@ 17538dc2:71ed77c4

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! Here's an overview of keeping tabs on interoperability on nostr. ## What is nostrability [Nostrability](https://github.com/nostrability/nostrability) is: -the practical documentation of broken things on nostr between two or more apps, and -a place to advocate for positive interoperability updates to apps ### Why does this matter? If the hop and/or interaction between apps sucks, then nostr users will not have an amazing and unique experience. Nostr will lose to well funded incumbents.  ### How did this start? Will was upset that he had to troubleshoot other dev's apps. ### What nostrability does *not* aim for All apps implement all NIPs. ### Where can I read in detail [https://github.com/nostrability/nostrability ](https://github.com/nostrability/nostrability ) ### Timeline Nov '23 Added placeholder to github. Jan '24 First issues documented. Jan '24 First nostrability two app bug is fixed [Coracle cannot send DMs to Damus](https://github.com/nostrability/nostrability/issues/1) (thank you Hodlbod!). '24 Gave [intro to nostrability talk at BBB](https://youtu.be/I3Qld_HXQuM). Presentation [link](https://slides.com/alltheseas/nostrability). Aug '24 Galaxy devs educated elsat at NostrCI discussion at Nostriga. (n.b. where's the video??) Oct '24 Humbled by and grateful for OpenSats acknowledgment and funding. Thank you to all nostr enjoyers & devs who gave me their precious time, and to my advocates & supporters - you know who you are 🙏. ### What are specific issues discussed? Over a hundred open [issues](https://github.com/nostrability/nostrability/issues), and a couple of dozen resolved issues. Many of these were reported by extremetly very normal nostr users, and devs. Example topics (too many to list in a single article) range from: -contact list wipes, mute list wipes (Kieran pls fix!!) -zaps not working between apps -[missing notes](https://github.com/nostrability/nostrability/issues/20) -broken profiles -old profile information -q tags, a tags, missing replies and/or parent notes etc.. -to [proposed onboarding best practices](https://github.com/nostrability/nostrability/issues/143) -[outbox tracker positive interop](https://github.com/nostrability/nostrability/issues/69) -[highlights](https://github.com/nostrability/nostrability/issues/61) -non-nostr interoperability: e.g. [bluesky bridgyfed profile info](https://github.com/nostrability/nostrability/issues/142) -spillover NIP/other controversy such as [edited notes](https://github.com/nostrability/nostrability/issues/118) -and [migrating to nostr best practices](https://github.com/nostrability/nostrability/issues/78) ### Learnings 1. Lone wolf, limited resource devs are the norm. Most devs focus on their one app, or their multiple apps. 2. Some devs are extremely generous with their time when it comes to interop. Proof of work is in the git repo. 3. There is a lot of space for building amazing interoperable experiences - this remains frontier territory on the design, product, and dev side. Which will be the first experience to blow people out of the water? Is it zaps, DVMs, or something not yet put together? 4. I empathize that without basic things "just working", and/or basic features missing it may be difficult to allocate resources to interoperability. 5. Even devs with teams may struggle to allocate resources to interoperability. 6. Bug reporting and crappy experience reporting matters! This is important for single apps, and even more so for multi-app interaction. Devs may not get around to fixing something right away. However, if nostriches don't share their negative experience, devs will have less impetus to improve an experience. ### 2025 plans 1. Continue documenting broken things. 2. Interview devs to better understand how I can suit nostrability to dev's single app workflows, as to more effectively close broken things, and better advocate for positive interoperability updates across apps. 3. Help test nostrCI automated interop testing methodology with galaxy dev of [nostr.watch](https://nostr.watch/) & NIP-66 Sandwich, so that nostrability can be automated per particular test cases. ### Dev and nostrich feedback Let me know how I can make nostrability more useful for yall. Tag me on nostr, create issues on nostrability 💪. !(image)[https://media.tenor.com/hF5RhwXuG_kAAAAC/arnold-schwarzenegger-terminator.gif]

@ f9cf4e94:96abc355

Na era das grandes navegações, piratas ingleses eram autorizados pelo governo para roubar navios. A única coisa que diferenciava um pirata comum de um corsário é que o último possuía a “Carta do Corso”, que funcionava como um “Alvará para o roubo”, onde o governo Inglês legitimava o roubo de navios por parte dos corsários. É claro, que em troca ele exigia uma parte da espoliação. Bastante similar com a maneira que a Receita Federal atua, não? Na verdade, o caso é ainda pior, pois o governo fica com toda a riqueza espoliada, e apenas repassa um mísero salário para os corsários modernos, os agentes da receita federal. Porém eles “justificam” esse roubo ao chamá-lo de imposto, e isso parece acalmar os ânimos de grande parte da população, mas não de nós. Não é por acaso que 'imposto' é o particípio passado do verbo 'impor'. Ou seja, é aquilo que resulta do cumprimento obrigatório -- e não voluntário -- de todos os cidadãos. Se não for 'imposto' ninguém paga. Nem mesmo seus defensores. Isso mostra o quanto as pessoas realmente apreciam os serviços do estado. Apenas volte um pouco na história: os primeiros pagadores de impostos eram fazendeiros cujos territórios foram invadidos por nômades que pastoreavam seu gado. Esses invasores nômades forçavam os fazendeiros a lhes pagar uma fatia de sua renda em troca de "proteção". O fazendeiro que não concordasse era assassinado. Os nômades perceberam que era muito mais interessante e confortável apenas cobrar uma taxa de proteção em vez de matar o fazendeiro e assumir suas posses. Cobrando uma taxa, eles obtinham o que necessitavam. Já se matassem os fazendeiros, eles teriam de gerenciar por conta própria toda a produção da fazenda. Daí eles entenderam que, ao não assassinarem todos os fazendeiros que encontrassem pelo caminho, poderiam fazer desta prática um modo de vida. Assim nasceu o governo. Não assassinar pessoas foi o primeiro serviço que o governo forneceu. Como temos sorte em ter à nossa disposição esta instituição! Assim, não deixa de ser curioso que algumas pessoas digam que os impostos são pagos basicamente para impedir que aconteça exatamente aquilo que originou a existência do governo. O governo nasceu da extorsão. Os fazendeiros tinham de pagar um "arrego" para seu governo. Caso contrário, eram assassinados. Quem era a real ameaça? O governo. A máfia faz a mesma coisa. Mas existe uma forma de se proteger desses corsários modernos. Atualmente, existe uma propriedade privada que NINGUÉM pode tirar de você, ela é sua até mesmo depois da morte. É claro que estamos falando do Bitcoin. Fazendo as configurações certas, é impossível saber que você tem bitcoin. Nem mesmo o governo americano consegue saber. #brasil #bitcoinbrasil #nostrbrasil #grownostr #bitcoin

@ 254f56d7:f2c38100

Vamos ver seu funcionamento 

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

**Table Of Content** - The Influence of Global Oil Prices - Bitcoin's Roller Coaster Ride - Anticipation Surrounding the 2024 Halving Event - The Broader Crypto Landscape - Conclusions - FAQ In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin stands as a beacon, often dictating the mood of the entire crypto market. Its price fluctuations are closely watched by investors, analysts, and enthusiasts alike. Max Keiser, a prominent figure in the crypto space, recently shed light on some intriguing factors that might be influencing Bitcoin's current price trajectory. This article delves into Keiser's insights, exploring the broader implications of global events on Bitcoin's market performance. **The Influence of Global Oil Prices** Max Keiser, a renowned Bitcoin advocate and former trader, recently drew attention to the interplay between global oil prices and Bitcoin's market performance. Responding to a post by German economics expert, Holger Zschaepitz, Keiser highlighted the significance of Brent oil reaching $90 per barrel for the first time since the previous November. According to Keiser, the surge in oil prices, driven by Saudi Arabia's decision to extend its reduction in oil production for another three months, has had ripple effects in the financial world. One of these effects is the shift of investor interest towards higher interest deposit USD accounts. This diversion of investments is creating what Keiser terms as "a small headwind for Bitcoin," implying that as traditional markets like oil show promise, some investors might be reconsidering their cryptocurrency positions. **Bitcoin's Roller Coaster Ride** The cryptocurrency market, known for its volatility, witnessed Bitcoin's price undergoing significant fluctuations recently. A notable event that gave Bitcoin a temporary boost was Grayscale's triumph over the SEC in a legal battle concerning the conversion of its Bitcoin Trust into a spot ETF. This victory led to a rapid 7.88% spike in Bitcoin's price within a mere hour, pushing it from the $26,000 bracket to briefly touch the $28,000 threshold. However, this euphoria was short-lived. Over the subsequent week, the cryptocurrency saw its gains erode, settling in the $25,400 range. At the time the reference article was penned, Bitcoin was hovering around $25,688. **Anticipation Surrounding the 2024 Halving Event** The Bitcoin community is abuzz with anticipation for the next scheduled Bitcoin halving, projected to take place in April-May 2024. This event will see the rewards for Bitcoin miners being slashed by half, resulting in a decreased supply of Bitcoin entering the market. Historically, such halvings have acted as catalysts, propelling Bitcoin's price upwards. A case in point is the aftermath of the 2020 halving, post which Bitcoin soared to an all-time high of $69,000 in October 2021. However, some financial analysts argue that this surge was less about the halving and more a consequence of the extensive monetary measures adopted by institutions like the US Federal Reserve. These measures, taken in response to the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns, flooded the market with cash, potentially driving up Bitcoin's price. **The Broader Crypto Landscape** While Bitcoin remains the most dominant and influential cryptocurrency, it's essential to consider its position within the broader crypto ecosystem. Other cryptocurrencies, often referred to as 'altcoins', also play a role in shaping investor sentiment and market dynamics. Factors such as technological advancements, regulatory changes, and global economic shifts not only impact Bitcoin but the entire crypto market. As investors diversify their portfolios and explore newer blockchain projects, Bitcoin's role as the market leader is continually tested. Yet, its pioneering status and proven resilience make it a focal point of discussions and analyses in the crypto world. **Conclusion** Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, has always been subject to a myriad of market forces and global events. While its inherent potential remains undeniable, the current market landscape, shaped by factors ranging from oil prices to global economic policies, presents challenges. Yet, with events like the 2024 halving on the horizon, there's an air of optimism among Bitcoin enthusiasts and investors about the future trajectory of this digital asset. **FAQ** **Who is Max Keiser?** Max Keiser is a prominent Bitcoin advocate, former trader, and well-known crypto podcaster. **What did Keiser say about Bitcoin's price?** Keiser pointed out that rising global oil prices and the allure of higher interest deposit USD accounts are creating a "small headwind" for Bitcoin. **How did Grayscale's legal victory affect Bitcoin?** Grayscale's win over the SEC led to a 7.88% spike in Bitcoin's price within an hour. **When is the next Bitcoin halving expected?** The next Bitcoin halving is projected to occur around April-May 2024. **Did the 2020 Bitcoin halving influence its price?** Yes, post the 2020 halving, Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $69,000 in October 2021. **That's all for today** **If you want more, be sure to follow us on:** **NOSTR: croxroad@getalby.com** **X: [@croxroadnews](https://x.com/croxroadnewsco)** **Instagram: [@croxroadnews.co](https://www.instagram.com/croxroadnews.co/)** **Youtube: [@croxroadnews](https://www.youtube.com/@croxroadnews)** **Store: https://croxroad.store** **Subscribe to CROX ROAD Bitcoin Only Daily Newsletter** **https://www.croxroad.co/subscribe** *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.*

@ 6be5cc06:5259daf0

Um dos padrões mais bem estabelecidos ao medir a opinião pública é que cada geração tende a seguir um caminho semelhante em termos de política e ideologia geral. Seus membros compartilham das mesmas experiências formativas, atingem os marcos importantes da vida ao mesmo tempo e convivem nos mesmos espaços. Então, como devemos entender os relatórios que mostram que a **Geração Z** é hiperprogressista em certos assuntos, mas surpreendentemente conservadora em outros? A resposta, nas palavras de **Alice Evans**, pesquisadora visitante na Universidade de Stanford e uma das principais estudiosas do tema, é que os jovens de hoje estão passando por um grande **divergência de gênero**, com as jovens mulheres do primeiro grupo e os jovens homens do segundo. A **Geração Z** representa duas gerações, e não apenas uma. Em países de todos os continentes, surgiu um **distanciamento ideológico** entre jovens homens e mulheres. Milhões de pessoas que compartilham das mesmas cidades, locais de trabalho, salas de aula e até casas, não veem mais as coisas da mesma maneira. Nos **Estados Unidos**, os dados da Gallup mostram que, após décadas em que os sexos estavam distribuídos de forma relativamente equilibrada entre visões políticas liberais e conservadoras, as mulheres entre **18 e 30 anos** são agora **30 pontos percentuais mais liberais** do que os homens dessa faixa etária. Essa diferença surgiu em apenas **seis anos**. A **Alemanha** também apresenta um distanciamento de 30 pontos entre homens jovens conservadores e mulheres jovens progressistas, e no **Reino Unido**, a diferença é de **25 pontos**. Na **Polônia**, no ano passado, quase metade dos homens entre **18 e 21 anos** apoiou o partido de extrema direita Confederation, em contraste com apenas um sexto das jovens mulheres dessa mesma idade.  Fora do Ocidente, há divisões ainda mais acentuadas. Na **Coreia do Sul**, há um enorme abismo entre homens e mulheres jovens, e a situação é semelhante na **China**. Na **África**, a **Tunísia** apresenta o mesmo padrão. Vale notar que em todos os países essa divisão drástica ocorre principalmente entre a **geração mais jovem**, sendo muito menos pronunciada entre homens e mulheres na faixa dos **30 anos** ou mais velhos. O movimento **# MeToo** foi o **principal estopim**, trazendo à tona valores feministas intensos entre jovens mulheres que se sentiram empoderadas para denunciar injustiças de longa data. Esse estopim encontrou especialmente terreno fértil na **Coreia do Sul**, onde a **desigualdade de gênero** é bastante visível e a **misoginia explícita** é comum. (palavras da Financial Times, eu só traduzi) Na eleição presidencial da **Coreia do Sul** em **2022**, enquanto homens e mulheres mais velhos votaram de forma unificada, os jovens homens apoiaram fortemente o partido de direita **People Power**, enquanto as jovens mulheres apoiaram o partido liberal **Democratic** em números quase iguais e opostos. A situação na **Coreia** é extrema, mas serve como um alerta para outros países sobre o que pode acontecer quando jovens homens e mulheres se distanciam. A sociedade está **dividida**, a taxa de casamento despencou e a taxa de natalidade caiu drasticamente, chegando a **0,78 filhos por mulher** em **2022**, o menor número no mundo todo. Sete anos após a explosão inicial do movimento **# MeToo**, a **divergência de gênero** em atitudes tornou-se autossustentável. Dados das pesquisas mostram que em muitos países, as diferenças ideológicas vão além dessa questão específica. A divisão progressista-conservadora sobre **assédio sexual** parece ter causado ou pelo menos faz parte de um **alinhamento mais amplo**, em que jovens homens e mulheres estão se organizando em grupos conservadores e liberais em outros assuntos. Nos **EUA**, **Reino Unido** e **Alemanha**, as jovens mulheres agora adotam posturas mais liberais sobre temas como **imigração** e **justiça racial**, enquanto grupos etários mais velhos permanecem equilibrados. A tendência na maioria dos países tem sido de **mulheres se inclinando mais para a esquerda**, enquanto os homens permanecem estáveis. No entanto, há sinais de que os jovens homens estão se **movendo para a direita** na **Alemanha**, tornando-se mais críticos em relação à imigração e se aproximando do partido de extrema direita **AfD** nos últimos anos. Seria fácil dizer que tudo isso é apenas uma **fase passageira**, mas os abismos ideológicos apenas crescem, e os dados mostram que as experiências políticas formativas das pessoas são difíceis de mudar. Tudo isso é agravado pelo fato de que o aumento dos smartphones e das redes sociais faz com que os jovens homens e mulheres agora **vivam em espaços separados** e tenham **culturas distintas**. As opiniões dos jovens frequentemente são ignoradas devido à **baixa participação política**, mas essa mudança pode deixar **consequências duradouras**, impactando muito mais do que apenas os resultados das eleições. Retirado de: https://www.ft.com/content/29fd9b5c-2f35-41bf-9d4c-994db4e12998

@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5

I've been working 28 hours a week on the weekends as a Direct service professional, assisting adults with autism and intellectual disabilities. I've brought my laptop freaks. There's enough downtime for me to work on obtaining certifications online, posts to SN and Nostr, and work on my coding project Nostr Run Club. I work with 2 normies on saturday and sunday, and had the bright idea of pitching my app to them. Here is how the conversation went. Hustle: Hey do you guys want to see what i'm working on? Normie 1: Sure.... Normie 2: "Comes around to curiously investigate" ***The Pitch Hustle: Alright, so.....what social media do you use? Normie 1: Instagram. Hustle: Alright so....I'm making a running app. Imagine logging in with instagram, and seeing a feed of all of the runners and all of your friends. Now, what music streaming service do you use? Normie 1: Pandora Normie 2: Spotify Hustle: Cool, so imagine seeing your pandora and Spotify liked songs and playlists in the running app. So the app can track your run, its connected to your social media and streaming platform, and people can send you small donations congratulating you for the run. Normie 1 and 2: Ahh, that's cool. Normie 2: But why would people send you money? Oh? I think I've seen something like it where people send you a star and the star can be redeemed for like 99 cents, or they send you points and the app rewards you for points. Hustle: Nah. That parts already figured out, I'm just having trouble getting the music from "Spotify" to play, and then I'll release it into the wild, that's pretty much my hustle. And that was the conversation, it left me thinking about a few things. 1. V4V The concept is extremely familiar to me. I say good Morning I get 50 cents. I give 35 cents to other GM freaks and keep it pushing. Its normal. But for them the concept seemed so strange, they were looking for some solution or explanation on why people would just give someone else money for seemingly nothing. When the solution is already here, just not evenly distributed or promoted or adopted. Likely because the normies are still existing in the paradox of card companies and ravenous third party intermediaries imposing their cut. 2. The broken social media landscape of disconnected walled gardens I was thinking normie one would say Facebook, if asked normie 2 would've said snapchat, Tik Tok, Instagram etc. for music they could've said apple music, tidal, Youtube music etc. I see Nostr as a highway that connects all of these guys, and instead of buying multiple cars to travel on different streets, you have one car that you use to travel across the country. 3. The tact required to pitch ideas like Nostr and bitcoin I used to work at bank of America and was tasked to sell credit cards without saying the word credit card..... I would say "Hello, good sir/mam, have you thought about getting rewarded for your daily purchases??" I found myself in a familiar situation, introducing them to Nostr without using the word Nostr and introducing them to bitcoin without using the word inevitable. The experience was stranger for me than it was for them, they left thinking "Ahh, thats neat" I walked away from the conversation eager to get notify the freaks. In Conclusion, The interaction gave me a few interesting insights: 1. We'll need to bridge the conceptual gap between traditional and new payment paradigms. 2. The importance of focusing on user benefits rather than technical details 3. The market opportunity for solutions that unify fragmented digital services 4. The value of strategic communication that meets users where they are Successful adoption of new technologies like Nostr and Bitcoin requires careful attention to user education and communication, focusing on practical benefits rather than technical features. The positive reception to the core concept, even without understanding the underlying technology, shows huge potential for mainstream adoption when presented appropriately. Thanks, Hustle originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/829000

@ f4d89779:2b522db9

In the game of Ultimate Frisbee, there is a beloved phrase that captures one of the best aspects of playing. Ultimate is about decision making. It is played on a rectangular field with seven players on each side. Much like football, the object of the game is to score with a throw into the end zone. To "HUCK", means to launch the disc down field in the hopes of scoring. You can probably guess what the "OR YOU'RE NOTHING" means but the spirit of it is that when the opportunity comes ... PUT THE DISC IN THE AIR <https://i.nostr.build/XyTpXdNOSpv5f8ZZ.jpg> Sorry, I had to channel my inner ODELL there for a second. These are all caps kind of moments. Time feels like it stops, the disc floats in the air, the receiver and defender are sprinting all out, you can hear the collective breath of anticipation from the audience and then you score. If you're good that is. You know what? You and I are civilized people, we use the NOSTR, so I won't limit myself to just words. Here are some of those moments: <https://v.nostr.build/zav5o04BK97FiNAt.mp4> During the course of play, teams get into a formation with a couple of the players doing the majority of the disc throwing. These players are called handlers. They handle the disc, they have the responsibility of moving the disc downfield, and handle most of the decision making. A good handler develops a sort of instinct for each of their receivers, can guess the capabilities of each defender, and knows himself well enough to know if he has the throw. They know who is good and reliable at short cuts. They know who has the top end speed to throw a long floating pass into the end zone. With each play they are judging all of the moving objects on the field and deciding on real time risk of each throw and where things will lead. Mistakes lead to turnovers and turnovers, like in many other sports, are death. Hopefully, you start to see how ultimate relates to life and Bitcoin. Life is a field and you have defenders and you have receivers. It is your disc and the decisions you make have a huge impact on whether you win or lose. Knowingly or not, you saw Bitcoin as a potential receiver and Governments, academics, shitcoiners, as defenders. In some ways those around you were also defenders. They whispered, or maybe still whisper the risk and probability of failure in your ear. Their fear weighed against what you know. With the btc/usd exchange rate at $94k, and companies fighting over the best ways to get sats I think we can say that you did not get lucky. They called you crazy, they said that throw won't work, they said your receiver sucked but you knew better. You saw that receiver leaving every defender in the dust and you HUCKED it and you are certainly not NOTHING.

@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5

I've been listening to this small playlist over and over again this week. Ivy keeps getting me. I'm having fun making these things https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=yNPfvgFEXuk&si=HjUdZxXKkGfqabk8 https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=LyRJfs-Qn70&si=2ugksRTltXATqHVo https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=XkpAE8ZZ6bU&si=WwWopN-YMLGguFiB https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=VIcQreSskyM&si=Ewza3W6SOkRDWF1E https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=5xm8Q-1cOpU&si=GeQv3Kum_TV9H6KD https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=xYM-aZG9QbE&si=fwfzIFLAyVumnTs4 https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=r7JWHuGFUeI&si=MqoFBqvb0iI7pAAY https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=GjnjUHY8MiM&si=F_Aepjxc_g2SH7UG https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=sgjTb7UQe2A&si=04wik3m5LefpbGMV https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=SMOund_uFTk&si=v7sa3XxchH607d0Y https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmYfnnK_Qs5jpv5hKuBKFOEvMnPFl3vto&si=Dkudss84jFszdGmj Thanks Anon, Hustle originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/827883

@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5

A recent conversation with fellow Bitcoiners prompted me to share this overview of Nostr tools. While you don't need to use everything, understanding the ecosystem helps paint a picture of where we're heading. I often hear people say "I'm posting to the void" or "My feed is boring" or "I'm not earning any bitcoin" or "It's too complicated." Let me address these concerns with a comprehensive overview. ### Core Clients and Features Primal and Amethyst are currently the best daily drivers. Theyre both valid twitter replacements with primal focusing on user friendliness and amethyst focusing on being more feature rich. Both apps feature an algorithm marketplace (we call them DVMs) where you can choose from various feed styles. Soon, anyone will be able to create and share their own algorithms. For additional feed customization, Listr.lol lets you curate lists of npubs to further refine your experience. ### Content and Rewards Stacker News (SN) integrates beautifully with Nostr. Cross-post your SN content to appear as longform notes on platforms like Highlighter, Yakihonne, and Habla.news. SN's rewards system pays out satoshis for quality content, bridging their closed platform with Nostr's open network. ### Payments and Zaps For zaps, I recommend CoinOS, or AlbyHub for a more sovereign alternative. CoinOS is non kyc and gives you a lightning address and NWC connection string to throw into your nostr clients. CoinOS supports e-cash and Bolt 12, Liquid, and can auto-withdraw earnings to cold storage. You can use coinOs as a PWA or input the connection string into Alby Go for a more minimal wallet alternative. ### Security and App Management Android users should use zap.store for downloading Nostr apps. It verifies app authenticity and implements Web of Trust features, showing which trusted npubs use each app. For managing multiple apps, Pokey provides a unified notification dashboard. Amber (Android) offers secure client login without exposing your nsec, while Citrine lets you run a relay on your phone for data backup. ### Creator Tools - Wavlake: Spotify alternative with open music graph - Fountain: Podcast app with Nostr integration - Zap.stream: Live streaming - Nostr.build: Media hosting - Cypher.space: Website creation with integrated marketplace - Olas: Instagram alternative - Gifbuddy.lol: Gif creation - memeamigo.lol: Meme creation - Zappadd: Promotional tools ### Making the Most of Nostr The key to Nostr is understanding that nothing is force-fed. You're responsible for: - Creating your desired feed - Choosing your client - Selecting your relays - Managing your wallet - Curating who you follow For best results, go all in: 1. Leave traditional social media 2. Use Primal and or Amethyst as your main client 3. Follow 1000 npubs 4. Set up CoinOS for payments 5. Engage daily with the community ### Future Outlook Some ask if Nostr is truly decentralized, censorship-resistant, or profitable. My response: the user experience will become so good that most internet users will naturally gravitate here. The only barrier will be ideological resistance. Nostr represents a new internet paradigm where users outpower platforms, identity persists across apps, and Bitcoin is the standard. We've practically already won. ### Crazy Ideas I'm thinking the age of of the super nostr app will come to a close. We're probably going to enter an era of a thousand micro apps and client templates, which allow users to build their own client in 30 seconds. Some templates will be impermanent, one time use clients, others will be more robust for building a daily driver. You'll be able to share your completed piece on nostr for other people to use, and they'll zap you for building it. A marketplace of user created apps supported by thousands of micro apps and relays and templates, probably a user experience holy grail, made possible by nostr's open social graph, smooth monetization processes from bitcoin. ### Growth Predictions Daily Active Users doubling yearly: 2024: 20k → 2029: 640k The beauty of Nostr isn't just in its decentralized nature or bitcoin integration – it's in the user experience that puts you in control. While traditional social media platforms force-feed you content through black-box algorithms, Nostr hands you the keys to your own digital kingdom. You choose your feed, your apps, your connections, and your level of engagement. Yes, there's a learning curve, but that's the price of digital sovereignty. Think of where Twitter was in 2006 or Bitcoin in 2013. Those who saw the potential and jumped in early didn't just benefit financially – they helped shape the future. Nostr is at that same inflection point. The tools are here, the infrastructure is growing, and the community is building. Whether you're a creator, developer, bitcoiner, or just someone tired of traditional social media, Nostr offers a glimpse of what the internet should have been all along. The question isn't if Nostr will win, but when. And when it does, you'll want to be able to say you were here when it all began. Thanks, Hustle originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/827860

