@ 3f770d65:7a745b24

The following is a collection of Tweets posted on Twitter that documented my entire heart surgery process, from finding out I had an issue, through the surgery, and finally throughout my recovery process. If Elon decides to remove old and unpaid content, I do not want this part of my life to vanish from the Internet. At the time, it was extremely important for my mental health to talk about this whole process and it was therapeutic in my recovery process, reading all of the responses as all of Bitcoin Twitter was behind my success. Thank you all of your kind words, love, and support during this whole process. May my Tweets live on through nostr.

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Nov 28, 2021 I had open heart surgery 4 days before my 3rd b-day. I've led a healthy & active life since then, zero issues. I had an echocardiogram last week. The results were not good. Heart valve replacement may be in my near future. I am freaking the fuck out. I'll know more on Dec 6th. 😫

Dec 6, 2021 Update: I had my cardiologist appointment today. He said to not worry for now and continue to exercise and live life. In 3 months get another echo done. He doesn't believe the previous other results since I have zero symptoms and wants to do his own interpretation.

Dec 6, 2021 He said if the other results were correct, I may need valve replacement in 6 months to 3 years. However, he doesn't believe the local hospital's results as I said above. He can't form an opinion just yet. He said not to worry over and over again. For now, I'm staying positive!

Mar 7, 2022 Well, it's been three months. I had my follow up this morning. I have severe pulmonic regurgitation. I now need to speak with a specialist and see what my options are for surgery. Neat. 😭

Apr 12, 2022 Well, it looks like I'll need full open heart surgery again to replace my pulmonic valve. Bonus: I'll be part pig. So, I have that going for me. I was assuming that if I had to have this done it would be much less invasive, so I'm not overly impressed at the moment. 🫤

May 11, 2022 Today I had to get a CT scan of my heart in preparation for the May 27th surgery. All went well. I have no other heart issues. It's looking like I'll be in the hospital for 4-7 days, depending on how fast I recover. I should be fully 100% recovered by the end of August. ❤️

May 20, 2022 My grandfather with me 39 years ago, days after my open heart surgery. He taught me to hunt, fish, golf, and I'm sure taught me a thing or two about drinking beer and partying. 😂 He was a great man. He won't physically be with me next Friday, but I'm sure he'll be watching over.

May 25, 2022 Two more sleeps. My mind is racing with an incredible amount of thoughts and emotions now. It's overwhelming. I love you all. Thanks for all of your replies and DMs over the last couple days, weeks, and months. I appreciate it immensely. ❤️❤️❤️

May 25, 2022 Two more sleeps. My mind is racing with an incredible amount of thoughts and emotions now. It's overwhelming. I love you all. Thanks for all of your replies and DMs over the last couple days, weeks, and months. I appreciate it immensely. ❤️❤️❤️

May 27, 2022 LET'S GO! I am alive and doing well. I was on a ventilator until 8pm. That was horrible. I will read all of the comments that you all posted on Katie's updates. Now I need to rest. They want to get me up and walk at 11pm. 🤯 I love you all and your support had helped so much 🧡🧡

May 28, 2022 The amount of love, compassion, caring, and appreciation from everyone blows my mind. Thanks for all of your comments and DMs. The positivity though all is this has helped me get through dark times and now it's helping me get through pain. You are helping me immensely. 🤯❤️🧡💪

May 28, 2022 Today has been a rough day. Lots of chest pain when breathing. But, I apparently am doing something right, because I have been upgraded to a regular room. No more ICU for this guy! My ICU nurse told my new nurse that I'm strong. ❤️💪🔥

May 29, 2022 Using this to document my journey. Last night was not good at all. I had tachycardia and AFib for hours. It was scary as fuck having my heart beat the way it was at 160bpm. They gave me new medication to bring it down and stop the AFib irregular heartbeat. It's now at 101.

May 29, 2022 I was very scared. Katie was able to come and stay the night with me and be my personal care nurse. That made me feel much better having her here with me. Hopefully the meds continue to do what they're supposed to. Fuck. Anyways, I may not Tweet much today. Love you all. ❤️

May 30, 2022 Today has mostly been a great day progress wise. I ate a lot. I've walked more today than I have previously. My doctor told me I might be going home tomorrow, it all depends on what happens with my last drainage tube. Fingers crossed that it's draining properly now. 💪❤️

May 31, 2022 Morning walk crushed. Breakfast crushed. Feeling stronger. My drainage tube is still draining so we'll see what the surgeon says, but I probably won't be coming home today according to my nurse. It may be another day. Better to be safe. I'm feeling good though. Let's go! 💪💪❤️❤️

Jun 1, 2022 Today's plans: Crush morning walk, crush breakfast, CRUSH MY LAST X-RAY AND HEAD THE HELL HOME! Fingers crossed. 🤞🤞❤️❤️💪💪

Jun 1, 2022 On my morning walk I went into a slight AFib. The nurse and PA said since I hadn't had my morning meds to control that yet, that that could be the cause. They're going to increase meds and monitor me for another 24 hours. That sucks, but again, I'd rather be safe. Ugh.

Jun 2, 2022 GM! I miss my kids. I miss wearing normal clothes. I miss my house. I miss my doggy. I better go home today or I guess I'll just keep working to get well enough to go home. 😂 I'm still progressing forward. I have a chest x-ray scheduled later this morning. Fingers crossed.

Jun 2, 2022 I JUST GOT CLEARED TO HEAD HOME AFTER LUNCH. FUCK YEAH. LET'S GOOOOOO💪💪💪

Jun 2, 2022 I am home! I have some family that needs some loving. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Jun 4, 2022 Last night I slept in bed thanks to a reclining pillow, the first night our living room chair. I was so happy to sleep in my own bed. I walked around our yard about 9 times yesterday. My goal is to do that plus a little more every day. I'm still in a lot of pain, but meds help.

Jun 4, 2022 I still have a long way to go recovery wise, but having Katie and the kids here helping me along the way makes it easier and gives me a reason to keep pushing forward through this. Thanks again for all of your past and future support. You all are fantastic.

Jun 6, 2022 My wife went back to work today. My son and daughter are in charge of taking care of me. My kids are fantastic. They made me breakfast already and helped me check all of my vitals. My daughter really shines here. She's such a little nurse and caretaker. ❤️❤️

Jun 6, 2022 I'm still in pain, but I'm not in as much pain as I was a couple days ago. I'm walking around a little better and a little more every day. I really hate just sitting around and not doing anything, but it's hard to do much else besides watch TV. I am enjoying my patio though. 💪

Jun 16, 2022 It's been a while. It's time to update this thread! I am doing great, IMO. I have lots of energy. I feel great. I can do a lot more than I previously could. I still have a limited range of motion due to my sternum being broken and still healing. i.e. I can't wash my back or legs.

Jun 16, 2022 I started back to work yesterday. I was cleared to do 20 hours this week by my doctor and I'm hoping to be cleared full time next week. I work from home, so if I can sit in front of a TV, I can sit in front of a computer, right?

Jun 16, 2022 My home nurses have been absolutely fantastic.😂 My kids make me breakfast every morning. And I could not have done any of this without my rock star wife. Words can't describe how much she's done for me throughout all of this. I am looking forward to continuing to improve. ♥️

Jun 16, 2022 You all have been absolutely wonderful through all of this too. I appreciate all of your love, support, and check-ins. Seriously. It means more than you know.

I have a check-up at the end of the month to make sure all is well. I'll update again in a couple weeks after that appt.

Jun 28, 2022 My doctor said everything looks great. He said it doesn't look like I had open heart surgery a month ago.💪 He said I have zero restrictions and that I can resume normal life. I can drive and I can go out on my boat! ❤️❤️❤️ I'm so happy right now! 🔥🚀

Jul 15, 2022 I started cardiac rehab this week. After 2 sessions the nurse said I'm on "Week 4" already. She doesn't believe with my initial intake stress test if I'll really be able to improve on it that much. 🤣 TL;DR I am a rock star and kicking ass. Feeling great. Life's great. 😍

Aug 28, 2022 Yesterday was 3 months since my open heart surgery. I'm going great! I'd guess essentially back to normal. My sternum is still not fully healed, that'll take more time, but energy and capability are basically back to what I was like last summer. I'm very happy with the results.

Aug 28, 2022 I'm very happy to be able to exercise daily, go boating on the weekends AND swim and paddleboard. I was annoyed that I couldn't do these things a month ago. I had a cardiologist appt. two weeks ago. He said he hopes the valve lasts me the rest of my life and to see him in a year.

Aug 28, 2022 As a final post to this thread, I want to thank each and every one of you again that commented, liked, shared and DMed me throughout all of this. The love and support from Twitter and the #Bitcoin community was unfathomable. You all made a difference in my life and my recovery.❤️

@ c6f7077f:ad5d48fd

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

Consider the Most Fundamental Questions

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

The Origin of the Universe

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

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

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

The Origin of Life on Earth

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

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

The Question of Certainty

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

Reclaiming Control of Science and Education

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

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

@ e6ce6154:275e3444

Este artigo foi censurado pelo estado e fomos obrigados a deletá-lo após ameaça de homens armados virem nos visitar e agredir nossa vida e propriedade.

Isto é mais uma prova que os autoproclamados antirracistas são piores que os racistas.

https://rothbardbrasil.com/pelo-direito-de-ser-racista-fascista-machista-e-homofobico

Segue artigo na íntegra. 👇

Sem dúvida, a escalada autoritária do totalitarismo cultural progressista nos últimos anos tem sido sumariamente deletéria e prejudicial para a liberdade de expressão. Como seria de se esperar, a cada dia que passa o autoritarismo progressista continua a se expandir de maneira irrefreável, prejudicando a liberdade dos indivíduos de formas cada vez mais deploráveis e contundentes.

Com a ascensão da tirania politicamente correta e sua invasão a todos os terrenos culturais, o autoritarismo progressista foi se alastrando e consolidando sua hegemonia em determinados segmentos. Com a eventual eclosão e a expansão da opressiva e despótica cultura do cancelamento — uma progênie inevitável do totalitarismo progressista —, todas as pessoas que manifestam opiniões, crenças ou posicionamentos que não estão alinhados com as pautas universitárias da moda tornam-se um alvo.

Há algumas semanas, vimos a enorme repercussão causada pelo caso envolvendo o jogador profissional de vôlei Maurício Sousa, que foi cancelado pelo simples fato de ter emitido sua opinião pessoal sobre um personagem de história em quadrinhos, Jon Kent, o novo Superman, que é bissexual. Maurício Sousa reprovou a conduta sexual do personagem, o que é um direito pessoal inalienável que ele tem. Ele não é obrigado a gostar ou aprovar a bissexualidade. Como qualquer pessoa, ele tem o direito pleno de criticar tudo aquilo que ele não gosta. No entanto, pelo simples fato de emitir a sua opinião pessoal, Maurício Sousa foi acusado de homofobia e teve seu contrato rescindido, sendo desligado do Minas Tênis Clube.

Lamentavelmente, Maurício Sousa não foi o primeiro e nem será o último indivíduo a sofrer com a opressiva e autoritária cultura do cancelamento. Como uma tirania cultural que está em plena ascensão e usufrui de um amplo apoio do establishment, essa nova forma de totalitarismo cultural colorido e festivo está se impondo de formas e maneiras bastante contundentes em praticamente todas as esferas da sociedade contemporânea. Sua intenção é relegar ao ostracismo todos aqueles que não se curvam ao totalitarismo progressista, criminalizando opiniões e crenças que divergem do culto à libertinagem hedonista pós-moderna. Oculto por trás de todo esse ativismo autoritário, o que temos de fato é uma profunda hostilidade por padrões morais tradicionalistas, cristãos e conservadores.

No entanto, é fundamental entendermos uma questão imperativa, que explica em partes o conflito aqui criado — todos os progressistas contemporâneos são crias oriundas do direito positivo. Por essa razão, eles jamais entenderão de forma pragmática e objetiva conceitos como criminalidade, direitos de propriedade, agressão e liberdade de expressão pela perspectiva do jusnaturalismo, que é manifestamente o direito em seu estado mais puro, correto, ético e equilibrado.

Pela ótica jusnaturalista, uma opinião é uma opinião. Ponto final. E absolutamente ninguém deve ser preso, cancelado, sabotado ou boicotado por expressar uma opinião particular sobre qualquer assunto. Palavras não agridem ninguém, portanto jamais poderiam ser consideradas um crime em si. Apenas deveriam ser tipificados como crimes agressões de caráter objetivo, como roubo, sequestro, fraude, extorsão, estupro e infrações similares, que representam uma ameaça direta à integridade física da vítima, ou que busquem subtrair alguma posse empregando a violência.

Infelizmente, a geração floquinho de neve — terrivelmente histérica, egocêntrica e sensível — fica profundamente ofendida e consternada sempre que alguém defende posicionamentos contrários à religião progressista. Por essa razão, os guerreiros da justiça social sinceramente acreditam que o papai-estado deve censurar todas as opiniões que eles não gostam de ouvir, assim como deve também criar leis para encarcerar todos aqueles que falam ou escrevem coisas que desagradam a militância.

Como a geração floquinho de neve foi criada para acreditar que todas as suas vontades pessoais e disposições ideológicas devem ser sumariamente atendidas pelo papai-estado, eles embarcaram em uma cruzada moral que pretende erradicar todas as coisas que são ofensivas à ideologia progressista; só assim eles poderão deflagrar na Terra o seu tão sonhado paraíso hedonista e igualitário, de inimaginável esplendor e felicidade.

Em virtude do seu comportamento intrinsecamente despótico, autoritário e egocêntrico, acaba sendo inevitável que militantes progressistas problematizem tudo aquilo que os desagrada.

Como são criaturas inúteis destituídas de ocupação real e verdadeiro sentido na vida, sendo oprimidas unicamente na sua própria imaginação, militantes progressistas precisam constantemente inventar novos vilões para serem combatidos.

Partindo dessa perspectiva, é natural para a militância que absolutamente tudo que exista no mundo e que não se enquadra com as regras autoritárias e restritivas da religião progressista seja encarado como um problema. Para a geração floquinho de neve, o capitalismo é um problema. O fascismo é um problema. A iniciativa privada é um problema. O homem branco, tradicionalista, conservador e heterossexual é um problema. A desigualdade é um problema. A liberdade é um problema. Monteiro Lobato é um problema (sim, até mesmo o renomado ícone da literatura brasileira, autor — entre outros títulos — de Urupês, foi vítima da cultura do cancelamento, acusado de ser racista e eugenista).

Para a esquerda, praticamente tudo é um problema. Na mentalidade da militância progressista, tudo é motivo para reclamação. Foi em função desse comportamento histérico, histriônico e infantil que o famoso pensador conservador-libertário americano P. J. O’Rourke afirmou que “o esquerdismo é uma filosofia de pirralhos chorões”. O que é uma verdade absoluta e irrefutável em todos os sentidos.

De fato, todas as filosofias de esquerda de forma geral são idealizações utópicas e infantis de um mundo perfeito. Enquanto o mundo não se transformar naquela colorida e vibrante utopia que é apresentada pela cartilha socialista padrão, militantes continuarão a reclamar contra tudo o que existe no mundo de forma agressiva, visceral e beligerante. Evidentemente, eles não vão fazer absolutamente nada de positivo ou construtivo para que o mundo se transforme no gracioso paraíso que eles tanto desejam ver consolidado, mas eles continuarão a berrar e vociferar muito em sua busca incessante pela utopia, marcando presença em passeatas inúteis ou combatendo o fascismo imaginário nas redes sociais.

Sem dúvida, estamos muito perto de ver leis absurdas e estúpidas sendo implementadas, para agradar a militância da terra colorida do assistencialismo eterno onde nada é escasso e tudo cai do céu. Em breve, você não poderá usar calças pretas, pois elas serão consideradas peças de vestuário excessivamente heterossexuais. Apenas calças amarelas ou coloridas serão permitidas. Você também terá que tingir de cor-de-rosa uma mecha do seu cabelo; pois preservar o seu cabelo na sua cor natural é heteronormativo demais da sua parte, sendo portanto um componente demasiadamente opressor da sociedade.

Você também não poderá ver filmes de guerra ou de ação, apenas comédias românticas, pois certos gêneros de filmes exaltam a violência do patriarcado e isso impede o mundo de se tornar uma graciosa festa colorida de fraternidades universitárias ungidas por pôneis resplandecentes, hedonismo infinito, vadiagem universitária e autogratificação psicodélica, que certamente são elementos indispensáveis para se produzir o paraíso na Terra.

Sabemos perfeitamente, no entanto, que dentre as atitudes “opressivas” que a militância progressista mais se empenha em combater, estão o racismo, o fascismo, o machismo e a homofobia. No entanto, é fundamental entender que ser racista, fascista, machista ou homofóbico não são crimes em si. Na prática, todos esses elementos são apenas traços de personalidade; e eles não podem ser pura e simplesmente criminalizados porque ideólogos e militantes progressistas iluminados não gostam deles.

Tanto pela ética quanto pela ótica jusnaturalista, é facilmente compreensível entender que esses traços de personalidade não podem ser criminalizados ou proibidos simplesmente porque integrantes de uma ideologia não tem nenhuma apreciação ou simpatia por eles. Da mesma forma, nenhum desses traços de personalidade representa em si um perigo para a sociedade, pelo simples fato de existir. Por incrível que pareça, até mesmo o machismo, o racismo, o fascismo e a homofobia merecem a devida apologia.

Mas vamos analisar cada um desses tópicos separadamente para entender isso melhor.

Racismo

Quando falamos no Japão, normalmente não fazemos nenhuma associação da sociedade japonesa com o racismo. No entanto, é incontestável o fato de que a sociedade japonesa pode ser considerada uma das sociedades mais racistas do mundo. E a verdade é que não há absolutamente nada de errado com isso.

Aproximadamente 97% da população do Japão é nativa; apenas 3% do componente populacional é constituído por estrangeiros (a população do Japão é estimada em aproximadamente 126 milhões de habitantes). Isso faz a sociedade japonesa ser uma das mais homogêneas do mundo. As autoridades japonesas reconhecidamente dificultam processos de seleção e aplicação a estrangeiros que desejam se tornar residentes. E a maioria dos japoneses aprova essa decisão.

Diversos estabelecimentos comerciais como hotéis, bares e restaurantes por todo o país tem placas na entrada que dizem “somente para japoneses” e a maioria destes estabelecimentos se recusa ostensivamente a atender ou aceitar clientes estrangeiros, não importa quão ricos ou abastados sejam.

Na Terra do Sol Nascente, a hostilidade e a desconfiança natural para com estrangeiros é tão grande que até mesmo indivíduos que nascem em algum outro país, mas são filhos de pais japoneses, não são considerados cidadãos plenamente japoneses.

Se estes indivíduos decidem sair do seu país de origem para se estabelecer no Japão — mesmo tendo descendência nipônica legítima e inquestionável —, eles enfrentarão uma discriminação social considerável, especialmente se não dominarem o idioma japonês de forma impecável. Esse fato mostra que a discriminação é uma parte tão indissociável quanto elementar da sociedade japonesa, e ela está tão profundamente arraigada à cultura nipônica que é praticamente impossível alterá-la ou atenuá-la por qualquer motivo.

A verdade é que — quando falamos de um país como o Japão — nem todos os discursos politicamente corretos do mundo, nem a histeria progressista ocidental mais inflamada poderão algum dia modificar, extirpar ou sequer atenuar o componente racista da cultura nipônica. E isso é consequência de uma questão tão simples quanto primordial: discriminar faz parte da natureza humana, sendo tanto um direito individual quanto um elemento cultural inerente à muitas nações do mundo. Os japoneses não tem problema algum em admitir ou institucionalizar o seu preconceito, justamente pelo fato de que a ideologia politicamente correta não tem no oriente a força e a presença que tem no ocidente.

E é fundamental enfatizar que, sendo de natureza pacífica — ou seja, não violando nem agredindo terceiros —, a discriminação é um recurso natural dos seres humanos, que está diretamente associada a questões como familiaridade e segurança.

Absolutamente ninguém deve ser forçado a apreciar ou integrar-se a raças, etnias, pessoas ou tribos que não lhe transmitem sentimentos de segurança ou familiaridade. Integração forçada é o verdadeiro crime, e isso diversos países europeus — principalmente os escandinavos (países que lideram o ranking de submissão à ideologia politicamente correta) — aprenderam da pior forma possível.

A integração forçada com imigrantes islâmicos resultou em ondas de assassinato, estupro e violência inimagináveis para diversos países europeus, até então civilizados, que a imprensa ocidental politicamente correta e a militância progressista estão permanentemente tentando esconder, porque não desejam que o ocidente descubra como a agenda “humanitária” de integração forçada dos povos muçulmanos em países do Velho Mundo resultou em algumas das piores chacinas e tragédias na história recente da Europa.

Ou seja, ao discriminarem estrangeiros, os japoneses estão apenas se protegendo e lutando para preservar sua nação como um ambiente cultural, étnico e social que lhe é seguro e familiar, assim se opondo a mudanças bruscas, indesejadas e antinaturais, que poderiam comprometer a estabilidade social do país.

A discriminação — sendo de natureza pacífica —, é benévola, salutar e indubitavelmente ajuda a manter a estabilidade social da comunidade. Toda e qualquer forma de integração forçada deve ser repudiada com veemência, pois, mais cedo ou mais tarde, ela irá subverter a ordem social vigente, e sempre será acompanhada de deploráveis e dramáticos resultados.

Para citar novamente os países escandinavos, a Suécia é um excelente exemplo do que não fazer. Tendo seguido o caminho contrário ao da discriminação racional praticada pela sociedade japonesa, atualmente a sociedade sueca — além de afundar de forma consistente na lama da libertinagem, da decadência e da deterioração progressista — sofre em demasia com os imigrantes muçulmanos, que foram deixados praticamente livres para matar, saquear, esquartejar e estuprar quem eles quiserem. Hoje, eles são praticamente intocáveis, visto que denunciá-los, desmoralizá-los ou acusá-los de qualquer crime é uma atitude politicamente incorreta e altamente reprovada pelo establishment progressista. A elite socialista sueca jamais se atreve a acusá-los de qualquer crime, pois temem ser classificados como xenófobos e intolerantes. Ou seja, a desgraça da Europa, sobretudo dos países escandinavos, foi não ter oferecido nenhuma resistência à ideologia progressista politicamente correta. Hoje, eles são totalmente submissos a ela.

O exemplo do Japão mostra, portanto — para além de qualquer dúvida —, a importância ética e prática da discriminação, que é perfeitamente aceitável e natural, sendo uma tendência inerente aos seres humanos, e portanto intrínseca a determinados comportamentos, sociedades e culturas.

Indo ainda mais longe nessa questão, devemos entender que na verdade todos nós discriminamos, e não existe absolutamente nada de errado nisso. Discriminar pessoas faz parte da natureza humana e quem se recusa a admitir esse fato é um hipócrita. Mulheres discriminam homens na hora de selecionar um parceiro; elas avaliam diversos quesitos, como altura, aparência, status social, condição financeira e carisma. E dentre suas opções, elas sempre escolherão o homem mais atraente, másculo e viril, em detrimento de todos os baixinhos, calvos, carentes, frágeis e inibidos que possam estar disponíveis. Da mesma forma, homens sempre terão preferência por mulheres jovens, atraentes e delicadas, em detrimento de todas as feministas de meia-idade, acima do peso, de cabelo pintado, que são mães solteiras e militantes socialistas. A própria militância progressista discrimina pessoas de forma virulenta e intransigente, como fica evidente no tratamento que dispensam a mulheres bolsonaristas e a negros de direita.

A verdade é que — não importa o nível de histeria da militância progressista — a discriminação é inerente à condição humana e um direito natural inalienável de todos. É parte indissociável da natureza humana e qualquer pessoa pode e deve exercer esse direito sempre que desejar. Não existe absolutamente nada de errado em discriminar pessoas. O problema real é a ideologia progressista e o autoritarismo politicamente correto, movimentos tirânicos que não respeitam o direito das pessoas de discriminar.

Fascismo

Quando falamos de fascismo, precisamos entender que, para a esquerda política, o fascismo é compreendido como um conceito completamente divorciado do seu significado original. Para um militante de esquerda, fascista é todo aquele que defende posicionamentos contrários ao progressismo, não se referindo necessariamente a um fascista clássico.

Mas, seja como for, é necessário entender que — como qualquer ideologia política — até mesmo o fascismo clássico tem o direito de existir e ocupar o seu devido lugar; portanto, fascistas não devem ser arbitrariamente censurados, apesar de defenderem conceitos que representam uma completa antítese de tudo aquilo que é valioso para os entusiastas da liberdade.

Em um país como o Brasil, onde socialistas e comunistas tem total liberdade para se expressar, defender suas ideologias e até mesmo formar partidos políticos, não faz absolutamente o menor sentido que fascistas — e até mesmo nazistas assumidos — sofram qualquer tipo de discriminação. Embora socialistas e comunistas se sintam moralmente superiores aos fascistas (ou a qualquer outra filosofia política ou escola de pensamento), sabemos perfeitamente que o seu senso de superioridade é fruto de uma pueril romantização universitária da sua própria ideologia. A história mostra efetivamente que o socialismo clássico e o comunismo causaram muito mais destruição do que o fascismo.

Portanto, se socialistas e comunistas tem total liberdade para se expressar, não existe a menor razão para que fascistas não usufruam dessa mesma liberdade.

É claro, nesse ponto, seremos invariavelmente confrontados por um oportuno dilema — o famoso paradoxo da intolerância, de Karl Popper. Até que ponto uma sociedade livre e tolerante deve tolerar a intolerância (inerente a ideologias totalitárias)?

As leis de propriedade privada resolveriam isso em uma sociedade livre. O mais importante a levarmos em consideração no atual contexto, no entanto — ao defender ou criticar uma determinada ideologia, filosofia ou escola de pensamento —, é entender que, seja ela qual for, ela tem o direito de existir. E todas as pessoas que a defendem tem o direito de defendê-la, da mesma maneira que todos os seus detratores tem o direito de criticá-la.

Essa é uma forte razão para jamais apoiarmos a censura. Muito pelo contrário, devemos repudiar com veemência e intransigência toda e qualquer forma de censura, especialmente a estatal.

Existem duas fortes razões para isso:

A primeira delas é a volatilidade da censura (especialmente a estatal). A censura oficial do governo, depois que é implementada, torna-se absolutamente incontrolável. Hoje, ela pode estar apontada para um grupo de pessoas cujas ideias divergem das suas. Mas amanhã, ela pode estar apontada justamente para as ideias que você defende. É fundamental, portanto, compreendermos que a censura estatal é incontrolável. Sob qualquer ponto de vista, é muito mais vantajoso que exista uma vasta pluralidade de ideias conflitantes na sociedade competindo entre si, do que o estado decidir que ideias podem ser difundidas ou não.

Além do mais, libertários e anarcocapitalistas não podem nunca esperar qualquer tipo de simpatia por parte das autoridades governamentais. Para o estado, seria infinitamente mais prático e vantajoso criminalizar o libertarianismo e o anarcocapitalismo — sob a alegação de que são filosofias perigosas difundidas por extremistas radicais que ameaçam o estado democrático de direito — do que o fascismo ou qualquer outra ideologia centralizada em governos burocráticos e onipotentes. Portanto, defender a censura, especialmente a estatal, representa sempre um perigo para o próprio indivíduo, que mais cedo ou mais tarde poderá ver a censura oficial do sistema se voltar contra ele.

Outra razão pela qual libertários jamais devem defender a censura, é porque — ao contrário dos estatistas — não é coerente que defensores da liberdade se comportem como se o estado fosse o seu papai e o governo fosse a sua mamãe. Não devemos terceirizar nossas próprias responsabilidades, tampouco devemos nos comportar como adultos infantilizados. Assumimos a responsabilidade de combater todas as ideologias e filosofias que agridem a liberdade e os seres humanos. Não procuramos políticos ou burocratas para executar essa tarefa por nós.

Portanto, se você ver um fascista sendo censurado nas redes sociais ou em qualquer outro lugar, assuma suas dores. Sinta-se compelido a defendê-lo, mostre aos seus detratores que ele tem todo direito de se expressar, como qualquer pessoa. Você não tem obrigação de concordar com ele ou apreciar as ideias que ele defende. Mas silenciar arbitrariamente qualquer pessoa não é uma pauta que honra a liberdade.

Se você não gosta de estado, planejamento central, burocracia, impostos, tarifas, políticas coletivistas, nacionalistas e desenvolvimentistas, mostre com argumentos coesos e convincentes porque a liberdade e o livre mercado são superiores a todos esses conceitos. Mas repudie a censura com intransigência e mordacidade.

Em primeiro lugar, porque você aprecia e defende a liberdade de expressão para todas as pessoas. E em segundo lugar, por entender perfeitamente que — se a censura eventualmente se tornar uma política de estado vigente entre a sociedade — é mais provável que ela atinja primeiro os defensores da liberdade do que os defensores do estado.

Machismo

Muitos elementos do comportamento masculino que hoje são atacados com virulência e considerados machistas pelo movimento progressista são na verdade manifestações naturais intrínsecas ao homem, que nossos avôs cultivaram ao longo de suas vidas sem serem recriminados por isso. Com a ascensão do feminismo, do progressismo e a eventual problematização do sexo masculino, o antagonismo militante dos principais líderes da revolução sexual da contracultura passou a naturalmente condenar todos os atributos genuinamente masculinos, por considerá-los símbolos de opressão e dominação social.

Apesar do Brasil ser uma sociedade liberal ultra-progressista, onde o estado protege mais as mulheres do que as crianças — afinal, a cada semana novas leis são implementadas concedendo inúmeros privilégios e benefícios às mulheres, aos quais elas jamais teriam direito em uma sociedade genuinamente machista e patriarcal —, a esquerda política persiste em tentar difundir a fantasia da opressão masculina e o mito de que vivemos em uma sociedade machista e patriarcal.

Como sempre, a realidade mostra um cenário muito diferente daquilo que é pregado pela militância da terra da fantasia. O Brasil atual não tem absolutamente nada de machista ou patriarcal. No Brasil, mulheres podem votar, podem ocupar posições de poder e autoridade tanto na esfera pública quanto em companhias privadas, podem se candidatar a cargos políticos, podem ser vereadoras, deputadas, governadoras, podem ser proprietárias do próprio negócio, podem se divorciar, podem dirigir, podem comprar armas, podem andar de biquíni nas praias, podem usar saias extremamente curtas, podem ver programas de televisão sobre sexo voltados única e exclusivamente para o público feminino, podem se casar com outras mulheres, podem ser promíscuas, podem consumir bebidas alcoólicas ao ponto da embriaguez, e podem fazer praticamente tudo aquilo que elas desejarem. No Brasil do século XXI, as mulheres são genuinamente livres para fazer as próprias escolhas em praticamente todos os aspectos de suas vidas. O que mostra efetivamente que a tal opressão do patriarcado não existe.

O liberalismo social extremo do qual as mulheres usufruem no Brasil atual — e que poderíamos estender a toda a sociedade contemporânea ocidental — é suficiente para desmantelar completamente a fábula feminista da sociedade patriarcal machista e opressora, que existe única e exclusivamente no mundinho de fantasias ideológicas da esquerda progressista.

Tão importante quanto, é fundamental compreender que nenhum homem é obrigado a levar o feminismo a sério ou considerá-lo um movimento social e político legítimo. Para um homem, ser considerado machista ou até mesmo assumir-se como um não deveria ser um problema. O progressismo e o feminismo — com o seu nefasto hábito de demonizar os homens, bem como todos os elementos inerentes ao comportamento e a cultura masculina — é que são o verdadeiro problema, conforme tentam modificar o homem para transformá-lo em algo que ele não é nem deveria ser: uma criatura dócil, passiva e submissa, que é comandada por ideologias hostis e antinaturais, que não respeitam a hierarquia de uma ordem social milenar e condições inerentes à própria natureza humana. Com o seu hábito de tentar modificar tudo através de leis e decretos, o feminismo e o progressismo mostram efetivamente que o seu real objetivo é criminalizar a masculinidade.

A verdade é que — usufruindo de um nível elevado de liberdades — não existe praticamente nada que a mulher brasileira do século XXI não possa fazer. Adicionalmente, o governo dá as mulheres uma quantidade tão avassaladora de vantagens, privilégios e benefícios, que está ficando cada vez mais difícil para elas encontrarem razões válidas para reclamarem da vida. Se o projeto de lei que pretende fornecer um auxílio mensal de mil e duzentos reais para mães solteiras for aprovado pelo senado, muitas mulheres que tem filhos não precisarão nem mesmo trabalhar para ter sustento. E tantas outras procurarão engravidar, para ter direito a receber uma mesada mensal do governo até o seu filho completar a maioridade.

O que a militância colorida da terra da fantasia convenientemente ignora — pois a realidade nunca corresponde ao seu conto de fadas ideológico — é que o mundo de uma forma geral continua sendo muito mais implacável com os homens do que é com as mulheres. No Brasil, a esmagadora maioria dos suicídios é praticada por homens, a maioria das vítimas de homicídio são homens e de cada quatro moradores de rua, três são homens. Mas é evidente que uma sociedade liberal ultra-progressista não se importa com os homens, pois ela não é influenciada por fatos concretos ou pela realidade. Seu objetivo é simplesmente atender as disposições de uma agenda ideológica, não importa quão divorciadas da realidade elas são.

O nível exacerbado de liberdades sociais e privilégios governamentais dos quais as mulheres brasileiras usufruem é suficiente para destruir a fantasiosa fábula da sociedade machista, opressora e patriarcal. Se as mulheres brasileiras não estão felizes, a culpa definitivamente não é dos homens. Se a vasta profusão de liberdades, privilégios e benefícios da sociedade ocidental não as deixa plenamente saciadas e satisfeitas, elas podem sempre mudar de ares e tentar uma vida mais abnegada e espartana em países como Irã, Paquistão ou Afeganistão. Quem sabe assim elas não se sentirão melhores e mais realizadas?

Homofobia

Quando falamos em homofobia, entramos em uma categoria muito parecida com a do racismo: o direito de discriminação é totalmente válido. Absolutamente ninguém deve ser obrigado a aceitar homossexuais ou considerar o homossexualismo como algo normal. Sendo cristão, não existe nem sequer a mais vaga possibilidade de que algum dia eu venha a aceitar o homossexualismo como algo natural. O homossexualismo se qualifica como um grave desvio de conduta e um pecado contra o Criador.

A Bíblia proíbe terminantemente conduta sexual imoral, o que — além do homossexualismo — inclui adultério, fornicação, incesto e bestialidade, entre outras formas igualmente pérfidas de degradação.

Segue abaixo três passagens bíblicas que proíbem terminantemente a conduta homossexual:

“Não te deitarás com um homem como se deita com uma mulher. Isso é abominável!” (Levítico 18:22 — King James Atualizada)

“Se um homem se deitar com outro homem, como se deita com mulher, ambos terão praticado abominação; certamente serão mortos; o seu sangue estará sobre eles.” (Levítico 20:13 — João Ferreira de Almeida Atualizada)

“O quê! Não sabeis que os injustos não herdarão o reino de Deus? Não sejais desencaminhados. Nem fornicadores, nem idólatras, nem adúlteros, nem homens mantidos para propósitos desnaturais, nem homens que se deitam com homens, nem ladrões, nem gananciosos, nem beberrões, nem injuriadores, nem extorsores herdarão o reino de Deus.” (1 Coríntios 6:9,10 —Tradução do Novo Mundo das Escrituras Sagradas com Referências)

Se você não é religioso, pode simplesmente levar em consideração o argumento do respeito pela ordem natural. A ordem natural é incondicional e incisiva com relação a uma questão: o complemento de tudo o que existe é o seu oposto, não o seu igual. O complemento do dia é a noite, o complemento da luz é a escuridão, o complemento da água, que é líquida, é a terra, que é sólida. E como sabemos o complemento do macho — de sua respectiva espécie — é a fêmea.

Portanto, o complemento do homem, o macho da espécie humana, é naturalmente a mulher, a fêmea da espécie humana. Um homem e uma mulher podem naturalmente se reproduzir, porque são um complemento biológico natural. Por outro lado, um homem e outro homem são incapazes de se reproduzir, assim como uma mulher e outra mulher.

Infelizmente, o mundo atual está longe de aceitar como plenamente estabelecida a ordem natural pelo simples fato dela existir, visto que tentam subvertê-la a qualquer custo, não importa o malabarismo intelectual que tenham que fazer para justificar os seus pontos de vista distorcidos e antinaturais. A libertinagem irrefreável e a imoralidade bestial do mundo contemporâneo pós-moderno não reconhecem nenhum tipo de limite. Quem tenta restabelecer princípios morais salutares é imediatamente considerado um vilão retrógrado e repressivo, sendo ativamente demonizado pela militância do hedonismo, da luxúria e da licenciosidade desenfreada e sem limites.

Definitivamente, fazer a apologia da moralidade, do autocontrole e do autodomínio não faz nenhum sucesso na Sodoma e Gomorra global dos dias atuais. O que faz sucesso é lacração, devassidão, promiscuidade e prazeres carnais vazios. O famoso escritor e filósofo francês Albert Camus expressou uma verdade contundente quando disse: “Uma só frase lhe bastará para definir o homem moderno — fornicava e lia jornais”.

Qualquer indivíduo tem o direito inalienável de discriminar ativamente homossexuais, pelo direito que ele julgar mais pertinente no seu caso. A objeção de consciência para qualquer situação é um direito natural dos indivíduos. Há alguns anos, um caso que aconteceu nos Estados Unidos ganhou enorme repercussão internacional, quando o confeiteiro Jack Phillips se recusou a fazer um bolo de casamento para o “casal” homossexual Dave Mullins e Charlie Craig.

Uma representação dos direitos civis do estado do Colorado abriu um inquérito contra o confeiteiro, alegando que ele deveria ser obrigado a atender todos os clientes, independente da orientação sexual, raça ou crença. Preste atenção nas palavras usadas — ele deveria ser obrigado a atender.

Como se recusou bravamente a ceder, o caso foi parar invariavelmente na Suprema Corte, que decidiu por sete a dois em favor de Jack Phillips, sob a alegação de que obrigar o confeiteiro a atender o “casal” homossexual era uma violação nefasta dos seus princípios religiosos. Felizmente, esse foi um caso em que a liberdade prevaleceu sobre a tirania progressista.

Evidentemente, homossexuais não devem ser agredidos, ofendidos, internados em clínicas contra a sua vontade, nem devem ser constrangidos em suas liberdades pelo fato de serem homossexuais. O que eles precisam entender é que a liberdade é uma via de mão dupla. Eles podem ter liberdade para adotar a conduta que desejarem e fazer o que quiserem (contanto que não agridam ninguém), mas da mesma forma, é fundamental respeitar e preservar a liberdade de terceiros que desejam rejeitá-los pacificamente, pelo motivo que for.

Afinal, ninguém tem a menor obrigação de aceitá-los, atendê-los ou sequer pensar que uma união estável entre duas pessoas do mesmo sexo — incapaz de gerar descendentes, e, portanto, antinatural — deva ser considerado um matrimônio de verdade. Absolutamente nenhuma pessoa, ideia, movimento, crença ou ideologia usufrui de plena unanimidade no mundo. Por que o homossexualismo deveria ter tal privilégio?

Homossexuais não são portadores de uma verdade definitiva, absoluta e indiscutível, que está acima da humanidade. São seres humanos comuns que — na melhor das hipóteses —, levam um estilo de vida que pode ser considerado “alternativo”, e absolutamente ninguém tem a obrigação de considerar esse estilo de vida normal ou aceitável. A única obrigação das pessoas é não interferir, e isso não implica uma obrigação em aceitar.

Discriminar homossexuais (assim como pessoas de qualquer outro grupo, raça, religião, nacionalidade ou etnia) é um direito natural por parte de todos aqueles que desejam exercer esse direito. E isso nem o direito positivo nem a militância progressista poderão algum dia alterar ou subverter. O direito natural e a inclinação inerente dos seres humanos em atender às suas próprias disposições é simplesmente imutável e faz parte do seu conjunto de necessidades.

Conclusão

A militância progressista é absurdamente autoritária, e todas as suas estratégias e disposições ideológicas mostram que ela está em uma guerra permanente contra a ordem natural, contra a liberdade e principalmente contra o homem branco, cristão, conservador e tradicionalista — possivelmente, aquilo que ela mais odeia e despreza.

Nós não podemos, no entanto, ceder ou dar espaço para a agenda progressista, tampouco pensar em considerar como sendo normais todas as pautas abusivas e tirânicas que a militância pretende estabelecer como sendo perfeitamente razoáveis e aceitáveis, quer a sociedade aceite isso ou não. Afinal, conforme formos cedendo, o progressismo tirânico e totalitário tende a ganhar cada vez mais espaço.

