besides its uses as money -- because gold is still considered to be a form money even now that it doesn't have that position formally in any country (otherwise it wouldn't be considered as an "investment" or "value store" everywhere) -- gold is used mainly for ornamental purposes[^2].

All that is a hassle for libertarians in general. Even the Mises Regression Theory wouldn't solve that problem of people skeptical of gold due to its immoral nature. That problem is solved once you read what is written in the chapter 17 from Richard Cantillon's Essay on Economic Theory^3 (page 103):

Gold and silver are capable of serving not only the same purpose as tin and copper, but also most of the purposes of lead and iron. They have this further advantage over other metals in that they are not consumed by fire and are so durable that they may be considered permanent. It is not surprising, therefore, that the men who found the other metals useful, valued gold and silver even before they were used in exchange.

So gold is indeed useful. Everybody should already know that. You can even do forks and spoons with gold. You can do furniture with gold, and many other useful stuff. As soon as you grasp this, gold is useful again. It is an useful commodity.

Answering the next question becomes easy: why isn't anyone making gold forks anywhere? The questioner already knows the answer: because it is too expensive for that.

And now the Regression Theory comes with its full force: why is it expensive? Because it has gained a lot of value in the process of becoming money. The value of gold as money is much greater than as a metal used in fork production.

---

[^1]: see http://www.salon.com/2014/02/02/ignore_sean_hannity_gold_is_useless_partner/ or all answers on https://www.quora.com/Why-is-gold-considered-so-precious-and-why-does-it-have-such-high-prices. [^2]: this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold#Modern_applications section on the Wikipedia page for gold is revealing.

@ 35f3a26c:92ddf231

This is my top 3 list of whom, IMO, are today's most dangerous influential actors in the #Bitcoin arena, the list is based on previous actions and capacity to harm the ecosystem due to their resources and influence in the space:

Number 1 : Elon Musk

Reasoning: Supporting a meme coin and trolling the ecosystem. Trying to create the american wechat and portraying himself as a protector of freedom of speech. Admired and loved by millions...

Potential impact: High, he may support a shitcoin as solana or worst, create his own with the support of deep pockets and the government. Considering that we are still early and millions around the world still see #Bitcoin as a risk asset or worst, creating one in X will have immediate use case and challenge p2p cash use case from the get go, where Meta failed X may succeed...

Number 2: Jack Dorsey

Reasoning: Known for his history as Twitter CEO during the crusade against freedom of speech, cancelation of critical thinkers and even a president of USA, the behavior of Twitter was reprehensible while Jack was the CEO, I never thought that a company could behave that way and survive and yet... Unreal and zero legal accountability, twitter basically gaslighted a large amount of the population, supported political propaganda to one party with no neutrality, supported an experimental drug that is still harming people and didnt let experts and doctors to debate and discuss and not one of those thugs blocking accounts and censoring critical thinkers was made accountable, eye opening in many ways for those that at that moment still believed that USA respected freedom of speech... Recently supported a mining pool that censors whirlpool from Samourai wallet, old habits die hard I guess... And the cherry of the pie, now funding FiatJaf whom was looking for funding to spam Ethereum and Monero networks to make them unusable so more funds will move to Bitcoin and LN... This project and idea from the getgo is a no no, you may not like another project but to spam it intentionally should be illegal, and it is being done, shamelessly...

Potential impact: Very high, already inside the community, a record of bad actions, pro censorship, vast resources, head of Cash App, admired by most in the community and hence able to missguide the community into a path that could eventually make Bitcoin a failure of a project in the future with the proposal of a hard fork introducing additional censorship and less privacy in one way or another.

Number 3: Blackrock

Reasoning: No need to explain much, they join the train and... it is only logical , after so much hate and media propaganda against Bitcoin, that they did so to fight the fight from inside trying to affect it and transform it into something else , just speculation, time will say. Check my article on ETFs

Potential Impact: Super Nova. As I explain in my article of ETFs, they have the resources to attempt to change the direction of Bitcoin development for it to become something else, even kill it as a store of value. They have a large stake in some of the largest mining farms as well... Do the math, it looks like a hostile take over and that may not end well. Again, just my opinion, but, if history and patterns teach us leasons, not a good look... Activist Critical Thinkers in the space are needed, #Bitcoin for many years has been a space with many of them, the list was long, but little by little I observe a change, produced by time+age+money, those libertarians are now; most of them; retired millionaires, or enterpreuners absorbed by the fiat system and therefore have changed their tune. I thought we will have a new generation, motivated, smarter, ready to take over, but all I see, with few exceptions in the NOSTR side of the equation, is more corporate fiat system acolytes.

Stay humble says someone, never more important... What are your thoughts? Share your top 3 current most dangerous threats to the Bitcoin ecosystem...

@ 35f3a26c:92ddf231

What is multiculturalism?

Multiculturalism is a concept that promotes the acceptance, appreciation, and celebration of diverse cultures within a society. It involves recognizing and valuing the differences between various cultural groups while fostering social cohesion and equality.

The key principles of multiculturalism include:

1. Cultural pluralism: Acknowledging and accepting the existence of multiple cultural identities and practices within a society.
2. Equality: Ensuring equal opportunities and rights for all individuals, regardless of their cultural background or identity.
3. Inclusion: Encouraging participation and engagement of diverse cultural groups in social, political, and economic processes.
4. Respect: Promoting mutual respect and understanding between different cultural groups, while recognizing the legitimacy of differing beliefs, values, and practices.

