@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

How does bitcoin's lack of central brand authority influence its visual identity, and what implications does this have for designers?

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/877437

@ ec42c765:328c0600

カスタム絵文字とは

任意のオリジナル画像を絵文字のように文中に挿入できる機能です。
また、リアクション（Twitterの いいね のような機能）にもカスタム絵文字を使えます。

カスタム絵文字の対応状況（2025/02/06）

カスタム絵文字を使うためにはカスタム絵文字に対応したクライアントを使う必要があります。

※表は一例です。クライアントは他にもたくさんあります。

使っているクライアントが対応していない場合は、クライアントを変更する、対応するまで待つ、開発者に要望を送る（または自分で実装する）などしましょう。

対応クライアント

• Amethyst
• FreeFrom
• nostter
• Rabbit
• Lumilumi
• Nos Haiku
• Snort
• noStrudel

ここではnostterを使って説明していきます。

準備

カスタム絵文字を使うための準備です。

• Nostrエクステンション（NIP-07）を導入する
• 使いたいカスタム絵文字をリストに登録する

Nostrエクステンション（NIP-07）を導入する

Nostrエクステンションは使いたいカスタム絵文字を登録する時に必要になります。

また、環境（パソコン、iPhone、androidなど）によって導入方法が違います。

Nostrエクステンションを導入する端末は、実際にNostrを閲覧する端末と違っても構いません（リスト登録はPC、Nostr閲覧はiPhoneなど）。

Nostrエクステンション（NIP-07）の導入方法は以下のページを参照してください。

ログイン拡張機能 (NIP-07)を使ってみよう | Welcome to Nostr! ～ Nostrをはじめよう！ ～

少し面倒ですが、これを導入しておくとNostr上の様々な場面で役立つのでより快適になります。

使いたいカスタム絵文字をリストに登録する

以下のサイトで行います。

emojito

右上のGet startedからNostrエクステンションでログインしてください。

例として以下のカスタム絵文字を導入してみます。

実際より絵文字が少なく表示されることがありますが、古い状態のデータを取得してしまっているためです。その場合はブラウザの更新ボタンを押してください。

generalJP | カスタム絵文字

• 右側のOptionsからBookmarkを選択

これでカスタム絵文字を使用するためのリストに登録できます。

カスタム絵文字を使用する

例としてブラウザから使えるクライアント nostter から使用してみます。

nostter

nostterにNostrエクステンションでログイン、もしくは秘密鍵を入れてログインしてください。

文章中に使用

1. 投稿ボタンを押して投稿ウィンドウを表示
2. 顔😀のボタンを押し、絵文字ウィンドウを表示
3. ＊タブを押し、カスタム絵文字一覧を表示
4. カスタム絵文字を選択
5. : 記号に挟まれたアルファベットのショートコードとして挿入される

この状態で投稿するとカスタム絵文字として表示されます。

カスタム絵文字対応クライアントを使っている他ユーザーにもカスタム絵文字として表示されます。

対応していないクライアントの場合、ショートコードのまま表示されます。

ショートコードを直接入力することでカスタム絵文字の候補が表示されるのでそこから選択することもできます。

リアクションに使用

1. 任意の投稿の顔😀のボタンを押し、絵文字ウィンドウを表示
2. ＊タブを押し、カスタム絵文字一覧を表示
3. カスタム絵文字を選択

カスタム絵文字リアクションを送ることができます。

カスタム絵文字を探す

先述したemojitoからカスタム絵文字を探せます。

例えば任意のユーザーのページ emojito ロクヨウ から探したり、 emojito Browse all からnostr全体で最近作成、更新された絵文字を見たりできます。

また、以下のリンクは日本語圏ユーザーが作ったカスタム絵文字を集めたリストです（2025/02/06）

※漏れがあるかもしれません

日本ユーザー作 カスタム絵文字

各絵文字セットにあるOpen in emojitoのリンクからemojitoに飛び、使用リストに追加できます。

---

以上です。

次：Nostrのカスタム絵文字の作り方

Yakihonneリンク Nostrのカスタム絵文字の作り方

Nostrリンク nostr:naddr1qqxnzdesxuunzv358ycrgveeqgswcsk8v4qck0deepdtluag3a9rh0jh2d0wh0w9g53qg8a9x2xqvqqrqsqqqa28r5psx3

---

仕様

NIP-30 Custom Emoji

NIP-30 カスタム絵文字（和訳）

@ 73da3415:a8b7f470

T e s t 1

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

Looking at bitcoin's layered architecture (base layer and Lightning Network), can you explain why this approach was necessary? What are the trade-offs between transacting on each layer?

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/877429

@ da0b9bc3:4e30a4a9

Hello Stackers!

Welcome on into the ~Music Corner of the Saloon!

A place where we Talk Music. Share Tracks. Zap Sats.

So stay a while and listen.

🚨Don't forget to check out the pinned items in the territory homepage! You can always find the latest weeklies there!🚨

🚨Subscribe to the territory to ensure you never miss a post! 🚨

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/877410

@ 3ffac3a6:2d656657

Motivations

Recently, my sites hosted behind Cloudflare tunnels mysteriously stopped working—not once, but twice. The first outage occurred about a week ago. Interestingly, when I switched to using the 1.1.1.1 WARP VPN on my cellphone or PC, the sites became accessible again. Clearly, the issue wasn't with the sites themselves but something about the routing. This led me to the brilliant (or desperate) idea of routing all Cloudflare-bound traffic through a WARP tunnel in my local network.

Prerequisites

• A "server" with an amd64 processor (the WARP client only works on amd64 architecture). I'm using an old mac mini, but really, anything with an amd64 processor will do.
• Basic knowledge of Linux commands.
• Access to your Wi-Fi router's settings (if you plan to configure routes there).

---

Step 1: Installing the WARP CLI

1. Update your system packages:

bash sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

1. Download and install the WARP CLI:

```bash curl https://pkg.cloudflareclient.com/pubkey.gpg | sudo gpg --yes --dearmor --output /usr/share/keyrings/cloudflare-warp-archive-keyring.gpg

echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/cloudflare-warp-archive-keyring.gpg] https://pkg.cloudflareclient.com/ $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/cloudflare-client.list

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install cloudflare-warp ``` 3. Register and connect to WARP:

Run the following commands to register and connect to WARP:

```bash sudo warp-cli register sudo warp-cli connect ````

Confirm the connection with:

bash warp-cli status

---

Step 2: Routing Traffic on the Server Machine

Now that WARP is connected, let's route the local network's Cloudflare-bound traffic through this tunnel.

1. Enable IP forwarding:

bash sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_forward=1

Make it persistent after reboot:

bash echo 'net.ipv4.ip_forward=1' | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf sudo sysctl -p

1. Set up firewall rules to forward traffic:

bash sudo nft add rule ip filter FORWARD iif "eth0" oif "CloudflareWARP" ip saddr 192.168.31.0/24 ip daddr 104.0.0.0/8 accept sudo nft add rule ip filter FORWARD iif "CloudflareWARP" oif "eth0" ip saddr 104.0.0.0/8 ip daddr 192.168.31.0/24 ct state established,related accept

Replace eth0 with your actual network interface if different.

1. Make rules persistent:

bash sudo apt install nftables sudo nft list ruleset > /etc/nftables.conf

---

Step 3: Configuring the Route on a Local PC (Linux)

On your local Linux machine:

1. Add a static route:

bash sudo ip route add 104.0.0.0/24 via <SERVER_IP>

Replace <SERVER_IP> with the internal IP of your WARP-enabled server. This should be a temporary solution, since it only effects a local machine. For a solution that can effect the whole local network, please see next step.

---

Step 4: Configuring the Route on Your Wi-Fi Router (Recommended)

If your router allows adding static routes:

1. Log in to your router's admin interface.
2. Navigate to the Static Routing section. (This may vary depending on the router model.)
3. Add a new static route:
4. Destination Network: 104.0.0.0
5. Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
6. Gateway: <SERVER_IP>
7. Metric: 1 (or leave it default)
8. Save and apply the settings.

One of the key advantages of this method is how easy it is to disable once your ISP's routing issues are resolved. Since the changes affect the entire network at once, you can quickly restore normal network behavior by simply removing the static routes or disabling the forwarding rules, all without the need for complex reconfigurations.

---

Final Thoughts

Congratulations! You've now routed all your Cloudflare-bound traffic through a secure WARP tunnel, effectively bypassing mysterious connectivity issues. If the sites ever go down again, at least you’ll have one less thing to blame—and one more thing to debug.

@ 8d5ba92c:c6c3ecd5

There I was, minding my own business at the airport (i.e., arranging the list of Bitcoin/Freedom podcasts for the next seven hours of flight), when I came across a scene that could have been ripped straight from a show about the decline of civilization. Heart-wrenching. Shocking. Dystopian. To put it simply, what the f*ck?!

Prologue.

A family of five, including two early-school kids (let’s call them 'Timmy' and 'Amy', around 5 and 7 years old), a father who looked like he’d given up on life, and a perfect mother multitasking like a pro—breastfeeding a baby while chowing down on a Big Mac.

Oh yeah, the whole family was happily consuming their McDonald’s junk as if it was their daily ritual. Watching little kids eat that stuff? A mix of anger and sadness. But seeing a breastfeeding mother give her newborn absolute garbage? The scene I can’t forget.

She also washed it all down with some fizzy, sugary, chemical-laden sludge later on. Still, while breastfeeding. Because, you know, nothing screams nourishment like a steady diet of artificial stuff. Best to get them hooked in the first few months, right?

Act One: The Mother’s Masterpiece.

A modern-day Madonna, cradling her infant while balancing junk food’s finest. The baby, blissfully unaware of the nutritional betrayal unfolding in real-time, probably wasn’t even dreaming of normal food that might one day help it grow into a healthy being.

Seeing this scene, knowing all the options available at the airport—many much more reasonable than this crap—and watching the family enjoy their 'sacred food', I’m almost certain this little one had been getting a side of heavily processed rubbish long before it even left the womb...

Rave: A standing ovation for conscious parenting.

Act Two: Innocent Contribution.

Just when I thought the scene couldn’t get worse, little “Timmy” decided to play bartender. With the enthusiasm of a child clearly raised on a steady diet of Big Macs and Coca-Cola (or whatever other delicacies were on offer), he extended his cup to his tiny brother or sister. The devoted mother, of course, helped him guide the straw to the baby’s mouth. “Drink, little one! Drink not just from my body, but directly from the cup. Drink this (crap) with us!”

Why not? If McDonald’s was good enough for everyone in the family, surely it was good enough for the baby sibling, right?

They all looked almost proud of Timmy’s little “sharing is caring” moment. Meanwhile, my heart shattered into a million pieces, each one screaming, “Seriously?! Should I interfere? How would they react?”

I was close enough to keep taking photos, staring at them with my mouth probably hanging open, horror written all over my face. The mother met my gaze once—cold, unreadable. No 'leave us alone.' No 'it’s our business.' No 'what's wrong, tell us.' Just... nothing.

My husband, noticing my growing frustration and sensing I was about to step in, whispered, “Let it go. You won’t save them in 10 minutes at the airport.”

Maybe he was right. But I’ll be thinking about it for a long time…

Act Three: A Recipe for Regret.

It was as if the parents had collectively agreed that their bodies were nothing more than human garbage bins, and their children were just smaller versions of the same.

Let’s be clear: adults can do whatever they want with their health. If you want to treat your body like a landfill, go ahead—it’s your funeral (literally). But when you drag your kids into it, it’s no longer a personal choice. It’s more like a crime. These children didn’t sign up for a life of artificial flavors, empty calories, and a future riddled with health problems. They deserve better.

And if you’re reading this thinking, ‘What’s the big deal?’—let's talk.

My brain is on the verge of exploding, trying to understand how anyone could actively contribute to the slow, painful destruction of the people they (presumably) love. You should love and respect your own body, and even more so the lives of your kids. What could possibly justify feeding your family McDonald's if it’s not the very last option you have on earth to survive? Please, help me understand why!

Epilogue: The Aftertaste.

As I stepped into the boarding line, I couldn’t shake the thought: Is this really where we are now? A world where care and nutritional awareness no longer exist. Where junk food became a family tradition. Where children are raised on a cocktail of chemicals when better options are right there!

To the McDonald’s family at the airport—and anyone on their way to becoming one: Not sure if you enjoyed your meal. If you did, I wish you luck. You’ll need it.

https://i.nostr.build/e8f3h9iuDNQbtmaF.png

And please, maybe—just maybe—consider giving your kids a chance. They deserve more than a trash life packed with chemicals in a paper bag.

---

BTC Your Mind. Let it ₿eat.

Şelale

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

In an unexpected turn of events that has sent ripples through the cryptocurrency world, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, has extended his stay in the United States. This development is particularly striking against the backdrop of Binance's ongoing legal challenges and the intense scrutiny it faces from regulators worldwide. Zhao's decision to remain in the U.S. longer than anticipated is not just a personal choice but a strategic move that could have far-reaching implications for Binance's global operations and the cryptocurrency industry at large. It raises questions about Binance's future strategies and its efforts to navigate the complex web of international regulations.

Table Of Content

• Background: Binance's Regulatory Challenges

• Changpeng Zhao's Role and Influence

• The Unexpected U.S. Stay

• Legal Considerations

• Future of Binance and Crypto Regulation

• Conclusion

• FAQs

Background: Binance's Regulatory Challenges

Binance has emerged as a dominant force in the cryptocurrency exchange market, known for its vast selection of digital assets and high trading volumes. However, this success has not come without its share of challenges. The platform has been under the microscope of regulators across the globe, facing scrutiny over its compliance with stringent anti-money laundering (AML) standards and consumer protection laws. These regulatory hurdles have manifested in various forms, including formal warnings from financial watchdogs, in-depth investigations by regulatory authorities, and outright bans in certain jurisdictions. These challenges highlight the precarious position Binance occupies in the global financial landscape and underscore the delicate balance it must maintain between innovation and regulatory compliance.

Changpeng Zhao's Role and Influence

Changpeng Zhao, affectionately known as "CZ" in the crypto community, is more than just the CEO of Binance; he is a visionary and a key influencer in the cryptocurrency sector. Since founding Binance in 2017, Zhao has steered the company through exponential growth, navigating the volatile waters of the crypto market with a blend of technological innovation and strategic foresight. However, this journey has been fraught with controversies, particularly around issues of regulatory compliance and operational transparency. As the face and voice of Binance, Zhao's decisions, public statements, and even his personal movements are closely watched and analyzed for insights into Binance's future direction and its stance on regulatory matters.

The Unexpected U.S. Stay

The news of Zhao's extended stay in the U.S. has sparked a flurry of speculation and analysis within the financial and cryptocurrency sectors. This move is particularly intriguing given the current regulatory climate in the U.S., which is known for its stringent financial oversight and tough stance on cryptocurrency regulation. The extended stay raises several questions: Is Zhao seeking to engage in high-level negotiations with U.S. regulators? Is Binance planning a strategic pivot or expansion in the U.S. market? Or is this a proactive measure to address some of the legal challenges facing the company? Whatever the reason, Zhao's presence in the U.S. is a clear indication that significant developments are underway for Binance in one of the world's most important financial markets.

Implications for Binance

Zhao's decision to extend his stay in the U.S. could be interpreted as a strategic move to align Binance more closely with U.S. regulatory frameworks. This could involve enhancing the company's compliance systems, engaging in more transparent dialogue with regulatory bodies, or even restructuring some of Binance's business practices to conform to U.S. standards. Such changes could be crucial for Binance's continued operation and growth in the U.S. market, potentially opening doors to new partnerships, investment opportunities, and a broader customer base. Moreover, a stronger foothold in the U.S. could enhance Binance's reputation globally, signaling its commitment to regulatory compliance and financial stability.

Industry Reactions

The cryptocurrency industry and financial markets are abuzz with discussions about Zhao's extended stay in the U.S. Analysts, investors, and other industry players are keenly observing this development, understanding that Zhao's actions could signal a new chapter for Binance and possibly the entire cryptocurrency sector. His stay is being interpreted as a sign of Binance's willingness to engage more proactively with regulatory bodies, a move that could have significant implications for how cryptocurrency businesses operate globally. Additionally, Zhao's presence in the U.S. could influence other cryptocurrency exchanges and startups, setting a precedent for how they might approach regulatory challenges and market expansion.

Legal Considerations

Zhao's prolonged presence in the U.S. coincides with a critical period for Binance as it navigates complex legal waters. His decision to stay could be instrumental in facilitating more direct and effective engagement with U.S. legal authorities and regulatory bodies. This proximity to the heart of U.S. financial regulation might enable more constructive dialogues, potentially leading to resolutions or progress in the various legal cases and investigations Binance is currently involved in. Zhao's hands-on involvement in these legal matters could be a game-changer, offering opportunities for negotiation, compliance, and possibly even reconciliation with regulatory authorities.

Potential Outcomes

The involvement of Zhao in legal and regulatory discussions in the U.S. could lead to a spectrum of outcomes for Binance. These might range from reaching amicable settlements and forming robust compliance agreements to facing more stringent regulatory actions or operational restrictions, depending on the nature of the negotiations and the willingness of both parties to find common ground. The outcomes of these engagements are likely to have a significant impact on Binance's operational framework, its global reputation, and its ability to compete in the international market. They could also set important precedents for how major cryptocurrency exchanges interact with regulatory bodies and navigate legal challenges.

Future of Binance and Crypto Regulation

Zhao's decision to extend his stay in the U.S. is a pivotal moment in the evolving narrative of cryptocurrency regulation. It underscores the increasing importance of regulatory compliance for major players in the crypto space and suggests a potential shift towards more collaborative and proactive approaches between industry leaders and regulatory bodies. This development could be a harbinger of a new era in cryptocurrency regulation, where open dialogue, transparency, and compliance play central roles in shaping the industry's future.

Strategic Shifts for Binance Depending on the outcomes of Zhao's engagements in the U.S., Binance may undergo significant strategic shifts, particularly in its approach to regulatory compliance, operational transparency, and market strategy. These shifts could have far-reaching implications, not only for Binance but for the entire cryptocurrency exchange industry. They could set new standards for regulatory compliance, influence the development of new financial products and services, and shape the future landscape of the global cryptocurrency market.

Conclusion

Changpeng Zhao's unexpected extended stay in the United States represents a critical and potentially transformative moment in Binance's ongoing legal and regulatory saga. It reflects the complex and dynamic nature of cryptocurrency regulation and the necessity for industry leaders to adeptly navigate these challenges. As the crypto community and financial markets watch closely, the decisions and actions taken by Zhao in the coming days and weeks could have far-reaching implications for Binance's future, its position in the global market, and the broader trajectory of the cryptocurrency industry.

FAQs

What challenges is Binance currently facing? Binance is grappling with regulatory scrutiny worldwide, particularly concerning anti-money laundering standards and consumer protection laws. This has led to investigations, warnings, and bans in several countries.

How might Zhao's stay in the U.S. impact Binance? Zhao's extended stay could signal a move towards greater regulatory compliance and cooperation in the U.S., potentially leading to operational changes and enhanced market access for Binance.

What are the potential outcomes of Zhao's U.S. engagements? Outcomes could range from amicable settlements and compliance agreements to more stringent regulatory actions, depending on the nature of Zhao's discussions with U.S. authorities.

How could this development affect the broader cryptocurrency industry? Zhao's actions could set a precedent for cryptocurrency exchanges in terms of regulatory compliance and engagement, influencing the global cryptocurrency regulatory landscape.

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.

@ fe32298e:20516265

I've been using AI tools to help with coding for a while now, but it's always been copy/pasting into ChatGPT and DeepSeek. Faster iteration is better, and privacy is best. So it's time to figure out how to use these tools integrated into VSCodium and running locally. After a quick review of the most popular extensions I've heard about, I settled on Tabby.

What the heck does this actually DO?

• Code completion - like autocomplete suggestions, looks at your code and suggests the next thing to type at the cursor. You can see it in gray text, then press Tab and it's added to your code.
• Chat - easily chat with an LLM about your code inside your editor, faster than copy/pasting into a website.
• Apparently it can write docs and tests too.

Can I run it locally? Without a GPU? YES!

Tabby is optimized for small models that only need a few GBs of RAM. I'm using a fairly old System76 Galago Pro with Core i5-10210U and 16 GB RAM. The fans spin up, and Tabby sometimes shows a warning about slow response time, but it seems usable.

How do I get it set up?

This is the overview, look for step-by-step instructions at the end of this article.

1. Install the Tabby server, which runs locally.
2. Start the Tabby server and tell it to serve some models which it will download automatically.
3. Log in to the Tabby server web interface and create an admin account.
4. Install the Tabby extension in your editor.
5. Connect the Tabby extension to your Tabby server.

How do I actually use it?

1. Click Tabby in the bottom-right corner to open the Tabby command palette.
2. Select Chat to open the Chat pane. Drag it to the right side if you want.
3. Or, Ctrl-Shift-P and type "tabby" to see some Tabby commands
4. Select some code and Ctrl-Shift-P "tabby" to see more Tabby commands
5. Explain this seems like a useful one.

Other than that, I don't know! I just started using it today.

What model should I use?

As usual, it depends. If you're using CPU instead of GPU, start with the ones recommended by Tabby and shown in the Step-by-Step below. Tabby has a registry of models you can choose from, and a leaderboard to compare them.

Step-by-Step

This is for Ubuntu 24.04, and no GPU.

```

install pre-reqs

sudo apt install build-essential cmake libssl-dev pkg-config sudo apt install protobuf-compiler libopenblas-dev sudo apt install make sqlite3 graphviz

install rust

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh . "$HOME/.cargo/env"

build tabby

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/TabbyML/tabby cd tabby cargo build

run tabby (downloads ~3 GB of models)

./target/debug/tabby serve --model StarCoder-1B --chat-model Qwen2-1.5B-Instruct

browse to http://0.0.0.0:8080 and create an admin user

```

• Install the Tabby extension in your editor. VSCodium had it in the extensions store by searching for "tabby" or try this ext install TabbyML.vscode-tabby
• Ctrl-Shift-P and look for "Tabby: Connect to server"
• Use the default of http://localhost:8080
• Switch over to the Tabby web interface, click your Profile Picture and copy the auth token
• Paste that into Tabby somewhere. I'm sure you'll figure it out if you got this far.

@ c43d6de3:a6583169

Right this moment, 5.52 billion pairs of hands are within arm’s reach of the internet.

Hands stretch across pillows, eagerly reaching for phones first thing in the morning. Fingertips tap at keyboards and swipe across glowing glass.

The world has never been so connected. Billions of conversations are happening every second.

Yet, humanity has never been so quiet.

Hotel lobbies, waiting rooms, train stations, and airports — places once buzzing with the chatter of strangers — now lie quieter than libraries. Most libraries don’t exist in the physical sense anymore.

Humanity Has Gone Mute.

Small talk is disappearing. The tiniest thoughts are condensed into 280 characters to be posted on X, hoping to garner hearts, claps, zaps, or whatever gimmick social media platforms use to keep us tethered to their feeds. Instead of sharing these thoughts with the few souls occupying the same physical space as us, we broadcast them into the digital void.

Gone are the genuine, physical reactions — a smile, a laugh, maybe a headshake if a joke didn’t land.

Who needs small talk, right? Wasn’t it just that awkward thing people did before cellphones and the internet existed?

No. The silence is worse.

It’s the manifestation of relational decay.

That’s why people talked. People talked about the weather or about Mrs. Jones’ dog that always gets out. That’s what helped neighbors scale one another’s emotional fences and get to know one another. It was, and always will be, the first step to any meaningful relationship.

Today, small talk has been relegated to social feeds and forums. It’s easier to make a friend across the planet than to make one next door. People fall into the trap of chasing likes, followers, and fame, while their local connections — the ones critical to mental health and a sense of purpose — fade into the background.

Maybe I’m out of touch. Maybe I just don’t get out enough. But as a member of the Army Reserves, I’ve experienced something rare.

Once a month, I attend drill, and once a year, we’re sent on an annual training that can last up to thirty days. During those thirty days, we’re often shipped off to a place far from the internet. And in that time, something remarkable happens: small talk comes back to life.

It’s incredible to watch my fellow Soldiers connect.

The relationships we have before training versus after are night and day. And it all starts with small talk — simple jokes, shared gripes, and the mundane details that snowball into camaraderie.

When we’re forced to take that first step to avoid the boredom of silence, we discover one another’s existence. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the absence of convenience is what sparks true connection.

Small talk isn’t just filler. It’s the foundation of relationships. Maybe it’s time to put down the phone, look around, and say something — anything — to the person next to you.

While the world may feel quieter than ever, the potential for connection has never been stronger.

---

I want to show the world that life is a scroll riddled with ink. The marks will only ever be simple blots on the parchment unless you pause and perceive them for the characters they are.

Thank you for reading. If you liked this article let me know with a zap and share with friends you feel might enjoy it too!

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Herbs and spices don't just taste great. Most of the time they're also great for you. - Spicier foods ironically are strongly anti-inflammatory and chronic inflammation is one of the major drivers of poor health - Roots, like turmeric/ginger/garlic/onion, are also strongly anti-inflammatory - Herbs, like parsley and oregano, are super high in vitamins K, C, beta carotene, folate, and others, as well as potassium, manganese, and other minerals. - Seeds, like cumin or coriander, are super mineral dense. - Sea salt (unrefined) has a broad array and excellent balance of minerals.

So, what's the health principle?

Eat tastier more flavorful food. It's tasty because it's good for us (shut up sugar!).

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/877209

@ b7274d28:c99628cb

For anyone interested in the list of essential essays from nostr:npub14hn6p34vegy4ckeklz8jq93mendym9asw8z2ej87x2wuwf8werasc6a32x (@anilsaidso) on Twitter that nostr:npub1h8nk2346qezka5cpm8jjh3yl5j88pf4ly2ptu7s6uu55wcfqy0wq36rpev mentioned on Read 856, here it is. I have compiled it with as many of the essays as I could find, along with the audio versions, when available. Additionally, if the author is on #Nostr, I have tagged their npub so you can thank them by zapping them some sats.

All credit for this list and the graphics accompanying each entry goes to nostr:npub14hn6p34vegy4ckeklz8jq93mendym9asw8z2ej87x2wuwf8werasc6a32x, whose original thread can be found here: Anil's Essential Essays Thread

1.

History shows us that the corruption of monetary systems leads to moral decay, social collapse, and slavery.

Essay: https://breedlove22.medium.com/masters-and-slaves-of-money-255ecc93404f

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/RI0iCGRCCYdhnMXIN3L6

2.

The 21st century emergence of Bitcoin, encryption, the internet, and millennials are more than just trends; they herald a wave of change that exhibits similar dynamics as the 16-17th century revolution that took place in Europe.

Author: nostr:npub13l3lyslfzyscrqg8saw4r09y70702s6r025hz52sajqrvdvf88zskh8xc2

Essay: https://casebitcoin.com/docs/TheBitcoinReformation_TuurDemeester.pdf

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/uLgBG2tyCLMlOp3g50EL

3.

There are many men out there who will parrot the "debt is money WE owe OURSELVES" without acknowledging that "WE" isn't a static entity, but a collection of individuals at different points in their lives.

Author: nostr:npub1guh5grefa7vkay4ps6udxg8lrqxg2kgr3qh9n4gduxut64nfxq0q9y6hjy

Essay: https://www.tftc.io/issue-754-ludwig-von-mises-human-action/

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/UXacM2rkdcyjG9xp9O2l

4.

If Bitcoin exists for 20 years, there will be near-universal confidence that it will be available forever, much as people believe the Internet is a permanent feature of the modern world.

Essay: https://vijayboyapati.medium.com/the-bullish-case-for-bitcoin-6ecc8bdecc1

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/jC3KbxTkXVzXO4vR7X3W

As you are surely aware, Vijay has expanded this into a book available here: The Bullish Case for Bitcoin Book

There is also an audio book version available here: The Bullish Case for Bitcoin Audio Book

5.

This realignment would not be traditional right vs left, but rather land vs cloud, state vs network, centralized vs decentralized, new money vs old, internationalist/capitalist vs nationalist/socialist, MMT vs BTC,...Hamilton vs Satoshi.

Essay: https://nakamoto.com/bitcoin-becomes-the-flag-of-technology/

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/tFJKjYLKhiFY8voDssZc

6.

Gradually, Then Suddenly

I became convinced that, whether bitcoin survives or not, the existing financial system is working on borrowed time.

Essay: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/mempool/gradually-then-suddenly/

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/Mf6hgTFUNESqvdxEIOGZ

Parker Lewis went on to release several more articles in the Gradually, Then Suddenly series. They can be found here: Gradually, Then Suddenly Series

nostr:npub1h8nk2346qezka5cpm8jjh3yl5j88pf4ly2ptu7s6uu55wcfqy0wq36rpev has, of course, read all of them for us. Listing them all here is beyond the scope of this article, but you can find them by searching the podcast feed here: Bitcoin Audible Feed

Finally, Parker Lewis has refined these articles and released them as a book, which is available here: Gradually, Then Suddenly Book

7.

Bitcoin is a beautifully-constructed protocol. Genius is apparent in its design to most people who study it in depth, in terms of the way it blends math, computer science, cyber security, monetary economics, and game theory.

Author: nostr:npub1a2cww4kn9wqte4ry70vyfwqyqvpswksna27rtxd8vty6c74era8sdcw83a

Essay: https://www.lynalden.com/invest-in-bitcoin/

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/axeqKBvYCSP1s9aJIGSe

8.

Bitcoin offers a sweeping vista of opportunity to re-imagine how the financial system can and should work in the Internet era..

Essay: https://archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/why-bitcoin-matters/

9.

Using Bitcoin for consumer purchases is akin to driving a Concorde jet down the street to pick up groceries: a ridiculously expensive waste of an astonishing tool.

Author: nostr:npub1gdu7w6l6w65qhrdeaf6eyywepwe7v7ezqtugsrxy7hl7ypjsvxksd76nak

Essay: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/mempool/economics-of-bitcoin-as-a-settlement-network/

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/JoSpRFWJtoogn3lvTYlz

10.

The Internet is a dumb network, which is its defining and most valuable feature. The Internet’s protocol (..) doesn’t offer “services.” It doesn’t make decisions about content. It doesn’t distinguish between photos, text, video and audio.

Essay: https://fee.org/articles/decentralization-why-dumb-networks-are-better/

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/b7gOEqmWxn8RiDziffXf

11.

Most people are only familiar with (b)itcoin the electronic currency, but more important is (B)itcoin, with a capital B, the underlying protocol, which encapsulates and distributes the functions of contract law.

I was unable to find this essay or any audio version. Clicking on Anil's original link took me to Naval's blog, but that particular entry seems to have been removed.

12.

Bitcoin can approximate unofficial exchange rates which, in turn, can be used to detect both the existence and the magnitude of the distortion caused by capital controls & exchange rate manipulations.

Essay: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Papers.cfm?abstract_id=2714921

13.

You can create something which looks cosmetically similar to Bitcoin, but you cannot replicate the settlement assurances which derive from the costliness of the ledger.

Essay: https://medium.com/@nic__carter/its-the-settlement-assurances-stupid-5dcd1c3f4e41

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/5NoPoiRU4NtF2YQN5QI1

14.

When we can secure the most important functionality of a financial network by computer science... we go from a system that is manual, local, and of inconsistent security to one that is automated, global, and much more secure.

Essay: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/library/money-blockchains-and-social-scalability/

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/VMH9YmGVCF8c3I5zYkrc

15.

The BCB enforces the strictest deposit regulations in the world by requiring full reserves for all accounts. ..money is not destroyed when bank debts are repaid, so increased money hoarding does not cause liquidity traps..

Author: nostr:npub1hxwmegqcfgevu4vsfjex0v3wgdyz8jtlgx8ndkh46t0lphtmtsnsuf40pf

Essay: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/mempool/the-bitcoin-central-banks-perfect-monetary-policy/

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/ralOokFfhFfeZpYnGAsD

16.

When Satoshi announced Bitcoin on the cryptography mailing list, he got a skeptical reception at best. Cryptographers have seen too many grand schemes by clueless noobs. They tend to have a knee jerk reaction.

Essay: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/library/bitcoin-and-me/

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/Vx8hKhLZkkI4cq97qS4Z

17.

No matter who you are, or how big your company is, 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙙.

Essay: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/mempool/bitcoin-miners-beware-invalid-blocks-need-not-apply/

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/bcSuBGmOGY2TecSov4rC

18.

Just like a company trying to protect itself from being destroyed by a new competitor, the actions and reactions of central banks and policy makers to protect the system that they know, are quite predictable.

Author: nostr:npub1s05p3ha7en49dv8429tkk07nnfa9pcwczkf5x5qrdraqshxdje9sq6eyhe

Essay: https://medium.com/the-bitcoin-times/the-greatest-game-b787ac3242b2

Audio Part 1: https://fountain.fm/episode/5bYyGRmNATKaxminlvco

Audio Part 2: https://fountain.fm/episode/92eU3h6gqbzng84zqQPZ

19.

Technology, industry, and society have advanced immeasurably since, and yet we still live by Venetian financial customs and have no idea why. Modern banking is the legacy of a problem that technology has since solved.

Author: nostr:npub1sfhflz2msx45rfzjyf5tyj0x35pv4qtq3hh4v2jf8nhrtl79cavsl2ymqt

Essay: https://allenfarrington.medium.com/bitcoin-is-venice-8414dda42070

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/s6Fu2VowAddRACCCIxQh

Allen Farrington and Sacha Meyers have gone on to expand this into a book, as well. You can get the book here: Bitcoin is Venice Book

And wouldn't you know it, Guy Swann has narrated the audio book available here: Bitcoin is Venice Audio Book

20.

The rich and powerful will always design systems that benefit them before everyone else. The genius of Bitcoin is to take advantage of that very base reality and force them to get involved and help run the system, instead of attacking it.

Author: nostr:npub1trr5r2nrpsk6xkjk5a7p6pfcryyt6yzsflwjmz6r7uj7lfkjxxtq78hdpu

Essay: https://quillette.com/2021/02/21/can-governments-stop-bitcoin/

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/jeZ21IWIlbuC1OGnssy8

21.

In the realm of infor­ma­tion, there is no coin-stamping without time-stamping. The relent­less beating of this clock is what gives rise to all the magical proper­ties of Bitcoin.

Author: nostr:npub1dergggklka99wwrs92yz8wdjs952h2ux2ha2ed598ngwu9w7a6fsh9xzpc

Essay: https://dergigi.com/2021/01/14/bitcoin-is-time/

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/pTevCY2vwanNsIso6F6X

22.

You can stay on the Fiat Standard, in which some people get to produce unlimited new units of money for free, just not you. Or opt in to the Bitcoin Standard, in which no one gets to do that, including you.

Essay: https://casebitcoin.com/docs/StoneRidge_2020_Shareholder_Letter.pdf

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/PhBTa39qwbkwAtRnO38W

23.

Long term investors should use Bitcoin as their unit of account and every single investment should be compared to the expected returns of Bitcoin.

Essay: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/mempool/everyones-a-scammer/

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/vyR2GUNfXtKRK8qwznki

24.

When you’re in the ivory tower, you think the term “ivory tower” is a silly misrepresentation of your very normal life; when you’re no longer in the ivory tower, you realize how willfully out of touch you were with the world.

Essay: https://www.citadel21.com/why-the-yuppie-elite-dismiss-bitcoin

Audio: https://fountain.fm/episode/7do5K4pPNljOf2W3rR2V

You might notice that many of the above essays are available from the Satoshi Nakamoto Institute. It is a veritable treasure trove of excellent writing on subjects surrounding #Bitcoin and #AustrianEconomics. If you find value in them keeping these written works online for the next wave of new Bitcoiners to have an excellent source of education, please consider donating to the cause.

@ 3b7fc823:e194354f

Your phone is not your friend. It is a filthy little snitch that tells anyone who asks where you are, what you are doing, and who you are doing it with. You can obscure and hide some things through the use of privacy respecting software like encrypted communication apps, Tor pathways using Orbot, or the base OS like Graphene but metadata and geolocation is still very loud and very present. It is built into the infrastructure of how cell phones work. Your phone is tracked at all times through every cell tower area you pass through logging your IMEI and by extension your phone number and identity. This data is logged and saved forever by companies who use and sell it for corporate surveillance and post Patriot Act give it to police and government agencies warrantlessly.

Fine, I will just turn it off then. Nice try, but unless the battery can be removed it still tracks you. You didn't think it was weird that Find My Phone still works even if the phone was off? Luddites are not off the hook. That dumb phone or flip phone is tracked just the same and since it will not run encrypted communications you are screaming out the content of every call or text and not just the metadata.

OK, I will get a burner phone or anonymous SIM card not tied to my identity. Better, but not bulletproof. This is great for use and toss but if you continue to use it multiple times, around other devices that are tied to you or your social network, or take it to your home, work, or any location associated with you then it will be doxxed. Once doxxed all past information associated with it becomes now linked to you.

Metadata, Profile, and Network Your network is very easily known and built up over time. Who are the contacts saved in your phone? Who do you interact with? Who do you call, text, email, DM, or follow on social networks? Who do you never contact but your geolocation overlaps with them often. Now look at all those contacts and who they have a network with. A giant spider web of connections. If by 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon you have a shady contact in your network then you may get more scrutiny than you may realize.

You are spilling metadata everywhere you go along with your geolocation. Time stamps, who you contacted, how long you talk to them, which app was used when, internet searches, map app searches, etc. People are creatures of habit and over time this metadata builds a pretty good profile on you. Phone becomes active around 7am when they wake up. Scans social media and news sites for usually 30 minutes. Assume they are taking a shower because the phone is on but not being used until 8am most weekdays. Travels to a coffee place on the corner most mornings and then goes to their place of work. Between 9:30 and 10:30 am they again scan social media and news sites for a solid 10 minutes, probably their bathroom schedule. During lunch they frequent these locations with these people. You get the point.

This profile, plus your geolocation history, plus your network paints a pretty complete picture on you. Surprisingly it is not what you do but when you do something different that gets attention. There was a big protest last night that we are not happy about. We already have a list of everyone who took their phones with them at that geolocation and timestamp. We run an algorithm looking for simple patterns. John is usually at a restaurant eating with friends during this time but strangely his phone was left at home and turned off during that time frame. Did anyone in his network go to the protest that we have already confirmed? Anyone in his network follow the protest Facebook page, or have a deviation from their usual pattern such as their phone being somewhere dormant when it is usually active during this time?

What can you do? You can choose to do nothing. You can just live your life with the awareness that you are being tracked and profiled, maybe work to limit how much metadata you are spilling out to the universe. If you are an activist, an oppressed minority, live in an oppressive regime, or your country suddenly becomes oppressive this might not be an option. Randomize or maintain your profile. This is hard but not impossible. Make your profile and habits so chaotic that any deviation is not a deviation. Most people cannot do this but if you are couch-surfing, going to different places constantly, new friends and new activities on the daily agent of chaos then maybe this is an option.

On the opposite extreme maybe you are a very regimented person so be aware of that and always stick to your routine. If you want to go to that protest but are usually home doom scrolling youtube during that time then set your phone to no sleep mode and set up to watch a long playlist of youtube videos left at home while you go to the protest.

Home phone only. Maybe you decide to have a home phone only, no not a landline, but an actual smart device that can utilize encrypted communications services but never leaves the house. This could potentially save you a lot of money on data plans, texts, and minutes if you don't buy a network plan and just use VOIP on your home WIFI. Or maybe you have a very minimal network plan and when you leave the house you either take it with you in a Faraday bag or have a secondary device that lives in a Faraday bag that only comes out for emergencies and to check in. Just be aware that the time in and out of the Faraday bag is part of your profile.

No Phone. You can have no phone whatsoever. This will not work for most people in the modern age but if you have an extreme risk profile then this might be the extreme option you need. How do you survive with no phone or only a home phone? Just some alternatives and some ideas. You can still buy WIFI only devices that have no network connection and / or stay in airplane mode. Old MP3 players for music and podcasts while on the go. Old phones that you can download maps to for navigation and use VOIP services in WIFI hotspots.

Emergency Communication and Go Bag Prepper culture has given us all sorts of bags: bug out bags, get home bags, never coming back bags, and go bags. I define go bags as very small, light weight, and compact bags or kits. They carry very minimal, bare necessary gear, and ideally are so small that you actually have it on you, in your purse or computer satchel or car all of the time. Emergency communication will be part of this. This is when the burner phone, purchased with cash out of town, and stored in a Faraday bag all the time shines. It has no connection to you and has no history of use. It is a have but hope to never use oh shit device. If you are the activist, the whistleblower, the oppressed that they could come after at any time, or the journalist that investigates corruption, organized crime, or terrorism then you need this.

@ ec42c765:328c0600

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@ fd78c37f:a0ec0833

🔹 Pre-event buzz: Even before the event started, numerous calls came in to confirm the venue and ask if they could bring friends along. Upon arrival, many young attendees were eager to learn more about YakiHonne, reflecting the excitement and anticipation surrounding the meetup.

🔹 Engaging discussions: The event kicked off with an introduction to Nostr and YakiHonne’s core principles, sparking insightful conversations about what it truly means to have a decentralized social media platform.

🔹 Deep dive: Attendees raised many questions, particularly about YakiHonne’s decentralization model. The concept resonated with many, and a large number of participants expressed their support and interest in becoming part of the YakiHonne ecosystem in the future. The meetup wrapped up with light refreshments 🍹, networking 🤝, and a photo session 📸. Even after the event officially ended, conversations continued as people stayed behind to connect and explore further possibilities ✨.

YakiHonne Meetup was more than just a gathering—it was a step forward in shaping the future of decentralized social media! 🚀

YakiHonne #Nostr #DecentralizedSocialMedia

@ ec42c765:328c0600

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@ 638d2a79:f5645f4e

China was ruled by one ruler, but over time, China split into two—South and North—which had a rivalry between them. At this time, Yang Chien was a general in the army of Northern China. He thought that China should be whole once more, so, like any insert age here year old would do, he attacked the king of the South (for peace!). After a bit of fighting, he overpowered Southern China and took control of all of China. This man founded a dynasty—the Sui Dynasty—to rule and to keep China united.

But wait! Rivers made travel difficult between the North and South, so his son created a new river when he became emperor. This canal made it easier to cross the rivers, which greatly improved trade. The people did not like working on this river, and after it was completed, they killed him, making him the second and last emperor of the Sui Dynasty.

Cue the new emperor, Li Yuan, AKA "the smart guy." He wanted to stay alive for a long time, and he saw how unhappy people had just killed the last important ruler. So, he decided to invest in keeping people happy instead. This started the Golden Age of China, also called the Tang Dynasty.

Tags: [[human behavior index]] ,[[history]]

@ ec42c765:328c0600

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nostr:nevent1qqsdvchy5d27zt3z05rr3q6vvmzgslslxwu0p4dfkvxwhmvxldn9djguvagp2

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@ ddf03aca:5cb3bbbe

We’re thrilled to announce the stable release of Cashu-TS v2.2! Although this update is a minor version bump, it brings significant improvements under the hood that enhance the overall developer experience. We’ve spent several weeks testing and refining these changes.

---

What’s New in v2.2?

While there are no breaking changes in this release, there are many internal changes. If you spot any regressions or unexpected behavior, please let us know. Here’s a rundown of the major updates:

• Enhanced Proof Creation: The way proofs are created internally has been revamped.
• User-Controlled Outputs: You now have full control over how outputs are created.
• Improved Bundling: We’ve switched our bundling tool to vite for faster and more modern builds.
• Updated Testing Tools: Our testing framework has migrated to vitest and msw, with added browser testing via Playwright.

---

New Flexibility with OutputData

In previous versions of Cashu-TS, the creation of outputs (or BlindedMessages) was hidden away. Even though there were options to tweak the process (like deterministic secrets or P2PK), you were always limited to the built-in logic.

What’s Changed?

In v2.2, we’ve introduced a public interface that not only streamlines output creation but also lets you plug in your own custom logic when needed. With the new outputData option available on all output-creating methods, you can now bypass the automatic process and provide your own outputs.

For example, you can create two proofs tied to different public keys in a single mint operation:

ts const data1 = OutputData.createP2PKData({ pubkey: "key1" }, 10, keys); const data2 = OutputData.createP2PKData({ pubkey: "key2" }, 10, keys); const { keep, send } = await wallet.send(20, proofs, { outputData: { send: [...data1, ...data2] }, });

Customization Made Easy

The outputData option now accepts anything that conforms to the OutputDataLike interface. This means you can introduce your own output creation logic—even if it’s not natively supported by Cashu-TS yet. Here’s what the interface looks like:

```ts export interface OutputDataLike { blindedMessage: SerializedBlindedMessage; blindingFactor: bigint; secret: Uint8Array;

toProof: (signature: SerializedBlindedSignature, keyset: MintKeys) => Proof; } ```

Introducing OutputData Factories

While having full control is empowering, it also means you’ll need to handle tasks like fee calculation and amount selection manually. To strike a balance between control and convenience, we now support OutputData Factories.

A factory is simply a function that takes an amount and MintKeys as input and returns an OutputDataLike object. This way, you can define a blueprint for your output data without worrying about the nitty-gritty details. For instance, you can create separate factories for amounts you keep versus those you send:

```ts function keepFactory(a: number, k: MintKeys) { return OutputData.createSingleP2PKData({ pubkey: "keepPk" }, a, k.id); }

function sendFactory(a: number, k: MintKeys) { return OutputData.createSingleP2PKData({ pubkey: "sendPk" }, a, k.id); }

const { send, keep } = await wallet.send(amount, proofs, { outputData: { send: createFactory("send"), keep: createFactory("keep") }, }); ```

Plus, you can now instantiate a CashuWallet with a default keepFactory, ensuring that all change amounts automatically lock to your key—streamlining your workflow even further.

---

Bundling Improvements with Vite

Starting with v2.2, we’ve transitioned from using tsc to vite for transpiling and bundling the library code. Although this change is mostly behind the scenes, it brings several benefits:

• Modern Build Target: We’ve updated our build target to ES6.
• Updated Exports: The package exports now reflect the latest JavaScript standards.
• Standalone Build Soon: We’re working on a standalone build that bundles Cashu-TS along with all its dependencies. This will let you import Cashu-TS directly into your HTML.

If you encounter any issues with the new bundling setup, please let us know.

A Nod to Vitest

In addition to our bundling improvements, we’ve migrated our testing framework from Jest (with nock) to vitest combined with msw. This switch gives us more flexibility in testing and mocking, plus we’ve added browser testing based on Playwright—thanks to the tip from nostr:npub16anjdksmvn5x08vtden04n64rw5k7fsjmedpw8avsx8wsh8ruhlq076pfx!

---

In Conclusion

Although Cashu-TS v2.2 is a minor version update, it comes packed with improvements that enhance both the developer experience and the flexibility of the library. We’re excited to see how you’ll use these new features in your projects! Thanks to all the amazing contributors that add to this library.

Thank you for being a part of the Cashu-TS community. As always, if you have any questions, suggestions, or issues, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

@ dff95033:862fbf40

Se você achava que o Brasil já tinha atingido o fundo do poço em termos de gestão fiscal, prepare-se para uma surpresa: o poço tem subsolo. O estudo "Projeções Fiscais e Orçamentárias: O Desafio das Despesas Discricionárias", elaborado pela Consultoria de Orçamento e Fiscalização Financeira (Conof) da Câmara dos Deputados, é um retrato nada animador do futuro das contas públicas brasileiras. E, como todo bom retrato de família, é feio, mas é o que temos.

O Barco Está Afundando, mas o Capitão Continua no Churrasco

O estudo começa com uma premissa básica: o Regime Fiscal Sustentável (RFS), aquela joia rara da Lei Complementar nº 200/2024, está prestes a naufragar. A ideia era simples: limitar o crescimento das despesas primárias para evitar que o país virasse um PIB de mentirinha com uma dívida pública de verdade. Só que, como tudo na República do Brasil, a teoria é linda, mas a prática é uma tragédia.

O problema central é o espaço para despesas discricionárias, ou melhor, a falta dele. Enquanto as despesas obrigatórias (aqueles gastos que o governo não pode cortar, como aposentadorias e salários) continuam crescendo como erva daninha, o espaço para investimentos em áreas como saúde, educação e infraestrutura está diminuindo mais rápido que copo de um certo pinguço. O estudo projeta que, a partir de 2027, o governo vai ter que escolher entre pagar as estravaJanjas da Alvorada ou investir em hospitais — obviamente a estravaJanja.

As Pressões: Quando o Salário Mínimo Vira um Pesadelo

O estudo lista uma série de pressões que estão esmagando o orçamento. A primeira delas é o aumento do salário mínimo, que, pasmem, não é só uma boa notícia para os trabalhadores. Ele impacta diretamente benefícios como o RGPS, o BPC, o seguro-desemprego e o abono salarial. Em 2025, o salário mínimo subiu de R$ 1.509 para R$ 1.518. Parece pouco, mas quando você multiplica isso por milhões de beneficiários, o resultado é um rombo de R$ 32,8 bilhões. É como se o governo tivesse comprado um apartamento na praia e descobrisse que a taxa de condomínio é em dólar.

E não para por aí. O estudo também aponta a necessidade de suplementações orçamentárias para programas como o Auxílio-Gás e o Pé-de-Meia. No caso do Pé-de-Meia, o Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU) já deu o veredito: o governo não pode usar recursos de fundos sem autorização orçamentária. Ou seja, o programa que deveria ajudar estudantes do ensino médio agora é mais um furo no bolso do contribuinte. Parabéns, 3 meses de curso de economia valeram a pena, né, Senhor Ministro da Economia!

Os Alívios: Um Band-Aid num Ferimento de Bala

Claro, nem tudo está perdido. O estudo aponta algumas fontes de alívio, como o aumento do limite de despesa primária do Poder Executivo (R$ 12,4 bilhões) e as economias geradas pelo pacote fiscal Brasil Mais Forte (R$ 10,4 bilhões). Mas vamos ser sinceros: isso é como tentar apagar um incêndio florestal com um copo d'água. O pacote fiscal, aliás, é uma piada pronta. Ele promete economias, mas, na prática, é mais um remendo mal costurado em um sistema que já está caindo aos pedaços.

O estudo ainda menciona que o pacote foi "excessivamente tímido" em relação à desvinculação de despesas. Traduzindo: o governo mexeu onde não doía e ignorou os problemas reais. Enquanto isso, a PEC Alternativa, a qual o estudo menciona, propõe medidas mais robustas como a desindexação de despesas e a limitação de supersalários, continua engatinhando no Congresso. Ou seja, enquanto o Titanic afunda, Brasília está discutindo como as lagostas serão marinadas.

O Futuro: Um Cenário de Terror (Sem Pipoca)

As projeções para o período de 2025 a 2034 são de cortar o coração — ou o bolso, dependendo de quem está lendo. O estudo mostra que, a partir de 2027, o espaço para despesas discricionárias vai encolher tanto que o governo vai ter que escolher entre pagar os funcionários públicos ou manter os hospitais abertos — Olá Correios! Ou, se der bobeira, nenhum dos dois.

O piso de investimentos de 0,6% do PIB, que já é baixo, vai consumir boa parte do pouco espaço que resta. E o pior: o estudo alerta para o risco de um "desligamento" (shutdown) da máquina pública. Sim, aquela coisa que acontece nos EUA quando o Congresso não aprova o orçamento. Só que, no Brasil, o shutdown não vai ser por falta de acordo, mas por falta de dinheiro mesmo. Imagine o caos: escolas fechadas, hospitais sem médicos, e o Congresso ainda tentando aprovar um aumento de salário para os parlamentares.

Dívida pública brasileira, então? Vixe, vai ser uma explosão nuclear. Anota aí: vai entrar pra história.

Conclusão: O Brasil Precisa de um Milagre (ou de um Novo Governo)

O estudo da Conof é um alerta vermelho para o país. Sem medidas estruturais sérias, o Brasil vai continuar navegando em águas turbulentas, com um barco cheio de furos e um capitão que insiste em ignorar o iceberg à frente. A PEC Alternativa é uma luz no fim do túnel, mas, como tudo no Brasil, depende da vontade política de quem está no poder. E, convenhamos, vontade política é algo que anda em falta por aqui.

Enquanto isso, o contribuinte continua pagando a conta de um sistema que parece ter sido projetado para falir. O estudo termina com uma mensagem clara: ou o país faz reformas profundas, ou o futuro será uma sucessão de crises fiscais. E, no ritmo em que as coisas estão indo, o futuro já começou.

Então, se você ainda acredita que o Brasil vai recuperar-se, talvez seja hora de repensar. Ou, pelo menos, garantir que você tem um bom fundo e, em alguns casos, seguro de vida — porque o barco está afundando, e nem todos vão conseguir um lugar no bote.

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E por falar em reformas, minha preferência pessoal vai para a PEC 7/2020, uma proposta que considero mais salubre e alinhada com as necessidades estruturais do país. A PEC 7/2020 traz medidas robustas para conter o crescimento dos gastos públicos, com foco na desvinculação de despesas e na revisão de benefícios fiscais, além de propor uma reforma administrativa que promove maior eficiência e transparência na gestão pública. Se você se preocupa com o futuro fiscal do Brasil e acredita que é possível fazer mais com menos, convido você a conhecer a PEC 7/2020 e entender por que ela pode ser a chave para um orçamento público mais sustentável. Afinal, reformas profundas exigem propostas ousadas — e a PEC 7/2020 é exatamente isso.

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REFERÊNCIAS

CÂMARA DOS DEPUTADOS. Consultoria de Orçamento e Fiscalização Financeira. Projeções fiscais e orçamentárias: o desafio das despesas discricionárias. Brasília, 2025. Disponível em: https://www2.camara.leg.br/orcamento-da-uniao/estudos/2025/ET_042025_0204Projeesfiscaiseoramentriasodesafiodasdespesasdiscricionrias.pdf. Acesso em: 05 de fev. 2025

BRAGANÇA, Luiz Orléans e. Reforma e alinhamento tributário: a opção pelo progresso. 2023. Disponível em: https://lpbraganca.com.br/reforma-alinhamento-tributario-opcao-progresso/. Acesso em: 05 de fev. 2025

@ df478568:2a951e67

In the Case For A 100 Percent Gold Dollar, Murray Rothbard argues, “the debacle of 1931-1933, when the world abandoned the gold standard, was not a sudden shift from gold weight to paper name; it was the last step in a lenghty, complex process.” He said that before WWI, a dollar was defined as aproximately 1/20th of an ounce of gold.” If it worked, a dollar would buy about as much as $143 does today, but it didn't work.