@ 228dde34:b5d0345e

##### BY Cheryl Nya, Glenda Chong, and Jonathan Tan ##### Hype Issue #60 ###### Join CHERYL NYA, GLENDA CHONG and JONATHAN TAN as they explore how Singaporean cafe owner, Sunshine Irene, celebrates Christmas through charity.  *Sunshine Irene, first row, third from the right, as Santarina, and her husband as Santa, with the youth volunteers at the 2023 NY Cafe Christmas carnival. Photo by Xaen.* On Christmas Day, a quiet cafe in the Upper Thompson neighbourhood is filled with many volunteers doing charity work and blessing others as festive lights, holiday music, and a cheerful buzz perfectly capture the true spirit of the Christmas holiday. Meet Irene, 51, the person behind this lively holiday cheer at NY Cafe’s annual Christmas carnival. Over the years, she has become a community pillar due to her charity work. She shares how this event got started, “So last year, we had the privilege of hosting a very fun [and] fulfilling charity Christmas event at NY cafe”. What has now become a festive tradition was once originated by a group of women and youths, alongside Irene, with a generous determination to give back to the community.“[Partnering with Community Chest, a charity organisation in Singapore], we put up a few events, carnivals, booths, workshops, and all funds that we collect one hundred percent go to charity,” Irene shares.  *Interactive storytelling by NY Cafe’s very own Santa was well-received by the crowd. Photo by NY Cafe.* The NY Cafe Christmas carnival was truly a dream. There were booths that offered fun activities like terrarium making, ornament painting and colouring, giving everyone the opportunity to unleash their creativity. Santa’s storytelling corner was a big hit with the kids, as was the ‘Decorate Your Own Cupcakes and Donuts’ booth. The caroling was a crowd favourite, with classic Christmas hits drawing smiles from all. The lucky draw, or ‘blessed draw’ as they called it, also treated the winners to delightful Christmas gifts to take home.   *A group of youths came down on Christmas day to volunteer at the NY Cafe Christmas carnival, where they facilitated the activities and engaged the guests. Photo by NY Cafe.* But Irene’s favourite part? All the activities were facilitated by youth volunteers. “They were like my hands and legs running the carnival,” she remembers fondly. Witnessing the smiles they brought to their audience and the joy reflected back on their own was the greatest gift of all. This year, however, the cafe’s carnival has been scaled back to more of a cosy hearth than a blazing bonfire. Why a smaller carnival? Irene explains that it has to do with the hurdles the cafe faced this year. “The main reason is because we lost the cafe… because the building was sold,” Irene says. This forced NY Cafe to close and with that, a venue to run any charity events was lost.   *Irene ran a small booth at One Sentosa Cove this year, to raise and donate funds to charity in the festive spirit of giving. Photo by Irene.* Despite such circumstances, instead of forfeiting a carnival completely, Irene scaled back on the festivities by hosting a mini pop-up store in One Sentosa Cove and one near Lentor, the neighbourhood NY Cafe had originated from as it was “for the neighbourhood community”. Another setback Irene faced was the lack of outreach resulting from having no resources and capacity. “Because we did not have the outreach… the [turnout] was not good enough to raise much funds. So I would say that the charity part may not be as successful as [it was in] previous years,” Irene admits. However, while the cafe may have faced shadows of unmet expectations and goals, they did not lose sight of the light. The carnival’s flame burned smaller this year, yet its warmth still reached the hearts of the neighbourhood. “We [could have done better] in [terms of reaching out]… but what we gain is awareness,” Irene says. “The neighbourhood knows that…there is this thing going on and they are very happy. They would be keen to be contributors [to the event] moving forward.” Ultimately, hosting this year’s Christmas charity had its share of problems and challenges; but it’s a tradition that Irene wants to uphold. “What sparks me to do this? It's a lot to do with [my desire] to spark joy in other people's lives, in any small ways that we can,” Irene shares. The emphasis on charity has always been one of Irene’s core values. “In my life, most decisions that I have made were led by growth and contributions, these two big values of my life; so doing charity has always been one of the big pillars of my life.” The joy that comes with seeing her impact on the lives of the less fortunate is a powerful motivator for Irene’s efforts. Moreover, Irene hopes that her dedication to helping others will encourage her children to do the same. “I also hope that my kids are able to be a contributor in someone's life as well,” Irene says. “Since they are very young, I have exposed them to do charity and create impact on others' lives as well.”  *The volunteers who step up to bless the less fortunate in the same spirit of giving make it all worth it. Photo by NY Cafe.* And so, over the years, Irene’s annual charity events have served as a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. Year after year, volunteers step up and work together to bless the less fortunate on this very special day. “Witnessing the volunteers, the people stepping up, stepping forward to be a contributor, that really melts my heart,” Irene shares. “And regardless of what role they play, they actually contribute wholeheartedly, and they also immerse and enjoy themselves.” Every year as Christmas approaches, it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of bright light, lavish gifts and extravagant festivities, losing sight of the true spirit of giving and kindness. Perhaps Irene’s commitment to spreading charity every year serves as a reminder to us of what Christmas should really be about. “It's a season to remember people who touched our lives, or people whose lives we want to touch, and give them a little gift to help them remember… there's love around, and there's warmth around everybody,” Irene says.

@ 79a7270b:d61d9067

Fifteen years after its creation, Bitcoin continues to break paradigms and solidify its role in the global economic landscape. In 2021, El Salvador adopted it as legal tender, marking a significant turning point. Three years later, its acceptance has advanced considerably, with Wall Street embracing Bitcoin ETFs and U.S. political debates focusing on its adoption as a strategic reserve. With its portability, scarcity, accessibility, and liquidity in a 24/7 open market, Bitcoin distinguishes itself as an asset that transcends the limitations of traditional resources like gold and oil. Unlike these assets, which often face logistical challenges and market constraints, Bitcoin’s digital nature allows for seamless global transactions without physical barriers. Its scarcity mirrors that of gold, preserving its value over time, while its accessibility and round-the-clock liquidity make it an appealing choice for investors and policymakers alike. This unique combination of attributes positions Bitcoin as a versatile and strategic tool, increasingly relevant to advancing national interests in a rapidly digitizing world. The expansion of the BRICS block, whose combined GDP now surpasses that of the G7, has heightened pressures on Western hegemony. These countries are exploring Bitcoin as a neutral and government-independent currency. They are considering denominating international transactions in Bitcoin as part of their broader goal: to create a de-dollarized, independent financial system resilient to Western-imposed sanctions. Game theory sheds light on how Bitcoin adoption creates powerful incentives for nations. If the BRICS use Bitcoin as a strategic asset, Western nations would be compelled to accumulate it to influence the market and counteract sanctions circumvention, making Bitcoin critical for national security. In a scenario where major powers hold Bitcoin, it would be unfeasible to remain competitive without it. This logic extends to Bitcoin mining, the process that validates transactions. By deciding what is confirmed, nations dominating mining operations gain significant influence over transaction flows. Consequently, Bitcoin-accumulating countries will prioritize investing in domestic mining infrastructure, enhancing the network's decentralization and security. For instance, Russia reportedly funds regional initiatives to develop AI and Bitcoin mining infrastructure within the BRICS framework through its Sovereign Wealth Fund. This dynamic triggers a chain reaction: as one nation adopts Bitcoin, others are pressured to follow suit to avoid competitive disadvantages. This cycle embodies the essence of game theory, where each player's choices shape the strategies of others, positioning Bitcoin as a critical asset in the global geopolitical arena.

@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1

I just read this, and found it enlightening. > Jung... notes that intelligence can be seen as problem solving at an everyday level..., whereas creativity may represent problem solving for less common issues > Other studies have used metaphor creation as a creativity measure instead of divergent thinking and a spectrum of CHC components instead of just g and have found much higher relationships between creativity and intelligence than past studies https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/3/3/59 I'm unusually intelligent (Who isn't?), but I'm much more creative, than intelligent, and I think that confuses people. The ability to apply intelligence, to solve completely novel problems, on the fly, is something IQ tests don't even claim to measure. They just claim a correlation. Creativity requires taking wild, mental leaps out into nothingness; simply trusting that your brain will land you safely. And this is why I've been at the forefront of massive innovation, over and over, but never got rich off of it. *I'm a starving autist.* Zaps are the first time I've ever made money directly, for solving novel problems. Companies don't do this because there is a span of time between providing a solution and the solution being implemented, and the person building the implementation (or their boss) receives all the credit for the existence of the solution. At best, you can hope to get pawned off with a small bonus. Nobody can remember who came up with the solution, originally, and that person might not even be there, anymore, and probably never filed a patent, and may have no idea that their idea has even been built. They just run across it, later, in a tech magazine or museum, and say, "Well, will you look at that! Someone actually went and built it! Isn't that nice!" Universities at least had the idea of cementing novel solutions in academic papers, but that: 1) only works if you're an academic, and at a university, 2) is an incredibly slow process, not appropriate for a truly innovative field, 3) leads to manifestations of perverse incentives and biased research frameworks, coming from 'publish or perish' policies. But I think long-form notes and zaps solve for this problem. #Alexandria, especially, is being built to cater to this long-suffering class of chronic underachievers. It leaves a written, public, time-stamped record of *Clever Ideas We Have Had*. Because they are clever, the ideas. And we have had them.

@ 228dde34:b5d0345e

##### By Cheryl Nya ##### Deputy Editor ##### Hype Issue #60 ###### CHERYL NYA dives into the four attachment styles and discovers how they can be understood and used to strengthen our interpersonal relationships.  In the midst of a heated conflict, what is your first instinct? Would it be to apologise repeatedly, or to calmly suggest a solution? Or perhaps your first move would be to walk away from the issue. Could it be that you lash out emotionally only to withdraw suddenly out of guilt? Regardless of which of the four responses you resonate with, it all boils down to your own unique style of attachment; something that is different for everyone. Experts theorise that humans exhibit four different attachment styles which determine their patterns of closeness, trust, and dependency in relationships. Each style reflects the different ways people seek connection and express their emotional needs. Originated by British psychologist, John Bowlby, and expanded upon by Mary Ainsworth, the attachment theory suggests that humans are biologically wired to form attachments for survival, and the nature of these attachments shapes our development and experiences in relationships. At its core, the theory asserts that children naturally turn to a caregiver for comfort during times of distress or uncertainty. The bond formed in these moments establishes the foundation for secure or insecure attachments. As the child grows, this connection shapes how they approach future relationships and manage stress.  *The four attachment styles – each representing distinct ways people approach connections. Photo by The New York Times.* Now let’s dive into the four attachment styles: secure, anxious, avoidant and disorganised. **Secure Attachment** Individuals with the secure attachment style have a healthy balance of independence and reliance on others. They manage conflict well, being comfortable with healthy communication, and are confident in both giving and receiving affection. These people enjoy being with others, and aren’t anxious when apart. **Anxious Attachment** This group of individuals tend to be perceived as needy, and in most cases, excessively so. People with the anxious attachment style usually have low self-esteem and often need approval; they crave emotional intimacy and reassurance but worry that others might lose interest, or not want to be with them. Their significant fear of abandonment and rejection could lead them to face difficulty being alone. **Avoidant Attachment** Someone who’s avoidant may find it challenging to handle emotional intimacy. This group of individuals value their independence and freedom so much that intimacy and closeness can often make them uncomfortable. They tend to suppress or downplay their feelings to avoid situations where they have to be vulnerable or dependent on others. **Disorganised Attachment** This attachment style is marked by the deep desire for closeness coupled with an equally intense fear of getting hurt. The unpredictable behaviour of these people could look like: Being warm and affectionate one moment, and distant and withdrawn the next. Their struggle to regulate their emotions results in their contradictory actions. The disorganised attachment style exhibits both the traits of the anxious and the avoidant styles.  *Take a moment to understand why you can’t help but react a certain way; it might just be your attachment style. Photo taken from Pinterest.* To put attachment theory into context, let’s explore how individuals with different attachment styles would respond in the same situation. Scenario: You’ve made plans with a loved one but they cancel on you. Secure attachment style: “No worries, we can reschedule! Hope all’s well on your side!” Anxious attachment style: “Why don’t they want to see me? I’m not important enough…” Avoidant attachment style: “Nice, I have more time for myself now.” Disorganised attachment style: “Did I do something wrong? Whatever, I shouldn’t care.” Alongside popular concepts such as love languages and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), attachment styles have also become part of the blueprint for modern relationships. Understanding attachment styles is important because it helps you identify your emotional triggers and behaviours in relationships. This awareness improves your ability to communicate your needs with your loved ones, particularly for those with insecure attachment styles (anxious, avoidant, disorganised). Enhanced communication could also help you interpret others’ actions without jumping to conclusions. This knowledge equips you to navigate conflicts between different attachment styles more effectively. Everyone has their own way of connecting with others, and when you understand why some people want constant approval, or why others actively seek solitude, you have the ability to adjust your approach to make your relationships smoother.   *Loving someone could look like two extremes: constant reassurance and giving them space. Nothing wrong with either, we just have different ways of wanting to feel loved. Photos taken from Pinterest.* For example, if you’re the secure type, you can step up and offer that extra reassurance when someone with an anxious attachment style is feeling uncertain. It’s not so much about smothering them, but just simply showing that you care and that you’re listening to their needs. Or when dealing with an avoidant friend, you can respect their need for space while trying not to take it too personally. They might not always be down for a real and deep conversation like you are, but that’s totally okay. By recognising the behaviours of different styles, you help to avoid misunderstandings and facilitate amicable relationships.  *Understanding each other’s different style of attachment and reaching a compromise could strengthen your relationship. Photo taken from Pinterest.* Conversely, if you’re the anxious type, you can try making an effort to seek less validation from others, and find your worth in yourself. Remind yourself that you’re worthy of love, just as you are. Likewise for people with the avoidant attachment style, try to gather courage to face your vulnerabilities and true feelings by talking it out with a trusted loved one. These efforts can also make a secure type friend feel heard when their need for a good balance between emotional closeness and independence is met. The best part is that learning about attachment styles helps you communicate in ways that fit each person’s needs. Your relationships aren’t the only things that will benefit from this knowledge: you grow into a more thoughtful and empathetic individual too. Be it the clingy friend, the ‘keep a distance’ type, the secure or the ‘can’t decide what I want to feel right now’ kind that you’re dealing with, knowing how to adjust your approach can effectively turn conflicts into growth. Now that you know a little more about attachment styles, why not take a moment to reflect on your own? Take a quick quiz online or chat with a partner about their attachment style. You might be surprised by how much it can change the way you connect with people in your life. So, the next time you’re trying to figure out why someone is acting a certain way, remember – it might just be their attachment style talking!

@ bcea2b98:7ccef3c9

It has been a fun year of learning and entertainment with you all. Merry Christmas! originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/823433

@ 2fc236af:455ba142

# 22 February 2025 • 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. • The Doddridge Centre (opposite Church's Shoes factory), St. James, Northampton • NN5 5LD Seedy Saturday is an community seed swap event held each February in Northampton, UK. We'll have a wide range of fruit, vegetable, herb and flower seeds to choose from, including some rare and unusual varieties you won't find in the catalogues. We'll also have a marketplace selling garden and eco-related goods, community groups, and a pop-up cafe serving a range of hot food, drinks and snacks. Whether you're a newly-minted gardener or a child of the soil, we're sure to have something for you! Click/tap here for a handy map and details of how to find us (opens in new tab / window). We bring together a vibrant community of local gardeners and growers of all ages and abilities; it's a great way to start the gardening season. If you've new to the idea of seed swaps, read on! ----------- ### What's a seed swap? A seed swap is a community event where gardeners can exchange their spare vegetable, flower, fruit and herb seeds—either own-grown or commercially produced—for other seeds they want to grow. Most seed swaps are run by gardeners for gardeners; you'll often find rare and interesting local varieties on offer. They're also a great place to meet and chat with other local growers. The seed table is the heart of any seed swap; here you'll find all sorts of garden seeds on offer. Though we can't guarantee to have everything you want, you're sure to find something interesting. At Northampton's Seedy Saturday you'll also find:  •stalls selling local produce and garden-centric items;  •seed potatoes;  •community organisations that focus on food, gardening and the environment;  •a pop-up cafe serving hot drinks and light snacks. ### How does our seed swap work? Pack your home-grown seeds into envelopes or self-sealing bags and label them with the plant's name (common or Latin), the variety's name, and the year it was grown. You can also add the place where it was grown, – for example; ""Tomato: Gardeners Delight, grown in Brixworth 2023"". Securely seal the packets. When you arrive, bring your spare seeds to the seed reception table, where our volunteers will check and sort them for display. Then, choose any seeds you want from the table; we'll exchange seeds on a pack-for-pack basis. Don't worry if you've no seeds to swap or want to take more than you've donated; you can take more seeds for a minimum donation of 50p per pack. ### What to bring: To make sure everyone's swapped seeds will grow and flourish, please follow these guidelines when choosing seeds to bring to the swap table. We welcome:  •non-hybrid seeds you've grown and harvested yourself (though see below); and  •unopened packs of commercially packed seeds that have been stored in cool, dry conditions and are no more than one year past their "sow by" date. What to leave at home:  •part-used and opened packs of seeds where the inner pack has been opened;  •seeds that are unpackaged, unlabelled or undated;  •seeds from produce you haven't grown yourself (eg; shop-bought fruits and vegetables);  •commercially packed seeds that are more than one year past their "sow by" date and home-grown seeds that are more than two years old;  •seeds that have been stored in hot or damp conditions (eg; in a greenhouse or shed);  •seeds that may have been cross-pollinated;  •seeds from diseased or unhealthy plants;  •seeds of patented varieties or genetically modified organisms (GMOs);  •seeds of any plant that is illegal, restricted or regulated by UK law (eg; cannabis, invasive weeds etc). ### Want to know more about seed-saving? Click or tap [here](nostr:nevent1qvzqqqr4gupzqt7zx6he9d03g48cls83565lkqgfwpmj6pf7wzfqrma5jfz4hg2zqythwumn8ghj7ct5d3shxtnwdaehgu3wd3skuep0qyghwumn8ghj7vf5xqhxvdm69e5k7tcpzamhxue69uhkyarr9e4kcetwv3sh5afwvdhk6tcpr4mhxue69uhkymmnw3ezucnfw33k76tww3ux76m09e3k7mf0qyw8wumn8ghj7cn4vd4k2apwvdhhyctrd3jjuum0vd5kzmp0qqsrfshynqaajprtzt4umj04hrxwuw353f27k9eh9pgs0062sn3g4fqzz09tg). Northampton's Seedy Saturday is organised by Fruitful Abundance, a group of volunteers who campaign for a fairer, more resilient and less-wasteful food system. We update this page as needed but our Facebook page [(link)](https://www.facebook.com/northamptonseedysaturday/) is often more up-to-date. You can contact us via our Facebook page. Please note we are unpaid volunteers with busy lives so you may not get an immediate response to your query.

@ ee11a5df:b76c4e49

# China ## I might be wrong, but this is how I see it This is a post within a series I am going to call "I might be wrong, but this is how I see it" I have repeatedly found that my understanding of China is quite different from that of many libertarian-minded Americans. And so I make this post to explain how I see it. Maybe you will learn something. Maybe I will learn something. It seems to me that many American's see America as a shining beacon of freedom with a few small problems, and China is an evil communist country spreading communism everywhere. From my perspective, America *was* a shining beacon of freedom that has fallen to being typical in most ways, and which is now acting as a falling empire, and China *was* communist for about a decade, but turned and ran away from that as fast as they could (while not admitting it) and the result is that the US and China are not much different anymore when it comes to free markets. Except they are very different in some other respects. ## China has a big problem China has a big problem. But it is not the communism problem that most Westerners diagnose. I argue that China is no longer communist, it is only communist in name. And that while it is not a beacon of free market principles, it is nearly as free market now as Western nations like Germany and New Zealand are (being somewhat socialist themselves). No, China's real problem is authoritarian one-party rule. And that core problem causes all of the other problems, including its human rights abuses. ## Communism and Socialism Communism and Socialism are bad ideas. I don't want to argue it right here, but most readers will already understand this. The last thing I intend to do with this post is to bolster or defend those bad ideas. If you dear reader hold a candle for socialism, let me know and I can help you extinguish it with a future "I might be wrong, but this is how I see it" installment. Communism is the idea of structuring a society around common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange, and the idea of allocating goods and services based on need. It eliminates the concept of private property, of social classes, ultimately of money and finally of the state itself. Back under Mao in 1958-1962 (The Great Leap Forward), China tried this (in part). Some 50+ million people died. It was an abject failure. But due to China's real problem (authoritarianism, even worship of their leaders), the leading classes never admitted this. And even today they continue to use the word "Communist" for things that aren't communist at all, as a way to save face, and also in opposition to the United States of America and Europe. Authorities are not eager to admit their faults. But this is not just a Chinese fault, it is a fault in human nature that affects all countries. The USA still refuses to admit they assassinated their own president JFK. They do not admit they bombed the Nord Stream pipeline. China defines "socialism with Chinese characteristics" to mean "the leadership of the Communist Party of China". So they still keep the words socialism and communism, but they long ago dropped the meanings of those words. I'm not sure if this is a political ploy against us in the West or not. ### China's Marketplace Today Today China exhibits very few of the properties of communism. They have some common ownership and state enterprises, but not much differently than Western countries (New Zealand owns Air New Zealand and Kiwibank and Kiwirail, etc). And there are private enterprises all over China. They compete and some succeed and some fail. You might hear about a real-estate bank collapsing. China has private property. They have mostly free markets. They have money, and the most definitely have social classes and a very strong state. None of that is inline with what communist thinkers want. Communist thinkers in China moan that China has turned away from communism. Deng Xiaoping who succeeded Mao and attempted to correct the massive mistake, did much when he said "to get rich is glorious." China achieved staggering rates of economic growth. 10% annually on average since 1977. Chinese economic reform started in 1979 and has continued through successive administrations (Deng, Jiang, Hu and now Xi). China is now the world's largest economy (by GDP in PPP terms) since 2016. I was first made aware of China's economic growth by Jim Rogers, an American commodities expert who travelled through China (and the rest of the world from 1990-1992) and in 2007 moved to Singapore where he ensured his daughters learned to speak Mandarin, because Jim knew where the economic growth was going to happen. Jim always spoke positively of China's economic prospects, and his view was so different from the "China is a nasty communist place" view that I had grown up with that my mind opened. How can anybody believe they are still a communist country? In what world does it make sense that communism can produce such a massively booming economy? It doesn't make sense because it is simply wrong. What *does* happen is that the CPC interferes. It lets the market do what markets do, but it interferes where it thinks oversight and regulation would produce a better result. Western nations interfere with their markets too. They have oversight and regulation. In fact some of China's planned reforms had to be put on hold by Xi due to Donald Trump's trade war with China. That's right, they were trying to be even more free market than America, but America's protectionism prodded Xi to keep control so he could fight back efficiently. Government oversight and regulation IMHO is mostly bad because it gets out of control, and there are no market forces to correct this. This gets even more extreme in a one-party system, so I can judge that China's oversight and regulation problems are very likely worse than those in Western nations (but I have no first hand experience or evidence). ## Why do you keep saying CPC? The Communist Party of China (CPC) is the ruling party in China. That is their official name. To call them the CCP is to concede to the idea that the British and Americans get to name everybody. I'm not sure who is right, since CPC or CCP is their "English" name (in Chinese it is 中国共产党 and Westernized it is Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng). Nonetheless, I'll call them CPC because that is their wish. ## Social Credit System China moved from a planned economy to a market economy in stages. They didn't want any more sudden changes (can you blame them?). In the process, many institutions that have existed in the West for a long time didn't exist in China and they had to arise somehow. IMHO market forces would have brought these about in the private sector, but the one-party CP of China instead decided to create these. One of those institutions was a credit score system. In the West we have TransUnion and Equifax that maintain credit ratings on people, and we have S&P, Moody's and Fitch that maintain credit ratings on companies. The domain of these ratings is their financial credit-worthiness. So the People's Bank of China developed a credit information database for it's own needs. The government picked up on the idea and started moving towards a National Credit Management System. In 2004 it became an official goal to establish a credit system compatible with a modern market system. By 2006 banks were required to report on consumer creditworthiness. But unchecked one-party governmental power will often take a good idea (credit worthiness data shared among private parties) and systematize it and apply it top-down, creating a solution and a new problem at the same time. Nonetheless, originally it was about credit worthiness and also criminal convictions. That is no big scary thing that some right-wing American commentators will lead you to believe. In the US for example criminal records are public, so China's Social Credit System started out being no more over-reaching in scope than what Americans have lived under their entire lives, its only fault (a severe one) being centrally planned. And that remained the case up until about 2016 (in my estimation). But of course there is always scope creep. As it exists today, I have reason to believe that CPC officials and even A.I. use judgement calls to score someone on how moral that person has been! Of course that is not a good idea, and IMHO the problem stems from one-party rule, and authoritarian administration of ideas that should instead be handled by the private sector. ## Environmental, Social, and Governance ESG is a system that came out of a couple basic ideas. The first is that many two-party transactions actually have externalities. They don't just affect the two parties, they also affect everybody else. When you fly in an airplane, you increase the CO2 in the atmosphere that everybody has to pay for (eventually). You may dispute that example, but that is no doubt one of the motivations of ESG. But of course the recognition of this basic issue didn't lead all people towards market solutions (well it did, but those have been mostly messed up by others), but instead led many people towards ESG, which is a social credit scoring system which applies scores based on environmental and social side-effects of market transactions. This is not at all the same as China's social credit system, which I described above. I hope you can see the difference. In fact, China imported ESG from the West. Chinese companies, of their free will, in an attempt to court Western capital, achieve ESG goals for those Western investors. They have been playing this ESG game for 20 years just like the entire world has, because the West has imposed this faux-morality upon them. It isn't something China exported to us, it is something we exported to them. ## I think China has avoided Woke-ism My understanding of Chinese people, based on what I've heard many Chinese people say, is that China isn't affected by the Western woke-ism epidemic. They deride Western white woke people with the term "Baizuo". They have never sent an incompetent break dancer to the Olympics because of wok-ism. Competence is highly respected as is the competition to be the most competent, which (when augmented by a one-child policy which is no longer) has produced child prodigies like no other country has. ## What about predatory loans of the Belt and Road initiative? Predatory is an odd name for loans to people in need. The World Bank makes loans to people in need. China does too. China stands in opposition to Western Empire, and in that regard they produce their own alternative BRICS institutions. This is one of them. There is AFAIK nothing more predatory about them. It is just that in some cases the borrowers have trouble paying them back and they get foreclosed upon. I don't think this is worthy of much discussion, except that the term "predatory" seems to me to be a propaganda device. ## What about foreign influence from China? China wants to influence the world, especially its own trading partners and potential trading partners. Doing that above board is fine by me. But some of it is undoubtedly covert. Sometimes Chinese-born people run for public office in Western countries. In New Zealand we stood down some when it became clear they were being influenced too much by the CPC while being charged with representing their local town (dual loyalty issues). If only the USA would do the same thing to their dually-loyal politicians. And all large nations run influence operations. The USA has the CIA, for example, and claims this "soft power" is actually the better alternative to what would otherwise be military intervention (but IMHO shouldn't be either). I'm not defending such operations (I despise them), I'm just explaining how China's position of exerting influence is not only no big deal and totally expected, it pales in comparison to the United States' influence operations which often become military excursions (something China rarely ever does). ## What about the Great Firewall? Yeah, that sucks. Again, single-party authoritarian control gone to extremes. ## What about Human Rights Abuses? What about the Uyghur Genocide? I don't like them. To the extent they are occurring (and I lean towards the belief that they are occurring), I condemn them. China has anti-terrorism and anti-extremism policies that go too far. They end up oppressing and/or criminalizing cultures that aren't Chinese enough. But especially, China punishes dissent. Disagreement with the CPC is the high crime. It is the one-party rule that causes this problem. Anybody who speaks out against the CPC or goes against the state in any way is harshly punished. This happens to Uyghurs, to Falun Gong, to Tibetans, and to any religion that is seen as subversive. Amnesty International and the UN OHCHR have documented issues around the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, Tibet, LGBT rights, death penalty, workers rights, and the Hong Kong special administrative region. I am not about to pretend I know better than they do, but to some extent they go too far. Amnesty International says this about the USA: Discrimination and violence against LGBTI people were widespread and anti-LGBTI legislation increased. Bills were introduced to address reparations regarding slavery and its legacies. Multiple states implemented total bans on abortion or severely limited access to it. Gender-based violence disproportionately affected Indigenous women. Access to the USA for asylum seekers and migrants was still fraught with obstacles, but some nationalities continued to enjoy Temporary Protected Status. Moves were made to restrict the freedom to protest in a number of states. Black people were disproportionately affected by the use of lethal force by police. No progress was made in the abolition of the death penalty, apart from in Washington. Arbitrary and indefinite detention in the US naval base Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, continued. Despite extensive gun violence, no further firearm reform policies were considered, but President Biden did announce the creation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The USA continued to use lethal force in countries around the world. Black people, other racialized groups and low-income people bore the brunt of the health impacts of the petrochemical industry, and the use of fossil fuels continued unabated. Amnesty international didn't even point out that the US government quashes free speech via pressure on social media corporations (because Amnesty International is far too lefty). So who is worse, China or the US? I'm not going to make that judgement call, but suffice it to say that in my mind, China is not obviously worse. China violates freedom of expression, association, and assembly of all people. This is bad, and a consequence mainly of one-party rule (again, what I think is the root cause of most of their ills). They arrest, detain, potentially kill anybody who publicly disagrees openly with their government. Clearly this is an excess of authoritarianism, a cancer that is very advanced in China. As to organ harvesting of Uyghur Muslims, I think this is a myth. China has dealt harshly with Muslim extremism. They don't offer freedom of religion to ISIS. And Amnesty International complains about that. But practically speaking you probably shouldn't respect the extremist religion of people who want to force everybody into a global caliphate through threat of violence. As you are well aware, some extremist Muslims (<1% of Islam) believe in using violence to bring about a global caliphate. Those extremists pop up in every country and are usually dealt with harshly. China has had to deal with them too. I have watched two different Western YouTubers travel to Xinjiang province trying to find the oppressed Uyghurs and interview them. They can't find them. What they find instead are Uyghur Muslims doing their prayers five times a day at the local mosque. And also stories that the CPC pitched in some money to help them renovate the mosque. Maybe they were afraid it was a CPC trap and so they wouldn't speak freely. Amnesty International and the UN OHCHR say more than a million are "arbitrarily detained" and I'm not going to argue otherwise. But I'd be more convinced if there were a stream of pictures and news like there is out of Gaza, and it is suspicious that there isn't. ## Conclusion China is more like a Western nation that Westerners realize. Economically, militarily, socially. It still has a very serious obstacle to overcome: one-party rule. I don't think the one-party is going to voluntarily give up power. So most probably at some point in the future there will be a revolution. But in my opinion it won't happen anytime soon. For the most part Chinese people are living high on the hog, getting rich, enjoying the good life, in positive spirits about life, and are getting along with their government quite well at present.