Two questions come to mind:

1. Is it working?

IMO, most definitely not. The world is very divided by race, religion and ideologies, it is a very difficult task. Countries trying this the most (practically enforcing it by law) have encountered more division and segregation; people of the same race, country or ideology will create their own small city sectors, cultural sectors, commercial sectors (China town, little Italy, etc); as is happening in USA for a long time already, happening as well in Spain, France, Germany, etc. 2. Is it being encouraged with tolerance toward those opposing it? I personally don't think so, the irony... But that is just my opinion...

What do you thing?

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/651181

@ 35f3a26c:92ddf231

"Files" by Google new feature

"Files" by Google added a "feature"... "Smart Search", you can toggle it to OFF and it is highly recommended to do so.

• 

Toggle the Smart Search to OFF, otherwise, google will search and index every picture, video and document in your device, no exceptions, anything you have ever photographed and you forgot, any document you have downloaded or article, etc...

How this could affect you?

Google is actively combating child abuse and therefore it has built in its "AI" a very aggressive algorithm searching of material that "IT THINKS" is related, therefore the following content could be flagged:

• [ ] Pictures of you and your children in the beach
• [ ] Pictures or videos which are innocent in nature but the "AI" "thinks" are not
• [ ] Articles you may have save for research to write your next essay that have links to flagged information or sites

The results:

• [ ] Your google account will be canceled
• [ ] You will be flagged as a criminal across the digital world

You think this is non sense? Think again: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/21/technology/google-surveillance-toddler-photo.html

How to switch it off:

1. Open files by Google
2. Tap on Menu -> Settings
3. Turn OFF Smart Search

But you can do more for your privacy and the security of your family

1. Stop using google apps, if possible get rid off of Google OS and use Graphene OS
2. Go to Settings -> Apps
3. Search for Files by Google
4. Unistall the app, if you can't disable it
5. Keep doing that with most Google apps that are not a must if you have not switched already to GrapheneOS

Remember, Google keeps advocating for privacy, but as many others have pointed out repeatedly, they are the first ones lobbying for the removal of your privacy by regulation and draconian laws, their hypocrisy knows no limits

Recommendation:

I would assume you have installed F-Droid in your android, or Obtainium if you are more advanced, if so, consider "Simple File Manager Pro" by Tibor Kaputa, this dev has a suite of apps that are basic needs and the best feature in my opinion is that not one of his apps connect to the internet, contacts, gallery, files, phone, etc.

• 

Note As most people, we all love the convenience of technology, it makes our lives easier, however, our safety and our family safety should go first, between technology being miss-used and abused by corporations and cyber-criminals data mining and checking for easy targets to attack for profit, we need to keep our guard up. Learning is key, resist the use of new tech if you do not understand the privacy trade offs, no matter how appealing and convenient it looks like. .

Please leave your comments with your favorite FOSS Files app!

@ b34f99f1:006b0fcc

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

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Filemap

filemap solves the problem of sending and receiving files to and from non-tech people when you don't have a text communication channel with them.

Imagine you want to send files to your grandfather, or you don't use Facebook and your younger cousin who only uses Facebook and doesn't know what is email wants to send you some pictures, it's pretty hard to get a file-sharing channel between people if they're not in the same network. If even the people have a way to upload the files to some hosting service and then share the link everything would still work, but you're not going to write somehostingservice.com/wHr4y7vFGh0 to your grandfather -- or expect your cousin to do that for you and send you an SMS with dozens of those links.

Solution: * Upload your files to https://filemap.xyz/ (you can either upload directly or share links to things already uploaded -- or even links to pages) and pin them to your grandfather's house address; then tell your grandfather to open https://filemap.xyz/ and look for his address. Done. * Tell your younger cousin to visit filemap.xyz and upload all the files to his address, later you open the site and look for his address. There are your files.

---

Initially this used ipfs-dropzone, but IPFS is broken, os I migrated to WebTorrent, but that required the file sender to be online hosting its own file and the entire idea of this service was to make something easy, so I migrated to Firebase Hosting, which is also terrible and has a broken API, but at least is capable of hosting files. Should have used something like S3.

• https://github.com/fiatjaf/filemap.xyz
• https://filemap.xyz/

@ b34f99f1:006b0fcc

deleted

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

The illusion of checks and balances

The website history.com has a list of some of the most important "checks and balances" put in place by the United States Constitution. Here are some of them and how they are not real checks, they're flawed and easily bypassed by malicious peers that manage to enter the network.

The president (head of the executive branch) serves as commander in chief of the military forces, but Congress (legislative branch) appropriates funds for the military and votes to declare war.

As it has happened multiple times, the United States has engaged in many undeclared wars -- and many other military encounters that don't get enough media coverage and weren't even formally acknowledged by the Congress.

Congress has the power of the purse, as it controls the money used to fund any executive actions.

There's a separate power called Federal Reserve which is more-or-less under the influence of the executive branch that is controlled by a single man and has the power of creating unlimited money. It was softly abused by the executive branch since its creation, but since 2008 it has been increasingly having its scope expanded from just influencing the banking sector to also directly using its money to buy all sorts of things and influence all sorts of markets and other actors.