Gold ownership was banned until Executive Order 6102 was lifted in the 1970's. According to Rothbard, France sent a battleship to the United States to repatriate its gold. Then, Nixon took the dollar "temporarily" off the gold standard in 1971. It just so happened I listened to a podcast after I started writing this. Joseph Voelnel tells the story in this podcast.

https://fountain.fm/episode/mXreHZ2um0RnxaHsWMfe

I paid for the transcript using bitcoin on the lightning network using a podcasting 2.0 app named Fountain. Try it out. You can earn small amount of bitcoin just for listening. It is not self-custodial, but it's a great way to get started if you're curious. If you're not curious, you probably won't like bitcoin.

The US government debased gold and made it 41% after issuing Executive Order 6102. Nixon took the dollar completely off the gold standard in 1971. The dollar is still a fiat currency, backed by nothing but "good faith and credit of the United States." That's basically nothing. You might as well say the US dollar is backed by good vibes. Do you think the US can pay 36 trillion bucks back with good vibes?

I do not.

Gold will not fix this.

If the US went back to the gold standard, we would need to trust the good vibes of Fort Knox, but anyone in their right mind would not trust these good vibes.

"The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that's required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust."

Satoshi Nakamoto, P2P Foundation thread.

Even if we self-custody gold again, metal does not prevent debasement. Here's one of my favorite quotes from Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations:

"There was a third event which occurred in the course of the same period, and which, though it could not occasion any scarcity of corn, nor, perhaps, in the real quantity of silver which was usually paid for it, must necessarily have occasioned some augmentation in the nominal sum. This event was the great debasement of the silver coin, by clipping and wearing. This evil had begun in the reign of Charles II. and had gone on continually increasing till 1695; at which time, as we may learn from Mr Lowndes, the current silver coin was, at an average, near five-and-twenty percent. Below its standard value."

Monetary debasement is not a new phenomenon. The double-spending problem has been around for hundreds of years. In my opinion, bitcoin is the best shot humankind has of solving the double spending problem.

"A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending."

Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin: A Peer-To-Peer Electronic Cash System

To steel-man the case against bitcoin, I would say the biggest issue is how many people prefer to use a trusted third party to custody their bitcoin. That’s why education is important. In principle, I think we should keep 100% custody of our bitcoin. In practice, I do keep some of my sats in a custodial wallet to pay bills. I working on this, but I need to open up a fatter lightning channel and set up auto-payments to my Strike wallet. That’s my goal, but I need to I want to make sure I don’t rug myself first so I am testing it out with smaller amounts first. It is possible, it just takes time to learn how to do it safely.

I still think bitcoin is our best shot against centuries of monetary debasement.

npub1marc26z8nh3xkj5rcx7ufkatvx6ueqhp5vfw9v5teq26z254renshtf3g0

882,461

Merch

@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1

GitCitadel Development Operations

We, at GitCitadel, have been updating, moving, and rearranging our servers, for quite some time. As a rather large, complex, sprawling project, we have the infrastructure setup to match, so we've decided to give you all a quick run-down of what we are doing behind-the-scenes.

Supplier Coordination

Our first task, this week, was figuring out who would host what where. We have four different locations, where our infra is stored and managed, including two locations from our suppliers. We got that straightened out, quickly, and it's all slowly coming together and being connected and networked. Exciting to watch our DevOps landscape evolve and all of the knowledge-transfer that the interactions provide.

OneDev Implementation

Our biggest internal infra project this week was the migration of all of our issues from Jira, build scripts from Jenkins, and repos from GitHub to a self-hosted OneDev instance. In the future, all of our internal build, test, issue, patch/PR, etc. effort will take place there. We also have a separate repo there for communicating with external developers and suppliers.

Our team's GitHub projects will be demoted to mirrors and a place for external devs to PR to. Public issues and patches will continue to be managed over our self-hosted GitWorkshop instance.

We're especially glad to finally escape the GitHub Gulag, and avoid being bled dry by Jira fees, without having to give up the important features that we've come to know and love. So, yay!

Next Infrasteps

Automated Testing

Now, that we have everything tied up in one, neat, backed-up package, we can finally move on to the nitty-gritty and the dirty work. So, we're rolling up our sleeves and writing the Selenium smoke test for our Alexandria client. We'll be running that in Docker containers containing different "typical Nostr" images, such as Chrome browser with Nostr Connect signing extension, or Firefox browser with Nos2x-fox extension. Once we get the Nsec Bunker and Amber logins going, we'll add test cases and images for them, as well. (Yes, we can do Bunker. I hope you are in awe at our powers).

We are also designing an automated infrastructure test, that will simply rattle through all the various internal and external websites and relays, to make sure that everything is still online and responsive.

After that, a Gherkin-based Behave feature test for Alexandria is planned, so that we can prevent regression of completed functionality, from one release to the next.

The Gherkin scenarios are written and attached to our stories before development begins (we use acceptance tests as requirements), a manual test-execution is then completed, in order to set the story to Done. These completed scenarios will be automated, following each release, with the resulting script linked to from the origin story.

Automated Builds

As the crowning glory of every DevOps tool chain stands the build automation. This is where everything gets tied together, straightened out, configured, tested, measured, and -- if everything passes the quality gates -- released. I don't have to tell you how much time developers spend staring at the build process display, praying that it all goes through and they can celebrate a Green Wave.

We are currently designing the various builds, but the ones we have defined for the Alexandria client will be a continuous delivery pipeline, like so:

This will make it easier for us to work and collaborate asynchronously and without unnecessary delays.

Expanding the Status Page

And, finally, we get to the point of all of this busyness: reporting.

We are going to have beautiful reports, and we are going to post them online, on our status page. We will use bots, to inform Nostriches of the current status of our systems, so go ahead and follow our GitCitadel DevOps npub, to make sure you don't miss out on the IT action.

Building on stone

All in all, we're really happy with the way things are humming along, now, and the steady increase in our productivity, as all the foundational work we've put in starts to pay off. It's getting easier and easier to add new team members, repos, or features/fixes, so we should be able to scale up and out from here. Our GitCitadel is built on a firm foundation.

Happy building!

@ ec42c765:328c0600

カスタム絵文字とは

任意のオリジナル画像を絵文字のように文中に挿入できる機能です。
また、リアクション（Twitterの いいね のような機能）にもカスタム絵文字を使えます。

カスタム絵文字の対応状況（2025/02/06）

カスタム絵文字を使うためにはカスタム絵文字に対応したクライアントを使う必要があります。

※表は一例です。クライアントは他にもたくさんあります。

使っているクライアントが対応していない場合は、クライアントを変更する、対応するまで待つ、開発者に要望を送る（または自分で実装する）などしましょう。

対応クライアント

• Amethyst
• FreeFrom
• nostter
• Rabbit
• Lumilumi
• Nos Haiku
• Snort
• noStrudel

ここではnostterを使って説明していきます。

準備

カスタム絵文字を使うための準備です。

• Nostrエクステンション（NIP-07）を導入する
• 使いたいカスタム絵文字をリストに登録する

Nostrエクステンション（NIP-07）を導入する

Nostrエクステンションは使いたいカスタム絵文字を登録する時に必要になります。

また、環境（パソコン、iPhone、androidなど）によって導入方法が違います。

Nostrエクステンションを導入する端末は、実際にNostrを閲覧する端末と違っても構いません（リスト登録はPC、Nostr閲覧はiPhoneなど）。

Nostrエクステンション（NIP-07）の導入方法は以下のページを参照してください。

ログイン拡張機能 (NIP-07)を使ってみよう | Welcome to Nostr! ～ Nostrをはじめよう！ ～

少し面倒ですが、これを導入しておくとNostr上の様々な場面で役立つのでより快適になります。

使いたいカスタム絵文字をリストに登録する

以下のサイトで行います。

emojito

右上のGet startedからNostrエクステンションでログインしてください。

例として以下のカスタム絵文字を導入してみます。

実際より絵文字が少なく表示されることがありますが、古い状態のデータを取得してしまっているためです。その場合はブラウザの更新ボタンを押してください。

generalJP | カスタム絵文字

• 右側のOptionsからBookmarkを選択

これでカスタム絵文字を使用するためのリストに登録できます。

カスタム絵文字を使用する

例としてブラウザから使えるクライアント nostter から使用してみます。

nostter

nostterにNostrエクステンションでログイン、もしくは秘密鍵を入れてログインしてください。

文章中に使用

1. 投稿ボタンを押して投稿ウィンドウを表示
2. 顔😀のボタンを押し、絵文字ウィンドウを表示
3. ＊タブを押し、カスタム絵文字一覧を表示
4. カスタム絵文字を選択
5. : 記号に挟まれたアルファベットのショートコードとして挿入される

この状態で投稿するとカスタム絵文字として表示されます。

カスタム絵文字対応クライアントを使っている他ユーザーにもカスタム絵文字として表示されます。

対応していないクライアントの場合、ショートコードのまま表示されます。

ショートコードを直接入力することでカスタム絵文字の候補が表示されるのでそこから選択することもできます。

リアクションに使用

1. 任意の投稿の顔😀のボタンを押し、絵文字ウィンドウを表示
2. ＊タブを押し、カスタム絵文字一覧を表示
3. カスタム絵文字を選択

カスタム絵文字リアクションを送ることができます。

カスタム絵文字を探す

先述したemojitoからカスタム絵文字を探せます。

例えば任意のユーザーのページ emojito ロクヨウ から探したり、 emojito Browse all からnostr全体で最近作成、更新された絵文字を見たりできます。

また、以下のリンクは日本語圏ユーザーが作ったカスタム絵文字を集めたリストです（2025/02/06）

※漏れがあるかもしれません

日本ユーザー作 カスタム絵文字

各絵文字セットにあるOpen in emojitoのリンクからemojitoに飛び、使用リストに追加できます。

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以上です。

次：Nostrのカスタム絵文字の作り方

Yakihonneリンク Nostrのカスタム絵文字の作り方

Nostrリンク nostr:naddr1qqxnzdesxuunzv358ycrgveeqgswcsk8v4qck0deepdtluag3a9rh0jh2d0wh0w9g53qg8a9x2xqvqqrqsqqqa28r5psx3

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仕様

NIP-30 Custom Emoji

NIP-30 カスタム絵文字（和訳）

@ 961e8955:d7fa53e4

"@YakiHonne community partners successfully convened a seminal Nostr101 meetup in Barnawa, Nigeria! Donning bespoke YakiHonne Nigeria Limited Edition T-shirts, the Purple Army infused the town with infectious energy.

Facilitated by @Olaoluwa Ezekiel Michael, this gathering leveraged YakiHonne's decentralized platform to foster unbridled dialogue, idea exchange, and community engagement.

The event's resounding success underscores the burgeoning demand for decentralized solutions in Africa. This milestone marks the inception of a revolutionary movement, empowering voices and fostering collaboration throughout the continent.

Nostr #DecentralizedRevolution #Africa #CommunityFirst #YakiHonne"

@ 21ffd29c:518a8ff5

The concept of "Sovereigns: The Power of Your Thoughts - Navigating the Journey from Awareness to Creation" can be beautifully integrated with the empowering strength of strong masculine energy. This synergy combines personal empowerment with a sense of assertiveness and confidence, guiding individuals toward their desired reality.

1. Understanding Sovereignty: Sovereignty in this context refers to the ability to shape one's life and reality through thought. It emphasizes personal control over external circumstances by influencing inner beliefs and perceptions.

2. Strong Masculine Energy: This energy is characterized by assertiveness, confidence, power, and a sense of leadership. It aligns with traits like courage, determination, and self-assurance. In the context of empowerment, it encourages individuals to take charge of their lives with strength and clarity.

3. Integration of Concepts:

4. Personify sovereignty as a strong, authoritative figure who guides personal growth by helping others master their thoughts and create their reality.

5. Emphasize the role of masculine energy in cultivating assertiveness, confidence, and leadership qualities that empower individuals to align their thoughts with their desires.

6. Practical Steps:

7. Mindfulness: Practice observing thoughts and actions with clarity and calmness, fostering a state of present awareness.
8. Affirmations: Use positive statements to reinforce self-confidence and shift belief systems towards empowerment.
9. Visualization: Imagine desired outcomes and focus on actionable steps to achieve them, embodying the courage and determination associated with masculine energy.

10. Seeking Guidance: Engage mentors or coaches who can provide support and clarity, reinforcing leadership qualities and assertiveness.

11. Benefits:

12. Empowerment: Gain control over your life's direction and outcomes through mindful thought manipulation.
13. Clarity & Focus: Achieve a clear vision of goals and paths towards them with confidence and determination.
14. Confidence & Success: Build self-assurance from aligning actions with inner strength and assertiveness.

15. Fulfillment & Peace: Experience inner satisfaction from creating a life that resonates with personal values and energy.

16. Addressing Concerns:

17. Clarify that while beliefs influence perception, true transformation requires consistent effort and awareness of one's inner strength.

18. Emphasize that thoughts can shape reality positively when aligned with assertiveness and confidence.

19. Conclusion: Empower yourself today to shape an extraordinary future by understanding the power of your thoughts as a tool for personal growth. Cultivate strong masculine energy through mindfulness, affirmations, visualization, and leadership qualities, guiding yourself toward a life aligned with your inner strength and determination.

By merging the concepts of sovereignty and strong masculine energy, we create a powerful framework that not only empowers individuals but also encourages them to lead lives that reflect their inner confidence and assertiveness.

@ d4457110:c7dec82b

¡Puede construir un dispositivo de firma de transacciones de Bitcoin con espacio de aire (AirGap) fuera de línea a partir de componentes comunes faciles de enconrar listos para usar!

¿Que es SeedSigner?

En simples palabras SeedSiner es un dispositivo de firma bitcoin

Cree su propio Seedsigner y firme transacciones en Bitcoin sin comprometer la seguridad y privacidad.

La mayoría de personas en Bitcoin respetan y valoran lo que puede hacer este aparato, pues suele verse como una navaja suiza para administrar nuestros Bitcoins y no es para menos, Veamos que puede hacer.

¿Que hace SeedSigner?

Los usuarios de Bitcoin generalmente construyen y usan un SeedSigner por las mismas razones que construyen y usan un nodo completo mayor privacidad, menos confianza, mayor seguridad

• Calcula la palabra 12/24 de una frase semilla BIP39
• Crea una frase semilla BIP39 usando tiradas de dados D6
• Crea una frase semilla BIP39 con entropía a partir de una foto digital
• Interfaz guiada para crear manualmente un SeedQR para almacenamiento/entrada (video)
• Compatibilidad con frase de contraseña/palabra 13/25 BIP39
• Generación nativa Segwit Multisig XPUB con pantalla QR
• Escanea y analiza datos de transacciones de códigos QR animados
• Firme transacciones y transfiera datos XPUB usando códigos QR animados (video)
• Configura los ajustes de usuario con persistencia (opcional)
• Soporte para Bitcoin Mainnet, Testnet y Regtest
• Derivar frases semilla BIP85 secundarias indexadas

Tres usos imprtantes

• Crea claves privadas seguras de forma minimizada
• Genere claves públicas extendidas utilizadas durante la configuración inicial de la billetera
• Firme transacciones de forma segura a través de conjuntos de códigos QR animados

Ventajas

• La operación en aislamiento (sin USB/WiFi/Bluetooth) reduce drásticamente los vectores de ataque
• El bajo costo de construcción hace que el dispositivo sea accesible para más personas en más partes del mundo
• La apatridia hace factible el uso de SeedSigner con múltiples semillas y/o múltiples billeteras
• La arquitectura de software completamente FOSS subyacente hace posible la creación independiente desde el origen
• El uso de hardware no específico de bitcoin puede mejorar en gran medida la privacidad del usuario

¿Que necesitas?

• Una computadora
• Raspberry Pi Zero, versión 1.3 (recomendable pero agotada en las tiendas) SeedSigner es compatible con los modelos alternativos W/WH/2W y Raspberry Pi 2/3/4 vea la disponibilidad de Raspberrys en stock en rpilocator.com, si ha elegido alguna de estas opciones alternativas es importante deshabilitar Wifi/Bluetooth por hardware mi recomendación seria ir por la Raspberry Pi Zero 2 WH con Headers, solo tomara unos minutos hacerlo. Proceso en video
• Pantalla/controles Waveshare de 1,3” 240x240 links de compra Wavesshare, Amazon, AliExpress
• Cámara compatible con Raspberry Pi (con un cable compatible con Zero) links de compra AliExpress 1 - 2 - 3 - 4
• MicroSD (minimo 4GB) con adaptador SD para conectar a la computadora y grabar la imagen, link de compra Amazon
• Powerbank con cable MicroUSB o cargador de RaspberryPi, es importante resaltar que si decide usar una powerbank asegurese que esta tenga un modo de bajo consumo
• Impresora 3D (opcional) si no dispone de una compre un case para su SeedSigner 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7

Quiero saltarme todo el proceso de armado y de comprar materiales, quiero un SeedSigner ya!

Empecemos

1. Descargar la imagen correspondiente al hardare de Raspberry Pi
2. Grabar la imagen en la microSD use Rufus para windows y BalenaEtcher para MacOS
3. Ensamblado
4. Conectar la placa con los pines GPIO (omitir esta parte si estos ya vienen soldados)
5. Encajar los pines GPIO con la pantalla Waveshare
6. Inserte la SD
7. Poner en un case. Hay varios diseños que puede descargar para imprimir
8. Open Pill
9. Orange Pill
10. Simple Pill
11. Lill Pill
12. OrangeSurf Case
13. PS4 Seedsigner
14. OpenPill Faceplate
15. Waveshare Coverplate
16. Guarde sus semillas y SeedQR (plantillas, preferiblemente metal)

Si tiene dudas preguntas o aportes vaya a su Github, Telegram

Referencias

Sitios con las que me apoye para hacer este proyecto

Puede seguir estas guias de instrucciones con mucho mas detalle

• Estudio Bitcoin por Lunaticoin
• Desobediente Tecnologico

@ b17fccdf:b7211155

Next new resources about the MiniBolt guide have been released:

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• 🆕 Roadmap: LINK
• 🆕 Dynamic Network map: LINK
• 🆕 Nostr community: LINK < ~ REMOVE the "[]" symbols from the URL (naddr...) to access
• 🆕 Linktr FOSS (UC) by Gzuuus: LINK
• 🆕 Donate webpage: 🚾 Clearnet LINK || 🧅 Onion LINK
• 🆕 Contact email: hello@minibolt.info

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Enjoy it MiniBolter! 💙

@ b17fccdf:b7211155

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Check out the MiniBolt guide -> HERE <-

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• Core guides
• System
  • Preparations
  • Operating System
  • Remote access
  • Configuration
  • Security
  • Privacy
• Bitcoin
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---

🏗️ Roadmap | 🌐 Dynamic Network map | 🔧 Issues | 📥 Pull requests | 🗣️ Discussions

---

By ⚡2FakTor⚡

---

Last updated: 22/12/2024

@ a367f9eb:0633efea

When a consumer has an account at their bank or another financial service closed on them, it’s a maddening experience.

These notices usually appear seemingly out of the blue, giving the customer just a few weeks to empty their funds from the account to move them elsewhere.

Sometimes, it’s because of fraudulent activity or suspicious transactions. It may also be because of a higher risk profile for customer, including those who often pay their bills late or let their account go negative too many times.

These customers will necessarily be categorized as much riskier to the bank’s operations and more liable to have their accounts closed.

But what if accounts are shut down not because of any true financial risk, but because the banks believe their customers are a regulatory risk?

Perhaps you buy and sell cryptocurrencies, partake in sports betting, or own and operate a cannabis dispensary in a state where it’s legal? While each of these categories of financial transactions are not suspicious nor illegal in themselves, they increase the scrutiny that regulators will place on banks that take on such customers.

While any reasonable standard of risk management applied to banking will discriminate against accounts that rack up fees or clearly participate in fraud, the notion of inherent risk due to regulatory punishment doled out to banks is a separate and concerning issue.

As Cato Institute Policy Analyst Nick Anthony rightly sketches out, this creates a dichotomy between what he deems “operational” debanking and “governmental” debanking, where the former is based on actual risk of default or fraud while the latter is due only to regulatory risk from government institutions and regulators.

The Bank Secrecy Act and Weaponization

The law that creates these mandates and imposes additional liabilities on banks is called the Bank Secrecy Act, originally signed into law in 1970.

Though banking regulation has existed in some form throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the BSA imposed new obligations on financial institutions, mandating Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering programs to fully identify bank customers and surveil their transactions to detect any potentially illegal behavior.

Without any requirements for warrants or judicial orders, banks are forced to report the “suspicious” transactions of their customers directly to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), what is called a “Suspicious Activity Report”. The grounds for filing this could be anything from the name of the recipient, whether the amount is over $10,000, or perhaps even any note or description in the bank transfer that may allude to some criminal activity. If the banks do not file this pre-emptively, they could be on the hook for massive penalties from regulators.

As the House Weaponization Subcommittee revealed in one of its final reports, the Bank Secrecy Act and SARs were ramped up specifically to target political conservatives, MAGA supporters, and gun owners.

The consequences of the BSA and its imposed surveillance have reaped unintended havoc on millions of ordinary Americans. This is especially true for those who have undergone “debanking”.

Many Bitcoin and cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, for example, have been debanked on the sole grounds of being involved in the virtual currency industry, while millions of others have been swept up in the dragnet of the BSA and financial regulators forcibly deputizing banks to cut off customers, often without explanation. 

According to FinCEN guidance, financial institutions are compelled to keep suspicious activity reports confidential, even from customers, or face criminal penalties. This just makes the problems worse.

Further reading

The excellent research by the team at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives provides reams of data on these points. As put by Cato’s Norbert Michel, “People get wrapped up in BSA surveillance for simply spending their own money”.

My colleagues and I have written extensively about why we need reforms to undue the financial surveillance regime that only accelerates debanking of Americans. It’s even worse for those who are interested in the innovative world of Bitcoin and its crypto-offspring as I explain here.

It’s one reason why the Consumer Choice Center supports the Saving Privacy Act introduced by Sens. Mike Lee and Rick Scott, which would vastly reform the Bank Secrecy Act to remove the pernicious and faulty Suspicious Activity Report system.

As the Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing on debanking in February 2025, we hope they will zero-in on the issue of excessive financial surveillance required by financial regulators and the harmful and likely unconstitutional impact of the Bank Secrecy Act. With renewed interest and motivation, American leaders can reform these rules to ensure that our financial privacy and freedom to transact are restored and upheld.

@ 97c70a44:ad98e322

There was a slight dust up recently over a website someone runs removing a listing for an app someone built based on entirely arbitrary criteria. I'm not to going to attempt to speak for either wounded party, but I would like to share my own personal definition for what constitutes a "nostr app" in an effort to help clarify what might be an otherwise confusing and opaque purity test.

In this post, I will be committing the "no true Scotsman" fallacy, in which I start with the most liberal definition I can come up with, and gradually refine it until all that is left is the purest, gleamingest, most imaginary and unattainable nostr app imaginable. As I write this, I wonder if anything built yet will actually qualify. In any case, here we go.

It uses nostr

The lowest bar for what a "nostr app" might be is an app ("application" - i.e. software, not necessarily a native app of any kind) that has some nostr-specific code in it, but which doesn't take any advantage of what makes nostr distinctive as a protocol.

Examples might include a scraper of some kind which fulfills its charter by fetching data from relays (regardless of whether it validates or retains signatures). Another might be a regular web 2.0 app which provides an option to "log in with nostr" by requesting and storing the user's public key.

In either case, the fact that nostr is involved is entirely neutral. A scraper can scrape html, pdfs, jsonl, whatever data source - nostr relays are just another target. Likewise, a user's key in this scenario is treated merely as an opaque identifier, with no appreciation for the super powers it brings along.

In most cases, this kind of app only exists as a marketing ploy, or less cynically, because it wants to get in on the hype of being a "nostr app", without the developer quite understanding what that means, or having the budget to execute properly on the claim.

It leverages nostr

Some of you might be wondering, "isn't 'leverage' a synonym for 'use'?" And you would be right, but for one connotative difference. It's possible to "use" something improperly, but by definition leverage gives you a mechanical advantage that you wouldn't otherwise have. This is the second category of "nostr app".

This kind of app gets some benefit out of the nostr protocol and network, but in an entirely selfish fashion. The intention of this kind of app is not to augment the nostr network, but to augment its own UX by borrowing some nifty thing from the protocol without really contributing anything back.

Some examples might include:

• Using nostr signers to encrypt or sign data, and then store that data on a proprietary server.
• Using nostr relays as a kind of low-code backend, but using proprietary event payloads.
• Using nostr event kinds to represent data (why), but not leveraging the trustlessness that buys you.

An application in this category might even communicate to its users via nostr DMs - but this doesn't make it a "nostr app" any more than a website that emails you hot deals on herbal supplements is an "email app". These apps are purely parasitic on the nostr ecosystem.

In the long-term, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Email's ubiquity is self-reinforcing. But in the short term, this kind of "nostr app" can actually do damage to nostr's reputation by over-promising and under-delivering.

It complements nostr

Next up, we have apps that get some benefit out of nostr as above, but give back by providing a unique value proposition to nostr users as nostr users. This is a bit of a fine distinction, but for me this category is for apps which focus on solving problems that nostr isn't good at solving, leaving the nostr integration in a secondary or supporting role.

One example of this kind of app was Mutiny (RIP), which not only allowed users to sign in with nostr, but also pulled those users' social graphs so that users could send money to people they knew and trusted. Mutiny was doing a great job of leveraging nostr, as well as providing value to users with nostr identities - but it was still primarily a bitcoin wallet, not a "nostr app" in the purest sense.

Other examples are things like Nostr Nests and Zap.stream, whose core value proposition is streaming video or audio content. Both make great use of nostr identities, data formats, and relays, but they're primarily streaming apps. A good litmus test for things like this is: if you got rid of nostr, would it be the same product (even if inferior in certain ways)?

A similar category is infrastructure providers that benefit nostr by their existence (and may in fact be targeted explicitly at nostr users), but do things in a centralized, old-web way; for example: media hosts, DNS registrars, hosting providers, and CDNs.

To be clear here, I'm not casting aspersions (I don't even know what those are, or where to buy them). All the apps mentioned above use nostr to great effect, and are a real benefit to nostr users. But they are not True Scotsmen.

It embodies nostr

Ok, here we go. This is the crème de la crème, the top du top, the meilleur du meilleur, the bee's knees. The purest, holiest, most chaste category of nostr app out there. The apps which are, indeed, nostr indigitate.

This category of nostr app (see, no quotes this time) can be defined by the converse of the previous category. If nostr was removed from this type of application, would it be impossible to create the same product?

To tease this apart a bit, apps that leverage the technical aspects of nostr are dependent on nostr the protocol, while apps that benefit nostr exclusively via network effect are integrated into nostr the network. An app that does both things is working in symbiosis with nostr as a whole.

An app that embraces both nostr's protocol and its network becomes an organic extension of every other nostr app out there, multiplying both its competitive moat and its contribution to the ecosystem:

• In contrast to apps that only borrow from nostr on the technical level but continue to operate in their own silos, an application integrated into the nostr network comes pre-packaged with existing users, and is able to provide more value to those users because of other nostr products. On nostr, it's a good thing to advertise your competitors.
• In contrast to apps that only market themselves to nostr users without building out a deep integration on the protocol level, a deeply integrated app becomes an asset to every other nostr app by becoming an organic extension of them through interoperability. This results in increased traffic to the app as other developers and users refer people to it instead of solving their problem on their own. This is the "micro-apps" utopia we've all been waiting for.

Credible exit doesn't matter if there aren't alternative services. Interoperability is pointless if other applications don't offer something your app doesn't. Marketing to nostr users doesn't matter if you don't augment their agency as nostr users.

If I had to choose a single NIP that represents the mindset behind this kind of app, it would be NIP 89 A.K.A. "Recommended Application Handlers", which states:

Nostr's discoverability and transparent event interaction is one of its most interesting/novel mechanics. This NIP provides a simple way for clients to discover applications that handle events of a specific kind to ensure smooth cross-client and cross-kind interactions.

These handlers are the glue that holds nostr apps together. A single event, signed by the developer of an application (or by the application's own account) tells anyone who wants to know 1. what event kinds the app supports, 2. how to link to the app (if it's a client), and (if the pubkey also publishes a kind 10002), 3. which relays the app prefers.

As a sidenote, NIP 89 is currently focused more on clients, leaving DVMs, relays, signers, etc somewhat out in the cold. Updating 89 to include tailored listings for each kind of supporting app would be a huge improvement to the protocol. This, plus a good front end for navigating these listings (sorry nostrapp.link, close but no cigar) would obviate the evil centralized websites that curate apps based on arbitrary criteria.

Examples of this kind of app obviously include many kind 1 clients, as well as clients that attempt to bring the benefits of the nostr protocol and network to new use cases - whether long form content, video, image posts, music, emojis, recipes, project management, or any other "content type".

To drill down into one example, let's think for a moment about forms. What's so great about a forms app that is built on nostr? Well,

• There is a spec for forms and responses, which means that...
• Multiple clients can implement the same data format, allowing for credible exit and user choice, even of...
• Other products not focused on forms, which can still view, respond to, or embed forms, and which can send their users via NIP 89 to a client that does...
• Cryptographically sign forms and responses, which means they are self-authenticating and can be sent to...
• Multiple relays, which reduces the amount of trust necessary to be confident results haven't been deliberately "lost".

Show me a forms product that does all of those things, and isn't built on nostr. You can't, because it doesn't exist. Meanwhile, there are plenty of image hosts with APIs, streaming services, and bitcoin wallets which have basically the same levels of censorship resistance, interoperability, and network effect as if they weren't built on nostr.

It supports nostr

Notice I haven't said anything about whether relays, signers, blossom servers, software libraries, DVMs, and the accumulated addenda of the nostr ecosystem are nostr apps. Well, they are (usually).

This is the category of nostr app that gets none of the credit for doing all of the work. There's no question that they qualify as beautiful nostrcorns, because their value propositions are entirely meaningless outside of the context of nostr. Who needs a signer if you don't have a cryptographic identity you need to protect? DVMs are literally impossible to use without relays. How are you going to find the blossom server that will serve a given hash if you don't know which servers the publishing user has selected to store their content?

In addition to being entirely contextualized by nostr architecture, this type of nostr app is valuable because it does things "the nostr way". By that I mean that they don't simply try to replicate existing internet functionality into a nostr context; instead, they create entirely new ways of putting the basic building blocks of the internet back together.

A great example of this is how Nostr Connect, Nostr Wallet Connect, and DVMs all use relays as brokers, which allows service providers to avoid having to accept incoming network connections. This opens up really interesting possibilities all on its own.

So while I might hesitate to call many of these things "apps", they are certainly "nostr".

Appendix: it smells like a NINO

So, let's say you've created an app, but when you show it to people they politely smile, nod, and call it a NINO (Nostr In Name Only). What's a hacker to do? Well, here's your handy-dandy guide on how to wash that NINO stench off and Become a Nostr.

You app might be a NINO if:

• There's no NIP for your data format (or you're abusing NIP 78, 32, etc by inventing a sub-protocol inside an existing event kind)
• There's a NIP, but no one knows about it because it's in a text file on your hard drive (or buried in your project's repository)
• Your NIP imposes an incompatible/centralized/legacy web paradigm onto nostr
• Your NIP relies on trusted third (or first) parties
• There's only one implementation of your NIP (yours)
• Your core value proposition doesn't depend on relays, events, or nostr identities
• One or more relay urls are hard-coded into the source code
• Your app depends on a specific relay implementation to work (ahem, relay29)
• You don't validate event signatures
• You don't publish events to relays you don't control
• You don't read events from relays you don't control
• You use legacy web services to solve problems, rather than nostr-native solutions
• You use nostr-native solutions, but you've hardcoded their pubkeys or URLs into your app
• You don't use NIP 89 to discover clients and services
• You haven't published a NIP 89 listing for your app
• You don't leverage your users' web of trust for filtering out spam
• You don't respect your users' mute lists
• You try to "own" your users' data

Now let me just re-iterate - it's ok to be a NINO. We need NINOs, because nostr can't (and shouldn't) tackle every problem. You just need to decide whether your app, as a NINO, is actually contributing to the nostr ecosystem, or whether you're just using buzzwords to whitewash a legacy web software product.

If you're in the former camp, great! If you're in the latter, what are you waiting for? Only you can fix your NINO problem. And there are lots of ways to do this, depending on your own unique situation:

• Drop nostr support if it's not doing anyone any good. If you want to build a normal company and make some money, that's perfectly fine.
• Build out your nostr integration - start taking advantage of webs of trust, self-authenticating data, event handlers, etc.
• Work around the problem. Think you need a special relay feature for your app to work? Guess again. Consider encryption, AUTH, DVMs, or better data formats.
• Think your idea is a good one? Talk to other devs or open a PR to the nips repo. No one can adopt your NIP if they don't know about it.
• Keep going. It can sometimes be hard to distinguish a research project from a NINO. New ideas have to be built out before they can be fully appreciated.
• Listen to advice. Nostr developers are friendly and happy to help. If you're not sure why you're getting traction, ask!

I sincerely hope this article is useful for all of you out there in NINO land. Maybe this made you feel better about not passing the totally optional nostr app purity test. Or maybe it gave you some actionable next steps towards making a great NINON (Nostr In Not Only Name) app. In either case, GM and PV.

@ ec42c765:328c0600

カスタム絵文字とは

任意のオリジナル画像を絵文字のように文中に挿入できる機能です。
また、リアクション（Twitterの いいね のような機能）にもカスタム絵文字を使えます。

カスタム絵文字の対応状況（2024/02/05）

カスタム絵文字を使うためにはカスタム絵文字に対応したクライアントを使う必要があります。

※表は一例です。クライアントは他にもたくさんあります。

使っているクライアントが対応していない場合は、クライアントを変更する、対応するまで待つ、開発者に要望を送る（または自分で実装する）などしましょう。

対応クライアント

• Amethyst
• FreeFrom
• nostter
• Rabbit
• Snort
• noStrudel

ここではnostterを使って説明していきます。

準備

カスタム絵文字を使うための準備です。

• Nostrエクステンション（NIP-07）を導入する
• 使いたいカスタム絵文字をリストに登録する

Nostrエクステンション（NIP-07）を導入する

Nostrエクステンションは使いたいカスタム絵文字を登録する時に必要になります。

また、環境（パソコン、iPhone、androidなど）によって導入方法が違います。

Nostrエクステンションを導入する端末は、実際にNostrを閲覧する端末と違っても構いません（リスト登録はPC、Nostr閲覧はiPhoneなど）。

Nostrエクステンション（NIP-07）の導入方法は以下のページを参照してください。

ログイン拡張機能 (NIP-07)を使ってみよう | Welcome to Nostr! ～ Nostrをはじめよう！ ～

少し面倒ですが、これを導入しておくとNostr上の様々な場面で役立つのでより快適になります。

使いたいカスタム絵文字をリストに登録する

以下のサイトで行います。

emojito

右上のGet startedからNostrエクステンションでログインしてください。

例として以下のカスタム絵文字を導入してみます。

実際より絵文字が少なく表示されることがありますが、古い状態のデータを取得してしまっているためです。その場合はブラウザの更新ボタンを押してください。

generalJP | カスタム絵文字

• 右側のOptionsからBookmarkを選択

これでカスタム絵文字を使用するためのリストに登録できます。

カスタム絵文字を使用する

例としてブラウザから使えるクライアント nostter から使用してみます。

nostter

nostterにNostrエクステンションでログイン、もしくは秘密鍵を入れてログインしてください。

文章中に使用

1. 投稿ボタンを押して投稿ウィンドウを表示
2. 顔😀のボタンを押し、絵文字ウィンドウを表示
3. ＊タブを押し、カスタム絵文字一覧を表示
4. カスタム絵文字を選択
5. : 記号に挟まれたアルファベットのショートコードとして挿入される

この状態で投稿するとカスタム絵文字として表示されます。

カスタム絵文字対応クライアントを使っている他ユーザーにもカスタム絵文字として表示されます。

対応していないクライアントの場合、ショートコードのまま表示されます。

ショートコードを直接入力することでカスタム絵文字の候補が表示されるのでそこから選択することもできます。

リアクションに使用

1. 任意の投稿の顔😀のボタンを押し、絵文字ウィンドウを表示
2. ＊タブを押し、カスタム絵文字一覧を表示
3. カスタム絵文字を選択

カスタム絵文字リアクションを送ることができます。

カスタム絵文字を探す

先述したemojitoからカスタム絵文字を探せます。

例えば任意のユーザーのページ emojito ロクヨウ から探したり、 emojito Browse all からnostr全体で最近作成、更新された絵文字を見たりできます。

また、以下のリンクは日本語圏ユーザーが作ったカスタム絵文字を集めたリストです（2024/06/30）

※漏れがあるかもしれません

日本ユーザー作 カスタム絵文字

各絵文字セットにあるOpen in emojitoのリンクからemojitoに飛び、使用リストに追加できます。

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以上です。

次：Nostrのカスタム絵文字の作り方

Yakihonneリンク Nostrのカスタム絵文字の作り方

Nostrリンク nostr:naddr1qqxnzdesxuunzv358ycrgveeqgswcsk8v4qck0deepdtluag3a9rh0jh2d0wh0w9g53qg8a9x2xqvqqrqsqqqa28r5psx3

---

仕様

NIP-30 Custom Emoji

NIP-30 カスタム絵文字（和訳）

@ eee391ee:8d0b97c2

Amber 3.2.1

• Add some details when signing a contact list
• Refactor check for logged in account
• After granting notification permissions show the notification

Download it with zap.store, Obtainium, f-droid or download it directly in the releases page

If you like my work consider making a donation

Verifying the release

In order to verify the release, you'll need to have gpg or gpg2 installed on your system. Once you've obtained a copy (and hopefully verified that as well), you'll first need to import the keys that have signed this release if you haven't done so already:

bash gpg --keyserver hkps://keys.openpgp.org --recv-keys 44F0AAEB77F373747E3D5444885822EED3A26A6D

Once you have his PGP key you can verify the release (assuming manifest-v3.2.1.txt and manifest-v3.2.1.txt.sig are in the current directory) with:

bash gpg --verify manifest-v3.2.1.txt.sig manifest-v3.2.1.txt

You should see the following if the verification was successful:

bash gpg: Signature made Fri 13 Sep 2024 08:06:52 AM -03 gpg: using RSA key 44F0AAEB77F373747E3D5444885822EED3A26A6D gpg: Good signature from "greenart7c3 <greenart7c3@proton.me>"

That will verify the signature on the main manifest page which ensures integrity and authenticity of the binaries you've downloaded locally. Next, depending on your operating system you should then re-calculate the sha256 sum of the binary, and compare that with the following hashes:

bash cat manifest-v3.2.1.txt

One can use the shasum -a 256 <file name here> tool in order to re-compute the sha256 hash of the target binary for your operating system. The produced hash should be compared with the hashes listed above and they should match exactly.

@ e31e84c4:77bbabc0

Censorship today has evolved into something far more insidious than its traditional form. No longer limited to overt bans or government blacklists, it now thrives in subtler, more pervasive ways—hidden behind corporate policies, social algorithms, and political pressures. This new form of censorship cloaks itself in the language of promoting online safety, stopping misinformation, and defending democracy, but its effect is no less stifling.

Community guidelines of big tech platforms have become the weapon of choice to shape the boundaries of online discourse. In fact, online censorship is now a growing industry that receives funding and support from both government departments and the private sector. The National Science Foundation, for example, awarded over $40 million worth of grants for the development of AI tools "to counter misinformation online" and "advance state-of-the-art misinformation research"—a long-winded way of saying AI-powered censorship tools.

As with most evils in this world, centralization is the plank on which censorship rests. The centralized nature of big tech platforms not only gives them access to treasure troves of our personal data, but programs like PRISM, also give the government backdoor access to it. Just as with central banks, platforms like YouTube and Netflix become choke points that can be squeezed at will to enforce certain narratives.

Thankfully, since the invention of Bitcoin, we have not only had hard money that cannot be debased by any central bank but, more importantly, the world was bequeathed with a blueprint for building decentralized products and services at scale. For example, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that the inspiration behind Nostr's design was Bitcoin, even with the apparent differences in the architectures of the two. A decentralized, censorship-resistant communications protocol was inevitable after the emergence of censorship-resistant money.

Bitcoin and Nostr are the foundation of a decentralized creator economy that is not captured by big tech and their advertisers. Despite all these great strides towards pragmatically securing free speech online, the censorship industrial complex still has a chokehold on the film industry. While social media platforms actively suppress information they don't like, the film industry disguises propaganda as entertainment to achieve the same goal.

Historically speaking, the arts, especially the film industry, have been a very important and effective tool in shaping public perception and controlling the flow of information. During World War II, the Nazis produced numerous films that were part of a broader strategy by Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda, to manipulate public opinion in favor of the Nazi regime. They were designed to instill loyalty, promote anti-Semitism, and glorify the ideals of the Third Reich. Unfortunately, these tactics were not confined to that period in history and are still in use today.

Since 1948, the Pentagon's Entertainment Liaison Office has played a significant role in shaping Hollywood productions, with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) subsequently establishing a similar office in 1996. Initially perceived as passive advisors, these agencies have exerted influence by requesting script changes in exchange for access to resources like equipment and filming locations. The Department of Defense (DoD) has backed over 800 feature films, including major franchises like Transformers, Top Gun, The Terminator, and Iron Man. On the small screen, over 1,100 TV titles like Army Wives, NCIS, Homeland, and Flight 93 have received Pentagon support since 2001.

Journalist David Robb, in his book Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies, wrote:

"The Pentagon even uses movies and TV shows to target children as future recruits, as it did with two of the most popular kids' TV shows of all time, Lassie and The Mickey Mouse Club. Episodes of both shows were rewritten at the Pentagon's insistence to make the armed forces more attractive to children."

It is undeniably evident that for a very long time, the national security state has shaped thousands of hours of our viewing experience. The portrayal of war in these productions often paints a sanitized picture that masks the complexities of combat, the ambiguities of victory, and the political machinations behind military actions. Are we seeing the truth of war, or a carefully crafted narrative that serves a larger agenda? Are the horrors of war being normalized as necessary evils to rally public support for future conflicts? One can only wonder.

Time would fail me if we had to discuss how this same relationship extends to the news media, as exemplified by the dismissal of Phil Donahue from MSNBC for having guests on his show who were critical of the Iraq War. Or how Disney spent almost $1 billion in 2023 on movies that were flops, as a result of their lack of substance due to their woke themes. Let's not even begin to talk about the nearly $2 billion the pharmaceutical industry spent on television ads in the first quarter of 2023 alone. Perhaps that's the going rate for a shot at shaping consumer demand and influencing news coverage of the industry. The larger point is that from both the big screen and the small screen, we are constantly bombarded with propaganda and carefully curated content that not only influences our buying decisions but our worldviews as well. This pervasive influence operates on a deeper level than we might realize, as we tend to perceive the world through cultural lenses pre-defined for us. Those who shape these fundamental worldviews wield immense power, subtly guiding our thoughts and actions. The genius of this influence lies in its invisibility - we often misinterpret these externally crafted ideas for our own independent thoughts.

As noted earlier, the film industry's centralized structure has led to a troubling prioritization of political narratives over audience needs and factual accuracy. To disrupt this status quo, a new breed of independent filmmakers and streaming platforms is required. These should embrace political neutrality and leverage emerging technologies like Bitcoin. The latter would be critical in revolutionizing content monetization, thus freeing creators from the grip of studio executives and other political influences that are used to censoring content they dislike. One such platform is IndeeHub.

IndeeHub is a streaming platform that aims to empower independent filmmakers by providing a fair and sustainable ecosystem for content creation and distribution. Not only could this potentially break Hollywood's monopoly, but it is an essential step in the creation of unbiased quality films. Despite launching early last year and still being in beta, the platform was able to score a major win when it was selected as the main streaming partner for the second edition of the Bitcoin Film Fest, which was held in Warsaw in April of this year.

IndeeHub's business model redefines film industry economics. By integrating Lightning network payments, it creates a true free market for content creators. Filmmakers earn per second of viewership, with revenue split among anyone on their cap table. Bad content immediately gets punished by lack of views and therefore lower revenue for the filmmaker, with great content being rewarded with more eyeballs and ultimately higher revenue. Just like Nostr, this serves as the perfect yardstick for measuring the reception by audiences of a particular production. This paradigm shift aligns incentives with audience engagement, potentially transforming both artistic creation and consumption.

In an interview the Ceo and founder of IndeeHub, Zack Mahoney, when quizzed on where he envisions IndeeHub said;

“Our goal is to be the best solution for filmmakers from concept to exhibition. I would love to see films not only exhibiting on this platform but beginning their lifecycle here as well. I envision a platform where filmmakers can collaborate, take risks, hone their craft, exhibit their work, and ultimately thrive in this industry.”

While many of the problems of the film industry aren't going to be solved overnight by one platform, IndeeHub is clearly on the right path to become the one-stop shop for financing films as well as collaboration and distribution. It's a truly innovative platform outside the control of the censors and the gatekeepers, beholden only to its mission. Zack went on to emphasize a very important point when he said:

"Storytelling is a cornerstone of the human experience and a fundamental process by which consciousness evolves,""Storytelling is a cornerstone of the human experience and a fundamental process by which consciousness evolves,"

a sentiment I concur with wholeheartedly. If those controlling the most influential storytelling medium are shaping society toward a dystopian reality, then what value does freedom money hold in a world where minds remain captive? 

Just as Bitcoin is a solution that removed trusted third parties from transactions and created a digital peer-to-peer cash system, IndeeHub also aims to be a solution that creates an alternative to the centralized streaming platforms that are under the thumb of advertisers and government agencies. By integrating the hardest money ever known to man, Bitcoin, it's saving the film industry from collapsing under its own weight while unleashing creativity on an unimaginable scale. It's time to build the world we want to see.

Uncensoring Art was Written By Kudzai Kutukwa. If you enjoyed this article then support his writing, directly, by donating to his lightning wallet: muggyarch11@walletofsatoshi.com**

@ 20e7c953:3b8bcb21

Thai Nostriches #Siamstr

Get Ready for Sats N Facts 2025! https://satsnfacts.btc.pub/ 🎉

Join us for a series of exciting events where Bitcoin, Nostr, and local Thai communities come together to innovate, create, and connect! Here’s the breakdown for the 2 main activities:

🛠 Hackathon Overview

https://satsnfacts.btc.pub/hackathon/

This is your opportunity to work alongside leading teams and individuals pushing the boundaries of Bitcoin and Nostr. Whether you're a developer, designer, an educator or a visionary, your contributions can help shape the future of decentralized technology.

What to Expect:

Participate in the sessions by pitching and listening to others ideas or setting up a spot in the schedule. The event is designed to be a “decentralized and collaborative” effort between all participants, with activities being put together with attendees’ feedback.

🤝 Introducing Potential 🇹🇭 Participating Teams

nostr:npub1ejn774qahqmgjsfajawy7634unk88y26yktvwuzp9kfgdeejx9mqdm97a5 – Bitcoin Education and Translations for the Thai community; this would be an ideal occasion in order to connect with international developers in order to curate and share insights within the #Siamstr community

Other Projects that are formally invited are:

nostr:npub1l8ktdyyhwxh4ty5cf48tl72g8ra286nr9klmvqznvk3aqyjkucgsem97q9 – Simplifying Bitcoin payments through intuitive tools

nostr:npub1nsxnfp5690uplzgkslthcvt6269htshqeymhghthenr9wnpt869q57q2hf – Innovating Lightning infrastructure and Bitcoin ATMs

nostr:npub16elg3wf8nffkymylw9kfwecc45j9c30lufrrzx2zf5vmxjlcgkkq3xc6d7 – Enhancing social innovation through Nostr-powered solutions

🎨 Art Exhibition

What else to expect?

A showcase of Bitcoin and Nostr-inspired works by local Thai artists like nostr:npub16unl8g9ucanlpfvp94sdjdv2f4mukm2ywmgrywnrfdgt98qwrrdq0qcn35 nostr:npub14lqzjhfvdc9psgxzznq8xys8pfq8p4fqsvtr6llyzraq90u9m8fqevhssu and nostr:npub1uprlst7kjp0eyfxe4yn7q36gr885mjr9fm6ejfqt8pmdta7stv9s2xvysq - Huaiphueng Project community members.

Celebrate the creativity of our culture with a fusion of tech and art!

📍 Location: Weave Artisan Society, Chiang Mai

📅 Date: 8th - 10th February

🎟 How to Join: Register either as a Lead or Attendee, wait for confirmation from SnF team and get your ticket as a Thai National via Formstr at https://satsnfacts.btc.pub/#tickets

🌟 Why You Should Join:

If you are a Bitcoiner and Ostrich in Thailand the question should be re-formulated to... WHY WOULD YOU NOT JOIN ?

Support and grow the local ecosystem while having a great time with fellow international Bitcoiners.

✨ Mark your calendars and spread the word! Stay tuned through the links or connect with us on Nostr.

Let’s build a stronger Bitcoin & Nostr future at Sats & Facts ✌️

Pictures by nostr:npub15l5mxmljftnnqur8gf2nkjj2yuemqy2kuly7yc29lx7x598svx5s447rgk 👇

image

image

image

เราจะทำอะไรต่อไป ?

AND WE SAID;

ONWARDS

---

@ 59c2e15a:d25e6e8d

Note: I originally wrote these essays on bitcoin and yoga in 2022 after completing my yoga teacher training and going deep down the bitcoin rabbit hole. I then published them to my Ghost blog in 2023. I decided to repost them here on Nostr to start 2025 to further spread the wisdom and timelessness that bitcoin and yoga share. I split my original essay into seven parts, and I will add an eighth comparing yoga and Nostr. I hope you enjoy part one - namaste!

Part I: Bitcoin and Yoga Shared Values

Part II: Mythical/Mystical Origins

Part III: Evolution of Money and Yoga

Part IV: Ashtanga Yoga - The Eight Limbs of Yoga (limbs 1-2)

Part V: Ashtanga Yoga - The Eight Limbs of Yoga (limbs 3-8)

Part VI: Bitcoin is Dharma

Part VII: Himalayan Kriya Yoga

Introduction

With each passing day, month, and year, it feels as though our human civilization is becoming more dysfunctional, untethered, and unsustainable. Individuals are working harder, longer hours, yet most remain stuck in place, goals farther from reach. We live in a world where many have outsourced the most critical task that has enabled humans to prosper – critical thinking. I challenge each one of you to remove preconceived notions you might have about Bitcoin or Yoga before reading this series. I invite you to enter with an open mind. Think for yourself – you are welcome to agree or disagree with the information and arguments I put forth.

I also encourage you to go beyond thinking – feel. Use your intuition to understand if the way you’re living your day-to-day life feels good to you, or if you have sense, an inner knowing that something is off with our society today – that there can be a better way. If you open your heart and mind to receiving new information, there is potential to motivate yourself to change your thoughts and behaviors for more aligned action towards individual sovereignty. Every individual can choose freedom and independence. Yet it has become increasingly difficult to live a life of freedom due to the fiat system of inflation and the many distractions that keep us from going inward. After deep study and reflection, I believe bitcoin and yoga both provide the individual control over their own life journey, and frameworks to understand our connection to self and others.

I'm excited to share what I have found in my own personal experience, and hope to spark curiosity within you to follow your passion. This writing is intended for anyone seeking tools to lead a life of freedom, make positive changes and deepen your understanding of self. In addition, it is written for yogis who want to learn about bitcoin, bitcoiners who want to learn more about yoga, and anyone who is interested in a fundamental understanding of these topics that I believe contain the potential to transform your life.

Part I: Bitcoin and Yoga Shared Values

Bitcoin and yoga share many fundamental values with one another and provide deep wisdom on guiding individuals towards living better and more meaningful lives. Ultimately bitcoin and yoga share the goal of individual liberation, freedom from suffering, and a deep inner, lasting peace in Being. In yoga, this state is called moksha or samadhi. I believe everyone has a true essence, an inner being that knows what is best. However, our external environment and our own conscious mind push us away from this serenity, leading to regrets about the past or anxieties about the future. This perspective of linear time and our own individual stories and identity damage our ability to stay present in the Now, leading to endless distractions. In similar ways, bitcoin and yoga provide us insight for an individual’s path to inner peace, as well as for humanity’s path to collective peace and prosperity.

Energy

At the most elemental level, energy is the force underlying both bitcoin and yoga. Energy is the universal currency of life. We would not exist without energy. We require physical energy to fuel our cells and bodies to perform essential tasks like breathing, circulation, digestion, and movement. We perceive many forms of energy such as light or sound waves, yet there are many energy wavelengths we are not able to or are not trained to perceive.

Bitcoin is powered by physical energy in the real world in a process that secures the network and unlocks new bitcoin for distribution, a process commonly referred to as mining. Interestingly, 100 years ago, Henry Ford pushed for an energy-linked currency measured in kilowatt hours that could bring peace after a brutal World War, as seen in the New York Tribune headline and article December 4, 1921: ‘Ford Would Replace Gold with Energy Currency and Stop Wars’ (i). It took another century, but mankind has finally developed a digitally-native currency tied to the physical world through energy expenditure – bitcoin.

Yoga is similarly rooted in energy that individuals tap into through breathwork, physical movement and meditations practices. This life-force energy is known in Sanskrit as prana. Prana is not bound by time or space, and it flows through individuals in over 72,000 nadis, or channels. There are three main nadis - the first is ida, our left side body which corresponds to the feminine, receiving energy, or the moon. On the right side is pingala, relating to our masculine, giving energy, or the sun. The central nadi runs through our shushumna, linking our seven main energetic centers, known as chakras. These chakras run from the base of the tail bone, up through the spine and the top of the head. Each chakra has a name, a color and key characteristics that can often become blocked through negative emotion, trauma or stress in the body. Different yogic practices target these energy centers to unlock what is stuck and enable energy to more freely flow through us in an open exchange with the earth and out the universe. This energy is ever-present; one need only to tap into this energy, feel it and utilize it for the strengthening of one’s inner being that then radiates outwards on others in your life. The energetic experience and upward surge can also be referred to as kundalini energy, a creative power of divine feminine energy that originates in the muladara chakra at the base of the spine.