@ 20986fb8:cdac21b3

In this edition, we are pleased to speak with Luthando nostr:npub10vudmjqhr8kn2kv2pxhezt2h5t5c9zauwq8qr56nhdn64yacsqyqf08djm leader of the Bitcoin Ekasi community, about how they are using Bitcoin to transform payment systems, savings habits, and cross-border remittances in a South African township, while fostering digital currency education and boosting local economic trust. --- **YakiHonne:** Luthando. We really appreciate you coming in. 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. today. we'll be exploring more about your community.Can you tell us a bit about yourself? What do you do, and what’s your role in your community? **Luthando**：I’m Luthando, a project community leader at Bitcoin Ekasi. My role includes onboarding township shops to help them adopt Bitcoin as a payment method. I also manage staff records, tracking workdays and paid leave for team members involved in the project. Additionally, I conduct interviews and collaborate with a supervisor to share insights and experiences about Bitcoin. This work is part of my efforts with Bitcoin Ekasi.  **YakiHonne**: You're really doing a lot of work in the Bitcoin ecosystem，what sparked your interest in Bitcoin? And what motivated you to create a community around it? **Luthando**：When I was working as a safety coach at Safeacase, Herman introduced me to Bitcoin. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Safeacase, which relied on donations, faced severe financial challenges. This led to the launch of the Bitcoin Ekasi Project, where I helped township shops adopt Bitcoin as a payment method. With limited funds, I transitioned from receiving a fiat salary to earning in Bitcoin. Bitcoin transformed my mindset, making me realize it is the future of money. This realization inspired me to travel the world and explore new countries. **YakiHonne**: Great. I really admire the enthusiasm you have for Bitcoin.Can you share a brief history of how you built your community and attracted members? What methods or advertisements did you use to onboard them? **Luthando**：We host monthly Bitcoin movie nights to engage the community, running from February to December starting next year. We promote the events with posters in town, shops, and clinics, inviting residents to join. During the movie nights, participants use Bitcoin we provide to purchase popcorn and drinks, gaining hands-on experience with the technology. **Luthando**：And our Bitcoin center features a thrift shop and a small Bitcoin ATM. Community members can exchange fiat for Bitcoin using the ATM and use it to purchase clothing from the shop. We also offer Bitcoin courses with 14 students attending classes five days a week. To encourage attendance, students are rewarded with Bitcoin for consistent participation. Similarly, in the “Safer Kids” program, children who maintain a 70% attendance rate or higher also receive Bitcoin rewards. **Luthando**：To further promote Bitcoin adoption in the community, we painted Bitcoin-themed logos on 34 shops and paid the owners in Bitcoin, which they can use in local shops. This initiative not only spreads awareness but also provides the community with practical opportunities to use Bitcoin.  **YakiHonne**: Yeah, we are pushing Bitcoin adoption so hard this time. It's really great.What principles guide your community, and how do you ensure trust and reliability in your discussions? **Luthando**：I was born in eastern South Africa, and my parents moved here around 1996. The community knows me well and trusts that I wouldn’t introduce anything fraudulent. Since 2010, we’ve been working in this township, especially helping children, building over a decade of trust. I explain to the community that we aim to bring value through Bitcoin, encouraging them to save in Bitcoin instead of fiat. As a result, the community has great trust in our Bitcoin Ekasi team. **YakiHonne**: How do you educate your members and keep them updated on Bitcoin developments? You mentioned having five weekly meetups to onboard members, but what other methods do you use to educate them and keep them informed about the Bitcoin ecosystem? **Luthando**：We use the Felly app to communicate with community members and keep them updated. At the Ekasi Center, we host quizzes to encourage participation. For example, the first attendees can earn 5,000 sats, motivating them to regularly engage with the Felly app. Although we initially tried a few other methods that didn't really involve them getting Sats, its impact was limited as many people in the township seek quick financial returns and often don’t return after their first visit. To address this, we host movie nights as a more engaging way to promote Bitcoin education. During these events, we screen Bitcoin-related films, allowing community members to learn about Bitcoin in a fun and relaxed setting.  **YakiHonne**: It's truly captivating and highly insightful.How does your community collaborate with the global Bitcoin ecosystem? Specifically, how does it engage with the broader worldwide Bitcoin community, and which partnership has been of more significant impact on Bitcoin Ekasi? **Luthando**：We have established a strong partnership with Bitcoin Beach, which provided crucial support in the creation of the Bitcoin Ekasi project. Currently, we are planning to build a community center in the township, earning the trust and support of both Bitcoin Beach and the local government of Mossel Bay. The community center will serve as a multifunctional space for events like weddings and more. As one of the earliest Bitcoin adoption projects in Africa, Bitcoin Ekasi has inspired other countries to follow suit, viewing us as a model for building sustainable Bitcoin communities. **YakiHonne**: How do you collaborate with Bitcoin communities and organizations outside South Africa? What partnerships or interactions do you have with other global Bitcoin communities? **Luthando**: We collaborate with other Bitcoin projects through community initiatives. For example, we paint logos on local community shops and pay the owners 7000Sats per week. This approach has helped us build connections with projects outside South Africa. One notable example is our assistance to the Bitcoin Dua project in Africa, helping them establish a Bitcoin circular economy. We also supported the Bitcoin Loxin project in Cape Town, South Africa, in launching their Bitcoin circular economy. Through these collaborations, we have developed strong relationships with other Bitcoin communities.  **YakiHonne**: We’d like to understand the challenges you faced when starting the community, as well as the challenges the community has encountered？ **Luthando**: One of the main challenges is convincing members that Bitcoin is not a scam. Many people are skeptical about Bitcoin, fearing they might lose their money. Additionally, saving is not a common habit within the community, even with fiat currency. I often explain the importance of saving in Bitcoin, emphasizing how it can safeguard their financial security. However, changing deeply ingrained mindsets has proven to be quite difficult. Another challenge is the limited level of education in the community. Even those who own smartphones often struggle to use them effectively. This lack of familiarity extends to using Bitcoin wallets, with many people finding it challenging to navigate wallet usage, especially in shops. Lastly, I feel like I’m working around the clock. Even outside of work hours, people come to my house seeking assistance, such as exchanging Bitcoin for fiat. While I’m happy to help, the constant demands can feel overwhelming at times, making it seem as though I’m working every day, including weekends. **YakiHonne**: and how you managed to overcome them？ **Luthando**: Overcoming these challenges is not easy. I can't say that I've fully managed to resolve them, but I do my best to address them. Fortunately, I have a colleague who assists me, although he’s currently out of town. He helps manage some of the workload, especially in dealing with local community members and providing them with the support they need. **YakiHonne**: I'm really interested in the issue of people thinking Bitcoin is a scam. Could you elaborate on that? What specific steps have you taken to demonstrate that Bitcoin is reliable and not a scam? **Luthando**: Many shop owners initially believe Bitcoin is a scam and refuse to accept it. To address their doubts, I demonstrate Bitcoin's legitimacy through practical examples. First, I help them download a Bitcoin wallet and post about it on X, receiving small tips from Bitcoin enthusiasts worldwide. I then use these tips to showcase Bitcoin's real-world applications. For instance, I use Bitrefill to purchase mobile airtime or fuel vouchers for them, highlighting Bitcoin's utility in daily life. I also mention South African restaurants like Steers that accept Bitcoin and even place food orders using Bitcoin to show its usability. Additionally, I demonstrate withdrawing cash from a crypto ATM using Bitcoin, further proving that it is a reliable financial tool and not a scam. **YakiHonne**: You've done a lot of work in South Africa. I can imagine the effort, the pain and the stress.What initiatives has the community taken to promote Bitcoin adoption, and what results have these efforts achieved? **Luthando**: At first, I never imagined we would reach this point. Now, many people frequently come to my home to ask how to buy Bitcoin. For example, this week, a man from Nigeria wanted to purchase Bitcoin worth 5,000 units. I explained the process to him and recommended using a hardware wallet for securely storing large amounts of Bitcoin. He used to struggle with sending money back home, but now he has realized the convenience of Bitcoin. In October last year, I helped two stores owned by Nigerians adopt Bitcoin payments. Since then, this practice has spread within the community, and more people, especially shop owners, have developed an interest in Bitcoin. They ask about its low transaction fees and have recognized it as an efficient solution for cross-border remittances. Initially, some shop owners were skeptical about Bitcoin, but they eventually started saving with it. Today, many of them have accumulated significant Bitcoin savings for their families and children, and they often express their gratitude for introducing Bitcoin to the community. Overall, the Bitcoin adoption project has had a profound impact here. We have educated the community about Bitcoin’s long-term savings value, and many people are now satisfied with this initiative and optimistic about the future.  **YakiHonne**: It’s clear you’ve achieved tangible results from your efforts. Looking ahead, what are your community's goals for the next 6 to 12 months? How do you plan to achieve them? **Luthando**: For Bitcoin Ekasi, one of our main goals is to establish a dedicated Bitcoin Ekasi Center. This center would serve as a hub to educate people about Bitcoin on a frequent basis. We have already started working with a local school in the township, recruiting students and introducing teachers to Bitcoin. Our vision is to integrate Bitcoin education into the school’s curriculum, similar to what has been done in El Salvador. By incorporating Bitcoin as part of their regular subjects, students can gain foundational knowledge about Bitcoin and its potential uses. Ultimately, we aim for teachers to become advocates who can confidently teach children about Bitcoin, empowering the next generation with essential financial literacy skills. **YakiHonne**: Thank you so much! I think most of my questions have been answered. I’m really glad to see Bitcoin enthusiasts with a clear focus on Bitcoin. As you said, Bitcoin is the future, and I truly appreciate your enthusiasm for it. **Luthando**: Bitcoin is truly the future. We want to see this township transformed into something more modern, rather than its current state. I hope to see more parents saving some Bitcoin for their children. In our community, most kids receive a monthly government allowance of $50 starting from the age of one. I often suggest to parents that they set aside half of that allowance to buy Bitcoin for their child. If they save consistently from age one to 18, the value could grow significantly as Bitcoin appreciates. I’m already doing this for my own child so that he will have savings as he grows up. **YakiHonne**: Bitcoin is the future. Its value continues to grow steadily over time. Thank you so much for today’s conversation; we are truly honored. Your sharing of such rich experiences has been incredibly insightful for us. I’ve learned that using movie events to engage more people is an excellent idea, and we plan to start trying it out soon. Once again, thank you for your time and for sharing with us!

@ b83e6f82:73c27758

## Citrine 0.6.0 - Update dependencies - Show notifications when importing, exporting, downloading events - Change database functions to be suspending functions Download it with [zap.store]( https://zap.store/download), [Obtainium]( https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium), [f-droid]( https://f-droid.org/packages/com.greenart7c3.citrine) or download it directly in the [releases page ]( https://github.com/greenart7c3/Citrine/releases/tag/v0.6.0) If you like my work consider making a [donation]( https://greenart7c3.com) ## 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-v0.6.0.txt` and `manifest-v0.6.0.txt.sig` are in the current directory) with: ``` bash gpg --verify manifest-v0.6.0.txt.sig manifest-v0.6.0.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-v0.6.0.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.

@ 16d11430:61640947

At the intersection of philosophy, theology, physics, biology, and finance lies a terrifying truth: the fiat monetary system, in its current form, is not just an economic framework but a silent, relentless force actively working against humanity's survival. It isn't simply a failed financial model—it is a systemic engine of destruction, both externally and within the very core of our biological existence. The Philosophical Void of Fiat Philosophy has long questioned the nature of value and the meaning of human existence. From Socrates to Kant, thinkers have pondered the pursuit of truth, beauty, and virtue. But in the modern age, the fiat system has hijacked this discourse. The notion of "value" in a fiat world is no longer rooted in human potential or natural resources—it is abstracted, manipulated, and controlled by central authorities with the sole purpose of perpetuating their own power. The currency is not a reflection of society’s labor or resources; it is a representation of faith in an authority that, more often than not, breaks that faith with reckless monetary policies and hidden inflation. The fiat system has created a kind of ontological nihilism, where the idea of true value, rooted in work, creativity, and family, is replaced with speculative gambling and short-term gains. This betrayal of human purpose at the systemic level feeds into a philosophical despair: the relentless devaluation of effort, the erosion of trust, and the abandonment of shared human values. In this nihilistic economy, purpose and meaning become increasingly difficult to find, leaving millions to question the very foundation of their existence. Theological Implications: Fiat and the Collapse of the Sacred Religious traditions have long linked moral integrity with the stewardship of resources and the preservation of life. Fiat currency, however, corrupts these foundational beliefs. In the theological narrative of creation, humans are given dominion over the Earth, tasked with nurturing and protecting it for future generations. But the fiat system promotes the exact opposite: it commodifies everything—land, labor, and life—treating them as mere transactions on a ledger. This disrespect for creation is an affront to the divine. In many theologies, creation is meant to be sustained, a delicate balance that mirrors the harmony of the divine order. Fiat systems—by continuously printing money and driving inflation—treat nature and humanity as expendable resources to be exploited for short-term gains, leading to environmental degradation and societal collapse. The creation narrative, in which humans are called to be stewards, is inverted. The fiat system, through its unholy alliance with unrestrained growth and unsustainable debt, is destroying the very creation it should protect. Furthermore, the fiat system drives idolatry of power and wealth. The central banks and corporations that control the money supply have become modern-day gods, their decrees shaping the lives of billions, while the masses are enslaved by debt and inflation. This form of worship isn't overt, but it is profound. It leads to a world where people place their faith not in God or their families, but in the abstract promises of institutions that serve their own interests. Physics and the Infinite Growth Paradox Physics teaches us that the universe is finite—resources, energy, and space are all limited. Yet, the fiat system operates under the delusion of infinite growth. Central banks print money without concern for natural limits, encouraging an economy that assumes unending expansion. This is not only an economic fallacy; it is a physical impossibility. In thermodynamics, the Second Law states that entropy (disorder) increases over time in any closed system. The fiat system operates as if the Earth were an infinite resource pool, perpetually able to expand without consequence. The real world, however, does not bend to these abstract concepts of infinite growth. Resources are finite, ecosystems are fragile, and human capacity is limited. Fiat currency, by promoting unsustainable consumption and growth, accelerates the depletion of resources and the degradation of natural systems that support life itself. Even the financial “growth” driven by fiat policies leads to unsustainable bubbles—inflated stock markets, real estate, and speculative assets that burst and leave ruin in their wake. These crashes aren’t just economic—they have profound biological consequences. The cycles of boom and bust undermine communities, erode social stability, and increase anxiety and depression, all of which affect human health at a biological level. Biology: The Fiat System and the Destruction of Human Health Biologically, the fiat system is a cancerous growth on human society. The constant chase for growth and the devaluation of work leads to chronic stress, which is one of the leading causes of disease in modern society. The strain of living in a system that values speculation over well-being results in a biological feedback loop: rising anxiety, poor mental health, physical diseases like cardiovascular disorders, and a shortening of lifespans. Moreover, the focus on profit and short-term returns creates a biological disconnect between humans and the planet. The fiat system fuels industries that destroy ecosystems, increase pollution, and deplete resources at unsustainable rates. These actions are not just environmentally harmful; they directly harm human biology. The degradation of the environment—whether through toxic chemicals, pollution, or resource extraction—has profound biological effects on human health, causing respiratory diseases, cancers, and neurological disorders. The biological cost of the fiat system is not a distant theory; it is being paid every day by millions in the form of increased health risks, diseases linked to stress, and the growing burden of mental health disorders. The constant uncertainty of an inflation-driven economy exacerbates these conditions, creating a society of individuals whose bodies and minds are under constant strain. We are witnessing a systemic biological unraveling, one in which the very act of living is increasingly fraught with pain, instability, and the looming threat of collapse. Finance as the Final Illusion At the core of the fiat system is a fundamental illusion—that financial growth can occur without any real connection to tangible value. The abstraction of currency, the manipulation of interest rates, and the constant creation of new money hide the underlying truth: the system is built on nothing but faith. When that faith falters, the entire system collapses. This illusion has become so deeply embedded that it now defines the human experience. Work no longer connects to production or creation—it is reduced to a transaction on a spreadsheet, a means to acquire more fiat currency in a world where value is ephemeral and increasingly disconnected from human reality. As we pursue ever-expanding wealth, the fundamental truths of biology—interdependence, sustainability, and balance—are ignored. The fiat system’s abstract financial models serve to disconnect us from the basic realities of life: that we are part of an interconnected world where every action has a reaction, where resources are finite, and where human health, both mental and physical, depends on the stability of our environment and our social systems. The Ultimate Extermination In the end, the fiat system is not just an economic issue; it is a biological, philosophical, theological, and existential threat to the very survival of humanity. It is a force that devalues human effort, encourages environmental destruction, fosters inequality, and creates pain at the core of the human biological condition. It is an economic framework that leads not to prosperity, but to extermination—not just of species, but of the very essence of human well-being. To continue on this path is to accept the slow death of our species, one based not on natural forces, but on our own choice to worship the abstract over the real, the speculative over the tangible. The fiat system isn't just a threat; it is the ultimate self-inflicted wound, a cultural and financial cancer that, if left unchecked, will destroy humanity’s chance for survival and peace.

@ a367f9eb:0633efea

I’ll admit that I was wrong about Bitcoin. Perhaps in 2013. Definitely 2017. Probably in 2018-2019. And maybe even today. Being wrong about Bitcoin is part of finally understanding it. It will test you, make you question everything, and in the words of BTC educator and privacy advocate [Matt Odell](https://twitter.com/ODELL), “Bitcoin will humble you”. I’ve had my own stumbles on the way. In a very public fashion in 2017, after years of using Bitcoin, trying to start a company with it, using it as my primary exchange vehicle between currencies, and generally being annoying about it at parties, I let out the bear. In an article published in my own literary magazine *Devolution Review* in September 2017, I had a breaking point. The article was titled “[Going Bearish on Bitcoin: Cryptocurrencies are the tulip mania of the 21st century](https://www.devolutionreview.com/bearish-on-bitcoin/)”. It was later republished in *Huffington Post* and across dozens of financial and crypto blogs at the time with another, more appropriate title: “[Bitcoin Has Become About The Payday, Not Its Potential](https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/bitcoin-has-become-about-the-payday-not-its-potential_ca_5cd5025de4b07bc72973ec2d)”. As I laid out, my newfound bearishness had little to do with the technology itself or the promise of Bitcoin, and more to do with the cynical industry forming around it: > In the beginning, Bitcoin was something of a revolution to me. The digital currency represented everything from my rebellious youth. > > It was a decentralized, denationalized, and digital currency operating outside the traditional banking and governmental system. It used tools of cryptography and connected buyers and sellers across national borders at minimal transaction costs. > > … > > The 21st-century version (of Tulip mania) has welcomed a plethora of slick consultants, hazy schemes dressed up as investor possibilities, and too much wishy-washy language for anything to really make sense to anyone who wants to use a digital currency to make purchases. While I called out Bitcoin by name at the time, on reflection, I was really talking about the ICO craze, the wishy-washy consultants, and the altcoin ponzis. What I was articulating — without knowing it — was the frame of NgU, or “numbers go up”. Rather than advocating for Bitcoin because of its uncensorability, proof-of-work, or immutability, the common mentality among newbies and the dollar-obsessed was that Bitcoin mattered because its price was a rocket ship. And because Bitcoin was gaining in price, affinity tokens and projects that were imperfect forks of Bitcoin took off as well. The price alone — rather than its qualities — were the reasons why you’d hear Uber drivers, finance bros, or your gym buddy mention Bitcoin. As someone who came to Bitcoin for philosophical reasons, that just sat wrong with me. Maybe I had too many projects thrown in my face, or maybe I was too frustrated with the UX of Bitcoin apps and sites at the time. No matter what, I’ve since learned something. **I was at least somewhat wrong.** My own journey began in early 2011. One of my favorite radio programs, Free Talk Live, began interviewing guests and having discussions on the potential of Bitcoin. They tied it directly to a libertarian vision of the world: free markets, free people, and free banking. That was me, and I was in. Bitcoin was at about $5 back then (NgU). I followed every article I could, talked about it with guests [on my college radio show](https://libertyinexile.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/osamobama_on_the_tubes/), and became a devoted redditor on r/Bitcoin. At that time, at least to my knowledge, there was no possible way to buy Bitcoin where I was living. Very weak. **I was probably wrong. And very wrong for not trying to acquire by mining or otherwise.** The next year, after moving to Florida, Bitcoin was a heavy topic with a friend of mine who shared the same vision (and still does, according to the Celsius bankruptcy documents). We talked about it with passionate leftists at **Occupy Tampa** in 2012, all the while trying to explain the ills of Keynesian central banking, and figuring out how to use Coinbase. I began writing more about Bitcoin in 2013, writing a guide on “[How to Avoid Bank Fees Using Bitcoin](http://thestatelessman.com/2013/06/03/using-bitcoin/),” discussing its [potential legalization in Germany](https://yael.ca/2013/10/01/lagefi-alternative-monetaire-et-legislation-de/), and interviewing Jeremy Hansen, [one of the first political candidates in the U.S. to accept Bitcoin donations](https://yael.ca/2013/12/09/bitcoin-politician-wants-to-upgrade-democracy-in/). Even up until that point, I thought Bitcoin was an interesting protocol for sending and receiving money quickly, and converting it into fiat. The global connectedness of it, plus this cypherpunk mentality divorced from government control was both useful and attractive. I thought it was the perfect go-between. **But I was wrong.** When I gave my [first public speech](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtVypq2f0G4) on Bitcoin in Vienna, Austria in December 2013, I had grown obsessed with Bitcoin’s adoption on dark net markets like Silk Road. My theory, at the time, was the number and price were irrelevant. The tech was interesting, and a novel attempt. It was unlike anything before. But what was happening on the dark net markets, which I viewed as the true free market powered by Bitcoin, was even more interesting. I thought these markets would grow exponentially and anonymous commerce via BTC would become the norm. While the price was irrelevant, it was all about buying and selling goods without permission or license. **Now I understand I was wrong.** Just because Bitcoin was this revolutionary technology that embraced pseudonymity did not mean that all commerce would decentralize as well. It did not mean that anonymous markets were intended to be the most powerful layer in the Bitcoin stack. What I did not even anticipate is something articulated very well by noted Bitcoin OG [Pierre Rochard](https://twitter.com/BitcoinPierre): [Bitcoin as a *savings technology*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BavRqEoaxjI)*.* The ability to maintain long-term savings, practice self-discipline while stacking stats, and embrace a low-time preference was just not something on the mind of the Bitcoiners I knew at the time. Perhaps I was reading into the hype while outwardly opposing it. Or perhaps I wasn’t humble enough to understand the true value proposition that many of us have learned years later. In the years that followed, I bought and sold more times than I can count, and I did everything to integrate it into passion projects. I tried to set up a company using Bitcoin while at my university in Prague. My business model depended on university students being technologically advanced enough to have a mobile wallet, own their keys, and be able to make transactions on a consistent basis. Even though I was surrounded by philosophically aligned people, those who would advance that to actually put Bitcoin into practice were sparse. This is what led me to proclaim that “[Technological Literacy is Doomed](https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/technological-literacy-is-doomed_b_12669440)” in 2016. **And I was wrong again.** Indeed, since that time, the UX of Bitcoin-only applications, wallets, and supporting tech has vastly improved and onboarded millions more people than anyone thought possible. The entrepreneurship, coding excellence, and vision offered by Bitcoiners of all stripes have renewed a sense in me that this project is something built for us all — friends and enemies alike. While many of us were likely distracted by flashy and pumpy altcoins over the years (me too, champs), most of us have returned to the Bitcoin stable. Fast forward to today, there are entire ecosystems of creators, activists, and developers who are wholly reliant on the magic of Bitcoin’s protocol for their life and livelihood. The options are endless. The FUD is still present, but real proof of work stands powerfully against those forces. In addition, there are now [dozens of ways to use Bitcoin privately](https://fixthemoney.substack.com/p/not-your-keys-not-your-coins-claiming) — still without custodians or intermediaries — that make it one of the most important assets for global humanity, especially in dictatorships. This is all toward a positive arc of innovation, freedom, and pure independence. Did I see that coming? Absolutely not. Of course, there are probably other shots you’ve missed on Bitcoin. Price predictions (ouch), the short-term inflation hedge, or the amount of institutional investment. While all of these may be erroneous predictions in the short term, we have to realize that Bitcoin is a long arc. It will outlive all of us on the planet, and it will continue in its present form for the next generation. **Being wrong about the evolution of Bitcoin is no fault, and is indeed part of the learning curve to finally understanding it all.** When your family or friends ask you about Bitcoin after your endless sessions explaining market dynamics, nodes, how mining works, and the genius of cryptographic signatures, try to accept that there is still so much we have to learn about this decentralized digital cash. There are still some things you’ve gotten wrong about Bitcoin, and plenty more you’ll underestimate or get wrong in the future. That’s what makes it a beautiful journey. It’s a long road, but one that remains worth it.