Veto power. Once Congress has passed a bill, the president has the power to veto that bill. In turn, Congress can override a regular presidential veto by a two-thirds vote of both houses.

If you imagine that both the executive and the legislative are 100% dedicated to go against each other the president could veto all bills, but then the legislative could enact them all anyway. Congress has the absolute power here (which can be justified by fact that the congress itself is split into multiple voters, but still this "veto" rule seems more like a gimmick to obscure the process than any actual check).

The Supreme Court and other federal courts (judicial branch) can declare laws or presidential actions unconstitutional, in a process known as judicial review.

This rule gives absolute power to the Supreme Court over any matter. It can use their own personal judgement to veto any bill, cancel any action by the executive, reinterpret any existing law in any manner. There's no check against bad interpretations or judgements, so any absurd thing must be accepted. This should be obvious, and yet the entire system which most people believe to be "checked" is actually dependent on the good will and sanity of the judicial branch.

In turn, the president checks the judiciary through the power of appointment, which can be used to change the direction of the federal courts

If the president and congress are being attacked by the judicial power, this isn't of much help as its effects are very long term. On the other hand, a president can single-handedly and arbitrarily use this rule to slowly poison the judicial system such that will turn malicious for the rest of the system after some time.

By passing amendments to the Constitution, Congress can effectively check the decisions of the Supreme Court.

What is written in the Constitution can be easily ignored or misread by the members of the Supreme Court without any way for these interpretations to be checked or reverted. Basically the Supreme Court has absolute power over all things if we consider this.

Congress (considered the branch of government closest to the people) can impeach both members of the executive and judicial branches.

Again (like in the presidential veto rule), this gives the congress unlimited power. There are no checks here -- except of course the fact that the congress is composed by multiple different voting heads of which a majority has to agree for the congress to do anything, which is the only thing preventing overabuse of this rule.

---

As shown above, most rules that compose the "checks and balances" system can be abused and if given enough time they will. They aren't real checks.

Ultimately, the stability and decency of a democracy relies on the majority rule (so congress votes are never concentrated in dictatorial measures) and the common sense of the powerful people (president and judges).

There probably hasn't been a single year in any democracy in which one of these powers didn't abused or violated one of the rules, but still in most cases the overall system stays in place because of the general culture, splitted views about most issues, overall common sense and fear of public shame.

The checks and balances system itself is an illusion. All the complex "democracy" construct depends on the goodwill of all the participants and have only worked so far (when it did) by miracle and by the power of human cooperation and love.

@ b34f99f1:006b0fcc

eyJfaWQiOiI0NTljZTMxMC1mNDlkLTQ2NDAtYTNmZi0xODVjYTZiOGU3MDMiLCJwdWJsaWNLZXkiOiJiMzRmOTlmMTEwYmI2NWZmNGI1NTI3ZjhmYjFkMDE1OTUxYTMwMzgzNzBmZDk1YWRjMzRkODFkOTAwNmIwZmNjIiwidXNlcm5hbWUiOiJsaWFtIiwiYWRUeXBlIjoiTE9DQUxfQlVZIiwiY291bnRyeSI6IlVuaXRlZCBTdGF0ZXMgb2YgQW1lcmljYSIsImNvdW50cnlDb2RlIjoiVVMiLCJsYXQiOjI3Ljk0Nzc2LCJsb24iOi04Mi40NTg0NDQsImdlY29kZSI6eyJwbGFjZV9pZCI6MjcwMDI2NzQ0LCJsaWNlbmNlIjoiRGF0YSDCqSBPcGVuU3RyZWV0TWFwIGNvbnRyaWJ1dG9ycywgT0RiTCAxLjAuIGh0dHBzOi8vb3NtLm9yZy9jb3B5cmlnaHQiLCJvc21fdHlwZSI6InJlbGF0aW9uIiwib3NtX2lkIjoxMjMyMTE1NiwibGF0IjoiMjcuOTQ3OTIiLCJsb24iOiItODIuNDU4MTIxMDYzNjExOTciLCJkaXNwbGF5X25hbWUiOiJSaXZlcnNpZGUsIFRhbXBhLCBIaWxsc2Jvcm91Z2ggQ291bnR5LCBGbG9yaWRhLCBVbml0ZWQgU3RhdGVzIiwiYWRkcmVzcyI6eyJoYW1sZXQiOiJSaXZlcnNpZGUiLCJjaXR5IjoiVGFtcGEiLCJjb3VudHkiOiJIaWxsc2Jvcm91Z2ggQ291bnR5Iiwic3RhdGUiOiJGbG9yaWRhIiwiSVNPMzE2Ni0yLWx2bDQiOiJVUy1GTCIsImNvdW50cnkiOiJVbml0ZWQgU3RhdGVzIiwiY291bnRyeV9jb2RlIjoidXMifSwiYm91bmRpbmdib3giOlsiMjcuOTQ3NDg2MiIsIjI3Ljk0ODM2NDEiLCItODIuNDU4OTg5MSIsIi04Mi40NTgwMDUzIl19LCJjdXJyZW5jeUNvZGUiOiJVU0QiLCJwcmljZUlucHV0VHlwZSI6Ik1BUktFVCIsIm1hcmdpbiI6MTAsImZpeGVkUHJpY2UiOjAsImJ1eWVyU2V0dGxlbWVudEFkZHJlc3MiOiIiLCJtaW5BbW91bnQiOjUwMDAsIm1heEFtb3VudCI6MCwibGltaXRUb0ZpYXRBbW91bnRzIjoiIiwibXNnIjoid2FpdCBmb3IgbWUgYXQgYnVzIHN0YXRpb24iLCJhY2NvdW50SW5mbyI6IiIsImZvclRydXN0ZWQiOiJubyIsImhpZGRlbiI6ZmFsc2UsImJhbm5lZCI6ZmFsc2UsInZlcmlmaWVkIjp0cnVlLCJhZGRlZCI6IjIwMjQtMTEtMDhUMjA6NDU6MTYuNjgxWiIsIm1hcmtldFByaWNlIjoxNjUuNH0=