Quanto mais espaço o progressismo conquistar, mais corroída será a liberdade e mais impulso ganhará o totalitarismo. Com isso, a cultura do cancelamento vai acabar com carreiras, profissões e com o sustento de muitas pessoas, pelo simples fato de que elas discordam das pautas universitárias da moda.

A história mostra perfeitamente que quanto mais liberdade uma sociedade tem, mais progresso ela atinge. Por outro lado, quanto mais autoritária ela for, mais retrocessos ela sofrerá. O autoritarismo se combate com liberdade, desafiando as pautas de todos aqueles que persistem em implementar a tirania na sociedade. O politicamente correto é o nazismo dos costumes, que pretende subverter a moral através de uma cultura de vigilância policial despótica e autoritária, para que toda a sociedade seja subjugada pela agenda totalitária progressista.

Pois quanto a nós, precisamos continuar travando o bom combate em nome da liberdade. E isso inclui reconhecer que ideologias, hábitos e costumes de que não gostamos tem o direito de existir e até mesmo de serem defendidos.

@ 472f440f:5669301e

I had the pleasure of sitting back down with Will Reeves, Founder and CEO of Fold, on TFTC last week to discuss Fold's journey from a startup to (soon to be) a publicly listed company. I particularly liked this conversation because it was a great lens into the grit it takes to run a successful bitcoin company.

https://fountain.fm/episode/1FrspxmpK5bsoReGx73n

Building a successful company is extremely hard in its own right. Building a successful bitcoin company is significantly harder considering the fact that you're building a company in parallel with a nascent and volatile monetary asset that is monetizing in real time. Bitcoin adoption comes in waves. People flood in when the price is ripping and fade out when the price corrects and goes into a multi-year bear market before the tide comes back in. This means that your potential user base is expanding and contracting more than it would be in other industries. As a company you need to be able to absorb the incoming waves of new adopters and then capture and retain the users who stick around for the bear market.

To do this correctly, a founder and their team needs to thread many needles. First, can you assemble a team that can actually build something? Second, can you bring a product to market that people actually use because it provides value to them? Third, can you stick out against the crowd? So on and so forth. One of the most important aspects of building a bitcoin company during bitcoin's monetization phase is timing. There are many great ideas that people have in terms of companies, products and tools that can built using bitcoin. There are sci-fi futures that can be built today on bitcoin if people really wanted to.

The problem that arises is that adoption and understanding of bitcoin are at a point where, even though a functional product could be brought to market, it won't be adopted by a large number of people because there 1.) aren't enough people who would understand how to use it and 2.) for the people who do understand how to use it and could benefit from it, the universe of people they can interact with using that product is minuscule.

Timing is everything. And I think Fold nailed the timing of their product. Allowing people to passively stack sats by offering a product that enables them to go about their daily spending and get sats back instead of cash back rewards is a great first-touch bitcoin experience. Once Fold found their sticky user base and perfected their sats back experience, they began expanding their product offering to provide their users with more bitcoin services. Buy/sell bitcoin in-app, bill pay for sats back, and more. They'll eventually roll out a credit card and additional financial services. Start simple, provide something of value, nail the timing and then expand from there. That seems to be the recipe.

For any founders in the space reading this, I highly recommend you listen to the episode. Particularly for the advice Will gives about knowing when to sprint on product and when to lean into growth. Bear markets are for building and bull markets are for casting the widest net possible and capturing as many new users as possible.

At Ten31 we are extremely proud to back Fold and a number of other companies in the bitcoin space that understand the intricacies described above. We work with some of the best founders in the world. Founders who know how to eat glass with the best of them. Bitcoin can be a cruel mistress and no one knows that more intimately than the founders building bitcoin companies.

---

Final thought...

The NFL having a week 1 game in Brazil should get Roger Godell fired.

Enjoy your weekend, freaks.

@ 3f770d65:7a745b24

Habla is a new blogging platform that's based on Nostr. Or as various Nostr client developers like to call it:

"A way to get Derek Ross to stop sending walls of text".

You can edit posts, which is very nice.

@ d830ee7b:4e61cd62

ในโลกที่ Bitcoin เติบโตอย่างก้าวกระโดด ความต้องการในการทำธุรกรรมที่รวดเร็ว ปลอดภัย และเป็นส่วนตัว ก็เพิ่มสูงขึ้นตามไปด้วย

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ในปี 2023 Burak Keceli นักพัฒนา Bitcoin ผู้มากประสบการณ์ ได้เปิดตัว Ark Protocol ซึ่งเป็นเลเยอร์ 2 โปรโตคอล ที่เสนอแนวทางใหม่ในการทำธุรกรรม Bitcoin

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🤔 Ark Protocol คืออะไร?

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ลองนึกภาพ vUTXO (Virtual UTXO) เป็นเหมือนเหรียญ Bitcoin ดิจิทัล ที่ถูกเก็บไว้ในตู้นิรภัยสุดไฮเทค

ตู้นิรภัยนี้ตั้งอยู่นอกบล็อกเชน Bitcoin ทำให้การเข้าถึง vUTXO เป็นไปอย่างรวดเร็ว และไม่ต้องผ่านกระบวนการตรวจสอบที่ยุ่งยาก เหมือนกับการหยิบเหรียญจากกระเป๋า แทนที่จะต้องไปรื้อค้นหาในกองสมบัติขนาดใหญ่

vUTXO คือหัวใจสำคัญของ Ark ที่ทำให้การทำธุรกรรมมีความรวดเร็ว และมีค่าธรรมเนียมต่ำ เนื่องจากธุรกรรม vUTXO เกิดขึ้นนอกบล็อกเชน Bitcoin จึงไม่ต้องรอการยืนยัน (Confirmation) จากเครือข่าย Bitcoin

📌 Covenant สัญญาพิทักษ์ความปลอดภัย

เพื่อให้มั่นใจว่า vUTXO จะถูกใช้จ่ายอย่างถูกต้อง Ark ใช้ Covenant ซึ่งเปรียบเสมือนสัญญาที่กำหนดเงื่อนไขการใช้จ่าย vUTXO ล่วงหน้า

Covenant เหล่านี้ถูกเก็บไว้ใน vUTXO Tree ซึ่งเป็นเสมือนผังข้อมูลของ vUTXO ที่ช่วยให้ Ark สามารถจัดการ vUTXO ได้อย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ

และช่วยปกป้องความเป็นส่วนตัวของผู้ใช้ เหมือนกับการมีระบบรักษาความปลอดภัยหลายชั้น ที่ทำให้มั่นใจได้ว่า มีเพียงเจ้าของที่แท้จริงเท่านั้น จึงจะสามารถเข้าถึง vUTXO ได้

📌 vUTXO Tree ผังข้อมูลของ vUTXO

vUTXO Tree คือโครงสร้างข้อมูลที่ใช้จัดเก็บ vUTXO โดยใช้ Covenant ในการกำหนดเงื่อนไขการใช้จ่าย และสามารถนำ vUTXO กลับมาใช้ใหม่ได้ (Recycle) ทำให้ลดการใช้พื้นที่บนบล็อกเชน และเพิ่มความเป็นส่วนตัว

vUTXO Tree ช่วยให้ Ark สามารถจัดการ vUTXO จำนวนมากได้อย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ และลดความซับซ้อนในการทำธุรกรรม

⭐ ASP ผู้พิทักษ์แห่งโลก Ark

Ark Service Provider (ASP) คือผู้ดูแลระบบ Ark ที่เปรียบเสมือนธนาคารที่เก็บรักษา Bitcoin ของผู้ใช้ และให้บริการ vUTXO ASP ทำหน้าที่ตรวจสอบธุรกรรม อัพเดต vUTXO Tree และดูแลความปลอดภัยของระบบ ASP เปรียบเสมือนผู้ดูแลตู้นิรภัย ที่คอยดูแล vUTXO ของผู้ใช้ และอำนวยความสะดวกในการทำธุรกรรม

🧡 3 ขั้นตอนง่ายๆ สู่ธุรกรรม Bitcoin

Ark Protocol เปรียบเสมือนโลกใบใหม่ที่ถูกสร้างขึ้นเพื่อให้การทำธุรกรรม Bitcoin เป็นเรื่องง่าย รวดเร็ว และปลอดภัยยิ่งขึ้น การเดินทางในโลก Ark นั้นไม่ซับซ้อนอย่างที่คิด เพียงแค่ 3 ขั้นตอนง่ายๆ คุณก็สามารถสัมผัสประสบการณ์การใช้ Bitcoin แบบเหนือชั้นได้

1. ก้าวแรกสู่โลก Ark โดยแลก Bitcoin เป็น vUTXO

การเข้าสู่โลก Ark เริ่มต้นจากการฝาก Bitcoin ของคุุณเข้าสู่ Ark Service Provider (ASP) เปรียบเสมือนการเดินเข้าธนาคารเพื่อแลกเงินสดเป็นเช็ค

ASP จะทำหน้าที่ดูแลรักษา Bitcoin ของคุุณอย่างปลอดภัย และมอบ vUTXO ให้เป็นเสมือนเช็คดิจิทัลที่คุุณสามารถใช้จ่ายในโลก Ark ได้

• เลือก ASP / ก่อนอื่น คุุณต้องเลือก ASP ที่น่าเชื่อถือ โดยพิจารณาจากชื่อเสียง ค่าธรรมเนียม และบริการที่ ASP นั้นๆ มีให้บริการ

• ฝาก Bitcoin / เมื่อเลือก ASP ได้แล้ว คุุณสามารถฝาก Bitcoin ไปยังที่อยู่ Bitcoin ของ ASP ที่คุุณเลือก

• รับ vUTXO / เมื่อ ASP ได้รับ Bitcoin ของคุุณแล้ว ระบบจะทำการออก vUTXO ให้กับคุุณโดยอัตโนมัติ vUTXO นี้จะถูกเก็บไว้ใน vUTXO Tree ที่ ASP ดูแล มูลค่าของ vUTXO จะเท่ากับจำนวน Bitcoin ที่คุุณฝากเข้าไป

ตอนนี้คุุณพร้อมที่จะเริ่มต้นการเดินทางในโลก Ark แล้ว..

2. ธุรกรรมสายฟ้าแลบ ผ่านการส่ง vUTXO รวดเร็ว ปลอดภัย ไร้กังวล

vUTXO เปรียบเสมือนเช็คดิจิทัลที่ทำให้การทำธุรกรรม Bitcoin เป็นเรื่องง่าย รวดเร็ว และปลอดภัย

• ส่ง vUTXO ง่ายๆ / เพียงแค่ระบุจำนวน vUTXO ที่ต้องการส่ง และที่อยู่ Ark ของผู้รับ ธุรกรรมของคุณจะถูกดำเนินการทันที โดยไม่ต้องรอการยืนยันจากบล็อกเชน Bitcoin

• ค่าธรรมเนียมต่ำ / เนื่องจากธุรกรรม vUTXO เกิดขึ้นนอกบล็อกเชน Bitcoin จึงมีค่าธรรมเนียมที่ต่ำกว่าการทำธุรกรรมบนบล็อกเชน Bitcoin

• ความเป็นส่วนตัว / ข้อมูลธุรกรรม vUTXO จะถูกเก็บไว้ใน vUTXO Tree ซึ่ง ASP เป็นผู้ดูแล จึงมีความเป็นส่วนตัวมากกว่าการทำธุรกรรมบนบล็อกเชน Bitcoin

3. กลับสู่โลก Bitcoin ด้วยการแลก vUTXO คืนเป็น Bitcoin

เมื่อคุุณต้องการนำ Bitcoin ออกจากโลก Ark เพื่อนำไปใช้จ่ายในโลกภายนอก คุุณสามารถแลก vUTXO คืนเป็น Bitcoin ได้ง่ายๆ

• ส่งคำขอถอน / เพียงแค่ส่งคำขอถอน Bitcoin ไปยัง ASP พร้อมระบุจำนวน Bitcoin ที่ต้องการถอน และที่อยู่ Bitcoin ของคุุณ

• ASP ตรวจสอบและดำเนินการ / ASP จะตรวจสอบความถูกต้องของคำขอ และยอดคงเหลือ vUTXO ของคุุณ ก่อนทำการโอน Bitcoin ไปยังที่อยู่ Bitcoin ของคุุณ

สรุป / การทำธุรกรรมในโลก Ark นั้นง่าย รวดเร็ว และปลอดภัย เพียงแค่ 3 ขั้นตอน คุุณก็สามารถสัมผัสประสบการณ์การใช้ Bitcoin ผ่าน Ark ได้

หมายเหตุ

จากการศึกษาในเอกสารของทางผู้พัฒนา พบข้อสังเกตว่า.. การเลือก ASP ที่น่าเชื่อถือเป็นสิ่งสำคัญ เพราะ ASP จะทำหน้าที่ดูแลรักษา Bitcoin ของคุุณ ดังนั้น ควรศึกษาข้อมูล และเลือก ASP ที่มีชื่อเสียง มีระบบรักษาความปลอดภัยที่ดี และมีค่าธรรมเนียมที่เหมาะสม

Ark vs. Lightning Network

แม้ Lightning Network จะเป็นเลเยอร์ 2 ที่ได้รับความนิยมอย่างมากในปัจจุบัน แต่ Ark ก็มีข้อได้เปรียบและข้อเสียที่แตกต่างกันออกไป ดังนี้..

1. ด้านความปลอดภัย - Ark พึ่งพา ASP ในการดูแล Bitcoin และ vUTXO ดังนั้น ความปลอดภัยของ Ark จึงขึ้นอยู่กับความน่าเชื่อถือของ ASP - Lightning Network ใช้ Multisig และ Hash Time Locked Contract (HTLC) ในการรักษาความปลอดภัย ซึ่งไม่ต้องพึ่งพาบุคคลที่สาม แต่ผู้ใช้ต้องรับผิดชอบในการจัดการช่องทาง และป้องกันการโจมตีต่างๆ ด้วยตนเอง

2.ความสามารถในการรองรับปริมาณธุรกรรม (Scalability) - Ark สามารถรองรับปริมาณธุรกรรมได้สูง เนื่องจากธุรกรรมเกิดขึ้นนอกบล็อกเชน Bitcoin - Lightning Network สามารถรองรับปริมาณธุรกรรมได้สูง แต่อาจยังมีข้อจำกัดอยู่บ้าง เนื่องจากต้องอาศัยการเปิด-ปิดช่องทาง และการบริหารจัดการสภาพคล่องที่จำเป็นต้องมีประสบการณ์และความชำนาญสูง

3.ความซับซ้อนในการพัฒนา - การพัฒนาแอปพลิเคชันบน Ark อาจมีความซับซ้อนน้อยกว่า Lightning Network เนื่องจากไม่ต้องจัดการกับช่องทาง และสภาพคล่อง - การพัฒนาแอปพลิเคชันบน Lightning Network มีความซับซ้อน เนื่องจากต้องเข้าใจ Multisig, HTLC และการจัดการช่องทาง

4. การกระจายอำนาจ - Ark มีการกระจายอำนาจน้อยกว่า Lightning Network เนื่องจากต้องพึ่งพา ASP - Lightning Network มีการกระจายอำนาจมากกว่า เนื่องจากผู้ใช้สามารถเชื่อมต่อกันเองได้โดยตรง โดยไม่ต้องผ่านตัวกลาง

5.ความพร้อมในการใช้งาน - Ark ยังอยู่ในช่วงเริ่มต้นของการพัฒนา และยังไม่มีการใช้งานอย่างแพร่หลาย - Lightning Network มีการใช้งานจริงแล้ว และมีแอปพลิเคชัน Wallet และบริการต่างๆ ที่รองรับ

6.ความยืดหยุ่นในการใช้งาน - Ark ออกแบบมาเพื่อการชำระเงิน และอาจไม่เหมาะกับการใช้งานอื่นๆ เช่น Smart Contract - Lightning Network สามารถนำไปประยุกต์ใช้ได้หลากหลาย เช่น Micropayment, Streaming Payment, และ Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

7. ต้นทุนในการใช้งาน - ค่าธรรมเนียมในการทำธุรกรรม Ark ขึ้นอยู่กับ ASP - ค่าธรรมเนียมในการทำธุรกรรม Lightning Network ขึ้นอยู่กับ Routing Fee และค่าธรรมเนียมในการเปิด-ปิดช่องทาง

8. ความเสถียรของระบบ - Ark ยังเป็นเทคโนโลยีใหม่ ความเสถียรของระบบยังอยู่ในช่วงการทดสอบ - Lightning Network มีการใช้งานจริงมาระยะหนึ่งแล้ว และมีความเสถียรในระดับหนึ่ง

9. การสนับสนุนจากชุมชน - Ark ยังมีชุมชนผู้ใช้งานและนักพัฒนาที่เล็กกว่า Lightning Network - Lightning Network มีชุมชนผู้ใช้งานและนักพัฒนาที่ใหญ่ และมีการพัฒนาอย่างต่อเนื่อง

https://i.nostr.build/gAhg5rQoYU3WmsGy.jpg

📌 Ark Labs ก้าวสู่พัฒนาการใหม่บน Bitcoin

ในเดือนมิถุนายน 2024 ทีมพัฒนา Ark ได้ประกาศก่อตั้งบริษัท Ark Labs อย่างเป็นทางการ ภายใต้การสนับสนุนของ Vulpem Ventures บริษัท Venture Capital ที่มุ่งเน้นการลงทุนในเทคโนโลยี Blockchain และ Cryptocurrency

การก่อตั้ง Ark Labs ถือเป็นก้าวสำคัญของ Ark Protocol ที่แสดงให้เห็นถึงความมุ่งมั่นในการพัฒนาเทคโนโลยี และผลักดันให้ Ark กลายเป็นเลเยอร์ 2 โซลูชัน ที่ได้รับการยอมรับ และใช้งานอย่างแพร่หลาย

📌 ภารกิจของ Ark Labs

Ark Labs มี 2 ภารกิจหลัก คือ

• พัฒนา Ark Protocol แบบ Open Source Ark Labs มุ่งมั่นที่จะพัฒนา Ark Protocol ให้เป็น Open Source เพื่อให้ทุกคนสามารถเข้าถึง ใช้งาน และมีส่วนร่วมในการพัฒนาเทคโนโลยีได้

• สร้างบริการสำหรับผู้ใช้ Ark Ark Labs มีแผนที่จะสร้างบริการต่างๆ ที่ใช้งาน Ark Protocol เช่น Wallet, Payment Gateway, และ API เพื่อให้ผู้ใช้สามารถเข้าถึง Ark ได้ง่าย และสะดวกยิ่งขึ้น

📌 Ark Labs: ทีมผู้เชี่ยวชาญ ขับเคลื่อนอนาคตของ Bitcoin

Ark Labs นำโดย Marco Argentieri ผู้มีประสบการณ์ในวงการ Blockchain และ Cryptocurrency มายาวนาน ทีมงานของ Ark Labs ประกอบด้วยนักพัฒนา Bitcoin ผู้มากประสบการณ์ นักออกแบบ และผู้เชี่ยวชาญด้านการตลาด

แผนงานในอนาคต แอปพลิเคชันแรก และการเติบโตของระบบนิเวศ

Ark Labs มีแผนที่จะเปิดตัวแอปพลิเคชันแรกที่ใช้ Ark Protocol ภายในปี 2024 โดยแอปพลิเคชันนี้จะเน้นไปที่การทำธุรกรรม Bitcoin ที่รวดเร็ว ปลอดภัย และเป็นส่วนตัว

นอกจากนี้ Ark Labs ยังมีแผนที่จะขยายระบบนิเวศของ Ark โดยการสร้างความร่วมมือกับ Wallet ผู้ให้บริการแลกเปลี่ยน (Exchange) และธุรกิจต่างๆ เพื่อเพิ่มการใช้งาน Ark ให้แพร่หลายมากยิ่งขึ้น

บทสรุป

Ark คืออนาคตของ Bitcoin หรือไม่?

Ark Protocol คือเลเยอร์ 2 ที่น่าจับตามอง มาพร้อมกับแนวคิดที่ล้ำสมัย และศักยภาพในการยกระดับ Bitcoin ไปอีกขั้น แม้จะยังอยู่ในช่วงเริ่มต้น แต่ Ark ก็นำเสนอทางเลือกที่น่าสนใจ

หมายเหตุ บทความนี้นำเสนอข้อมูล Ark Protocol โดยอิงจากข้อมูลที่เผยแพร่โดย Ark Labs และแหล่งข้อมูลอื่นๆ ผู้อ่านควรศึกษาข้อมูลเพิ่มเติม และทำการวิเคราะห์ด้วยตนเองก่อนตัดสินใจลงทุนในเทคโนโลยีใดๆ

อย่างไรก็ตาม.. ยังมีคำถามอีกมากมายที่น่าสนใจเกี่ยวกับ Ark Protocol เช่น..

• กลไกการฝาก Bitcoin เข้าสู่ระบบ
• รายละเอียดเกี่ยวกับค่าธรรมเนียม
• และความสามารถในการรองรับปริมาณธุรกรรม (Scalability) เมื่อเทียบกับ Lightning Network

ซึ่งเราจะมาหาคำตอบร่วมกันในเวที Advanced Stage วันที่ 14 กันยายน 2024 ในงาน #TBC2024

มาร่วมเจาะลึก Ark Protocol และสำรวจศักยภาพของเลเยอร์ 2 โซลูชันนี้ไปพร้อมๆ กันครับ!

ศึกษาเพิ่มเติม

• https://ark-protocol.org/
• https://arkdev.info/docs/learn/intro
• https://arklabs.to/

@ e83b66a8:b0526c2b

The founder of Telegram has just been arrested in France. Charges include lack of cooperation with law enforcement, drug trafficking and fraud.

Aside from Telegram, social media is controlled by two billionaires who decide what you say, are themselves controlled by overbearing governments and make money through advertising and selling your personal data.

There is a different way.

NOSTR stands for Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted on Relays and it is a social media protocol in the same way http is a web protocol.

The protocol is open and anybody can build upon it. It has some fundamental concepts that are very different to existing social media platforms.

Firstly it is decentralised, it runs across relays and anybody can run a relay. They can be open or closed, public or private, free or paid.

Secondly as a user, you don’t have an account, you have a private key which is used to secure your data.

Your profile (account) is yours, you own and control it using your private keys and verified by others with your public key.

Your posts are yours and you can store them on your own relay in your own home or business or you can rely on free public relays or more feature rich paid public relays.

All your public data is signed by your private keys to verify it is you that owns it and all your private data is encrypted so nobody can read it.

Messages (i.e. think NOSTR WhatsApp) are encrypted with your private keys so NOBODY can hack it or listen in, not even the NSA through a companies backdoor. You message other users privately by encrypting messages to them using their public key, which they decrypt using their private key.

Relays store your data in a decentralised network of private and public relays and you discover relays automatically when searching for people or content.

Data is normally sent on the clearnet, but can be relayed across the darknet (Tor) in highly censored regions.

Because it is built using Bitcoin principles and technology, so it has Bitcoin money built in, meaning you actually send / receive money from / to any participant.

As money is built in, the commercial options are different to centralised corporate owned platforms. It would be technically possible to build a platform that supports advertising, however that hasn’t really happened because influencers can be paid directly from their audience in many different ways. Ad hoc tips, subscriptions, pay to view or pay per time models.

The great thing for content creators is that they control, own and keep all the money they make. There is no third party intermediary or merchant deciding whether they are allowed to be paid or not.

NOSTR is censorship resistant, as there is no way to stop anybody publishing anything they want, in the same way nobody can stop or interfere with a Bitcoin payment.

From an end users point of view, if they want to self censor, they can do this in multiple ways. You can mute users individually, or you can choose to use relays that adhere to your views or interests, so if you don’t want to see certain categories of content, you would avoid relays that carry those feeds. You can even run your own relay and curate content that you then charge other like minded users to connect to. You can of course connect to multiple relays for multiple different type of feed.

While NOSTR is a protocol, platforms have to be built to use it, so the first platforms were twitter like clients and they are still very prevalent. However, NOSTR now has clients that emulate most social media platforms, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Soundcloud, WhatsApp etc. They are even creating their own categories as well as emulating other functions such as Office Suite tools, collaborative calendars, contact lists or e-commerce shops.

If you want to give it a go, the easiest, but not the best, way to get started is download Primal on your phone from here:

https://primal.net/downloads

It will create a private key for you and setup a Bitcoin wallet.

Once you have done this you can visit me here:

nostr:npub1aqakd28d95muqlg6h6nwrvqq5925n354prayckr424k49vzjds4s0c237n

If you want to see a small part of the ecosystem, then visit https://www.nostrapps.com/ where volunteers are listing some of the many apps that exist already.

NOSTR is being backed by Jack Dorsey, Twitter founder, and you can see his account here:

nostr:npub1sg6plzptd64u62a878hep2kev88swjh3tw00gjsfl8f237lmu63q0uf63m

Or you can see his account like this:

https://primal.net/jack

Edward Snowden is also on the platform and you can find him here:

https://primal.net/Snowden

NOSTR has around 2 million users or public keys, although nobody really knows how many, because it is decentralised and not controlled or run by any person or organisation.

Once you’ve setup Primal, you can use those same private keys to access any platform you wish and you can use a browser extension such as Alby to manage your keys: https://getalby.com/

Primal looks great, but there are other better functioning twitter like clients, probably the most reliable for iPhone is Damus: https://www.nostrapps.com/apps/damus

or Amethyst for Android: https://nostrapps.com/amethyst

The content and user base is very Bitcoin and freedom focused right now, but more and more people are starting to use the various platforms and some are transferring exclusively to it.

Some of the more interesting projects right now are:

https://www.0xchat.com/#/ – Private messaging – think WhatsApp

https://zap.stream/ – Video streaming

https://fountain.fm/ – Podcasting

https://wavlake.com/ – Music streaming

https://shopstr.store/ – Online shop

https://npub.pro/ – Website creation tool

https://nostr.build/ – Media and file storage

https://relay.tools/ – Build and curate your own relay

https://creatr.nostr.wine/subscriptions/new-user – Creator tools

Remember, the same keys you created for Primal can be used across the whole ecosystem.

If you want to see some of the other apps that have been built on the NOSTR protocol visit: https://nostrapps.com/

@ 113958ea:f1ce9557

@ 5b0183ab:a114563e

Chef's notes

Growing up there are a few staple foods that stick with you. For me, it was my Grandma Betty's Chicken Dijon. It was my birthday request every year and every time we cook it up it touches my heart. Grandma Betty passed away a 7 years ago. This dish is dedicated to her, directly from her recipe book.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 10
• 🍳 Cook time: 35

Ingredients

• 4 Chicken Breasts
• 3 Tbsp Butter
• 2 Tbsp Flower
• 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
• 3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• Tomato Wedges

Directions

1. In large skillet, cook chicken in butter on medium heat till brown on both sides and cooked through (about 20 min)
2. Remove chicken and set aside
3. Stir flower into skillet drippings. (whisk thoroughly for best flavor)
4. Add chicken broth and cream. Whisk until sauce thickens. (about 5 minutes)
5. Add dijon mustard and stir to combine.
6. Place chicken breasts in skillet. Place lid on skillet and simmer on low. (10 minutes)
7. Slice tomato in wedges
8. Chop Parsley
9. Plate Chicken, pour cream sauce, tomato wedges and garnish with parsley.
10. Pairs well with steamed rice or pasta and your favorite vegetable(s) (I prefer sweat peas and Steamed Rice)

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

Nostr: a quick introduction, attempt #2

Nostr doesn't subscribe to any ideals of "free speech" as these belong to the realm of politics and assume a big powerful government that enforces a common ruleupon everybody else.

Nostr instead is much simpler, it simply says that servers are private property and establishes a generalized framework for people to connect to all these servers, creating a true free market in the process. In other words, Nostr is the public road that each market participant can use to build their own store or visit others and use their services.

(Of course a road is never truly public, in normal cases it's ran by the government, in this case it relies upon the previous existence of the internet with all its quirks and chaos plus a hand of government control, but none of that matters for this explanation).

More concretely speaking, Nostr is just a set of definitions of the formats of the data that can be passed between participants and their expected order, i.e. messages between clients (i.e. the program that runs on a user computer) and relays (i.e. the program that runs on a publicly accessible computer, a "server", generally with a domain-name associated) over a type of TCP connection (WebSocket) with cryptographic signatures. This is what is called a "protocol" in this context, and upon that simple base multiple kinds of sub-protocols can be added, like a protocol for "public-square style microblogging", "semi-closed group chat" or, I don't know, "recipe sharing and feedback".

@ e771af0b:8e8ed66f

Have you ever seen a relay and out of curiosity visited the https canonical of a relay by swapping out the wss with https? I sure have, and I believe others have too. When I ran https://nostr.sandwich.farm in late 2022/2023, I had thousands of hits to my relay's https canonical. Since then, I've dreamed of improving the look and feel of these generic default landing pages.

With the release of myrelay.page v0.2, relays can now host their own customizable micro-client at their https canonical.

Transform your relay's landing page from this:

or this:

to something like this:

I say "something like this" because each page is customizable at runtime via the page itself.

In a nutshell

myrelay.page is a self-configuring, Client-Side Rendered (CSR) micro-client specifically built to be hosted at relay canonicals, customizable at runtime via NIP-78. Check out a live example.

Features:

1. Dark or light theme
2. Join relay
3. Relay operator profile and feed
4. Zap relay operator
5. See people you follow who are on the relay
6. Customizable by the relay operator
7. Enable/disable blocks
8. Sort blocks
9. Add HTML blocks
10. Add image blocks
11. Add markdown blocks
12. Add feed blocks, with two layouts (grid/list) and customizable filters.

You can find a full list of features complete and todo here

Why I created myrelay.page

For several different reasons.

Firstly, the default, bland relay pages always seemed like a missed opportunity. I jotted down an idea to build a relay micro-client in early January 2023, but never had the time to start it.

Next, I've been ramping up the refactor of nostr.watch and first need to catch up on client-side technologies and validate a few of my ideas. To do this, I have been conducting short research & development projects to prepare and validate ideas before integrating them into an app I intend to support long-term. One of those R&D projects is myrelay.page.

Additionally, I wanted to explore NIP-78 a bit more, a NIP that came into fruition after a conversation I had with @fiatjaf on February 23rd, 2023. It stemmed from the desire to store application-specific data for app customization. I have seen clients use NIP-78, but from what I've seen, their implementations are limited and do not demonstrate the full potential of NIP-78. There's more on NIP-78 towards the end of this article

The convergence of these needs and ideas, in addition to having an itch I needed to scratch, resulted in the creation of myrelay.page.

*Could be wrong, please let me know in the comments if you have examples of nostr clients that utilize NIP-78 for propagating customizations to other visitors.

Editor Flow

Now I'm going to give you a brief example of the Editor Flow on myrelay.page. There's a lot that isn't covered here, but I want to be as brief as possible.

Note: myrelay.page is alpha, there are bugs, quality of life issues and things are far from perfect.

Login

Presently, myrelay.page only supports NIP-07 authentication, but other authentication methods will be implemented at a later date.

In order to customize your page, you need to have a valid NIP-11 document that provides a valid hex pubkey value that is the same as the key you use to login.

Click "Edit"

Add a block

For brevity, I'm going to add a markdown block

Configure the block

Add a title to the block and a sentence with markdown syntax.

Publish the configuration

Click publish and confirm the event, once it's been published to relays the page will refresh.

Note: Again it's alpha, so the page doesn't refresh after a few seconds, the publish probably failed. Press publish until it refreshes. Error handling here will improve with time.

Confirm state persistence

After reload, you should see your block persisted. Anyone who visits your page will see your newly configured page. Big caveat: Given the blessing of relays who store your configuration note, if your configuration cannot be found or you cannot connect to your relays, visitors will only see your relay's NIP-11.

Interested?

myrelay.page is alpha and only has two releases, so if you want to be an early adopter, you'll need the skillset and patience of an early adopter. That said, as long as you have some basic development and sysadmin skills as well as understand your reverse-proxy of choice, it's a quick, easy and low-risk side project that can be completed in about 20 minutes.

1. Build

yarn build or npm run build or pnpm run build (note: I had issues with pnpm and cannot guarantee they are resolved!)

2. Deploy

Move the contents of build folder to your relay server (or another server that you can reverse-proxy to from your relay)

3. Update your reverse-proxy configuration

You'll need to split your relay traffic from the http traffic, this ranges from easy to difficult, depending on your server of choice. - caddy: By far the easiest, see an example configuration for strfry here (easily adapted by those with experience to other relay software) - nginx: A little more stubborn, here's the most recent nginx config I got to work. You'll need to serve the static site from an internal port (8080 in the aforementioned nginx conf) - haproxy: Should be easier than nginx or maybe even caddy, haven't tried yet. - no reverse-proxy: shrugs

If any of that's over your head, I'll be providing detailed guides for various deployment shapes within the next few weeks.

Exploring NIP-78

One of the special things about NIP-78 is that it is application specific, meaning, you don't need to conform to any existing NIP to make magic happen. Granted there are limits to this, as interoperability reigns supreme on nostr. However, there are many use cases where interoperability is not particularly desirable nor beneficial. It doesn't change the care needed to craft events, but it does enable a bunch of unique opportunities.

1. A nostr client that is fully configurable and customized by the user.
2. A nostr powered CMS that can be edited entirely on the client-side.
3. Any use case where an application has special functionality or complex data structures that present no benefit in the context of interoperability (since they are "Application Specific").

Final thoughts

I was surprised at how quickly I was able to get myrelay.page customizable and loading within an acceptable timeframe; NIP-11, the operator's NIP-65 and the myrelay.page NIP-78 events all need to be fetched before the page is hydrated! While there is much to do around optimization, progressive page-loading, and general functionality, I'm very happy with the outcome of this short side project.

I'll be shifting my focus over to another micro-app to validate a few concepts, and then on to the next nostr.watch. Rebuilding nostr.watch has been a high-priority item since shortly after Jack lit a flame under nostr in late 2022, but due to personal circumstances in 2023, I was unable to tackle it. Thanks to @opensats I am able to realize my ideas and explore ideas that have been keeping me up at night for a year or more.

Also, if you're a relay developer and are curious about making it easier for developers to deploy myrelay.page, get in touch.

Next article will likely be about the micro-app I briefly mentioned and nostr.watch. Until then, be well.

@ 8cb60e21:5f2deaea

@ e97aaffa:2ebd765d

«Only 10 of the 190 taxes collect 90% of the total revenue. The other 180 taxes don’t cause direct economic damage but they generate obstacles, delays and an endless number of procedures that hinder economic activity in a country where making money is already an impossible task»

Eu concordo plenamente com este pensamento do Javier Milei e tinha a convicção que a situação de Portugal é muito similar, por isso fiz o meu “Don’t Trust, verify”.

Receita tributária

Foi analisar o caso de Portugal, as receitas tributárias de 2023:

«Carga fiscal subiu para 95 mil milhões de euros. Mas cai para 35,8% do PIB em 2023» – ECO

Se o objetivo final da estatística é para efetuar uma comparação entre países, é necessário efetuar a divisão pelo PIB. Mas se a análise é apenas para comparações internas ou homólogas, não faz qualquer sentido efetuar a divisão. Com a divisão dos valores pelo PIB, mascaramos a realidade, sobretudo em períodos inflacionários, porque o crescimento do PIB não é real, é uma consequência da inflação. A melhor maneira para analisar as estatísticas internamente é utilizar o valor nominal.

No relatório do INE, os impostos são divididos em 3 grupos: * Impostos Diretos * Impostos Indiretos * Contribuições Sociais

Segundo esses dados, nos últimos anos, tem acontecido um enorme crescimento da arrecadação fiscal por parte do estado, a única exceção foi 2020, devido ao covid. De 2019 a 2023, o aumento foi de quase 30%. Ou seja, totalmente oposto à ideia (divisão pelo PIB) que os governos gostam de propagandear.

Para termos uma comparação, no mesmo período, o salário mínimo nacional(Portugal) subiu 27%, mas o salário médio apenas subiu 17%. As pessoas estão a perder poder de compra.

A tabela seguinte é a compilação dos dados:

O IVA é o imposto com maior arrecadação, corresponde a aproximadamente a 25% do total da arrecadação fiscal, seguido pelo IRS, com 19.5%. É curioso que a constituição portuguesa, defende que os impostos devem ser progressivos, ou seja, quem ganha mais, deve pagar mais.

Artigo 104.º (Impostos) 1. O imposto sobre o rendimento pessoal visa a diminuição das desigualdades e será único e progressivo, tendo em conta as necessidades e os rendimentos do agregado familiar. 2. A tributação das empresas incide fundamentalmente sobre o seu rendimento real. 3. A tributação do património deve contribuir para a igualdade entre os cidadãos. 4. A tributação do consumo visa adaptar a estrutura do consumo à evolução das necessidades do desenvolvimento económico e da justiça social, devendo onerar os consumos de luxo.

Mas o IVA é um imposto cego, onde os principais afetados são os mais pobres, totalmente oposto ao que a constituição diz, sem justiça social.

Somando os 10 maiores impostos, resulta em 93.6% da receita fiscal, é similar à situação da Argentina:

A quantidade de impostos em Portugal é tal, que a maioria deles nem aparece nos relatórios, apenas ficam nas secções “outros”. Curiosamente, perguntei a uma AI, quantos impostos existem em Portugal, mas a AI, esquivou-se à resposta.

Em Portugal, existem cerca de 20 impostos principais, incluindo os mais conhecidos como o IRS, IRC, IVA, IMI, e IMT. Além desses, há vários outros impostos e taxas específicas que podem ser aplicáveis em diferentes situações.

Eu insisti mais que uma vez, mas ele nunca deu um número concreto. Possivelmente, nem o governo sabe quantos impostos existem…

Conclusão

Em Portugal e na Argentina, a esmagadora receita fiscal acontece, sobretudo em apenas 10 impostos, os restantes são residuais na receita do governo mas gera uma enorme burocracia nas empresas e nas pessoas.

Se muitos desses "mini" impostos fossem eliminados, permitia uma maior dinamização do mercado, gerando crescimento económico e mais empregos. Nos fins das contas, o estado acabaria por arrecadar mais receitas através dos outros impostos, sobretudo no IVA. Em certos casos, é provável que custos operacionais para o estado são superior à propria arrecadação fiscal desse respectivo imposto. Sem esquecer os casos de impostos sobre impostos, da dupla tributação, como acontece na compra de um automóvel. A curva de Laffer, há muito que foi ultrapassada em Portugal.

Além de prejudicar a economia diretamente, esta enorme quantidade de taxas, taxinhas e burocracias, tem um efeito perverso no “estado”. Os estados necessitam de muitos meios físicos e humanos para efetuar a gestão, fiscalização e a recolha desses impostos, além disso, a burocracia leva ao surgimento da corrupção. A burocracia é criada propositadamente pelos políticos para atrapalhar a vida dos cidadãos, com o objectivo final de beneficiar terceiros, como advogados ou lobis ou os próprios políticos. A receita fiscal é mínima, mas é um incentivo à corrupção, isto é especialmente visível a nível mais local, nas autarquias. Qualquer coisa que se faça, sobretudo a nível de obras, é necessário uma infindável quantidade de autorizações, papeladas e claro, muitas taxinhas. Devido a essa burocracia, qualquer licenciamento demoram meses a anos, no meio disto tudo, existem empresários/pessoas impacientes, que desesperam com a tremenda demora e acabam por colocar uma notinha no bolso de alguém importante, para que este acelere o processo. Coisas que normalmente demorariam meses, são aprovadas em semanas, a burocracia incentiva a corrupção.

Portugal necessita urgentemente de uma simplificação fiscal, se houvesse vontade política para mudar, o governo poderia diminuir drasticamente o número de impostos sem diminuir a arrecadação fiscal. Se esta mudança, eles não são capazes de a fazer, muito menos vão fazer uma mudança que provoque uma redução da arrecadação fiscal. Eu acho que Portugal vai seguir o caminho oposto, em vez de simplificar, vai é criar ainda mais novos impostos, porque como os atuais impostos já estão demasiado elevados, é extremamente impopular aumentá-los ainda mais, a maneira mais simples para o governo é criar novos impostos para aumentar a arrecadação fiscal.

Os governos modernos só olham para o aumento da arrecadação/impostos, "esquecem” por completo a redução de gastos, a eficiência. Resumindo, isto é o mundo FIAT.

@ 6bae33c8:607272e8

I got back into the Circa Survivor Contest this year at great cost (my flight out of Palm Springs on July 5 was cancelled due to heat, so I had to rent a car and drive through the Mojave Desert, and the road to Vegas was closed, so I had to double back another 100 miles, which in total took six hours), so this is Team Of Destiny 2.0. Or at least it had better be.

I’m not going to stick to any one method or philosophy. Put differently, I realize that in order to win, I need to go into the future, find out what has already happened and pick on that basis. Pot odds is great, but even if you do that properly every week, your edge over the field isn’t that huge. Instead of a 1 in 10,000 chance to win, maybe you have 1 in 6,500. Sure, if you had 100 entries in every high stakes contest, it might be enough to eke out a reliable profit, but I’m not here for that. I’m here to navigate one boat through the icebergs and take down the $10M. And for that, you can’t hope to get lucky. You have to know in advance.