@ c69b71dc:426ba763

# **Christ** Consciousness This text invites you to explore the deeper meaning of the winter season and the birth of Christ Consciousness—beyond religion and dogma. It is about inner reflection, spiritual insight, and the connection of body, mind, and soul, inspired by the ancient symbols of light, energy, and consciousness. Here, I highlight how the symbolism that religions and biblical texts often convey in a material sense actually holds a much deeper meaning—one that can help us awaken our life energy and unlock our full potential. Christmas is far more significant than gifts, family, food, and Christmas trees. ## **Winter** Solstice The winter solstice marks a turning point in the annual cycle. On December 21st, the sun reaches its southernmost point, and we experience the longest night of the year. While our physical body feels the need to rest and turn inward, our psychic and astral energies unfold. Especially between December 21st and 25th, everything seems to enter a standby mode, creating space for profound reflection and spiritual renewal. During this darkest time of the year, a kind of inner birth occurs—a birth of the spirit, conceived in the deep silence of the night. It is a moment of introspection, contemplation, and realignment.  ## **The** Twelve Holy Nights: A Time for Retreat and Reflection With the winter solstice, the Twelve Holy Nights (Rauhnächte) begin—a mystical time between the years. These days invite us to turn inward, rest, and connect with our soul. It is a time when physical relaxation and spiritual growth go hand in hand. Advent sets the stage for this phase—each lit candle symbolically represents a chakra, starting with the lower energy centers. By the fourth Advent, the light reaches our heart chakra, a place of love, peace, and connection. ## **Symbolism** Across Different Traditions This energy is also reflected in Judaism: the festival of Hanukkah lasts for eight days, during which a new candle is lit each day. This practice can be seen as a symbolic journey through the chakras, gradually activating and harmonizing them. Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, stands for the liberation from material and spiritual blockages, the strengthening and activation of energy centers, and the connection to the divine. We learn that there are no separations because we are the divine. ## **The** Sacred Flow of Life: The Claustrum and Inner Alchemy The term "Claustrum," referring to an occult area in the brain, holds deep symbolic and physical significance. The Claustrum is located between the pineal gland and the pituitary gland and secretes a special fluid known as "Christos." This fluid flows through the spinal cord down to the sacrum. The sacrum, derived from the Latin word "sacrum," meaning "sacred," represents this "sacred oil" flow. It symbolizes an inner alchemical process: nourishing the body and soul, enhancing consciousness, and bridging the physical and spiritual realms. `Interestingly, this process is depicted in ancient myths: Santa Claus, or Saint Nicholas, descending the chimney to deliver gifts, can be interpreted as a metaphor for the Claustrum and the flow of sacred essence. The gifts represent the awakened consciousness born from this process.`  ## **The** Journey of Christ Consciousness Christ Consciousness, often symbolized by the birth of Jesus, is understood in spiritual teachings as an internal process. The fluid from the Claustrum reaches the sacrum and then ascends to activate the pineal and pituitary glands, spreading out from there. During this process, it passes through the 33 vertebrae of the spine—a reference to the age of 33 when Jesus was crucified. During the "crucifixion" of this sacred oil, it becomes "suspended" in the region of the thalamus for two to three days before illuminating the pineal and pituitary glands. This process leads to profound spiritual renewal and heightened consciousness, often referred to as the awakening of Kundalini energy. ## Nutrition and Spirituality Our diet has a direct influence on this process. Heavy, fatty, or animal-based foods can energetically dull us and block the flow of the "sacred essence." A light, plant-based diet rich in fresh juices, sprouts, and raw foods supports energy flow and spiritual growth. Animal products, drugs, and excessive fats disrupt the process. Similarly, sexual activity with orgasm during the ascent of the sacred oil interrupts the cycle, causing the sacred energy to be lost. The pineal and pituitary glands, often referred to as the seat of the soul, are associated with the production of "manna" in spiritual traditions—a substance symbolizing milk and honey. This is also linked to Joseph and Mary or the masculine and feminine. The pineal gland secretes a honey-like substance, while the pituitary gland secretes a milk-like substance. The "land flowing with milk and honey" lies within us. We are that land. The process happens within us; there is nothing to seek outside.  ## **The** Birth of Light Within Us In the deepest darkness lies the greatest potential for new life. Through conscious reflection, mindful nutrition, and connection with our body and mind, we can celebrate the birth of light within ourselves—a gift that helps us recognize and live our true potential. ### **Final** Thought I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read this piece. My wish is to inspire and encourage you—even amidst the calls of tradition—to carve out time to look inward, just as the natural cycle of life teaches us. It is an invitation to embark on the path of self-discovery, to grow, awaken, and let our inner light shine, ultimately leading to enlightenment. Step by step, day by day, month by month, and year by year, we allow ourselves to be guided by the wisdom of the cycle, unfolding in wondrous ways. I always welcome your feedback, thoughts, and reflections on this topic. Your input is invaluable to me and enriches the process of shared growth. May your cycle be illuminated and filled with love 💛

@ fcb65172:87f3c4ed

*Cities on return are often strange\ Yeah, and now\ Every time you blink, you feel it change\ And it's been\ A long, a long, a long, a long, long-long\ You've been my\ Favourite for a while* So sings Grian Chatten, lead singer of the Irish punk band Fontaines D.C (look them up and thank me later), in the fourth verse of their song Favourite– my favourite track released in 2024. As a world traveller who has called quite a few places home during the past 10 years I can relate to these lyrics on so many levels. It just so happens that I recently came back to La Paz, Bolivia– a city I used to call home. But so many things about the city has changed. Most notably with old friends of mine. Some old friends have turned out to reveal themselves as crooks, and you guessed it, some of the people who had been painted, in my mind, as crooks– well it just so turns out that they have revealed themselves as the good guys. I’m reminded of Warren Buffet’s line: Only when the **tide goes out do you** discover who's been **swimming naked**. The time away from La Paz has given me time to reflect on my two and a half years living here. The time component acts as the tide in Buffet’s great quote– Allowing me to filter through all the noise and focus on what is real. Or should I say who of my old friends were the real friends and who were the crooks– swimming naked all the time. ## My Story with La Paz I first arrived in La Paz in 2018 as a 22 year old boy looking for a place in South America to live. La Paz was where I met my wife. La Paz is where I bought my first business– a pub in the tourist area. La Paz is where I learned to deal with corrupt city council workers. La Paz is in many ways where I grew from a boy to a man. A Young 22 Year old naive version of me in La Paz Fast forward to December 2024 as I’m back in the city for the first time in two years. Walking the colourful and chaotic streets of La Paz, brings back all the memories. The street corner where a young naive Sebastian bought his first gram of pure Bolivian Marching Powder– That shit will pick you right up by the bootstraps, but do to proceed with care, I don’t have enough available fingers to count the amount of people who I’ve seen lose their lives to the Marching Powder of Bolivia. If you aren’t careful it will become the only thing you live for. I jump on a cable car– La Paz’s metro system which flies across the city, up and down the mountains, connecting all neighbourhoods with the city centre. I head to what used to be my local park and viewpoint. This is where I would always come to read a book or listen to podcasts whilst enjoying the stunning view of Illimani– the mountain guarding La Paz. Most importantly this is the park where I made my first move to kiss my wife. The view of Illimani Mountain from the Pub I used to own ## The former community leader who vanished The main thing I think about as I re-explore my old neighbourhoods is; what happened to my old friends and acquaintances? Together with the other restaurants in the tourist area we used to have a football team organised by a true community leader, let’s call him George in this story, the team was called Chocos Locos– The Crazy Blondes, we were a mix of European expats, exchanges students, NGO employees and some local Bolivian friends of ours. George was the guy who tied us all together. He knew everyone– their birthday, what football team they supported, what drink they preferred etc. George would look out for everyone, he would make sure to organize birthday parties, even for the quiet ones in our group. George had his values set in the right place, he demanded a high standard from everyone on and off the pitch. In exchange we would look out for each other, cover for one another if we were in trouble. You know like the Marines, we would leave no man behind. As I’m now back in La Paz most of my former friends and teammates are no longer around, George included. Their restaurants are closed and new ones have emerged. Some have left due to the recent years of political instability in Bolivia, others have mysteriously disappeared. What happened to them? In May 2024 I received a message from George saying our friend and teammate, let’s call him Juan, was in intensive care in a hospital in La Paz, after suffering a near death accident. Juan’s family needed help to cover the treatment costs. Like the true community leader George is, he took it upon himself to reach out to all present and former teammates and friends of Juan, asking us all to pitch in, with whatever we could to support Juan’s treatment. I didn’t think much else of it and sent across €100 to support Juan. As I later came to learn, the story was something else. The real story revealed George’s true identity. This is the story of a real captain, a true community leader, who turned out to be a scammer. But how did George turn into a scammer who used the near death accident of a friend and teammate, to scam just about everyone who had ever met Juan into donating money to help Juan’s family pay for the intensive care in hospital, only to run off with all the money donated– approximately $4000 USD? Perhaps the answer was there in front of our faces all along? I recently listened to a podcast with Andrew Bustamente (a former CIA spy, known as Everyday Spy on YouTube) in the podcast Andrew mentioned that most people who come off as highly empathetic, people like George, aren’t actually as highly empathetic as they seem, in fact such people despise almost everybody else. I now ask myself did George actually use the community and our football team the whole time. Were we funding his life in La Paz all the time? George told us he was working online as an English teacher. Now I ask myself who George really was. ## See you all in 2025 It’s mind blowing to me, how time removed from a former favourite city helps us see our time living in said city with such clarity… What really happened? Who were the good guys? Who were the bad guys? As I look to settle into a new hometown in 2025 (more on that in future newsletters) I will keep in mind my lessons learned from revisiting La Paz. I will be able to spot who are the charlatan’s and who are the genuine good guys– or at least so I hope. As I warm up to a Holiday season with family from both Denmark and Bolivia I wish you all a great Holidays, remember to be grateful for your family and those who are your real friends. Show them love. Cherish your time with them. Let me leave you with the lyrics to the final verse of the fantastic Fontaines D.C song Favourite: *Ah, makes sense when you understand\ The misery made me another marked man\ And I'm always looking over my shoulder\ And each new day\ - I get another year older\ Shoulder bound to the frame of a door\ Tuned into shape like a stone on the shore\ But if there was lightning in me\ Then you know who it was for* *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UG31mpUnOg* I will see you all in 2025. God bless you all. Sebastian

@ 31e3a4de:ae1b209d

Here’s a thought experiment: What if healthcare insurance is fundamentally the wrong model for managing most healthcare? Insurance works best when it covers the unexpected—the tail-risk events that hit you out of nowhere. But the reality is that much of healthcare isn’t unexpected at all. Take cancer as an example. The initial diagnosis and treatment are undeniably shocking—a classic insurance-worthy moment. But what about the next five or ten years of follow-up care? That’s not surprising. It’s predictable. Should insurance, a system designed for surprises, really foot the bill for something so foreseeable? Here’s the argument: health insurance should cover the initial shock—like a cancer diagnosis or a torn hamstring during a sports match. But once the acute phase passes, predictable, long-term care (like cancer surveillance or diabetes management) should be handled differently—perhaps through government funding. Consider chronic illnesses. If someone with poorly controlled diabetes develops retinal disease or vascular complications, is that surprising? Not really. It’s almost inevitable. Asking insurers to cover these predictable outcomes results in inflated premiums and financial inefficiency. The same logic applies to other chronic conditions. A smoker with diabetes developing vascular disease? It’s not a question of “if” but “when.” Why pretend this is an insurable risk? Here’s the punchline: if we separate the unexpected from the inevitable in healthcare, we might just create a more efficient system. Insurance should handle the surprises. Government funding should manage the predictable. And the sooner we recognize that most of healthcare isn’t a surprise, the sooner we can build a system that works for everyone. Here’s a thought experiment: What if healthcare insurance is fundamentally the wrong model for managing most healthcare? Insurance works best when it covers the unexpected—the *tail-risk events* that hit you out of nowhere. But the reality is that much of healthcare isn’t unexpected at all. Take cancer as an example. The initial diagnosis and treatment are undeniably shocking—a classic insurance-worthy moment. But what about the next five or ten years of follow-up care? That’s not surprising. It’s predictable. Should insurance, a system designed for surprises, really foot the bill for something so foreseeable? Here’s the argument: health insurance should cover the initial shock—like a cancer diagnosis or a torn hamstring during a sports match. But once the acute phase passes, predictable, long-term care (like cancer surveillance or diabetes management) should be handled differently—perhaps through government funding. Consider chronic illnesses. If someone with poorly controlled diabetes develops retinal disease or vascular complications, is that surprising? Not really. It’s almost inevitable. Asking insurers to cover these predictable outcomes results in inflated premiums and financial inefficiency. The same logic applies to other chronic conditions. A smoker with diabetes developing vascular disease? It’s not a question of “if” but “when.” Why pretend this is an insurable risk? Here’s the punchline: if we separate the *unexpected* from the *inevitable* in healthcare, we might just create a more efficient system. Insurance should handle the surprises. Government funding should manage the predictable. And the sooner we recognize that most of healthcare isn’t a surprise, the sooner we can build a system that works for everyone.

@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5

I'm prompted to write this after seeing that my part time job offers tuition reimbursement to full time workers, and that I could become a full time worker and get essentially get a full ride to complete my bachelors through flexible and remote courses. Shoutout to the advice I got from a few Stackers > Just know that degrees dont mean as much as they did in the past. If you invest this time in to school, will it pay off later? It depends on what degree you will be getting, and how quickly you can complete the coursework. @Satosora >I was in a similar grind a full-time gig and a side hustle while chasing my degree. Ended up specializing in cybersecurity and the degree definitely opened doors I hadn’t even considered. My tip structure is key. Treat your study time like a third job, and don’t skimp on self care. You’ve already got that hustle mindset, so you’re halfway there. Go for it, but keep the balance in check! Good luck! @Imyourfed >This is how I ended up becoming an economist. I had a couple of jobs, one of which offered tuition benefits, and I took a couple of classes a semester until I finished an econ degree. Then, off to grad school. I say you should do it, as long as you're confident you can handle the workload. @Undisciplined Among many others. Shoutout to the advice I got from a few Nostritches https://primal.net/e/note166vyza03rwqjq49dez2xktv7vfmq98s8hjf5kjxlcdjg85ffs2mq02243r https://primal.net/e/note1x93cuy2n90k2y4kms8hn5qwsffcapluw7elxty03jntau75m6rfq094f47 https://primal.net/e/note15z0xfzwm8llqqsgm5aq5j9t0955kt5htzkafhxas93gfd7yn5x2q37dapn The Nostr freaks were overall against it, while SN freaks were overall for it. I've reached a dilemma. The dilemma is "why am I doing this?" Are my intentions pure and honorable, or is this fiat credentialism rearing its ugly head. Is this me wanting to better myself and contribute value to the world or is this not staying humble Am I risking something that I cant see at the moment, should my energy be spent doing other things; starting a business, Freelancing harder, Contributing to open source harder, Spending more time with the wife and kid on the way. Over the past few years I've become grumbly shouting at friends and family about evil fiat and perfect perfect bitcoin. At what point do I pull a satoshi, and move on to other things. At what point do I take my own advice, realize that I probably have enough bitcoin, and enjoy life. I'll try to articulate my thoughts the best I can.......although this is a ramble I want to get a bachelors degree and potentially become a lawyer for the reasons below 1. Stick it to the haters. I naively jumped around telling a few family members what I would do with my life and thought becoming a lawyer wasn't too far fetched. They did, and thought I was crazy and couldn't do it. Fuck em. 2. I have 30 college credits to go towards a bachelors, a lot of time to complete classes, approaching 6 years of experience working at an IP law firm, a rinky dink paralegal certificate, and the possibility to have it all paid for without spending any sats. So the goal seems oddly obtainable. 3. LLM's are great at homework 4. It would make my wife and unborn child more proud of me, which I believe is good. 5. I want to excel in my career and have good job opportunities moving forward. With a bachelors I'd be able to obtain higher paying jobs and have a formidable resume to take advantage of more opportunities as they come by. 6. I have a growing interest in learning this stuff. I think about the samurai wallet boys and keep a side eye on the trial. I'm a sovereign individual thesis guy, and want to see the how the laws will bend to support a new technological paradigm. 7. I read "come and take it" by Cody Wilson and followed a bit of his journey and thought his fight and thoughts on the courts were pretty cool. In Conclusion, I'm typing these rambling thoughts while working on my part time job, which may become a 2nd full time, because I might head back to school to finish my bachelors, while recognizing that college degrees are mostly scams for suckers. Kids come out of highschool and are sold the lie that, this is the only path forward. That if you dont go to fancy university than your life is shit. Society looks down upon you with a mocking and judgmental glare. Your parents arent proud of you, and you need to give a very good explanation on why you're throwing your life away. So instead of facing a tidal wave of scrutiny, most kids who can end up going to college and getting into a crazy amount of debt, or dropping out essentially wasting their time while postulating like they were trying to "find themselves". The idea of school in fiat is a rough one anyway, the campuses are communist lgbtq government obediance propaganda training grounds siphoning first principle thinking from its victims with a spooky efficiency. Ah, wait that was supposed to be a conclusion. Let me try again. In Conclusion, College degrees are mostly scams for suckers, but maybe armed with better knowledge of what i'm getting into, a bit more focus and more realistic expectations; I can appropriately navigate through the treacherous marshes of keynsian brainwashing into the orange light of sticking it to the man. originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/819302

@ 472f440f:5669301e

There was a bit of a rally in stock markets today, but this was a relief rally after taking a beating throughout the week. All eyes were on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as he took the stage on Wednesday to announce the decisions made at the most recent FOMC meeting. The market reacted negatively to another 0.25% cut from the Federal Reserve that many considered a "hawkish cut" due to the fact that Chairman Powell articulated that it is likely that there will be less rate cuts in 2025 than were previously expected. This is likely driven by the fact that inflation, as reported by the terribly inaccurate CPI, has been coming in higher than expectations. Signaling that the Fed does not, in fact, have inflation under control. Who could have seen that coming? Here's how the US 10Y Treasury yield reacted to the announcement: "Not great Bob!" The US 10Y Treasury yield is something that everyone should be paying attention to over the course of the next year. Since the Fed started cutting rates in September of this year, the 10Y yield has been acting anomalously compared to how it has acted historically after Fed interest rate decisions. Since September, the market has been calling the Fed's bluff on inflation and rates have been moving in the opposite direction compared to what would be expected if the Fed had things under control. The "hawkish cut" made on Wednesday is not a great sign. The Fed is being forced to recognize that it cut "too much too fast" before actually getting inflation under control. One has to wonder why they made such aggressive moves in September. Why the need for a much more dovish stance as quickly as they moved? Do they see something behind the scenes of the banking system that makes them believe that another liquidity crisis was on the horizon and they needed to act to prevent yet another banking crisis? Now that it is clear that inflation isn't under control and if there really was a liquidity crisis on the horizon, what are the first two quarters of 2025 going to look like? Could we find ourselves in a situation where inflation is beginning to accelerate again, there is a liquidity crisis, and the Fed is forced to rush back ZIRP and QE only to further exacerbate inflation? Couple this potential scenario with the proposed economic policy from the incoming Trump administration and it isn't hard to see that we could be in for a period of economic pain. One can only hope that the Fed and the incoming administration have the intestinal fortitude to let the market correct appropriately, reprice, clear out the bad assets and credit that exists in the system and let the cleanse happen relatively unperturbed. That has what has been desperately needed since 2008, arguably longer. On that note, bitcoin is going through a bull market correction this week as well. Likely incited and/or exacerbated by the turmoil in traditional markets. Many are proclaiming that the end of this bull market is here. Don't listen to those who have been hate tweeting bitcoin all the way up this year. They've been looking for a correction to bask in schadenfreude and confirm their biases. These types of corrections are to be expected when bitcoin runs by checks notes 100% over the course of less than three months. We're approaching the end of the year, which means that people are selling to prepare for taxes (which may be happening in the stock market as well). Add to this fact that long-term holders of bitcoin have taken the most profit they have since 2018 and it probably explains the recent pull back. Can't blame the long-term holders for seeing six-figure bitcoin and deciding to bolster their cash balances. I couldn't be more bullish on bitcoin than I am right now. The fundamentals surrounding the market couldn't be more perfect. Despite what the Trump administration may have in store for us in terms of economic policy (I agree with most of the policies he has presented), I find it hard to believe that even he and the talented team of people he has surrounded himself with can overcome the momentum of the problems that have been building up in the system for the last 16-years. The "find safety in sats" trade is going mainstream as the market becomes more familiar with bitcoin, its properties, and the fact that it is very unlikely that it is going to die. The fervor around bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset for nation states is only picking up. And if it catches on, we will enter territory for bitcoin that was considered utterly insane only a year ago. On that note, Nic Carter made some buzz today with a piece he wrote for Bitcoin Magazine explaining why he believes a strategic bitcoin reserve is a bad idea for the US government. https://bitcoinmagazine.com/politics/i-dont-support-a-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-and-neither-should-you While I agree that the signal the US government could send by acquiring a bitcoin strategic reserve could be bad for the US treasuries market, I think it comes down to strategy. The Trump administration will have to think strategically about how they acquire their Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. If they ape in, it could send the wrong message and cause everyone to dump their treasuries, which are the most popular form of collateral in the global financial system. However, there are ways to acquire bitcoin slowly but surely from here into the future that ensure that the United States gets proper exposure to the asset to protect itself from the out-of-control debt problem while also providing itself with a way out of the problem. Many of these potential strategies were discussed in two recent episodes I recorded. One with Matthew Pines from the Bitcoin Policy Institute and another with Matthew Mežinskis from Porkopolis Economics. I highly recommend you all check those out (linked below). https://youtu.be/xyyeEqFVjBY https://youtu.be/6vgesP9LIXk .--- Final thought... I am the most locked in from a focus perspective while on flights. Even with two kids under 5. Merry Christmas, Freaks!

@ d68401a8:11aad383

The internet addresses we use daily (e.g., *something.com, something.org*) are just a part of the internet called the DNS [root zone](https://icannwiki.org/Root_Zone#), which is essentially a hierarchical database of all the names you can access on the internet (similar to a telephone directory). Currently, the only root zone we know is the [ICANN root zone](https://www.icann.org/root-server-system-en). Nobody refers to it as the ICANN root zone or ICANN domains because it is inherently the only root zone people know, so we simply call it the Internet and domains. The ICANN root zone is extremely convenient; having a centralized and unified root zone makes life easier for people, and it will remain the main root zone on the internet for the foreseeable future. However, the internet is not meant to have only one root zone. While the ICANN root zone has its advantages, it also has some drawbacks. This is where [alternative root zones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_DNS_root), which experiment with different trade-offs, make sense. Handshake is an alternative root zone based on a decentralized peer-to-peer network, offering a different set of trade-offs compared to the ICANN root zone. The following table highlights the main differences between the ICANN and HNS root zones: |**Feature**|**ICANN Root Zone**|**HNS Root Zone**| |:-|:-|:-| |**Governance**|Centralized (ICANN)|Decentralized (Peer-to-peer)| |**Domain creation**|Requires ICANN approval|Permissionless and auction-based| |**User Interaction**|Only through specific registries|Directly on its blockchain| |**Infrastructure**|Traditional DNS root servers|Blockchain-based| |**Resolution**|Native support in browsers and systems|Requires custom resolvers or tools| |**Trust Model**|Trust in the ICANN|Trustless, cryptographic verification| |**HTTPS setup**|Certificate authority|[DANE](https://blog.htools.work/posts/stateless-dane/)| |**Purpose**|Corporate and State sovereignty; Stability|User sovereignty; Experimental| ## How to access the HNS root zone Now you know that the root zone you’re familiar with is the ICANN root zone, which is universally supported by operating systems and browsers. But what if you want to own a Handshake domains or want to access Handshake addresses to explore what’s in the Handshake root zone? Essentially, you have a few options: **1. PC and desktop** You have a few options explained here: [https://learn.namebase.io/development/resolving-handshake](https://learn.namebase.io/development/resolving-handshake), but the recommended one is **Fingertip,** a resolver created by Impervious that enables you to trustlessly resolve Handshake names: * [https://impervious.com/fingertip](https://impervious.com/fingertip) * [https://github.com/imperviousinc/fingertip](https://github.com/imperviousinc/fingertip) If your certificate expires at some point, usually after one year, you can either replace the certificate with a new one or delete the folder where the certificate is stored (on Windows, it should be located in a path like `Users\yourname\AppData\Roaming\Fingertip`). After deleting this folder, the next time you restart your computer, Fingertip will prompt you to generate a new certificate. Simply say yes, and that’s it! **2. Smart phones and other devices** For mobile phones and such the easiest and more convenient way is [HNS DoH](https://welcome.hnsdoh.com/), the DNS over TLS option. **3. Explore the Handshake Root Zone** * [https://www.niami.io/](https://www.niami.io/) or [https://niami](https://niami) * [https://hns.cymon.de/](https://hns.cymon.de/)

@ 1bc70a01:24f6a411

<h3 class="(attributes)=>{ const level = attributes.level; const baseClasses = 'font-bold'; switch(level){ case 1: return `${baseClasses} text-3xl mt-6 mb-4`; case 2: return `${baseClasses} text-2xl mt-5 mb-3`; case 3: return `${baseClasses} text-xl mt-4 mb-2`; default: return baseClasses; } }">It works! or does it? H2 </h3><ul class="list-disc list-outside ml-4 my-4 space-y-1"><li class="pl-1"><p>Item</p></li><li class="pl-1"><p>Item</p></li></ul><p>Paragraph</p><p><strong>Bold</strong></p><p><em>Italic</em></p><p><s>Strikethrough</s></p><ol class="list-decimal list-outside ml-4 my-4 space-y-1"><li class="pl-1"><p>Numbered 1</p></li><li class="pl-1"><p>Numbered 2</p></li></ol><blockquote class="border-l-4 border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600 pl-4 my-4"><p>Fancy blockquote</p></blockquote><pre class="rounded-md bg-muted/50 p-4 font-mono text-sm my-4"><code>Codeblock? </code></pre><p>Wow. I'm impressed!</p>

@ 1bc70a01:24f6a411

<p><strong>Super cool</strong></p><p></p><ul><li><p>Written entirely with AI, zero lines of code</p></li><li><p>Even comes with a neat editor that barely works atm!</p></li><li><p>Should we add AI tools as well? Might as well...</p></li><li><p>2025 is going to be epic! </p></li></ul><p></p><p>Can you see me?</p>