Depiction of our chakras and nadis (image source)

Proof of Work

In both Bitcoin and Yoga, "proof of work" is required to operate, practice and move forwards. In the Bitcoin network as described in the original white paper, miners contribute tangible energy towards running a hashing algorithm on a computer – SHA256 – to earn the right to add the next block to the blockchain and collect both the coinbase and transaction fee reward (ii). The work is difficult to produce but easy to validate by others. Miners are collecting all of the valid peer-to-peer transactions being propagated to the network and establishing them as truth into the distributed ledger. The rules in bitcoin’s code incentivize honest behavior from miners through unforgeable costliness – if a miner were to lie about any of the transactions it includes in a block, independent nodes in the network would reject the block, and the miner would have lost all the real resources it expended to solve the proof of work calculation.

Example of an ASIC - a specialized computer solely dedicated to mining bitcoin.

In yoga, dedicated work is needed to learn the asanas, postures, and practice for oneself; you won’t just be able to go upside down or flow through sun salutations without first learning proper alignment and breathing techniques. An individual needs to conscious decision to work on a daily yoga practice that requires energy to flow. There are several ways to work on your yoga practice beyond physical movement; these include bhakti yoga (devotion/prayer), jnana yoga (study/wisdom), karma yoga(selfless action) and raja yoga (ashtanga). Raja yoga includes ashtanga, the eight limbs or paths of yoga that Patanjali detailed \~2000 years ago that we will explore in more depth in part IV. These ancient margas (paths) and subsequent development of these ancient teachings provides individual with ample opportunity to dedicate and work towards individual enlightenment.

Decentralization

Next, there are no external barriers preventing an individual from participating in Bitcoin or yoga. Bitcoin does not discriminate and can be accessed by anyone around the world. Yoga provides a way of life full of mindfulness and appreciation. The only barriers are internal blockages, or unwillingness to ask questions, learn and take responsibility for oneself and state of being. Therefore, Bitcoin and yoga can both be defined as decentralized. There are no centralized gatekeepers preventing one from accessing the Bitcoin network or using bitcoin as money; anyone can spin up a node, download a wallet or mine bitcoin. There are over 16,000 nodes geographically distributed around the world voluntarily running the bitcoin core software code establishing the payment network, validating transactions and storing the entire transaction history of bitcoin (iii). It costs as little as a few hundred dollars and requires less than 600 gigabytes of storage to run a node – in 2023 you can find mobile phones with that much storage. No one can prevent you from sending a peer-to-peer transaction or storing your own wealth with 12 words in your head – you need only decide to take true freedom into your own hands and learn how to do so (iv). The common maxim is “don’t trust, verify”. You don’t need someone else’s permission to participate in bitcoin or trust anyone else (eg, banks) to hold your wealth.

Geographic distribution of reachable bitcoin nodes (source: bitnodes)

Similarly, no one can stop an individual from practicing yoga, learning yogic philosophy or connecting with one’s truest self and inner guru. Anyone can choose to follow the path of yoga, focus on ones breath or develop a strong asana practice. There are many different ways to learn and interact with yoga, with experienced teachers willing to share their lessons to students all over the world. One need to simply find yoga studio, enroll in a teacher training or and engage with a teacher to experience yoga for themselves. Yoga looks and feels different depending on what country you are in or in which lineage you are being taught. Tapping into these profound lessons, as fundamental as controlling ones own breath, requires only an individual desire and the conscious decision to act. There’s no CEO or central authority dictating how Bitcoin or yoga has to be. Individuals have the freedom to express themselves voluntarily guided by frameworks we will dive into deeper.

Low Time Preference

Another core value that bitcoin and yoga share is low time preference. In Austrian economics, time preference refers to individual decision making. An individual with a low time preference makes decisions with greater consideration of the future, quieting immediate cravings and desires to pursue a higher goal (v). In bitcoin and money, lower time preference decisions include putting off consumption to save value for the future. Unfortunately, our fiat (by government decree) system induces individuals to make high time preference decisions, heightening consumerism and poor habits today that we see rampant in our society. There is a disincentive to save, as inflation of the money supply leads to debasing value of the dollar and other fiat currencies, decreasing individuals purchasing power of cash they hold onto and don’t spend soon. For example, the purchasing power of your dollar today will be cut in half over the next decade at current levels of inflation. In many ways, bitcoin is time, described brilliantly by Gigi, as it creates a decentralized clock that establishes consensus with each block (vi).

In contrast, the hard cap supply of 21 million bitcoin enables individuals to save with the knowledge that governments and central banks will not be able to debase their hard-earned value. This allows for one to plan with greater certainty, making investments that have a longer payoff period rather than chasing quick, material gains. Likewise in yoga, developing your own practice will not bear fruit right away; it takes discipline and time to continuously improve and strive towards a better future self. For example, in modern Ashtanga yoga taught by Pattabhi Jois, there is a set sequence of asanas that one studies and repeats each practice. It may even take months to have find the right alignment of body and breath for a single pose! The hours-long sequence requires dedication to practice and learn. The dedicated yogi understands that wholehearted commitment today will pay off for one’s mental, physical and spiritual health in the years to come. The ability to develop a calm mind can also be beneficial when people don’t initially understand or are intimidated by bitcoin. This approach can also enable you to stay grounded and discover the signal through the noise when learning about bitcoin.

Sequence of asanas in Jois' Ashtanga Yoga (image source)

Union

Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word “yuj”, which means ‘to join’ or ‘to unite’. Yoga represents the union of the mind, body, and soul of an individual. Yoga provides a pathway to individual sovereignty through disciplined practice and purpose. Yoga unites an individual internally and to one’s community, fostering connectedness and support (vii). Similarly, bitcoin provides a pathway to individual sovereignty in many ways. Bitcoin empowers the individual authority with property rights over one’s value, which in turn frees individuals from outside control (government or otherwise). Bitcoin’s technology enables one to hold their own wealth and life’s energy in a self-custodial fashion. Bitcoin is money that can be stored forever and transmitted through space at the speed of light on layer two via the Lightning Network.

Bitcoin is an open economic network with the potential to unite eight billion people together in a way our current unfair and fragmented financial system could never do. In many countries, a majority of people are unbanked, while intermediaries take a cut of the value to transfer slow, legacy payments like Western Union. While tens of millions people around the world have so far interacted with bitcoin – we are still early – similar to the internet of the mid-nineties. Bitcoin eliminates counter party risk associated with non-bearer assets, such as fiat currency (e.g., dollars, euros, yen). Bitcoin’s supply schedule is set and eliminates inflation time theft that fiat currency wages on individuals, which leads to anxiety and depression or feelings of hopelessness. Fiat is money enforced by the monopoly on violence that modern nation states grip tightly.

In contrast, bitcoin and yoga empower the individual to remove the shackles and embrace personal responsibility to improve ones life. Bitcoin and yoga also connect people directly to each other and tap into truth, ones inner being, bringing peace in the present and ultimately offer hope for a better future for each person, your community, and the world. Bitcoin and yoga have the power to unite humanity in love.

In the next section, we will explore both yoga and bitcoin's mystical and mythical origins.

---

Note: Bitcoin with a capital "B" generally refers to the protocol/network; bitcoin with a lower case "b" refers to the money/currency.

References:

i. Redman, Jamie, How Henry Ford Envisaged Bitcoin 100 Years Ago — A Unique 'Energy Currency' That Could 'Stop Wars', News.Bitcoin.Com, October 11, 2021 <https://news.bitcoin.com/how-henry-ford-envisaged-bitcoin-100-years-ago-a-unique-energy-currency-that-could-stop-wars/>

ii. Nakomoto, Satoshi, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, bitcoin.org, October 31, 2008 <https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf>

iii. https://bitnodes.io/

iv. Hall, Stephen, What is a bitcoin seed phrase and how does it work? Unchained.com. December 17, 2021 <https://unchained.com/blog/what-is-a-bitcoin-seed-phrase/>

v. Ammous, Saifedean, Making Time Preference Low Again, The Bitcoin Times, Austrian Edition (V). November 8, 2022 <https://bitcointimes.io/making-time-preference-low-again/>

vi. Gigi, Bitcoin is Time, dergigi.com. Jan 14,2021 <https://dergigi.com/2021/01/14/bitcoin-is-time/>

vii. 200 hour yoga teacher training. House of Om, Bali, Indonesia. <https://houseofom.com/>

@ ed60dae0:cc3d5108

I'm a student. I study Bitcoin and markets. I am not a financial advisor, hold no licenses or registrations, and am not qualified to give advice on anything. Talk to your financial advisor. Do your own research.

I get things wrong. If I ever list predictions about the future, note that I will likely get them (partially) wrong.

I often own positions in the names I discuss in my posts. None of this is ever a solicitation to buy or sell securities. It is simply a look into my personal opinions and portfolio. These positions may change immediately after I publish a piece, with or without notice. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my posts.

Use of The First Bastion

Use of The First Bastion (TFB) is at your own risk. In no event shall TFB or any affiliated party be liable for any direct or indirect trading losses caused by any information posted by TFB.

You agree to conduct your own research and due diligence and consult your own financial, legal, and tax advisors before making any investment decision regarding securities mentioned herein. As of the publication date of any content by TFB, you should assume that TFB (possibly along with members, partners, affiliates, employees, and/or consultants) and our clients and/or investors hold positions, long or short, in all stocks and assets (and/or options of the stocks or assets) covered. We may stand to realize significant gains if the price of any stock or asset covered herein moves in our favor. Following the publication of any material on this site or other TFB social media platforms, I may continue transacting in the securities discussed and may be long, short, or neutral at any time thereafter, regardless of prior recommendations, conclusions, or opinions.

This is not an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any security, nor shall any security be offered or sold in any jurisdiction where such an offer would be unlawful under the securities laws of that jurisdiction.

To the best of my ability and belief, all information contained herein is accurate and reliable, obtained from public sources I believe to be accurate and reliable, and not from insiders or individuals connected to the stock or asset discussed who may owe fiduciary or confidentiality obligations. However, all information is presented "as is," without any warranty—express or implied. TFB makes no representation regarding the accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of any information provided or the results that may be obtained from its use. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice, and TFB does not undertake to update or supplement this site, my social media, or any of the information contained herein.

@ fa7153ef:1de1cf78

"Things usually don't pan out the way you want them to."

It's not really a quote, probably someone said it at some point, but I just wanted to have it at the beginning. My thought process while sitting here is going as - I haven''t written anything for close to 6 months, I need to refer to that fact, and say something about it. I know, things don't usually work out, and wanting to write once a week turned to be no writing for 6 months. Tough luck

I don't really have a good explanation for this. Last post was from end of August 2024. I wouldn't say a lot of things happened in the meantime (especially not a lot that would make me not have time to sit down and write something). People always ask "How have you been?", "Anything happened to you lately?", and my answer is usually - "Nothing special", "Nothing new", "Same old".. (that's probably why I'm not good in conversations with people). But a lot of things have happened, it's just that I feel none of my stories would be interesting to people, or things I find fascinating would just bore everyone. So I usually keep quiet. This is strange, really, since a lot of things that people talk to me about, I don't really care for. But those are their interests, and what are friends for, than to listen to each other? I may be wrong with this one, since writing these words was hard - and I don't really believe in them. It requires some additional thought.

I've always considered myself to be good at spotting when people are uncomfortable, or bored with something (or someone) - like George form Seinfeld. It's likely that I've caught on to people being that way in my presence, so I stopped sharing a lot. Who the heck knows, it's hard being your own psychiatrist, so I won't be one. I'm here to write things.

Since we're on the topic of what happened in the past 6 months, I'd really need to think about everything, and even though you're reading this quickly, a lot of pause has been made when composing this list (I'm going at it one by one, and really trying to remember): - I met with my old university friends - haven't seen them in 3 years - visited my sister in another country, and hung out with my little nephew - had a PR in my squats (50kg) - it's a topic for a different day, but it's a big thing for me, I'm very proud of it. - I'm working on my spiritual side - trying to get closer to God by reading scripture, praying, and listening to various sermons (which is also a good topic - to share my experiences here) - I'm following semen retention, it's been a whole year recently. Being single helps, but I won't go into details of it now - I bought a small 25-key keyboard, and I'm learning playing on it (trying to transfer as much as I can from the guitar experience) - I feel like anxiety, and fears which have been overwhelming my whole life, have died down a bit. I can still feel them, and when days are bad, so are they, but there have been a lot of good days. Causes for this are numerous, but again, a topic for another time - I've kept my job - I've started buying Bitcoin again - I was so "down and out" that even the thought of re-activating my accounts on exchanges was a no-go, but somehow I managed to do it, and am becoming increasingly richer in sats, on a daily basis - I've been going out more - hanging out with people, and socializing - I'm noticing a substantial increase of this kind of behaviour. I'm not really meeting new people, mostly stick to the ones I already know (which is not a lot) - I've visited my lifelong friend in another country again, and have a feeling we've rekindled the friendship. It's been a rough time for both of us, and even though we met here and there, at times it felt to be more of a chore. Now, I feel things have changed a bit, and I like it. - I'm still living with my parents. I don't hate it, it's just something I do. There are strange comments, and I guess people find it curious, but it is what it is. - I have a much better relation with my father. We've always had an OK relation. He's also a reserved person - I'm not sure of the term and google isn't helping. Likes to keep to himself mostly. We've found some common topics to discuss, and I've been enjoying it. He seems to like it as well. It mostly revolves around football, and watching games together. - even though I've been sick for the past couple of weeks, my health in general is good. I'm not totally happy with the situation I'm in, but it's still miles ahead of what it has been just a year or two ago - Some plans have been popping up in my head - after a long time, I have some things I'd like to do. It usually takes a long time to actually do them, but even the thought of wanting something new and different is refreshing, and I'll take it.

I don't know.. There probably are a lot of other things - I mean, there certainly are more private thoughts I've been thinking about - love, romance, romantic partners, God, inner peace, lust, fears, music, family, future.. But I'm not willing to share those yet.

I've finished the Bible last year - by doing daily readings of 10-15 minutes via an app. I've restarted it this year, and going through it again.

Also, I'M noticing that a lot of these sentences start with "I've done this", "I've done that", "I'm this" or "I'm that" - it's understandable, with this being sort-of a personal writing journey, but somehow it's not sitting well with me to have most of the sentences being this way.

I'll keep that in mind for next time. ^^

@ 638d2a79:f5645f4e

When doing division with two-digit dividends, round up to the nearest tens place if the number ends in 6-9.
Example:
200÷29200 \div 29200÷29 can be approximated as 200÷30200 \div 30200÷30, which simplifies to 20÷320 \div 320÷3.

Also, zeros cancel out in division.
Example:
20000÷70020000 \div 70020000÷700 can be simplified to 200÷7200 \div 7200÷7, which gives the same answer.

Multiplication Rule:

When doing multiplication, do not write out all of the zeros.
Example:
For 90×290 \times 290×2, you don’t need to write out “00” at the start. Just do 9×29 \times 29×2 and add the zero later.

Division with Two-Digit Divisors:

If the second digit of the divisor is between 1-5, only divide the first digit by the first digit.
Example:
5124÷215124 \div 215124÷21 can be solved as follows:

1. Approximate: 5÷2=25 \div 2 = 25÷2=2 (write 2 as the first digit).
2. 21×2=4221 \times 2 = 4221×2=42, subtract to get 92.
3. 9÷2≈49 \div 2 \approx 49÷2≈4, so 21×4=8421 \times 4 = 8421×4=84, subtract to get 8.
4. Bring down the 4 to make 84, which we already know is 21×421 \times 421×4.
5. Final answer: 244.

![[Recording 20250122112454.m4a]]

Converting a Remainder into a Decimal:

To turn a remainder into a decimal, divide the remainder by the divisor.

1. Add a zero to the end of your remainder and divide normally.
2. The quotient becomes the decimal value.

Example:
32÷10032 \div 10032÷100 → Rewrite as 320÷100320 \div 100320÷100.

• 100 goes into 320 three times (3).
• Bring down a zero → 30.
• Add another zero → 300 → 100 goes in three times (3).
• Final answer: 0.32.

If one of the numbers is smaller, like in 880÷22880 \div 22880÷22, where 22 doesn’t go into 0:

• Instead, check how many times 0.22 goes into 88. The answer is 4.
• 22 goes into 0, 0 times.
• So, 880÷22=40880 \div 22 = 40880÷22=40.

Division with Three-Digit Numbers:

Use the same method as with two-digit divisors.

Example: 100,492÷518100,492 \div 518100,492÷518

• Approximate using 5 for each digit of the answer.

Another example:
36.85÷21636.85 \div 21636.85÷216

• 222 goes into 3 once → Write 1.
• 216×1=216216 \times 1 = 216216×1=216, subtract from 368 → 152.
• Bring down the 5 and continue dividing.

Calculating Volume:

To find the volume of something, use the equation:
Width×Height\text{Width} \times \text{Height}Width×Height
The answer will be in square units.

Example:
A 2D box with width 1 inch and height 4 inches has an area of 4 inches squared.

[[America|American]] Flag Instructions:

• The length of the flag is 1.9 times its width.
• Each stripe should be one-thirteenth of the flag's height.
• The blue area covers 7.6 of the flag’s width.
• The height of the blue area is exactly 7 stripes, or 7/13 of the flag’s height.

Finding the Median Score of a Class:

1. Count the number of students with the highest score, then move downward.
2. Write scores in one column and the number of students in another.
3. Find the median of the possible scores.

Example:
Possible scores: 10, 9, 8, 6, 4 → Median is 8.
Then, count students until you reach the middle score (8 or the median value)

| Posable score | number of students | | - | | | 10 | 3 | | 9 | 6 | | 8 | 4 | | 6 | 1 | | 4 | 1 | The answer would be 6 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and we are in the 6 Groupe

Tags: [[arrhythmic]]

@ 638d2a79:f5645f4e

China was ruled by one ruler, but over time, China split into two—South and North—which had a rivalry between them. At this time, Yang Chien was a general in the army of Northern China. He thought that China should be whole once more, so, like any insert age here year old would do, he attacked the king of the South (for peace!). After a bit of fighting, he overpowered Southern China and took control of all of China. This man founded a dynasty—the Sui Dynasty—to rule and to keep China united.

But wait! Rivers made travel difficult between the North and South, so his son created a new river when he became emperor. This canal made it easier to cross the rivers, which greatly improved trade. The people did not like working on this river, and after it was completed, they killed him, making him the second and last emperor of the Sui Dynasty.

Cue the new emperor, Li Yuan, AKA "the smart guy." He wanted to stay alive for a long time, and he saw how unhappy people had just killed the last important ruler. So, he decided to invest in keeping people happy instead. This started the Golden Age of China, also called the Tang Dynasty.

Tags: [[human behavior index]]

@ 006532cb:fd8f28b4

Law of Conservation of Energy: The Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another. This means that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant over time, but the form of energy can change (e.g., from kinetic energy to potential energy). This fundamental principle in physics highlights the importance of energy efficiency and the potential for energy to be transformed and reused.

Henry Ford's Energy Currency: Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, proposed the concept of an "energy currency" in the 1920s. He suggested that energy, rather than gold or other commodities, could serve as the basis for a new monetary system. Ford's idea was that energy is the fundamental unit of value, as it is the driving force behind all economic activity. He proposed that energy could be used as a standard unit of exchange, allowing for more efficient and equitable trade.

Buckminster Fuller's View on Energy Production and Wealth: Buckminster Fuller, a renowned architect, systems theorist, and futurist, believed that energy production is the key to creating wealth and abundance. He argued that energy is the fundamental driver of economic growth and that increasing energy production can lead to increased prosperity. Fuller's concept of "ephemeralization" suggests that as energy production becomes more efficient and widespread, the cost of goods and services decreases, leading to increased abundance and wealth. He also emphasized the importance of designing systems that maximize energy efficiency and minimize waste, allowing for more equitable distribution of resources and wealth.

@ e3ba5e1a:5e433365

I got into a friendly discussion on X regarding health insurance. The specific question was how to deal with health insurance companies (presumably unfairly) denying claims? My answer, as usual: get government out of it!

The US healthcare system is essentially the worst of both worlds:

• Unlike full single payer, individuals incur high costs
• Unlike a true free market, regulation causes increases in costs and decreases competition among insurers

I'm firmly on the side of moving towards the free market. (And I say that as someone living under a single payer system now.) Here's what I would do:

• Get rid of tax incentives that make health insurance tied to your employer, giving individuals back proper freedom of choice.
• Reduce regulations significantly.

• In the short term, some people will still get rejected claims and other obnoxious behavior from insurance companies. We address that in two ways:

  1. Due to reduced regulations, new insurance companies will be able to enter the market offering more reliable coverage and better rates, and people will flock to them because they have the freedom to make their own choices.
  2. Sue the asses off of companies that reject claims unfairly. And ideally, as one of the few legitimate roles of government in all this, institute new laws that limit the ability of fine print to allow insurers to escape their responsibilities. (I'm hesitant that the latter will happen due to the incestuous relationship between Congress/regulators and insurers, but I can hope.)

Will this magically fix everything overnight like politicians normally promise? No. But it will allow the market to return to a healthy state. And I don't think it will take long (order of magnitude: 5-10 years) for it to come together, but that's just speculation.

And since there's a high correlation between those who believe government can fix problems by taking more control and demanding that only credentialed experts weigh in on a topic (both points I strongly disagree with BTW): I'm a trained actuary and worked in the insurance industry, and have directly seen how government regulation reduces competition, raises prices, and harms consumers.

And my final point: I don't think any prior art would be a good comparison for deregulation in the US, it's such a different market than any other country in the world for so many reasons that lessons wouldn't really translate. Nonetheless, I asked Grok for some empirical data on this, and at best the results of deregulation could be called "mixed," but likely more accurately "uncertain, confused, and subject to whatever interpretation anyone wants to apply."

https://x.com/i/grok/share/Zc8yOdrN8lS275hXJ92uwq98M

@ 8be6bafe:b50da031

Botev Plovdiv FC is proud to present the Bitcoin Salary Calculator tool, as the foundational tool to showcase athletes the financial power of Bitcoin.

We built the Salary Calculator to help anyone follow in the financial footsteps of prominent athletes such as Kieran Gibbs, Russell Okung, Saquon Barkley, and Renato Moicano, who have significantly increased their savings tank thanks to Bitcoin.

The Bitcoin Salary Calculator allows any person to choose how much of their monthly salary they are comfortable saving in Bitcoin. Instantly, users can backtrack and see how their Bitcoin savings would have performed using the once-in-a-species opportunity which Bitcoin brings.

Try it out NOW for yourself.

https://video.nostr.build/a9f2f693f6b5ee75097941e7a30bfc722225918a896b29a73e13e7581dfed77c.mp4

Athletes need Bitcoin more than anyone else

Unlike most people, athletes’ careers and earning years are limited. This has driven the likes of Odell Beckham Jr. and Alex Crognale to also start saving a part of their income in Bitcoin with a long-term outlook as they prepare for retirement.

“The reason why announced 50% of my salary in Bitcoin is because I feel one the noblest things you can do is to get people to understand Bitcoin.” Kieran Gibbs, founder ONE FC, ex Arsenal, ex Inter Miami, ex West Bromich Albion.

“I am trusting Bitcoin for my life after football. Every time my club paid me, I bought Bitcoin.” Alex Crognale, San Antonio FC player.

https://x.com/TFTC21/status/1883228348379533469

“At Botev Plovdiv FC, we believe not only in fostering sporting talent, but also helping them the the most of their careers so they excel in life after retiring from sports. It is with this mission in mind that the club is launching the Bitcoin Football Cup hub, striving to accelerate mass Bitcoin education via sports and athletes - the influencers and role models for billions of people.” shared Botev’s Bitcoin Director George Manolov.

https://x.com/obj/status/1856744340795662432

The Bitcoin Football Cup aims for young prospects to be able to learn key financial lessons from seasoned veterans across all sports. Our Bitcoin Salary Calculator is only the first step toward that goal.

We encourage anyone to hear these stories straight from the current roster of Bitcoin athletes -for whom -in many cases- Bitcoin has allowed them to outperform the wealth it took decades to earn on the field.

Follow us on the Bitcoin Cup’s social media channels to learn more and hear the latest stories of how Bitcoin is shaking up the world of sports:

• Twitter: https://x.com/Bitcoin_Cup/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/BitcoinCup/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@BitcoinCup/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BitcoinCup/

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

This post was written because of an error I made on Substack. I'm sharing it here despite the fact the scheduling error didn't happen on NOSTR. The intro paragraph isn't fully applicable for you NOSTR friends.

On Sunday 2/1/25, I made an oopsie. I tend to write articles ahead of time so I can schedule them and not worry about being inspired on a schedule. I had written two posts: Don't Be Like Martha and Whose Point of View. One was supposed to post on Sunday 2/1/25 and one on Wednesday 2/5/25. I accidentally posted both on Sunday. I was fretting about what to do for a post on Wednesday, because I usually have my husband review posts but he was out of town. I don’t like to do the deep posts without Him checking for grammatical errors, theological errors, or lack of clarity. I also had a brief idea I wanted to discuss and was debating whether to make it a short long form post or a longish note and this situation decided it for me.

Excited Puppy

I recently got into a long discussion/debate with a couple of people on Nostr about God. I tend to get pretty excited about God, the Bible, and biblical inerrancy. It made me think about my dog.

I have a Leonberger. He is about 115 pounds, is very tall, is very long, and has thick hair which makes him look even bigger. He is 8 years old, but still acts like a puppy. When his tail gets going it causes mayhem and destruction. It knocks all of the Christmas cards and missionary prayer cards off the refrigerator. It knocks ornaments off the Christmas tree. On occasion, his excitement can even cause a person to stumble or fall (he never actually jumps on anyone). He is a sweet, loving dog that likes everyone and wants to give and receive attention to and from everyone, but he doesn’t realize how big and strong he is. Sometimes I think I can be like my dog.

I am passionate about God and the Bible. I have seen what He has done in my life. I have seen what reading and studying the Bible has done for my faith and understanding of God and His word. I intellectually know that it has taken 40ish years to get me this far, but I want everyone to come to this level of faith and understanding right now! There is a reason that God uses years of time and a lifetime of experiences to teach us and sanctify us. This growth can’t be forced. It can’t be rushed. We all have our own paths in growth in Christ and certain things can’t be changed until it is time.

Sometimes I am like my sweet puppy. I get so excited about God’s word that I may cause more harm than good. I want to help, but people feel judged. I want to bless, but they feel attacked. I want to raise them up, but end up knocking them down. Although I wonder why my dog has to push the one person in the room that doesn’t want his attention, I then end up doing the same thing with faith.

I am working on improvement, paying closer attention to their response (harder to do online than in person where you can see body language and hear voice tone), and listen to the Spirit on when to press forward and when to pull back.

My prayer is that God will guide us all in our service to Him, that He we would never be afraid to witness and stand for the truth, but that with His help we will not trample those we seek to guide to the Savior and in faith in Him.

Trust Jesus.

@ e111a405:fa441558

OpenAI released its new o3 models and numerous people argue that this is in fact Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) – in other words, an AI system that is on par with human intelligence. Even if o3 is not yet AGI, the emphasis now lies on “yet,” and – considering the exponential progression – we can expect AGI to arrive within months or maximum one to two years.

According to OpenAI, it only took 3 months to go from the o1 model to the o3 model. This is a 4x+ acceleration relative to previous progress. If this speed of AI advancement is maintained, it means that by the end of 2025 we will be as much ahead of o3 as o3 is ahead of GPT-3 (released in May 2020). And, after achieving AGI, the self-reinforcing feedback loop will only further accelerate exponential improvements of these AI systems.

But, most anti-intuitively, even after we have achieved AGI, it will for quite some time look as if nothing has happened. You won’t feel any change and your job and business will feel safe and untouchable. Big fallacy. We can expect that after AGI it will take many months of not 1-2 years for the real transformations to happen. Why? Because AGI in and of itself does not release value into the economy. It will be much more important to apply it. But as AGI becomes cheaper, agentic, and embedded into the world, we will see a transformation-explosion – replacing those businesses and jobs that are unprepared.

I thought a lot about the impact the announced – and soon to be released – o3 model, and the first AGI model are going to have.

To make it short: I am extremely confident that any skill or process that can be digitized will be. As a result, the majority of white-collar and skilled jobs are on track for massive disruption or elimination.

Furthermore, I think many experts and think tanks are fooling themselves by believing that humans will maintain “some edge” and work peacefully side-by-side with an AI system. I don’t think AGI will augment knowledge workers – i.e. anyone working with language, code, numbers, or any kind of specialized software – it will replace them!

So, if your job or business relies purely on standardized cognitive tasks, you are racing toward the cliff’s edge, and it is time to pivot now!

Let’s start with the worst. Businesses and jobs in which you should pivot immediately – or at least not enter as of today – include but are not limited to anything that involves sitting at a computer:

• anything with data entry or data processing (run as fast as you can!)
• anything that involves writing (copywriting, technical writing,
• editing, proofreading, translation)
• most coding and web development
• SAAS (won’t exist in a couple of years)
• banking (disrupted squared: AGI + Blockchain)
• accounting and auditing (won’t exist as a job in 5-10 years)
• insurance (will be disrupted)
• law (excluding high-stake litigation, negotiation, courtroom advocacy)
• any generic design, music, and video creation (graphic design, stock photography, stock videos)
• market and investment research and analysis (AI will take over 100%)
• trading, both quantitative and qualitative (don’t exit but profit now, but expect to be disrupted within 5 years)
• any middle-layer-management (project and product management)
• medical diagnostics (will be 100% AI within 5 years)
• most standardized professional / consulting services

However, I believe that in high-stakes domains (health, finance, governance), regulators and the public will demand a “human sign-off”. So if you are in accounting, auditing, law, or finance I’d recommend pivoting to a business model where the ability to anchor trust becomes a revenue source.

The question is, where should you pivot to or what business to start in 2025?

My First Principles of a Post-AGI Business Model

First, even as AI becomes infallible, human beings will still crave real, raw, direct trust relationships. People form bonds around shared experiences, especially offline ones. I believe a truly future-proof venture leverages these primal instincts that machines can never replicate at a deeply visceral level. Nevertheless, I believe it is a big mistake to assume that humans will “naturally” stick together just because we are the same species. AGI might quickly appear more reliable, less selfish than most human beings, and have emotional intelligence. So a business build upon the thesis of the “human advantage” must expertly harness and establish emotional ties, tribal belonging, and shared experiences – all intangible values that are far more delicate and complex than logic.

First Principle: Operate in the Physical World

If your product or service can be fully digitalized and delivered via the cloud, AGI can replicate it with near-zero marginal cost Infuse strategic real-world constraints (logistics, location-specific interactions, physical limitations, direct relationships) that create friction and scarcity – where AI alone will struggle

Second Principle: Create Hyper Niche Human Experiences

• The broader audience, the easier it is for AI to dominate. Instead, cultivate specialized groups and subcultures with strong in-person and highly personalized experiences.
• Offer creative or spiritual elements that defy pure rational patterns and thus remain less formulaic

Third Principle: Emphasize Adaptive, Micro-Scale Partnerships

• Align with small, local, or specialized stakeholders. Use alliances with artisan suppliers, local talents, subject-matter experts, and so on.
• Avoid single points of failure; build a decentralized network that is hard for a single AI to replicate or disrupt

Fourth Principle: Embed Extreme Flexibility

• Structured, hierarchical organizations are easily out-iterated by AI that can reorganize and optimize instantly
• Cultivate fluid teams with quickly reconfigurable structures, use agile, project based collaboration that can pivot as soon AGI-based competition arises

Opportunity Vectors

With all of that in mind, there are niches that before looked unattractive, because less scalable, that today offer massive opportunities – let’s call them opportunity vectors.

The first opportunity vector I have already touched upon:

Trust and Validation Services: Humans verifying or certifying that a certain AI outcome is ethically or legally sound – while irrational, it is exactly what humans will insist on, particularly where liability is high (medicine, finance, law, infrastructure)

Frontier Sectors with Regulatory and Ethical Friction: Think of markets where AI will accelerate R&D but human oversight, relationship management, and accountability remain essential: genetic engineering, biotech, advanced materials, quantum computing, etc.

The second opportunity vector focuses on the human edge:

• Experience & Community: Live festivals, immersive events, niche retreats, or spiritual explorations – basically any scenario in which emotional energy and a human experience is the core product - Rare Craftsmanship & Creative Quirks: Think of hyper-personalized items, physical artwork, artisanal or hands-on creations. Items that carry an inherent uniqueness or intangible meaning that an AI might replicate in design, but can’t replicate in “heritage” or provenance.

Risk Tactics

Overall, the best insurance is fostering a dynamic brand and a loyal community that invests personally and emotionally in you. People will buy from those whose values they trust. If you stand for something real, you create an emotional bond that AI can’t break. I’m not talking about superficial corporate social responsibility (nobody cares) but about authenticity that resonates on a near-spiritual level.

As you build your business, erect an ethical moat by providing “failsafe” services where your human personal liability and your brand acts as a shield for AI decisions. This creates trust and differentiation among anonymous pure-AGI play businesses.

Seek and create small, specialized, local, or digital micro-monopolies – areas too tiny or fractal for the “big AI players” to devote immediate resources to. Over time, multiply these micro-monopolies by rolling them up under one trusted brand.

Furthermore, don’t avoid AI. You cannot out-AI the AI. So as you build a business on the human edge moat, you should still harness AI to do 90% of the repetitive and analytic tasks – this frees your human capital to build human relationships, solve ambiguous problem, or invent new offerings.

Bet on What Makes Us Human

To summarize, AI is logical, combinatorial intelligence. The advancements in AI will commoditize logic and disrupt any job and business that is mainly build upon logic as capital. Human – on the other hand – is authenticity. What makes human human and your brand authentic are elements of chaos, empathy, spontaneity. In this context, human is fostering embodied, emotional, culturally contextual, physically immersive experiences. Anything that requires raw creativity, emotional intelligence, local presence, or unique personal relationships will be more AI resilient.

Therefore, a Post-AGI business must involve:

• Tangibility: Physical goods, spaces, unique craftsmanship
• Human Connection: Emotional, face-to-face, improvisational experiences
• Comprehensive Problem Solving: Complex negotiations, messy real-world situations, diverse stakeholder management

The inverse list of AGI proof industries involve some or multiple aspects of that:

Physical, In-Person, Human-Intensive Services - Healthcare: Nursing, Physical therapy, Hands-on caregiving - Skilled trades & craftsmanship

High-Level Strategy & Complex Leadership - Diplomacy, Negotiation, Trust building - Visionary entrepreneurship

Deep Emotional / Experiential Offerings - Group experiences, retreats, spiritual or therapeutic gatherings - Artistic expression that thrives on “imperfection”, physical presence, or spontaneous creativity

Infrastructure for AGI - Human-based auditing/verification - Physical data center operations & advanced hardware - Application and embedment of AI in the forms of AGI agents, algorithmic improvements, etc. to make it suitable for everyday tasks and workflow

The real differentiator is whether a business is anchored in the physical world’s complexity, emotional trust, or intangible brand relationships. Everything pure data-driven or standardized is on the chopping block – imminently.

@ 77aba0b1:7e3350f5

Canada and Mexico don't have any leverage

The cheapest labor in the world is not China and it's not on the other side of the world. It's in Mexico.

Due to rising Chinese wages, a rapidly growing economy, and demographic changes, China is no longer the low-wage capital of the world. Great news for Mexico as it means more manufacturing jobs have come their way. But bad news if your wealthy neighbor to the north wants to impose tariffs that are going to prevent you from selling to the world's largest consumer market.

---

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum talking with President Trump | AI generated image

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Now consider Canada's dilemma. The US buys 97% of Canada's oil, at a discount. Canada lacks the capacity to refine 75% of their oil production, so they have to sell their sour crude oil to the US at discounted rates because only the US has the infrastructure to move, refine, store, and distribute this commodity. (See video for a detailed explanation.)

---

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meeting with President Trump | AI generated image

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Canada and Mexico share a common double-edged sword; they're geographically close to the United States. This is a huge benefit for reducing transportation costs to the largest consumer market in the world. But that also means you don't have the transportation infrastructure necessary to sell your products around the world.

China had to build a global transportation and supply chain infrastructure if it wanted to reach American and European markets. Because of this inherent characteristic, China is much better positioned to withstand an economic trade war with the United States than either Mexico or Canada.

People often mention how fragile the American economy has become because of its reliance on imported foreign goods. They are absolutely correct. But that cuts both ways. The United States can be cut off from foreign goods, but foreign nations will be cut off from a market to sell their products. What happens when there is a huge supply of goods and demand for those goods goes away? Prices drop... precipitously.

The United States largest export is the US Dollar. Like it or not, as the printer of the Global Reserve Currency, the US finances the consumer markets and the manufacturing base of the world economy.

---

The value of fiat currencies always goes to zero | AI generated image

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Free Trade vs Managed Trade

We see a lot of economists and media pundits talking about how tariffs will increase prices and lead to even more inflation. What they really mean is it will lead to "price inflation" which is how most of American society has come to view inflation. Actual inflation is an increase of the money supply and with more moeny chases the same amounts of goods and services, we get an increase in prices or price inflation.

The same people who told you that inflation was "transitory" are now telling you the price of a Corona will go up. They're forgetting that we have a fairly robust domestic beer industry.

---

Chuck Schumer and Dylan Mulvaney share bad takes | AI generated image

---

But what really needs to be highlighted is that these pundits are discussing Trump's trade war as if we lived under a free trade system; a truly free market. Sadly, we are nowhere close to this being a reality. The global economic system is Managed Trade, or Bureaucratic Trade; with corporations, lobbyists, the politically appointed and well connected making deals that protect their fiefdoms and syphon money to those who control the levers of power.

They are right that tariffs are taxes imposed on imported goods and those taxes are passed on to the consumer. But they act as if tariffs don't didn't exist before Trump. The Biden administration placed tariffs on Chinese "green" technologies. The same administration that said climate change was an existential threat made cheaper, environmentally friendly technology more expensive. It's almost as if it's not about the climate.

The Global Economic Empire

When you owe the bank $1 million, the bank owns you. When you owe the bank $37 trillion, you own the bank.

Trump is betting the house and calling everyone's bluff and he's betting that the US can weather the economic fallout better than any other country, except maybe China. It's a race to the bottom and he knows that the USG can cover its finances longer, causing other countries to go bankrupt and need US assistance.

It's the equivalent of a run on the banks and the US will buy up the debt for cheap. Really they'll buy it for free, since they're printing the currency they buy up assets with. Canada and Mexico folding are a no brainer. Their economies are not built to export large quantities of goods acros the world. It's almost entirely north or south across the border. They had to cave or risk economic collapse.

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China: Rising Dragon or Paper Tiger | AI generated image

---

China is another story. "Is China a Rising Dragon or a Paper Tiger" has been the headline for 20 to 30 years ever since Deng Xiaoping liberalized their economy and instituted social reform. Their economy has been booming but also suffering from population decline due to the One Child policy that was in effect from 1980 to 2016.

China has a global supply chain and provides most of the world with manufactured goods. That means they need markets to sell their goods in. If Trump threatens every nation with tariffs, it effects the global economy; meaning it will massively effect China. Couple that with a declining population that’s getting older.

The strength of the Chinese economy is that it already has this well established global supply chain. They stand the best chance to weather a trade war with the United States. But a global economic collapse would be a race to the bottom to see which, if any, global power emerges victorious. Just as in war, there is no winner; just bigger losers than others.

If Trump uses this leverage to get concessions that benefit the American people, he could be the greatest statesmen who ever lived. Trump may not be clever enough to think this deeply, but he is certainly brash and confident enough to attempt it.

@ d3052ca3:d84a170e

It seems to me that the primary opposition to ecash from bitcoiners comes from the belief that lightning will enable self-custodial micropayments for the masses. Many lightning enthusiasts see ecash as competition that will eliminate this technological outcome (whether they admit it or not).

I understand the motivation for this line of reasoning but I don't see things this way at all. Ecash is a superset of lightning. Cashu literally doesn't have a spec for on-chain transactions (yet!). Everything cashu accomplishes is built on the back of lightning. Standing on the shoulders of giants.

I don't believe that ecash will take away market share from self-custodial lightning because lightning is not a good technology for self-custody. The high overhead costs of running your own node create a natural incentive for a semi-centralized hub and spoke network graph. It just makes economic sense for many users to share a lightning node. It doesn't make economic sense for individuals to bear this cost alone.

This stacker news post is the best writeup on this topic: https://stacker.news/items/379225

It comes from a builder who struggled with these issues for years and learned the shortcomings of the tech first hand. Notice they experimented with ecash as a solution to these problems before they burned out and pivoted to save the company.

Ecash is a superset of lightning. It extends the capability and reach of the lightning network. Without ecash, I don't believe we can achieve bitcoin mass adoption. You can't jam a square peg into a round hole.

We still have a need for self-custody of "small" amounts of bitcoin. I put small in quotes because the block size limit and the fee market it creates impose a fundamental constraint on the minimum practical size of a UTXO. This limit is pegged to the unit of bitcoin. As bitcoin increases in value the minimum size for an on-chain transaction will grow in value as well. You can send $10 worth of bitcoin on-chain today but will this be true in 10 years when the price is much higher? 100 years?

If the current exponential trends hold, we will soon price out the majority of humanity from owning a UTXO. This is bad. Like really bad. "Bitcoin is a failure" bad. This is the motivation for my posts about scaling on-chain usage to 10 billion people. I believe we will need to radically rearchitect bitcoin to achieve this goal.

Lightning is not up to the task. We should leverage lightning for what it's good at: gluing together different self-custodial bitcoin service providers. We should leverage ecash for what it's good at: peer-to-peer electronic cash micropayments. IN ADDITION we also need to start seriously looking at new ideas for scaling self custody to "small" amounts of bitcoin. I am very optimistic that we can solve this problem. There are a number of promising avenues to pursue but I think first we need to move the Overton window ~~beyond the idea of mass adoption of self-custodial lightning~~ regarding on-chain scaling.

Edit: I think the original Overton window statement was incorrect. If on-chain fees stay low then self-custodial lightning or something similar is a much better prospect.

Just my 2 sats...let me know what you think. Keep it civil or be muted.

@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1

Planning Alexandria

People keep asking what features nostr:npub1s3ht77dq4zqnya8vjun5jp3p44pr794ru36d0ltxu65chljw8xjqd975wz has planned for #Alexandria, but they're not set in stone because we're an agile project.

What we do have, is lots of tickets on our Kanban boards and a naming scheme, where we use a famous person's last name, to signify the release goals.

Gutenberg v 0.1.0

(after the inventor of the printing press) will contain the features needed to read and write NIP-62 Curated Publications, as well as encompassing the complex infrastructure, architecture, documentation, and personnel we require to make this all run smoothly and look easy.

Euler v 0.2.0

(after a mathematician credited with establishing graph theory) will contain the features for deep-searching, visually exploring, and smartly navigating the data set, wiki page display, annotating and citing the publications, exporting to other formats (like PDF, ePUB, and LaTeX), and commenting/reviewing. To help with the heavy lifting, we will be swapping out the core with our own Nostr SDK called "Aedile".

Defoe v 0.3.0

(after an author who perfected the novel format) will be all about our favorite writers. We will be focusing upon profile data, payment systems, book clubs and communities, and stylesheets.

That is everything we have planned, for the v1.0 edition, and we consider that version to be a true product.

As for after that, a teaser...

@ 044da344:073a8a0e

Zugegeben: Die Erwartung war groß. „Angepasst. Aktivistisch. Abgehoben“, ruft das Cover. Triple-A sozusagen. Und das in einem Buch über die Tagesschau, geschrieben von einem Ostdeutschen, der dort sechs Jahre gearbeitet hat, vorher lange beim MDR war und außerdem damit wirbt, auch Privatfernsehen und Presse zu kennen. Mehr Insider geht nicht. Die drei Adjektive mit dem großen A im gelben Punkt sagen: Jetzt spreche ich. Jetzt wird abgerechnet.

Das Marketing hat funktioniert, nicht nur bei mir. Platz drei in der Spiegel-Bestsellerliste und Platz sieben in den Wochencharts von Amazon, nur knapp hinter Angela Merkel. Ich dachte eigentlich, dass ich nach Claus Kleber auf ewig die Finger lassen würde von den Ergüssen beitragsfinanzierter Redakteure. Was soll da schon kommen? Wir sind frei. Niemand ruft an. Niemand redet uns rein. Wir machen das, was die Nachrichtenlage verlangt und was wir kraft Ausbildung und Wassersuppe für richtig halten.

Eine ganze Menge Claus Kleber steckt auch in Alexander Teske. Staatsfunk? Nicht doch. Wir sind halt „alle ähnlich sozialisiert“ (S. 110), haben die „gleichen Relevanzkriterien“ (S. 108) und „schreiben voneinander ab“ – „aus lauter Unsicherheit, etwas ‚falsch‘ zu machen“ (S. 109). Wenn die Sprecherin des Bundespräsidenten, eine Kollegin, die die Seiten gewechselt hat, doch mal nachhelfen muss, dann ist das in der Welt von Alexander Teske die Ausnahme, die die Regel bestätigt. Kein Einfluss, nirgends – bis auf den Seiten 140 und 141 plötzlich Reiner Haseloff auftaucht, Ministerpräsident von Sachsen-Anhalt. Alexander Teske braucht diesen Redaktionsbesuch („Haseloff redete über eine Stunde (…) im vollbesetzten Konferenzraum“) für eine seiner Kernthesen. Der Osten, sagt er, ist der Redaktion in Hamburg nicht einfach nur egal. Dieser Haseloff nervt. O-Ton einer Tagesthemen-Frau: „Sollen wir jetzt etwa über den Rosenmontag in Köthen berichten?“

Vermutlich war es dieser Teil, der mich hat rückfällig werden lassen. Die „Arroganz der Westmedien“ ist eines meiner Lebensthemen. Alexander Teske liefert dafür reichlich Futter. Zehn von 300, schätzt er, sind im Tagesschau-Maschinenraum „ostdeutsch sozialisiert“ (S. 141). Genauer geht es nicht, weil man das im Fall der Fälle lieber für sich behält, immer noch. Achtung: Karrierehindernis. Der Dialekt sowieso. Teske, ein Sachse, nahm „jahrelang Sprecherziehung“, um im Ersten auf Sendung gehen zu dürfen (S. 156). In Bayern oder Hessen lachen darüber die Hühner. Entsprechend sieht der Osten aus in der Tagesschau. Wenn das Volk hier sprechen darf, sagt Kronzeuge Alexander Teske, „werden die kürzesten, plakativsten und dümmsten Aussagen“ bevorzugt, „gern in emotionaler Tonlage“ (S. 143). Dass die Redaktion nur Westpresse abonniert (Ausnahme: die LVZ, die aber keiner liest, S. 146), passt genauso in dieses Bild wie das Sozialporträt einer Redaktion, in der man Arbeiterkinder, HSV-Fans oder Nichtakademiker mit der Lupe suchen muss, dafür aber an der Spitze eine Phalanx von zehn Chefs vom Dienst findet, die auf 11.000 Euro brutto kommen (manchmal offenbar auch mehr, S. 23), für ein „Klima der Angst“ (S. 51) sorgen und, so sagt es jedenfalls Teske, selbst bestimmen, wer zu ihnen aufrücken darf (S. 29).

Was fängt man mit alldem an? Vor allem: Wer kann etwas damit anfangen? Alexander Teske erwähnt einen MDR-Kommentar von Rommy Arndt, gesprochen im Januar 2023, der gegen deutsche Panzer in der Ukraine war (S. 144). In der Tagesschau undenkbar, sagt er, und für Rommy Arndt der letzte große öffentlich-rechtliche Auftritt. Auch Sarah Frühauf kommt bei ihm vor, eine andere MDR-Journalisten, „berühmt“ geworden durch einen Tagesthemen-Kommentar im November 2021, der einer Impfpflicht das Wort redete und „alle Ungeimpften“ gar nicht sehr subtil mitverantwortlich machte für die „wohl Tausenden Opfer dieser Corona-Welle“ (S. 41). Teske beklagt, dass die Tagesschau das Thema RKI-Protokolle erst fünf Tage nach der Veröffentlichung aufgegriffen hat und dabei das Online-Magazin Multipolar nicht erwähnte (S. 127). Davon abgesehen gibt es die Gegenöffentlichkeit bei ihm nicht. Nicht einmal die Dokumentation der Ständigen Publikumskonferenz, die sich lange in weiten Teilen um die Tagesschau drehte, oder die entsprechenden Bücher. Alexander Teske mag nicht, wenn jemand „Zwangsgebühr“ sagt (S. 191), nutzt „Querdenker“ als Schimpfwort (S. 25), hält Telegram für einen Ort, an dem sich „bevorzugt Rechtsradikale, Waffenhändler, Drogendealer, Coronaleugner und Reichsbürger“ tummeln, und wirft der Bild-Zeitung vor, „jeden noch so kleinen Fehler“ zum Skandal aufzublasen (S. 115). Dass Sarah Frühauf ihren Kommentar sprechen konnte, passiert bei ihm einfach so. War knapp bei der Abstimmung. Drei Namen zur Auswahl. Und am nächsten Morgen wundern sich alle.

Was also, ich wiederhole diese Frage, fängt man mit einem Buch an, das sich eher wie ein Bewerbungsschreiben für öffentlich-rechtliche Führungsaufgaben liest, so sich die Zeiten doch noch ändern sollten? Punkt eins: Die Redaktionen der Leitmedien sind nicht so homogen, wie es von außen oft scheint. Alexander Teske trägt die Auseinandersetzungen von innen nach außen – sicher ein Grund, warum der NDR eher dünnhäutig reagierte und darauf hinwies, dass sich der geliebte Ex-Kollege noch 2022 erfolglos auf eine Dauerstelle beworben hat.

Punkt zwei, wichtiger: Das Buch von Alexander Teske dokumentiert den Wandel im Journalismus, den wir gerade live erleben und erleiden. Teske selbst steht dabei für das Früher. Sagen, was ist. Sachlich, nüchtern, mit Distanz. Auch dann, wenn es um die AfD geht. Die wichtigen Themen nach vorn und nicht die, die Quote garantieren. „Nachrichten pur“, wie er das an einer Stelle nennt (S. 227) – ohne Soft News und Infotainment, ohne elend lange Fußball-, Promi- und Katastrophenblöcke mit Bochum gegen Heidenheim, Waldbränden noch und nöcher und jeden Pups der Royals, auch ohne „moderative Sprache“ (S. 226). Nachrichten pur heißt bei ihm im Subtext auch: Finger weg von den Digitalplattformen (im Moment jeden Tag bedient von 20 Redakteuren plus Planer, Grafiker, Cutter, S. 271). Finger weg auch davon, einfach ein, zwei Minuten länger zu machen, um die Quote mit denen aufzufüllen, die nur die nächste Sendung sehen wollen (S. 232).

Das ist in diesem Tagesschau-Buch-Kosmos auch ein Streit zwischen Alten und (oft schlechter bezahlten) Jungen, aber nicht nur. Alexander Teske erzählt, wie er mit seinem Journalismus-Ideal auch und gerade an der Generation 50+ gescheitert ist (vor allem an Männern, die im Dienst Antifa-T-Shirts tragen und den FC St. Pauli lieben) – auch, weil ein Ostdeutscher wie er in Hamburg kaum auf Seinesgleichen stößt. Über den Tellerrand zu schauen, hat er dabei trotzdem nicht gelernt. Anders formuliert: Auch in einer Tagesschau made by Alexander Teske würde ein Teil der Wirklichkeit fehlen.

Freie Akademie für Medien & Journalismus

@ 5bdb0e24:0ccbebd7

Have you ever needed to reference a Linux command line tool's capabilities only to find out there is no manual page and that only the -h (--help) option is available?

Normally, this isn't a problem, but -h doesn't let you search for strings the way man does. That means, if you are trying to use a tool that is quite extensive, scrolling and sifting through the help option's results manually can be quite cumbersome.

The ffuf command is a good example of this, but this can be a problem for many other CLI tools out there.

Thankfully, I found a quick and easy way to search these help messages, and I feel so silly for not thinking of it sooner.

All you need to do is pipe the output of the -h message you are trying to reference into something like less:

ffuf -h | less

Now, after typing a forward slash (/), you can search throughout the -h message without manually scrolling through the whole thing, similarly to how you might search through a manpage.

I'm sure there are other ways to achieve this same result. But this is the one I have found works for me and that I will be using going forward.

If you know an even better way to achieve this, or you have any other underrated Linux command line tips and tricks, feel free to let me know.

@ cff1720e:15c7e2b2

Introduction

The aim of ELI5 (explain me like I'm 5) is to explain difficult things simply. This is urgently needed in our high-tech world, because only by understanding the technologies can we use them properly and develop them further.

I'm starting my series with Nostr, a relatively new internet protocol. What the hell is an Internet protocol? In formal terms, it is an international standard that has ensured that the Internet has been working pretty well for over 30 years. It is the language in which computers communicate with each other and which you also use every day, probably without realizing it. http(s) transports your request to a server (e.g. Amazon), and html ensures that a nice page is created on your screen from the data supplied. A mail is sent to the mail server with smtp and retrieved from it with imap, and since everyone uses the standard, this works with every app on every operating system and with every mail provider.

And with an e-mail address like roland@pareto.space, you can even move at any time, no matter where. Cool, that's state of the art! But why doesn't this work with chat, for example, is there no protocol? Yes, it's called IRC (Internet Relay Chat → remember the name), but it's hardly ever used. The reasons for this are not technical, but rather apps such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, TikTok and others have deliberately created incompatibilities and user dependencies in order to maximize profits.

Since the standard protocol is not used, each app has its own, and we need a handful of apps to exchange information with everyone we know. A mobile phone number is a prerequisite for every account, allowing app manufacturers to track users comprehensively and earn up to USD 30 per account per month by selling the information. The user is no longer the customer, he is the product! Advertising SPAM is the least of the problems with this business model. Servers with millions of user data are a “honey pot”, so they are often hacked and the access data sold. In 2024, the Twitter account of then President Joe Biden was also hacked and no one knew who had written the messages (nor did they before), meaning that the authenticity of the content is not guaranteed with any of these providers. In the same year, the founder of Telegram was taken into custody in France because he refused to build backdoors into his software. Now, to protect “our democracy”, practically anyone can read what information they exchange with whom, e.g. which shampoo certain politicians use.

Why Nostr?