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Boardthreads

This was a very badly done service for turning a Trello list into a helpdesk UI.

Surprisingly, it had more paying users than Websites For Trello, which I was working on simultaneously and dedicating much more time to it.

The Neo4j database I used for this was a very poor choice, it was probably the cause of all the bugs.

-https://github.com/fiatjaf/boardthreads

@ bcea2b98:7ccef3c9

Weekends are the perfect time to unwind, explore, or spend time doing what we love. How would you spend your ideal weekend? Would it be all about relaxation, or would you be out and about?

For me, an ideal weekend would start with a slow Saturday morning, a good book and coffee. Then I would spend the afternoon exploring local trails and looking for snacks. Then always a slow Sunday night hopefully.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/760492

@ 35f3a26c:92ddf231

What We Know So Far About Silent Payments?

A Step Towards Enhanced Transaction Privacy in Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Silent Payments, also known as BIP352[^1], is a proposed improvement to Bitcoin’s payment system that has been gaining traction for its potential to bolster transaction privacy in Layer 1.

In simple terms, Silent Payments enables users to:

• Generate a single, reusable static address for receiving payments, as a business this is a game changer since it make it possible to proceed with the proper financial operational security (OpSec).

• Send and receive bitcoins without disclosing transaction details to third parties, such as the person or business you pay to, cybercriminals and chain analysis companies that sell that data to anyone willing to pay for it, that will include cybercriminals or simply; if you are a business; your competitors… When you use Silent Payments, only the sender and the receiver can connect it checking the on chain activity.

• Without Silent Payments, if you are a non profit organization, public fund raiser, independent journalist, or business you needed support to setup a proper infrastructure to handle the donations or payments in a private manner. With Silent Payments, you post in your web site a single address in text format or as a QR code to receive donations or payments for goods, that simple.

Can I Use Silent Payments Already?

Yes, but it is currently only available through select wallets that have implemented the feature. Users must have compatible wallets and ensure that both parties involved in the transaction have Silent Payments enabled. Currently, leading wallets like Blue Wallet, and others like Cake Wallet and BitBox has adopted the feature. It's essential to verify compatibility before making transactions.

Current wallets known to support it as of writing this article:

• BlueWallet -- Only for sending
• Cake Wallet -- Send, receive, Privacy Preserving Scanning
• Silentium -- Proof of concept, good for testing
• BitBox -- Only for sending

Summarizing:

https://image.nostr.build/db35c2a028e9f740181daabe2deef4e707653fa2d82f1602086e0ac4b5ee84fd.png

PROS:

• Enhanced Privacy
• Increased Security
• Improved User Experience
• Cheap and seamless implementation for non profit organization, fund raisers and businesses alike.

CONS:

• None

Final Thoughts

https://image.nostr.build/bcb236cbcb535cb6d6fe1b2b4c79074955d1a1cb1114a6c02cc456e8d852d594.jpg

As Bitcoin continues to evolve, Silent Payments will play a significant role in enhancing transaction privacy and security. The potential benefits are undeniable and substantial.

In the near future, we can expect wider adoption and implementation of Silent Payments as more wallets and exchanges embrace this groundbreaking feature. Looking forward to see Phoenix, Sparrow, Ashigaru[^2] and Electrum adoption.

I will suggest all of us start contacting in all social networks the wallets we us and encourage them to implement Silent Payments

Here the contact info for some of them:

• Phoenix: https://twitter.com/PhoenixWallet
• Ashigaru: contact@ashigaru.rs (if you want a response, send your email signed with PGP)
• Sparrow Wallet: https://twitter.com/SparrowWallet, https://t.me/SparrowWallet
• Electrum: https://twitter.com/ElectrumWallet

[^1]: Here the link to the BIP352: https://bips.dev/352/ [^2]: Ashigaru is a fork of Samurai Wallet performed by anonymous developers (IMO, all Bitcoin related development should be anonymous, to protect the project from nefarious players, unfortunately, most developers in the arena choose to be “public” figures, hence, becoming a target of current and potential Bitcoin enemies and a weak link for the ecosystem) Ashigaru in Japanese means “light feet” (translated as foot soldiers or peasants)

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Who will build the roads?