What method do I propose to see into the future? Only my imagination. I’m going to spend a lot of time imagining what might happen, turn my brain into a quantum device, break space-time and come to the right answers. Easier said than done, but I’m committed.

. . .

In any event, let’s take a look at the slate: Here are the ownership numbers per Officefootballpools.com.

The pot-odds play is the Bills if you buy into the Vegas numbers — Bengals roughly 78.5 and the Bills at 72.6%. That means the Bengals have a 21.5% chance to lose, the Bills 27.4%. That’s a 27.4 percent increase in risk (coincidentally.)

But if the Bengals lose they take out 39 people, and if the Bills lose they take out only 15. Let’s assume another 20-odd people lose with other teams (in a hypothetical 100-person pool) and you’re down to 41 if the Bengals lose/Bills win, 65 if the Bills lose/Bengals win.

If we say each person put in $10, the former scenario is $1000 (total pot)/41 = $24.39, and the latter $1000/65 = $15.38. The ratio of 24.39/15.38 = 1.59. In other words, you have 59 percent percent more equity in Week 2 on the Bills if the Bengals lose than you would on the Bengals if the Bills lose.

You’re talking a 27.4 percent greater risk for a 59 percent greater reward. So normally I’d snap call the Bills.

But I’m probably going Bengals because I think the Cardinals are dangerous this year, and the Pats are arguably the worst team in the league and in surrender mode after they dealt Matthew Judon to the Falcons. (All this is supposed to be priced in, of course, but I don’t care.)

I’ll finalize my pick before Saturday’s deadline, but that’s how I see it for now.

@ 6bae33c8:607272e8

An odd thing happened — I squinted when opening my laptop this morning so as not to see the final score, but I thought I read a headline saying the Ravens beat the Chiefs. Maybe it was a cached headline from the night before saying what they’d have to do to beat the Chiefs? but I shut the laptop and logged into my Apple TV account to stream the game on the TV, fully expecting the Ravens to win. I mean up until the moment they overturned the Isaiah Likely TD, I thought the Ravens would win. Funny, but not funny because I picked the Ravens in my low-stakes picking pool, and I HATE starting off the week 0-1, no matter the stakes.

In any event, it was an okay game, not great, but there were some interesting takeaways.

• Derrick Henry looked fine but is going to do almost nothing in the passing game. He had two awkward targets, but Justice Hill was in the game on passing downs and during the end-of-half two-minute drill. Plus Lamar Jackson almost always takes off when he’s in trouble, so if the play isn’t a designed pass to the back, which will be rare for Henry, he’s not getting the ball except via handoff.

• Jackson looked smooth to me and he’ll have a huge year for as long as he can stay healthy, especially now that Isaiah Likely looks like a real threat. But at 6-2, 205, 16 carries per game is a big ask.

• Likely looked great. On his long TD, he made great moves, and even on the TD that was overturned, he showed great footwork to make it that close. I’m awfully curious to see where the near-invisible Mark Andrews slips in my NFFC Primetime tonight. (I think Round 8 or so, and I’d have to think about it.)

• Rashod Bateman had five targets, four of them down the field. He’s their field stretcher, and though it was a quiet day, there should be more.

• Zay Flowers got 10 targets (good), but it was dink and dunk stuff. To be honest, Likely (12 targets!) looked like the WR1, the alpha running the intermediate routes, Bateman the deep guy and Flowers the midget in the slot.

• Patrick Mahomes didn’t have a big game, but that was against a top defense and he still got 10.4 YPA. And they were missing one of their field stretchers in Hollywood Brown.

• Rashee Rice was the story for the Chiefs IMO. He had nine targets and made it look so easy, like Cooper Kupp schemed open on the Rams a few years ago. Xavier Worthy scored twice, but on only three targets even without Brown. He did look awfully fast, though.

• Isiah Pacheco ran hard against a tough defense, but didn’t do much as a receiver. He’ll be fine — I wouldn’t move his stock much after this game.

• Travis Kelce had a quiet night, but I wouldn’t read much into it. It’s not like Noah Gray is Likely to take his role.

• After all these years, I finally ditched the loyal Justin Tucker for a Younghoe, and I feel like a new man. It still brought me no joy to see him miss that 53-yard FG.

• You have to love Steak League IDP Roquan Smith getting a pick for you opening night.

@ 97c70a44:ad98e322

Nostr is a mess. It always has been and will always be. That's part of the appeal! But it's important that users be able to navigate the rolling seas of this highly partition-tolerant network of kaleidoscopically-interwoven people, bots, topics, relays, clients, events, recommendations, lists, feeds, micro-apps, macro-apps, Chinese spam, and "GM"s.

In order to do this, users must be able to articulate "what" they are looking for, and clients must be able to articulate "how" to find that thing. This "how" is divided into two parts: building a request that will match the desired content (very easy), and selecting a relay that is able to serve that content to the user requesting it (very very hard).

Why guessing isn't good enough

As a concrete example, let's say the user wants to find everyone in their "network" who is using a particular topic. The process would look something like this:

1. The user clicks the "network" tab and types in the topic they want to browse. This is the "what".
2. The client then translates the term "network" to a list of public keys using whatever definition they prefer (Follows? WoT? Grapevine?), and builds a filter that might look something like this: [{"authors": pubkeys, "#t": ["mytopic"]}]. Any relay will happily accept, understand, and respond to that filter.
3. The client then has to decide which relays it should send that filter to. This is the ??? stage of the outbox model, which immediately precedes:
4. Profit

It may not be immediately obvious why selecting the correct relays might be difficult. Most people post to relay.damus.io, and most people read from relay.damus.io, so in most cases you should be good, right?

This approach to relay selection has historically worked "well enough", but it depends on a flawed definition of success. If you only want to find 90% of the content that matches your query, using the top 10 relays will suffice. But nostr is intended to be censorship-resistant. What if those 10 hubs have banned a particular public key? Nostr clients should (at least in theory) be 100% successful in retrieving requested content. Even if someone only posts to their self-hosted relay, you should be able to find their notes if their account is set up properly.

A naive solution to fixing the FOMO

A 90% hit rate results in a feeling of flakiness, even if users aren't completely aware of what isn't working. Feeds will be incomplete, quoted notes will be missing, replies will be orphaned, user profiles won't load. The natural response to the FOMO this creates is for users to "try harder" by adding more relays.

On the read side, this means clients open more connections, resulting in much higher data transfer requirements, with massively diminishing returns, since there's no reason to expect that a randomly chosen relay will have a substantially different data set.

One the publish side, this means that clients end up publishing more copies of their data to more relays. This approach has been automated in the past by services like Blastr, which don't store a copy of events published to the relay, but instead forward events to the top 300 relays in the network. This results in a two-orders-of-magnitude increase in storage required, and only makes the read side of the problem worse, since it reduces the uniqueness of the data set each relay stores. This in turn means that more duplicates are retrieved when querying relays.

Both halves of this approach are equivalent to guessing. On the read side, users are guessing which relays will have any arbitrary content they might ask for in the future. On the write side, users are guessing which relays other people might use to find their notes. It is a brute-force method for finding content.

Randomness results in centralization

In theory, random relay selection would result in a perfect distribution of content across all relays in the network. But in practice, this method of selection isn't random at all, but is strongly influenced by user bias in what constitutes a "good" relay. While some users may check nostr.watch for ping times, geographical proximity, or uptime, most will choose relays based on familiar names or other people's recommendations.

In either case, these biases are entirely orthogonal to achieving a higher content retrieval hit rate, except when bias in relay selection results in clustering — i.e., centralization. In other words, the kind of randomness exhibited by users when selecting relays actually results in pretty much everyone picking the same few relays. We see this same effect when people try to come up with passwords or seed phrases — human-provided randomness is anything but random.

Clustering improves the hit rate when requesting events (slightly), but it results in nearly as much centralization as if only a single relay was used — and a lot more duplicate events.

Something (anything) other than randomness

In early 2023, Mike Dilger introduced NIP 65 (now known as the "Outbox Model") with a problem statement in the spirit of the original description of nostr: "Nostr should scale better. People should be able to find what they want."

Historical note: NIP 65 was formerly known as the "Gossip Model", derived from the name of Mike's desktop nostr client, called "Gossip". This unfortunately created a lot of confusion, since gossip protocols work very differently from how nostr tends to work, hence the re-brand.

Before NIP 65, an informal standard existed in which kind 3 user contact lists also included a list of relays that clients could use as something similar to Mastodon's "home servers". This list included the option to only read or write from a given relay. Unfortunately, it wasn't really clear what the semantics of this relay list were, so different clients handled them differently (and many clients ignored them). Usually this amounted to user-provided static relay configurations, which resulted in the naive relay selection approach described above.

NIP 65 used a very similar format (a list of relay urls with optional "read" or "write" directives), but with a very important semantic difference: relays listed in a user's kind 10002 were intended to "advertise to others, not for configuring one's client." In other words, these relay selections were intended as a signal to other users that they should use certain relays when attempting to communicate with the author of the relay list.

I highly recommend reading the entire NIP, which is very short and easy to read. But the mechanics of the spec are very simple:

When seeking events from a user, Clients SHOULD use the WRITE relays of the user's kind:10002.

When seeking events about a user, where the user was tagged, Clients SHOULD use the READ relays of the user's kind:10002.

When broadcasting an event, Clients SHOULD:

• Broadcast the event to the WRITE relays of the author
• Broadcast the event to all READ relays of each tagged user

For the first time, we had a way to differentiate relays in terms of what content could be found where.

When looking for a note by a particular user, a client could now look up the author's write relays according to their kind 10002 event, and send its query there. The result is a much higher hit rate with much lower data transfer requirements, and fewer connections per query.

Making Outbox Work

There are of course some assumptions required to make this work.

First, the user must know which author they're looking for. This isn't always true when looking up a quote or parent note, but context and pubkey hints solve this difficulty in most cases.

The author must also publish a kind 10002 event. This may not always be the case, but clients should prompt users to set up their relay list correctly. This isn't really a flaw in the Outbox Model, just in implementations of it.

Additionally, the user's client must be able to find the author's kind 10002 event. This is the "bootstrapping" phase of the Outbox Model, during which the mechanisms the system provides for finding events aren't available. This requires us to fall back to randomly guessing which relays have the content we're looking for, which as we saw above doesn't work very well.

Other than guessing, there are a few different ways a client might find the relay selection event in question, each of which is applicable in different circumstances. In most cases, using one of a handful of indexer relays like purplepag.es or relay.nostr.band is a simple and efficient way to find user profiles and relay selections.

However, if an author's content has been aggressively purged from these indexers due to censorship, they obviously can't be relied upon. Even though the author in question hasn't been deplatformed from nostr itself (since he can always self-host a publicly accessible relay to store his content), he has been effectively shadow-banned.

To get around this, relay selections have to be communicated in some other way. Nostr has a few different mechanisms for this:

• If the author's NIP 05 address is known and properly configured (it may not be), clients can look up the author's NIP 05 endpoint to find some reasonable relay hints. Unfortunately, these are often neglected, and usually custodial, so they can run into the same problems.
• If the author's pubkey is found in another signed event found on nostr, relay hints can be a way to propagate relay selections through the network. This relies on implementations picking reliable relay hints which can be difficult, and hints do tend to become less reliable over time. However, this strategy is very effective in resisting censorship because it makes banning viral — if a relay wants to completely purge a particular pubkey from their database, they have to purge every event that references it, since events are tamper-proof.
• In extremis, relay recommendations can always be communicated out-of-band. This can be done using manual input, QR codes, DHTs, jsonl torrents full of kind 10002 events, or any other mechanism client developers choose to resort to.

Another, more technical assumption is that any given query can be fulfilled by few enough relays that a client can actually make all the connections needed, without running into resource limits. If you're trying to request content from 10,000 users across 1,000 relays, you're going to have a bad time. This was pointed out to me by Mazin of nostr.wine. He makes a good point, and it's definitely something to keep in mind. There are some mitigating factors though.

The first is that the current topology of the network probably won't persist forever. Because nostr is largely populated by self-hosting enthusiasts, the number of "tiny" relays is proportionally much higher than it will be if adoption picks up, even if the total number of relays grows. The trajectory is that nostr will drift toward fewer, larger relays, reducing the number of connections needed to fulfill any given query.

This is "centralizing", but it's important to understand that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. As long as there are more than one or two large hubs, there is user choice. And as long as it's possible to run a new relay, there is always an escape hatch. Nostr, like bitcoin, has no hard dependency on the biggest player in the network.

The other thing to consider is that there are lots of other techniques we can use to overcome the limits of the lowest-common denominator's limitations (mobile browser clients), including self hosted or third-party relay proxies. The trade-off here is that a little trust (aka centralization) can go a long way to reducing resource requirements needed to fulfill queries using the Outbox model.

If you're interested in more details on this topic, see this blog post.

That was a long digression, but there is one other thing that the Outbox model assumes to be the case. Even if the correct relays are found and connected to, they still may not return all desired content, either because they don't have it, or because they refuse to return it to the user requesting it.

This can happen if the publishing client isn't following the Outbox Model, if the author had migrated from one relay set to another without copying their notes over, or if the relay in question chose not to retain the author's content for some reason.

The first two issues can be fixed by improving implementations, but the question of policy is a little more interesting.

Relativistic relays

The Outbox Model is a mechanical process; it's only as useful as user relay selections are. In order for it to work, users have to be able to make intelligent relay selections.

Every relay has trade-offs, depending on its policy. 140.f7z.io would not be useful for long-form content, for example. Some relays might have a content retention policy that changes depending on whether you're a paying user. If you don't pay, you might find out too late that your content has been deleted from the relay.

So what makes a relay "good" for a particular use case? Well, it's complicated. Here are a few factors that go into that calculus:

• Is the relay in the same geographical as the user? Proximity reduces latency, but jurisdictional arbitrage might be desired. Users should probably have a variety of relays that fit different profiles.
• Will the relay ban the user? Do the operators have a history of good behavior? Is the relay focused on particular types of content? Is the relay's focus consistent with the user's goal in adding that relay to their list?
• What are the relay's retention policies? A user might want to set up an archival relay for her old content, or a multi-availability-zone relay so her notes are immediately accessible to the rest of the network.
• Does the relay require payment? Paid relays are more aligned with their users, but obviously come at a financial cost.
• Does the relay have policies for read-protecting content? If so, other users might not be able to find your posts published to that relay. On the other hand, some relays are configured to work as inboxes for direct messages, which can help preserve privacy.
• Does the relay request that users authenticate? Authentication can help manage spam, but it also allows relays to correlate content requests with users, reducing user privacy.
• Is the relay you use hosted by your client's developer? If so, you're in danger of getting banned from your client and your relay at the same time.
• Is the relay a hub? Using hubs can help smooth out rough areas in Outbox Model implementations, at the cost of centralization.
• Is the relay used by anyone else? One-off relays can be useful for archival purposes, but often won't be used by clients following the Outbox Model, depending on how they optimize requests.

There are lots of ways to approach the problem of helping users select relays, but it's an inherently complex problem which very few people will have the patience to properly address on their own. Relay selection is a multi-dimensional problem, and requires satisfying multiple constraints with a limited number of relay selections.

In the future, special-purpose clients might be used to help people build relay sets. Clients also might provide curated "relay kits" that users can choose and customize. Or, we might see an increase in hybrid solutions, like smarter relay proxies or client-local relays that synchronize using other protocols or platforms.

The Limitations of Outbox

Outbox is not a complete solution, not because of any of the caveats listed above, but because NIP 65 per se only addresses the question of how to index content by pubkey in a broadcast social media context. But there are many other scenarios for relay selection that Outbox does not solve:

• Community, chat, and group posts might be best posted to relays dedicated to that context.
• Direct messages shouldn't follow the same contours as public social media content.
• Topic-oriented relays, or relays serving a custom feed might be useful independent of who uses them.
• Relays focused on serving a particular kind of event, like music, long-form content, or relay selections, are useful independent of who reads from or writes to them.
• Certain clients might need to fulfill particular use cases by using relays that support certain protocol features, like search, count, or sync commands.
• Some events might not make sense to publish to relays, but should instead be shared only directly, out of band.

Some of these use cases might be solved by new specifications similar to Outbox that prescribe where certain data belongs — for example, NIP 17 requires users to publish a different relay list before they can receive direct messages, while NIP 72 places community relay recommendations directly into the group's metadata object. A reasonably complete list of different relay types can be found in this PR, very few of which have a canonical way to manage selections.

Other use cases might be supported more informally, either by relays advertising their own value proposition, or via third-party NIP 66 metadata. Still others might be supported by scoping the network down to only certain relays through explicit relay selection — this is how white-labeled Coracle instances work.

The basic idea here is that there are categories of events that don't have anything to do with where a particular person puts his or her "tweets". For every "what" on nostr, there should be a "how".

Keep nostr weird

Whatever additional systems we end up adopting for helping with relay selection, one thing is certain — people will continue to discover new, creative uses for relays, and we will always be playing catch up. This is one of the coolest things about nostr!

But it does mean that users will have to adapt their expectations to a network that partitions, re-configures, and evolves over time. Nostr is not a "worse" experience than legacy social media, but it is a version of social media that has itself been set free from the stagnant walled-garden model. Nostr is in many ways a living organism — we should be careful not to impose our expectations prematurely, leaving room to discover what this thing actually is, or can be.

If you enjoyed this post but want more take a look at the talk I gave at Nostrasia last year. I also wrote up a blog post at about the same time that addresses some of the same issues, but focuses more on privacy concerns around relays and nostr groups. Finally, I recently wrote this comment, which includes some details about challenges I've faced putting Outbox into Coracle.

@ a30cdfee:2d2f97ff

Orqestra: Converting Business Sales to Bitcoin

Orqestra lets businesses automatically convert portions of their sales to bitcoin!

What is Orqestra and how can it be useful for businesses?

Protect Against Inflation with Bitcoin

Long-term saving in bitcoin is a good way to hedge against inflation.

Not just for individuals, but also for companies.

Case in point: MicroStrategy

Bitcoin's strong liquidity also allows quick conversions to fiat if needed, giving companies financial flexibility.

Converts Portions of Sales to Bitcoin

Orqestra simplifies Bitcoin acquisition, targeting small and medium-sized businesses.

You can connect your payment providers, and the platform will automatically convert portions of your sales to bitcoin.

Start small or go all in, it's up to you!

Orqestra integrates with e.g. PayPal, QuickBooks, Square and Stripe.

You can also link e.g. Clams, a Bitcoin-focused accounting software for automated bookkeeping.

You can learn more about Clams here: https://stacker.news/items/552799

Custodial, but You Can Withdraw to Your Own Wallet

Orqestra states that it partners with industry-leading custodians to store the BTC.

You can also withdraw the BTC to your own wallet, or convert it to US dollars.

The platform is currently only supporting businesses in the United States.

KYC Required

Orqestra was founded by João Almeida, former CTO and co-founder of a Bitcoin payment infrastructure provider OpenNode.

Orqestra can give tax-ready reports that meet industry standards on demand.

To use the platform, businesses need to provide proof of legal existence of the company, proof of address and all beneficiaries with over 25% ownership in the company need to perform KYC.

Project Links

Website

X (Twitter)

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/674222

@ 3e6e0735:9e95c8a2

Imagine a colorful world filled with vibrant villages, each bustling with activity. Each village has its own unique roads and parks where people gather to share their stories, pictures, and ideas.

Village A is like a big, crowded gathering spot, similar to Facebook, where everyone loves to post their adventures. But there’s a dark cloud hanging over it. The village leaders, while wanting to keep things friendly, are constantly pressured by the government to monitor what people share. If someone posts something that the government doesn’t like, the leaders might say,

“Hold on! You can’t share that!” It feels more like a prison than a park, where the rules can change at any moment, and everyone is afraid to speak freely.

Village B is a chaotic place where folks send quick messages back and forth, just like Twitter. Here, too, the leaders face immense pressure from the government to control conversations. If you say something that doesn’t fit the official narrative, they might silence you or even banish you from the village. Plus, when you share your thoughts, you don’t really own them. The leaders can sell your data and connections to the highest bidder, leaving you feeling like just another product.

Then there’s Village C, a trendy spot for sharing beautiful photos, like Instagram. But beware! The leaders here are also under the thumb of the government, which has its own set of oppressive rules. If someone posts something that challenges the status quo, it might just vanish without a trace. And just like in the other villages, your data and followers aren’t really yours—they can be sold off without your consent.

But wait! Enter NOSTR, the magical map that connects all the villages without any leaders telling you what you can or can’t share. It’s like building roads that anyone can use, with no gates or guards in sight.

With NOSTR, if Village A wants to share a story with Village C, they can do it directly, or through Village B, without anyone stopping them. It’s permissionless, meaning you don’t need to ask for permission to share your thoughts or ideas. Plus, all content lives everywhere at once, thanks to special relays, so you can find it no matter where you are!

Here’s the best part: with NOSTR, you own your own data, connections, and followers! It’s like having a special key that only you control. No one can sell your information or take away your followers because you’re the one in charge.

And let’s not forget about the exciting micropayments called “zaps” using Bitcoin! Imagine if you could send a little thank-you to someone for a great story or a beautiful photo, right there in the moment. It’s like tossing a coin into a fountain to show your appreciation, but digital and instant!

And here’s a side note: with the rise of AI, people can create even more amazing things, like art or stories, and share them freely through NOSTR. There’s no one to censor or control what you create, so everyone can express themselves fully.

As more and more people flock to NOSTR, the other villages start to lose their users. They realize they need to adapt or risk fading away. Some leaders begin to think about integrating NOSTR into their own platforms, but there’s a catch: they have to rethink their entire profit model first. This leads to a battle of ideas, as they struggle to find a way to keep their users while also embracing the freedom that NOSTR offers.

In the end, while the centralized parks are dark and oppressive, ruled by leaders who are pressured by the government to control every word and image, NOSTR allows all the villages to connect freely. It’s a place where everyone can share their voices without fear, a world of endless possibilities where creativity thrives, and you truly own your data and connections!

@ a30cdfee:2d2f97ff

Understanding UTXO Consolidation for Bitcoin Users

Bitcoin blockchain fees are currently low, so it's time to get familiar with UTXO consolidation!

What is UTXO consolidation and why should you care?

Many Small UTXOs Can Incur High Transaction Fees in the Future

If you've been dollar-cost averaging small chunks of bitcoin to a self-custody wallet, you might have a lot of small-value UTXOs (Unspent Transaction Outputs) in your wallet.

When transaction fees will rise again, spending these UTXOs can incur hundreds or even thousands of dollars in transaction fees!

When you transact in Bitcoin, fees paid to miners are determined by the network demand, and how much data the transaction requires to be sent.

The Bitcoin network is designed to handle only a limited amount of data every 10 minutes on average in order to keep the data on the blockchain small enough for average users to run nodes and audit the blockchain.

The trade-off is high transaction fees during high network demand.

You can always set a lower fee for your transaction, but then you will often have to wait longer for your transaction to be included on the blockchain.

The total fee for a transaction is calculated by multiplying the transaction size with the fluctuating fee rate.

The fee rate is measured in satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vByte).

A good website to familiarize yourself with the current Bitcoin fees is Mempool.space.

You can learn more about it in this post: https://stacker.news/items/657963

The transaction size increases the more UTXOs it has.

The monetary value of BTC being spent doesn't have an effect on the transaction fee.

You can send $50 or $1 billion worth of BTC with the same transaction fee.

What Is an UTXO?

Your bitcoin balance consists of UTXOs.

When you receive BTC, you receive a single UTXO.

The more often you receive, the more UTXOs you will accumulate.

When you're sending BTC, your wallet software picks UTXOs from your wallet and sends them to the receiver.

Your wallet might have to pick many different UTXOs.

If the BTC amount of your UTXOs exceeds the amount you're sending, you will receive a new UTXO as "change".

Conceptually, UTXOs are very similar to physical cash.

You can think of UTXOs in your Bitcoin wallet as different denominations of a currency, e.g. $10 bill, $20 bill etc.

Except that Bitcoin doesn't have specific denominations: a Bitcoin UTXO can be of any amount!

The balance of your Bitcoin wallet is the sum value of all your UTXOs in that wallet.

UTXO is like a bill in your Bitcoin wallet that hasn't been spent yet.

When your wallet has to pick many UTXOs to make a transaction, the network fees you pay will be higher.

You can think of it as sending someone $1000 in coins vs. sending $1000 in hundred dollar bills.

Coins will weigh more and their postage costs will be higher.

Bitcoin wallets automatically select the lowest number of UTXOs to minimize transaction fees, and some have coin control features that let you select UTXOs manually.

A recommended wallet for desktop is Sparrow Wallet.

Sparrow also works with the most popular hardware wallets.

You can learn more about Sparrow in this Twitter thread I wrote in September 2023.

How to Consolidate UTXOs?

You're just selecting UTXOs of small monetary value and sending them to yourself when fees are low, and you will receive one UTXO with a larger monetary value.

Here it can be demonstrated with some testnet coins on Sparrow Wallet.

The process is exactly same with real BTC.

In the "UTXOs" tab, you select the UTXOs you want to consolidate, and proceed to "Send Selected".

On the "Pay to" field there's a dropdown that automatically chooses a new Bitcoin address in the same Sparrow Wallet that you own (it's labelled as a "consolidation" address).

Alternatively, you can copy/paste any address there.

If you want to verify that you really own the address, you can go to the "Addresses" tab, find the address in question and sign a message with it.

If you're e.g. using a hardware wallet like Coldcard or Trezor, the signing device's firmware will at this point verify that it manages the address.

It's important to label your UTXOs, so you will know in the future what UTXOs to spend and in what situations.

Labels are only for your own reference.

Do it.. your future self will thank you!

You can see the flow of UTXOs on Sparrow.

Two small UTXOs turn into one (minus the miner fee).

It's a bit like exchanging small coins to larger bills!

When you go back to the "UTXOs" tab, you can see that you now only have one larger UTXO, but the same amount of BTC (minus the miner fee).

Mempool.space gives you nice visualizations for UTXO consolidation.

In this transaction, 4 UTXOs were consolidated into one (minus the miner fee).

Since Bitcoin is digital gold, UTXO consolidation is like melting small gold coins into one gold bar!

UTXO Consolidation Reduces Privacy

A major trade-off with consolidating UTXOs relates to privacy.

People who sent you the small UTXOs you want to consolidate can follow the movement of those UTXOs and link them to your now larger UTXO balance.

It's not an absolute proof that you own those UTXOs (you could be sending them to someone else!), but it might be a strong indication.

It's always the best practice to assume that whoever sent you those original UTXOs is watching and knows that you own all that bitcoin.

Also, there are privacy concerns if you spend after consolidating.

If you spend from a large UTXO (let's say 1 BTC), and buy something worth $50 (0.0008 BTC) with it, the receiver can see that you will get a change and are the owner of an UTXO of 0.9992 BTC.

"Dust" UTXOs

When you have smaller UTXOs, they might become economically infeasible to spend in a high fee environment (fee higher than the monetary value of the UTXO).

It's hard to know exactly what the future fee market will look like, but it can be assumed that the Bitcoin blockspace will be in high demand and the fees will rise.

Here's a good article by Unchained about unspendable "dust" UTXOs.

Jameson Lopp has created a useful tool called "Economically Unspendable Bitcoin UTXO Calculator" that can be used to project transaction fees in different fee environments with different address types.

To Consolidate or Not?

It depends on your personal preferences and how you're intending to spend your bitcoin in the future.

It's good to strive for a balance, taking into consideration the future fee market and the privacy concerns, and still remember that it's better to have spendable UTXOs that have lost some privacy than unspendable private UTXOs.

Never consolidate KYC coins with non-KYC coins!

The consensus among Bitcoiners is to avoid dust UTXOs as much as possible, and try to keep your UTXOs at 1 million sats minimum (0.01 BTC and around $600 in August 2024's prices).

It's been estimated that this threshold would secure your UTXOs being spendable even in a prolonged high-fee environment.

If you're ever in an emergency and need to spend your bitcoin, it's good to know that you will not spend most of your coins on fees!

Some recommend striving for even larger UTXOs, like 10 million sats (0.1 BTC) in case Bitcoin becomes a world reserve currency or hits mass adoption.

UTXO consolidation is extremely important for Bitcoiners with many small value UTXOs (e.g. Bitcoiners in Global South that have been saving $10 per week in BTC on-chain to self-custody wallets).

If fees go high, a Bitcoin UTXO worth $10 might become unspendable.

If you're mostly a hodler and you've been buying BTC in large purchases at a time, you generally don't have to worry too much about UTXO consolidation.

Send Small UTXOs to the Lighting Network for Spending!

Instead of consolidating UTXOs to an on-chain address, you can also open Lightning Network channels with them or send them to a Lightning wallet for easier spending.

Lightning Network also adds a layer of privacy to the UTXOs.

If you're buying bitcoin through an exchange, it might make sense to accumulate a large enough UTXO before you move the funds to self-custody.

Or you can use e.g. Liquid Network @liquid as an intermediary layer for storing coins in self-custody.

As a federated sidechain, Liquid has its own trade-offs.

You can learn more about Liquid in this Twitter thread I wrote in February 2024.

UTXO consolidation reduces the number of UTXOs in the network, which makes it easier to run a full Bitcoin node.

So consolidation has benefits to the network as well!

It can also streamline your own wallet experience.

Signing data-heavy transactions can be a burden to older hardware wallets that might even crash in the process!

What's your strategy for UTXO consolidation?

What's the ideal size of an UTXO in your opinion?

Additional Resources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqe0QCxjKpI @BTCsessions

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

What is ‘UTXO consolidation’ and how can it help me reduce transaction fees?

How to Manage Bitcoin UTXOs and Save on Transaction Fees

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/664880

@ c7eadcf0:7821e562

Who would have thought that we would have the change to buy sub 60K Bitcoin again? With all the talk of mooning after the halving, seeing Bitcoin's price back around 56k at the time of this post is disappointing to the lettuce handed, ETF buying individuals that are not here for the revolution, but to make a quick buck.

Bitcoin being a neutral money, it is not unexpected that it would gain the attention of these types of people. I am actually glad that they are participants in this market has it helps transfer Bitcoin from weak unconverted holders to people who are fully dyed in the orange wool of the Bitcoin thesis.

Every time there is some geopolitical event, or some kind of economic crisis brewing on the other side of the world, Bitcoin normally takes a hit because it is a high liquid asset. This should be taken as a good sign when the price goes down as it shows that you can easily move in and out of Bitcoin with relative ease. Try doing that with your house, car or other assets. Sure you can sell them eventually but its not nearly as seamless as Bitcoin.

This lull in price will not last long, so if you got some dry powder sitting on the sidelines, today is a good day to buy some cheap corn. Framing Bitcoin as a liquid asset that can be sold in times of need is a good way to introduce Bitcoin to your nocoiner friends and family. I would hate for them to have to buy Bitcoin at much higher prices. Good for us. Bad for them. Amirite?

Just a short post from the Obsidian Nostr Writer Plugin. If you like writing long from content, I would highly recommend giving it a shot! Peace out.

@ 35f3a26c:92ddf231

The italian press ilPost stated that Pavel Durov is out, a bale of 5 million Euros, can't leave the country and has to go to a police station twice a week...

The known 12 charges leaked apparently are correct.

Link in Italian: https://www.ilpost.it/2024/08/28/pavel-durov-liberta-vigilata-francia/

telegram

pavel

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/664822

@ 472f440f:5669301e

https://x.com/parkeralewis/status/1831746160781938947 Here's a startling chart from an American staple, Walgreens. The convenience store and pharmacy chain has seen its stock price plummet by more than 67% this year and by more than 90% from its all time high, which was reached in 2015.

The combination of the COVID lock downs and the lax laws around theft that followed were materially detrimental to Walgreens business. The crux of their problem at the moment, however, is a double whammy of those disruptions in their business coupled with the "higher for longer" interest rate policy from the Fed over the last couple of years. As Tuur points out in the tweet above, Walgreens has $34B in debt, which means they definitely have significant interest rate payments they need to make on a monthly basis. Tuur also points out that Walgreens has very little cash compared to their debt obligations. Let's take a look at their balance sheet as of May of this year.

Less than $1B in cash for $34B debt with $67.56B in total liabilities. Even worse, their cash balance was drained by more than 27% over the course of the year between May 2023 and May 2024. As you may notice their total assets fell by more than 15% over the same period. This is because Walgreens understands the dire financial straits it finds itself in and has begun shutting down thousands of their locations across the country.

The recent efforts of Walgreens to sell off their assets to raise cash to pay down their debts seem to be completely ineffective as their cash balance is falling faster than their total assets, which is falling 7x faster than their total liabilities. These numbers are most definitely going to get worse as cascading sell pressure in commercial real estate markets (which is the bucket that Walgreens locations fall into) drive down the value of their assets. Leaving them with less cash to pay down their debts as time goes on. To make matters worse, it puts the institutions that lent money to Walgreens in a terrible position. How many commercial and investment banks has Walgreens tapped to fund their operations with expensive debt? How exposed to Walgreens is any individual lender? Could a default on some or all of their loans catch these financial institutions off sides? If it isn't Walgreens that pushes them off sides, how many more bad borrowers would it take to push them off sides?

As our good friend Parker Lewis points out, the only way the hemorrhaging can be stopped is if the Federal Reserve and Federal Government step in with bail outs in the form of massive liquidity injections via quantitative easing and other emergency measures. On top of this, the Fed and the Federal Government find themselves in a classic catch-22. If they let Walgreens fall into bankruptcy it could set off a domino effect that could exacerbate inflation. Riteaid, a similar retail convenience store and pharmacy chain, filed for bankruptcy last October and is still wading its way through that process. Part of that process has been shuttering many of their storefronts. One has to imagine that since Walgreens and Riteaid are having these problems, some of their other competitors must be feeling the pain as well. If enough of these convenience stores, which tens of millions of Americans depend on for everyday goods, find themselves in a position where they have to shut down their stores it could lead to a supply crunch. People will obviously not be able to get their goods from Riteaid or Walgreens and will flee to alternatives, exacerbating the stress on their supplies, which will drive prices higher.

This is a catch-22 because the only way to avoid this mad dash for consumer goods in the midst of a convenience store Armageddon is to re-introduce ZIRP and flood the market with freshly printed dollars, which will drive prices up as well.

Talk about a rock and a hard place. You better get yourself some bitcoin.

---

Final thought... Zach Bryan radio crushes.

@ b83a28b7:35919450

Join nostr:npub1tvqc82mv8cezhax5r34n4muc2c4pgjz8kaye2smj032nngg52clq0rkrq4 and me for episode 76 of nostr:npub14kw5ygpl6fyqagh9cnrytyaqyacg46lzkq42vz7hk8txdk49kzxs04j7y0 this Friday, August 30th at 3pm ET (UTC -4)

Our guest this week is nostr:npub1xv8mzscll8vvy5rsdw7dcqtd2j268a6yupr6gzqh86f2ulhy9kkqmclk3x from nostr:npub1getal6ykt05fsz5nqu4uld09nfj3y3qxmv8crys4aeut53unfvlqr80nfm who joins us to provide the lowdown on the recently launched Alby Hub

You don't want to miss this one!

Set your blockclocks!

https://nostrnests.com/

[This is our first show announcement made from a long-form client, in keeping with QW and my #otherstuffchallenge]

@ e771af0b:8e8ed66f

I have searched the web for "Find bitcoin block number from historical date" maybe 100 times in my life.

Never again.

You'll need a bitcoin node for this to work. The script is fast.

Install

WoT Install

one liner ```

curl

curl -o fjb.sh https://gist.githubusercontent.com/dskvr/18252c16cf85c06c1ee6cb5ae04a3197/raw/34bad6a35d98501978c8cd0c25b1628db1191cfe/fjb.sh && chmod +x fjb.sh

wget

wget -O fjb.sh https://gist.githubusercontent.com/dskvr/18252c16cf85c06c1ee6cb5ae04a3197/raw/34bad6a35d98501978c8cd0c25b1628db1191cfe/fjb.sh && chmod +x fjb.sh ```

Trust no one.

create file ``` vi fjb.sh

or

nano fjb.sh ```

review, copy and past into file ``` TIMESTAMP=$1 LOWER=0 UPPER=$(bitcoin-cli getblockcount)

while (( LOWER <= UPPER )); do MID=$(( (LOWER + UPPER) / 2 )) BLOCKHASH=$(bitcoin-cli getblockhash $MID) BLOCKTIME=$(bitcoin-cli getblockheader $BLOCKHASH | jq .time)

if (( BLOCKTIME < TIMESTAMP )); then
    LOWER=$(( MID + 1 ))
elif (( BLOCKTIME > TIMESTAMP )); then
    UPPER=$(( MID - 1 ))
else
    echo "$BLOCKTIME"
    exit 0
fi

done

echo "$UPPER" ```

give executable permissions chmod +x ./fjb.sh

Usage

./fjb.sh <timestampSeconds> It returns block number only

Example

$: ./fjb.sh 1668779310 763719

@ acc925af:db9fb0bb

While tinkering about NWC and twitter I decided to hack a python script that might perhaps begin something good

Here's a high-level overview of how you could connect your Twitter account to a Nostr Wallet using NWC and automate a 21 satoshi payment for every like:

Prerequisites:

1. Twitter Developer Account
2. Nostr Wallet with NWC support (e.g., Alby, Nostrify)
3. Twitter API credentials (API key, API secret key, Access token, Access token secret)
4. Python script with Tweepy (Twitter API library) and nostr-client (Nostr library)

Step 1: Set up Twitter API credentials

Create a Twitter Developer account and obtain API credentials Install Tweepy using pip: pip install tweepy

Step 2: Connect Nostr Wallet using NWC

Choose a Nostr Wallet with NWC support (e.g., Alby, Nostrify) Set up the wallet and obtain the NWC credentials (e.g., public key, private key)

Step 3: Create a Python script

Import Tweepy and nostr-client libraries Authenticate with Twitter API using Tweepy Connect to Nostr Wallet using NWC credentials Define a function to send 21 satoshis for every like Use Tweepy to stream likes and trigger the payment function

Python script:

``` import tweepy from nostr_client import Client

Twitter API credentials

twitter_api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY" twitter_api_secret_key = "YOUR_API_SECRET_KEY" twitter_access_token = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN" twitter_access_token_secret = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET"

Nostr Wallet NWC credentials

nwc_public_key = "YOUR_NWC_PUBLIC_KEY" nwc_private_key = "YOUR_NWC_PRIVATE_KEY"

Set up Tweepy

auth = tweepy.OAuthHandler(twitter_api_key, twitter_api_secret_key) auth.set_access_token(twitter_access_token, twitter_access_token_secret) api = tweepy.API(auth)

Set up Nostr Client

nwc_client = Client() nwc_client.connect(nwc_public_key, nwc_private_key)

Define payment function

def send_satoshis(): # Create a new Nostr event with 21 satoshis event = nwc_client.create_event(21) # Send the event to the Nostr network nwc_client.send_event(event)

Stream likes and trigger payment function

class LikeStream(tweepy.StreamListener): def on_like(self, like): send_satoshis()

stream = tweepy.Stream(auth, LikeStream()) stream.filter(track=["likes"])

```

Please note that this is a simplified example and may require additional error handling, security measures, and modifications to work as intended.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/673795

@ 02526939:3e88afa2

• Pharmacotherapeutic category:

21 Million Bitcoins approx.

• Therapeutic indication:

The administration of Orange Pill approx. 21 million. it is absolutely recommended if you suffer from the inflationary financial system in which we are immersed, especially in young people.

• Contraindications:

Side effects from the administration of Orange Pill approx. 21 million. they can be various: Obsession with libertarian economic themes. Incessant study of the economic and social paradigms described by the Austrian school. Probable disgust towards the innocent employee of the municipal registry office, caused by the natural obsession with anti-statist political themes. Deepening of the political theory of Libertarianism, often resulting in anarcho-capitalism, agorism and the like. Reckless accumulation of texts and writings by authors such as Rothbard, von Hayek, von Mises etc. Sudden and absolute interest in red meat, tobacco and alcohol, but only of extremely high quality. But not always: in some patients a diametrically opposite effect has been observed: adoption of third world theories, fight for LGBT+ and minority rights in general, Birkenstock sandals and radical-chic attitudes. These behaviors, in total contrast to the classic libertarian theories of which those who take Orange Pill approximately 21 million are usually victims, are currently the subject of study and research. Also because libertarian theories, as the name itself specifies, leave total freedom to the individual to express himself as he prefers following the principle of non-aggression. Sudden interest in the armed defense of private property. Visible decay in the way one dresses and takes care of one's physical appearance. To give an example: the rag scene. Fantozzi who, having finished reading Marx's Capital, with unkempt hair, wool sweater and red scarf, stands up banging his fists on the table exclaiming: "they have always lied to us!". You will start to look at others differently. Once upon a time you too were like this. They don't know that Halving is coming soon. They don't know that the generational opportunity train is passing by and they will miss it. Suddenly every room you enter will be filled with completely ignorant norms: They don't know that the United States is printing money uncontrollably by recklessly raising the debt ceiling. The money in your pocket is losing value with every passing second! But how can you be so happy? Stop laughing and partying! We must destroy the state and create a civil society based on a healthy non-inflationable currency!