And anyone who actually believes they can practice freedom of expression on social media will quickly find themselves in the situation of Donald Trump (who was president at the time), whose Twitter account was shut down in 2021 (cancel culture). The user data, i.e. their profile, contacts, documents, images, videos and audio files - no longer belong to them anyway but are the property of the platform operator; read the terms and conditions. But no, not a good idea, there are hundreds of pages and they are constantly being changed. So everyone uses apps whose technology they don't understand, whose rules they don't know, where they have no rights and which steal the results of their actions. What would the five-year-old say if his older sister offered to “manage” all his toys and then hand them over if he was good? “You must be crazy”, and with that the toddler proves he has more sense than the majority of adults.

Conclusion: no standards, no data, no rights = no future!

How does Nostr work?

The developers of Nostr realized that the server-client concept had turned into a master-slave concept. The master is synonymous with centralization and becomes the “single point of failure”, which inevitably makes systems dysfunctional. In a distributed peer2peer system, there are no longer any masters but only equal nodes (relays) on which the information is stored. By storing information redundantly on several relays, the system is more resilient in every respect. It is not only nature that has successfully used this principle for millions of years, the Internet was also designed in this way (the ARPAnet was developed by the US military for use in war situations with massive disruptions). All nostr data is stored on relays and the user can choose between public (usually free) and private relays, e.g. for closed groups or for the purpose of data archiving. As documents are stored on several relays, unique document names (URIs = identifiers) are used instead of URLs (locators), making broken links a thing of the past, as are deletions / losses.

Each document (called an event) is signed by the owner, making it authentic and tamper-proof and can only be deleted by the creator. A key pair consisting of a private (nsec) and public key (npub) is used for this, as known from mail encryption (PGP). This represents a Nostr identity that can be supplemented with a picture, name, bio and a readable Nostr address (e.g. roland@pareto.space ), which is all that is needed to use all the resources of the Nostr ecosystem. And this now consists of over a hundred apps with different focuses, e.g. for personal encrypted messages (DM → OxChat), short messages (Damus, Primal), blog posts (Pareto), meetups (Joinstr), groups (Groups), images (Olas), videos (Amethyst), audio chat (Nostr Nests), audio streams (Tunestr), video streams (Zap.Stream), marketplaces (Shopstr) and much more. Registration is done with a single click (single sign-on) and ALL user data is available to the apps (profile, data, contacts, social graph → followers, bookmarks, comments, etc.), in contrast to the fragmented data silos of the present.

Summary: one open standard, all data, all rights = great future!

Why is Nostr the future of the internet?

“Don't build your house on someone else's property” also applies to the Internet - for all app developers, artists, journalists and users, because their data is also valuable. Nostr guarantees ownership of the data and overcomes its fragmentation. Neither use nor creative freedom is restricted by excessive license and usage conditions. Passive users become active participants through interaction, co-creators in a sharing economy (Value4Value). Open source finally restores trust in software and its providers. Open standards enable developers to cooperate more and develop faster, while guaranteeing freedom of choice for users. Which brings us back to our five-year-old for the last time. Children love Lego more than anything, especially the maxi box “Classic”, because it allows them to live out their imagination to the full in terms of combinations. Adults then give them the far too expensive theme packs, with which you can only build one solution according to the instructions. “What's wrong with my parents, when did they take a wrong turn?” the children rightly ask themselves. But the image can be polished up again if they show their children Nostr, because even five-year-olds understand the advantages.

The new Internet is decentralized. The new Internet is self-determined. Nostr is the new Internet.

\ More infos: https://nostr.net/\ Quick start: https://start.njump.me/

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

The cryptocurrency market is a dynamic and often unpredictable space. With Bitcoin's impressive surge in value, many investors are looking beyond the pioneer cryptocurrency to diversify their portfolios. This article explores various cryptocurrency options, weighing the potential of holding (HODLing) or selling them in the current market.

Table Of Content

• Bitcoin's Stellar Performance

• Ether (ETH)

• Solana (SOL)

• Binance Coin (BNB)

• BLUR

• Conclusion

• FAQs

Bitcoin's Stellar Performance

Bitcoin, the first and most well-known cryptocurrency, has seen a remarkable increase in value, rising by 120% in 2023. This surge sets a benchmark for evaluating other cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin's growth is influenced by several factors, including the anticipation of a Bitcoin ETF and its upcoming fourth halving. These developments could further drive its demand and value.

The potential introduction of a Bitcoin ETF is particularly significant. It would allow a broader range of investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without the complexities of direct cryptocurrency ownership. This development could lead to increased institutional investment and potentially stabilize Bitcoin's historically volatile price. Furthermore, the halving event, expected to occur in April, is a fundamental aspect of Bitcoin's design. It reduces the reward for mining new blocks, effectively limiting the supply of new bitcoins. This scarcity is a key driver of Bitcoin's value and has historically led to significant price increases.

However, Bitcoin's dominance and performance also raise questions about market saturation and the potential for continued growth. While Bitcoin remains a safe haven for many investors, its large market capitalization means that it may not offer the same growth potential as some smaller, emerging cryptocurrencies. Investors looking for high-growth opportunities may find these in altcoins, which, while riskier, offer the potential for higher returns.

Ether (ETH)

Ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, has a different appeal compared to Bitcoin. While Bitcoin excels as a payment network, Ethereum's strength lies in its versatility as a platform for decentralized applications. Ether's growth has been modest compared to Bitcoin, with a 65% increase this year.

Ethereum's broader utility stems from its ability to support smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). These features have made it the backbone of various sectors, including decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The recent upgrade to Ethereum 2.0, transitioning to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, aims to address scalability and energy efficiency issues, potentially increasing its attractiveness to both developers and investors.

Despite these advancements, Ether's price has not seen the same explosive growth as Bitcoin. This could be due to the market's maturation and the increasing competition from other blockchain platforms. However, Ethereum's established position and ongoing development make it a strong contender for long-term growth. Investors may consider holding Ether as a bet on the continued expansion and innovation in the DeFi and NFT spaces, where Ethereum plays a central role.

Solana (SOL)

Solana, a blockchain platform seen as a competitor to Ethereum, has recovered remarkably from the impacts of the FTX collapse, with its value increasing by 313% this year. This growth is a testament to the resilience and potential of Solana as an investment.

Solana's key selling point is its high throughput and low transaction costs, making it an attractive platform for both developers and users. Its ability to process thousands of transactions per second outpaces Ethereum significantly, which has been a bottleneck for the latter. This technical superiority has led to increased adoption of Solana for various applications, including decentralized exchanges, gaming, and NFTs.

The rapid recovery of Solana's value post-FTX collapse indicates strong investor confidence and market support for the platform. It suggests that Solana has managed to dissociate itself from the negative sentiment surrounding FTX and is being recognized for its inherent technological strengths. For investors, Solana presents an opportunity to diversify into a high-potential blockchain platform that could capture significant market share in the future.

Binance Coin (BNB)

BNB, the native token of the Binance exchange, has faced significant challenges following legal issues with Binance’s CEO. These developments have led to a decrease in BNB's value, prompting considerations for selling the asset.

The legal troubles surrounding Binance and its CEO have raised concerns about the exchange's future and, by extension, the value of BNB. Binance Coin's utility is closely tied to the Binance ecosystem, being used for transaction fee discounts and participation in token sales. If regulatory actions lead to a decrease in Binance's user base or a change in its operational model, BNB could see a further decline in value.

However, it's also important to consider Binance's position as one of the largest and most influential cryptocurrency exchanges globally. The platform has a substantial user base and a wide array of services, including trading, staking, and a native blockchain, Binance Smart Chain. If Binance navigates through its legal challenges successfully, BNB could recover and potentially grow in value. Investors need to weigh the risks of regulatory impacts against the potential for Binance to continue playing a major role in the crypto ecosystem.

BLUR

BLUR, associated with the NFT marketplace Blur, has maintained a significant market capitalization despite a downturn in NFT trading. As the NFT market shows signs of a potential rebound, holding BLUR could be a strategic move for investors interested in the digital art and collectibles space.

The NFT market has experienced a significant cooldown from its peak in 2021, but it remains a sector with potential for innovation and growth. BLUR's association with the Blur marketplace positions it well within this niche. The marketplace has gained traction among NFT traders for its user-friendly interface and unique features, such as rewarding users with BLUR tokens based on their trading volume.

BLUR's utility within the Blur ecosystem could drive its value as the NFT market evolves. The token's use in governance and transaction fee payments on the platform aligns it closely with the marketplace's success. As new artists and collectors continue to enter the NFT space, platforms like Blur that offer a streamlined and rewarding experience could see increased usage, potentially boosting BLUR's value.

Investors considering BLUR should monitor the broader NFT market trends and Blur's position within it. While the NFT market is known for its volatility, it also offers unique opportunities for growth, especially in niches that are innovating and capturing user interest.

Conclusion

The cryptocurrency market is diverse and constantly evolving. While Bitcoin continues to be a strong performer, other cryptocurrencies offer varied investment opportunities. Investors should consider their risk tolerance, market trends, and the unique attributes of each cryptocurrency when making decisions. Whether to HODL or sell depends on individual investment goals and the ever-changing landscape of the crypto world. Diversification and staying informed are key to navigating this dynamic market successfully.

FAQs

Is it better to invest in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies? It depends on your investment goals and risk tolerance. Bitcoin is more established but may offer lower growth potential compared to some emerging altcoins. Diversifying your portfolio with a mix of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies might be a balanced approach.

What makes Ether a good investment option? Ether is the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, known for its versatility in supporting smart contracts and decentralized applications. Its ongoing development and central role in the DeFi and NFT sectors make it a strong contender for long-term growth.

Why is Solana considered a rising competitor in the crypto market? Solana offers high transaction speeds and low costs, making it an attractive platform for developers and users. Its rapid recovery post-FTX collapse indicates strong market support and potential for significant market share in the future.

What are the risks associated with investing in Binance Coin (BNB)? BNB faces risks due to legal issues surrounding Binance and its CEO. Its value is closely tied to the Binance ecosystem, so any negative impact on the exchange could affect BNB's value.

Is investing in BLUR a good strategy? Investing in BLUR could be a strategic move if you're interested in the NFT market. As the native token of the Blur NFT marketplace, its value may grow with the platform's success in the evolving NFT space.

How important is diversification in cryptocurrency investment? Diversification is crucial in managing risk in the volatile cryptocurrency market. It involves spreading your investment across different assets to reduce the impact of any single asset's performance on your overall portfolio.

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.

@ b17fccdf:b7211155

~ > Available at: https://minibolt.info

---

~> It builds on a personal computer with x86/amd64 architecture processors.

~> It is based on the popular RaspiBolt v3 guide.

---

Those are some of the most relevant changes:

• Changed OS from Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bits) to Ubuntu Server LTS (Long term support) 64-bit PC (AMD64).
• Changed binaries and signatures of the programs to adapt them to x86/amd64 architecture.
• Deleted unnecessary tools and steps, and added others according to this case of use.
• Some useful authentication logs and monitoring commands were added in the security section.
• Added some interesting parameters in the settings of some services to activate and take advantage of new features.
• Changed I2P, Fulcrum, and ThunderHub guides, to be part of the core guide.
• Added exclusive optimization section of services for slow devices.

---

~ > Complete release notes of the MiniBolt v1: https://github.com/twofaktor/minibolt/releases/tag/1.0.

~ > Feel free to contribute to the source code on GitHub by opening issues, pull requests or discussions.

---

Created by ⚡2 FakTor⚡

@ c69b71dc:426ba763

Nature shows us the way…

…but what does humanity do?

Let’s take a look at winter:

Trees shed their leaves. The plant’s energy withdraws so it can conserve strength and survive the cold season.


Wild animals follow the same pattern: In autumn, they build up reserves, grow thick fur, and retreat into their caves and thickets. Little movement, lots of sleep – a natural strategy for preserving energy. Animals that wouldn’t survive the cold migrate to warmer places to spend the winter.

And what does humanity do?

We eat just as much, move just as much (or little), sleep too little – just as we do all year round. Why? Because we can. Because our lives are no longer governed by the seasons. Refrigerators are full, supermarkets are always open, work calls, and daily routines remain unchanged. But this does not come without consequences.

During winter, we don’t allow ourselves to rest or retreat. We ignore our natural needs, overexerting ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally. The result? An exhausted body and mind, discontent. The lymphatic system gets clogged, the body becomes overly acidic. Spring fatigue, low energy, depression, inflammation, and other ailments follow.

And then comes spring…

Nature awakens. Life begins anew everywhere. Buds sprout, blossoms unfold – pure energy in its most vibrant form! Everything that grows now serves cleansing and detoxification: wild herbs, fresh shoots, and buds – nature’s medicine for body and mind.

Wild animals follow this rhythm. They shed their winter coats, become more active, consume this natural medicine, mate, or give birth.

And what does humanity do?

We keep eating the same, sleeping too little, rushing through our daily routines. And then we wonder why we feel tired, sluggish, and drained. Why our thoughts feel heavy and our bodies weak. Why depression creeps up on us at this very moment. Did you know that the highest suicide rate is in spring?

Summer – the time of abundance

Nature gifts us with light, warmth, ripe fruits, berries, and fresh vegetables.

Animals spend most of their time outdoors, eating what nature provides and recharging their energy into every cell of their being.

And what does humanity do?

We keep working as always, consuming industrially processed foods, barely spending time outside. Too much artificial light, too little sleep. No wonder so many feel exhausted even in summer, drained, struggling with digestion and metabolism.

Autumn – preparing for retreat

Now is the time for harvest. Nuts, mushrooms, apples, pears, root vegetables, pumpkins, cabbage – all available to build up reserves.

Animals follow nature’s call, gathering, storing energy, preparing for the coming months. Chlorophyll in leaves breaks down, green turns to vibrant autumn colours.

And what does humanity do?

We ignore these signals. We stay trapped in the hamster wheel. We enter winter unprepared, weakened, prone to infections, drained by a lack of sunlight and an overly acidic system.

A cycle of exhaustion

And so the wheel keeps turning. Because we ignore nature. Because we no longer listen to our bodies. Because we have lost touch with our intuition. Because we have enslaved ourselves.

What can you do?

Not everyone is ready to leave their daily life behind, move to a warm country, and become self-sufficient. Many want to maintain their current lifestyle.

So how can we break the cycle?

Turn inward. Take time each day to listen to yourself. To truly feel what you need. To give space to your needs. Sense what drains you, what makes you sluggish. What brings you joy. Cleanse yourself – physically, mentally, emotionally!

*Do* more of what you miss, of what makes you happy and fulfilled. Remember: You too are nature.****

If all this sounds like a lot of inner work, I invite you to take first steps.

Ask yourself:

• Does your body need detoxification?
• Cleansing?
• More movement?
• Or is it time for emotional release?

If you wish support, let me know and we will discuss an energy exchange that allows you to do something good for yourself in a sustainable way. Supporting you in reclaiming your energy and strength – for a year filled with vitality, self-respect, and self-love. 💛

**

Spring is calling! It offers us a new chance.
 Do you hear it? Yes, it’s calling you! Let’s go! 🚀

**

@ 0b118e40:4edc09cb

I’d like to see a world where a small artisan in Sarawak sells handcrafted goods directly to a boutique in Paris by bypassing currency exchange fluctuations, banking restrictions, and government-imposed tariffs. Or where a coffee farmer in Ethiopia sells beans straight to a roaster in Tokyo by sidestepping middlemen, exchange fees, and bureaucratic red tape.

In theory, free trade should enable this exchange smoothly, allowing businesses of all sizes to compete on a level playing field. But in reality, global trade is far from free. Policies, interventions, and economic theories are often designed to favor the powerful.

One particular theory that troubled me was Paul Krugman’s New Trade Theory (NTT), which argues that large businesses with economies of scale, supported by government-backed advantages, dominate international trade. This manifestation of the global marketplace favoring the giants, leaving smaller players like that Ethiopian coffee farmer out and struggling to compete, had led to trade hegemonies and trade wars.

After going through centuries of trade theories from Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations to Keynesian interventionism and Friedman’s libertarianism I found myself questioning:

Is Krugman right?

After all, in today’s world, global trade is controlled by a few key players. The U.S., China, Germany, Japan, and the U.K. alone contribute to 40% of global trade in goods and services. The 134 countries of the Global South are often forgotten.

Can Bitcoin offer a countermeasure to help globalize small businesses from anywhere in the world?

Big players rule the game.

Let’s go a little deeper on Krugman’s New Trade Theory. He believes that trade is increasingly dominated by large firms because they benefit from economies of scale and brand power. While older trade theories assumed that countries traded based on resource advantages, NTT tries to explain why similar economies like the U.S. and Europe, engage in high levels of trade with each other, missing out on the obvious nuances of global alliances on geopolitical control and power.

Another aspect of Krugman’s theory is that large companies have a better chance of capturing market lead if they can benefit from unfair advantages through additional boosters in an imperfect market. In simple terms, power, status, and wealth are all you need to win.

So if you are a big company and you have status, government perks, and economic advantages, you can be the market leader. It’s like the Olympics of global trade, except some players get to use performance-enhancing drugs (subsidies, trade barriers, and financial influence) while others run clean. The race isn’t fair, but the rules say it’s fine.

So what is the blind spot here?

Well, other than the obvious disregard for merits and fair play, this model also assumes that only large corporations drive global trade, leaving small businesses to struggle against giants - despite the fact that small businesses often contribute significantly (sometimes up to 80%) to a country's revenue.

Small business in a big economy

NTT was developed in the 1970s and 1980s when economies of scale and industrial advantages were the primary drivers of global trade. Kugman's argument assumes that large corporations, due to their financial and logistical dominance, will continue to dictate trade flows. But is this still true today?

Small businesses are establishing themselves in a globalized world, even without economies of scale, as opposed to Krugman's belief. The rise of e-commerce, digital platforms, and decentralized technologies has significantly altered the trade landscape, though many barriers remain.

In the past, small businesses struggled because they lacked access to global markets, but platforms like Alibaba, Amazon, and Shopify have reduced the barriers to entry, allowing even micro-businesses to participate in international trade.

When Jack Ma started Alibaba, businesses didn’t automatically sign up. His team traveled to small villages and industrial hubs to onboard businesses that had never considered global trade let alone understand digital interfaces, communicate in English, or use the internet. This grassroots effort revolutionized commerce, digitizing and globalizing it at an unprecedented scale.

Krugman’s model assumes that large firms control trade, but in reality, many countries thrive on small business-driven exports.

I’ve been to these areas in China and seen firsthand how they operate. These small manufacturers in China may not have the scale of a multinational, but they’re deeply integrated into global supply chains. And despite limited resources, they’re able to compete globally.

Other countries like Germany and Japan are great examples where ‘hidden champions' who are typically highly specialized small businesses, play a crucial role in global supply chains.

US is not there yet, but it has the opportunity to explore untapped potential of globalizing small businesses and compete in the global market to drive sustainable economic growth.

In fact with this model, ideally anyone is welcome. But there are many barriers that still exist in limiting the globalization of small businesses : * High transaction costs. * Complexity of currency exchange and exchange fees * Complex regulations and banking restrictions * Difficulty finding trustworthy international partners

Imagine a small business trying to import materials from multiple global suppliers. Not only is it hard to find them, as many countries still rely on government agencies, trade directories, and outdated methods for searching and connecting with suppliers, but when it comes to solidifying deals, the complications don’t stop. One supplier might require an international wire transfer, another may only accept Western Union, and a third insists on using a local bank with high fees and delays. Small businesses simply don’t have the same access to banking services and streamlined financial systems that large corporations do. The variations often depend on the specific banking practices and infrastructure of both parties.

To make matters even more complicated, small businesses don't have dedicated teams like large corporations. They run on minimal resources, managing everything themselves. One small error or delay can stall shipments, disrupt cash flow, and risk losing customers. Yet, global trade expects them to compete at the same level as industry giants, without the same financial infrastructure or support.

More often than not, small businesses are left to fend for themselves, struggling to overcome these challenges alone.

And that’s where Bitcoin changes everything.

Can Bitcoin Create a True Free Market?

Unlike traditional banking systems, which are tied to government policies and centralized institutions, Bitcoin operates on a decentralized, borderless network. This enables direct transactions between buyers and sellers without intermediaries or excessive fees.

While Krugman’s theory explains why big corporations once held an advantage, it overlooks how decentralization removes trade bottlenecks, giving small businesses a real chance to compete globally.

In a Bitcoin-based global economy: * No more currency conversion fees - Businesses trade freely across borders. * No more reliance on banks - Transactions occur on a trustless system, reducing fraud and expensive intermediaries. * No more cross-border delays - Payments are instantaneous, bypassing restrictive banking regulations.

For small businesses, this means fewer barriers to global trade. A textile producer in India could sell directly to a retailer in Canada without needing to figure out the bureaucratic maze of currency exchanges and trade laws. A graphic designer in Brazil could collaborate with a company in Australia and receive payment instantly without relying on high-fee banking systems. A shea butter producer in Kenya could sell organic products directly to small skincare manufacturers in the U.S., bypassing middlemen and avoiding international shipping delays.

Bitcoin removes middlemen, slashes costs, and levels the playing field, not by government intervention, but by eliminating artificial barriers altogether.

The Challenges and the Future

Bitcoin isn’t a perfect solution, and we know that. Scalability, price volatility, and regulatory pushback remain major hurdles.

Currently, stablecoins are attempting to integrate into the Bitcoin Layer 2 network, which could potentially distract from Bitcoin's intended role as a global decentralized medium of exchange. Some are pushing for trade to happen through currency-pegged, centralized coins, which risks undermining Bitcoin's strong push toward free trade and decentralization.

Governments and banks resist decentralization because it threatens their control over money flows.

However, the concept of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange is already taking root. Leaders and developers are dedicating their legacies to building this system for a truly global community. El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment has shown both the potential and the obstacles of a Bitcoin-driven economy with many lessons to learn from. Block Inc’s innovations have expanded into strengthening Bitcoin’s role as a decentralized medium globally, particularly through decentralized mining benefits and commercialized cold wallets.

Nostr has been very successful in seeing growth in these domains as well. It is slow but it's taking the right steps towards simplifying Bitcoin commerce adoption through zaps.

However the million-dollar question remains. If Bitcoin removes trade barriers, will small businesses adopt it?

History suggests yes but with the right approach. Just as Jack Ma went door to door convincing small businesses to embrace e-commerce, a similar effort is needed for Bitcoin adoption.

With Bitcoin, global trade can become digitized, commercialized, and pain-free, but only if small businesses understand how to use it. More importantly, it disrupts trade hegemony and creates a more equitable world that everyone can be part of.

A challenge I foresee beyond technology, is education. Initiatives that focus on simple onboarding, low-cost adoption, and real-world use cases can drive Bitcoin-powered trade forward. There are many non-tech Bitcoin enthusiasts who want to contribute to the Bitcoin ecosystem and would love to take on educator roles. Once the infrastructure and understanding around Bitcoin become more conceptualized, these folks could play a strong role in spreading awareness and adoption.

If Bitcoin is introduced strategically, not as a speculative asset but as an international trade enabler through its medium of exchange, it could reshape global commerce just as e-commerce once did. The only difference is that this time, trade is truly borderless, trustless, and not controlled by financial intermediaries.

Krugman’s New Trade Theory remains useful in explaining how economies of scale shape trade. But it fails to account for decentralized digital economies, where small businesses can bypass the old rules of power and privilege.

If Bitcoin achieves mainstream adoption, we may finally see a world where trade is truly free, where merit, not governments or middlemen, determines success.

@ b17fccdf:b7211155

😱 Did you recently find this signature verification error when you tried to update your MiniBolt repositories with -> sudo apt update? 💥🚨👇

🔧 Don't worry, that's because Tor renewed its signing key since it expired last 07/15, just renew your keyring by following the next steps to solve this problem:

~ > CLICK HERE < ~

---

Enjoy it MiniBolter!💙

@ b17fccdf:b7211155

The past 26 August, Tor introduced officially a proof-of-work (PoW) defense for onion services designed to prioritize verified network traffic as a deterrent against denial of service (DoS) attacks.

~ > This feature at the moment, is deactivate by default, so you need to follow these steps to activate this on a MiniBolt node:

• Make sure you have the latest version of Tor installed, at the time of writing this post, which is v0.4.8.6. Check your current version by typing

tor --version

Example of expected output:

Tor version 0.4.8.6. This build of Tor is covered by the GNU General Public License (https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html) Tor is running on Linux with Libevent 2.1.12-stable, OpenSSL 3.0.9, Zlib 1.2.13, Liblzma 5.4.1, Libzstd N/A and Glibc 2.36 as libc. Tor compiled with GCC version 12.2.0

~ > If you have v0.4.8.X, you are OK, if not, type sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade and confirm to update.

• Basic PoW support can be checked by running this command:

tor --list-modules

Expected output:

relay: yes dirauth: yes dircache: yes pow: **yes**

~ > If you have pow: yes, you are OK

• Now go to the torrc file of your MiniBolt and add the parameter to enable PoW for each hidden service added

sudo nano /etc/tor/torrc

Example:

```

Hidden Service BTC RPC Explorer

HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/hidden_service_btcrpcexplorer/ HiddenServiceVersion 3 HiddenServicePoWDefensesEnabled 1 HiddenServicePort 80 127.0.0.1:3002 ```

~ > Bitcoin Core and LND use the Tor control port to automatically create the hidden service, requiring no action from the user. We have submitted a feature request in the official GitHub repositories to explore the need for the integration of Tor's PoW defense into the automatic creation process of the hidden service. You can follow them at the following links:

• Bitcoin Core: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/issues/8002
• LND: https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/issues/28499

---

More info:

• https://blog.torproject.org/introducing-proof-of-work-defense-for-onion-services/
• https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/onion-services/onion-support/-/wikis/Documentation/PoW-FAQ

---

Enjoy it MiniBolter! 💙

@ 0fb8901a:2bced885

We are a family passionate about working with and for people, and we have a deep love for food.

Our journey began when our neighbors, who have a pizza oven, invited us and our children to make our own pizzas. The experience was delightful and memorable.

Inspired by this, we decided to offer the same joy to other kids and adults. We invested in a handcrafted wood-fired pizza oven, made from scratch by a friend who specializes in pizza oven craftsmanship. This oven was imported to the UK, and it brings out the most wonderful flavors in our pizzas, taking us back to the basics of traditional cooking.

We proudly serve Bracknell and the surrounding areas within a 20-mile radius.

What’s Different About Us?

Our pizza oven is brand new and crafted from reliable, safe materials. Unlike traditional setups confined to a van, our oven is fully visible from all angles, allowing you to watch your pizza being made. It features detachable stainless steel tables on both sides, enabling you to work in close proximity to the oven. Our pizzas are wood-fired, giving them a wonderful, authentic taste. Both our tomato and cream sauces are homemade, and our dough is made from organic flour, ensuring the freshest ingredients.

@ 3ac03011:41ecd1bb

You've got to hand it to Trump. For centuries, politicians have hidden their corruption behind polite words like 'lobbying' and 'campaign donations.' But what happens when one leader decides to skip the facade entirely?

Enter $TRUMP: the grandaddy of all shitcoins—so brazen, so unapologetically self-serving, it's almost poetic. Why bother with the elaborate charade of influence-peddling when you can just mint a digital token and say, "Buy this if you want something from me"?

Need a policy changed? Pump $TRUMP. Want a ban lifted? You know the drill. Forget the subtle dance of lobbying—just load your wallet and fund your favour directly. It's simple. Efficient. And honestly, kind of genius if you have no morals.

The game has been the same: politicians selling out the people while posing as their saviours. They make soaring speeches, they shake hands, they kiss babies—and then they hand over the real power to the highest bidder. But at least they had the decency to keep up the illusion of caring. Trump? He's stripped away the illusion entirely.

Sure, it's a scam. But it's the most honest scam we've ever seen. No pretense. No empty promises about "making America great again." Just cold, hard transparency: "I'm for sale and now there's a token to prove it."

And really, isn't this just the logical endpoint of politics? Lobbying has always been bribery in a nice suit. Campaign donations? Legal pay-to-play. Trump just cut through the pageantry and put it on a blockchain.

Some will call it dystopian. But isn't it refreshing to see the grift so out in the open? The man is cutting out the middleman and embracing the essence of what leadership has become. Forget the speeches. Forget the empty promises. With $TRUMP, you don't need to wonder who he's working for—the market decides.

So here's to $TRUMP: the most honest scam in modern history. Maybe it's time for every politician to mint their own token—at least then we'd know exactly what they stand for. The audacity alone deserves respect.

[Image by Eric Fischl]

@ c8383d81:f9139549

My own stats on what I’ve done over the weekend:

• Spoke to +100 developers, it was great seeing a couple of familiar Flemish faces and meeting some new ones but overall the crowd was extremely diverse.

• Ended up doing a short interview promoting the protocol and ended up going to 0 talks.

• Tried to evangelize by going booth by booth to distribute a Nostr flyer to other FOSDEM projects, with the hope that they would broadcast the info towards their SOME person to add Nostr on their list or to build out a library for the languages that were present ( This was a fairly slow approach )

• Kept it to Nostr protocol 95% of the time, the Bitcoin narrative is not always a good time to push and as a side note I’ve met more Monero users than in the last 5 years.

• Was able to convince some engineers to look into the #soveng endeavor.

Small overview from the most common questions:

• They have heard about Nostr but are not sure of the details. ( mostly through the bitcoin community )
• What is the difference with ActivityPub, Mastodon, Fediverse ?
• IOT developers, so questions regarding MQTT & Meshtastic integrations ?
• Current state of MLS on Nostr ?
• What are the current biggest clients / apps build on Nostr ?
• Will jack still give a talk ?

Things we could improve:

• Bring more stickers like loads more,
• Bring T-shirts, Pins… could be a good way to fund these adventures instead of raising funds. ( Most projects where selling something to help raise funds for projects )
• Almost no onboarding / client installs.
• Compared to the Nostr booth at BTC Amsterdam not a single person asked if they could charge their phone.

Personal Note: The last time I visited was roughly 13 years ago and me being a little more seasoned I just loved the fact that I was able to pay some support to the open source projects I’ve been using for years ( homebrew, modzilla, Free BSD,.. ) and see the amazing diverse crowd that is the open source Movement 🧡

Al final shoutout to our great pirate crew 🏴‍☠️: The Dutch Guard ( nostr:npub1qe3e5wrvnsgpggtkytxteaqfprz0rgxr8c3l34kk3a9t7e2l3acslezefe & nostr:npub1l77twp5l02jadkcjn6eeulv2j7y5vmf9tf3hhtq7h7rp0vzhgpzqz0swft ) and a adrenaline fueled nostr:npub1t6jxfqz9hv0lygn9thwndekuahwyxkgvycyscjrtauuw73gd5k7sqvksrw , nostr:npub1rfw075gc6pc693w5v568xw4mnu7umlzpkfxmqye0cgxm7qw8tauqfck3t8 and nostr:npub1r30l8j4vmppvq8w23umcyvd3vct4zmfpfkn4c7h2h057rmlfcrmq9xt9ma amazing finally meeting you IRL after close to 2 years since the Yakihonne hackathon 😀

@ a7bbc310:fe7b7be3

In 2018 I started doing film photography. I asked myself what could I do that was unique. So, I tried taking picture at local gig venues. I’d look around and everyone was using digital cameras. I had a limited number of shots I could take, inconsistent lighting at different venues but some delayed gratification of not knowing how the images would turn out until I developed them. I’d come home late from a show and be up until the early hours developing and scanning the images. 2020 put a stop to that. It’s something I’d like to start again. I’ll be sharing some of my favourite images I from my badly categorised/labled folders. Artist in photo is called Conner Youngblood. It’s been interesting to listen to his most recent projects (Cascades, Cascading, Cascadingly) to compare to his earlier ones (Australia)

Australia is a stripped back, couple guitars, vox and drums. Most recent has a few more vocal effects and electronica sounds. A comparison I would make would be Bon Iver’s - Emma with their 3rd album 22, a million.

As a when I arrange the files on my HD, I’ll be share a few more band photos.

@ 5e13e5d5:217fe898

With the rapid development of science and technology, communication technology has penetrated into all aspects of our lives, but the accompanying security risks cannot be ignored. As an effective technical means, signal jamming technology has gradually attracted people's attention in the field of public security in recent years. This article will explore the application of signal jammer in public security and its potential impact.

Basic concept of signal jammer

Signal jammer, as the name suggests, is a device used to interfere with or block signals of a specific frequency. By emitting electromagnetic waves of a specific frequency, signal jammers can effectively shield or weaken the reception of certain wireless signals, thereby preventing unnecessary information transmission. Signal jammers have a wide range of application scenarios, from countermeasures in the military field to security protection in the civilian field.

Application in public security

1. Preventing terrorist attacks

In some important public places, such as airports, stadiums, and large conferences, signal jammers can be used to prevent terrorists from remotely detonating bombs through mobile phones and other devices. Such devices can create a "jamming area" in a critical area, making communications related to explosive devices impossible, thereby effectively reducing the risk of terrorist attacks.

https://www.thejammerblocker.com/cell-phone-jammer-blocker-for-gsm-5g/

2. Maintaining public order

In some special cases, such as demonstrations or large gatherings, in order to prevent criminals from using mobile phones to organize or incite, law enforcement agencies can choose to use signal jammers moderately. By interfering with the communication signals at the scene, the organization ability of criminals can be effectively weakened, thereby maintaining public order.

3. Criminal investigation

During criminal investigations, the police sometimes need to monitor certain targets. Signal jammers can be used to block the communication between suspects and the outside world, so as to further obtain evidence or make arrests. However, this method must be carried out within the scope permitted by law to avoid infringing personal privacy.

4. Security precautions

In some special places, such as prisons and important laboratories, gps blocker can prevent jailbreaks or leaks. By interfering with mobile phone signals, prisoners can be effectively prevented from contacting the outside world and ensuring the safety of the place.

Potential impacts and legal ethical issues

Although signal jammers have many applications in public safety, their use also faces some potential impacts and legal ethical issues. First, the use of signal jammers may infringe on personal freedom of communication. Interference with citizens' mobile phone signals may affect their ability to seek help in an emergency. Secondly, if the jammer is abused by criminals, it may lead to social chaos. Therefore, when using drone jamming device, relevant departments should formulate strict usage specifications and legal frameworks to protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens.

Conclusion

In summary, as an emerging public safety technology, bluetooth blocker have important application value in preventing terrorist attacks, maintaining public order and criminal investigation. However, how to maintain personal privacy and freedom of communication while ensuring public safety is a question worth pondering. In the future, with the further development of science and technology, the application of signal jammers in public safety will become more and more common, but we must be vigilant about its potential impact and use this technology reasonably and legally.

https://www.thejammerblocker.com/dj-x5-military-grade-signal-jammer-device-5-antennas/

@ dbb19ae0:c3f22d5a

Warning: Use this at your own risk Backup your files before using them in the software Backup often, test your backup. Verify and dry test your files before doing a production run

I had to write this program because rmdir was claiming not to have enough authorization

context nostr:note1l0u4pw5xp73eultr9nf5tgmlsgnv9q05wdqha4t6grd4699v74zssshm40

```perl use strict; use warnings; use File::Path qw(remove_tree);

Specify the directory to be deleted

my $directory = 'c:\Users\mydirectory\mysubdirectory\';

Remove the directory

remove_tree($directory, {error => \my $err});