Who will build the roads? Em Lagoa Santa, as mais novas e melhores ruas -- que na verdade acabam por formar enormes teias de bairros que se interligam -- são construídas pelos loteadores que querem as ruas para que seus lotes valham mais -- e querem que outras pessoas usem as ruas também. Também são esses mesmos loteadores que colocam os postes de luz e os encanamentos de água, não sem antes terem que se submeter a extorsões de praxe praticadas por COPASA e CEMIG.

Se ao abrir um loteamento, condomínio, prédio um indivíduo ou uma empresa consegue sem muito problema passar rua, eletricidade, água e esgoto, por que não seria possível existir livre-concorrência nesses mercados? Mesmo aquela velha estória de que é ineficiente passar cabos de luz duplicados para que companhias elétricas possam competir já me parece bobagem.

@ 35f3a26c:92ddf231

What is Peer Thinking?

The cognitive and emotional processes that occur when individuals are influenced by their peers.

The psychology behind it:

The psychology behind peer influence encompasses various factors, including: 1. Social belonging and acceptance, 2. Identity formation, 3. The dynamics of group behavior

Is it being used to control us?

https://image.nostr.build/cf90335bbf59e3395dc4324d123cd3a058ca716cf6172f079eb1d78547008147.jpg

IMO, yes, at the core of it is the basic human need for belonging. Social belonging is a critical component since it is craved by most, specially but not only by the youngest, those with power across the world know this very well, therefore, thinking that they will not use it to control the population in order to profit from it or change public opinion would be irrational.

The media is used to brain wash the population creating something that most will consider "the norm", thus, the majority will try to conform to that norm in order to belong. That include manipulating the population to take an experimental drug (even if it could be very dangerous due to its unknown effects) or to accept as a norm a behavior that few years back would have been considered inappropriate.

Cognitive Dissonance

https://image.nostr.build/60f24a810be1dd6badb36d70c5a691d4361207590dea1a8e64e09a75a252cfbf.jpg

This is a term that we should get familiar with. It is a psychological state where conflicting beliefs or behaviors create discomfort.

Example: A kid in high school that has a good loving family but all his close friends are on drugs (legal ones) and they keep telling him he is an idiot for not using as well. Now his is that state of conflict believes, on one side his best friends, all tell him is okay, on the other hand his family that loves him has explained him at length the dangers and issues that the drugs will have in his life. To resolve the dissonance he has three options, one, join the group and start taking drugs with the rest, two try to rationalize it, considering to take drugs just occasionally to belong but not to make it a habit, three lose his friends (and here it comes again the peer thinking to bite). Extrapolate to many other cases.

As an anecdote Recently, on a friend's reunion, one of the guest was complaining about one of his daughters, she was quite confused asking him why so many of her classmates were bisexual, she was wondering if something was wrong with her since she was not; a 13 year old girl; the father was having a hard time explaining her that the majority are saying so just to feel as part of what the school was teaching to be the norm, it was not cool to be straight, the tally was 37% of the class. Consider that, statistically, the number of people, “worldwide” identifying as bisexual are between 3% and 5% (less than 1% in less accepting countries), that number used to be less than 2% less than a decade ago. But 37% is far from the statistical norm, indicating a peer thinking behavior but not the reality of their sexual preferences. Once again, extrapolate to any ideology, religion, gender identity, political agenda that a country desires to push forward for whatever reason, adding that to the official school program and to federal mandatory training programs would do the trick.

A powerful tool, that can be used for good or bad.

What are the strategies to counter negative peer thinking?

https://image.nostr.build/4b70949b8af76ed53a5be5507f41f1d1c960dc3592f199eab78e2d25688975c5.jpg

Reading the literature about the subject, few strategies are recommended:

1. Self-Awareness: teaching ourselves and our children to recognize when we are being influenced by peers

2. Being selective with your friends: peers with similar values will reinforce positive behaviors

3. Learning to be assertive: teaching ourselves and our children to communicate assertively our boundaries will empower us and them to resist unwanted pressure to adopt negative behaviors.

4. Less judging more talking: this applies to our children and partners, judging less and listening more will make our beloved ones more open to discuss social pressures.

What do you think? What strategies you use as counter measures?

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

jiq

When someone created jiq claiming it had "jq queries" I went to inspect and realized it didn't, it just had a poor simple JSON query language that implemented 1% of all jq features, so I forked it and plugged jq directly into it, and renamed to jiq.

After some comments on issues in the original repository from people complaining about lack of jq compatibility it got a ton of unexpected users, was even packaged to ArchLinux.

• https://github.com/fiatjaf/jiq

@ b34f99f1:006b0fcc

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

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Como não houve resposta, estou enviando de novo

Recebi um email assim, dizendo a mesma coisa repetida. Eu havia recebido já da primeira vez, mas como era só uma informação já esperada, julguei que não precisava responder dizendo "chegou, obrigado!" e não o fiz.

Reconheço, porém, que dada a instabilidade desses serviços de email nunca ninguém sabe se a mensagem chegou ou não. Ela pode ter sido jogada na lixeira do spam, ou pode ter falhado por outros motivos, e aí não existe um jeito garantido de saber se houve falha, é um enorme problema sempre. Por isso a necessidade de uma resposta "chegou, obrigado!".