• Administration:

Anyone can prescribe Orange Pill 21 million approx. The advice is to contact your trusted advisor. Possibility of free administration to friends, relatives and acquaintances, aware that the reaction could be one of repudiation, disgust and denial. High probability of seeing yourself disinherited by your parents, convinced that you are even worse than those who gamble.

• Dosage:

Free, at will. The more you take, the further you enter the rabbit hole, the harder it will be to get out.

• Pregnancy and breastfeeding:

Highly recommended for pregnant women and new mothers. Infants and children under four years of age: Administration to infants and children under four years of age is highly recommended. It is never too early to become a sovereign individual.

• Overdose:

There is no limit to the intake of Orange Pill 21 million approx.

• Reporting side effects:

Any unwanted effects will be noticed from the tweets that will be published on X following the administration of Orange Pill 21 million approximately.

• Benefits:

After taking Orange Pill 21 million approximately, the overall vision will appear in all its clarity. The total revulsion towards the transfer of money in exchange for goods and services. Every expense will appear stupid and unmotivated. In some cases subject to in-depth studies, a tendency has been noted to want to spend Bitcoin to demonstrate its characteristic as a p2p currency. Savings: the time you dedicate to an activity will have a completely different meaning. Your mind will make an immediate switch from a consumer economy like the one in which we are immersed, to a savings economy, where every expense will be considered and weighed. Your time horizon will rise exponentially. Time: it will take on a completely different value. You will begin to monetize it in a currency that protects against inflation and does not subtract value from your work. You will start saving in Bitcoin, which you will jealously guard in cold storage. You will understand how the fiat system is supported by a bureaucratization created specifically to discourage every entrepreneurial initiative in the bud, nipping it under tons of rules, regulations and paperwork and instilling fear, doubts and perplexity in the entrepreneur. The Work: You will begin to transfer every aspect of Bitcoin into your work. The entrepreneurial spirit will pervade your body, you will immediately benefit in carrying out daily tasks. After a period of administration, you will try to contribute to the Bitcoin cause, taking advantage of it to collect some satoshis of your own. Only then will you understand the difference between good money and bad money. The difference between carrying out a work task in fiat mode and carrying it out in Bitcoin mode will clearly show the philosophy behind this cryptographic protocol. Separating the sound coin from the rotten one will become an automatic exercise in every moment of your life. Your assets: as already written in the Savings section, your lifestyle will unconsciously shift from a consumer economy towards a savings one. Spending money on clothing and short-lived items will seem silly to you. You will treat your items much better by replacing them only once they become unusable. And even then, after having repaired and treated them with care, you will try to find an alternative use for them. Throwing them in the garbage will only be a last resort. Bitcoin is circular economy, savings and ecology. Your hardware: You'll look at your PCs, your phones, even your refrigerator and oven, thinking about ways to make money from their work. Probably, one way or another, they will become Bitcoin nodes to be photographed and posted on X. Your general interests: You'll start to notice things you didn't notice before. The intrusion of economics and politics into every aspect of common life, such as culture, science and school. You will begin to think about your life and the lives of those around you. Your interests will change until they align with the new theory you are embracing. You'll think about Bitcoin all day, but you'll never think about its price in terms of vulgar fiat money. If you've reached that point, the price will just be a breeze that tickles you and goes away. The motto "If you don't believe me or don't understand, I don't have time to try to convince you, I'm sorry" will mark your days. As mentioned above, your time will suddenly become too precious to try to empty the sea with a bucket. Time is always a gentleman.

• License holder:

Nobody. Bitcoin is completely transparent open source software. Today, Bitcoin is constantly updated by the best computer developers in the world.

• Producer:

Satoshi Nakamoto is the material author of the software. His creation, Bitcoin, is just the culmination of decades of cypherpunk thinking.

@ 9ca0bd74:4052340b

I don't think clients should assume everyone or most people are joining from bitcointwitter, although that does seem to be the case, it further cements the silo.

I think they do this perhaps unintentionally, perhaps slightly intentionally to retain those users. You see this assumption in user recommendations at onboarding and sidebars of highlighted notes. It screams "hello, bitcointwitter expat, look we have that Natalie Brunel here, and Carla, look Jimmy Song is here... everyone you love is here!" Which imo is totally alienating to anyone outside of this very specific bubble (and even some inside that bubble who are on bitcointwitter but have follows outside of that bubble too).

https://image.nostr.build/5d3af6ea8dc9473a1180c597f69aa90ae5409ca495c69d7e8bad13e6bc100213.jpg

You also see this in responses to the problem people raise of not finding content. The tired response of 'just follow more people' you see in #introductions too. This might be fine if you're coming from bitcointwitter (maybe you want to see a dozen more posts per second of people saying 'stack sats and stay humble' and an ai image of a robot holding a bitcoin, I don't know). But this doesn't help someone looking for other topics. Twitter is bigger than bitcointwitter. People interested in topiary can find that content on twitter, or Herefordshire folklore, an expert in eel migration, or a cultural commentator, or their favourite ayahuasca enema philosopher etc etc. They can find that on wider twitter. No amount of following numbers will help that on nostr. It's not here.... yet. Perhaps recommendations of topic hashtags to follow at the onboarding stage, or RSS feed accounts... or just acknowledging it's not here. I think it's fine to acknowledge this to somehow retain at least a semblance of this not just being a bitcoin telegram group for bitcointourettes.

https://image.nostr.build/53edfb0524086d3a8f5bf8dffe60de177f7436b6eb18c0fed97cffd7e025d228.jpg

@ e83b66a8:b0526c2b

The founder of Telegram has just been arrested in France. Charges include lack of cooperation with law enforcement, drug trafficking and fraud.

Aside from Telegram, social media is controlled by two billionaires who decide what you say, are themselves controlled by overbearing governments and make money through advertising and selling your personal data.

There is a different way.

NOSTR stands for Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted on Relays and it is a social media protocol in the same way http is a web protocol.

The protocol is open and anybody can build upon it. It has some fundamental concepts that are very different to existing social media platforms.

Firstly it is decentralised, it runs across relays and anybody can run a relay. They can be open or closed, public or private, free or paid.

Secondly as a user, you don’t have an account, you have a private key which is used to secure your data.

Your profile (account) is yours, you own and control it using your private keys and verified by others with your public key.

Your posts are yours and you can store them on your own relay in your own home or business or you can rely on free public relays or more feature rich paid public relays.

All your public data is signed by your private keys to verify it is you that owns it and all your private data is encrypted so nobody can read it.

Messages (i.e. think NOSTR WhatsApp) are encrypted with your private keys so NOBODY can hack it or listen in, not even the NSA through a companies backdoor. You message other users privately by encrypting messages to them using their public key, which they decrypt using their private key.

Relays store your data in a decentralised network of private and public relays and you discover relays automatically when searching for people or content.

Data is normally sent on the clearnet, but can be relayed across the darknet (Tor) in highly censored regions.

Because it is built using Bitcoin principles and technology, so it has Bitcoin money built in, meaning you actually send / receive money from / to any participant.

As money is built in, the commercial options are different to centralised corporate owned platforms. It would be technically possible to build a platform that supports advertising, however that hasn’t really happened because influencers can be paid directly from their audience in many different ways. Ad hoc tips, subscriptions, pay to view or pay per time models.

The great thing for content creators is that they control, own and keep all the money they make. There is no third party intermediary or merchant deciding whether they are allowed to be paid or not.

NOSTR is censorship resistant, as there is no way to stop anybody publishing anything they want, in the same way nobody can stop or interfere with a Bitcoin payment.

From an end users point of view, if they want to self censor, they can do this in multiple ways. You can mute users individually, or you can choose to use relays that adhere to your views or interests, so if you don’t want to see certain categories of content, you would avoid relays that carry those feeds. You can even run your own relay and curate content that you then charge other like minded users to connect to. You can of course connect to multiple relays for multiple different type of feed.

While NOSTR is a protocol, platforms have to be built to use it, so the first platforms were twitter like clients and they are still very prevalent. However, NOSTR now has clients that emulate most social media platforms, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Soundcloud, WhatsApp etc. They are even creating their own categories as well as emulating other functions such as Office Suite tools, collaborative calendars, contact lists or e-commerce shops.

If you want to give it a go, the easiest, but not the best, way to get started is download Primal on your phone from here:

https://primal.net/downloads

It will create a private key for you and setup a Bitcoin wallet.

Once you have done this you can visit me here:

nostr:npub1aqakd28d95muqlg6h6nwrvqq5925n354prayckr424k49vzjds4s0c237n

If you want to see a small part of the ecosystem, then visit https://www.nostrapps.com/ where volunteers are listing some of the many apps that exist already.

NOSTR is being backed by Jack Dorsey, Twitter founder, and you can see his account here:

nostr:npub1sg6plzptd64u62a878hep2kev88swjh3tw00gjsfl8f237lmu63q0uf63m

Or you can see his account like this:

https://primal.net/jack

Edward Snowden is also on the platform and you can find him here:

https://primal.net/Snowden

NOSTR has around 2 million users or public keys, although nobody really knows how many, because it is decentralised and not controlled or run by any person or organisation.

Once you’ve setup Primal, you can use those same private keys to access any platform you wish and you can use a browser extension such as Alby to manage your keys: https://getalby.com/

Primal looks great, but there are other better functioning twitter like clients, probably the most reliable for iPhone is Damus: https://www.nostrapps.com/apps/damus

or Amethyst for Android: https://nostrapps.com/amethyst

The content and user base is very Bitcoin and freedom focused right now, but more and more people are starting to use the various platforms and some are transferring exclusively to it.

Some of the more interesting projects right now are:

https://www.0xchat.com/#/ – Private messaging – think WhatsApp

https://zap.stream/ – Video streaming

https://fountain.fm/ – Podcasting

https://wavlake.com/ – Music streaming

https://shopstr.store/ – Online shop

https://npub.pro/ – Website creation tool

https://nostr.build/ – Media and file storage

https://relay.tools/ – Build and curate your own relay

https://creatr.nostr.wine/subscriptions/new-user – Creator tools

Remember, the same keys you created for Primal can be used across the whole ecosystem.

@ 8cb60e21:5f2deaea

Part 2: Functiones et Objecta

2.1 Functiones

Fusce posuere felis sed lacus. Morbi sem mauris, laoreet ut, rhoncus aliquet, pulvinar sed, nisl.

``javascript function salutatio(nomen) { returnSalve, ${nomen}!`; }

console.log(salutatio("Cicero"));

const valedictio = (nomen) => { console.log(Vale, ${nomen}!); };

valedictio("Seneca"); ```

2.1.1 Parametri Default et Rest

Nunc purus. Phasellus in felis. Donec semper sapien a libero.

``javascript function congregatio(primus, secundus = "mundi", ...ceteri) { console.log(${primus} ${secundus}); console.log(Ceteri: ${ceteri.join(", ")}`); }

congregatio("Salve"); congregatio("Lorem", "ipsum"); congregatio("Veni", "vidi", "vici", "et", "cetera"); ```

2.2 Objecta

Nam congue, risus semper porta volutpat, quam pede lobortis ligula, sit amet eleifend pede libero quis orci.

``javascript const persona = { nomen: "Iulius", cognomen: "Caesar", aetas: 55, salutatio: function() { returnSalve, ${this.nomen} ${this.cognomen}!`; } };

console.log(persona.salutatio()); ```

2.2.1 Methodi Object

Nullam porttitor lacus at turpis. Donec posuere metus vitae ipsum. Aliquam non mauris.

```javascript const claves = Object.keys(persona); console.log(claves);

const valores = Object.values(persona); console.log(valores);

const paria = Object.entries(persona); console.log(paria); ```

2.3 Arrays

Morbi porttitor lorem id ligula. Suspendisse ornare consequat lectus. In est risus, auctor sed, tristique in, tempus sit amet, sem.

```javascript const fructus = ["malum", "pirum", "uva", "cerasum"];

fructus.forEach((fructus) => { console.log(fructus); });

const longiFructus = fructus.filter((fructus) => fructus.length > 4); console.log(longiFructus);

const maiusculaFructus = fructus.map((fructus) => fructus.toUpperCase()); console.log(maiusculaFructus); ```

2.4 Exercitia Parti II

1. Crea functionem quae calculat factorialem numeri.
2. Implementa methodum quae invenit maximum valorem in array.
3. Scribe programma quod ordinat objecta in array secundum proprietatem specificam.

@ e968e50b:db2a803a

ATTENTION PARENTS!

I have revamped my LNBITS bitcoin piggy bank so you don't need to deploy it yourself. Check it out at http://bitcoinpiggybank.vercel.app. All you need now is a LNBITS wallet. I've deployed a website that you can just log into with that and nothing else. I'm thinking about actually renting out my own domain for this one if people find it useful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-MNqJiLCM4

Teach your kids about sound money while they're actually stacking sats and using a fun interface.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/673739

@ 9977c3ad:43a20d63

Details

• 🍽️ Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup Jasmine rice
• 1 Tbsp. lavender flowers, crushed with mortar and pestle
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. fine cane sugar
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1/4 tsp angostura bitters
• 1/2 cup blackberries
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 4 cups trimmed and quartered shiitake mushrooms
• 1 tsp fresh coriander crushed
• 1/4 tsp fresh cumin ground
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 cup creamy coconut milk

Directions

1. Combine rice, lavender, 1/4 tsp salt, and 2 cups of water in a saucepan. Bring the rice to a boil, cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat off. Let the rice sit in the pan for at least 20 minutes.
2. Combine 1/4 cup of water, the vinegar, sugar, honey, rosemary, angostura bitters in a saucepan and bring the brine to a boil. Season with a pinch of salt. Add the berries and wait until the brine comes back to a boil. Lower the heat, so the brine simmers but does not boil. When the brine thickens, after about 15 minutes, remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 400F. In a bowl big enough to hold all the shiitake, combine the olive oil, the soy sauce and the spices. Whisk vigorously, so the oil emulsifies with the other liquid. Toss the shiitake in the mix to marinate, then evenly lay them out on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake the shiitake for 10 minutes. When you remove the shiitake from the oven, remove the thyme and throw it out. In a saucepan, bring the coconut milk to a boil. Add the shiitake and reduce the heat to a light boil until the sauce thickens.

@ d830ee7b:4e61cd62

สำหรับชาว Bitcoin ที่ติดตาม RS มาตลอด คงเข้าใจดีว่า Bitcoin คือที่สุดของสกุลเงินดิจิทัล

ใช่แล้วครับ.. Bitcoin ได้รับสมยานามว่าเป็นทองคำดิจิทัล มีค่ามาก ปลอดภัยสูงสุด แต่การทำธุรกรรมบนเลเยอร์ 1 นั้นก็ยังคงยากเย็นแสนเข็ญ

แล้ว Lightning Network ล่ะ?

มันก็เหมือน "ระบบการโอนเงินอย่างรวดเร็ว" (บนเลเยอร์ 2) ที่ทำให้การแลกเปลี่ยน Bitcoin รวดเร็ว ปลอดภัย และค่าธรรมเนียมถูกลง แต่มันก็ยังจำกัดอยู่แค่การแลกเปลี่ยน Bitcoin เท่านั้น

Lnfi (เดิมชื่อ NostrAssets) เคลมว่าแพลตฟอร์มของพวกเขาเปรียบเสมือน "ศูนย์การค้า" ที่อาจจะเปลี่ยนโฉมหน้าของ Bitcoin และ Lightning Network ไปตลอดกาล

โดยมีเป้าหมายที่จะช่วยให้ Bitcoin ไม่ใช่แค่สกุลเงินดิจิทัล แต่ยังเป็นแพลตฟอร์มสำหรับการสร้างแอปพลิเคชันและบริการทางการเงินแบบกระจายอำนาจอีกด้วย

// ข้อมูลนี้เป็นการสรุปจากเอกสารของ Lnfi ผู้ที่สนใจสามารถศึกษาเพิ่มเติมได้ที่เว็บไซต์ของ

https://image.nostr.build/9b746f8cc8db44a0b5380c595e32a2dcfcffbecf97c0718dbed3b02ca01a3dbc.jpg

🤔 Lnfi คืออะไร?

Lnfi นิยามตัวเองว่าเป็น Layer 2.5 ซึ่งเป็นเลเยอร์ที่อยู่ระหว่าง Layer 2 และ Layer 3 โดยทำหน้าที่เชื่อมต่อทั้งสองเลเยอร์เข้าด้วยกัน

พวกเขาระบุว่าเป้าหมายคือการนำ Web3 และโทเค็นมาสู่ Lightning Network และสร้างระบบนิเวศแบบกระจายอำนาจสำหรับแอปพลิเคชัน

🤔 แล้ว Lnfi ทำงานอย่างไร?

Lnfi ใช้ Taproot Assets (เดิมชื่อ Taro) ซึ่งเป็นโปรโตคอลใหม่ ที่ช่วยให้สามารถออกสินทรัพย์ดิจิทัลบนบล็อกเชนของ Bitcoin ได้

สินทรัพย์เหล่านี้จะสามารถโอนผ่าน Lightning Network ได้อย่างราบรื่น Lnfi อ้างว่าสิ่งนี้จะทำให้การทำธุรกรรมรวดเร็ว ปริมาณมาก และมีค่าธรรมเนียมต่ำ

🤔 เจ้า Lnfi มันมีอะไรน่าสนใจบ้าง?

Lnfi ระบุว่าแพลตฟอร์มของพวกเขาทำได้มากกว่าการแลกเปลี่ยน Bitcoin ไม่ได้จำกัดอยู่แค่การแลกเปลี่ยน Bitcoin กันเท่านั้น แต่ยังขยายไปสู่การออกโทเค็น, ระดมทุน, stake, lock, ให้ของขวัญ และซื้อขายสินทรัพย์ดิจิทัลบน Lightning Network ได้

ลองนึกถึงการมี Stablecoin วิ่งอยู่บน Lightning ดูครับ..

Lnfi เชื่อว่ามันจะช่วยลดภาระบล็อกเชนของ Bitcoin ช่วยให้การทำธุรกรรม Bitcoin บนเลเยอร์ 1 ราบรื่นขึ้น (เพราะไม่ได้วิ่งบนเลเยอร์ 1) ช่วยเพิ่มทราฟฟิกและการใช้งานบนเลเยอร์ชั้นถัดไป.. ทำให้เกิด Adoption ได้ง่ายขึ้น

นอกจากนี้ Lnfi ยังเคลมว่าแพลตฟอร์มของพวกเขาใช้งานง่ายด้วยภาษาธรรมชาติ โดยผู้ใช้สามารถใช้คำสั่งภาษาธรรมชาติ (ภาษาพูดธรรมดา) ผ่าน Nostr Protocol เพื่อโต้ตอบกับ Lnfi ได้อย่างง่ายดาย

ผู้ใช้สามารถส่งคำสั่งผ่านแอปพลิเคชัน Nostr เช่น Damus เพื่อสั่งให้ Lnfi ดำเนินการต่างๆ เช่น การโอนสินทรัพย์ เป็นต้น (สามารถศึกษาเพิ่มเติมได้ในเอกสารของ Lnfi)

Lnfi อ้างว่าธุรกรรมทั้งหมดบนแพลตฟอร์มไม่มีค่าธรรมเนียม อย่างไรก็ตามควรตรวจสอบข้อมูลนี้อีกครั้งจากเอกสารของ Lnfi

ในด้านความปลอดภัยและความโปร่งใส Lnfi ระบุว่าการดำเนินการทั้งหมดของผู้ใช้จะถูกเข้ารหัสและสามารถตรวจสอบได้บน NostrAssets Explorer

และ Lnfi ยังอ้างว่าแพลตฟอร์มของพวกเขามีประสิทธิภาพสูง เพราะสามารถรองรับธุรกรรมจำนวนมากต่อวินาที (TPS) ได้

https://image.nostr.build/7eeaf1a10b1afb6e8d6d1e546793ea253de671176754fb350cca3f790ed153e7.jpg

บริการต่างๆ บนแพลตฟอร์ม Lnfi

MicroNode บริการที่ Lnfi เคลมว่าจะช่วยให้ผู้ใช้สามารถตั้งค่าและจัดการ Lightning Node บนคลาวด์ได้ โดยไม่ต้องมีความรู้ทางเทคนิค ผู้ใช้สามารถควบคุม Bitcoin ของตนเองได้อย่างเต็มที่ โดย MicroNode จะทำหน้าที่เป็น Lightning Node ให้กับผู้ใช้ โดย Lnfi จะดูแลเรื่องการติดตั้งและดูแลเซิร์ฟเวอร์ให้

Lightning Starter แพลตฟอร์มที่ Lnfi อ้างว่าจะช่วยให้โครงการต่างๆ สามารถระดมทุนและออกโทเค็นได้อย่างยุติธรรมและโปร่งใส

LN Exchange แพลตฟอร์มการแลกเปลี่ยนแบบกระจายอำนาจสำหรับการซื้อขาย Bitcoin และ Taproot Assets ที่ Lnfi เคลมว่าจะรวดเร็ว ปลอดภัย และค่าธรรมเนียมต่ำ

เวิร์คช็อป Lnfi ในเวที Advanced Stage ของงาน #TBC2024 (วันที่ 14 กันยายน 2567)

เวิร์คช็อป Lnfi จะเป็นโอกาสดี ที่เราจะได้เรียนรู้เพิ่มเติมเกี่ยวกับแพลตฟอร์มนี้จากผู้เชี่ยวชาญโดยตรง เตรียมตัวให้พร้อมกับคำถามที่น่าสนใจ แล้วมาพบกันในงานครับ..

https://image.nostr.build/ca3da44972ebbe48f39fe842834e1679202c17f180cf017fb705420a09154457.jpg

เนื้อหาเสริม..

เจาะลึกคำว่า Layer 2.5 และหลักการทำงานของ Lnfi

ในโลกของบล็อกเชน คำว่า "เลเยอร์" (Layer) มักถูกใช้เพื่ออธิบายระดับต่างๆ ของโครงสร้างพื้นฐาน ซึ่ง Bitcoin เองก็มีเลเยอร์ต่างๆ อยู่เช่นกัน เพื่อเพิ่มประสิทธิภาพและความสามารถในการใช้งาน

เลเยอร์ 1 (Layer 1): คือบล็อกเชนหลักของ Bitcoin ที่บันทึกธุรกรรมทั้งหมด เป็นเหมือนฐานรากของระบบ เรียกว่า Base Layer หรือเลเยอร์ชั้นฐาน (บ้างก็เรียก Bitcoin Chain, Main Chain คือเชนหลักที่ Settle ธุรกรรมในทุกๆ ประมาณ 10 นาทีนั่นเอง)

เลเยอร์ 2 (Layer 2): ถูกสร้างขึ้นบนเลเยอร์ 1 เพื่อเพิ่มความเร็วและลดค่าธรรมเนียมในการทำธุรกรรม (Scaling) ตัวอย่างเช่น Lightning Network, โปรโตคอล ARK เป็นต้น

เลเยอร์ 3 (Layer 3): มักจะเกี่ยวข้องกับแอปพลิเคชันและบริการที่สร้างขึ้นบนเลเยอร์ 2 อีกที เช่น แอปพลิเคชันกระเป๋าเงินต่างๆ

แล้ว Layer 2.5 ล่ะ? มันอยู่ตรงไหน?

🤔 Layer 2.5 คืออะไร?

Layer 2.5 เป็นเลเยอร์ที่อยู่ระหว่าง Layer 2 และ Layer 3 ทำหน้าที่เชื่อมต่อทั้งสองเลเยอร์เข้าด้วยกัน และเพิ่มขีดความสามารถให้กับทั้งสองเลเยอร์

Lnfi ก็คือ Layer 2.5 นั่นเองครับ (Lnfi นิยามตัวเองว่าเป็น Layer 2.5)

โดย Lnfi ทำหน้าที่เชื่อมต่อ Lightning Network (Layer 2) และ Nostr Protocol (ซึ่งอาจจัดได้ว่าเป็น Layer 3) เข้าด้วยกัน เพื่อให้สามารถออกโทเค็นและสร้างแอปพลิเคชันแบบกระจายอำนาจได้

📌 หลักการทำงานของ Lnfi

Lnfi ทำหน้าที่เป็นสะพานเชื่อมระหว่าง Bitcoin, Lightning Network และ Nostr Protocol โดยใช้ประโยชน์จากจุดแข็งของแต่ละเลเยอร์ เพื่อสร้างแพลตฟอร์มทางการเงินแบบกระจายอำนาจที่มีประสิทธิภาพสูง

• "Bitcoin" เป็นรากฐานของระบบนิเวศ Lnfi โดย Lnfi จะใช้ Bitcoin เป็นสินทรัพย์หลักและเป็นเลเยอร์สำหรับการบันทึกข้อมูลขั้นสุดท้าย (final settlement)

• "Lightning Network" Lnfi จะใช้ Lightning Network เพื่อเพิ่มความเร็วและลดค่าธรรมเนียมในการทำธุรกรรม ทำให้การโอน Bitcoin และ Taproot Assets รวดเร็วและมีประสิทธิภาพมากยิ่งขึ้น

• "Taproot Assets" (TARO เดิม) เป็นโปรโตคอลที่ช่วยให้สามารถออกสินทรัพย์ดิจิทัลบนบล็อกเชนของ Bitcoin ได้ (Tokenization) โดย Lnfi ใช้ Taproot Assets เพื่อสร้างโทเค็นและสินทรัพย์ดิจิทัลอื่นๆ ขึ้นมา (Mint)

• "Nostr Protocol" เป็นโปรโตคอลแบบกระจายอำนาจสำหรับการส่งข้อความและข้อมูล Lnfi อ้างว่าผู้ใช้สามารถใช้คำสั่งภาษาธรรมชาติผ่าน Nostr Protocol เพื่อโต้ตอบกับแพลตฟอร์มได้ และสร้างแอปพลิเคชันแบบกระจายอำนาจขึ้นมา

📌 Lnfi ทำงานผ่าน LN Assets Daemon (LAD)

LAD เป็นกระบวนการเบื้องหลังที่ทำหน้าที่เป็นตัวกลางระหว่าง Taproot Assets, Lightning Network และ Nostr Protocol

LAD จะช่วยให้ผู้ใช้สามารถ..

• ฝากและถอน Bitcoin และ Taproot Assets

• โอนสินทรัพย์ระหว่างบัญชี Nostr

• ซื้อขาย Bitcoin และ Taproot Assets บน LN Exchange

• จัดการ Lightning Node ผ่าน MicroNode

หมายเหตุ

บทความนี้จัดทำขึ้นเพื่อเป็นการสรุปข้อมูลที่เผยแพร่โดย Lnfi เท่านั้น โดยมีเจตนาเพื่อนำเสนอข้อมูลเบื้องต้น และเปิดโอกาสให้ผู้อ่านได้ศึกษาเพิ่มเติมเกี่ยวกับโปรเจคนี้ ผู้เขียนไม่ได้มีส่วนเกี่ยวข้องกับ Lnfi และไม่ได้มีเจตนาชี้ชวนให้เชื่อหรือสนับสนุนโปรเจคนี้แต่อย่างใด

ข้อมูลและข้อความในบทความนี้อาจไม่สมบูรณ์หรือล้าสมัยในอนาคตหลังจากนี้ ผู้อ่านควรศึกษาข้อมูลเพิ่มเติมจากแหล่งข้อมูลอื่นๆ และทำการตรวจสอบข้อเท็จจริงด้วยตนเองก่อนตัดสินใจลงทุนหรือดำเนินการใดๆ ที่เกี่ยวข้องกับ Lnfi

การลงทุนในสินทรัพย์ดิจิทัลมีความเสี่ยงสูง ผู้อ่านควรศึกษาและทำความเข้าใจความเสี่ยงต่างๆ ก่อนตัดสินใจลงทุน

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Your truly, Jakk Goodday 🥳

@ 7460b7fd:4fc4e74b

请看2014年王兴的一场思维碰撞，视频27分钟开始

最后，一个当时无法解决的点：丢失

@ 472f440f:5669301e

For the last few months many people in bitcoin, myself included, have been focused on bitcoin's role as a macroeconomic asset. Bitcoin as a strategic reserve for the US government. Bitcoin as a strategic treasury asset for corporations. Bitcoin as a geopolitical hedge in a world that is trending toward a multi-polar power dynamic. This is where the focus has been. And for good reason. These trends will ultimately have a material effect on the price of bitcoin if they pick up steam.

However, with all of the focus on bitcoin as a strategic asset I think a couple of technical developments and trends have been overlooked. Particularly in the realm of second layer privacy. I'll touch on two of them in this letter; BOLT 12 invoices and the progression of ecash.

Yesterday afternoon the Strike (a company Ten31 is very proud to be backing) team released a blog post that detailed their journey to implementing BOLT 12 offers in their product stack. For those who are unaware of BOLT 12 and why it is important, in short, it is an upgrade to the lightning network that would make receiving bitcoin on the lightning network more private while also significantly improving the user experience. The current standard for invoicing people via the lightning network is BOLT 11, which forces users to create a unique invoice every time they want to receive bitcoin and comes with privacy tradeoffs for the party receiving bitcoin.

BOLT 12 brings with it route blinding which allows a receiver to publish a lightning offer to the network without revealing their node's public key. It also brings with it onion messaging, which allows users of the lightning network to communicate without a dependence on HTTP, which can be censored by a motivated state actor. On top of this, it enables users to create a static invoice that can be paid multiple times by multiple people. Think of a band putting their Venmo or Cash App QR code next to their tip jar on the stage. They'll be able to add a private lightning invoice their audience can pay to now.

https://strike.me/blog/bolt12-offers/

As it stands right now, Strike has only enabled BOLT 12 offers and there is work to do at the protocol layer of lightning and the different implementations of that protocol to get the full benefits of BOLT 12, but this is material progress that gets us closer to a significantly better user experience on the lightning network. If you read Strike's blog post you'll come to appreciate the collaboration between the teams working on these implementations and the companies implementing the protocol that is necessary to get these features live. Shout out to everyone who worked on this. Everyone who uses the lightning network will be better off when BOLT 12 is fully implemented.

Moving on. Earlier today the founder of the BTCPay Server open source project, Nicolas Dorier, published a blog post outlining his thoughts on how ecash has the potential to solve problems that many have tried to solve by launching their own blockchains in the past. The problem with trying to "blockchain the world" is that blockchains are very inefficient and only really work for one application; enabling a peer-to-peer digital cash system with no trusted third parties (i.e., bitcoin). However, the ultimate goals of the thousands of blockchain projects that spun up in bitcoin's wake are desirable. Cheap, private and instant transactions. The ability to trivially spin up private money tokens suited for very particular use cases. Overall great UX that makes it easy for people to realize the benefits of "blockchain technology".

The problem that has existed to date is that you don't need a blockchain for all of these things. In fact, having a blockchain for these things proves to be detrimental to their ultimate goals. Instead, what people really need is a protocol that gives you the granular control, privacy, instantaneous transactions and UX that anchors to bitcoin. This is exactly what Chaumian Mints bring to the bitcoin stack.

This is something that we've been screaming about for more than seven years in this rag. Now with ecash protocols like Cashu and Fedimint maturing, gaining traction and bringing products to market that highlight the power and flexibility of ecash systems, people are beginning to see the promise. It is only a matter of time before more and more people begin to realize this potential.

Another benefit of ecash protocols is the fact that they are siloed from each other. Ecash mints are permissionless; any one person or group of people can spin them up, offer their preferred services and maintain (or fail to maintain) their mints. The failure of one mint is not a systemic risk to other mints. This is very different from token projects that are spun up on blockchains. The last ten years have proven that individual token projects can prove to be systemic problems for individual blockchains (i.e., The DAO token on Ethereum). Being able to silo mints is the only way to ensure that the utility of ecash overall is actually scalable and robust.

Don't get so distracted by the bitcoin macro talk that you miss out on the incredible technical developments happening on top of and adjacent to bitcoin.

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Final thought... Vibes are high.

@ 572aa884:e266a569

STAR TREK TNG: INCOMPATIBLE IDEALS

by Luke Parker

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Premise: This screenplay is for an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, set near the end of Season 7. It imagines a first contact encounter between Picard’s Enterprise and a fully Anarcho-Capitalist planet with no government nor belief in authority.

---

Scene 1: Bridge

Exterior views of the Starship Enterprise give way to Captain Jean-Luc Picard standing at his command station on the bridge, his gaze steady and contemplative as he records his log.

Picard: (voiceover) "Captain's log, Stardate 48881.4. We were on our way to Deep Space 9 to provide support for the upcoming Bajoran elections when we received an audio-only distress call from a person on the planet Anarak, just outside of Cardassian space. The planet has yet to be contacted by the Federation, and in fact very little is known about it other than how it has a highly unusual social structure; one that appears to function without any form of central government or hierarchical leadership. It is a society that, despite its relatively high level of technological sophistication, has yet to achieve warp capability. The message is urgently requesting help from any peaceful civilization in range to defend his people against Cardassian invaders. It is difficult to imagine even the Cardassians violating the Prime Directive in such a manner. We are changing course to investigate."

Picard finishes his log entry and looks up, his expression thoughtful. The rest of the bridge crew is attentive with the memory of the Cardassain conquest of Bajor fresh in their minds.

Data: [turning from his console to face Picard] "Captain, Starfleet's lone anthropological record on Anarak indicates that it has a relatively large population and is advanced in various scientific fields. However, there are no reports of warp capability nor a leadership structure for us to contact there. Their society’s structure might challenge our usual protocols for contact."

Riker: [with a hint of curiosity] "An advanced society with no central government? That's a first."

Picard: [nodding] "Indeed, Number One. The distress call came from an individual named Bas T'yat, who identifies himself only as an entrepreneur. Our intelligence suggests that Anarak's society is structured in a way that is not only hostile to hierarchies but completely devoid of any form of leadership or authority. They seem to operate on a principle of total autonomy. This would seem to indicate an absence of a planetary defense system."

Troi: [thoughtful, with concern] "Without a central authority, how do they respond to any external threats? A society like this could be quite vulnerable to more aggressive powers, like the Cardassians."

Picard: [grimly] "It seems that may already be the case. The distress signal implied that a hostile force, likely Cardassian, has targeted them. Without a unified defense, they could be easy prey."

Worf: [sternly] "If the Cardassians are involved, Captain, they will not hesitate to exploit such a weakness. We must be prepared for hostilities."

Data: [analyzing the implications] "However, the lack of formal governance could complicate any assistance we offer. Without a government to negotiate with, we may face challenges in determining how to intervene appropriately."

Picard: [resolute, yet cautious] "We will treat Anarak as we would any other planet sending a distress call, regardless of their social structure. However, we must tread carefully. If we arrive to find Cardassians engaged in hostile acts, we may be forced to intervene. But in Federation space, our priority remains the protection of life and the maintenance of Federation principles."

The bridge crew exchanges looks of determination, each officer understanding the complexities of the mission ahead.

Picard: [decisive, raising his voice slightly] "Set course for Anarak. Engage at warp seven."

Data: [acknowledging] "Course plotted, Captain. Engaging warp seven."

The familiar hum of the warp engines intensifies as the stars on the viewscreen stretch into streaks of light, and the Enterprise leaps into warp, speeding towards the strange planet and the potential conflict awaiting them.

---

Scene 2: Bridge

The Enterprise emerges from warp above the planet Anarak, the planet’s blue-green surface appearing deceptively peaceful below.

Worf: [at tactical, scanning the area] "Captain, no alien vessels are currently in the vicinity, only artificial satellites. However, I'm detecting signs of recent battle on the planet's surface."

Picard: [moving closer to Worf's station] "Specify, Lieutenant."

Worf: [analyzing the data] "There is minor damage to infrastructure in multiple locations, consistent with Cardassian disruptor fire. Several structures show signs of targeted attacks, but the damage is localized and not extensive."

Data: [at the science station] "Captain, I'm detecting several warp signatures leading to and from the planet. However, one of these signatures does not match any known Cardassian engine profile and is not in our warp signature database."

Riker: [concerned, looking to Picard] "An unknown vessel in the area right around the time of a Cardassian attack? This could complicate matters."

Troi: [sensing the tension, her voice calm but alert] "Whoever they are, they may not have the best intentions. The people of Anarak could be more vulnerable than we initially thought."

Picard ponders this information, his expression thoughtful yet wary. The bridge crew continues their scans, tension mounting as they try to make sense of the situation.

Worf: [interrupting the silence] "Captain, we are being hailed from the surface."

Picard: [decisive, nodding] "On screen."

The viewscreen flickers to life, revealing the image of a middle-aged man with a rugged, practical look. He exudes an air of cautious relief, though his eyes betray a deep-seated wariness.

Bas T'yat: "Alien vessel, thank you for coming so quickly. My name is Bas T'yat, and I’m an entrepreneur and concerned family man. Please, can you tell me, are you an ally of the Cardassians?"

Picard: [calm and reassuring] "Mr. T'yat, I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise. I assure you, the Federation is not aligned with the Cardassians, although we have dealt with them before, and are aware of their transgressions."

Bas T'yat: [sighs in relief] "Thank goodness. We desperately need your help. An alien ship identifying itself as Cardassian has been harassing us for weeks. I fear they'll return soon, and we have little defense against their matter transportation technology. I'm a successful inventor and businessman, Captain. I have resources and tech that could be of value to your Federation, and I'm prepared to trade anything you want in order to help protect my people."

Picard: [curious, leaning slightly forward] "Tell me more about these attacks. What exactly have the Cardassians done?"

Bas T'yat: [his tone shifting to one of frustration mixed with guilt] "It started about a month ago. One of our companies, my own company, in fact, launched a new type of vessel that can travel faster than light using a warp field, the first one we've ever built. Within an hour of it's maiden voyage the Cardassians showed up. At first, they demanded to know who was in charge of the planet. They didn't like the answer they got: We are a free people and no one commands us."

Riker: [sharing a knowing glance with Picard] "A society without centralized leadership would be difficult for the Cardassians to understand or even tolerate."

Bas T'yat: [nodding] "That was my conclusion. They treated us like a lawless frontier, moving in to take whatever they wanted. They attacked our resource stockpiles, dematerialising and I assume stealing whatever they could before we even knew what was happening. Our ground-based defense missiles successfully took out their two smaller fighter crafts that came down into our sirspace, but we have no defense against their transporter technology. Their last visit was just a raid from orbit. They just grabbed what they could without even entering the atmosphere and left within minutes."

Picard: [thoughtful, with a hint of concern] "I see. There are widely-agreed-upon rules against this type of behavior, I assure you. However, since the Federation has never made contact with your people before now, we are unfamiliar with the proper etiquette for such a first encounter. How do you suggest we proceed safely for an official meeting?"

Bas pauses, visibly perplexed by the concept of "official" procedures, his expression almost amused.

Bas T'yat: [with a chuckle] "Official meeting? Captain, just come on down and park your craft outside my coordinates. My wife will make us all some refreshments."

Picard: [with a slight smile, yet maintaining formality] "We appreciate the hospitality, Mr. T'yat, but we prefer to beam down if that's acceptable to you. We can be there in a few minutes."

Bas T'yat: [nervous but agreeable] "Beam down? Uh, sure, that's fine. I was wondering if that technology worked on people. Love to see it in action."

Picard: [nodding respectfully] "Understood. I'll be down with a small team to meet you outside your building shortly. Picard out."

The screen goes dark as the connection ends, leaving the bridge crew to process the encounter.

Riker: [with a wry smile] "Drinks with the locals; sounds like fun."

Troi: [softly, but with insight] "He's nervous, but also hopeful. I'm sensing some hurt pride in him, too, Captain. This is likely the first time his people have ever had to reach out to anyone off-world for help. His pride may cloud his ability to fully grasp the dangers they’re facing."

Picard: [serious, standing up to address the crew] "On top of being an official first contact, the Cardassians have made this a very delicate situation. We must be prepared for anything. Counselor Troi, Data, and La Forge, you're with me. Number one, you have the bridge."

The crew nods in understanding as the away team heads to the turbolift. The tension in the air is palpable as they ready themselves for what may be a challenging first contact and a possible hostile encounter with the Cardassians.

---

Scene 3: Bas T’yat’s Front Lawn

The team materializes on the surface of Anarak, just outside of a large, elegant house set in a lush, rural landscape. The area is a blend of modern luxury and natural beauty, though signs of recent damage are evident. Smoke still rises from a nearby hangar, the aftermath of the Cardassian attack clear in the smoldering ruins. As the team takes in their surroundings, a group of locals approaches. At the forefront is Bas T'yat, flanked by a few colleagues. He's a middle-aged man with a commanding presence, dressed in practical yet fine clothing. His stride is confident, and his eyes sharp with the determination of a man used to getting what he wants. Bas’s face lights up with a mixture of curiosity and enthusiasm as he sees the away team.