Check for errors

if (@$err) { foreach my $diag (@$err) { my ($file, $message) = %$diag; if ($file eq '') { print "General error: $message\n"; } else { print "Problem unlinking $file: $message\n"; } } } else { print "Directory successfully deleted.\n"; }

```

@ 75869cfa:76819987

GM, Nostriches! The Nostr Review is a biweekly newsletter focused on Nostr statistics, protocol updates, exciting programs, the long-form content ecosystem, and key events happening in the Nostr-verse. If you’re interested, join me in covering updates from the Nostr ecosystem!

Quick review: In the past two weeks, Nostr statistics indicate over 234,000 daily trusted pubkey events.The number of new users has seen a significant increase. Profiles with contact list amount is five times the amount from the same period. Public writing events have reflected a 200% increase. More than 10 million events have been published, with posts leading in volume at around 1.9 million, representing a significant 42% decrease. Total Zap activity stands at approximately 6 million, marking a 44% decline.

Additionally, 19 pull requests were submitted to the Nostr protocol, with 7 merged. A total of 45 Nostr projects were tracked, with 15 releasing product updates, and over 450 long-form articles were published, 32% focusing on Bitcoin and Nostr. During this period, 1 notable event took place, and 1 significant event is upcoming.

Nostr Statistics

Based on user activity, the total daily trusted pubkeys writing events is about 234,000, representing a slight 4.3% increase compared to the previous period. Daily activity peaked at 18862 events, with a low of approximately 17329.

The number of new users has seen a significant increase. Profiles with contact list amount to approximately 16,898, which is five times the amount from the same period. Pubkeys writing events total around 276,000, reflecting a 200% increase compared to the same period.

Regarding event publishing, the total number of note events published is about 10 million, marking an increase of above 10%. Posts remain the most dominant in terms of volume, totaling approximately 1.9 million, reflecting a notable increase of 42%. Reposts stand at around 344,000, showing an increase of approximately 5.1%, while reactions have experienced a slight 3.2% decline.

For zap activity, the total zap amount is about 6 million, showing a decrease of over 44% compared to the previous period.

In terms of relay usage, the top five relays by user count are: wss://feeds.nostr.band/, wss://relay..nostr.band/, wss://bostr.bitcointxoko.com/, wss://relay.lumina.rocks/, wss://unostr.site/

Data source: https://stats.nostr.band/

NIPs

Adds Open Graph “iMeta” tags nostr:npub1gcxzte5zlkncx26j68ez60fzkvtkm9e0vrwdcvsjakxf9mu9qewqlfnj5z is proposing that media attachments (images, videos, and other files) may be added to events by including a URL in the event content, along with a matching imeta tag.imeta ("inline metadata") tags add information about media URLs in the event's content. Each imeta tag SHOULD match a URL in the event content. Clients may replace imeta URLs with rich previews. The imeta tag is variadic, and each entry is a space-delimited key/value pair. Each imeta tag MUST have a url, and at least one other field. imeta may include any field specified by NIP 94. There SHOULD be only one imeta tag per URL.

NIP 404 - Ghost Events gu1p introduces Ghost Events—a protocol for creating events that are plausibly deniable with an ephemeral nature, providing a weak binding to the author's identity. It leverages ring signatures, elliptic curve point-hashing, and a distance-based proof-of-work that references Bitcoin block hashes for chronological anchoring.

NIP-88: DLC oracle announcement/attestation event kinds nostr:npub1l6uy9chxyn943cmylrmukd3uqdq8h623nt2gxfh4rruhdv64zpvsx6zvtg is proposing that this is meant to be a scope-reduced version of #919 to allow Discrete Log Contract (DLC) oracle announcements and attestations to be published over Nostr，omitted the DLC offer/accept/encrypted messages that are in #919 and instead focusing only on oracle gossip messages, so that oracles can start using Nostr as an interoperable publishing medium for attestation data. There is upstream work still going on and he don't think they should standardize some of the messages in #919 because the current DLC specs imply the use of ECDSA signatures, without aggregation. The oracle messages though are about as efficient as they can expect them to be, and as oracles form the foundation of a DLC ecosystem they should be prioritized.

Add nip for delegated aggregate signature verification nostr:npub1jlrs53pkdfjnts29kveljul2sm0actt6n8dxrrzqcersttvcuv3qdjynqn introduces a new verb which can be used to provide a proof via zk-SNARKs to clients that event signatures are valid, without providing the signatures. This allows for some level of deniability, and prevents protected events from being replicated across the network, without requiring users to blindly trust relays.

add restricted to standardized machine-readable prefixes ZigBalthazar is proposing that the restricted prefix is useful in situations where an individual is not whitelisted to write on a relay or has been banned from it. For example, Immortal (websocket/event_handler.go#L125) uses a restricted prefix to send a message when someone who is not whitelisted tries to write on the relay, provided that the whitelist feature is enabled in the configurations.

Zapraisers nostr:npub1gcxzte5zlkncx26j68ez60fzkvtkm9e0vrwdcvsjakxf9mu9qewqlfnj5z is proposing that adds a tag to be used in any event as a goal for the amount of zaps to be raised by that event.This has been out on Amethyst for 1.5 years now. The field complements NIP-75 fundraisers used by fundraising sites.

NIP-60: clarify privkey is optional nostr:npub1gujeqakgt7fyp6zjggxhyy7ft623qtcaay5lkc8n8gkry4cvnrzqd3f67z is proposing that redeeming or spending a Cashu with a spending condition requires a corresponding private key to sign the proof. In the context of Nostr, this private key can be the user's own Nostr private key or another private key, not related to the user's Nostr private key. if the client is using the user's own Nostr private key, then the privkey tag wouldn't be needed.

nostr over reticulum initial draft nostr:npub1gmm2ehusvs35zgh6pq84m8hkj4ea0ygy3c9j2e3slzhjjce3kmns5tdaz2 defines how to implement Nostr relay connections over the Reticulum Network Stack, allowing nostr clients and relays to communicate over Reticulum networks instead of traditional WebSocket connections. Nostr over Reticulum (NoR) enables nostr clients and relays to operate over Reticulum's encrypted mesh networking stack while maintaining full compatibility with existing nostr protocols and NIPs.

Notable Projects

Damus nostr:npub1gsvf47ls6ft3dhn277faccwpz0k02ctxfqv39ns5cgzjmd3089kqmza4pt * Add t tags for hashtags * Use HashSet, lowercase, and add emoji tests * Add test and format * Fix emoji hashtags * Handle punctuation better * Show pointer cursor on grip * Adjust context menu/grip circle sizes * Fix double frame border * Extract timing from AppSizeHandler to TimedSerializer * Use TimedSerializer in AppSizeHandler * Introduce ZoomHandler * And more

Primal for Android build 2.0.36 nostr:npub12vkcxr0luzwp8e673v29eqjhrr7p9vqq8asav85swaepclllj09sylpugg

The latest version of our Android app, v2.0.36, is now available on the Google Play Store and GitHub. Bug Fix: Addressed an issue where some users were unable to zap certain accounts using the built-in wallet.

0xchat App v1.4.6 nostr:npub1tm99pgz2lth724jeld6gzz6zv48zy6xp4n9xu5uqrwvx9km54qaqkkxn72 * Added reactions and mention notification button to chats. Clicking the button will navigate to the specific chat message. * Long press the "Like" button on moments to select an emoji. * Fixed an issue where sending voice messages in Secret Chat failed. * Resolved incorrect time display for e cash transactions. * Addressed a bug with video message reactions. * Fixed an occasional issue where moments could not subscribe to updates. * Resolved rendering issues for certain notes. * Fixed a problem where clicking on custom emoji reactions didn’t send the reaction properly. * Fixed some typos.

Yakihonne nostr:npub1yzvxlwp7wawed5vgefwfmugvumtp8c8t0etk3g8sky4n0ndvyxesnxrf8q

Web v4.2.3: * Added support for uploading multiple images or videos in notes, comments, and messages. * Refined the search mechanism for better accuracy and performance. * General bug fixes and improvements.

Nostur v1.17.0 nostr:npub1n0stur7q092gyverzc2wfc00e8egkrdnnqq3alhv7p072u89m5es5mk6h0 * Sync already seen/read across multiple devices * New 😂-feed * Support new Olas/picture format (viewing) * Support Frost/multi-sig login * Support for .heic image format in posts * Show extra autopilot relays used on Post Preview (default off) * Login with nip05 (read-only) * Undelete button for deleted posts * Optimized local database performance * Many other bug fixes and performance improvements

nos.social nostr:npub1pu3vqm4vzqpxsnhuc684dp2qaq6z69sf65yte4p39spcucv5lzmqswtfch

Here’s the full set of changes in this version: * Added lists to the app so you can see feeds from specific accounts you've added to the list. You can create your lists with listr and view their feeds from the Nos app. * Nos now publishes the hashtags it finds in your note when you post. This means it works the way you’ve always expected it to work. * Updated the default relays that are added when you create an account. * Fixed display of Mastodon usernames * Fixed crash related to tracking delete events.

DEG mods nostr:npub17jl3ldd6305rnacvwvchx03snauqsg4nz8mruq0emj9thdpglr2sst825x * Local caching of field data in mod and blog submission * Source view & Difference view modes in the rich text editor * Hidden posts, by either admin or user, now show a note about it when visiting the post * Mod downloads will show a notice note if the download link isn't a file / if it directs the user to another page * Mod posts without a malware scan report link will show a note informing the user of it (even if it's there, the user should still need to be cautious) * Report button now only appears if the user is logged in (to be further enhanced later down the line) * Old mod posts can be editable again without issue, with an error shown if something is wrong for the user to fix * If a mod post (later blog post) gets stuck while publishing, a timer kicks in that'll lead to a 'try again' option that usually publishes the post correctly * Tip/Zap buttons will only appear if the author has an LN address in their profile (shouldn't have been visible) * Posts marked as 'repost' will have that tag shown in the mod card in the landing page's "Latest Mods" section (it didn't appear before)

Amber 3.1.0 nostr:npub1am3ermkr250dywukzqnaug64cred3x5jht6f3kdhfp3h0rgtjlpqecxrv7 * Fix bunker requests showing up again after accepting * Move bunker and nostr connect to its own files * Fix a infinite loop when receiving bunker requests * Show relays after the app is connected * Recover service when app crashes * Update quartz dependency * Fix ui contrast when using dark theme

AlbyHub 1.13 nostr:npub1getal6ykt05fsz5nqu4uld09nfj3y3qxmv8crys4aeut53unfvlqr80nfm * Auto-unlock for self-hosted hubs * Provide closing channel tx details * NEW APP: Zapplanner * NEW APP: Simple Boost * NEW APP: Clams.tech * various improvements and fixes!

WasabiWallet 2.4.0 nostr:npub1jw7scmeuewhywwytqxkxec9jcqf3znw2fsyddcn3948lw9q950ps9y35fg * Send to Silent Payment addresses * Donation Button * Switch to TestNet 4 * Release Notes in the client

Zapstore 0.2.0 nostr:npub10r8xl2njyepcw2zwv3a6dyufj4e4ajx86hz6v4ehu4gnpupxxp7stjt2p8

0.2.0 is out with support for signing in with Amber (NIP-55) and zaps via Nostr Wallet Connect.

Narr release v0.3.2 nostr:npub180cvv07tjdrrgpa0j7j7tmnyl2yr6yr7l8j4s3evf6u64th6gkwsyjh6w6

New Narr release v0.3.2 fixes all the problems with articles updating, insufficiently-rendered Markdown, Nostr usernames not loading, and makes everything better. It supports all sorts of RSS feed discovery from HTTP URLs and renders them beautifully in a simple straightforward interface, you can also paste nostr:... URIs, including nip05, npub and nprofile codes (they should also work without the nostr: prefix).

ZEUS v0.9.5 nostr:npub1xnf02f60r9v0e5kty33a404dm79zr7z2eepyrk5gsq3m7pwvsz2sazlpr5 * Embedded LND: Seed: allow export of ypriv/zpriv (export to external wallets like Sparrow) * CLNRest: add ability to use all funds for channel open * Improve lurker mode * Improve display of memos and keysend messages * Allow return key for password login * Automatically include routing hints if node has only unannounced channels * Wallets list: better highlighting of active mode * Enhance on-chain receive workflow and address type selection * Migration to new storage system * Layout improvements * Bug fixes

Citrine 0.7.0 nostr:npub1hqlxlq57nvlq70ugmsmu9y5lmyc5k2lh5w7y85j7dgsr5u7zwavq5agspw * Update quartz dependency * Check if events are deleted * Recover service after crash * Add back button in the events screen * Fix delete old events * Fix backup dialog showing up again

Nstart nostr:npub10000003zmk89narqpczy4ff6rnuht2wu05na7kpnh3mak7z2tqzsv8vwqk * Easy local backup of your nsec or ncryptsec * Email yourself your ncryptsec, as additional backup location * Create a multi-signer bunker URL for Nostr Connect (more info below) * Auto follow the contacts list of some old and trusted Nostr users * Customize of contact suggestions, useful for onboarding friends & family

Long-Form Content Eco

In the past two weeks, more than 450 long-form articles have been published, including over 119 articles on Bitcoin and more than 25 related to Nostr, accounting for 32% of the total content.

These articles about Nostr mainly explore the transformative potential of the decentralized protocol, emphasizing its role in reshaping communication and finance, particularly in the context of Bitcoin adoption. They cover technical aspects, like setting up Nostr servers on platforms such as RaspiBlitz using TOR, and discuss its cultural and social impact, such as the evolution of echo chambers and comparisons with other decentralized platforms like Mastodon. The articles reflect on the opportunities and challenges Nostr presents, including privacy concerns, censorship resistance, and its potential to disrupt traditional social media. They also highlight Nostr's growing importance in the gig economy and its potential as a key alternative as users seek decentralized platforms. Furthermore, the articles underscore the dynamic nature of the ecosystem, with communities, relays, and services like Notedeck unlocking new possibilities for collaboration and innovation.

The Bitcoin articles discuss a wide range of topics related to Bitcoin's role in the financial world, its technological advancements, and its impact on society. They explore the implications of Bitcoin halving, the mysteries surrounding Satoshi Nakamoto and his wallets, and the evolving dynamics of Bitcoin's relationship with fiat currencies. Key themes include the decentralization of financial systems, Bitcoin's potential as a safe haven against economic instability, and its transformative power in the face of traditional banking. The articles also delve into Bitcoin's growing institutional adoption, its use in privacy preservation, and the rise of Bitcoin in global markets such as Dubai and China. Additionally, they touch on the philosophical and ethical considerations of Bitcoin, exploring its potential to bring about a financial revolution while challenging the status quo of centralized systems. Through varied perspectives, the articles highlight Bitcoin as a tool for financial freedom, privacy, and a revolutionary shift in global economic power.

Thankyou, nostr:npub1qspus6smkn8mcdxg5jflh50s69vdgtwsd5p74gmjpzp2qekn5duqfv5afj nostr:npub1g5rwqnjtwpuuuplr36v82eu2sxkn8fzkc6tdwz8036dzmrqkhgzqm6qq0t nostr:npub1zsw6mhf4rapy9rfxpsrf9hza96jdkl74zsvhvr6qfxfpx80cpgls4q6wsn nostr:npub1864jglrrhv6alguwql9pqtmd5296nww5dpcewapmmcazk8vq4mks0tt2tq nostr:npub18ams6ewn5aj2n3wt2qawzglx9mr4nzksxhvrdc4gzrecw7n5tvjqctp424 nostr:npub1da7m2ksdj24995hm8afv88pjpvzt6t9vh70mg8t52yjwtxza3vjszyar58 nostr:npub1g8ag22auywa5c5de6w9ujenpyhrrp9qq8sjzram02xldttmmwurqfd0hqk nostr:npub1harur8s4wmwzgrugwdmrd9gcv6zzfkzfmp36xu4tel0ces7j2uas3gcqdy nostr:npub1mqcwu7muxz3kfvfyfdme47a579t8x0lm3jrjx5yxuf4sknnpe43q7rnz85 nostr:npub1zmg3gvpasgp3zkgceg62yg8fyhqz9sy3dqt45kkwt60nkctyp9rs9wyppc nostr:npub1marc26z8nh3xkj5rcx7ufkatvx6ueqhp5vfw9v5teq26z254renshtf3g0 nostr:npub1l8qw5av3039qhefprytlm7fg8kyyc0luy8yk2prk2l8wc38gf86qzw7nnm and others, for your work. Enriching Nostr’s long-form content ecosystem is crucial.

Nostriches Global Meet Ups

Recently, several Nostr events have been hosted in different countries. * The 32nd Round Rock Bitcoiners meetup successfully took place on January 10, 2025, at the Allen R. Baca Center, featuring the second Base58 Bitcoin Live Action Role-Playing (LARP) event. Participants delved into the mechanisms of sending and receiving Bitcoin transactions, mining, and node validation. Following the session, attendees headed to the historic downtown Round Rock for a Bitcoin Happy Hour and engaged in peer-to-peer Satoshi Square economic exchanges. nostr:npub17ysayggwumkpkpgsq75axd7ed9guw03wz9jldz5d0zrkgz0cja2qd09tzu

Here are the upcoming Nostr events that you might want to check out.

• The Austin Bitcoin Design Club event will be held on January 30, 2025, hosted at Bitcoin Commons. The event aims to enhance Bitcoin design through education, participation, and a positive atmosphere, encouraging attendees to bring laptops for design critiques. The event is hosted by nostr:npub1p4kg8zxukpym3h20erfa3samj00rm2gt4q5wfuyu3tg0x3jg3gesvncxf8

Additionally, We warmly invite event organizers who have held recent activities to reach out to us so we can work together to promote the prosperity and development of the Nostr ecosystem.

Thanks for reading! If there’s anything I missed, feel free to reach out and help improve the completeness and accuracy of my coverage.

@ da0b9bc3:4e30a4a9

Hello Stackers!

Welcome on into the ~Music Corner of the Saloon!

A place where we Talk Music. Share Tracks. Zap Sats.

So stay a while and listen.

🚨Don't forget to check out the pinned items in the territory homepage! You can always find the latest weeklies there!🚨

🚨Subscribe to the territory to ensure you never miss a post! 🚨

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/876357

@ 3c7dc2c5:805642a8

🧠Quote(s) of the week:

Old model:

-You work for money.

-They print it.

-You save your money.

-They devalue it.

-You invest your money.

-They manipulate it.

New model:

-You save in Bitcoin.

-There’s nothing they can do about it.

🧡Bitcoin news🧡

Before we start some extra info to get you focused.

1 BTC is unreachable for the majority.

The aspiration used to be 6.15. Now it's 0.1.

'Now who owns Bitcoin? 'The Answer Might Surprise You.

👉🏽Bitcoin is often misunderstood. Some think it’s controlled by a handful of institutions, others believe governments secretly hoard it. The reality? Bitcoin ownership is diverse and widely distributed across individuals, businesses, funds, and even governments.

👉🏽57% of Bitcoin is held by individuals. From everyday savers to long-term believers, Bitcoin’s largest share is in the hands of the people.

👉🏽4% belongs to businesses. Companies are increasingly adding BTC to their treasuries, recognizing its role as digital gold.

👉🏽5% is held by funds and ETFs. Bitcoin is being adopted by the financial system, providing new ways for institutions and retail investors to gain exposure.

👉🏽Governments own 2% to 3%. Whether through seized BTC or strategic holdings where states already acknowledged Bitcoin’s value.

👉🏽Around 18% is estimated to be lost forever. This actually makes Bitcoin even scarcer than its 21 million cap suggests.

👉🏽Miners and yet-to-be-mined Bitcoin represent the rest. This small remaining fraction coupled with a fixed supply means competition for mining remaining bitcoins will only increase over time.

This distribution is one of the many reasons why Bitcoin is unique. Not only there is no single entity that controls it (no government or bank can print more of it), but also its distribution among the population is more fairly distributed than for any other monetary asset.

Bitcoin is owned by those who understand its value, regardless of nationality, religion, skin color, political affiliation, or beliefs. Bitcoin is for everyone.' -Thomas Jeegers

On the 28th of January:

➡️European Squash Federation adopts Bitcoin for its treasury.

➡️Binance under investigation for money laundering, tax fraud, and drug trafficking in France - Reuters

➡️'Metaplanet will issue 21 million new stock warrants with a 0% discount rate, raising approximately $870 million to fund additional Bitcoin purchases. This marks the largest-ever fundraising for Bitcoin purchases in the history of the Asian stock market.' -Metaplanet

➡️U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis received a framed Bitcoin block from Marathon’s Jayson Browder to mark her role as the new chair of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets. MARA Pool mined the block by calculating 1,476,600,000,000,000,000,000 Bitcoin hashes within 46 seconds.

➡️'Fidelity is now bigger than Greyscale:

1. BlackRock ETF: 576k BTC
2. Fidelity ETF: 205k BTC
3. Greyscale ETF: 202k BTC' -Bitcoin for Freedom

➡️'Brazil’s state-owned oil and gas company Petrobras is reportedly assessing getting into Bitcoin mining. This is a new chapter for the company and shows how traditional industries are adapting to the digital world. Petrobras, one of the largest and most profitable oil companies in the world, is going to use excess natural gas produced during the oil extraction process to power Bitcoin mining. This will reduce energy waste and methane emissions, and create a new revenue stream for the company.' -Bitcoin News

➡️Last week, the 613-foot smokestack of the former Somerset Generating Station in Niagara County, New York was demolished. The site, now Tera Wulf Inc.’s Lake Mariner Data, will focus on Bitcoin mining and AI processing powered by hydroelectric energy

➡️'For the first time ever in Bitcoin's 16-year history, the epoch-over-epoch (EOE) growth has fallen below +100%. Pack it up, fellas.'- Wicked

On the 29th of January:

➡️Czech central bank Governor Ales Michl said he would propose a plan to include bitcoin in the country’s official reserves, the Financial Times reported.

Michl statement: 'Czech National Bank’s goal is price stability. When we took office in July 2022, inflation was 17.5%. We brought it down to target. We are also diversifying reserves—gradually increasing gold holdings from 0% to around 5% and planning for 30% in equities. An asset under consideration is Bitcoin. It currently has zero correlation to bonds and is an interesting asset for a large portfolio. Worth considering. Right now, it’s only at the stage of analysis and discussion. The Bank Board decides, and no decision is imminent. Thoughtful analysis is needed.

Bitcoin has significant volatility, which makes it harder to take advantage of its current low correlation with other assets. That’s why I will ask our team on Thursday to further assess Bitcoin’s potential role in our reserves. Nothing more, nothing less. The article is very accurate, including my statement that Bitcoin could one day be worth either zero or a huge amount. At our meeting on Thursday, after discussing a document on international reserve management in 2024, the Bank Board of the Czech National Bank (CNB) approved a proposal to analyze the options for investing in additional asset classes.

The central bank has been increasingly diversifying its investments over the last two years as part of its reserve management strategy. At the proposal of Governor Aleš Michl, the CNB is to assess whether it would be appropriate in terms of diversification and return to include other asset classes in the reserves as well. Based on the results of the analysis, the Bank Board will then decide how to proceed further. No changes will be implemented in this area until then. Any changes in the reserve portfolios will be disclosed in the quarterly information on the CNB’s international reserves and the CNB’s annual report.'

The head of a central bank tweeting about potentially allocating to Bitcoin was not on my 2025 bingo card.

➡️Jerome Powell: "Banks are perfectly able to serve crypto customers." I love how everyone is recognizing and acknowledging Bitcoin now. Banks can custody Bitcoin on behalf of clients, create structured Bitcoin financial products, and allow customers to buy Bitcoin. Even Powell isn't badmouthing it anymore.

On the 29th of January:

➡️'It is utterly remarkable that BTC Dominance is at 62% considering it's really from 45% to 62% has coincided with massive issuance of Memecoins This really is a different market, a schism between Bitcoin and Crypto.' - Steven Lubka

➡️Illinois State Rep. has introduced a bill to establish a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve.

➡️The decoupling of Bitcoin & Crypto Market Caps:

ETH losing 50% of its value vs. BTC in the past 11 months explains the lack of enthusiasm about $100K BTC. Mitchell Hodl: '2 years ago if you sold 1 ETH and bought Bitcoin, you would have acquired ~.07 BTC. Today if you sell 1 ETH and buy Bitcoin, you’ll acquire .03 BTC. Those “toxic maximalists” were right. If it’s not BTC, it’s dogshit.'

On the 3rd of February Bitcoin dominance soared over 64%. Four-year high. Massively bullish. Despite the hundreds of billions of dollars invested in crypto, Bitcoin dominance has just tagged Nov 2017 levels. At 73%, it unwinds back to the pre-ICO era.

'The truth is, there is no more alt season. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can still build up a meaningful Bitcoin position. You're not too late. You're among the first 1-2% of people to get into bitcoin. It's time to leave this chapter of false narratives behind and get on board with something real and meaningful.' - Sam Wouters

If you're trying to outperform Bitcoin with an "alt", just remember that you're mixing with a crowd that is simply trying to beat you to the exit.

➡️Senator Bob Menendez who fought against El Salvador adopting Bitcoin was just sentenced to 11 years in prison for taking bribes in Gold and Cash! Classic!

➡️INDIANA Bitcoin Bill!

HB 1322 would allow 'the Hoosier state' to invest state retirement funds in Bitcoin ETFs. Nation-states, States, Companies & Individuals are clamoring to acquire Bitcoin.

On the 30th of January:

➡️World's largest stablecoin Tether is now minting its stablecoin on the Bitcoin Lightning Network.

➡️ECB chief Lagarde says she "is confident" that Bitcoin will not end up in the EU central bank reserves. Here is the video of how she is explaining that Bitcoin isn’t liquid, secure, or safe for EU reserves.

Bitcoin trades 24/7—one of the most liquid markets in the world.

Its code secures $2T+ in wealth, never hacked.

It’s the most secure computer code ever written.

Remember what she said on Bitcoin a while ago: 'It's a matter that needs to be agreed at a global level. If there is an escape, that escape will be used.'

Oh one more: "People are happier to have a job than to have their savings protected." — Christine Lagarde, 10/30/2019

Christine Lagarde has been convicted of more crimes than the average Bitcoin user.  Oh well, the more that central banks manipulate the money, the more people will want sound money, and the more people will turn to Bitcoin. Checkmate.

➡️Norway's sovereign wealth fund's indirect Bitcoin exposure has increased by 153% in the past year, reaching 3,821 BTC. Since 2020, its Bitcoin holdings have grown from 796 BTC to over 3,821 BTC, now valued at over € 350M.

➡️'A $400 home Bitcoin miner just mined a block worth OVER $330,000. They beat ONCE IN A LIFETIME odds.' -Pete Rizzo

On the 31st of January:

➡️'For the first time in nearly 2 years, the Bitcoin network is running out of pending transactions to fill up new blocks. It's looking like it could happen within a few hours (only 6 block backlog). This is nothing to worry about. But if you self-custody bitcoin, it's a great time to learn about UTXOs and consolidate the ones in your wallet, which could save you thousands of dollars worth of bitcoin in the long term.' - Tom Honzik

Learn more here: https://unchained.com/blog/too-many-bitcoin-utxos

➡️MicroStrategy will have up to $584m to buy more Bitcoin after its stock offering was oversubscribed by nearly 3X, increasing from 2.5M shares to 7.3M priced at $80 each.

➡️El Salvador removes Bitcoin's legal tender status and makes its acceptance voluntary, in line with IMF requirements for a $1.4B credit line. Francis Pouliot: 'Bukele bends the knee to IMF and officially abandons the original Bitcoin law that had caused Bitcoiners to move and invest there in the first place... exactly at the same time as the Bitcoin conference in El Salvador attracting Bitcoiners from all over the world.'

➡️The 2nd time this week another solo Bitcoin miner mined a $300.000 block.

On the 1st of February:

➡️'For the past three consecutive months, the Bitcoin network has processed more than $2 trillion worth of transactions. That's a lot of utility!' -Pierre Rochard

➡️Retail are capitulating their Bitcoin, whilst whales are buying. Transfer of wealth from the weak hands to the strong hands. Retail investors are reducing exposure, while large investors (whales) are capitalizing on this opportunity to accumulate. Historically, this divergence aligns with accumulation phases before price appreciation.

➡️So far, so good: Spot bitcoin ETFs pulled in $4.94 billion in January, which annualizes to ~$59 billion. For context: In all of 2024, they brought in $35.2 billion.

On the 3rd of February:

➡️Ethereum just fell -37% in 60 hours since the trade war headlines mid-day on Friday.

➡️$2B liquidated in 24 hours. That’s a record. More than the COVID dump. More than the FTX collapse.

➡️Trump signs an executive order to create a sovereign wealth fund spearheaded by Howard Lutnick and Scott Bessent. Both are avowedly pro-Bitcoin.

➡️New Record Bitcoin Network Computer Hashrate: 800,000,000,000,000,000,000x per second

➡️OKLAHOMA BITCOIN BILL SB 315 allows state employees (and all OK residents) to receive payments in Bitcoin. The bill has progressed to Committee consideration.

➡️'Solid, data-driven reporting on why Bitcoin mining is increasingly regarded among energy experts, academics, and those in the environmental movement as a net positive to the environment across several fronts.' - Daniel Batten on the Mara report.

https://x.com/MARAHoldings/status/1880063353168753133

➡️$562m leveraged Bitcoin positions liquidated as the price plunged as low as $91,359 this morning.

💸Traditional Finance / Macro:

On the 27th of January:

👉🏽Over $787 billion was wiped out from the US stock market today.

On the 28th of January:

👉🏽'Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle's CapEx are expected to reach a record $274 billion this year. This would be more than DOUBLE the CapEx posted in 2021 and $127 billion more than in 2023. Amazon, and Microsoft, are expected to spend $86 billion and $63 billion, respectively. Spending has accelerated as Big Tech invests in more advanced chips from firms like Nvidia, and large data centers to store them. The big question is whether China’s DeepSeek will disrupt this trend. Is AI spending out of control?' -TKL

But meanwhile:

'Magnificent 7 stocks have underperformed the market in 2025: The Magnificent 7 stocks are down -1.4% while the S&P 500 itself is up ~2.9%. Meanwhile, the remaining 493 stocks in the S&P 500 have gained +6.6%. To put this into perspective, in 2024, the Magnificent 7 stocks returned +67.4% while the remaining 493 firms gained just +5.0%.' -TKL

👉🏽MicroStratey today announced the launch of STRK a new convertible preferred stock offering available to institutional investors & select retail investors. To view the investor presentation video, learn more about participating, & access key details, click here.

👉🏽Microsoft shares closed down 6.2% on the worst day since 2022. If only they had listened to Saylor's 3-minute Bitcoin pitch.

🏦Banks:

👉🏽Global central banks now hold more Gold than at any point in the past 45 years. Something is brewing.

🌎Macro/Geopolitics:

On the 28th of January:

👉🏽'Positions Europe to play a leading role globally.' Inhale, exhale! The EU bureaucrats are stifling innovation. The EU developed the AI Act instead of AI. To paraphrase Geoffrey Howe, the EU is like a man who knows 364 ways of making love but doesn’t know any women.

Europe also innovated with 'smart waste bins'. The sad this is, I couldn't even refute that now. What groundbreaking future technology has Europe produced in the last 30, 40 50 years?

Europe is done. No Bitcoin, no AI, no tech, no nothing. Regulation fees are becoming their only source of revenue. Wrong side of history, they'll be left behind.

👉🏽Jeroen Blokland: 'China has literally bought its 5% growth target, issuing and swapping tons of DEBT! China's budget deficit is expected to have hit a whopping 7.1% of GDP in 2024. Why do you think China's 10-year yield is at 1.60%? In a world full of debt, invest in scarce assets!'

👉🏽The following is from last week's Weekly Recap: 'The rich are getting richer faster than ever before: US household net worth has risen ~$56 TRILLION since Q1 2020 and hit a record $160 trillion in Q3 2024. Currently, the top 10% own $111 trillion of all wealth, accounting for 69% of the total. The top 0.1% alone own a massive $22 trillion, reflecting 14% of household net worth. On the other hand, the bottom 50% holds just $3.9 trillion, or 2.4% of wealth. This comes as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 have risen 128% and 166% since Q1 2020 while national home prices have surged ~50%. The wealth gap is growing.' -TKL

Just to elaborate on that, in 1990 the wealth gap between the top 1% and the bottom 50% was $3 trillion. Incredible chart!

Now the gap is $40 trillion. Ask yourself why. Has there been more or less government since 1990? Is there more or less money printing?

Cantillion things I guess, and oh don't forget if it was adjusted for inflation it would be even worse, the red line would be pointed down.

👉🏽Ursula von der Leyen: " Dear Christine, dear ECB Governing Council Europe’s competitiveness is our shared interest—and an urgent challenge. The Savings and Investments Union must become a reality. It is so needed. Looking forward to our great work together also in this new mandate."

You mean: "We will grab and redistribute your savings." These people (one convicted criminal - Lagarde) are so out of touch with reality. And a new mandate? Are you kidding me?

👉🏽Jeroen Blokland: 'Germany is heading for something 'unique!' BDI, which calls itself 'The Voice of German Industry,' expects the German economy to shrink again in 2025. That would mean three consecutive years of GDP decline. How do German politicians explain this, and how does this reconcile with the re-election of that other German politician, Ursula von der Leyen?'

On the 29th of January:

👉🏽'SUMMARY OF FED DECISION (1/29/2025): 1. Fed leaves rates unchanged, pausing the "Fed Pivot" 2. The decision to halt cuts was a unanimous 12-0 vote 3. Fed says inflation "remains somewhat elevated" 4. The Fed says "Unemployment has stabilized at a low level" 5. Statement on progress toward 2% inflation removed 6. The Fed seems to be aware disinflation has stalled The battle against inflation continues in 2025.' -TKL

👉🏽Americans spent over $113 billion on lottery tickets last year, which is more than they spent on movies, books, concerts, and sports tickets - combined. James Lavish: 'Central Banks have turned otherwise normal people into desperate gamblers trying to keep up with the cost of everything.'

👉🏽Gold prices surge to a new all-time high of $2840/oz. Gold prices are now up +40% in 12 months as the US Dollar and interest rates are up sharply. This has never happened in history. Gold is telling us something.' -TKL

Yes, let me use the following quote by Lawrence Lepard: 'Analog sound money saying sovereign debt crisis inbound.'

But remember, Gold hit an ATH in USD but an ATL in Bitcoin. Fiat money is absolute garbage and Bitcoin is superior to both.

On the 30th of January:

👉🏽The ECB, Christine Lagarde:  'We’re redesigning euro banknotes! Our Governing Council has selected motifs based on our two chosen themes, “European culture” and “Rivers and birds”. We’ll be launching a design contest later this year to help us select the final designs in 2026.'

On the 31st of January:

👉🏽Germany's unemployment rate hits its highest level in almost 10 years. The unemployment rate spiked by 0.4% to 6.4%.

👉🏽December PCE inflation, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, RISES to 2.6%, in line with expectations of 2.6%. Core PCE inflation was 2.8%, in line with expectations of 2.8%. PCE inflation is now at its highest level since May 2024.

On the 1st of February:

👉🏽 The DOJ just argued that your money isn’t actually property—so the government can take it at will. If that sounds insane, it’s because it is. A federal court will decide if this madness stands. https://reason.com/2025/01/31/the-government-says-money-isnt-property-so-it-can-take-yours/ The money in your bank isn’t actually yours. Only Bitcoin can fix this. Still think you don't need Bitcoin?

🎁If you have made it this far I would like to give you a little gift:

++++

Preston Pysh podcast with Lawrence Lepard: 'Exploring the roots of broken money, the moral case for sound currency, and how Bitcoin offers hope for a decentralized financial future.' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxB8M8q8hQ8

Credit: I have used multiple sources!

My savings account: Bitcoin The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: PocketBitcoin especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Use the code BITCOINFRIDAY

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple.⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with a zap.

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⭐ Many thanks⭐

Felipe - Bitcoin Friday!

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@ 3f770d65:7a745b24

The recent shutdown of TikTok in the United States due to a potential government ban serves as a stark reminder how fragile centralized platforms truly are under the surface. While these platforms offer convenience, a more polished user experience, and connectivity, they are ultimately beholden to governments, corporations, and other authorities. This makes them vulnerable to censorship, regulation, and outright bans. In contrast, Nostr represents a shift in how we approach online communication and content sharing. Built on the principles of decentralization and user choice, Nostr cannot be banned, because it is not a platform—it is a protocol.

PROTOCOLS, NOT PLATFORMS.

At the heart of Nostr's philosophy is user choice, a feature that fundamentally sets it apart from legacy platforms. In centralized systems, the user experience is dictated by a single person or governing entity. If the platform decides to filter, censor, or ban specific users or content, individuals are left with little action to rectify the situation. They must either accept the changes or abandon the platform entirely, often at the cost of losing their social connections, their data, and their identity.

What's happening with TikTok could never happen on Nostr. With Nostr, the dynamics are completely different. Because it is a protocol, not a platform, no single entity controls the ecosystem. Instead, the protocol enables a network of applications and relays that users can freely choose from. If a particular application or relay implements policies that a user disagrees with, such as censorship, filtering, or even government enforced banning, they are not trapped or abandoned. They have the freedom to move to another application or relay with minimal effort.

THIS IS POWERFUL.

Take, for example, the case of a relay that decides to censor specific content. On a legacy platform, this would result in frustration and a loss of access for users. On Nostr, however, users can simply connect to a different relay that does not impose such restrictions. Similarly, if an application introduces features or policies that users dislike, they can migrate to a different application that better suits their preferences, all while retaining their identity and social connections.

The same principles apply to government bans and censorship. A government can ban a specific application or even multiple applications, just as it can block one relay or several relays. China has implemented both tactics, yet Chinese users continue to exist and actively participate on Nostr, demonstrating Nostr's ability to resistant censorship.

How? Simply, it turns into a game of whack-a-mole. When one relay is censored, another quickly takes its place. When one application is banned, another emerges. Users can also bypass these obstacles by running their own relays and applications directly from their homes or personal devices, eliminating reliance on larger entities or organizations and ensuring continuous access.

AGAIN, THIS IS POWERUFL.

Nostr's open and decentralized design makes it resistant to the kinds of government intervention that led to TikTok's outages this weekend and potential future ban in the next 90 days. There is no central server to target, no company to regulate, and no single point of failure. (Insert your CEO jokes here). As long as there are individuals running relays and applications, users continue creating notes and sending zaps.

Platforms like TikTok can be silenced with the stroke of a pen, leaving millions of users disconnected and abandoned. Social communication should not be silenced so incredibly easily. No one should have that much power over social interactions.

Will we on-board a massive wave of TikTokers in the coming hours or days? I don't know.

TikTokers may not be ready for Nostr yet, and honestly, Nostr may not be ready for them either. The ecosystem still lacks the completely polished applications, tools, and services they’re accustomed to. This is where we say "we're still early". They may not be early adopters like the current Nostr user base. Until we bridge that gap, they’ll likely move to the next centralized platform, only to face another government ban or round of censorship in the future. But eventually, there will come a tipping point, a moment when they’ve had enough. When that time comes, I hope we’re prepared. If we’re not, we risk missing a tremendous opportunity to onboard people who genuinely need Nostr’s freedom.

Until then, to all of the Nostr developers out there, keep up the great work and keep building. Your hard work and determination is needed.

@ 0b118e40:4edc09cb

Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell has been around for a long time. I first read this book maybe about 10 years ago, but this time around I read it from the perspective of marketing, and PR.

Gladwell is a highly controversial and thought-provoking author - and while I often both agree and disagree, I'm impressed by how he links and simplifies his ideas to real-world examples from sports, fashion, social attributes, genes, religion, kids, politics, history and more. If you have similar or opposing views on Gladwell’s takes; I’d love to hear it

This book talks about how niche or idiosyncratic trends become mainstream.

If I were to re-read books related to these topics again, to understand the concepts better, I would read all 4 books in the following sequence :

1. Crossing the Chasm; Marketing and selling disruptive products to mainstream customers by Geoffrey A.Moore
2. Tipping Point; How little things can make a big difference by Malcolm Gladwell
3. Made to Stick; Why some ideas survive and others die by Chip and Dan Heath
4. Contagious; Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger (I've shared No 1 a long time ago, and No 4 recently. This is No 2)

Now, onto Gladwell's take - 3 factors can make an idea spread like wildfire or become contagious like an epidemic :

1. Law of The Few - influence of a few individuals
2. Stickiness Factor - how messages stick in people’s minds
3. The Power of Context - how environment and circumstances affect outcome

The overarching concept is how small actions can lead to significant and unexpected outcomes very quickly

1. Law of the Few - talks about connectors, mavens and salespeople. These are people who are your links to groups, and communities and make the messages spread.

Some examples shared -

Paul Revere as the connector - he is famously known for his midnight ride, went town to town, knocked on each door, spread the right message and everyone was ready for the British invaders by morning leading to the American Revolution. William Dawes took on the same mission in the West of Boston but did not have the same impact - which concludes that connectors have a special gift of spreading messages

Another example is six degrees of separation - and eventually, the points of contact will be connectors

More people find jobs through connections

Needle exchange programme - discovered that the “insiders” collect all the used needles, exchange them for fresh ones and sell them for a dollar each to drug addicts. While this wasn't the original plan for needle exchange, it was effective as the insiders knew where the junkies were, when they were used etc and effectively got them fresh needles.

Connectors are people who know a lot of people, and also, the kind of people that they know. They bring people together, there’s no snobbery. They may not be the first to discover it, but they are the people who can broadcast it. Mavens are people who are experts in certain areas and accumulate knowledge. Salespeople are persuaders. Sometimes you can find all 3 in one, sometimes they are different individuals

1. The second factor is the stickiness factor and understanding what keeps people glued. Examples include :

Tetanus shot - In an experiment, half of the students received a "high fear" booklet on tetanus and the other half a regular one. The high fear group was more convinced but only 3% got the shot. The second time, a booklet with schedules and shot locations improved adoption, showing persuasion alone was not enough - the right information sealed the deal.

Sesame Street - getting children to stay focused on a TV programme. The observation is that children would only like straightforward information and can get distracted from time to time - hence every few minutes, there is a “distractor” on the show that switches the kids' focus and back.

The concept of a "distractor" refers to something attention-grabbing or visually stimulating that can potentially divert a child's focus from the educational content being presented such as colourful puppets, catchy songs, and entertaining characters like Elmo. These distractors are strategically woven into the show to maintain children's interest and keep them engaged in the main educational program

Blue Clues took it a step further and made it engaging for the kids to participate by answering questions and repeating many times

The factors that make a message stick are: Repetition, Distractor (something unexpected or unusual that captures people's attention), Unexpectedness ( things that are out of the ordinary), Concreteness, Emotion, Simplicity, Credibility, Storytelling

1. The Power of Context was quite interesting - It says that human beings are a lot more sensitive to their environment than they may seem. It retells the idea of PR and the importance of it.

An example is the Broken Window Theory, which highlights how people's behaviour can change based on their environment. For instance, in a poorer community, you're more likely to observe higher social issues, whereas in an improved community in terms of proper infrastructure, and visually appealing, the same individuals tend to exhibit and experience fewer problems. The example referred to the NY subway problems in the 80s and how it was reduced drastically.

Another well-known experiment is the Stanford Prison Experiment. In this study, individuals were assigned the roles of either prisoners or guards. The environment was transformed to resemble a grim prison, leading the guards to exhibit cruelty while the prisoners lost their sense of self, referring to themselves by numbers. The experiment was called off after just six days.

The power of context talks about the importance of Nature over Nurture and the influence of Peers that impacts how you react and make decisions.

Other examples were the teen smoking epidemic, and the suicide epidemic (these two were on how to contain it)

1. Some other examples that are related to community building

If you want to bring about a fundamental change in people’s beliefs and behaviour, a change that would persist and serve as an example to others, you need to create a community around them, where those new beliefs could be practised and expressed and nurtured.

Examples - the Methodist group spread - John Wesley who went from town to town, met with the locals, set up communities and connected it.

Another example is the Ya-Ya sisterhood book - this did not spread early on, but it did when the author when town to town over a year and reached out to the book clubs

Both the above two examples talked about a continuous time frame of say 1 year of going from location to location (both within a country) to spread the message.

150 seems like a good number within a small community to have effective engagement. Anything more leads to a new community, to build up the next 150. Gladwell gave many examples from tribes (Hutterites) to the corporate environment that uses this concept. To serve as incubators for contagious messages, the group has to be kept below the 150 Tipping Point.

One last example - there was a campaign to spread awareness of diabetes - and this was done in churches for its large group of people - but it did not catch on because people were tired, hungry, and wanted to go home. So the campaign shifted location to saloons and that picked up because people were relaxed and spent hours there.

In comparison to the diffusion model - connectors to me are not the early adopters, but rather the key spokesperson in the early minorities. Connectors also translate the message of the innovators into something the rest of us can understand.

In summary - The tipping point talks about the possibility of doing a lot with a little - by concentrating on a few key areas - to make something spread.

The "Law of the Few" emphasizes that Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen drive word-of-mouth epidemics, so concentrate resources on them if you want to start one.

Stickiness - the key is to package information irresistibly - you just need to discover how.

The "Power of Context" reveals our profound sensitivity to environmental changes. Our inner states reflect our outer circumstances.

@ e373ca41:b82abcc5

This article by Milosz Matuschek first appeared in German on Freischwebende Intelligenz

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Last night, while you were fast asleep, someone turned 883 dollars into 310,000 dollars in just a few hours. Not me, unfortunately. Trump launched his own memecoin with the abbreviation $TRUMP, which has since skyrocketed to a double-digit billion dollar valuation.

Trump (and his pre-investors) are now billions richer on paper. It takes just a few minutes and no (more) development work to create such a coin within minutes. All it takes is a believing community to make it explode. If you were looking for proof of my thesis that the world is being memefied, here it is.

Us and them

We are currently experiencing a phase of power shifts: in money, in politics, in the media. Many people like what Trump and Musk are doing. They are creating more freedom of expression and removing Wokistan's basis for business. Amazon is scrapping diversity rules, Facebook is scrapping censorship (officially admitted). Tiktok land is burned down, the Chinese social media app disappears from the US. Isn't that censorship? Google and Facebook are now openly rebelling against EU opinion dictates, fact checkers etc. In addition to the Hindu Kush, our freedom of opinion is now also being defended (again, for how long?) from Silicon Valley. Brave new world.

You can think strategically: wonderful, that's what I wanted too; “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. But for how long? This is a change of power at the political top, nothing more.

Trump has promoted vaccination just like Biden; also with the lie that it prevents infection. Vote for your favorite PR artist!

Is that supposed to be our choice?

Elon Musk built mRNA vaccination lines for Curevac, is the Young Global Leader of the WEF 2008, has major holdings in Tesla from Blackrock-Vanguard & Co. and contracts with the Pentagon.

“One of us”, yes for sure....

I find that hard to believe and I wonder about those who find it easy to believe. Speaking of faith: a reader I hold in high esteem said she believes Musk and Trump are on a divine mission. Trump partying with Epstein? Musk in a Baphomet costume? The ways of the Lord are truly mysterious then...

The common enemy of the enemy can be useful, up to a point, but nothing more. Just because you fight the same thing, i.e. are against something, doesn't mean you are for the same thing. In my opinion, assuming that the interests of Trump, Musk & Co. are congruent with the interests of citizens would be a fatal misconception. There is nothing to suggest this. Trump has been totally for and then against many issues. Personnel decisions: often a casting round for a limited time, with hire & fire like “The Apprentice”. But he is so peaceable, wants to end wars like the one between Russia and Ukraine, or de facto the USA. At the same time, he is now reaching for Greenland and the Panama Canal. His words ooze the exceptionalism of the USA, the doctrine that as a US empire you can basically do anything you want. For strategic interests. For national security. A formula can always be found.

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How are wo going to score on the liberty scale?

“Believe little, question everything, think for yourself” is the beautiful title of a very readable book by Albrecht Müller, editor of Nachdenkseiten, and best summarizes my thoughts. As a journalist, I replace “little” with “nothing”. The journalist is not in the banking business. There you are allowed to believe (credit = he believes, latin). I don't think the issue of draining a swamp should be left to the frogs. Is Trump not a frog? “Anti-establishment", come on. Now the establishment is coming from the other side, the other side of the dialectic. The battle of good versus evil is entering a supposedly new round, releasing pressure from the cauldron of democracy, which is too important a façade to be allowed to fall.

The only pragmatic question that citizens should ask themselves is this: Will I have more net freedoms at the end of this political reorganization process than before? What will be given to me in reel but perhaps also taken away elsewhere? Anyone who draws hope from changes in the left-right scheme has always been disappointed by the steady reduction of freedoms in recent years and should rather look at the vertical axis of top vs. bottom. Hope is nice, but you should only ever rely on yourself.

It's nice if some people now get to know something different as a result of the change in the political weather and wake up. A book will soon be published about manipulation in the Tagesschau. The PEI has known about the side effects for years, but withheld the information and the republic was allowed to rail against footballer Joshua Kimmich in the meantime. One life lie after another will now fall, an exciting process. But it will mainly be cardboard comrades and useful idiots who will have to fall by the wayside, and there was hardly any shortage of them.

Waking up must not lead to the next dream world. Otherwise the critical movement was just a stirrup for the next seizure of power. But we need a movement of self-empowerment of the citizen, beyond politics, the media or Big Tech. Invest in everything, be it seminars, books, knowledge, Bitcoin or whatever increases your net freedom balance. Decentralized civil society only has a chance if free citizens form their own free block in cooperation with others, based on principles and not on the bunting of a party-political camp.

Everyone can decide for themselves and have a say in what form this can take. Where cooperation arises naturally, the idea was a good one. Ultimately, an idea is just a meme.

That was my meme five years ago. It's still true, but with Bitcoin a zero has been added.

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Join the marketplace of ideas! We are building a publishing ecosystem on Nostr for citizen-journalism, starting with a client for blogging and newsletter distribution. Sound money and sound information should finally be in the hands of the people, right? Want to learn more about the Pareto Project? Zap me, if you want to contribute (all Zaps go to the project).

Are you a publication and want to be part of it, test us, migrate your content to Nostr? Write to team@pareto.space**

Not yet on Nostr and want the full experience? Easy onboarding via Nosta.me.

@ 1cb14ab3:95d52462

Tree branches. 4' x 4' [Littleton, USA. 2016]

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Introduction

Platte captures a tranquil bend of the South Platte River, where the steady flow of water meets the rugged backdrop of Waterton Canyon. This lens offers a moment of respite, encouraging visitors to step away from the river’s busy recreational activities and focus on the quiet beauty of this secluded scene.

Site & Placement

Positioned on the west bank of the South Platte River, the lens directs attention to the water’s gentle curves and the canyon rising in the background. A bench placed 12 feet away provides the perfect spot for reflection, emphasizing the interplay of movement and stillness in the landscape.

Impermanence & Integration

The lens, constructed from branches and stone, mirrors the ever-changing nature of the river itself. As it stands, it frames a single moment within the flow of time, but its materials will soon be reclaimed by the earth, echoing the river’s constant reshaping of the land.

Reflection

Platte invites viewers to contemplate the river’s journey—its constancy in motion and its quiet persistence. The work becomes a metaphor for life’s flow, urging us to find beauty in the transient and the enduring alike.

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Photos

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More from the 'Earth Lens' Series:

Earth Lens Series: Artist Statement + List of Works

"Looking Glass" (Earth Lens 001)

"Folsom" (Earth Lens 002)

"Sanctuary" (Earth Lens 003)

COMING SOON: "Grandfather" (Earth Lens 005)

COMING SOON: "Chongming" (Earth Lens 006)

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More from Hes

Portfolio

Online Store

Artist Statements

Travel Guides

Photography

Money

Tech

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All images are credit of Hes, but you are free to download and use for any purpose. If you find joy from my art, please feel free to send a zap. Enjoy life on a Bitcoin standard.

@ c43d6de3:a6583169

Reflection on Growth and Gratitude

Ah, the Holidays… That time of year when we return where it all began. The hustle and grind of the past twelve months has built to a fever pitch, and whatever we’ve achieved — or failed to — clings to us like a weight on our shoulders as we step onto the doorsteps of home.

It’s a time of reunions, of seeing faces that knew us before careers, titles, and responsibilities etched lines into our brows. Eyes linger a moment too long, quietly assessing:

“Have they changed?” “Have they succeeded?” “How much weight have they gained — or lost?”

And then come the words — warm, congratulatory, or otherwise. “You look amazing!” they’ll gush, or worse, the silence of unspoken judgment.

Later, with old friends, the comparisons begin. It’s subtle, unspoken, but there. This year, as I stood in front of my best friend’s meticulously polished Porsche SUV, a gift to his wife, the voice in my head wasn’t congratulating him. It was whispering something else: envy.

I was happy for him — truly. I congratulated him on being in a position to give his wife something so extravagant. But as we spent the day together, subtle hints started to pile up, revealing there was more to his gift than I’d initially thought.

Since the last time I’d seen him, he’d grown significantly wealthier. There were comments and allusions that suggested he might even be a millionaire. What started as a faint whisper of envy in the back of my mind soon ignited into a flame of curiosity — and, I’ll admit, a touch of self-pity.

I couldn’t help but wonder: How the hell did he do it?

I tried to play it cool, to not make a fuss about it, but it was gnawing at me. I’d spent the last 12 months busting my ass, juggling work, two kids, and a wife, barely keeping my head above water.

He had kids. He was married. He worked a full-time job. Yet, somehow, he was fitter than me, his house was tidier than mine, and everything I struggled to maintain at a high standard seemed effortlessly better in his world.

What was I missing?

I fought the urge to chalk it up to something simple, like a secret inheritance from a wealthy relative I didn’t know about. Maybe, his grandfather passed and left him a fortune?

Our conversation deepened. I started to understand more about his daily routines and professional growth.

There was no silver bullet. No stroke of luck or hidden windfall. He was simply outworking me in every way imaginable.

Looking at him in his beautiful home, talking about his plans and the ways he still aspired to grow, took me back to when we were kids. Back to the times we would sit on the porch, watching cars roll by, projecting our dreams into the world.

He had turned those dreams into reality — and now, here he was, setting his sights on even higher ceilings to break through.

I felt a pang of shame for the envy stirring inside me.

What had I been doing wrong?

We were essentially the same person. We grew up in the same neighborhood, shared the same circle of friends all the way through college, believed in the same values, and approached life with the same mindset.

But as I listened to him, I realized we had the same foundations and potential, yet we executed differently. He was waking up at 4 a.m. to pursue the things he loved, knowing his busy days wouldn’t allow for it otherwise. Meanwhile, I was hitting snooze, sleeping until the last possible moment before scrambling to get the kids ready and start my day.

I’d been putting off the things I love — like writing. I’d turned down opportunities for higher-paying jobs because I feared they’d chip away at the little time I already had.

The envy I’d felt began to crystalize, forming a smooth, reflective surface — and staring back at me was my own face.

That’s when it hit me: I was actually lucky.

What better friend could I ask for than someone who serves as a reflection of a better version of myself? What better inspiration could there be than the drive to return next year and say, “Hey man, I’m right there with you.”

Not everyone returns from the holidays feeling inspired. Most head back to their “real” lives with bags of half-thought-out gifts, a few extra pounds around the waist, and the quiet relief of leaving their hometown behind.

Many start the new year armed with a list of goals but rarely with a clear vision of the person they want to become.

The seed of envy grew into something better in me; a desire to do more, to be more.

Cheers to you, bud. Here’s to the push I needed.

Envy #growNostr #Friends

@ cff1720e:15c7e2b2

Einleitung\ \ Schwierige Dinge einfach zu erklären ist der Anspruch von ELI5 (explain me like I'm 5). Das ist in unserer hoch technisierten Welt dringend erforderlich, denn nur mit dem Verständnis der Technologien können wir sie richtig einsetzen und weiter entwickeln.\ Ich starte meine Serie mit Nostr, einem relativ neuen Internet-Protokoll. Was zum Teufel ist ein Internet-Protokoll? Formal beschrieben sind es internationale Standards die dafür sorgen dass das Internet seit über 30 Jahren ziemlich gut funktioniert. Es ist die Sprache in der sich die Rechner miteinander unterhalten und die auch sie täglich nutzen, vermutlich ohne es bewusst wahrzunehmen. http(s) transportiert ihre Anfrage an einen Server (z.B. Amazon), und html sorgt dafür dass aus den gelieferten Daten eine schöne Seite auf ihrem Bildschirm entsteht. Eine Mail wird mit smtp an den Mailserver gesendet und mit imap von ihm abgerufen, und da alle den Standard verwenden funktioniert das mit jeder App auf jedem Betriebssystem und mit jedem Mail-Provider. Und mit einer Mail-Adresse wie roland@pareto.space können sie sogar jederzeit umziehen, egal wohin. Cool, das ist state of the art! Aber warum funktioniert das z.B. bei Chat nicht, gibt es da kein Protokoll? Doch, es heißt IRC (Internet Relay Chat → merken sie sich den Namen), aber es wird so gut wie nicht verwendet. Die Gründe dafür sind nicht technischer Natur, vielmehr wurden mit Apps wie Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, TikTok u.a. bewusst Inkompatibilitäten und Nutzerabhängigkeiten geschaffen um Profite zu maximieren.

Warum Nostr?

Da das Standard-Protokoll nicht genutzt wird, hat jede App ihr eigenes, und wir brauchen eine handvoll Apps um uns mit allen Bekannten auszutauschen. Eine Mobilfunknummer ist Voraussetzung für jedes Konto, damit können die App-Hersteller die Nutzer umfassend tracken und mit dem Verkauf der Informationen bis zu 30 USD je Konto und Monat verdienen. Der Nutzer ist nicht mehr Kunde, er ist das Produkt, der Werbe-SPAM ist noch das kleinste Problem bei diesem Geschäftsmodell. Server mit Millionen von Nutzerdaten sind ein “honey pot”, dementsprechend oft werden sie gehackt und die Zugangsdaten verkauft. 2024 wurde auch der Twitter-Account vom damaligen Präsidenten Joe Biden gehackt, niemand wusste mehr wer die Nachrichten verfasst hat (vorher auch nicht), d.h. die Authentizität der Inhalte ist bei keinem dieser Anbieter gewährleistet. Im selben Jahr wurde der Telegram-Gründer in Frankreich in Beugehaft genommen weil er sich geweigert hatte Hintertüren in seine Software einzubauen. Nun kann zum Schutz "unserer Demokratie” praktisch jeder mitlesen was sie mit wem an Informationen austauschen, z.B. darüber welches Shampoo bestimmte Politiker verwenden. 

Und wer tatsächlich glaubt er könne Meinungsfreiheit auf sozialen Medien praktizieren, findet sich schnell in der Situation von Donald Trump wieder (seinerzeit amtierender Präsident), dem sein Twitter-Konto 2021 abgeschaltet wurde (Cancel-Culture). Die Nutzerdaten, also ihr Profil, ihre Kontakte, Dokumente, Bilder, Videos und Audiofiles - gehören ihnen ohnehin nicht mehr sondern sind Eigentum des Plattform-Betreibers, lesen sie sich mal die AGB's durch. Aber nein, keine gute Idee, das sind hunderte Seiten und sie werden permanent geändert. Alle nutzen also Apps deren Technik sie nicht verstehen, deren Regeln sie nicht kennen, wo sie keine Rechte haben und die ihnen die Resultate ihres Handelns stehlen. Was würde wohl der Fünfjährige sagen wenn ihm seine ältere Schwester anbieten würde alle seine Spielzeuge zu “verwalten” und dann auszuhändigen wenn er brav ist? “Du spinnst wohl”, und damit beweist der Knirps mehr Vernunft als die Mehrzahl der Erwachsenen. \ \ Resümee: keine Standards, keine Daten, keine Rechte = keine Zukunft!

\ Wie funktioniert Nostr?

Die Entwickler von Nostr haben erkannt dass sich das Server-Client-Konzept in ein Master-Slave-Konzept verwandelt hatte. Der Master ist ein Synonym für Zentralisierung und wird zum “single point of failure”, der zwangsläufig Systeme dysfunktional macht. In einem verteilten Peer2Peer-System gibt es keine Master mehr sondern nur gleichberechtigte Knoten (Relays) auf denen die Informationen gespeichert werden. Indem man Informationen auf mehreren Relays redundant speichert, ist das System in jeglicher Hinsicht resilienter. Nicht nur die Natur verwendet dieses Prinzip seit Jahrmillionen erfolgreich, auch das Internet wurde so konzipiert (das ARPAnet wurde vom US-Militär für den Einsatz in Kriegsfällen unter massiven Störungen entwickelt). Alle Nostr-Daten liegen auf Relays und der Nutzer kann wählen zwischen öffentlichen (zumeist kostenlosen) und privaten Relays, z.B. für geschlossene Gruppen oder zum Zwecke von Daten-Archivierung. Da Dokumente auf mehreren Relays gespeichert sind werden statt URL's (Locator) eindeutige Dokumentnamen (URI's = Identifier) verwendet, broken Links sind damit Vergangenheit und Löschungen / Verluste ebenfalls.\ \ Jedes Dokument (Event genannt) wird vom Besitzer signiert, es ist damit authentisch und fälschungssicher und kann nur vom Ersteller gelöscht werden. Dafür wird ein Schlüsselpaar verwendet bestehend aus privatem (nsec) und öffentlichem Schlüssel (npub) wie aus der Mailverschlüsselung (PGP) bekannt. Das repräsentiert eine Nostr-Identität, die um Bild, Namen, Bio und eine lesbare Nostr-Adresse ergänzt werden kann (z.B. roland@pareto.space ), mehr braucht es nicht um alle Ressourcen des Nostr-Ökosystems zu nutzen. Und das besteht inzwischen aus über hundert Apps mit unterschiedlichen Fokussierungen, z.B. für persönliche verschlüsselte Nachrichten (DM → OxChat), Kurznachrichten (Damus, Primal), Blogbeiträge (Pareto), Meetups (Joinstr), Gruppen (Groups), Bilder (Olas), Videos (Amethyst), Audio-Chat (Nostr Nests), Audio-Streams (Tunestr), Video-Streams (Zap.Stream), Marktplätze (Shopstr) u.v.a.m. Die Anmeldung erfolgt mit einem Klick (single sign on) und den Apps stehen ALLE Nutzerdaten zur Verfügung (Profil, Daten, Kontakte, Social Graph → Follower, Bookmarks, Comments, etc.), im Gegensatz zu den fragmentierten Datensilos der Gegenwart.\ \ Resümee: ein offener Standard, alle Daten, alle Rechte = große Zukunft!

\ Warum ist Nostr die Zukunft des Internet?

“Baue Dein Haus nicht auf einem fremden Grundstück” gilt auch im Internet - für alle App-Entwickler, Künstler, Journalisten und Nutzer, denn auch ihre Daten sind werthaltig. Nostr garantiert das Eigentum an den Daten, und überwindet ihre Fragmentierung. Weder die Nutzung noch die kreativen Freiheiten werden durch maßlose Lizenz- und Nutzungsbedingungen eingeschränkt. Aus passiven Nutzern werden durch Interaktion aktive Teilnehmer, Co-Creatoren in einer Sharing-Ökonomie (Value4Value). OpenSource schafft endlich wieder Vertrauen in die Software und ihre Anbieter. Offene Standards ermöglichen den Entwicklern mehr Kooperation und schnellere Entwicklung, für die Anwender garantieren sie Wahlfreiheit. Womit wir letztmalig zu unserem Fünfjährigen zurückkehren. Kinder lieben Lego über alles, am meisten die Maxi-Box “Classic” weil sie damit ihre Phantasie im Kombinieren voll ausleben können. Erwachsene schenken ihnen dann die viel zu teuren Themenpakete, mit denen man nur eine Lösung nach Anleitung bauen kann. “Was stimmt nur mit meinen Eltern nicht, wann sind die denn falsch abgebogen?" fragt sich der Nachwuchs zu Recht. Das Image lässt sich aber wieder aufpolieren wenn sie ihren Kindern Nostr zeigen, denn die Vorteile verstehen sogar Fünfjährige.

\ Das neue Internet ist dezentral. Das neue Internet ist selbstbestimmt. Nostr ist das neue Internet.

https://nostr.net/ \ https://start.njump.me/

@ 9349d012:d3e98946

For many reasons, not least of those the outcome of the last US presidential election, I’m now working on Librarian Detective, Book Two as my creative release. At the moment, I’m already on chapter seven, which means I made it through writing the second chapter, always an admirable hurdle to clear. If you’ll recall, with Librarian Detective, Book One, clearing that milestone was a challenge. It took between nine and 12 years to finish that book, although I wrote three books in those meantime years. This was partly because of working on my day job business more fulltime (MyLibrarian! Our app is out, sign up to test on the pop up here) but also because I revamped my entire writing process, which I’ll share with you.

Here’s a picture of the writing methods I use. I went from writing longhand to digitally, which is more efficient, and I also use a series of guides to help organize the writing process: An outline, character list, calendar timeline, editing checklist and the main writing doc itself.

Seven years ago when I realized my writing method was working for me, I started doing a video series on Writing, called On Storytelling, filmed at all the remote locations I work at, one of the best of which I’m at right now, working on my new book. If you are looking for more writing resources, there’s a list on my blog. When you go down these rabbit holes you may come out ready to write your first book.

GOOD LUCK—MEZ

Originally appeared on https://www.michellezaffino.com/my-writing-methods/

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

Pre-Foundational learning for these participants has now kicked off in the Bitcoin Design Community, check out the #⁠education channel on the Bitcoin.Design Discord channel.

🪇 10 talented participants from South America will be:

Learning bitcoin UX Design fundamentals using the Bitcoin Design Guide Working hands-on with South American-built products to evaluate their user experiences and support builders with data

Attending BTC++ in Florianópolis

This initiative is sponsored by the Human Rights Foundation in collaboration with the Bitcoin Design Foundation and Area Bitcoin.

🥅 Goals:

• Empower local talent to improve the UX of South American bitcoin products - seeing their passion and drive to bring bitcoin to their countries is really inspiring
• Create meaningful relationships with wallet developers through practical collaboration
• Scale bitcoin adoption by improving the user experience
• Create a public knowledge base: All research conducted in Africa and South America will be made publicly available for builders

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/876215

@ c69b71dc:426ba763

Chef's notes

This raw vegan curry ramen is a vibrant, nourishing dish packed with fresh vegetables and a rich, creamy coconut curry broth. It’s quick to prepare, full of flavour, and the perfect guilt-free comfort food! 🌱 Feel free to use your favourite veggies👩🏼‍🍳

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 20 min.
• 🍳 Cook time: 0
• 🍽️ Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 500g or 2 packs kelp noodles
• 1/2 Lemon juice ( 1/4 for soaking and 1/4 for the soup
• Salt
• Fresh vegetables of your choice, such as: 4 medium mushrooms, 4 leaves red cabbage, 2 carrots (julienned or peeled into strips), 1 Celery stick (diced)
• 2 cups coconut milk (or coconut cream diluted with water)
• 1/2 flesh of a Coconut (optional, if using fresh coconuts) otherwise more coconut cream
• 1 thumb of fresh ginger
• 1 thumb of fresh turmeric
• 2 tbsp light miso paste
• 2 pitted dates
• 2 tbsp cashews
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp curry powder or pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare the Noodles: Rinse the kelp noodles thoroughly. Then soak them in warm water with a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt for 10 minutes to soften.
2. Prep the Vegetables: Thinly slice or julienne carrots, dice celery, thinly cut mushrooms, cut the red cabbage into thin strips.
3. Make the Broth: In a blender, combine the following: 2 cups coconut milk (or coconut cream diluted with water if fresh coconuts are unavailable), ginger, turmeric, 1/4 juice of 1 lemon, light miso paste, pitted dates, cashews, garlic, salt, curry powder
4. Blend on high speed for about 3 to 4 minutes until the broth is smooth and slightly warm. Do not overheat!
5. Assemble the Ramen: Drain the kelp noodles and place them in serving bowls. Arrange the prepped vegetables on top of the noodles. Pour the warm curry broth over the noodles and vegetables.
6. Serve immediately and enjoy your raw vegan ramen with chopsticks for an authentic touch!

@ dd1f9d50:06113a21

(Because Most People Don’t Understand Money)

The requisite knowledge needed to know whether $100 or $100,000 per Bitcoin is relatively speaking “a lot,” is what value means. One way to measure value is through a universal yardstick we call “Money.” The question of “What is money?” is perhaps one of the most overlooked and under answered in our day and age. There is even an entire podcast dedicated to that question with the eponymous title, hosted by Robert Breedlove. That podcast often delves into the more philosophical underpinnings whereas I hope to approach this with a more practical answer.

Money is a technology.

Money is the technology with which we interact with one another to reorganize goods and services to the place and time they are best suited. Most money of the past has been tangible (though not a requisite feature), scarce, recognizable (read: verifiable), durable, portable, and divisible. These features one might call the “Attributes of Money.” These attributes are absolutely essential for a money to maintain its status as a money. (Those of you who understand the U.S. Dollar system maybe scratching your heads right now but, believe me, I will address that elephant in due time.) These attributes, you may notice, are not a yes or no but more of a gradient. A money can be MORE portable than another yet, less durable. One more divisible but not scarce whatsoever. The point being they must have, in some capacity, these attributes or they simply aren’t money.

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

| | Bitcoin | Gold | Dollars | |-----------------|:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------:|:------------------------------------------------------------------:|:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------:| | Scarcity | 21 million coins
is the maximum supply | Unknown- the
supply grows roughly 2% per year | Also unknown to anyone outside of the Federal Reserve, Trillions and counting | | Recognizability | Each coin is verifiable to it's genesis on the timechain | Each molecule of gold has distinct physical verifiable properties | If the Federal reserve says it is a valid note, it is (Unless you are an enemy of the United States) | | Durablility | Each "Bitcoin" is information stored on a globally distributed network | Doesn't Rust and as far as can be measured Au197 is stable forever | Can be destroyed by any means that effect fabric and centralized databases | | Portability | Available wherever data can be store- Anywhere | Can be moved at 9.81 Newtons per Kilogram- Methods may vary | Can be moved physically with fabric notes- Digitally with express permission from a US accredited banking institution | | Divisibility | Currently can be divided into 100 million parts called Sats (can be further subdivided by adding decimal places) | Can be divided to the Atomic level (Though not practical) | Can be divided (without dilution) by adding new denominative bills or coinage
Can be divided (with dilution) by printing new bills or coinage | | | Bitcoin | Gold | Dollars |

You may think with all of the great functionality of Bitcoin that the phrase "One of these things is not like the other" refers to BTC. No, I was referring to the Dollar. It is the only one on the list that was a currency that was substituted as some kind of faux money. It asserts itself, or rather the Federal Reserve asserts it, as money, de facto.

Dollars are NOT money.

Dollars are (allegedly) a currency. If money is a specific technology, currency is the financial infrastructure that allows that technology to reach and be used by the most number of people possible. This requires a firm tether between the asset being used as money and the currency used as a claim to that money. For example: If I hand you a chicken, you have a chicken. But, if I hand you a coupon that is redeemable for a chicken, you do not have a chicken. You have a claim to a chicken that is only as good as the party making that claim. Bringing it back to money again, dollars (Prior to 1971) were redeemable for gold at a rate of $35 per ounce. This is that strong tether that pegged dollars to gold and physical reality itself. Without a proof of work, mining, . Until…

WTF Happened in 1971?

The Nixon shock happened. Briefly, The U.S. took in Europe’s gold in the 1940’s to keep it out of Hitler’s hands. The U.S. made an agreement to peg the dollar to Europe’s gold. The U.S. over printed dollars in relation to the gold holdings. Around 1971 France (among others) called the U.S. out for devaluing the dollar and thus European currencies. So, Nixon “Temporarily” suspended the convertibility of dollars to gold. Now, here we all are like Wile E. Coyote having run off of the golden cliff clutching our dollars in our arms and 54 years later we still haven’t looked down to see the truth.

Dollars Aren’t Backed by Anything

This is why no country in the world today has a money standard. Seemingly they all forgot the number one rule of issuing currency, it must be backed by something. Now, you may hear dollar proponents say “The U.S. dollar is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States!” Another way of saying that is, “We said it is worth something, so it is!” This fiat (by decree) mentality creates a plethora of perverse incentives. The ever growing supply disallows users of the Dollar to save without inccuring the penalties of inflation.

Just a Few Examples of How You're Being Crushed

Because your dollar loses value:

• It pushes people to spend them on assets that seem to appreciate (as the dollar debases) but are truly staying stagnant.
• It pushes people to gamble on securities hoping the perceived value is enough to beat the inflationary curve.
• It pushes people away from saving for their future and the future of their families.
• It creates insane credit incentives so that people borrow way more than they can afford today knowing that dollars will be cheaper in the future. (Effectively a short position)
• It pushes people to spend less and less time making and maintaining their families as it becomes more expensive to keep a similar lifestyle to which it was founded.

These are just a few of the terrible consequences of not knowing that trading a currency with no monetary backing has on a society. Most may blame this soley on the ability to print currency by a central bank but, that is not the only factor. If the fed printed dollars against gold, people would simply take the best rate they could get and remonetize themselves with the gold. But because there is no monetary escape hatch guaranteed by the issuance of dollars, I.E. no one has to take your dollars in exchange for their Bitcoin or gold, you are left at the mercy of the market.

One Day, People Will Stop Accepting Your Dollars

Those lementing the high price of Bitcoin might want to thank their lucky stars that Bitcoin still has a rational number next to the "BTC 1=$?" sign. One day you will have to exchange something of actual value to the spender (no longer a seller). Your product, good or service, will be the only thing that anyone might be willing to part with their Bitcoin over. That is what makes a money, the most salable non-consumable good, whose only funtion is to back a financial structure that facilitates trade.

Bitcoin is Capital

Capital is a broad term that can describe anything that confers value or benefit to its owners, such as a factory and its machinery, or the financial assets of a business or an individual. Bitcoin being the latter creates the financial structures from which you build upon. You use capital to hold, transfer, and grow value. You do not do this with cash. Cash is a depreciating asset when you don't use it to gain goods or services for yourself or your business. This misconception around the equivalance between cash and money (financial capital) is what tricks people into believing Dollars are money. And what's worse is that even some of our greatest heroes have done this.

Slay Your Heroes, Within Reason

Unfortunately due to a mixing of verbiage that have very distinct differences, the title: "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" is technically inaccurate. Bitcoin doesn't fit the definition of cash, which is a liquid asset that can be easily converted into its equivalent value. In short, Satoshi misspoke. In reality, owning Bitcoin UTXOs (with private keys) means you already possess the asset, not just a claim to it. When you spend Bitcoin, the recipient receives the actual asset, not a promise of it. When you receive Bitcoin, you have final settlement on that transaction. Fundamentally Bitcoin is not cash, electronic or otherwise.

Bitcoin is Money.

@ bbb5dda0:f09e2747

Holy crap what a week! I can't believe the amount of progress that came out of just these few days. And a special thanks to nostr:npub16ux4qzg4qjue95vr3q327fzata4n594c9kgh4jmeyn80v8k54nhqg6lra7 for making this possible with me! Alright, let's get into it...

GitHub Blossom Upload Action

I started this week working out the GitHub action for blossom uploads, solving some issues with dependencies, which turned out to just be me not bundling my dependencies with the my build output. So anyway I ended up publishing it and sharing it with all of you.

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzpwa4mkswz4t8j70s2s6q00wzqv7k7zamxrmj2y4fs88aktcfuf68qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq3zamnwvaz7tmwdaehgu3wwa5kuef0qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hj7qpqzskk7na9x9cgnzpvz7xufdn2y8wqxf00rnq7jg75z86lk30l6plspy9e9u

Pipeline runner

The plan

I can't believe all of this happened just this week. I worked out a plan with nostr:npub16ux4qzg4qjue95vr3q327fzata4n594c9kgh4jmeyn80v8k54nhqg6lra7 to first create a DVM that would be able to clone a given ngit(!) repository and just print the contents of any given pipeline .yaml file that resides inside that repository.

The DVM would have the following inputs - git url (or Nostr address) - branch - pipeline (path to yaml)

Proof of Concept

I was able to repurpose a dvm-git-watcher that i'd created earlier to create the DVM to run the pipeline. Created a POC where the CI runner actually takes the pipeline, executes it and gives back a response and decided to put up a little video demo:

https://cdn.satellite.earth/43463990dd11c9506989e5eda915757cf3ec1b32e8d472579cd2ee18d5685f0d.mp4

Some improvements

Wednesday I added a NIP-89 announcement to the DVM where it just advertizes its existence in hopes of some validation that it is real, and that it is actually useful, and it hopes to be used and talk with other npubs to not be lonely...

So then i figured it was time to package it into an easier to distribute package, a Docker container. That would allow me to include the required tools, namely ngit-cli and the 'act' cli (used to run the pipeline).

Troubles 😱

Adding the precompiled version of ngit got me into trouble with this error:

shell Error: Cloning into 'tmp/1ca8af464df5fc648b77db14e0e5e35ff64d6627a690e138e19298dd56573274'... /app/ngit//git-remote-nostr: /usr/local/lib/libc.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.38' not found (required by /app/ngit//git-remote-nostr) /app/ngit//git-remote-nostr: /usr/local/lib/libc.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.39' not found (required by /app/ngit//git-remote-nostr) fatal: remote helper 'nostr' aborted session

I didn't really know how to proceed as it could be a Docker issue, a Deno issue, or an ngit issue.

Luckily nostr:npub16ux4qzg4qjue95vr3q327fzata4n594c9kgh4jmeyn80v8k54nhqg6lra7 knows his shit and saved me here. It turned out to be an issue that had to do with the ngit binary. Because ngit is compiled on a recent ubuntu version, it depended on some packages that the linux version my Docker image was based on did not have. Thus it failed.

Our solution was to compile ngit instead of using the existing binary, which took some trial and error to get working but eventually it did. It slowed down the build process significantly but alas, at least it works now!

Moving on

After ngit worked I added the 'act' runner to the docker image and was able to control the host system's docker so it can run the isolated environments that have the pipelines run inside.

And so I was able to package up the thing, able to run on any machine, which led me to this little demo:

nostr:nevent1qqs9486y7cs6a9h7n4sk7sdv52qvuqyp80rj0eyg6zt7htfyt9wh4wgpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfdupzpwa4mkswz4t8j70s2s6q00wzqv7k7zamxrmj2y4fs88aktcfuf68g4v3lk

The only issue I still have is getting the output of the pipeline properly fed back to the user. But that's some magic with log streams that I have zero experience with, so that's a nice challenge for next week! If you or anyone you know is a Stream magician, please let me know!

See you there!

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

How does the collaborative nature of open design in bitcoin influence innovation and product development in the ecosystem?

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/876187

@ fd78c37f:a0ec0833

In this edition, we invited Evelyn and Gerardo to share their experiences in creating a Bitcoin community, discussing their motivations, challenges, strategies, and goals. Their journey offers valuable lessons on community engagement and the transformative power of Bitcoin.

YakiHonne: Evelyn, Gerardo, We're truly delighted and grateful to have you join us today. Before we dive in, I’d like to share some background on what YakiHonne is. YakiHonne is a decentralized media client built on the Nostr protocol that enables freedom of speech through technology. It empowers creators to create their own voice, assets, and features. It also allows features like smart widgets, verified notes, and focuses on long-form articles. we'll be exploring more about your community. What sparked your interest in Bitcoin, and what motivated you to create a community around it ?

Evelyn：In the beginning, I started learning about Bitcoin in 2019, just a bit at first. When it became legal tender, we realized it was a monumental moment for El Salvador, and we knew we had to get involved in anything related to Bitcoin. Personally, I began watching videos and reading more about Bitcoin to deepen my understanding of its significance for El Salvador adopting it as legal tender. Evelyn：Soon, I recognized the importance of educating more Salvadorans about Bitcoin. This led us to start providing Bitcoin education in classrooms, schools, and various communities across different cities in El Salvador. As we traveled across the country, we noticed that Bitcoin adoption was still limited, with few places accepting it as a means of payment. This observation motivated us to build a community where Bitcoin could be used as a medium of exchange. Our goal was to replicate and expand upon the Bitcoin community that was already taking root in El Salvador.As the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, we understood the necessity of working on increasing its adoption throughout the nation.

YakiHonne: Could you share how your community was established, the strategies you employed to attract members, and the challenges you faced in the process?

Gerardo：We were living in San Salvador, but we didn’t enjoy city life, so we started looking for a place outside the city. We knew we wanted to live in the mountains, and there are a few options here in El Salvador. Eventually, we found ourselves in Berlin, and we really liked it. After spending some time visiting and getting to know the people, we decided this was where we wanted to settle down. Gerardo：Once we made that decision, we knew we wanted to start teaching Bitcoin within the community. We began talking to local entrepreneurs and residents, letting them know about our plan to educate the community about Bitcoin. We explained that it could bring significant opportunities for Berlin and its residents, including increased tourism. Some people were really excited about the idea because there weren’t many places in El Salvador, the “Bitcoin country” that had a circular economy focused on Bitcoin. Most of the activity was concentrated in the city. Gerardo：As people started to hear about our idea, they liked it, and soon we had a team working with us to onboard more businesses. We were fortunate to find the right people, and that’s how it all began. We started by getting about 12 to 15 businesses to accept Bitcoin. I remember creating a social media presence, including a Twitter account, to promote Berlin as a destination where people could spend Bitcoin. Gerardo：Berlin is about two and a half to three hours from the capital, San Salvador, depending on traffic, so it wasn’t easy for people to come initially. But as time went on, more people started visiting. They liked the weather, the friendly community, and the places where they could use Bitcoin. Soon, a few Bitcoin enthusiasts even moved to Berlin. Gerardo：A year and eight months later, we now have a thriving community of over 20 Bitcoin users from around the world living here, along with many locals who have become Bitcoin users thanks to our educational efforts. We’ve established a Bitcoin center, have over 130 merchants accepting Bitcoin, and even non-business residents are using it. It’s been a fantastic journey, and it all started with a desire to educate a few people, which kept growing from there.