Mas não podemos parar por aí. A resposta "chegou, obrigado!" também está sujeita aos mesmos trâmites e riscos da mensagem original. Seria necessário, porém, que assim que a outra pessoa recebesse o "chegou, obrigado!" deveria então responder com um "recebi a sua confirmação". Caso não o fizesse, eu poderia achar que a minha mensagem não havia chegado e dias depois enviá-la de novo: "como não houve resposta à minha confirmação, estou enviando de novo".

E assim por diante (eu ia escrever mais um parágrafo só pelo drama, mas desisti. Já deu pra entender).

---

• Ripple and the problem of the decentralized commit, esta situação que acabo de viver é mais um exemplo prático disto.

@ 3cc937b7:5592217b

„Hinter der nächsten Ecke kann eine neue Straße auf uns warten oder ein geheimes Portal.“ - J. R. R. Tolkien

„Sprechend und handelnd schalten wir uns in die Welt der Menschen ein, die existierte, bevor wir in sie geboren wurden, und diese Einschaltung ist wie eine zweite Geburt (…)“ - Hannah Arendt, Vita activa

Prolog: Dieser Text ist der Beginn einer neuen Rubrik in diesem Blog und damit eine Zäsur. Wir alle wissen es, spätestens seit Nietzsche: Wenn du in den Abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund irgendwann zurück. Eine kluge Frau sagte mir einmal: „Where focus goes, energy flows.“ So wichtig es auch sein mag, sich mit der Gegenwart zu beschäftigen, sie zu analysieren und zu verstehen: Energetisch ist es eine ziemliche Verschwendung. Man kippt Lebensenergie in eine Kloake. Wenn Sie meine Arbeit in den letzten Jahren verfolgt haben, schockiert sie auf dieser Welt vermutlich wenig. Die Herausforderung ist jedoch das wie. Wie soll es weitergehen? Das Dunkle bekämpft man nicht durch die Beschreibung der Dunkelheit, sondern indem man einen Kontrapunkt setzt. Nur weil man weiß, dass es dunkel ist, wird es deshalb noch lange nicht heller. Dagegen durchbricht schon die kleinste Lichtquelle, die schwächste flackernde Funzel, die Dunkelheit. Mit der neuen Rubrik „Lichtblicke“ eröffne ich hiermit ein neues Kapitel meines publizistischen Schaffens: Der Blick soll hier auf das Neue, auf das Erhellende, Ermutigende, Aufbauende und oft Unbekannte gehen, in allen Bereichen, egal ob persönliche Entwicklung, Gesundheit, Ernährung, Technologie, Wissenschaft & Spiritualität. Auf die Werkzeuge und Optionen eben, die uns Hoffnung machen, die den Geist erweitern und alte Gewissheiten überwinden. Werkzeuge, mit denen wir Gestalter der Zukunft werden und nicht bloße Konsumenten der Gegenwart bleiben. Wenn Institutionen wackeln, sicher geglaubte Muster brüchig werden und Prinzipien auf den Kopf gestellt werden, entsteht ein Vakuum. Der kommunistische Theoretiker Antonio Gramsci nannte das “die Zeit der Monster”. Das Alte ist noch nicht gestorben, das Neue noch nicht geboren. Geburtshelfer des Neuen werden wir aber nur, wenn wir der Gegenwart „gewachsen“ sind; wenn wir uns mit den Werkzeugen beschäftigen, die in Richtung des Neuen wachsen. Sind Sie bereit zu wachsen? Dann lade ich Sie hiermit auf eine gemeinsame Reise ein. Wenn Sie Ideen und Anregungen für Themen, Phänomene, Werkzeuge etc. haben, die in diese Richtung gehen, oder mir Ihre Meinung zur neuen Rubrik mitteilen wollen, schreiben Sie mir gerne. Auch für mich ist es eine Reise des Lernens und Wachsens: kontakt@idw-europe.org

Paris, im Jahre 1894. Ein junger tschechischer Künstler schaut kurz vor Weihnachten “zufällig” in einer Druckerei vorbei, was sein Leben verändern sollte. Er war wie viele aufstrebende Künstler nach Paris gekommen, um den Durchbruch zu schaffen. Das Stipendium seines Gönners in der Heimat neigte sich dem Ende zu. Richtig Fuß gefasst hat er nicht, die Zukunft ist ungewiss. Er hat Talent, aber das haben viele, und leben doch von Milchkaffee und Liebe, wie Charles Aznavour es in “La Bohème” besang.

Doch der junge Mann hat auch Ideen, die in ihm schlummern und nur darauf warten, entdeckt zu werden. Er erfährt, dass die bekannte Schauspielerin Sarah Bernhardt unbedingt und dringend Theaterplakate braucht. Der junge Mann erkennt seine Chance, bietet sich an und liefert prompt. Zwei Wochen später ist Paris mit seinen Plakaten zugepflastert. Für Alfons Mucha, so der Name des jungen Mannes, ist es der Durchbruch als Künstler. Es ist zugleich die Geburtsstunde des Art Nouveau, einer neuen Kunstrichtung und gleichzeitig ein Epochenbruch der dekorativen Kunst. Mucha wird zum gefragtesten Maler der Welt, Firmen reissen sich um seine Motive, er führt Werbung und Kunst auf eine ganz neue Ebene, er reist nach Amerika und illustriert sogar in seiner Heimat die Briefmarken und Geldscheine.