Bas T'yat: [warmly, holding his palms upwards and then extending one hand towards Picard in a greeting] "Captain Picard! Welcome to Anarak! I'm Bas T'yat. It is my honor to meet you."

Picard: [imitating the hand motion, with a polite smile] "The honor is ours, Mr. T'yat. Thank you for your hospitality. May our two peoples forever live in harmony."

Bas gestures to the smoldering hangar in the distance, his tone tinged with frustration.

Bas T'yat: [with a sigh] "That would be wonderful. I do wish the circumstances for your visit were better. [clenching his fists] That's my hangar over there, or what's left of it, anyway. The Cardassians destroyed it and the spacecraft I designed and built there. It was our first warp vessel, one that the whole world cheered on at launch just last month. We were going to colonize the asteroids with it."

Geordi: [To Picard, gesturing towards the wreckage] "If I may, Captain?"

Picard: "Certainly." [To Bas T'yat] "This is my head engineer, Commander Geordi La Forge."

Geordi: [stepping forward] "Mr. T'yat, if it's alright with you, I'd like to examine the wreckage. I might be able to determine if anything is salvageable."

Bas T'yat: [nodding, gesturing to a colleague] "Of course. Lar Kinn here is our chief pilot. He made the historic first flight and he'll take you to the hangar and help with anything you need."

Geordi and Lar Kinn head towards the hangar, with Geordi hoping to confirm if this was the source of the warp signature detected in orbit. Meanwhile, Bas leads Picard, Troi, and Data toward his house. As they walk, Bas impatiently answers a few questions about his planet, his voice tinged with annoyance and concern.

Data: “Mr. T’yat, if I may, I notice that your neighborhood’s infrastructure is well taken care of. If Anarak has no central authority of any kind, who is responsible for keeping the roads and infrastructure?”

Bas T'yat: ”Well, as a rule of thumb, if it’s on my land, I am. If it’s not on my land, then someone else is, but I may have to pay them to use it. They look so nice because we all get better insurance rates for keeping them that way.”

Data: “Curious. And who initiates larger projects like mass transportation and research?”

Bas T'yat: [slightly annoyed] “They are all risky endeavors taken by entrepreneurs like myself. Sometimes profits take decades to appear, but like with my new warp engine, I’m sure they’ll make me a huge fortune one day.” [turning to ensure Picard can hear him] "Anyway, I fear the Cardassians aren't done with us. They've stopped even trying to make demands of us, which makes me think they're planning something bigger. Perhaps a larger assault. We've been able to fend them off so far, but I have no clue how to defend against those transporter devices."

Picard: [impressed] "It is remarkable that your society, with no planetary defense force, was able to repel Cardassian military forces, even if only temporarily. Cardassian ships are known for their significant weapons and shields."

Bas T'yat: [with a hint of pride] "The people of Anarak are no strangers to defending themselves. We have numerous private protection agencies, each with advanced missile fortifications and other kinds of defenses to protect every inch of this planet. But these were designed to fend off terrorists or rival companies, not an alien invader."

They reach the entrance to Bas's home. He pauses before entering, turning to Picard with a serious expression.

Bas T'yat: [earnestly] "Captain, I'm prepared to trade for whatever defensive technology you can provide, especially something to counter the Cardassian's transporter technology. I am confident that our ground defenses can take out their shuttlecraft, but we're helpless against their ability to beam in and out at will."

Picard pauses, his face reflecting the weight of his decision before he speaks.

Picard: [in his most diplomatic tone] "Mr. T'yat, the Federation is committed to helping those in need, and we don't tolerate bullies. However, there are restrictions on the technology we can share, particularly weaponry. Also, the Federation's assistance often depends on whether a planet is on the path to becoming a member. We must ensure that our values align. In this case, a diplomatic approach might bring a far more lasting peace than simply escalating an arms race."

Bas considers this, his optimism tinged with caution. The group moves into a large room with lots of seating where a warm drink much like tea is offered. Picard partakes graciously.

Bas T'yat: [thoughtfully] "I see. Federation membership is... a complicated idea. I'm sure many heads of companies like myself would welcome it, but for the whole planet to become a singular member of any larger federation is hard to imagine. Our society values individual freedom above all else, and I'm not sure how compatible everyone here is with the Federation's ideals."

Data: "The benefits of Federation membership are considerable. Could not your people one day vote on the issue to see if a majority wants to join after taking ample time to research membership?"

Bas T'yat: [skeptically] "Voting is something that hasn't been done here for tens of thousands of years. We consider it to be archaic, a form of slavery of the minority. Honestly, I'm surprised your culture still practices it."

Picard: [nodding, a little embarrassed] "I see. Rest assured that we try to only vote on things that have every participant's full consent. You'll find that this is very common among the races you meet as your people start to explore the stars. But until then, know that the Federation's primary concern is the safety of everyone in Federation space, including your people."

While inside Bas's home, Data discreetly connects to an open network connection, accessing Anarak's version of the internet called the Openlink. His eyes flicker left to right at an inhuman speed as he analyzes the planet's defenses and infrastructure.

Data: [quietly, to Picard as he processes the data] "Captain, while there are many advanced technologies in the hands of individuals and companies, I find no evidence of any kind of unified military infrastructure. The defense efforts are completely decentralized, which will surely prove problematic in the event of a full-scale Cardassian invasion."

Picard: [grimly] "Given the Cardassians' history, we must prepare for the worst."

Just then, Geordi returns from the hangar, his expression a mix of curiosity and concern.

Geordi: "Captain, I've confirmed that Bas's ship was the source of the warp signature we detected. Unfortunately, the wreckage isn't salvageable. It could be a long time before Anarak returns to the stars."

Bas T'yat: [with a determined grin] "I wouldn't say that. My first flight was widely publicized. Lar Kinn and I are celebrities now. Hundreds of other companies are likely working on similar technology already. Some of us refer to it as 'the great space race,' with the goal of creating the first off-world colony, and my company is currently in the lead."

Picard: [with a slight smile, impressed by the resilience] "It seems the people of Anarak are not to be counted out yet. Your intrepid spirit will serve you well as Anarakans start exploring the Galaxy."

Troi: [warmly] "Your optimism is admirable, Mr. T'yat. But remember, resilience is strongest when combined with caution."

Bas T'yat: [nodding, appreciatively] "Wise words, Miss Troi. Hopefully with your help we'll be ready for whatever comes next."

Picard: [ready to leave] "This tea is delicious, thank you for your hospitality. Next I'll need to talk to my superiors at Starfleet headquarters before we can proceed any further. I'll be sure and pass your concerns and needs on to them and then we'll contact you again later today."

The away team prepares to depart, with Bas expressing his thanks once more. As they beam back to the Enterprise, each member reflects on the unique challenges of Anarak.

---

Scene 4: Picard’s ready room

Minutes later, Captain Picard sits alone in his ready room, the vast starscape of space visible through the window behind him. His posture is straight, and the weight of the decision before him is clear in his eyes. He taps a command into his desk console, and the screen flickers to life with the familiar stern face of Vice Admiral Alynna Nechayev. Her image on the screen is as imposing as ever.

Picard: [calmly, but with underlying urgency] "Admiral, I've just concluded a preliminary contact with a representative of Anarak, just a few light years this side of Cardassian space. The situation is more complex than anticipated. The planet is under threat from the Cardassians; specifically Gul Bankar, who's been making increasingly aggressive moves from orbit. Meanwhile, the society on Anarak is... unconventional. They have no central government, no formal leadership nor military structure. The entire planet operates under a decentralized, anarchic, commerce-based system."

Nechayev: [eyes narrowing] "Anarchists? No structure? That's not exactly an encouraging environment for a first contact, Jean-Luc.

Picard: “Admiral, they’ve managed to develop warp technology without either a government or military. It’s a remarkable feat, but one that leaves them vulnerable.”

Nechayev: “Are you certain there’s no one in authority at all? Not even an ambassador?"

Picard: [nodding] "Precisely. Their social structure wouldn’t allow it. Our first contact has been with an individual and his family, one Bas T'yat; a wealthy businessman and the inventor of their first warp-capable ship. He's requesting assistance to defend against further Cardassian attacks, but without a central authority, assisting one individual could have unpredictable consequences."

Nechayev: [questioning sharply] "Hmm. And what of the Cardassians? Is there any evidence of their involvement?"

Picard: [gravely] "Plenty. The Cardassians have already raided the planet, seizing valuable resources. Their ship left orbit shortly before our arrival, but the threat of their return looms large. Bas T'yat is convinced they'll come back with a larger force."

Nechayev pauses, her expression hardening as she considers the situation.

Nechayev: [warningly] "Starfleet cannot afford to be drawn into deeper hostilities with the Cardassian Union, Jean-Luc. Especially not over a non-member world. You must tread carefully. A diplomatic solution is paramount, and under no circumstances should you provide this Bas T'yat with advanced defensive technology. The Prime Directive is clear; we don't interfere with the internal affairs of non-member worlds, and besides, you haven't even made proper first contact with the planet, only with one family."

Picard: [measured, but firm] "Admiral, with respect, Anarak is far more advanced than many worlds we've encountered. Their technological capabilities, while decentralized, are impressive. Now that they are getting their space legs it won't be long before Anarakans are showing up in ports across the quadrant. And if the Cardassians establish a foothold here, it could destabilize the entire region."

Nechayev's face softens slightly, recognizing the gravity of the situation. She sighs, her resolve shifting as she weighs the options.

Nechayev: [reluctantly] "Alright, Jean-Luc. I don’t like this, but I trust your judgement. You may share transport inhibitor technology. Only enough to help them counter the Cardassians' beaming technology, but nothing more. And remember, this Bas T'yat doesn't speak for his whole planet. Try to treat his family like you would if you found them alone in a spaceship."

Picard: "Understood, Admiral. I'll proceed with caution."

Nechayev: [more sternly] "Just don't start another war, Jean-Luc."

The screen goes dark. Picard leans back in his chair, the weight of the decision pressing on him. He stands, smoothing his uniform, and exits the ready room onto the bridge.

---

Scene 5: Bridge

On the bridge, the atmosphere is tense as the crew processes the situation. Picard steps up to his command chair, addressing the senior officers who have gathered.

Picard: [seriously] "Admiral Nechayev has authorized us to share transport inhibitor technology with Anarak to help them defend against further Cardassian raids. But we must be mindful of the ethical implications of our actions."

Dr. Crusher:: [concerned] "Captain, I'm worried about the consequences of becoming involved in this situation. If we assist Anarak, it could escalate into a larger conflict--one that could draw the Federation into another war with the Cardassians."

Worf: [gruffly, with resolve] "But allowing the Cardassians to plunder a defenseless society is equally unacceptable, Doctor. We have a responsibility to protect the vulnerable."

Picard: [thoughtfully, considering both viewpoints] "I'm inclined to agree with Worf on this one, Beverly. We must work fast to deploy the inhibitors wherever we can, but that does bring up another problem. The Prime Directive prevents us from interfering in the internal affairs of non-member worlds. And giving one individual on Anarak access to advanced technology could upset the delicate balance of their society. What if Bas T'yat's company gains a monopoly on defense technology? It could shift the power dynamics on the entire planet."

Troi: [insightfully, her voice calm] "Captain, I sense that Bas T'yat is deeply worried about his planet's future. He feels a strong sense of responsibility and guilt for the attacks... I don't think that he had any way to know that their warp signature would act as a beacon to those seeking resources. They didn't even know other life forms existed until the Cardassians arrived. It's clear that Anarakans weren't prepared for the reality of interstellar contact."

Picard: [resolved] "I agree, Counselor. We're dealing with a society that is both advanced and vulnerable. A dangerous combination. We must proceed carefully."

Picard considers this, his brow furrowed in thought. Finally, he makes a decision.

Picard: [decisively] "We must proceed, however. I'll invite Bas T'yat to the Enterprise to discuss the situation further. We will ensure that any assistance we provide doesn't destabilize their society, or escalate the conflict."

Picard hails Bas T'yat from his command station.

Picard: [calmly] "Mr. T'yat, I'd like to invite you aboard the Enterprise to discuss our options in person."

The main screen fills with T'yat's face again.

Bas T'yat: [with a hint of hesitation] "Thank you, Captain, I accept. But I'd prefer to take my own craft... Still not quite comfortable with the transporter technology, if you'll understand. I'll bring my wife, L'anna, and my pilot, Lar Kinn."

Picard: [diplomatic, nodding slightly] "Understood. We'll be ready to receive you in the shuttlebay.”

---

Scene 6: Main Shuttlebay

In the Enterprise's shuttlebay, the crew prepares to greet their visitors. The doors slide open, and a sleek, streamlined skysled enters the bay, guided by Lar Kinn at the controls. The craft settles gently onto the deck, and the hatch opens. Bas T'yat steps out, accompanied by his wife, L'anna, and Lar Kinn, who looks around the shuttlebay with wide-eyed curiosity. Picard, Troi, and Data are there to meet them, offering warm greetings as the Anarakans take in the impressive sight of the Enterprise's interior.

Picard: [welcoming, with a gesture towards the ship] "Welcome aboard the Enterprise, Mr. and Mrs. T'yat. I trust your journey was smooth?"

Bas T'yat: [grinning, clearly impressed] "Very much so, Captain. Your ship is... well, it's more than I imagined. Thank you for having us."

Troi steps forward, offering a kind smile.

Troi: [invitingly] "If you'd like, I can give you a tour of the ship. We're quite proud of our vessel, and I think you'll find it fascinating."

L'anna's eyes widen with excitement, and she nods eagerly. Bas exchanges a look with Lar Kinn, just catching up to the group. He seems just as eager to explore as the others, and nods excitedly to Troi.

Bas T'yat: [appreciatively] "We'd be honored. Lead the way, Counselor."

Lar Kinn: So can all these shuttles go faster than light?

With that, the group sets off on a tour of the Enterprise, the Anarakans marveling at the advanced technology and seamless design of the Federation starship. As they walk, Troi can't help but notice the mix of awe and determination in Bas T'yat an inventor and leader who knows that his world's future may very well depend on the choices made in the hours to come.

---

Scene 7: Bridge

The scene opens as Counselor Troi leads Bas T'yat, L'anna, and Lar Kinn onto the bridge of the Enterprise. The visitor's awe is palpable as they take in the grandeur of the ship's command center. Picard, standing near the captain's chair, barely has a moment to welcome them when a sudden alert draws everyone's attention.

Data: [at his station, voice urgent] "Captain, I'm detecting the return of the Cardassian battle cruiser. It is registered as the Kolarak. It just popped out from behind the home star and is entering orbit around Anarak."

Riker: "Yellow alert. On screen."

Picard immediately straightens, his expression shifting from welcoming to resolute. The tension on the bridge heightens as the viewscreen flickers to life, displaying the imposing sight of the Kolarak. The Cardassian vessel looms in space, its dark hull bristling with weaponry.

Picard: [calmly, but with authority] "Mr. Worf, open a channel to the Kolarak."

The screen quickly reveals the stern visage of a Cardassian Gul in his command chair. His eyes narrow as he takes in the sight of the bridge crew and the unfamiliar faces of Bas and his companions.

Picard: [with measured politeness] "I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise. With whom am I speaking?"

Gul Bankar: [with a sneer, his voice dripping with condescension] "You may address me as Gul Bankar."

Picard: "Gul Bankar, there have been reports of your vessel causing harm and stealing resources from the planet below. With me is Bas T'yat, the owner of the warp-capable vessel that it appears your forces destroyed on the surface. We request an explanation for these hostilities."

Gul Bankar: "Captain Picard, your presence here is an unwelcome interference. This planet, and its inhabitants, are under Cardassian protection. You will withdraw immediately, leaving Anarak to our care."

Picard's gaze hardens, but his tone remains calm and firm.

Picard: [skeptically] "Cardassian protection? Anarak lies within Federation territory. We received a distress call and are here to provide assistance."

Bankar's expression darkens, his eyes flashing with anger.

Gul Bankar: [coldly] "The Federation's meddling in this region is all too well documented, Picard, but Anarak is too close to Cardassian space for your interference to be tolerated. I find your so-called assistance nothing more than another prelude to annexation."

Bas, standing beside Troi, listens intently, his face reflecting a mixture of concern and frustration. Picard, sensing the rising tension, steps closer to the viewscreen.

Picard: [with resolve] "The Federation respects the sovereignty of all worlds. We are only here because of your aggressive actions, not to claim this planet. We have long worked to maintain peace in this sector, and I would hate to see that peace jeopardized by your reckless actions here."

Gul Bankar: [sarcastically] "Peace? The Federation's control of Terok Nor and the Bajoran wormhole is hardly a gesture of peace. It was a clear power grab, one that we will not allow to extend to Anarak."

Picard's eyes narrow, his voice taking on a steely edge.

Picard: [firmly] "Gul Bankar, a conflict between the Federation and the Cardassian Union would serve no one's interests, especially not over a planet that is so new to the neighborhood. I suggest you contact your superiors before taking any further aggressive actions."

There's a tense silence as Bankar considers Picard's words, his eyes flicking to Bas and then back to Picard. Finally, he lowers his head in a slight nod, though his expression remains hostile.

Gul Bankar: [grudgingly] "Very well, Captain. I will contact Central Command. But understand this; Anarak will not fall under Federation control, and I will ensure that Cardassia's interests are protected. I will contact you again in 4 hours."

The transmission abruptly cuts off, leaving the bridge in a heavy silence. The Kolarak remains on the viewscreen, hovering ominously in space, nose to nose with the Enterprise now. Picard exhales, turning to face his crew.

Picard: [calmly, but with an undertone of urgency] "Maintain our position and yellow alert, Mr. Worf, and monitor the Kolarak for any signs of hostile activity."

Worf gives a curt nod, his eyes never leaving the tactical display.

Worf: [with determination] "Aye, Captain. Shields at maximum, weapons ready."

Picard then turns to Bas, who is visibly shaken but trying to maintain his composure.

Picard: [reassuringly] "Mr. T'yat, I understand this is a difficult situation and you don't yet know who to trust, but I assure you that we aim to keep the peace in this sector and will do everything in our power to ensure your planet's safety. We ask nothing in return from the Anarakan people. However, it is crucial that we handle this matter diplomatically."

Bas nods, though his expression is one of deep concern.

Bas T'yat: [uneasily] "I appreciate that, Captain, and don't worry, nothing that Gul Bankar says will make me trust his offer of "protection" after he destroyed my ship and stole resources from all over the planet. But I do worry that he’s using this time to call for reinforcements."

Picard places a reassuring hand on Bas's shoulder, his voice steady.

Picard: [confidently] "If he attacks, we'll face that challenge together, Mr. T'yat. You are free to return to the surface at any time but for now, I think it best that we consider how fast we could deploy our transporter inhibitor technology on your planet."

Bas T'yat: [enthusiastically] "You mean you're willing to sell us devices that can stop them from beaming up our resources?"

Picard: "Or beaming their troops down. And we wouldn't sell it to you, it is our gift. The Federation doesn't sell it's assistance to those in need."

The visitors faces all brighten in unison with relief.

L'anna: "I don't know how we could ever thank you enough, Captain. This means everything to our people."

Picard: "Don't thank us yet, there is still the issue of deploying enough of them in time. If they're going to attack in 4 hours you'd need them set up near all the most valuable targets at the very least. They'll need a steady supply of energy, too."

Bas furls his lips in concerned thought.

Data: "Captain, I've analyzed all of the planet's most valuable resource depots that our scanners can detect and I see 168 unique locations that we should set up transport inhibitors. There may, of course, be other targets too that they would want."

Riker: [apprehensively] "That's way too many for us to replicate in time, much less visit each location to install within the next 4 hours."

Picard: "We need a way to speed up that deployment, at least to enough sites that will show Gul Bankar that things have changed... And hopefully without him detecting our movements."

Bas T'yat: "If I may captain, I think I know a better way to deploy them if I can just make a detailed scan of one and save it to our printer file format... We don't have your transporter technology, but our device printers are able to scan and quickly reproduce any technological device that we can identify the components of."

Riker: "And how will that help distribute them to everyone in time?"

Bas T'yat: "Simple, every business and household has one of these printers. I can upload the scanned file to our Openlink and tell all of Anarak in one broadcast about the imminent threat and how to protect themselves from it with one of these inhibitors. They'll pop out thousands of them in time."

Picard: "That sounds very promising, Mr. T’yat. But I want your assurance that your company will not hold any sort of monopoly on this technology or otherwise profit from it; In lieu of a government, the Federation requires that this gift be made to your whole planet at once."

Bas T'yat: [after some hesitation] "Alright, Captain. You have my promise. Giving up some profits is the least I can do to make up for attracting the Cardassians to Anarak."

Picard looks visibly relieved, giving a curt nod to Bas.

Picard: "Data, take our guests to engineering and grab whomever you may need to assist you with making this happen in time. Remember, you’ll also need to show the Anarakans how to use these devices."

Data: "Aye sir." [To the visitors] "If you'll follow me please, we'll be able to work on this in engineering."

Data, Bas, Lar Kinn, and L'anna walk briskly to the turbolift. The scene closes with Picard returning to his command chair, the bridge crew resuming their stations as the standoff between the Enterprise and the Kolarak continues. The two ships remain locked in silence, nose to nose, as the 4-hour countdown begins.

---

Scene 8: Main Engineering

The scene opens in Main Engineering, where Geordi La Forge, Data, and Ensign Sam Lavelle are putting the final touches on the scan for their transport inhibitor device. Bas T'yat and Lar Kinn stand nearby, observing the process with keen interest. The atmosphere is tense, underscored by the ticking clock counting down the hours until Gul Bankar's deadline.

Geordi: [focused as he works] "All right, that should do it. The scan of this transport inhibitor is ready, and the data's been formatted for your printers."

He hands a datapad to Bas, who takes it with a mix of curiosity and nervousness.

Geordi: [reassuringly] "You'll be able to upload the complete plans from this device, including an adapter for your power source. Once it's on your network, anyone with Openlink access will be able to build and deploy these inhibitors in a matter of minutes. It's up to you, however, to convince them to do that."

Bas T'yat: [relieved] "Thank you, Commander. I'm sure many will manage it in time, but I just hope it's enough."

Lavelle: [chiming in, pointing to the datapad] "Also I've included a detailed instruction set too. It explains how to set the units up and operate them."

Bas nods his thanks, flipping through the instructions as Lar Kinn looks over his shoulder.

Data: [ever precise, offering a suggestion] "Mr. T'yat, given the standoff outside, it may be prudent to avoid the use of the transporter. The Kolarak is likely monitoring our actions closely. Sending the plans with you aboard the skysled would appear less provocative."

Bas looks visibly relieved at the suggestion, nodding in agreement.

Bas T'yat: [grateful] "Thank you, we'd prefer not having our atoms scattered throughout the atmosphere today anyway."

Geordi: [nodding, humorously] "No problem. We'll make sure the skysled is ready to go."

Data gestures toward the exit of Engineering, indicating it's time to depart.

Data: [calmly, but with urgency] "We should make our way to the shuttlebay. There's less than two hours remaining before the Gul's deadline. It's imperative that as many Anarakans as possible receive these plans in time."

Bas and Lar Kinn exchange a look, their expressions set with determination as they follow Data out of Engineering. The camera follows the group as they walk briskly through the corridors of the Enterprise.

L'anna: "You'll be sure to tell the Captain and Councilor Troi that we said goodbye?"

Data: "Of course. And let me say that I find your culture truly intriguing, and hope we get the chance to visit again in the future, no matter if Anarak chooses Federation membership or otherwise."

Bas T'yat: "You'd be our welcome guest anytime, Mr. Data. I think you'd most enjoy seeing the progress my people have made with robotics and artificial intelligence. My company produces one of the best-selling android assistants on the market."

Data: "Fascinating. I look forward to it. Here we are."

As they reach the shuttlebay, the large bay doors slide open, revealing the sleek skysled waiting for them. The ship is prepped and ready for launch, its engines humming with quiet power.

Data: [pausing as their ship's door opens] "We wish you a safe journey, Mr. T'yat, L'anna, Mr. Kinn."

Bas T'yat: [nodding, with resolve] "We'll make sure everyone gets these plans. Thank you, Commander Data."

Lar Kinn gives Data a respectful nod before they step onto the skysled. Data watches as they take their positions inside the cockpit. Data then taps his communicator, his voice steady.

Data: "Data to the Bridge, our visitors are ready to depart."

The camera cuts to the exterior of the Enterprise, where the massive shuttlebay doors slide open. The skysled, with its sleek design and glowing engines, slowly backs out of the bay, the vastness of space stretching out behind it. As the skysled turns on its main engines, the camera shifts to an interior cabin view, showing Bas and Lar Kinn exchanging a final, determined nod before the vessel speeds downwards towards Anarak.

---

Scene 9: Bridge

The scene opens 30 minutes later. The tension on the Enterprise bridge is palpable as the Openlink broadcasts Bas's message and the transport inhibitor plans worldwide. The crew watches anxiously as the first inhibitors are swiftly deployed across Anarak. Suddenly, the ship's sensors beep urgently. Worf glances at his console, eyes narrowing.

Worf: [alarmed] "Captain, seven additional Cardassian battle cruisers have exited warp and joined Gul Bankar's ship. They're forming up and preparing to engage."

Riker: "Red alert, forward shields to maximum."

Picard's expression hardens as the Kolarak hails them. Gul Bankar's visage appears on the viewscreen, eyes burning with fury.

Gul Bankar: [accusatory] "We've detected the inhibitor plans on their planet-wide network, Picard. You've broken our gentleman's agreement by sharing advanced technology with a primitive civilization. So much for Starfleet ideals! You're no match for us now. Try and stop us at your own peril."

With that, Bankar cuts off communications. Picard stands, frustration etched into his features as the fleet of eight warships begins its descent toward Anarak.

Data: [urgently] "Captain, the Cardassian ships are gaining speed and appear to be initiating an attack run on the planet's largest population center. Tens of millions of civilian lives are at risk, more than usual because the defensive turrets are spread out among the greater population. It is not uncommon for them to be placed on rooftops and around housing here."

The crew's tension escalates as the gravity of the situation sinks in. Picard, feeling the weight of command, turns to his officers.

Picard: [steady but intense] "Ideas?"

Worf: "Captain, we could attempt to disable their weapons and transporters, focusing on minimizing their capacity to attack."

Riker: [shaking his head] "Even so, we're outmatched. Enterprise won't survive against eight battle cruisers."

Troi: [calm but urgent] "We just need to buy time. To give the Anarakans a chance to fully deploy their defense net. But any kind of engagement from us still risks re-igniting a war with the Cardassians."

Data, ever analytical, speaks up with a grim tone.

Data: "Captain, I've run millions of battle scenarios. None result in the Enterprise surviving while saving more than a few dozen lives on the surface. Our current position is untenable."

As the Cardassian warships break through the planet's stratosphere, Ensign Lavelle, stationed at comms, suddenly speaks up.

Lavelle: [urgently] "Captain, Bas T'yat has just sent out another message across the planet, warning of the incoming Cardassian fleet."

Picard opens his mouth and lifts his index finger to respond, but he's cut off by a sudden, blinding array of light erupting from the planet's surface, filling up the viewscreen. The bridge crew shields their eyes as the screen fills with thousands of pinpricks of light; an overwhelming launch of nuclear-armed missiles aimed directly at the Cardassian fleet.

Worf: [stunned] "Captain, these are nuclear-fission warheads, each with a 10-megaton yield. I've never seen a civilization with this many dirty weapons in active deployment."

The bridge falls silent as the sheer scale of the Anarakan response becomes clear. The entire hemisphere of Anarak has mobilized, proving their incredible capacity for defense, despite the lack of a centralized government.

Data: "Fascinating. It could be that no central authority is needed for coordination when the threat is dire. These people all appear to be responding individually with their own weapons."

The first few dozen warheads impact the Cardassian shields, which manage to absorb their blasts. But the onslaught is unrelenting. Hundreds, then thousands of warheads detonate in rapid succession, creating a cataclysmic, sustained explosion. The Cardassian ships, though formidable, are utterly overwhelmed. The viewscreen shows an apocalyptic display; a temporary star forms in Anarak's upper atmosphere, engulfing the entire Cardassian flotilla in an unprecedented, blinding flash.

Picard: "Helm, back off our position."

The bridge crew watches in stunned silence as the massive explosion slowly dissipates, leaving nothing but a red afterglow and the eerie silence of space. Power has gone out across the hemisphere on the planet below, but not a single molecule of the Cardassian ships remain. Picard and his crew are left in awe, mingled with a deep sense of disappointment. The enormity of what they've witnessed sinks in; a civilization so welcoming, yet still capable of such destructive power... Sso fundamentally different from the Federation's ideals. Troi closes her eyes tightly and winces, blocking out the pain of all those Cardassian deaths. Picard stands, staring out at the aftermath, the weight of the moment heavy on his shoulders.

Picard: [quietly, with a great sense of loss] "Such utter destruction..."

The camera pulls back, showing the Enterprise as a small silhouette against the reddish glow below.

---

Scene 10: Bridge

The scene opens minutes later with the Enterprise bridge crew still processing the aftermath of the overwhelming display of destructive power. The mood is somber as the reality of what they've witnessed lingers. Suddenly, Bas T'yat's face appears on the viewscreen, his expression a mixture of relief and satisfaction.

Bas T'yat: [earnestly] "Captain Picard, I wanted to thank you and your crew for everything. It seems our future is secure now, thanks to the defense network and your assistance. We're eager to move forward and hope the Federation will allow us to engage in commerce with your worlds and other peaceful civilizations."

Picard stands, his gaze steady, though his tone reflects the weight of what has transpired. He pauses for a moment, as if searching for the right words, the bridge falling into a brief, tense silence.

Picard: [measured, but firm] "Mister T'yat, I must be candid. While the Enterprise is pleased to have assisted in safeguarding your world, the events of today have left us with grave concerns. The way Anarak handled the Cardassians… particularly the use of nuclear warheads, demonstrates a fundamental difference in values between our societies. We cannot endorse methods that pose such a grave risk to all life, even in defence. The Federation could not, in good conscience, approve your planet for membership given these circumstances."

Bas's expression shifts to one of slight disappointment, but he remains composed.

Bas T'yat: "I understand, Captain. We've always been a world that does things our own way. Federation membership would have been a tough sell to my people anyway. But what about trade? Surely we can still establish commerce with Federation worlds?"

Picard nods, his tone softening slightly.

Picard: "Trade remains an option. We won't turn away peaceful commerce between Anarak and Federation planets. However, I must stress that the use of nuclear weapons is fundamentally at odds with Federation ethics. While I recognize their role in your planet's defense, I hope that over time, your people will explore more sophisticated and less destructive means of protection."

Bas nods again, understanding the implications of Picard's words.

Bas T'yat: "It's clear that today's events were... extreme. The fallout, the EMP blackouts, the atmospheric damage; we've already seen unacceptable cost. I'll do my best to guide my people toward more advanced defenses, and away from reliance on such careless weapons. It will be my penance for leading the Cardassians here."

Troi senses his guilt once again and takes a deep breath. Clearly still shaken by the loss of life, she steadies herself before offering a supportive smile.

Troi: "You shouldn't burden yourself with guilt, Mister T'yat. Anarak was bound to take that step sooner or later. What matters now is how you use your newfound role as an ambassador to the stars. Your actions will shape your planet's future in the galaxy."

Bas smiles, clearly grateful for the support.

Bas T'yat: "Thank you, Counselor. I'll do my best to live up to that responsibility."

After a few more exchanges, the connection ends, and Bas T'yat's image fades from the viewscreen. Picard takes a deep breath and turns to face his bridge crew.

Picard: [reflective] "We've witnessed two amazing displays of power today; one of the explosive variety, and the other of a free people's resolve. It's hard to imagine how their society works with no acceptance of authority, but today they've clearly displayed that they can accomplish amazing things working together even without any."

Worf, still perplexed, shakes his head slightly.

Worf: "I still don't understand how an entire planet could coordinate such a specific defense without any central leadership."

Leaning casually against the console, Riker chuckles lightly.

Riker: "It was in everyone's best interest, Worf. They just needed Bas's signal to know when the attack was imminent. The rest fell into place."

Worf: "And how they could hide that many warheads from our scans? Enriched Uranium is the easiest of all elements to scan for."

Data: "It appears that their stealth technology may be on par with our own."

Picard, his expression thoughtful, gazes out at the stars beyond the viewscreen.

Picard: "I'm placing a note in my log for Starfleet to leave this planet alone until they can't be ignored any longer. I believe it's for the best that we leave Anarak to chart its own course in the galaxy."

He pauses, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Picard: "I doubt we'll have trouble with them soon, at least, until they meet the Ferengi."

*The bridge crew shares a quick laugh and then a quiet moment of contemplation before returning to their stations. The camera pulls back, showing the Enterprise once again poised in the vastness of space, a symbol of hope and integrity amidst the complexities of a vast and unpredictable galaxy.

Fade to black.*

---

---

*This story is set in the Star Trek universe, created by Gene Roddenberry and owned by Paramount. I do not own any of the characters or settings from the Star Trek franchise, and this is purely a fan-made work for non-commercial purposes.*

@ 8cb60e21:5f2deaea

@ 5b0183ab:a114563e

While we watch the world slip further and further into geo political turmoil it's adundently clear that information will be a choke point and platforms will bend the knee, or suffer consequences. We recently witnessed the threat of TikTok take down, X being targeted by the EU for misinformation, and now the CEO of Telegram being arrested in France.

But I am not hear to talk about CEO's, massive corporate conglomerates, or government overreach.... I am here to talk about the everyday internet citizen making a livelihood on the internet. The bakery owner, the tech company, the real estate agent, the YouTube content creator, the podcast extraordinaire and on and on. Anyone making a living within the walled garden of a platform are reliant upon the choices that one company makes.

You see unlike platforms, Nostr is a censorship resistant, permissionless protocol in which you create your identity on. It's decentralized cohesion with no single point of failure. It sets your profile free of any barrier of departure. When you build your brand on one client (app) it works in the next. Your followers, your follows, your communication, your entire social graph is present and interoperable. For the first time, all the time you spent cultivating your livelihood is truly owned by you.

So let's zoom out and talk about what this revolutionary approach achieves. This shifts the power back to the individual. Clients are beholden to your needs, your desires. The free market of choice is achieved by demand for certain features, certain algorithms, certain actions. We are no longer beholden to the choices of few that can decimate our livelihoods. Clients become powerless to free market will. We are never sold out in the form of a privacy policy update, added fees or any other sly roundabout way of profiteering without consequences. When users wield the power, they dictate demand which in turn drives client innovation.

When we look back at the past few decades we see the variation of fads, the build ups of platforms and the ultimate demise of technological cycles. AOL, Myspace, Facebook, Snapchat, etc.... Would if your work you put into those platforms building your brand, your time.... was transferrable? As in, your brand lives on and you do not need to "start over?"

You see, this is exactly what Nostr provides. Nostr captures your time and builds value through time. This is revolutionary in a day and age where you are the product within the silos.

Over the past couple years we have seen an explosion of Nostr clients hit the ecosystem. Everything you can possibly want and desire as a creator or consumer is being built on Nostr, or can be. While it is very much early, it is growing at a steady pace and the time is now to own your piece of internet sovereignty.

In closing, I will leave you with this.... Based off history we can easily predict what platforms will do over time. What we cannot predict is what Nostr will do in time, and that's the most exciting part.

@ 472f440f:5669301e

I'm sure you are all well aware of the news out of France. The French government has made the bold move of arresting the founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, after charging him with 12 criminal counts ranging from "complicity in web-mastering an online platform in order to enable an illegal transaction in organized group" to "importing a cryptology tool ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration".

Telegram is an extremely popular messaging app that is used by almost 1 billion people from around the world. I have personally been a user for seven years and it is very dismaying to see the French government attack an entrepreneur who has built a widely used and loved app. We've said it many times over the years in this rag, governments need to stop throwing the baby out with the bath water by attacking successful businesses for the crimes their users commit and begin doing better law enforcement. It makes no sense to demonize a technology for the crimes that are committed by a small minority of users of that tool. Is the French government going to go after the CEO of Bic, the largest producer of pens in the world, because there are pen pals out there who use their pens to write letters in which they coordinate criminal activity? If we apply the same logic behind the decision to arrest Pavel it would seem that the Bic CEO should be a bit worried.

Who knows what evidence the French government has against Pavel. Maybe he is directly involved in the coordination of crimes that were committed on his app. I highly doubt it, but who knows. We'll have to wait and see what evidence the French courts put forth once a trial gets under way. As of yesterday, we know that this seems like a classic case of "You refuse to cooperate with deep state actors who want access to your users' data, so we're going to accuse you of all of the crimes."

The fact of the matter is, we shouldn't have to worry about the actions of a founder dictating the accessibility of a novel technology that they bring to market. Especially technologies that enable people to connect in the digital world to exercise their God given right to free speech.

It's a bit poetic that this happened on Saturday night in Europe. Just one day after the Nostriga conference in Riga, Latvia wrapped up. Nostriga was a two-day event which attracted people from all over the world so that they could meet to discuss how to push the Nostr protocol forward. For those who are unaware of what Nostr is, it is an open source communications protocol with no leaders that enables individuals to publish their thoughts to the world is a distributed, censorship resistant fashion. User profiles are created via a private-public key pair. The public key makes it easy for others to follow and the private key enables a user to sign notes with certain data that get broadcasted to relays. App developers can then pull the user generated data from those relays and present the data in unique ways using front-end interfaces known as clients. Users can port their private keys (commonly known as nsecs) into any client they like and have all of the data they've published to the protocol automatically show up. Said another way, since Nostr is a protocol and not a platform, users have way more optionality when it comes to the applications that present the data they publish. If one client decides to censor or simply has a bad UX, they can plop their magic string (private key) into another client and see everything they've ever posted while still being connected to everyone they added to their social graph historically. This is extremely powerful on many fronts.

Gone are the days of having to worry about building an audience on a platform, making that a critical part of your brand and livelihood, and having to self-censor because of the fear of being deplatformed. You own your private key and that gives you access to your data. Not the platform.

For app developers, the network effect of Nostr produces an incredible and truly unique bootstrapping mechanism. Instead of having to start from scratch and hope that users find your app, fill it with data, and begin spreading the word to more users you adopt the social graph of Nostr from day one. Every user of the protocol is already feeding your application data. If you can build an appealing product that provides users of the protocol with value, they will find it and immediately be able to leverage it. There will be no need for them to build up a reputation or find their social connections on the app. They will be ported into the client.

Nostr can be additive to seemingly unrelated applications that aren't built directly on Nostr. We've already seen this with bitcoin wallets that have enabled users to port their Nostr social graphs directly into their wallet. Making it easy for individuals to find their friend's Nostr account and send bitcoin directly to the lightning address they've associated with it. No need for an invoice. Just find your friend and send them money like you would on an app like Venmo.

The number of added benefits users and app developers get from Nostr beyond those I just explained are too long to list. Long story short, this protocol is a massive deal.

It is still very early for Nostr, but the progress that has been made in the last couple of years has been nothing short of awe inspiring. If you squint into the future, it isn't hard to see how Nostr becomes mainstream by the end of the decade. The compounding network effects are stronger than anything I've seen since bitcoin.

All of this is to say that this will be one of the only ways to build truly robust communications-based applications moving forward. As we've seen with TikTok and now Telegram, if the state doesn't like the owner of a particular platform they will either kick the platform out of their country or arrest the founder and do their best to corrupt the platform itself once he is in custody. This hasn't happened yet with Telegram, but you can bet your ass that the deep state will try to corrupt Telegram if they successfully remove him from the picture.

To be clear, this doesn't make the founders of particular Nostr clients immune to this type of overt overreach by governments. However, the design of Nostr is such that governments would have an exponentially harder time achieving their end goal, suppressing and controlling speech that's expressed on these platforms, because the protocol has hundreds of competing clients serving customers the data stored in relays. They could even attempt to go after the relays, but that task may prove to be impossible as well.

Make no mistake, we live in very trying times. The world's governments are losing control and they are doing the best they can to suppress freedom of speech in anyway they can to prevent people from spreading information that makes the Regime to look like the evil fools that they are. The best we can do is to build robust systems that make their attempts at suppressing speech as close to impossible as is possible. The efforts to build out robust systems like bitcoin and Nostr should be complemented with pushing back against the Regime via the courts. But as we all know, we can't always depend on the courts to actually deliver justice. There are times where freedom must be taken and defended. We are certainly living through one of those times right now.

Despite the insanity of the world and the governments who would like to rule it, the momentum of the light is building. People are taking action and solutions are being built slowly but surely. It is our job to keep the momentum up and make sure the lifeboats of bitcoin, Nostr and similar protocols are ready to go once the Deep State begins attacking others. They came for TikTok and Telegram. Don't think that platforms like X, Rumble and Gab aren't in their crosshairs as well.