YakiHonne: I love how it all started and the fact that you created mechanisms and opportunities for Bitcoiners to actually spend Bitcoin. It's also amazing how this initiative helped Berlin by attracting more prominent investors to settle here.Apart from Berlin's distance from the capital, which made it less accessible and may have deterred some people from coming, were there any other challenges you faced in the process of promoting Bitcoin adoption?

Gerardo：we faced several challenges, such as the local government’s disapproval of our Bitcoin activities, the initial difficulty of introducing Bitcoin into the community, and finding a suitable venue for our educational efforts. These were the primary obstacles we encountered early in the project. Gerardo：The first challenge we faced in the beginning was the lack of Bitcoin usage in the town. While we were teaching people to accept Bitcoin, there weren’t many individuals actually spending it. It was just the two of us at first, taking turns visiting places that accept Bitcoin, trying to make sure we could spend it and show others that it was possible. We were also traveling to San Salvador and inviting people to come to Berlin, but our efforts weren’t very successful initially. Gerardo：Eventually, more people started coming, and that issue was resolved. However, another challenge arose with some local politicians who didn’t approve of what we were doing. They tried to stop our efforts by discouraging people from working with us. As a result, a few locals didn’t trust us at first. Gerardo：For some people, they might think it's a scam. So, the educational aspect was a significant challenge. A few months into the project, we decided to hold community meetings, which was crucial for us because we needed a place to teach and spread knowledge about Bitcoin. However, we didn't have a dedicated venue at the time. Fortunately, we had a few friends, and initially, we held meetings at their homes or garages.

YakiHonne: You mentioned facing trust issues. What principles guide the community, and how did you maintain trust and reliability in your discussions as you built the community?

Evelyn：One of the key points in building trust within the local community is establishing clear trust and transparency. There were many misconceptions about Bitcoin initially. People often associated Bitcoin with politics and politicians, assuming it was a government creation. This misconception was fueled by the distribution of a government-issued Bitcoin wallet tied to citizens’ IDs, which caused confusion due to a lack of public education on Bitcoin. Evelyn：To address this, we made it a priority to remain neutral and uninvolved with the government. We focused on educating people about Bitcoin's origins, its creation by Satoshi Nakamoto, and its fundamental workings, breaking down complex concepts into simple explanations. We also informed the community about various Bitcoin wallets available, emphasizing alternatives to the government-issued wallet, which had issues with trust and identity theft. Evelyn：Engaging with respected elders in Berlin was another crucial strategy. We explained the benefits of Bitcoin adoption for the local economy and how it could improve the quality of life in the community. These respected community members helped us reach others and build credibility. Evelyn：Since May 2023, we have been deeply involved in educational and social projects, demonstrating that Bitcoin can improve not only personal financial situations but also community welfare. Importantly, we never asked for anything in return, showing our genuine intentions. Over time, this consistent engagement helped us gain the community’s trust, and our work in Bitcoin education has grown stronger.

YakiHonne: How do you educate your members and keep them informed about the latest Bitcoin developments?

Evelyn：Beyond simply observing developments in the Bitcoin space, we hold weekly meetings not only within our team but also with the broader community. These gatherings have been invaluable, as we've been fortunate to engage with many knowledgeable individuals who bring both technical expertise and insights into the philosophical aspects of Bitcoin. Through these interactions, we continuously learn from each other. We've also had the privilege of hosting experts who conduct workshops and deliver lectures during our meetings. These sessions help us stay informed about the latest advancements in technology and the evolving landscape of Bitcoin.

YakiHonne: Apart from education and inviting external instructors for weekly classes and meetups, how does your community collaborate with the broader Bitcoin ecosystem? What partnership has been the most impactful so far?

Gerardo：When we arrived here, I remember that many people knew something needed to change in the town’s technology and overall situation. They were unhappy with the status quo, especially with the government. There was already a lot of energy within the population of Berlin; we just needed to harness that energy and get organized. That’s when people started collaborating. Gerardo：In addition to Bitcoin education, we worked on social projects, like painting parks, cleaning the city, and addressing basic issues that the municipality wasn’t tackling. This shift in mentality helped people realize that it’s up to us to take action, not just wait for the government to act. Gerardo：As for Bitcoin adoption, many businesses have greatly benefited from it. They’ve seen an increase in income and are now able to save in new ways. You can even hear personal stories from business owners on how their operations have gradually transformed since they started accepting Bitcoin. This has had a significant impact on the local economy and also on how people view social change within the town.

YakiHonne: Do you have any partnerships with other Bitcoin or Bitcoin-related communities outside of Berlin?

Gerardo：There aren’t many Bitcoin communities outside of Berlin, even though we're considered the Bitcoin country. There's the Los Angeles one, which was the first, then Bitcoin Beach, followed by us, and now a new one is emerging in Santa Ana. I had a conversation yesterday with someone who's helping with that initiative, and we're planning some collaborations with them. They’ll be visiting us here, and we’ll also visit them to collaborate on Bitcoin education. There's also another community in La Pi Raya, a small island, that is working on Bitcoin education as well. Gerardo： There aren't many communities in the area, but we’re always open to working with them. It's really interesting to hear about their experiences and the challenges they face, as we can learn a lot from their insights.

YakiHonne: I expected that, since it was El Salvador, there would be over a thousand Bitcoin communities. Given that it's a country that has embraced Bitcoin so extensively, I thought there would be hundreds of communities.

Gerardo：However, it's been three and a half years since the Bitcoin Law, and adoption has been slow. While the U.S. dollar is still the other currency in use, people continue to trust it despite its devaluation. It's relatively stable, so they don’t yet feel the need to switch to Bitcoin. So, the adoption process is definitely moving slowly.

YakiHonne: Apart from creating Bitcoin-friendly shops and a community where people can buy and trade with BTC, what other steps have been taken to promote Bitcoin adoption in El Salvador? What results have you seen so far in your community?.

Gerardo：Bringing Bitcoin's identity to Berlin has significantly helped the town. It has attracted more Bitcoiners, especially those coming from El Salvador who are interested in Bitcoin adoption. We've started claiming the title of "Bitcoin City of El Salvador," which has also helped. The results are clear: people are seeing their income improve and are learning new things from the Bitcoin community. Slowly but surely, Berlin is adopting Bitcoin, and it’s bringing positive changes to the town.

YakiHonne: What are the community's goals for the next 6-12 months, and how do you see it evolving with Bitcoin's growth？

Gerardo：While many Berliners use Bitcoin for transactions, they tend to store it in custodial wallets. Our goal is to encourage people to own their seed phrases and understand the full Bitcoin philosophy, including the importance of time preference. We aim to teach people not just about Bitcoin payments, but also its broader value this year. Gerardo：we’ll create an independent association to manage donations and oversee community projects. The association will have its own rules, a board consisting of both expats and locals, and will work on improving the town. The Bitcoin education aspect will remain under our care. Our main goals are better education and local involvement in fixing the town's issues.

YakiHonne: You mentioned saving Bitcoin, and it reminded me of a point made in a previous interview with another community. They said the same thing—many people spend Bitcoin, but few actually save it, which is a problem. Saving Bitcoin has many benefits. For example, that community even encourages parents to save Bitcoin for their children, so that by the time they grow up, they'll have something valuable to inherit. I really appreciate your insights today, and I look forward to seeing how these efforts continue to make an impact in the future.

@ df478568:2a951e67

About 150,000 blocks ago, I bought burgers for my family with sats at NextBurger in Newport, California. The Orange County Bitcoin Meetup found a hamburger stand that wanted to accept Bitcoin. This attracted Bitcoiners from all over Southern California. People brought their families. Some sat stackers sold wares outside as if it were a Farmer's Market. A couple kids sold some hats. One dude sold pins. I bought one off him. It resembled the Opendime I use as a keychain. He wore a 21M/infinity hat. We talked about Knut Svanholm books. He asked me, "What do you do for bitcoin?"

"I write a blog," I said. I must have written three articles about Bitcoin back then. I set up a BTCpayServer with LunaNode. My real idea was to write for sats, but I spent more sats on Lunanode than I made. I needed something to sell.

I had a few shitty ideas but no real business plan. I told Pins about one of these shitty ideas.

"I'm thinking about selling BIP39 raffle tickets, but they're a pain in the ass to cut." See what I mean, bad ideas.

Pins didn't say it was a bad idea though. I assure you, it was, but Pins gave this advice.

”Maybe you can use a 3D Printer."

I never did it, but I was impressed by how willing he was to help me. That's common in bitcoin. Bitcoiners are incentivized to help other Bitcoiners. The more people that accept Bitcoin at their stores, the bigger the demand for Bitcoin. The bigger the demand, the more the

Bitcoin Is For Spending

I participate in the circular economy because I consider using Bitcoin as money to be more advantageous for my savings strategy. When you earn sats, spend sats, and save sats, you break free from the chains of fiat debasement. Dollars are designed to go down in purchasing power to manipulate the public into spending more. That's why most people have more than one TV, but can't afford a $400 emergency. I spend Bitcoin because it forces me to be frugal. Fiat is designed to spend as quickly as possible since it will buy less groceries tomorrow than it will today.

Bitcoin is designed to buy more groceries tomorrow than it will today. When you expect $30 worth of Open AI services will likely be worth $433 in 21 years(if we assume Saylor is correct) you evaluate everything you buy with an orange colored lens. Your shopping habits change. A month of Chat GPT premium mightr be a month's worth of groceries in the future. I no longer buy Nike's because they coat 80k-120k sats, but I expect them to look like shredded cheese in six months. I would rather pay 100k sats for a nice pair of hiking shoes. I expect they will last me a few years.

Knowing this, you might ask, why would you spend Sats on a stupid pin? I've had my open dime pin for almost 4 years now and I expect to have it for years to come. It must have cost me about 100k sats. I don't expect it to be worth that much in the future, but you never know. Sometimes, I watch The Antique Road Show on PBS. Some pins, made by famous artists, are worth thousands of dollars. There is a chance collectibles like this will become more valuable, but I'm skeptical of this. I bought this PIN because it sparks joy, as Marie Kondo says.

This is not investment advice. Your Sats will almost certainly be worth more than your pins in the future, but if you buy a PIN from Salvador Dali, nobody stacks Sats. If you buy a PIN from BTCPins, a hardcore bitccoiner stack sats, which means less sats on the market will be availavle for 8 billion people when you buy a pin. Maybe pins will buy another hat from a bitccoiner, but that just means another bitccoiner stacks Sats. Notice how these Sats never make it back to the exchange because Bitcoiners know their stack will be more valuable in the future than they are today. So when you spend Sats, you only spend Sats on the things you find most valuable.

Pins I Bought Online

Although I consider these Pins art. I don't view art as an investment. I don't expect to ever sell one of these Pins for $110,000 like that banana duct-taped to a canvas before the artist got the munchies. I don't want dollars anyway. That's like a whole coin for a banana. I wouldn't spend 100,000,000 sats for one of these Pins, but BTCPins are not so pretentiously priced.

I recently bought some pins I've been salivating over for months. I need a better way of displaying them, but here are the pins I recently bought.

An Awesome Affiliate Link

BTCPins has a unique affiliate link. Provide your lightning address and it will generate an affiliate link for you. These things have been around since the 90s, but what makes this particular link notable is how commissions are paid: In sats on the Bitcoin lightning network.

How BTCPins Affiliates Work

• Navigate to https://btcpins.com/affiliates/
• Enter your lightning address.
• Generate your link
• Share with the world.

So buy a pin or two from BTCPins today using my affiliate link:

Encrypted Link: https://btcpins.com/?aff=ex1GhhNeeU9-PQ1-ZVEkarU9bSnsNyq98Jy_lEUBLmsrWsCqa69PYohMWcCOGK9tK1rAqmuvT2KITFnAjhivbfOajnP3D8A8O09Hi-OY4K8

npub1marc26z8nh3xkj5rcx7ufkatvx6ueqhp5vfw9v5teq26z254renshtf3g0

802,338

Subscribe on Substack

@ 2355757c:5ad3e04d

Introduction

Blue light from artificial sources is one of the most biologically disruptive toxins that exists in our modern world today. It is pervasive, it is ubiquitous and it is only getting worse with the ever increasing time we spend indoors and in front of screens. The worst part is: it doesnt have to be this way. The EVEN worse part: it is exactly what Big Tech wants.

This newsletter will cover exactly why blue light from screens and our lighting is bad for our health, and what you can do to avoid these biological disruptions.

The TLDR:

• Artificial blue light is not the same as natural blue light.

• Artificial blue light disrupts our circadian rhythm (the most important aspect of our biology) and our sleep.

• A disrupted circadian rhythm has been linked to nearly all chronic diseases.

• Artificial blue light is addictive by design & disrupts our neurotransmitters.

Natural Blue Light vs Artificial Blue Light

Blue light, like all visible light, is a sliver of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum. That means that blue light is an EMF, and artificial blue light is a non-native EMF. That is why I often say non-native EMFs are the most pervasive environmental toxin in modern society. The food is an issue, but the light is what is really f*cked. It is far easier to change your food diet than your light/EMF diet.

Blue light is typically defined as 450-490nm wavelength light, although there is some debate on where that starts and ends. That correlates to a frequency of around 600-660THz and \~2.5eV of photon energy. That means a wavelength of blue light is oscillating at 600-660 Trillion times per second. It also means that the photons in blue light have the ability to excite electrons they come to interact with, with around 2.5eV of energy.

Blue light is not some alien part of the electromagnetic spectrum, as say 5G radio frequencies are, it is actually something we are exposed to every single day in the form of sunlight and have been for the existence of humanity. However, there is a stark difference between the blue light we are exposed to in the form of sunlight and the artifical blue light we are exposed to from our technology screens and lighting:

• Blue light in isolation / missing the rest of the spectrum

• Pulsed LED control

• The wrong context / time of day

• Dull

To understand why blue light from artificial sources is so toxic to our biology, you need to understand first what our biology is programmed to take in as an input signal from full spectrum sunlight. I refer to it as “full spectrum” sunlight here because that is the big takeaway: you are getting exposure to a full spectrum of light. 

Blue light coming from the sun is NEVER present without longer, lower energy wavelengths such as Red + Near-Infrared (NIR). Sunlight is 49%-55% infrared light. NIR (650nm-1200nm) represents 70% of the total solar spectrum from a photochemistry viewpoint when considering photons/second. Compare that to artificial light, which almost always has little to ZERO red/infrared light due to energy efficiency standards. A spectrum plot below highlights this stark difference between sunlight & artificial lighting. We will discuss more about the biological impacts of this in the next section. It is important to note that a large reason the infrared spectrum is NOT present in light is due to “energy efficiency” and is also incandescents have been made illegal. Of course, policies like this are completely ignorant to the health benefits of the infrared spectrum of light and importance for a more fuller spectrum.

All man made modern light is pulsed, whilst in nature it is continuous. Fluorescents and incandescent bulbs, because they are powered via our 50/60Hz electrical grid have a pulse of 50/60Hz (low frequency). LEDs are controlled by a digital electronics control scheme called Pulsed Width Modulation (PWM). PWM lighting control is typically at 500Hz-50kHz (and could be higher). Engineers say that the human eye can’t see “flicker” above 100Hz, which is true from a visual perspective…but our biology knows. This is a large reason why eye strain, headaches, and other symptoms arise from staring at screens for long periods of time. Sunlight is never pulsed, and is only continuous.

Getting back to the spectrum, the real issue with artificial blue light is the incorrect context. Natural sunlight only provides blue light in a full spectrum setting when (obviously) the sun is up. It has a more rich blue spectrum mid day vs first thing in the morning. It also has even higher energy wavelengths such as violet, UVA, and UVB in mid day (UVB latitude/season dependent). Our artificial blue lights come with zero context. They don’t change based on the sun angle or time of day. They do not go away after sunset. They simply are the same pulsed isolated blue light rich lights, all day long. Nature operates on a clock, and our body needs to be in tune with that clock, else we get biological dysfunction.

Indoor and artificial blue light sources are DULL. Not their personalities, but their brightness. If you are outside mid day you are going to be experience 10,000-100,000 LUX of brightness. That is 30-1000X HIGHER than typicaly indoor lighting. Big range because some indoor lighting areas are very, very dull. So now you have an even more alien form of light. Blue light is the main input signal that tells your body it is daytime, and a big component of that is brightness. Brightness = photon density. If you are inside all day you are getting \~100x LESS photon density. Photons carry energy to excite the electrons in your body. We are starving for photon energy.

Artificial Blue Light Disrupts our Circadian Rhythm

Our circadian rhythm (CR), aka our 24hr biological clock, is in my opinion the most important aspect of our biology. Why? Because nearly everything in our body is goverened by time of day and CR. It encompasses our light diet, our food diet, our sleep, hormones, and so much more. Circadian disruption has been linked with nearly all chronic disease and mental health issues.

So what causes our CR to get out of whack and misalign our biological clocks? The number 1 input signal to our circadian biology is light. The other main input signal is simply our sleep/wake cycle. Food input is secondary and our connection to the earth (grounding/earthign) has also been shown as a circadian input signal.

Our sleep/wake cycle should be tied to light, so those two are quite intertwined. But what about light causes circadian disruption? Here is a short list of the big hitters:

• Artificial Light at Night (ALAN)

• Dull/junk light during the day

• Missing sunrise/UVA rise in the morning

Basically: any light that deviates from the natural solar spectrum in your local environment will disrupt your circadian rhthym. The degree of how alien/different the spectrum is will dictate how severe the circadian disruption is.

Artifical light at night is especially bad because blue light is a signal of daytime and suppresses melatonin production. ANY blue light post sunset will cause a circadian disruption to some degree and the magnitude of exposure will determine just how much. This is why blocking blue light specifically at night time is so important.

“Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) can cause circadian disruption…which can result in a variety of pathological diseases, including premature aging”

Really any light post sunset will disrupt circadian biology but blue light is especially bad because it most severely impacts melatonin production. Brightness is another major factor. Wearing dark red blue light blockers will help, but if you are still in an extremely brightly lit room <1 hour before bed time it won’t be ideal for sleep quality.

Exposure to “blue-appearing light within the short-wavelength portion of the spectrum, between 446 and 477 nm, results in melatonin suppression that is more than 3 times more potent than exposure to long-wavelength light above 530 nm.”

Bright and blue is the recipe for maxx melatonin suppression. Bright and any color light will still have a suppressive effect as well. Want your best night sleep ever? Turn the lights OFF and only uses a very dull red light, candle, etc.

Depression, Blue Light & Dopamine

We have a mental health crisis ongoing in modern society. In the US, over 20% of adults suffer from a mental health disorder/illness and even 1/6 children now do as well. In 2000, the percentage of prevalence of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) aka severe depression was 2%, today it is over 8%…a 4x increase. Suicide rates have also been climbing, especially in teenagers in this “smartphone era”. It seems like a strong possibility that our modern technology is the major driver for this mental health epidemic.

I think anyone can agree that our devices, specifically our phones are highly addictive. We think it is just the social media apps penetrating our psychology and dopamine reward systems, but in reality it’s more than that. The hardware also plays a priming role. I am saying that blue lit screens is making you more vulnerable to fall prey to the predatory marketing tactics of short form content on social media apps. You can simply look at toddlers, who are far MORE vulnerable to effects on their developing brains, to know that it is not just the apps or the games, but also the LIGHT…the blue light specifically.

For children, you can easily google or YouTube a video of a toddler throwing a temper tantrum when you take away their iPad. The games or shows they are watching may indeed be “addicting” but I would argue the bright blue dominant screen is the real reason they are addicted.

https://youtu.be/AYZ2zs9Tftc

Blue light induces a dopamine release in our body in short term exposure. Regardless of the science - we can feel it. Some papers are catching up on this, and some are discussing how the blue light photoreceptor AKA melanopsin is directly intertwined with dopaminergic neurons. The initial paper discusses how experiments were performed in a room “illumninated by a red LED to avoid influencing dopamine synthesis”. This means that not all light is stimulating dopamine secretion, and that blue light is especially stimulating in terms of its effect on our brain.

This is the same reason Las Vegas uses bright lights and flasing symbols at the slots to keep players in their seats. The constant dopamine release is addicting, it is like a drug and they end up spending far more money than they would on a slot machine with dull colors. Our phones and tablets are built the same way - perhaps not as directly intention to addict you - but they do nevertheless through the same neural / optic pathways.

When you get all of these “cheap”, short lived dopamine hits you are going to suffer in the long term. When you don’t have that external stimuli - your baseline will feel much lower and that is why excessive tech use can lead to mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. This is extremely concerning for our children, who’s mental health is spiraling out of control. Screen time, and blue light, could be a direct cause to this epidemic.

The Solution: Technology that is Designed to Work with Nature

You may read this newsletter and think it is fear mongering, but in truth it is a fair assessment of how man made blue light is affecting our health. Most are not yet on board of the importance of our light environment, so think about this:

You eat 3-4x/day, you drink water maybe 5-10x, you consume light as an input to your biology 24/7/365 (and I am not talking about just visible light). Electromagnetism is fundamentally the most prominent input signal to our biology, and it is the one we have distorted the most with modern technology. Blue light is not bad when it comes from the sun, it is only bad in the wrong context. With the amount of screen time every member of society is racking up each day, to me it is undebatable that artificial blue light + man made EMFs are the two most pervasive environmental toxins and are proliferating the chronic disease epidemic.

Because of this man made electromagnetic radiation, we cannot sleep restoratively, we are anxious + depressed, we are constantly in an inflamed / stressed biological state. The worst part is we are getting more and more addicted to our devices with each passing day.

The solution is simple: fix lighting and spend more time outside. Fix lighting on screens and fix indoor lighting fixtures. Emulate the sun, where you never get blue without the rest of the rainbow, especially red/infrared. We are meant to live in line with nature, and it is only when we deviate that chronic disease becomes prevalent.

This is why I joined the Daylight Computer Company at the beginning of this year. As an EMF/Light educator in regards to health + an Electrical Engineering background - I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that there was a tech startup trying to become a “healthier Apple” with an innovative reflective screen technology that is blue light free and works with nature instead of against it. This is the sort of innovation we need to end our negative relationship with technology and our disconnection to the real world - the natural world. You can learn more in a recent interview we did with prominent Bitcoiner Marty Bent on TFTC:

https://youtu.be/0y4PIGXpzG4

Nature is the real world, and nature is the world’s first and most decentralized system. A return to reality is needed, and an understanding that real light is what drives our being is needed to change the direction of our future outcomes as a species.

Stay Sovereign,

Tristan

@ 16d11430:61640947

Introduction: Colonization as a Multi-Generational Trauma

Colonization was not only a political and economic endeavor but also a deeply psychological one. Through forced labor, cultural erasure, and systematic oppression, colonizers imposed a set of economic and social behaviors that favored their interests. Though most colonies gained independence in the mid-20th century, the trauma of colonization remains embedded in their financial and governance structures.

Modern research in epigenetics suggests that trauma can alter gene expression and be passed down through generations (Yehuda & Lehrner, 2018). In a socio-economic context, the colonial mindset—marked by dependency, economic passivity, and a lack of financial sovereignty—persists within many post-colonial nations. One of the most insidious methods by which this trauma is maintained is through fiat currency and debt-based financial systems, which perpetuate economic dependency on former colonizers.

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1. The Psychological Impact of Colonial Trauma and Economic Passivity

Historical trauma theory suggests that populations subjected to prolonged oppression develop collective learned helplessness—a psychological state in which they stop attempting to resist their conditions because they have been conditioned to believe resistance is futile (Sotero, 2006).

This manifests in post-colonial societies in several ways:

1. Economic Dependency: A tendency to rely on foreign aid, multinational corporations, and foreign direct investment (FDI) rather than fostering self-sustaining industries.

2. Risk Aversion in Economic Policy: Research suggests that traumatic experiences affect the brain’s ability to take financial risks (Shields et al., 2016), leading to post-colonial states preferring IMF/World Bank solutions rather than exploring independent monetary policies.

3. Political Elite Compliance: Many former colonies' elites were educated in Western institutions, perpetuating colonial economic structures that maintain wealth extraction.

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1. Fiat Currency as a Tool of Economic Control

Fiat currency—money that has no intrinsic value but is backed by government decree—has been one of the most effective tools for maintaining economic dominance over former colonies.

A. The CFA Franc: A Colonial Currency in 2024

One of the most blatant examples of fiat currency maintaining colonial control is the CFA franc, used by 14 African countries, but ultimately controlled by France.

These countries must keep 50% of their foreign reserves in the French Treasury.

France dictates the monetary policies of these countries, limiting their financial autonomy.

Import dependency: Because the CFA franc is overvalued, it makes local goods more expensive while making European imports cheaper, reinforcing dependency on former colonizers.

B. The Role of the IMF and World Bank in Debt Colonialism

Post-colonial nations, lacking industrial infrastructures due to resource extraction under colonial rule, often turn to IMF and World Bank loans for development. However, these loans come with conditions that ensure neo-colonial economic control:

Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs): Force nations to privatize industries, cut social spending, and open markets to foreign corporations—benefiting Western investors.

Perpetual Debt: Since loans are taken in foreign fiat currencies (USD, Euro), debt is rarely reduced, creating a cycle of endless repayment that prevents real economic independence.

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1. How Colonial Trauma Conditions Profitable Behaviors for Former Colonizers

Even outside of direct financial mechanisms, the trauma of colonization has conditioned post-colonial societies to adopt behaviors that benefit the former colonizers.

A. Elites as Gatekeepers of Colonial Structures

In many post-colonial nations, political and economic elites maintain colonial financial policies because they personally benefit from them. Studies (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2012) show that economic elites in post-colonial states are more likely to align with global financial institutions rather than advocate for economic self-determination.

B. Consumer Culture as a Neo-Colonial Tool

Western consumerism remains deeply ingrained in many post-colonial societies. This is a legacy of cultural imperialism, where local industries were suppressed in favor of Western goods.

The majority of African, South Asian, and Latin American countries continue to import Western luxury goods, technology, and services instead of developing their own.

As a result, much of the wealth generated in these countries flows back to Western corporations, mirroring the colonial economic extraction model.

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Conclusion: Fiat Currency as the Modern Brand of Colonization

The economic and psychological trauma of colonization ensures that former colonies remain profitable markets and debt-ridden nations under the control of their colonizers. Fiat currency, international debt structures, and cultural hegemony serve as the modern pillars of economic colonialism, reinforcing behaviors that favor Western economic dominance.

Key Takeaways:

1. Historical trauma conditions former colonies into economic dependency.

2. Fiat currency (such as the CFA franc) remains a tool of colonial control.

3. The IMF and World Bank perpetuate financial dependency through debt cycles.

4. Consumer culture ensures wealth extraction from former colonies to Western economies.

Unless these structures are dismantled, economic sovereignty for formerly colonized nations remains an illusion. Breaking free from the financial colonial matrix requires monetary independence, de-dollarization strategies, and local industrialization, rather than continued reliance on Western financial systems.

---

References:

Yehuda, R., & Lehrner, A. (2018). Intergenerational transmission of trauma effects: Putative role of epigenetic mechanisms. World Psychiatry, 17(3), 243-257.

Sotero, M. M. (2006). A conceptual model of historical trauma: Implications for public health practice and research. Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, 1(1), 93-108.

Shields, G. S., Sazma, M. A., & Yonelinas, A. P. (2016). The effects of acute stress on economic decision-making. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 67, 226-234.

Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. (2012). Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. Crown Business.

Sylla, N. S. (2019). The CFA Franc: The Shackles of Monetary Dependence. Pluto Press.

Hudson, M. (2021). Super Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire. Pluto Press.

@ 7ef5f1b1:0e0fcd27

A Spark of Defiance

By: The 256 Foundation

A monthly newsletter

January 2025

Introduction:

Welcome to the first newsletter produced by The 256 Foundation! If you have enjoyed POD256 or technical guides from econoalchemist in the past, then you are going to love this newsletter.You can expect newsletters to be published on a monthly basis going forward. The content will generally focus on topics aligned with The 256 Foundation’s mission to “Dismantle the proprietary mining empire to liberate Bitcoin and freedom tech for all”. More specifically, the focus of this newsletter will be on the state of the Bitcoin network, mining industry developments, progress updates on grant projects, actionable advice for getting involved with Bitcoin mining, and more (to be announced...wink wink).

Open-source development in Bitcoin mining up until the Bitaxe has been non-existent but The 256 Foundation is breaking the chains of closed and proprietary development. After all, two out of three pillars supporting the Bitcoin ecosystem are openly developed – nodes and applications; why not mining? The majority of mining hardware is closed and proprietary; same with the firmware, even the after-market solutions are closed-source. If you have tried using a miner in some unconventional way like home heating, dehydrating food, or installing one in your living space just so you don’t have to submit KYC documents to get bitcoin then you will appreciate the ability to freely modify your miner.

Despite the constraints on creativity caused by closed-source firmware and hardware, many individuals have demonstrated impressive developments. For example, Diverter who wrote the groundbreaking guide on the subject, Mining For The Streets, at a time when the general consensus was that small-scale mining was a foregone pursuit. Zack Bomsta developed the Loki Kit enabling users to power miners from 120-volt power sources instead of the less common 240-volt power sources. Michael Schmid developed a way to heat his home using four Antminer S9s; offsetting his energy bills with mining rewards. Rev. Hodl has integrated Bitcoin mining into a variety of homesteading functions like dehydrating his elderberry harvest. In fact, the resourcefulness and determination of individuals to integrate Bitcoin mining into their unique situations has proven to be nothing short of a full on movement. Defiantly building and iterating despite the naysayers, excuse makers, and protests that claim “you can’t compete with big miners! You’re better off just buying from an exchange! You won’t get your ROI!”.

Against all odds, using closed-source miners, and with little more than a shoestring budget and a can-do attitude people have forged a way forward and collectively pushed the Bitcoin mining industry to a tipping point. Closed-source solutions are not keeping up with innovation and won’t even make economic sense compared to the open-source solutions just over the horizon. The 256 Foundation is here to kick the old ways of Bitcoin mining development to the curb in favor of free and open development; providing funding for developers and educators to do what they do best and usher in the era free and open Bitcoin mining.

The 256 Foundation is laser focused on a select handful of projects that are going to break the entire Bitcoin mining industry wide open and make freedom tech accessible to anyone. These select projects are long term support initiatives, not short term touch-and-go exercises. Education is a key component and why The 256 Foundation provides educational resources, tools, and support to demystify Bitcoin and freedom tech, empowering individuals to engage with and benefit from this revolutionary system.

If that sounds like the kind of timeline you’re interested in then keep reading and watch for updates every month in your inbox, on Nostr, or at 256foundation.org.

Definitions:

MA = Moving Average Eh/s = Exahash per second Ph/s = Petahash per second Th/s = Terahash per second MW = Mega Watt T = Trillion J/Th = Joules per Terahash $ = US Dollar VDC = Volts Direct Current PCB = Printed Circuit Board GB = Gigabyte TB = Terabyte OS = Operating System SSH = Secure Shell

State of the Network:

Hashrate on the 14-day MA according to mempool.space increased from ~525 Eh/s in January 2024 to ~784 Eh/s in December 2024, marking ~49% growth for the year. Last month alone, December 2024, witnessed roughly 34 Eh/s come online marking ~4.5% overall growth for the month. Using some rough ball-park figures, 34 Eh/s coming online means something like 170,000 new-gen 200 Th/s miners were plugged in and supported by ~595 MW of electrical infrastructure.

Difficulty is currently 110.4T as of Epoch 436 and set to decrease roughly 0.2% on or around January 26, 2025. But that target will constantly change between now and then. The previous re-target increased difficulty by 0.6%. In 2024, difficulty went from 72.0T to 109.7T making it 52.3% more difficult to solve for a block; fairly consistent with the estimated 49% hashrate increase during the same time frame.

[IMG-001] 2024 hashrate/difficulty chart from mempool.space

New-gen miners are selling for roughly $28.14 per Th using the Bitmain Antminer S21 XP 270 Th/s model from Kaboom Racks as an example. According to the Hashrate Index, less efficient miners like the <19J/Th models are fetching $18.18/Th, models between 19J/Th – 25J/Th are selling for $13.31/Th, and models >25J/Th are selling for $3.53/Th.

[IMG-002] 2024 Miner Prices from Luxor’s Hashrate Index

Hashvalue is currently 58,000 sats/Ph per day, down slightly from December 1, 2024 when hashvalue was closer to 63,000 sats/Ph per day according to Braiins Insights. Hashprice is $58.00/Ph per day, down slightly from $60.00/Ph per day at the beginning of December 2024, [IMG-003]. Overall, hashvalue is down 76% from 242,000 sats/Ph per day a year ago and hashprice is down 43% from $103.00 per Ph/day a year ago. But keep in mind, the block subsidy was 6.25 bitcoin per block a year ago and is currently 3.125 bitcoin per block.

The next halving will occur at block height 1,050,000 which should be in roughly 1,159 days or in other words 170,594 blocks from time of publishing this newsletter.

[IMG-003] Hashprice/Hashvalue from Braiins Insights

Mining Industry Developments:

2024 marks the year that open-source Bitcoin mining hardware became a thing. Prior to the Bitaxe, there was no open source Bitcoin mining hardware. A small but mighty platform, the Bitaxe project has proved that it is possible to have a complete Bitcoin mining system developed, built, and maintained in the open by a community of enthusiasts.

The impressive part about Bitaxe is that Skot instigated a project that satisfied a burning desire in the open-source community to develop a mining system by reverse engineering Bitmain’s ASIC chips and integrate them onto a new open-source hardware platform, with accompanying open-source firmware, esp-miner. Fast forward to today and thousands of individuals have joined the Open Source Miners United Discord group and their combined contributions have made Bitaxe what it is today. This required delicate work to unsolder the ASIC chips from Bitmain’s hashboards and then re-solder them onto the Bitaxe circuit board. The genius part of the project is that the open-source foundation supports commercially viable ventures built on top of it. For example, Bitaxe is the open-source project that develops and designs models but does not manufacture, market, or distribute any units; a list of companies that have sprung up selling Bitaxes can be found here.

The Bitaxe was the inspiration for the title of this month’s newsletter, A Spark of Defiance, because it was a small and seemingly inconsequential development that ignited a raging fire that will engulf the closed and proprietary Bitcoin mining empire. Additionally, the project was defiantly manifested through persistent and painstaking effort despite what many claimed was too insignificant of a hashrate, too uneconomical of a price point, and too cute to be anything other than a toy. The significance of the Bitaxe project is not in the nominal hashrate of a single unit or the cost per terahash; the significance is that there is now a proven open-source Bitcoin mining hardware option available for anyone to build themselves and modify as they see fit that supports commercial applications. The idea of open-source Bitcoin mining hardware is still early in it’s formation but the next iteration is already under way.

Small scale miners like FutureBit’s Apollo II and the Bitaxe help decentralize hashrate. Even though each individual miner doesn’t amount to much, the aggregate hashrate contributed to the network is significant; both in terms of nominal hashpower and in terms of distribution. The more people who control mining hardware means fewer miners condensed in hostile jurisdictions and the more individuals who need to be compliant with unjust demands in order for those demands to be effective. These are critical steps towards a more censorship-resistant network and the arch of progress is measured in years, however there is more needed to bolster Bitcoin’s neutral and permissionless attributes which guide The 256 Foundation’s projects.

[IMG-004] Picture of a Bitaxe 401 from Public-Pool

Grant Project Updates:

In November 2024 The 256 Foundation announced the first fully funded grant project, Ember One. This project builds on the momentum of the Bitaxe project and takes it to the next level. Ember One provides funding for up to two engineers and one project manager for a duration of six months to design and develop a validated ~100 Watt hashboard standard. This hashboard features a USB adapter to connect to a variety of controllers, variable input voltage from 12VDC to 24VDC to facilitate integration into a wide range of applications, and a standardized PCB footprint to make expansion seamless regardless of series.

The first series in the Ember One line up will feature twelve Bitmain S19j Pro BM1362 ASIC chips, a decision made based on availability and affordability. The corresponding heat-sink will be included with the project. Subsequent Ember One series hashboards will feature a range of different ASIC chips from different manufacturers, possibly including those that should be released any day now from a company who’s name starts with “B” and ends with “lock”.

Much like the Bitaxe project, certain peripherals are not included in the Ember One project. For example, Ember One does not include firmware architecture or implementation, enclosure design, manufacturing support, sales, distribution, marketing, or customer technical support; those are all areas of opportunity for commercial applications to thrive. Unlike the Bitaxe project, Ember One is not a complete mining system design but only the standardized hashboard. The Ember One project is being leveraged as a springboard to launch the next two projects which is 1) the complete mining system built with any of the Ember One series hashboards including design details for everything needed to produce a plug and play unit and 2) an open-source, multi-driver compatible, Linux based Bitcoin mining firmware. More details to be announced.

Stay tuned to POD256 for updates and watch out for the next 256 Foundation newsletter.

Actionable Advice:

Here are steps you can take to solo mine using your own Bitcoin node, your own Stratum server, and your own miner. In this section, you will see how to spin up a BitcoinCore full node, run an instance of a Public-Pool Stratum server, and configure a Bitaxe to mine directly to the Bitcoin network without any third party involvement.

Materials: You don’t need any fancy or expensive equipment to follow along. Everything you will see in this guide was done with an old Raspberry Pi, an old external solid state drive, and a Bitaxe 401. The Raspberry Pi is a model 4B with 4GB of RAM. If you want to purchase a Raspberry Pi, then check here for distributors. Be forewarned that using a Raspberry Pi with 4GB of RAM to synchronize the full blockchain will take at least three weeks if not a month. Also, you will probably get better stratum server performance from using better hardware. This was really just an exercise in using the lowest barrier to entry hardware for demonstration purposes. There is no reason you could not complete this kind of project on a refurbished ThinkPad like any of these.You may want to use an external storage volume with at least 2TB of storage capacity for the complete copy of the blockchain. The Samsung T7 is a good option if you need one. You will also need a microSD card, 64GB is more than enough capacity and these are a decent option if you need one. If you don’t have a Bitaxe already, you can buy one for less than $200 from any of these vendors.

This guide assumes you’re running Linux on your primary computer that you will be using to communicate with the Raspberry Pi and Bitaxe, if you’re running Windows or MacOS then you should be able to find system specific instructions that differ from this guide in the linked resources.

Step 1 – Prepare The Raspberry Pi

You will need a microSD card to install the Raspberry Operating System on. Then you can download the Raspberry Pi Image from:

https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/operating-systems/

Raspberry Pi OS Lite Bookworm 64-bit was used for this guide.

The SHA256 digest is available on the download page, open a terminal window and run the following command from the same folder (usually /Downloads) as the compressed file you just downloaded and compare the results to verify. Use the name of your specific file in place of this example:

$ sha256sum 2024-11-19-raspios-bookworm-arm64-lite.img.xz

[IMG-005] Raspberry Pi OS SHA256 Checksum

With the compressed image file verified, flash the image to a freshly formatted microSD card using the Raspberry Pi Imager or Balena Etcher or similar flashing program.

In the Raspberry Pi Imager, you can add the SSH file and “userconf” file in the boot partition during the flashing process. If you are using Balena or a similar program instead, the directions are pretty straight forward, just follow the prompts in the software. Basically you will just select the image file you want to flash, then select the microSD card you want to flash that image to, and then the software takes care of the rest.

After flashing, in a terminal window, change directory to the boot partition of the microSD card and enable SSH functionality by writing a blank file titled "ssh" with no file extension in the root of the boot partition. You can open a terminal window directly in the file path you want by looking at it with the file explorer, clicking on the 3-dot menu next to the file path at the top of the explorer window, and selecting “Open in Terminal”.

$ sudo touch ssh

Now you can create the login credentials and save them to the “userconf” file you are going to generate. First you need to decide on a password and then you need to encrypt it. Open a second terminal window and from your default home file path run:

$ echo INSERTYOURPASSWORD | openssl passwd -6 -stdin

You should receive a response that looks like a random string of characters and maybe there are some dollar signs or periods in it. You want to copy the entire string in that response by highlighting it, right clicking on it, and selecting “copy”.

Then back in the first terminal window from the microSD card boot partition path run:

$ sudo touch userconf

then

$ sudo nano userconf

Those two commands just created a file named “userconf” and then opened that file so you can put some text in it. On a single line, type your Raspberry Pi username, a colon, and the encrypted password string you generated (which should be on your clipboard, so just right-click and select “paste”). For example:

pi:$6$wRLGhmKbL0bheJKh$0L60E09x.dQ.M4DvBjTvNETG0CtW.PGuzQwTEtTvadngclQXkzVFiJD2z.WIYeyvV.hUZT6HdYDjiSYgx0Arc0

Then hit ctrl+o to write, enter to save, and ctrl+x to exit.

Now eject the microSD card, insert into the Raspberry Pi, and turn on the power.

From your primary computer, open a new terminal window and run:

$ ssh pi@192.168.1.69 (or whatever your local Raspberry Pi IP address is). If you don’t know what your Raspberry Pi’s local IP address is then log into your router and check your DHCP leases and look for the one with a “raspberrypi” hostname. Your router is typically accessible from your web browser at IP address 192.168.0.1 or 10.0.0.1 or something similar. Do an internet search for your router’s specifics if you need to. If you don’t have access to the router then you can use a program like AngryIP to scan the network and give you the same information.

$ sudo apt update

then

$ sudo apt upgrade -y

Now your ready to connect the external storage volume.

Step 2 – Connect External Storage Volume

Plug in a freshly formatted storage volume, like a 2TB SSD, to the Pi. Then through your SSH terminal window run: $ sudo fdisk -l

You should get a response with information about the connected drives, one of them being the microSD card and the other being your external hard drive. You want to identify the device name of your external storage volume. For example, "/dev/sda1".

Write that device name down or just remember it for a moment. Now make a directory where you can mount your external storage volume by running: $ sudo mkdir /mnt/ext/

Then mount the external storage volume there by running: $ sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/ext/

Then refresh by running: $ sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Be aware that each time you power off the Raspberry Pi you will need to run those last two commands again to mount the storage volume if you have it connected. If you want to have the “fstab” file permanently modified to reflect this storage volume then you can edit it following instructions like these. That’s it for connecting and mounting the external storage volume. Easy right? You’re doing great and now you’re ready to install Docker onto your Raspberry Pi.

Step 3 – Install The Docker Engine

Docker gets installed before BitcoinCore because there are some dependencies that BitcoinCore needs that are included when installing Docker. First, you will need the Git tools, from the home directory on the SSH terminal window run: $ sudo apt install git-all -y

Now you can start getting Docker installed, these directions can be found in more detail here if you need them: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/raspberry-pi-os/

Run the following commands to install all the various Docker packages, make sure you fetch the correct URL for each package by first checking: https://download.docker.com/linux/raspbian/dists/

Then select your Raspberry Pi OS version (Bookworm in this case), go to "Pool" > "stable", then select the applicable architecture (armf in this case), then run the following six commands ensuring that you are getting the latest available versions of each package:

For the containerd package run: $ sudo wget https://download.docker.com/linux/raspbian/dists/bookworm/pool/stable/armhf/containerd.io_1.7.24-1_armhf.deb

For the docker-buildx-plugin package run: $ sudo wget https://download.docker.com/linux/raspbian/dists/bookworm/pool/stable/armhf/docker-buildx-plugin_0.19.3-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

For the docker-ce-cli package run: $ sudo wget https://download.docker.com/linux/raspbian/dists/bookworm/pool/stable/armhf/docker-ce-cli_27.4.1-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

For the docker-ce-rootless-extras package run: $ sudo wget https://download.docker.com/linux/raspbian/dists/bookworm/pool/stable/armhf/docker-ce-rootless-extras_27.4.1-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

For the docker-ce package run: $ sudo wget https://download.docker.com/linux/raspbian/dists/bookworm/pool/stable/armhf/docker-ce_27.4.1-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

For the docker-compose-plugin package run: $ sudo wget https://download.docker.com/linux/raspbian/dists/bookworm/pool/stable/armhf/docker-compose-plugin_2.32.1-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

You can verify your downloads by getting the GPG public key file from one step back in the directory path from the "dists" folder where it says "gpg", run:

$ sudo wget https://download.docker.com/linux/raspbian/gpg

Now add that key to the system key-chain with:

$ sudo gpg --import gpg

Then run the gpg command with the verify flag and file name for all six of the packages you downloaded:

$ sudo gpg --verify containerd.io_1.7.24-1_armhf.deb

$ sudo gpg --verify docker-buildx-plugin_0.19.3-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

$ sudo gpg --verify docker-ce_27.4.1-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

$ sudo gpg --verify docker-ce-cli_27.4.1-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

$ sudo gpg --verify docker-ce-rootless-extras_27.4.1-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

$ sudo gpg --verify docker-compose-plugin_2.32.1-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

You should get a response for each verification, you are looking for a "good signature" to the public key you imported, for example:

[IMG-006] Docker Package Verification

The warning is just trying to tell you that you have not certified the public key which is an additional verification step and beyond the scope of this guide. Basically, it is trying to encourage you to contact the developer and verify that their signature fingerprint matches the one in your terminal ending with E2D8 8D81 803C 0EBF CD88. Keybase is a good place to start if you want to find publicly posted keys for helping you verify and certify.

Now you need to decompress and install all six of those packages buy running:

$ sudo dpkg -i containerd.io_1.7.24-1_armhf.deb

$ sudo dpkg -i docker-buildx-plugin_0.19.3-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

$ sudo dpkg -i docker-ce-cli_27.4.1-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

$ sudo dpkg -i docker-ce-rootless-extras_27.4.1-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

$ sudo dpkg -i docker-ce_27.4.1-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

$ sudo dpkg -i docker-compose-plugin_2.32.1-1~raspbian.12~bookworm_armhf.deb

You might encounter errors about missing dependencies with a couple of those packages. If you do, then run the following command to correct them and after running that command, try decompressing and installing the package again:

$ sudo apt --fix-broken install

The Docker daemon should start automatically. Ensure Docker is working by running:

$ sudo service docker start

then

$ sudo docker run hello-world

You should get a response like: "Hello from Docker! This message shows that your installation appears to be working correctly."

If you made it that far then you have successfully installed Docker and you are ready to install BitcoinCore.

Step 4 – Install BitcoinCore

From your SSH terminal window and from the home directory make a working folder for all the Bitcoin related files by running:

$ sudo mkdir /bitcoin

Then change directories into that folder with:

$ cd /bitcoin

Navigate to the BitcoinCore download page in the web browser from your primary computer and copy the download link for the latest version of BitcoinCore for your system. BitcoinCore v28.0 was used here, specifically “bitcoin-28.0-aarch64-linux-gnu.tar.gz”.

Copy the link for the package you want (ARM Linux 64-bit in this example) and then paste that link in the following command of your SSH terminal window:

$ sudo wget https://bitcoincore.org/bin/bitcoin-core-28.0/bitcoin-28.0-aarch64-linux-gnu.tar.gz

If you want to verify your download, which is good practice, download the “SHA256SUMS.asc” signature file along with the “SHA256SUMS” hash values file by running the following two commands:

$ sudo wget https://bitcoincore.org/bin/bitcoin-core-28.0/SHA256SUMS

then

$ sudo wget https://bitcoincore.org/bin/bitcoin-core-28.0/SHA256SUMS.asc

Check that the SHA256 hash for the downloaded file exists in the SHA256SUMS file by running:

$ sha256sum --ignore-missing --check SHA256SUMS

You should get a response back like: bitcoin-28.0-aarch64-linux-gnu.tar.gz: OK

You will need some developer keys in order to verify the SHA256SUMS file accurately represents what the developers signed with their signatures, you can find all the developer signatures at:

https://github.com/bitcoin-core/guix.sigs/blob/main/builder-keys/

You can download any of those keys by running the sudo wget command and appending the whole URL for the raw GPG file you want, for example:

$ sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bitcoin-core/guix.sigs/refs/heads/main/builder-keys/fanquake.gpg

Continuing with the fanquake example, import that downloaded key by running:

$ sudo gpg --import fanquake.gpg

You should get a response indicating that the file was imported.

Then run the following command to verify the signature matches:

$ sudo gpg --verify SHA256SUMS.asc

You should get a response for each of the signatures, even the ones you did not download a public key for. You are looking for "good signature" next to one of the public keys you imported, for example:

[IMG-007] BitcoinCore Verification

The warning is just trying to tell you that you have not certified the public key which is an additional verification step and beyond the scope of this guide. For all intents and purposes, we have downloaded our file, verified that the hash value for that file is written in the accompanying verification file, then verified that the developers agree that is the correct hash value by signing off on the .asc file.

With the download verified, now decompress it by running the following command using which ever file name matches your download:

$ sudo tar -xzf bitcoin-28.0-aarch64-linux-gnu.tar.gz

This will have created a directory called “bitcoin-28.0”. You can verify this by checking the contents of the directory you are currently in with the ls -la command. Now you want to install BitcoinCore here by running:

$ sudo install -m 0755 -o root -t /bitcoin bitcoin-28.0/bin/*

This is a good point to make a few configuration changes in the “bitcoin.conf” file before running bitcoind. Return to your home directory with this command:

$ cd ~

Then copy/paste the default “bitcoin.conf” file from the /bitcoin/bitcoin28.0 directory to where you will have your Bitcoin data directory setup on the external hard drive with this command:

$ sudo cp /bitcoin/bitcoin-28.0/bitcoin.conf /mnt/ext

Then change into the directory where you just pasted that configuration file with:

$ cd /mnt/ext

Then open the “bitcoin.conf” file to edit it by running:

$ sudo nano bitcoin.conf

There are many configuration changes here that you can make if you want, only the bare minimum six configurations for the purpose of this guide will be covered here.

1) Scroll down to the line that reads # Enable publish raw block in < address > and below that, delete the hashtag in front of #zmqpubrawblock=< address > then replace < address > with tcp://*:3000. For example, the end result should look like this:

# Enable publish raw block in < address > zmqpubrawblock=tcp://*:3000

2) Scroll down to where it says # Allow JSON-RPC connections from specified source. and below that, delete the hashtag in front of #rpcallowip=< ip > and replace < ip > with the Docker IP address, 172.16.0.0/12 (the ifconfig command can help you find various network interfaces and the corresponding IP address for each one). For example, the end result should look like this:

# Allow JSON-RPC connections from specified source. Valid values for < ip > are a single IP (e.g. 1.2.3.4), a network/netmask (e.g. 1.2.3.4/255.255.255.0), a network/CIDR (e.g. 1.2.3.4/24), all ipv4 (0.0.0.0/0), or all ipv6 (::/0). This option can be specified multiple times rpcallowip=172.16.0.0/12

3) Scroll down to where it says # Bind to given address to listen for JSON-RPC connections. and below that, you want to add three IP addresses. Delete the hashtag and replace < addr >[:port] with your Raspberry Pi's local IP address, your Docker IP address, and your local host IP address. You can leave the port out of it since BitcoinCore default's to port 8332. For example, the end result should look like this:

# Bind to given address to listen for JSON-RPC connections. Do not expose the RPC server to untrusted networks such as the public internet! This option is ignored unless -rpcallowip is also passed. Port is optional and overrides -rpcport. Use [host]:port notation for IPv6. This option can be specified multiple times (default: 127.0.0.1 and ::1 i.e., localhost) rpcbind=192.168.1.119 rpcbind=127.0.0.1 rpcbind=172.16.0.0/12

4) Scroll down to where it says # Password for JSON-RPC connections. and below that, delete the hashtag in front of #rpcpassword=< pw > and replace < pw > with whatever you want your password to be in order to make RPC calls to your Bitcoin node. For example, the end result should look like this:

# Password for JSON-RPC connections rpcpassword=INSERTYOURPASSWORD

5) Scroll down to where it says # Username for JSON-RPC connections. and below that, delete the hashtag in front of #rpcuser=< user > and replace < user > with whatever you want your username to be in order to make RPC calls to your Bitcoin node. For example, the end result should look like this:

# Username for JSON-RPC connections rpcuser=INSERTYOURUSERNAME

6) Lastly, scroll down to where it says # Accept command line and JSON-RPC commands and below that, delete the hashtag in front of #server=1. For example, the end result should look like this:

# Accept command line and JSON-RPC commands server=1

Then hit ctrl+o to write, hit enter to save, and hit ctrl+x to exit.

You can return to your home directory with this command:

$ cd ~

Then change directory to the /bitcoin folder and run this command to start bitcoind, making sure you have your data directory defined:

$ sudo ./bitcoind -datadir=/mnt/ext

You should see several lines of text scroll by, scroll up to the beginning of those responses and double check that bitcoind is using the directory that you want and the configuration file you want. For example, the text should read something like this:

[IMG-008] bitcoind Start Up

Then you want to just let bitcoind run and start downloading the entire blockchain. This Initial Block Download can take a few weeks on a Raspberry Pi with 4GB of RAM so give it time. You won't be able to start mining until the synchronization process is done. In the mean-time, you can build the Public-Pool container.

Step 5 – Install the Public-Pool Container

While bitcoind is synchronizing, open a new terminal window and SSH into your Raspberry Pi like before.

Clone the Public Pool Git Repo:

$ sudo git clone https://github.com/benjamin-wilson/public-pool.git

Change Directory to the new public-pool folder: $ cd public-pool

Create a new environment file in the root of the public-pool folder: $ sudo touch .env

Open the new .env file: $ sudo nano .env

Copy/Paste the contents from the ".env.example" file (from https://github.com/benjamin-wilson/public-pool/blob/master/.env.example) then modify the following lines to your specific setup:

Change the IP on this line to the local IP address of your Raspberry Pi: BITCOIN_RPC_URL=http://192.168.1.119

Enter the RPC Username you entered into the bitcoin.conf file: BITCOIN_RPC_USER=INSERTYOURUSERNAME

Enter the RPC Password you entered into the “bitcoin.conf” file: BITCOIN_RPC_PASSWORD=INSERTYOURPASSWORD

Add a hashtag in front of this line: # BITCOIN_RPC_COOKIEFILE=

Delete the hash tag from this line: BITCOIN_ZMQ_HOST="tcp://192.168.1.100:3000"

And change the 192.168.1.100 IP address to the local IP address of your Raspberry Pi.

Add a hashtag in front of this line: # DEV_FEE_ADDRESS=

Change the POOL_IDENTIFIER to whatever you want to show up in the blockchain when you win a block. For example: POOL_IDENTIFIER="/abolish the fed/"

ctrl+o to write, enter to save, ctrl+x to exit.

Docker Compose binds to “127.0.0.1” by default. To expose the Stratum services on your server you need to update the ports in the “docker-compose.yml” file, so run:

$ sudo nano docker-compose.yml

Scroll down to the ports section where it says:

ports: -"127.0.0.1:${STRATUM_PORT}:${STRATUM_PORT}/tcp" -"127.0.0.1:${API_PORT}:${API_PORT}/tcp"

Delete everything between to quotation marks on both lines and add 0.0.0.0:3333:3333/tcp and 0.0.0.0:3334:3334/tcp respectively. For example, the end result should look like this:

ports: -"0.0.0.0:3333:3333/tcp" -"0.0.0.0:3334:3334/tcp"

Press ctrl+o to write, enter to save, ctrl+x to exit.

While still in the public-pool folder run:

$ sudo docker compose build

After several minutes you should get a confirmation like Service public-pool Built. Then run:

$ sudo docker compose up -d

This command will take some time to execute but you should see some lines of text flying by in the terminal window in the mean-time. Eventually, you should get a confirmation like Container public-pool Started.

This completes the steps needed for building your Bitcoin node and Stratum Server. Now you can bring your miner into the loop.

Step 6 – Connecting Bitaxe

A Bitaxe was used in this example but you should be able use any miner in theory.

Plug your Bitaxe into the power supply.

Use your mobile phone to connect via WiFi to the Bitaxe network, this should be something like "Bitaxe_4A89" or "Bitaxe_5B09" etc.

Once connected, open a web browser on your mobile phone and enter "192.168.4.1" in the address bar. This should bring you to the Bitaxe Dashboard.

From the menu, scroll down to “Settings”.

Update the WiFi SSID to your local WiFi network name.

Enter the password for your local WiFi network in the WiFi Password dialog box.

For the Stratum URL, enter the local IP address for your Raspberry Pi. Leave the Stratum Port as 3333.

For your Stratum User, enter your bitcoin address that you want block rewards sent to. You can optionally append your bitcoin address with a worker name, for example: ".bitaxe1".

Save those changes and then restart the miner. Once back up, the Bitaxe should connect to your local WiFi network and point to your Raspberry Pi Stratum server. You can navigate back to the dashboard and you should start seeing some hashrate happening within less than a minute.

If you don't, go to the menu and scroll down to the Logs and click on the Show Logs button to see what the Bitaxe is doing.

[IMG-009] Bitaxe Dashboard

If you experience problems and do not see any hashrate in the Bitaxe dashboard after a minute or so, here are some things you can check to get a better idea of what the problem is:

Check the Bitaxe logs by navigating to the “Logs” option in the side menu of the dashboard, then click on “Show Logs”. Restart the Bitaxe if necessary. If you see errors about a refused socket connection then you might need to double check the IP addresses

configured in your bitcoin.conf file or Public-Pool .env file.

You can stop the Public-Pool service at anytime by running the following command from the public-pool directory:

$ sudo docker compose stop

Restart the service again with:

$ sudo docker compose up -d

You can check the logs of the Public-Pool service by running the following command from the public-pool directory:

$ sudo docker compose logs

You Might need to run this command a couple times to get the latest events. You want to see a response that shows you are using ZMQ and it is connected, Bitcoin RPC is connected, and that it is receiving some responses about the mining information like in [IMG-010].

If you are seeing an error with the RPC connection then try double checking the IP addresses configured in the bitcoin.conf file and the Public-Pool .env file. Or if you see errors about not being able to complete a “getmininginfo” request then try double checking the port parameters you set in the Public-Pool docker-compose.yml file.

[IMG-010] Docker Compose Logs

You can test the RPC connection with a command like this from the /bitcoin directory:

$ sudo ./bitcoin-cli -rpcuser=YOURUSERNAME -rpcpassword=YOURPASSWORD getblockchaininfo

You might need to wait for the blockchain data to finish synchronizing before you can run RPC commands. Or if your node is fully sync’d and you are still not able to make RPC requests then double check the IP addresses you have configured in the “rpcallowip”

and “rpcbind” fields in the bitcoin.conf file.

Conclusion:

Thank you for reading the first 256 Foundation newsletter. Keep an eye out for more newsletters on a monthly basis in your email inbox by subscribing at https://256foundation.org/. Or you can download .pdf versions of the newsletters from there as well.

You can also find these newsletters published in article form on Nostr.

If you are not currently mining to your own node, making your own templates with open source mining hardware then you now have zero excuses not to be.

Stay vigilant, frens. -econoalchemist

@ 66675158:1b644430

Before the time of Utensils, people lived in genuine harmony. They gathered in markets to trade freely, built homes where they pleased, and traveled without papers or permissions. Communities solved their own problems through discussion and agreement. When disputes arose, wise elders would help find solutions that satisfied all. Children learned from their parents or chose mentors from among the skilled craftspeople.

In those days, gold changed hands freely for goods and services. Each person kept what they earned. Communities would voluntarily pool resources for shared needs - wells, bridges, and roads. Those who had more would often help those with less, not by decree but by choice.

Neighbors knew each other's names. Doors were left unlocked. Children played in the streets until sunset. Gardens grew wherever people planted them. Merchants traveled between towns without inspections. Healers practiced their craft freely, sharing knowledge openly.

Then came the Utensils.

In our land, Aldrich found the Silver Spoon. In the East, Emperor Chen discovered the Jade Chopsticks. The Norse kingdoms united under the Golden Fork. The desert peoples followed the Bronze Ladle.

Each Utensil, their holders claimed, granted divine wisdom to rule. Each promised protection and prosperity in exchange for obedience.

The changes came slowly at first. The Spoon Holder requested a share of each harvest to store for hard times. The Chopstick Emperor required homes to be built in specific ways to prevent fires. The Fork King demanded that travelers carry documents proving their loyalty.

At first, the Utensils did bring some genuine improvements. The Spoon Holder's collectors used part of their harvest share to help villages during droughts. The Chopstick Emperor's building codes truly did reduce fires. The Fork King's road patrols deterred the few bandits who had troubled merchants. The Bronze Ladle's water management systems helped farms flourish in the desert.

The early years saw stone roads replace dirt paths, connecting villages more efficiently than before. Granaries were built with better designs, preserving food longer. Some diseases decreased as the Chopstick Emperor's cleanliness codes spread. The Fork Kingdom's standardized weights and measures did make trade easier.

The Spoon Holder soon declared that carrying gold was dangerous and inefficient. They introduced sacred paper notes, "backed by the Silver Spoon's power." At first, you could trade these notes back for gold, but gradually this right vanished.

Scholars wrote lengthy memos about the divine wisdom of the Utensils, creating complex theories about why ordinary people couldn't possibly understand how to live without direction. They advised the Holders and were rewarded with special privileges, comfortable positions, and influence.

When anyone questioned this system, the Utensil Holders and their Experts would ask: "But who would build the roads without us? Who would help the poor? Who would protect you?" They spoke as if humans had never cooperated or helped each other before the Utensils came, and many began to believe it.

People grumbled but accepted. After all, the Utensils shone with otherworldly power.

Some remembered these early benefits when questioning the growing restrictions. "Remember how the Spoon Holder's men helped during the great flood?" they would say. "Surely they have our best interests at heart." The Utensil Holders carefully nurtured these memories, even as their power grew far beyond such humble beginnings.

More rules followed. The Spoon Holder's men began watching the roads, collecting portions from merchants. The Chopstick Guards enforced strict codes about proper behavior. The Fork Watchers kept lists of who attended the mandatory gatherings.

Children were taught the sacred histories of their Utensils. The Spoon's light blessed the worthy. The Chopsticks maintained harmony. The Fork brought strength. The Ladle provided guidance.

When people remembered the old freedoms, the Utensil Holders reminded them of the chaos before - though few could actually recall any chaos.

But surely there must have been chaos, or why would the Utensils have come?

The Utensil Holders began to eye each other's territories. How dare the Fork King claim his metal was superior? How could the Chopstick Emperor suggest jade held more wisdom than silver? The Ladle Holder's bronze was clearly inferior to all!

The Utensil Holders pointed to their achievements - the roads, the granaries, the safer towns - as proof of their divine right to rule. They spoke of how they had unified squabbling villages, standardized laws, and created order. Few noticed how these very achievements had required less and less input from the people themselves.

Wars erupted. Armies marched under banners bearing their sacred Utensils. Men died believing their Utensil was the one true source of authority. Villages burned as soldiers searched for heretics who might secretly worship foreign Utensils.

The Utensil Holders demanded more from their people - more food, more gold, more obedience. They placed watchers in every village. They required written permission for travel between towns. They forbade more than three people from gathering without a Guardian present.

"It's for protection," they said, holding their Utensils high. "How can you doubt the sacred silver?"

And indeed, their guards did stop some thieves, their inspectors did prevent some fraud, their builders did create some useful works. But these benefits came with an ever-increasing price in freedom, until the cost far exceeded any advantage. Yet by then, most people could no longer imagine providing these services for themselves, as their ancestors had done.

Towns built walls, not against invaders but to control who could enter and leave. The Utensil Holders required everyone to wear markers showing their village of origin. They appointed observers in every community to report suspicious behavior - like speaking of the time before Utensils.

Children were taken to special houses to learn proper reverence for their Utensil. Families who taught the old ways disappeared in the night. The Holders declared certain words forbidden, certain thoughts dangerous, certain memories treasonous.

Now, centuries later, the Utensils rule absolutely. People bow when the sacred implements pass by. They inform on neighbors who question the Utensils' power. They offer their children to serve in the Utensil temples.

The latest marvel was Utensil Technology - enchanted mirrors and crystals that watched people's movements, recorded their words, and tracked their trades. "Only criminals fear being watched," the Holders proclaimed, as their surveillance spread into every home and market. The crystals even allowed them to freeze people's paper money if they spoke against the Utensils.

The Utensil Holders formed special partnerships with the largest merchant guilds. These favored merchants received special permissions, protection from smaller competitors, and access to the new paper money first. In return, they helped enforce the Holders' rules and collected information about their customers. Small traders and craftsmen found themselves crushed between these powerful allies.

The latest decree requires all newborns to be blessed by touching their foreheads to their realm's sacred Utensil, marking them forever as its property. Parents compete for earlier blessing times, believing this shows greater devotion.

The wars continue. The Fork Kingdoms battle the Chopstick Empire. The Ladle Realms raid the Spoon Holdings. Each believes their Utensil must rule all.

And in quiet corners, in hidden places, a few elders still whisper stories of the time before - when humans lived without Utensils telling them how to live. But fewer remember with each passing year. After all, who could imagine a world without the guidance of sacred silverware?

@ f1989a96:bcaaf2c1

Good morning, readers!

In Burma, the military junta introduced a far-reaching cybersecurity law that criminalizes privacy tools like VPNs and mandates online platforms to store and share user data with state officials. This move intensifies state repression of civil society, leaving activists and citizens more vulnerable to surveillance. \ \ Meanwhile, in Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, ostensibly intended to alleviate financial struggles, have backfired. Soaring inflation has plunged millions into a worsening food crisis, leaving families unable to put food on the table, as the regime continues to isolate the population from seeking a way out in the form of Bitcoin or dollars.

In open-source software news, Citadel Tech released the beta version of its Coinswap protocol. This privacy-enhancing Bitcoin tool, while still in development, could protect the financial activity of human rights defenders, journalists, and dissidents from the watchful eyes of authoritarian rulers. We also feature Nstart, a new tool that guides users through setting up a Nostr account for the first time. This may prove a valuable tool for activists and journalists operating in authoritarian environments, offering simplified access to uncensorable communications.

Finally, we conclude with the first three chapters of Evan Mawarire’s upcoming memoir, in which the Zimbabwean pastor turned activist recounts his powerful journey of inspiring a peaceful uprising against brutal dictator Robert Mugabe. His story is one of courage, resilience, and the enduring struggle for justice over hyperinflation and tyranny.

Now, let’s dive right in!

Subscribe Here

GLOBAL NEWS

Burma | Military Junta Enacts Sweeping Cybersecurity Law

Burma’s military junta is notorious for repressing pro-democracy activists, freezing their bank accounts, and surveilling their financial activity. Now, it is expanding control over online spaces with a sweeping new cybersecurity law. The law requires digital platform service providers to store user data for three years and hand it over to state officials upon request. Non-compliant providers face fines, blocks, or shutdowns if they fail to remove content or limit the flow of so-called “disinformation.” The law also targets Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), crucial for Internet access and privacy. Those caught using VPNs face up to six months in prison and fines of up to 10 million kyats ($4,760). The criminalization of privacy tools and expansion of state surveillance leave the public censored and incapable of organizing against authoritarian rule.

Nigeria | Inflation Continues as State Closes Ways Out

President Bola Tinubu’s economic “reforms” — removing fuel subsidies, expanding the money supply, and devaluing the naira — have driven food inflation beyond 40%. In a country where the monthly minimum wage stands at just 70,000 naira ($45), this means two out of every three Nigerian households are struggling with hunger. In a recent Forbes article, Nigerian CEO of Recursive Capital, Abubakar Nur Khalil, observed: “As the Naira continues to face further devaluations and slips against the US dollar, it has become almost second nature for those in Nigeria to seek out viable alternatives in the form of bitcoin and USDT.” Individuals laboring under this regime often do seek a way out in the form of Bitcoin or stablecoins, but the government continues to try and restrict that activity, trying instead to trap citizens inside the sinking and surveilled naira.

Kazakhstan | Shuts Down Dozens of Digital Asset Exchanges

In 2024, the Kazakhstani regime shut down 36 digital asset exchanges with a combined turnover of 60 billion Kazakhstani tenge ($112 million). Authorities also confiscated 2.5 billion tenge ($4.8 million) in assets. The regime says it will continue to crack down on digital assets, but the reality is these kinds of exchanges are some of the only ways for people inside a dictatorship to obtain access to open money like Bitcoin. At the same time, the regime is promoting its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital tenge, which it developed in collaboration with Mastercard and Visa. While presented as a modern and convenient financial tool, the CBDC risks becoming a means for consolidating state control over citizens’ economic activities and leaving few avenues for preserving financial independence.

Belarus | Opposition Leader Condemns Upcoming Election as a Sham

At the end of January, Belarusians will head to the polls for a presidential election widely regarded as a sham. This election is the first since Alexander Lukashenko’s fraudulent reelection in 2020, which triggered mass protests and saw Bitcoin play a role in supporting pro-democracy movements. The upcoming election is expected to solidify Lukashenko’s grip on power, extending his rule beyond three decades and securing a seventh term. Under Lukashenko’s regime, thousands of dissenters have been imprisoned, silenced, or financially repressed for challenging state objectives and narratives. Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya condemned the election, saying, “It is impossible to hold fair elections in a country where all the media are liquidated, all the parties are liquidated, and political leaders are in prison or abroad.”

Zimbabwe | Citizens Brace for More Currency Volatility

Zimbabweans are facing growing financial insecurity as the “ZiG” currency weakens further following a regime-imposed 43% devaluation in September. The sharp decline is eroding purchasing power, fanning inflation, and disrupting economic activity as the dictatorship siphons as much value as it can for its own uses, away from helping the people. “To plan using the local currency is to plan to fail,” says Christopher Mugaga, CEO of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce. These currency woes are compounded by drought-driven 18-hour power outages, placing immense strain on households and businesses alike. As profits dwindle, dissenting bank accounts are frozen, and disposable incomes vanish, many turn to US dollars and Bitcoin as lifelines to escape the chaos of an increasingly unstable ZiG economy.

BITCOIN NEWS

Coinswap | Releases Beta of Coinswap Protocol

Citadel Tech, an open-source Bitcoin software collective, announced the first public beta release of Coinswap, introducing a highly anticipated feature that enhances Bitcoin’s privacy and scalability. Coinswap allows users to swap their Bitcoin with other users in a way that breaks the link between transactions on the blockchain. Though still in its beta phase, this protocol holds potential for activists, journalists, and others living under authoritarian regimes, where financial surveillance is exploited to suppress dissent. Notably, HRF’s first-ever grant from its Bitcoin Development Fund was deployed to support Coinswap, so it is good to see progress on this front.

Nstart | Simplified Access to Nostr Protocol

Nstart is a new tool that simplifies onboarding to Nostr, a decentralized and censorship-resistant social network protocol. It guides first-time users through creating an account and securely backing up their private key (the password to their account). Additionally, users can set up a multi-signer bunker, which splits their private key into multiple pieces stored with trusted signers. This feature enhances security by protecting users’ identities even if one piece is compromised. These capabilities make Nstart an invaluable tool for activists and organizations operating under authoritarian environments, offering straightforward access to decentralized and uncensorable communications. To explore Nostr, start here: https://start.njump.me.

Blitz Wallet | Implements On-chain Payments and Manual Channel Rebalancing

Blitz, an open-source and self-custodial Bitcoin, Lightning, and Liquid wallet, introduced new features enhancing interoperability, privacy, and liquidity management. Users can now send regular payments from their Lightning or Liquid balances, giving them more transaction options. Blitz also lets users manually rebalance their payment channels, offering more control compared to automatic rebalancing. To improve privacy, the wallet will also rotate Liquid account addresses weekly and contact addresses every month, reducing the chances of being tracked.

Nunchuck | Launches Taproot Multisig Beta

Nunchuk, a self-custodial Bitcoin wallet, introduced a beta version of Taproot multisignature in its mobile wallet. Multisignature wallets require more than one private key to make transactions, adding an extra layer of security. With Taproot multisignature, Nunchuk’s wallet improves privacy and lowers fees by making these transactions look identical to regular transactions on the blockchain. This custody solution offers a secure and private way to manage Bitcoin, which is helpful for those in countries with dictators practicing strict financial surveillance or where funds are at risk of confiscation.

Wasabi Wallet | Integrates Send to Silent Payment Addresses

Wasabi Wallet, a privacy-focused, open-source Bitcoin wallet, introduced support for sending to Silent Payment addresses. Silent Payments enables transaction senders to generate unique addresses derived from a receiver’s static public key. This advancement is particularly critical for activists and dissidents operating in hostile political environments, where financial transparency can expose them to severe risks. By integrating Silent Payments, Wasabi Wallet empowers users with permissionless and uncensorable money, improving financial privacy for all parties and protecting them from oppressive surveillance.

Bitcoin Student Network | Launches Layer Zero

The Bitcoin Students Network, an educational hub for students interested in Bitcoin, launched Layer Zero, a program designed to empower youth worldwide, strengthen Bitcoin’s social layer, and promote its role in advancing financial freedom. Running for two and a half months, Layer Zero offers participants technical training and hands-on experience in community building and peer collaboration. The program also connects students with seasoned entrepreneurs and developers, fostering mentorship and real-world insights. Layer Zero could be a powerful support group for youth living under dictatorships and navigating financial repression. Students from anywhere have until Feb. 15 to apply to the program.

RECOMMENDED CONTENT

“Crazy Epic Courage” by Evan Mawarire

In this soon-to-be-released memoir, “Crazy Epic Courage,” Zimbabwean pastor and activist Evan Mawarire recounts the remarkable story of how he inspired a nation to stand up against dictator Robert Mugabe. What began as a simple viral video grew into the “ThisFlag” citizen movement, a powerful call for justice that challenged decades of brutal dictatorship and hyperinflation. Mawarire’s journey is one of resilience, courage, and unwavering determination, undertaken at great personal risk. For now, Mawarire is offering an exclusive preview of the first three chapters, where readers will begin to discover how he found his voice, sparked a movement, and forever changed Zimbabwe’s struggle for freedom.

If this article was forwarded to you and you enjoyed reading it, please consider subscribing to the Financial Freedom Report here.

Support the newsletter by donating bitcoin to HRF’s Financial Freedom program via BTCPay.\ Want to contribute to the newsletter? Submit tips, stories, news, and ideas by emailing us at ffreport @ hrf.org

The Bitcoin Development Fund (BDF) is accepting grant proposals on an ongoing basis. The Bitcoin Development Fund is looking to support Bitcoin developers, community builders, and educators. Submit proposals here.

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@ 3eacaa76:bac66fe4

Few days back this track get on Top of list on #wavlake. It's nice , but not a point. at all.

The message is clear. like Real Talk should be !

We know, specialy on #nostr, that solutions are available. However, the world is not yet aware of them.

100% of the donations for this remix will be sent to my friend Yusef who is on the ground and has been providing food, water, and shelter for children in Gaza even before or the psyop with October 07 took a place. Israel has enforced a blockade on Gaza for over decade. And Just past year completly destroyed 90% of land. Like to the ground , no schools , no hospitals ... hard to find anything what surrvived those daily airstrikes without 1h of pause since 350 days. WTF

It's heartbreaking to see children dying daily in houreds and the lack of action from the public and authorities of other nations. The statistics are alarming, and it's essential to address this issue and find ways to make progress. it's crucial to raise awareness and take action to prevent further tragedies. Let's remember that every child's life is precious and deserves our attention and support.

In most apocaliptic condition , where is-real controling all money supply (check lastest news about banknotes in there) , the #Bitcoin is one and only solution can help them in daily bases. It was helping them before with great succes. Why you ask ? becuse even if they close all platforms You can still send them some sats.

How fookin cool is that !!

I know it doesn't sound funny.

Those People pushed to the limit , now they have a tool that fulfills exactly what was created for A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.

No Middle man .