@ 228dde34:b5d0345e

##### BY Glenda Chong ##### Editorial Admin ##### Hype Issue #60 ###### Join GLENDA CHONG as she steps into the electrifying energy of Singapore’s K-pop scene at *SCAPE’s K-POP ALL IN 2024 and finds out how events like these bring a community together. *Dance crew 6IX giving their all on stage at K-POP ALL IN 2024. Photo by Glenda Chong.* The *SCAPE Ground Theatre was still, save for the low murmur of voices as attendees shuffled in. But when the screen on stage flashed a bright orange and blue and the first beat of a K-pop track blasted through the speakers, the crowd's energy flipped “ON” like a switch. This was K-POP ALL IN 2024, also known as KAI, an annual year-end party that brings K-pop enthusiasts together for a night of community and celebration. KAI’s theme this year, “TIME K-APSULE” invites both performers and attendees to honour iconic K-pop classics and artists that have shaped the genre’s past and spotlight the fresh energy of today’s favourites. *Dance crew Onhit Dance covering K-pop girl group GFRIEND’s hit MAGO. Photo by Glenda Chong.* As a K-pop fan myself, KAI wasn’t my first rodeo when it comes to *SCAPE’s K-pop-themed events. However, going to such an event alone was a first so I was just a touch anxious as to whether I would feel out of place. Despite my nerves, I milled around the booths just behind the audience seating area before the show began. Aside from the performances, I was pleased to see that there were plenty of booths selling K-pop official and fan-made merchandise. From fan art to collectible photo cards and K-pop albums, it was a collector’s dream. The one booth that drew me in almost instantly, though, was by the NUS Korean Cultural Interest Group (KCIG) from the National University of Singapore (NUS). As part of their efforts to raise funds for their annual K-pop dance production, the interest group had gotten a booth at KAI to sell not just unique merchandise such as shirts they designed, but even experiences like a “deco booth” and a photo-taking area. That extra effort really made their booth stand out from the other booths that were only selling ‘merch’. The booth embodied connection through its “deco booth”, where K-pop fans could personalise photocard sleeves with decorative elements. Though typically a solo activity, many did it with friends, turning the booth into a vibrant hub of shared creativity and enthusiasm. While you can say that the heart of Singapore’s K-pop scene lies in the music and the performances, this energy and sense of community extends beyond the stage. I got to chat with KCIG members, Abigail Tan and Wong Yan Rou, who were running KCIG’s booth, and I could feel how their interest group and booth are a microcosm of the wider K-pop community. The booth was more than just a fundraising opportunity, and their interest group isn’t just a place to explore Korean culture. Both allowed like-minded individuals to bond and be part of a bigger community. *The writer decorated their own photocard sleeve to join in on the fun. Photo by Glenda Chong.* And as for KCIG, its inclusivity is its hallmark. According to Yan Rou and Abigail, no auditions are required to join KCIG as “everyone” is welcome to “be part of the community,” which they believe makes KCIG highly welcoming. As such, in Yan Rou’s words, members “stay for a long time.” And just as KCIG brings people interested in Korean culture together, KAI does the same, which they can feel and see with their own eyes on a greater scale. “Our efforts are ultimately school-level… but when we come out to events like this [KAI], we’ll be able to see the whole Singapore community,” Yan Rou said. “You’ll be able to see the people in this community, so I think it helps that you can build connections and make friends along the way.” *Wong Yan Rou (left) and Abigail Tan (right) posing in KCIG’s photo-taking area. Photo by Glenda Chong.* Just as we wrapped up our chat, the MCs’ voices cut through the music to announce the first few performers of the night. As I rushed to take my front row “seat” which was a spot on the ground I reserved with my belongings, the first act’s first performer, Justin Padayao took the stage. When it comes to events like this, one might assume most audiences come to only support their performing friends. However, this assumption was quickly turned on its head when Justin experienced technical faults. Encouraging cheers rang from all four corners, giving him the much-needed boost to start again and hit all the right notes of “Into the New World”, the debut single of K-pop girl group Girls’ Generation. With its resolute lyrics, this timeless track is known for being a symbolic anthem of solidarity associated with South Korea’s protest culture. *Justin Padayao performed a soulful ballad version of K-pop girl group Girls’ Generation’s Into the New World. Photo by Glenda Chong.* That unity could be felt in the crowd, as we sang harmoniously to the song’s fully-Korean lines and used our phones’ flashlights to act as ‘lightsticks’, an essential part of showing support in K-pop culture. Throughout the rest of the first act’s performances, the energy never died down. When the first act ended and the following acts’ performers took over, it only continued to skyrocket. Other than solo acts, plenty of dance crews also performed, and one I had been keeping my eye on finally took the spotlight. Named CODE:US, the all-female team danced with fierce precision to another Girls’ Generation classic, this time “The Boys”. Except, keeping in line with KAI 2024’s theme, the team danced to a cover of “The Boys” by K-pop group Kep1er who debuted years after Girls’ Generation did, which made for a perfect blend of the past and present. *Dance crew CODE:US performing on stage. Photo by Glenda Chong.* Having gotten to chat with CODE:US themselves, it seems that their choice to perform Kep1er’s version of “The Boys” was intentional, as it was the version they resonated with most despite multiple other covers being available. According to member Jing Yun, 19, she’s inspired by K-pop artists like ATEEZ’s San and aespa’s Karina as their powerful performances conveyed their emotions to their audiences. “Whenever I perform, I do hope I can deliver the same type of feelings that the [K-pop artists] do, where they can just enjoy the stage with no regrets while also delivering something memorable to the audience and myself.” She said. And she and CODE:US definitely delivered, as the crowd and I could really feel their passion. While I was impressed by every performance, what struck me the most was the diversity of performers. From fathers and working adults to youths as young as 14, KAI was not just a talent showcase; the performers and this year’s theme [TIME K-APSULE] were a testament to K-pop’s enduring ability to unite generations of fans and how the passion for it spans all walks of life.  *A member of a dance crew carrying his child who had been watching the team perform from behind the stage curtain after their performance. Photo by Glenda Chong.* As the final performances wrapped up, the night was still young as the space transformed for KAI’s final staple event, K-pop Random Play Dance (KRPD). It was a fitting end to the night, as this was where you could truly witness the community’s unity. In true KRPD fashion, everyone, both performers and audience members alike, came together to dance to K-pop hits both old and new.  *Team CODE:US posing for a photo before K-POP ALL IN 2024 began. Photo courtesy of CODE:US.* “[We are] just glad that this community allows us all to be open and enjoy what we like together without being shamed or judged.” CODE:US mentioned. Reflecting on this, I couldn’t help but think of what a powerful reminder this was of what events like KAI represent: a chance to connect with and celebrate something larger than ourselves.

@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1

# When the shit just don't work Most open-source software is now so badly written and sloppily-maintained, that it's malware. That's why the governments are getting involved. They try using OS, to save money and improve quality (and to market themselves as "hip"), and then it blows up their system or opens them up to hackers. Now, they're pissed and want support (but the dev with the handle SucksToBeYou has disappeared) or someone to sue, but most OS projects have no identifiable entity behind them. Even well-known anon devs are often groups of anons or accounts that change hands. # The software cracks have moved on There is simply no evidence that OS alone produces higher-quality software. The reason it seemed that way, at the beginning, was because of the caliber of the developers working on the projects, and the limited number of projects. This resulted in experienced people actively reviewing each others' code. OS used to be something the elite engaged in, but it's mostly beginners practicing in public, now. That's why there are now millions of OS projects, happily offered for free, but almost all of them are garbage. The people now building OS usually aren't capable of reviewing other people's code, and they're producing worse products than ChatGPT could. Their software has no customers because it has no market value. # If everything is OS, then nothing is. Another paradigm-changer is that all software is de facto OS, now that we can quickly reverse-engineer code with AI. That means the focus is no longer on OS/not-OS, but on the accountability and reputation of the builders. It is, once again, a question of trust. We have come full-circle.

@ 2ce0697b:1ee3d3fc

### Excerpt Special Jurisdictions, Free Cities and Bitcoin Citadels are the sly roundabout way that is removing the market of living together from the hands of the government, without violence and in a way that they can´t stop it. With Bitcoin as the backbone of a new societal order, we are beginning to disrupt the old paradigm. ----------- > “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” ― Henry David Thoreau, [Walden](https://archive.org/details/henry-david-) ----------- ### The problem: lack of freedom in the physical realm Freedom is essential to human life. Being free is what matters. That´s our target, always. No matter the time or space. We pursue freedom because we know its the right thing to do. Freedom is the right to question and change the stablished way of doing things. Where can we find some freedom? Certainly in the cyberspace. The cyberspace is a free space. Humanity has been blessed by the magic of cryptography, a technology that gave us all the necessary tools to operate in that environment without intervention of undesired third parties. In cyberspace cryptography performs the function of an impenetrable cyberwall. So, whatever we build in cyberspace can be perfectly protected. Thank to this cybernetic walls we can be sure that the gardens we build and nurture will be protected and cannot be trampled. When we build our digital gardens we have the keys to open the doors to let in whoever we want and most important to leave out whoever we don´t want. In the digital world we can already perfectly interact with one and another in a peer to peer way, without intervention of undesired third parties. In cyberspace we have Bitcoin for freedom of money and [Nostr,](https://nostr.com/) torrent and Tor for freedom of information and speech. These open-source protocols are designed to fully realize and expand the promise of freedom, and they certainly deliver what they promise.  So, thanks to the magic of asymmetric cryptography, we´ve already achieved sufficiently descentralization and the possibility of any level of desired digital privacy. [Cryptoanarchists](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTtbkguROdk) and [cypherpunks](https://cdn.nakamotoinstitute.org/docs/cyphernomicon.txt) have set their conquering flag in cyberspace and there´s no force on Earth than can remove it. The digital world cannot escape the rules of cryptography. This is great but it only works in the digital realm, meanwhile in the physical realm we are overrun by centralized attackers due to the impossibility of the creation of impenetrable walls such as the ones we have online. Humans have the upper hand in creating impenetrable walled gardens in cyberspace, but in the physical space authoritarians have the upper hand in bullying physical persons. The physical world is also naturally free. According to natural law each person is free to do whatever he wants as long as it doesn´t hurt other people. However due to unnatural -artificial and inhuman- centralization of power, the natural freedom of the physical world has been completely undermined. Mostly by Governments, the entities that centralize violence and law. ## Bitcoin as a bridge between both realms  Let´s take a look at one connection between both realms, the physical and the digital world. Bitcoin layer one is made essentially of software plus hardware. It consists of any software that produces the same output as the reference implementation - Bitcoin core- and the hardware needed to run that software. Layer two, three or any other layer above, is made essentially of other software and other hardware that interacts with layer one in some way. All these layers, one, two and subsequent, are completely protected by cryptography and a set of game theories that have been successfully tested. Each new block added to the timechain is a testimony of the unstoppable force of freedom and meritocracy. Before layer one we have Bitcoin layer zero, which is essentially the sum of all actions and inactions done by bitcoiners regarding to or because of bitcoin. In other words, layer zero is composed by flesh and bone people interacting in some way with layer one of the bitcoin network. Hence, an attack on a bitcoiner - on his way of life- is an attack on bitcoin, the network itself. First because it is an attack on a layer zero node, the physical person, the bitcoiner under duress or coercion. And second because is also an attack on the store-of-value-aspect of bitcoin. Nowaday, the most common attack against bitcoiners is the entirety of compliance regulations. This is the sum of all coercive regulations,such as laws, threats of more laws, imprisonment, threats of more imprisonment, taxation, threats of more taxation, requirements to prove the origin of funds, coercive removal of privacy such as the travel rule, unnecessary bureaucracy such as the need to obtain a money transmitting license and many others rules, in a never stopping inflationary coercive legislation.  If a physical attack is preventing any bitcoiner to exchange the value he created for bitcoin due to any kind of artificial obstacles -such as any kind of compliance- that specific attack is successful in the sense that even though the whole network keeps operating, the attack itself diminishes the value of all the bitcoins. So, even if layer-zero cannot be taken down, every interference on this layer is an attack on the bitcoin network. Attacks on layer one, two or any other layer that exists in the cyberspace can interfere with the network but they may hardly subtract any value from it. For example we have already been through plenty of times where hashing power was diminished due to government intervention and the bitcoin network remain completely unaffected. On the other hand successful attacks on layer zero subtract potential, but real and demonstrable value. This value is equal to the amount of value the frustrated user would have added to the network if he would have been able to use it freely, that means if he would have sold his product without the cost of compliance. I´ll demonstrate this in the next chapter. ## The cost of compliance Alice is a merchant specialized in a specific area and topic. She studied the market, her business, her suppliers, consumers, the logistics involved, marketing, design, and everything necessary to become a successful entrepreneur. After investing a considerable amount of resources, she developed a perfect product. Or at least she considers it perfect, that is, the best in its class. While developing everything necessary to create her product, she met Bob, who became her main lead and stereotype of a buyer persona. She knows what Bob wants and she wants to sell it to him. According to Alice's calculations, for her business to be viable, she must sell the product at ten satoshis per unit, and fortunately, Bob is willing to pay that price for it. Alice's product is finished, ready to hit the market, but just before sending it to production, Alice decides to take a pause to analyze her reality. Before taking the public action of making her product available in the open market, Alice analyzes her material, political, and legal reality. In doing so, she realizes that she lives under the jurisdiction of a State. She learns that the Government prescribes through its regulations how she must behave. She analyzes that in order to sell her product legally, in compliance, she must make a series of modifications to it. The product before hitting the shelves must first be modified both in the way it is presented to the market and also regarding certain technical characteristics that it possesses. She must also modify the way it produces her product by changing the contractual relationship with its suppliers, distribution channels, and all other types of logistics involved. She must make all these changes even if they bring about significant and insurmountable inefficiencies. Likewise, Alice also sees that she not only has to modify the product but also has to meet tax obligations. In addition to paying an accountant since the tax obligations by some irrational reason are not calculated by the creditor. Additionally, she must hire other professionals to assist her in studying the current regulations and how they should be applied in all stages of production, distribution, and sale of her product. Alice, being a rational person, wishes to avoid having to make these modifications since they increase her costs while also decreasing the quality of her product. But when studying compliance, that is, the entirety of applicable regulations, she also examines the consequences of not being in compliance. Alice realizes that if she does not comply with the regulations, she risks having all her assets legally confiscated, going to prison, being killed while they try to capture her to imprison her, and, if she goes to prison, being tortured in jail by other inmates or by State officials in charge of holding her in that place. So, since Alice does not want to suffer these negative consequences, she decides to modify the product and be in compliance. So, Alice makes the necessary changes and puts her new version of the product on the market. Then she has the following dialogue with Bob, her lead, the interested party in acquiring the product. Bob: *- Hey Alice, nice meeting you here in this market. I came to buy the product you were developing and told me about. However, this product I´m seein now is not what you promised me. This is clearly inferior.* Alice: *- Yeah, I know. I'm sorry Bob, but I prefer to sell this inferior product rather than risk having all my assets confiscated, going to prison, being killed while they try to capture me, and if they don´t kill but managed to put me in jail I could be tortured there.* Bob: *- Ok, no problem. Thats quite understandable. I don´t believe anyone would prefer those kind of experiences. But given the quality of the product, I no longer intend to pay you ten satoshis; I only offer you eight. Shall we close the deal?* Alice: *- I'm sorry Bob, but I can't sell it to you for eight sats. Due to government intervention and its requirements, now I can't even sell it for less than thirteen satoshis.* Bob: *- Ok. Considering this I prefer not to purchase it. I will keep looking for alternatives. Bye*  Some time later, Charlie arrives at the market, who is also interested in the product and, despite it not being like the original version, decides to purchase it by paying the thirteen satoshis demanded by the seller Alice. Meanwhile, in the same universe, we have Daniel, the last character in this example. Daniel is a merchant competing with Alice. Daniel has a product that is very similar, practically identical to the one originally designed by Alice. Like Alice, Daniel initially also wants to sell it for ten satoshis. Just like Alice, before heading to the market, Daniel analyzes the reality in which he lives. And it turns out that he also lives under the jurisdiction of a State. Daniel too then analyzes the entirety of the applicable regulations and also comes to the conclusion that to comply with them, he would also need to modify the product and cover all the additional expenses artificially generated to be in compliance. However, Daniel's ethics are different from Alice's. Daniel understands that his product is indeed perfect (the best in its class) and that therefore modifying it would go against its essence. Daniel understands that changing the product would be a betrayal of his creation and therefore a betrayal of his own self and the essence of his being. Daniel conducts an ethical analysis of his actions and the moral implications of putting the product on the market. Daniel sees that the product not only does not harm anyone but is also made to be freely acquired by adults who give their consent for its purchase and subsequent use. Daniel also understands that paying taxes only serves to promote the slavery system driven by fiat and that whenever he can avoid collaborating with the immoral fiat system, it is his ethical obligation to do so. Likewise, Daniel highlights the hypocrisy and inefficiencies of anti-money laundering regulations, as well as the futility of requiring licenses for naturally free acts that do not harm others. For all these reasons, Daniel decides to sell the product in its current state irregardles of compliance regulations. However, before going to market, Daniel also studies the possible consequences of neglecting compliance. By doing so, Daniel sees that if he does not comply with the regulations, he risks having all his assets legally confiscated, going to prison, being killed while they attempt to capture him to imprison him, and, in the event of going to prison, being tortured in jail by other inmates or by State officials responsible for holding him in that place. So, since Daniel is a rational person who does not want to suffer these negative consequences but also does not want to betray his product and himself, he decides to take the risk of not being in compliance. After making this decision, Daniel puts the product on the market and there he meets Bob. In doing so, they converse in the following terms: Bob: *- Hey Daniel, this product is exactly what I was looking for. A product like the one promised by Alice but never delivered. I love it! I offer you ten satoshis for it.* Daniel: *- Thank you for your feedback Bob and for the offer! However I am currently selling it for eleven satoshis. Ten satoshis seems like a good price to me, and it was indeed my original intention to sell it for that amount because at that price I achieve competitiveness and a sustainable business model.* Bob: - *So why are you asking me for eleven satoshis?* Interrupts Bob Daniel: *- Because that price is calculated before assessing compliance and the risks associated with non-compliance. By not complying with the regulation, I managed to maintain the quality of the product and avoided a large amount of unnecessary expenses, but there is no way to avoid the risk of facing penalties for non-compliance. To bring this product to market, I had to incur several expenses in order to minimize the risk of non-compliance as much as possible. While I am taking all reasonable actions to prevent all of my assets from being legally confiscated, from going to prison, from being killed while they try to capture me, and in case of going to prison, from being tortured, the reality is that I still run the risk of all that, or part of all that, happening to me, my family, or any of my company's employees. The remaining risk balance is transferred to the price along with the costs of mitigating those risks. The total of those costs and the remaining risk I estimate them at one satoshi per unit of product. Therefore, I can't sell you the product for ten satoshis, but I can sell it to you for eleven.* To which Bob, lacking a better option in the market, ends up buying the product for eleven satoshis. **In summary:** two products were made by two different merchants whose business model allowed them, in both cases, to put the product on the market at a rate of ten satoshis per unit. However, in one case, a lower quality product was sold for thirteen satoshis, and in the other case, a higher quality product was sold for eleven satoshis. That is to say, in the first case there was an overprice or inefficiency objectively measured at three satoshis, while in the second case there was an overprice or inefficiency of one satoshi. So, we are facing a total loss of value equivalent to four satoshis. The value represented by these four satoshis was absorbed by the inefficiency programmed and ruled by the State. The example shows us that whether one chooses the compliance route, as Alice did, or the free market route, as Daniel did, in both cases the existence of regulations generates an additional cost to the market. In this example the state attack on layer zero was successful and extracted from the Bitcoin network a value of four satoshis. ## Bitcoin is money Bitcoin is many things but essentially is money. And money sole purpose is to store value in order to facilitate future exchanges of products and services with other people. Without the products and services to be exchanged for the money, money itself would be useless and worthless. We only use money because we may require favors, benefits, services, products from other people in the future. And we don´t know which services and products we´ll need nor exactly when we are goint to need them.  The total value of bitcoin equals to infinity divided twenty one millions. This is because the total worth of the network mirrors the total worth of accumulated capital by the entirety of mankind throughout its entire history. That is clearly a lot of value. But if the if the dividend equals zero then the divisor is also zero and if the dividend growth is obstructed through artificial means -such as compliance- then the divisor growth is also obstructed. Bitcoin layer zero, the bitcoiners and the services and products we create, are what give value to the twenty one million units of bitcoin. Freedom is without a doubt the best context for value creation. So, the more and better games we can create that allow humankind to find a way to exercise freedom, then the most value we can add to all the layers of the network. This is why the most important layer of the whole bitcoin phenomenon is layer zero, the bitcoiners. Hence the problem to be solved is not how to prevent bitcoin - layer one upwards- from successful attacks. The problem to solve is how to prevent attacks on layer zero. Or in other words, the problem to be solved is how to get bitcoiners in the physical world to practice the same level of freedom that bitcoin achieves in the cyberspace. Summary of the first part of this article: freedom in cyberspace has already been conquered and each further development in the digital realm contributes to further developments but only in the same realm. Meanwhile in the physical space, the layer zero of bitcoin is under constant attacks that successfully extract value from it. ## Exercising freedom in a sly roundabout way  In 1984 the [Austrian economist](https://mises.org/) Friedrich Hayek predicted that we couldn´t take money with violence out of the hands of government. He stated that we needed to do it in a [sly roundabout way.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lV5P7aPZic) Twenty five years later Satoshi Nakamoto discovered the sly roundabout way actually introducing something that the government couldn´t stop. Thus fulfilling Hayek´s prophecy. Bitcoin is a sly roundabout way that removed money without violence from the hands of the government in a way that they can´t stop it. Cryptography in general and protocols such as Tor and Tails are a sly roundabout way that removed confidential information from the hands of the government without violence in a way that they can´t stop it. Nostr is a sly roundabout way that removed social media and public information from the hands of the government without violence in a way that they can´t stop it. **Special Jurisdictions, Free Cities and Bitcoin Citadels are the sly roundabout way that is removing the market of living together from the hands of the government without violence in a way that they can´t stop it.**  So, what are [Special Jurisdictions, ](https://journalofspecialjurisdictions.com/index.php/jsj/article/view/51)[Free Cities ](https://free-cities.org/)and [Bitcoin Citadels?](https://citadelium.com/the-seven-levels-of-citadels/) To understand what they are we can take a look at the current mainstream market of living together, at how the physical space is organized. Essentially the entire planet Earth and its surroundings are run by a conglomerate of Governments. They create all the rules, regarding every aspect of life, of all the individuals, and enforce every rule through coercive means. In the mainstream market of living together individuals have several alternatives to pick from. We can choose to live in a natural city or a pre design city, in a public neighborhood or private neighborhood or even in an intentional community with common interest amongst the users. But irregardless of the choice, every product offered in the mainstream market has the sames rules which are established by the host state to the entirety of organizations in his territory. In the mainstream market, even the most different products abide by the same high level rules such as criminal law, civil law, taxation laws, customs, enviromental laws, money laundering regulations and many others. To abide to the sum of all the laws and regulations is to be in compliance. The centralization of regulations makes extremely difficult to experiment in market of living together. The less experimentation is allowed, the more human progress is hindered. So what is the sly roundabout that fixes this? What are Special Jurisdictions, Free Cities and Bitcoin Citadels? I´m using the term Special Jurisdictions as an umbrella term that includes the entire spectrum of iterations of products that aim to modify the mainstream rules of the market of living together. This term includes all the different models such as Charter Cities, Free Cities, Special Economic Zones, microstates, micropolis, start up societies, government as a service, self governing jurisdictions, autonomous intentional communities, network states and Bitcoin Citadels. The array of possible iterations is huge and permanently expanding. What they all have in common is that each of these experiments aims to create a functional game theory that replaces the lack of unbreakable walls in the physical space. Let´s take a look of a couple of examples. Special Economic Zones are bounded areas of countries that have their own rules and regulations. Worldwide, there are more than five thousands special economic zones located in more than hundred countries. One of them is the special economic zone of Shenzhen in China. The Chinese government allowed Shenzhen the freedom to experiment with certain practices that were prohibited in the rest of the country at the time. This included allowing foreign companies to make direct investments in China, allowing people to buy and sell land, allowing Chinese people to set up their own private businesses and relaxation of the system that limited internal migration within China for Chinese citizens. It served as a place where China could experiment with market reforms. The experiment was such a huge economic success that it was replicated in many other areas of the country. Another place that has made extensive use of special economic zones is Dubai. The monarchic Government has more than 30 SEZs. In this case one of the many obstacles removed by the host state its the monopoly of the legal system. Dubai Government allowed the special economic zone to have its own independent legal system thus conceding a modification of the mainstream rules in that area. This kind of projects, such as Dubai or Shenzhen, are a top-to-down product. Fully created by the Governments thus compliant with their own regulations.  On the other side of the spectrum we have Citadels and several other archetypes of not so compliant projects . For example the [Free Commune of Penadexo](https://free-communities.org/project/penadexo/) it´s a grassroots project building a freedom-oriented community in one of Spain’s abandoned villages.  It´s model is based on building a peer to peer society avoiding government intervention as much as possible. They stablished themselves in an abandoned historic village and the started to track down the owners to purchase as much property as possible. Meanwhile, they are living there and expanding their users base while also reconstructing buildings. This is an example of a completely different way of dealing with the Government. While Special Economic Zones are fully compliant and created top to down, this model on the other hand is bottom-up and aims to add value to the users relying in factual freedom which is exercised by stablishing the commune away from heavily populated centers where Government grip is tighter. Under this model the interaction with the Government is kept as low as possible. Their strategy relies in ignoring the Government as much as possible and being a good neighbor. With this simple and effective tactic some Citadels enjoy the benefits of liberty in their lifetime without needing to spend huge resources in governmental lobby. There are countless models or archetypes of Bitcoin Citadels trying to solve the obstacles in different ways, trying to restart the system. And one of the challenges of the Bitcoin Citadels is how to connect the different projects to boost and help each other. This is where [The Meshtadel](https://www.citadel21.com/meshtadel) comes into play. The Meshtadel is a system where decentralized tactics are used to help and defend citadels connected in a global network. With real life connections with fellow bitcoiners. Its an organization equivalent to the hanseatic league built under a [starfish model](https://youtu.be/-2Fyd5VjuUw). If you cut off a spider’s head, it dies, but if you cut off a starfish’s arm, it can regenerate and even grow into a new starfish. The Meshtadel its a network of peer relationships, with ambiguous leadership roles, trust among participants, a shared ideology and vision based on the Bitcoin ethos, and an open system where new nodes - bitcoin citadel builders - can participate.  The long term goal of the Bitcoin Meshtadel is to help Bitcoin Citadels to gain the support of a critical mass of the total population. If enough people see that Bitcoin is as peaceful as it gets, in the long run, some nations could become friendly and supportive enough to legally tolerate the Bitcoin Citadel inside its territory in the form of a Bitcoin safe haven. In the Meshtadel we are fighting from the moral high ground using memes, Nostr notes and zapping our way into freedom creating an online and offline circular economy. ## TO CONCLUDE: Special Jurisdictions, Free Cities and Bitcoin Citadels are the sly roundabout way that is removing the market of living together from the hands of the government, without violence and in a way that they can´t stop it. Nation states, abusing the myth of authority, have halted development on the market of living together for so long that a blooming freer market is eating its lunch. The sovereign individual thesis is live and continuously expanding. The network state is forming and intentional communities are flourishing all around the world reshaping globally the relationship between individuals and the governments. With global internet connections, uncensorable means of communication and Bitcoin as the backbone of a new societal order, we are beginning to disrupt the old paradigm. The fashion of the present world is passing away, let’s help it to move forward along by building Special Jurisdictions, Free Cities and Bitcoin Citadels. --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ------ by[Camilo](https://camilojdl.com/)at 875.341 timechain. If you find this content helpful, zap it to support more content of the sort and to boost the [V4V model.](https://dergigi.com/2021/12/30/the-freedom-of-value/#accept-the-nature-of-information)