Here are four videos from Nostriga that I think you all should watch.

https://youtu.be/XUsk7cqZyKU?si=2vUl01azeFJQjczZ

https://youtu.be/qUwXRDrfJU0?si=np3vyTDddoQKuPJK

https://youtu.be/OHqxp-Hrx9k?si=K7vhVBWtFQwB68Tr

https://youtu.be/iZyqVGHjDGo?si=CjJCbAlNBa06qcwV

And a panel I hosted about funding Nostr if you're interested in that.

https://youtu.be/qD-Y0fq5KiA?si=L81sFCPGw2ayXXzw

We're going to win.

---

Final thought... Jet lag sucks.

@ e6fbeb1c:6ac8fc04

When I have stale bread, I often use it to make a bread salad.

The base is croutons of stale bread and then there are no limits to your imagination.

In this salad there was also - Onions stewed in balsamic vinegar - Spring onions (raw) - Cherry tomatoes - Eggplants and sweetcorn (fried, lukewarm) - Pine nuts - Finely sliced cheese - Basil

https://image.nostr.build/ce0c7490f2adbd2aa4ccdfe80203a15dbb10686859a3256a0147d5f423478fd0.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/f930e0984ec9603b84c7a7868a97486140ee44590590102f7e460bfbfd3d70be.jpg

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/672404

@ 469fa704:2b6cb760

Money Printing in general

First of all, we need to make a distinction between money creation by central banks and fractional-reserve banking. Usually, the term money printing or “printer goes brrrrrr” refers to the creation of new central bank money, which is primarily created by central banks through:

• Open Market Operations: Buying government securities, which injects money into the banking system by increasing bank reserves. This is often done electronically, not by physically printing money.
• Quantitative Easing (QE): Purchasing assets to inject money directly into the economy, aiming to stimulate economic activity by increasing the money supply.
• Setting Reserve Requirements: Although less about creating money, lowering reserve requirements can indirectly influence money creation by allowing banks to lend more, but as of recent policy changes, this has been set to zero in some systems, shifting focus to interest rates.
• Interest on Reserves: By adjusting the interest rate paid on reserves, central banks influence how much banks are willing to lend, thereby indirectly affecting money creation.

This is the first step of money creation, although printing money is usually connected to one of the aforementioned processes, the second step creates much more money through the expansion of credit.

The Mechanics of Fractional-Reserve Banking

The Concept

In fractional-reserve banking, banks accept deposits from customers and only keep a small fraction of these deposits in reserve, lending out the rest. This practice essentially creates new money because:

• Deposits: When you deposit money, say $1,000, into a bank, that money doesn't just sit there.
• Reserves: If the reserve requirement is 10%, the bank keeps $100 as reserves.
• Loans: The remaining $900 can be loaned out. Here's where money creation begins.

Note: Current reserve requirements of the FED (Source) and the ECB (Source) are set at 0% respectively 1%.

Example Calculation of Money Creation

1. Initial Deposit: You deposit $1,000 into Bank A.
2. Bank A's Action:
3. Keeps $10 (1%) as reserve.

4. Loans out $990 to another customer.

5. The $990 Loan: This $990, when spent, might end up in Bank B as someone's deposit.

6. Bank B's Action:
7. Keeps $9.9 (1% of $990) as reserve.

8. Can loan out $980.1

9. Continuation: This process repeats, with each cycle creating new deposits from loans.

The Deposit Multiplier (m) can be calculated as: * m = 1 divided by Reserve Ration = 1 / Reserve Ration

If the reserve ratio is 1%: * m = 1 / 1% = 1 / 0.01 = 100

This means, theoretically, an initial deposit of $1,000 could expand to:

• $1,000 times 100 = $100,000
• However, in practice, this is tempered by factors like cash holdings, loan demand, and banks holding excess reserves.

Historical and Economic Context

• Evolution from Goldsmiths: The system has its roots in the practices of goldsmiths who issued notes for gold deposits, which eventually circulated as money. This practice evolved into the modern banking system where notes (now digital entries) represent claims on money.
• Regulation and Central Banking: Over time, central banks like the Federal Reserve in the U.S. were established to regulate this process, provide stability, and act as lenders of last resort. The Fed's tools include setting reserve requirements, though this has become less relevant with the shift to a 0% reserve requirement.

Criticisms and Alternatives

• Risk of Bank Runs: Critics argue that fractional-reserve banking makes the system vulnerable to bank runs, where too many depositors demand their money back at once, which the bank cannot cover since most of the money is loaned out.
• Vollgeld Initiative and Full-Reserve Banking: Movements like Switzerland's Vollgeld Initiative have proposed shifting to full-reserve banking, where banks must hold 100% of deposits in reserve, preventing them from creating money through lending. However, this would significantly alter how banks operate and make profits. *** Modern Adjustments**: The move to a 0% reserve requirement in the U.S. reflects a shift towards using other monetary policy tools like interest rates on reserves to control money creation and economic stability.

Real-World Implications

• Money Supply Control: While banks create money through loans, central banks like the Federal Reserve influence this through monetary policy, adjusting how much money banks can create.
• Economic Stability: The zero reserve requirement might seem to allow infinite money creation, but in reality, banks are constrained by capital requirements, risk assessments, and economic conditions.

Conclusion

Fractional-reserve banking is a dynamic system that significantly influences economic growth by expanding the money supply through debt. While it allows for economic expansion, it also introduces risks of instability, which central banks attempt to mitigate through various policy tools. Understanding this system helps demystify how money flows and grows within an economy, showcasing both its capacity for economic stimulation and its inherent risks. As we move forward, debates continue on how best to balance these aspects to foster economic stability and growth. In 2009, a new system called Bitcoin emerged that could redefine the rules for money creation.

@ 56a6da9b:7f5a2243

DAY 24 OF FLASH AUGUST FICTION. Wow, it’s pretty much the home stretch, now. Just 6 more days, including today. Today I was thinking about how nice it is to hear the frogs and crickets outside at night. I remember that as a kid, and then I remembered that once people started using newer chemicals on their lawns, the crickets disappeared. Then the frogs disappeared. It’s not supposed to be like that. Frogs and crickets at night are a part of life. The main characters of this story, however, are a frog and a lizard. Crickets play the bit parts… get it? I’m Commercial Herschel, and I’m here to help.

Let me thank my newest follower, another pal from Troubled Minds Newsletter, Troubled Minds Radio is on Rumble and Twitch, Twitter and perhaps Kick.com. It’s Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday Nights. I do suggest you give it a listen. Really very much fun. Thanks for the follow, Sweets!

Podcast Audio: Website Download RSS

The Lizard and The Frog

The Splashing and the Succulent Nights 479 WORDS WRITTEN IN LESS THAN A HALF HOUR

The caretaker has built a birdbath into the ground. It’s like a little in-ground swimming pool for the birds during the day and for the frogs at night. He was tired of fishing dead frogs out of the actual in-ground swimming pool. The frogs can get in there, but they can’t get out. They get tired, and then they drown.

The frogs mostly stay the heck out of there during the day because, well… the birds. At night, however, they certainly take advantage. Since installing the tiny pond, he has not once had to retrieve a lost frog. Apparently, the lizards like it too. There were less often lizards in the pool, but it happened once in a while. They need a place to cool off and refresh their skin, too.

It is quite a nice little feature. It’s surrounded by lawn, and he can easily push the lawnmower over it without incident. It’s a regular thing, though, to rinse it out with the hose and refill it. It gets pretty gunky in there after a couple of days.

“How’s about you let me have a turn in the pond?” Lizard asks Frog.

“It’s not like I can stop you from coming in.” Responds Frog.

“C’mon, I’ll give you three crickets if you just let me have it for a while.” Lizard said.

Frog replies, “There’s plenty of room for both of us. What’s the problem? Come on in, the water’s fine!”

“It’s not a good look.” Lizard explains. “The other lizards, you know…”

“Are you kidding me?” Frog says. “Are you all so fragile that you can’t get in a pool with a frog?”

“OK, four crickets,” Lizard says. “I’ll give you four crickets.”

“F-sake!” says Frog. “Fine, we can take turns getting in and out of the pool.”

And they do. The two of them take turns swimming and splashing in the tiny pool or birdbath pond. It’s a lot of fun. They laugh and compete for the hearty, crunchy mosquitoes that inhabit the area, and they remark about how cool the caretaker is for putting in their lifesaving refreshment spot.

“The birds don’t like him.” Frog tells Lizard.

“I know,” Lizard says. “Since he bird-proofed everything, there are fewer of them. They fly around here all mad and dejected.”

“That’s OK with me.” Frog says.

“Me as well.” Lizard agrees.

“So.” Says Frog. “How about those crickets?”

“Oh yeah,” says Lizard. “You want them now?”

“I’m not getting any less tasty-looking to the birds.” Frog explains. "Time is of the essence."

Lizard jumps off the lip of the tiny pond and runs off to catch crickets. He brings them over to Frog, one at a time, but it doesn’t take long. They are all over the place.

“You should let me in on that.” Lizard says.

Frog replies, “What’s a succulent meal without a friend?”

The End.

Thank you to all the independent, non-corporate media people out there. I hope I can give you some light entertainment once in a while. Thank you so much for listening, or reading. This is the Smell the Inside of Your Nose. Do it Right Now podcast. I hope you might get a free or paid subscription, or buy me a coffee, or donate some bitcoin. I wish you the best. I’m Herschel Sterling, and I’m here to help.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/663933

@ 56a6da9b:7f5a2243

DAY 26 OF FLASH AUGUST FICTION. I was thinking of doing a thing where I finish today’s story very close to midnight and then doing tomorrow’s story directly after midnight. I may do that before this is over. After today, it’s only four left, so I’d better pull the trigger if it’s going to happen.

I’m going to write something about a swimming pool today. I think UAP/UFO’s and swimming pools.

I also want to thank everyone because the consumption of Smell the Inside of Your Nose. Do it Right Now has a little more than doubled since August First. Twice as much of anything nice is awesome, so THANK YOU. It’s delightful to have reader/ listeners. Remember that if you are an independent, non-corporate media truth teller journalist, just DM me, and I’ll give you a free “paid” subscription. You’re welcome. I’m Herschel Sterling, and I’m here to help.

Podcast Audio: Web page Download RSS

Refractions

Weird Angles 775 WORDS WRITTEN IN ABOUT 45 MINUTES

Margie and Mike decided to spend part of the day by the pool. They filled the cooler with their favorites. Margie wanted a couple of mimosas. Mike made up a pitcher of Shandy, his favorite cheap pilsner mixed with lemonade with sliced lemons. They threw in some bottled water and some fresh fruit as well.

They took turns diving, and then they floated around and did some laps. The usual swimming stuff. Then they laid out their beach towels to lay out and get some sun.

“We deserve this.” Margie said.

“I don’t know if we deserve it, but I’ll take it, it’s been a long week.” Mike replied.

They applied their sunscreen and poured a couple of drinks, and finally got themselves comfortable under the warmth of the day.

Margie lifted herself up to take a sip of her mimosa. She thought she saw something reflecting in the pool for a second.

“Oh my goodness.” She said.

“What?” Mike asked.

“Nothing, I thought I saw something reflecting in the pool, but there is nothing to reflect.” She answered.

She had some of her drink, and laid back down. As she went back to lay down, she thought for a moment that she saw it again.

“That’s so weird.” She says.

“We should set a watch timer in case we fall asleep, I know I could fall asleep today, for sure.” Mike said, and he raised himself up to grab his watch and set the timer for 20 minutes.

“Wait a minute.” He said.

“What now?” Margie asked.

“It looked for a moment that there was something reflecting in the pool, like you said. It’s not there now.” Mike replied.

“There’s nothing in the sky but a few clouds, and there’s nothing above the pool to reflect.” Margie said, as she sat up. Now they are both sitting up and looking at the sky, in all directions, and they are puzzled.

Mike changes his angle as he looks at the pool. He slowly raises and lowers his eye level.

“At a certain angle I can see something, but it’s opaque, and it’s creeping me out.”

Margie does the same thing, and she confirms Mike’s observation.

“It’s only visible at a certain angle, the way the light refracts off the surface of the water.” Margie adds.

They both bob their heads up and down around that angle, and they concur that this is an odd anomaly.

“It looks like some kind of ship, like a UFO or a flying saucer thing.” Margie says.

“I wonder if someone is playing with a drone.” Mike says.

“There must be something in the sky somewhere, that we can’t see from here. Light is playing tricks on us.” Mike asserts. “It’s like a mirage type thing.”

The two of them walk all around the pool, and they are changing their eye level at each area of the pool.

“It only happens kind of over where the towels are, that’s the only place I can see this.” Margie says.

“Yeah, me too.” Mike adds.

“I’m going to get a ladder and go up on the roof and see what I can see from there.” Mike tells her.

As Mike is retrieving the ladder, Margie continues examining the surface of the pool from various angles, and all around the perimeter of the pool.

Once on the roof, Mike walks all over the top of the flat roof of the house.

“I can’t see a darn thing in the sky, as far as I can see.” He yells down to Margie.

She yells up to him. “Yep, nothing’s changed down here, it’s still there when look at it just right, at that same angle.”

Mike comes down from the roof and rejoins Margie. They sit down on their towels.

“Should we tell anyone about this?” Mike asks. “Who would we call about something like this?”

“It’s pretty weird.” Margie says. “If you told me about it, and I didn’t see it myself, I’d think you were lying for attention.”

Mike agrees. “Yeah, that’s probably what people will say if we tell anyone.”

The two of them continue to angle their heads just right, several times, and see the strange reflection come and go as they do. Just then, the surface of the pool where they see the weird little craft’s reflection starts to ripple, it becomes disturbed and there is slight turbulence.

“It’s gone.” Mike says. “I don’t see it anymore, it’s not there.” He says as he angles his head around.

“Yep, me too. Not there.” Margie says. “I’m going to need more mimosa.” She adds.

“I should have gotten stronger beer.” Mike replies.

The End.

Here are some other episodes where I have fun with interdimensional ideas, and ideas about frequencies of light and matter:

The Smith's are Missing Socks

What Does Your Light Eat?

The Frequency of the Little People

Alien Avoidance On Our Coinciding Plane

Dr. Freebius Lipsmaciladapus: The Absence of Pathology in the 4th Dimension

Thank you to all the independent, non-corporate media people out there. I hope I can give you some light entertainment once in a while. Thank you so much for listening, or reading. This is the Smell the Inside of Your Nose. Do it Right Now podcast. I hope you might get a free or paid subscription, or buy me a coffee, or donate some bitcoin. I wish you the best. I’m Herschel Sterling, and I’m here to help.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/663916

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Unified Login Across Platforms

With Nostr, you use one login for all services, and your followers are seamlessly integrated. So you don't have start anew on every single platform. I think this is a real advantage of Nostr even for people not accustomed to Bitcoin or decentralization in general.

Value for Value (V4V) Model

Embrace the V4V principle where value is exchanged directly between users. Meaning if you find something useful or anohter nostr user was able to help you then you can simply zap him or her some Sats.

Blogging Platforms

• Habla or Yakihonne: Since joining Nostr 8 days ago, I've started blogging using Habla, which I found incredibly user-friendly. You can check out my articles directly on some clients like noStrudel, where they appear under my profile. Habla also serves as a great community explorer. Yakihonne, another comprehensive client with an integrated blog editor, caught my eye too, although it didn't sync all my Habla posts, possibly due to relay issues.
• Highlighter.com: Offers a sleek interface for reading articles. On noStrudel, articles are tucked away under the "More" menu.

Presentations

• Slidestr.net: This tool transforms your notes into a slideshow, making revisiting old notes quite entertaining.

Video Content

• Flare.pub: If you're looking for a YouTube-like experience, Flare.pub is the closest you'll get on Nostr. You can upload, watch videos, and curate playlists. Remember, since Nostr is fundamentally text-based, videos are hosted on traditional servers, but the interface remains decentralized. There's definitely room for more video content, so start creating!

Live Streaming

• Zapstream: Offers a smooth streaming experience with a fee of 10 Sats per minute to cover server costs. You can watch streams on clients like Amethyst or noStrudel.

Music and Podcasts

• Wavlake and Tunestr: Ideal for artists to share music or podcasts. Listeners can enjoy content freely or support creators via zaps, adhering to the V4V model.

Lists and Grouping

• Listr: A tool for organizing everything from regional user groups to thematic notes or hashtags. You can also follow lists created by others in the Nostr community.

Culinary Arts

• zap.cooking: A haven for aspiring or seasoned chefs, offering a plethora of recipes in a blog format. It's well-organized, allowing you to browse through different categories of recipes.

Marketplaces

• Plebian Market: Reminiscent of eBay's early days, this marketplace allows easy buying and selling among users.

Community Features

• Many clients like noStrudel, Habla, and Amethyst support community functionalities, enhancing user interaction within Nostr.

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Bitcoin ถือกำเนิดขึ้นในปี 2009 จากวิสัยทัศน์ของ Satoshi Nakamoto บุคคลหรือกลุ่มบุคคลปริศนา ที่ใฝ่ฝันถึง "เงินสดดิจิทัล" อิสระไร้พรมแดน ไร้การควบคุมจากรัฐบาล

ในช่วงแรกเริ่ม Bitcoin เป็นเสมือนเพชรดิบที่ซ่อนตัวอยู่ในเงามืด เป็นที่รู้จักกันเฉพาะในกลุ่มเล็กๆ ที่หลงใหลในเทคโนโลยีและศักยภาพอันไร้ขีดจำกัดของมัน

แต่แล้ว Bitcoin ก็เริ่มฉายแสงเจิดจรัส ดึงดูดความสนใจจากผู้คนทั่วโลก ราคาพุ่งทะยานอย่างรวดเร็ว บริษัทและบริการต่างๆ ผุดขึ้นมาราวกับดอกเห็ด

ทว่า.. เส้นทางสู่ความสำเร็จของ Bitcoin ไม่ได้โรยด้วยกลีบกุหลาบ Bitcoin ยังต้องเผชิญกับความท้าทายมากมาย ทั้งปัญหาทางเทคนิค ความขัดแย้งภายในชุมชนและการต่อสู้แย่งชิงอำนาจ

Blocksize Limit จุดเริ่มต้นของความขัดแย้งและสงคราม Big Blocks VS Small Blocks

ย้อนกลับไปในปี 2010 Satoshi Nakamoto ได้เพิ่ม "Blocksize Limit" ซึ่งเป็นข้อจำกัดขนาดของ Block ใน Bitcoin ไว้ที่ 1MB เพื่อป้องกันการโจมตีทางไซเบอร์ในยุคแรกเริ่ม

แต่เมื่อ Bitcoin ได้รับความนิยมมากขึ้น ธุรกรรมก็เพิ่มขึ้นอย่างรวดเร็ว Blocksize Limit 1MB เริ่มจะกลายเป็นปัญหา..

เกิดการถกเถียงอย่างดุเดือดในชุมชน Bitcoin ว่าควรเพิ่ม Blocksize Limit หรือไม่

ฝ่าย "Small Blockers" นำโดยนักพัฒนา Bitcoin Core ส่วนใหญ่ เชื่อว่า Blocksize Limit ควรคงที่ เพื่อรักษาความปลอดภัยและการกระจายอำนาจ พวกเขากล่าวอ้างว่า Big Blocks จะทำให้ Bitcoinรวมศูนย์อยู่ที่ Miners รายใหญ่ และยากต่อการรัน Full Nodes สำหรับผู้ใช้งานทั่วไป ซึ่งจะบั่นทอนความเป็น Decentralized ของ Bitcoin

ฝ่าย "Big Blockers" นำโดย Gavin Andresen ผู้สืบทอดตำแหน่งจาก Satoshi Nakamoto และ Mike Hearn เชื่อว่า Bitcoin ควรเติบโตอย่างไม่จำกัด "Big Blocks" คือคำตอบ พวกเขามองว่า Small Blocks จะทำให้ Bitcoin ไม่สามารถรองรับธุรกรรมที่เพิ่มขึ้น ค่าธรรมเนียมจะพุ่งสูงและ Bitcoin จะไม่สามารถใช้งานได้จริงในชีวิตประจำวัน..

ความขัดแย้งนี้สะท้อนให้เห็นถึงวิสัยทัศน์ที่แตกต่างกัน

Gavin Andresen ผู้ที่เคยได้รับความไว้วางใจจาก Satoshi รู้สึกผิดหวังที่ Bitcoin Core ไม่ยอมเพิ่ม Blocksize Limit เขาเชื่อมั่นว่า Bitcoin ควรเป็นระบบการชำระเงินที่ใช้งานได้จริง รวดเร็ว และมีค่าธรรมเนียมต่ำ

Blockstream บริษัทผู้ทรงอิทธิพลและความกังวลเรื่องผลประโยชน์ทับซ้อน

ปี 2014 กลุ่มนักพัฒนา Bitcoin Core บางส่วนได้ก่อตั้งบริษัท Blockstream (นำโดย Adam Back) พวกเขาเน้นการพัฒนาเทคโนโลยี Blockchain และกลายเป็นที่มถกเถียงว่าอิทธิพลอย่างมากต่อ Bitcoin Core

Blockstream สนับสนุน "Small Blocks"

เช่นเดียวกับ Bitcoin Core พวกเขาพัฒนา "Sidechains" ซึ่งเป็น Blockchain แยกต่างหากที่เชื่อมต่อกับ Bitcoin เช่น Liquid Network Sidechains ซึ่งช่วยให้ Blockstream สามารถเก็บค่าธรรมเนียมจากธุรกรรมและขายบริการให้กับองค์กรหรือบริษัทต่างๆ ได้

ความสัมพันธ์อันใกล้ชิดระหว่าง Blockstream และ Bitcoin Core ทำให้เกิดความกังวลขึ้นในชุมชน Bitcoin ในขณะนั้นว่า Blockstream อาจมีผลประโยชน์ทับซ้อนและต้องการให้ Bitcoin คงขนาดเล็ก เพื่อผลักดันให้คนใช้งาน "Sidechains" ของพวกเขา

BitcoinXT และ Bitcoin Classic ความพยายามแก้ไข Blocksize ที่ถูกต่อต้าน

ปี 2015 Mike Hearn และ Gavin Andresen ตัดสินใจเสนอทางออกด้วยการสร้าง "BitcoinXT" ซอฟต์แวร์ Bitcoin เวอร์ชั่นใหม่ที่ เพิ่ม Blocksize Limit เป็น 8MB

แต่ BitcoinXT ถูกต่อต้านอย่างรุนแรงจากฝ่าย Small Blockers

Bitcoin.org เว็บไซต์หลักของ Bitcoin และ r/Bitcoin ฟอรัมหลักของ Bitcoin ได้เซ็นเซอร์ BitcoinXT ไม่ให้ปรากฏ เกิดการโจมตีทางไซเบอร์ที่มุ่งเป้าไปที่ BitcoinXT โดยตรง

Coinbase บริษัทแลกเปลี่ยน Cryptocurrency รายใหญ่ ประกาศสนับสนุน BitcoinXT แต่กลับถูกถอดออกจาก Bitcoin.org

ต่อมา Bitcoin Classic ถูกสร้างขึ้นเป็นอีกหนึ่งทางเลือก แต่ก็ล้มเหลวเช่นกัน

เนื่องจาก Bitcoin Core ยังคงมีอิทธิพลอย่างมากในชุมชน Bitcoin ในช่วงเวลานั้น..

Hong Kong Agreement และ New York Agreement ความพยายามประนีประนอมที่ไม่ลงตัว

ปี 2016 และ 2017 เกิดความพยายามในการประนีประนอมระหว่างฝ่าย Small Blocks และ Big Blockers ถึงสองครั้ง คือ "Hong Kong Agreement" และ "New York Agreement"

ทั้งสองข้อตกลงมีเป้าหมายที่จะเปิดใช้งาน SegWit และ เพิ่ม Blocksize Limit เป็น 2MB แต่ Bitcoin Core ไม่ทำตามสัญญาในการเพิ่ม Blocksize Limit ทำให้ข้อตกลงล้มเหลว

ความล้มเหลวของข้อตกลงทั้งสอง สะท้อนให้เห็นถึงความไม่ไว้วางใจระหว่างสองฝ่าย และความยากลำบากในการหาจุดร่วมที่ทุกฝ่ายยอมรับ

SegWit ก้าวสำคัญของ Bitcoin และจุดกำเนิดของ Bitcoin Cash

ในที่สุด SegWit ก็ถูกเปิดใช้งานบน Bitcoin ในเดือนสิงหาคม 2017

SegWit เป็น Soft Fork ที่เปลี่ยนแปลงวิธีการจัดเก็บข้อมูลใน Block เพื่อเพิ่มประสิทธิภาพและความปลอดภัย

SegWit ช่วยแก้ปัญหา "Transaction Malleability" ซึ่งเป็นช่องโหว่ด้านความปลอดภัย และปูทางไปสู่การพัฒนา "Layer 2 solutions" เช่น Lightning Network ในเวลาต่อมา..

อย่างไรก็ตาม.. กลุ่ม "Big Blockers" มองว่า SegWit ไม่ใช่ทางออกที่แท้จริงสำหรับปัญหาการขยายขนาด (พวกเขาต้องการขยายขนาดบล็อกบนเลอเยอร์ฐาน) พวกเขาไม่พอใจที่ Bitcoin Core ไม่ทำตามสัญญาในการเพิ่ม Blocksize Limit

ในเดือนสิงหาคม 2017 กลุ่ม "Big Blockers" ได้ทำการ "Hard Fork" Bitcoin เพื่อสร้าง "Bitcoin Cash (BCH)" ซึ่งอ้างว่ามุ่งสืบทอดจุดมุ่งหมายดั้งเดิมของ Bitcoin ในฐานะ "เงินสดดิจิทัล"

ความเสี่ยงด้านความปลอดภัย Bug ร้ายแรงใน Bitcoin Core และบทเรียนที่ได้รับ

ในเดือนกันยายน 2018 Awemany นักพัฒนา BCH ค้นพบ Bug ร้ายแรงใน Bitcoin Core (CVE-2018-17144) ซึ่งอาจทำให้เกิดภาวะเงินเฟ้อได้

Bug นี้เกิดจากความผิดพลาดในการเขียนโค้ด และอาจทำให้ผู้ไม่หวังดีสามารถสร้าง Bitcoin ปลอมขึ้นมาได้

Awemany ได้แจ้งเตือนนักพัฒนา Bitcoin Core อย่างเงียบๆ แทนที่จะใช้ประโยชน์จาก Bug นี้ แสดงให้เห็นถึงความรับผิดชอบของเขา และ Bug นี้ได้รับการแก้ไขอย่างรวดเร็ว

เหตุการณ์นี้แสดงให้เห็นถึงความสำคัญของการตรวจสอบโค้ดอย่างละเอียด และความจำเป็นของการมีนักพัฒนาจากหลายฝ่ายเพื่อช่วยกันตรวจสอบความถูกต้องของโค้ด

นอกจากนี้.. ยังเป็นเครื่องเตือนใจว่าแม้แต่ระบบที่ถูกออกแบบมาอย่างดีก็ยังมีความเสี่ยงด้านความปลอดภัย

Bitcoin Cash แตกแยก การ Hard Fork ครั้งที่สอง และบทบาทของ Craig Wright

ในเดือนพฤศจิกายน 2018 Bitcoin Cash (BCH) ได้แตกออกเป็นสองสาย คือ Bitcoin ABC (BCH) และ Bitcoin SV (BSV)

การ Hard Fork นี้เกิดจากความขัดแย้งระหว่างกลุ่มนักพัฒนา Bitcoin ABC นำโดย Amaury Séchet และกลุ่ม Bitcoin SV นำโดย Craig Wright ผู้ที่อ้างว่าเป็น Satoshi Nakamoto 🤔

ความขัดแย้งหลักคือเรื่องขนาดของ Block และทิศทางการพัฒนา Bitcoin Cash

กลุ่ม Bitcoin SV ต้องการเพิ่มขนาด Block อย่างมาก ในขณะที่กลุ่ม Bitcoin ABC ต้องการปรับปรุง Bitcoin Cash ในด้านอื่นๆ เช่น Smart Contracts

Craig Wright มีบทบาทสำคัญในการผลักดัน Bitcoin SV เขาเชื่อมั่นว่า Bitcoin ควรเป็นไปตามวิสัยทัศน์ดั้งเดิมของ Satoshi Nakamoto โดยเน้นที่การเป็น "เงินสดอิเล็กทรอนิกส์แบบ peer-to-peer"

การ Hard Fork นี้แสดงให้เห็นถึงความหลากหลายของความคิดเห็นในชุมชน Cryptocurrency และความยากลำบากในการหาจุดร่วมที่ทุกฝ่ายยอมรับ

นอกจากนี้.. ยังสะท้อนให้เห็นถึงความท้าทายในการกำหนดทิศทางของ Cryptocurrency ในอนาคตอีกด้วย

Bitcoin ในปัจจุบัน เส้นทางสู่ทองคำดิจิทัล และวิวัฒนาการของเทคโนโลยี

หลังจากการ Hard Fork ของ Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin ได้ก้าวเข้าสู่ยุคใหม่ Bitcoin ได้รับการยอมรับมากขึ้นในวงกว้าง มีมูลค่าตลาดสูง และถูกมองว่าเป็น "ทองคำดิจิทัล" ที่สามารถใช้เก็บรักษามูลค่าในระยะยาว (Store of Value)

การพัฒนา Lightning Network เป็นก้าวสำคัญในการแก้ปัญหาเรื่องค่าธรรมเนียมและความเร็วในการทำธุรกรรม

Lightning Network เป็น "Second Layer" ที่สร้างขึ้นบน Bitcoin Blockchain ช่วยให้สามารถทำธุรกรรมได้รวดเร็วขึ้น มีค่าธรรมเนียมต่ำ และมีความเป็นส่วนตัวสูง

อย่างไรก็ตาม.. Lightning Network ยังคงต้องเผชิญกับความท้าทาย เช่น ปัญหาเรื่องการบริหารจัดการ Liquidity และความซับซ้อนในการใช้งาน

นอกจาก Lightning Network แล้ว ยังมีการพัฒนาเทคโนโลยีอื่นๆ ที่ช่วยเพิ่มขีดความสามารถของ Bitcoin เช่น Taproot ซึ่งเป็น Soft Fork ที่ช่วยเพิ่มความเป็นส่วนตัว และ Schnorr signatures ซึ่งเป็น Digital Signature แบบใหม่ที่ช่วยลดขนาดของธุรกรรมให้เล็กลง

นอกจากนี้.. ยังเริ่มมีการพัฒนา DeFi (Decentralized Finance) บน Bitcoin และ Bitcoin Ordinals ซึ่งเป็นวิธีการใหม่ในการฝังข้อมูลลงใน Bitcoin Blockchain

Bitcoin ยังคงถูกนำไปใช้ในประเทศอื่นๆ นอกจาก El Salvador และมีความพยายามในการแก้ปัญหาความกังวลด้านสิ่งแวดล้อมจากการขุด Bitcoin

บทเรียนจากมหากาพย์แห่งวิวัฒนาการ

ประวัติศาสตร์ Bitcoin สอนให้เรารู้ว่า.. เทคโนโลยี Blockchain มีศักยภาพในการเปลี่ยนแปลงโลก แต่เส้นทางสู่ความสำเร็จนั้นก็ไม่ได้โรยด้วยกลีบกุหลาบ

ความขัดแย้ง การต่อสู้แย่งชิงอำนาจ และการตัดสินใจที่ยากลำบาก ล้วนเป็นส่วนหนึ่งของการเดินทาง

สิ่งที่สำคัญที่สุดคือ.. เราต้องศึกษา ทำความเข้าใจ และอาจมีส่วนร่วมในการกำหนดทิศทางของเทคโนโลยีนี้ เพื่อให้ Blockchain สามารถสร้างประโยชน์สูงสุดให้กับมวลมนุษยชาติต่อไป

เจาะลึกวิวัฒนาการของ Bitcoin การ Soft Forks, Hard Forks และมุมมองที่แตกต่าง

SegWit, Taproot และ Soft Forks อื่นๆ การปรับปรุง Bitcoin อย่างนุ่มนวล

Bitcoin Core ไม่ได้หยุดนิ่งอยู่กับที่ นักพัฒนาได้ทำงานอย่างต่อเนื่องเพื่อปรับปรุง Bitcoin ให้ดีขึ้น โดยใช้ "Soft Forks" ซึ่งเป็นการอัพเกรดที่เข้ากันได้กับซอฟต์แวร์เวอร์ชั่นเก่า

SegWit (Segregated Witness)

เปิดตัวในปี 2017 SegWit เป็นเหมือนการจัดระเบียบข้อมูลใน Block ใหม่ ย้ายส่วนที่เรียกว่า "Witness data" (ข้อมูลลายเซ็น) ออกไปไว้ข้างนอก ทำให้มีพื้นที่ว่างใน Block มากขึ้น รองรับธุรกรรมได้มากขึ้น และลดค่าธรรมเนียมได้ SegWit ยังช่วยแก้ปัญหา "Transaction Malleability" ซึ่งเป็นช่องโหว่ด้านความปลอดภัยและปูทางไปสู่การพัฒนา Lightning Network

Taproot

เปิดตัวในปี 2021 Taproot เป็น Soft Fork ที่ช่วยเพิ่มความเป็นส่วนตัว และประสิทธิภาพของ Bitcoin Taproot ทำให้ธุรกรรมที่ซับซ้อน เช่น Smart Contracts มีขนาดเล็กลงและยากต่อการแยกแยะจากธุรกรรมทั่วไป

Soft Forks อื่นๆ ที่ Bitcoin Core ได้นำมาใช้ เช่น BIP 65 (CheckLockTimeVerify) และ BIP 112 (CSV) ช่วยเพิ่มความยืดหยุ่นในการใช้งาน Bitcoin และปูทางไปสู่การพัฒนาฟังก์ชันใหม่ๆ

Hard Forks เส้นทางที่แตกต่างและการถือกำเนิดของเหรียญใหม่

ในขณะที่ Soft Forks เป็นการอัพเกรดที่นุ่มนวล "Hard Forks" นั้นนับว่าเป็นการเปลี่ยนแปลงครั้งใหญ่ ที่ทำให้เกิดสาย Blockchain ใหม่และเหรียญใหม่

Bitcoin XT (2015)

เป็นความพยายามครั้งแรกในการเพิ่ม Blocksize Limit โดย Mike Hearn และ Gavin Andresen Bitcoin XT เสนอให้เพิ่ม Blocksize Limit เป็น 8MB แต่ถูกต่อต้านอย่างรุนแรง และไม่ประสบความสำเร็จ

Bitcoin Classic (2016)

เป็นอีกหนึ่งความพยายามในการเพิ่ม Blocksize Limit โดยเสนอให้เพิ่มเป็น 2MB แต่ก็ล้มเหลวเช่นกัน

Bitcoin Unlimited (2016)

เสนอให้ Miners สามารถกำหนด Blocksize Limit ได้เอง แต่มีข้อบกพร่องด้านความปลอดภัย และไม่เป็นที่ยอมรับในวงกว้าง

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) (2017)

เกิดจากการ Hard Fork ของ Bitcoin โดยกลุ่ม "Big Blockers" ที่ไม่พอใจที่ Bitcoin Core ไม่ยอมเพิ่ม Blocksize Limit Bitcoin Cash เพิ่ม Blocksize Limit เป็น 8MB และมุ่งเน้นที่การเป็น "เงินสดดิจิทัล" ที่ใช้งานได้จริง

Bitcoin SV (BSV) (2018)

เกิดจากการ Hard Fork ของ Bitcoin Cash โดยกลุ่มที่นำโดย Craig Wright ผู้ที่อ้างว่าเป็น Satoshi Nakamoto Bitcoin SV ต้องการเพิ่มขนาด Block อย่างมาก และกลับไปสู่วิสัยทัศน์ดั้งเดิมของ Bitcoin

Bitcoin ABC (2020)

เกิดจากการ Hard Fork ของ Bitcoin Cash โดยกลุ่มนักพัฒนา Bitcoin ABC ที่ต้องการเปลี่ยนแปลงกลไกการระดมทุน Bitcoin ABC ถูกเปลี่ยนชื่อเป็น eCash ในภายหลัง

มุมมองที่แตกต่าง Bitcoin ถูก "แย่งชิง" หรือไม่?

หนังสือ "Hijacking Bitcoin" โดย Roger Ver นำเสนอมุมมองที่แตกต่างจาก Bitcoin Maximalists

Roger Ver เชื่อว่า Bitcoin ถูก "แย่งชิง" โดยกลุ่มนักพัฒนา Bitcoin Core และ Blockstream ที่ต้องการเปลี่ยนแปลง Bitcoin จาก "เงินสดดิจิทัล" ให้กลายเป็น "สินทรัพย์เก็บมูลค่า"

Roger Ver วิพากษ์วิจารณ์ Bitcoin Core ในหลายประเด็น เช่น..

การไม่ยอมเพิ่ม Blocksize Limit

Roger Ver เชื่อว่า Bitcoin Core จงใจจำกัดการเติบโตของ Bitcoin เพื่อผลักดันให้คนใช้งาน Sidechains ของ Blockstream

การเซ็นเซอร์ข้อมูล

Roger Ver กล่าวหาว่า Bitcoin Core เซ็นเซอร์ข้อมูลและปิดกั้นการสนทนาเกี่ยวกับ Big Blocks บนแพลตฟอร์มต่างๆ

การต่อต้านนวัตกรรม

Roger Ver เชื่อว่า Bitcoin Core ต่อต้านนวัตกรรม และไม่ยอมรับการเปลี่ยนแปลงที่อาจทำให้ Bitcoin ดีขึ้น

การควบคุมโดยกลุ่มเล็กๆ

Roger Ver มองว่า Bitcoin Core ถูกควบคุมโดยกลุ่มเล็กๆ ที่ไม่คำนึงถึงความต้องการของชุมชน Bitcoin

Roger Ver สนับสนุน Bitcoin Cash ซึ่งเขาเชื่อว่าเป็น Bitcoin ที่แท้จริง ที่สืบทอดวิสัยทัศน์ดั้งเดิมของ Satoshi Nakamoto

บทสรุป:

การต่อสู้แย่งชิง Bitcoin และการเกิดขึ้นของ Hard Forks ต่างๆ เป็นส่วนหนึ่งของวิวัฒนาการของ Cryptocurrency

มุมมองที่แตกต่าง ความขัดแย้ง และการแข่งขัน ล้วนเป็นแรงผลักดันให้ Bitcoin และ Cryptocurrency อื่นๆ พัฒนาต่อไป

สุดท้ายแล้ว.. เราคงไม่อาจตัดสินได้ว่าฝ่ายใดคิดถูกหรือฝ่ายใดผิด

"เสียงของตลาด จะช่วยทำหน้าที่ให้คำตอบนั้นกับเรา ว่าแท้ที่จริงแล้วผู้คนกำลังต้องการอะไรกันแน่..

ลองมองไปที่มูลค่าของแต่ละแนวคิด มองไปที่ Network effect และกำลังการขุด มองไปที่การยอมรับและความเชื่อมั่นของผู้คน เหล่านี้ล้วนเป็นข้อบ่งชี้ที่เห็นได้ง่าย..

เพราะนั่นคือเสียงแห่งการเพรียกหาอิสรภาพ และอธิปไตยทางการเงินที่แท้จริง..

— Jakk Goodday

@ 1739d937:3e3136ef

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

Previous Updates

• June 28th 2024
• July 6th 2024
• July 12th 2024
• July 19th 2024
• August 16th 2024

Progress this week

Sorry about the very late update this week. Catching up on everything after a week in Riga for Nostriga and Baltic Honeybadger took a bunch of time, every other moment was spent coding. 👨‍💻

The response at Nostriga to NIP-104 and my two talks on the subject were overwhelmingly positive. It was very helpful to spend time with other devs going through the spec in detail. We found a few minor improvements and clarifications but no major issues surfaced. Thanks to nostr:npub1v0lxxxxutpvrelsksy8cdhgfux9l6a42hsj2qzquu2zk7vc9qnkszrqj49, nostr:npub1lunaq893u4hmtpvqxpk8hfmtkqmm7ggutdtnc4hyuux2skr4ttcqr827lj, and nostr:npub1ye5ptcxfyyxl5vjvdjar2ua3f0hynkjzpx552mu5snj3qmx5pzjscpknpr in particular for the lengthly interrogations and nostr:npub1wmr34t36fy03m8hvgl96zl3znndyzyaqhwmwdtshwmtkg03fetaqhjg240 for the introductions.

Last week, I started work on a reference implementation of the spec. It's still early but going quickly.

My PR adding support for secp256k1 was also merged into the hpke-rs library yesterday. That's one more step in the right direction towards having secp256k1 ciphersuite support.