``` On the middle is only a finger whitch WE the PEOPLE can give to those Scumbagz in Goverments and Banks, Full stop.

```

Many people are only recently realizing the truth about Gaza being an open-air prison from like 75 years. Not 3, not 5 or even 20 ..... but seventy five fookin years.

This music mix was created to share the truth and provoke to critical thinking, which has been lacking for the past decade. and even more.

I wonder why we can watch live streams of the ongoing genocide in 4K HD and stil be silent. not all but many.

Why are we surprised that normies don't understand Bitcoin and still use fiat shit currency? Whitch is fudament of All war crimes. We should ask ourselves.

Our own ignorance and the banking system are the cancers of this world.

If we lose Palestine, we will lose much more than we think.

You will be next - One way or another

Thank you for your support, not for me but for those in need who can gain hope from our efforts.

Respect to you all.

LISTEN HERE and suport directly in upper links

FreePalestine

Thanks

be blessed

MadMunky

@ 3eab247c:1d80aeed

Preface

2024 was the second full year BTC Map. The first attempts to build a map of Bitcoin merchants were observed more than a decade ago, but the first wave or merchant adoption faded away due to on-chain settlement limitations. Late 2022 was the year when Lightning started to shine and it felt like Bitcoin was ready for retail adoption. It turned out we weren't wrong about that! BTC Map continues to have a steady growth rates, powered by the mighty Lightning Network.

Global Metrics: Total Merchant Count

The total number of bitcoin accepting merchants is 40% higher than it was in the beginning of 2024. We started this year with 9,727 merchants on the map, and we increased this to 13,673 merchants by the end of 2024.

Global Metrics: Up-to-date Merchant Count

We care deeply about data quality and so every merchant is supposed to be re-verified at least once a year. The number of freshly verified merchants has increased from 6,250 to 7,807, which is 25% higher than it was in the beginning of 2024.

We're aiming to re-verify the other 5,866 merchants, but we can only do that if we get some help from the local communities. After all, the data is theirs (yours!), not ours. The best way to help us is to re-verify some outdated locations in your area.

Trending Countries

1. Brazil - 1,873 changes
2. United States - 1,745 changes
3. Czechia - 1,644 changes
4. Italy - 1,567 changes
5. El Salvador - 1,043 changes
6. Netherlands - 985 changes
7. Germany - 685 changes
8. South Africa - 740 changes
9. Portugal - 580 changes
10. Georgia - 648 changes

I want to give a huge thanks to Rockedf for consistently contributing to almost every region!

Trending Communities

1. Jednadvacet Praha - 682 changes
2. Bitcoin Association Switzerland - 566 changes
3. Mi Primer Bitcoin - 414 changes
4. FREE Madeira - 350 changes
5. Vancouver Bitcoiners - 319 changes
6. Bitcoin Bulgaria - 272 changes
7. Arnhem Bitcoin City - 258 changes
8. Bitcoin é aqui! Rolante/Riozinho-RS-BRASIL - 261 changes
9. Bitcoin Island Philippines - 205 changes
10. Porto Alegre Bitcoin - 210 changes

Key Goals for 2025

• Re-verify more merchants (we need your help!)
• Finish community admin app and onboard more local admins (Nathan is working on that)
• Clean up our community database, remove the stale records and make sure none of our communities are shitcoining (we're hoping that the local admins will help us with that)
• Improve Android app by switching to vector tiles and fixing some UI and performance issues (Igor is working on that)
• Find someone to maintain our Web and iOS apps (if you're a dev, we need you help!)
• Automate merchant review process
• Implement more lightweight web interface for the users who doesn't need local caches and offline mode. It should be powered by a special API optimized for this use case (I'll probably work on that, but any help would be appreciated)
• Improve backend performance and fix some known bugs and bottlenecks
• Visit more places and spend more sats on BTC Map =) (we'll keep doing that and we need your help!)

Conclusion

We're satisfied with our performance in 2024, and think the future looks bright. We're pleased to see more local communities spawning and the growing public awareness. Some popular Lightning wallets have also integrated BTC Map and we expect more to follow their lead. As Lightning Network continues to mature, it also gets much easier for merchants to accept sats. We expect a healthy growth rate in 2025!

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

How does open source development contribute to bitcoin's security, reliability, and evolution as a network?

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/876130

@ 1cb14ab3:95d52462

Welcome to the first installment of my ‘Nostr Spotlight’, a series where I explore various Nostr clients (which I will refer to as apps for simplicity sake), review their features, and share tips on how to use them effectively.

For the first installment, I’m diving into npub.pro, an incredible service that lets anyone on Nostr create a fully functional website using their already-published notes.

---

What is npub.pro?

npub.pro is a simple—yet powerful— tool that takes your Nostr content and turns it into a website instantly. By filtering through hashtags or keywords, or hand-selecting which notes to feature, you can curate what appears on your site.

This allows for highly customizable and dynamic websites that anyone on Nostr can deploy. Whether you’re a blogger, photographer, journalist, artist—or just want to organize your notes into a cleanly setup website—this service opens up endless possibilities for showcasing your notes.

---

Who Should Use npub.pro?

This service is ideal for:

✅ Writers and bloggers who want a frictionless way to publish content.

✅ Artists and photographers looking to showcase their work.

✅ Journalists and researchers who need an easy way to organize articles.

✅ Anyone who wants a personal website without dealing with hosting or technical setups.

---

Why I Love npub.pro

I’ve personally deployed several websites using npub.pro, each serving a different purpose:

HesArt – My personal art portfolio.

https://image.nostr.build/6a7030a24a9c5d4a9e3a0854020e08740241e870e46083b6b326ca36d5dc681f.png

Hes – My main long-form writing site, featuring artist statements, travel guides, photo series, tech reviews, and economic essays.

https://image.nostr.build/7d088829dd2ec0f9702430f115e29d368da85a78227cf6524f8773216f6a102e.png

HesCooks – A collection of curated recipes.

https://image.nostr.build/840ffdc74ac618ddf9534d4ab77a09d02aee45eee8c332a6733bcea5b80a3d2a.png

HesCreates – A categorized and searchable archive of my notes.

https://image.nostr.build/4663c91f3c77ad59f0f291813c672395f8cc20c6806ca2afffb3e3d65b6c6f37.png

The ability to filter my Nostr content and instantly publish it as a website has made organizing my notes seamless and efficient. The opportunities are endless and I have several ideas for other websites I plan on deploying.

---

How to Get Started

1.Visit npub.pro.

2.Enter your Nostr private key (nsec) using an extension of bunker.

3.Choose your filters (hashtags, keywords, etc.) to curate what appears and select a pre-made theme.

4.Publish instantly – no extra setup needed!

It’s that simple.

---

Final Verdict:

5/5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

npub.pro is an outstanding tool that makes publishing on the web effortless for Nostr users. It’s intuitive, versatile, and packed with potential use cases. Whether you need a blog, portfolio, or curated archive, this app delivers.

Highly recommended!

---

More from Hes

Full Portfolio

Online Store

Artist Statements

Travel Guides

Photography

Writings

---

Note: This spotlight is not sponsored. I thoroughly enjoy the service and have received outstanding customer service from the team at npub.pro!

Stay tuned for more Nostr App Spotlights as I explore the best apps in the ecosystem!

@ 1cb14ab3:95d52462

Chef's notes

Credit to The Yummy Life. Go show them love below: https://www.theyummylife.com/Pickled_Jalapeno_Peppers

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 1 hour
• 🍳 Cook time: 20 mins
• 🍽️ Servings: 4 mason jars (pint)

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. jalapenos
• 2-1/4 cups vinegar (white distilled, apple cider, or a combination of the two)
• 2-1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons sugar or honey (optional)
• ADD TO EACH PINT JAR
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon whole black pepper corns
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 whole garlic clove, peeled
• 1/8 teaspoon Pickle Crisp granules (optional)

Directions

1. Slice 1/2 pound jalapenos into 1/8" rounds, discarding stem ends.
2. Prepare the jars: Wash 4 pint jars and lids in hot sudsy water, then keep them warm.
3. Prepare the pickling liquid: Combine 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water, and 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar or honey (optional) in a 2 quart pan, heating until just before boiling.
4. Fill the jars: Add jalapeno slices to each jar, pressing them down and packing them in compactly, then pour the hot pickling liquid into each jar, leaving 1/2" head space.
5. Process and store: Allow jars to cool to room temperature, then store them in the refrigerator or can them using standard USDA water process canning procedures, following storage guidelines for refrigerator or canned pickled peppers.

@ 1cb14ab3:95d52462

Chef's notes

Classic beef n' broccoli. Easy to make and dank to eat.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 20 mins
• 🍳 Cook time: 10 mins.

Ingredients

• 1 lb top sirloin steak, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 head broccoli, cut into 1-inch (2 ½ cm) florets
• ½ cup water
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the sirloin steak, soy sauce, cornstarch, brown sugar, and ginger until the meat is evenly covered in the marinade. Set aside to marinate for 20 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Dump in the meat and marinade and sear each side until golden brown. Transfer the meat to a clean bowl and set aside.
3. Place the broccoli into the hot skillet and sauté until the broccoli has just started to brown, about 1 minute. Pour the water into the skillet and immediately cover with a lid. Let it steam for 2 minutes, until the broccoli has softened.
4. Remove the lid and toss in the garlic, red pepper flakes, and sesame oil. Sauté until the garlic becomes fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5. Add the steak back into the pan and stir to combine. Remove from heat and serve on a bed of brown rice.

@ 21ffd29c:518a8ff5

• What Are Homestead Chickens?
  Homestead chickens are domesticated fowl kept by homeowners to provide eggs and companionship. They play a vital role in the homestead ecosystem.

Why Water is Essential in Cold Weather - Hydration Basics:
Chickens don't drink much water naturally but need it for hydration, especially during cold weather when metabolic rates increase. - Environmental Factors:
Cold weather can lead to ice buildup on water sources. Chickens benefit from having access to fresh water year-round.

Maintaining Accessible Water Sources - Shallow Troughs:
Use shallow troughs instead of deep containers to minimize ice formation and ensure constant water supply. - Automatic Feeders:
Consider installing automatic feeders for convenience, especially in unpredictable weather conditions. - Multiple Water Sources:
Provide multiple water sources to prevent competition and ensure all chickens have access.

Preventing Ice Buildup - Floating Shallow Troughs:
Opt for troughs that sit above the ground to avoid ice buildup. Ensure they're placed where they can't freeze completely. - Regular Checks:
Inspect water sources regularly to remove ice and debris, maintaining accessibility for chickens.

Best Practices for Watering Chickens - Waterers Designed for Cold Weather:
Use waterers made of stainless steel or plastic that can withstand cold temperatures. - Seasonal Adjustments:
During extreme cold spells, supplement with a small amount of fresh water to aid in drinking.

Conclusion - Key Takeaways:
Providing proper water is crucial for the health and well-being of homestead chickens during cold weather. Maintaining accessible, shallow water sources prevents issues like ice buildup and ensures hydration.

Final Thoughts - Sustainability Considerations:
While chickens don't drink much, ensuring they have water supports their overall health and sustainability efforts. - Environmental Impact:
Thoughtful water management can reduce water usage, promoting eco-friendly practices on the homestead.

@ 1cb14ab3:95d52462

What is it?

I stumbled upon the Elgato Stream Deck while aimlessly browsing the web, and I was instantly intrigued. But one question kept nagging me—how would I use this, and why do I even need it?

I don’t stream.

At first glance, it seemed like just another gadget to clutter my already cramped desk in my tiny Shanghai apartment. But curiosity got the best of me. After some research, I decided to give it a shot and see what all the hype was about.

And wow—was that hype justified.

This isn’t a deep-dive review covering every feature (there are plenty of those online). Instead, I want to share some of the workflows I’ve set up and hopefully get you thinking about the endless possibilities you could create with a Stream Deck.

If you’re someone who loves making computer tasks easier but struggles to remember keyboard shortcuts beyond Ctrl + V, this little device might just change the way you work.

---

Launching Apps and Websites

I won’t lie—my favorite use for the Stream Deck is the sheer convenience of pressing a button and instantly launching what I need.

Want to watch YouTube? Button.

Open Photoshop? Button.

Play a game? Button.

Check Bitcoin prices? Those are always on the display.

Sure, it’s a small thing, but the speed and ease of launching apps or navigating to websites make a surprising difference. What used to be a few clicks and keystrokes is now a single tap.

After using the Stream Deck for a while, my laptop feels... clunky. I’ve genuinely noticed an increase in my productivity and focus.

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Custom Application Profiles

One of the most powerful features of the Stream Deck is its ability to switch profiles based on the application you’re using.

This means that every time you switch programs, the buttons automatically adjust to show relevant shortcuts and commands. It’s a game-changer for software with hundreds of keyboard shortcuts, making multitasking seamless.

I’ll admit—setting up custom profiles can be a bit time-consuming. The good news? You don’t have to start from scratch. There are tons of downloadable third-party profiles for popular programs like Illustrator, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Microsoft Office, and Ableton.

If your favorite app doesn’t have a pre-made profile, you can always build your own. It takes some effort, but once it's set up, the workflow improvements are worth it.

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Music and Audio Control

I use an audio interface for lossless wired playback and external microphone support. The Stream Deck makes switching between my computer’s default mic and my studio mic effortless—no more digging through system preferences.

Even if you don’t use external audio gear, the Stream Deck still has plenty of value for music lovers.

It integrates with Apple Music and Spotify, letting you control playback, skip tracks, like songs, and add them to playlists—all without switching apps. Elgato is constantly adding new third-party integrations, which gives the device even more longevity.

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Lighting and Smart Home Control

If you have smart home devices, the Stream Deck can act as a command center. It integrates with platforms like Philips Hue, LIFX, Nanoleaf, and IFTTT, letting you control lights, scenes, and colors with a single tap.

Want to set the mood for gaming, reading, or watching a movie? Done.

You can even use it to trigger other smart devices, like cameras, thermostats, or speakers, using IFTTT applets. The possibilities here are endless.

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Finder and Document Shortcuts

One of the most unexpectedly useful features for me has been quick access to folders and files.

I’ve set up buttons for my most frequently used folders—Downloads, Desktop, and Documents—so I can access them instantly. I’ve also created buttons for specific files like spreadsheets and PDFs, so I don’t have to dig through folders to find them.

It sounds simple, but when juggling multiple projects, these little time-savers add up fast.

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Final Thoughts

The Elgato Stream Deck is a surprisingly versatile tool that enhances productivity, creativity, and entertainment. Whether you’re launching apps, controlling music, managing smart devices, or creating complex workflows, it streamlines everyday tasks in a way that’s hard to go back from.

At first, I thought it was just for streamers. Now? I can’t imagine working without it.

I hope this post gives you some ideas on how to make the most of a Stream Deck. If you have any questions or thoughts, drop a comment below.

Thanks for reading!

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Feel free to support me by grabbing one through my affiliate link below:

Purchase a Stream Deck

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Originally published in 2022. All images are credit of Hes, but you are free to download and use for any purpose. If you find joy from my art, please feel free to send a zap. Enjoy life on a Bitcoin standard.

@ 1e566682:60493eed

بازار ارزهای دیجیتال به‌زودی شاهد یک تغییر مهم خواهد بود. طبق گزارش اخیر منتشرشده در فوربز، بیت‌کوین و سایر ارزهای دیجیتال در آستانه یک "زلزله قیمتی" قرار دارند که به دلیل تغییرات نظارتی و تصمیمات کلان اقتصادی در ایالات متحده شکل می‌گیرد. کارشناسان پیش‌بینی می‌کنند که این تغییرات می‌توانند نوسانات شدیدی در ارزش دارایی‌های دیجیتال ایجاد کنند و بازار را تحت تأثیر قرار دهند.

دلایل اصلی این زلزله قیمتی

1. سیاست‌های جدید نظارتی و قانونی

دولت آمریکا به دنبال وضع مقررات سخت‌گیرانه‌تری برای نظارت بر ارزهای دیجیتال است. کمیسیون بورس و اوراق بهادار ایالات متحده و سایر نهادهای نظارتی در حال بررسی اقداماتی برای محدود کردن برخی فعالیت‌های مرتبط با ارزهای دیجیتال هستند. این مقررات می‌تواند شامل نظارت دقیق‌تر بر صرافی‌های ارز دیجیتال، سخت‌گیری در فرآیندهای ضدپولشویی و احراز هویت مشتریان باشد.

1. تغییرات مالیاتی و تأثیر آن بر سرمایه‌گذاران

دولت ایالات متحده در حال بررسی اصلاحات مالیاتی است که می‌تواند تأثیر قابل‌توجهی بر سرمایه‌گذاران ارزهای دیجیتال بگذارد. مالیات بر سود حاصل از معاملات ارزهای دیجیتال می‌تواند افزایش یابد و سرمایه‌گذاران را به اتخاذ استراتژی‌های جدید معاملاتی وادار کند. این مسئله ممکن است موجب کاهش حجم معاملات و افزایش نوسانات قیمتی شود.

1. سیاست‌های پولی فدرال رزرو

فدرال رزرو (بانک مرکزی آمریکا) نقش مهمی در تعیین نرخ بهره و سیاست‌های مالی دارد. اگر نرخ بهره افزایش یابد، سرمایه‌گذاران ممکن است تمایل بیشتری به سرمایه‌گذاری در دارایی‌های کم‌ریسک مانند اوراق قرضه دولتی داشته باشند و سرمایه‌های خود را از بازار ارزهای دیجیتال خارج کنند. این امر می‌تواند منجر به کاهش قیمت بیت‌کوین و سایر رمزارزها شود.

1. افزایش پذیرش سازمانی و واکنش بازار

در حالی که قوانین سخت‌گیرانه می‌توانند فشار نزولی بر قیمت‌ها وارد کنند، افزایش پذیرش بیت‌کوین توسط شرکت‌های بزرگ و موسسات مالی می‌تواند از کاهش شدید قیمت‌ها جلوگیری کند. بسیاری از شرکت‌ها همچنان به پذیرش رمزارزها به‌عنوان یک روش پرداخت ادامه می‌دهند و برخی بانک‌های بزرگ نیز وارد بازار رمزارز شده‌اند که این موضوع می‌تواند روند کلی بازار را تغییر دهد.

تأثیرات احتمالی بر قیمت بیت‌کوین و سایر ارزهای دیجیتال

با در نظر گرفتن این عوامل، دو سناریوی اصلی برای آینده قیمت بیت‌کوین و بازار رمزارزها وجود دارد:

• سناریوی نزولی: اگر مقررات سخت‌گیرانه اجرایی شوند و نرخ بهره افزایش یابد، ممکن است بیت‌کوین و سایر رمزارزها با کاهش قیمت مواجه شوند. در این شرایط، سرمایه‌گذاران خرد و سازمانی ممکن است با خروج از بازار، نوسانات شدیدتری را رقم بزنند.

• سناریوی صعودی: در صورتی که افزایش پذیرش بیت‌کوین در میان موسسات مالی ادامه یابد و قوانین به‌طور متعادل اجرا شوند، احتمال دارد که بیت‌کوین بتواند سطح حمایتی خود را حفظ کرده و در بلندمدت به رشد خود ادامه دهد.

جمع‌بندی: سرمایه‌گذاران باید چه کار کنند؟

با توجه به این شرایط، سرمایه‌گذاران ارزهای دیجیتال باید با دقت تحولات نظارتی و اقتصادی را دنبال کنند. مدیریت ریسک، تنوع‌بخشی به سبد سرمایه‌گذاری و در نظر گرفتن چشم‌انداز بلندمدت می‌تواند از ضررهای احتمالی جلوگیری کند.

این زلزله قیمتی ممکن است بازار رمزارزها را به شدت متزلزل کند، اما همان‌طور که در گذشته نیز دیده‌ایم، بازار ارزهای دیجیتال بارها از بحران‌های مشابه عبور کرده و به رشد خود ادامه داده است. باید دید که در نهایت این تغییرات چگونه شکل خواهند گرفت و چه تأثیری بر آینده بیت‌کوین و سایر ارزهای دیجیتال خواهند گذاشت.

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

So many of our problems are due to our point of view. The closer our point of view gets to God, the more peace and joy we will feel.

Too often we look at God as the big, bad killjoy. We resent when He tells us all the “fun” things we aren’t supposed to do and when He tells us to do difficult things like submit to God, submit to husbands, submit to authorities. Too many people focus on the “do nots,” and don’t like the idea of anyone telling them what to do. They then do their own thing, which they think will make them happy. Unfortunately, this leads to the opposite.

God is our Creator. He created us for a purpose within the rest of His creation.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

When we are doing His will we will find peace and joy. When we fight Him on what we should and should not be doing, we feel frustration, depression, and even despair. Our constant seeking of things to make us happy is actually our innate desire for God and to fulfill His will. Unfortunately, we frequently don’t see the truth and avoid the one thing that will give us peace because it is hard, inconvenient, and doesn’t lead to what we think we want right now.

God wants what is best for us. He also thinks eternally. He doesn’t think in the here and now, like we do. Just as a parent makes decisions for his/her child based on knowledge of what will be better for them in the long term (saving vs spending, healthy food vs junk food, etc.), God makes decisions for us based on what will best prepare us for eternity with Him. Frequently that looks much different than what we think we want. Frequently that even includes hardship and pain because we are much more likely to grow in faith, strength, and holiness during hardship than we do during comfort. We need to understand that God knows best and that He never makes a mistake.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart\ And do not lean on your own understanding.\ In all your ways acknowledge Him,\ And He will make your paths straight.\ Do not be wise in your own eyes;\ Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.\ It will be healing to your body\ And refreshment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:5-8)

Nothing happens on earth without God allowing it. Just as Satan had to ask permission to persecute Job, in the same way nobody can cause believers harm without God allowing it for His purpose, which is usually related to helping them to put their full trust in Him.

Remember the former things long past,\ For I am God, and there is no other;\ I am God, and there is no one like Me,\ Declaring the end from the beginning,\ And from ancient times things which have not been done,\ Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,\ And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; (Isaiah 46:9-10)

So often I focus on how awesome, powerful, and holy our God is. He is also the most tender, loving, caring, personal father God. Read Psalm 139. The God of the Bible is not a distant clock maker who set the world in motion and let it go about without His care. He is personally involved in everything that happens and in the life of every person on earth, but especially in the life of those who trust in Him.

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.\ You know when I sit down and when I rise up;\ You understand my thought from afar.\ You scrutinize my path and my lying down,\ *And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.\ Even before there is a word on my tongue,\ Behold, O Lord, You know it all.*\ You have enclosed me behind and before,\ And laid Your hand upon me.\ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;\ It is too high, I cannot attain to it.\ Where can I go from Your Spirit?\ Or where can I flee from Your presence?\ If I ascend to heaven, You are there;\ If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.\ If I take the wings of the dawn,\ If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,\ *Even there Your hand will lead me*,\ And Your right hand will lay hold of me.\ If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,\ And the light around me will be night,”\ Even the darkness is not dark to You,\ And the night is as bright as the day.\ Darkness and light are alike to You.\ For You formed my inward parts;\ You wove me in my mother’s womb.\ I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;\ Wonderful are Your works,\ And my soul knows it very well.\ My frame was not hidden from You,\ When I was made in secret,\ And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;\ Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;\ And in Your book were all written\ The days that were ordained for me,\ When as yet there was not one of them.\ How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!\ How vast is the sum of them!\ If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.\ When I awake, I am still with You.\ O that You would slay the wicked, O God;\ Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.\ For they speak against You wickedly,\ And Your enemies take Your name in vain.\ Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?\ And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?\ I hate them with the utmost hatred;|\ They have become my enemies.\ **Search me, O God, and know my heart;\ Try me and know my anxious thoughts;\ And see if there be any hurtful way in me,\ And lead me in the everlasting way. (Psalm 139) {emphasis mine}

What is one of the greatest desires of our hearts? Isn’t it to be truly known and loved for who we are?

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.\ You know when I sit down and when I rise up;\ You understand my thought from afar. (Psalm 139:1-2)

How amazing is it that the Creator of the universe knows you personally and cares for you among all of creation?

Even before there is a word on my tongue,\ Behold, O Lord, You know it all. (Psalm 139:4)

He knows our every action, our every thought, and our every feeling before we do.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;\ It is too high, I cannot attain to it. (Psalm 139:6)

We cannot fully understand how much our Creator cares for us and how carefully God guides us in our every path. We usually can’t see what is for our best. We usually can’t see what great work God is working in us. We usually can’t comprehend how great is His love, knowledge, and plan.

Even there Your hand will lead me,\ And Your right hand will lay hold of me. (Psalm 139:10)

It doesn’t matter how difficult a situation we have gotten into. It doesn’t matter how powerful our adversaries are. It doesn’t matter how weak we are. God is always there guiding us and protecting us. Just as God allowed Job to go through difficulty as part of God’s plan for Job and for us, He did not allow Job to be killed. He was guided through the worst of situations and led to ultimate blessing.

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;\ And in Your book were all written\ The days that were ordained for me,\ When as yet there was not one of them. (Psalm 139:16)

God knew us and had a plan for us before He even created the universe. He knew every day we would live before we were conceived. We can’t surprise Him and He will be guiding us every day of our lives, especially those who have trusted Him as savior.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!\ How vast is the sum of them! (Psalm 139:17)

We are precious to God and He should be precious to us because of all He has done for us.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;\ Try me and know my anxious thoughts;\ And see if there be any hurtful way in me,\ And lead me in the everlasting way. (Psalm 139:23-24)

This should be our prayer. We should ask for Him to bring are faults to our minds so we can repent and we should ask for Him to lead us in His “everlasting way.” We should admit that our Father God knows best and submit to His will. Everything goes so much smoother when we aren’t fighting our God. Even when He leads us through hardship, being in His will makes all of the difference in the world.

I pray that you will put your trust in our loving Creator and that you will submit to His will. I pray that you will understand that His ways are better even when you don’t understand the why. I pray that you will humbly submit to His will and be used to further the Kingdom for His glory and your blessing.

Trust Jesus.

FYI, Psalm 139 is also one of the best passages on why all believers should oppose abortion. In God’s universe there are no accidents and there are no unwanted babies. Every person ever conceived had a purpose in God’s plan. Every person ever conceived is valuable and made in the image of God. God values all human life and so should we.

@ 6389be64:ef439d32

Bitcoin is more than money, more than an asset, and more than a store of value. Bitcoin is a Prime Mover, an enabler and it ignites imaginations. It certainly fueled an idea in my mind. The idea integrates sensors, computational prowess, actuated machinery, power conversion, and electronic communications to form an autonomous, machined creature roaming forests and harvesting the most widespread and least energy-dense fuel source available. I call it the Forest Walker and it eats wood, and mines Bitcoin.

I know what you're thinking. Why not just put Bitcoin mining rigs where they belong: in a hosted facility sporting electricity from energy-dense fuels like natural gas, climate-controlled with excellent data piping in and out? Why go to all the trouble building a robot that digests wood creating flammable gasses fueling an engine to run a generator powering Bitcoin miners? It's all about synergy.

Bitcoin mining enables the realization of multiple, seemingly unrelated, yet useful activities. Activities considered un-profitable if not for Bitcoin as the Prime Mover. This is much more than simply mining the greatest asset ever conceived by humankind. It’s about the power of synergy, which Bitcoin plays only one of many roles. The synergy created by this system can stabilize forests' fire ecology while generating multiple income streams. That’s the realistic goal here and requires a brief history of American Forest management before continuing.

Smokey The Bear

In 1944, the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention Campaign began in the United States. “Only YOU can prevent forest fires” remains the refrain of the Ad Council’s longest running campaign. The Ad Council is a U.S. non-profit set up by the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Association of National Advertisers in 1942. It would seem that the U.S. Department of the Interior was concerned about pesky forest fires and wanted them to stop. So, alongside a national policy of extreme fire suppression they enlisted the entire U.S. population to get onboard via the Ad Council and it worked. Forest fires were almost obliterated and everyone was happy, right? Wrong.

Smokey is a fantastically successful bear so forest fires became so few for so long that the fuel load - dead wood - in forests has become very heavy. So heavy that when a fire happens (and they always happen) it destroys everything in its path because the more fuel there is the hotter that fire becomes. Trees, bushes, shrubs, and all other plant life cannot escape destruction (not to mention homes and businesses). The soil microbiology doesn’t escape either as it is burned away even in deeper soils. To add insult to injury, hydrophobic waxy residues condense on the soil surface, forcing water to travel over the ground rather than through it eroding forest soils. Good job, Smokey. Well done, Sir!

Most terrestrial ecologies are “fire ecologies”. Fire is a part of these systems’ fuel load and pest management. Before we pretended to “manage” millions of acres of forest, fires raged over the world, rarely damaging forests. The fuel load was always too light to generate fires hot enough to moonscape mountainsides. Fires simply burned off the minor amounts of fuel accumulated since the fire before. The lighter heat, smoke, and other combustion gasses suppressed pests, keeping them in check and the smoke condensed into a plant growth accelerant called wood vinegar, not a waxy cap on the soil. These fires also cleared out weak undergrowth, cycled minerals, and thinned the forest canopy, allowing sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor. Without a fire’s heat, many pine tree species can’t sow their seed. The heat is required to open the cones (the seed bearing structure) of Spruce, Cypress, Sequoia, Jack Pine, Lodgepole Pine and many more. Without fire forests can’t have babies. The idea was to protect the forests, and it isn't working.

So, in a world of fire, what does an ally look like and what does it do?

Meet The Forest Walker

For the Forest Walker to work as a mobile, autonomous unit, a solid platform that can carry several hundred pounds is required. It so happens this chassis already exists but shelved.

Introducing the Legged Squad Support System (LS3). A joint project between Boston Dynamics, DARPA, and the United States Marine Corps, the quadrupedal robot is the size of a cow, can carry 400 pounds (180 kg) of equipment, negotiate challenging terrain, and operate for 24 hours before needing to refuel. Yes, it had an engine. Abandoned in 2015, the thing was too noisy for military deployment and maintenance "under fire" is never a high-quality idea. However, we can rebuild it to act as a platform for the Forest Walker; albeit with serious alterations. It would need to be bigger, probably. Carry more weight? Definitely. Maybe replace structural metal with carbon fiber and redesign much as 3D printable parts for more effective maintenance.

The original system has a top operational speed of 8 miles per hour. For our purposes, it only needs to move about as fast as a grazing ruminant. Without the hammering vibrations of galloping into battle, shocks of exploding mortars, and drunken soldiers playing "Wrangler of Steel Machines", time between failures should be much longer and the overall energy consumption much lower. The LS3 is a solid platform to build upon. Now it just needs to be pulled out of the mothballs, and completely refitted with outboard equipment.

The Small Branch Chipper

When I say “Forest fuel load” I mean the dead, carbon containing litter on the forest floor. Duff (leaves), fine-woody debris (small branches), and coarse woody debris (logs) are the fuel that feeds forest fires. Walk through any forest in the United States today and you will see quite a lot of these materials. Too much, as I have described. Some of these fuel loads can be 8 tons per acre in pine and hardwood forests and up to 16 tons per acre at active logging sites. That’s some big wood and the more that collects, the more combustible danger to the forest it represents. It also provides a technically unlimited fuel supply for the Forest Walker system.

The problem is that this detritus has to be chewed into pieces that are easily ingestible by the system for the gasification process (we’ll get to that step in a minute). What we need is a wood chipper attached to the chassis (the LS3); its “mouth”.

A small wood chipper handling material up to 2.5 - 3.0 inches (6.3 - 7.6 cm) in diameter would eliminate a substantial amount of fuel. There is no reason for Forest Walker to remove fallen trees. It wouldn’t have to in order to make a real difference. It need only identify appropriately sized branches and grab them. Once loaded into the chipper’s intake hopper for further processing, the beast can immediately look for more “food”. This is essentially kindling that would help ignite larger logs. If it’s all consumed by Forest Walker, then it’s not present to promote an aggravated conflagration.

I have glossed over an obvious question: How does Forest Walker see and identify branches and such? LiDaR (Light Detection and Ranging) attached to Forest Walker images the local area and feed those data to onboard computers for processing. Maybe AI plays a role. Maybe simple machine learning can do the trick. One thing is for certain: being able to identify a stick and cause robotic appendages to pick it up is not impossible.

Great! We now have a quadrupedal robot autonomously identifying and “eating” dead branches and other light, combustible materials. Whilst strolling through the forest, depleting future fires of combustibles, Forest Walker has already performed a major function of this system: making the forest safer. It's time to convert this low-density fuel into a high-density fuel Forest Walker can leverage. Enter the gasification process.

The Gassifier

The gasifier is the heart of the entire system; it’s where low-density fuel becomes the high-density fuel that powers the entire system. Biochar and wood vinegar are process wastes and I’ll discuss why both are powerful soil amendments in a moment, but first, what’s gasification?

Reacting shredded carbonaceous material at high temperatures in a low or no oxygen environment converts the biomass into biochar, wood vinegar, heat, and Synthesis Gas (Syngas). Syngas consists primarily of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane. All of which are extremely useful fuels in a gaseous state. Part of this gas is used to heat the input biomass and keep the reaction temperature constant while the internal combustion engine that drives the generator to produce electrical power consumes the rest.

Critically, this gasification process is “continuous feed”. Forest Walker must intake biomass from the chipper, process it to fuel, and dump the waste (CO2, heat, biochar, and wood vinegar) continuously. It cannot stop. Everything about this system depends upon this continual grazing, digestion, and excretion of wastes just as a ruminal does. And, like a ruminant, all waste products enhance the local environment.

When I first heard of gasification, I didn’t believe that it was real. Running an electric generator from burning wood seemed more akin to “conspiracy fantasy” than science. Not only is gasification real, it’s ancient technology. A man named Dean Clayton first started experiments on gasification in 1699 and in 1901 gasification was used to power a vehicle. By the end of World War II, there were 500,000 Syngas powered vehicles in Germany alone because of fossil fuel rationing during the war. The global gasification market was $480 billion in 2022 and projected to be as much as $700 billion by 2030 (Vantage Market Research). Gasification technology is the best choice to power the Forest Walker because it’s self-contained and we want its waste products.

Biochar: The Waste

Biochar (AKA agricultural charcoal) is fairly simple: it’s almost pure, solid carbon that resembles charcoal. Its porous nature packs large surface areas into small, 3 dimensional nuggets. Devoid of most other chemistry, like hydrocarbons (methane) and ash (minerals), biochar is extremely lightweight. Do not confuse it with the charcoal you buy for your grill. Biochar doesn’t make good grilling charcoal because it would burn too rapidly as it does not contain the multitude of flammable components that charcoal does. Biochar has several other good use cases. Water filtration, water retention, nutrient retention, providing habitat for microscopic soil organisms, and carbon sequestration are the main ones that we are concerned with here.

Carbon has an amazing ability to adsorb (substances stick to and accumulate on the surface of an object) manifold chemistries. Water, nutrients, and pollutants tightly bind to carbon in this format. So, biochar makes a respectable filter and acts as a “battery” of water and nutrients in soils. Biochar adsorbs and holds on to seven times its weight in water. Soil containing biochar is more drought resilient than soil without it. Adsorbed nutrients, tightly sequestered alongside water, get released only as plants need them. Plants must excrete protons (H+) from their roots to disgorge water or positively charged nutrients from the biochar's surface; it's an active process.

Biochar’s surface area (where adsorption happens) can be 500 square meters per gram or more. That is 10% larger than an official NBA basketball court for every gram of biochar. Biochar’s abundant surface area builds protective habitats for soil microbes like fungi and bacteria and many are critical for the health and productivity of the soil itself.

The “carbon sequestration” component of biochar comes into play where “carbon credits” are concerned. There is a financial market for carbon. Not leveraging that market for revenue is foolish. I am climate agnostic. All I care about is that once solid carbon is inside the soil, it will stay there for thousands of years, imparting drought resiliency, fertility collection, nutrient buffering, and release for that time span. I simply want as much solid carbon in the soil because of the undeniably positive effects it has, regardless of any climactic considerations.

Wood Vinegar: More Waste

Another by-product of the gasification process is wood vinegar (Pyroligneous acid). If you have ever seen Liquid Smoke in the grocery store, then you have seen wood vinegar. Principally composed of acetic acid, acetone, and methanol wood vinegar also contains ~200 other organic compounds. It would seem intuitive that condensed, liquefied wood smoke would at least be bad for the health of all living things if not downright carcinogenic. The counter intuition wins the day, however. Wood vinegar has been used by humans for a very long time to promote digestion, bowel, and liver health; combat diarrhea and vomiting; calm peptic ulcers and regulate cholesterol levels; and a host of other benefits.

For centuries humans have annually burned off hundreds of thousands of square miles of pasture, grassland, forest, and every other conceivable terrestrial ecosystem. Why is this done? After every burn, one thing becomes obvious: the almost supernatural growth these ecosystems exhibit after the burn. How? Wood vinegar is a component of this growth. Even in open burns, smoke condenses and infiltrates the soil. That is when wood vinegar shows its quality.

This stuff beefs up not only general plant growth but seed germination as well and possesses many other qualities that are beneficial to plants. It’s a pesticide, fungicide, promotes beneficial soil microorganisms, enhances nutrient uptake, and imparts disease resistance. I am barely touching a long list of attributes here, but you want wood vinegar in your soil (alongside biochar because it adsorbs wood vinegar as well).

The Internal Combustion Engine

Conversion of grazed forage to chemical, then mechanical, and then electrical energy completes the cycle. The ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) converts the gaseous fuel output from the gasifier to mechanical energy, heat, water vapor, and CO2. It’s the mechanical energy of a rotating drive shaft that we want. That rotation drives the electric generator, which is the heartbeat we need to bring this monster to life. Luckily for us, combined internal combustion engine and generator packages are ubiquitous, delivering a defined energy output given a constant fuel input. It’s the simplest part of the system.

The obvious question here is whether the amount of syngas provided by the gasification process will provide enough energy to generate enough electrons to run the entire system or not. While I have no doubt the energy produced will run Forest Walker's main systems the question is really about the electrons left over. Will it be enough to run the Bitcoin mining aspect of the system? Everything is a budget.

CO2 Production For Growth

Plants are lollipops. No matter if it’s a tree or a bush or a shrubbery, the entire thing is mostly sugar in various formats but mostly long chain carbohydrates like lignin and cellulose. Plants need three things to make sugar: CO2, H2O and light. In a forest, where tree densities can be quite high, CO2 availability becomes a limiting growth factor. It’d be in the forest interests to have more available CO2 providing for various sugar formation providing the organism with food and structure.

An odd thing about tree leaves, the openings that allow gasses like the ever searched for CO2 are on the bottom of the leaf (these are called stomata). Not many stomata are topside. This suggests that trees and bushes have evolved to find gasses like CO2 from below, not above and this further suggests CO2 might be in higher concentrations nearer the soil.

The soil life (bacterial, fungi etc.) is constantly producing enormous amounts of CO2 and it would stay in the soil forever (eventually killing the very soil life that produces it) if not for tidal forces. Water is everywhere and whether in pools, lakes, oceans or distributed in “moist” soils water moves towards to the moon. The water in the soil and also in the water tables below the soil rise toward the surface every day. When the water rises, it expels the accumulated gasses in the soil into the atmosphere and it’s mostly CO2. It’s a good bet on how leaves developed high populations of stomata on the underside of leaves. As the water relaxes (the tide goes out) it sucks oxygenated air back into the soil to continue the functions of soil life respiration. The soil “breathes” albeit slowly.

The gasses produced by the Forest Walker’s internal combustion engine consist primarily of CO2 and H2O. Combusting sugars produce the same gasses that are needed to construct the sugars because the universe is funny like that. The Forest Walker is constantly laying down these critical construction elements right where the trees need them: close to the ground to be gobbled up by the trees.

The Branch Drones

During the last ice age, giant mammals populated North America - forests and otherwise. Mastodons, woolly mammoths, rhinos, short-faced bears, steppe bison, caribou, musk ox, giant beavers, camels, gigantic ground-dwelling sloths, glyptodons, and dire wolves were everywhere. Many were ten to fifteen feet tall. As they crashed through forests, they would effectively cleave off dead side-branches of trees, halting the spread of a ground-based fire migrating into the tree crown ("laddering") which is a death knell for a forest.

These animals are all extinct now and forests no longer have any manner of pruning services. But, if we build drones fitted with cutting implements like saws and loppers, optical cameras and AI trained to discern dead branches from living ones, these drones could effectively take over pruning services by identifying, cutting, and dropping to the forest floor, dead branches. The dropped branches simply get collected by the Forest Walker as part of its continual mission.

The drones dock on the back of the Forest Walker to recharge their batteries when low. The whole scene would look like a grazing cow with some flies bothering it. This activity breaks the link between a relatively cool ground based fire and the tree crowns and is a vital element in forest fire control.

The Bitcoin Miner

Mining is one of four monetary incentive models, making this system a possibility for development. The other three are US Dept. of the Interior, township, county, and electrical utility company easement contracts for fuel load management, global carbon credits trading, and data set sales. All the above depends on obvious questions getting answered. I will list some obvious ones, but this is not an engineering document and is not the place for spreadsheets. How much Bitcoin one Forest Walker can mine depends on everything else. What amount of biomass can we process? Will that biomass flow enough Syngas to keep the lights on? Can the chassis support enough mining ASICs and supporting infrastructure? What does that weigh and will it affect field performance? How much power can the AC generator produce?

Other questions that are more philosophical persist. Even if a single Forest Walker can only mine scant amounts of BTC per day, that pales to how much fuel material it can process into biochar. We are talking about millions upon millions of forested acres in need of fuel load management. What can a single Forest Walker do? I am not thinking in singular terms. The Forest Walker must operate as a fleet. What could 50 do? 500?

What is it worth providing a service to the world by managing forest fuel loads? Providing proof of work to the global monetary system? Seeding soil with drought and nutrient resilience by the excretion, over time, of carbon by the ton? What did the last forest fire cost?

The Mesh Network

What could be better than one bitcoin mining, carbon sequestering, forest fire squelching, soil amending behemoth? Thousands of them, but then they would need to be able to talk to each other to coordinate position, data handling, etc. Fitted with a mesh networking device, like goTenna or Meshtastic LoRa equipment enables each Forest Walker to communicate with each other.

Now we have an interconnected fleet of Forest Walkers relaying data to each other and more importantly, aggregating all of that to the last link in the chain for uplink. Well, at least Bitcoin mining data. Since block data is lightweight, transmission of these data via mesh networking in fairly close quartered environs is more than doable. So, how does data transmit to the Bitcoin Network? How do the Forest Walkers get the previous block data necessary to execute on mining?

Back To The Chain

Getting Bitcoin block data to and from the network is the last puzzle piece. The standing presumption here is that wherever a Forest Walker fleet is operating, it is NOT within cell tower range. We further presume that the nearest Walmart Wi-Fi is hours away. Enter the Blockstream Satellite or something like it.

A separate, ground-based drone will have two jobs: To stay as close to the nearest Forest Walker as it can and to provide an antennae for either terrestrial or orbital data uplink. Bitcoin-centric data is transmitted to the "uplink drone" via the mesh networked transmitters and then sent on to the uplink and the whole flow goes in the opposite direction as well; many to one and one to many.

We cannot transmit data to the Blockstream satellite, and it will be up to Blockstream and companies like it to provide uplink capabilities in the future and I don't doubt they will. Starlink you say? What’s stopping that company from filtering out block data? Nothing because it’s Starlink’s system and they could decide to censor these data. It seems we may have a problem sending and receiving Bitcoin data in back country environs.

But, then again, the utility of this system in staunching the fuel load that creates forest fires is extremely useful around forested communities and many have fiber, Wi-Fi and cell towers. These communities could be a welcoming ground zero for first deployments of the Forest Walker system by the home and business owners seeking fire repression. In the best way, Bitcoin subsidizes the safety of the communities.

Sensor Packages

LiDaR

The benefit of having a Forest Walker fleet strolling through the forest is the never ending opportunity for data gathering. A plethora of deployable sensors gathering hyper-accurate data on everything from temperature to topography is yet another revenue generator. Data is valuable and the Forest Walker could generate data sales to various government entities and private concerns.

LiDaR (Light Detection and Ranging) can map topography, perform biomass assessment, comparative soil erosion analysis, etc. It so happens that the Forest Walker’s ability to “see,” to navigate about its surroundings, is LiDaR driven and since it’s already being used, we can get double duty by harvesting that data for later use. By using a laser to send out light pulses and measuring the time it takes for the reflection of those pulses to return, very detailed data sets incrementally build up. Eventually, as enough data about a certain area becomes available, the data becomes useful and valuable.

Forestry concerns, both private and public, often use LiDaR to build 3D models of tree stands to assess the amount of harvest-able lumber in entire sections of forest. Consulting companies offering these services charge anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars per square kilometer for such services. A Forest Walker generating such assessments on the fly while performing its other functions is a multi-disciplinary approach to revenue generation.

pH, Soil Moisture, and Cation Exchange Sensing

The Forest Walker is quadrupedal, so there are four contact points to the soil. Why not get a pH data point for every step it takes? We can also gather soil moisture data and cation exchange capacities at unheard of densities because of sampling occurring on the fly during commission of the system’s other duties. No one is going to build a machine to do pH testing of vast tracts of forest soils, but that doesn’t make the data collected from such an endeavor valueless. Since the Forest Walker serves many functions at once, a multitude of data products can add to the return on investment component.

Weather Data

Temperature, humidity, pressure, and even data like evapotranspiration gathered at high densities on broad acre scales have untold value and because the sensors are lightweight and don’t require large power budgets, they come along for the ride at little cost. But, just like the old mantra, “gas, grass, or ass, nobody rides for free”, these sensors provide potential revenue benefits just by them being present.

I’ve touched on just a few data genres here. In fact, the question for universities, governmental bodies, and other institutions becomes, “How much will you pay us to attach your sensor payload to the Forest Walker?”

Noise Suppression

Only you can prevent Metallica filling the surrounds with 120 dB of sound. Easy enough, just turn the car stereo off. But what of a fleet of 50 Forest Walkers operating in the backcountry or near a township? 500? 5000? Each one has a wood chipper, an internal combustion engine, hydraulic pumps, actuators, and more cooling fans than you can shake a stick at. It’s a walking, screaming fire-breathing dragon operating continuously, day and night, twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year. The sound will negatively affect all living things and that impacts behaviors. Serious engineering consideration and prowess must deliver a silencing blow to the major issue of noise.

It would be foolish to think that a fleet of Forest Walkers could be silent, but if not a major design consideration, then the entire idea is dead on arrival. Townships would not allow them to operate even if they solved the problem of widespread fuel load and neither would governmental entities, and rightly so. Nothing, not man nor beast, would want to be subjected to an eternal, infernal scream even if it were to end within days as the fleet moved further away after consuming what it could. Noise and heat are the only real pollutants of this system; taking noise seriously from the beginning is paramount.

Fire Safety

A “fire-breathing dragon” is not the worst description of the Forest Walker. It eats wood, combusts it at very high temperatures and excretes carbon; and it does so in an extremely flammable environment. Bad mix for one Forest Walker, worse for many. One must take extreme pains to ensure that during normal operation, a Forest Walker could fall over, walk through tinder dry brush, or get pounded into the ground by a meteorite from Krypton and it wouldn’t destroy epic swaths of trees and baby deer. I envision an ultimate test of a prototype to include dowsing it in grain alcohol while it’s wrapped up in toilet paper like a pledge at a fraternity party. If it runs for 72 hours and doesn’t set everything on fire, then maybe outside entities won’t be fearful of something that walks around forests with a constant fire in its belly.

The Wrap

How we think about what can be done with and adjacent to Bitcoin is at least as important as Bitcoin’s economic standing itself. For those who will tell me that this entire idea is without merit, I say, “OK, fine. You can come up with something, too.” What can we plug Bitcoin into that, like a battery, makes something that does not work, work? That’s the lesson I get from this entire exercise. No one was ever going to hire teams of humans to go out and "clean the forest". There's no money in that. The data collection and sales from such an endeavor might provide revenues over the break-even point but investment demands Alpha in this day and age. But, plug Bitcoin into an almost viable system and, voilà! We tip the scales to achieve lift-off.

Let’s face it, we haven’t scratched the surface of Bitcoin’s forcing function on our minds. Not because it’s Bitcoin, but because of what that invention means. The question that pushes me to approach things this way is, “what can we create that one system’s waste is another system’s feedstock?” The Forest Walker system’s only real waste is the conversion of low entropy energy (wood and syngas) into high entropy energy (heat and noise). All other output is beneficial to humanity.

Bitcoin, I believe, is the first product of a new mode of human imagination. An imagination newly forged over the past few millennia of being lied to, stolen from, distracted and otherwise mis-allocated to a black hole of the nonsensical. We are waking up.

What I have presented is not science fiction. Everything I have described here is well within the realm of possibility. The question is one of viability, at least in terms of the detritus of the old world we find ourselves departing from. This system would take a non-trivial amount of time and resources to develop. I think the system would garner extensive long-term contracts from those who have the most to lose from wildfires, the most to gain from hyperaccurate data sets, and, of course, securing the most precious asset in the world. Many may not see it that way, for they seek Alpha and are therefore blind to other possibilities. Others will see only the possibilities; of thinking in a new way, of looking at things differently, and dreaming of what comes next.

@ 91bea5cd:1df4451c

Definição de ULID:

Timestamp 48 bits, Aleatoriedade 80 bits Sendo Timestamp 48 bits inteiro, tempo UNIX em milissegundos, Não ficará sem espaço até o ano 10889 d.C. e Aleatoriedade 80 bits, Fonte criptograficamente segura de aleatoriedade, se possível.

Gerar ULID