Der ewige Kampf von Chronos und Kairos

Was bewirkte die glückliche Fügung für Alfons Mucha? Welche Kräfte waren hier am Werk? Und gibt es Möglichkeiten, diese schicksalhaften Begegnungen in ihrer Frequenz und Häufigkeit zu beeinflussen? Warum hatte ein Nikola Tesla nicht nur ein, zwei gute Ideen, die schon allein lebensfüllend gewesen wären, sondern Hunderte? Warum haben manche Menschen eine schicksalhafte Begegnung nach der nächsten, während bei den anderen das Leben in den gewohnten Bahnen vor sich hin plätschert? Bei den Griechen gab es zwei Zeitebenen und auch zwei Götter der Zeit. Der erste Gott ist Chronos (bei den Römern: Saturn), er symbolisiert die Zeit, die gemessen wird und unerbittlich verrinnt. Mit und Dank Chronos entsteht Ordnung und Kontinuität, aber auch Wiederholung des immer Gleichen. Er ist symbolisiert durch den Großvater mit Rauschebart und Sanduhr, er steht für die objektive Zeit, die immer und für alle gleich ist, die in Sekunden, Minuten und Stunden gemessen wird. Der zweite Gott ist Kairos, der Sohn des Zeus und rebellische Enkel des Chronos. Kairos ist schon äußerlich ein „Punk“, auf Abbildungen trägt er einen Teilrasur-Schnitt mit auffälliger Locke. Genau an dieser Locke gilt es ihn zu packen. Kairos steht für die subjektive Zeit, die Zeit, welche Chancen und Durchbrüche bietet. Er steht für die Möglichkeit der Veränderung, der Einsichten und Umbrüche, er wird als junger, starker und muskulöser Gott dargestellt. Kairos steht für eine seltene atmosphärisch-kosmologische Verdichtung. Wer den richtigen Zeitpunkt erkennt und nutzt, wird zum Helden seiner Zeit und reitet den Drachen des Zufalls. Das Zeitempfinden ist außer Kraft gesetzt. Wir alle kennen das: Eine Stunde allein im Wartesaal eines kalten Provinzbahnhofs vergeht schleppend langsam. Eine Stunde im Bett mit einer aufregenden Frau vergeht dagegen wie im Fluge.

Wer den Kairos zulässt, der immer wieder (aber manchmal etwas verdeckt) an unsere Tür klopft, öffnet die Tür für wundersame Begegnungen und magische Zufälle. Gedankenblitze und Begegnungen wirken dann wie orchestriert. Der Psychologe C. G. Jung beschrieb dieses Phänomen als „Synchronizitäten“. Man muss dann oft nur innehalten und diese Begegnungen als sinnhaft begreifen. Der sonore Takt des „Chronometers” wird durchbrochen durch das punkige Gitarrenriff des Kairos. Die chronologische Umklammerung ist die Zeitspur des Alten, die jeden Moment des Kairos vermeiden will, denn das bringt ja die Welt derjenigen durcheinander, die sich auf die Rädchen in ihrer Mechanik verlassen wollen. Zum Kairos gehören Ideen und Eingebungen, Liebe, kreative Schaffensperioden. All das sind für “Opa Chronos” bloße Störungen, die den Lauf der Dinge gefährden. Wer Systeme der Planung errichtet, sei es für sich oder für andere, den stört das Neue, er will jede Erfahrung mit dem Neuen verhindern, den Blick auf Alternativen versperren und vereiteln.

Denn das Neue entsteht durch den Kairos, und nur durch den Kairos. Das Neue ist auch gerne das „Unzeitgemäße“. Viele würden den Zustand des Kairos heute auch als „Flow“ bezeichnen oder als „Serendipity“. Dieser Begriff stammt aus der Erzählung von „Tausendundeiner Nacht“, wo drei ceylonesische Prinzessinnen mit bestimmten Aufträgen entsandt werden, doch ganz andere Dinge finden, als sie erwarteten, frei nach dem Mott: “Erwarte das Unerwartete!” „Serendip“ hieß Ceylon bei den Arabern, so notierte es sich Ernst Jünger im Flugzeug am 3. März 1979 in seinen Aufzeichnungen „Siebzig verweht“.

Wo war das Unerwartete bisher in meiner Generation? Kommt es noch oder war es das schon? Das war im Kern auch Teil meiner Generationenkritik, die ich in den letzten Jahren in vielen Texten verarbeitet habe. Als ich ab 2016 an „Generation Chillstand“ schrieb, war mein Grundgefühl folgendes: Eine ganze Generation sitzt im Silo der von früheren Generationen geschaffenen Welt fest, in ihren Norm-, Zeit- und Arbeitsstrukturen.

Raus aus dem chronologischen Leben!