The NIP

If you haven't already, check out my talk; The Past and Future of DMs and Group messaging on Nostr. This was a basic overview of the various DM and group messaging schemes and talks a little about the progress on NIP-104. I believe there is a recording of the technical talk on the spec but it hasn't yet been released. I'll link it up when it is.

At this point I've been discouraging anyone from trying to implement the NIP quite yet. As I mentioned above there are a few adjustments that need to be made and a few open questions that I'm working on answering with my implementation (which I'm very happy to have contributors on). My plan at the moment is to do this first implementation with the default ciphersuite that MLS already supports while I continue to work on the dependencies to get secp256k1 support across the board.

The Implementation

I've started on a cross-platform native client that will run on Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android. Think of it as Signal or Telegram but over Nostr. I hope that this will not only become the reference implementation for other client developers but also will be one of the most secure and privacy focused clients in the Nostr ecosystem. Building it has already been helpful in clarifying some of the more complex implementation details in the NIP. It's still early but I'll have more to share on this in the coming weeks.

HPKE-RS

My PR to add support for secp256k1 is merged!

Onward and Upward

Thanks again to everyone for the support and feedback on this stuff at Nostriga. It was hugely motivating to hear the kind words, have you introducing me to people that could help, and spending time giving me feedback! This community is the best. 🫂

@ b83a28b7:35919450

On last week's episode of Plebchain Radio, QW and I announced something unusual - we would be taking a week off posting kind 1 notes on the Twitter clone clients - Primal, Damus, Nostur, etc. The clock started right after our show was posted on Friday, August 23rd and ends with show this Friday, August 30th.

https://video.nostr.build/741cd7a0dd33e1ce815490d14069af96579ce47c92ea04240592c7bbb2de3a65.mp4

The idea behind the challenge is to see how much we can participate in the network without resorting to it's most accessible form of communication - kind 1 notes (the equivalent of tweets/replies).

Halfway into the challenge, we've boosted and commented on shows on Fountain, zapped songs on Wavlake, commented on recipes on zap.cooking, watched videos on zap.stream and tunestr, and written the odd long-form note (oh, alright, just this one so far). It's been fun, but has also created an odd sense of sensory deprivation.

We will share more details on our experience on this week's Plebchain Radio episode. Right, I'm off to explore the rest of the other-stuff-verse. I'd urge everyone to give this challenge a try. It might change how you view nostr.

@ e0e92e54:d630dfaa

This is a copy of the email received from newsletter@Rumble.com

Free Speech Under Attack -- A Note from the CEO of Rumble

Dear Rumble Users,

I don't typically send messages to our users through email, but red lines have been crossed. There have been major developments with free speech platforms, and I feel it’s important to let everyone know what is going on and how you can help Rumble.

Rumble is no longer available to the citizens of Brazil, joining the ranks of France, Russia, and China. From media reports, Brazil no longer has Elon Musk's X due to attacks on free speech by Alexandre De Moreas, a justice of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court.

World powers don’t want Rumble, they don’t want X, they don’t want Telegram, and they don't want Truth Social. They want to control information, but our companies won’t let them.

There are no other large companies fighting for freedom like we are. We put everything on the line for it, and the Telegram CEO was recently arrested for it.

Advertisers boycott our companies to try and cut our economic lifeline, but they underestimate our support among the people.

The people keep us alive and keep us going.

If you want to help us, join Rumble Premium. If Rumble Premium gets big enough, you help us change the game and fight for freedom of expression.

We are also offering a $10 dicount for any new annual subscribers when they use the promo code "brazil".

Sincerely,

Chris Pavlovski Chairman and CEO of Rumble

444 Gulf of Mexico Dr. Longboat Key, FL 34228, USA.

@ 96203d66:643a819c

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@ af9c48b7:a3f7aaf4

Chef's notes

Easy recipe with simple ingredients. This recipe uses some store bought, precooked items as way to cut down on cook time. I recommend letting the vegetables thaw if you don't like them on the firm/crunchy side.Feel free to substitute fresh ingredients if you have the time and want to make the extra effort.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 20 min
• 🍳 Cook time: 50 min
• 🍽️ Servings: 8-10

Ingredients

• 2 (8 oz) packages refrigerated crescent rolls (dough sheets preferred)
• 1 pound cooked rotisserie chicken (deboned and chopped)
• 2 table spoons of butter
• 2 (10 once) packages of frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 (15 once can sliced potatoes (drained)
• 1 (10.5 once) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 (10.5 once) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• salt and ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line the botton of 9x13-inch baking dish with one can of crescent roll dough. If you don't get the sheet dough, be sure to pinch the seams together.
2. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Then add the chicken, mixed vegetables, and sliced potatoes (recommend cutting into smaller pieces). Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are thawed and mixture is heated through, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. While the mixed vegetables are heating, warm both cans of condensed soup in a seperate pan over medium-low heat. Slowly add milk and cook, stirring frequently, until combined and heated through, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the soup mixture to the chicken mixture, then pour into the baking dish. Top with the second can of crescent roll dough. Feel free to cut some slits in dough if you are using the dough sheets. Cover lightly with foil to prevent the crescent roll dough from browning too quickly.
5. Bake in oven until heated through and dough is a golden brown. Cook time should be around 45-50 minutes I reommend removing the foil for the last 10 minutes to get a golden crust. Be sure to keep a close watch on the crust after removing the foil because it will brown quickly.

@ b83a28b7:35919450

https://image.nostr.build/df0721d6d45d82db35d06663a0318ffe68c0b2b3c694888d23694efcc4255de5.gif

@ 3b7fc823:e194354f

Nyms, Personas, and Digital Identity

GHOSTn

If you want #privacy then embrace compartmentlization and obscuration in your digital life. Get used to having multiple identities that you can switch between for various needs.

Your legal "matrix" name that pays taxes and has no controversal opinions or associations. Don't try to obscure this person. They are a open book. Put your best foot forward. Show them what you want them to see.

Your private online persona. You let your hair down, have hot takes on social media, purchase legal but potentially embarrassing items or just have hobbies and associations that you are not ashamed of but don't want to advertise for some reason. You use a VPN and no kyc sudo anonymous accounts. Have fun but don't go crazy, know that on a long enough timeline this persona will be linked back to you. The more connections and data that you put out there the easier this will be.

Your anonymous nym that only uses #tor, VMs, hidden drives, and rarely used accounts. Plausible deniability is baked in. Used by dissidents, freedom fights, truth to power, and anyone in oppressive regimes.

Finally you have your Nemo. This person does not exist. No name, no files and only uses #Tails or disposable systems that does not leave a trace. Not everyone would ever have a need for a Nemo but it is good to know how to just in case you ever do.

@ 3b7fc823:e194354f

Encryption is the promethium fire that the cypherpunks secured from heaven for me and you. It is our sacred duty to use and advance that in the world. Encryption is so powerful that governments tried to keep it away from the people and to this day have tried to weaken and backdoor it at every turn.

So what is encryption?

It is a deep deep rabbit hole and involves a lot of numbers but in a nutshell it uses math to scramble up the data of your file so it is gibberish and can't be read without decrypting it back to regular data. Encryption technology has continued to advance over time and cracking technology to break the encryption has as well. For our purposes all you really need to remember is to use modern cyphers and your encryption is really only going to be as good as the password (use a passphrase) strength you are using to lock it down with.

BEGINNER LEVEL - Encrypt your phone and computer.

People walk around with their whole lives on their phone. Protect it.

-phone: Congratulations, if you already have a lock screen set on either your iPhone or Android device then device encryption is enabled. If your lock screen password is only 4 digits then we still have work to do. Four digits is only about 10,000 combinations and fairly easy to crack. I believe it only took them about 40 minutes to crack the iPhone of the attempted Trump shooter. Go into settings and set it up for 6 digits or for extra credit use a alphanumeric password.

After your phone then your personal computer probably has the most important data to you. Banking records, tax documents, photos, etc. Encrypt your drive.

-Windows: from Settings, select Privacy security -> Device encryption. Just follow the prompts.

-Apple: from Apple icon, select System Preferences -> Security & Privacy icon. Click "Turn On FileVault".

-Linux: most distros gives you the option during installation. If you didn't do so then search for how to enable it after the fact based on your distribution.

Awesome sauce. You have achieved minimum status.

ADVANCED LEVEL - Encrypt individual files.

You already encrypted your computer but guess what, once you start up your computer and log in the key is stored in RAM for as long as it stays on. The beginner level encryption protects your computer when it is off and it means no one can just steal your hard drive and access your files. This is good, but what if someone grabs you while you're sitting there working on it? What if you leave it in sleep mode and not turned off? Then that whole disk encryption is not really going to help you.

What if you had individual files that you consider more secret than the others? That finance spreadsheet or that special pic your spouse sent you? That's where individual file encryption comes in. You are just scrolling nostr when they grab you, your computer is on, and unlocked, but those special files are still safely encrypted.

I will share with you one of my favorite small programs: Picocrypt.

Download the Paranoid pack and store it in multiple drives, email accounts, and cloud storage. That way you will always have a copy to decrypt any files that you stored away.

Use it to encrypt any files that you feel need extra attention. It is also very useful for encrypting any files that you intend to store online in cloud storage. You do encrypt your files that are stored online don't you? Yes, even with the company that offers "encrypted" storage. Don't trust their encryption, use your own.

EXPERT LEVEL - Encrypt containers and hidden containers.

What if you want to encrypt several files and keep them all together in like a folder or container? That's where Veracrypt comes in. Free, open source, cross platform, and powerful.

Veracrypt allows you to create encrypted containers from any file that act like individual drives that can be mounted or unmounted as needed. You can name these files anything that you want, move them around or delete like any file, and make as many as you want. This allows you to have compartmentation of your files and drives.

Next trick, Veracrypt allows you to create a hidden container inside that container. Enter one passphrase and you open the encrypted container. Enter a different passphrase and you open a different hidden container.

This allows deniability. When they grab you and start pulling your fingernails off until you tell them the password to open the encrypted container, give it to them. They don't have to know that there is another hidden one under that.

These features allow you to do all sorts of interesting things only limited by your need and imagination.

What if you have a container named as some random config file in your /etc folder? What if you just encrypted a removable storage drive? What if you have multiple hard drives on your computer that have multiple containers and hidden containers? What if you have a hidden container that can only be accessed from booting up in a amnesiac OS like Tails leaving no trace that the files exist or trail that they were ever accessed? Go crazy, have fun.

NEMO - Failsafe

Nemo has no files, encrypted or otherwise. If they did you couldn't prove it. Nemo does use something like Tails that retains no memory from boot to boot.

Nemo also uses a failsafe. A simple lanyard attached to the flashdrive running the OS and the other end around their wrist while they work. When you try to separate them from the computer the flashdrive pulls out and everything is gone.

Using these programs you can create a layered and compartmentlized approach to your encryption scheme. There are also plenty of other encryption programs to check out such as Cryptomator, AES Crypt, etc

Last point and most important: Encryption is only as good as the passphrase you use to lock it down. Use a shitty password and it doesn't matter how uncrackable your encryption is.

@ 8cb60e21:5f2deaea

@ 0861144c:e68a1caf

On Sunday afternoon, while I was taking a nap, my phone started buzzing with notifications. In the various groups where I share my views and words, I saw that Pavel Durov had been arrested by the French police. There wasn’t much to analyze yet, but alarms were raised, and theories began to circulate, and those theories were not far from reality. Pavel is practically accused of every digital crime one can commit, from criminal association to pedophilia. My eyes kept scrolling down, unable to believe all the accusations. Could even 10% of what they’re questioning him about be true? And unfortunately, the worst blind person is the one who doesn’t want to see.

Detractors claimed that Telegram served totalitarian regimes and handed over data, when in reality, the opposite is true, as this social network served as a reference point when people in Belarus were protesting for their civil rights. They also alleged that Telegram collaborated with the Russian government to evade sanctions or promote disinformation campaigns, but if anyone takes the trouble to watch the 60-minute interview with Tucker Carlson, they’ll see that one of the reasons Pavel left his homeland (Russia) is because the government pressure simply became unbearable; Putin took over VK because Pavel refused to be part of it.

So, we already know that Russia has no interest in Telegram, nor is it anti-democratic, as the movements have already demonstrated, which leads us to the question of whether the French really have interests with Telegram.

And my first response after reading Macron’s statements was precisely that they were seeking his arrest until we read that Macron is an avid user of this social network, but also that it was Macron himself who encouraged Pavel to obtain his French passport. So, let’s ask a long question:

What leads a European liberal democracy to arrest the CEO of a social network with charges that could easily apply to other social networks?

Try a simple experiment: take out the word Telegram and insert your social network of choice in the accusatory libel. It has the same effect, and the previous question arises again, and I’d like to offer an alternative perspective on this process. To this day, and I’ve mentioned this before in other posts in this same place, but I’ll emphasize it: we no longer have democracy as such. You can forget about the liberal style that was once promised to us or that we learned about in our educational institutions. This has been replaced with Dataism.

Dataism and How Pavel Doesn’t Cooperate

Dataism is a new form of governance. The word data comes from the Latin datum, which means "to give," meaning we, the citizens, give our data to the companies that manage social networks. These companies, while using us as a product for other companies, also see governments trying to dip their spoon into the pot, so they start talking about speech regulations, hate content, among other accusations, to maintain a clean social network. I’m guilty first. In the old days, when the chief censors operated in the former Soviet Union (as Coetzee tells us), folders were created with the data of suspects, documenting their revolutionary activities, and when the time came, measures could be taken that affected the welfare state.

Today, this type of persecution no longer exists, but by handing over my data, companies no longer talk about tracking me, since we’ve given them free access to our location and GPS, in addition to exposing our lives on every platform; today, profiles are made, and now there’s a marketing department that creates behavior profiles and bombards me with products and services that might interest me.

The government’s intrusion into social networks has become so great that now they had to react, showing a sort of repentance. As I write this, I find it really hard to react to the letter sent by Meta (signed by Zuckerberg himself) in which he regrets the censorship carried out during the pandemic. And I vividly remember the hundreds of people whose accounts were censored, rightly or wrongly, for not aligning with the government’s scientific stance.

And Telegram?

Telegram doesn’t hand over data and paid the price. It refused to do so in the past and stood against the current regime, against dataism. The French justice system wants Pavel to spend time in prison for daring to use encrypted products that don’t allow them to listen to/see/read their possible suspects. The KGB would blush at such a move. And the most ironic thing is that a person who flees his own country for not wanting to cooperate with values contrary to freedom is now arrested by a country that was once the center of debates on liberty, fraternity, and equality, where they rose up against the oppressive regime.

I don’t know how the process will continue on French soil, and I also don’t know if the Russians are really using USDT networks to move sanctioned money. I only know that this kind of arrest proves and gives reason to those who argue that freedom, as we knew it, no longer makes sense.

And I don’t know what else to tell you, my friend.

Unfortunately, I have no conclusion. I wish I could end this article and give you hope that justice will respond to see what they’re accusing him of, but it would be a lie on my part. I can tell you, however, that if you’re reading this and have a NOSTR account and use bitcoin as part of your economy, you’re on the right path.

Sites like Stacker News and others, as well as protocols like NOSTR, will gain greater importance as we open our eyes to fight the regime that seeks to abolish privacy as a human right. Today we can fight, and it doesn’t require much of us, other than to promote what we are doing now.

And I’ll end by asking the same question that @FmpPerspective did: are we still allowed to ask questions?

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/663527

@ 8cb60e21:5f2deaea

Lesson 3: Arrays, Objects, and Callbacks

Arrays: Lists of Things

Arrays are ordered lists of values. They're perfect for storing multiple related items, like a list of your favorite cat toys:

javascript var catToys = ["mouse", "ball", "laser pointer"]; console.log(catToys[0]); // Prints "mouse"

Objects: Grouping Related Information

Objects allow you to group related information together. They're like detailed profiles for each of your cat friends:

```javascript var myCat = { name: "Fluffy", age: 3, favoriteFood: "tuna" };

console.log(myCat.name); // Prints "Fluffy" ```

Callbacks: Doing Things Later

Callbacks are functions that are executed after another function has finished. They're useful for handling asynchronous operations, like waiting for your cat to finish eating before giving it a treat:

```javascript function feedCat(callback) { console.log("Feeding the cat..."); setTimeout(function() { console.log("Cat has finished eating!"); callback(); }, 2000); }

feedCat(function() { console.log("Time for a treat!"); }); ```

This code simulates feeding a cat, waiting 2 seconds, and then giving it a treat.

Remember, learning JavaScript is a journey. Take your time, practice regularly, and soon you'll be coding like a pro cat!

@ d830ee7b:4e61cd62

ในโลกของเหรียญดิจิทัล ที่แสงสีเสียงดังแข่งกันโครมๆ ระยิบระยับราวกับงานวัด มีหนึ่งตำนานที่ถูกจารึกไว้ในหน้าประวัติศาสตร์อย่างไม่อาจลบเลือนได้ ตำนานที่สร้างบาดแผลให้กับนักลงทุนหลายหมื่นคนทั่วโลก และเป็นเสมือนตราบาปที่คอยฉุดรั้งการเติบโตของวงการบิตคอยน์เอาไว้อย่างยาวนาน...

..ตำนานนั้นมีชื่อว่า “Mt. Gox” ศูนย์กลางการซื้อขายบิตคอยน์ที่ครั้งหนึ่งเคยยิ่งใหญ่ที่สุดในโลก แต่วันนี้เหลือเพียงซากปรักหักพังและตำนานแห่งความเจ็บปวด

https://image.nostr.build/f45d069f4113ea9a28bbacb8da44d19899b42685825e8e8c0e8c42286fa22995.jpg

หายนะที่ทำให้บิตคอยน์ประมาณ 850,000 BTC มูลค่ากว่า 460 ล้านดอลลาร์สหรัฐในขณะนั้น (หรือราวๆ 4 หมื่นล้านดอลลาร์สหรัฐ (ราว 1.36 ล้านล้านบาท) ในปัจจุบัน) หายวับไปกับตา!

เรื่องนี้มันเกิดขึ้นได้ยังไง? อะไรที่ทำให้เว็บเทรดที่เคยยิ่งใหญ่ที่สุดในโลกต้องล่มสลายลง?

และที่สำคัญที่สุด... เราเรียนรู้อะไรได้บ้างจากหายนะในครั้งนี้?

บทความนี้จะพาคุณย้อนรอยไปสำรวจเรื่องราวทั้งหมดของ Mt. Gox ตั้งแต่จุดเริ่มต้นที่แสนจะธรรมดา ไปจนถึงจุดจบที่น่าสลดหดหู่ พร้อมกับบทเรียนราคาแพงที่เราทุกคนควรจดจำเอาไว้ให้ขึ้นใจ (ยาวนะครับ..)

// จากเว็บเทรดการ์ดเกมสู่ศูนย์กลางบิตคอยน์

เรื่องราวของ Mt. Gox เริ่มต้นขึ้นในปี 2006 ไม่ใช่ด้วยบิตคอยน์อย่างที่หลายคนเข้าใจ แต่เริ่มจาก Jed McCaleb โปรแกรมเมอร์หนุ่มผู้คลั่งไคล้ในการ์ดเกม "Magic: The Gathering Online" ที่อยากจะสร้างเว็บไซต์สำหรับเทรดการ์ดเกมออนไลน์

ชื่อ Mt. Gox ก็มาจาก "Magic: The Gathering Online eXchange" นั่นเองครับ..

ในช่วงแรกๆ Mt. Gox ก็เป็นแค่เว็บเล็กๆ ที่ไม่ค่อยมีคนรู้จัก แต่แล้วในปี 2010 จุดเปลี่ยนก็เกิดขึ้น..

McCaleb ได้รู้จักกับบิตคอยน์สกุลเงินดิจิทัลน้องใหม่ที่กำลังมาแรง และเขาตัดสินใจเปลี่ยน Mt. Gox ให้กลายเป็นศูนย์กลางการซื้อขายบิตคอยน์มันซะเลย!

การตัดสินใจครั้งนี้ถือเป็นจุดเปลี่ยนสำคัญที่ทำให้ Mt. Gox กลายเป็นตำนาน

ในยุคนั้นบิตคอยน์ยังเป็นเรื่องใหม่มากๆ คนส่วนใหญ่ยังไม่รู้จัก ไม่เข้าใจ แถมยังมองว่ามันเป็นของเล่นไร้สาระสำหรับพวก Geek เท่านั้น แต่ McCaleb เขามองเห็นศักยภาพของมัน เขาเชื่อว่าบิตคอยน์จะเปลี่ยนโลก!

Mt. Gox จึงกลายเป็นแพลตฟอร์มซื้อขายบิตคอยน์แห่งแรกๆ ของโลกและมันก็เติบโตอย่างรวดเร็ว.. เร็วแบบติดจรวดเลยล่ะครับ เพราะในตอนนั้นมันแทบไม่มีคู่แข่งเลย ใครอยากซื้อขายบิตคอยน์ก็ต้องมาที่ Mt. Gox นักลงทุนทั่วโลกแห่กันมาที่นี่ ทำให้ Mt. Gox กลายเป็นศูนย์กลางของตลาดบิตคอยน์

ในช่วงพีคๆ Mt. Gox เคย handle การซื้อขาย Bitcoin มากกว่า 70% ของทั้งโลก!

นึกภาพตามนะครับ..

ในยุคนั้นบิตคอยน์ยังเป็นเหมือนดินแดนป่าเถื่อน ไม่มีกฎหมาย ไม่มีการควบคุม ใครอยากทำอะไรก็ทำ Mt. Gox ก็เลยเหมือนเป็นเสมือนนายอำเภอที่คอยดูแลความสงบเรียบร้อยในเมือง..

ภายใต้เงาอำนาจ..

ในปี 2011, McCaleb ตัดสินใจขาย Mt. Gox ให้กับ Mark Karpelès โปรแกรมเมอร์ชาวฝรั่งเศสที่อาศัยอยู่ในญี่ปุ่น Karpelès เข้ามาบริหาร Mt. Gox ต่อ และพยายามขยายธุรกิจให้เติบโตยิ่งขึ้นไปอีก

แต่.. การเติบโตอย่างรวดเร็วนั้น ก็มาพร้อมกับปัญหา

ปัญหาแรกเลยก็คือเรื่อง "ความปลอดภัย"

ในปี 2011 Mt. Gox โดนแฮ็กครั้งแรก บิตคอยน์ประมาณ 25,000 BTC ถูกขโมยไป ตอนนั้นมันอาจจะดูไม่เยอะ แต่ถ้าคิดเป็นมูลค่าในปัจจุบันก็หลายหมื่นล้านบาทอยู่นะครับ

และนี่เป็นแค่จุดเริ่มต้นของหายนะ...

ปัญหาที่สอง คือ "การบริหารจัดการอันห่วยแตก"

Karpelès ไม่ได้เป็นนักธุรกิจมืออาชีพ เขาเป็นแค่โปรแกรมเมอร์ที่หลงใหลในบิตคอยน์ เขาขาดประสบการณ์ในการบริหารจัดการบริษัทขนาดใหญ่

Mt. Gox เริ่มมีปัญหาภายใน ทั้งเรื่องการเงิน การจัดการ และความโปร่งใส ลูกค้าเริ่มบ่นว่าถอนเงินไม่ได้ ระบบมีปัญหา

และที่สำคัญ.. Karpelès ไม่ได้ให้ความสำคัญกับเรื่อง "ความปลอดภัย" มากพอนัก

เขาคิดว่า Mt. Gox มันใหญ่เกินกว่าจะล้มได้ ใครจะกล้ามาแหยม?

..แต่เขาคิดผิด.. อย่างมหันต์

จุดจบของตำนาน..

ในเดือนกุมภาพันธ์ 2014, Mt. Gox ประกาศระงับการถอนเงินทั้งหมด อ้างว่าระบบมีปัญหา.. กำลังทำการแก้ไข

แต่มันไม่ใช่แค่ปัญหาเล็กๆ น้อยๆ.. มันคือหายนะครั้งใหญ่หลวง!

บิตคอยน์กว่า 850,000 BTC มูลค่ากว่า 460 ล้านดอลลาร์สหรัฐในตอนนั้นหายไปจาก Mt. Gox ไม่ใช่แค่เงินของลูกค้า.. แต่เป็นเงินของ Mt. Gox เองด้วย

Karpelès ออกมาแถลงข่าวด้วยน้ำตาคลอเบ้า บอกว่า Bitcoin ถูกขโมยไปจากการโดนแฮ็ก..

โลกทั้งใบแทบแตก! นักลงทุนช็อก! ราคาบิตคอยน์ร่วงระนาว! ความเชื่อมั่นในตลาดคริปโตฯ สั่นคลอน!

Mt. Gox ล้มละลาย.. และกลายเป็นตำนานแห่งหายนะที่ไม่มีใครลืม..

บทเรียนราคาแพงที่เราต้องจดจำ

การล่มสลายของ Mt. Gox เป็นเหมือนระเบิดปรมาณูที่ถล่มวงการบิตคอยน์ มันทำให้คนทั่วโลกตระหนักถึงความเสี่ยงของคริปโตเคอเรนซี และความสำคัญของการเลือกใช้แพลตฟอร์มที่ "ปลอดภัย" และ "น่าเชื่อถือ"

มันยังเป็นเครื่องเตือนใจว่าความโลภ และความประมาท อาจนำไปสู่หายนะได้ ไม่ว่าคุณจะลงทุนในอะไร ก็ต้องศึกษาให้ดี ทำความเข้าใจให้ถ่องแท้ อย่าหลงเชื่อคำโฆษณา หรือคำอวยเว่อร์ๆ

และที่สำคัญ..

"Not your keys, not your coins"

หากคุณไม่ถือ Private Key ด้วยตัวเอง คุณก็ไม่ได้เป็นเจ้าของบิตคอยน์ที่แท้จริง

เพราะถ้าเกิดอะไรขึ้นกับเว็บเทรด.. คุณก็อาจจะซวยเหมือนกับลูกค้า Mt. Gox กว่า 24,000 คน ที่ต้องรอคอยเงินคืนยาวนานนับ 10 ปี และบางคนก็อาจจะไม่ได้อะไรคืนเลย..

เปิดโปงเบื้องหลัง

หลังจาก Mt. Gox ล่มสลาย เจ้าหน้าที่ได้เร่งสืบสวนสอบสวน และพบว่ามีบุคคลสำคัญอยู่เบื้องหลังเรื่องนี้

1. “Alexander Vinnik” ผู้ก่อตั้ง BTC-e

ถูกจับในข้อหาฟอกเงินที่ได้จากการแฮ็ก Mt. Gox เขาถูกกล่าวหาว่าใช้ BTC-e ในการฟอกเงินมูลค่ากว่า 4 พันล้านดอลลาร์สหรัฐ ซึ่งรวมถึงเงินที่ขโมยมาจาก Mt. Gox ด้วย

หน่วยงานของสหรัฐฯ ระบุว่า Vinnik ใช้ BTC-e เพื่อฟอกเงินให้กับบุคคลที่เกี่ยวข้องกับอาชญากรรมต่างๆ เช่น การแฮ็กคอมพิวเตอร์ และการค้ายาเสพติด

พวกเขายังเชื่อมโยง Vinnik กับการล่มสลายของ Mt. Gox โดยกล่าวหาว่าเขาฟอกเงินที่ถูกขโมยผ่าน BTC-e และ Tradehill ซึ่งเป็นอีกหนึ่งเว็บเทรดที่เขาเป็นเจ้าของ

การจับกุม Vinnik เป็นส่วนหนึ่งของปฏิบัติการต่อเนื่องของสหรัฐฯ ในการต่อต้านอาชญากรไซเบอร์ชาวรัสเซียในยุโรป ในปี 2024 Vinnik ได้ยอมรับสารภาพผิดในข้อหาสมรู้ร่วมคิดในการฟอกเงิน

1. “Alexey Bilyuchenko” และ “Aleksandr Verner”

สองชาวรัสเซีย ถูกตั้งข้อหาในปี 2023 ว่ากันว่าพวกเขาขโมยบิตคอยน์ไปกว่า 647,000 BTC และนำไปฟอกเงินผ่าน BTC-e และแพลตฟอร์มอื่นๆ

เส้นทางสู่การเยียวยา

การล่มสลายของ Mt. Gox ทำให้ลูกค้าหลายหมื่นคนต้องสูญเสียบิตคอยน์ไป และต้องต่อสู้ในกระบวนการทางกฎหมายอันยาวนาน

ในที่สุดก็มีความคืบหน้า ในเดือนมิถุนายน 2018 ศาลแขวงโตเกียวได้อนุมัติคำร้องของเจ้าหนี้เพื่อเริ่มกระบวนการฟื้นฟูทางแพ่ง ซึ่งอนุญาตให้มีเงื่อนไขการชำระหนี้ที่ยืดหยุ่นมากขึ้น รวมถึงการชดเชยตามมูลค่าปัจจุบันของเหรียญที่สูญหายไป

เจ้าหนี้ (ผู้เสียหาย) สามารถเริ่มยื่นข้อเรียกร้องใหม่ภายใต้กระบวนการเหล่านี้ได้ในวันที่ 23 สิงหาคม 2018

ในที่สุด.. ในเดือนกรกฎาคม 2024 Mt. Gox ก็เริ่มชำระคืนบิตคอยน์ และบิตคอยน์แคช ให้กับเจ้าหนี้ภายใต้แผนฟื้นฟูกิจการตามกฎหมาย

ทนายความ Nobuaki Kobayashi ดูแลกระบวนการนี้ โดยตรวจสอบให้แน่ใจว่ามีการตรวจสอบและข้อตกลงกับเจ้าหนี้ทั้งหมดก่อนที่จะมีการจ่ายเงิน

การชำระเงินคืนนี้ถือเป็นช่วงเวลาสำคัญ เนื่องจากเจ้าหนี้ต้องรอคอยมานานเกือบทศวรรษ นับตั้งแต่การล่มสลายของเว็บเทรดในปี 2014

จาก 850,000 BTC ที่สูญหายไป มีการกู้คืนกลับมาได้ 200,000 Bitcoin ซึ่ง 60,000 Bitcoin ในนั้นถูกขายโดยผู้ดูแลผลประโยชน์เพื่อเป็นทุนในการดำเนินการต่างๆ

และเนื่องจากมูลค่าของบิตคอยน์เพิ่มขึ้นอย่างมาก กระบวนการชำระคืนจึงมีมูลค่ามหาศาล การเริ่มต้นการชำระคืนจึงเป็นเรื่องใหญ่ในวงการคริปโต

ในช่วงต้นเดือนกรกฎาคม 2024 Mt. Gox ได้ย้าย 47,228 BTC มูลค่าประมาณ 2.7 พันล้านดอลลาร์ออกจากกระเป๋าเงินออฟไลน์เพื่อเป็นส่วนหนึ่งของกระบวนการชำระคืน

บริษัทต่างๆ เช่น MtGoxBalanceBot ได้ติดตามความเคลื่อนไหวเหล่านี้อย่างโปร่งใสและให้ข้อมูลอัปเดตแก่ชุมชน

ในวันที่ 22 กรกฎาคม 2024 Mt. Gox ได้โอน Bitcoin มูลค่า 2.85 พันล้านดอลลาร์ไปยังกระเป๋าเงินใหม่ โดย 340 ล้านดอลลาร์ในจำนวนนั้นถูกส่งไปยังที่อยู่ที่ Bitstamp เป็นเจ้าของ

หลังจากนั้นไม่นาน ก็มีการโอน 37,477 BTC มูลค่า 2.5 พันล้านดอลลาร์ไปยังกระเป๋าเงินที่ไม่รู้จัก

มีการเคลื่อนไหวอยู่เรื่อยๆ จนกระทั่ง ณ ปัจจุบันมีการแจกจ่าย Bitcoin ให้กับเจ้าหนี้ Mt. Gox ไปแล้วจำนวนมาก และยังเหลืออีกประมาณ 45,000 BTC ที่จะต้องคืน (จาก140,000 แสน เหลือ 44,899K BTC คิดเป็นคืนไปแล้วราวๆ 60%)

กระบวนการนี้ยังคงดำเนินต่อไป และเกี่ยวข้องกับความเคลื่อนไหวจำนวนมากในตลาดคริปโตฯ โดยจำนวนเงินทั้งหมดที่ยังคงค้างชำระให้กับเจ้าหนี้ โดยจำนวนเงินทั้งหมดที่ยังคงค้างชำระเจ้าหนี้นั้นคิดเป็นประมาณ 0.7% ของ Bitcoin ทั้งหมดที่หมุนเวียนอยู่ในตลาด

850,000 Bitcoin ที่สูญหายไปนั้นมีมูลค่าประมาณ 460 ล้านดอลลาร์สหรัฐในขณะที่เกิดการแฮ็ก และ 140,000 Bitcoin ที่กู้คืนได้นั้นมีมูลค่าประมาณ 1 หมื่นล้านดอลลาร์ ณ ราคา 70,000 ดอลลาร์ต่อ Bitcoin

นั่นหมายความว่าเจ้าหนี้จะได้รับมูลค่าคืนมากกว่า 16 เท่าในตลาดปัจจุบัน..

บทสรุป

เรื่องราวของ Mt. Gox เป็นเหมือนบทเรียนราคาแพงที่สอนให้พวกเรารู้ว่า..

อย่าฝากไข่ไว้ในตะกร้าใบเดียว

การรวมศูนย์อำนาจในการดูแลสินทรัพย์ดิจิทัลไว้ที่เดียวมีความเสี่ยงสูง การกระจายความเสี่ยงโดยการใช้บริการหลายๆ แพลตฟอร์ม หรือ self-custody เป็นสิ่งสำคัญ

ความจำเป็นในการกำกับดูแล

เหตุการณ์ Mt. Gox กระตุ้นให้เกิดการตรวจสอบข้อเท็จจริงและความเข้มงวดมากขึ้นต่อเว็บเทรดคริปโตฯ ทั่วโลก เพื่อปกป้องนักลงทุน

ความรับผิดชอบ

ผู้บริหารแพลตฟอร์ม ต้องมีความรับผิดชอบต่อทรัพย์สินของลูกค้า และดำเนินธุรกิจอย่างโปร่งใส ซื่อสัตย์ และยุติธรรม

ความไม่แน่นอนของตลาดคริปโตฯ

ตลาดคริปโตฯ ยังคงมีความผันผวนสูง และมีความเสี่ยงที่อาจเกิดขึ้นได้ นักลงทุนควรศึกษาข้อมูลอย่างรอบคอบก่อนตัดสินใจลงทุน

เรื่องราวของ Mt. Gox จะถูกจารึกไว้ในประวัติศาสตร์ของวงการคริปโตตลอดไป มันเป็นเครื่องเตือนใจถึงความสำคัญของความปลอดภัย ความโปร่งใส และความรับผิดชอบในการดำเนินธุรกิจที่เกี่ยวข้องกับสินทรัพย์ดิจิทัล และเป็นแรงผลักดันให้วงการนี้พัฒนาไปสู่ความมั่นคงและยั่งยืนในอนาคต..