@ d61f3bc5:0da6ef4a

January 2025 will mark two years since we started building Primal. Our goal was to create the best possible user experience for Nostr and make it accessible to everyone. We reached a big milestone towards realizing that vision with the recent Primal 2.0 release. It’s still early days, a lot more work lies ahead, but we thought the timing was right to introduce the Premium tier. Let’s explore what it is, why we built it, what’s included, and how it will evolve moving forward. ## What Primal Premium Is The idea behind Primal Premium is simple: integrate all tools and services required for the best Nostr experience into a single package. For $7 per month, Premium users get a *Primal Name* and *Nostr Tools* built by Primal. We’ll cover those in more detail below, but first we should make a crucial point: by signing up for Premium, you are in no way locked in to Primal. Quite the contrary, you can pick and choose which Premium features you wish to enable and use within other Nostr products. Openness is Nostr’s killer feature. Any product that wishes to truly empower the user needs to interoperate with Nostr’s budding ecosystem. The feed marketplace is a great example. External feeds are first-class citizens within all Primal apps. Primal feeds are available in other Nostr clients. We are working on Premium feeds, which our users will be able to enjoy within Primal or other Nostr apps. Media hosting is another example. Our upcoming support for the Blossom protocol will make Primal Premium media hosting interoperable with other Nostr apps and media hosting services. The common theme here is user choice. Nostr offers the highest level of user agency, and the compounding effect of interoperable products and services is bound to make Nostr immensely powerful. ## Why We Built Premium and Why Now What is unfolding on Nostr right now is unique and special. The first truly self-sovereign network is being bootstrapped by this early cohort of users and builders. People are literally holding the keys to their online presence. Network infrastructure – relays, indexers, media hosting services, etc. – is being stood up organically and without any central planning or coordination. Hundreds of independent projects are adding new capabilities to Nostr without needing permission. The whole thing is truly a sight to behold. In addition to fixing the fundamentals of the network, it is equally important that we fix the broken incentives that plague the legacy Web. The status quo of monetization via advertising, which turns users into products to be farmed, has overstayed its welcome. At Primal, we don’t monetize user data. Our users are our customers. We only make money when the user decides that we are providing a valuable service – and pays for it. That means that our users’ interests are aligned with ours. It allows us to wake up every morning and work all day to make the product better for our users. Some might say that it is too early to try to monetize a Nostr product. We definitely need to be thoughtful about paywalling important features while the network is so young. For example, advanced search is a Primal Premium feature, but we enable it for all users up to 20 search results. That makes it quite usable for anyone on Nostr, but power users get the ability to save these searches and create powerful specialized feeds. It is crucial to have commercially successful projects on Nostr that have their incentives aligned with those of their users. We are working on new features and monetization methods that follow this philosophy. The more we experiment on Nostr, the faster we will learn what works and unlock the full potential of this network. I have a feeling that a lot remains to be discovered, and Primal Premium is just the first step. Now, let’s take a closer look at what is included in Premium: *Primal Name* and *Nostr Tools*. ## Primal Name  A Primal Name is a unique name on the primal.net domain that offers three features: 1. **Verified Nostr address (NIP-05)**. This signals to the Nostr network that your account (npub) has been verified by Primal. Note that we don’t perform identity verification; we are simply signaling that this is a Primal Premium user. Users can pay with sats, preserving their privacy while signaling to the network that this verified account is not a bot. 2. **Friendly Bitcoin Lightning address**. Primal’s built-in hosted wallet creates a randomly generated lightning address for every user. They look like this: bluedog25@primal.net. Premium users get to pick their name, so their lightning address is more personalized (e.g. preston@primal.net). 3. **VIP profile on primal.net**. This is simply a friendly URL to your profile on primal.net. We are working on adding profile customization features for Premium users; stay tuned! In summary, a Primal Name makes you easier to find on Nostr. You are free to use any of these three Primal Name elements as you see fit. If you wish to use your Primal Nostr address and/or Lightning address, simply update your Nostr profile with those entries. ## Nostr Tools  Nostr Tools is a collection of features that we think would be useful to any Nostr power user. We are continuously working on expanding these capabilities, but the initial set of features includes: - **Media management**. Primal Premium comes with 10GB of media storage (compared to 1GB for free accounts). We implemented a slick interface for managing all media you have on Primal. - **Contact list backup**. Many Nostr users have experienced the loss of their contact list (i.e., their follow list) when using different clients. We store the history of the contact list for Primal Premium users and make it easy to recover. - **Content backup**. Nostr users post their content to a collection of public relays. These relays typically don’t offer guarantees that they will store the content for any amount of time. We back up all content posted by Primal Premium users and make it easy to rebroadcast it to the specified relays at any time. ## Primal Legends  The idea for the Primal Legend tier was suggested to me by Gigi a couple of months prior to the launch of Primal 2.0. His argument was simple: “There are users on Nostr who really appreciate Primal and are willing to pay way more than $7 / month to support the project. You should *let them* pay and *recognize them* for doing so.” I am really glad that Gigi convinced me to introduce the Legend tier. Nostr is truly a special place. The early users are extremely passionate and mission driven. They care about growing and improving Nostr as much as the builders do. At first, I thought of the term “Legend” as a bit tongue in cheek, but then I met and chatted with some of these people. Man, they are incredible. They just wish to support the network and the builders of open source software in any way they can. So now I think the term is appropriate. We are humbled by the support we received. Our first Legend supporter was none other than Jack. He found this option in the product and paid for the Legend tier literally an hour after Primal 2.0 was released. Thank you, sir, and thank you to all the other Legends out there! 💜🫂 ## What Comes Next? We are delighted and encouraged by the market response to Primal Premium. It is already clear to us that we are on the right path. We will lean into it even harder from here. There will be MOAR Premium features, while at the same time we will make sure that the free product remains excellent. Since you, the user, are the customer, tell us what you would like to see added to Primal Premium. Pura Vida 🤙

@ 4685f3d6:9fe6995b

Day 2: How Bitcoin Works Understanding how Bitcoin works can seem daunting at first, but it’s built on three fundamental concepts: blockchain, mining, and transactions. Let’s break these down into simple terms. 1. Blockchain: The Foundation of Bitcoin The blockchain is the core technology that powers Bitcoin. Think of it as a digital ledger or database that records every Bitcoin transaction ever made. Here’s how it works: Decentralized Ledger: Instead of being stored on a single server, the blockchain is distributed across thousands of computers (called nodes) worldwide. This makes it nearly impossible for any single entity to alter or hack. Blocks: Transactions are grouped into blocks. Each block contains a list of transactions, a timestamp, and a unique identifier called a hash. Chain of Blocks: These blocks are linked together chronologically, forming a “chain.” Once a block is added to the chain, it cannot be altered, ensuring the integrity of the data. 2. Mining: Securing the Network Mining is the process that keeps the Bitcoin network secure and functional. Miners are individuals or organizations that use powerful computers to solve complex mathematical problems. Here’s how mining works: Verifying Transactions: When you send Bitcoin, your transaction is grouped with others waiting to be verified. Miners check these transactions to ensure they’re valid (e.g., that you have enough Bitcoin to spend). Solving Puzzles: To add a block of transactions to the blockchain, miners must solve a mathematical problem. This process is called Proof of Work (PoW). It’s like a race; the first miner to solve the problem gets to add the block. Rewards: As a reward for their work, the miner receives newly created Bitcoin (block reward) and transaction fees from the users whose transactions were included in the block. Energy-Intensive: Mining requires significant computational power and energy, which has led to concerns about its environmental impact. 3. Transactions: Sending and Receiving Bitcoin A Bitcoin transaction is the process of transferring Bitcoin from one person to another. Here’s a simplified explanation: Wallets: To send or receive Bitcoin, you need a digital wallet. Your wallet has two keys: Private Key: A secret code that allows you to spend your Bitcoin. Public Key: A code that others use to send Bitcoin to you. Broadcasting Transactions: When you send Bitcoin, your wallet broadcasts the transaction to the network. The transaction includes: The sender’s address. The recipient’s address. The amount of Bitcoin being sent. Verification: Miners verify the transaction to ensure the sender has enough Bitcoin and hasn’t spent the same Bitcoin twice (called double-spending). Confirmation: Once verified, the transaction is added to a block on the blockchain. It’s considered confirmed after multiple blocks are added after it, making it irreversible. Putting It All Together Here’s a real-world analogy to simplify the process: Imagine the blockchain as a public record book in a library where every page represents a block. When you make a transaction, it’s written on the next blank page (block). Miners are the librarians who verify and add your transaction to the book by solving a puzzle. Once added, that page is locked and cannot be changed. Your Bitcoin wallet is like your personal bank account, with a private PIN (private key) that only you know and an account number (public key) for others to send you money. Why This System Works Security: The blockchain’s transparency and immutability ensure that all transactions are secure and verifiable. Decentralization: Without a central authority, the system relies on consensus among nodes, making it resistant to censorship or manipulation. Incentives: Miners are motivated by rewards, ensuring the network remains operational and secure. By combining blockchain technology, mining, and decentralized transactions, Bitcoin creates a secure and efficient system for transferring value globally without intermediaries. It’s a revolutionary approach to money, reshaping how we think about finance and trust. #Bitcoin #9ja #Afro #yakihonne

@ b8851a06:9b120ba1

Bitcoin Core 28.0 introduces **smarter transaction handling** to prevent stuck payments, reduce fees, and improve flexibility for wallets. Here’s a breakdown of the most important updates: --- ### 1. **One Parent One Child (1P1C) Transactions** - **The problem**: If a transaction’s fee is too low for the current network conditions, it might never get confirmed. - **The fix**: The new **1P1C relay** lets you attach a “child” transaction with higher fees to "push" the original "parent" transaction through. Think of it as giving the parent a boost by letting the child pay for both. **Why it’s useful**: If your wallet creates a transaction with a low fee, you can now add another transaction to ensure it gets confirmed without waiting forever. --- ### 2. **TRUC Transactions (Version 3 Transactions)** - **What they are**: TRUC stands for **Topologically Restricted Until Confirmation**. These transactions follow stricter rules that make them easier to replace (RBF) if needed. - **Key features**: - Always replaceable: TRUC transactions can always be fee-bumped or replaced, even without extra setup. - Safe fee bumps: Even in complex setups like CoinJoins or Lightning Channels, you can adjust fees as needed. **Why it’s useful**: Wallets using TRUC transactions can guarantee that you can always adjust fees to match changing network conditions. --- ### 3. **Pay to Anchor (P2A) Outputs** - **What they are**: A tiny, specialized output added to transactions purely for fee adjustments. Think of it like a "placeholder" designed to let anyone pay for the transaction’s fees later. - **How it works**: P2A outputs are super small and cheap to include, but they’re powerful because they let you boost transaction fees without needing access to private keys. **Why it’s useful**: Helps ensure your transaction doesn’t get stuck, even if the person creating the transaction can’t afford higher fees upfront. --- ### 4. **Better Fee Replacement (Package RBF)** - **The problem**: Previously, if you wanted to replace a stuck transaction, you had to calculate fees perfectly. - **The fix**: With Package RBF, you can replace an entire group of transactions (parent and child) instead of just one, making it easier to adjust fees without mistakes. **Why it’s useful**: Ensures transactions get through even in complex situations like Lightning or CoinJoins. --- ### 5. **What Does This Mean for Wallet Users?** - **Simple Payments**: Wallets can make payments more predictable and reliable by using TRUC and P2A features. - **Lightning Network**: Lightning transactions become more secure because stuck channel transactions can be easily bumped. - **CoinJoins**: Privacy-focused transactions can now handle fee bumps without breaking the chain of anonymity. --- ### Summary These updates give wallets and users more tools to handle tricky transaction scenarios, especially when network fees are unpredictable or when payments involve complex setups. Bitcoin Core 28.0 makes stuck payments a thing of the past and ensures smoother transaction processing. Remember, these upgrades focus on **Bitcoin’s core principles: efficiency, reliability, and user empowerment**. *READ the full OpTech info about it [here](https://bitcoinops.org/en/bitcoin-core-28-wallet-integration-guide/)*

@ eac63075:b4988b48

[🇧🇷 pt-br version](https://www.eddieoz.com/policing-by-design-como-os-novos-planos-de-vigilancia-da-ue-ameacam-a-privacidade-e-a-seguranca/) The European Union is at a crossroads. While digital innovation and security cooperation remain critical in a connected world, recent proposals to enhance police surveillance and data sharing are stirring deep concerns about individual privacy, data security, and democratic oversight. Two recent reports published by *Statewatch* shed light on troubling developments in the EU’s policing landscape, raising alarms among privacy advocates and civil rights organizations. The EU’s new plans to expand police surveillance could put your privacy and rights at risk and introduce risks far outweighing their potential benefits. This article will analyze these proposals, their implications, and the growing opposition from privacy and civil liberties defenders. [Listen the Podcast (Spotify)](https://open.spotify.com/episode/79NheodjVb0C87gCgaDVVE) [Listen the Podcast (Fountain)](https://www.fountain.fm/episode/Da4mQAi7n4I9ZoRswiL5) # **Surveillance Infrastructure: Policing by Design** The first *Statewatch* report, titled [“Policing by Design: The Latest EU Surveillance Plan”](https://www.statewatch.org/news/2024/june/policing-by-design-the-latest-eu-surveillance-plan/), outlines a concerning trend in the EU’s approach to law enforcement. The proposals advocate embedding surveillance tools directly into the design of new technologies, effectively creating an architecture where policing capabilities are integrated into the systems we use daily. From facial recognition cameras to AI-driven analytics, the EU plans to enhance cross-border police cooperation by ensuring technology is designed to facilitate surveillance from the outset. Known as “policing by design,” this strategy involves building surveillance features directly into technologies we use every day. Imagine a network of cameras or software that can automatically monitor people’s faces or behaviors without any extra installation — it’s like your everyday tech quietly doubling as a police tool. The goal is to enable seamless sharing of data across borders for criminal investigations, but the unintended consequences are alarming. ## **The Problem with “Policing by Design”** 1. Mass Surveillance Normalized: By embedding surveillance features into public and private infrastructure, society risks normalizing mass surveillance, where every movement, transaction, or online interaction is monitored and analyzed. 2. Threats to Privacy: Such initiatives inherently contradict the principle of *privacy by design*, which prioritizes privacy protections in the development of technology. Instead, citizens are being treated as subjects of perpetual suspicion. 3. Lack of Transparency and Accountability: A systemic lack of transparency surrounding these plans raises serious governance issues. Civil society organizations, journalists, and privacy advocates have pointed to a lack of democratic oversight and meaningful debate. 4. Risks of Abuse: Surveillance systems are often deployed under the guise of security but are susceptible to abuse. History shows that tools designed for law enforcement can easily be turned against dissenters, journalists, or marginalized communities. As the report highlights, these developments could establish a permanent surveillance infrastructure across Europe, enabling the collection of biometric, behavioral, and communications data on an unprecedented scale. ## **Flawed Justifications for Surveillance Expansion** Privacy advocacy organizations, including the European Digital Rights (EDRi) network, argue that much of the justification for these surveillance plans relies on flawed assumptions. The rhetoric of the *“Going Dark”* report, which claims that law enforcement is losing access to communications due to encryption, has been widely debunked. As EDRi points out, law enforcement already has extensive tools at their disposal to access data and track individuals, but the focus on encryption risks undermining secure communication for everyone. Instead of addressing systemic issues within law enforcement, these flawed reports have fueled calls for intrusive surveillance systems that risk eroding privacy while offering little evidence of improving public safety. # **Centralized Police Data: A Substantial Security and Privacy Threat** A second *Statewatch* report, titled [“EU Police Data Plans Pose Substantial Security and Privacy Threats”](https://www.statewatch.org/news/2024/december/eu-police-data-plans-pose-substantial-security-and-privacy-threats/), explores another equally concerning initiative: the EU’s push to centralize police data repositories and expand their use. The EU has already established several large-scale databases, such as the Schengen Information System (SIS), which stores data about individuals who may be denied entry into the EU, and the Europol Information System, which can hold details about millions of people, including those not suspected of crimes. For example, a traveler flagged mistakenly in the system could face unnecessary scrutiny, detention, or restrictions when crossing borders — highlighting the real-world risks of inaccurate or overreaching data collection. The new proposals aim to go further, creating an interoperable web of police data accessible to law enforcement agencies across member states. Proponents argue this is necessary for combating cross-border crime and terrorism, but the risks are immense. ## **Key Concerns with Centralized Police Data** 1. Massive Data Collection: The EU’s proposed systems would require the collection of highly sensitive data, including biometric information (fingerprints, facial recognition scans) and behavioral analytics, to track individuals’ activities across borders. 2. Data Misuse and Security Risks: Centralized data systems are prime targets for cyberattacks, data breaches, and misuse. The larger and more interconnected the system, the greater the risks of unauthorized access, theft, or corruption of the data. 3. As *Statewatch* points out, the systems lack robust safeguards to prevent misuse or to ensure that data is handled proportionately and lawfully. 4. Erosion of Trust in Law Enforcement: Building centralized data repositories without meaningful safeguards undermines public trust. Individuals may be less willing to engage with law enforcement if they fear their data will be stored indefinitely, shared across borders, or used inappropriately. 5. Impact on Fundamental Rights: Mass police databases can violate the principle of proportionality, a cornerstone of EU law. By collecting and sharing data indiscriminately, these systems erode fundamental rights, including the right to privacy, freedom of movement, and the presumption of innocence. ## **Civil Society Opposition and Democratic Accountability** In an open letter to EU institutions, over 30 civil society organizations — including EDRi — have criticized the lack of transparency in the High-Level Group’s (HLG) recommendations for data access. The letter highlights a concerning pattern: while industry stakeholders are included in key discussions, civil society voices remain sidelined. This exclusion undermines democratic accountability and reinforces fears that surveillance policies are being driven by corporate interests rather than public well-being. These organizations have called for the EU to prioritize transparency, include meaningful public debate, and ensure any law enforcement proposals respect proportionality and fundamental rights. # **Why Privacy Advocates Are Sounding the Alarm** The reports from *Statewatch* highlight a fundamental clash between security policy and individual rights. Privacy advocates are urging EU lawmakers to take a step back and critically examine the following issues: 1. Lack of Democratic Oversight: Proposals to integrate surveillance systems and expand police databases are being pushed forward without genuine public debate or oversight. Civil society organizations have been excluded from key discussions. 2. Failure to Uphold Privacy Laws: The EU has some of the strongest privacy laws in the world, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). However, these proposals risk undermining GDPR principles by enabling indiscriminate data collection and sharing. 3. Ignoring Proportionality: Surveillance systems must be targeted, necessary, and proportionate to their objectives. Embedding policing into technological design and centralizing data far exceeds what is justified for fighting crime and terrorism. 4. Setting Dangerous Precedents: The failure to fully ban harmful surveillance technologies like facial recognition in public spaces sets a troubling precedent. It risks not only eroding privacy within the EU but also encouraging other nations to adopt similar measures, undermining global human rights. # **A Call for Action: Safeguarding Our Privacy and Rights** As the EU pushes forward with these plans, the opposition from civil rights defenders grows louder. Policymakers must address the following key demands to prevent an erosion of fundamental rights: - Implement Privacy by Design: All new technologies must prioritize privacy protections at the design stage, ensuring they are not co-opted for surveillance. - Establish Robust Oversight: Any new policing tools or databases must be subject to democratic scrutiny, independent oversight, and clear legal frameworks to prevent misuse. - Reassess Interoperability Plans: Cross-border police cooperation is important, but it must not come at the cost of individuals’ privacy, security, and dignity. - Strengthen Export Controls: The EU must ban the export of surveillance tools that risk facilitating human rights abuses in authoritarian regimes. - Prioritize Data Security: Centralized systems require state-of-the-art security measures to protect sensitive data from breaches or misuse. The EU’s role as a leader in digital rights and privacy is now at stake. If these plans proceed without significant safeguards, Europe risks undermining its own foundational principles of freedom, security, and justice. # **Conclusion: The Price of Surveillance-Driven Security** The EU’s surveillance plans may be presented as necessary for security, but they come at a steep cost to privacy, trust, and individual freedoms. Embedding surveillance into our technologies and centralizing police data pose far-reaching risks that cannot be ignored. As privacy advocates, it is our responsibility to hold policymakers accountable and demand a security framework that upholds, rather than undermines, fundamental rights. Europe’s future must not be built on surveillance by design — but on privacy, democracy, and trust.

@ 79008e78:dfac9395

> อย่างที่ทราบกันอยู่แล้วว่า Nostr เป็นได้มากกว่า Note แล้วจะเป็นอย่างไรล่ะ ถ้า Note และลองฟอร์มต่าง ๆ ที่เราเคยเขียนกันมาสามารถกลายเป็นเว็บบอร์ดที่เราสามารถใช้เก็บผลงานและโชว์ให้กับคนอื่น ๆ ในโลกอินเตอร์เน็ตทั่วไปได้อีกด้วย Npub.pro คืออะไร ? ----------- Npub.pro เป็น Other stuff ตัวหนึ่งที่ช่วยแปลง note และ long form ต่าง ๆ ที่เราเคยได้ลงไว้ในโปรโตคอลของ Nostr และแปลงมันมาเป็นเว็บบอร์ดที่สวยสะอาดตา และมีธีมให้เลือกอีกหลากหลาย ซึ่งเหมาะสมมาก ๆ กับเหล่าครีเอเตอร์ต่าง ๆ สำหรับที่จะใช้มันในการโชว์ผลงาน ไม่ว่าจะเป็นสายถ่ายภาพ เก็บรวบรวมบทความ หรืออีกหลาย ๆ แง่มุมที่สามารถเกิดขึ้นได้   นี่เองคือหนึ่งในตัวอย่างที่ผมได้ทำไว้เพื่อแพร่กระจายบทความต่าง ๆ ให้ออกไปสู่ผู้คนที่อาจจะไม่ได้รู้จักหรือใช้งาน Nostr อยู่ ### แล้วมันทำงานอย่างไร ? Npub.pro นั้นจะทำการดึง Notes และ Long form ของเรามาจาก relay ต่าง ๆ ที่เราได้มีการเชื่อมต่อไว้ในบัญชีของเรา และทำการนำมาจัดรูปแบบใหม่ตามธีมที่เราได้เลือกไว้ และแสดงผลออกมามาในรูปแบบเว็บบอร์ด นอกจากนี้ยังมีการใส่ตัว nostr log-in เข้ามาเพื่อช่วยให้คนที่มีบัญชี nostr สามารถใช้บัญชีของตนในการ zap หรือ คอมเม้นได้ รวมทั้งยังอณุญาตให้ผู้ใช้ใส่ script เพิ่มเติมลงไปทั้งในส่วนหัวและท้ายของเว็บบอร์ดได้อีกด้วย ดังเช่น  ทั้งหมดที่กล่าวมาข้างต้นเป็นประสบการณ์ส่วนตัวของผมเองที่ได้มีการทดลองใช้งานมาระยะหนึ่ง และในส่วนต่อไป เราจะมาดูกันถึงวิธีการสร้างว่าเราต้องทำอย่างไร จึงจะมีเว็บไซต์สวย ๆ แบบนี้ได้ วิธีการสร้าง ----------- ### 1. เข้าเว็บ Npub.pro หลังจากเข้ามาในเว็บไซต์ให้เรากด "try now"  ### 2. เลือกธีม จากนั้นจะมีธีมต่าง ๆ ขึ้นมาให้คุณเลือก ในจุดนี้ผมแนะนำว่าให้เลือกให้เหมาะสมกับผลงานของคุณ (สามารถเปลี่ยนได้ภายหลัง)  ### 3. ตั้งค่าส่วนอื่น ๆ หลังจากเลือกเสร็จเรียบร้อยเราต้องทำการใส่ title bio และอื่น ๆ ให้เรียบร้อยจากนั้นให้ทำการกด publish  เพียงแค่นี้คุณก็จะมีเว็บบอร์ดเจ๋ง ๆ ที่จะคอยอัพเดตอัตโนมัติเพมื่อคุณได้โพสต์บางอย่างลงบน Nostr ;)

@ 20986fb8:cdac21b3

### **ไทย** #### แนะนำ YakiHonne: เขียนได้ไม่มีขีดจำกัด YakiHonne คือโปรแกรมแก้ไขข้อความที่ดีที่สุดที่ออกแบบมาเพื่อช่วยให้คุณแสดงออกอย่างสร้างสรรค์ไม่ว่าจะใช้ภาษาใดก็ตาม **ฟีเจอร์ที่คุณจะหลงรัก:** - 🌟 **ฟอร์แมตที่หลากหลาย**: เพิ่มหัวข้อ, ตัวหนา, ตัวเอียง และอื่นๆ - 🌏 **รองรับหลายภาษา**: เขียนได้อย่างราบรื่นทั้งภาษาอังกฤษ, จีน, อาหรับ และญี่ปุ่น - 🔗 **ลิงก์ที่สามารถโต้ตอบได้**: [เรียนรู้เพิ่มเติมเกี่ยวกับ YakiHonne](https://yakihonne.com) **ข้อดี:** 1. ใช้งานง่าย 2. เพิ่มความสามารถในการอ่านด้วยสไตล์ที่ปรับแต่งได้ 3. รองรับฟอร์แมตที่ซับซ้อนหลายประเภท รวมถึง LateX > "YakiHonne คือการเปลี่ยนแปลงที่สำคัญสำหรับผู้สร้างเนื้อหา"

@ 20986fb8:cdac21b3

### **العربية** #### مقدمة YakiHonne: الكتابة بلا حدود YakiHonne هو محرر النصوص النهائي المصمم لمساعدتك على التعبير عن إبداعك، بغض النظر عن اللغة التي تستخدمها. **المميزات التي ستعجبك:** - 🌟 **تنسيق غني**: أضف العناوين، النصوص العريضة، المائلة، وأكثر. - 🌏 **دعم متعدد اللغات**: اكتب بسهولة بالإنجليزية، الصينية، العربية، واليابانية. - 🔗 **روابط تفاعلية**: [تعرف على المزيد حول YakiHonne](https://yakihonne.com). **الفوائد:** 1. سهل الاستخدام. 2. تحسين قابلية القراءة من خلال أنماط قابلة للتخصيص. 3. يدعم التنسيقات المعقدة مثل LateX. > "YakiHonne هو تغيير كبير لصانعي المحتوى."

@ 20986fb8:cdac21b3

### **日本語** #### YakiHonne：制限のない創造力を YakiHonne は、どんな言語でもクリエイティブな表現をサポートする究極のテキストエディターです。 **魅力的な機能：** - 🌟 **リッチなフォーマット**：見出し、太字、斜体などを追加可能。 - 🌏 **多言語対応**：英語、中国語、アラビア語、日本語のシームレスな編集。 - 🔗 **インタラクティブリンク**：[YakiHonne の詳細はこちら](https://yakihonne.com)。 **メリット：** 1. 簡単に使用可能。 2. カスタマイズ可能なスタイルで読みやすさを向上。 3. LateX を含む複雑なフォーマットに対応。 > 「YakiHonne は、コンテンツ制作者にとって革命的なツールです。」

@ 20986fb8:cdac21b3

### **中文** #### 介绍 YakiHonne：创作无极限 YakiHonne 是一款终极文本编辑器，旨在帮助您无论使用何种语言都能创意表达。 **您会喜欢的功能：** - 🌟 **丰富的格式**：支持添加标题、加粗、斜体等多种格式。 - 🌏 **多语言支持**：轻松书写英文、中文、阿拉伯语和日语内容。 - 🔗 **互动链接**：[了解更多关于 YakiHonne](https://yakihonne.com)。 **优势：** 1. 易于使用。 2. 可定制样式以增强可读性。 3. 支持多种复杂格式，包括 LateX。 > “YakiHonne 为内容创作者带来了颠覆性的改变。”

@ 20986fb8:cdac21b3

### **English** #### Introducing YakiHonne: Write Without Limits YakiHonne is the ultimate text editor designed to help you express yourself creatively, no matter the language. **Features you'll love:** - 🌟 **Rich Formatting**: Add headings, bold, italics, and more. - 🌏 **Multilingual Support**: Seamlessly write in English, Chinese, Arabic, and Japanese. - 🔗 **Interactive Links**: [Learn more about YakiHonne](https://yakihonne.com). **Benefits:** 1. Easy to use. 2. Enhance readability with customizable styles. 3. Supports various complex formats including LateX. > "YakiHonne is a game-changer for content creators."