Diese Welt wurde mir als die beste Welt aller Zeiten angepriesen, der Blick darüber hinaus als unnötig oder gar ketzerisch empfunden. Ging es in den letzten Jahren nur noch darum, die alte Welt möglichst lange auszumelken, bevor man sie entsorgt? In besagtem Buch schrieb ich, dass sich irgendwann eine ganze Generation als „Belogene und Betrogene“ vorkommen wird, ähnlich den DDR-Bürgern bis 1989 (diese wurden freilich nach 1990 wie alle anderen weiter belogen). Was bis zu den Millennials ein Charakteristikum jeder Generation war, nämlich die Gegenwart herauszufordern, zur Disposition zu stellen und damit zu erneuern, schien außer Kraft gesetzt. Das Reich des Chronos musste überdauern. Doch auf nichts hatte ich größere Lust, und wünschte mir das auch für meine Generation, als den Kairos beim Schopfe zu packen. Denn ich sah die Bruchstellen des Alten offen vor mir und die Möglichkeiten des Neuen am Horizont aufscheinen. Seit 2016, als ich meinen Geist öffnete, veränderte sich mein Leben grundlegend: Es wurde risikoreicher und chancenreicher, es wurde bruchstückhafter und freier, optionenreicher und unübersichtlicher, kurz: anders, aufregendender, offener, abenteuerlicher! Doch ist Stabilität in einer brüchigen Zeit nicht ohnehin eine Chimäre?

Mein Weg der Offenheit machte mich zeitweise zum einsamen Wanderer, führte mich an viele Orte, machte mich zum halben Nomaden. Wenn ich die letzten Jahre überschlage, komme ich auf ca. 17 Umzüge. An manchen Orten lebte ich mit nicht mehr als meinem Handgepäck und ein, zwei Büchern. Doch mein Weg führte mich zugleich an einen magischen Ort, oberhalb des Monte Verità von Locarno in den Tessiner Bergen. Hier trafen sich um die Jahrhundertwende die ersten “Früh-Hippies”, bildeten Kommunen, dachten jenseits der gegenwärtigen Welt, die aus Krieg, Zerstörung und Nihilismus bestand. Zuvor machte die Kunst mit ihren Sezessionen den Bruch zum Gegenwärtigen deutlich, im Wien des späten 19. Jahrhunderts. Die Wandervogel-Bewegung setzte die Jugend in Gang. Schon bei den Römern gab es die Idee des „heiligen Frühlings“ (ver sacrum), ein Auftrag an die Jugend, die Heimat zu verlassen und sich woanders neu zu etablieren – und dabei ein stückweit neu zu erschaffen. C. G. Jung hat dies als Prozess der Individuation psychologisch beschrieben. Der Mensch ist noch nicht fertig, wenn er auf die Welt kommt, er vollendet sich selbst (oder eben nicht).

All diese suchenden Menschen in den Irrungen und Wirkungen der Zeitläufte einte immer die Sehnsucht nach einer anderen Welt. Diese Sehnsucht macht uns zu gemeinsamen Reisenden im Geiste. Doch die Reise ist nur der Anfang. Am Ende sind die Gedanken entscheidend, die zu Worten werden und sich in Handlungen niederschlagen. Diese Handlungen sind das Baumaterial der neuen Welt. Jeder einzelne ist ein kleiner Baumeister an der neuen Welt, wenn er will. Ich baue gerade begeistert am Pareto-Projekt, an Werkzeugen des unzensierbaren Bürgerjournalismus von unten. Es wird Zeit, dass sich die vielen kleinen Baumeister vereinigen, oder? Woran bauen Sie?

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Flowi.es

At the time I thought Workflowy had the ideal UI for everything. I wanted to implement my custom app maker on it, but ended up doing this: a platform for enhancing Workflowy with extra features:

• An email reminder based on dates input in items
• A website generator, similar to Websites For Trello, also based on Classless Templates

Also, I didn't remember this was also based on CouchDB and had some couchapp functionalities.

• https://flowi.es
• https://github.com/fiatjaf/flowies

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Multi-service Graph Reputation protocol

The problem

1. Users inside centralized services need to know reputations of other users they're interacting with;
2. Building reputation with ratings imposes a big burden on the user and still accomplishes nothing, can be faked, no one cares about these ratings etc.

The ideal solution

Subjective reputation: reputation based on how you rated that person previously, and how other people you trust rated that person, and how other people trusted by people you trust rated that person and so on, in a web-of-trust that actually can give you some insight on the trustworthiness of someone you never met or interacted with.

The problem with the ideal solution

1. Most of the times the service that wants to implement this is not as big as Facebook, so it won't have enough people in it for such graphs of reputation to be constructed.
2. It is not trivial to build.

My proposed solution:

I've drafted a protocol for an open system based on services publishing their internal reputation records and indexers using these to build graphs, and then serving the graphs back to the services so they can show them to users when it is needed (as HTTP APIs that can be called directly from the user client app or browser).

Crucially, these indexers will gather data from multiple services and cross-link users from these services so the graph is better.

https://github.com/fiatjaf/multi-service-reputation-rfc

The first and single actionable and useful feedback I got, from @bootstrapbandit was that services shouldn't share email addresses in plain text (email addresses and other external relationships users of a service may have are necessary to establish links from users accross services), but I think it is ok if services publish hashes of these email addresses instead. At some point I will update the spec draft and that may have been before the time you're reading this.

Another issue is that services may lie about their reputation records and that will hurt other services and users in these other services that are relying on that data. Maybe indexers will have to do some investigative job here to assert service honesty. Or maybe this entire protocol is just failed and we will actually need a system in which users themselves will publish their own records.

See also

• P2P reputation thing
• idea: Graph subjective reputation as a service
• https://github.com/jangerritharms/reputation_systems

@ 00a30478:ff07f086

testing blog