@ 8cb60e21:5f2deaea

Lesson 2: Functions and Loops

Functions: Your Own Commands

Functions are reusable blocks of code that perform specific tasks. They're like teaching your cat a new trick:

```javascript function meow(times) { for (var i = 0; i < times; i++) { console.log("Meow!"); } }

meow(3); // This will print "Meow!" three times ```

Built-in Functions

JavaScript comes with many built-in functions. For example, console.log() is a function that prints things to the console:

javascript console.log("I'm a cat!");

Loops: Repeating Tasks

Loops allow you to repeat a task multiple times without writing the same code over and over. It's like telling your cat to chase its tail for a specific number of rounds:

javascript for (var i = 0; i < 5; i++) { console.log("Chasing tail, round " + (i + 1)); }

This will print "Chasing tail, round X" five times, where X goes from 1 to 5.

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

This was my first year betting on preseason football and I came out about 20% ahead. My operating assumption was just that no one should be a heavy preseason favorite, so I took any team that was at least +200 to win outright.

I'm really looking forward to the real season starting. I've got my eyes on that Raiders vs Chargers opener. Every year the Bolts underachieve, while the Raiders overachieve (based on expected wins).

Nitrobetting got some NBA futures up. I took OKC at +750 and the Bucks at +1200 to win the title.

What are the upcoming events you're looking forward to?

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/662590

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

There's a very interesting dynamic developing in the American political media landscape. Don't worry, this post isn't explicitly political.

One of the huge incentive problems in media is needing access to important people in order to cover them. Objective, or otherwise critical, journalists may be denied access, while favorably biased journalists are granted it. This is known as "access journalism". Despite being a very well-known problem, it remains an intractable issue for the industry.

The Kamala Harris campaign has been blatantly denying access to even friendly outlets, which violates the basic logic of access journalism. The expectation then is that she'll get more objective or critical coverage, and I think we've been seeing that.

Part of why this is so interesting to me is that the American corporate press has a dramatic bias towards Democrats and against Trump (even more so than a generic Republican). Bias and incentives are clashing.

I often say that outcomes follow incentives. If so, then we should expect to see even more critical coverage of Kamala, unless she begins granting more press access.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/662537

@ 8cb60e21:5f2deaea

Lesson 1: Getting Started with JavaScript

Introduction

JavaScript is a programming language that instructs computers to perform tasks. Just as cats control humans with meows and purrs, programmers control computers with statements written in JavaScript. Originally designed to make web pages interactive, JavaScript now runs on servers, phones, and even robots!

The Console: Your Playground

To start experimenting with JavaScript:

1. Right-click anywhere on your web page and select "Inspect Element"
2. Click on the "Console" tab

This console is like a command line where you can type JavaScript code and see immediate results. Try typing 1 + 1 and hitting Enter!

Strings: The Building Blocks

In JavaScript, text is represented as "strings". These are sequences of characters enclosed in quotation marks. For example:

javascript "Hello, kitty!" 'Meow meow meow'

Remember: Always match your opening and closing quotation marks!

Values and Variables

Values are the simplest components in JavaScript. Numbers, strings, and functions are all values. To store these values for later use, we use variables. Think of variables as labeled boxes where you can keep your toys (values).

javascript var catName = "Whiskers"; var livesLeft = 9;

Now you can use catName or livesLeft in your code, and JavaScript will remember what they represent!

@ 4fb130a0:3327f6c7

Depuis des décennies, il n'y a pas eu de raison impérieuse de s'intéresser à l'argent concret qui circule activement sur les marchés. Peu de gens se consacrent à cette tâche, hormis quelques spécialistes et curieux passionnés.

☑️ Nées pour répondre au besoin de sécuriser les dépôts, financer le commerce et accorder des prêts. Les premières banques se cantonnais à ces activités élémentaires et endossaient le rôle d'intermédiaire de confiance dans les transactions économiques et le développement des échanges locaux et internationaux.

Course à la surperformance Au cours des années 1990 et 2000, une vague de dérégulation financière a permis aux banques de diversifier leurs activités au-delà des simples dépôts et prêts. Elles se sont engagées massivement dans des activités de trading, de titrisation, et de gestion d'actifs à haut risque.

⏩ Ce mouvement a été amplifié par l'innovation financière, telle que la création des produits dérivés complexes. Les banques sont devenues des acteurs globaux, accumulant des actifs considérables tout en prenant des risques de plus en plus importants, souvent sans supervision adéquate.

Le point de rupture La crise financière mondiale de 2008 a révélé les risques associés à la dérégulation des banques et à leur rôle croissant dans la spéculation financière. Cette crise a conduit à une réévaluation de leur rôle, de leurs pratiques de prêt, et de leur relation avec les États. Depuis les institutions financières sont soumises à des régulations strictes de prévention et de gestion des risques.

🔓Aujourd’hui, leur influence est encadrée par des politiques monétaires et de régulation visant à stabiliser les marchés financiers et à éviter les bulles spéculatives. Elles sont encore majoritairement l’unique dépositaire des normes et outils de gestion de notre quotidien économique.

L’envers de l’inflation Depuis 2008, les politiques de quantitative easing (assouplissement quantitatif) des banques centrales ont exacerbé l’effet Cantillon , un phénomène où la création monétaire bénéficie d’abord à ceux qui reçoivent la nouvelle monnaie, comme les banques et les grandes entreprises, avant que l’inflation ne se diffuse à l’ensemble de l’économie. Cela entraîne une redistribution inégale des richesses et augmente les inégalités.

⏰ Avec le retour de l’inflation ces dernières années, les banques centrales ont mis fin au QE et ont commencé à relever les taux d’intérêt pour tenter de maîtriser la hausse des prix. Cette transition a eu des effets ambivalents.

🔄 Alors que l’objectif était de contenir l’inflation, elle durci les conditions économiques et d’accès au crédit. Les plus riches, qui bénéficient d’actifs financiers valorisés, continuent de voir leur richesse croître, tandis que les ménages à revenu fixe voient leurs ‘reste à vivre’ et confort de vie diminuer progressivement.

Que faut-il en retenir ?

Le rôle des banques a considérablement évolué au fil des siècles. De leur fonction originelle de facilitation des échanges commerciaux, elles sont devenues des piliers de l'économie mondiale, dont les actions influencent la répartition des richesses et la stabilité économique. L'effet Cantillon met en lumière les inégalités nées de la création monétaire, soulevant des questions cruciales sur l'équité des modèles et systèmes financiers actuels.

⏳ Prenez le temps de comprendre les forces qui façonnent l'économie globale et leur impact sur vos finances personnelles et votre vie quotidienne.

@ 0271e1b9:ad8cff90

Hey everyone,

So during the weekend I launched a little side project called:

"A Stoic Resurrection"

https://image.nostr.build/682ddced4e4c823dcdc28bd34cc920ce0802964b170f9fa08295a89afe08df6c.jpg

For now I will be sharing my favorite quotes from both historical and contemporary thinkers in the form of photos or short videos, plus some of my own thoughts, as I have noticed they seem to be very much aligned with the Stoic philosophy in general.

I played around with some ideas regarding the design and aesthetics, and settled on this kind of style for now:

Photo examples https://image.nostr.build/878bf80e40c522320820e766723dcd7b2ea5a4029dc8effd9c66a56f0fbbbc54.jpg https://image.nostr.build/3d994d3fb52def142d4b331ef0edb53a9862c8ab071d57da580a8fa08430198a.jpg https://image.nostr.build/d583755e9065cc5c49357ead1734e7e2ab5d43c56bd3345cb14331cab61cd505.jpg

Video examples

https://youtube.com/shorts/OMKKRQ4zNLM

https://youtube.com/shorts/UkFBFBniCp8

For now I'm using copyright free images from Unsplash plus copyright free recordings of classical music via Musopen (starting off with Chopin) for the content as per my Open Source Culture philosophy.

The current goal is to post 1 quote per day on average.

I do have some additional ideas for the future, but as I said, this is a side project and how much time & energy I'm going to invest in this will depend both on the amount of free(ish) time I have on hand, my current level of interest in the subject, as well as how much demand & audience there is (or isn't) for this kind of content.

Please feel free to share your thoughts, criticisms, suggestions, and perhaps some of your personal favorite Stoic thinkers / ideas from both past and the present that have caught your attention.

Oh, and of course, if stoic philosophy sounds like your cup of tea, please feel free to give the project a follow on your preferred social media platform(s) and/or show your appreciation with zaps:

nostr: nostr:npub1angxrnwzujemyzkhgef2gwcy0s4ayjh62574p8g2xwnlfp8pxeaq4frrpe

X

YouTube

Instagram

TikTok

Peace & love,

Kontext

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

This is your chance to update your predictions from July: https://stacker.news/items/619305/r/Undisciplined. August picks are due before the end of August.

If you're new, check out the June post for details. This contest will be open to new entrants all the way through the end of the NBA regular season.

If you want to join, put your predictions in the comments for MVP, Champion, and All NBA 1st Team.

Current Predictions

| | @Undisciplined | @grayruby | @gnilma | @BitcoinAbhi | @Bell_curve | @0xbitcoiner | |-|------------------|---------------|--------------|---------------------|-------------------|-----------------| | Champ | OKC | Pacers | OKC | Denver | Celtics | Pacers | | MVP | Luka | Giannis | SGA | Luka | Luka | Jokic | | All NBA | Jokic | Jokic | SGA | Jokic | Jokic | Jokic | | | Giannis | Giannis | Jokic | Giannis | Giannis | Giannis | | | Luka | Luka | Luka | Luka | Luka | Luka | | | Ant | Mitchell | Brunson | Ant | Ant | Ant | | | SGA | Brunson | Wemby | SGA | SGA | Brunson |

The only change last month was me switching my title pick to OKC.

Prize

1334 sats (plus all future zaps)

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/662489

@ 469fa704:2b6cb760

In traditional investment wisdom, diversification is the mantra chanted by financial advisors worldwide. It's the strategy to spread risk across various assets to mitigate losses. However, when it comes to Bitcoin, some argue this principle might not apply in the same way. Here's why:

1. Bitcoin's Unique Value Proposition

Bitcoin, often dubbed "digital gold," has several attributes that set it apart from other investments:

• Finite Supply: With a cap at 21 million coins, Bitcoin's scarcity is programmed into its code, mirroring the scarcity of gold but with even more certainty. This scarcity can drive value as demand increases over time, especially in an economic environment where fiat currencies are subject to inflation.
• Decentralization: Unlike stocks or real estate, Bitcoin isn't tied to any central authority or physical asset that can fail or be manipulated by a single entity. This decentralization reduces the risk of systemic failure that affects traditional markets.
• Global Liquidity and Accessibility: Bitcoin can be bought, sold, and transferred anywhere in the world, 24/7, with internet access. This global liquidity means Bitcoin can be more easily converted to other assets if needed, somewhat reducing the need for diversification.

2. The Risk-Reward Balance

• Volatility as Opportunity: While Bitcoin's volatility is often cited as a risk, for the informed investor, this volatility represents opportunities for significant gains. Those who understand Bitcoin's cycles might prefer to ride these waves rather than dilute potential gains through diversification into less volatile assets.
• Long-term Appreciation: Historical data suggests Bitcoin has provided substantial returns over the long term compared to most traditional investments. If one believes in Bitcoin's future as a dominant store of value, holding a diversified portfolio might mean missing out on Bitcoin's potential upside.

3. Bitcoin as a Diversifier

Ironically, Bitcoin itself serves as a diversification tool within traditional investment portfolios. Its price movements have shown low correlation with stocks, bonds, and even gold at times, suggesting that Bitcoin can diversify an investment portfolio on its own.

4. The Philosophical Shift

• Trust in Code Over Corporations: Investing heavily in Bitcoin might reflect a philosophical shift towards trusting mathematical algorithms over corporate governance or government policy. Here, diversification within the crypto space might seem less necessary if one views Bitcoin as the pinnacle of what cryptocurrency should be.
• A Bet on a New Financial System: Holding Bitcoin exclusively can be seen as a bet on a new financial paradigm where Bitcoin becomes the standard. In this vision, diversification into other assets might be counterproductive.

5. Potential Result

Upon reviewing the arguments and characteristics, one might conclude that Bitcoin is pursuing a dual trajectory. Firstly, its value increases partly because it remains a novel asset, not yet mainstream among the general populace. Secondly, Bitcoin is poised to absorb the value preservation function from other assets. This means that individuals who invest in stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities, etc., primarily for their value storage capabilities rather than their intrinsic utility (such as residing in a property), might transition to Bitcoin. This shift could consequently diminish the demand for these traditional assets and increase the value of Bitcoin respectively.

6. Caveats and Considerations

• Not Without Risks: This approach isn't without its perils. Bitcoin's future is not guaranteed, and regulatory, technological, or market shifts could impact its value negatively.
• Liquidity Needs: Individual financial situations might require liquidity or income generation that Bitcoin alone might not provide efficiently.
• Emotional Discipline: A Bitcoin-only strategy requires immense discipline and conviction, as the emotional toll of not diversifying can be high during market downturns.

Conclusion

The argument for not diversifying if you hold Bitcoin hinges on its unique properties, the potential for high returns, and its role as a hedge against inflation and traditional financial systems. However, this strategy suits those with a high risk tolerance, a deep understanding of Finance, Economics and Investments, and a belief in Bitcoin's future dominance. For everyone else, while Bitcoin can be a significant part of a portfolio, traditional diversification might still offer peace of mind and stability. Remember, investment strategies should align with personal financial goals, risk tolerance, and market understanding. Always consider consulting with a financial advisor for personalized advice.

@ 9bc2d34d:d19d2948

Chef's notes

This recipe is designed for home cooks who want to recreate the delicious buttery hollandaise sauce at home without feeling overwhelmed. It focuses on teaching the basics of the sauce, allowing beginners to master the fundamentals before experimenting with seasonings, hot sauces, or herbs.

Please note the thickness of sauce in the picture. This is after ten minutes of blending.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 3 minutes
• 🍳 Cook time: 10 minutes (blending)
• 🍽️ Servings: 2 - 4

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 8 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper

Directions

1. Melt butter in the microwave or on the stovetop.
2. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites (reserve the egg whites for another dish).
3. Place the egg yolks in a blender.
4. Start the blender (medium to high settings for blend mode is fine).
5. Slowly pour the melted butter into the cover opening (it will splatter).
6. Add the remaining ingredients.
7. Blend for ten minutes (seriously, walk away and do something else).
8. Taste and adjust the flavors (add extra lemon juice or salt if desired).
9. Serve over your breakfast!

@ e968e50b:db2a803a

This is a repost of my first post ever on sn. I wanted to give it another try because I didn't have any visibility here then, didn't know how to use markdown, and put more work into it than subsequent posts. Now that I know what I'm doing, I'd like to get back to writing like this more. Hopefully you can share this with (or are yourself) a non-bitcoiner. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

What does Oppenheimer teach us about CBDCs?

Do you remember where you were when you first heard the acronym MAD? I first heard it when I was a teenager on a trip to the air force academy and we were afforded a tour of NORAD^1. My memory is a little hazy on the details, but the most interesting part was when an instructor came out and explained a nuclear war scenario to us. He gave us a vague idea of where all the US nukes were, then a vague idea of where all the Soviet nukes were. After this, he told us what he’d do to confirm the Soviet nukes were in the air before launching ours to all of their major cities. The end.

Hands went up. We wanted to know what would happen next. How would they shoot down the enemy nukes? How long would the war last after the first shots were fired? Why target civilians? This was when he told us about Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)^2. Nuclear attack in the Cold War era wasn’t about winning or losing. It was about making the consequences of war unbearably devastating for all parties. The logic went that reasonable actors would therefor avoid kinetic war altogether. For the first time in my life, I understood the true reasoning behind the nuclear race in the cold war. Of course, the biggest catch in the system was that all parties with this power need to be assumed to be reasonable...forever.

Oppenheimer^3, this summer’s blockbuster biopic about the enigmatic physicist behind the atomic bomb, explores his moral concerns with continued nuclear arms research after WWII. The film dramatizes both his personal and political life and the ethical questions surrounding each of them. The most interesting theme for this writer was the paradox concerning Oppenheimer’s devotion to creating a weapon of mass destruction for one war, and then trying to stuff the genie back in the bottle before the the next one broke out. Fortunately, that hot war hasn’t come yet, but Oppenheimer didn’t accomplish his latter goal and we’ve since developed nukes that make the a-bomb’s mushroom clouds look like the mushrooms from Super Mario Bros^4.

The film highlights Oppenheimer’s Jewish heritage and his personal convictions concerning the rise of Nazism. With all of the other moral ambiguity, it portrays him as having deep integrity in this regard. However, once that threat had been neutralized, he begins to see more clearly the significance of this new category of weapon. Oppenheimer, or at least the Oppenheimer of the movie, grows to understand acutely the immense burden that now lays on all future generations. Each new nation or other entity that developed nuclear weapons was another trigger-finger on a potential apocalypse. Of course, this could also usher in a new era of threat-induced peace so long as all parties remain reasonable...forever.

The dropping of the two atom bombs was horrific. Even so, the weaponization and bureaucratic manipulation of money that exists around the globe today produces more death than the combined total of these two bombings[^5]. Millions of central and western Africans have been robbed through the debasement of the CFA franc by the French government^6. The physical violence this has inspired is incalculable. Thousands died in the Arab Spring. The violence was itself inspired by economic hardship in the region, partially a result of the 2008 bank bailouts[^7]. Local inflation in countries like Venezuela^8, Zimbabwe[^9], Turkey[^10], and Argentina^11 results not just in poverty, but in a significant drop in health care and education and a corresponding rise in violence. The weaponization of money and resulting inflation after WWI is even seen by most scholars as a large contributing factor to the rise of Nazism for which Oppenheimer was working against^12. Using this same inflation, the richest and most powerful are able to actually able to further enrich themselves through the Cantillon Effect^13. More overt weaponization exists in political sanctions, sinister a way to declare war on the civilian population of a country without declaring war on their military. Sometimes, as in the current case in Myanmar, these sanctions hurt the opposition groups more than the actual government that is being opposed[^14].

With all of this in mind, adopting a currency that the government, a corporation, or a single individual can control by the click of a button is arguably one of the most dangerous threats to humanity’s thriving. Whoever held this power could decide who is allowed access to food and who is not. They could decide how long or how much you were allowed to save before it was deleted. They could monitor everything you bought and everywhere you bought it. I’m talking about a Central Bank Digital Currency^15 (CBDC).

Proponents argue that these concerns about abuse won’t be problems so long as we can trust those with the power. Basically, they are counting on either their allies to remain in power, or their detractors to be ethical enough to refrain from the previously described activities. So with a CBDC, “democracy” can only exist with a uni-party system or the ability to elect perfectly morally upstanding leaders...without a single exception...forever.

Bitcoin fixes this^16. Unlike nuclear bombs, a CBDC can’t function without widespread adoption. You and I will ultimately determine if this technology has any power. Fortunately, we have an alternative. Bitcoin does not have the power to stop you from buying groceries. No one can debase it’s value from a foreign or domestic state. It requires no extra fees for cross-border payments. While weaponized money may currently be responsible for more death and suffering than nuclear war, we now actually have an armor to protect against it. I only hope that by the time they make the movie about it, we have chosen the happy ending.

[^5]: https://www.newsweek.com/how-many-people-died-hiroshima-nagasaki-japan-second- world-war-1522276

[^7]: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/17/bread-and-gas-economic-boost-needed-after- arab-spring

[^9]: https://www.voanews.com/a/africa_its-nightmare-zimbabwe-struggles-hyperinflation/ 6177373.html [^10]: https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/07/21/lessons-from-turkey-on-the-evils-of-high- inflation

[^14]: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/myanmars-exiled-government-needs-a-bitcoin-bond- strategy

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/662395

@ 75bf2353:e1bfa895

Alby Hub is lightning-node software that Get Alby sells as a service. It's also free and open source. You can run it on a node such as Umbrel or Start9. I even was able to run it on Ubuntu. I was lucky enough to try the Alby Hub early. I even tested the software as a service before it was released to the public. I "forgot my password," though. Actually, I never knew it. I use VaultWarden as a password manager and copy and paste all my passphrases. I was in a Jitsi meeting. You know how it is. Bitcoiners are super interesting smart people. I got distracted talking to these smart people and must have copied and pasted the wrong passphrase because...I got distracted. I opened a channel and then got locked out. It's my fault. I take complete responsibility. I take complete responsibility. I hadn't even written down my seed phrase yet.

I didn't lose any sats though; aside from the 10,000 sats, it cost me to open up the channel. This is because I am very careful about sending larger sums of bitcoin to wallets before I write down the seed or test them. I might send 21,000 SATs or something like that to see if I can recover them before I send more. We used to say "don't be reckless," but that ethos can get lost in all the excitement of this cutting-edge technology we call the lightning network. If I sent thousands of dollars of bitcoin to this Alby Hub wallet I was beta testing, those sats would have been HODLED forever. It is important to use new technology with small amounts of bitcoin. It is important to use new technology with small amounts of bitcoin." This way, you mitigate your risk of a catastrophic loss. This is especially true if you ever find yourself beta-testing.

The Bright Side of Forgetting My Passphrase on Alby Hub

)

There is an orange lining to this story. The other beta tester in the meeting got it to work. He played a game called Zappy Bird. This is not an endorsement of Zappy Bird. I think it's a gambling version of Flappy Bird. I am not a gamer, and I would just lose my seat if I played this for any length of time. This allowed me to see the possibilities of Alby Hub, however, even though I screwed up my first try. My mother, like many of your mothers, I'm sure, always said, "If at first you don't succeed, then try again."

" Even though it didn't work for me at first, I got a glimpse into how awesome Alby Hub was anyway. Even though it didn't work for me at first, I got a glimpse into how awesome Alby Hub was anyway. That motivated me to try again. The second time I Alby Hub on PopOS! by following the instructions on the README file. That worked. It was surprisingly easy, but we were in the early days, and my channel was force closed. The issue seems to be fixed now that it's released to the public. I'm amazed at how much cleaner it is now. I also had a few other problems connecting my node to my Alby account because it was connected to the original node. The good people at Get Alby fixed that, however. I'm really impressed with their customer service. Screwing up my first node gave me the opportunity to learn this about the company.

Screwing up my first node gave me the opportunity to learn this about the company. I continued to use the GetAlby API during this time. I continued to use the GetAlby API during this time. I thought API's were super scary. 3 I don't even know what API stands for. Thanks to some of the people like Bitkarrot from Plebnet.dev, I am comfortable using them. A few weeks ago, I was able to make some video tutorials that teach businesses how to accept bitcoin. I am aware most businesses prefer fiat. It occurred to me: why would a business care if the fiat in their bank account comes from Strike or Mastercard? Of course, businesses that want to accept bitcoin can keep the sats. One business owner I know who is listed on BTCmaps did not want to use Strike because he liked seeing the stats on his phone.

Get Alby On Umbrel Or Start9

As I eluded to earlier, you can now run GetAlby on Start9 or Umbrel. They have videos and guides in[ ]this tutorial](https://guides.getalby.com/user-guide/v/alby-account-and-browser-extension/alby-hub/alby-hub-flavors/umbrel-start9-etc). If you already have one of these machines laying around and are comfortable getting your fingers dirty in the command line, you should try it. If not, you should try the software as a service. If you're a command-line ninja, run it on Ubutnu. Don't be reckless. Only use amounts you are willing to lose. Ably doesn't have access to your seeds, but it is still a hot wallet. It is also still very new. Expect bugs. Expect channel closures. Don't just be a whinny complainy-pant about it. Help improve it. Make a pull request if you must. If you are not as technical. Don't worry. They plan to be on the Umbrel and Start9 app stores soon.

Alby Hub on Umbrel or Start 9 require the Lightning Node app. If you self-hose, your seed is on your Lightning Node app. Write these 24 words down and keep them safe. You will need these to recover your bitcoin in case something breaks. If you use the cloud service, follow the directions to back up your keys here. Opening a channel is easy. You just send the 10,000 sats or whatever the fee is to open it. It's a node in the cloud service similar to voltage, I suppose. To be honest, I'm not sure how it works on the back end, but this abstracts away much of the complexities of running your own lightning node. You don't need to worry about finding a node to connect to, inbound liquidity, or balancing channels. That's like full-time IT work. Alby Hub makes running a lightning node easy-peasy lemon squeezy. Alby Hub makes running a lightning node easy-peasy lemon squeezy. This opens bitcoiners up to a world of possibilities.

Why I Am So Excited About Alby Hub

Although I did some beta testing for GetAlby's Alby Hub, I didn't receive any sats from them aside from a couple zaps here and there, but this is not a paid ad or sponsored blogpost. I don't think I can make a better guide than they have on their website. I am excited about Alby Hub because it makes accepting bitcoin so easy. I am excited about Alby Hub because it makes accepting bitcoin so easy. I'm not sure your grandmother could do it, but most computer-literate people could easily run Alby Hub. But wait... There's more.

Thanks to these wonderful people on nostr, I learned how to find my keys in the lightning node of my Umbrel. This also means my lightning node works for other apps besides Alby Hub. It also works with the LNbits installed on my Umbrel. I bet it works with BTCpayServer too, but I haven't verified this yet. This means businesses will soon be able to accept bitcoin by: - Buying a $400 minicomputer like Umbrel or Start9 ($800). - - Using Alby Hub in the Cloud and integrating it into other clients that use Nostr Wallet Connect - - Setting up an online bitcoin store on Shopster or Plebeian Market will be easy. - -+ The Uncle Jim Model just got 10x easier.

For example, what if I sold LNBit's POS extension and gave someone access to use my LNBits as a POS? shop could use LNBits as a POS terminal all of a sudden. I could build a bitcoin POS system for a local business using old comouters in my strategic computer reserve. Okay, I admit it. I'm a computer hoarder. I never recycle old computers unless they are unrepairable. There are so many ways to use the lightning network now. Find out more at https://getalby/hub. We can use these tools in creative ways. What if, instead of using BTCpayServer to help businesses accept bitcoin, we create a BTCpayServer-like product list on Shopster instead?

Using Alby Hub to Monetize My Blog

As I thought more about this, it occurred to me I should start a business with all of this stuff. Some people at my local meetup have asked me to help them set up a lightning node. Tools exist that make it easy enough to do consulting for anyone over tools like Keet or Hivetalk.org/. I also want to sell T-shirts. I've had the idea to sell bitcoin t-shirts that say Pay Me In Bitcoin. This one time, I played poker in Vegas during Def-Con. I was there for poker at the time. I've never been to DefCon. Some nerd had a QR code on his T-shirt. I'm not sure what it was. It was the first time I ever saw a QR code.

I was able to design this T-shirt with the help of Dell E 3. I'm using some of the techniques I learned in the 4-hour workweek to design this shirt, but instead of hiring a graphic designer in a third-world country, I hired computer power from PayPerQ. A website I learned about on getalby.com. Around the time of the halving, some dude at my job asked me if I think he'll ever be able to afford a whole bitcoin for each of his kids. I said I didn't know. He told me he makes way more than my family, but he hasn't started stacking SATs yet. He also told me he pays for Chat GPT because it is "only $30 a month." That's $360 of sats he could have stacked per year. I wouldn't be surprised if $360 stacked in bitcoin is worth $3,600 in five years.

Many people who say they will never spend bitcoin often spend money on other fiat things because they were raised with a hyper-consumer mental framework. Many others think AI will kill us like the Terminator, but people like Andreas Antonopolis and Paul Vigna wrote books about bitcoin getting used as a medium of exchange for AI almost a decade ago. The lightning network was clunky and difficult back when I first ran a MyNode and entered my public key into yalls.org to write about bitcoin. I bought a sticker from Blockstream with the Eclair Wallet back then, but it was hard to see how the lightning network could come over the technical hurdles for the majority of the people.

Tools like Alby Hub give me hope for the future. I listened to Natalie Brunell's Coin Stories this morning. The guest is a gold bug. She said something my wife is even still concerned with. The government will never allow bitcoin to be used for payments. They will capture it before this happens.

She is right in a sense. I am sure the governments of the world will not want to give up the power to print money and expand and contract the economy as they see fit. The digital alternative to central banking will not be welcomed by governments. Plebs build it anyway. The government of the United States has the most powerful weapons ever known to humankind. This government has an arsenal big enough to destroy the world many times over. I'm not certain bitcoin will survive an existential event such as this. I do not doubt the POTUS could Executive Order 6102.2 every Saturday in the ETF's overnight. To ban tools that make it easy to use the bitcoin lightning network as payments requires banning computers and banning software distributed all over the world. It seems like governments would have a difficult time banning computers.

Now that I think of it, Natalie Brunel could use Alby Hub to accept steaming sats and boosts to her podcast. She can host it in the cloud or on a plug and play node like Umbrel or Start9.

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@ 75bf2353:e1bfa895

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Merch

@ eed76ece:afa98124

As the World continues to create more and more NEW regulations. And as free speech get attacked from every angle. Bonafide business owners, especially importers will need to find ways to migrate sales offerings of goods and services. It feels like the majority of business owners have to really take this seriously.

Obviously so many different methods are used around the World already, but when the upcoming new mandatory vaccinations, vaccine passport travel restrictions really hit, businesses will have to jump to more selling online.

SN, Nostr and other unknown communication methods are Paramount. As usual it feels like no one is taking free speech attacks seriously. The amount of postings my customers around the World do daily on WhatsApp, LINE (Asia), Telegram, Twitter will move where it is allowed to move. Feels like there's an ongoing increase in the attack not just on the West, but from WITHIN the West.

Regardless if you retail, wholesale, manufacture, are an agent we try hard to be pro active on marketing on multiple methods. It seems very logical that in the future Nostr and SN will pick up International users as a way to get their goods posted somehow someway.

Examples

Customers in these regions I deal with primarily communicate with me in Japan, Thailand using LINE and Tik Tok daily. Most of the rest of the World communicate with me using WhatsApp. Certain parts of Eastern Europe and Asia Telegram.

Interestingly my resellers in the USA primarily post on WhatsApp.

Westerners especially Americans seem to have enough money, they are not hungry for making more money, or increasing their business growth, they think everything is ok. "We will always be okay, there will NEVER be a Worldwide depression, recession, deflation, increased restrictions, they will NEVER force a new vaccine on us again, they will NEVER lock business and us down again".

"So I will always have free speech, the politicians told me so".

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/670041

@ c230edd3:8ad4a712

Chef's notes

Allow meat to soak for 1-24 hours. The rougher the cut, the longer the soak. This is great for open flame grilling, as well as pan seared, though the latter is preferable. Petit Sirloin can marinade for approximately 1 hour and still develop tenderness. I like to score the steaks if they will only be resting in the mix for a short time. All seasonings can be adjusted to taste. Base ingredients scale well, for any number of steaks. Equal parts, enough to coat the meat is really all that matters.

I'm terrible at remembering cooking pictures, so image is a random steak. I will try to remember to update that next time I make these.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 10
• 🍳 Cook time: However long you usually cook your steak to preferred doneness

Ingredients

• 4 petite sirloin steaks or other cut
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3-5 cloves garlic, depending on size, minced and salted
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1\2 tsp crushed red pepper

Directions

1. Mix ingredients and marinade 1-24 hours.
2. Grill or pan sear to your preferred doneness
3. Enjoy!

@ 8cb60e21:5f2deaea

@ 56a6da9b:7f5a2243

IO used to have a lot of content and now the only thing that shows up is my fouintain stuff. when i go into other nostr things it's not there anymore and i look like an anonymous user with no profile pic, or profile and no activity.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/669994

@ 8cb60e21:5f2deaea

```js useEffect(() => { if (typeof window === 'undefined') return;

    const bitcoinConnectConfig = window.localStorage.getItem('bc:config');

    if (bitcoinConnectConfig) {
        setBitcoinConnect(true);
    }
}, []);

```

@ 6bae33c8:607272e8

I did the third and final NFFC Beat Chris Liss league last night, and it was one of the more interesting and aggressive drafts I’ve ever done. I picked from the seven slot.

Here are the results:

(Link to livestream)

1.7 Ja’Marr Chase — I made seven my first choice, but then realized I probably should have gone with four or five, or maybe nine or 10. That’s because if the first six picks went chalk (and they did), I’d be faced with Chase who is holding out for a new contract (and who I have in two other leagues already), Justin Jefferson (new, bad QB) or Garrett Wilson (new QB, never been a Round 1-level WR.) At 1.9 I’d have gotten one of those guys anyway, but earlier picks on the way back. And at 1.4, I’d have gotten a shot at Bijan Robinson for an easier hero-RB build. But I had pick seven, and I tripled-down on Chase because I think it’s very likely he’ll get his extension (or play if he doesn’t), and he’s an all-time talent with a top QB and projects for a massive target share. Plus, if he busts it’s Alan Seslowsky’s fault, and having someone to blame is paramount.

2.6 Drake London — I had it mapped out via ADP that I’d likely get De’Von Achane here, but he went at his min pick (I’m pretty sure) at the 1-2 turn, and so I was scrambling a bit. I really wanted Puka Nacua, who I missed by one pick, considered Cooper Kupp, but ended up going for the ADP-faller London who I had not remotely planned on getting. London obviously benefits from the massive QB upgrade in Atlanta, but it’s an open question whether he’s really an elite receiver or just a good one, and Kyle Pitts could easily emerge as Kurt Cousins favorite target instead.

3.6 DeVonta Smith — When Derrick Henry went one pick ahead of me, it was between Smith and Jaylen Waddle who I took in BCL2. Normally I avoid receivers this undersized but Smith has always produced at every level and is locked into his sizeable target share. Plus I read some Scott Barrett tweets about how Kellen Moore’s offense boosts the slot receiver a ton and that Smith thrives in the slot and could see more work there.

4.7 Stefon Diggs — This was ideal. I now have Diggs in all four of my leagues so far. Maybe he’s hit a cliff at age 30, but he’s getting $22.5M to play in arguably the league’s top passing game that lacks a true No. 1 alpha. I also considered Tee Higgins to pair with Chase (and serve as Chase insurance), but Diggs has more upside as a potential No. 1 target.

5.6 Dalton Kincaid — I’ve been high on him all summer, but he never quite fell to me in the right place until now. I expect him to be Josh Allen’s No. 1 receiver now that Diggs is gone.

6.7 James Conner — I needed a RB, and Conner is one. I’m a bit wary of a 29-YO guy with an extensive injury history, but he averaged 5.0 YPC last year and has never had a massive workload so he’s fresh for his age at least. Plus, the Cardinals offense should be good this year.

7.6 Anthony Richardson — I wasn’t planning on taking a QB here, or even Richardson who I have in BCL2 in Round 5!, but I couldn’t pull the trigger on Zamir White over someone with Richardson’s upside. I’m trying to win the overall contest, not simply cover the bases with starters at every position.

8.7 Jonathon Brooks — Jaylen Warren was still on the board, and he was a viable Week 1 starter for me, but Brooks who is on IR, struck me as the upside play. I heard somewhere, can’t remember where, that Brooks was an elite prospect in college before the injury, and there’s a lot of hype about Carolina’s new offensive brain trust boosting the offense generally. But it might have been a rash pick given my zero-RB build to take a rookie on IR.

9.6 Marquise Brown — I missed Warren by one pick on the way back, and instead of pivoting to Tyjae Spears I leaned into the zero-RB by taking Brown who was going in the fifth or sixth round before his injury. The beauty of this pick is I don’t need Brown right away as I wouldn’t start him anyway, so I pay no price for him missing Week 1. The ugly of this pick is I missed out on Spears, Zack Moss and Chuba Hubbard (who would have been nice to pair with Brooks.)

10.7 Joe Burrow — The obvious pick was Trey Benson to pair with Conner. In fact, I could have had Hubbard in Round 9 and Benson in 10 to lock up two backfields for my zero-RB team. But no, I had to take a second QB here because (a) Richardson has a low floor; (b) this was cheap for Burrow; and (c) I could potentially pair Burrow with Chase for the playoffs. If you’re gonna go zero RB, lean the into it. (The other problem with this pick is the weekly headache of picking my starting QB.)

11.6 Jaleel McLaughlin — The Burrow pick cost me not only Benson but JK Dobbins too, but I had my eye on McLaughlin who apparently was a god in college, and per Barrett is in an ideal spot as the RB2 in Sean Payton’s offense. Now that stat has to be tempered a bit given that peak Alvin Kamara was the source of so much of it, but how much of that was Payton’s offense? In any event, I’m seriously rolling into Week 1 with McLaughlin in my active lineup because of the Richardson, Brooks, Brown and Burrow picks.

12.7 Jordan Mason — Obviously he’s not usable unless and until Christian McCaffrey gets hurt, and the Niners badly need Trent Williams to report, but he’s a top-10 RB if McCaffrey, who played into February last year, goes down. This also furthers my extreme “what could go right” build.

13.6 Braelon Allen — Oddly I view this pick as a mistake as he was higher in ADP, so I thought I could wait another round on Giants backup Tyrone Tracy. (Tracy went three picks ahead of me in the next round.) Allen might be good, but only a Breece Hall injury could free him up whereas Tracy could just outplay Devin Singletary. Granted the Jets might be a better environment than the Giants, so Allen could have more upside if he did get a shot, but Tracy is also a converted WR and would likely catch a lot of passes if he got the job.

14.7 Khalil Herbert — Once Tracy was gone, I pivoted to Herbert. The Chicago backfield is crowded, but D’Andre Swift always gets hurt, and Roschon Johnson isn’t as good a runner as Herbert.

15.6 Jalen McMillan — I wanted to get Cam Akers because Joe Mixon is old, but I missed him by two picks and pivoted (finally) back to WR. McMillan’s created some buzz in camp, and both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are getting old.

16.7 Will Shipley — I love Saquon Barkley, but he’s getting old and has been hurt a lot. Kenneth Gainwell is ostensibly ahead of Shipley, but is just a guy. Another top-10 upside back should the starter go down.

17.6 Dalvin Cook — He’s on the practice squad for now, and he looked beyond done last year with the Jets, but keep in mind he only got 67 carries, and the Cowboys don’t have serious obstacles ahead of him should he regain even 60 percent of his prior form. Cook was still very good in 2022, and he should have fresh legs too.

18.7 Quentin Johnston — I needed one more receiver, and Johnston is one. Seriously, though he was a first-round pick only last year, and he’s competing with only Josh Palmer and a rookie.

19.6 Younghoe Koo — All these years I was with a wonderful kicker in Justin Tucker, but I’m trading him in for a Younghoe. (That joke will get old one day, just not in any of our lifetimes.)

20.7 Giants Defense — They draw Sam Darnold and Jayden Daniels the first two weeks, and added Brian Burns to Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence.

Roster By Position

QB Anthony Richardson

RB James Conner/Jaleel McLaughlin

WR Ja’Marr Chase/Drake London/DeVonta Smith

TE Dalton Kincaid

FLEX Stefon Diggs

K Younghoe Koo

D Giants

Bench Jonathan Brooks/Marquise Brown/Joe Burrow/Jordan Mason/Braelon Allen/Khalil Herbert/Jalen McMillan/Will Shipley/Dalvin Cook/Quentin Johnston

@ 6c8c7979:15595f3e

Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental rights that guarantees individuals the ability to voice and share their opinions without fear of punishment or censorship. This freedom is a cornerstone of democratic societies, allowing citizens to express their thoughts and criticize governments or institutions without fear of repression.

Currently, freedom of expression faces increasing challenges. These challenges range from government censorship to strict policies aimed at suppressing dissenting voices. Laws that restrict freedom of expression can take various forms, from imposing restrictions on the media to arresting journalists and activists.

Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, has been arrested in France, raising global concerns about the implications of this event for freedom of expression and privacy. Telegram is an encrypted messaging app that provides its users with a high level of security and privacy. Thus, the arrest of its founder signals a potential crackdown on technologies that support privacy.

When an individual overseeing a system that offers high levels of security and privacy is arrested, it indicates a broader concern about data control and digital communication surveillance. This could set a precedent that might encourage stricter controls on privacy-protecting communication tools.

Definition of New Dictatorship

The term "new dictatorship" refers to regimes that may not necessarily be military or traditionally autocratic, but use modern methods to suppress freedom of expression and restrict individual rights. These regimes may include electronic surveillance, anti-terrorism laws, and digital technologies for monitoring individuals.

The new dictatorship can erode fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and press freedom. It can also impact personal freedoms and privacy, leading to the suppression of ideas and constructive criticism. The negative impact may manifest as a lack of transparency and increased surveillance.

Freedom is not free; it often requires significant sacrifices from individuals and societies. Activists and journalists frequently pay a high price for defending human rights and fundamental freedoms, including imprisonment or persecution.

It is crucial for societies to support individuals who adhere to fundamental freedom principles, such as journalists and activists. This support can take the form of solidarity campaigns, providing legal resources, and advocating for political reforms.

Here, I want to present a simple comparison between the cases of Julian Assange and Durov. Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, was arrested and faced charges related to leaking confidential information. While some considered him a hero for exposing corruption, others viewed him as a criminal for leaking sensitive information. In Durov's case, the issue is about protecting data on a large scale, making him a target for regimes seeking to control information and communication. While Assange was accused of leaking national security information, Durov is fighting to maintain digital privacy and freedom.

With increasing restrictions and surveillance, centralized data applications face significant threats. These applications rely on storing information in specific locations, making them susceptible to censorship and bans. In contrast, decentralization offers a potential solution to censorship problems by distributing data and information across a wide network of users rather than relying on centralized servers. This can help enhance privacy and reduce threats associated with surveillance.

Since decentralization offers alternative solutions to censorship and centralized technologies, communities advocating for decentralization need to support these initiatives. This includes using decentralized applications, developing new technologies, and supporting policies that encourage innovation and protect privacy. In the face of current challenges, communities bear a significant responsibility in defending digital rights and protecting freedom of expression. This requires raising public awareness, pressuring governments to reform laws, and supporting individuals and companies striving to maintain privacy and data freedom.

The challenges facing freedom of expression and privacy in the modern age require effective responses from individuals and communities. It is essential to stand together against censorship and the new dictatorship and support initiatives that enhance freedom of expression and data protection. This requires ongoing sacrifices and efforts to uphold fundamental rights and confront repression in all its forms.

@ 3b7fc823:e194354f

First steps into privacy.

You are a normie, but maybe you are privacy curious. Maybe you are ready to take a first step or two into security and privacy but don't know where to start.

Don't worry, here are some absolute beginner first steps that will make a big difference.

1. No one except your friends and family should know your personal phone number and email address. Stop giving away your data! You don't have to fill out every blank on that form. Unless they are mailing you something they don't need your home address. Use a email aliasing service or just create a burner email account as a spam trap. Get a second VOIP phone number. Look up the address of a local hotel. Use these instead of your personal information or maybe just skip the customer reward program.

2. Speaking of giving away your data. Stop using spyware! Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, etc. It is "free" software designed to suck every ounce of personal data from you to be repackaged and sold. Don't just delete the app, search for how to delete your account data.

BTW Windows, google, and 90% of the apps on your phone are also spyware but one thing at a time. Maybe start reading up on FOSS.

1. Clean up your communications. Stop using unencrypted calls and SMS texts. There are several options but just get Signal and make your friends use it. Its easy and works.

2. Clean up your email. This one is probably going to take you some time if you are like most people who have hundreds of emails from years gone bye. Go through every single one and unsubscribe from every newsletter or sales pitch from every store you have ever bought anything from. Block every spam email you see. If you are using a email provider that literally scans every email you send or receive in order to sell you stuff like gmail, then now is the time to switch to a private and encrypted provider like proton or tuta.

3. Clean up your web surfing. Switch to a privacy browser and search engine. If you don't know which one just get Brave. There are ones that I like better but Brave is good enough and easy, especially if you like Chrome. A hardened Firefox is better but requires some homework and if on desktop Mullvad browser is a excellent choice.

BONUS TIP:

Clean up your security. Make sure all of your software is setup for automatic updates, especially security updates. Also, I don’t know who needs to hear this but get a password manager if you don’t have one. (Don't save passwords on the browser!) Get an actual password manager and then add 2FA to all of your online accounts and you will have better security than 90% of the population.

OK, nothing too exciting but we got the big rocks. Data leaks, communications, email, web surfing, and basic security.

What, no VPN or Tor or super secret stuff? No, not yet. This is your level zero default. Your identity and activity is still transparent but you are no longer leaking your data all over the place. This will provide a general base for everyone.

The next step is to perform a basic threat assessment of your personal situation. What are you most at risk for? Targeted attacks or passive? Cyber or physical? What do you most need to defend against? Government mass surveillance, surveillance capitalism, censorship, or public exposure?

There will be some overlap with all of them but your next steps will really depend on your answer. We will cover each of these in greater depth later.

@ 266815e0:6cd408a5

After 7 months of work and procrastination I've decided to release another version of noStrudel

There a ton of new features and a few bugs fixed. This article highlights the biggest changes but if you want to read the full changelog you can find it in the github repo

And as always if you want to check it out you can use nostrudel.ninja or run it locally using docker

sh docker run --rm -p 8080:80 ghcr.io/hzrd149/nostrudel:0.40.0

New Features

Support for NIP-49 encrypted nsec

Now when logging into to the app it will prompt you to set a password to encrypt your nsec so it can be stored securely (if that's even possible for a web client...)

There is also a new "Account" settings view that lets you export you nsec as a ncryptsec so you can copy it to other apps

Blindspot feeds

There are also new "blindspot" feeds that show what others are seeing in their timeline that your missing

NIP-42 Relay authentication

The app now supports NIP-42 relay authentication. Its opt-in though, so if you want to use popular authenticated relays like nostr.wine or relay.snort.social you will have to enable it in the settings

Wasm relay and event verification

The app now supports using @snort/worker-relay as a local relay. Its at least 10x faster than the internal browser cache and can hold at least 100x more events. Its not enabled by default though so if you want to use it you have to switch to it in the "Relays" -> "Cache Relay" view

The app also supports using nostr-wasm to speed up event signature verification. This is enabled by default, but if you want to still use the JavaScript verification or no verification you can find it in the performance setting

Thread tabs

Threads now have a set of tabs that let you see the Replies, Quotes, Zaps, and other stuff related to the note

Wiki articles

Its not feature complete but you can now view and edit wiki articles in the app

Finished the launchpad

The launchpad is now usable and shows the latest notifications, messages, streams, and tools

Blossom uploads

The app now lets you upload images and video to blossom server, this isn't enabled by default though so your going to have to enable it in the settings

And then setup some blossom servers in the settings. A few good public ones are https://cdn.satellite.earth and https://cdn.nostrcheck.me

Task Manager

There is also a new "Task Manager" in the side nav that lets you see whats going on under the hood in the app

You can see what relays the app is currently connected to

And which relays are requesting NIP-42 authentication

Bug fixes

• Fix null relay hints in DMs
• Fix users own events being hidden by muted words
• Fix random events showing up as DM messages
• Fix app prompting NIP-07 extension to unlock when app opens
• Remove corsproxy.io as default service for CORS proxy