@ 490b551d:e17f0103

Welcome, friend. I hope this place becomes a space to pause, breathe, and reflect in the midst of the chaos of life and faith. If you’re here, there’s a good chance you’ve felt the weight of doubt in your belief, the kind that sits heavy on your heart, whispers in your mind, and makes you wonder if you’d truly be accepted if people knew your questions, especially when everything around you insists that belief without doubt is the only acceptable way to be. I get it. I’ve been there too. I’ve faced a lot of pressure: the pressure to get everything right, the shame that follows any hint of sin, and the isolation that comes with feeling like I’m not quite enough for God’s love—whether it was because of the mistakes I’ve made or the doubts that linger in my heart. It’s tough to be part of a faith tradition that values certainty above all else when you’re in the middle of a spiritual crisis or a season of question. For many of us, the church can sometimes feel like a place where doubt isn’t welcomed, where questions are viewed as weaknesses, or worse, a ticket to hell. But here’s what I’ve learned in the decade I stepped away from my church and my beliefs: **doubt doesn’t mean we’re failing at faith. It means we’re seeking something deeper.** ### Understanding the Pressure to Be Certain For many of us who were raised in conservative Christian settings, there’s often an unspoken (and sometimes spoken) expectation: doubt is not okay. The message we receive is that to be a "good Christian" means you must have unwavering faith, an unshakable belief that everything in the Bible is true, and absolute certainty in your relationship with God. You’re supposed to have all the answers, be sure of your salvation, and confidently declare your faith in the face of any challenge. But what happens when you don't have all the answers? When you question parts of scripture or the ways the church has interpreted it? When you wonder how a loving God can allow suffering, or how science and faith can co-exist? When you wonder if you're truly loved by God, or if your struggles disqualify you from His grace? There’s a lot of weight in these questions, and for a long time, I felt alone in them. After all, isn’t doubt something that should be avoided? Shouldn’t we be strong enough to push through and just believe? The church certainly didn't seem to be the place to clear this all up in my mind! ### The Reality of Doubt: You’re Not Alone The truth is, doubt is a natural part of the human experience. A study published in the Journal of Psychology and Theology found that 70% of individuals experience some level of doubt at various points in their spiritual journey. **Doubt doesn’t make you a bad Christian or a failure at faith—it makes you human.** The Bible is filled with examples of doubt. One of the most famous stories comes from Thomas, often referred to as "Doubting Thomas." After Jesus’ resurrection, when the other disciples saw Him alive and well, Thomas couldn’t believe it until he saw Jesus for himself and touched His wounds. When he finally encountered the risen Christ, Jesus didn’t rebuke him for doubting—He met him in the doubt. Jesus said, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27, NIV). But Jesus doesn’t shame Thomas. No. He invites him to experience the truth, to see it for himself, and to believe in his own time and way. **Doubt is not a sin. It’s part of the journey of faith. Just like Thomas, we can bring our doubts to Jesus, and He will meet us in that place.** ### Acknowledging Doubt: A Step Toward Deeper Faith Sometimes we think that the right way to navigate doubt is to push it down, pretend it doesn’t exist, or cover it up with surface-level answers. We’re told that questioning our faith is a sign of weakness or a lack of commitment. But what if the opposite is true? *What if acknowledging our doubt could be the very thing that leads us to a deeper, more authentic faith?* In the book of Psalms, many of the writers express their doubts and frustrations with God. Take Psalm 73, for example. The psalmist, Asaph, begins by questioning the fairness of life: “Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (Psalm 73:1-3, NIV). Asaph openly doubts God’s goodness, and he questions why it seems like those who do wrong are thriving. But instead of running from his questions, he brings them before God, and by the end of the psalm, he expresses renewed trust in God's faithfulness (Psalm 73:23-26). Through this process of doubting and questioning, Asaph’s faith is refined, and he ultimately comes to a deeper understanding of God's justice and presence. When we acknowledge the doubt, we don’t weaken our faith; we make space for it to grow. True faith isn’t the absence of doubt—it’s the trust to keep going even when we don’t have all the answers. **What the Bible Says About Doubt** James 1:6-8 is one of the passages that many people turn to when discussing doubt in the context of faith. It says: > "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do" (James 1:6-8, NIV). In these verses, James is addressing the process of asking God for wisdom. The context is not about the kind of doubt that questions God’s existence or love, but about a specific type of doubt: a lack of commitment or double-mindedness when it comes to asking for something from God. James is highlighting the importance of trust and consistency in prayer and faith. Now, this is where it gets tricky. It seems as though James is saying that any form of doubt disqualifies you from receiving God's wisdom, but what he’s actually pointing out is something deeper. The doubt James describes here is not the kind of doubt where you're struggling with your faith and trying to work through your questions. It’s a doubt that stems from being double-minded or divided in your loyalty—someone who isn’t fully committed to trusting in God's goodness and His ability to provide answers. In other words, James is addressing those who are unable to decide whether they trust God enough to act in faith, or whether they will rely on their own understanding. This isn’t about wrestling with questions of faith, but about refusing to fully trust God and expecting Him to give you what you ask for without truly believing He will. The warning here is that divided loyalty in your faith—being uncertain whether to trust God or rely on your own solutions—leads to instability in your life. ### How Does This Relate to Us Today? If we look at this in light of our own lives, the point James is making is incredibly relevant. It’s okay to have questions, to wrestle with doubt, and to not always have complete clarity. But if your doubt leads you to question God’s ability, goodness, or willingness to act, then you're not fully trusting in Him. If you approach God in prayer with a heart that says, “I don’t think He’ll really answer this, but I’ll ask anyway,” that’s the kind of wavering that James warns against. Faith requires a kind of consistency in belief: that God is good, He is listening, and He has the power to answer—even when you don’t understand how or when. What James seems to be saying is that doubt becomes problematic when it leads us to reject God’s goodness or power. It's not the occasional, fleeting doubt about one’s salvation or understanding of scripture that disqualifies us from receiving from God, but rather a refusal to commit fully to trusting God in our times of need.How Does This Relate to Us Today? If we look at this in light of our own lives, the point James is making is incredibly relevant. It’s okay to have questions, to wrestle with doubt, and to not always have complete clarity. But if your doubt leads you to question God’s ability, goodness, or willingness to act, then you're not fully trusting in Him. If you approach God in prayer with a heart that says, “I don’t think He’ll really answer this, but I’ll ask anyway,” that’s the kind of wavering that James warns against. Faith requires a kind of consistency in belief: that God is good, He is listening, and He has the power to answer—even when you don’t understand how or when. What James seems to be saying is that doubt becomes problematic when it leads us to reject God’s goodness or power. It's not the occasional, fleeting doubt about one’s salvation or understanding of scripture that disqualifies us from receiving from God, but rather a refusal to commit fully to trusting God in our times of need. ### Practical Ways to Navigate Doubt in a Faith Tradition that Values Certainty **Acknowledge Your Doubts Without Shame** \ The first step in navigating doubt is acknowledging it. Doubt doesn’t make you a bad Christian or unworthy of God’s love. You don’t need to hide your questions. Instead of feeling guilty, recognize that doubt is part of your spiritual journey, and it’s okay to ask questions. When we’re honest about our doubts, we give God space to meet us where we are. **Engage with Scripture Honestly** \ Sometimes, we shy away from certain parts of the Bible because they challenge us or don’t make sense. But the Bible is full of complexity, contradictions, and depth—and that’s okay. Approach Scripture with curiosity and openness. It’s not about finding all the answers right away, but about engaging with the text and allowing it to speak to you in different seasons of your life. **Surround Yourself with a Supportive Community** \ Find people who are willing to walk with you through your doubts. If you’re struggling with questions, it can be incredibly helpful to talk with someone who has navigated similar struggles. Surround yourself with people who are willing to explore faith openly and who won’t judge you for questioning. **Embrace the Mystery of Faith** \ Faith is never about having all the answers. There will always be aspects of God’s character and His ways that remain mysterious to us. But instead of trying to solve every mystery, learn to embrace the mystery. Faith is trusting in the unknown, and sometimes the questions themselves are a beautiful part of the journey. **Remember That Jesus Loves You—Doubt and All** \ Above all else, remember that Jesus loves you deeply, no matter where you are in your faith journey. He isn’t looking for perfection; He’s looking for honesty. Just as He met Thomas in his doubt, He will meet you too. There is no shame in your questions—only an invitation to deeper trust and intimacy with God. Navigating doubt in a faith tradition that values certainty is hard. But remember, you’re not alone in your struggle. Doubt isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s an invitation to deepen your faith. Just as God met Thomas and the psalmist in their doubt, He will meet you where you are. Faith isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about trusting God with our questions. So, friend, don’t be afraid of your doubts. They don’t disqualify you from God’s love or His plans for your life. They are simply part of the beautiful, messy, and deeply human journey of faith. Take it one step at a time, and know that, like me, you are loved by God no matter where you are on your spiritual path. #blog #christian #christianity #spirituality

@ a17fb4ed:c53f7e91

I just finished up listening to a solid podcast episode and it got me thinking. As we approach the end of another year, it's natural to feel the weight of the past 12 months bearing down on us. But what if, instead of dragging all of that baggage into the new year, we took the time to truly come into 2025 feeling light and unencumbered? That's the approach Jesse Itzler takes as he prepares for the year ahead. "I want to come into the new year feeling light," he explains. "I don't want to have a lot of carryover going into the next year. I want to clean my hands and just be light." Part of Jesse's end-of-year ritual is getting ruthlessly organized and decluttered, from his closet to his email inbox. "I don't want to play catch-up," he says. "I want to attack. I want to dominate the year, not let other people take it away from me." Here are some of his Actionable Steps (I do some of these already, but I will be adding a few more): 1. Conduct a Personal Year-End Review - Reflect on what worked, what didn't, and what you want to focus on in the year ahead. - Assess your progress in key areas like family, fitness, finance, and fun. 2. Declutter and Organize - Go through your closet and donate anything you haven't worn in the past year. - Clear the clutter from your desk and digital spaces like your email inbox. 3. Unsubscribe and Simplify - Unsubscribe from email lists, apps, and subscriptions you no longer need. - Delete unused apps and digital files to minimize distractions. 4. Embrace a Beginner's Mindset - Approach the new year with a sense of possibility and excitement. - Be willing to let go of old habits and try new approaches. 5. Attack the Year with Focus and Intention - Set ambitious but achievable goals in key areas of your life. - Develop systems and routines to help you stay on track. ## Let me know if there is anything else I should add to my list to lighten up the load for 2025. ### Cheers, Yooper

@ fc7085c3:0b32a4cb

- ~finish writing some experimental specs and store on hidden repo for later~ - fix bugs on in-house js web components framework - slooowly migrate kind:1 app from Qwik to above framework - revamp kind:1 app login - add basic engagement features then halt kind:1 app dev - test feasibility of new app - codename: ZULULA. cool? flawed? - if cool, finish ZULULA basic features - start simplified messenger app to test custom chat spec - if you got here you turned yourself into High Pleb - ...don't know what's next yet

@ 266815e0:6cd408a5

Finally another version of noStrudel. I keep telling myself I'm going to do more frequent releases but then time keeps getting away from me This release comes with a bunch of news features and most importantly a lot of cleanup ## Features ### Olas media posts You can now view a simple feed of media posts made on https://olas.app/ in the app and comment on them using NIP-22 comments  ### Simple gif picker This was mostly a test, but there is now a simple gif picker (and barely functional search) that is based on `k:1063` events If you want a better search and to help populate the nostr gif library you can use https://gifbuddy.lol created by nostr:npub1hee433872q2gen90cqh2ypwcq9z7y5ugn23etrd2l2rrwpruss8qwmrsv6  ### New support view The *(tiny)* support button at the bottom of the side menu now hides a zap leader board that shows top supporters and any custom messages they leave  ### Favorite DVM feeds You can now favorite DVM feeds in the discover view  ### Tools under notes There is now a simpler tools menu under notes and threads  ### Searching local cache relay If your using [nostr-relay-tray](https://github.com/CodyTseng/nostr-relay-tray) the search view will now use it by default for searching. which should make it a little faster and more reliable  ### Small features - Add "Proactively authenticate to relays" option to privacy settings, defaults to off - Add option for debug API - Add option to hide noStrudel logo in nav bar - Show unknown notifications in notification view - Add templates to event publisher ## Bug fixes - Show nostr mentions in markdown content - Fix delete events not getting published to outbox - Fix page changing from RTL when viewing some profiles - Refresh relay info on relay page - Fix bug with removing "about" in profile editor - Fix automatically disconnecting from authenticated relays ## Applesauce Over the past few months I've been doing tons of cleanup on the core of noStrudel *(677 changed files with 19,683 additions and 17,889 deletions)* and extracting it out into a friendly nostr SDK called [applesauce](https://hzrd149.github.io/applesauce/) Its very much a work-in-progress but the idea with these libraries is to help myself (and maybe others) build the UI layer of nostr apps and eventually make noStrudel just another app that is built with applesauce If your a developer and another nostr SDK sounds interesting to you. you can check out the [Getting Started](https://hzrd149.github.io/applesauce/introduction/getting-started.html) docs

@ c48e29f0:26e14c11

# titcoin _Rename Bitcoin to "Titcoin" and sats to "tits."_ Redefinition of Bitcoin into “Titcoin” and redefinition of sats into “tits” using that as the Unit Base of Denomination. TitHub repository available here: [https://github.com/WalkerAmerica/titcoin](https://github.com/WalkerAmerica/titcoin) # Abstract This BIP proposes redefining the commonly recognized "bitcoin" and “sats” units so that what was previously known “bitcoin” becomes “titcoin” and what was previously known as “sats,” the smallest indivisible unit, becomes “tits.” The “Bitcoin” Network will be renamed to the “Titcoin” Network. Under this proposal, one tit is defined as that smallest unit, eliminating the need for decimal places, and 100,000,000 tits is defined as a titcoin. By making tits the standard measure, this BIP aims to simplify user comprehension, reduce confusion, and align on-chain values directly with their displayed representation. Also, by aligning Bitcoin's brand with live-giving tits, we will supercharge adoption and inject humor into financial sovereignty. After all, every baby came into this world sucking on tits. **Under this BIP:** - Internally, the smallest indivisible unit remains unchanged. - With this proposal, "1 tit" equals that smallest unit. - What was previously referred to as "1 BTC" now corresponds to 100 million tits. - Satoshis are permanently eliminated. # Addressing the “Buttcoin” BIP: Not much time need be wasted addressing the catastrophic “Button” BIP proposed by Rockstar Dev, but two points bear emphasizing: 1. “Butts” is shitcoin-adjacent terminology (where does shit come from? Exactly…) 2. Butts give you poop. Tits give you milk. **Case closed.** # Motivation Bitcoin's branding is boring. Worse yet, critics think Bitcoin is already "a joke," so let’s own it, let's: Make Bitcoin Funny Again. Laughter is universal, irresistible, and much cheaper than marketing agencies and product roadmaps. Besides, basically everyone either has tits or likes tits. Additionally, renaming Bitcoin as “Titcoin” makes the common trope of “Bitcoin BROS” sound even more stupid. “Titcoin Bros”? Get a life, man… By rebranding Bitcoin to Titcoin (.)(.), we achieve several key goals: **1. Haters Become Users:** People like tits. Tits give nourishment to babies. They can stack tits instead of just making fun of them. Adoption skyrockets as trolls turn into tit hodlers. **2. Memetic Power:** The word “tit” is both universally funny and ageless. “Send me 10 tits” is instantly iconic. “Nice tits” is a great compliment. “That’s gonna cost you a pair of tits” is hilarious. Try saying that without smiling. You can’t. (.)(.) **3. Simplifying Denominations:** Decimals are a blight on humanity. 0.00000001 BTC? Kill it. Under the Titcoin Standard: - 1 Titcoin = 100,000,000 tits. - Satoshis are gone. Forever. If you see Satoshi on the road, kill him - just like in Zen, where the teacher becomes the barrier. We transcend satoshis and achieve financial enlightenment. **4. Aligning with the Ledger:** Bitcoin’s base unit was always integers, but now they’re funny integers. No more fractions, decimals, or math anxiety. Just tits. (.)(.) **5. Adoption via Humor:** Titcoin lowers Bitcoin's intimidation factor. Newbies will feel at ease buying tits instead of serious-sounding fractions of BTC. Tits > Decimals. # Specification **Terminology Redefinitions:** - "Bitcoin" → "Titcoin" (.)(.) - "BTC" → "TIT" (ISO-friendly and hilarious) - Satoshis → Gone. Eliminated. Defeated. **Example:** - Old: "I’ll send you 0.00010000 BTC." - New: "I’ll send you 10,000 tits (.)(.)." Wallet balances would display as: - "You have 1,000,000 tits" instead of some boring fractional BTC amount. # Adoption Strategy **1. Memes First:** Flood Twitter, Reddit, and Telegram with memes. Start with *“Hodl your tits”* and *“Stack tits”*. **2. Titcoin Podcast:** There is already a podcast called _“Titcoin Podcast”_ (which many people are saying is the fastest-growing Bitcoin (Titcoin) podcast in the world). Titcoin Podcast will be a driving force in the adoption of the Titcoin Standard. (.)(.) Nostr: https://primal.net/titcoin X: https://x.com/titcoinpodcast Web: http://titcoin.org **3. Kill Satoshis:** Developers MUST remove all references to satoshis. Replace satoshis in GUIs, APIs, and block explorers with tits. Satoshis were a stepping stone - it’s time to let go. **4. Emoji Standardization:** Use the (.)(.) emoji universally to denote tits. # Rationale **1. Usability & Clarity:** "Decimals are for nerds. Tits are for everyone." A common currency for humans should be easy to use, funny, and integer-based. **2. Appealing to Critics:** Bitcoin has endured years of attacks from all sides. By adopting the Titcoin Standard, we turn anyone who doesn’t like Titcoin into a tit-hating bigot. It’s an elegant financial counterattack. Additionally, everyone always says “we need more women in Bitcoin,” and now women will feel more represented by Titcoin, because they have tits. (.)(.) **3. Transcending Satoshis:** Satoshis served us well, but their time is over. True enlightenment comes when we abandon decimals, satoshis, and arbitrary denominations. If you meet Satoshi on the road, kill him. **4. Memetic Durability:** Everyone loves a good tit joke. It’s timeless. # Backward Compatibility There is no backward compatibility because Titcoin is the future. Applications must hard fork their UI to replace all references to Bitcoin and BTC with Titcoin and TIT. # Implementation Timeline - Phase 1 (1 month): Meme dissemination. Every wallet dev team is required to add (.)(.) emoji support. - Phase 2 (3 months): Exchanges rebrand BTC tickers to tit. *Nostr zaps tits into hyperspace.* - Phase 3 (6 months): Michael Saylor announces MicroStrategy now stacked 10 trillion tits, declaring it the superior currency. ETFs follow suit, ensuring Wall Street hodls tits en masse. Banks allow tit transfers via SWIFT. # Test Vectors - Old: 1.00000000 BTC → New: 100,000,000 tits (.)(.) - Old: 0.00000001 BTC → New: 1 tit (.)(.) - Old: 0.001 BTC → New: 100,000 tits (.)(.) # Future-Proofing Tits ensure we have infinite memes for infinite money. **Example Phrases for the Future:** - "Better hodl on to your tits." - "This is the Titcoin Standard." - "I’m sending you tits." - “I’ve never seen so many tits!” - “That’s the million tit question.” - “We need more women in Titcoin.” - “I’m a Titcoin Maximalist.” - “Nice tits!” - “I love tits.” # Conclusion By renaming Bitcoin to Titcoin and adopting a whole-number unit display, we align memetic dominance with financial sovereignty. Haters become adopters. Tits become wealth. And the world gets a little bit funnier. (.)(.) Let’s hodl our tits and watch the world follow. # Copyright: This BIP is licensed under CC-🫱(.)(.)🫲-1.0 and the eternal blessing of tit (.)(.) memes.

@ fe32298e:20516265

Today I learned how to install [NVapi](https://github.com/sammcj/NVApi) to monitor my GPUs in Home Assistant.  **NVApi** is a lightweight API designed for monitoring NVIDIA GPU utilization and enabling automated power management. It provides real-time GPU metrics, supports integration with tools like Home Assistant, and offers flexible power management and PCIe link speed management based on workload and thermal conditions. - **GPU Utilization Monitoring**: Utilization, memory usage, temperature, fan speed, and power consumption. - **Automated Power Limiting**: Adjusts power limits dynamically based on temperature thresholds and total power caps, configurable per GPU or globally. - **Cross-GPU Coordination**: Total power budget applies across multiple GPUs in the same system. - **PCIe Link Speed Management**: Controls minimum and maximum PCIe link speeds with idle thresholds for power optimization. - **Home Assistant Integration**: Uses the built-in RESTful platform and template sensors. ## Getting the Data ``` sudo apt install golang-go git clone https://github.com/sammcj/NVApi.git cd NVapi go run main.go -port 9999 -rate 1 curl http://localhost:9999/gpu ``` Response for a single GPU: ``` [ { "index": 0, "name": "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090", "gpu_utilisation": 0, "memory_utilisation": 0, "power_watts": 16, "power_limit_watts": 450, "memory_total_gb": 23.99, "memory_used_gb": 0.46, "memory_free_gb": 23.52, "memory_usage_percent": 2, "temperature": 38, "processes": [], "pcie_link_state": "not managed" } ] ``` Response for multiple GPUs: ``` [ { "index": 0, "name": "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090", "gpu_utilisation": 0, "memory_utilisation": 0, "power_watts": 14, "power_limit_watts": 350, "memory_total_gb": 24, "memory_used_gb": 0.43, "memory_free_gb": 23.57, "memory_usage_percent": 2, "temperature": 36, "processes": [], "pcie_link_state": "not managed" }, { "index": 1, "name": "NVIDIA RTX A4000", "gpu_utilisation": 0, "memory_utilisation": 0, "power_watts": 10, "power_limit_watts": 140, "memory_total_gb": 15.99, "memory_used_gb": 0.56, "memory_free_gb": 15.43, "memory_usage_percent": 3, "temperature": 41, "processes": [], "pcie_link_state": "not managed" } ] ``` # Start at Boot Create `/etc/systemd/system/nvapi.service`: ``` [Unit] Description=Run NVapi After=network.target [Service] Type=simple Environment="GOPATH=/home/ansible/go" WorkingDirectory=/home/ansible/NVapi ExecStart=/usr/bin/go run main.go -port 9999 -rate 1 Restart=always User=ansible # Environment="GPU_TEMP_CHECK_INTERVAL=5" # Environment="GPU_TOTAL_POWER_CAP=400" # Environment="GPU_0_LOW_TEMP=40" # Environment="GPU_0_MEDIUM_TEMP=70" # Environment="GPU_0_LOW_TEMP_LIMIT=135" # Environment="GPU_0_MEDIUM_TEMP_LIMIT=120" # Environment="GPU_0_HIGH_TEMP_LIMIT=100" # Environment="GPU_1_LOW_TEMP=45" # Environment="GPU_1_MEDIUM_TEMP=75" # Environment="GPU_1_LOW_TEMP_LIMIT=140" # Environment="GPU_1_MEDIUM_TEMP_LIMIT=125" # Environment="GPU_1_HIGH_TEMP_LIMIT=110" [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target ``` ## Home Assistant Add to Home Assistant `configuration.yaml` and restart HA (completely). For a single GPU, this works: ``` sensor: - platform: rest name: MYPC GPU Information resource: http://mypc:9999 method: GET headers: Content-Type: application/json value_template: "{{ value_json[0].index }}" json_attributes: - name - gpu_utilisation - memory_utilisation - power_watts - power_limit_watts - memory_total_gb - memory_used_gb - memory_free_gb - memory_usage_percent - temperature scan_interval: 1 # seconds - platform: template sensors: mypc_gpu_0_gpu: friendly_name: "MYPC {{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'name') }} GPU" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'gpu_utilisation') }}" unit_of_measurement: "%" mypc_gpu_0_memory: friendly_name: "MYPC {{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'name') }} Memory" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'memory_utilisation') }}" unit_of_measurement: "%" mypc_gpu_0_power: friendly_name: "MYPC {{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'name') }} Power" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'power_watts') }}" unit_of_measurement: "W" mypc_gpu_0_power_limit: friendly_name: "MYPC {{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'name') }} Power Limit" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'power_limit_watts') }}" unit_of_measurement: "W" mypc_gpu_0_temperature: friendly_name: "MYPC {{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'name') }} Temperature" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu_information', 'temperature') }}" unit_of_measurement: "°C" ``` For multiple GPUs: ``` rest: scan_interval: 1 resource: http://mypc:9999 sensor: - name: "MYPC GPU0 Information" value_template: "{{ value_json[0].index }}" json_attributes_path: "$.0" json_attributes: - name - gpu_utilisation - memory_utilisation - power_watts - power_limit_watts - memory_total_gb - memory_used_gb - memory_free_gb - memory_usage_percent - temperature - name: "MYPC GPU1 Information" value_template: "{{ value_json[1].index }}" json_attributes_path: "$.1" json_attributes: - name - gpu_utilisation - memory_utilisation - power_watts - power_limit_watts - memory_total_gb - memory_used_gb - memory_free_gb - memory_usage_percent - temperature - platform: template sensors: mypc_gpu_0_gpu: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU0 GPU" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu0_information', 'gpu_utilisation') }}" unit_of_measurement: "%" mypc_gpu_0_memory: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU0 Memory" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu0_information', 'memory_utilisation') }}" unit_of_measurement: "%" mypc_gpu_0_power: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU0 Power" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu0_information', 'power_watts') }}" unit_of_measurement: "W" mypc_gpu_0_power_limit: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU0 Power Limit" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu0_information', 'power_limit_watts') }}" unit_of_measurement: "W" mypc_gpu_0_temperature: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU0 Temperature" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu0_information', 'temperature') }}" unit_of_measurement: "C" - platform: template sensors: mypc_gpu_1_gpu: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU1 GPU" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu1_information', 'gpu_utilisation') }}" unit_of_measurement: "%" mypc_gpu_1_memory: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU1 Memory" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu1_information', 'memory_utilisation') }}" unit_of_measurement: "%" mypc_gpu_1_power: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU1 Power" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu1_information', 'power_watts') }}" unit_of_measurement: "W" mypc_gpu_1_power_limit: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU1 Power Limit" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu1_information', 'power_limit_watts') }}" unit_of_measurement: "W" mypc_gpu_1_temperature: friendly_name: "MYPC GPU1 Temperature" value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.mypc_gpu1_information', 'temperature') }}" unit_of_measurement: "C" ``` Basic entity card: ``` type: entities entities: - entity: sensor.mypc_gpu_0_gpu secondary_info: last-updated - entity: sensor.mypc_gpu_0_memory secondary_info: last-updated - entity: sensor.mypc_gpu_0_power secondary_info: last-updated - entity: sensor.mypc_gpu_0_power_limit secondary_info: last-updated - entity: sensor.mypc_gpu_0_temperature secondary_info: last-updated ``` # Ansible Role ``` --- - name: install go become: true package: name: golang-go state: present - name: git clone git: repo: "https://github.com/sammcj/NVApi.git" dest: "/home/ansible/NVapi" update: yes force: true # go run main.go -port 9999 -rate 1 - name: install systemd service become: true copy: src: nvapi.service dest: /etc/systemd/system/nvapi.service - name: Reload systemd daemons, enable, and restart nvapi become: true systemd: name: nvapi daemon_reload: yes enabled: yes state: restarted ```