```sql

CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pgcrypto;

CREATE FUNCTION generate_ulid() RETURNS TEXT AS $$ DECLARE -- Crockford's Base32 encoding BYTEA = '0123456789ABCDEFGHJKMNPQRSTVWXYZ'; timestamp BYTEA = E'\000\000\000\000\000\000'; output TEXT = '';

unix_time BIGINT; ulid BYTEA; BEGIN -- 6 timestamp bytes unix_time = (EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM CLOCK_TIMESTAMP()) * 1000)::BIGINT; timestamp = SET_BYTE(timestamp, 0, (unix_time >> 40)::BIT(8)::INTEGER); timestamp = SET_BYTE(timestamp, 1, (unix_time >> 32)::BIT(8)::INTEGER); timestamp = SET_BYTE(timestamp, 2, (unix_time >> 24)::BIT(8)::INTEGER); timestamp = SET_BYTE(timestamp, 3, (unix_time >> 16)::BIT(8)::INTEGER); timestamp = SET_BYTE(timestamp, 4, (unix_time >> 8)::BIT(8)::INTEGER); timestamp = SET_BYTE(timestamp, 5, unix_time::BIT(8)::INTEGER);

-- 10 entropy bytes ulid = timestamp || gen_random_bytes(10);

-- Encode the timestamp output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 0) & 224) >> 5)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 0) & 31))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 1) & 248) >> 3)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 1) & 7) << 2) | ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 2) & 192) >> 6))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 2) & 62) >> 1)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 2) & 1) << 4) | ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 3) & 240) >> 4))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 3) & 15) << 1) | ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 4) & 128) >> 7))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 4) & 124) >> 2)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 4) & 3) << 3) | ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 5) & 224) >> 5))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 5) & 31)));

-- Encode the entropy output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 6) & 248) >> 3)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 6) & 7) << 2) | ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 7) & 192) >> 6))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 7) & 62) >> 1)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 7) & 1) << 4) | ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 8) & 240) >> 4))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 8) & 15) << 1) | ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 9) & 128) >> 7))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 9) & 124) >> 2)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 9) & 3) << 3) | ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 10) & 224) >> 5))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 10) & 31))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 11) & 248) >> 3)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 11) & 7) << 2) | ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 12) & 192) >> 6))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 12) & 62) >> 1)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 12) & 1) << 4) | ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 13) & 240) >> 4))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 13) & 15) << 1) | ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 14) & 128) >> 7))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 14) & 124) >> 2)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 14) & 3) << 3) | ((GET_BYTE(ulid, 15) & 224) >> 5))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(ulid, 15) & 31)));

RETURN output; END $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql VOLATILE; ```

ULID TO UUID

```sql CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION parse_ulid(ulid text) RETURNS bytea AS $$ DECLARE -- 16byte bytes bytea = E'\x00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000'; v char[]; -- Allow for O(1) lookup of index values dec integer[] = ARRAY[ 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 1, 18, 19, 1, 20, 21, 0, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 255, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 1, 18, 19, 1, 20, 21, 0, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 255, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 ]; BEGIN IF NOT ulid ~* '^[0-7][0-9ABCDEFGHJKMNPQRSTVWXYZ]{25}$' THEN RAISE EXCEPTION 'Invalid ULID: %', ulid; END IF;

v = regexp_split_to_array(ulid, '');

-- 6 bytes timestamp (48 bits) bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 0, (dec[ASCII(v[1])] << 5) | dec[ASCII(v[2])]); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 1, (dec[ASCII(v[3])] << 3) | (dec[ASCII(v[4])] >> 2)); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 2, (dec[ASCII(v[4])] << 6) | (dec[ASCII(v[5])] << 1) | (dec[ASCII(v[6])] >> 4)); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 3, (dec[ASCII(v[6])] << 4) | (dec[ASCII(v[7])] >> 1)); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 4, (dec[ASCII(v[7])] << 7) | (dec[ASCII(v[8])] << 2) | (dec[ASCII(v[9])] >> 3)); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 5, (dec[ASCII(v[9])] << 5) | dec[ASCII(v[10])]);

-- 10 bytes of entropy (80 bits); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 6, (dec[ASCII(v[11])] << 3) | (dec[ASCII(v[12])] >> 2)); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 7, (dec[ASCII(v[12])] << 6) | (dec[ASCII(v[13])] << 1) | (dec[ASCII(v[14])] >> 4)); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 8, (dec[ASCII(v[14])] << 4) | (dec[ASCII(v[15])] >> 1)); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 9, (dec[ASCII(v[15])] << 7) | (dec[ASCII(v[16])] << 2) | (dec[ASCII(v[17])] >> 3)); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 10, (dec[ASCII(v[17])] << 5) | dec[ASCII(v[18])]); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 11, (dec[ASCII(v[19])] << 3) | (dec[ASCII(v[20])] >> 2)); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 12, (dec[ASCII(v[20])] << 6) | (dec[ASCII(v[21])] << 1) | (dec[ASCII(v[22])] >> 4)); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 13, (dec[ASCII(v[22])] << 4) | (dec[ASCII(v[23])] >> 1)); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 14, (dec[ASCII(v[23])] << 7) | (dec[ASCII(v[24])] << 2) | (dec[ASCII(v[25])] >> 3)); bytes = SET_BYTE(bytes, 15, (dec[ASCII(v[25])] << 5) | dec[ASCII(v[26])]);

RETURN bytes; END $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql IMMUTABLE;

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION ulid_to_uuid(ulid text) RETURNS uuid AS $$ BEGIN RETURN encode(parse_ulid(ulid), 'hex')::uuid; END $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql IMMUTABLE; ```

UUID to ULID

```sql CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION uuid_to_ulid(id uuid) RETURNS text AS $$ DECLARE encoding bytea = '0123456789ABCDEFGHJKMNPQRSTVWXYZ'; output text = ''; uuid_bytes bytea = uuid_send(id); BEGIN

-- Encode the timestamp output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 0) & 224) >> 5)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 0) & 31))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 1) & 248) >> 3)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 1) & 7) << 2) | ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 2) & 192) >> 6))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 2) & 62) >> 1)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 2) & 1) << 4) | ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 3) & 240) >> 4))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 3) & 15) << 1) | ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 4) & 128) >> 7))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 4) & 124) >> 2)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 4) & 3) << 3) | ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 5) & 224) >> 5))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 5) & 31)));

-- Encode the entropy output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 6) & 248) >> 3)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 6) & 7) << 2) | ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 7) & 192) >> 6))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 7) & 62) >> 1)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 7) & 1) << 4) | ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 8) & 240) >> 4))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 8) & 15) << 1) | ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 9) & 128) >> 7))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 9) & 124) >> 2)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 9) & 3) << 3) | ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 10) & 224) >> 5))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 10) & 31))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 11) & 248) >> 3)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 11) & 7) << 2) | ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 12) & 192) >> 6))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 12) & 62) >> 1)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 12) & 1) << 4) | ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 13) & 240) >> 4))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 13) & 15) << 1) | ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 14) & 128) >> 7))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 14) & 124) >> 2)); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 14) & 3) << 3) | ((GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 15) & 224) >> 5))); output = output || CHR(GET_BYTE(encoding, (GET_BYTE(uuid_bytes, 15) & 31)));

RETURN output; END $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql IMMUTABLE; ```

Gera 11 Digitos aleatórios: YBKXG0CKTH4

```sql -- Cria a extensão pgcrypto para gerar uuid CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pgcrypto;

-- Cria a função para gerar ULID CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION gen_lrandom() RETURNS TEXT AS $$ DECLARE ts_millis BIGINT; ts_chars TEXT; random_bytes BYTEA; random_chars TEXT; base32_chars TEXT := '0123456789ABCDEFGHJKMNPQRSTVWXYZ'; i INT; BEGIN -- Pega o timestamp em milissegundos ts_millis := FLOOR(EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM clock_timestamp()) * 1000)::BIGINT;

-- Converte o timestamp para base32
ts_chars := '';
FOR i IN REVERSE 0..11 LOOP
    ts_chars := ts_chars || substr(base32_chars, ((ts_millis >> (5 * i)) & 31) + 1, 1);
END LOOP;

-- Gera 10 bytes aleatórios e converte para base32
random_bytes := gen_random_bytes(10);
random_chars := '';
FOR i IN 0..9 LOOP
    random_chars := random_chars || substr(base32_chars, ((get_byte(random_bytes, i) >> 3) & 31) + 1, 1);
    IF i < 9 THEN
        random_chars := random_chars || substr(base32_chars, (((get_byte(random_bytes, i) & 7) << 2) | (get_byte(random_bytes, i + 1) >> 6)) & 31 + 1, 1);
    ELSE
        random_chars := random_chars || substr(base32_chars, ((get_byte(random_bytes, i) & 7) << 2) + 1, 1);
    END IF;
END LOOP;

-- Concatena o timestamp e os caracteres aleatórios
RETURN ts_chars || random_chars;

END; $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql; ```

Exemplo de USO

```sql -- Criação da extensão caso não exista CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pgcrypto; -- Criação da tabela pessoas CREATE TABLE pessoas ( ID UUID DEFAULT gen_random_uuid ( ) PRIMARY KEY, nome TEXT NOT NULL );

-- Busca Pessoa na tabela SELECT * FROM "pessoas" WHERE uuid_to_ulid ( ID ) = '252FAC9F3V8EF80SSDK8PXW02F'; ```

Fontes

• https://github.com/scoville/pgsql-ulid
• https://github.com/geckoboard/pgulid

@ e97aaffa:2ebd765d

Será que neste ciclo teremos turistas no #Bitcoin? Nos últimos meses tenho me debruçado muito sobre este assunto, mas não consigo chegar a uma conclusão.

Antes de mais, o que são turistas? Os turistas são aqueles que compram Bitcoin alimentados pelo FOMO, com a ganância de enriquecer rapidamente. Não tem o mínimo conhecimento do Bitcoin, nem tem interesse em conhecer, só estão pelo dinheiro.

Com a entrada dos turistas, o preço do Bitcoin começa a valorizar exponencialmente, é a segunda fase da bullrun, acontece sempre após o halving e após superar o anterior ATH. Com o novo ATH começa a surgir as notícias nas televisões e jornais, o mainstream acorda. Só que a quantidade de turistas é de tal maneira elevada, muito superior à dos holders. Este desequilíbrio entre forças de curto prazo(turistas) e do longo prazo(holders), gera forte volatilidade. Quanto maior o desequilíbrio, maior a volatilidade. A avalanche de turistas, faz o preço disparar e quanto mais sobe, mais turistas atrai.

Só que o movimento não dura para sempre, a esperança dos turistas de enriquecer rápido, desvanece e rapidamente se transforma numa desilusão, na sua grande maioria entra em pânico, assim que o preço começa a corrigir, vendendo em prejuízo. Sendo responsável pelas gigantes correções, superiores a 70%.

Este é o meu 4° ciclo, eu noto que este está a ser completamente diferente. Nos anteriores, os turistas entravam pelo Bitcoin, mas desta vez está a acontecer uma mudança. Devido ao elevado marketcap do Bitcoin, este já não permite valorização exponenciais num curto espaço de tempo, estes turistas que procuram multiplicar o seu dinheiro por 10x, 100x ou 1000x, estão a ir directamente para as shitcoins ou memecoins. Estas valorização pornograficas, só acontecerá em meia dúzia, mas o grande problema é que existem milhões de memecoins, é como encontrar uma agulha num palheiro. É o verdadeiro casino e os turistas procuram isto.

Só que neste ciclo, a maior parte dos novos inflows estão a ser através do institucional, sobretudo pelos ETFs. Só que tem um perfil não diferente dos turistas, têm conhecimento de mercados financeiros tradicionais, são muito mais racionais, têm um conhecimento mínimo do Bitcoin. Não têm as mãos de diamante como os holders, mas também não são mãos de alface como os turistas. É um perfil de investidor intermédio. Poderá vender uma pequena parte do Bitcoin, para retirar uma parte do seu investimento inicial, mas tem um pensamento mais de médio-longo prazo.

Com isto, existe um maior equilíbrio entre os que pensam a curto prazo e os que pensam a longo prazo. Até ao momento, eu tenho a sensação que os turistas já não procuram o Bitcoin, ou são muito poucos.

O afastamento dos turistas é bom ou mau? A meu ver é bom, é verdade que deixamos de ter aquelas enormes explosões no preço para cima, mas também acredito que as correções também serão muito menores. Em suma, uma redução na volatilidade do Bitcoin. Mas essa redução na volatilidade, vai trazer um novo público, aquele que não é especulador, que apenas quer preservar o seu património, o real valor do Bitcoin, que pensa a longo prazo.

Estes turistas que procuram o 100x, com uma pura ganância, vão passar muitas noites sem dormir e na sua maioria vão perder muito dinheiro, vão acabar por receber uma dura lição de vida. Alguns vão finalmente compreender que Bitcoin é diferente, e que os 2x é suficiente para a sua vida.

A redução de turistas não afeta só o Bitcoin, mas também afeta o mercado das altcoins e das memecoins. Nos ciclos anteriores, os turistas entravam pelo Bitcoin mas depois rodavam o capital para as altcoins, gerando a chamada altseason. Se neste ciclo, os turistas descartam o Bitcoin, consequentemente a rotação será muito menor, possivelmente não haverá altseason.

Mas isto é apenas a minha convicção, só o tempo dirá, se os turistas trocaram o Bitcoin, pelo casino das memecoins.

@ 17538dc2:71ed77c4

Sci-Hub 2024 year end review is translated to English by Kagi Translate from Russian. Original text can be found in Sci-Hub's telegram channel https://t.me/freescience.

RESULTS OF 2024

First. The project received donations totaling 2 million dollars in meme coins.

The project is actively used by many students in China, which is why a group of Sci-Hub fans has emerged there. As far as I understand, the organizer of the group is actively interested in the topic of cryptocurrencies (even wrote a book). Somewhere in mid-November, the Chinese launched a meme coin in honor of the Sci-Hub project. At its peak, the coin's price reached 5 cents, and now it is somewhere around 1-2 cents. This means that the exchange rate of the Sci-Hub cryptocurrency is now almost equal to the ruble exchange rate (100 to one or so).

In general, I converted part of these donations into normal, traditional cryptocurrency (like Bitcoin) and paid for servers several months in advance. The other part is still sitting in meme coins—I hope that the token will still grow in price (there is a promotion plan). Of course, this is risky, but Sci-Hub is a project that is not afraid of risk. Therefore, anyone who wants to invest in Sci-Hub by purchasing this token can do so here: www.coingecko.com/en/coins/sci-hub

Second. A dissertation on the topic of open scientific knowledge has been defended at the Institute of Philosophy.

For those interested in the history and philosophy of science, I defended a dissertation in April at the Institute of Philosophy on the topic that scientific knowledge should be open (otherwise, it is strange to call it scientific at all). The work shows that open communication is one of the basic traditional values of science when considering science as a social institution. In other words, journals that charge for access to scientific articles are a kind of 'non-traditional orientation journals.'

Moreover, openness is an important prerequisite for rationality. Rationality is not limited to the criterion of falsification (hello Popper); it is a much more complex concept.

You can familiarize yourself with the text of the dissertation here: web.archive.org/web/20240425100014/https://iphras.ru/page26414303.htm (I provide the link through the web archive because the Institute's website, strangely enough, is glitching again at the time of writing this post).

All criticism and comments (as well as praise) regarding the dissertation can be sent to my email.

Third. Work has begun on a new declaration of open access to scientific knowledge.

Currently, all discussions on the topic of open science are conducted within the frameworks defined by the so-called BBB declarations back in 2001-2003. Within these frameworks, two main types of open access are recognized: gold, meaning open journals with an author-pays model, and green, which refers to repositories like the well-known arXiv. We can also add the so-called diamond open access, which includes open journals that are free for both authors and readers.

However, since 2003, internet technologies have advanced significantly. Today, we can already talk about such types of open access as blue (through academic social networks) or red (your beloved Sci-Hub). It is time to adopt a new declaration of open access to scientific knowledge that corresponds to the current state of scientific and technological progress.

A preliminary version of the declaration can be read and signed here: open.science.do

We will be more actively engaged in this in the coming year. Signing the declaration is an important step towards recognizing access to scientific knowledge through sites like Sci-Hub or Libgen as completely legal and ceasing to pursue them—first in the former USSR, and then in all countries of the world.

Fourth. In 2024, about one billion articles were downloaded through Sci-Hub. Despite the fact that this is unfiltered statistics, the fact remains: the popularity of the project has not decreased but only grown, despite the fact that Sci-Hub has not been updated for quite a long time. Of course, this does not mean that the site will not be updated at all now—just that the patient is more alive than dead (no matter how much some haters might wish otherwise).

The cause of open access to scientific knowledge will definitely prevail—because good always triumphs over evil.

In the new year, I wish all scientists new discoveries and large grants. Happy New Year, comrades!

@ 554ab6fe:c6cbc27e

Modern life, despite all our technology, can still feel challenging. Many of us work very long hours to make ends meet, burdened by stress that can dramatically affect our health. The internet provides us with a wealth of helpful knowledge but also bombards us with headlines that can make us uneasy about the state of the world. In short, life can feel very stressful. Sometimes, leaving it all behind and becoming a monk may seem like a perfect way to escape it all. Though this may work for some, this is simply not a practical thing to do for many of us. Many of us are here to stay. However, even though the stressful nature of society will not change for a very long time, it is possible to reorient one's perspective so that it feels less stressful. In other words, rather than needing to go to a temple to become a monk, one can learn to bring the monk mind here.

It can be challenging to know where to begin to generate a positive outlook on life. So many people try to give advice, yet there never seems to be a "one size fits all" approach. We attempt to solve our outlooks by rationalizing the situation in a more positive way. Indeed, this can be useful for some, but not all. Furthermore, different people require different rationalizations. Regardless of advice, some are still stuck wondering how to have a better outlook on life. There is, of course, another method of perspective, and that is through non-judgment and simple acceptance.

Mindfulness meditation is a method of training the mind to become calmer and more at peace. In the scientific community, meditation is defined as a method of self-regulation of attention to the present moment, involving adopting a particular orientation toward one's experiences characterized by curiosity, openness, acceptance, and non-judgmental (Bishop et al., 2004). The benefits of meditation are many; however, much more research is required to understand its benefits and mechanisms better. The most well-documented benefit of mindfulness meditation is its ability to alleviate stress and anxiety (Greeson et al., 2018; Petterson & Olson, 2017; Querstret et al., 2020). The method by which this occurs is still reasonably unclear, yet many researchers have developed psychological and physiological theories. Furthermore, meditation reduces stress and anxiety while also creating resilience (Chin et al., 2019; Hwang et al., 2018). So, not only does it seem to be a curative treatment, but a preventative one as well. Understanding how meditation creates stress resilience is crucial to understand why meditation is so beneficial to health—the lessons provided in the research share profound philosophical lessons for us to bear in mind.

When studying meditation and its effects on the mind and body, it is essential to take a neuroscientific and psychological approach. The neuroscientific approach is valuable in both providing evidence that meditation impacts the body and sheds light on the mechanisms of action. A psychological perspective is also critical because it evaluates the mental schemas' effect on the body to better understand how the reader can practice this at home and in their daily lives. Both points of view will be discussed below.

Amygdala and ACC connectivity

The two brain areas that seem to be highly related to the process of resilience toward stress induced by mindfulness meditation are the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).

The amygdala is found medial to the brain's temporal lobe and plays a vital role in emotional regulation and attention (Desbordes et al., 2012). For this reason, numerous studies have shown to be heavily involved in the experience of stress (Britton, 2006; Hölzel et al., 2009; Rubinow et al., 2016). It also influences the body in response to stress. For example, the amygdala regulates blood pressure in response to stressful stimuli (Saha, 2005).

The role of the ACC is seemingly more complex than the amygdala. In general, it is involved in executing responses regarding incoming interoceptive signals (signals from within the body) (Craig, 2002). For this reason, it connects to the motor cortex of the brain (Craig, 2002). On this same note, the anterior portion of the amygdala, the more executive region, has been associated with regulating endocrine functions, conditioned learning responses, expressing internal states vocally, and maternal-infant interactions (Devinsky et al., 1995). The ACC is related mainly to the processing of internal stimuli, associating it with the practice of mindfulness meditation. Less clear is how it relates to the amygdala and resilience to stress.

The neuroscientific observations of stress resilience are found within the connectivity between the amygdala and the ACC. In a randomized control trial involving a 3-day intensive mindfulness meditation program, researchers found that reduced stress following the practice was marked by decreased communication between the amygdala and the ACC (Taren et al., 2014). The study also noted reduced communication between the amygdala and ACC lessened HPA-axis activation (Taren et al., 2014). The HPA-axis is responsible for releasing hormones such as cortisol, which is a common biomarker for the activation of stress. This study is not alone in observing signs that mindfulness meditation reduces cortisol (Hoge et al., 2018). This is strong evidence that meditation induces physical changes within the brain, promoting resilience to biological responses to stress. The question is, how does this occur mentally, and how can we put this into practice?

Important Techniques within Meditation

The discussion and research surrounding how meditation leads to physical changes in the brain and body are complex and poorly understood. The appreciation for science in the west is new, and there is much research to be done. The author's current opinion is that meditation involves both physical and mental mechanisms that lead to some of its practical health benefits. Regarding resilience, a randomized control trial also observed that the resilience created was both physical and mental (Hoge et al., 2018). Though the exact mechanism is not fully understood, there has been an effort to gain insight applicable to modern-day life.

The research involving the mechanism at which meditation generates resilience towards stress is often pursued from a psychological point of view. To pursue this question, experiments involve different groups of people who are asked to perform similar tasks but differ in mental schemas practiced. The observed differences in health results indicate specific meditation techniques that are so helpful in generating resilience. For example, a randomized control trial in 2018 involved sending a group of participants to a temple (Hwang et al., 2018). One group was asked to participate in meditation sessions, while another group was asked to simply relax during this time at a peaceful place. The purpose was to discern whether or not the relaxing aspect of meditation was sufficient to produce resilience to stress or if something else was causing the change. The results found that both groups showed short-term benefits, but only the meditators had prolonged resilience towards stress months after the experiment. The results indicate that there was a mental practice involved through meditation that promoted stress resilience. A randomized control trial in 2019 expanded on this investigation by having one group of meditators purely practice the focused attention on the present, while the other group focused on the present while also cultivating a perspective of acceptance to all incoming stimuli (Chin et al., 2019). This study found that those who practiced a non-judgmental awareness showed a more significant reduction of stress than the attention group and the non-meditators, suggesting that the non-judgmental awareness of the present moment and experience was an essential aspect of stress resilience. Others have produced a similar theory on why meditation seems to be a healthy therapeutic method for those suffering from PTSD (Thompson & Waltz, 2010). The significance of these findings is not only crucial for those who have a meditation practice but anyone in general.

Be Non-Judgmental

A key aspect of meditation practice is to be mindful and aware of the present experience and interpret all thoughts, experiences, and stimuli in an accepting and non-judgemental manner. Not only is this important within the philosophical teachings, but it is a core aspect of how meditation works from a scientific point of view. This has profound implications for the importance of how we generate personal narratives. In meditation, one learns to let go of every incoming experience, no matter how tempting it is to value that thought or feeling. This is perhaps why the amygdala and ACC are involved. The amygdala is involved in emotions and stress, and the ACC is involved in "doing something about it." In meditation, no matter the feeling, thought, or stressor, one must cultivate an attitude of acceptance. One must simply continue sitting and focusing on the present. There is no evaluation, no judgment, simply acceptance.

This article began with the idea that one can become resilient to stress and experience less of it by simply reorienting their perspective of modern stressors. It was also stated that there is seemingly no one answer for everyone. This may be because people often try to generate rational or schemas to help people think about events differently. This article argues a different approach: don't think, just accept, let go, and move on. This is easier said than done, of course, and by no means are the benefits of meditation best articulated through argument. It is best to be experienced first hand.

Nonetheless, we are heavily burdened by the values we give to thoughts related to the stressors of modern-day life. We cannot avoid the stressors, but we can change their power over us. Removing their meaning and value removes their power and influence.

References

Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., Segal, Z. v., Abbey, S., Speca, M., Velting, D., & Devins, G. (2004). Mindfulness: A Proposed Operational Definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 230–241. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bph077

Britton, W. B. (2006). Meditation and Depression.

Chin, B., Lindsay, E. K., Greco, C. M., Brown, K. W., Smyth, J. M., Wright, A. G. C., & Creswell, J. D. (2019). Psychological mechanisms driving stress resilience in mindfulness training: A randomized controlled trial. Health Psychology, 38(8), 759–768. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000763

Craig, A. D. (2002). How do you feel? Nature Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105308095062

Desbordes, G., Negi, L. T., Pace, T. W. W., Alan Wallace, B., Raison, C. L., & Schwartz, E. L. (2012). Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, Nonmeditative State. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6(OCTOBER 2012), 292. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00292

Devinsky, O., Morrell, M. J., & Vogt, B. A. (1995). Contributions of anterior cingulate cortex to behaviour. Brain, 118(1), 279–306. https://doi.org/10.1093/BRAIN/118.1.279

Greeson, J. M., Zarrin, H., Smoski, M. J., Brantley, J. G., Lynch, T. R., Webber, D. M., Hall, M. H., Suarez, E. C., & Wolever, R. Q. (2018). Mindfulness Meditation Targets Transdiagnostic Symptoms Implicated in Stress-Related Disorders: Understanding Relationships between Changes in Mindfulness, Sleep Quality, and Physical Symptoms. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/4505191

Hoge, E. A., Bui, E., Palitz, S. A., Schwarz, N. R., Owens, M. E., Johnston, J. M., Pollack, M. H., & Simon, N. M. (2018). The effect of mindfulness meditation training on biological acute stress responses in generalized anxiety disorder. Psychiatry Research, 262(May 2016), 328–332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.01.006

Hölzel, B. K., Carmody, J., Evans, K. C., Hoge, E. A., Dusek, J. A., Morgan, L., Pitman, R. K., & Lazar, S. W. (2009). Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 5(1), 11–17. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsp034

Hwang, W. J., Lee, T. Y., Lim, K. O., Bae, D., Kwak, S., Park, H. Y., & Kwon, J. S. (2018). The effects of four days of intensive mindfulness meditation training (Templestay program) on resilience to stress: A randomized controlled trial. Psychology, Health and Medicine, 23(5), 497–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2017.1363400

Petterson, H., & Olson, B. L. (2017). Effects of mindfulness-based interventions in high school and college athletes for reducing stress and injury, and improving quality of life. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, 26(6), 578–587. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsr.2016-0047

Querstret, D., Morison, L., Dickinson, S., Cropley, M., & John, M. (2020). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for psychological health and well-being in nonclinical samples: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Stress Management, 27(4), 394–411. https://doi.org/10.1037/str0000165

Rubinow, M. J., Mahajan, G., May, W., Overholser, J. C., Jurjus, G. J., Dieter, L., Herbst, N., Steffens, D. C., Miguel-Hidalgo, J. J., Rajkowska, G., & Stockmeier, C. A. (2016). Basolateral amygdala volume and cell numbers in major depressive disorder: a postmortem stereological study. Brain Structure and Function, 221(1), 171–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-014-0900-z

Saha, S. (2005). ROLE OF THE CENTRAL NUCLEUS OF THE AMYGDALA IN THE CONTROL OF BLOOD PRESSURE: DESCENDING PATHWAYS TO MEDULLARY CARDIOVASCULAR NUCLEI. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology, 32(5–6), 450–456. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1681.2005.04210.x

Taren, A. A., Gianaros, P. J., Greco, C. M., Lindsay, E. K., Fairgrieve, A., Brown, K. W., Rosen, R. K., Ferris, J. L., Julson, E., Marsland, A. L., Bursley, J. K., Ramsburg, J., & Creswell, J. D. (2014). Mindfulness meditation training alters stress-related amygdala resting state functional connectivity: A randomized controlled trial. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 10(12), 1758–1768. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsv066

Thompson, B. L., & Waltz, J. (2010). Mindfulness and experiential avoidance as predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder avoidance symptom severity. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24(4), 409–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.02.005

@ bbb5dda0:f09e2747

This is my first attempt of regularly reviewing my week (currently, week 2) and I want to take you along for it.

This week was one where I was rebooting after all the festivities, personal obligations and a bit of travel! First, I worked on getting back on some comments on my proposals on NIP-42 and the Transport Method Announcement NIP.

NIP-42 proposal

The responses to the proposal of the NIP-42 exstension confused me a bit, my interpretation of nip42 AUTH was both authentication and authoriziation. But as it turns out people only want authentication to be part of this NIP, which is understandable. I'm wondering what other structure should be used for authorization then. I thought this would be a great place because of the similar allow/disallow mechanism that applies to both authentication and authorization.

I get the argument that authorization would need to be handled somewhere else. In my case i want authorization by payment. meaning there is no Authentication, we don't care who it is.

I worked out this comment, to see what other options would come up. https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/1609#issuecomment-2577243988

Evaluating current state Epoxy

It's been a little bit since I made any progress on epoxy, but this week i'm picking it back up. So i'm trying to see what my next steps on it will be. I thought first maybe i need to add the random delays, but that's in the bigger scheme of things a 'nice to have'. I should probably first work on fixing the nightmare that is unencrypted traffic. And for that, i need pubkey addressing to work properly.

Evaluating current state CI/CD

This week i met up with Auggie, who's quite knowledgable into CI/CD stuff. I think a cool short-term goal for myself is to get an automated build and publish of the epoxy docker container. That shouldn't be too hard to attain, but I needed to refresh my memory on what I last worked on for a bit.

I realized that that was a very hacky approach and i really want to know Auggie's perspective on it. I came across his comment on my blogpost about it which i'd missed earlier. My doubt is wether i should try to rebuild what CI/CD is from scratch, but nostr-native. Or should I strive to have something backwards-compatible and use existing GitHub/Gitea runners?

In our call we settled on trying to get the runner approach working and see how we go from there. I'd work out a GitHub action so we could upload artifacts to Blossom and he'd look into the inner workings of Gittea as he had worked on the stack before.

Blossom uploads GitHub action

I tried to move forward on the Blossom uploads on friday but got stuck on imports that would just not resolve on the github action (ERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED). Long story short, I was just not bundling my build properly and (spoiler) worked this out on Monday.

In short

Quite an alright week, ramping up my efforts now and i'm exited for what's coming. See you next week!