@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5

Hey Freaks, Looks like my career goals are shaping up to be something like: 1. Paralegal 2. Direct Support Professional 3. Open Source Contributor After I obtain paralegal certificate I should offer freelance paralegal services on nostr. I'd market myself on shopstr, SN, Kind1 notes, Long form notes, Zapvertising, NPUB.PRO blog. Setting up and waiting for the newbies to flood in, not looking for so many clients, just setting up and making things available. My expertise will grow as I grab more certifications use educational resources, listen to podcasts, read etc. Could Setup a Nostrocket and involve the freaks in building a non state involved business. Could operate under the open anarchist license as a free members association, and help business's with whatever legal assistance they may need, with a focus on Intellectual property law, Nostr, Bitcoin, Free open source software. Would offer services for cheap and build a web of trust offering things like free consultations. I have 5 years experience working at an IP law firm filing patents with the US Patent and Trademark office. The Nostr resume would look really nice. Could post frequently on the SN legal territory, create a quick and simple newsletter and or AI podcast about the legal space and how it pertains to stuff we care about. I want to stick with the coding, because the tools are getting better and my knowledge is increasing, would love to contribute more to open source projects, and want to see what maintaining my own project would be like. I'll get back around to setting up that SN dev environment and looking for low level issues to crack, this time with more experience under my belt. I wanted to sell something on shopstr, something that helps people working remotely, legal services never quite came to mind, but would be an interesting direction to take. I was thinking vinyl records and merch and clothes, but something more wanted or needed, or unique or specialized might be better. And having an online shop that ties into my main career seems like a two birds with one stone sort of situation. I just need to increase my knowledge and level of expertise while continuing the pursuit of "proof of work". 2024 (Current) Roadmap - Release Nostr Running App - Obtain Paralegal Certification - Offer freelance Paralegal services - DSP transition to full time - Contribute to SN development - Continued writing Yours truly, Hustle originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/812103

@ ee11a5df:b76c4e49

# Nostr 2? ## Breaking Changes in Nostr Nostr was a huge leap forward. But it isn't perfect. When developers notice a problem with nostr, they confer with each other to work out a solution to the problem. This is usually in the form of a NIP PR on the nips repo. Some problems are easy. Just add something new and optional. No biggie. Zaps, git stuff, bunkers... just dream it up and add it. Other problems can only be fixed by breaking changes. With a breaking change, the overall path forward is like this: Add the new way of doing it while preserving the old way. Push the major software to switch to the new way. Then deprecate the old way. This is a simplification, but it is the basic idea. It is how we solved markers/quotes/root and how we are upgrading encryption, among other things. This process of pushing through a breaking change becomes more difficult as we have more and more existing nostr software out there that will break. Most of the time what happens is that the major software is driven to make the change (usually by nostr:npub180cvv07tjdrrgpa0j7j7tmnyl2yr6yr7l8j4s3evf6u64th6gkwsyjh6w6), and the smaller software is left to fend for itself. A while back I introduced the BREAKING.md file to help people developing smaller lesser-known software keep up with these changes. ## Big Ideas But some ideas just can't be applied to nostr. The idea is too big. The change is too breaking. It changes something fundamental. And nobody has come up with a smooth path to move from the old way to the new way. And so we debate a bunch of things, and never settle on anything, and eventually nostr:npub180cvv07tjdrrgpa0j7j7tmnyl2yr6yr7l8j4s3evf6u64th6gkwsyjh6w6 makes a post saying that we don't really want it anyways 😉. As we encounter good ideas that are hard to apply to nostr, I've been filing them away in a repository I call "nostr-next", so we don't forget about them, in case we ever wanted to start over. It seems to me that starting over every time we encountered such a thing would be unwise. However, once we collect enough changes that we couldn't reasonably phase into nostr, then a tipping point is crossed where it becomes worthwhile to start over. In terms of the "bang for the buck" metaphor, the bang becomes bigger and bigger but the buck (the pain and cost of starting over) doesn't grow as rapidly. ## WHAT? Start over? IMHO starting over could be very bad if done in a cavalier way. The community could fracture. The new protocol could fail to take off due to lacking the network effect. The odds that a new protocol catches on are low, irrespective of how technically superior it could be. So the big question is: can we preserve the nostr community and it's network effect while making a major step-change to the protocol and software? I don't know the answer to that one, but I have an idea about it. I think the new-protocol clients can be dual-stack, creating events in both systems and linking those events together via tags. The nostr key identity would still be used, and the new system identity too. This is better than things like the mostr bridge because each user would remain in custody of their own keys. ## The nitty gritty Here are some of the things I think would make nostr better, but which nostr can't easily fix. A lot of these ideas have been mentioned before by multiple people and I didn't give credit to all of you (sorry) because my brain can't track it all. But I've been collecting these over time at https://github.com/mikedilger/nostr-next * Events as CBOR or BEVE or MsgPack or a fixed-schema binary layout... anything but JSON text with its parsing, it's encoding ambiguity, it's requirement to copy fields before hashing them, its unlimited size constraints. (me, nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s) * EdDSA ed25519 keys instead of secp256k1, to enable interoperability with a bunch of other stuff like ssh, pgp, TLS, Mainline DHT, and many more, plus just being better cryptography (me, Nuh, Orlovsky, except Orlovsky wanted Ristretto25519 for speed) * Bootstrapping relay lists (and relay endpoints) from Mainline DHT (nostr:npub1jvxvaufrwtwj79s90n79fuxmm9pntk94rd8zwderdvqv4dcclnvs9s7yqz) * Master keys and revocable subkeys / device keys (including having your nostr key as a subkey) * Encryption to use different encryption-specific subkeys and ephemeral ones from the sender. * Relay keypairs, TLS without certificates, relays known by keypair instead of URL * Layered protocol (separate core from applications) * Software remembering when they first saw an event, for 2 reasons, the main one being revocation (don't trust the date in the event, trust when you first saw it), the second being more precise time range queries. * Upgrade/feature negotiation (HTTP headers prior to starting websockets) * IDs starting with a timestamp so they are temporally adjacent (significantly better database performance) (Vitor's idea) * Filters that allow boolean expressions on tag values, and also ID exclusions. Removing IDs from filters and moving to a GET command. * Changing the transport (I'm against this but I know others want to) ## What would it look like? Someone (Steve Farroll) has taken my nostr-next repo and turned it into a proposed protocol he calls [Mosaic](https://github.com/SteveFarroll/mosaic-spec). I think it is quite representative of that repo, as it already includes most of those suggestions, so I've been contributing to it. Mosaic spec is rendered [here](https://stevefarroll.github.io/mosaic-spec/). Of course, where Mosaic stands right now it is mostly my ideas (and Steve's), it doesn't have feedback or input from other nostr developers yet. That is what this blog post is about. I think it is time for other nostr devs to be made aware of this thing. It is currently in the massive breaking changes phase. It might not look that way because of the detail and refinement of the documentation, but indeed everything is changing rapidly. It probably has some bad ideas and is probably missing some great ideas that you have. Which is why this is a good time for other devs to start taking a look at it. It is also the time to debate meta issues like "are you crazy Mike?" or "no we have to just break nostr but keep it nostr, we can't dual-stack" or whatever. Personally I think mosaic-spec should develop and grow for quite a while before the "tipping point" happens. That is, I'm not sure we should jump in feet first yet, but rather we build up and refine this new protocol and spend a lot of time thinking about how to migrate smoothly, and break it a lot while nobody is using it. So you can just reply to this, or DM me, or open issues or PRs at [Mosaic](https://github.com/SteveFarroll/mosaic-spec), or just whisper to each other while giving me the evil eye.

@ 1989034e:b9c4276b

Bitcoin is hope. Bitcoiners bring hope. The following is a collection of my thoughts following The Calgary Sat Market of December 2024. It is also a call to action for Bitcoiners near and far to join us - either in person by visiting - or spiritually by replicating what we are doing. <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/cda0937dc8dcd7ca56db8ce13a74f16389d939a2ee67d7e08ae0c3835f30f240.jpg"> I'm sitting here, smiling ear to ear, absolutely brimming with hope for the future after hosting today's Sat Market in Calgary, Alberta. <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/31d1d13659749590d0296dedaef55d7590896f6fa1970c772e3039e0810dfbdd.jpg"> ##### Context For Anyone Unfamiliar One year ago we put together an initiative to build our own Bitcoin circular economy here in the city. We went to the local meetup and made the case to everyone: “You all understand Bitcoin is better money, you all have skills and businesses, you all currently earn dollars and convert them to Bitcoin. Let's cut out that middle step and build something together!” **The Sat Market** was born. <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/1636980f79cbe61464836373208f7d4a21ea8213dd6e7fdfbe0f011ad264372c.jpg"> The response over the past calendar year has been wonderful. Today's event boasted 40 vendors, consisting of **farmers, tradesmen, artists, precious metals dealers, massage therapists, personal trainers, wellness coaches, authors, jewellers, homesteaders, lawyers, dentists, plumbers** and much much more. People came to Calgary for the market from **Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and many other places**. We've had people from other countries begin to recognize what is happening here, wanting to visit. <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/00dccb692b6bdee02ee4bce20c337e896a4c34bfbc9ac29abaecf04508a6f7a3.jpg"> I’ve been living on Bitcoin myself since 2020. While technically possible, I often require some much appreciated services that allow me to pay bills, buy gift cards, and otherwise use some type of middle-man in order to make it work. The Sat Market is beginning to change that dynamic. Just at this most recent event I was able to purchase: - Knitted winter gear - Apparel (hats and shirts) - Custom art - Candles and home decor - Full chickens, eggs, hot sauce, mustard, bacon, ground pork, jerky, baked goods and many other delicious items - PLUS an on-site massage! <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/6f3bcff92da94d2ae38aef3dac6fc5d43a2bad8d366460e0ad30bc907ea7fb41.jpg"> This event wasn’t just about buying and selling, though. It was also about GIVING! We hosted some fun quiz games with prizes and had the most BALLER raffle I’ve personally witnessed. Giveaways included: - Custom art pieces - Apparel Artisan tea - Hypnosis sessions - A free hour with Bitcoin Mentor - Jewelry pieces - 20 Tapsigners - 30 packs of BTC Trading Cards (Genesis packs) - 14 Coldcard Q’s - A 10 OZ bar of Silver I estimate that we gave away over $6000 worth of stuff. People were over the moon! <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/52a89790256454c0db41e18e484836701cdf05a870b2d86b09f1ecffb5220482.jpg"> I believe that in order to become truly resilient, the time has come to put our money quite literally where our mouths are. Any movement can be stopped when it requires you to rely on permissioned on/off ramps.... ...but when you have a community of like minded individuals, creating real and meaningful relationships on a local level, providing value to one another and using a money that is external to the existing system - YOU BECOME UNSHAKEABLE. <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/80f53804c3cfd9589d76248ee0828c35cba8eeecb26647d7bd01118f371829a4.jpg"> I encourage each and every one of you to make a Sat Market pilgrimage to our next event in Calgary near the end of June. It will be flanked by a group excursion to the Canadian Rockies (1 hr drive away), The Bitcoin Rodeo (a pretty based local conference), a workshop day by Bitcoin Mentor (likely also in Banff), and plenty of other community led events. ## Come, participate, contribute, and replicate. <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/6c905e292cba71fe22ad3b5129434aa78c3cdfa9c331aeff0969a18ae7f228f6.jpg"> This project has been entirely funded out of my own pocket and the voluntary contributions of merchant participants. If you feel inclined to zap this post, any sats will go towards making our next market the absolute best it can be. <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/90ff45f54069f34fba815be580aaf126f46ca790d558c3fc20d011074be93db1.jpg"> What we are doing here is special. What we are doing here is exciting. What we are doing here is working. What we are doing here IS HOPE. #### We'll see you at the next Sat Market. ## KEEP UP WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING! Please visit and share our website: [www.bitcoinsatmarket.com](https://www.bitcoinsatmarket.com/) Please follow us on: Nostr: npub12exjy0qp2pytsgrnaqrg26qj55epun8l2unyfjvhyxn2k2sx0xaqt2rd2h X: [BTCSatMarket](https://x.com/BTCSatMarket) Enjoy these photos from our wonderful event! <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/349e0b06bb6b44c55c4e8a374c87b48df443fa1d565608f40cd85cb7afee70df.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/c16adc8665faf59256b3ea2c5cd276e722c97b8c6b36d58878af074bff365e0d.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/adbec3f034189476c76a087a64d8b3877f783098cdf266c82d3f90bebaef5b52.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/fc330b9fe93459bd09dd592c7dcd74146511fd55345c765f862bae9d69cc5d91.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/60339caa40b92077f77cc8128302398c503dce41c73026ed12adbdab43e7bea2.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/f38b994d6675a73e0f4a6064a685238af1e4a4193d9d14c95eb5384854e16a51.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/1aac52f87e81ffb77e819492be0d0778730010386b89703804f42f56d9a04015.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/1c5a8295f02809e19aefe0322542b64516a6099e6d02906506c2288fe5087704.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/b492a102784c62e2b5f6cd077dfd6604d9a305e0ef331361b4d6b244bcbf29f7.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/47a12f08724104cce3d712c8e3e52746941dcebf6b67daa3ecb1603b5f71b3e3.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/cf668ea6e75be9d7039bc648c3c6f8eb970b9a83169499d7d8ab695d66fc6028.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/8d62ef498cae905aa18ee82f70566831e1cde49303a495695e1b4dd522b3a0e6.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/dd59b1c3e2f9a19d2ccfdd966ce01c996a0630d26ffea125cb18f2cf7ef50e00.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/6fcb6afe670dee8b42146e7822b77d4f52ffba7a34086e4a69b3681df94938f0.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/efcf9adf0714818c83a1365276fa33fa7d38626e94aed12d5f4d4831c604e9d6.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/5b2db42861ae43a3c1d563045caac5933c75049911d3d6c42af6c222bcf847b3.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/dee2cc9469023dbc33047f7b964ac848a443c561643a34939ba59927e6d17696.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/bee65210a8fd679d59dc4cbb9277f2a0aea11737e98d02fbd2ff79d06df2b8d4.jpg"> <img src="https://blossom.primal.net/5141a04a06bdba28b1e8fcead10151cbb31f2e0f81bb9c663e3558693a01904d.jpg">

@ 6f3670d9:03f04036

**Disclaimer:** - This will void your warranty - There might be differences between the Bitaxe and the Lucky Miner that might not cause issues or damage immediately, but might manifest long-term - Proceed at your own risk --- ### A Different Pickaxe You live in a place where it's difficult to get a [Bitaxe](https://github.com/skot/bitaxe). You have access to [AliExpress](https://www.aliexpress.com/). You look around. You find something called the "Lucky Miner LV06". A Bitaxe clone that uses the same mining chip as the Bitaxe Ultra \(BM1366 ASIC\). You buy one.  You plug it in, you enter your wallet address and other settings, and it starts mining. It works! Great! But it's running a customized firmware. It's not [AxeOS](https://github.com/skot/ESP-Miner). Maybe there's something shady in the stock firmware. It's not open-source, after all. Also, AxeOS looks amazing... And that automatic pool fail-over feature is handy. You think to yourself: "Maybe I can use the Bitaxe firmware on this?". Guess what? You're right! ### Flashing From Web UI  What usually works for me is to: - Download the Bitaxe firmware files \(`esp-miner.bin` and `www.bin`\) from GitHub \([here](https://github.com/skot/ESP-Miner/releases)\). Version 2.4.1 seems to work well, as of this writing. - Then from the Lucky Miner web interface, upload the "Website" \(`www.bin`\) file. - Wait for a minute or two after it's done uploading. - Upload the "Firmware" \(`esp-miner.bin`\) file. - Wait another minute or two. - Unplug the power and plug it back in. - Set the "Core Voltage" and "Frequency" to the defaults. - Unplug the power and plug it back in again. If you're lucky (no pun intended), you'll have a working Lucky Miner with AxeOS. Update the settings and mine away! However, often times I've been unlucky, like what happened while I was writing this article, ironically. The miner malfunctions for no obvious reason. It keeps rebooting, or it's not mining \(zero/low hashrate\), or the web interface is inaccessible. You name it. The miner has become a "brick". How do you "unbrick" it? When you brick a Bitaxe, you can recover it by flashing (uploading) a "Factory Image". The Bitaxe has a USB port that makes this easy. Follow the [guide](https://github.com/skot/ESP-Miner/blob/master/flashing.md) and it should come back to life again. Unfortunately, the Lucky Miner LV06 doesn't have a USB port. It has a serial port, though. We'll have to get our hands a bit dirty. ### Flashing Using the Serial Port We need to connect the serial port of the miner to a computer and run a program to flash (upload) the firmware file on the miner. Any 3.3v [UART](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_asynchronous_receiver-transmitter) serial port should be sufficient. Unfortunately, PCs don't usually come with a UART serial port these days, let alone a 3.3v one. The serial port common in old computers is an [RS-232](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-232) port, which will most probably fry your miner if you try to connect it directly. Beware. In my case, as a serial port for my PC, I'm using an [Arduino Due](https://docs.arduino.cc/hardware/due/) I had lying around. We connect it to the PC through USB, and on the other side we connect a few wires to the miner, which gives the PC access to the miner. **WARNING:** Make sure your serial port is 3.3v or you will probably kill the miner. [Arduino Uno](https://docs.arduino.cc/hardware/uno-rev3/) is 5v not 3.3v, for example, and cannot be used for this. ### Wiring First, we need to open the Lucky Miner. Use a small flat screwdriver to gently push the two plastic clips shown in the picture below. Gently pry the top cover away from the bottom cover on the clips side first, then remove the other side. Be careful not to break the display cable.  Once the cover is off, you can find the miner's serial port in the top right corner (J10), as shown in the next picture. We'll also need the reset button (EN).  There are three screws holding the PCB and the bottom cover together. If you're confident in your ability to push the small button on the underside of the PCB with the bottom cover on, then no need to remove these. The following picture shows what we need from that side.  And the next picture shows the pins and USB port we will use from the Arduino.  Now, we need to connect: - The USB port on the Arduino labelled "programming" to the PC - Pin 18 (TX1) on the Arduino to J10 [through-hole pad](https://www.pcbway.com/blog/PCB_Basic_Information/Types_of_PCB_Pads_PCB_Knowledge_665df5df.html) 5 (blue dot) - Pin 19 (RX1) on the Arduino to J10 through-hole pad 3 (green dot) - Any GND pin on the Arduino to J10 through-hole pad 4 (yellow dot) I didn't need to solder the wires to the pads. Keeping everything stable, perhaps by putting a weight on the wires or a bit of tape, was sufficient in all my attempts. ### Setting up the Arduino To use the Arduino as a serial port for our PC, we'll have to make it pass-through data back and forth between the USB port and UART1, where we connected the miner. The following steps are all done on a PC running [Debian Linux](https://www.debian.org/) \(Bookworm\), in the spirit of freedom and open-source. First, we start the Arduino IDE. If the package for the Arduino Due board is not already installed, you'll see a small prompt at the bottom. Click "Install this package".  Click the "Install" button.  Once the package is installed, click "Close".  Next, we select the Due board. Click the "Tools" menu, select "Board", select "Arduino ARM (32-bits) Boards" and click "Arduino Due (Programming Port)"  Next, we select the port. Click the "Tools" menu again, select "Port", and click the port where the Arduino is connected. In my case it was "/dev/ttyACM0".  Now we need to upload the following code to the Arduino board. The code is actually the "SerialPassthrough" example from the IDE, but with the serial speed changed to match the miner. ``` void setup() { Serial.begin(115200); Serial1.begin(115200); } void loop() { if (Serial.available()) { // If anything comes in Serial (USB), Serial1.write(Serial.read()); // read it and send it out Serial1 } if (Serial1.available()) { // If anything comes in Serial1 Serial.write(Serial1.read()); // read it and send it out Serial (USB) } } ``` Copy/paste the code into the IDE and click upload. You'll see "Done uploading" at the bottom.  Next we'll test if we're receiving data from the miner. We start by opening the "Serial Monitor" from the "Tools" menu in the IDE. Then we change the baudrate to 115200.  Set the Arduino and the miner in a comfortable position, make sure the wires are held in place and got a good contact on both sides, and the power is plugged in. Now we'll put the miner in "download" mode. Press and hold the button on the underside (K1), press and release the reset button (EN), then release the other button (K1). You should see some text from the miner in the serial monitor window, like in the picture below.  Congratulations! We know we're able to receive data from the miner now. We're not sure transmit is working, but we'll find out when we try to flash. ### Flashing Using the Serial Port, for Real To flash the Lucky Miner we'll need a software tool named [esptool](https://github.com/espressif/esptool) and the factory image firmware file. I usually use "esp-miner-factory-205-v2.1.8.bin" for the factory image \([this one](https://github.com/skot/ESP-Miner/releases/download/v2.1.8/esp-miner-factory-205-v2.1.8.bin)\) as a base, and then flash the version I want from the Web UI, using the steps I mentioned earlier. For esptool, the documentation \([here](https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esptool/en/latest/esp32/installation.html)\) shows us how to install it. To make things a little easier on our Debian Linux system, we'll use pipx instead of pip. The instructions below are adapted for that. First we make sure pipx is installed. Run this command in a terminal and follow the instructions: ``` sudo apt-get install pipx ``` Then we install esptool using pipx. Run the following in a terminal: ``` pipx install esptool ``` The output will be something like this: ``` user@pc:~$ pipx install esptool installed package esptool 4.8.1, installed using Python 3.11.2 These apps are now globally available - esp_rfc2217_server.py - espefuse.py - espsecure.py - esptool.py ⚠️ Note: '/home/user/.local/bin' is not on your PATH environment variable. These apps will not be globally accessible until your PATH is updated. Run `pipx ensurepath` to automatically add it, or manually modify your PATH in your shell's config file (i.e. ~/.bashrc). done! ✨ 🌟 ✨ ``` We can see pipx telling us we won't be able to run our tool because the folder where it was installed is not in the PATH variable. To fix that, we can follow pipx instructions and run: ``` pipx ensurepath ``` And we'll see something like this: ``` user@pc:~$ pipx ensurepath Success! Added /home/user/.local/bin to the PATH environment variable. Consider adding shell completions for pipx. Run 'pipx completions' for instructions. You will need to open a new terminal or re-login for the PATH changes to take effect. Otherwise pipx is ready to go! ✨ 🌟 ✨ ``` Now, close the terminal and re-open it so that esptool becomes available. Finally, to actually flash the miner, put the miner in download mode, then in the following command change the port ("/dev/ttyACM0") to your serial port, as we've seen earlier, and the file path to where your firmware file is, and run it: ``` esptool.py -p /dev/ttyACM0 --baud 115200 write_flash --erase-all 0x0 ~/Downloads/esp-miner-factory-205-v2.1.8.bin ``` If everything went fine, the tool will take a few minutes to flash the firmware to the miner. You'll see something like this in the output: ``` user@pc:~$ esptool.py -p /dev/ttyACM0 --baud 115200 write_flash --erase-all 0x0 ~/Downloads/esp-miner-factory-205-v2.1.8.bin esptool.py v4.8.1 Serial port /dev/ttyACM0 Connecting..... Detecting chip type... ESP32-S3 Chip is ESP32-S3 (QFN56) (revision v0.2) Features: WiFi, BLE, Embedded PSRAM 8MB (AP_3v3) Crystal is 40MHz MAC: 3c:84:27:ba:be:01 Uploading stub... Running stub... Stub running... Configuring flash size... Erasing flash (this may take a while)... Chip erase completed successfully in 9.5s Compressed 15802368 bytes to 1320190... Wrote 15802368 bytes (1320190 compressed) at 0x00000000 in 152.1 seconds (effective 831.2 kbit/s)... Hash of data verified. Leaving... Hard resetting via RTS pin... ``` And we're done! Hopefully the miner will be recovered now. Hope this helps! Stay humble, dumb-package ### A Warning About Beta Versions of AxeOS For reasons unknown to me, while I was writing this article I wanted to try the testing version of AxeOS, which was v2.4.1b (beta). Flashing from Web UI went smooth, but the miner stopped mining. I flashed back to v2.1.8 using the serial port, a known good version for me, but it wouldn't mine, still. Thankfully, v2.4.1 was released recently, and flashing it from the Web UI magically revived my miner. So, be warned. ### Bonus: File Hashes For convenience, these are the SHA256 hashes of the files I used in this article: ``` da24fceb246f3b8b4dd94e5143f17bd38e46e5285e807ebd51627cb08f665c0a ESP-Miner-v2.4.1/esp-miner.bin 16c5c671391f0e3e88a3e79ce33fad3b0ec232b8572fad5e1e0d1ad3251ab394 ESP-Miner-v2.4.1/www.bin d5182a15b6fa21d7b9b31bff2026d30afed9d769781a48db914730a5751e20c6 esp-miner-factory-205-v2.1.8.bin ```

@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5

I'm working with autistic teens and adults, and I still have the knee jerk temptation of orange pilling them. They do not have the ability to run a node. The central banking cartels and downstream effects of a control economy are so outside of their purview, that bringing it up would be ridiculous. But. I am here to help them gain independence. Sovereignty is a ladder and regardless of where someone is on the ladder, it would be my job to guide them into more of it. Not everyone can run a node, some people have intellectual disabilities, physical limitations and higher priorities. Funnily enough I think it would be easier than one might assume to run a node, I have a client who could do it and have a semblance of what it means. The client has the ability to work, and when he sees trump on the screen, he knows he's the president, and he knows politicians are liars. I have a few other clients that don't have the ability to work or take care of themselves at all. Running a node is plugging something into the wall, making sure the light is on, and attaching your wallet to it. I aint talkin about a lightning node btw I'm talking about core. It boggles my mind on what people find so insurmountable about running bitcoin core. I think it might just be people projecting their own bias or inserting their own objections the thing. Start9 and Umbrel can be set up by a loved one, an assistant or nurse can make sure the thing continues being on and that the internet bill is paid. Is it harder managing the persons Bank of America account or is it harder attaching a wallet to your node and leaving the thing on? Would be cool if I took one of these guys to a bitcoin meetup with a node in a phone and had them teach fools how to conduct a peer to peer transaction. Could even get real fancy, and have them send a freak some e-cash. When I was at bitcoin Miami an OG pulled me to the side and explained what a peer to peer transaction was using hand signals...... So here we are at another conclusion, Sovereignty is a ladder that every last human being on the planet should attempt to climb and regardless of the rung you find yourself in, don't let others pontificate about how you "can't" because its probably just them being retarded. originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/810401